It was already nighttime again.
Mirel spent the whole day meditating, playing with his yellow lightning, and sleeping.
On the other hand, Lucivar was tortured as he couldn't do anything but lay on the bed. There were a couple of books in this room, and he decided to read them, as that was the only thing he could do right now.
Despite trying to feel his ether a couple of times, there was simply no reaction.
He still needed Tobias' help to do that.
No matter how hard he tries right now it would end as a futile attempt.
Currently, it was already midnight, and Lucivar had already put down the books hours ago.
He tried to sleep to optimally recover, but he was having trouble sleeping.
Just the sight of his eyes moving under his eyelids was enough to tell that he was awake.
"Eugh... I can't sleep," Lucivar opened his eyes and sighed.
Silently glancing to the other bed he found Mirel was sleeping soundly, he was even drooling.
Each time he closed his eyes he was met with both his Mother and Edward, the memories of them were keeping him awake—and it did not help when they were cursing at him for ending their lives short.
"Even in death, they are still blaming me," Lucivar smiled acutely.
Deciding to take some fresh air to help him sleep, Lucivar groaned as he got out of bed.
He stepped out into the hallway and was instantly glad that he did.
Since the room was still near the inner open yard, the fresh wind of the night was breezing.
Lucivar stretched his sore body and took a walk around the place.
Nobody was awake during this hour as they were waking up early every day to train, and due to that Lucivar was keeping his steps light, so that the others were not disturbed. However, a weird sensation hit him when he made a turn to the main room.
A warm sensation came out of nowhere, assaulting the area above his stomach.
Remembering that it was the spot of his Supernatural Ego, Lucivar's eyes widened.
"I tried to sense it throughout the day, and now it decided to be activated...?" He whispered, a little bit annoyed by this situation. But before he could utter another word of complaint his eyes caught sight of a dark string appearing from his back and went into the warm area, the spot of his Supernatural Ego.
Such a sight was not the first time for Lucivar, he saw the same string back against Dorian.
But back then there were two strings, white and dark, now there was only the dark one.
Lucivar moved back, weirded out when the string swayed as if it was alive.
He made a couple of weaves to see if the dark string would break, but it didn't, and only then did he turn around—to see where the dark string, came from. Looking at the string—that was going in a direction and making a turn on the corner, Lucivar was confused and also curious.
It was said that a Hybrid would inherit their bloodline's constitution, and this might be his.
"Hmm..." Lucivar contemplated with a frown. "Where did it come from?"
Assuming that it was a tangible string, Lucivar tried to pull on the dark string, but he couldn't touch it, his hand penetrated through it. Having no other choice—he followed the dark string and he eventually reached a secluded and smaller hallway.
Due to the layout of the house, he didn't even know there was a hallway here.
Lucivar gazed ahead and found that the hallway was leading to a single door at the end.
Moreover, the door was slightly opened as if someone had forgotten to close it fully.
Seeing the dark string was coming from there—Lucivar hesitated, before he eventually went to the door, and checked what was in there. As he approached the door slowly, a strange air of tension filled the air, causing his heart to pound inside his chest.
An inexplicable nervousness gripped him, growing stronger with each step.
Not to mention, there was this weird heat brushing against his skin.
Halfway to the door, he froze, startled by a high-pitched, grating noise of steel emanating from the other side. It sounded like a sharp piece of metal, being dragged across another, surface of metal, "What am I doing? It's probably nothing"
Nothing seemed out of place since he came here, so he might be overthinking it.
Being exposed to betrayal, his mind was searching for the bad things about this place.
Just a few steps away from the door, he hears it—a sound of breathing.
Not the soft, rhythmic kind of a person, but a rough, guttural noise that was throaty.
Ignoring the beads of sweat on his forehead due to the oppressive atmosphere, Lucivar had enough—and went in to reach for the door. But, as soon as his hand was about to reach the handle, he was grabbed from behind by a hand.
"Waah!" Lucivar yelped, completely startled by the touch.
However, he soon recovered and rubbed his chest realizing that it was Delilah.
"Come, you shouldn't be here," She said with a hint of distress.
Lucivar took a glimpse through the crack on the door and found a working table with papers inside the room, it looked normal—but he trusted his ears to know that there was something more inside.
Not to mention, the dark string went through the door, lingering inside the room.
Despite his curiosity, Delilah had already pulled him and brought him away.
Both of them rushed away from the door and the hallway, going back to the inner yard.
Only when they reached there that Delilah lets go of Lucivar's hand.
Lucivar observed Delilah who seemed to be a little bit put off because of his antics, she was in need of a couple of seconds to steady her breaths. Patiently waiting, Delilah finally turned to look at him, "You shouldn't be there, it's not safe there"
"Why? I heard noises from inside so I was curious" He replied, trying to pry for an answer.
Since Delilah was this stressed, that room must've been a big deal.
