Chapter 95 - The Malfunctioning Cumulus Crystal

The growing gasps and murmurs in the room were instantly silenced when the Aegis’sur lifted her eyes and sent her gaze roving around the room. Even the masters took a step back, let alone their cowed students.

“Very well, then. You may stay and use the facilities after we are finished.”

“Thank you, Magister Syrene. Your peerless grace will not be forgotten.”

Master Kolhus bowed deeply, and the rest of his group quickly followed his example.

Ignoring the crowd, Syrene nudged Skyle forward until he stood before the cumulus crystal. It towered over him by a few feet, a massive tear-drop shaped gem that glittered under the everlight lamps’ glow. He edged back a half step but bumped into Syrene’s breasts. Recoiling, he swallowed a few muttered imprecations. Did those abominations really have to get in the way of everything?

Shaken by the embarrassment, Skyle blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. “I don’t recall undergoing such a test when I was tested for elemental talent to apply to the academy.”

Syrene’s voice was dry but carried a hint of playful amusement. “Standard talent testing only measures regis. Cumulus and gravitas are usually not developed enough among young children to provide a good metric.”

“I’m still a child.”

Rich laughter was the only answer Skyle received to that comment, and he didn’t know if it was mocking him or praising him. It was probably both.

“How does this work?” Skyle eyed the pedestal that rose before him as though it might bite him.

“You just have to place your hands on the bars before you. They will channel your essence energy and feed it into the crystal. This will form a resonance which will flow back into your elemental veins, forming a continuous loop which will grow richer depending on the maximum capacity of elemental essence you can hold. This will be your cumulus level, manifested through various hues. They are called spectrums. A moderate crystal such as the one before you should manifest a pale green spectrum for most early initiates, deep turquoise for advanced initiates, and a rich emerald for peak initiates. Yellow spectrums should characterize adepts, orange spectrums for masters, and brown spectrums for mortal level experts. Well, go on now.”

At Syrene’s prodding encouragement, Skyle gingerly placed his hands on the bar. He managed not to jump as he felt a jolt running through his skin and deep into his body. The metal felt cool and smooth under his touch, but there was a subtle vibration slowly seeping in through his hands. He was startled to find a deep rumbling answer from within his own veins.

He immediately ignited the 4th layer of the Infinite Eye, and tried to suppress the panic galloping through his heart when he saw what was happening. A surge of energy was coursing through his elemental veins, lighting them up from within and stirring both the pitiful remains of his innate essence, and the taint that had laid siege to it all.

“What if this crystal finds the taint and they believe me to be Shadowblighted? What if this stimulus is all the taint needs to spread the corruption of my veins? What if I really am Shadowblighted and just don’t know it yet?”

Each thought was scarier than the last, and Skyle’s blood froze as his heart stuttered to a stop. His expression grew ashen while he began panting with ragged breaths.

Immersed as he was in the Infinite Sight, he became highly sensitive to all motion around him. It is why he flinched involuntarily as soon as he felt the bare hint of movement at his back.

“Skyle? You must relax. The crystal only sends a current of essence through your veins in order to measure your cumulus. It is perfectly safe. Just slowly let the crystal’s scanning echo run through your elemental veins. Don’t fight it, just let it flow.”

Syrene’s voice was soothing, but her words sparked even more fear in his mind. Within his veins, Skyle could see the wave of energy the crystal was sending. It resembled a ripple on the surface of a pond that continued to spread farther and farther through his veins, leaving behind a trail of chaotic struggle between the taint and his innate essence.

Drops of sweat began to drip down his forehead as Skyle struggled to contain the situation. The taint seemed to latch on to the energy from the crystal, riding its ripples to spread even further along his body. Gritting his teeth, Skyle marshalled the piddling remains of his innate essence to resist, but the feeble strands of blue energy were simply no match for the awakened taint.

