What the fuck?" Mikoto couldn't help but blurt out.
"Language, Mikoto," Lucinda breathed out, looking slightly exhausted while floating in the air next to Mikoto. Currently, the two were beside each other, lingering in the air above the vast sea. Mikoto, as if seated on an invisible piece of ground, sat cross-legged mid-air. Of course, for Lucinda to use something as flashy as Arcane Ascendance, they could not be on the ship, so they traveled out into the open sea.
"Alas, my mana is all but expended. As long as I do not stay in that form too long, I can Ascend about four times before my mana decreases to its limit," she said with a regretful sigh. "I apologize I could not be of more help." She seemed disappointed that she could not be of more help. But if she were being honest with herself, she was relieved that this was the case. She had not seen Mikoto fight a lot, but matching someone like Selwyn already spoke volumes of his strength. If Arcane Ascendance was something he gained, he would reach new heights of strength. He would be at the top, and being the strongest is hardly what it is chalked up to be.
"It ain't you, it's me," Mikoto scowled. ("What the fuck is going on here? I've seen it four times now, so why!?") To most others, it would not seem like that big a deal. No one on this star would be able to merely analyze and use something as complex and delicate as Arcane Ascendance. However, it was different for Mikoto. Until recently, there was nothing his eyes could not understand. Magic was easily dissected, no matter how complex. Hell, even a foreign ability like Selwyn's was analyzed eventually. ("So why aren't I getting anything here!?") He rubbed the face of his mask. It should have been a simple thing, so why?
"It's alright, Mikoto." He felt a hand on his shoulder. Lucinda looked at him with a worried expression. "Like I said, Arcane Ascendance is a complex thing. It would be extremely unlikely to learn it with a single gaze." Mikoto just remained silent in his contemplation. "Come, Mikoto, let us return to the ship," she said as she held out a hand. "There is always next time." She finished with a smile.
"..." Mikoto just shook his head as he grabbed her hand, and in the next instance, their bodies were warped back into the ship in her cabin room.
"Thanks, Lucinda. Just let me know when you want to cash in that favor," Mikoto turned to exit her room, but he was stopped when Lucinda spoke.
"No, I was of no help to you, so you owe me nothing," Lucinda stated with a sincere smile.
"Nah, you went out of your way to use something as exhausting as Arcane Ascendance, so a little favor is the least I owe you," Mikoto muttered as he threw her a wave. "See you later." Exiting the room, he left behind a contemplating Lucinda as he stepped into the cabin hallway. Mikoto walked down the silent hallway and reached his cabin door. Pushing past the door, he closed it behind him and locked it. Mikoto took off his mask, already too used to the feeling of his form shrinking as he blankly stared at his cabin's wall.
"God damn it!" He threw the mask hard enough that it embedded itself into the wooden wall, splinters shot about as Mikoto scowled at seemingly nothing. "This shouldn't be this way," he growled out, pacing around in his room. He rubbed his head furiously as he tried to come up with a method to use this vague power. But nothing, he could not begin to think of a way to use Arcane Ascendance. His eyes did not dissect this power like most other things; he was at a loss.
"Damn it, why isn't it simple?" Mikoto stopped his pacing. Others would see his reaction as over the top. He was complaining about why something like Arcane Ascendance was not simple after all. But to him, it was more severe. Since coming to this world, everything came naturally to him, any arts of war, magic, or just studying. But now, this feeling of helplessness engulfed him once more.
"No, not yet." If he could not learn Arcane Ascendance, then his own magical prowess would just have to suffice. "No, last time I tried following that manual, I ended up in space," Mikoto felt like pulling out his hair. But then it hit him, the core of Arcane Ascendance. "More often than not, the Gods choose who the Inheritors will be. Seeing as Octavia dragged me here, she must have chosen me to be an Inheritor. Is she actively hindering my progress?" It was not that far-fetched a theory. "Damn it!"
