Chapter 9 : The White Knight in the Dark

I didn't see it coming.

The gallery had been silent for several minutes. Only our footsteps echoed on the damp ground. I was waiting for her to elaborate on this point. She did not do so.

"What?"

"You heard me perfectly."

"Why would I do that?"

His foot slammed into me before I had even finished my sentence. I tied back and his sole went a few inches from my shoulder. My back hit the wall.

"Wait, I don't..."

It was already on me. His claws sliced through the air with disconcerting precision, taking my breath away before coming back from another angle. I appeared as best I could, without having time to recover my senses.

"Opaline! I don't understand what you want! I said, deflecting his wrist with my forearm.

"You'll understand when you fight. Continue. »

"That's not an answer!"

"Don't look for an answer," she retorted.

His fist went up before the end of his sentence. I didn't see it coming; I only felt the impact against my ribs. I gasped. My legs gave out and I put one knee on the ground, one hand against the wall, the time to catch my breath and straighten up.

She did not take advantage of it. She waited, her flashlight on the ground, as if letting me breathe was part of the exercise.

Around us, the gallery remained empty. Kellan and Silas had been on the other side of the mine for quite some time, while Aria was with Taron and Milo somewhere on the other side of this mine that I was beginning to hate deeply.

Aria didn't know where I was or what Opaline was trying to verify. Coming back with sore ribs and no valid explanation annoyed me almost as much as the blow itself. She would probably start by making sure I was standing up before asking me what else I had done.

I drew my dagger, but I kept it turned to the side to ward off its claws. The poison on the blade makes any serious attack far too risky.

What followed shows nothing of a balanced fight.

With each attack, Opaline had already changed her support. My blade only encountered the void or its claws, which deflected the blow before it came back to the charge from another angle. I barely had time to follow her movements before she regained the initiative.

His claws always stopped before they cut open my skin. The blows she was really delivering would force me to back off, to reorient myself, and another one would come before I had even regained my balance.

"For someone who claims not to know how to fight," she says between attacks, "you do pretty well."

"Thank you for the compliment, even if it doesn't lead to anything."

"Yes. This proves something I wanted to check. »

"Couldn't you have just asked me what you wanted to know?"

"No."

I resume the attack. She pushed my blade away with the back of her claw, stepped back, and gave up just enough ground to let me think I had pushed her away. I rushed into the opening.

His elbow hit me right in the chest.

I tipped back and hit the rock, out of breath. For a second, I saw only the ceiling of the gallery and the flickering light of the torch on its walls.

"Are you done?" I whispered.

"You still haven't hit me."

"That's what I'm trying to do."

"No. We strike already thinking about how we are going to dodge next. As soon as we have to protect ourselves, we hold back. »

She hesitates before continuing, suddenly less sure of herself.

"But when someone else is in danger, it's different. From what you told me, when Albert charged at Aria, you threw yourself at him without trying to dodge the blow. I don't think that's the state of your Liabilities. But at that point, you stopped fighting against what he was doing to you. »

I stayed on the ground for a few seconds, still out of breath.

The state of my liabilities?

It wasn't the first time I'd heard that word since we arrived. Briana and Bikao had already used it in Mistmushroom. But Opaline had just spoken of a "state" with an ease that disturbed me more.

I stood up with my elbows leaning on my elbows.

"Wait. How do you know that a liability has a condition?"

Opaline took her torch against the rock before sitting down facing me. The question didn't seem to surprise her. She may even have expected it.

"I'll tell you what I see."

"And what do you see?" I asked, looking up at her.

"You have something that I've never seen in anyone else."

Her seriousness does not correspond to anything she had shown me until then. I look at her for a moment, almost uncomfortable at the idea of what was to come.

"Opaline... If you're going to tell me that I have a unique gift worthy of a shōnen hero, it's going to be hard to swallow. »

"A shōnen? What are you talking about? »

"No, seriously. We don't come from this world. We were forcibly sent here a few weeks ago and, until recently, I still had the tax man on my back... then we can escape an exceptional destiny. »

"And yet, you killed Albert."

"I was lucky."

"I'm convinced you weren't."

