It was a new and normal day: the sun hovered in the sky, white clouds slowly drifted across the planet, accompanied by a small breeze, and multiple animals—such as birds and wolves—proceeded to roam as freely as ever. Everything was in order, as it should be.
"Come on! Is that all you can do, Tanjo!?"
Roaring at the top of a mountain, a familiar feminine voice could be heard, disrupting the wildlife from the sheer volume of the holler.
"If you give up now, I'll make you do a thousand more push-ups with icy hands and feet!" The woman shouted once more.
At the top of the mountain, Tanjo Nozomu can be seen forcing himself upward for the nine-hundred-ninety-ninth time with Kronos' sphere balanced perfectly on his back, adjoining an immense amount of weight onto the boy's body. For the past few days, the jet-black-haired boy was subjected to Asami's wrath—intense exercise.
"One… more… time!" Tanjo struggled to speak as he willed himself to drop and lift his body one more time, his shaking elbows silently pleading for some rest.
"...One… thousand!"
*PLOP!*
Promptly, Tanjo's palms slipped from beneath him as his body fell onto the surface of the mountain top, elated that the torture was finally over. Asami, who stood off to the side, sitting on top of a chair made of ice, clapped lazily.
"Good job, Tanjo! I was wondering how far you'd be able to push yourself when utilizing your Aura Sense perfectly. These sessions work well for you since the magic flowing through your body is meant to boost you in every aspect, so working out puts both your magic and your endurance to the max!" Asami proclaimed, standing up from the icy chair.
Asami finished speaking as Kronos' sphere rolled off Tanjo's back, the blue-haired woman's gaze fixed on the object. Asami had no idea what the sphere was for—at first, she assumed it was just a weight that Tanjo wanted to use while working out, which Tanjo had explicitly stated when questioned—but there was something off about it. The sphere appeared weightless to the boy at one occasion, and then it appeared to be the heaviest thing in the world at another.
Asami approached with piqued interest and grabbed Kronos' Sphere, quickly picking it up. It was remarkably light, as if she had just lifted a small rock.
"Hey, Tanjo, what's the point of this little sphere? It's super light." Asami inquired, glancing at the boy whose muscles refused to cooperate.
Tanjo's eyes shot open as he gradually stood to his feet. "It's… just a weight I use… I thought I told you that?"
"You did, as I just said, it's super light. How is this even helping you? It just looks like a nicely-carved rock you found from the side of the mountain." Asami continued to ask with an arched brow, perplexed.
"The sphere's weight changes when it comes into contact with magic. So, it gets heavier." Tanjo answered, rubbing his neck.
Technically, Tanjo did not expose the truth of anything except for how Kronos' sphere functioned. Conjuring up a lie that would potentially be defunct after simple questioning would frame the boy as suspicious; however, a truth bereft of complete information was not a lie, just mildly dubious.
Asami hummed and asked, "Why isn't it growing heavier when I infuse my magic into it?"
Tanjo gulped.
"It's a… familiarity thing." Tanjo cursed himself for such poor deception. "Only I can use it."
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.
"Oh?" Asami seemed curious, "open your hand, then."
Tanjo's eyes dilated. "Oh, come on, Asami! I'm already tired from the exercises! Let me rest!"
"Open your hand." Asami ordered tersely, implications of what may happen present from her annoyed tone.
Hesitantly, Tanjo outstretched his right arm, flattening his palm. Immediately, Asami placed Kronos' sphere into the boy's hand, his fingers wrapping around it. Despite the sphere now being in Tanjo's grasp, Asami moved her hand underneath the hand Tanjo had used to hold Kronos' sphere.
"Activate your Aura Sense, Tanjo." Asami directed, waiting impatiently.
Tanjo nodded, permitting magic to circulate through his arm and eventually to the sphere in his palm. Kronos' sphere went from being as light as a rock to hauling a weight equal to the entire Earth in a fraction of a second.
Asami blinked. "Oh, wow… I guess this would be heavy for you."
"What!?" Tanjo yelled, shocked. "You don't find it at least a bit heavy!?"
The blue-haired woman smirked, chuckling confidently. "Sure, it may be heavier than anything I've lifted in my life, but it isn't all that taxing. Though, it does require quite a bit of my own magic to hold this thing."
"You're scarier than I originally thought." Tanjo revealed plainly, his face falling.
Taking Kronos' sphere out from Tanjo's grasp, feeling as it became light once again, Asami looked back at the jet-black-haired boy. "How heavy is this thing, exactly?"
Tanjo blanched. This was not how it was supposed to go.
"...The weight of the planet?"
Asami blinked. "...Tanjo, you're really shit at jokes."
"I'm being serious, Asami. I know it's technically infeasible, especially when we can't possibly make anything weigh as much as Earth without using the majority of the planet itself, and since not that many warriors are physically capable of carrying it—!"
"Okay! I get it! But, if it really is that heavy, who gave it to you?" Asami queried, "and wouldn't this thing destroy Earth if you dropped it?"
Tanjo nodded again. "I assume so… I'm not sure how it works entirely, either. I just know that it loses all of its immense weight the moment I either let go of it or release the flow of magic inside my body. But as to who gave it to me… I found it."
"You… found it? You know what, whatever—as long as the planet isn't in the hands of a teenager, I don't care." Asami stated, tossing Kronos' sphere toward Tanjo, who caught it easily. "But I need you to hold back in most of your fights. You possess strength beyond nearly anyone, and if you were to accidentally hit your surroundings with full power, you'd undoubtedly destroy more than what you intended."
Tanjo sighed. "I know, Asami. Any warrior beyond Low-Class is forced to hold back, anyway. I also have a vague idea of how much power to use, mainly due to the last few fights I've had."
"You know, as much as I hate you for being smart, I am relieved that you can manage on your own to such a degree." Asami revealed, running her hands through her hair.
"...Thanks?"
Asami then slapped the boy's shoulder—hard.
"But don't think that we're even close to being done with training, Tanjo!" Asami clarified, smiling sadistically.
XXX
Floating in the distance, another blue-haired individual could be seen spying on both Tanjo and Asami, remaining undetected by either of them.
This particular individual was Kronos.
"Time is moving faster than me as of late, Tanjo—we need to hurry."
XXX
Wow, an entire chapter of just dialogue. How fun. But, nevertheless, I wanted Asami to be aware of what Kronos' sphere is, and I just wanted to switch back to Tanjo's perspective in the story, since, you know, he's the main character! Besides, this is leading into something I've been thinking of for months! Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_