Chapter 103: Two Days Of Experimentation (3)
Cyrus' eyes fluttered open once more, stretching as he stood up from his spot in the middle of the dueling arena. He hooked his mask and sword to his belt once more, before taking a step forward and almost falling flat on his face.
"It seems that this training of mine took longer than expected. Or perhaps it was more intense than estimated, or a mix of both" pondered Cyrus as he used a quick Vita spell to temporarily alleviate his weakness, although this was a stop gap measure at best as his body clearly hungered for sustenance.
Exiting the lower level, he climbed the stairs up towards his room and went in quickly to change. Out he walked, now wearing the signature black robes of both Glacies and his Quintus badge pinned on his chest.
"About time you emerged from your…whatever you were doing in there. 'You can find me in the lower floor', hah, we may have found you but not reach you" said a sneering voice from behind him, which was none other than Minerva's.
Turning around Cyrus greeted her warmly,
"Good afternoon to you too Minerva!" began he, as he had checked the time in his room ,"Thank you for worrying about me so, but have no fear as I was simply trying out a new training method I thought of for myself."
"Oh…you are in this…'mood' today. Do you change every other day now?" said Minerva, easily avoiding what Cyrus had implied.
This was noticed, but the current considerate Cyrus did not mind letting it go.
"For a time, but I feel as if I will remain in my current state for awhile longer. I was urged to pay a bit more attention to you though, so pardon if anything comes up" said Cyrus.
"Told? Do your two personalities…communicate?" asked Minerva
"Well… now that we are true allies, both in sharing our woes and having gone through life or death situations…one of each of our own creations mind you but I digress; what is truly important is that I do not mind sharing a bit of the things I would prefer to not speak of to others, so in truth the answer to your question is essentially yes" replied Cyrus rather long windedly, having accidentally revealed a bit too much but decided mid speech to roll with it.
Minerva had a contemplative look on her face for a moment then she looked at him with slight pity perhaps directed towards the both of them before saying,
"I suppose you are right. I do think you as quite strange though, I mean who wouldn't. One moment you are as cold as ice, completely driven by interest and curiosity and can easily peer into anyone's inner most well kept secrets…then the other is an all compassionate and all encompassing softy who does the most reckless things to gain the trust of others" said Minerva whilst holding her head slightly.
"I may not accept you fully yet, as I have an inherent rejection of others" began Minerva.
"Especially men" said Cyrus abruptly which caused Minerva to lock up for a moment in surprise.
"Sorry, I was ah…compelled to say that?" said Cyrus sheepishly to the frozen Minerva, wondering if deepening the level each half could affect the other was truly a good thing after all.
Seeing that she was still frozen in shock, no doubt at the apt read, Cyrus said completely seriously,
"Should I give you my sword again?"
This unfroze her as she recalled the previous event,
"No…that is not necessary. I will admit it, you are correct. But that is all I wish to speak of the topic, perhaps one day more can be said but not today" said Minerva with some difficulty.
"That is no problem at all, I am sure the day will come we will be true allies and friends in all the sense of the words" said Cyrus, full of optimism.
"Perhaps, but what about Imran? Have you not focused a bit too much on me, perhaps you are starved for the fairer sex?" asked Minerva, her tone dead serious.
Cyrus laughed a bit before controlling himself,
"Both halves of the whole that make up me are both guided mainly by interest. Everything else seems to fade somewhat in comparison, it is hard to explain but essentially the world is split into two parts for me: that which is interesting and that which is not. As my other half had said, I simply find you the most interesting at the moment. I will admit though, you being a beautiful girl does help, but it is not my main motivator. In fact I will be putting some time into Imran soon, although I feel like that could perhaps be more difficult that even crossing the icy bridge that is you" ended Cyrus with a playful smirk.
"Good then, I think?" started Minerva as she absorbed all that Cyrus had said.
"Whatever" said Minerva as she fully understood everything that was said, her cheeks reddening so little that perhaps only one with Cyrus' abnormal eye could spot, "So long as you plan to do it there is no problem. Especially since we are now both stuck on board your carriage for the rest of our stay at the Academy" said Minerva as she displayed the ring on her pinkie finger.
"When me and Imran left this morning we were greeted by some staff from the contracts department, they informed us that the Fidem Directives we had all collected were deposited already…except our account is shared with you having executive spending power" explained Minerva.
"I suppose that complicates things ever so slightly, but seeing as we are now the best of friends I am sure we can work things out!" said Cyrus hopefully.
"Hah, no. Imran was not too enthused with it, as it is in his nature to be in control of his own finances. But he said he would leave the decision to me in the end" said Minerva.
"What decision?" asked Cyrus uneasily, although he already knew what was coming.
"Whether to agree with it, and if we should…depose you from the position if not" said Minerva grimly.
Cyrus gulped a bit as the memories of his fight with Minerva surfaced, not wanting to have to be in the coach's seat if that were to play out again, and said
"Ah but we are…best- on friendly terms now, right?" asked Cyrus somewhat anxious.
"I don't know, are we?��� asked Minerva in a teasing tone.
"Of course we are! Let us discuss such deep friendship over a meal as I am about to pass out quite frankly" said Cyrus, as he wobbled a bit and cast another Vita spell on himself.
"Oh…you do look quite terrible" said Minerva as she leaned in a bit to inspect his features. "Let us be off then" finished Minerva as she took the lead towards the door and up the stairs once more.
"By the way, where is Imran anyways. I do not recall there being any kind of event today" wondered Cyrus aloud as the two scaled the stairs up to the outside world.
"He is not one to sit and train unless one forces him to do so. Right now he should be out networking with some students that show promise in dropping out so he can recruit them for his family business" responded Minerva plainly.
"Wow, quite dedicated. Also a bit harsh, but a realistic take. Only those who do not make it to the top or near the top would be willing to settle down and work for a mundane business not associated with the Tower or some other grand faction" thought Cyrus as the two climbed the stairs.
Eventually they reached the final door barring them from the outside world and with a simple opening of said door the world at large was fully revealed.
The day was at its highest peak, high noon. The weather was gentle and warm, far different than anything Cyrus was normally used to, but he had begun to grow accustomed to it the more time he spent north of the border with the wasteland.
Sighing lightly as realization dawned upon him once more, that this was now his new homeland, he continued to follow Minerva towards the mess hall.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone