Horus kept swinging the blade, studying how Twilight mana breathed when unaffected by him and the moment it died, dissipating from his blade.
June clicked her fingers at him with bright eyes. "You said it felt wrong when you unleashed the mana, right? What if that's when you should be compressing?"
The idea stopped him mid-swing. That was a good idea too. At the end of Deimos form you were supposed to breathe out hard, so it could be a sign.
After a brief nod, he continued his experiment. After a swing he didn't rush to compress the mana that entered the blade; instead he waited till it was dying.
Then he compressed the time between death.
It felt intoxicating. He was fully drawn into his sword at that moment. When his second swing came, new mana came rushing into that compressed time.
And instead of just forcing itself into the sword with the dying mana, the new mana continued the life of the dying mana.
He released the compression and the mana started a new life as a single expression. So maybe that's how it was meant to be; wait until the mana was dying to infuse new mana in the sword.
That would be tough, because each stance and swing in the Deimos form had different timing.
Releasing the mana again with a sigh, Horus didn't use the sub-skill. The next few stances injected mana into the sword when the previous mana was still alive and healthy, instead of when it was dying and he could compress time.
"Did it fail again?" June asked worriedly. "Don't worry about it. You're Horus Twilight."
"Thank you, I didn't know that," Horus joked with a deadpan expression.
"Awwwn, your first joke," June said with a mocking smile. "But you know what I mean. If anyone can do this it's you."
Horus was used to people having more belief in him than he had in himself. He did his best to smile since that's what people wanted when they said things like this.
"I'm almost there. Now I need to find a way to compress the death of Twilight mana, basically make it reach that point of dying or dissipation faster."
June patted him on the back. "There you go… whatever the Fel that means."
They both stared at each other for a bit too long. June's hand fell to her side awkwardly, and Horus remembered when she held his hands.
"So about everything that has happened," Horus said decisively. He needed to clear the air, articulate himself clearly, and make a decision about them.
"I… um."
What the Hel was that? Did someone curse him? He didn't know what to say next even though he knew what he wanted to talk about.
When they were underwater, when he thought she would die, and when their fingers were intertwined.
He was supposed to clarify those moments, say he was just making sure they both lived, that anything else was just necessary. The thought of romance in general was so foreign to him. His thoughts of the future were always about dangers and battles.
Not of children or a wife. He couldn't imagine himself like that no matter how hard he tried, and June didn't need that in her life. They were different people after all.
June hated it here and wanted to be somewhere she could be happy. Horus couldn't imagine his life outside of Bloodhaven. The thought actually made him a bit sick.
"Horus?" June stammered. "You haven't said anything."
Compressing time felt easier tha compressing all that into a few words. He needed to talk for a long time with her, explain every angle… and maybe face some things he wasn't ready to face.
"I don't think we have time for all that right now."
June's face darkened and she turned down. "Yeah, yeah… of course. You don't have to worry about that anyway. I'm not dumb enough to imagine us… in another way." She struggled to find the right way.
"When I held your hand, I did it because I thought you looked like you were drifting, and you needed an anchor."
Horus remembered the lethargy that overcame him back when he said those words.
You can't claim to care about people only when they behave exactly as you like.
His life flashed through his mind, every time he ignored something, every time he justified something wrong. What was going through his mind back then? Did he just care so little?
Or was he like Ulrich? Did none of it just matter?
"Your hand reminded me that it was real," Horus reassured. "That it mattered and it wasn't such an incomprehensible thing that we couldn't dare challenge."
June's face brightened. "Yeah… that's why I did it," she said, laughing awkwardly.
Horus raised his sword and channeled mana without even moving. He observed the dying mana for a second before focusing it tightly, like gently reminding it of its life, like he was touching the lights with his hand.
The mana began rapidly fading towards death, but Horus also felt the tactile nature of Twilight mana. It was like a gossamer fabric, smooth, soft to the touch with rhinestones scattered over it.
Now he could compress the time and death of Twilight mana; controlling its decay speed, and feeling—gaining greater control over it.
Even after it left his sword…
[Twilight Swordsmanship] > 19 > 20 (Common) [Skill Limit Reached]
Horus grinned. "Now we're talking."
"Wait, don't tell me…" June's eyes shone with the realisation.
He took out his last ten skill shards, then turned to Wally and John some distance away. He would need twenty shards to upgrade [Reflexes] and [Twilight Swordsmanship].
"Hey, do you mind sparing ten shards?" Horus said with a grin.
John gave him an exasperated look. "You have to be hacking or something."
"This isn't a game," Wally remarked, then he turned to Horus with suspicious eyes. "He has to be on drugs."
They both walked towards him with mock accusations of cheating before dropping the shards into his hands.
Time to see what he could get.