Athelei was currently sitting beside Aria as they practised their handwriting. Their teacher was sipping on a cup of tea just a table away, supervising the pair.
When it came to diligence, perhaps Athelei's robotic and inhuman behaviour stood at the very top of that concept. He never stopped studying, learning, and scrutinising all that which appeared before him.
Aria, on the other hand, was also a diligent lass, but she was prudent as well. When it was study time, it was study time. She would happily play games with Athelei in between their lessons, but her eyes would shine with focus whenever their teachers arrived.
As such, the pair were role models for students as they utilised the quills in their grasps to scribble here and there.
But beneath Athelei's studious gaze, his focus was actually split:
In the sky high above the mansion, a small clump of grey fog was floating in the air. It sat in front of a tri-coloured screen, scrolling through one abstract image after another. This fog was a part of Athelei's physical body that had dissolved and sneaked out.
'Hmmmmm,' Athelei inwardly hummed as he browsed the Information Network.
Ever since his Unnamed Mutation began and subsequently progressed, Athelei had been able to turn his flesh and blood into a special kind of grey fog. It was a fog different from the fog of his consciousness as well as the fog that comprised his wings.
Athelei had no idea what it was, and what exactly were the extents of its existence. Figuring out those specifics were still a work in progress as he slowly tested his newfound ability. For now though, he was happy to make use of this sneaky technique without much difficulty.
'Aha!' Athelei almost rejoiced with his entire body, nearly destroying his studious image in the process as well.
'Aquarius...' He inwardly muttered what he read as his eyes scanned an article he had discovered after a while of digging. He was on a special subcategory on the Information Network where he saw many a question being answered.
It was a subcategory hidden within many entertainment categories as it lurked in the background.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Spread out and infiltrate, but don't plan on it. Simply let things occur, and let your heart guide you.
No matter where you are, you will have a huge family eager to help you. Leave us a note, mayhaps? We're always watching [Detatchement] if you so wish to chat.
- The Careless of Aquarius
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Athelei's physical eyes shone as he manipulated his fog into inputting information for him. He asked a simple question through an article,
[]-[ Where can I find better orange Nebula Gems? ]-[]
Only a few seconds passed when his little question was answered. But it wasn't answered in the way Athelei expected it to be. No reply arrived below his posted question. Instead, his Cosmic Interface suddenly changed.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
- User has received a letter from the Tier II Skill, Message.
- Would User like to read the letter? (Y/N)
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Athelei stopped writing for a moment when he saw that. 'A Tier II Skill...' He thought to himself as he swiftly sent the command to open the message.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
- Command acknowledged.
- Displaying the letter...
=o=o=o=o=
Hello, fellow User. I'm sure you have noticed, but we orange Users are being limited by the world. Getting a Nebula Gem larger than a grain is quite difficult, especially nowadays. You could find some hidden in ruins, while you could find others hidden inside antiques.
Difficult, isn't it? But don't worry! You came to the right people. We can easily sell you what you need.
Listed below is a special code made only for our transaction. Follow it, and make an article on [Detatchment]. All we need is a time and place.
...
=o=o=o=o=
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Athelei read through the special code and saw which symbols corresponded to Avina City, Holy Nation of Illyas, and [Later at Midnight].
He swiftly made the post and before long, he received another letter.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Address acknowledged, fellow User. We can meet at the southernmost harbour. Wait for us on the abandoned ship with two broken masts.
As for payment, all you need is a silver coin.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
.
.
.
Athelei was giddy the rest of the day after successfully making the deal. His backup plan had been to search for the scarred man to ask him the questions needed. Thankfully, he did not have to do that.
Orange Users really needed to depend on teamwork and unity to make their Skills work better for them. Growth was dependent on their fellow Users. They needed a strong bond, and it seemed like a group of people were trying their best to create such a bond.
'The Careless of Aquarius...' Athelei thought to himself from within his dark hood. He was sitting under a starry sky, on a ship that was half-sunken and had two broken masts sticking out like spears into the sky.
He was waiting for the person he was about to trade with.
"Hi~!" A young, cheery voice called out to the cloaked Athelei. It was a jarring sound given the silence of his surroundings.
"I have what you want~ Shall we throw at the same time?"
Athelei glanced at the speaker and saw it was that same teenager he once saw. She was waving at him from the nearby docks. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail, as an ornamental dagger hung at her waist.
Athelei pulled out the silver coin requested of him, allowing the nearby mystic lights to make it gleam.
"Okay," He nodded as he got ready to flick the coin away.
There was a short countdown before the sound of pinging metal echoed out. A silver light and an orange ray flew towards their respective recipients.
Athelei nimbly caught the marble-sized orange Nebula Gem, and the teenager did the same. He watched as the girl spun in a fluid motion, catching the coin, waving, and turning away all at the same time.
"Pleasure doing business with you! I hope we meet again, mysterious man." She said with a slight giggle accompanying her tone. Her carefree footsteps, swiftly bringing her away from the silence of a ruined harbour.
As for Athelei, he ducked into the abandoned ship and made his way to the captain's quarters. His own footsteps were accompanied by ill-concealed excitement. He took out the three marbles he owned and felt the pleasant weight they all bore.
He then shed the large, damaged cloak he had picked up from a random alleyway. His body swiftly swirled and shrunk as a pair of folded grey wings appeared on his back.
Athelei dove out of the windows. Utilizing the shadow cast by the half-sunken ship, he then rocketed into the sky.
He flew excitedly all the way towards the hilltop mansion where his body was fast asleep. Three marbles dropped from the sky and landed near Athelei's room. An invisible grey fog then joined the already-present natural fog that surrounded the hilltop.
The grey fog coalesced in some places, pushing all three marbles towards Athelei's doorstep while no one was looking. No servant or guard was aware of the moving marbles as Athelei 'woke up' and opened his door.
He scooped up the three marbles and dove under his bedsheets.
Athelei then took a deep breath to calm himself. His adrenaline was pumping as he excitedly clutched the marbles in his hands.
He then spoke a random word in his native tongue. The world in his vicinity shuddered, as space and time were altered. The garbled word created a reverberation that seemed to trigger something in the Nebula Gems, and a familiar screen appeared before Athelei's very eyes.
It was the exact same one he saw on the night his family had met their untimely ends.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
- Nebula Gems activated.
- Colours detected: Cyan, Purple, Orange...
- Trinity successfully formed.
- Recognizing User, Athelei: former Denizen of Infinity and Contributor of Infinite Creation...
- Recognized.
- Please absorb the Trinity Gem to bind the Cosmic Interface to User Athelei.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
A large, tri-coloured marble was now all that was left of the three small marbles he previously had. The combination had stealthily occurred within Athelei's distorted reality.
Athelei grinned as he then whispered three more words from the tongue of Infinity.
"Return to me,"
And the gem obeyed.