Usage of Ether

"Hey kid, you alright?"

She was… beautiful, extremely beautiful. Her accent was also Russian.

Well, maybe I'm over-exaggerating, but if I were a lesbian, then I would definitely fall for someone like her. She had this aura about her, reassuring me that I was in safe hands. I felt comforted and could rely on her.

"Hey, Emmeline, snap out of it!"

Apotheosis called my name, waking me up from my peculiar thoughts.

I almost forgot they could read my mind…

"W-What is it?" I asked.

"Control your aura, it's leaking out of your body like a broken faucet. You'll attract more Wraiths!"

"Control my aura?" What did she mean by that?

I was confused until I looked around me, noticing my freaking ether was exuding from my body, shooting into the sky like a beacon of energy.

"W-Woah! When did this happen?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Huh?" The blonde-haired woman turned around, facing me, stupefied, before saying, "You can see this creature, yet not control your ether?"

"Well, I just learned how to focus my ether in my ears and eyes a moment ago."

"A moment ago? That takes months to years of practice!"

Huh, what was she saying? I had too much potential?

"Really?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"She's right. Controlling your ether into specific points of your body takes years to master, but for others it takes months. It depends on who's born with the most potential; the world isn't fair, some are born with less potential while others are born with more." Said apotheosis, alerting the blonde attention.

I slowly, but surely, controlled my aura, keeping it locked inside my body. It wasn't hard at all. But for others, it must've been a pain in the behind.

"How odd. A talking hand, you don't see that every day."

"My name is Apotheosis, I'm sure you wizards have heard of me."

"Ah, so it is true. Sawada wasn't lying when she said the prophecy is actually happening, huh?" She took a puff of her cigarette, staring at the Wraith once again.

"Please, can you do something about my sister? We can't let that thing enact any harm!"

Desperately changing the conversation, everyone focused their attention back on the Wraith in front of us.

It was releasing some ghoulish, otherworldly growl underneath its breath.

Creepy… this monster had to go.

"Sit back, let the adult handle this." She turned around, grinning, "The names Guinevere by the way. Guinevere Olson."

"…Guinevere Olson? My name is Emmeline Fareweood. Pleasures all mine."

"So formal, how cute." She stated in a teasing manner before taking the cigarette from her mouth, and dropping it on the ground, "I'm lucky, aren't I? I'm one of the first wizards in this era to fight against the Wraiths. It couldn't get any more exciting than this!"

"Now watch, Emmeline. Take notes on how a Wizard fights, and learn." Said Apotheosis, calm as ever.

I knew we were in safe hands.

A moment ago, Apotheosis was scared and worried, but now they seem calm and reasonable. This Guinevere person must really be strong.

"Release the girl!" In a flash, Guinevere vanished from her position, dashing towards the Wraith at speeds I couldn't perceive.

I blinked once, and I could see the Wraith's arm lopped on the ground, turning to dust.

Matilda… she was free?!

"H-Huh?! Matilda!" Seeing my sister in Guinevere's grasp, a look of relief plastered my face.

But the fight was far from over. The wraith gurgled, slowly regenerating another arm.

"Tsk. What a pain, so you can regenerate?" Scoffed Guinevere.

I noticed something inside the wizard's hand, it appeared to be a glowing Katana, made purely out of ether.

"Where did she get that from?" I asked.

"It's called Jio, one of the Five Basic Elements of Ether."

"Jio?" I asked, obviously confused.

"Yes. There's Yoh, Ein, Sehk, Kah, and Jio. Each element focuses solely on controlling one's Ether."

"Then, what does Jio do?"

"To understand that, you must first understand the four other elements." Responded Apotheosis.

Guinevere sat Matilda down safely, and dashed at the creature again, swinging her katana at its leg. It was unable to react in enough time, falling to its knee.

"Is this all you got?" Said the wizard, taunting the Wraith.

"Yoh is the basic element of Ether. Every sleeper on earth is passively using Yoh without consent, born to be that way. With Yoh, it prevents the aura from leaking out of the brain, and awakening them to the realms of the supernatural."

"So Yoh is basically the element that keeps Ether locked inside of the brain?"

