The Will Of A Life: Astras

Opposite Effect

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Chapter 14
Opposites Attract
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   Yan walked slowly through the halls four times each morning pouring his large excess of mana into each door. He always did this to map out the home and see if anything new had appeared. While uncommon, sometimes new rooms or even full hallways could generate on their own. They would however be full of monsters and a crystal would need to be broken to stop them before they could repurpose the rooms.
   The crystals when melted and woven become the group's hoods and take on the personality of the owner, well more literally their design does. Yumidas’s wave covered hood is a great example of this; he holds the ocean in high regard and is strongly linked to it, caring for the ocean as a mother. Yumida also has great influence over the sea and water, controlling it at will. Due to his connections he received a hood made of embroidered flowing waves.
   As Yan made his rounds he saw a new door had appeared; he quickly awoke Vera and his twin Yori and brought them to the new room. Vera began to cast a strong spell aiming for the door as Yori swiftly opened it. Shooting immediately she was astonished to see her magic disappear in front of the door.
   “What is it?” Yan questioned the purpose of the room. As the smoke began to clear he saw that the room was completely blank. Just a small white box. There was a large and empty crystal ball in the center of the room.
   Slowly Vera entered the room with her sword drawn. Yan used a spell to observe the crystal. He recognised it as a crystal ball used to determine the amount of mana a person possessed. Coming closer and placing his finger on it the room suddenly transformed into a building filled with different holy artifacts and scriptures.
   He looked in amazement at the dusty white room turned palace of artifacts. Excitedly he ran to a shining silver staff and grabbed it.
   Immediately a door opened across the room and a copy of himself entered. This version of him wore black and red robes with black hair and a blue gem in his hand. Everything about him seemed the opposite. It attacked him swiftly with a barrage of dark magic spells. Acting just as fast he countered with light magic both spells nullified each other and disappeared. Both continued to send spell after spell against each other with neither gaining advantage.
   Suddenly Yan switched tactics, throwing a black magic spell at the copy. Caught off guard the magic almost hit the clone forcing it to quickly cast out an extra strong holy magic spell. Yan recovered from the attack with blood dripping from his mouth from using the small scale attack. The opposite had taken severe damage and laid blankly on the floor bleeding heavily. Yan turned toward the others with a hefty sigh, acknowledging their lack of help.
   Yan then walked over to his opposite self and wiped the blood from his mouth then sat next to him. He raised his thin hands and casted a healing spell. Slowly the copy’s wounds receded and closed.
   “Now what was that for?” Vera questioned, “you just beat that mimic-thing, why would you want to heal it?”
   “I don’t think it’s a mimic," he said examining the creature, “it's extremely autonomous and worked exactly opposite to me. But he doesn’t seem to be as experienced as me.”
   “It’s like this room is some kind of mental test, when you fed it your mana it generated your exact opposite meaning your magic would be ineffective so you had to think it through, find a work around.” Elaina stated, suddenly appearing in the room.
   “Since when did you wake up this early?” Yori mused.
   “Since Comera joined us, I've been observing her. Now I want to know if my theory is correct by creating Comera’s opposite.” She declared.
   “She isn't here to be your test subject Elaina.” The three others said in unison.
   Elaina looked dejected and laid sad on the floor pushing around the fragments of her coat sleeves.
   “I don’t mind,” Comera said, turning into the doorway, “I'm happy to help.”
   Elaina lit up and appeared in front of Comera and shaking her hands excitedly. Elaina’s almost caramel colored skin made Comera look like there was no blood in her body to warm her skin and bring her color. Comera smiled sheepishly and walked over to the crystal ball.
   As she touched the ball the castle melted away into a cloudy white corridor filled with dust and had a pair of shallow clouds running through either side of her like a river. It was a long hall and mist seemed to cover the area only allowing Comera to see so far. There were large square pillars made of marble that bordered the inner edge of the clouds and shot up to the top of the room. There wasn’t any color there and it was bright without any lighting. Comera glanced at the others who were marvling in their monochromacy. The door to the room stood the only thing with color, not attached to anything but the floor. The foggy mist didn’t exit the room as the others played around with the doors mechanics.
   Comera glanced around the room questioning where the other version of her was supposed to be. She saw a box on the floor and stepped towards it.  Placing her hands on the top and tapping it lightly, she determined from the sound it was fragile so she picked it up gently. She admired its appearance, black marble with white accents and four porcelain legs. It was polished and shining. And cold and dewey. It felt like an early spring morning before it had become too warm, yet far past winter's icy clutches. It was uncomfortable yet comforting, the frozen box. It was small and not much bigger than her hand. And it never seemed to warm at her touch.
