“The true source of strenght?”

Peck asked that question.

In response, Sen showed the palm of her hand in front of which a celestial glow would take the shape of a heart. Around the heart orbited a figure with the appearance of a twinkling star.

“Do you know where mana comes from? The energy that allows us to use magical power comes from an ethereal organ called 'Lívet'. It's near the heart, there's no way to physically touch it”.

“The only thing I know about mana is that everyone has it...”

“But not everyone can use it. Why?”

Peck thought for a moment. He himself couldn't use magic a while ago, but suddenly he could. He felt a sharp pain in his head, as if a sting had been driven into it. He had forgotten that part of his life, but from Sen's words he vaguely remembered his ineffectiveness.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes...”

He shakes his head to wake up.

“Sen, I don't know what to answer. I'm not good at these things”.

“Don't worry, then I'll explain everything”.

“In a few words, please”.

“Okay, fine”.

Sen paused for a moment to think of an explanation that would be compact. The figure of light she created earlier split into two cubes, side by side, an arm's length apart.

“The Lívet is connected to our thoughts. It makes our ideas come true, it responds to our emotions”.

She pointed to the cube on the right.

“Imagine this side is the Lívet”. Then she pointed to the left side. “This side represents reality”.

She paused to verify that Peck was following the explanation. When she saw him, she realized how close he had come. Peck's expression seemed rather self-conscious as he watched, he was straining to understand.

“To manifest in reality, magic needs a solid path to follow”.

Along with Sen's explanation, a bridge of light was building between one cube and the other.

“Our determination will give solidity to that path. If we are full of doubts, fears and insecurities...”

The bridge slowly fell apart.

“Our magic would be weak. In some cases, you won't be able to do magic. In others, you could use it, but...”

Another bridge was built, completing the path to soon crumble.

“It would fail eventually”. A solid bridge was built, this one endured. “Effort without trust will never pay off. Confidence without effort won't either. You need both, just as your magic needs an idea and you need to believe in it. Even if you fail, you must continue to believe it's possible. If you need to change your strategy, do it”.

 Peck was still staring at the light figure demonstrations, probably mesmerized by how bright they were and how they moved.

“Any questions so far?”

“What if I try something many times and it still fails? I've fought Leben many times, but I never come close to beating him”.

“No matter how hard you try to knock down a concrete wall in different ways, you could never surely. But if your goal is simply to get to the other side of the wall, there could be many other ways to do it other than tearing it down”.

Peck pondered those words.

“What's a wall got to do with it?”

“It was a metaphor, Peck”.

“What's a metaphor?”

“Ah”.

Sen was puzzled by that to such an extent that the figures of light suddenly disappeared. She scratched behind her ear and regained her composure.

“Peck, there is much you must learn and practice before you defeat Leben. You didn't know what Lívet was, which is basic knowledge in magic, there's probably a lot you don't know that could really help you. Strengthen your mind”.

Peck looked up and began scratching the back of his neck. This time, he did think about what Sen said.

“I see" he said, "but I...”

“What's wrong?”

He was embarrassed by what he was about to say. At the same time, he felt shy about having to confess.

“I can't read, I can't write. I don't remember how my magic got any better either... so there's not much I can do”.

When he said that he shrugged and looked sheepishly at the person in front of him. Unconsciously, Peck braced himself for something bad to happen. Sen looked surprised, but it was actually that she was amazed that Peck decided to share something so intimate: it meant they were making progress, that taking him to the cave was the right thing to do.

“I could teach you”. She smiled at Peck. “I could explain with demonstrations, like now. In time I could teach you to read and write. How does that sound? Think of it this way, 'the strongest' will be your master. Would you like that?”

“Really?”

Peck brought his face close to Sen's eagerly. Stars glittered in his pupils, wishing for that to be a reality. Sen had to back away slightly because of Peck's closeness, but she didn't mind.

“I wouldn't lie to you. Besides, if I didn't you'd probably end up dead”.

Sen's tone was as gentle as usual, but that last word 'dead' triggered something inside Peck.

Once again, the bad memories that were once suppressed returned in a violent and fleeting way. Peck shook his head to keep from thinking about it, because every time a memory surfaced his head ached unbearably.

