Chapter V: Distant View (Pt.1)

 After a bit of laughter and lightheartedness, Tymon was the first to refocus and get everyone back on task. "So how will this work?" he voiced. "Who handles who when everything goes down?" He turned his head toward me, looking for an answer. Slowly, everyone else did the same. They all are waiting for your directive as leader, Viraa stated. I inhaled deeply as I took in the moment of recognition. This was my first actual order as leader of the team... "Hm...give me a sec," I stated as I tried to view things from a larger perspective. I needed to assign them to an opponent they'd have the best chance against. That would be best. You would regret sending them to face against someone who will outclass them immediately. Right, like sending Naomi to fend off Junichiro, I remarked. Precisely. That would be poor allocation, Viraa responded. Hmm, then there's the issue with Michael... I looked back at the others, having settled on my decision. "Once we've honed our new power, we'll hit them. Hard. Now that we know what they're all capable of, I have the perfect matchups," I declared before telling everyone but Michael and Tymon who they'd be responsible for. I intended to have Tymon stay with Michael and use his power to prevent Michael from dying, but Tymon quickly objected. "Let me fight Avarice," he said, causing everyone to look at him with disbelief. "Ty, you may be stronger now, but you can't seriously think it's enough..." Za'Fia stated softly. "Yeah, that's not smart," I concurred. "You won't be able to kill him, and if he transforms, he'll be too much for you to handle." Tymon shook his head. "I need this," he declared earnestly. "After what he's done to me, I won't be at peace until I face him personally." I thought about it for a second, understanding where Tymon was coming from. He'd been humiliated and tormented by Avarice and his insatiable thirsts. How could I say no to a man trying to face his traumas? "Don't let him transform," I sighed, caving. "Don't waste any time. Take him out so we can place some suppression cuffs on him." I turned my attention to everyone else before establishing an absolute rule. "None of them dies. Defeat them, don't kill them. Got it?" "Hold back against powerful enemies trying to kill us.... That makes things more challenging," Arne shrugged. "Fine by me." I thought about how that included Verin, and my blood boiled at the thought of keeping her alive, but I conceded, knowing that it was for the greater good and that it would be wrong to plan her murder. "Look, I get that this is asking a lot and that they won't make it easy, but—" "We'll do our best," Damien inputted patiently, seeing my internal struggle. "Even though some of us will have a tougher time," Za'Fia muttered as she crossed her arms and legs, still sitting on the lump of stone Arne conjured. "What about me?" Michael had been silent for a while. "I want you to focus on healing everyone during battle," I told him. "I'm putting them at a disadvantage by asking them to refrain from killing, so they'll need your support." "Hm?" Arne scoffed. "Sorry, they may need your support," I corrected. "Support..." Michael said, offended. I placed a caring hand on him. "We can't let you die," I said warmly. "I get this is insulting for someone of your stature, but please..." "Of course," he consented. I could tell he felt humiliated by this entire situation. He struggled not to object further but knew it was for the best. Damien came up and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, considering who we're up against, I'm sure your power will be our saving grace. It's bound to keep us out of perilous situations." "Exactly," I added. "Which reminds me..." I reached around my neck and removed the necklace with the cindium pendant my mother had given me. "Turn around and bend your knees a little," I told Damien. Damien complied and observed in quiet confusion as I reached around and placed the necklace around his neck. "Having it will protect you," I told him. "Oh?" he responded as he touched the pendant. "OKAY," Arne roared, having finally run out of patience. "I say let's get this training started. I'm itching for a good fight." "I can second that," Naomi stated, having switched personalities, probably for the remainder of training. With that, everyone paired up and found a separate room connected to the larger one we were in, leaving me there alone—well, not entirely. I glanced down, wondering where I'd start for my training. Then, I noticed something interesting: I'd developed five dark rings around my wrist. "Wha—" Surprised? Now that your body is stronger, I have allowed Temporal Sight to become tethered to you—my powers are yours now. You can even use Construct. Though, the other three indicate your own cintracies. You can sense the cores within me too, right? Can you tell me what they are? Of course, let us see...oh! You have quite the impressive arsenal of abilities. Your new cintracies are Lift, All-Sight, and Heart's Eye. Beginning with All-Sight: it is a mystic-class cintracy that allows you to see other places or people regardless of how far away they may be. However, it requires you to have been to the location or have already met the target you wish to see. If I remember correctly, it should also protect you from mind-manipulating cintracies. That definitely sounds useful, but none of us has any mind-manipulating cintracies, I commented. Next is Heart's Eye, Viraa continued on. This temp-class cintracy does not boast much offensively, but it does help grant you insight on others. It allows you to see into others' spirits and hearts, showing you a specific color relating to one's surface emotions. A byproduct of this intensifies your natural sense ability to the point you should be able to more accurately discern one's EQN just by sensing their energy.