   Waves of air rushed through the room. The first burning hot enough so that you felt yourself be burnt and your throat closes just slightly at the dryness.
   The next was a humid and somewhat cool wind. if you breathed too heavily you would find yourself coughing up water but yet you could feel almost calm.
   Next came a wave of dirt and dust thick enough that Comera hoisted her caped hood around her face and held her breath.
   The corridor then became completely cleared of any debris or fog that had been there originally. She surveyed the room and staring down the corridor was herself. This version of herself was not herself, or was it? It was small and young, it looked innocent and behind it grew a hurricane of roses without thorns and other beautiful plants. Comera looked at them but not for long before her eyes widened and she began to tear up. It was a child no more than six, the one who lived in another world with shorter hair and a bright smile, it was the one who had turned six by her side and remained six till now, they were…crying.
   “I want to go home,” he whispered through his tears, “sissy you got all mean, why did you get mean? Why can’t I be older this year?”
   “Casei?...” Comera called faintly with a hand stopping her mouth from screaming. Her eyes teared up and her face got hot and her nose began to run.
   “You’re not supposed to be out of your room!” someone called angrily down the hall. Vera and the others watched on confused as an opposite of Comera stamped down the hall with red eyes and white hair. She wore a long black dress that shined and split across one leg. She was trailed by the clack of her clicking heels. Her hair was straight down and trailing behind her, her face was painted with makeup.
   Casei looked at Comera and for only a moment looked behind. He ran scared to Comera like there was nothing safer than her. She held him with only one arm and scooped him up. The opposite Comera suddenly sent out a white spike identical yet opposite to Comera’s ink. She did not waiver for a second and did not flinch as it approached. She looked a dull look towards the hair of the opposite. It was long yet much shorter than hers which still dragged in a braid past the colored door. Just as she had expected the spike didn’t reach her but continued forward as the Opposite ran. Comera looked at her brother and his horribly pale and light body. She felt him much lighter than Nora who couldn’t stand to eat much food with her small stomach. Comera turned towards the door and walked calmly towards it. She set him on the ground in front of the door and whipped his tears then told him to walk through. He clung on closely against her leg. She took Ashen out of her hood and placed her in his arms. He looked happily at the fluffy kitten who was happy to receive the touch of another. She then instructed Ashen to exit the room.
   She hopped through Casei and bounced happily through the door passing through mid leap. Casei followed her and jumped through as well. Comera focused towards the opposite.
   “What’s your name?” she said sarcastically.
   “How dare a fool such as yourself ask the name of the great Queen Of Life!” the opposite retorted.
   “Queen?” Comera said provokingly, “oh now i see the difference between us is that you are completely full of yourself. Or maybe you’re just stupid? That haircut is just so not you.”
   “How dare you, you disgusting brat!?” the ‘Great Queen Of Life’ retorted.
   Is it just me or is she really full of herself? Oh wait this is narration not opinion, continue on!
   Comera raised her hand and out sprouted a little black dripping lotus. It opened into a giant black mass of thin thread spun around itself. Breaking open at the top and unwinding then stretching forward to the Queen.
   She countered with a wall of white and broke the strings with sharp spikes. Comera furthered her attack with a flurry of other lotus blooms, as she backed out of the queen’s range. She became furious and began shooting bullets of white stringy ink towards Comera, who ran dodging each one. Abruptly she was hit from behind by a dagger. She winced and slowed and was then caught by two of the Queen's attacks.
   She sent massive hands all around the room and rode upwards towards the cross beams in between each arch. She pulled out the dagger  that was too fast for her to react to and turned towards the door seeing Vera preparing to enter. She swiftly caused an arm to block the door, and fought back cries of pain as she surveyed the room. Deep in the mist she sensed another dagger flying her way, aimed for her head. She quickly attempted to dodge but found herself unable to move fast enough with the pain of the wounds and blood loss in account.
    The mist was overtaken by a shadow and a flash of black. And in front of Comera leaping from beam to beam was Leon holding the dagger that had been thrown. His mask was over his face and he was wearing the hair pin Comera had gifted him. He swiftly sent back the dagger flying back into the mist. He landed silently in front of Comera and then paused. He saw the blood around her and his eyes widened. He knelt by her side and searched through his pockets.
   There was no healing potion to be found.
   He looked again.