Gasps suddenly began to echo around the room, but Skyle didn’t have the presence of mind to pay them any attention at the moment. He knew from Leon’s description that if he was identified as Shadowblighted, if he was even suspected of being such, he would be executed on the spot. If he hadn’t been so distracted by this damnable woman and her oversized breasts, as well as his own foolish dreams of future glory, he would have come up with any excuse to avoid this test. As Skyle continued to do his best to suppress the taint as best as he could, voices began to filter through his ears.

“By the Goddess, I’ve never seen such an extreme reaction from the cumulus crystal!”

“So what? It’s just the turquoise spectrum. It means he’s just an intermediate initiate.”

“You fool! That’s just the beginning. It’s already close to reaching the peak of the green spectrum!”

“I- I don’t understand. How can the crystal be reaching a spectrum so quickly? Usually, it takes several minutes for the first spectrum to form. This time, it has barely been ten seconds!”

The room was filled with the din of shock and confusion as students and masters alike began to hurriedly discuss what was happening before their disbelieving eyes. Only Skyle knew of the agony he was going through as he tried to squeeze his elemental veins as tightly as he could to avoid further ripples from spreading through them. Time slowed down to a trickle as Skyle clenched the fists of his will around his veins and demanded that they stop the berserking surges of energy rushing through his body.

“Emerald! It’s the emerald spectrum. He’s already at the peak initiate level!”

“He must be an adept!”

A burst of light filled the room and a deep thrumming rumbled in the air as the cumulus crystal shook in its pedestal.

“Yellow! He’s reached the early adept stage. How long has it been?”

“.. 45 seconds, maybe less..”

A simultaneous gasp was emitted from the crowd as every set of eyes in the room stared at the cumulus crystal that was still throbbing with power.

“A-At this pace, could he maybe reach the high adept stage?”

“Impossible! Look at him! He doesn’t even look like he can be 13!”

“But, but I’ve never seen anyone smash past three different spectrums so quickly!”

Skyle heard the words but they failed to register in his brain. He was too busy fighting for his life. As it was, he had barely managed a shaky grip upon the massive storm that had been ignited in his elemental veins. He felt as though his veins were on the verge of being torn apart as each consecutive pulse of energy streamed into his body from the cumulus crystal.

“I can’t even let go of this damn thing.”

His fingers were frozen into stony claws that were twisted around the metal bars of the pedestal. He could barely divert enough of his attention into drawing gulping breaths to sustain his fight against the taint, let alone command his convulsing muscles to relax and let go. If anything, his grinding teeth and white-knuckled grip were the only things still keeping him in the contest at all.

“Can’t hold much longer..”

Already, consciousness had begun to flutter unstably. The edges of the Infinite Sight began to blur into a haze, and he began to lose track of the taint as it continued to assault the feeble barriers he had erected along his elemental veins. The moment his resistance crumbled, the taint would reach the crystal and reveal its presence to the whole world.

“Must resist.. But it is relentless.. So strong..”

Skyle’s attention began to wander, his thoughts skittering across his consciousness like pebbles across a rocky slope. Desperately, he bit the tip of his tongue and used the sharp stab of pain to snap back into focus. The coppery taste of blood in his mouth mixed with the acrid bite of bile in the back of his throat.

“Strength.. I need strength!”

Desperate, Skyle threw all caution to the wind as he called out to the legacy of his blood. The shadow dwelling in every corner of his veins flared with power as it answered his call. This insubstantial mist immediately condensed into strands of inky darkness that coursed through his elemental veins, leaving a trail of smoke lingering behind. This smoke seemed to insulate the inner wall of his essence channels, isolating them from the taint. It shook under the assaults of the Aktaris, but stood firm against its relentless fury.

Gasping with relief, Skyle let a defiant roar escape past his parched lips. With a mighty effort of will, Skyle directed this thick stream of shadow toward his hands, where the taint had almost overwhelmed the pathetic barrier he had erected to prevent it from reaching the crystal.

