-Callia-

  Sitting in my cell was uncomfortable by design. My pain resistance meant that the hard surfaces didn’t hurt, but even without pain, the hard surfaces and cramped space made relaxing or resting a joke. Running my hand along the slightly bumpy and slanted bed showed that someone took great care in subtly altering the room for discomfort. However, where pain resistance came in lacking, another skill shined in a manner I hadn’t expected: Ignore. It was still low level, but it was enough to shave off the edge that pain resistance leftover. With that falling asleep to recover from the extensive work, sending almost all of the citadels' food reserves into the void wasn’t an issue.

  A quick nap was all I got before the sound of metal colliding snapped me back awake. I jumped forward to the bars, trying to look down the hall, but the difficult angle and dim lighting made seeing the issue almost impossible. One more Clang echoed down the hall as what sounded like two metal poles slamming into each other got vaguely closer. The sound of steady footsteps and the occasional ringing of metal made it clear that the local “care” didn’t end at making a slanted, bumpy stone bed, an unpleasantly short ceiling, or darkness that would blind most other people. No, they had to include a patrolling noise maker just to be sure that every visit earned a 0.5-star review.

  Since actual sleep was illegal, I dropped myself down into my meditative stance. They might deny my ability to sleep, but the only part of me that needed recovery was my mind, and in my short nap I already felt fully refreshed. With nothing else to do, I figured it was time to get some practice with my mana suppression. Taking a deep breath in, I wash away my conscious thoughts, letting my instincts take control of my senses. Ironically, the noisemaker actually was the perfect tool to keep me focused. Whenever my efforts started drifting, my block to ignore his efforts would slip, meaning it only disrupted me when I was already losing control. It was kind of like dynamic meditation but using sound instead of motion to maintain my focus.

  It took a while for me to realize that I wasn’t actually alone in my efforts. For me the Sense Mana skill feels mana concentration, like a subtle pressure in the air around me, and Sense Divinity feels the presence of what I assume to be hidden spiritual entities. As I focused on holding in my mana to hide it, I used my Mana Sense to get an understanding of my progress, and while I was doing that, I felt the supportive presence shielding me from the dungeon. It formed a barrier around me, but I could feel the focus of the presence shifting and unintentionally drawing my focus to flaws in my suppression. Focusing as I was on the training, I couldn’t stop to check on my skill progress, but I know from experience that getting into a groove like this is a rare opportunity.

  I’m not sure just how long I managed to hold the state, but it wasn’t any outside force that interrupted me but instead a gentle shift in the presence. Before it bid me patience, but now I felt it was time. For what? I’m not sure, but I don’t hesitate in the slightest. My eyes snap open to the unchanging dim hall on the other side of the bars. On the other side the official noisemaker was senselessly banging his bar against the cell. I shuffled forward, and the guard flinched backward like he was trying to avoid me. For some reason my mind snapped to the memory of Lexia. When Callen’s mana burned her shadows and drove her away. Without hesitation I Blink right in front of the guard. Between my experience imbuing affinity energy and the practice of containing and controlling my mana, it's almost second nature concentrating my mana into my hand as I deliver an open-handed palm strike to the guard's chest.

  During family dinners in the past, it was normal for Callen and me to brag about whenever we accomplished something in our training. No secrets among family except when the knowledge was inherently dangerous. His Mana Zone skill is an example of the inherent harmlessness of mana. Therefore, my palm strike being delivered swiftly but without force should be nothing more than a gentle shove. The guard was pushed a step back, but in the next instant his body started shaking. The metal plates collapse inward while the dropping to the ground. His wails reach an inhuman pitch as the fog disperses, leaving nothing but a crumpled ball of rusted metal.

  “A demon,” The statement rings with equal parts disbelief and disgust as I wrap my head around the revelation. Clearly whatever this demon was is vastly different from Lexia, but its reaction to divinity-infused mana left no space to refute what it was. I lean down and poke the jagged ball of rusted metal it left behind, dumping it in the void. That demon felt no different from the rest of the guards down here. I don’t want to believe it but there is no denying that something has gone incredibly wrong. I close my eyes letting go of the distractions plaguing me and focusing on the guiding presence.

