章 187: Chapter 186
[Third Person's PoV]
Cid twirled his wooden sword with a teasing smile, "Why don't I teach you a bit since it looks like you could really use the help."
Akane grinned back, her competitive spirit shining through. "Is that what we're doing now? I didn't take you for the trash-talker type."
Cid chuckled. "We only met yesterday. There's a lot you haven't figured out about me yet. How about this: I'll even throw in some magic lessons for good measure."
Akane's smile softened. "As long as it isn't too much trouble, I'm always willing to learn something new."
Meanwhile, Zeta watched the exchange with a blank stare, her thoughts hidden behind her calm demeanor. *"Master, are you perhaps interested in her?"*
*"I would be lying if I said I wasn't. She has this innocent charm that I find kinda cute."* Cid admitted, his cheeks reddening slightly as he coughed to hide his embarrassment.
Zeta continued to stare at Cid, her expression unreadable, but her thoughts were clear. *'Cute...' * she mused, smiling slightly. *'Whatever Master desires shall be his, and it's my job as his most loyal follower and wife to help him.'*
Cid, attempting to shake off his embarrassment, focused back on Akane. "So, shall we get started?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
As they began, Cid guided Akane through her stances, correcting her form with gentle adjustments. He stood close beside her, lifting her arms slightly and gripping her wrists to demonstrate the optimal way to hold the sword. As he explained, Akane found herself studying his face, noting the uncanny resemblance.
'He really does look like Minoru…' she thought, lost in memories.
"Hello?" Cid waved his hand in front of her face, snapping her back to the present.
"Huh? What?" Akane blinked, shaking herself out of her daze.
Cid looked at her with a straight expression. "Repeat what I just said."
"Um…" Akane's face flushed with embarrassment. "I—I wasn't listening…" she admitted, shrinking back slightly.
"You don't say…" Cid responded, his tone flat.
Akane looked down, pressing her index fingers together nervously. "I'm sorry… I got distracted and lost focus."
"Uh-huh…" Cid replied, still staring at her with a straight face. "I know I'm, like, really handsome and my good looks are a distraction, but you'll need to push through and build some resistance to my charm if you want to learn."
"No! That wasn't it! I swear!" Akane protested, her embarrassment deepening. "You just really remind me of Minoru!"
Cid looked at her, confused, then glanced at Zeta. "Uh, thanks? I like to think I look like myself as well."
Akane laughed and waved her hands, trying to explain. "No, no, hehe, you don't understand. I used to have this friend?… that also went by the same name as you."
"Are you asking us? How am I supposed to know if you two were friends?"
"No, it's just… I really don't know what to call the relationship we once had. We were classmates, but he… unfortunately died right before our world was turned upside down…"
Zeta joined the conversation, her tone probing, "You sound saddened by his death, even though you said you didn't know if you were really friends…"
Akane nodded slowly. "I was distraught by his death. I owed him my life. And since he died, I wasn't able to pay him back for the good he'd done for me… Sorry, I feel like I'm oversharing a bit…"
"No, no, continue to share," Cid encouraged with a reassuring smile. "It'll be good to get everything out of your head so you're not distracted when you practice. I don't mind listening."
"So, he once saved your life?" Zeta asked.
Akane nodded again. "I'm kinda prone to getting kidnapped, and during my high school days, I ended up… kidnapped, killed, and… other stuff. He swooped in from the ceiling that day in this silly outfit and knocked all of them out. Although he was covering his face, I just knew it was him."
"It wasn't silly; it was cool," Cid muttered under his breath.
"Hm?" Akane asked, not quite catching his words.
"I said, are you sure you're not just upset that you couldn't repay him for saving your life? Is that why you're sad about his passing?" Cid asked curiously.
Akane could tell from his tone that Cid meant no harm, and she considered his question seriously. "Maybe… but I think I was more sad about the missed opportunity of not getting to know him better before he passed. He was kind of aloof, like everything around him was a means to an end. I wish I could have known him better. I don't know why, but I think we would have been good friends… although that could just be wishful thinking."
Cid turned slightly away, his face growing redder. Zeta, noticing this, leaned to the side to get a better look at him and was surprised to see his embarrassment.
'This is so fucking embarrassing…' Cid thought to himself, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he tried to maintain his composure.
"Although—" Akane suddenly added, drawing Cid's attention back to her, "we also met when we were little. He was a musical genius and was invited to play for my family at my birthday party. It was truly beautiful… Honestly, watching and hearing him play is one of my favorite childhood memories."
Cid listened intently, the memory tugging at something familiar within him, though he kept his face neutral.
"I think that's one of the reasons I believe we could have been good friends," Akane continued. "He didn't care about my status. Ah, you see, my family was pretty influential, and I was a famous actor, but he didn't care… He didn't care about any of that… He didn't even care to the point that he kept getting my name wrong, that bastard," Akane muttered, turning to the side and muttering a curse under her breath.
Zeta glanced at Cid, who had an amused expression, his thoughts reflecting on the memory. *'Her reaction to me getting her name wrong was a highlight of my day. It was quite funny; she tried so hard to hide her annoyance behind that kind smile…'*
*'That's just bullying…'* Zeta remarked, shaking her head slightly, though she couldn't help but feel a bit of affection for her master's mischievous nature.