There, the battle was engaged in earnest as the darkness of the taint clashed against the shadow of his bloodline power with a deafening roar. The impact sent waves of agony rippling through his mind, blanketing everything under a blood red mist of pain.

CRACK!

Feeling as though every bone in his hands had shattered into dust, Skyle felt his hands come free and was sent reeling back from the pedestal. He would have collapsed against the ground, but felt hands arresting his fall from behind.

“Skyle? Skyle!”

Skyle groaned and squeezed his eyes open to look up into the distressed gaze of a little girl with wide green eyes and raven hair tied in a ponytail. Tears welled up in her eyes as she cradled a broken sailing boat in her hands. The heartbreak in her eyes shook him, even through the haze of pain he was submerged in.

“Don’t cry, little girl. I’ll fix your boat.”

Shock flooded the little girl’s eyes at first, but then the green depths of her eyes were suddenly overflowing with naked hostility.

Skyle gasped at the sudden change, blinking repeatedly until the image of the little girl was gone, and only Syrene Le Sueur Aegis’sur remained behind, coiled in her majestic power and cloaked under a cold, burning fury.

“Syrene?”

Skyle blurted her name out while blinking up in a daze. The look upon his face must have communicated his confusion, as Syrene shook her head and frowned for a moment before the fury in her eyes was gone as swiftly as it had arrived.

“What did I just see?”

Then Skyle recalled what had just happened, and he was far more worried about what Syrene herself might have seen. Had his taint been revealed?

“How do you feel, Skyle?” Syrene whispered, her words calm and soothing though her still lips shook ever so slightly.

“I- I don’t understand. I’m fine, but what happened?”

Skyle made to rise to his feet, but Syrene gently pushed him back down. Her eyes gleamed with an azure sheen, and her hand emitted rays of blue essence as it swept down the length of his body. Skyle could only feel a slight tingling on his skin, but thankfully the chaos in his veins seemed to have subsided.

“Well, at least I can see no injuries upon your body. There’s still this strange..”

Syrene’s words trailed off as she caught Skyle’s guilty gaze and narrowed her eyes.

“Never mind. Are you sure you feel alright? Can you stand up?”

Skyle nodded and quickly rose to his feet, eager to distance himself from the summoner. Who knew what kind of wild magics she could cast on him? The abrupt movement set his head spinning and he wavered for a moment before quickly recovering his balance.

“Good as new,” Skyle said, embarrassedly dusting himself off to avoid her searching gaze. “So, how did I do?”

Skyle swept his gaze toward the crystal, which lay inert and transparent, completely devoid of any color.

“I’m guessing that’s not good?”

Syrene did not so much as glance toward the crystal, instead studying Skyle while her hands flexed slowly as though she couldn’t wait to get her hands on him again and was only preventing herself from doing so through a supreme effort of will.

Swallowing loudly and taking another step back, Skyle suddenly noticed the absolute silence that had come over the room.

“What’s the matter? Did I- er, did something happen?”

Skyle cleared his throat mid-sentence, his skin flushing scarlet while his gaze sought out his siblings for support.

Kassandra and Reikard stood out in stark contrast from the crowd. While every face around them was pale and their pupils were wide with barely suppressed shock, the Farrow twins wore identical, knowing grins which were mirrored in the smug glint of their eyes. It was as though they were both loudly announcing to the world that they had known such a thing would happen, and it had been only a matter of time.

“Just what did they see?”

“Uh, Madam-”

“Syrene,” the Aegis’sur said firmly, right next him.

“S-Syrene,” Skyle conceded. “What happened? Did I pass?”

“Pass?” Syrene looked at Skyle as though she didn’t know whether she was being toyed with or not.

“Yeah, I didn’t get to see the color-”

“Spectrum,” Syrene corrected absently.

“Yes, spectrum. I didn’t see it. Hopefully, I didn’t do too badly?”

Syrene stood there for a long moment, gazing at him along with every other pair of eyes in the room in mute contemplation. It was only then that Syrene finally seemed to realize that Skyle was asking in earnest. A rueful smile stretched her lips as she laid her hands upon his shoulders and gently turned him around.

