Bie opened his eyes and took in the thatched roof that hung above him. He remained on the floor, knowing exactly where he was, his fingers twitching. He noticed the coarse texture in his right hand while his eyes darted from side to side, taking in the tantalizing smell that filled his nostrils.
"Yer up, aren't ya? Don't think ya can fool me, kay?" Amitha took a big breath and sighed while stirring the stone spoon in the cauldron. "That hand axe, I think it might be the best thing I ever crafted. It's a bond weapon, so keep it safe, alright?" Her lips twitched as the corners of her mouth threatened to upend and rectify the small frown she kept.
Bie sat up while scratching the back of his head, his stomach rumbling as he inhaled enough air to kick his body into emulating the living. "I really would, but I don't know how...?" He muttered the words while poking at the ground, his eyes fixed on his pitch-black fingernails as he wanted to look anywhere but at Amitha. He did feel guilty, after all.
"Yer kidding me. Ya didn't even figure out how to open up yer Inner World, and ya decided to go off on yer own. Pfft!"
"Hey! I'm sorry about it, okay?" Amitha whipped around and brought her face directly up to Bie's revealing her fully expanded grin. She patted his head, hand lit aglow, as she batted her eyes, before turning back to her cauldron and stirring while humming.
Bie felt his perception sharpen as Ink surged up to his hands, and a sharp pang sounded in his head as the energy welled upwards. It took a couple minutes for the weapon to push itself into the influx of energy in his body, dispersing all the while. Bie looked at it in amazement, before a brilliant smile lit up the room like a lamp.
In his mind he heard a soft whisper that sounded like light gusts of wind as it smoothly passed over him. "Ekulech," was the word it uttered, the hand axe shining as the noise was emitted. It then faded considerably before completely diminishing, as quickly as it arrived.
"Yeesh, yer quite speedy daylight. I mean, it seems pretty slow but it's better than what I did? Maybe I'm just bad?" Amitha joked, taking her chance to poke fun at both herself and Bie, guffawing about it.
She grabbed a bowl from beside her and spooned the mixture into it, before placing it in front of Bie. Uplifting the whole pot, she then imbibed the whole mixture after giving him his portion, not even pausing to talk gulps as the warm broth found its way into her stomach.
"Eat up. It's yer prize for finally getting a weapon ya can use. Oh, but I would recommend using the spares most of the tie. From what I can see, that weapon still breaks, and its energy is probably around the F realm, tops. Don't rely on it unless ya hafta, kay?"
"And with that, it's time for your last lesson I can teach ya as a Guide. Let's awaken yer Torch and Sconce, and then the priests up at the cathedral can actually instruct ya. Meet me outside after yer done with yer bowl." Amitha slammed down the pot after knocking back all the contents, then proceeded to shamble out of the hut's doorway.
Bie sniffed at the bowl and sipped at it, chewing on the meaty chunks that found their way up to his mouth. His insides felt warm as the brew travelled down, and his cheeks started to resemble the blue violet of his lips as steam escaped his mouth. When the stream ended, a pleasant grin was slathered across his face as strands of his hair swayed.
Finding his way out of the hut, he witnessed Amitha finish erecting a small altar out of the clearer stalagmites. She laid out angular crystals that Bie was pretty sure were Glimpses all around the altar, before waving Bie over.
"Come sit on it while Gazing. I was only able to set up this baby because of all the dogs ya eviscerated, so be proud! It's more effective when it's yer own catch anyways." Bie came over at her behest, plopping down on the flat table and crossing his legs as he shut his eyes.
Bie followed her instructions and saw a vague outline of his Inner World, noticing that the campfire was lit aglow as jets of flame shot upwards. The light fixture expanded, becoming a circular outline that surrounded the campfire, traces of white healing signs intermittently flashing and intermingling with the fire.
Behind his eyelids, his pupils once again became crosses, a striking resemblance to the patterns in the band of light. The colored bit of his hair seemed to glow as pulses of light were pushed from his body, and his bob fluttered upwards as if looking at the sky.
Bie reached out to the flames surrounded by a ring of light, and the white cross formed in his real hand as he felt the site responding to his call. His eyes shot open as a pressure seemed to rest slightly above his right hand, the outline of his Inner World disappearing as he saw it.
And then it disappeared as well as his focus was broken by the massive pat Amitha inflicted on his back.
"Congrats, daylight! You've finally learned all ya could from me, so take the rest of these Glimpses and store them. Anyways, ya can leave any time ya want now, or ya could choose to stay a bit longer. Ya can't-"
"I'll stay." Bie looked adamant as his eyes firmed considerably, his pupils fading back to normal as he looked at her without even a ripple of amusement. He was quite serious.
Amitha scratched the back of her head as she continued, saying "Ya can't sta-"
"I'm staying."
"Okay, that's all well and fine, but if ya could let me-"
"Stay. Ing."
Amitha took a deep breath and spat her sentence out before Bie could resume interjecting, shooting out the words faster than an exploding cannon. "Ya can't stay any longer than a month!"
Bie bit his lips and pouted a bit before nodding. He decided that he would take his time and savor the remaining period he had left with Amitha, as he truly felt happy here. Thinking about it further, he realized that he still wanted to do something while he was here. His lips tingled in excitement as he began smiling once again, saying the words that lingered on his tongue confidently.
"Spar with me!"
--
The days flew by before the two even knew it, each day filled with hours and hours of training. Amitha had carved a lot of weapons for Bie, making sure his duffel bag was full at any times as she etched markings on the wall to denote the passage of time.
Today, she counted all the markings and saw that they numbered at twenty-nine. She stuck her finger into a marking and dragged it down to the rightmost dash, making it a firm thirty days.
She shook her head sadly but smiled in the hopes that Bie would get outside and show the strength he accrued over his time spent. He had already hit the boundaries of his realm and was ready to advance, which she held off until he met the clergy of the Midnight Church.
She turned and noticed the silhouette of a man lean against the wall she was standing in front of.