I did not answer. Opaline remains in front of me while the drops continued to hit the rock somewhere in the gallery. She wasn't trying to convince me. She was just waiting for me to stop looking for another explanation.

"In the last few days," she continued, "I've noticed one thing. Your aura does not react randomly. She is reacting to something specific. »

An aura? That word almost made me smile. I had always associated it with manga, video games, that kind of thing. Apparently, here, it had to be taken literally.

Opaline remains silent for a few seconds. For the first time since we left, she seemed to be really searching for her words. Still, she had spoken of the golems, the ruins of Dolmaryth, and even the death of her parents without too much hesitation. This did not reassure me.

"And I need to check one last thing."

"What?" I asked, now on my guard.

"Aria will no longer follow you."

I will stare at her for a moment. For a second, I just tried to figure out how we had gone from my aura to Aria's. I was almost waiting for her to finish her sentence, or to explain to me what I had missed. Nothing.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me perfectly."

"Why did she stop following me?"

Part of me still expected her to make it clear that this was just an example. A somewhat clumsy hypothesis to test his theory.

"Because by compensating for your weaknesses, she will eventually move on without waiting for you. You're too weak. »

This time, I didn't answer right away. The worst part was that she didn't even try to put me down. She was just looking at me, attentive, as she was during our argument.

Opaline calmly takes her guard back, leaving nothing transparent of what she was really trying to provoke. Still sitting in front of her, I try to detect the slightest trace of provocation in her expression. Nothing. Not even a smile, not a hesitation.

Aria had never pretended to stay near me because I was the strongest. She had never even given me a reason to believe that she would leave. And yet, I imagined her continuing on her way alone in a gallery, without having to wait for me. This time, Opaline had found the weak point.

"You probably have a reason..."

"Are you going to give up?"

I leaned against the wall to get up, without taking my eyes off her.

"Keep dreaming."

"Then hit me. Without restraint. »

"Are you serious? Is it masochism? »

"Hit me," she repeated, keeping her claws raised.

I put the dagger away. If she wanted a real blow, I wasn't going to hit her with a poisoned blade. I looked at him, then I attacked. Opaline dodged as soon as my fist came loose.

His dodge should have been enough. However, a stone comes off under his heel and rolls against the wall. Her balance gave way just enough for her to be in the path of my attack again. My fist hit her as she tried to catch herself again, adding its momentum to mine.

She was thrown against the wall with a dull impact.

I stood motionless, my arm outstretched, while a few shards of rock fell around her. I don't feel any new strength. I had not hit faster or harder than before.

Everything had simply fallen into place as it should.

A vibration on my wrist woke me from my torpor. On the screen of my watch, a new line had just appeared, accompanied by a white symbol.

Passive identified: The White Knight

I read the name twice without it becoming understandable anymore.

"How did I do that?"

Opaline slowly sat up and dusted off her clothes. She first checked the ground under her heel, then my fist, still half raised.

"That's what I wanted to understand."

I handed him the screen.

"The White Knight". Does this mean anything to you? »

"I've never heard that name," she replied after leaning in just enough to read it.

"And yet, you knew you had to provoke something."

"I knew your aura was reacting. I didn't know how much. »

The word "Passive" came from 404. The aura, on the other hand, clearly belonged to Opaline's vocabulary. Until then, I had mostly considered these abilities as an obscure rule of the Bloc, to be discovered at the worst time. Finally seeing a name appear on my watch should have enlightened me. Instead, I had even more questions.

"Then explain to me what you saw."

Opaline does not respond with her usual confidence. She looks at the fragment of rock at her feet for a moment longer, as if she herself was trying to explain something she had always perceived without ever having needed to name it.

"My eyes naturally perceive the aura of living beings. I had never really been able to compare before you arrived. With only Taron and I here for so long... I didn't have much to observe. But there are five different of you. One of your auras is softer, another is almost constantly in motion. There is even one that seems to be turning against itself. I imagine there are several kinds. »

"And mine?"

Opaline looks up at me.

