White Strings

Episode 14 - Advancing

Silk stormed into Kaon's room, causing him to snap out of his sleep as if he was under attack. His hair rested on his back, with some rebellious strands poking out his scalp as if they were trying to run away. He looked at his widely open door, as Silk stood there, gushing with excitement.

"What-"

His hoarse voice was cut off by Silk's yelps of happiness as she didn't wait for him to get up and just decided to run to the bed. She shoved her hand at confused Kaon's face who was still trying to understand why Silk was in his room.

"Look!" she called and pointed at the back of her hand.

As Kaon's vision finally stabilized, he saw a streak of black, contrasted by the pale complexion of Silk's skin. It was a simple mark that indicated basic skill in combat, each streak determines proficiency. Kaon had his around age six.

"Your combat mark," he smiled as he saw Silk's enormous grin. "Congratulations."

"I have a mark!" she jumped as she held her wrist with her other hand, as if it wasn't actually connected to her body.

"Couldn't it have waited until after sunrise?" Kaon was still sleepy.

"No!" Silk kept staring at the back of her hand, mesmerized by the appearance of the proof of her hard work.

"Barging into a grown man's room, what if I was doing something private?" Kaon gave up and flipped the blanket away, turning to rest his feet on the floor rug.

"Like what? Snoring?" Silk scoffed.

Kaon sighed deeply, still tired. Two days have passed since Silk was healed, and she seemed to be in constant high energy. He started teaching her how to read, providing her with simple texts for children. Her enthusiasm seemed to be undying despite her frustration.

"Have you been practicing the energy summon like I taught you?" Kaon yawned and scratched his chest through his shirt. "Synergy test is nearing."

Silk attempted to call for the new sensation inside her, focusing on her hand. After a little while, her finger tip seemed to glow ever so slightly, making Silk gloat with pride. She knew it wasn't anything impressive, but never in her life she hoped she would end up being able to make use of her energy.

"Good," Kaon nodded. "Now go outside and practice your swings until I come."

"Wait," Silk remembered something else she wanted to show Kaon. She rummaged in her belt bag, pulling out a necklace. "This is for you."

"Interesting," Kaon accepted the gift with his hand. The string was made from simple durable steel, connected to some sort of a nicely carved stone. Kaon smiled at the shape that resembled a frem's head. "It looks nice."

"It's a piece that got stuck in my arm after the monster died, so technically it is a trophy," Silk explained. "At least we got something out of that whole mess."

"Don't let it encourage any more foolish decision though," Kaon smiled and raised his brow at her, locking the necklace around his neck.

They spent the day practicing, and the next few days as well. The appearance of her first mark was almost like an injection of new kind of motivation Silk had never felt before. For once in her life, she saw real progress and her efforts to harness her energy finally bore fruit. She spent her days getting used to her new daggers at day, and reading in the evenings. She felt great, and she would have felt even better if Skyr hadn't started acting weird.

She tried to reach Skyr the whole week, but without success. She was excited to try and check whether he might show signs of Ash's personality, but it felt as if he was never not busy. After a few days, she finally realized he might be avoiding her on purpose. Was he angry at her? Did the mess she created made him dislike her? Or worse, did he find out she was of dark descent? Eventually, the news about Elem returning to the temple reached her, and something inside her told Silk she should stay away from him.