Destiny No More

Chapter 14

"Again."

Pyrrha grit her teeth, taking a deep breath to distract herself from her aching muscles and the subtle burning of her core. The Maiden powers were unlike anything she had ever experienced. It wasn't similar to when she had unlocked her Semblance , nor was it linked in any way to her aura. Whatever powered the magic was something far deeper, something that she hadn't ever realized she had been capable of feeling.

Until it had been pushed and prodded to be used as fuel. Until it had been eroded.

She was exhausted in a way she couldn't describe and yet she was sure her aura was still green.

Ozpin had given her a few pointers, vague lines about reaching within oneself and tapping into the power from there. All words she had heard when she was first using her aura, when she had first unlocked her Semblance. Just like then, it meant nothing to her.

Despite that, she had nodded her head and promised to work it out.

She wasn't sure how, but his advice of reaching within had helped more than she expected it to. Unlike with her aura or Semblance, where she had to consciously move or manipulate it, magic acted in tandem with the will of its user which made it incredibly easy to manifest.

It was also incredibly difficult to control.

Magic wasn't fueled by emotion, but it was linked somehow. Manifesting the power in rage or frustration was easy, doing so while calm was less so, but both Miss Goodwitch and the Headmaster had insisted on the importance of control.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and sighed, releasing the tension from her shoulders as she attempted to reign in her emotions. A moment later, her eyes snapped open as a familiar flame burned with them. Reaching out her hand, ice began to materialize in her palm. Slowly growing in size and mass, before flying from her hand and piercing into a training dummy sat on the opposite side of the arena.

The ice dissipated a moment later and Pyrrha fell to her knees, breathing heavily.

"That will be enough for today." Miss Goodwitch allowed the protective shield she was holding to dissipate.

"I can go again." Pyrrha stated, struggling back to her feet.

"No, you can't." Such a certain response nearly drove Pyrrha back to her knees, would have too were it not for her teacher's words. "You have made incredible progress in such a short time, but it can't all be done at once."

Pyrrha nodded and moved over to the section reserved for onlookers. There weren't any of course, nobody could be allowed to know about what power she truly had and so they had taken steps to ensure their time alone.

She almost wanted to laugh at the irony of her situation. Growing up, she had hated being given extra time with teachers and trainers, being singled out as special and an example that somehow deserved more than the rest of her peers.

Now she wished they would keep going until she collapsed, it just went to show what having real motivation could do to someone. She had to protect her friends, and in order to do that she had to train harder than she ever had before.

Rising from her seat, Pyrrha stepped back towards her instructor. "Thank you, Miss Goodwitch. I'll be sure to remember what I've learned."

"I shall see you tomorrow at the same time, don't be late." Pyrrha nodded and left.

Her lessons with Miss Goodwitch had been helpful but also... awkward. The professor was as professional as ever but there was an air of something else, moments were the silence would drag on and it felt like something was supposed to have been said.