Chapter 30: 26. Aether Academy (Part 2)

What the fuck was that? It felt so... strange. The mana was cancelled out, so the spell decayed into nothingness. But why did it feel so weird?

Sin walked over to Rai, who was still somewhat shocked that it even worked, “What did you do Rai?”

He spoke in a daze that showed it hadn’t quite registered, “I cancelled out the spell, I think.”

Sin asked as if he might know the answer, “Why did it feel so weird to me? Like a part of myself disappeared.” The last part was chilling.

Rai broke out of his daze at her words, “It did?” He thought for a moment after she nodded. “Maybe it’s because you had a link to that spell, it’s different to other types of spells that get shot off without any perpetual link to the caster.”

Sin nodded as she listened, “I see, so even though the clones only take the initial mana to summon and don’t drain any more mana, they’re still linked to me.”

Rai nodded, “I think so. It would make sense, since you can control them mentally, and probably will be able to do even more with them as you get used to the spell.”

Sin whispered under her breath, “I see...” She only just realised the achievement that Rai’d accomplished right in front of her, “Wait, you cancelled out a whole spell? Just by overwhelming it with more mana and a reverse flow?”

Rai looked like a puppy who just got a treat for behaving well, “I did. I can’t believe it worked on the first try. Oh, I wanted you to test it. It felt really simple to me, so I wondered why no one else even tried to use a spell like this.”

A voice came from the direction of the lift, “It’s because of your mental clarity Rai.”

The two turned to see Kallad walking over to them.

As if to respond to their looks, Kallad shrugged, “I asked Lilly and she said you two were down here, so this is where I came.”

Rai was curious, “What do you mean mental clarity?”

Kallad stared blankly at the boy. Somehow Rai constantly missed the answer that was right in front of him, “Didn’t your aunt tell you, boy. You can see mana with a clarity that no one else can. For everyone else it’s like they have to push through a muddy ocean, then try to find single fish within. But for you, the water is clear, and it guides you to the fish.” His tone shifted to something much heavier, “Where did you learn that technique?”

Rai could tell that Kallad wasn’t joking around, but he couldn’t just tell him about the old hobo now, when he didn’t tell him the first time. “I came up with it after letting my thoughts drift off. For some reason, the thought about mana flow came into my head and I started to theorise about it.” There wasn’t much conviction in his voice.

Kallad eyed him suspiciously. He knew that he was hiding something, but there was nothing he could do to get the truth without destroying their relationship. His hands were tied.

Kallad sighed, “Just be careful with that technique, don’t use it on anyone you don’t actually need to use it on. It’s a simple power, but it’s far too powerful to be used willy nilly.”

Sin ran up to her father and hugged him, “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since the entrance exam day.” Sin was used to seeing her father often, so she always felt his absence when he wasn't there.

Kallad held his daughter, “Why does it seem like you’ve grown up even more during these last two weeks?”

Sin giggled, “It’s a lady’s secret.”

Kallad rolled his eyes, “Of course. The king shall let the princess do as she wishes.” He continued in response to Sin’s question, “I’ve had clan business to attend to. There have been many meetings between the Aspects. The ones that you hate so much.”

This time Sin rolled her eyes, “Well, I'm glad I wasn’t there then.”

Kallad turned to Rai, “These meetings concern the Life clan. They’ve been losing political power among the clans by the day.”

Rai stared back at him, “I don’t quite see why you’re telling me this.”

Kallad stood for a moment. In front of him was a boy that had only just enrolled in school, but he might also be the key to preserving his clan. “Rai, I’m curious. Would you fight for your clan? To defend them in their entirety?”

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What the... “That’s a heavy question Kallad.” Rai couldn’t answer with any absolutes. The idea of fighting for his clan wasn’t something he was inherently opposed to, but the words of his mother came to mind. “I wouldn’t. I would fight to defend those I care about, but to fight for the whole clan when I have no attachment to most of the people in it... That would be foolish.”

Sin couldn’t quite comprehend the implications of the conversation, but she knew that Rai wouldn’t make any decisions about something so important haphazardly. In fact, she somewhat agreed with his viewpoint.

Kallad let out a soft sigh, “I see. I respect your position.” He thought for a few more moments, wondering whether he should let Rai know of the details. The meetings with the other Aspects weren’t to be spoken about to anyone outside of the Aspect's circle, but Kallad didn’t care about such a rule. Still, Rai was too young to bear the burden that Kallad would put on him by talking about it. It was too early to do so. “Very well, forget about this conversation. Let’s go back up to the suite.”

After the conversation ended, the three of them went back up to the penthouse.

The first thing Rai wanted to do was figure out a name for the new technique. He didn’t have many techniques of his own, but the act of naming one made them feel unique to him.

Kallad saw the look on Rai’s face, “There used to be an ancient band of sorcerers who specialised in anti-magic. That technique you’re using is the same thing that they used. They called it Antithesis. It’s a forbidden tier technique.”

The air grew thin. Even the mention of a forbidden technique was harrowing for Kallad, but the fact that Rai figured out how to use one was even more worrying.

Rai, however, knew no better. Antithesis, what a fitting name!

Rai smiled, “Thanks Kallad, that’s the perfect name for the technique. What were these ‘ancient sorcerers’ that you mentioned called?” Clearly, Kallad was the only one feeling the weight of Rai’s unlocking of a forbidden technique.

Kallad was terrified beneath the mask of indifference that he so often wore. “You don’t need to know. You’d do well to avoid thinking about or mentioning the ancients beyond this, boy.” His voice was harsh, much harsher than Rai expected.

Rai audibly gulped, “Yes sir.” He wasn’t sure why Kallad was so scared of the ancients, but Rai was curious to learn more about them and this forbidden technique that he’d stumbled upon.

Sin jumped into the conversation, “I need help naming my technique as well!”

Kallad relished the opportunity to move past the conversation about the ancients. He stared at her, dumbfounded, “You name your techniques?”

Sin pouted, “Well, no. But I want to!”

Kallad rubbed his finger on his chin while he thought, “The technique is a cloning one, and is based off mirror magic. Why not call it Mirror clone?”

Sin stared deadpan at her father, “That’s the worst name I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Kallad acted like he’d been shot in the chest, “You wound me, daughter.”

Sin rested her chin in her palm while she thought. “It’s the worst name ever, but it’s also the most fitting. I guess I’ll name it that for now while I try to figure out something else.”

Rai decided to excuse himself, since he wanted to test Antithesis out a bit more. He made his way back to the lift and went to the sparring area once more.

He tested out the ancients' spell. First, he conjured elements in one hand, and used antithesis in the other hand to negate them. Rai wanted to know just how far he could effectively use Antithesis, so he shot fireballs across the field and tested to see how far away a spell could be for him to negate it. Antithesis worked when casting it from one end of the room on a spell at the other end of the room, and it would still come into effect practically instantly. Even though Rai modelled it like a projectile, it was like the spell refused to be one and acted on its own.

This is such an amazing spell! Who on Zenith wrote that book... Rai thought back to the books, remembering that he had another one to read through. Though, it would probably be better to save it for another time and focus on mastering Antithesis. The anti-magic spell would cost a lot of mana if he had to negate a huge spell, since he had to use double the mana of the target spell’s approximate mana cost. It was only effective because Rai had a lot of mana available to him, even with only a tenth of his mana released, which was the amount he often used to train with.  

After finishing his testing of the technique to satisfaction, Rai returned to the penthouse and went straight to his bedroom to sleep, ignoring Sin who was sat on the couch watching the crystalakrum.

He was completely knackered.

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