Akane shook her head to orient her thoughts, she then got closer to Cid, "Honestly I'm truly surprised that you two have the same name, not to mention how you look alike, it's almost uncanny" She said narrowing her eyes.
"Phtt, I'm probably better looking" Cid waved her off.
Akane couldn't help but chuckle hearing that, "Although the two of you act nothing alike, so I guess there's that"
章 188: Chapter 187
[Cid's pov]
Akane was on the ground, gasping for air, trying to catch her breath. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and her katana lay in her hand as she struggled to push herself back up.
"Do you have to be so harsh with training? I can barely feel my arms, and I feel like I'm going to collapse any second now," she whined, her voice strained from exhaustion.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her constant complaints. "Man up, will you?"
"YOU MAN UP!" she retorted with a huff, her frustration clearly getting the better of her as her hair, now disheveled, covered most of her face.
"If you have the energy to yell, you have the energy to practice," I shot back, not letting her off the hook.
"You're no worse than those monsters," she muttered harshly, still trying to regain her composure.
"Now, come on. Criss-cross applesauce. When your magic is low, it's the best time to practice your control over it," I advised, drawing on my years of expertise with magic and teaching others.
After venting her frustration, Akane finally did as she was told, laying her katana in its sheath and placing it on her lap. She closed her eyes, her expression shifting to one of concentration as she began to move her mana inside her body, just as I had instructed.
Her magical aura began to seep out from her, but she quickly pulled it back in, realizing just how much mana she had been wasting with her previous magic usage. Watching her practice so diligently reminded me of my own journey with magic. I had stopped trying to make my mana stronger after creating my Black Heart Generator, thinking I had reached the pinnacle. Instead, I focused on mastering spells and wielding the elements I controlled: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Sound, Gravity, Lightning, Ice, Darkness, Light, and even Death and Life…
But now, as I watched her, I couldn't help but feel hypocritical. For someone who preached about surpassing the pinnacle, I had settled too easily.
"Zeta, keep an eye on her. When she's done, it'll be your turn to teach her," I instructed Zeta, who was softly practicing her movements nearby.
Zeta looked at me and gave a thumbs-up.
I stepped away from them, sitting down cross-legged, and entered a meditative trance to study my Black Heart. I watched as it pulsed with magic, softly beating out mana, ready for me to use at my disposal.
*Hold up… damn it, why didn't I think about this before?* I knew the answer to that—it was because of how Celeste was born… I missed her already, but I couldn't get sidetracked.
I had based my mana core off a concept from the novel *The Beginning After the End,* and it had worked just as intended, just like in the story. In the novel, after mana came a higher form of power: Aether.
I searched through my memory of the novel, recalling the part about Aether. Mana is like a liquid in a cup, changing to fit any shape, always in motion and flexible. In this metaphor, Aether is the cup itself, rigid, immutable, and without much strength. It is solid and will never change without some external force.
Three distinct branches of Aether were initially believed to exist: vivum (existence), aevum (time), and spatium (space).
I activated my dragon eyes, allowing me to see magic in its entirety with heightened clarity. I focused all my senses—my vision, my Observation Haki, and even my awareness of my own existence—on my Black Heart. Mana and Aether are so closely intertwined that distinguishing between them was a challenge.
When my mana core evolved from the White core stage and merged with my Black Heart, it didn't just become a generator for mana; it also started producing Aether. I realized that to wield Aether, I needed to turn it into runes, much like the God Runes described in the novel *The Beginning After the End.* But creating these runes would require more than just willpower; an external force was necessary. That's when it hit me—I could use Ruler's Authority to guide and shape the Aether.
To begin, I decided to focus on one branch of Aether, the one I believed to be the easiest to manipulate: Spatium, or Space.
For the next hour, I practiced, hearing the distant clashes of swords but ignoring them to maintain my concentration. I delved deep into the process, using my advanced Observation Haki to foresee and avoid any missteps that could ruin my efforts. After three hours of relentless focus, I finally achieved the result I was aiming for.
I used Ruler's Authority to gather the Spatium Aether, forming a protective mana shield in my hands. Inside the shield, small symbols began to take shape, forming runes. Crafting these runes was like creating magic circles—something I was already well-versed in. However, the process was time-consuming and energy-intensive, and I hoped it would become easier with practice.
With the protective barrier in my hands, I brought it close to my shoulder. As soon as it made contact with my skin, I felt a sensation akin to getting a tattoo. Black and purple lines began to form two triangles over my shoulders—one upright and the other upside down, both occupying the same space. As the lines melded into my skin, they disappeared, leaving behind a subtle, lingering connection.
I activated that connection, and the triangles reappeared, forming intricate patterns that spread down my arm. Extending my hand, I watched as the space around me began to distort slightly, a sign that the rune was working as intended.
I decided to name this particular God Rune: **Distortion**.
With Distortion, I could create a safe space around us where everything that happened inside wouldn't be visible from the outside, and nothing inside could affect the outside world. It was almost like having control over a miniature mirror dimension.
Satisfied with the results, I knew this was only the beginning. The more I practiced, the more God Runes I could create, each unlocking new possibilities. But for now, I had Distortion—my first step into mastering the true power of Aether.
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I know it's short, deal with it
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