Training proceeded apace for the days following, keeping the three girls occupied in turn. Ayzherie had the whole thing already planned out, providing a strong environment for improvements.

Other research had progressed smoothly as well, even though they had no new updates regarding the Astral Flame. Several evenings had simply involved a few kinds of checks, where no news was good news. The research that had become the most interesting was in Riyxia specifically, after her black shroud incident. Her physique didn’t seem to demonstrate any notable reason for the excessive force, even causing some questions if she had possibly cheated with her gift if not for the shatter damage of the armored dummy just after. In casual tests, her strikes appeared to be of slightly above average strength, not the kind that shredded through heavy armor. What did eventually become apparent was that she was terrifying when angry. Not only did she seem almost feral when she succumbed to rage, but her body produced a highly effective form of adrenaline. It wasn’t exactly clear if it was normal adrenaline in high dosage, or a synthetic adrenaline with high quality results. This distinction was mostly related to if it was part of her synthetic chemistry, or if it was more related to her original genetic map. It was even possible for it to be adaptive, her new essence expecting higher performance when in an adrenaline rush. There was a high probability that everything was more related to one of her essences, as her behaviour while enraged would have originated from either aspect. Anger management became one of her training courses as a result, though she actually proved fairly good in that area. She could remain cool if she wanted to stay relaxed, she could provoke herself even with minimal cause in the event she found reason for it. This had even resulted in a rematch of her sparring practice lesson, where she ended up faring about as well as Sryine had when she was expected to keep her cool. During that lesson, Sryine had not complained about illusions, realizing that anger-based stipulations were already getting a bit crazy, even if she had personally witnessed why they made sense.

Gift-based lessons started to get really creative. Sryine had found herself expected to climb a wall using only illusionary gear, something she had found exceedingly challenging due to the vast number of pieces required and the struggle to sustain illusions after a given distance, both problems actually being the purpose of the lesson. Vwyx was expected to reshape a tower of eggs, without breaking any of them, the largest challenge being how unbalanced the tower was, how unbalanced the tower was to become, and poorly the eggs were placed, and how hot the tower was. The heat of the tower not only caused it to naturally warp on its own, but exposing too much metal to the egg shell also caused it to soften, leading to more problems. Suffice to say that it hadn’t been a question of being successful, but of surpassing the latest record for fewest eggs broken. Riyxia was left with two forms of lessons, adjusting a person’s capabilities.. and improving as a spectre. That is not to say they were two different lessons, the expectation was for her to actually do everything blindfolded with earplugs, having only her specter to watch and listen from a fair distance, and herself reacting to specific motions to indicate if she needed to insure her chosen target was to hit stronger, move faster, or block better. It did not help that the two individuals chosen to do sparing for this were both exceedingly fast as it was, and there was an Astral Flame detector present to ensure she was in the correct location.. a location that also frequently changed by spark signals. By the end of such lessons, she wasn’t sure how, but she was certain her spectre was also exhausted.

By the time they finally had time off again, the two of them wanted nothing more than to relax the entire day, resulting in very little occuring. Jwyexzn spent a lot of the day going over their results as he had recorded, which mostly involved encouraging Sryine who was constantly getting disheartened by her poor statistics. Hyusziq had been busy trying to get some decent signage for everything created, although he had learned for Ayzherie that the various sections were not actually gender segregated, there were just some common trends of putting each gender closest to their respective washrooms. A few of the sections elsewhere in the shelter had more than one washroom in a section, giving even more variability, and in many cases even the gender of the washroom wasn’t formally enforced, especially due to considerations of a few unfortunate cases in the past of people needing to be placed with too much distance from their associated washroom, much of the whole thing had simply became more of a guideline than policy as a result, especially with consideration to discipline expectations of hunters at all times anywhere in the shelter. While this did ruin the core of his idea, Hyusziq still found use in making suitable maps of the place, as sections and rooms didn’t even have identifying labels beyond the people who rested there. Such a project was still a work in progress.

Dhyinze and Nuiqhyx actually did not share the same two days off, so they were busy doing hunter work during the same period. Nuiqhyx was actually still doing his remedial training, after the incident from the last day at the cafe. Dhyinze however had still been at work at the time such had occurred, so he wasn’t stuck with any added training at this point, having remained diligent. However, the daily work of a hunter still kept him busy, even if none of the girls knew exactly what he was doing at the time. Ayzherie almost didn’t seem to get days off at all, when you account for her daily meetings. However, she still was allowed most of every day in order to recover from her condition, a factor only Riyxia remained aware of between all of the non-hunters.

