Series: The Mountain: Book 1: The Awakening

Gifts

An island of calm surfaced atop a chaotic sea of panic as Shadow's words slightly comforted the anxious Liam who stood patiently as he awaited further instructions. 

'Step towards the girl from the Mountain.'

'You mean Alice?' Liam questioned uncertainly, 'Shouldn't we help Helen first?'

'Of the two, she will be the least taxing on your energy. Were you to treat the princess first, you might not have the strength needed to help the other.'

'I-I understand,' Liam replied, advancing towards Alice. 

"Hey!" Sylvie called out to him as he stepped toward the petite girl, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to try and fix what I caused," Liam replied simply without stopping. 

"Then start with Helen," Sylvie scolded, "She seems to be worse off than Alice right now!"

"I know that," Liam whispered harshly, startling everyone present by his sudden switch in tones, "However, if I attempt to save her first then I may not be able to save Alice even if she's not as affected as Helen. After I save her, I promise you that I'll dedicate everything I have left to bring her back!"

"I understand," Xavier said, stepping forward as he sensed the intense emotions that were tightly wound in his tone, "Please continue."

Taking Xavier's words as a cue to begin, Liam made his way towards Alice, who blinked slowly at his arrival. Struggling as she attempted to part her lips in order to speak, Liam placed a pale finger on her lips, silently advising her to be quiet. 

Kneeling at her side he stared at her trembling body as he aske mentally, 'What's next Shadow?'

'Place a palm on her forehead and draw upon your aura.'

Following Shadows instructions, Liam pulled upon the darkness within himself, manifesting it around his body in an almost pure black wave of energy. Stepping back in surprise as the colour in the environment itself was drained in the presence of Liam's aura, Xavier, Sylvie and Isabelle immediately began to shiver as an immense wave of cold energy accompanied it's physical counterpart. 

'Feel the similarities between her energy and yours.'

Continuing as ordered, Liam released his will over her body as he desperately searched for something he was not sure to find. Much to his surprise however, after a few seconds of looking, a familiar trace of his aura, intermingled with a much lighter energy entered his sights. 

'I found it,' Liam said calmly, 'What's next?'

'You'll have to recapture the released energy whilst withdrawing your own aura. Be careful not to siphon her own, otherwise irreversible consequences will be put into motion.'

'How do I do that exactly?' Liam questioned, unsure of how to proceed. 

'Simply latch on to your the energy that is yours and speak the word Assimilation aloud!'

'Alright,' Liam replied, palms shaking slightly, 'Here goes nothing.'

Following Shadow's instructions right down to the letter, Liam ensnared the residual aura with Alice's body before isolating it with his own power. 

Preparing to extract everything all at once, he whispered the singular word aloud, "Assimilation!"

Almost immediately, the surrounding energy trembled as if a sudden weight was enacted upon the air itself. Simultaneously, Liam trembled as a minute wave of malevolent energy swirled wildly around his insides. Before he could even attempt to purge the energy from within, Liam's aura encompassed the rogue power, stifling it before completely absorbing its entire presence. Staring down at the now unconscious Alice, a look of relief spread across his face as colour returned to her skin. After ensuring that she was indeed resting peacefully, he scooted over to Helen, whose condition looked as if it had worsened in the time he'd spent healing Alice.