Shadow in the Sky

Soon after, Octane returned from his jog, only to see that Finn still hadn't left.

"Oh… you're… still… here?" He panted, limping over.

Finn, hearing his ragged breathing and uneven footsteps, stood up to help him. "I can hardly leave without knowing where the exit is."

"Ah, oops… I forgor, sorry," Octane chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

Finn gently set him down on the grass before taking a seat next to him.

"What is this place anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, this is District X, on the outer edge of the island called Ouroboros. You see, the more outer the District is, the more rural it is. But honestly? I prefer this more. I mean, just look at this place."

"… I can't."

"… Right. My bad. But you get the point."

"Do people live here?" Finn asked, changing the topic.

"Yep," Octane replied. "Not as many as the more urban Districts, but plenty of people prefer the country life. Of course, Ghosts spawn here too, just more rarely."

"What kind of Ghosts? Phantoms, just like the urban Districts?"

"Nah. Out here, the most common archetype is Specters. I dunno much about them, but apparently they're only visible at night yet can still cause harm during the day. All I know is that they're much harder to deal with than Phantoms."

Finn fell into thought. "Huh, I see… I suppose this means Ghost Hunter squadrons are stationed out here, right, Octane?"

But he received no response.

"… Octane?"

Realizing something was up, Finn furrowed his brows in confusion, but suddenly, Octane spoke — and it wasn't anything Finn expected.

"F-Finn… we have to get out of here. NOW!"

"What? Wh-"

"There's no time to explain, just come with me!"

Octane got up despite him not being fully rested yet, taking Finn's hand and pulling his friend as he ran towards the mountain as fast as he could. This would undoubtedly trigger his asthma, but he grit his teeth and pushed through it.

"Hah… hah… hah… c'mon… almost there…" He panted heavily as he climbed the mountainous terrain of the hill they had first arrived here on, all to reach the teleporter.

Finn didn't need him to grab his hand anymore, since he could simply follow his rough breathing. He still had no idea what was going on, but realized this probably wasn't the right time to ask.

"Hurry, Finn… get… in…" Octane begged, finding it difficult to breathe. Every word was like someone stabbed him directly in the lungs, but he needed to get this message out regardless.

After all… what's a little asthma compared to the massive shadow looming above them?

In an instant, the once sunlight-filled Alcina Plains turned dark, overshadowed by the enormous figure that suddenly soared through the sky, making its terrifying presence known. Finn had no idea since he was blind — he did feel the wind get even harsher, but he assumed that was just part of the climate out here.

Little did he know… it was actually the bi-product of a massive dragon flapping its wings.

A normal dragon? No, no. Far from that.

This was a type of Ghost, flesh mixed with machine.

This, was an Eidolon.

*****

As soon as Octane and Finn warped back to their home, the former fainted completely on the spot. Finn, who had been helping him stand, caught his full weight and dragged him off the teleporter before carrying him on his back and heading out of the secret room.

The bookshelves slid open so the two could exit, and the first thing that happened was Melvia spotting them.

"Good lord… what happened…?" She asked, hurrying over and inspecting Octane.

"… I'm not sure either," Finn replied truthfully. "We were just taking a short break, when he suddenly told me to run. So we did — and he ended up like this as a result of his asthma."

"What could've made him to run like so?" Melvia fell into thought. "Well, I suppose we'll have to wait until he wakes up. Here, follow me."

Finn, still carrying Octane, followed Melvia back down into the basement he had just been in this morning and set him down on a bed after being instructed to.

"Thanks," Melvia said as she pulled out a syringe of some sort to inject into Octane. "You can go see Storm now for your next lesson, if you want. He should be in his room."

Finn nodded. "Got it."

Turning around and leaving, he headed upstairs to Storm's room. After knocking three gentle times on the door, he heard a voice respond impatiently.

"… Who is it?"

"It's me. Finn."

After a short silence, Storm sighed and replied.

"… Come in."

Finn pushed open the door and entered, then closed it again behind him.

"I'm here to learn about the Stormbringer Angelica you hav-"

"I know. You don't need to tell me," Storm cut him off rudely. "Look, I'm going to say this right now — I'm not a good teacher. I'm also not a very patient person. Archon told me you're pretty talented at this… so let's see if that's really true."

His voice was stained with hatred and jealousy, but Finn pretended to not notice and answered calmly.

"Sure. Teach me all you have."

Saying this, he activated his Stormbringer Angelica, causing a blue aura to appear around him along with sparks of electricity that threatened to shock anything that came within range.

"… Not bad, I guess. Looks like you're just barely good enough for this Angelica."

'Not bad…? Could he determine my aptitude for this Angelica based on the intensity of the electricity sparks coming out of my body right now? Interesting…'

Finn monitored the mana in his body carefully to get used to it. Every Angelica's mana current was different. The Shapeshifter Angelica, for example, had extremely neutral mana that could be molded into anything, while this one was extremely chaotic — perfect for lightning and thunderstorms.

"… Hmph. Seems like you're ready," Storm snorted, folding his arms. "Let's give it a shot, then. The core concept of the Stormbringer Angelica — lightning control."