“How did you know I figured out some internal magic, anyway?” Theo asked Sparrow, grunting as he slowly pulled himself up.

There was a mischievous twinkle in their eye. “When you teach, you get quite good at picking out things like that.” Sparrow waited until he was standing, then draped an arm around his shoulders.

“So, mind sharing with the class what exactly you figured out?”

It wasn’t difficult for Theo to recall what it had involved. That knowledge was seared into his brain.

“Rest, Meditation, Tome of Memories, and Endless Song.” He listed them off.

Sparrow whistled. “That’s quite a spread. Especially considering how Rest and Tome of Memories are already second tier.”

Theo shrugged. “I guess that’s why it took as long as it did. I had hints of it half a year ago, but it never clicked until now.”

“Theo, most people dedicate their whole lives to do what you just did.” They gently reminded him. “Well, what have you figured out so far?”

Theo flushed, then thought over their question. This wasn’t to distract themselves from the embarrassment currently travelling its way across his cheeks. “It made me feel perfectly focused, unfazed, and like I had endless energy. I didn’t feel tired at all, and even now after I let it go I still feel refreshed.”

Sparrow nodded. “Endless is the right word for it. Given your description and the component magic involved, I think it’s something mentioned in the internal magic notes you found in that chest.” Theo was surprised at that, having forgotten what was in those chests. Even with Tome of Memories, they had just slipped his mind as life became a lot more complicated than a series of chests he needed to find.

“The current working name is Eternal Motion. The author of the notes theorised it would allow someone to remove the need for sleep or rest at all, supplementing it with mana instead. It was entirely theory, as they never managed to get it working. And now it’s proven to be a working pathway of internal magic, if a difficult one. Good job.” He smiled at the praise.

Sparrow patted him on the shoulder, roughly but affectionately, like rubbing the belly of a hyperactive dog. “Now that you’ve achieved another life’s worth of accomplishments before you even graduated from the College, let’s go to the meeting. I think we both know there will be a lot to discuss.”

Theo nodded, face turning sombre as he remembered just what had happened today.

Sparrow turned around, heading off to the meeting and expecting him to follow, but also giving him enough space and distance to process things.

He suddenly felt conflicted about his breakthrough. It only occurred due to the endless hordes of enemies available to him. He benefited from battling those under Guiding Will’s control.

He knew it was unreasonable, but that didn’t stop guilt from pumping through his veins, body turning cold and clammy.

He swallowed, and followed, catching up to Sparrow’s deliberately slowed footsteps in a moment, leaving behind the spattered silky vomit that was slowly sinking into the earth.

---

“I worry that I am becoming inured to Etol committing atrocities.” John remarked, with both great and no humour. It was the kind of statement one made after having become used to a horrific reality that it was no longer surprising, but still utterly unbelievable. To the point of becoming laughably absurd, laughable only to stop oneself from crying instead.

He looked tired. He forcefully unclenched a fist and placed it gently on the table he stood next to, sighing. The meeting place had filled out, having requisitioned furniture from local establishments, transforming the sparse camp of tents into somewhere that could pass for the outdoor seating of a far too expensive restaurant using authentic grime in the service of a rustic chic, promising to serve the “food of the people” to the wealthy who wanted a taste of the other side without having to actually mingle with the poor.

Theo had seen one such establishment in the Housing District, and while it looked similar, the cleanliness throughout and the lack of smells made the deliberate dirt stand out terribly.

The meeting place was also full of people, although it was becoming obvious that there were seats empty and not as many people sitting as before. He hoped that was simply from people leaving to go home, or taking a break. Instead of, well.

“We now know why they are content to throw their own people through a grinder. They do not care if they are dead or alive; they have uses for their bodies regardless.” John continued, summarising what had happened for those who didn’t have the privilege and curse of witnessing that magic first hand.

“Furthermore, while we are able to sustain supplies, the morale inside Union City has been dropping as the variety of food has decreased and water rationing has gone into effect. We must finish this war soon, before the citizens we are trying to protect start becoming genuinely unhappy, and before they manage to disappoint me once again with their pioneering efforts to lower the bar of acceptable behaviour.”

Theo hadn’t even noticed anything about the food. Right now, it was just whatever fuel he could shove into his body while he wasn’t exhausted.

He found himself nodding along, and he wasn’t the only one. This war had gone on for less than a week, and he was already spent. Even his newly discovered internal magic was a stopgap measure, and he knew he couldn’t rely on running away from his body’s needs forever even if it was rather tempting to try.

Speaking of which.

“Onto brighter news,” Ansel began, “We have another breakthrough on the battlefield today!”

Sparrow took over. “Our very own one-man army has gained an understanding of a theoretical third-tier internal magic. The working name for now is Eternal Motion, and as it’s a new discovery we will explore the details at a later date. Preferably outside the crucible of war.”

Theo smiled politely as a round of applause and cheers rang out, before the meeting dissolved into a loose coalition of conversations and commiseration.