Watching a certain student, who had a paler than usual complexion, Nox's thoughts drifted into chaos, seeking order, then fell back into it again, a never-ending cycle running throughout his mind.
The threads surrounding Elisa had a different tone than the others. They had a black golden aura surrounding them, dimming their golden luster, the origin seemingly being a certain golden thread wrapping around the body of Elisa multiple times, as two strings, one growing darker the further it traveled, the other losing the dark texture slowly the further it went its way, both taking the same trajectory. All around the golden lines connecting him to the people around slowly withering, as they started showing similar signs of decay to the darkening thread.
The darkening one moved along the class in a straight line, carefully avoiding any obsticales, its trajectory leading it to exit the class, stopping at Anderson's desk, making a twirling motion at that point, its lusterful golden light almost completely extinguished at that point, then it moved on, leaving Noxs line of sight as it exited the room, golden lines filled with luster moving past it, some colliding, but non doing so with the at that point pitch black lonsom tar line.
What does the color of that specific string symbolize?
Averting his gaze, letting his eyes recover, Nox took small glances at the strings that showed themselves before him, extending out of his body, not certain of how to differentiate and understand the meaning of every one.
He squinted his face as a sharp pressure built in his head. It throbbed, like a warning he could not ignore, reminding him with each pulse that using his ability came with a painful and, at the same time, annoying cost.
This is so infuriating! He fumed internally, the frustration churning inside him.
The severe negative effects of using the ability granted by the Fragment of Authority were particularly dangerous with the one Nox got; however, in the whole, this was not uncommon among Authority Wealders.
It was the effect of using something that was not a good fit for his body, making the burden particularly extreme. With Nox, it was his eyes and brain that were endangered; others, for example, who had the ability to teleport, might lose a limb, as their bodies would not be able to withstand the burden of traversing space. Losing a limb was one of the less extreme outcomes, as ending up as a meat paste was not out of the question.
In a certain way, it could have gone worse for him, especially if he hadn't realized what was happening.
This was not unusual; the cases were simply vastly different from person to person and Authority to Authority, some with more of a mental burden, others with more of a physical one. The possibilities were as countless as drops in the endless river of time.
Such problems would lessen when one reached the third rank, having fully assimilated and adapted to the Authority one wielded.
But now Nox would have to deal with it through trial and error, simply hoping he wouldn't step on a landmine and permanently cripple himself. The thought of discussing this with the professor or someone like them arose before being sidelined, his apprehension stopping him in his tracks.
Well, he could still do it at a later date, so it won't be a problem, he thought.
The headache having receded to an acceptable level, Nox looked down once more, seeing the strings extending from his body simply warping around it, making it look like no clothes separated the skin and the thread, the strings gliding through it as if they weren't there or on completely different layers of reality.
Looking at one of the strings connecting him to another student, Riven, the one who had entered classes with him.
A very thin golden string wrapped around Nox's body and then went straight to Riven. Looking more closely at the golden string, Nox noticed its inner core was a more pale string, simply surrounded by the gold, looking quite similar to the few pale strings Nox had discovered in his soulsea.
Was this the representation of their connection, it being so thin and pale internally because of the shallowness and insignificance of their bond?
Looking over to Trisha, who was watching him like a hawk, Nox ignored her gaze, instead looking at the string connecting them. It was clearly a bit thicker, but its core was pale just like the other.
Is this the common build of the strings connecting people? Not liking the thought of their connection being so shallow that it would still be represented by a hollowed string, Noctis thought of another possibility.
Feeling a certain desire to touch the thread simply to see what would happen, Nox suppressed the thought, inwardly cursing himself out. He had just barely survived his last spout of curiosity. Who was to say he would survive this one!
Well, threads of others were touching him constantly and having no effect, so actively touching them with his hands did not seem that bad, right?
So what harm could a bit of curiosity do?
Ahh, what the hell, isn't this what I wanted in the first place, a bit more excitement?
Following his whim, Nox stretched out a hand to touch the thread connecting him to Trisha, only for it to pass straight through, the thread remaining unchanged.
This earned him a weird look from Trisha, further highlighting the awkwardness between them. Embarrassment prickled Nox's nose, his face turning a beet red, making him wish he could vanish.