"Indeed. If one masters this element well enough, they can store the Ether inside their body to live for longer periods of time; Hundreds, to thousands of years, and possibly more."

"That's incredible!"

"Ein is similar, but it completely stops the usage of Ether altogether. When using Ein, you're invisible to Phantasms and even humans."

"Even… humans?"

"Yes. Humans naturally have a sixth sense. Do you notice how sometimes it feels like someone's watching you, and most of the time you end up correct?"

"Uh… yeah."

"That's humans naturally sensing another person's Ether. You all have it, but if you use Ein to cease it altogether, you'll become undetectable. You could stand directly in front of someone and they won't notice you."

This was too much to learn, I needed to write this down in a notebook or something.

"Then, what about Sehk?" I asked, looking at apotheosis.

"Look closely, Emmeline. Observe Guinevere's fight."

I turned my attention back to the fight, watching the wizard mock, and taunt the Wraith.

"Gigigerrr!" The creature couldn't keep up, it swung its arms, and tentacles, trying to capture Guinevere, but failed miserably. All of its actions were rendered null.

Guinevere moved at blinding speeds, zigzagging through the air, and leaving afterimages in her fight. Even I couldn't perceive the entire battle.

So I focused… intensely.

All of my Ether was focused in my eyes, slowing down my perception of time. I didn't even know I could do this, but here I was, learning, and evolving.

Guinevere was moving at the speed of the third cosmic velocity, quite literally.

I wasn't exaggerating whatsoever. But I also questioned how could a human withstand so much g-force.

"How is she… doing this? Wait, her aura… she has a thin layer of it around her body?"

I didn't notice it until I paid closer attention.

A thin layer of aura was surrounding Guinevere, protecting her physical body to withstand immense speed and acceleration. She ignored wind resistance entirely, blazing at speeds that defied even most superheroes I read in comic books.

Amazing!

"Precisely. You're a fast learner, aren't you, child?"

"Yeah… I get that a lot."

"Sehk is the element that focuses on outputting more Ether. You can use Sehk to project your Ether into weapons, items, and other materialistic things, enhancing their potency, durability, or speed. A piece of paper can become the sharpest weapon in the entire world."

"I see. So she's using Sehk around her body, protecting herself from the g-force and possible attacks that could come her way?"

"Correct. You can also use Sehk for malicious intentions. Releasing enough Ether can destroy everything around you, deconstructing the environment entirely, and dissembling one's atomic structure. If someone with a lower output of Ether faced someone with a higher output, they could resist its deconstructing effects, but still be put to sleep, and have their abilities nullified by the stronger."

"Man. What a pain in the butt, so all of this is about who's at the top of the pecking order?"

Guinevere had dismantled the Wraith into hundreds of pieces already as it lay on the ground, gurgling.

Its body was slowly regenerating as she stood over it, spitting on its body in disgust.

"Disgusting piece of shit. I'd rather kiss a Phantasm scum than look at something grotesque as you. But don't you worry, I'll clean you right up!"

"Tell me about Kah. Is that what I'm using?"

"Yes, Kah is focusing your Ether into a specific point of your body. Eyes, ears, mouth, legs, hands, and arms. Whatever you desire. Focusing enough Ether on specific parts of your body will enhance it, drastically. You could see abstract phenomenons, gain a slower perception of time, hear into the spiritual world, yell louder than any siren, run faster than any manmade creation, and punch harder than any weapon."

"I see. So wizards normally use all of the five elements together when fighting?"

"Usually. The most known elements to use in a fight are Kah and Sehk. When a wizard is trying to kill something, they would never use Yoh."

"And I'm assuming the last element is using your ether to manifest weapons of your desire or something like that?"

"Vague way of putting it, but yes. Jio is usually a combination of Kah and Sehk. The awakened outputs the ether from their body with Sehk, and uses Kah to condense that ether into their hand, creating a powerful weapon of their desire."

That was a lot to take in, but I think I understand now. I'm a fast learner, I can get the hang of things on the first try.

This was all starting to make sense now.

"And you Apotheosis, you're the final element of Ether, right? What does that make you, exactly?"

"Hahaha, that's a story for another time. But for now, watch and learn, Emmeline. Guinevere will use her Mental Figment."

"Huh?!"