Veronica stood there. Sideways stance. Dagger low. Watching.
Alex braced himself. Scythe ready. Feet planted. Waiting.
Nothing happened.
She didn't move. Didn't blink. Just... stood there.
"Are you gonna—" He shifted his weight. "Or should I—"
She tilted her head.
[Boredom: 76% → 78% ↑]
Right. She's waiting for me to make the first move. Because of course she is. She's not going to attack me, that would require effort.
He exhaled, then moved.
Twenty feet. Not a lot of distance. He closed it in one stride—scythe raised, then dropping in a clean arc toward her side.
The dagger came up. Blocked.
Metal rang. Sparks flickered.
Then her free hand—open palm—shoved his chest.
He flew back. Not a fall—controlled—he landed on his feet. She wasn't trying to kill him. But his feet left the ground and his lungs emptied and suddenly he was fifteen feet away, gasping, scythe still in hand, very aware of how much that hadn't hurt and how much it could have.
She hadn't moved from her spot.
"You don't come at a stronger opponent with full force." Flat. Unhurried.
[Boredom: 78% → 74% ↓]
[Cognitive Engagement: 70% → 71% ↑]
He exhaled. Reset his stance. Wider this time. She watched, waiting.
He moved again.
Faster this time. Scythe low, then high, then spinning—three angles in less than two seconds. She caught the first on her dagger, stepped around the second, met the third with a flick of her wrist that sent the blade sliding off.
He kept going though. Fourth strike. Fifth. All five hits in three seconds—a blur of blade and steel—and she was still standing in the same spot, dagger moving like it knew where he'd swing before he did.
Then she hit back.
Not the blade against his body, the dagger against the haft of his scythe. One strike. Clean.
The force traveled up his arms, through his chest, lifted him off his feet. He flew—thirty feet, maybe more—hit the ground, rolled, came to a stop. One knee down. One foot planted. One hand on the floor. The scythe behind him, angled up, ready.
He stayed there for a second, breathing hard.
She still hadn't moved from her spot.
She hit the scythe. Not me. She could have hit me. She hit the weapon.
She tilted her head, still waiting.
He pushed himself up. Reset his stance.
"There's no way I'm hitting you. You know that, right?"
She looked at him. Then at the scythe.
"Go long range."
Alex blinked.
"I'm... not that good at Apothecary Arts yet."
"I meant the scythe."
He looked down at it. The blade. The shaft. The orb at the base. Glowing faintly since he'd bonded with it. He'd thought it was just... decoration. A counterweight.
She tilted her head. "It's both. The orb is for long range. Channel your Resonance into it and release."
He stared at the orb. Then at her. "That's why you pointed at it."
She didn't acknowledge that. Didn't nod. Didn't say yes. Just waited.
He looked back at the scythe.
Channel your Resonance into it and release.
He shifted his grip. Focused on the orb. Pushed.
The orb pulsed. Light built at its core—blue to brighter blue, then something that hummed in his chest.
He released.
A wave of energy tore from the scythe—wide, unfocused, screaming toward her. She raised her hand. A shield snapped into place. The wave hit it, splashed apart, dissipated.
When the light faded, she was still standing. Same spot. Same expression. Not even breathing hard.
Alex stared at the scythe. Then at the dissipating light. Then at her.
"I have a laser."
[Curiosity: 55% → 56% ↑]
[Amusement: 6% → 10% ↑]
She didn't say anything, but the numbers moved.
He turned the scythe over in his hands. The orb was back to its original blue again, waiting.
"I have a laser and I've just been hitting things with the sharp end like an idiot."
[Boredom: 74% → 70% ↓]
[Amusement: 10% → 13% ↑]
He looked at her, his grin spreading.
"That's—" He laughed. Actually laughed. "That's ridiculous. That's insane. I could have been—" He gestured wildly. "All this time—"
"Your control is terrible. The beam was unfocused. A child could have blocked it."
He kept grinning. "But I have a laser."
She didn't roll her eyes this time. But she didn't deny it either.
"Well?"
[Curiosity: 55% → 56% ↑]
[Cognitive Engagement: 71% → 72% ↑]
He blinked. Looked at the scythe. At the orb. At her.
"Right."
He raised the scythe. Fired.
Beam after beam—blue light cutting through the air, wide arcs, quick pulses, anything he could think of. She moved through them like water. Stepping around. Between. Under. Nothing touched her.
Then she was in front of him. Dagger at his neck. He hadn't seen her move. His precognition hadn't warned him. She was just... there.
He froze. Breathing hard. Chest heaving.
She tilted her head. Close. Too close. Her eyes were right there—red, clear, watching him with that same flat expression. He could see the faint flecks of darker color in her irises. Could smell that clean scent again. Could feel the air between them doing something it wasn't doing before.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
Adrenaline, he told himself. Just adrenaline. From the fight. The training. The fact that he'd just been shooting lasers at a devil queen like it was nothing.
