The wind had grown harsher by the time Alex and Elara decided to return to the Rust Quarter, their search for valuable relics having turned up little more than piles of rusted scrap. They walked in silence, the cold biting at their skin, each step through the thickening snow dragging them further into exhaustion. The ruins, once looming and foreboding, now felt like a ghostly backdrop to their slow, wearied march back to the safety of their settlement.
As they neared the edge of the ruins, Alex's mind drifted back to the market, to the man performing magic. The glowing orb that had floated above the man's palm had seemed so impossible, yet so real. Alex hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since they'd left the Rust Quarter. The AI had scanned it but offered no concrete answers—just that it was an energy source, some sort of manipulation.
He glanced at Elara, who was walking slightly ahead, her head down to avoid the cold wind whipping snow into their faces. He didn't want to seem naïve, but he had questions. She'd shrugged off the magic as something unimportant, but to Alex, it felt significant.
I need to know more, Alex thought to himself. He picked up his pace, moving to walk alongside her.
"Elara," he began, his voice slightly muffled by the cloth wrapped around his face, "back in the Quarter... the man with the glowing light. What was he doing?"
Elara glanced at him sideways, her expression unreadable behind the layers of cloth shielding her face from the cold. For a moment, she didn't answer, as if she wasn't sure what Alex was getting at.
"Performing, like I said," she replied after a pause, her voice flat. "It's just a basic trick."
Alex frowned. "But how was he doing it? It didn't look like a trick to me."
Elara let out a short, sharp breath that might have been a laugh, though it was hard to tell. "That? You've never seen anyone manipulate energy before?"
Alex shook his head. "No. I've never seen anything like that."
She gave him another sideways glance, this one more curious. "Energy manipulation is... well, it's not rare. Not in places like the Rust Quarter. It's useful for some people, but most of what you see is just for show. Like that guy back in the market. Low-level stuff—making lights, heating things up. That's why I told you not to bother with it."
Alex's brow furrowed. "So, anyone can learn it?"
"Not anyone," she corrected, her tone shifting. "It takes talent, and usually someone to teach you. Not everyone has it in them to manipulate energy like that. Most people who can use it learn from a young age, either from family or a mentor. But it's dangerous, too, especially if you don't know what you're doing."
Dangerous, Alex thought, wondering just how dangerous it could be. He remembered how casually Elara had dismissed the man's display. To her, it seemed like a small thing, but to Alex, it had been incredible.
"Why dangerous?" he asked, hoping to understand more.
Elara sighed, clearly growing tired of the conversation. "Because the more power you have, the harder it is to control. You saw what that guy was doing? Making lights? It's harmless. But get someone with real power, and they can cause all kinds of damage. People have died from trying to control more energy than they can handle."
Alex swallowed, feeling a strange mix of curiosity and dread. He hadn't considered the risk involved, but hearing Elara speak of it so matter-of-factly made him realize there was more to this energy manipulation than he had first thought.
What else is possible? Alex wondered. Could people use this power to defend themselves? To change their lives? He had so many questions, but one in particular stuck with him.
"Could I learn it?" Alex asked cautiously, unsure of how she would respond.
Elara looked at him sharply, her green eyes narrowing beneath the frayed edge of her scarf. "I don't know," she said after a long pause. "Like I said, not everyone can. You'd have to find someone willing to teach you, and even then, it's not guaranteed."
Her answer left Alex unsatisfied, but he didn't push further. The idea of manipulating energy like the man in the market had filled him with a kind of quiet excitement, but if it was as dangerous as Elara said, it wasn't something to take lightly. Still, the thought stayed with him. Could the AI help him with that? Could it learn enough to help him manipulate energy?
Can you help me learn this? Alex asked the AI, his thoughts focused.
"Insufficient data," the AI replied. "Energy manipulation requires extensive observation and analysis. No records of previous attempts exist within current data. Further study needed."
Of course, Alex thought, disappointed but not surprised. The AI was limited by what it had seen and analyzed, and so far, its knowledge of the world was as fragmented as his own. If he wanted answers, he would have to find them himself.
They trudged on through the snow, the wind howling around them. The skeletal ruins of the city loomed behind them, fading into the distance as they neared the edge of the Rust Quarter. Alex's legs burned from the effort, and his body ached from the cold, but he forced himself to keep moving.
The entrance to the Rust Quarter came into view, the broken buildings rising like jagged teeth from the snow-covered ground. The familiar sounds of people haggling and shouting drifted toward them, carried by the wind, though it felt muted compared to the open expanse of the ruins.
As they stepped through the entrance, the cold began to feel more bearable, and the weight of the ruins lifted from Alex's shoulders. The Quarter was still harsh, but it was livelier, with people bustling about, trading goods, repairing tools, or simply trying to stay warm.
"Back at last," Elara muttered, her voice laced with exhaustion. "We didn't find anything worth much today. We'll have to try again tomorrow."
Alex nodded, though his mind was elsewhere. The questions about energy manipulation and the magic he'd seen in the market lingered in his thoughts, along with a nagging sense that there was so much more he didn't know—about the world, the ruins, and even himself.
But for now, he was tired, and the cold had seeped deep into his bones. He followed Elara through the narrow streets of the Quarter, grateful to be back in a place that, at least for the moment, felt a little warmer.