I start the day with a light beating from Elina. She seems to be taking it easy on me because of the poison. I had to actually tell her to stop holding back.

“If Romy’s beatings haven’t killed me yet, yours certainly won’t do it either!” I say and she protests,

“But, the poison…”

“Stop holding back!”

“O-Okay…” Despite her cold exterior and scary mask, Elina really is a healer at heart who hates causing pain. Unfortunately, that same gentleness makes her a poor Rainstopper trainer. I get the feeling that somewhere inside of her, there must be more to her. After all, I doubt the Vice-Secthead of the Rainstopper Sect is really a softie. But after opening up a little bit to me, there hasn’t been any more progress. After the two hours are done, and my body is properly warmed up, she eagerly switches to training me in healing magic. Despite her initial hesitation because she was worried that I would waste the time I need to learn combat skills, Elina has turned out to be quite passionate about teaching me healing. First, we go to a secluded area, far beyond the rock pillars and plateau. Deep in the forest surrounding the Cliffs of Sisyphus. Beside a small waterfall and amidst the twisting branches, Elina has been instructing me in the ways of a healer. She waves her hands worriedly, “Now understand, Myrr. You might be a genius, I’ve never heard of anyone learning the basic chant as quickly as you. But trying Time Reversal Magic this early is a bit premature!”

“Uhuh…what’s the harm? It’s only a tree.” I get her concern, but can’t help but feel a little annoyed. You see, unlike the other elemental magics, which I grasped the basic chants for quite easily, Basic Healing seems to be tougher. Maybe I’m getting older so it’s harder to learn? Or maybe I’m just bad at Light Magic? Even still, I managed to heal a tiny cut on a blade of grass within two weeks of learning the chant. And that’s without really focusing. Most of my time is devoted to working on my own special projects while Elina keeps watch. “Look, how bad could it be? If I mess up, worse case the tree dies.”

“Well…I suppose…alright, listen closely, the chant goes like this. Remember though, even though I teach you this, never use this technique unless it’s an absolute emergency! Healing Magic can permanently damage someone’s body if you mess up!” Elina shakes her head but gives inevitably gives in. She thinks I should learn Intermediate Healing Magic first, before trying Time Reversal, but I’m just curious if I can make it work. Besides, intermediate Healing Magic is a pain to learn. “Alright, give it a try. But chances are, it won’t work. It took me years to get my first reversal. Even if you know the theory from me, I doubt anything will-“

Not waiting for Elina to finish, I turn to the tree. We’ve cut a branch off one of the low hanging boughs by my face. The severed stump about as wide as my forearm bleeds a gem-like green sap. Chanting slowly, I take my time saying the words Elina taught me-

[Memory Of My Eternal Heart

That Shining Monument To What Was

Akashic Record Which Tells Of A Better Time

Come Forth Again-Time Reversal Healing]

Honestly, even I wasn’t expecting much. Maybe a bit of bark growing back. The bleeding to stop. However, I feel a massive mana drain and then a wondrous thing happens. A warm, greenish-yellow light suffuses the world. Like some sort of strange, hazy lamp, it pierces the veil between time and space and Elina lets out a surprised squeak midsentence as the branch begins to regrow! It’s…similar to Mark’s healing magic, however, when I focus on the memory of the branch, on willing it to be what it used to be, all the little imperfections which were present on the cut off branch are perfectly replicated. What regrows is not a perfect new branch. I watch in awe, my mind locked in the magic as a leaf begins to grow off the end of a twig. On the ground beneath me, that same leaf has been half-eaten by a bug. In my hands, the new leaf also forms half-eaten, a bizarrely accurate recreation of the first.

“Myrr, stop! STOP! You’re using too much mana!” Elina yells, afraid for my well being. But she doesn’t understand how vast my mana reserves are. “Cut it off!”

It’s fine. I can do this!

Channeling more into the spell, I recreate more of the branch, more leaves, more twigs, the heartwood and outer bark. It’s all…perfect. Just the same as the original branch on the ground. I’m elated. It’s working! I got this! I can heal ANYTHING!

*Whoosh*

And that’s when things get weird. The wind begins to blow my hair around my face. Even my vast mana reserves are starting to feel the drain from the spell. My mind…is still locked into the spell.

“CUT THE SPELL!” Elina screams right next to me, her mouth in my ear as a howling gale builds around me. However, it’s like she’s speaking to me from far away. Her voice echoes, a stone skipping across a watery lake, before reaching me. It distorts, as if something…reality…matter…space…something between us is breaking. “STOP! WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING STOP!”

I…can’t...

She makes it sound so simple. But my mind is locked into the folds of the branch. Vaguely, I understand that something is wrong. Yet all that matters to me is the branch. Each individual cell…the little pieces which make it up, I can see them all so clearly. Somewhere, far away, I think there’s something strange going on. Maybe a fire. Black smoke curls up around me, and the warm yellow-green light can’t break through. It’s like I’m standing inside of a gasoline fire, the choking, black smoke curtaining me off from the warmth of day. Everything’s turning black…billowing…what’s happening?

*WHUMP*

My world tilts. The blackness dissipates into the bright sunlight as the world returns to normal. I’m…where am I? Opening my eyes, it’s hard to understand. Everything’s all blurry, and my ears are ringing. I realize that something hit me.

“It’s okay! IT’S okay!” The person in front of me says repeatedly, her fingers searching the back of my head. Parting the hair, she breathes a frantic sigh of relief. “I’m sorry! I had to stop you. You wouldn’t stop the spell!”

“I…what happened?” I whisper. “The spell…did I do it wrong? Is that normal?” Gradually, the world stops spinning and the face in front of me comes into focus. For a brief second, I’m confused. Her bare face is so familiar. Those blue eyes aren’t quite right. They’re sunken, when they should be piercing like the sky. But I’d know them anywhere. And that small nose, those warm lips. If it wasn’t for the horrid twin scars crisscrossing both sides of her face in an X, I’d have no doubt in my mind. Automatically, in my frightened state, I call out the name that comes to mind. The one which has always come to save me when I needed help. “R-Romy?”