"Way too aggressive. It does not extend like the others. It tightens around you, then changes abruptly, as if it is constantly trying to act. That is why I have been watching you so closely since you arrived. »

The answer is enough to make me lose all desire to joke. His attention shifted to the fragment of rock that had rolled under his heel, as if the whole experience was still limited to this simple piece of stone.

"I already knew that there was something familiar about your aura. But I wanted to see if I could provoke his reaction. I knew what my eyes were showing me, not what would happen if I pushed you into this famous state. »

"So, your brilliant idea was to hit me until something happened."

"I hope you enjoyed it."

"Honestly? I would have preferred it to be Aria. His slap was more memorable than all your blows combined. »

Opaline completely ignored the remark.

"When I dodged your last blow, I was certain you couldn't touch me. Your aura contracted suddenly... and I lost my balance. »

However, this stone was nothing special. Dozens of others, identical, littered the gallery.

"You haven't gotten faster or stronger," she continued. "Your movements were identical to the previous ones. I had dodged correctly, then this stone rolled under my heel at the worst possible time and my momentum brought me back in front of your fist. »

"It can happen."

"Of course. That's precisely what bothers me. »

Opaline crouched down to pick up the pebble. She turned him over in her clutches, obviously looking for something that might have explained his fall.

"Nothing that has just happened was impossible. It was just way too well orchestrated. »

I was silent for a few seconds. It was not the stone that occupied my thoughts, however.

"And when you said that Aria would eventually no longer follow me?"

"I thought you needed a reason to stop holding back."

"That's not what I'm asking for."

This time, she did not try to dodge the question. She even took a few seconds before answering, which didn't really reassure me.

"I honestly think you're much weaker than her in some areas. And I was convinced that you couldn't beat me. As for the rest... I've known Aria for too little time to know if she'd really end up outpacing you. »

"So you chose the sentence that would hurt the most."

"It worked."

It's hard to argue otherwise. What annoyed me even more was that it only took him a few days to figure out where to strike.

"And is it because you were sure you could beat me that my aura reacted?"

"That's what I think. I can't tell you that this is really the case. »

Strangely, this reassured me a little. From the beginning, Opaline had spoken of my aura with such confidence that I had almost forgotten that she was also trying to understand what she had in front of her.

"I could see the moment when your aura changed," she continued. "She reacted precisely when I stopped seeing you as a serious threat. But I only have one chance. I do not know if that is the full effect or how far it can go. »

One image immediately stood out: Albert.

For most of the fight, he had been attacking Aria or the villagers. I was an obstacle, sometimes annoying, never the center of his attention. Then, at the end, my blade hits his skull when the angle was totally absurd.

I saw his body tip over again at the precise moment my blade could reach him.

Until now, I called it luck.

"It may have already been engaged during the fight."

"Against Albert?"

"I was too far away from him. I should have noted my target. »

"I wasn't there. I can't say anything. »

That was exactly the answer I wanted to hear. Opaline was not going to pretend to know my power better than I did when she had only just discovered its existence.

I was thinking about training with Brad. Some of his shots had missed the target as long as he thought I was a rookie unable to worry him. As soon as he had focused seriously on me, he had touched me without difficulty.

Another coincidence, perhaps.

"So the more someone underestimates me, the more... »

I stopped on my own. Neither she nor I had the strength to finish this sentence.

"I don't know," confirms Opaline. "In my case, a bad support was enough. If what happened to Albert was due to the same phenomenon, the effect was much greater. But two examples are not enough to establish a rule. »

The name displayed on my watch does not give me any additional insights. The White Knight. A title far too glorious for a power that seemed to be waiting for someone to think I was a fool.

"Why attack me instead of telling me all this?"

"Because as soon as you knew what I was looking for, you would have tried to provoke this reaction yourself. And I couldn't have underestimated you in the same way anymore. »

His reasoning held water. It annoyed me, but it held up.

"So, if I understand correctly, your eyes allow you to spot the liabilities of others?"

"No. I only see their auras. I can see that they don't all behave in the same way, but that doesn't give me the name of an ability or how it works. »

"But you also see those of Kellan, Milo, Silas and Aria."

"Yes."

"And so?"

"And therefore nothing."

"It's wonderful."

