Chapter 13

I woke up lying in a bed—it was my room. The moment brought back a strange déjà vu from a few days ago. I sat up in bed, but there was no one else in the room. My body was covered entirely in bandages, wrapping the wounds that covered me.

Suddenly, the door swung open. It was Hina.

"You're awake," she said excitedly. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

"I think I'm okay."

"If I'd arrived even a little later, you wouldn't be doing nearly as well," Aedric said from somewhere behind me—I startled when I saw you lying on the ground covered in blood. What happened to you?"

"An owl attacked me."

"An owl left you on the brink of death?"

"It told me it was to help me enter a trance, and I managed it, but let's just say it came with consequences."

Hina and Aedric stared at me as if I'd lost my mind.

"An owl helped you enter a trance and left you near death?"

"In summary, yes, that's what happened."

"And you succeeded?"

"For a moment, I think so."

"Can you do it again?"

"I can try."

I got out of bed and tried to concentrate on the words the owl had spoken to me the day before, and on the sensation I'd felt when it attacked. I could feel something stirring deep within me, something that wanted to break free, but a fog held it back. I didn't dwell on it and focused instead.

"Wow, he actually did it," I heard Aedric say in surprise.

I opened my eyes and saw my body glowing, surrounded by bolts of lightning. My hair stood on end, and some strands had turned white, though the effect faded moments later.

"The owl told me this was the fastest method. Seems it was right."

"Putting your life in danger hasn't been used in a long time. It's true it's the fastest method, but many people have died because of it," Aedric reprimanded.

"Meditation didn't seem like it would ever get me anywhere."

"That was more to help you get used to it."

"Get used to what?"

Aedric began to hesitate, as if he was about to say something important.

"It's not the right time yet," Quindle said suddenly, bursting through the door.

"I suppose I haven't even told Hina about this."

"About what?" Hina and I asked, looking at him with curiosity.

"Don't worry. I'll tell you when the time is right."

"If you put it like that, it'll only make us more curious."

"You have other concerns right now," Quindle said, approaching me. "From what I've been able to observe, the way you use magic is to enhance your physical abilities."

"That seemed to be the case when I faced the owl."

"In this region of the world, mages typically fight at a distance. Your way of using magic seems better suited for close combat. That will make you stand out. That's why during this time, you need to master everything you can about your powers."

"I'll teach you martial arts in the meantime," Aedric mentioned.

"So I'm not getting any days off?" I said with resignation.

And so began weeks of intensive training. Every morning, I went to the forest to train with Quindle, learning to better control my trance. When I surrounded myself with lightning, my strength improved considerably, but what really improved was my speed. To those watching, I was nothing but a blur of light. For me, the speed was so extreme that I couldn't react in time, and I kept crashing into everything around me.

"If you don't control that speed, you'll end up defeated just from running into walls," Quindle joked.

"It's harder than it sounds. Before I know it, I'm face-first into a tree."

"That's because you're trying to go at maximum speed all the time. It's like driving a car with your foot pressed on the gas pedal constantly. Learn to regulate your speed."

"I hadn't thought about it that way. I guess having powers made me so excited that I've been going full throttle all the time."

"That way you'll never improve. You have to learn to control your emotions better."

"You know, I thought you didn't like me. Your comments always seemed like daggers aimed at me."

"If I didn't like you, I wouldn't have spoken to you from the beginning."

"That reassures me a bit, but I'm curious—why did you decide to help me with all this?"

"When Aedric told us about your situation and that you'd be coming to our house, I refused at first. I thought you were just a kid trying to run away from all your problems."

"From what I know of myself, it seems I wasn't very wrong, though it pains me to accept it"-I thought.

"But then I thought: everyone in that house is running from something."

"Huh?" His answer surprised me so much that I couldn't help but react.

"You're new to this world, so you probably haven't noticed, but it's rare for mages and fairies to live together in one house. Aedric's case is also unusual—he's interested in science too. And Hina should be in school, not here. We're all running from something, and without realizing it, we all ended up together in that house. Since we had the opportunity to run, it seemed unfair not to give you the same chance—especially when you wanted it so desperately, even if your reasons were selfish. If I help you learn to use the trance and understand this world, maybe you'll find the peace you've been longing for."

"Thank you."

"If you have time to say thank you, you have time to train. You need to go practice with Aedric right now," Quindle commented, his face flushing noticeably with embarrassment.

Everyone in this house had helped me and accepted me without asking for anything in return. I owed them everything. I couldn't let them down.