[IC] Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

[Mal2103]

As Alya approached the source of the energy, which appeared to be a black crystal; something happened. The crystal shattered, and shards of jagged crystalline fragments were sent flying at dangerous speeds. Thankfuly Alya was able to quickly throw up a defensive barrier which stopped any physical projectile thrown at it. Surprisingly a girl fell from the crystal and was now kneeling on the floor gasping for air.
"Hello?" Alya asked curiously. "Are you alright?" She added with a concerned tone as she approached the girl.

Alya knew this place had been undisturbed for countless decades; possibly even centuries. 'How could someone be alive down here after so long...'

[Prodigal Son]

Felix caught Travis's expression and walked up to lay a hand on Travis's shoulder.

"Yes, we encountered losses. And as tragic as they may seem, we musn't falter. Artos was well aware of the dangers, as were all of you. You all decided to venture forth regardless. We will keep Artos in our memories. But we must focus our efforts on what lie ahead." Felix pulled out the paragon from his jacket. "Take pride in what you all have accomplished."

Felix flicked his wrist, pulling a spherical mana crystal container, with a brass colored flat metallic disk through the middle of the container. Felix tapped the container, it opened at the disk seem. The disk had a large diamond shaped hole in the middle of it. Felix calmly placed the paragon inside the diamond hole in the disk, and it began to float in the middle of the disk. Felix closed the sphere, the container letting out a hissing sound as it became, no doubt, hermetically sealed. He then used mana to levitate the sphere onto a golden stand that was sitting on the coffee table.

"The case I placed the paragon in masks mana waves. It wouldn't be good if Thadeus tracked us here through the paragon's mana signature now that he knows what to look for." Felix sat down on a leather chair in front of the coffee table and folded his hands. "Now then, Travis, could you please recount to me what exactly happened after you all entered the paragon chamber?"

---

Raiya walked over to the kitchen and checked around the cupboards looking for alcohol. There was a large horizontal rectangular cabinet on the edge of the counter. She reached to open it but discovered it was locked. With a bit of magic, she jimmied open to lock to find a fully stocked bar.

She mixed together a long island iced tea before sitting down at the table that Nemo was at. She leaned back in the wooden chair she was sitting in, withe her feet up on the table. Her boots just almost in Nemo's way. Just enough to be distracting in his peripheral. She sipped on the drink while leaning back, paying no mind to anything. Just unwinding from the battle that had commenced.

[Accurian]

She started to limp over to Alya ever so slowly. "I-I'm fine.." She replied before coughing from the thick and dusty air that enveloped this entire area. Rubbing her eyes as she approached Alya, she says "Thank you for saving me.. I've been trapped here for so long, I-" She didn't know how to show her appreciation.

She stood still and started tearing up a bit, sniffling & was pretty much begging for someone to comfort her. It's been so long, dark and depressing, but she has finally been freed from this neverending prison that she's been trapped in for over two thousand years.

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo shoveled a cookie into his mouth as Raiya arrived, halfway done disassembling his second revolver. Despite only resulting in a glance at first, Raiya's actions did succeed in distracting Nemo eventually. He slowed down at first, then began to nervously tap his fingers on the table. This lasted a few moments before he stopped altogether and looked to Raiya. "Why do you do that?" He asked, leaning back into his chair pointing to her glass after a moment. "Why do you drink so much?"

While normal people might have left the question at that, Nemo was always somebody who loved to talk. "Now... I'm the kinda guy who likes to indulge in things," He said as he shoved another treat into his mouth. "but from my perspective you don't seem to be doing it for the indulgence of satisfying your taste buds with a fine spirit. Some might go out to a party and get a little tipsy with their pals for fun, but this isn't a party, and you don't seem to be having any fun either." He explained.

Nemo leaned forward, resting his arms on the table and lowering his voice, no longer putting it in Travis or Felix's earshot. Clearly he was intent on going all the way with this topic. "To me that leaves us with only one option. You are oh so nefariously using alcohol for it's effects as a drug. Tsk tsk, a very self-destructive and, dare I say, possibly fatal action." He stated. "But don't mind me, I'm no square, no sir, I've seen my fair share of drugs." Nemo added with a grin.

"The difference between us is that alcohol is a depressant, while I prefer stimulants. I seek to enhance my senses, while you hope to dull them." Nemo paused for a moment before continuing. "You know what, I've changed my question... Are you in pain?" He asked, his tone shifting and his head cocking to the side. "Because in order for you to seek the need to medicate yourself with all that booze, you must be hurt."

"That's what you looked like to me when I first saw you at that club, when ya woke up. You look like someone who's bleeding out. Pain isn't always physical... stress, depression, loneliness, all extensions, hands of pain. My skills require that I know these things well." Nemo explained. "So what was it, huh? The ole' church kickin' ya out, Felix boy here turnin' his back on ya? Or is there something I missed? Keep in mind the deal from earlier still stands, for every question you answer, I will answer one of yours."

