"Storm embodies decomposition. Sun embodies activation.
"Some of it you need to feel yourself.
"Tione, open your hand. It'll hurt."
How much? As an adventurer, Tione had known all kinds of pain. She couldn't guess what Tsunayoshi meant—until it hit. The stab in her palm was sharper than being rag-dolled by the black Goliath.
A thin cut opened at the center of her palm. Red flame clung to the wound.
The flame wasn't hot, but it bit like poison, burrowing into the flesh and magnifying pain until it sang along her nerves.
"That hurts."
It was just a small cut—plus a little red fire. Why did it hurt so much?
She looked at Tsunayoshi, baffled. "What is this?"
"That's the Storm trait—decomposition."
He brushed a finger across her palm. The red winked out, replaced by gold.
This time there was no sting, only comfort. Before her eyes, the cut drew closed under the gold flame's caress.
"And this is your other flame—Sun. Activation."
"Storm is easy to grasp: it increases the damage you deal and makes wounds harder to mend. You just felt it."
"Sun is also simple: by stimulating your body, it activates your cells and accelerates healing."
"Beyond that, activation can fortify muscle and tissue so you can draw out greater strength for a short burst."
"Decomposition… activation…"
His explanation was crystal clear. Two flames, two uses. Tione could already see what they meant for her—harder hits, faster recovery, longer time on her feet.
"Can I really learn this?"
Her voice trembled with excitement.
Tsunayoshi nodded and turned her hands, indicating the two rings still burning on her fingers.
"Those two still alight—that's your answer. Your body resonates with Sun and Storm. With rings as a medium, you can call out the same waves within yourself."
"At first, control will be clumsy. With practice, you'll master it."
"I just don't know if, once you've learned them, these flames will register as your 'magic.'"
"Magic too?" Tione's eyes brightened.
"Mine did convert to magic. But when I pass the power to someone else, I don't know if theirs will. We'll have to wait for Miss Loki's next update."
"Right."
She exhaled, easing her pulse back down. If the flames recorded as magic, it would be a huge boon. Even if they didn't, with Tsunayoshi's help she believed she could wield them.
"So… test it now?"
"You and Tiona just crawled out of the challenge space. You want to go back already?"
The reminder wiped the color from her face. Yesterday's black Goliath—immortal, incessant—left only nausea in its wake. She had no desire to see it again this week.
"Forget it. I'll wait a week. Let me get familiar with both flames before I challenge it again."
She could speak to Loki later to update her stats. If the flames counted as magic, all the better.
"Then… could I trouble you to train me this week?"
"Of course."
"Thanks." She seized his hand in relief—and only then realized it, but didn't quite let go.
Tsunayoshi didn't think much of it. He was, after all, a thirteen-year-old boy.
"Tione, if you're training all week, Tiona doesn't get to skip."
He hadn't come just for one sister. There was a second target—currently snoring.
Tione glanced back. Tiona sprawled across the bed in a heroic mess, blanket kicked half off, sleeping like the dead. A vein jumped in Tione's temple.
She drew a long breath and kept her voice gentle for Tsunayoshi's sake.
"Tsunayoshi, turn around a second. I'll wake this idiot."
"Oh. Please."
He obligingly faced the wall. Tione eyed her empty hands, pursed her lips, and strode to the bed.
"Up!"
Thud!
One skull-cracking punch ended the nap on the spot—highly effective, with the minor side effect of a skull-splitting headache.
"Tione! What was that for?"
"Time to wake up, dummy!"
"You dragged me into the challenge space and wrung me dry. And now you sleep like a rock?"
The scolding knocked the wind out of Tiona's temper. "Go on, get dressed. Tsunayoshi's here."
"Eh? Eh!?"
She turned and saw him standing with his back politely turned. Reflexively she yanked the blanket up around herself, bronze cheeks flushing as an unfamiliar shyness bubbled up from somewhere deep.
Tione noticed.
She looked at Tsunayoshi's turned back and filed away her sister's reaction with a quiet, knowing answer.
(End of Chapter)
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