The room was filled with an eerie silence, only ever so slightly broken by the conversations bleeding through the glass from outside on campus.
"So tell me Eirini. What is your weakness? Every ki ability has some sort of weakness. What is yours?"
She responded in silence. Her eyes were widened, as she stared, hazed, briefly. She blinked a couple times, as if returning from a trance.
"That burn.. I can't sense any ki from it. If what you said is true, then it should be bleeding out ki into the air, and at the bare minimum, I should be able to detect it's presence. What is it..?"
Shadows hung over Tre's eyes, as if recalling something. A memory. Tre clasped his hands, attempting to keep his emotions in check.
"A distant past. You were right that this burn was made with ki. It's clogging my own utilisation of ki, and I came to this club in order to create a machine to remove it. That's the extent of what you need to know. If your ability with fire shares any sort of weakness with this, I need to know."
She nodded her head.
"I understand. The weakness of this ability isn't something you can't take advantage of unless it was done by a person. Even then, you can't do anything without that person being present. This ability of fire relies on one's breathing. This cursed ability can't function without proper air supply. So, if you were to overuse it-"
"It would consume all the oxygen in the area. If you overuse it, you're essentially cuting your own throat. That's different from other abilities, where you can usually use it even without proper breathing. That's helpful, thank you, Eirini."
She stood up, walking towards the entrance.
"Considering that.. thing on you, of course I'll help. Your one of the only science club members, after all."
After saying that, she grabbed onto the old metal doorknob, creaking the door open. Behind, stood the two young men that were ordered to stay put.
They paused briefly, before Valnar spoke up.
"Finally! About time. So, what's our first order of business? Usually clubs do some sort of training when adding new members on board! I'm fine with anything Tre-approved."
Eirini looked at him with a slightly disgusted face.
"What's up with your change in tone...?"
Tre continued to sit silently on the cloth furniture, his hands clasped together under his chin, tuning out any outside noise.
'It's tied to oxygen.. as would a normal fire be. Lloyd couldn't sense it either, nor could he do anything with his ability. I hadn't monitored myself that regularly after the fall of Olyv.. what if this burn is acting like a parasite, intaking my oxygen instead of the creator's in order to continue manifest itself..'
Tre closed his eyes, leaning back thoughtfully.
'Would I have to cut off my own oxygen supply to kill this thing..?'
Tre stopped this thought, before turning towards Eirini. She caught his glare while walking back over.
'A family of servants to the king.. a rare fire mutation.. all within the same region..'
"What's up now?"
Tre gave a fake smile in response.
"..Nothing. We should talk about.. the school now, I suppose."
'Looks like she might end up as an enemy after all.'
***
The Greenwall Capital
Five figures gather around a large blue marble table within a room of pearl white stone. Amongst these people, rest the leader of the country.
King Midas II.
The man overlooked the room on his throne, adjacent the other people in pure oak chairs. His short brown hair sat cleanly as small strands fell onto his temples, resting next to his jade eyes. A white cloak was draped around his shoulders, as he donned purple garments of fine cloth underneath. He glanced amongst the four other individuals. A heavy pressure was exuded from his gaze, as if demanding attention.
After a few seconds, a young man donning spectacles and humble clothing of a brown tunic and pants stood up, lifting his glasses as he elevated himself, while subsequently hanging his head downwards, facing the floor.
"Your majesty. I disagree with the notion of war proposed by the Enyo estate. We aren't ready. We don't have enough manpower as it stands. Especially with the conflict of Hor- Mr. Horn and Deimos. It's too much. I believe our forces are too spread out, and forcing the schools to change their curriculum- it's inhumane. How could we send our children out to die-"
A voice boomed from across the table, belonging to an individual with long crimson hair and sharp red eyes.
"Is that you think? You propose no solution to any problems you state, and you dare bring your personal bias into this? Your Majesty, this man is completely incompetent."
The man adjusted his spectacles again, refuting this.
"This isn't just my personal bias, and I DO have solutions! Please, just let me speak my mind. I belie-"
At this moment, an immeasurable pressure pressed amongst the individuals present. Or, most of the individuals, at least. The marble table cracked and shook violently.
The only person unperturbed was.. the man exuding this immense force himself. The man atop the throne that almost no hand could approach.
The man began to stand, crushing those beneath him. He opened his mouth, his voice reaching the deepest corners of the room. The sound of his deep voice bounced in their mind, as if the ki in the air resonated with his words.
"We will not falter at the face of this adversity. The country of Astria will fall at our might. We will not falter. Our greatest potential in power will be completed in five years. The Greenwall school next to this capital holds many potential knights that may rival our current strongest. Wouldn't you agree.."
The king turned his head to his right, facing a man with black hair. Grey hair rested at his temples, exposing the man's mortality.
"..Lloyd Horn?"
The man glared at the king, saying nothing.
Five years remain.