Chapter 4 - Origin

Shailly and Kaya are in a small building, in a room, sitting side by side, facing the guardian Keren. Kaya and Keren stare intently at each other. A duel of glances takes place, each with a closed face. The tension rises.

Shailly, embarrassed by the situation, raises both hands, forearms bent, palms facing outward, fingers pointing upward. She fidgets from left to right, a drop of sweat on her forehead.

_ Shailly: “ Um... We're sorry for what we did. We should never have… ”

She bows her head and closes her eyes, frightened.

_ Shailly: “ It's my fault! ”

_ Kaya: “ Nonsense, I'm the one who suggested it. ”

_ Keren: " I don't care who started it. You'll both be punished. You'll be doing chores around the mansion for a week. "

_ Shailly: “ Okay… ” she said, with tears in her eyes.

_ Keren: “ Before you go to the cafeteria, I'd like to know what your powers are. You, with the tuft of hair, I get the impression you use electricity, right? ”

_ Shailly: “ No, mine is magnetism! ”

Keren's eyebrows rise.

_ Keren: “ Magnetism? ”

Then she rests her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands.

_ Keren: “ Hmm, I understand better now. ”

_ Shailly: “ What? ”

_ Keren: " During our fight, for a brief moment, you teleported right in front of me and then behind me. I saw that you had planted a total of four magnets around me. "

_ Shailly: “ Yes. ”

_ Keren: “ Why didn't you teleport when I trapped you in my stone igloo? ”

Shailly scratches her head and grimaces slightly.

_ Shailly: “ Because I was out of range of my magnets. To teleport from one magnet to another, the maximum distance between the magnets and the ones I'm holding is 5 meters. ”

_ Keren: “ Okay, I see. What about you, red hair? ”

Shailly leans slightly toward Kaya, very curious.

_ Shailly: “ Really? What's yours? ”

_ Kaya: " Your name is Red Hair? And my name is Kaya. I am Source-less. "

_ Shailly: “ A Source-less? ”

_ Keren: “ It means she has no power. ”

Shailly's pupils dilate, her mouth open.

_ Shailly: “ Huuuh?? Is that possible? ”

_ Kaya: “ Keep your voice down. ”

_ Keren: " It's 7:45 p.m., there's still a little time before dinner. I'm going to tell you an interesting story. It's about the origin of the Sources, or at least how they are cataloged. "

_ Shailly: “ Oh, okay! ”

_ Keren: " In this world, there are three classes: the elementary Class, the hypnosis Class, and the Unclassifiable. They are defined by several sources. No individual can obtain multiple Sources. Either you have one or you don't. "

_ Shailly: “ I didn't know that… ”

_ Keren: " Finally, the Source is categorized into two Types: Type C and Type N. "

_ Shailly: “ What are those? ”

_ Keren: " Type C means Creation Type, so a Source that you create. Type N means Natural Type, so a Source that you draw from nature. In your case, you are of the Elementary Class, Magnetic Source, and Type C. "

Shailly's eyes lit up.

_ Shailly: “ Ohh, that's great! ”

_ Keren: " What will make the difference between the two Types is your Source. For example, if you have a Source that you can't draw on in nature because it's not close by, your N Type will be useless. In other words, you won't be able to activate your power. "

_ Shailly: “ But then it sucks to be Type N, right? ”

_ Keren: " Not necessarily. If you have a Source nearby, you can use it endlessly and you'll tire less quickly than a Type C. "

_ Shailly: “ Incredible. ” she said in a tone of surprise.

Her face pale, she then looks at Kaya.

_ Shailly: “ But why doesn't Kaya have a Source? ”

_ Keren: " Unfortunately, it's just a matter of probability. The majority possess or inherit a Source, the rest do not. "

Still standing with her arms crossed, a question haunts Kaya's mind.

_ Kaya: “ I have a question. ”

_ Keren: “ Go ahead. ”

_ Kaya: " You said that no individual can obtain multiple Sources. Yet, during your battle against Touffu, you used several. "

Eyebrows raise.

_ Shailly: “ Now that I think about it, that's true. ”

_ Kaya: “ How is that possible? ” she said, her gaze piercing.

_ Keren: “ … ”

Kaya stares intently, but the bell rings. Keren gets up from her chair.

_ Keren: “ You don't need to know. Anyway, we have to go. ”

He leaves the building, leaving the two girls behind. Afterwards, the two girls come out and follow their guardian. Meanwhile, at the manor.

_ Gwen: “ I'm leaving now. ”

_ Moana: “ Are you sure? The sun has set and you haven't eaten yet. ”

_ Gwen: " I'm used to working at night, and I'll eat on the way. I'll just borrow a horse for the journey. "

_ Moana: " All right, as you wish, and you can call me by my first name, even though I'm the boss, we're the same age. "

A brief moment of silence ensues, contrasting with the guardian's frozen indifference.

_ Gwen: “ How do you know my age? ”

_ Moana: " My father was a good old friend of yours, and he told me about a girl the same age as me. I saw you once when I was little. So when I saw you again with your brother in front of the village entrance, I guessed right away. "

_ Gwen: “ Okay. ”

_ Moana: “ Go on, I'll leave you alone. ” she said, sorting through her last documents.

Gwen stands at the entrance to the mansion.

_ Gwen: “ Don't worry if it takes me several days to arrive, that's normal. ”

_ Moana: “ No worries, I trust you. That said, we have no means of communication, so if you take too long, I'll take the second and last horse left to go look for you. ”

_ Gwen: “ Thank you. ”

When they arrive at the cafeteria, everyone sits down, says thank you for the meal, and starts to eat.

_ Maïko: “ So, how did it go at the office? ”

_ Shailly: “ We're being punished by having to do chores around the mansion. ” she said disappointedly.

_ Son: “ That's not cool. "

_ Kona: “ How long will it last? ”

_ Shailly: “ A week. ”

_ Jenna: “ Go... Good luck. ”

_ Shailly: “ Thanks! ”