Mistwoven Healer

A sort of giddy excitement hovers over Akari and me as we make our way to GDF Headquarters. Last night, we went on our first date, and for me, at least, it was perfect. Even as I walk beside her in the skyway, I find myself still able to see how she looked that night.

Taller than me and radiant in her dark pantsuit, Akari sat across a circular wooden table with a single candle burning in the center. The restaurant wasn't anything fancy, just a simple skyway diner that caters to the average Shinara residents wanting to have a nice night out while still remaining affordable. We could have afforded better if we wanted, of course, but both of us preferred something comfortable over the high-class restaurants we could afford.

An awkward tension hung over us for much of the meal but lessened as we found ourselves falling into familiar rhythms, and by the end, we were joking and laughing like any other day.

The thing I remember most about it, though, are the moments of silence. Moments where our conversation lapsed, and we simply looked at one another. I remember looking up into Akari's dark eyes, backlit by the glittering lights of the city at night through a large window. The largest and brightest of those lights was Akari's own life force, which burned brighter on that night than I've ever seen it before.

Even now, as she navigates us through the streets of the skyway on the next morning, her life force is as bright as I've ever seen it — a violet bonfire burning merrily in her chest. Looking at that flame, I remember the day we truly met and I received my title. Her life force was barely a spark on that day, a candle flickering in the night. I can't help but look at it now and feel so incredibly proud of her. She's come so incredibly far, and I can't wait to see what will happen next.

Well, sadly, what happens next today won't be nearly as pleasant as last night was. Today, finally, my prohibition on using my magic is finally lifted, and that means that I have work to do.

If Calan and the other blue sentinels don't have time for Candice — having too many injured sentinels to help — then that just leaves things up to me. I never knew Candice, having only seen her for a moment before Akari took her to headquarters to be placed in one of their holding cells, but Akari knew her, and that's enough for me.

I just wish I could be more confident in actually being able to help her. In my mind, the best way to help Candice is to get the Stygian Mana out and then find a way to also purge her of the corruption the mana left behind. Both tasks, theoretically, have solutions.

With my healing magic and my Celestial Equilibrium, I might be able to get the Stygian Mana out of her system. Personally, I find it likely that this will be the most difficult part of the procedure. I need to purge the mana before she can even begin to heal.

However, the next part could be equally difficult. Just getting the Stygian Mana out of Candice won't be enough; I also need to purge the corruption that built up in her body. This, I know, is the part of the process that will actually begin to visibly heal her, but I can't know for sure if her mind will survive intact.

Luckily, purging the corruption should be as simple as just putting Candice through trials. This should just occur naturally over time as everyone completes small trials throughout their lives. As time goes on, she should start to recover more and more until she's purged all of the corruption from her system. While I wonder if it might be a good idea to put her through a larger trial to speed up the process, I still haven't thought of a way to do that humanely yet.

No matter what, Candice is going to have a long road to recovery ahead of her, one that I can only aid her in so much. A trial only functions if the one taking it gives it a proper effort, after all. If she simply gives up, the trial won't have any effect.

Still, Akari is depending on me being able to save her friend, and that is a trial I will put my all into.

Akari sticks incredibly close to me as the GDF guard leads us through the holding cells, most of which are unoccupied. However, a few of them hold men and women whose stories I don't know. If they're here instead of a standard jail, their being here must have something to do with the GDF, Volcora, or the Sentinels. However, while I am nervously curious and want to learn more, my worry for Candice overshadows that for now.

It doesn't take long for me and Akari to reach the cell that holds Candice, our previous good moods having abandoned us. Candice sits unmoving on the edge of a small cot within her windowless box of a cell. The cell only contains three things: a cot, a toilet, and Candice herself. My heart aches for all those forced to live in this kind of condition.

Still, this is better than what we would have been able to provide Candice at our compound. Here, she has caretakers, a medical team on standby if she needs it, and people to constantly check on her and give her food. The best we would have been able to do is lock her in the panic room.

Well, how long she has to stay here depends directly on me, so it's time to get to work.

Swallowing down my heavy emotions, I place my hand on Akari's shoulder. "I'll need to be able to touch her to work. Do you think she'll fight us?"

Akari glances down at me, eyes full of concern. "It's hard to say, to be honest. She won't be able to get through your assault state shield, though, and if required, I can hold her down as gently as possible while you work."

"I can help as well," Lucas says from behind me, making me jump. Stars, I really need to stop forgetting that he's with me before he gives me a heart attack.

Akari nods, "Got it; you and I will go in first and make sure things are safe before Serena enters."

I roll my eyes, even as Akari and Lucas prepare themselves at the door to the cell. Then, in a flash of light, I shift to my assault state. Power burns through me like nothing I've ever felt. This is the first time I've shifted since ascending, and stars does it feel good. I feel like I could bend steel or punch straight through a wall! Who knows, maybe I actually can.

