Pathless: Outcast

Cirrugur, 16th of Brightforge, year 305 UC

As Lucas began his examination of Bryan's ether pathways.

Suddenly, Lucas's eyes widened, and he stepped back, a look of disbelief crossing his face.

His hands trembled slightly, and for a moment, he seemed at a loss for words.

‘This... this can't be right.’

He thought as he ran his hand through his hair.

‘Did they get it wrong?’

Emilia stepped forward.

"What is it, Lucas?"

No, she just didn’t know. That was all.

"See for yourself."

He replied, gesturing towards Bryan.

Emilia approached, her blue eyes glowing as she focused her magical senses on Bryan's ether pathways.

A gasp escaped her lips as she realized what Lucas had discovered.

"How is this possible?"

She said softly.

Edward, who had been standing near Bryan, looked between the two.

He didn’t like being in the dark when he didn’t have to.

This was about Bryan, so he wanted to know.

"What's going on?"

Lucas turned to him.

"The damage... it's not nearly as severe as you both thought. In fact, it seems to be healing."

"Healing?"

Edward repeated, incredulous.

He checked when Emilia brought the boy here.

The damage was severe, enough to cause him to wince just thinking about how much pain Bryan was in.

Now, Lucas told him it was healing.

On its own?

"But that's..."

"Nearly impossible."

Emilia finished.

"Edward, you examined Bryan when he first arrived, right?"

She asked but knew he wasn’t one to cut corners when given a task.

He was the most diligent man she knew.

Edward nodded.

"I did. The damage was extensive then. If it's healing now, it wasn't anything I did."

‘What are they talking about?’

‘What’s healing?’

Bryan wondered what they were talking about.

Was he truly special?

They said he was, but they could have just been saying it without meaning anything by it.

But how they were talking, it made him feel that way.

Because, if he was special, then they wouldn’t get rid of him.

Right?

"We need to study this further. I propose we take a blood sample from Bryan. It might give us the answers we seek."

Lucas suggested, although his true thoughts were leaning more towards opening the boy up.

Then he could get an extensive view of his insides.

Eventually, he’d find a proper answer.

But, he knew Emilia would never go for that.

Especially now, when she was being all in touch with her emotions.

Emilia's head snapped up.

"Absolutely not! Given Bryan's recent behavior and his discomfort, I don't think that's appropriate."

"But Emilia, think of the potential-"

"I said no."

Emilia cut him off firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

He knew that’d be her reply, but it was worth a shot.

The two of them glared at one another for a few seconds that felt like eternity.

Emilia wanted to know, the curiosity gnawing at the back of her head kept pushing her to find out.

But the idea of harming Bryan, she couldn't do it.

She couldn’t be like him.

Then again, Lucas was right and she couldn't protect him forever.

She looked at his pathways, they were basically clear and clean of corruption.

He could use magic, and it wouldn't harm him.

‘He’ll be fine. It’s better this way, right? For him… for us.’

Emilia turned to Bryan.

"Bryan, I need you to try using your magic now."

She gave in.

If anything happened then she'd react, stop him before he caused any irreparable damage to himself.

Bryan looked at her and tilted his head slightly.

"I... I don't know how."

He admitted quietly.

Emilia felt slightly embarrassed by this, forgetting that they never taught him how.

It was for his own good, and normally children his age wouldn't be able to use magic.

At least that is what she kept telling herself.

Edward knelt beside him.

"To use magic, you need to remember the first time you awakened it. Try to recall what you were feeling then."

‘Remember?’

He couldn’t.

He didn’t want to.

So much has happened since then, and he felt like he was finally getting past it.

Finally moving on.

But, he had to remember?

He shook his head.

No, he didn’t want to.

Lucas, impatient, stepped forward.

"You have to try, boy. If you want to be a mage someday, this is necessary."

A mage.

Yeah, he wanted to be a mage.

He needed to be a mage.

Then, everyone would accept him.

Everyone would want him.

