TBATE: Let The Truth Be Known {Completed}

Chapter 19: Departure

We do as he suggests. Ellie makes her way into what could be called a living area and lays face down on an ottoman. 

"Alright, then, Eleanor. I'm going to place my hand on your back and force a small mote of aether into your core. As with the case of your brother, it should result in a lot of pain but will pay off greatly," Domon explains. 

Ellie just nods and pulls her marksman's glove from her dimension ring to use as a bit to bite down on. 

"Let us begin," he says while placing his hand between my sister's shoulder blades. 

I begin to trace the flow of the aether in the room before Domon starts the manifestation process. If I can figure out how he does this ritual, I could help other Djinn-blooded humans manifest their blood too. In theory, I could bring back the Djinn race just as the ancient mages wanted all that time ago. 

Following the trail of aether, I watch as it begins to flow into Ellie's chest where it forms a small layer on the outside of her mana core. It somewhat resembles what Regis and I did back when we formed my aether core. 

'Thanks for my due credit' he butts in. 

Whatever, bud. 

The layer on the outside of Ellie's core begins to essentially calcify, constricting her mana core and causing a blood-curdling scream to echo through the small sandstone home. After Domon removes his hand from Ellie's back, she continues to chomp down on her marksman's glove and slightly convulse at the pain. 

Not wishing to see her like this, I take her into my arms in a bridal-style carry while I sit on the floor. As I cradle her head into my chest, her incessant shivering and shaking begins to slow before her mouth releases the death grip it had on her glove. 

"Are you okay now, El?" I ask, staring into her teary eyes. 

She just whimpers and nods through her tears. 

"Where are the runes? I don't see any forming," I worriedly ask Domon. 

"They do not always manifest in the same manner as yours did. If I had to guess, they're beneath her clothing. That's if all of that pain wasn't for nothing," he answers. 

I disregard boundaries for the time being and peer down the front and back of Ellie's shirt, hoping to find some kind of runic symbols. 

'Bingo,' I hear as Regis confirms the presence of runes at the same time as me. 

Runes line down Ellie's spine as the Alacryans have, but they also line her front, traveling down her sternum to presumably her pelvis.

'Check her arms too. Looks like they're there as well,' he chimes in again.

I roll up Ellie's sleeve to find that along the back of her arm, thousands of tiny dashes make their way from her wrist to her shoulders, eventually meeting back up with the runes on her spine. 

"You did it, El! You manifested!" I shout in glee at my sister's new chance at becoming even more powerful. 

Ellie simply looks at me with an embarrassed but mostly tired expression.

"Ask before you peer down a woman's shirt, you animal," she chastises. 

'She's got a good point,' Regis comments.

You didn't call me on it either. I was too excited. 

"Sorry, El. I was just happy for you and wanted to know immediately," I explain while hiding my face.