Fall of Autumn, Week 4, Day 7

I was right. As my eyes focused on the masculine facial structure, I knew. This would be annoying.

"Ugh, this is supposed to be my day of rest," Raphael complained, catching sight of me. "What are you doing here?"

I huffed, remaining standing with my back pressed up against my pillar.

"I imagine the same thing as you." I gave a non-answer.

Raphael tilted his head slightly and scrunched his nose.

"No," he drawled, pulling the word out as far as it could go, "you're definitely not. Otherwise, you'd be one of the trials. There's no reason to just sit here—"

He perked up, a glint in his eye, declaring, "You're waiting for someone."

I opened my mouth to shut him down when he brought his hand up to his chin and struck a thinking pose. "But not for me. Or Eve. I'm sure of it. So, then, Theo?"

I would have reared back if not for the fact that I was still pressed as far back as I could go. I tried to keep my face neutral, but Raphael must have seen something anyway.

"It is Theo! But why? He's a brat—" As he thought out loud, he broke out into a laugh, "Oh. Is that why Mother is so cross with him?"

Shaken by the casual way Raphael was speaking, by the way he was existing in my vicinity, I couldn't stop myself from saying, "What?"

Raphael waved a hand as if to say, 'Don't worry about it.' Instead, he moved his mouth silently, working out something in his mind. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.

"Third Day! That's one of Theo's main Twilight days," Raphael declared, clearly proud of himself. "You must have run into each other then. Am I right?"

He hadn't paused, not for a moment. And he wasn't being… unpleasant.

Is running into Raphael so different than Theodore himself? I wondered. He's talking energetically, and it's not like… It's not like he's about to yell. Or attack. Or anything hateful. Should I—

"Yeah," I said, my voice clear, not betraying my nerves at seeing Raphael. "I saw him before he left."

Raphael looked triumphant, crossing his arms and holding his nose up high. "Called it."

I blinked. Why is he being this way? Last time— no, Nora, they are temperamental and volatile. But they're just as much children as I am. Isn't that why I decided to talk to Theo?

Pulling myself away from my pillar, I took a step closer to Raphael. I kept my voice free of shaking as I asked, "What are you doing here on your day of rest anyway?"

Raphael snorted, uncrossing his arms and shaking his head of black curls.

"What do you think?" His voice wasn't nearly as energetic or friendly. It was sharp. Malevolent.

I stretched out my hands at my sides to keep myself from clenching my fists.

This is Raphael, think about it. He wouldn't turn pleasant overnight.

Inside, something small said that it's been months. What if he did change? What if distance did make the heart grow fonder?

That's dangerous, letting yourself hope. Theo is one thing, but Raphael is old enough to know better.

"Fine," I sighed, turning on my heel.

Behind me, I could hear Raphael huff. "Ugh, whatever. Isn't it obvious that I just left a Trial? I'm training."

I froze, slowly turning back to look at Raphael, and I could feel something deep inside of me thrum. Something from little Eunora.

Am I letting my heart or my brain run me right now? Is it me or her?

Narrowing my eyes, I looked up at Raphael's face. He didn't look particularly rude; his nose was no longer scrunched up, and his brows weren't furrowed. No. He just looked bored.

"Yeah," I said, drawing it out like Raphael had done earlier, "But why? Doesn't the Countess have you training every other day?"

At this, I could see his eyes searching me, confusion clear on his face. "No? I only have mandatory training First through Fifth Day."

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I whipped fully around at that, my voice full of irritation, "What? Then why—"

Cutting myself off, I took a deep breath.

"What is the matter with you now?" Raphael said, bending forward with a scrutinizing gaze.

"My schedule runs First Day through Seventh Day," I responded, my voice higher pitched than I would have liked but not nearly as irritated.

Raphael blinked and then frowned, mumbling under his breath, "Right. The Divinity."

Louder, and more snotily, he said, "Yes, well, there's only so much heirship training I can take in a week. The heir must take care of themselves."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay."

"Besides, you probably have to make up for a lacking [Class]." He laughed to himself at the end, and I furrowed my brows.

Then I walked up to Raphael slowly, with determination. He didn't look even the slightest bit intimidated, so he let me get right up close before his face changed.

"Yeah, okay, Raph," I said, smiling up at him.

And then I lifted my foot and kicked him in his stupid shin.

"Ow!" He gasped, pulling his leg up and away. "Nora!"

I turned away from him quickly and darted to my pillar. As I glanced at the list of my Skills, I only took a moment to decide.