Akari shifts as well, and then, in a surge of motion, she and Lucas are moving into the cell. I can't bring myself to watch, but I can certainly hear Candice shrieking and trying to fight against them as they attempt to pin her. Candice's shrieking yells sound almost like those of a volcora, and the fact that they're coming from a human throat makes them grate on my nerves all the more.

Still, after just a few seconds, Akari calls the all-clear. Even enhanced with Stygian Mana, Candice is no match for a full sentinel. She may have been a match for Lucas without his weapons, but I somehow doubt it. The amount of mana I sensed in her wouldn't be enough for her to overpower a trained soldier twice her size.

Moving into the room, I see Candice pinned to her cot, her limbs tied down with padded handcuffs that Akari fetched from the guards. She'll need to be restrained if she's going to fight against the healing, but I wish she could be sedated for this. Maybe I can go and get something from the hub if things get too bad.

Entering the room, Celeste visibly riding on my shoulder, I make my way over to Candice, who squirms and shrieks. However, as she starts to realize that she can't move, she seems to calm down some. Well, less calm down and more start waiting for a moment to strike.

Forcing myself to meet her eyes, I ask, "Candice, can you hear me?"

The young woman doesn't respond, although her bloodshot eyes watch me intently.

Grimacing, I continue. "I'm going to attempt to extract the Stygian Mana in your body. Please let me know if I'm hurting you, and I'll stop immediately."

Once again, I pause to wait for a response that doesn't come. Still, I need her to know that I will stop if she seems to be in pain. If things get bad, I'll make sure that she's sedated for my next attempt. I'm trying to help Candice, not torture her.

"Celeste, I'm going to need your help for this," I tell my familiar. "If it looks like I'm going to draw the Stygian Mana into my own body, then you need to stop me. Only watch for that, and help me with control if you would."

Celeste agrees immediately. [Of course, if it even looks like the Stygian Mana might enter you, we'll need to stop immediately. Even a little bit could end up being lethal.]

Swallowing, I nod. Celeste and I spoke earlier about what could happen if I make a mistake with this ability. The idea of Stygian Mana spreading through my body like a cancer until it slowly kills me doesn't sound at all pleasant. While Stygian Mana is dangerous for a normal human, it's almost more so for sentinels.

Unlike normal humans, sentinels are not just living beings with mana in us — we are literally made of mana. Mana infuses and makes up our entire bodies from the moment we make our bond onward, and as we increase in rank, our bodies become infused with more and more mana. This means that the mana we take in becomes a permanent part of us, and Stygian Mana being a permanent part of me is a really bad thing.

I didn't tell Akari about this particular risk before coming here, worried that if I did, she would have forbidden me from even trying to help Candice. Besides, with Celeste to constantly monitor my actions, I feel like I should be relatively safe.

Now, the initial problem with Celestial Equilibrium that needed to be overcome was the fact that it would only work within my own body — which we obviously can't do. However, all of my abilities have a unique synergy with Living Mists, and for Celestial Equilibrium, it's that my mist counts as part of my body for the ability. So, theoretically, by using Living Mists, Celestial Restoration, and Celestial Equilibrium at the same time, this might be possible.

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"Okay," I say aloud, looking between Akari and Lucas, who both still have hold of Candice's bound limbs. "I'm starting, so make sure you watch her. Let me know immediately if I need to stop for any reason."

When my companions both nod their agreement, I firm my resolve, then I begin.

To start, I allow thick tendrils of mist to drift away from my body, wrapping around Candice gently as I start to infuse the tendrils with power. As I do this, I lay a gentle hand on her stomach. Instantly, the lights of her body spread out before me, and I can immediately pick out the dark arcane symbols carved into her skin with Stygian Mana.

Luckily, Candice only has three tattoos. Large ones up both arms and a massive one on her back. However, these tattoos have been on her for a long time now, and I'm worried about being able to affect them at all. I'm not sure if the mana will become a permanent part of her like it would for a sentinel.

Tentatively, I reach out for Candice's left arm with a tendril of mist infused with Celestial Equilibrium. Then, extremely carefully, I start attempting to affect the mana. My face twists with concentration as I mentally grab hold of a small bit of Stygian Mana through the proxy of my mist. In my mind, it feels slippery and cold, like trying to hold onto an ice cube that keeps slipping out of my grip.

However, with extreme caution, I'm able to slowly start to draw the mana up through my tendril of mist. As soon as the little bit of mana is out of Candice, I move my tendril to the far side of the room and tentatively dissolve it. As soon as the tendril of mist dissolves into normal air, I lose sight of the Stygian Mana. However, it should have just become formless and joined the mana in the air.

I grin at the small success, then bend down to see how much I accomplished. At the base of the tattoo on Candice's left arm, near her armpit, the inky black color lightened… a little. My grin fades just a bit. Well, it seems I still have a lot of work to do.

