The bed creaks as I wake up. My body still protesting after the fight and after threatening Rowan.
I look at my body, bandages still wrapped around me. A testament to my fights.
"You're finally awake."
I turn to see Dominio standing next to the door. His dark brown hair moves against the wind as his fedora covers his eyes.
"How long have you been there?"
"I lost count. Aurelia just told me to guard you."
I get up and hold the wall for support.
"What happened to the Eighty?"
I hear a step and Dominio is right next to me. His hand on my shoulder as he pushes me back to the bed.
"You should rest. Your body's been through enough."
"What happened to the Eighty?"
He sits on my bed next to me. "Well, we tried to kill Rowan, but that failed miserably. Then at night he came to us with some goons behind him and asked for another ceasefire. Of course, Aurelia accepted. Even after all that nonsense, guess he's desperate now."
He's not. It's clear after my threat that he's actually committed to this ceasefire. It's crazy because previously he offered the ceasefire, but now I'm the one who forced it.
So now I have to recover. I wonder what he'll do during this ceasefire.
Dominio looks at me closely. "Like the new hair."
"New hair?"
He grabs a mirror nearby and hands it to me.
My hair is different. No longer an afro, but dreadlocks. Proper dreads that reach the length of my face. Who can do this? Not even my mom can do dreads.
"Who did this?"
"Rela. Apparently, Blood Steppes people have this hair."
Rela can do this? I should thank her. This looks good.
I turn to Dominio. "So what's going on now?"
"You should rest. You need it. Plus, Aurelia discovered this will be the final day of the exam. Everyone's tense, especially after Ren exposed the whole thing. Now everyone knows about it."
I nod. Dominio looks out the window across the room. The peaceful atmosphere contrasts with the tension of the ship.
"Exactly what was that unique skill, Zain?"
My mind goes back to that fight with Ren. The fiery fur. The jaguar patterns. I look at my hand and try to concentrate my Lumin into it, but nothing happens. I'm still low on Lumin.
"I don't know," I admit. "All I know is that it helped me survive. And I'm grateful."
"Grateful for a unique skill? Never heard anyone say that. It's either people showing off or being disappointed."
"Then explain it to me, Dominio. What is a unique skill?"
He stretches his arms above his head. "Where do I even begin? It's complicated as hell. Not even the scribes and scholars can fully comprehend it, but it's been there since the beginning of time."
"Do you at least know some information about it?"
"I do, but it's a lot. And since I'm lazy, I'll summarize."
I sit up properly and look at him, completely focused.
"First, mages can't get unique skills. Something about how their Lumin flows—it's always outside them. Never settles. Never cracks."
"What about the rest of us?"
"Fighters, rogues, berserkers, tanks? Sometimes, when you need it badly enough, your soul cracks. That's when a unique skill manifests."
He gestures with his hands.
"There are specific types. Categories."
"Manifestation lets your Lumin openly manifest things. They can change as much as the user wants. That's Rowan with the whole arm thing."
"That must take a lot of Lumin. Manifesting things as strong as Rowan's arms."
Dominio nods. "Even I'm suspicious. No one at our level should be able to do what he does. Anyway."
"Enhancement is simple. It enhances your body or a part of it. Depends on the user and if they're using it right. Out of all the types, it takes the least."
Alexandria's Crimson Truth.
"Morphing lets your body change its qualities and aspects. It's a mix of manifestation and enhancement. Gives you your own set of skills and attributes. Unfair, in my opinion." He points at me. "And from what I saw, that's yours."
He's not lying. Claws of pure Lumin. Enhanced senses. I still don't know much about it, but it's clearly a blessing. A last resort. If I can tap into it again.
"Manipulation lets you manipulate things that exist. People's senses. The strength of a material. Its density. It's very broad. And you know mine—I can manipulate the way people see color."
"Then Elemental is the last one I know. It lets you generate and manipulate a specific element. Straightforward, but confusing. Sometimes the elements contradict themselves. Fire that's colder than normal but lasts longer. Still being researched. Most confusing of all the types."
"Do unique skills take something? Like a sacrifice?"
"Of course they do. Some have flaws. Or cause temporary physical strain."
I think of Alexandria. When I woke up, she was sleeping next to me. Her eyes were bloodied, yet she slept peacefully, as if the pain was temporary.
So they have their strain. If Alexandria's strain is bleeding eyes... then what's mine?
"So Rowan's skill is Manifestation, and mine is Morphing?"
"Yep. If you had to fight using only your unique skills against Rowan, the fight would be very interesting."
"Then what about your cloning, Dominio? I thought that was another unique skill."
"It's not. It's a technique. Unique skills can't be learned or copied by another person, but techniques can. Anyone can learn them. Other classes are just far better at using certain techniques than others. Like your Air Slash. My clone. Rela's Black Rhino. They're techniques. Copiable. Just... class-dependent."
My stomach growls loudly. Dominio laughs.
"You're hungry. Not surprised, after everything that happened."
My face flushes deep red. "Hey, I haven't eaten since—"
Dominio jumps up from the bed. It shakes slightly and creaks. "I'll be back. I'll bring breakfast. Just be patient."
He turns and leaves, closing the door behind him.
Finally, silence. The sound of waves and seagulls. The muffled noise of rookies outside. Just peace.
I need to find a way to beat Rowan. I'm still weaker than him. I need an advantage. My unique skill hasn't fully awakened. My body is still strained. I need help. I need a move that will help me win.
The door slams open. I twist my head to look and see a tall man. A very tall man, about my height. Broad as a bodybuilder, in a white vest with black pants. His hair is long and wild, and his face is fierce, experienced, scarred.
I get up and reach for Rela's axe. There's no way I'm going to fight in this state. I should leave. I should find an opening.
He approaches me and smiles brightly. "Zain, is it? You're quite famous here."
I try to lift the axe, but my body protests. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I look up at him with gritted teeth. "Who are you, and why are you here?"
"I am Zora. And I'm here to talk to you about something."
(Yo guys had to take a break from writing but I'm back now and I'm back to writing chapters but thx for yall's patience ✌😁✌)