Episode 8 – Rebirth (2/2)
Son of a… ! Kiel's jaw dropped How the… wha… ?!
He quickly pushed hiet up hastily However, his body seemed new to hi slipped on the soft mound of dirt and he fell back down, into the same position that he was in before
Aard Kiel couldn't remember the last time he felt so aard Luckily, Elaru's eyes were closed and she didn't have any reaction to his blunder, which made him feel a bit better
He was so very glad that they were alone in the clearing because this predica and it would certainly be misunderstood
Their hands were touching when they were casting the spell, so they weren't that far apart Their legs probably gave out after the spell Heher doith him
Even though he could feel she was alive just as surely as he could tell he was alive, he still checked to see if she was breathing
Unlike his breathing just awas even and deep Her eyes were still closed, most of her face was pale, other than a faint blush on her cheeks Kiel would have thought it to be embarrassment if it weren't for the fact that he felt no trace of embarrassment in her aura
Was she not feeling well? He could tell that she wasn't unconscious On the contrary, she was fully aware of her surroundings He could feel her Mind spreading around him like a blanket
She could have pushed him off That's what he would do in her place Perhaps her body was even worse off than his? Maybe she felt a weakness in her limbs?
He noticed the cold sweat on her face and connected the dots Cold sweat, pale face, feverish blush Nausea? Or perhaps she was hurt when she fell back?
Wait Kiel was just about to push hiht, giving hioosebumps I can sense her Mind?!
A ' and often in literature, writers use the former instead of the latter The only ti to it as 'the Mind' is when talking about the metaphysical projection of a creature's consciousness Every person's consciousness spreads itself and creates a flexible and fluid projection - the Mind The Mind is rooted to the center of a person's body, but it can stretch and bend according to the user's will It was exactly this projection that gave theic It was the Mind that allowed thes, and feel the intent and e the aura
However, nocapability of the Mind, a Mind could not perceive other Minds It is as though each Mind was on a separate wavelength, as if each Mind was a realm of its own in which no other Mind could intrude
Even if twoaround each other, or even standing at the exact same spot, they would not be able to sense each other
Yet, Kiel could clearly sense Elaru's Mind
His face paled
Elaru took thisKiel that he had yet to get up from on top of her - she reached towards his belt
Kiel's heart skipped a beat
What was she doing?! Endless possibilities went through his ood
He pushed hi position next to her
Looking back at her with a startled and aard gaze, he noticed her hands were holding his water bottle
Kiel ? Of course, she was after his water bottle that was hooked on his belt
A few flicks of her fingers and gust of wind seemed to enter the bottle When she returned it to him, it was full of water She had just Morphed the air into the bottle,basically changed the 'shape' of the air with trans the bottle with air denser than as originally inside the bottle Then she transmuted the air inside of the bottle into water
Kiel let out a tired laugh
It took an Aetherneal Bond for her to finally notice his thirst
Usually, he would refuse help because he didn't like receiving anything from others But this time, he was too thirsty and too mentally exhausted to care
He nodded briefly to say 'thanks' before he gulped down the water like he hadn't drunk anything in days The water was fresh, tasty and cold
Her body was coping with the lack of water ht thirst, yet it paled in comparison to his
Kiel noticed how she always h ic was cast with the mind and movement of the body had very little iestures while casting ic that way and visualizing e could iic was easier to weave while perfores started out by ic spells to a particular action
One could even tell things about the e from their movements assassins and Spies didn't perfore their intent, while warlocks took the gestures to entirely different level to entertain the audience or 'look cool'
Kiel perforestures every once in awhile as well Often while weaving estures were not over the top, they were graceful and quick, but they aler on it, but there was soe about them As if his mind detected an ano
He shook the thoughts out of his head, it wasn't i intangible to her character
Kiel looked up into the burning sun He felt refreshed by the coldness of the water and he let out a long sigh
Suddenly, a shadow obscured his line of sight Elaru had gotten up froht She was looking at the sun too, probably deter the ti stray leaves that got stuck in her hair She looked ruffled, her hair tangled like she had been rolling on the forest floor
Her face looked bright She leefully He wouldn't have been able to hear it before the bond, but now, he ed to pick up several words:”So… works… even for me… ”
Elaru inhaled the fresh forest air and turned towards hirin She looked excited, thrilled at what they had done She lowered her body towards him and offered her hand to help him up
”Welcome to the secret world of Aethernea, my soulbound mate!” She exclaimed without a hint of hesitation or doubt in her voice To her, this was a splendid day
Her hair washer a brilliant glow, litterdustKiel felt a sense of déjà-vu again; this was the second time she had offered her hand to him, and the second time that he refused to take it He wondered if this would be the last time she would extend her hand towards him
Kiel sighed in resignation and got up on his own There was no point in crying over spilled ; he was an adaptive person, he could handle everything and anything! He'd make the best of his current predicament
His internal encouragingwas interrupted by Elaru's sudden movement She stepped towards him and reached for his face
He froze, unsure of her intentions Was there so on his face?
In a quick and fluid gesture, she brought her face up to his
Kiel alaped in shock, she didn't intend to kiss him, did she?! She mentioned that she wasn't romantically interested in him! Was that a lie? He would have pushed her away quickly, just like every other girl that tried to kiss him before, but it happened too suddenly
His pupils dilated, tih to react He could only watch in horror as her face ca every beautiful detail of her enchanting eyes, catching a whisk of a pleasant smell that was similar to cinnamon
She closed her eyes, parted her lips…
and pressed her forehead to his
Vividhim stumble back in shock
She had sohts to him She had shown him her own h the eyes of an Aethernea holder
It was indescribable
He could have never irand of a spell it actually was Not even the incredible dance of light that he had witnessed caht shoas iant fire He would have never kno majestic and complicated of a spell it really was It was a spell that not even he would be able to weave, even if he kne and had the mana to do it
It was truly so out of this world
It was divine
Aetherneal
Froain looked the same to Kiel
Deep inside of hih Elaru's eyes
Kiel ht hand towards his face to wipe off the sweat that had forht His hand froze midair
”Wayvin… what is this?” Kiel stared at the black ht arm It was on the inner side of his wrist It looked very sis, they had the same style
”Ah!” She sloves to show hinored her words and concentrated on her arms
Unlike hiht wrist However, her left ars as before Kiel looked at his own s she had on her left hand
”That is the n of our contract” She explained ”You can think of it as a seed left by the Aetherneal bond”
”A seed?” Kiel gazed into her eyes questioningly
”The Aethernal bond activated sorow as our bond grows stronger The rowth of the bond”
Kiel frowned ”The spell can grow and evolve?” Kiel had never heard of a spell that could grow and evolve Growth and evolution were traits of living things And spells weren't alive They weren't Right?
”That's a good thing As the bond gains power, so e Growth isn't so that is dangerous You wouldn't want that to happen”