บท 85: Anomaly
"The Abyss is quite the tricky terrain, but I'll teach you how to travel through it." Skirk started.
"Is this necessary?" Ajax yawned
"Yes!" Skirk shut him up "At first look, the Abyss could seem to be chaotic, but once you get used to it, you will learn that it has its own laws and elements" Skirk explained "As it is said, even in the disorder there's order."
"If you know enough of it, even manipulating the space within it is possible" Skirk waved her hand creating five portals, passing through one of them and leaving through another.
"So, it's possible to go wherever one wanted?" Allen asked.
"You can go wherever but you are unable to choose the destination." Skirk answered "These portals are simply manifestations forceful opened with Abyss element, but the space within them is always changing" Skirk passed through the same portal, but this time she came through a different one.
"If I could really control it, I'll take you directly outside" Skirk commented "You only can observe the changes in the space and choose when to go through it."
"But isn't it possible to directly leave the Abyss to Teyvat like the Abyss Order?" Allen asked remembering the game scene with the Abyss Herald trying to escape through a portal that he thought it was to the Abyss.
"You have seen one of them doing it?" Skirk blinked in surprise "Seeing that you are alive, you were quite lucky, keep it as a secret and better not tell anyone the place."
"Why?" Allen asked unsure.
"Connecting the space inside the same layer is easy as it's constantly connecting by itself, however, connecting it through layers is rare, even rarer if it's over Teyvar as it means there's a gap." Skirk explained "Over Teyvat there must be few places where it can happen, and even fewer of the Abyss Order being aware of it, plus they need to wait until a random time, making the scope of coming there quite narrow."
"Aren't they able to come and go whenever they want?" Allen asked.
"Of course not" Skirk denied "Let's explain it like this" Skirk created a thin thread over her hands "Consider this thread as the space of the abyss, the end and the start being the same place." Skirk took out a crystal ball and put the thread inside of it and started swinging it, the thread moving over it "The space of the Abyss is like this, but of course a little slower."
"If the ball is the Abyss and the outside is Teyvat, it's impossible to pass through it unless some fissure it's created" She puncture the ball, creating a thin hole "What's the probability of the thread to touch that hole and the place where you are?"
"Almost impossible" Allen asnwer.
"Exactly. There's not many holes between layers, that's why the Abyss Order once they discover one they try to take control of it, as is easier from there to create a way inside the Abyss, even if it were a random place and from them try to invoke more troops before the connection is lost."
"That's very inefficient." Allen deducted.
"Exactly." Skirk nodded "And is thanks to this that the Abyss Order is not quite active nowadays. And that's why if you discover one of these holes, you should avoid them as the Abyss Order would be quite vigilant of them."
"Any more questions?" Skirk asked and Ajax lifted his hand. "Yes?"
"This is getting boring. Can we fight now?" Ajax asked with bright eyes.
"No!" Skirk cut him "I don't expect for you to be able to discern the destination as it would require too much time, but I want for you to be able to discover when there is a change, being able to detect them and avoid them."
Skirk turned over the 5 portals "You will practice with this, stay in front of one while I twist over them. Try to discover at what time is connected with another and cross over it."
"This is not exactly what you told was impossible?" Allen asked "What probability is of them to connect between each? Wouldn't we end in another place?"
"Normally yes, but I created this area, so it can be considered another layer, so unless I want, it should be impossible to be connected from the outside, being impossible to leave or enter it." She gazed at the boys "But rarely there are exemptions. Anyway..." She turned again "forget about these exemptions and practice. Going through them would help you if the worst happens and you are swallowed to another place."
Allen and Ajax stepped forward, each in front of one portal.
"Cross it when you feel it connected." Skirk said and Ajax directly stepped forward it, passing through the portal as if it wasn't there, clearly not being connected.
"This boy" Skirk sighed and shook her head. Skirk knew it, it wasn't that he couldn't detect it, it was that he wasn't even trying it, his mind still thinking about fighting, his objective being quickly beating Allen.
'At least Allen seems capable. It would be a good leash for Ajax' Skirk thought looking at Allen's gaze fixed in front of him.
Allen could feel the power of the Abyss through the portal incredibly precise, seeing every change of it until finally he saw a change, a disturbance in it 'Now!' Allen stepped forward.
'He is good' Skirk smiled seeing Allen stepping forward, however, to her surprise, Allen passed through it like nothing.
"What the meaning of this?" Skirk approached Allen.
