The Anima [completed]

31.

31.

The night passed in a fury. Not only was I not allowed to finish training until dinnertime, but also the elder had dropped the funny act all together. For the rest of the night, I was yelled at, badgered, and shamed for every minor mistake I made. Just when my limbs felt like they were going to drop off, he forced me back onto my feet. When we moved on to the removal and growth of my own limbs, I drifted in and out of consciousness.

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, the bright gold power surging to protect my nerves each time the blade was brought down to remove a chunk of my skin. It got to the point where it had actually begun to feel good, tingles running through the stumps when they began to regrow. But my brain was tiring, and I could feel the power had begun to eat away the energy in my muscles.

Alvar wasn't helping. Each time Lucius got a hit in with his blade, I automatically healed him.

"Ugh, Lyra!" Alvar yelled over the field as the latest scrape on his arm healed.

I was on the ground, waiting for my right foot to regrow.

"Stop bloody stabbing each other!" I yelled back. To the elder, I said, "when can we stop with the limb cutting?"

The tiny red fibres of muscle and nerves had slowed with my exhaustion. Sighing, I plucked the bloody old foot that lay next to my head, the shoe still intact and began to untie the laces.

"Yeah." The man sighed and pulled his cape tight over his ears. The temperature had dropped. "We will move on to telekinesis tomorrow. We can't work on your nature control because you aren't tied to this plane, and I believe you already have some combat training. It will have to suffice, we don't have time for much physical training."

I laughed, my foot completely regrown. I waited for my toe nails to form before putting on my shoe.

"I'd say cutting of my legs is a pretty physical job." He waved his hand in response.

"That ain't nothing compared to what your bodies going to have to go through once you merge with The Umbra. That's going to be a lotof power, girl. You may well implode under its weight."

I shivered. His voice was devoid of any humour. It only made my imminent death, whether by the merging or by the subsequent battle all the more real.

"Hey."

Alvar's breath was warm in my hair as he approached from behind, wrapping his arms around my chest. He pulled me up onto my feet, holding me upright as I adjusted to the fresh nerves in my foot. I squeezed my toes experimentally. Apart from the cold, they were as good as new.

"Hey." I whispered, falling into his arms.

The energy I had depleted and I sunk back heavily. Alvar scooped up my legs, carrying me bridal style, and began the short trip back to the building.

"We need to get some food I you." His lips were warm on my forehead.

A few moments passed in silence. But that silence only made everything more terrifying.

"Do you think I'm going to die?" I asked, staring up at the black sky. There were no stars or planets, just the blackness of a never-ending existence.

"No." Alvar said quickly, too quickly. I couldn't decide whether it was because he was lying or because he was scared too.

"I think I might." I said quietly, fiddling with the torn material of his shirt.

"You won't." He responded quickly again and adjusted me in his arms.

I stared up at him, waiting for something to be revealed in his eyes. But just like the night sky, they were black and endless, the answers lost in the absence of the stars.