Chapter 63: Ch. 63 – A Teacher At Last

It had been over a week since we had moved into Eden and things had been going well. Madi was still keeping her distance, but she slept most nights in the gazebo by the river. Katye had managed to talk to her for a moment when she brought her some food last evening, but she still would not come close.

 

My days were spent with Katye, creating metal wire, while my evenings added Raven and Echo into the mix. Due to the limit of how deep we could dig in the valley, and the amount of dirt loss near our home, Katye and I would leave early in the morning and drive out of the valley to collect stone bricks then haul them back. Although we were focused on making wire, we could still talk and interact with Raven and Echo, though they did their own things around the former village. Raven had set up a garden and planted some vegetables and berries while Echo started exploring the woods around us, foraging and hunting.

 

The sky was beginning to lighten when Katye and I left in the rover for our usual run to gather stone outside of the valley. We had paved the road by now since we were driving it every day, so it was a smooth ride there. As usual, I had my music playing and we set it loud enough to hear while we worked.

 

"You know, it's silly that we keep driving this every day. We should move out here and build our own house. I miss having indoor plumbing and Raven could actually set up the power system inside," I said as I formed large stone bricks and loaded them into the back of the rover.

 

"Oh? You know plumbing suddenly?" Katye retorted with a chuckle.

 

"No, but I did get some ideas from how the Commander's Tower had been set up. It shouldn't be hard to recreate, and we can always fill the tank ourselves which should make the water clean enough to drink."

 

"Maybe once Madi joins us, but we need to stay close until then," Katye said.

 

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed.

 

"What we do need to start thinking about, is how we are going to find our way back to the bunkers and Arkadia. Obviously, we did not go the most direct route, or it wouldn't have taken so long."

 

"That's true..." I sighed. "Why do I sense a trip in my future?"

 

"Because you're a mind reader," Katye chuckled. "You've been wanting an excuse to test out your transformation and your ability to fly will allow you to see for miles."

 

"I get it; I just don't like the idea of leaving Raven for a few days."

 

"She's a big girl, Becca. She'll be fine."

 

I huffed, "I know she'll be fine; I'm worried about me. I haven't slept alone since I woke up in the lighthouse bunker and the prospect of it is not appealing."

 

"Horn dog," Katye laughed.

 

"Jealous?"

 

"Hardly." 

 

"Hopefully when we figure out how to let you get your own Dusa form, you'll understand my complaint. It's like I'm going through puberty again with how I'm barely able to control my impulses."

 

"You poor thing," she teased, to which I rolled my eyes. "Are you up for it though? It will affect when we need to leave if we need to plan for us getting lost again."

 

I chuckled, "Yeah, I can. Damn... now I got to tell Raven."

 

"It's not the worst bit of news that you've dropped on her," Katye retorted.

 

I laughed. There was an ease and comfort between us that I had only felt with Raven, though neither of us had attempted to cross any line. It was just an easy friendship, rooted in our similar past lives and backgrounds in this crazy world. Both of us could joke around with each other while knowing that we had each other's back no matter what.

 

Once we loaded up the truck and sled, Katye drove back to the village while I was riding on the back of the truck, using my power to lift the sled slightly. There was a limit to how much the rover could tow, but by eliminating the friction from the sled, we were able to bring a lot more with us. As we pulled into the village, Echo was gone, but Raven was in the field, watering the garden, and waved when she saw me looking at her.

 

Katye and I settled into our normal seats after we moved half of the stone over to our chairs. Nearby, there were half a dozen spools of wire that measured out maybe a couple of miles each since we made them so thin. It was good progress, but there was just a lot of ground that we needed to cover, and we were quite a way off from what we needed. After a while, Raven joined us and sat with me while I kept working.

 

"How's the garden?" I asked.

 

"The tomatoes have started sprouting," she replied with a smile.

 

"Mechanic turned gardener; who would have guessed?"

 

"Please, give me something to work on. This is just the only thing that I can do around here," she complained.

 

"I'm sorry, hun. No one said that the peaceful life would be exciting."

 

"There are worse things than that. Besides, we'll be heading to the bunkers soon enough."

 

"Speaking of that... Katye wants me to go scout out the way back, but that means that I'll be gone for a few days."

 

"Well, it would make the drive easier. We won't be bringing the beds with us this time, after all," Raven chuckled.

 

"I don't think you need to make a road quite yet, but we need markers that we can follow," Katye added.

 

"I'll come up with something," I agreed.

 

"When are you going to leave?" Raven asked.