"Their aura belongs to them. If something is to awaken, it will be up to them to find out. »

I immediately thought of Kellan's vision in the dark, of those moments when she appeared and then disappeared without him being able to explain it.

"Even Kellan?"

"I didn't say anything, Casimir."

His tone left no room for a second attempt.

We finally resumed our descent from the gallery. I let a few steps pass before returning to the only exception she had just made to her own rule.

"Why me, then?"

"Because yours intrigued me."

At least she did not seek to give her curiosity a nobler reason.

"And because if what I saw could change the course of a real fight, you had to know that it existed before you left Argemira."

I looked down at my hands. They were exactly the same as an hour before: dust under the fingernails, small cuts, no white light of any kind and no particular signs.

"It will be difficult for me to announce this as a certainty."

"So don't do it."

"Great. ' Hello, maybe I have a power that trips people up when they think I'm useless.'"

"It's already more honest."

A laugh escaped me in spite of myself. Then I thought of Aria.

She had resisted Albert much longer than I had. She had caught his attention, persevered despite her fear, and created the opportunities that I had taken advantage of. If my passive attitude had really played a role in the end, I didn't want this discovery to make everything else seem less important.

And I already knew the others. Silas would come up with a silly way to summarize the situation, Milo would ask fifteen questions before I'd even finished my first answer, and Kellan would probably notice that something was bothering me without even needing to ask.

Not this time.

I wanted to talk to Aria first. She was there when it all happened. She would understand what the discovery had really changed, and especially what it had not changed.

Another idea then came to mind. If she heard all this and decided that in the end, I had never really needed her in front of Albert...

I immediately chased that thought away. No. That would have annoyed me considerably.

"Never build a plan around that," Opaline added.

"You don't even know exactly how it works."

"That's precisely the problem. Today, I was sure I could avoid you," Opaline continued. "Tomorrow, someone might look down on you for ten seconds and change their mind after eleven. You can't control what an opponent thinks. »

This warning was much more useful to me than all our hypotheses.

An enemy might underestimate me initially, understand their mistake after a single attack, and then never give me the same chance again. If I waited for the world to save me instead of knowing what to do with my body and my weapon, I would most often end up dying, looking very surprised. Briana would have phrased it differently, but the idea would be the same.

"So I have to fight like a beginner."

"Yes."

At least I knew how to do that.

We continued. A few weeks before, my problems were all about my work hours and my bills. Now, a claw-wielding Teronid had just used me as a guinea pig to awaken a power called the White Knight.

I wasn't sure if my life had improved. Above all, it had become much more difficult to explain.

"There's something else."

"Because, of course, it's never over."

"If our assumption is correct, your place in the group may become an issue."

My place within the group. It took me a few seconds to figure out what she meant. To be the leader? Aria had given me this title, and I still hadn't grasped what it really changed, apart from a cursor on a screen and a decision that I hadn't wanted to make alone. I didn't travel the relationship with a story of auras and conditions.

"Why?"

Opaline did not answer right away. She waited for me to really look at her.

"Who underestimates the man whom everyone presents as their leader?"

Since Mushroom, decisions had piled up in front of me almost without me noticing. Choose a direction. Accept a quest. Take command of the clan. Kellan, Milo, and Silas had joined us, and without any real consultation, the important issues had ended up in my hands.

I had never asked for this title. I had simply gotten into the habit of answering when no one else did, until I began to believe that I was actually capable of occupying that place.

"You want me to stop conducting?"

"I didn't say that. But if a dishonest person, or even an entity, immediately understands that others are waiting for your decisions, they may see you as dangerous before they even see you act. »

"So I pretend to be the second."

"If you play a role, it will eventually show."

We came to an intersection. Opaline checked the marks engraved in the rock before taking the gallery on the left.

"If you want someone to be seen as the natural leader, that person has to actually be in that position. Not just a façade that you give up as soon as something slips through your fingers. »

I didn't even have to think about it for long.

Aria came to mind immediately.

Kellan would have had the necessary calm. He knew how to listen, wait, and decide the right moment. Still, my thoughts were not on him. With Aria, the question had been posed differently from day one. She liked to get the upper hand and, to my own surprise, I had never felt the need to take any advantage from her.

