Azura approached Gerald's forge, determined to do things properly this time. A steady ringing from the premises promised a far better result than her last attempt.

"Gerald, you in there and not… er, not busy?" Azura asked from just outside the open door.

"Come in."

Azura hesitated only a minute before entering. Gerald was standing over his anvil with several metal pieces lying around. Strangely, Azura felt faint traces of ki from each one slowly dispersing back into mana. It created small, dense pockets of mana around each piece.

"What are you doing?" Azura asked.

"Training."

An awkward pause lingered between the two. Azura fidgeted, wishing she had thought of what to say BEFORE arriving. It would be best if she ignored the entire Elise issue and focused on his cultivation. Yup, that would be best.

"About Elise…" Gerald began.

NO! I mentally put the issue behind me! How could you do this to me? Azura mentally raged.

"It doesn't matter," Azura quickly interrupted. "What you guys do, it's your business. I just want to know one thing. Are you happy?"

Gerald paused for a long moment. He then gave her a smile and a confident nod.

"Great. That's all that matters. Now tell me about your cultivation." Azura gave herself a mental cheer. The subject has been successfully avoided.

"I'm trying to figure out how to infuse ki into the metal. Every time I put a little bit in, it leaks away. Got any ideas?"

Azura paused in thought. She remembered the poor advice she'd given the others. The urge to do the same here was strong. Give some quick, sage-sounding advice, make an excuse, and leave. Instead, she collapsed into a nearby chair.

"I don't know Gerald," Azura said tiredly. "I don't know all that much. I just know how mine works. It took me over a year to even figure that out. I doubt I even tapped a fraction of that potential. I wish I had some sage advice for you. But I don't."

Gerald looked down at her before sitting beside her, placing his heavy arm around her shoulder.

"Must be tough having everyone expect so much from you."

"Yeah…" Azura trailed off. "I don't want to disappoint anyone, but it's hard sometimes. Everyone wants so much from me. They expect me to have the answers. Most of the time, I make it up as I go along. I feel like a fraud sometimes."

Gerald gave her a firm hug. "You know what? Sometimes, so do I."

"Huh?"

"I got plenty of people who come by asking for this or that. Some ask for cultivation tips, while others need weird metalworking. Most of the time, I don't know what I'm doing. I just do my best. I think most people are like that. Every time we try, we improve a bit, and it becomes easier. You're doing a fine job, even if you aren't sure of yourself."

Azura sniffled. "Wow. Here I came to help you, and it was the other way around."

"Of course. That's what friends are for." They sat together for a long minute before Azura spoke again.

"Why are you trying to put your ki into metal?"

"Oh. It's my attunement. I didn't attune to metal; rather, the crafting of metal. It's strange. I can use metal to generate ki, but making something gives me much more than cultivating it."

"That's weird," Azura agreed. "So, you are trying to control the metal tools you create?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Yup, but every time I put a tiny bit of ki into the metal, it degrades into mana. Not sure what to do."

Azura gave a smile. "Have you tried to put in solid ki?"

Gerald paused, then returned her smile. "You know what. I think that might just work. See, you're not so bad at the mentor thing."

"You'd be better. Thanks, Gerald, I needed that."

"Anytime… unless the door is closed."

The friends laughed, and their mutual burdens lightened, if only for now.

"I heard Gwen just got back. You should talk with her," Gerald said.

"… She was gone?"

***

Gwen's head hurt. There was an unpleasant itch inside she couldn't scratch. It had been growing ever since her fight. That stupid Archmage! She was nothing like him! Nothing! … Besides, kin didn't kill kin! That proved she was nothing like him. Gwen ground her teeth, wishing her stupid thoughts would just settle down. Perhaps slowly killing something would help. She could watch it suffer instead of her… that was something that the human Archmage would probably do…

ARRRRAHH! Gwen screamed mentally.

"GWENNY!" A voice called out. Gwen looked up. There, the Magebane was walking toward her. Gwen had been resting under a large tree inside Azure's Rest since she returned a few hours ago. She hadn't wanted to go home and deal with her mother. She just didn't have the energy to deal with anyone at the moment. For the first time, she wished Azura would go away.

