53 His Truths Are Many (2/2)

”…What do I think of them, Ka'an? They're nothing special aside from a couple of little bugs that can easily be squashed. You should focus on more pressing matters, such as your training instead.”

A sleek, almost transparent spear made of Anima flew past Reed's head and struck the ground with a deafening boom a couple of seconds later. It had, in fact, grazed so close to Reed that even cut several strands of his hair in the process.

…!!! Shit, shit, shit! That was way too close!! A-Ah, she's even tougher than Violett when it comes to teaching!

”This is child's play, boy. In a literal sense. We'd train younglings to rely on their hidden eye instead of their physical senses like this in the past,” said Lacrima. ”Some enemies might use Anima to interfere with your body's senses, which is why it is crucial to master using your hidden eye before we move onto anything more advanced.”

Reed stood in a circle made of Anima that acted as a perimeter for him, one that he could not leave. The goal of the training session was for him to rely purely on his hidden eye, the ability to sense and detect Anima. He was to block or parry the attacks that'd strike him by redirecting them away from him.

Four invisible blades of Anima shot towards Reed from completely different directions. One flew at him from the front and another shot at him from the left. The third one came from the right. The remaining one silently flew as close to the ground as possible as it came in from the back like a snake. They flew at different speeds and possessed different amounts of Anima, making each one distinct from the others.

The first three were a bit of a pain to detect but weren't that hard to deal with. Reed quickly pushed them away by subtly changing their directions before they arrived. It was the fourth one that'd caught him unawares. By the time he realized that the fourth blade existed, it was already too late for him to push it off course. It'd take no more than a second or two for it to strike him.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Reed gazed at the blade fly towards its target. It was much thinner than the previous blades and had an extremely faint aura, as if it were but a wisp of Anima shaped into a blade. This was an assassin's blade, no doubt. He was lucky that it'd only been aimed at his legs, and not his heart or any other vital organs. He was positive that a swift and silent death awaited those who were kissed by this blade, presumably in dark alley or street.

He'd been had. The blade was moving way too fast for him to catch at the moment. Re-directing would take too long, and it'd strike him long before he could even start moving it. Forming an aegis would take far too long as well, so he wouldn't be able to defend himself either. The only left to do was brace himself and accept the blow. It was his loss.

Reed closed his eyes and grit his teeth in preparation because he knew it was going to hurt like hell.

”...”

”...”

”...…?”

He still had not been struck. Something was wrong. Where was the pain?

Reed opened his eyes and found that everything had become frozen. The blade was supposed to have struck him remained frozen in place, less than an inch away from his back legs. Lu'um had a disappointed expression on her face as she stood there like a statue. Even Lacrima remained silent and would not respond no matter how much he called out for her.

”…Don't worry about them, Reed. They'll be fine, I promise.”

Reed jumped up in shock when he heard the solemn voice speak and turned towards it in apprehension. Only God itself knew what sort of being could stop time at will in such a ridiculous manner.

A tall, hooded figure stood not too far away in the bleak world as he gazed at Reed like a spirit. He couldn't detect any Anima within him or around him either. Not even a life-source, or even a heartbeat. He was dead. That's what his senses were telling him, but he was still alive… well, alive enough to speak and stop time itself.

Reed knew that fighting the figure was hopeless, so he'd have to play it cool and said, ”What do you want from me, ghost? Let me just say this: I don't know what you want, but I probably don't have it.”

The hooded figure bitterly chuckled and said, ”I'm not here to take, but to give, Reed. To give you what you'll need to survive, for both our sakes. Listen to my words and accept my small truth.”

As soon as he uttered the word 'truth', it began. Like fingernails on a chalkboard or the screeches of a banshee, it came with a horrifying sensation. The truth scarred itself into Reed's head until it was done.

Not a single soul would ever hear Reed's demented screams of horror as knowledge from a different time and place entered his mind. And that was likely for the best…

Eventually, the damned process was done and Reed was released from his torment. The hooded figure said, ”That was but a section of truth, and not the whole of it. There is still much for you to remember in order to fulfill our promise, mind you. Seek as much power as you can afford and beware of the lurking devil in this birdcage you live in. You cannot defeat as you are now… unless you use her heart to purge it. Even then…”

”Well, we'll save this conversation for another time and another place since I can no longer hold this connection open. Farewell, Reed…”

The ghost vanished into dust as Reed struggled to keep himself standing. The world seemed to tremble and groan in protest as Reed cradled his head in pain…

And then, a faint urge formed inside of him, as if he was being compelled to saying something.

And then, whispers spoke to him, telling him to speak the words stuck in his mouth.

And then, the words he had bottled up in head found their way out.