In Our Midst

It was a silent morning in the dojo, save for her heavy breathing and the rustling of fabric as she shifted into her battle stance.

Across the room was her butler Wilfred, who stood in a relaxed posture in contrast to her exhausted body. The sweat trickling down her forehead was evident of that, even her bangs had become damped.

It was to be expected. After all, they had been at this for nearly an hour now. At this point, it was clear who held the advantage in their entire session.

However, that did not discourage Lysandra. With a sharp inhale, she lunged forward, immediately closing the gap between them in a heartbeat.

Her fist flew directly at his chest and as expected, Wilfred gracefully sidestepped at the last second, her blow connecting with nothing but the wind.

Spinning on her heel, she aimed at his midsection with a follow up roundhouse kick. Her leg sliced through the air like a whip. However, it missed its mark when Wilfred opened some distance between them.

She shot at him again with a growl, not giving him time to balance himself from that leap. This time around, she unleashed a series of rapid kicks and strikes at him, each one more focused and calculated. However, her blows kept on missing their mark.

Lysandra felt frustration.

—It was frustrating.

Ever since the start of this training session, Wilfred has been mostly on the defensive. He hadn't launched a single attack against her while she on the other hand had been on the attack the entire time. But that didn't mean she wasn't on guard.

Wilfred moved like a shadow, when he wanted to, he couldn't be touched. 

His calm expression never wavered at all; his eyes tracked her every movement with precision like that of a predator dotting its prey.

—Ha!

The final fist she threw at him shimmered with a faint golden glow. She pushed forward, aiming it directly at his chest. Her fist cut through the air but just as she was about to make contact.

Wilfred caught it with an open palm.

The force of her punch didn't disappear. It exploded between the two of them, sending a wind pressure that rippled through the entire room. The walls shook, the windows and weapons rattled, and the wooden floor displayed signs of cracks forming beneath them.

Despite the sheer force of Lysandra launched at him, he didn't even flinch.

With a sudden fluid motion, Wilfred swept low for her legs. He moved so quickly that Lysandra barely had time to react. She leapt back to avoid the sweep. But whilst in midair, she was left open.

Lysandra's eyes widened.

In that instance, Wilfred's face twisted as he shot his fist at her face.

For a split second, Lysandra's heart stopped beating. In her current state, she was practically defenseless. She had no time to block or dodge.

Her exhausted muscles rebelled when she attempted. Even so, she still was able to reflexively cross her arms in front of her face for a crushing blow that never came.

—Yes.

Just as his knuckles were about to make contact with her arms, he stopped, and his fist hovered mere inches from her arms. The sheer force from his hand generated a gust of wind past her which undid the strand of her ponytail, sending her long blonde hair to flutter in its wake.

Lysandra blinked as her falling momentum was abruptly halted.

_This... is humiliating_

She thought, her inner voice crackling with embarrassment.

Before she hit the ground, Wilfred caught her in his arms. It was just like how a knight would catch a falling princess.

She internally felt flustered as he cradled her like she weighed nothing. His expression was as calm as ever.

For someone such as herself who held supreme reign over an influential organization like Sardes, being treated like a helpless damsel was really embarrassing.

_It's not as if he means to shame me… he's simply doing his duty. But still…_

Lysandra's eyes darted away from his as her regal mask slipped for a second.

_Did he have to go at it like this? _

"Are you alright, my lady?"

"Y-yes, yes. I'm alright. Thank you. Can you put me down now? I'm really exhausted"

On the outside, she had maintained her composure —at least she thought she did, but her gratitude slipped out with something more vulnerable than she intended.

Wilfred nodded as he softly laid her flat on the wooden floor.

Once she touched down, her breath came in heavy sharp bursts. Lysandra did feel a ripple of embarrassment, though she would never show it to anyone. But that wasn't what made her breath so heavily.

"That's enough for today. I've just about reached my limit"

Lysandra's limbs ached with the strain of the prolonged combat session. She felt her heartbeat was still racing from the adrenaline. Her body was tense, and her clothes were drenched in her sweat.

Compared to Wilfred who didn't have a single drop of sweat or an increase in breathing. It looked as though she ran a marathon all by herself.

She took a deep breath then exhaled as she sat upright.

Then she used the towel Wilfred offered her to wipe sweat from her face and gulped down a cool bottle of water.

"You're as skilled as ever. But I must admit, I'm not pleased with how you always pull your punches. You can hit me you know, or else I won't be able to improve from my current state"

Through every session she's had with Wilfred, he has never once stuck her. Even when she had ordered him to do so, he always stopped midway through execution and when she asked him about it, he always replied with…

"Please forgive me. I cannot allow harm to befall you. It would be unsightly of me"

_Always so courteous_

Lysandra sighed.

She always did find this part of him admirable. It managed to soothe her frustration somewhat, so she decided to drop it.