The crystal lay quiet and inert upon its pedestal. It’s transparent surface, lacking any colors, seemed a grim reminder that Skyle remained a cripple. He began to wonder if he had only imagined the voices around him speaking of shocking new spectrums while he struggled against the taint for those long, agonizing minutes.

All in all, Skyle was satisfied with these results. At least, a transparent crystal was far better than a black crystal filled with the taint. He could only shudder as he imagined what his fate would have been if he had not managed to contain the taint with that last burst of his bloodline’s power. Dangerous or not, it seemed as though this shadow energy had at least a measure of power over the taint while his innate elemental essence could not muster any resistance against it.

“I still have a feeling this power is closely tied to the Desolate Star Technique. I must unlock the 4th movement, the Divine Hand, as soon as possible!”

Glancing toward the crystal clear surface of the crystal, Skyle couldn’t help but grin wryly. At least the shadow power responded to his call, while his elemental powers remained buried underneath the tyrannical oppression of the taint.

“Well, being a cripple beats being executed for being Shadowblighted.”

Skyle had hardly let a relieved sigh escape his lips, when he heard the sharp cracking sound that split the silence in the room.

His eyes grew as round as saucers as he followed the source of the sound and witnessed the hairline fracture that suddenly split the very top of the cumulus crystal. His mouth gaped in horror as he watched the rift inch its way down the entire length of the enormous crystal. Each snaking line was accompanied by a crisp crack that echoed in the hollow silence of the hall. In mere moments, the huge fissure ran down the middle of the crystal from top to bottom.

Skyle stretched out a hand toward the crystal in panic, not even daring to approach or even utter a sound in terror of what might happen next.

“Oh bugger.”

The dry, tired sigh that accompanied Syrene’s words were like the final death sentence. As soon as the words rang out, the whole crystal flashed brightly, then split open with a loud pop. The two pieces landed unceremoniously on the ground, inches apart. A brief halo of elemental radiance flared brightly for one last time, leaving the pieces twitching for a moment before they lay dead on the ground with a final sigh.

“My god, the cumulus crystal is shattered!”

“I’ve never heard of something like this. I didn’t even know it was possible!”

“Just what kind of a monster is he?”

“Shhh, I recognize him now. He’s Skyle Farrow, you know, from that Farrow family.”

“You mean Kassandra and Reikard Farrow’s..?

“Yeah, those siblings, they’re all just such freaks. I always knew the rumors of him being a cripple were nonsense.”

“Phew, good thing I wasn’t one of those who spread such rumors. I imagine those who did must.. Ah, Timothy, you alright?”

“F-Fine, I’m fine. Just, just give me some space..”

“That was definitely a gold spectrum in the crystal, right?”

“You know, I saw a hint of orange in the very center right before he let go of the crystal.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Orange is the master level spectrum. The crystal must have malfunctioned.”

“Have you heard of a cumulus crystal malfunctioning, ever? Besides, I know what I saw.”

“I think I saw it too.”

“You’re both blind.”

The voices degenerated into a lively argument before Skyle drowned them out and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He must be imagining things again. Gold spectrum? Orange? Ludicrous!

Skyle blinked his eyes and turned sideways to stare in shock at Syrene, who was gazing at him from under furrowed eyebrows. She stood so close to him that he could smell the sweet scent of her breath upon his face.

“They’re right, you know?”

Skyle was rooted on the spot under the intensity of her gaze.

“Gold? Orange?” Skyle let out a couple hollow, booming laughs before turning a sickly smile upon Syrene while wringing his hands. “Surely, there must be an error somewhere.”

“Precisely. The cumulus crystal has obviously malfunctioned. It not only compromised the readings, it also placed the life of a valuable member of the student body at grave peril.”

Syrene turned to the masters, who suddenly jumped upright as they found themselves the targets of the Aegis’sur’s glare.

