There was a knock on Belial's door. Nero opened the door and gave way to the guest. Lucan entered the room.
Lucan? What is he doing here?
"Lucan, what gives me this honor?" he said to the demon, and both greeted each other in the warrior style.
"Your angel is getting stronger with each passing day. He seems to be adapting well," Lucan said with a smile.
"Yes, it's truly a miracle. He is making progress every day," Belial said, accepting the compliment for his heart with joy. Then Lucan's face became serious.
"Unfortunately, I come bearing bad news. There are rumors that you have returned. The reason or hints regarding Aleks haven't been brought up yet, but it won't be long, I'm afraid." Belial nodded thoughtfully.
He knew that he could only keep Aleks a secret for a certain period of time. However, the fact that not a word had yet been said about him, testified to the secrecy of his people and substantiated his assumption that Rukia hadn't made contact with his client.
"Thank you for this news, but was that the reason for your visit?" He could have sent the information by a raven. His visit had to have another reason.
Lucan sat down, Belial joined him.
"Get your warriors, we have something to discuss, for which you need all your forces."
Aleks went through Lucan's explanations step by step. He had made himself comfortable on the floor of the terrace and focused on the power within him. He was looking for the magic in his body. Again he heard the noise, the small waves it made as it flowed within his body. He had created a connection with it thanks to Lucan.
Magic is not just energy. Magic is so much more. It is a muscle, a heartbeat, a movement. That's what Lucan had said. Did that mean that he could not only release it in the form of energy but could change his body with it? He doubted that he could create a wing like Lucan, his magic wasn't designed for that.
Until now, he knew that he could direct the energy into his hands. He was able to release them in one go, which resembled a reinforcement. He was able to create energy sickles and heal. After some consideration, however, it was clear to him that he separated the magic from his body and used it outside. But what if he didn't separate it, but guided it to his muscles? Would there be a change?
He had three theoretical starting points:
1. He can form magic outside his body and
release (sickles and punch) and feel it all over the body.
2. He can transfer the energy to others (healing magic).
3. He can strengthen and optimize his own body with the help of magic.
He could easily check the first one. To do this, he concentrated and again sent an impulse to his right foot. Then he stepped on the ground with a stamping motion and released the energy. The ground broke open under the pressure, just like a punch. Check, he thought with a grin.
Now the barrier. If he was right and he brought stability into his magic, a shield could be created that could fend off any physical as well as magical attacks. So he concentrated and tried to create a barrier. The magic left his body but dissolved as soon as he let it go. No change
He thought further. When it is separated from my body - without a direction - it is simply lost.
"Magic is a part of you, like the blood in your body or the breath in your lungs. It belongs to you and cannot be separated."
So I can't separate it from me. But he had to. Maybe he just wasn't able to create a barrier. He thought further. What else had Lucan said?
"Magic is everywhere, not just in your body. It's around you, soaking the air and the ground."
Was it possible? Was it possible that it wasn't just limited to his body?
"Magic is a part of you, like the blood in your body or the breath in your lungs."
Something about this sentence kept bugging him. He felt that he found the key in it.
"Or the breath in your lungs," Aleks murmured.
But the air he breathed in wasn't actually a part of his body. It enters the body when I inhale and leaves it when I exhale. But it is still a part of me. So when I look at magic like the air I breathe in, the air surrounds me like a second skin. Second skin. Second skin. Then it felt like scales fell from his eyes.
He let the magic on his right arm flow evenly outwards, so that a layer of magic lay on his skin – like a second skin. Carefully he took a knife. He had to test the theory. He stabbed his upper arm that was wrapped in magic, with a knife. The knife hit the magic skin but did not cause any damage. Then the skin broke. Yes! He was able to create a barrier around his body for a short time.
Now the next step. He created the second skin again. It surrounded his body, then he pushed it off with a movement. The skin detached from his body and formed an elliptical wall around him but didn't dissolve. Carefully, he taps the resulting barrier and could simply reach through it.
Then he took the knife and pushed it into the barrier from the outside. The barrier trembled and held up. Aleks let out a cry of joy.
"Yes, yes, yes!" He had made it. Point one was thus achieved.
The second point was clear, but it was limited to everything he saw. If there was a way to heal internal injuries without having to cut open the body, it would be much more effective. In this regard, he had to talk to Belial again.
Now comes the last point. With the help of his "magic skin", he was able to protect himself briefly against slight physical attacks, he wasn't sure about magical ones, he still had to test that. But what if he was able to strengthen from the inside? Something like an armor from the inside. After a few attempts, he had to realize that his magic was probably not equipped for this.
When he healed, he repaired muscles, bones, and vessels, but he couldn't change their structure. This led him to suspect that he couldn't change the structure of his body – unlike Lucan. But perhaps he could change the function of certain parts of the body, such as his muscles.
He concentrated his magic and let the energy flow to his leg muscles. He saturated them until his legs glowed. Let's go. He ran and God help him, he accelerated much faster than usual. His legs felt light like feathers. He started and jumped. With the power that was in his thighs, he jumped about three yards high.
Unfortunately, he hadn't taken the case into account, and landed unpleasantly on his feet and rolled off painfully. No jumps until I've learned to fly, he thought. So that he could catch his fall and land safely. If he gained a little more altitude, he might be able to replace it with a vertical take-off and take off from the ground. He would try that later.
Aleks needed a break now. He picked up a large stone lying on the way and sat down. Not that anyone was injured by the stone. He lay on his back and turned it in his hand. The stone was smooth and heavy. Lost in thought, he played with it.
One skill still remained a mystery to him. Back when Rukia attacked his companion time had stopped.
Suddenly, everything was quiet. It was as if time was frozen. Freeze frame. The only thing that moved was Aleks, who stumbled forward and fell.
I did that. He had thought about it for a long time and it had become clear that something in him brought time to a standstill as soon as Belial's life was in danger. It was like a panic switch that automatically turned on in these situations. He also knew that it depended on his physical condition or, more likely, on the amount of magic in his body.
A tremor ran through the scene. Time fought back and he knew it was about to regain power.
He sat up again and threw the stone high into the air again and again and caught it again. What if I can stop time? Is time a part of me?
"Magic is everywhere, not just in your body. It's around you, soaking the air and the ground."
But time was something he cannot grasp, like air, which at first seemed paradoxical. It was nothing representational. But he could influence them, just as Belial could control electricity and lightning, or Sylph demons could control the elements. They had a connection to them that allowed them to direct it like their own bodies.
Perhaps he had such a connection with time? What if he could control it like an arm or like his breath - and just stop it. Aleks' grip on the stone became firmer. Now he paid attention to the stone for the first time. With a conscious movement, he threw it up and held his breath. it fell to the ground. Too bad, it would have been nice. Just because he held his breath, time didn't stop.
What if time was more like a muscle? If he tensed or cramped it, it could become static, for example, limiting its mobility. Again, he threw the stone upwards and imagined how the environment around it tensed, becoming immobile. He blinked twice. No thump. The stone floated in the air.
The surprise interrupted his concentration and the stone began to fall and landed on the ground. Awesome. That didn't really happen right now, did it? How far could that go? How wide was its radius? Could he also "freeze" living beings?
The last question answered itself, after all, he had frozen his opponents. Carefully he ran to the stone and picked it up. Trying is more important than studying. Then he threw it up again.
______________________
Aleks is so close to the solution, but will it work?
What does Lucan have to discuss with Belial?
Will Lucan come back and have a practice fight with Aleks?
Your Mouse Goddess