It didn't long for me to find Zora in the castle. She had ran to the library and secluded herself in a corner surrounded by books. She looked up as the sound of my footsteps approached her, only for her to turn away making a frown.
"W-what do you want." She said sniffling
"Listen, I'm sorry ok? I didn't think you would care that much about me leaving is all. Just because were separated doesn't mean we won't be friends anymore."
I paused for a moment before continuing.
"You are and always will be my friend. Nothing will change that, I promise." I didn't think that me going off to school would affect our relationship. I had thought that we would remain friends regardless. However, it seemed Zora thought that I would forget about her.
"F-friends are supposed to stick together ya know.. But your leaving to go to school. I wanna go too, I wanna stay with you but my father won't let me. It's not fair!"
Her cheeks burned bright red as a stream of tears came down her face. I panicked, not knowing what I did to make her cry again.
'Ah Sh*t! What'd I do this time?? Crap! Crap! Think of something!'
I suddenly thought of the old comics I had read about heroes in my old world. In those when the girl was crying they would kiss them or hug them I thought. There was no way for sure it would work but It was worth a shot.
'Kissing a definite no. So that means I'll go for option two.'
I pulled Zora closer to me wrapping my arms around her, putting her head on my chest. As of now, her light tears had tuned into heavy sobbing. She didn't pull herself away from me so I assumed I had done the right thing given the situation. I immediately noticed her body was warm and soft compared to mine.
'Huh, I didn't know girls were so soft.' I thought matter of factly.
Zora continued crying for a few minutes before regaining her boundaries. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable at the seemingly never-ending hug. Zora had begun to relax completely in my arms making it hard for me to pull away.
"Are you ok now? It's getting a little hard to move." As if she just now realized the situation after I spoke, she pushed me back knocking me on my side. I was caught completely off guard by her sudden reaction. She appeared to be shaking slightly when I looked up at her. Her face looked redder than the leaves and grass outside.
"W-what was that for? I said I was sorry!" I said slightly annoyed and confused. Just then, I remembered what happened in the kitchen when I subconsciously tried to hug Zora.
"Ah jeez never mind. I forgot you don't like hugs, that's my bad. Anyway, are you ok now? I'll ask Lord Aiken if you can come with me but I doubt he'll allow it."
Zora looked like she wanted to say something but remained silent. She looked down averting my gaze when I tried to make eye contact with her. At that moment I truly thought that she either hated me, or was too annoyed with me too look at me.
"Sigh, well it makes sense that you're still mad. But I said what I had to say, so I'll give you your space now. Sorry again!" Giving a wave behind me I left the library. I was hoping that she could forgive me before I left, but I knew Zora was a stubborn person. And with that, I had defused the bomb that was Zora. Now it was time to prepare as much as I could before I left for Katoka.
Aside from the obvious preparations like spare clothes and my never-ending supply of toothpaste. I wanted to progress my origin as much as possible before going. I was well aware being represented by Zora's family would bring a number of problems. Their family name was heavily looked down upon, so there was bound to be trouble when I went there. I would need to be stronger not only to shed some positive light on the Hazelin family. But also to defend myself.
I had arrived back in the training fields, I was focusing all of my consciousness on absorbing as much Xoul as I could. When my Origin hit its limit, I summoned my lightning energy. I was still nowhere near being able to completely control the affinity. The most I could do at this time was to simply summon the power.
I could feel the strange electrical current begin to emit from my Origin point. Without being able to control the power, It flowed out of my body from all directions. An ecstatic aura had filled the training field. I had no idea how to control the affinity or even utilize it. So for now I focused on training my Origin using it. By releasing my lightning, my origin's power would be drained quickly. After I depleted my supply I would recharge and repeat the process. This allowed me to strengthen my origin quickly without too much effort.
After draining my energy for the fifth time, I was satisfied with my daily progress. I was exhausted, but I wasn't done training for the day as I haven't even touched my other affinity. Replenishing my energy once more I summoned the dark energy. Strangely, I had more of a handle on this energy compared to my other. I was able to direct the energy into various places throughout my body. However, the moment it left my body was when I lost control.
I sent the energy into my hand, clasping my hand in a dark aura I struck the ground. A small crack was left in the ground but It was barely noticeable.
'Jezz what am I supposed to do with this affinity! I feel like I've tried everything!'
Even though I could control it slightly. It didn't do much in the long run. I remembered that I had read that affinities are largely influenced based on how someone views them. Someone headstrong and straightforward could receive the earth affinity and utilize it through destructive force. While someone more relaxed or neutral could receive wind or water and use it for creation. The dark affinity was widely regarded as the energy of evil. Given that's what evil is associated with. I couldn't figure out why I acquired the affinity. I wasn't a necessarily evil person.
'If only I knew why I have this. Then I could figure out how to properly apply it.'
I thought to myself, thinking deeply about my perception of the affinity and what it represented to me. So far I had tried to use the energy with a straightforward approach like earth, but that's not how I viewed the dark affinity. Back in my old world and maybe a little bit now, I was afraid of the dark. More precisely I was afraid of what lurked inside it, what the dark was hiding.
'hmmm.... What lurks in the dark huh. It's pretty scary to think about, but I think I'm on the right track. Darkness isn't a pure destructive force like earth, maybe it's....'
Just then as If a lightbulb went off in my head I got an Idea. Using my perspective as darkness as my guide I tried to bend the energy in a way I hadn't before. Instead of using it to strengthen me I attempted to use the energy to conceal myself. If my hunch was correct my fear of what was in the dark was the key to harnassing my version of the dark affinity.
The energy enveloped my body, the feeling was almost natural as I cast a shadow all around me. Suddenly, as if I had disappeared my body was gone. My vision was much lower to the ground almost touching it, I couldn't feel my limbs nor see them. Taking in my surroundings I realized what had happened to me. On the ground where I once stood was a shadow, and I was inside it.