 

"Tomorrow morning, I guess. I'll head out with Katye to collect stone then transform out there, so I don't risk scaring Madi. Hopefully, it won't take me more than a few days to make some kind of trail back here."

 

She leaned over and relaxed against my shoulder as she said, "Then we'll have to enjoy our night."

 

Katye and I worked throughout the day as usual while Raven read something on her laptop. Echo joined us a little after midday with her sack filled with a variety of fruits, nuts, and mushrooms. She dropped off her bag and collected her bow and quiver then headed down to the river to catch dinner. It was a relaxed routine that we had developed over the week.

 

I had a long night with Raven after dinner with Katye and Echo. In the morning, I packed a small bag and Katye gave me some rations. For a change, both Raven and Echo joined us out of the valley, but it was to say goodbye. I helped load the truck with bricks before I kissed Raven then walked a little bit away to transform. Raven had described the sensation of my aura when I transformed like a powerful beast that was ready to devour her. Although she did not feel threatened by me, per say, she still felt pressured by it.

 

I dropped my bag on the ground then focused on the dragon shape within my Soul Realm. My body swelled with power and my senses expanded as my Dusa form took shape. Reopening my eyes, I picked up my bag and gave the others a small wave before I jumped into the air with a flap of my wings.

 

Since the last time that I had flown, I had been longing for a chance to do it again. There was something serene about soaring through the sky and seeing the world from above. It was like I had an instinctual need to fly which really would not be too surprising considering my wings, but it raised more questions in my mind. Asad said that Tori often left his new recruits in the dark about their powers, but it was clear that he had not simply dumped us here with no way to advance. My hope was that whatever treasure was hidden below Eden would have some answers, but I had another idea that I had been waiting to test out and this evening would be a perfect chance.

 

I flew over the valley as I gained attitude then headed northeast which was the general direction of the bunkers and Arkadia. Memorizing the lay of the land was not too difficult, despite the fact that most of the ground had been reduced to sand, since I could go off of the mountains that could not be removed. What I had been worried about was how long I could maintain this form, but after several hours, I had only noticed a slight drop in my energy. 

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The amount of land that I was able to cover was incredible to say the least, and I managed to find Arkadia as the sun started to set. I landed in the distance and released my transformation, finally feeling a level of exhaustion. My mana was around half of my usual reserves, but there was a strange lethargy that affected both my body and senses. I did not bother with making a complete structure to sleep and just made a small half-dome where I could meditate.

 

As I drifted into a trance, my mind turned inward to my Soul Realm. The size of the dragon had shrunk, and parts of its body would occasionally lose definition, becoming cloud-like then rejoining the body once again. When I focused solely on the dragon, I could weaken the little eruptions until they finally stopped, and it started regaining its previous size.

 

When I opened my eyes again, night had fallen, but that suited me just fine. I ate a bit of food before I bit my thumb and drew the summoning symbol for Ishu on my left hand. He arrived in his usual dramatic fashion, pulling himself out of the void, and looked at me with his sunken eyes.

 

"You summoned me," he said.

 

"I did... I wanted to ask you some questions," I replied.

 

"I am bound to your will for the duration of the Exchange," he sighed.

 

"What is the Exchange that you are speaking of?"

 

"As a defeated Darc, my power becomes yours, but due to the fact that I am a greater spirit, you gain control over a piece of my Soul for a limited time. When you sacrifice a hundred times the mana that I gave you, my Soul will be free."

 

"Interesting... a usage restriction," I mused, crossing my arms. "What do you know about a Dusa form?"

 

"A Dusa form is the melding of Soul Power and mana. It requires a powerful Soul and rigorous training to be able to manipulate Soul Power to fuse with mana. Using the form will greatly increase your physical body, senses, and magical abilities."

 

"What if you achieved a Dusa form by accident?"

 

"Accident?"

 

"I managed to make an incomplete form after the death of a close friend that I felt responsible for and then completed it during a life and death fight where I accepted that I would lose, but I would not let my opponent win," I explained.

 

"No wonder I lost to you," he grumbled. "My opinion is that you are a once in a lifetime genius. There were always myths of people like you in my past, but I had called them stories until I met my end to one such legend."

 

"How would you normally go about training to achieve a Dusa form?"

 

"To begin, you would study your Soul Realm and try to understand the characteristics of it. The more you comprehend, the more you will be able to sense and manipulate your Soul in different ways. Typically, it would require fine control of your Soul Power and mana to balance out the two powers to achieve a proper Dusa form, but something about you was able to override that condition."

 

"Hmm..." I hummed as I tapped my finger against my arm as I weighed his information. "What are the other uses of Soul Power?"

