TBATE - The Help of a Certain Being

The Calm Before The Storm

[Time remaining: 1 day, 18 hours, 30 minutes]

Nico

"So, Elijah. What's up with you lately?" I threw my arms over Elijah's neck.

"It's nothing. Just... thinking." He looked troubled and I knew I shouldn't bother prying, but I knew that look as well as I knew Arthur.

"Thinking about how weak you are?"

He stiffened and we stopped walking.

"Spot on. So, considering you're in the company of a guy who was metaphorically inside you until just a few months ago, I daresay we could relate."

I pulled him aside to the courtyard doors and found us a seat under a tree where a light breeze hit just right while the sun shone brightly.

"School's out, we've got more hours to spare than I care to mention before dinner, and you are in the presence of your oldest listener. Do tell."

He was just... quiet. Not even an utterance.

But it was enough.

"I see."

Leaning back against the tree's trunk, I sighed.

"Well, what can you do, huh? It's not like you can help it, being around people like them.

Arthur's one thing, but Kuro's an entirely separate story. Like seriously.

Awakened when he was two years old, manifested all four elements before he turned five, and accessed Deviant magic before he turned ten."

My hand came up and I compressed the brown motes deeper down until it took on a bluish tone. I chipped away at the excess rock and conjoined mineral, presenting a pristine gem.

"You look at this element and see rocks. Spikes, walls, and so on. I look at it and see 'Earth'. Minerals, material, and ore, all parts of one great thing. But the fine line that splits this magic is how we use it."

Elijah stared at the blue gem intently before looking at me.

"And where exactly does that line sit?" He asked me.

"The line of conventionality, I call it." I handed him the gem and continued.

"The difference between sanity and insanity. Light and dark, hot and cold, even geniuses like them and hard workers like us.

Abstract concepts like these are what forms the line, Elijah. Why do you think people who exceed their limits time and time again are proven to be more powerful than those who just want to get by?

The world of normalcy is for those who want life easy. The world of talent, hard work and absolute dedication is for those who strive to become better."

It was clear that my words lingered in his ears because his eyes began to light up like bulbs. I could even swear some color returned to his face.

Elijah was abnormal. Since we were technically the same person for over twelve years, I knew the most about him.

But if anything, that was the bad part.

He isn't supposed to be Elijah Knight in truth. He isn't even supposed to be on this continent.

Somehow, someway, entering a different body gave me more memories than Elijah originally had. Which meant that I knew the truth.

He was supposed to be me, and I was supposed to be in Alacrya. But because Grey was reborn in Dicathen as Arthur, I was sent here with 'my' memories scrapped.