While Lucas’s tone was a bit harsh, Emilia didn’t say anything.

He was right.

Bryan had to do this, if not today then sometime in the future.

Seeing that all eyes were on him, Bryan tried to recall.

To go back to that moment.

He concentrated as the scenes began to play out.

Rain kept falling on him, drenching his clothes as he ran.

He crashed into the noble, the man’s words cruel.

‘Rat’s like you should just die.’

‘You dare think you can steal from me and lie about it?’

‘Who gave birth to you, you disgusting piece of trash.’

Before he knew it he was on the ground curled up into a ball as they kicked him over and over, relishing the moment.

Children's laughter as they ran past.

It was Dave and the others.

He could tell.

Why him?

Why was he always the one being hit?

Why was he the one always in pain?

Then, Ms. Kelly appeared.

Why did she come save him?

Why?

Why did she care so much for him?

Did he deserve it?

If she didn't come, if she never cares about him, then maybe... maybe she'd still be alive.

She died because of him.

They were right, everyone in the orphanage was right about him.

He was a monster, a demon, the cursed child!

After a moment, he winced.

"It hurts."

He whimpered.

"I can't do it."

The adults exchanged puzzled glances.

They hadn't sensed any magical energy.

Emilia approached Bryan, placing a hand on his back.

"Let's try once more. I'll monitor your ether flow this time."

Bryan nodded, but he didn't want to.

It was too painful, watching Ms. Kelly die.

Being beaten.

If this is what he had to do to use magic, then did he really want to become a mage?

Yet the look Emilia was giving him made him change his mind.

She'd toss him away if he didn't do what she asked. He didn't want that, he had to try again.

So, he did.

Emilia monitored the flow of his ether, and watched how it went from his core through his pathways.

He was going to do it, he was going to use his spell.

But, nothing happened.

"I can see his ether moving, he's definitely doing something."

Edward stroked his chin.

"Could it be conditional magic?"

Lucas scoffed.

"That's extremely rare. Bryan, do you remember anything specific about when you first used magic?"

Bryan's voice trembled as he spoke.

"The noble... he hurt me. I wanted it all to stop."

Lucas had a thought cross his mind at that moment.

A manic gleam entered Lucas's eyes. Without warning, he struck Bryan, causing the boy's lip to split and bleed.

Emilia reacted instantly, her fist connecting with Lucas's face. As he stumbled back, she followed up with a vicious stomp.

"How dare you!"

She snarled.

She couldn’t believe he actually hit the boy.

What was going on through his head?

Did he finally lose it?

Bryan's tears mixed with the blood on his face.

Weren’t they supposed to keep him safe?

Why was he hit?

What did he do wrong?

His emotions started to swell as his blood began to hover and take shape into a crescent moon.

They watched the small crescent blades of blood form and hover around Bryan.

It was a sight none of them expected.

Except, for Lucas.

Lucas, despite the throbbing pain in his face, couldn't contain his excitement.

"Fascinating! It's just as I suspected."

He sounded proud of himself.

It disgusted Emilia.

Lucas took a step closer to Bryan, his gaze fixed on the floating blood.

"Bryan's blood acts as a catalyst for his magic. That's why I had to... provoke him."

He toned down the word he was going to use, for the other's sake.

Shouldn’t they be proud of him for that?

If they knew what he really wanted to do…

He couldn’t help but smirk in satisfaction, oblivious to the faces Emilia and Edward were making.

Emilia, still standing in front of Bryan, turned to Lucas with a look of utter disgust.

"You're insane."

She spat.

"How could you justify hurting a child?"

Despite her anger, Emilia couldn't help but observe the floating blood.

"But you're right about one thing, Bryan's magic does seem to be conditional. This is... unprecedented. There's never been a mage capable of using blood before."

Lucas nodded eagerly.

"Exactly! Do you realize the implications of this? There have been theories and studies on water mages, attempting to control a person's blood using the water within, but never with any success. This... this changes everything!"