 

"Soul Power can be used to strengthen everything from your body to your magic. You used it against me during our fight which allowed your flames to damage my spirit form. Has your teacher or master not been instructing you of these basic concepts?"

 

I chuckled, "Teacher... I'm probably the strongest person on the planet currently. There is only one other person in the world that has mana, and we have been doing what we can to learn from each other, but it's mostly the blind leading the blind."

 

"Mysteries surround you and this world... I don't understand how you could achieve your level of strength without some guidance."

 

"I've only had two story books, a lot of determination, and a few life-or-death fights, but I'm hoping that you are the piece that I have been missing. I want you to teach me the basics of Soul Power, mana control, and whatever else that I'm missing," I stated.

 

Ishu let out a long, raspy sigh and replied, "If that is your will, but I have never taught anyone before, or even worked with another person. I was an enslaved assassin throughout my living days and did little other than reaping souls for my master."

 

"Well, my other option is to find that treasure under Eden and hope that there is some kind of guide or instructions. A Rock Giant is my next opponent in the Naru Darc trials, and few are smart enough for true speech, so I doubt he will be of any help. For now, you are my only chance to start advancing properly."

 

"Then we should begin with what you do know."

 

Ishu and I talked until the sky began to brighten and the summoning spell was undone. He had me go through my abilities and demonstrate a number of them while he analyzed them. It seemed that my mana worked differently from his own world, but I was not surprised after he explained his meaning.

 

Apparently, my mana had very strong elemental properties which was why I had advanced so quickly with the powers that Tori had given me. When it came to what I called Shadow mana, he referred to it as Yin energy and the difference between it and the other elements. Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind were simple concepts that were rooted in their elemental natures while Shadow was only a small part of true Yin energy. Superspeed was a spell that required unattributed mana which was why I had such difficulty using it. As soon as I started to stir my mana, it would lean to whatever element I was thinking of, so I would have to waste more energy to 'purify' it, and I was not able to fully do it, weakening the spell even further.

 

He gave me a couple of things that I could practice to train my unattributed mana and some simple applications of Soul Power. Despite him guiding me through the process, I had little success, but I was not discouraged. None of my other abilities had come that easily, so I would just have to work on it until I had some decent results.

 

When the sun was fully up, I created a large Earth pillar that stood about fifty feet up in the air. It may not have been the best method for marking the way, but by channeling a bit of my Shadow mana into it as well, the pillar became jet black and stood out against the yellow-red sand that was slowly claiming the formerly forested area. Although I had covered the distance in a single day originally, it took me three to return, since I would have to stop regularly to create another pillar and would have to meditate at night to recover my Soul Power.

 

It was midday when I walked through the forest of Eden, approaching our little village. I could already sense Katye, so I knew that she could sense me, but she did not seem to be heading in my direction. I was a little curious as to why, but when I got close, I understood a little better.

 

Katye was crafting metal wire as usual, but what was out of place was the young girl who was sitting on the ground with Raven. Both of them were focused on the board game between them, but Katye was looking in my direction. She touched Raven on the shoulder and pointed at me. Raven jumped to her feet and rushed over while Madi retreated behind Katye.

 

"It seems like someone came out of hiding while I was gone," I chuckled after I kissed Raven.

 

"Yeah, a heavy storm hit here the day after you left, and Katye found her soaked and cold as ice in the pavilion. Since we warmed her up and fed her properly, Madi has been hanging out with us though I'm sure it's for the food, games, and company. She doesn't speak a lot of English yet, but that hasn't stopped her from becoming a chatterbox as she has gotten more comfortable," Raven replied.

 

While Raven talked, Katye ushered Madi over who was still trying to hide behind her leg. I smiled as I squatted down to get to her eye-level and gave her a little wave.

 

"Madi, this is Rebecca, the woman that we told you about," Katye said.

 

Madi said something in the Grounder language and, my limited understanding told me that, Katye repeated what she had said in English. Madi looked at me with suspicion, but I was not upset about it.

 

"Hello, Madi... my name is Rebecca. I'm glad that you finally came out and joined us," I said.

 

Katye translated for me, but Madi did not say anything in reply which made Katye give a wry smile. "She still hasn't warmed up to Echo, so try not to hold it against her. She's pretty shy as you can see."

 

"It's fine," I replied as I stood up. "The route to Arkadia is marked, but more interesting, it seems that my summon has quite a bit that he can teach us. We can go into that later since Ishu will certainly scare her, but I've got some ideas that could help you develop your own Dusa form with practice."

 

"It's about time that we got some real help understanding these crazy powers," Katye chuckled.

 

 

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