Peck's thoughts were tainted by the time he severely questioned his reason for living, why he had survived so long. Many scenarios in which he believed he should have died replayed incessantly in front of his eyes.

The moments when he suffered that abuse came back.

Those memories were so strong that Peck collapsed falling to his knees.

Sen's hand rested on his shoulder to bring him back to reality.

“What's wrong, Peck?”

Everything became clear to him. He looked up to see the worried face of his would-be master.

“Sen, I…”

“Let's take a breath”.

Sen used her magic to raise part of the platform so they could sit there together. 

***

That breath turned into an hour of silence. A period where they would do nothing but sit together while Sen rested her head on Peck's shoulder, until Peck felt ready to speak. 

“I do want you to be my master”.

That was all it took for Sen to stand up and continue.

“Let's go to my house in Batoru”.

“Batoru?”

“It's all right. I'll be with you. 'The strongest' is your friend now. Well, actually... Outside of Batoru there are probably stronger people, but, even so, you'll still have a friend. Having company for the bad times doesn't sound so bad... does it?”

Slowly, and cautiously, Peck also stood up.

Considering having a friend was unthinkable at one point, but at last it seemed likely. Beyond being in the cave, a place to relax him, he was facing a person who did nothing but show compassion for him.

Peck could easily be fooled by a being who was evil, but Sen honestly was there to be his ally. He still didn't understand why she seemed so determined to support him, but he thought he might never get another chance like that.

“I want to go with you, Sen”.

That day, they became master and disciple, but their friendship also emerged.

***

Sen used CheckPoint again to go to a room inside a mansion.

In Batoru there is a hill that stands out from which you can see all the houses there. Some houses are better kept than others, just as certain streets were cleaner than others.

The big exception was the mansion on the hill, called a mansion because it was three times wider than any average house in Batoru and twice as taller. It was made of wood, painted gray and with a roof as black as obsidian. It had many rooms, each with windows.

Originally that mansion was to be for Batoru's political affairs, but the idea failed and Sen's master took it as a home that she inherited.

Behind the mansion was a garden with flowers of various colors, but the biggest attraction was a gigantic tree that stretched up to the clouds and was almost as wide as the mansion.

In the mansion lived Sen and the other disciple of his master, who had been away on a long journey for a month. Therefore, Peck and Sen would be alone.

Finally, Sen's room was painted white and on the ceiling were painted stars to recreate the night sky. Luxurious-looking furniture was everywhere, and a large bed in the center with canopies was where Sen slept.

Two hours after what happened in the cave, Peck received a bath in which Sen was so soaked because of the restless Peck that she had to change clothes and wear pajamas.

Peck, on the other hand, received a haircut before the bath. Sen tried to brush his teeth, but they were in perfect condition: a detail of which Sen was highly suspicious.

Currently, Peck was looking at himself in front of a full-length round mirror. He was clean and changed his clothes. He chose for himself a pair of black pants, a long-sleeved red T-shirt with a simple belt made entirely of cloth over the waist to compensate for how wide the T-shirt fit him.

On one side of the mirror, Sen proudly saw the result of her great job of cleaning Peck. She was wearing pajamas consisting of shorts and a puffy-sleeved T-shirt.

Some time later, Sen dressed Peck in pajamas and he looked at himself again in the mirror.

“What do you think? Do you like the way you look?” Sen asked.

“I guess. It's weird, but...hey, Sen...”

“What happend?”

“Why didn't you use magic to dry your clothes?”

“Peck, I just wanted an excuse to stay in my pajamas for the rest of the day”.

“Oh”.

“Well! That's it, let's get something to eat. I'll make up a bed for you right here! What did you used to eat?”

“Insects”.

“...I'll take care of the menu today”.

Sen looked disturbed by that revelation and a shiver ran down her spine.  The strongest one finally found her limit...

***

Some time later, Peck said he didn't like the beds because he tended to fall out. Sen piled piles and piles of pillows in a corner, and gave Peck lots of sheets to cover himself. Peck would sleep there that night.

As night came and he slept, Peck would soon enter into anguish.

Something was waiting for him inside his dreams.

---

Next chapter arrives on Thursday!