Edward's eyes were cold as he addressed Lucas.

Emilia hit him, but she should have done more.

He’d never settle at stopping with only a few hits.

No.

He’d need to take both of Lucas’s arms to be satisfied.

Only then would he know it wouldn’t happen again.

"You should consider yourself fortunate, Lucas, if Emilia hadn't beaten you, I would have done far worse."

Lucas shrugged, for him this pain was worth the results.

Sometimes you had to be the villain in order to get the results you wanted.

Bryan wept wiping the tears from his eyes trying to be strong.

Glancing at the crimson crescent moon-shaped blades hovering in the air, he couldn’t believe he was doing this.

He was using magic!

However, as excited as he was about the idea the three small blades fell to the ground.

He willed them to rise once more, to take shape but nothing happened.

What was wrong with him?

‘Come on! Do it again! Come back!’

If he couldn't use magic… if he couldn't keep their attention then what would happen to him?

Edward's eyes caught the shift in Bryan's expression as he stared dejectedly at the ground.

Realization dawned on him as he noticed his spell faded.

"Don't worry, Bryan."

Edward said gently, kneeling beside the boy.

"The blood falling simply means your ether has run out. It's perfectly normal."

Bryan nodded slowly, but his eyes remained downcast.

‘Ether? What’s that?’

‘How do I get more?’

He wondered to himself.

More was better. The more ether he had, the more he could keep his magic going.

Right?

Yeah, that had to be the case.

He’d do whatever he needed to get more.

Then, he’d be a real mage.

Then, they’d love him.

Lucas grinned widely upon noticing Bryan’s spell dissipate.

"I didn't even notice it."

Lucas exclaimed.

"None of us did!"

Emilia frowned, uncomfortable with Lucas's enthusiasm.

"He's right."

She felt like she was saying that about Lucas too much in one day.

If she said it one more time, it’d feed his ego.

That was not something she’d let happen.

But still, what Bryan did was something unique.

"I couldn't sense you using magic, Bryan. I knew you were, but the activation was silent."

Lucas let out a manic laugh.

"There's so much to explore here, so much to learn!"

He couldn’t wait to give the boy a real examination.

He’d take so much blood.

Not enough to kill him, but enough.

While Lucas was picturing what he could get away with, without having Emilia or Lucas come after him. Edward had one question on his mind.

"If Bryan's condition requires him to bleed in order to use magic, with his blood acting as a catalyst, what happens if he runs out of blood?"

Lucas paused, giving it some thought.

"Given my current understanding of events Bryan's body might have a safeguard against such a thing. If the blood wasn't enough to fuel his spell or keep it going, then instead of drawing upon more blood, his body might seek out an alternative source."

His eyes narrowed as he connected the dots.

"Which, in his case, led to ether poisoning."

Emilia thought over his words carefully, considering the theory.

It made a disturbing amount of sense, given the state in which she had found Bryan.

The idea that his magic could have driven him to such extremes was both fascinating and terrifying.

Edward, however, shook his head.

"That doesn't seem possible. Pure ether cannot create blood. It can fuel magic, yes, but even then, it's incredibly dangerous. To create blood to sustain a spell? That's beyond anything we've ever encountered."

Lucas's eyes gleamed with excitement, as a manic grin spread across his face.

"Ah, but Edward, anything is within the realm of creation when you truly understand how magic works."

He countered.

"From my understanding, all life is made up of ether in some shape or form. So why can't blood be created from it? After all, blood is what gives us life!"

His excitement growing, Lucas began to pace the room, gesticulating wildly.

"We need to conduct some tests, considering these extraordinary circumstances."

Emilia's eyes flashed with anger.

"Absolutely not, Lucas!"

"Bryan is a child, not some experiment for you to toy with!"

Lucas stopped pacing and looked extremely disappointed.

Like a child who just got their toy taken away.

"What? Of course, he is... of course he isn't! I'd never experiment on him."

Lucas muttered something else under his breath before giving them a reassuring smile.