("Is this her way of getting back at me for not wanting to save this world? Fuuuck.") Mikoto eyed a nearby mirror in his room. He looked at his own appearance, his large eyes and prominent lashes, his small lips and button nose. ("Some nerve she has, first she drags me here, turns me into this twink, and now she's hindering my progress.") Mikoto bit the nail of his thumb in annoyance. "Who does she think she is?" Mikoto finally heaved a deep sigh before collapsing on a chair. He rubbed his face, feeling the sweat on his palm. He was sweating. Nervousness? Stress? How foreign those two had seemed until now. Mikoto mulled over some thoughts.
("Octavia, Rheya could talk to her. Maybe convince her not to be such a sore loser.") It sounded like an easy thing to do, and that further cemented itself because it would be a simple thing to reach Rheya's domain. But there was a problem. ("She won't just give me Arcane Ascendance. I won't be saving the universe after all. So there's no reason to support me. Like I'd risk my life for this.") Was Arcane Ascendance truly his best bet? Narrowing down all of his choices, Arcane Ascendance seemed to have the most chance of success. But he was having zero success with that. Was there a solution? He pondered and pondered, what was the solution?
("It seemed like it was instinctual to Lucinda, much the same for Agatha too, most likely.") Mikoto rubbed his chin in thought. ("I need advice from someone smarter than myself. And I know just the person.") Mikoto held out a hand, and his mask that embedded itself into the wall flew into his grasp. Placing it on his face, he stood up. A pop of displacement rang through his room as he disappeared from his room, appearing elsewhere in an instant.
Constructed with rough-hewn stone, the walls were uneven and cold. Perhaps a faded tapestry depicting constellations or anatomical diagrams hung on one side, held up by iron hooks hammered directly into the stone. In a corner, a pile of swept-up dust revealed flecks of metal, evidence of past experiments. Light streamed weakly through a single, high-set window with small, diamond-shaped panes of leaded glass. The glass was tinted a pale green or amber, casting an uneven glow across the room.
There was also a sturdy workbench that dominated the center. Its surface was scarred with knife marks and heat stains, evidence of countless experiments. Vials of colored liquids, some bubbling gently, rested in mismatched wooden racks along the back. A smaller table for writing and studying sat near the window. It held a jumble of items: stacks of parchment covered in cryptic symbols and diagrams, a heavy inkwell with a quill pen stuck upright.
In the corner, a large, pot-bellied furnace glowed with a faint orange light, fueled by smoldering coals. A network of twisted iron pipes snaked around it, leading to a strange contraption resembling a bird's head with a long beak. An alembic, a pear-shaped glass flask with a long, curved neck, sat precariously on a stand near the furnace, filled with a swirling, emerald-green liquid. Tucked away in a shadowed corner was a locked wooden chest. Finally, there was a clean wooden desk near the wall, papers and quills adorning it. Seated at said desk was a familiar face. Lyra occupied the seat and scribbled down some notes. Her crimson eyes rose to meet his own.
"Mikoto," she noted, unsurprised. "After tricking me, I did not think you would show back up so soon."
"Tricking?" Mikoto gave a chuckle. "You're the one who didn't specify which secret you wanted me to disclose. And I mean, it's your fault for being so gullible."
"Hmm, I suppose so," Lyra relented easily as she placed down her quill. "Alas, hearing that you hail from another star was worthy to satiate my curiosity," she mumbled, but she still seemed unsatisfied. "I am still curious as to what that mask hides."
"Then how about another deal? This time, I'll satiate your curiosity up front," Mikoto offered. Lyra's face turned surprised with a hint of intrigue.
"What would you want in return?" She seemed to already accept the deal; curiosity was a wonderful thing, really.
"I'll tell you after," Mikoto raised a hand. Lyra tilted her head as she saw glyphs expand throughout the space of her office. "This is just a precaution; don't mind it. Oh, and I don't think I need to tell you this, but if word gets out, I'll kill you," he casually stated as he raised a hand to his mask.
It was a desperate gamble, alright, but for now, desperate was where he was at.