Chapter 76: The First Test Of Magic

The eastern road cut through the wilderness, a ribbon of hard-packed dirt.

No ruined fortress burned behind them. No screams echoed through stone corridors. There were only ancient pines, distant mountains, the occasional cry of a hawk, and the creak of the rented wagon’s wheels.

Kōya sat at the front of the wagon, his right hand resting near the hilt of Stormfront.

Lyra sat in the back beneath the canvas canopy, her new wooden wand tucked against her side. She had been practicing arcane theory for several days.

Kōya had learned one thing about his companion. Lyra could not stay quiet while practicing magic.

"Light."

A sphere of white mana appeared above her palm. It flickered like a candle caught in a draft, brightened, and exploded into a shower of sparks that rained down on the floorboards.

Lyra stared at the fading sparks.

Kōya looked over his shoulder. "Was that explosive reaction intentional?"

"No."

"Good."

Lyra frowned. "Why is that good?"

"Because if that was intentional, I would have to worry about your tactical sanity."

"You are terrible at encouraging people," Lyra said.

"I wasn’t trying to encourage you."

"That makes it worse."

Kōya turned his focus back to the road. A small smile touched his face.

He was getting used to this dynamic. The questions. The complaints about the food and the weather. The sideways observations about the world. The way Lyra could transition from serious to ridiculous within seconds. It was different from the silence he had known after Yuna’s death. Lyra filled the empty spaces in the air by simply being who she was.

"Try again," Kōya said.

Lyra raised her wand. "Light."

This time, the spell formed. A smooth white orb floated above the crystal tip of her wand. It remained stable for several seconds, illuminating the back of the wagon.

Lyra’s eyes widened. "I did it."

"You did."

"I actually did it!"

"You did."

She raised her hands in triumph. The glowing orb broke orbit, shot sideways out of the wagon, and smacked into a silverwood tree. A sharp pop echoed through the forest.

Lyra lowered her arms. Kōya stopped and stared at the scorched bark. The tree remained standing.

"Tactical progress," Kōya noted.

Lyra pointed her wand at his back. "You are laughing at me."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I am merely smiling."

"That is worse."

Kōya continued walking. Behind him, Lyra muttered something under her breath about unsupportive traveling companions. He pretended not to hear her.

At midday, they stopped beside a rushing stream.

Kōya filled their water containers while Lyra practiced forming a concussive wind pulse on the bank.

Her first attempt scattered dry leaves. Her second knocked over their iron cooking pot, spilling the contents into the mud. Her third nearly sent Kōya’s cloak into the river.

"Stop," Kōya said.

Lyra froze, her wand raised. "Was that one too strong?"

"Yes."

"How strong?"

"Strong enough that an enemy soldier wouldn’t know what you were trying to do."

"That’s a good thing, isn’t it?"

Kōya considered the logic. "Actually... yes. Confusion is a valid tactic."

Lyra smiled.

Kōya pointed toward her wand. "Your core problem isn’t raw power. It is control."

She frowned, looking down at the wood. "I thought combat magic was about having enough mana to overwhelm the target."

"Mana is fuel," Kōya explained, stepping away from the water. "It doesn’t decide where the fire goes."

Lyra studied the crystal tip of her wand. "So I need to tell the focus what to do."

Kōya tapped two scarred fingers against the center of his own chest. "You have to tell it. Mana follows conscious intent. If your intent is chaotic, the spell becomes unstable."

Lyra processed the theory. "When I think ’make light,’ that isn’t specific enough."

"Correct."

"What should I be thinking?"

"Shape. Size. Intensity. Duration."

Lyra looked at him. "You make that sound easy."

"It isn’t."

"You are good at it."

Kōya paused mid-step. A shadow crossed his expression. "Not always."

Lyra noticed the change in his expression. She chose not to ask what he meant.

Instead, she raised her wooden wand again, focusing her mind.

"Small sphere." Mana gathered in her core. "Low intensity."

The light appeared. It was significantly smaller this time. Steady.

Lyra stared at the warm glow, mesmerized. Then, she smiled.

Kōya nodded in approval. "Better."

"I’m getting the hang of it."

"You are."

The acknowledgment seemed to please her. She dismissed the spell, letting the mana dissipate cleanly. She looked across the stream at Kōya.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"Why do you keep helping me?"

Kōya looked toward the rushing water. "Because you are traveling with me."

"That isn’t a real answer, Kōya."

"It is."

"No, it isn’t."

Kōya sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You ask entirely too many questions."

"And you avoid answering them."

"Some mundane questions don’t require philosophical answers."

Lyra folded her arms across her chest, waiting.

Kōya looked directly at her determined face. He surrendered the truth.

"Because I do not want you to remain helpless in this world."

Lyra’s defiant expression softened. "You think I’m helpless?"

"No."

"Then?"

"I think you can eventually become strong."

Her fingers tightened around the smooth wood of her wand. "Strong enough to choose my own path?"

Kōya looked unflinchingly into her eyes. "Yes."

For several seconds, neither spoke. The rushing water filled the silence.

Lyra smiled warmly. "Okay."

Late that afternoon, they encountered trouble on the road.

Three men stepped from the tree line, blocking the muddy path. They carried rusted weapons.

Kōya stopped the wagon. Lyra’s hand moved instinctively toward her wand.

The largest of the three men, sporting a patchy beard and a wicked scar, stepped forward. "Afternoon, travelers."

Kōya looked down at him from the driver’s seat. "Yes?"

"We are collecting the local road fee."

Kōya scanned the empty forest. "There isn’t a checkpoint here."

The bandit smiled, revealing rotting teeth. "There is one right now."

Lyra leaned forward from the back of the wagon. "That is not how official border checkpoints work."

Kōya nodded without looking back. "I agree."

The bandit’s greasy smile vanished into a scowl. "Are you making fun of me, boy?"

"No."

Kōya drew Stormfront.

The atmospheric pressure of the road changed. The three men visibly recoiled. The legendary sword’s crackling electrical aura crawled across the dark blade.

Kōya had no need to waste energy on them.

One desperate man roared and charged the wagon, raising a rusted axe.

Kōya stepped from the wagon and glided aside. The man’s weapon struck empty air, throwing him off balance. Kōya brought the flat of Stormfront down on the exposed wrist.

Bone snapped. The axe fell into the mud.

Another attacker rushed from the blind flank.

"Lyra."