   Nothing.
   Comera knew something was wrong; she wished she didn’t know. She looked down at her injuries, she looked at her hair hanging long off the beam, it waved around and far from her was the ground. She hadn’t realized just how tall the room was until now. She found her braid could not even touch the bottom and was lost to the mist. She knew she had really barely reached the beam; her hair unbraided could probably only scrape the ground if she stood.
   The ink should have encased her and healed her but it didn’t. She felt hot, she didn’t think she was supposed to feel hot. She hit her hand against the floor in a fist. She was mad, mad at herself, mad at the thrower of that dagger, but mostly she wanted that queen gone. The queen who had hurt her brother, who had taken him and pretended to be her. Who needed to answer her questions. Who needed to tell her why.
   On the other side of the door Vera slashed her fiery blade at the ink but could not cut through. Yan attempted to purify it and Yori sent a powerful kick towards it. She couldn’t stand the thought of what had happened to the boy Vera had sent Elaina off with Casai to Nora’s room; he had fallen asleep in her arms along the way.
   Comera looked at the marble in front of her. She looked at the box in her hand and she opened it and peered inside forcing her heavy eyelids open. There was a pill inside. It was small and not much bigger than the palm of her hand and looked like it was covered with scales. It was black and only small portions were a pale blue similar to Comera’s eyes.
   She closed the box and sat. She could hear her heart beat fast and slow but she wasn’t listening. She tried to raise her hand but she couldn’t. She looked at Leon who was trying to figure out what to do. Raising what she could of her arm she mentally asked him to help her.
   He understood the gesture and carefully he raised the arm for her. A black wobbling and dripping pillar of ink crept slowly out of the floor a small. Leon caught it and created a question mark. Comera dropped her hand from his hold and looked at the wounds.
   “There.” she whispered.
   Her eyes were very heavy on her head and she felt the pull of the wind on her hair, she felt herself begin to fall. And she felt herself feel mad. She felt herself be caught. And she felt herself feel angry. She felt a cold liquid seep into her wounds. She felt herself feel enraged. She felt her wounds go away. And she felt herself feel furious.
   “Did you pick up anything?” she asked
   Leon nodded and showed a pen and wrote in the air with it which conjured a small flame.
   “Someone is here to fight you. Make sure you get far from me.” Comera ordered.
   Leon’s eyes narrowed and he and he closed his eyes. He removed a silver ring from his hand and placed it in his pocket.
   His ears elongated and reached a point to the left and right of his head. Comera turned and sat with her legs off the edge of the high beam. She dropped into the mist.
   Leon’s left ear twitched and he launched a needle like object faster than could be seen without moving anything but his arm. He then disappeared in that direction.
   “Where’d you go already!?” the queen screeched. She shot out bullets in every direction and spiked everywhere else.
   Dropping silently Comera landed on the cold floor. She was still in her bare feet and she had only woken up by chance, only walked here by chance, only met him by chance.
   She was still in her own pajamas a white sweater and gray sweatpants. It was all too familiar yet this time it was different. This time it was her blood, she would bleed for him this time.
   “Why? Tell me why.” She called.
   “Why would I answer to vermin such as yourself?” the queen retorted.
   Comera walked toward the queen and countered each attack before it could leave the ground. She spread her ink across the floor sucking in everything around them including the queen and comera herself.
   Suddenly out of the floor came the pair. But this was just the floor surrounded in Comera’s ink. It was like an island; the ink, the unforgiving sea that encircled it.
   “Because… I am going to kill you. You just get to choose how you die. Slow or fast,” Comera warned, “that was your sentence from the first tear he shed in your name.”
   “Where am I?!” the queen called, there was almost a hint of fear in her voice.
   “This is the only place where I won't accidentally eliminate you before you serve your purpose and tell me what the hell you did to Casei and why.”
   The queen froze, she couldn’t summon her power.
   “How did you come across him, where is that palace?”
   “What didn’t you recognise the scent of blood in the air? The absence of magic tingling at our fingertips. Scum like you ought to know, right Westitch?” she mocked, “welcome home Comer–”

   Comera walked out of the colored door where Leon and the others waited.
   “What happened out there?” Vera asked.
   “Who is that boy?” Yori continued.
   “Did you win?” Yan asked.
   Comera turned to Leon and quietly asked where Casai was.
   He pointed his hand to the side and started walking in that direction. Comera followed, and thus followed Vera than the others.
   Behind them the door cracked and shattered then the wall returned to normal.