"It's working…" I say softly, keeping my concentration as I start to extract a bit more mana. "But it's going to take me a long time."

Akari nods, watching me nervously. "But you're okay? No issues?"

I nod, smiling. "This won't be dangerous for me unless I mess up really bad, and Celeste is watching to make sure that I don't. I'll be okay."

At this, Akari grins as well and turns to where Candice watches us with bloodshot eyes. "Don't worry, we'll fix this. I promise."

It takes me hours just to remove the one tattoo on Candice's left arm, and while the process isn't particularly mana-intensive — I'm pretty much just moving my mist around — it is mentally exhausting. However, with practice comes skill, and by the end, I'm able to actively manipulate four different tendrils of mist, all stealing mana from different parts of the tattoo.

As I worked, I took the time to think about how Celestial Equilibrium is supposed to function at all. Theoretically, combined Tributary Mana and Stygian Mana can be used to enhance or give extra effects to my existing abilities. As of now, though, I'm really not certain how that could work. Maybe I could add Stygian Mana to my mist to enhance a healing effect through it? However, it really feels like I'll need to take Stygian Mana into my own body to get that aspect of the ability to work, which I'm just not willing to risk.

Finally wrapping up with the last of the Stygian Mana in Candice's tattoo, I wipe my forehead and lean back in the chair the others fetched for me.

"Sorry," I murmur softly, "I'm not sure I can handle another of those tattoos today."

It's taken me four hours just to remove the first tattoo, and I'm really not sure I have anything else left in me today.

"It's alright," Akari says, her voice soft. She wraps a gentle arm around my shoulders and tugs me closer. "You did what you could. We'll have to come back another day to finish."

I nod. With my increased pace later in the process, I could probably get the other two tattoos in one sitting. Then, we'll just have to deal with the corruption and hope that Candice is still left in there to save.

Time spent working on Candice has given me more doubts about whether she is still mentally sound. Every time she snarled or lunged at me, it made me wonder if her human mind was still in there somewhere, just being repressed by the corruption. If she even does come back, will she be the same person she was before, or will the experience have broken her too much?

After a bit of light conversation, Akari and Lucas make me leave the cell while they unbind Candice from her cot. Then, with somber moods, we make our way out of the holding cells, both Akari and I shifting back into our rest states.

As we step out into the skyway, the sun shines cheerily down on us through the glass. I find myself sticking close to Akari, hoping to banish my dark thoughts. I don't even know Candice, but the thought of her stuck in that stone box with no windows and no sunlight presses on me. Even in her current state, I can't imagine how that's humane for anyone, let alone a victim like Candice.

Still, she's currently too dangerous to bring around others, and if she does manage to escape from us, the corruption in her system will only continue to build.

"Are you okay, Serena?" Akari asks as we move through the familiar hustle and bustle.

I shake my head, "I wish I could take Candice home with us… do something better. The way we're doing this… it doesn't feel right."

Akari nods, "I feel the same way, but it doesn't stop the reality. If she was in the compound, there would be a chance she could hurt or even kill you or your father. Even with the guards around, it wouldn't be safe. I think we could bring her once we stabilize her a bit more, but if we can do that, we'll probably just want to call her parents."

I give a mental sigh of resignation at Akari's worry that Candice could hurt me. It is theoretically possible that if she got the jump on me in my rest state, she might be able to injure me before I could shift. However, that's an extremely distant possibility, and the concern for my father is much more valid.

Akari, however, seems to have decided that I need to be protected from anything and everything that could even possibly harm me. Which, as a girl who fights interdimensional alien monsters as a profession, I find ridiculous and slightly insulting. Still, tt makes Akari feel better, and I know that she only does it out of love. So ultimately, it's annoying, but also slightly endearing.

"We should probably call her parents now," I tell Akari, feeling a touch surprised she hasn't done so already.

Beside me, Akari slumps. "I know, I just… it would be nice to be able to call them and tell them the problem's all fixed, you know?"

"I think they'd be excited to hear anything at all," I tell her honestly. "They might think she's dead or still being held by the Reavers, both of which are worse than the reality. Who knows, maybe seeing them will jog something in Candice, and she'll finally speak to us."

Akari lets out a long breath, her eyes still downcast. "You think? What if they… I don't know. What if they treat her badly like my parents did when I got my Stygis Scar?"

I shake my head, smiling gently. "We don't know that will be the case, and keeping something like this from them is wrong. Besides, I find that when I put my earnest faith in people… well, sometimes they go above and beyond my expectations."

At this, Akari straightens. Reaching out, she wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close in a quick side hug. "Funny, I've had the opposite experience with everyone but you."

I laugh, "And Baylee, and Claire, and Haruto, and-" I start before Akari cuts me off with a wave of her free hand.