I should avoid any extravagant attempts and delay them to a later date. Simply thinking about how it looked from an outsider's perspective made Nox cringe. Wasn't he basically waving his hands around in the air, making a grabbing motion towards nothing? What would others think?
On another note, why was there no reaction? Well, it was logical, since he was touching them actively or passively, at all times, it seemed only right that there would be no reaction.
Did these strings exist on a different plane of existence, and can I peer into that plane with my ability?
This would explain why one would simply phase through them, since everyone here was on a different plane of existence than the strings and so could not even touch them or see them.
Thinking about it, a peculiar thought jumped out of the depths of his consciousness.
"Could my eyes make contact with these strings, since they're glimpsing into that plane of existence?"
Throwing out the thought, an image of cutting open his eye accidentally while brushing against a thread appeared in his mind, despite attempts to suppress it.
In an attempt to rid himself of the thought, his mind strayed into another direction. If touched through the symbolism, would it simply glide through like his hand or be caught and have some effect?
Shaking his head, he was not planning on falling into the hands of his own curiosity and hubris even more than he had already.
To the gods, am I always this rash, or is it simply because I have major brain damage?
Scanning the class, Nox identified another type of thread: not only taut lines linking people directly, but also singular strings looping once around each person. From this encircling thread, two finer threads emerged, each extending outward in separate directions. These offshoots became more translucent, fading, and harder to trace as they stretched away from the person of origin. Most of them angled toward the door, where they converged and vanished from his view.
At first glance, Nox formed some conjectures, his main thought being that these threads symbolized the Individuals' past and future.
Could they symbolize the path they'd traverse in the near future and the faintness, the uncertainty of the future? Or is it simply a lack on my side, considering that both strings fade, and one should show the person's set-in-stone, past?
No, this seems only partially right. Does the string maybe symbolize the individual's fate? This would include the future and past, but would have a different meaning as a whole, as it might help discover the part of Authority he held, or at the very least, narrow it down.
Finding out what it exactly entailed would be near impossible either way, considering that Nox was merely using a fraction of his ability, but via trial and error, he should eventually find it, or at least narrow it down.
Letting out a mental sigh, Nox recalled the nearly pitch-black thread that wrapped around Elisa. If his guess was right, this thread surrounding Elisa represented his fate, its dark hue replacing what should have been golden in texture.
Looking around the class, Nox found no other color varieties. Was this the advanced parts of his ability showing?
And what would that black color symbolize for Elisa?
Having completely neglected Elisa's physical appearance, Nox took a closer look, searching for any abnormalities. And lo and behold, his dark eyerings, which had always been strongly pronounced, were even more pronounced than usual, and at closer inspection, his skin had a hint of a greenish tone, giving off an overall ill feeling.
Judging from the trajectory the starkly dark gold-colored string took, which was not difficult to trace, it was hard to miss, even considering that it was the only one with this distinct, tarish black color in a sea of gold. He might go to the teacher at the end of the lecture to discuss his problem, or at least talk to him.
What they would talk about was pure speculation on Nox's part, since he could only read the direction someone would take, but it was fairly likely.
As he stared through the class, with his dazed look, returning and clearing, the time passed. Trisha seemed to refuse to let go, bugging him and probing for any kind of information, her attempts growing increasingly drastic the more time passed.
Nox could no longer ignore her increasingly insistent attempts, which were growing louder and louder, risking drawing unwanted attention. And attention was not the best thing, considering that using his ability might have some physically visible effects, he had yet to discover.
He let out a resigned sigh, a weight of exhaustion settling in his chest as he looked through half-closed eyes, revealing little of the golden luster they had previously exuded.
"What you want?"
Nox wasn't happy with his clumsy choice of words, embarrassment simmering as he realized he had problems controlling what came out of his mouth, simply sputing in a clumsy tone whatever surfaced in his mind.
Was the part of his brain that's responsible for talking damaged that badly?
Letting out another mental sigh, prepared for an exhausting conversation, not at all as exciting as toying around with the strings of fate. Am I suicidal? This should be much more enjoyable than risking one's life while exploring the unknown.