“I will expect a full report and an accounting of the events which led to the abuse and misuse of the cumulus crystal at your hands, academy masters.”

“B-But Magister Syrene, the crystal was functioning at full capacity before-” Master Thaddeus said.

All his wide-eyed protests withered under the intense pressure of Syrene’s indifferent regard.

“The cumulus crystal was indeed functioning at full capacity before a third-party unscrupulously barged into my duly registered appointment at the testing chamber. I am sorely tempted to pursue a full accounting for the physical, mental and emotional stress subjected upon my protege.”

The three masters’ complexions lost color with each of Syrene’s words. By the time she reached the part about Skyle’s supposed stress, it was all they could do to lean upon each other in order to keep their trembling legs from collapsing under them.

The students’ gazes did not register any of this, however. Instead, their eyes were all riveted upon Skyle with a fierce mix of surprise and envy.

“He’s the Aegis’sur’s protege?”

“Syrene Aegis’sur’s personal disciple?

“Skyle Farrow, he’s destined to be the new genius of Aegis.”

“Yeah, I heard some incredible rumors from the combat arenas yesterday. I never thought they were actually true..”

“What? Quick, tell me, what did you hear?”

Skyle winced at this, and glanced helplessly towards his siblings.

The twins, for their part, were veritably glowing with their smug grins, looking as though what they had expected to happen all along had at long last come to pass. Kassandra lifted her tiny nose even higher in the air, her nostrils flaring wide as though only then could she vent the pride bursting from her chest. Reikard, on the other hand, contented himself with a wide grin that was melting at the seams with golden joy as he sent a vigorous thumbs up to his older brother.

Skyle was still trying to dig himself out of the pits of his own confusion when he felt a warm hand land upon his shoulders. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he lifted his eyes and met the glowing stare of Syrene.

“M-Madam-”

Syrene quirked her eyebrow at him, a not-so-subtle threat naked in her gaze.

“S-Syrene, I mean.”

Syrene smiled in response. It was a slow, natural curling of her lips that displayed dazzlingly white teeth gleaming beneath. Beautiful though the summoner’s features might be, Skyle couldn’t help but shiver at the undisguised hunger in her eyes.

“Well done, Skyle.”

“T-Thank you?”

Why was she purring? She was a human, not a cat. Certainly, she had no right to remind Skyle of an image of his snowblade tigers right as they were about to pounce upon a particularly delicious morsel. Her fingers dug into his shoulders with a distinctively possessive air as she nudged him forward.

“Well? We’re done here. Time to move on.”

“Uh, where are we going?”

“Why, to the next room, of course.”

Skyle shuddered, remembering there were two more tests awaiting him.

“Uh, I suddenly feel sick, Madam- er, Syrene.”

Syrene’s throaty laugh filled the room then, before she leaned in close and whispered right next to his ear.

“Little wonder, dear Skyle. You did, after all, break an ancient cumulus crystal worth roughly 100,000 golds with your orange spectrum.”

Skyle jerked his head to the side, meeting her dancing green eyes with his own horrified stare.

“WHA-? I-I didn’t mean, I mean-”

“Shhh. It’s alright, don’t worry about it. In fact, the more things you break, the more intrigued I become. Do you even realize how boring life was before you and your siblings waltzed into my life?”

The burning embers in her eyes scorched a trail of despair down Skyle’s throat, leaving his heart a smoking mess. He desperately tried to clear his thoughts, but Syrene’s shimmering green eyes held his gaze in a spell, leaving him tongue-tied and fumbling for words.

The exalted Aegis’sur beamed at Skyle as she pulled him in close once again, squeezing him for all she was worth and smothering him under the yielding softness of her breasts. He spluttered in protest, but it was smothered by the giggle the summoner let out in response.

“I can’t wait to see what you break next, little Skyle.”

Skyle moaned, and the damn woman laughed.

She laughed, and Skyle cried in helpless horror in his heart.