"Well, it can't be helped"

She turned her back to him then lowered her head. The subtle stiffness in her movements was evident of the toll from their intense sparring session.

Wilfred already knew what that meant and stepped forward without a word, then gently placed his hand over her nape.

Shimmering Aura outlined around his palm as he began to repair her Gate, pulling back the excessive before it could strain her body even further.

Unlike Diviners, humans such as herself required maintenance after pushing themselves to the limit.

***

The skill to manipulate one's Aura was an ability mostly common with trained assassins and was completely hidden from the public. The reason was mostly because it was dangerous, especially for those not Marked by Fate.

Diviners were few in number, but they could freely channel their Aura without much thought of the consequences. With their Soul Gate being nonexistent, their bodies were naturally designed to withstand the flow of Aura. For them, the only drawback was that it depleted with each use— an energy reserve when drained, simply leaves them exhausted.

Their control over it was almost instinctual, allowing them to wield it like a sword without the fear of it turning back against them.

For the unmarked, it is a completely different story.

Awakened humans were essentially tempering with a power their bodies were never designed to withstand or control.

It wasn't an innate phenomenon. Even when aware of it, one couldn't simply open their Soul Gate by themselves.

The human body is fragile and can only handle so much of the intense force generated by Aura. The more the person channeled, the more their body would rebel against it.

It was like a dam holding back a roaring river. For Diviners, the dam had proper outlets to carefully release just enough pressure to keep everything in balance.

For others, it was like trying to hold back that river with bare hands. It's manageable at first. The surge of power cursing through their veins felt exhilarating, but eventually, the strain would become too much.

Without a Diviner stabilizing it, their own Aura would tear through their body and leave only destruction in its wake.

At first, it's the usual signs— a tremor in the hands, light headedness and a dull ache behind the eyes. But the longer they pushed, the more intense the symptoms became.

The use of Enchanted allowed those who are unmarked to better control the output of their Aura. These were tools that stemmed from the power of the Arcana Card, they were designed to take the brunt of the strain without overloading the body.

Even so, it was far from perfect. This was not a guarantee, even they had their limits and flaws.

***

Lysandra let out a slow breath as her Aura stabilized.

She felt the tension she had accumulated in her muscles ease up slightly. Then she began to shift back to the matters at hand.

"What's the status of Conrad? It's been a year since he started his training"

Wilfred still had his hand on her neck as he responded.

"The boy has shown remarkable improvement. He has honed his physical abilities and control over his Aura. Currently, his skills should be comparable to a Hydra Rank"

Lysandra paused.

_Hydra level already? _

For someone with no background in this side of the world, to reach that level in a single year was impressive to say the least. It took Meliora, nearly a year to achieve that rank, 10 months in becoming an assassin to be exact.

_Whether or not he's at the same level as Meliora is yet to be seen_

She allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction. It was a far cry from the rank he had been assigned to but still, it was progress.

"I see. His Arcana, does he have control over that?"

There was a brief pause before Wilfred bowed his head slightly.

"Forgive me. We have made no progress in that area. No matter how much the boy called out, the card did not respond to him. Instead, I focused on improving the abilities his Avatar granted him"

"So, it's one of those instances…"

It wasn't common but it was a possibility.

As Wilfred explained it to her; The Arcana Cards have somewhat of a consciousness of their own, often reflecting the appearance of the marked. He referred to this separate persona as a Mentor.

Some Mentors did not take kindly to their marked, often needing them to achieve a certain threshold before they were allowed to access their power.

And it appeared Conrad was facing the same situation.

_When this happens, it's usually because the card itself is very powerful. If he manages to get that powerful... would he? _

Lysandra crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Wilfred, if Conrad does manage to unlock the card's full potential. What is the off chance he might use it against us? _

The butler pondered the question before he gave his response.

"That is a possibility"

"Considering my methods of recruiting him were a bit unorthodox. He might have a deep cited hatred for us. For me"

She tapped her fingers lightly against her arm, considering her words.

Conrad had been coerced into joining her organization, granted one could argue that he got himself into something he wasn't aware of. Still, true allegiance was earned not forced, he might defect in the future, and she had to prepare herself for that day.

_There's also his Arcana. I searched for any record of a previous marked before him but ultimately came to a dead end. It's true nature could be too much for even Sardes to handle _

The shimmering Aura dissipated and Wilfred lifted his hand from her neck.

"Do you regret recruiting him?"

Lysandra's lips curved into a faint smirk as she rose to her feet.

"Not in the slightest. He's made it this far, right? All we can do now is to mold him into something we can use effectively and control without issue. His mission today is to evaluate that after all"

"I trust your judgement, my lady"

She turned to leave the dojo, as she walked towards the exit, Wilfred said…

"Shall I prepare the young master's room?"

Lysandra paused.

_I need a smoke_