"You've already chosen," Opaline may remark.

"No."

"Of course. The one that already leads you by the nose? »

"You take a lot of liberties for someone who hit me without warning."

"And you still don't deny it."

I gave up. From our first night at Briana's, I knew that some of that dynamic was taking the pressure off me. I kept preparing, weighing the pros and cons, and deciding when it was necessary, but with Aria, I could let a decision slip through my fingers without wanting to regret it immediately. Opaline's advice gave me a practical reason to go further. And this reason suited me far too well.

"Then talk to him."

The idea seemed more difficult to me than the fight itself.

"Tell him what? ' Good news, maybe my power will work better if people think I'm insignificant, so would you mind taking my place?' »

"If that's really all you're going to give him, then no."

"What do you mean?"

"Instead, ask yourself what you're really willing to give him. The rest is none of my business."

We continued for a few meters without speaking.

This is precisely where the problem began. Giving Aria the appearance of leadership to deceive an opponent would not have changed anything between us. On the other hand, really entrusting her with this role implied accepting that she could make certain decisions without me having to decide afterwards.

This idea should have bothered me more. Strangely, this was not the case.

Opaline glanced at me, as if waiting to see how much longer I was going to look for an excuse.

"I don't even know how to tell him."

"It's not my problem."

"You are a great help until the end."

"I have already been used as a guinea pig. I will not write your statement. »

"This is clearly not a statement."

"Of course. If you say so. »

The amusement in her voice was enough to understand that she was laughing at me.

We arrived at the entrance of Dolmaryth. The first lights of the camp finally appeared, orange on the rock, soon joined by the voices of Kellan and Silas.

Aria hadn't come back yet. I knew she was with Taron and Milo, both of whom were perfectly capable of defending themselves. This did not prevent me from listening to the slightest noise coming from the other galleries.

I could continue to make decisions when necessary without having to assume all the consequences.

And if I really had to let someone occupy a part of that place, I already knew who made the idea the least difficult to accept.

Aria would eventually win her little game without even having to ask.

The smell of burnt wood gradually replaced that of damp rock when we reached the camp. Kellan and Silas were already seated by the fire, Silas' bag open between them and several objects laid out in front of their legs.

"You're still alive. That's good," Kellan said.

"You too."

I put my things down. Silas approached me, passing from Opaline to me, with an expression far too curious.

"You seem to have had an interesting conversation."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you have a funny face and it looks like someone who has just won a bet."

Opaline went to sit on the other side of the fire without giving him the slightest explanation.

Several deep blue crystals were laid out in front of Kellan, as well as an old mask with two circular filters.

"What is the mask?"

"A gas mask," Silas replied with the satisfaction of one who has just made a great deal. "Well, I guess. It looks like a collector's item like you find in the flea markets in my village. It filters stale air. »

"Useful against spores," Kellan noted.

"Very effective against spores and gases," confirms Silas. "And crystals can strengthen weapons. Opaline explained it to us. »

She picked up one of the crystals to show us its structure.

"When faced with creatures like golems, an ordinary blade eventually breaks. Encrusted in the metal, this crystal absorbs some of the impact before it reaches the weapon's structure. »

Kellan turned one of the crystals over between his fingers, already convinced of their usefulness even if he didn't seem ready to say it yet.

"What about you? What did you find? He demanded.

"Some resources. And information. »

"What kind of information?"

I gave Opaline time to intervene. She did not do so.

"I don't want to explain anything until everyone returns."

"So you don't have anything to report," Silas concludes as he brings the crystals back to him.

"You found a gas mask, Silas. I think you're doing very well. »

"Thank you for finally admitting it."

Kellan hid a smile behind his hand as Silas began to fiddle with the shoulder strap of his bag again. Then he returns to the crystals, and Opaline stands in front of the tunnel.

I stayed near the camp, busy looking for a formulation that never satisfied me.

The name White Knight always seemed absurd to me, but the impact of my fist on Opaline had been very real. I could expect a certainty that no one could give me, or start with what I already knew.