Eqriuxzl spent most of his time present invested in researching matters of the Astral Flame, specifically details on the traces. He did however spend most of his time instead at the academy, remaining diligent and dedicated in matters of study. By this point, he was already half a year ahead, working well in advance, while doing extra study on other materials that caught his interest. None of his school work included the Astral Flame, he kept his agreement in that area. During one of their sessions together though, Eqriuxzl had managed to exchange contact information with Riyxia, claiming that this way she could call him if something unexpected came up. Other than the other two girls, it was her first contact in her cell, unexpected in its own way. She did still have the contact card Jwyexzn had offered, but she had intentionally kept that seperate. Discussions regarding the card had not even arisen, Jwyexzn not even wanting to consider the implications that her circumstances technically implied she was the wrong person for the card, the intended recipient being dead. She was only the successor of such a person, even if she knew this would come back to haunt her someday.

By the end of their day off, they had heard word that considerable interest there had been found through the mountains, the beasts were amassing for another assault, much bigger than the day of the cafe. This happened on occasion, though it was growing worse overtime. Occasional howls in the distance were frequent enough, having grown more so over the span of the day. Because they had the day off, the three girls were expected to either remain safely inside the shelter, or to retreat to a safe place in the city to spend the entire day, dawn until dusk. The girls chose to remain at the shelter, the guards that would remain actually making the place feel safer than would exposing themselves to any more street thieves in the city, especially after darkness started to take to the streets.

By dinner time, a majority of the forces had returned, many injured and most exhausted. Even after spending the entire day out there, the beasts were still on the prowl, their growing numbers near the bridge speaking of an onset to a coming beastal siege if something was not done soon. When it was mentioned that this would require tomorrow’s training to be cancelled, Riyxia offered to instead spend the opportunity in support of the hunt itself, a training that was more of a trial by fire. The other two girls were surprised by this, having just tried to avoid a situation that would expose them to thieves and cutthroats, but to Riyxia there was a significant difference. Dealing with the beasts was actively helping the people already helping her, it was just something that had to be done anyway. This was a task far less selfish, far more meaningful. She needed to hold fast the bastion of life against the tides of death. Those were even the words she had used to explain her actions, yet another surprise for the other girls. As it stood, Riyxia was even going to offer to just sleep in the alternate room the entire night, her specter keeping watch the entire time.

“‘Bastion of Life against the Tides of Death’. That’s a really strange way to put it too.” “I don’t know. I mean, I wouldn’t have expected her to be so philosophical, but maybe that’s how she occupies herself every night. Life and death, those are concepts she’s probably been left to think long and hard about. If you think about it, those are questions for us too. We thought we were survivors of that night, when we’re just successors after death, life from death. That’s probably bugged her a lot, those two words, and I can totally see why. I’ve actually had some pretty terrifying nightmares on the same subjects, honestly, stuff Riyxia should be thankful that she’s immune to by this point. That day she came back bloodied like that, it was like she went out and found another side of herself, or made peace with another side of herself, one far more terrifying. We’ve just known her as a healer, someone who helped to keep us alive, someone who shares life. That day, she came back sharing .. death? The outfit she wore even the next day, have you heard the stories about it. The shade of death, like a revenant of the underworld that had come to harvest your soul. … that’s not even so inaccurate, is it? That’s basically what the Astral Flame really is, what we are. Dusk shades that share life and death in equal portions. I’m not even sure the old me could have stomached killing those thieves, nor you for that matter, but we just kinda did it. It had to be done, either them or us.. but I didn’t even spend time thinking about it until the next night. Was it so normal for the Terran Mythos to be this good at killing?” Sryine took consideration of Vwyx’s question as the two of them settled in for the night without Riyxia. The concept matched her stories of heroes, but had no relation to stories about Earth itself.

“No.. in fact the Terran Mythos said that original investigation started to treasure Earth due to how much less conflict it suffered. I mean, maybe stuff changed in the time since, but.. maybe it was the essences instead, baking a bit too long in the destructive presence of the Astral Flame. Actually, nevermind, forget that idea.” Sryine curled up in her bed in fright, not at all happy with the concept that their essences really were fueled with a destructive potential. The two of them both went quiet at this turn, not willing to discuss the matter further, but both considering the same concerns. Dusk shades, standing on the edge of life and death, sharing each side in even portion. Sryine personally had the complete potential to rip a person’s mind apart, to kill them from their mind. Vwyx had taken her crafting potential and had tainted it into a killing art, creating weapons that flowed in her hands like a grain harvester’s scythe against the grains that were lives. Riyxia meanwhile had harassed her rage to turn herself into a force of destruction and bloody carnage, neither of them even yet being aware of her attempts at reverse healing.