"Hey, I've been looking for you for days!" Azura said. "Wow, you look like shit."

Gwen just gave the other half-kin a flat look.

"Er, um I mean, uh…" Azura scratched her ear as she looked around. "You must've had a hard time out there."

Gwen watched the Magebane struggle to make fake compliments and awkward attempts at small talk. As she droned on, Gwen watched her. Azura… She was so powerful, yet it hadn't gone to her head. The other young woman was always happy. Why couldn't she be more like her? Gwen realized she had spaced out and refocused on what Azura was saying.

"… that's why you should NEVER inquire about the sexual habits of elves." Azura finished proudly with her hands on her hips.

Gwen blinked rapidly. What the fuck had she been talking about?

"… Alright," Gwen said.

"Ahem, yeah," Azura coughed. "Oh, before I go, don't awaken anyone's mana pool."

Awaken? Oh. Yeah, I could probably do that now, Gwen thought.

Azura's next words shattered Gwen's world.

"We had some traitors…"

***

Gwen stood up as the Magebane finished recalling events. She stumbled away, ignoring Azura's words. Her world, where kin were paragons of goodness, a place where every kin looked out for one another, one where greed couldn't take hold, was gone. Now… was there any difference between them and the mages?

Gwen screamed and ran. She didn't watch where she was going. She didn't care.

A trail of broken trees and crushed mana beasts was left in her wake as she blindly ran. Gwen didn't notice any of it. She just kept running. It wasn't until her foot failed to find purchase that she fell, tumbling down a large ravine. Gwen didn't resist or try to stop herself as she fell. Her crash startled several small rodents, and Gwen abruptly came to a stop at the bottom in a small cloud of dust. She was physically unhurt. Such a tumble couldn't even scratch her ki-powered body. Her mind…

KIN KILLING KIN.

HUMAN KILLING HUMAN.

She began to laugh. A slow, dark laugh that grew in pitch until it became one often heard deep within an asylum. Gwen kept laughing as tears tracked down her face. She then punched the ground, her fist driving deep. It wasn't satisfying. Gwen unleashed her rage at the environment, all of it yielding to her. Boulders shattered and trees snapped like weak saplings. She screamed, unable to find anything to offer her a bit of resistance. Abruptly, Gwen's own fist smashed into her face. Her nose broke as blood filled her mouth. The coppery taste only briefly settled her thoughts. It didn't last. The pain was a momentary distraction that ended as her ki healed her injuries.

KIN KILLING KIN.

The mania grew as she punched herself in her face again, rebreaking her nose.

KIN KILLING KIN.

She saw herself in place of the Archmage, high above others like her, as she casually slaughtered kin or any that would hamper her. More blows to her face made her vision darken, the pain only fleetingly chasing away her thoughts. It wasn't enough.

KIN KILLING KIN!

KIN KILLING KIN!

KIN KILLING KIN!

KIN KILLING KIN!

KIN KILLING KIN!

A white pain grew steadily brighter inside her, obstructing her thoughts as her blows failed to drive it away. Her mind cracked as the beast within gnawed at the edges of her sanity.

Why hold back? The beast purred between each strike. You know you're special. They don't matter. All that matters is that you FEED your DeSIre! KiLl ThEm alL!

"SHUTUP!" Gwen howled as she gave up on self-punishment. She fell to her knees, her mind fracturing as the burning white pain ate at her. With each bite, the voice continued digging deeper like a worm into a wilted apple.

You don't need them. The voice whispered. The voice dug deeper. You don't need anyone. Why should you bother with kin if they are no different than humans? Free yourself. Consume everything!

Stop! It hurts! Gwen mentally screamed as she scratched her claws down her face. Bits of flesh tore free, and fresh blood flowed from the deep furrows she left behind.

Eventually, the white hunger went silent as Gwen lay curled into a ball. The rage had buried itself deeper inside than ever before. How much more death would it take to keep it silent? How much more pain would she need to inflict? She had already fed it so much. Gwen wept frustrated tears as the burning eyes of the white hunger waited for the crack in her mind to widen even further.

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