TBATE | Lingering Flames

Heavy Steps

ARTHUR LEYWIN

"You need to remember to evenly spread your weight down from the legs, to the torso and through your fists" I said to the young woman in front of me, who was panting in exhaustion and drenching the floor in sweat. "Pivot your body off your center of gravity as you twist your waist. Also, do me a favor and stop closing closing your eyes every tim-"

"Ok! I get it!" she squeals in a slightly raised voice before meeting my eyes and lowering her head in embarrassment, before dropping her body to a knee out of exhaustion among other things. "My apologies Crowned Sage, forgive me for my disrespect."

"Its fine. Good to know the younger generations have some bite."

"I shall take my leave" The red haired girl makes her way to the portal on the other side of the room with a limp, her body no doubt aching in an all-encompassing hellish pain. Before she could take a step through the portal, I toss her a black ring, devoid of any notable features or designs.

"I-Is t-this what I t-think it is?" Her voice stuttered in utter shock and confusion as she looks down at the ring, using both hands to cup the ring in her palms. Her eyes dart from me back to the ring, nervously waiting for an answer.

I give her a soft smirk. "Of course not. I came up with something new and volunteered you as my guinea pig. If it works as intended, you won't have to take as many breaks between training sessions." At my words, she started to smile in excitement before she puts on a pout and stares me down.

"And if it doesn't work as intended?" Cocking up a brow in a questioning manner.

"Well in that case, you can just throw it in the trash or find some other use for it. Just don't bring it back." I turned my back to her, walking away to end the conversation.

"I will again visit in a weeks time. Thank you for everything you've done. Goodbye for now." 

After walking through the portal, I mutter to myself. "Goodbye to you too, Astera Indrath."

Pausing for a moment in contemplation, I make my way down the long halls of my home, passing by countless rooms whose doors had various names engraved on their surface. The familiar silence jabbing my mind, but I simply ignore it.

Reynolds Leywin | Alice Leywin | Eleanor Leywin | Sylvie | Regis | Virion Eralith | Tessia Eralith 

Jasmine Flamesworth | Lilia Helstea | Nico Sever | Cecilia | Caera Denoir | Myre Indrath 

I slowly walked to my room, located at the very end of the hall. Inconvenient, but I always had time so it wasn't much of a bother. Without even a passing glance to the names, I open the large wooden door, letting the stale air from my room flood into my lungs. 

The modestly sized room was lined from inch to inch in countless objects that shimmered in a purple hue. Some looked as simple as a floating purple crystal while others seemed to portray 3-dimensional maps and loggings, indecipherable through normal means. The only objects in the room that didn't glow were the tidy bed, a clothing closet and a long desk.

Propped up on the long, white desk were photo frames depicting the important events in my life. Etched and printed straight from my memory, the photos ranged from the first time I saw my parents, all the way to the scene of me holding a colorless, transparent blade as I pointed it up to the midday sun. 

I go through my usual routine of staring at these pictures for hours at a time, before letting out a long sigh and making my way towards the mirror. It was possibly my last days left, I might as well look the part. 

After rummaging through some spare clothes, I stand in front of the mirror to see a young man in his early twenties, wheat-blond hair tied in a loose, short ponytail with long bangs covering parts of his face. His solid golden eyes, moved along the body, eventually making it to the black horns resting on his head, covered in white and golden markings. The man's slit shaped pupils relax as he stares at the sharp horns that protrude from either side of his head, jutting up, then down, before coming up again just above his forehead, circling his head like a crown.