Nightmares struck upon them both that night, turmoiled thoughts of losing control and ending the lives of everyone else they knew. Despite this, sleep did not remain elusive for them, their troubled thoughts were not enough to stir them from their slumber, it was only enough to have their minds remain shaken and troubled through the span of the entire night. Through all the recurring fear, a constant theme percisted. Those they loved died because they had lost control over themselves. No matter how hard they considered alternatives, it was impossible for them to reject the idea that death was a factor of their own existence. But, in that mindset, that implied they still had two alternatives. They could deny it, avoid it, seperate themselves from it so much that they lose control over it, and thus invite destruction to all they might love and cherish. Or, they could accept it, work with it, provide direction so as to ensure the safety of those loved and cherished. A Bastion of Life against a Tide of Death, leaving them stuck in the middle, the Dusk Shade at the edge of day and night, of life and death. The active force of destruction was a part of who they were, if they did not learn how to use it properly, it would run wild. Both girls woke up together far late into the night, the troubles of their mind finally eating away at their sleep, somehow leaving them physically rested while being mentally troubled.

“So, how do you think Riyxia copes with something like this?” “I don’t know? Wild ideas leading to her wearing all black and playing with her inner rage and spouting lyrics of philosophy?” “Do you think it helps?” “The black didn’t suit her, though I heard it really made her difficult to spot when fighting. Remember that she kinda stopped wearing it too. The rage? I don’t know, I think that’s just more how she just channels her destructive intent. Being able to actually direct a destructive intent like that is probably really useful, but the methods are probably a personal thing. The philosophical stuff.. actually I wonder if some of that comes from her old essence, I can totally imagine her father having taught her that kind of behaviour. It’s just then how she’s working out her thoughts, putting things together. I don’t know, I think being able to sort thoughts out like that could only be a good thing.” Sryine pondered Vwyx’s replies, putting them into consideration of her own concerns. It was even a better answer than she had expected, quite honestly, putting Riyxia’s circumstances into a more personal scope.

“What about you then, would you wear such a black, move with a stealth agility that destroys all of your enemies? Would you go into battle wielding your destructive intent and directing it to all of your enemies? Would you sort… Actually, you already said sorting thoughts was a good thing.” “Well, it is. My thoughts are a mess right now, that’s why we’re both awake, right? Directing my destructive intent.. or whatever we want to call it.. that might be something I would have little choice on, not unless I like the alternative of not directing it. The simple thought of that necessity is terrifying, Riyxia is so lucky for having figured out something that works for her already. Then again, she only learned it because she started along the path, taking up the mantle of death and striking for blood. Being a shade of death like that, maybe it had allowed her to accept her destructive side, maybe the simple act was a form of acceptance, and maybe doing that was enough for her to figure that part of her out. With such curiosity, and considering the death we’re going to walk into tomorrow, I really don’t know. Maybe accepting the mantle of death for ourselves will bring us some good as well. I mean, at best, we find a solution to this problem and things get better. At worst, we look like Jwyexzn clones for a day and make fools of ourselves. I’m not exactly new to making a fool of myself, but I really like the idea of solving this problem. I think I’d do it if you did.” Sryine was seriously tempted herself, taking up the Mantle of Death with Vwyx. The way Vwyx had even phrased it, the whole venture was a low risk, high reward. After all, while Jwyexzn had dramatically failed his disguise with such colors, she didn’t exactly think he was so much being foolish as being misinformed, something which was their fault in the end. He might have looked ridiculous, but most of that was the application, not the color. Riyxia had made the color work, regardless of it not suiting her, because the style was at least more sensible. In fact, she had made it work very well, which might in large be due to her own ability. Riyxia had worn such, for her to turn down the opportunity now that the table has turned.. it would be an affront to their friendship.

Since the two of them weren’t about to get any more sleep that night, and especially because they felt plenty rested and motivated as it stood, the two of them got up and set to work. Much as Riyxia had done that morning before, they set about getting produced another uniform set in the pure black colors in each of their own sizes. They even took the opportunity to make a few spares for all three of them. Still, it would be ridiculous for them to wear this sort of thing all of the time, but they would just need to find a proper balance between aspects of life and death. They brought all of the new uniforms back to their room, setting aside today’s set for its usage. At that point, they just continued to wait and ponder their thoughts until the Hunters began to stir from their slumber. Soon after, Riyxia showed up to start getting ready for the day. She left the lights off, expecting the others were still asleep, and found the one uniform left out for her usage today. She put it on, and started out the room towards the common area, still unaware of the colors she was wearing. She tapped Nuiqhyx on the shoulder, whom she found waiting nearby, who was startled in a cold chill at the return of the shade of death. Being familiar with the reaction, it was only then that she became aware of exactly what she was wearing. She turned back to get changed, only to run into the other two girls as they were leaving the room, herself having not noticed they were just before her.

Recovering quickly, Riyxia got a good look at the other two, quickly aware of how they each matched in their dark styles this time. Today, all three of the Dusk Shades would be going hunting.