A little more than two weeks had passed since we arrived in the town. A few minutes ago I had finished working and went to kill some time with Miles until it was time to train with my brother and Edric. We were chatting while sitting on the roof of his family's bar.
After laughing at a joke he himself made, he put on a slightly more "serious" face.
"You know, you and Rowan are very lucky to train with old man Edric."
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Because he's a great master, or at least that's what everyone in town says," he spoke so fast that he had to take a breath, "and in my opinion they're absolutely right. All the good fighters in this place were trained by him, even Corin and s—"
"You know that's not what I mean," I interrupted his long speech.
He scratched his head with an embarrassed smile and spoke again.
"It's just that… I always wanted to learn how to fight, but I'm not good at it. I've tried practicing several times, but I trip or drop the sword because it's too heavy for me."
"It's just a matter of practice. I'm not as skilled with the sword as my brother either, but after trying nonstop I can keep up with him and complete the training."
"It's not the same, you are…," he hesitated for a second and murmured very softly, "shockers…"
I was very surprised. I had no idea how he knew; I don't think the old man told him. He himself said we shouldn't talk about it much, although it wasn't necessary to keep it a secret within the town.
Apparently the surprise showed on my face, so Miles put on a sarcastic smile and spoke.
"It was pretty obvious. The old man bringing in two random kids, letting them live in his home and on top of that training them… that's quite unusual. Besides, Corin always watches you carefully, you can tell he noticed it too."
I was left speechless for a moment, but then I recovered and pushed his shoulder while laughing. "Who are you calling a random kid?"
Before Miles could say anything, I heard my name from below.
"Luke!" It was Rowan.
"We'll talk later, I have to go train." I said goodbye to my friend and climbed down quickly.
"How was it in the forest?" I asked my brother. He had signed up with the group of lumberjacks, but only as an assistant and auxiliary guard.
"Good. Today there were no issues, so we came back early." Last week there had been an attack by two wild panlagors, but they managed to repel it easily thanks to Serin, who is one of the shockers who live here. He turned his head to look at me. "And how's Miles? It seems you get along well."
"Oh, yeah, we usually hang out after he gets off work at the sawmill."
Row smiled in response and we continued walking toward the house. When we arrived, Edric was waiting at the door. He gestured for us to follow him and led us to the backyard.
"Alright, you already have the most basic concepts of sword usage. You're far from knowing how to use it properly, but with this you can already practice," he sighed. "Now I'll teach you how to control pulsar."
I was glad to hear that. I didn't know why, but I was genuinely excited.
"You, Rowan, already managed to use it once, so let's start with you, Luke. Sit in front of me." He sat down on the grass with his legs crossed. I imitated him and sat right in front of him.
"First I'll explain what it is," he thought for a moment and continued. "Generally, people capable of using it tend to do so between the ages of fifteen and twenty, although it's not that rare for it to happen at a younger age."
"At what age did you achieve it, Uncle Ed?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
"Uncle Ed, really?" he rolled his eyes. "At sixteen."
I nodded and he continued explaining.
"One of the ways to access this power is to find yourself in a situation of high stress, like on the road where Rowan managed to use it, and the other is through the help of another shocker." He paused for a second, then seemed to remember something. "All of this, as long as the person has pulsar in their blood."
"That's why most shockers are under the control of powerful families, isn't it?" Rowan asked, who was sitting about a meter away from us.
"Yes, but it's also because someone capable of using pulsar being born without parents who can do so is extremely rare, like in the case of Corin and Serin."
"Did you help them use it?" I asked.
"I trained them so they could use it properly, but no, I didn't help with their 'awakening.' They achieved it the same way Rowan did, but I don't know the details about it."
From the way he said it, it did seem like he knew something, but it made sense that he wouldn't talk about them without their permission.
"Anyway, let's get back to the main matter. Luke, bring both arms together and stretch them toward me." Once I did what he asked, he extended his hands with only his middle and index fingers raised, then touched my wrists with them. "Now I'll send some pulsar through your veins. You'll feel a small discharge, but don't be alarmed."
I closed my eyes and waited. Suddenly I felt a small discharge run through my entire body, as if I could feel the flow of my blood. It was a very strange sensation and not pleasant at all.
"Good. Now I'll try to activate the dormant pulsar in your blood. Just don't move; we might not succeed on the first try." I heard his distant voice; it was as if I were in another reality.
The next moment I felt as if my blood accelerated tremendously. It was something completely unreal. I could tell where and how every drop of my blood was as it rushed through my veins at full speed. Once it reached what seemed to be its maximum speed, I felt as if the blood began to expand inside my body.
Finally, I was able to see it—images and broken voices. They seemed to be… memories. Very few and fragmented, but that was it. I was sure of it; they were some of my memories.
I couldn't see much, only a few fragments with my brother when we were younger, our names, my birthday and therefore my age. Apparently I was fifteen years old, although I couldn't remember my brother's, I knew for certain that he was older than me.
But the most important thing was that I saw myself with Rowan, who had a look of complete panic, standing in front of a very tall and considerably muscular man. His face was strange and blurry, but I could make out some features: he had dark reddish hair and black eyes—extremely black. They seemed to represent the very void itself, letting not a single speck of light escape from them.
"…ke!" I faintly heard. I felt an immense heaviness in my eyes, but I slowly opened them.
"Hey kid, are you okay?" When I opened my eyes, I realized I was lying on my back. Luke and Edric were beside me, both with worried expressions. It seemed I had fainted.
I placed my hands on the ground and stood up.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, it was just… something strange."
"It's normal. Most people react similarly when the pulsar in their blood is activated," Edric said in a calming tone.
"And why didn't Rowan collapse like when we were facing that beast?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at the old man.
"That's different. He did it in a natural way; his body gave him a push when it noticed he was in danger. Why do you think he slept the entire trip to the city afterward?" He shook his head and continued. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you think you can continue a bit more?"
"I'm fine, just a little tired," I replied immediately.
"Good. Now I'll teach you how to meditate in order to gradually control the pulsar. For now, you'll only do that and alternate each day with your sword training." He sat down again, pointed to the spot in front of him, and gestured for us to sit.
Once we did, he explained, "Interlace your fingers and rest them against your chest." I followed his instructions and placed my hands on my chest. "Now try to feel it. It shouldn't be very complicated; it's as if it were an extension of your body, a kind of third arm."
And that's what I tried to do. I focused all my concentration on it, searched within myself for that extension, something that felt different. After what felt like minutes or hours, I managed to feel it. It was like before—I could feel my blood running through all my veins, a sensation I had never experienced, but it clearly felt different, as if electricity were flowing through my blood.
***
Later that night, I was in my room lying in bed. Edric made it very clear that we still wouldn't learn how to use pulsar; for now we would simply focus on feeling it properly, while continuing our sword training.
"Row."
"What is it?"
"I managed to remember some things when I fainted… when you recovered some memories, did you see a tall man with reddish hair?"
"…yes."
I sat up slightly in bed. "Then why didn't you tell me about it?"
Rowan hesitated for a moment and then replied,
"I don't kn— no." He turned his body toward me. "I didn't see it as necessary. I wanted to wait to see if you remembered something, but the main reason was… fear. When I saw that memory, I felt truly afraid."