70 The Decision

Lydis sat quietly in her tree, the number of teachers surrounding the dorm had increased to dangerous levels. If she didn't find a way to rejoin the other students they would suspect her immediately.

"Ui, go scout for a bit, I need to know when I can make a move."

"Yes Master Lydis."

Ui crawled off Lydis's shoulder and jumped off, it's wings faltering for a second before stabilizing. Flying through the lush trees, Ui quickly disappeared from Lydis's view.

A few moments later the back of the dorm exploded. Multiple explosions thudded inside before the wall burst open, thick purple smoke wriggling free.

The back exploded again.

Teachers were rushing to the explosion, Hal and two others staying to protect the children.

"W-what's going on?" Lydis felt a surge of dense slyphir hit her face, the trees around her rumbling and swaying with each impact. Suddenly the back lit up with a bright light. Lydis had to cover her face with one arm, the other clinging to the tree so she wouldn't fall.

"Contain it!"

"Move! Move! Move!"

The teachers were working to contain the slyphir explosion. If it continued, the children in the front could be effected, ruining the year's batch of soldiers.

Lydis watched with a sad interest as the teachers were slow to organize and suppress the wild slyphir. Their coordination needed a lot of work, especially considering that very few of them were at the green stage. Most of the teachers were suppressed by the rampaging slyphir, using everything they had just to stay standing.

From the thick plume of purple slyphir, a small object shot out. Rounded and metallic, the slight gleam of it's surface caught Lydis's eye.

Using the chaos and explosions as cover, Lydis made her way to where the object seemed to have landed, her footsteps still cautious and silent.

Hidden beneath a bush, the object emitted thin wisps of purple slyphir which dispersed quickly into the air.

"Strange..." Lydis crept up slowly, wary for any traps or hidden weapons. As she neared the metal ball, the remaining purple slyphir finally disappeared, leaving nothing but thin traces of it's powerful force. Lydis used a nearby twig to press the metallic ball.

After waiting a few moments of testing, Lydis weighed the pros and cons of touching the object.

It didn't contain any slyphir she could detect and wasn't responsive to hard hits but, she'd never seen anything like it before. The metallic surface seemed to swirl slowly, like it was alive but whenever she struck it, the ball wouldn't break nor stop swirling.

It looked like it was trying to devour itself while also growing.

Lydis hesitated for a moment before deciding. Whatever it was, it'd come from the explosion and it had survived. Worthless or not, it should hold some value.

Reaching over with one hand, she paused a few inches from it. Something inside of her was stirring, the previously suppressed slyphir had begun to act up.

"Sh-"

Lydis opened her eyes to darkness. At first she thought that night had fallen but the silence and solid darkness was not something possible in the real world. Light from the moon and the dorm would show even at night.

"Lydis…"

From the darkness, a slightly lighter figure walked towards Lydis. Her black goo dripping occasionally.

"Ebi, why am I here? Didn't you say that it was dangerous to contact me in the academy?"

"It wasn't me but the other one. They called you here. Come."

Ebi turned around and disappeared. Lydis had no choice but to follow, her feet felt nothing but after a few steps she could feel solid ground beneath her. Abruptly she found herself in front of a door's outline. The light behind it shinning through.

"Enter."

The same gurgled, sickening voice from her brief encounter before rang out from behind the door. Lydis pushed the door and instantly found herself in a room full of light, the floor covered in a vibrant red. The path had turned from black to white as well.

Ebi stood next to the red figure, her face like stone.

"Lydis! We meet again so soon?" The red figure stepped closer to Lydis.

"Why did you call me here?"

The red figure gurgled before answering Lydis.

"It seems you've found an interesting device outside."

"That metal ball?"

"Yes that."

"What's so important about it?"

"Since it turned out like this I think the gods favor you my dear Lydis."

"Get on with it, I don't have all day. There are multiple teachers around."

The figure gurgled again, closely resembling a laugh but too distorted to be expressing genuine joy.

"That metal ball could save your life."

"What?"

"Though only a replica, it's something that came from beyond the mist. Able to absorb very large amounts of slyphir, it can also store the slyphir I've been suppressing."

"Then what would happen to it? What's the 'mist'? How do you know this?"

The red figure seemed to let out a sigh similar to annoyance but Lydis doubted it had lungs or even needed to breath.

"Unless you want to wait for another 'miracle' or chance to survive be my guest. It won't matter to me either way. If my host disappears, I'll just move on."

Lydis bit her lip, stealing a glance at Ebi. Silent and unmoving, Ebi pretended to not notice Lydis's gaze.

"Lydis, can you really find another opportunity like this within two months? Be real."

"You still haven't answered my questions. What will happen? How are you so sure it'll work?"

"Lydis, it's now or never."

Lydis clenched her jaw tightly. The situation in the real world wouldn't allow her to idle but it was also a decision filled with unknowns. Could she really trust the being in front of her? Although it had saved her life temporarily, Lydis couldn't be sure that the red figure's words were truth. Even if they were, it wasn't the whole truth. She knew that for sure.

"You're wasting time Lydis. Do you want me to countdown? Will that encourage you?"

Ebi shifted slightly but Lydis was too concentrated to notice the small change in Ebi.

*sigh* "Fine but how do I do it?"

The red figure widened it's grin.

"A wise choice Lydis."

Lydis's mouth opened but her words wouldn't come out. Confused, the silence in the room was replaced by a snap. Like thunder, it rang quickly and loudly. All at once Lydis found herself in the middle of picking up the metallic orb, her fingers closing around it before she could think otherwise.

She wanted to pull away but her hand didn't do as she wanted. The orb shone slightly and suddenly Lydis felt it sucking something out of her, something vast and innate, something important.

Groaning, Lydis slowly turned her head to look at her hand, the pain and pressure form the process straining her movements. From her one real arm, Lydis could see a densely concentrated amount of black slyphir gushing towards the orb. At the time, she had no idea what her decision had cost, nor the repercussions it held.