Upon hearing his answer, Delilah could only sigh to calm her nerves, "You shouldn't be there, that room is Tobias' work room. His profession changed from time to time, and now, he had a job to transport a dangerous beast. Fortunately, you didn't seem to get hurt..."
Naturally, this came as a surprise as that was not as Lucivar expected.
'Tobias did tell me he had something to do here before leaving, that animal must've been it'
'But its breaths... they don't sound like a beast to me'
Realizing that he was in the wrong, Lucivar bowed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone there"
"It's alright, at least you're okay," Delilah messed his hair with a pliant smile, but then she was curious, about something. "Lucivar—what are you doing out of your room? I told you that you need a lot of rest"
Scratching the back of his head, Lucivar replied shyly, "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk"
Delilah was stunned by his response.
She was expecting that he felt pain somewhere, but turns out it was only this.
Smiling warmly, she guided Lucivar back to the clinic room and tucked him onto the bed.
Confused, Lucivar went with the flow as Delilah sat on the edge of the bed, "If you're having trouble sleeping, allow me to help you" She said as she gently rubbed Lucivar's head, before clearing her throat and beginning to sing.
It was not a complicated song, Delilah only hummed while still rubbing Lucivar's head.
Her voice was melodious as if crafted to serenade the heavens.
Lucivar had never experienced such a sensation, such warmth, such love, her singing carried an unprecedented relaxation to his soul and heart. She hummed softly, her melody caressing his eardrums and calming his entire body.
Like a mother soothing a young child, her song began to induce drowsiness.
Under a mere minute, he had succumbed to sleep, lulled by her heavenly voice.
One last sensation Lucivar felt before drifting into the dream world, was a plump peck on his forehead before Delilah's voice rang inside his mind, "Every time you have trouble sleeping, I will always be here to help you. Sleep well..."
Days passed in a blur after that incident.
Lucivar wondered what the dark string meant, but it never appeared again after that night.
Because of that, the night of the incident slowly faded deep into his mind.
His days were spent in a fixed routine after he recovered.
He trained together with the others, ate together, and slept with Delilah's help.
Every single time he tried to sleep alone, he was assaulted by the same visions of his mother and Edward. But Delilah's voice wiped them from his mind, he could sleep peacefully, and his days were better thanks to her.
Moreover, because of their routine, Delilah realized another thing.
No matter how late he slept, Lucivar always woke up around three in the morning.
She realized it by chance when she needed to wake up early and found Lucivar was awake.
Knowing that something was wrong with him—Delilah added to her routine to wake up early, and give Lucivar something to do before training started. Lucivar was shocked to find Delilah putting a lot of effort into helping him despite being strangers.
It made him feel quite welcomed and loved in this place.
Currently, it was morning, and Lucivar was meditating under Tobias' supervision.
Sharpening his focus as he dwelled inside his mind, Lucivar tried to find the same warmth in his solar plexus once again—as Tobias had taught him that he could be considered as being able to feel his ether independently if he could open his inner eyes without external aid.
And if he was able to do that, he could finally draw his ether to strengthen his body.
During the past month, it had been perilous, fraught with failed attempts.
Even then, Lucivar felt himself drawing closer to the elusive goal with each day of training.
Now, with great effort, he subtly sensed the ebb and flow of his natural energy, a connection to his inner eyes, that had previously evaded him. It was like grasping for the end of the rope in the dark.
His mind reached out, his consciousness extending toward this newfound connection.
As he tried harder, the sensation grew more tangible, until finally, he grasped it.
At that moment, Lucivar felt a surge of clarity as he was pulled into the same church again.
His Supernatural Ego, the egg one lay at the center, shimmering in the darkness.
"Yeah!!" Lucivar shouted in celebration.
He punched the air multiple times out of excitement, as all the beatings he endured against Tobias finally paid off—this was his first step to getting stronger. Smiling from ear to ear, he got out of the place and returned to reality.
Only then did he look at Tobias, and similarly, Tobias smiled in understanding.
Not even needing the words, he knew that Lucivar completed his first step.
"Come," Tobias spread both of his arms to the side. "Give me your best shot, kid!"
Upon hearing this, Lucivar raised an eyebrow in confusion before Tobias explained, "Feel the power inside of you and let it guide you to strike me. I'm sure you want a form of payback for the beatings I've given you throughout this month, now is the chance"
Lucivar's eyes glistened when he heard this, he did want to hit Tobias at least one time.
Standing up, he did exactly as Tobias said and let his power guide him.
In a sparkling display, his right fist glowed with a radiant light before he swung for a punch.
Giving Lucivar the chance to hit him, Tobias put his guard down and let Lucivar punch him in the stomach. But the moment the punch connected—both of his pupils dilated as he did not expect the force of the punch to reach this high.
Bam!
Crash!
Tobias was hurled, blasting through the wall behind him, and crashed into the inner yard.
He lay there, groaning in pain from the punch.
On the other hand, Lucivar's eyes widened as he looked at what he caused.
"E- Eh...? Did my punch really cause that?" He gasped in shock.