"Ahhh, finally a response!
What is it with you today? I hadn't taken you for the most socially apt person, but this is a low I had never dreamed of!"
Stopping for a few seconds, maybe waiting for a response.
Nothing came. So she continued, Nox simply staring at her, his dazed look slowly dominating his rationality.
"What are you staring at? Have my charms finally won you over?"
Looking at her for a few seconds in silence.
"You have a charming face."´
But your tongue is the opposite!!
Trisha was thrown into silence once more, wearing an unreadable expression, similar to the one Nox was wearing at the moment.
On the surface, they seemed silent, tranquil even, but, of course, this was only on the surface; underneath, both of them had a torrent of thoughts swirling, chaotic and clashing, hidden behind two pretty faces.
Fuck, stop saying the first thing that comes to mind. Why did I have to put the two answers to her questions together like this, and why is she not answering, staying so silent? Anxiety cramped in Nox's chest, a bead of cold sweat tracing down his forehead.
Taking a quick look away from her face, Nox looked down at the golden string connecting them, having grown a bit in size, as it trembled slightly. What does that mean!! AND HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND IT!!!
Turning away once more, not wanting to continue this conversation, he even regretted ever having given in to her constant nagging.
Letting the rest of the lesson pass by in silence, Trisha had given up on any further attempts at communication, to Nox's pleasure.
Following Anderson's announcement, students began leaving, heading back to their quarters, one after another, along the paths the strings had shown before. So I can at least partially read their future. That should be handy.
Watching Trisha leave as well, a resolute gaze encompassing her, Nox stayed seated for a few moments, uneasy about her actions, waiting for the class to empty.
Seeing Elisa stand up, Nox followed suit a second later, trying his best not to attract attention, simply wanting to listen in on the two's discussion.
Exiting the room, Nox stayed just outside, near enough to barely hear bits and pieces of their conversation.
***
"M-Mr.Anderson, may I talk to you?"
Looking at the student with an assessing gaze, Professor Anderson nodded slowly, a slight frown forming the longer he looked.
The ill-looking Elisa continued.
"I have been having strong headaches as of late, and dont feel so great. May I excuse myself from the next few lectures until I've recovered?"
Not showing any particular change in expression, Anderson answered in a warm and welcoming tone.
"That won't be a problem, and I'd even expect that from you. So dont worry about that, simply continue your studies."
A cold glint ignited in Anderson's green eyes, a flash of light passed through them, and the warmth drained from his face in an instant.
"Just asking by the side. You know that we have ways to deal with the call? How strongly do you feel the Attraction to some far-off place? Just so we can give you the best medical treatment possible."
Hearing this, a green light seemed to flash past Elisa's irises, his gaze growing a bit dazzled.
"I have been hallucinating, as of late, and feel a strong calling towards some place. W-what should I do about it?"
Hearing a trace of vulnerability in the latter parts, Elisa prattled on a little too honestly to be natural.
"Pat pat"
Interrupting his lengthy monologue, Anderson spoke in a comforting tone, his hand on his shoulder, a mask of reassurance masterfully plastered on his face.
"Let's take a small trip to the Infirmary, to check you out, so that you'll live a long and productive life."
Walking out the door, side by side, no one in sight to discover their exchange, they took a left turn, disappearing out of sight.
Coming from the right, Nox looked at the many golden threads streaming past him, a golden black one encompassed by a golden one slowly disappearing into the distance, their proximity to one another lessening, the bigger golden one looking like it would soon consume the smaller, feeble, barely golden black one.
What was the meaning of their conversation? Nox hadn't heard everything in detail, only understanding small parts, with one particularly sticking. "The Call."
Was Elisa one of the Individuals troubled with it? Nox himself had trouble even noticing it, making it hard for him to empathize, but he was definitely interested in how they would treat it.
Was the darkening of the string a sign of the Calls strengthening—or—, or its treatment?
As he wondered, Nox thought back to his previous conjecture about touching the strings.
What would possibly happen?
I would lie if I said I was not curious, but should I really do it?
Looking down, Nox saw a thread already connected to the black string, extending from his own finger.
He tilted his head slightly.
"Ups?"