[0th Tier: Inspect, Mana Manipulation, Mana Sense, Meditation, Weaving

1st Tier: Quick Calculation, Silent as a Shadow, Weave of Darkness

2nd Tier: Mental Fortitude, Otherworldly, Shadow Conjuration, Shadow Manipulation

3rd Tier: Shadow Animation

Untiered: Eternal Communion, Eyes of Gospel, Tight Lips, Sophism, Steal Nerves

Notice: Until all Tiered Skills are Tested for the First Time, the Trials cannot be repeated]

As I sank into the pillar, I shot Raphael a look.

"Until next time."

[Welcome to Twilight}

[Skill: Meditation]

[Training options:

Concentration

Locked

Locked]

[Please select a training type to begin]

[Skill: Meditation]

[Level: 10]

[Training Style: Concentration]

[Task: Concentrate on refilling your Mana Reserves]

[Failure conditions:

Your mind wanders for more than five seconds at a time.

Your mind wanders more than ten times.]

[Notice: Your Mana has been drained to fuel a perpetual instance of [Meditation]. Ambient Mana will be provided during the training.]

Around me, Twilight settled into a space that continued into perpetuity. There was no edge to the perpetual sunrise. No limit to the space. Before me was laid a purple silk cushion large enough to lay down on.

With a heavy breath, I pulled off my bag, placed it down next to the cushion, and got comfortable. Laying down, I pushed all thoughts of Raphael from my head. My heart was still beating out of my chest, in anger or irritation or anticipation—I wasn't sure. But I took several deep breaths to calm it down and closed my eyes.

As I did so, I began focusing on the world around me. The silence was overwhelming. There was no background noise to distract me or to help me pass the time. It made sense. I was meant to be concentrating on more than myself. So I understood why all there was was the blood rushing through my veins, the beating of my heart, and the sound of my breaths echoing across the room.

It took several long seconds before my mind's eye caught the first hint of mana in the air. It was different than when I used [Mana Sense] or [Mana Manipulation]. The motes of mana weren't lit up, but I could feel them. They didn't belong to me, but they could.

Perhaps this was wrong. Perhaps I was supposed to simply empty my mind and let the world refill my reserves naturally. But instead, I felt for a particular mote of mana and began envisioning it coming to me. I pictured how it would slide under my skin and join my mana veins.

I felt warm, but I wanted the ice of my mana to cool me off. And so I pulled with my mind, lightly, not like one would control something they owned, but as if I was coaxing a small animal to eat from my hand. The mote of mana dodged around my mind, flitting off to the side. I reach lighter this time, nicer, as if all it would take was a single blink to scare the mote of mana off. A single flinch of my metaphysical body.

That time, it came to me, floating slowly. I followed its path diligently. My mind focused only on the path it would need to take to get to me. As it sank into the skin of my forehead, I felt a pinprick of ice in my veins. I felt the way the ambient mana shifted. No longer was it of the world. Now it was mine, a part of me free to use.

Before my mind could wander, I felt two motes of mana floating around me. This time, they were by my sides. One floated by my left hip, the other by my right. Gently, I guided them to me. They weren't things to own. No, they were outsiders meant to become insiders. They were once them and now mine. I told them so lightly, gently, as if whispering it into the air without even moving my lips.

And one drifted down and sank under my skin, followed by the other. Two more pinpricks of ice filled me, and a smile curled on my lips before swiftly being banished from my mind. Then, in my mind's eye, I saw four motes.

I knew then that this would be trickier. If they all landed at once, my concentration could break. There were too many to stay focused on absorbing them.

So, instead, I danced with them. In my mind, I brought one mote down, followed by another, and created a swirling vortex of mana.

Then, one by one, they sank into my stomach. One small pinprick of ice that seemed to last longer than it should have. One mote after another. But my concentration did not break.

Next, there were eight, and I had them dance and spin and swirl as well.

Sixteen.

Thirty-two.

Sixty-four.

One hundred twenty-eight.

Two hundred fifty-six.

In my mind's eye, I was a vortex of mana consumption. The small pinprick of ice was steadily maintained, for minutes, or hours, or days, I did not know. I just focused on the asking, the gentle, soft, question of, 'Will you become mine?'

And then, I was full. The warmth that the lack of mana caused me was gone. My center, when I felt for it, was ice cold. There wasn't a speck of emptiness in my mana veins.

I opened my eyes to a System Notice.

[Congratulations! You have completed a Twilight Trial! Now ranking your performance!]

[Times Distracted: 2]

[Time Taken: 240 Minutes]

[Rating: B]

[Experience modifier applied based on Divinity.]

[Congratulations! Your Skill [Meditation] has received an 80% Advancement to the next level.]

[Notice: Use of Twilight for [Meditation] is locked until all other Skills have been tested in Twilight. Please Advance all Skills to unlock [Meditation] again.]

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