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  A soft yet urgent tug pulls me deeper into the vaults. I switch out my civilian robe, summoning my full set of combat gear. I set off and can feel the presence of the sticky sickness recoiling as I burn through it without any effort. The hallway draws to an end as a heavy metal door further blocks my path. I can’t see or hear them, but on the other side of the door I can feel the presence of two guards ready to ambush me. I take a moment to concentrate mana in one hand. It takes a moment longer without the Zen-like focus I had after my previous practice. In my other hand, my knife glows as my blade aura empowers it. In a smooth motion I swiped through the lock and kicked the door open.

  The door swung unopposed, but the moment it opened, arrows whizzed out from the room. I twisted to the side and was forced into a backward dive as the point-blank barrage tried to deny me space to evade. Rolling back to my feet, I noticed one of the guards grabbing the door, intending to close it, while the other drove me back. Clearly trying to buy time for reinforcements. I pushed off the ground sideways, bouncing off the floor then the wall as I flashed forward, making my lost ground from dodging disappear. The archer tried leveraging the narrow corridor and sheer volume of ammunition to restrict me, but it was meaningless as I twisted my way through the assault. He stumbled backward trying to buy even a little space, but it was meaningless as my palm struck the guard's chest. It collapsed, shrieking and crumpling into a ball of metal while the other tried to swing its sword at me. The blade glowed threateningly with sword aura, but the body was too slow. I shoulder-checked into his body, denying him the advantage of reach while my knife slipped through the elbow joint of the armor. He grabbed me with his other hand but failed to lock me in place while I twisted his grip and used a shoulder throw to slam him into the ground. It ended after a moment with him pinned to the ground while I concentrated my mana into another palm strike.

  With nothing but two lumps of metal left, I looked up and found two doors, one leading to a staircase up and the other down. I start to move toward the up staircase but stop as the presence pulls the other way.

  “Deeper in it is, I guess,” I mumble as I leap down several stairs at a time. The dark stickiness gets heavier as I go down into the depths, but despite the change, it's still unable to touch me. The previously dim lighting now was completely nonexistent. I summon a light wand as I move and awkwardly shove it into my mouth so I can have both hands free. I slow to a stop as a massive metal gate bars my path. I may not be on Callen’s level when it comes to sensing, but I can easily feel the various runes reinforcing it, and on the other side I can hear the clinking of metal boots. I test my blade aura against the door and it only leaves a deep scratch. I frown in thought before grinning widely as an idea comes to mind.

  Bureaucracy

  Mother Lidia smiled as she lay down in her bed reflecting on the day. The little troublemaking newcomer had been more outrageous than she had anticipated. Though most girls in the dorm were a bit rebellious when they first arrived, Callia had been in a league of her own. She had just been trying to give the girl some kindhearted guidance, but the girl went and lost her temper, grabbing a stone from who knows where just to throw it at her. Then she has the audacity to lead the brave paladins on a hunt to bring her to justice. She’s lucky the pope so generously intervened on her behalf. Whatever punishment awaits the girl will truly be just.

  Just as she finished the thought, the sound of someone knocking on her door firmly echoed through the small room. In a rush Mother Lidia quickly redressed herself and made herself presentable for whomever was visiting. Her anger hastened her movements. As she opened the door, words of rebuke already on her lips, she froze and shrieked as a torrent of paper crashed down on her.

  “What is the meaning of this!” She indignantly sputtered from the ground before realizing that the person who attacked her with papers was a paladin.

  “One of your charges has been held temporarily in detention. Until her release you will need to assume responsibility for her paperwork. Each of these forms needs to be filled out and turned in with the vault guard by tomorrow. I even filled one out for you just need to copy it onto the others and you should be good.” With that the paladin dropped the example paper into the pile before leaving without another word.

  “This? Whose?” Lidia asked in vain. Digging into the pile of papers, she stared in disbelief as she recovered the example paper the paladin had given. In the name line it had Callia of Port Town. In a fit of rage she ripped the paper to shreds.

  “CALLIA!” But her moment was stifled as she looked at the ruined example document. “Oh no,” her voice was hoarse as she realized she had ruined her example form. Desperately she gathered the pieces to reassemble the form only to be thwarted as a breeze blew in through the open door, scattering the forms throughout her dorm as well as the example fragments.

  Isaiah 44:24 ESV - Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb:

  “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,