The dagger faded, light breaking apart, dissolving back into her Core. Gone.
[Boredom: 70% → 68% ↓]
She stepped back. One step. Two. Three. The space between them returned. Normal. Safe.
"The crystals."
Alex blinked. Looked at the scythe. At her. Back at the scythe.
"Right. Yeah. Crystals."
He reached for his pouch. His hands were not quite steady.
He let the crystals float—one, two, three, four—hovering in a loose ring in front of him. Then the scythe. He released it, watched it drift to the center of the ring, waiting.
Remember what I told you last time." Veronica's voice was flat.
He nodded. He didn't meet her eyes. "Every Artifice is made to be used by a practitioner. The crystals work the same way."
She didn't say anything, but she didn't stop him.
He focused. Pushed.
The first crystal pulsed. Light bled from it—slow at first, then faster—streaming into the scythe. The weapon glowed. Blue. Bright. Held for three seconds. Faded.
The crystal went dark. He caught it before it fell.
The scythe hung there. Same as before.
Alex frowned.
"That's strange." He looked at the scythe. Then at his HUD.
PRIMARY ARTIFICE
Rivain Scythe — R-20
Bonded | Channel Stable
"It's still R-20."
He looked at her. She was still watching, expression unchanged.
He swallowed, then tried again.
Second crystal. Pushed harder this time. Light bled. The scythe glowed. Held. Faded.
The crystal dimmed.
He caught it. Looked at the HUD.
PRIMARY ARTIFICE
Rivain Scythe — R-20 → R-21
Bonded | Channel Stable
It moved. One level. Not nothing. But—
"I don't get it, Scarlett used one crystal and her crossbow jumped three R-Levels."
He looked at the two remaining crystals floating in front of him. At the scythe. Then at Veronica.
"What am I doing wrong?"
"You're not doing anything wrong."
[Boredom: 68% → 64% ↓]
[Cognitive Engagement: 72% → 73% ↑]
He paused.
She looked at the scythe. At the orb, still glowing steady blue. At the blade, the shaft, the channels etched into its surface.
"The more powerful the Artifice, the more crystals it takes to upgrade."
He blinked. Looked at the scythe. Then at her.
"So you're saying..." He worked through it. "This thing at R-21 is stronger than my pole axe at R-25?"
She didn't answer, didn't need to.
His mind flashed back to the first time he'd swung it. That clean arc. The way the blade cut through air like it belonged there. The display lighting up.
DAMAGE: 11/100
His best with the pole axe at R-25 was seven. The scythe gave him eleven at R-20. With next to no effort from him.
He looked at the weapon in his hands. The one she'd pointed at. The one that ate two crystals just to move one level.
She knew.
He didn't know how she knew, but she did.
He reached for the third crystal.
"Stop."
His hand froze.
She stepped forward. Not close. Just... present.
"Any higher and you won't be able to control it."
He blinked. He looked at the scythe. At the orb. At the blade that had drunk two crystals and barely stirred.
"You said it yourself." Her voice was flat. Unhurried. "Scarlett's crossbow jumped three R-Levels. This one takes more because it's stronger. Push it too fast and it won't be yours anymore. It'll be a weapon you're holding, not wielding."
"Oh."
He let his hand drop. The crystal floated back into place beside the other.
She looked at him. "We'll upgrade it when you get to R-15. For now..." Her eyes flicked to the scythe, then back to him. "Learn to use what you have."
He nodded. Didn't trust his voice.
We. She said we. Like this isn't just my problem anymore.
She turned. Walked toward the door. Stopped. Didn't look back.
"Same time tomorrow. Bring the rest of your crystals."
Then she was gone.
Alex stood there, scythe in hand, two crystals floating beside him.
He looked at the HUD.
The Emotional Matrix was gone. Greyed out. Tucked away like the system knew she wasn't here anymore.
[METASENSE SYSTEM — ONLINE]
[User Level: 1]
[User R-Level: 14]
PRIMARY ARTIFICE
Rivain Scythe — R-21
Bonded | Channel Stable
SECONDARY ARTIFICE
Locked — Requires User R-15
He stared at the screen. At the number he needed to reach. At the weapon waiting for him on the other side.
We'll upgrade it when you get to R-15.
The words drifted back. Her voice, flat, and unhurried, like it was already decided.
A small smile tugged at his mouth. Not the grin from before. Something quieter. Something he didn't have a name for yet.
He dismissed the display. Turned to the dummy.
"Alright, old friend." He raised the scythe. "Looks like it's just you and me now."
He swung. The blade cut through the air. Clean. Steady. His.
The display flickered.
DAMAGE: 16/100
His grinned. Then swung again.
‡«»‡