Reincarnated extra refuses to die

Arc 2. Chapter 2-5

"So... he just gave the violin to you?" Lucas asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"He didn't just 'gave the violin' to me. He gave the violin to me as a way to perpetuate his legacy. Not like I expect you to understand" I scoffed. Lucas rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored my comment.

"Well, then it's a good thing you can actually keep it. It will be more convenient than just travelling with a borrowed instrument" he said, examining the violin, the worn wood and small scratches and indentations in it. I knew it wasn't exactly on top form, but the way Lucas was looking at it made me feel defensive. My hands itched to take it away from him.

Instead, I glanced away and asked the question I've been dying to ask all day. "Have you come up with an excuse for us to leave? Now that I got the violin, that's the only thing that's keeping us here."

"As a matter of fact, I have" he answered, surprising me. But before I could ask, he passed the violin to me. "Before that, though, why don't you play something? One thing is getting the violin successfully, but we need to see if you can focus your magic on it so it can calm the demon, otherwise, we're as stuck as in the beginning."

"You're right" I gave him the reason, reluctantly. I still wasn't very good with my magic, or at least not enough to feel confident that I could do it. My main affinity, sensory magic, completely eluded me still. How could I perform magic music in my first try when I still had problems with my affinity?

The first step is trying, I guess, I thought with a sigh, placing the violin on my shoulder and heeding Lucas' instructions. It was late at night, and we were at the barn, where I could play without waking up the rest of the family. Of course, I felt very uncomfortable being in the same place where I tried to, unconsciously, kill myself, but we didn't have many other options available. So, despite my dread, here we were, and I tried very hard not to let the memories come back to me as I concentrated.

First, I had to feel the magic and tap onto it. Second, I had to extend it from my body, give it form, and envelope it around the violin. I found that it wasn't as complicated to 'extend' my magic as I thought, but giving it shape was giving me trouble. Worse, I wasn't one of those people that could multitask. Playing and extending my magic like a force field required intense focus that I was unable to place on both activities at the same time. So, if I played, I couldn't extend my magic, and if I extended my magic, I couldn't play.

This would be a problem.

"We'll have to do it until it comes naturally to you. So you don't have to think about extending your magic and concentrate only in playing" Lucas sighed, crossing his arms. "It seems we will have to resort to the inn's piano in the meantime."

So, that meant we couldn't leave just yet. Great, I've always hated things I had to make an effort to achieve. This would be fun.

We spent the next few hours in the barn, and not once could I play at the same time as I used my magic. I noticed, however, that it was easier to manipulate it the longer I tried. Still not quite for it to become unconscious, but enough to hold for longer, and for the shape to remain in place without strain. That was progress, and it encouraged me enough to keep trying.

In the end, we had to stop before it became too late, with Lucas still not telling me his plan for us to leave without my parents having a seizure. I slept with Lucas and Thomas again, this time finding rest more easily due to my accumulated exhaustion, and the only indication of the demon I got was a whispery voice flitting in and out from my mind, but other than that, everything was peaceful.

The next night, I was able to play a few notes while maintaining the magic.

The night after that, it was a part of a melody.