"Fine, fine," she says with a smile, "Just… call them with me, will you?"

"Of course."

Upon arriving home, Akari and I greet my father before disappearing into one of the cozy little rooms on the first level of the compound. This particular room is just off the main living area where I waited for Akari and Candice to come home a few nights ago and is furnished with large, comfy armchairs sitting around a decently sized wooden table.

Akari and I sit side by side on the armchairs, facing the window that looks back at Shinara rather than out over the ocean. Heavy royal blue curtains frame the window, and paintings of a similar color adorn the walls to complete the look.

"Do you want to talk first, or do you want me to?" I ask, looking towards Akari.

Akari winces, looking at her phone on the table. It didn't take long for Kiley to find the phone number for Candice's father, and now there's no reason to delay any further.

"I will," Akari says, firming her posture. "I'm the one who started all this, and they know me. They might not like me, but at least it's plausible that I might have tried to help Candice."

I nod approvingly. I would have been willing to handle this entire call for Akari, but I feel like confronting some of these aspects of her past will be good for her.

After a long moment of silence, Akari leans forward and punches in the number on her phone screen. Then, she puts the phone on speaker and lays it between us on the table.

To my surprise, Mr. Hayashi picks up on the first ring. "I swear on the stars, if this is about my extended warranty again, I will personally come and find you!"

The man's exclamation seems to shock Akari for a moment, and I can't help but let out a little giggle. Vaguely, I wonder if this will be what Candice is like when we finally manage to help her.

It takes Akari only a moment to gather herself, but in that time, I'm reasonably certain that Mr. Hayashi was already reaching to hang up the call. "N-No," Akari stammers out, and thankfully, the call stays connected. "Mr. Hayashi, sir. This is Akari. I was hoping to talk to you about Candice?"

Akari's words are only greeted by dead air over the line for several seconds. "Akari Kimura?" Mr. Hayashi asks, his voice absent of any warmth.

Swallowing, Akari nods and says, "Y-Yes, sir."

"Do you have any clue what our connection to you has cost us?" Mr. Hayashi asks, tone devoid of emotion. "You… you dare to call me and ask about my daughter?"

Beside me, Akari wilts in her seat, her hands trembling. Quickly, I take one of her hands in mine and give it a comforting squeeze.

"I am aware of what happened to Candice, sir," Akari says, her voice shaking. "I… I became a sentinel a little over a month ago, and when I heard about the northern front buckling, I went to Nagano to get you all out. I heard about what happened when I arrived, so I worked with the GDF forces there to get her back. I… I've taken Candice back from the Reavers, sir."

"A sentinel," Mr. Hayashi says with a scoff. "So, what? You expect me to believe that you got magic powers and fought who knows how many Reavers to get my daughter back? Even if that is true, there's no undoing what they do to people."

At this, Akari stiffens. "One of my team members is working to help her, sir. She's a blue sentinel, a healer. She thinks saving Candice might be possible, but I wanted to call you and let you know what happened."

"Akari Kimura, I swear on the stars that if you're lying to me…" Mr. Hayashi grinds out. Then, he seems to deflate. "This is hard to believe, girl, but… I don't feel like you're the type of person to lie to me like this. Your parents, yes, and your uncle, absolutely, but you've always been kind, given where you came from. But… if this is some kind of cruel trick…"

"It isn't, sir," Akari says, sounding strained. "We really have Candice here, and my teammate Serena is really working to heal her. I will even personally provide however much money it takes to come to Shinara and check."

Once again, the phone line goes silent for several seconds. However, this time, I get the feeling that Mr. Hayashi is considering. Eventually, his voice rings out once more as he says, "Fine. If you're telling me the truth, I want to be there to see her as soon as humanly possible."

Akari glances to me with a tentative smile and says, "We can have a transport at your house within the hour. You can either stay here with us, or we'll book you a hotel room, and you can see Candice first thing tomorrow morning. However… I should warn you that Serena isn't finished working on her. Her mind is still… not intact, but we're confident in helping her."

"I've seen what they do to people…" Mr. Hayashi says before taking in a shaky breath. Very well, I'll see you soon, Akari."

After they've worked out the details — the Hayashi parents will be staying at a hotel near our compound — Akari hangs up the call. As soon as she does, she turns towards me and hugs me tightly to her chest, tears welling in her eyes.

"It's okay," I say with a smile, returning her hug. "You did it!"

Akari stays silent, just holding me close for a long minute while her body shakes. Then, eventually, she releases me and wipes at her eyes.

"I guess we should organize a transport," she says, her voice raw.

I wave away the comment with a smile, "No worries, I've got this part."

Well, more accurately, Kiley has this part. I do feel slightly bad for continuously dumping things like this on her, but it is literally what I pay her for. And I pay her a lot.

With a final smile to Akari, I pick up my phone and call Kiley to begin setting up the arrangements.