"It seems like I failed" Allen lamented.
"No, no, no. They were connected. Let's try it again!" Skirk made the portals disappear, only leaving two of them. "Cross it!"
Allen stepped forward and like the previous time, passed through it like nothing. "So that explains it..." Skirk realized.
"What explains?" Allen asked.
"How you reached this place." Skirk stated "Ajax found one of those "holes" that was connected here. On the other hand, your guide should have been following one path and you were unable to cross through it, falling until here, not affecting you even the differences between layers." Skirk explained "Ajax was an immense bad luck plus his compatibility with the Abyss and you are an Anomaly that can't travel through the Abyss."
"An Anomaly...?" 'Would I be like the Traveler?' Allen thought thinking when the Traveler chase over the twin and the Abyss Herald, how both and Dainsleif passed through the portal but the Traveller was unable 'Could it be something from otherworlders? But the twin could' "That means-"
"That means that you don't need to know how to travel over the Abyss, nor follow it's rules, you simply need to go through the long path without shortcuts. It would take more time, but it would be safer as the risk of straying away is lower."
She created five portals again "Ajax, every time that you are correct, I'll be waiting for you on the other side, you can attack me during 5 seconds. However, every time that you fail, you will lose one opportunity" Skirk decided to teach Ajax from another perspective "If you are able to do 10 consecutive times, you will be able to have a combat with Allen."
That caused Ajax's eyes to react going wide and the result was...
*Clank* *Clank* Allen parried Ajax's daggers, throwing them away and pointing his sword at his neck.
It didn't even take one hour for Ajax to get used to it, only failing when Skirk made it more difficult, hiding it.
'He is truly a monster' Allen sighed. He could see through Skirk's tricks since the start, being quite evident and clear, but even if Ajax failed to see at first, he quickly discovered, never failing two times for the same trick 'He is like an animal, his instinct and his fighting style.'
"You can rest for today. Let's continue tomorrow" Skirk announced returning to her house.
"So what do you think about her?" Once they were alone, Allen asked Ajax.
"I like her. She is incredibly strong!" Ajax smiled brightly, remembering his attacks at her, Skirk stopping every slash with merely one finger and even without moving her feet, without mattering if the attack came from the front or the back. "Allen, would you fight with me again?"
"We have just finished" Allen sighed. 'The shy and scared one was a hindrance but this battle junkie one is tiring "Why didn't you ask Skirk about a combat?"
"I can't battle her" Ajax said serious "I can feel it. One part of me tells me that I need to run away from her and another one that I need to attack. However, both parts say that I don't have any possibility of winning against her. And to tell the truth, I might never be able."
"So you think, you can win against me?" Allen lifted an eyebrow.
"I might be unable now" Ajax smiled brightly "But I can see it. You are my next step stone. I'll win you for sure."
"Hm!" Allen hummed "Try it" answered coldly.
*Paf!* Allen slammed Ajax to the ground just as he charged at him.
"It's good to be decisive and to not be afraid, but think a little and don't let yourself be played on." Allen warned standing up, but nevertheless Ajax jumped again against him.
Allen was about to grape him like before, but Ajax was able to reach, twisting his body and slashing at his arm.
*Clank* Allen was forced to block it with his sword, parrying it and throwing him against over the floor.
'He is the same when fighting' Allen thought 'Never tripping two times over the same stone.'
...
"Hah!" "Hah!" Ajax panted loudly as he layed on the ground, unable to move at all. After more than 20 spars, all with Allen's victory, Ajax had reached his limit.
"I can't really win now" Ajax said smiling "You are really strange Allen, always doing a different thing."
"You would never win against me like this, Ajax" Allen stated, he while a little tired, it was far less.
What was Allen's talent? Full comprehension of any sword art just by seeing it and thanks to his stay at Inazuma, he had learned dozens of sword arts, meaning that if he wanted he could fight with dozen of completely different styles. Forcefully pushing himself, trying to adapt at his style was useless against him.
"Try to become strong enough to force me to truly force my own style." Allen advised. 'Yes, he is still learning, but he could fall to the same error as me. If it weren't for Tomoki, I wouldn't be able to learn from the different art, refining my own with them.
Allen approached Ajax, helping him to stand up and letting Ajax support over his body "Let's have something to eat and have some rest."
"Yes. Let's fight tomorrow" Ajax smiled before falling sleep.
"This boy" Allen sighed and smiled, bringing to the house.
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