The hardest part would be to tell Aria.

I realized that my passive speech was far too simplistic. The idea that Opaline thought I should let you run was even worse. Aria might think that I was giving her this position only out of self-interest. And I didn't want that. If I were to give her such an important responsibility, I wanted her to at least understand that it wasn't a default choice.

"Casimir."

Kellan's voice led me back to the tunnel. He had been watching me for an indeterminate time.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Excuse me, I was thinking. »

"About what exactly?"

"How to formulate something."

"To whom?"

I didn't answer. It wasn't even that I wanted to hide it from her. I just hadn't found a single sentence yet that didn't sound like an excuse or something I wasn't ready to say yet.

Kellan looked at me for a moment longer.

"I see."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"Exactly."

I exhaled through my nose. It is difficult to prove to him that he has a crime. A few days earlier, he himself had beaten around the bush for a long time about what he wanted to tell me about his sister. He must have realized the problem.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Silas, not completely letting go of his bag.

"Nothing," Kellan replied.

"You have a way of saying 'nothing' that clearly means 'something.'"

"Silas."

"What?"

"Take care of your crystals."

Silas mumbled something about the fact that no one had ever told him anything, then plunged back into his bag with the air of someone counting his belongings to keep busy. He does not insist. Perhaps the most disturbing thing was that, even he felt that it was not the time.

Footsteps echoed through the north tunnel. Three silhouettes emerge in the light. Aria arrives first. She will quickly check who is around the fire, then her gaze stops on me. His shoulders barely relax. It was only then that I realized that I was holding my breath.

"You came home before us," she says as she settles down by the fire.

"We're not hanging around," Silas said.

Milo arrives behind her with the energy of someone who had just gone through too many trials at once and who felt absolutely obliged to tell them.

"Aria landed a one-handed shot that would have made any Teronide jealous. I almost applauded right away, but I didn't have my hands free. »

"I had both hands free," Aria said calmly.

"It's true," Milo admits. "But it was still impressive. A high switch, a single arrow, in the half-light, and boom. Perfect. »

"Taron told me to aim where the glow was strongest," Aria says. "It's not an achievement."

"That's exactly what a feat means," Milo retorted.

Taron arrives last and takes his seat by the fire without commenting on the story. The mere fact that he didn't contradict Milo was almost enough to prove him right.

Kellan then moves closer to the crystals so that Aria can see them.

"Did you see what we found?"

Aria took one between her fingers and slowly turned it in the light.

"Opaline explained to me how transformers into weapons," Kellan continues. "This should be useful against golems."

He rolled one of the crystals between his fingers, holding it in the light of our lanterns as if he were still trying to understand by what miracle a stone could be worth more than a blade.

"What about the mask?" asked Milo.

"Against spores," Silas replied. "Just in case."

"Wow. Extremely useful," Milo said in a perfectly mocking tone.

"I know."

Silas had said it without lever, with the eyes of his bag, with the quiet satisfaction of one who has just received a compliment. Milo opens his mouth, looks for an answer, then gives up. After two months, he should have known that you never win against someone who refuses to understand irony on principle.

Opaline follows the conversation with discreet curiosity. Our incessant interruptions seemed to amuse her more than she wanted to show.

Then I met Aria's eyes. She had that softer expression that she didn't often show, and that barely faded when our eyes met.

"Do you have any news to share?" she asked.

The conversations stopped. This time, I had everyone's attention, including Aria.

I took a deep breath. From the gallery, I postpone this moment by pretending to look for the right words. Now that Aria was back, that excuse didn't hold up anymore.

"Yes," I said. "I have news. But first, let's go over what you've found. »

"Great. So we'll be able to repeat what we already know," Silas sighed.

"At least he has information," Kellan observed.

"There's no point," Silas whispered.

"Silas."

"What?"

"Take care of your crystals."

Silas stared at him before returning to his bag. Next to him, Kellan choked up with a laugh that he almost managed to stifle.

Aria suddenly focuses on the crystals, unable to hide her amusement.

I looked down at the fire. In an hour, maybe less, I should have to find a moment alone with Aria.

I still had no idea what the first sentence would be.