[ShiningSector]

Felix's encouragement and reassurance was gratifying enough and eased the tension it could. But nothing could easily diminish the thoughts and memories of their decent into the ancient pre-Academia catacombs; that will remain for years if he were to survive this entire fated mission. At the very least, he expressed some revilement and took a seat in one of the couches and relaxed as much as he psychically could.

While Nemo and Raiya unwinded in their own ways, he listened to Felix explaining the purpose of a container he had produced and placed the Paragon within its confines, leaving it positioned on the table as if another fixture within the mansion. He explained that the case the Paragon now resided in dampened the Paragon's massive emission of mana waves which prevented it was being tracked. It made sense and Travis was sure enough thankful they could contain such a desired artifact without attracting the wrong kind of attention.

It was then Felix requested of Travis to debrief him of the events that unfolded once they found the Paragon. With a quick look to his left, Nemo and Raiya seemed to pay no mind to their conversation as if they were disinterested or they were simply efficient in minding their activities and listening at the same time. With a faint sigh, Travis began, "...After dealing with our last trap, we had arrived in the Paragon's chamber where we found it at the center of the room at the apex of an assemblage of rubble. That was also when we lost contact with you."

"Nemo went to retrieve it but the rubble had then amassed and turned into a golem by the Paragon's power. With our combined efforts..." Travis eyed Nemo and then Raiya before a split moment before following up, "...we were successful in dispatching it and claiming the Paragon."

"Before we could leave though, Thadeus and his group intercepted us..."

Travis paused and leaned forward and gave a faint expression hinted with bewilderment and annoyance, "...I am not sure if his strange behavior comes naturally but he had forced us into combat with his team. Raiya went against Dominick and Dawn Fullbright. Nemo fought with Nevar and I against Alya Summers."

Travis only gave the names of their opponents believing Felix might recognize a name or two. Of course whether he did or not was of little consequence for the most part.

"At that point, I can only recall most of my battle with Alya as Thadeus erected several wall-like arenas around us individually so we couldn't help each other or stay in any contact. It was perhaps only after that until you eventually intervened."

[Prodigal Son]

Felix nodded his head in interest as Travis told the ongoings that happened while Felix had lost contact with the group. After Travis finished, Felix spoke, "I see. So it was likely that the Academia placed the paragon within a runic formula that was etched into the stone it was sitting on. The runes were not activated until someone came in contact with the paragon."

Felix raised his folded hands and placed them under his chin as he thought. "So it is confirmed then, that the paragons can be used for spells outside of the skills they innately possess. Interesting."

Felix stood up, and waved towards Travis, "Follow me." He said. He used his magic to levitate the paragon container with them as they walked.

He lead towards the front of the room, and walked through a doorway that lead to the entrance room. He then turned down a darkly lit stairway in front of the entrance doorway. This led down to the basement with the water pump connected to the spacial rift which fed through the pluming in the whole house. And also the generator that ran off of mana crystals that powered the entire house. On the side of the wall, there was a mana crystal torch jutting out of the side of the wall. No doubt there for when the generator's crystals run dry and there is no electrical lights available. At least, that would make sense, if the owner and builder of the manor wasn't an archmage who could produce his own light at a whim.

So Felix walked over to the mana torch and gripped it in the middle, and pulled to the side. The torch twisted with a click, and when it did click, a low rumble could be heard from inside the brick wall to the side of the torch. Eventually the wall slid open to reveal another staircase. But this staircase was brightly lit. He walked down it until reaching a brightly lit laboratory. There was all manners of scientific tools such as microscopes, scientific glassware with tubes connecting throughout the glassware system, even some exclusive mage tech used for getting accurate manawave readings which looked a lot like a multimeter used to test electrical currents. There was also a lot of flat counter space and writing implements to record their data.

"Travis, this is my, er, our laboratory. The walls are made out of dense mana crystals, and a runic formula is placed throughout it to contain all manawaves. That way we can directly examine the paragons in this room without fear of any of their mana signatures leaking. This is where we will be working on all paragon research. And you are also welcome to use it for small scale runic research and testing." Felix smiled, as if proud of his craftsmanship. "So, what do you think?"

---

Raiya sipped on her drink as she leaned back, keeping the chair at the balance point. After Nemo finished his line of questioning, Raiya downed the last bit of her drink, moved her feet off the edge of the table allowing them to fall and all four legs to come into contact with solid ground once more.

"Oh, so you're a psychologist now? So where'd you get your degree, Doctor Smiley? Mamertine prison start an education program?" She said with as much sarcasm as possible and hint of anger. Why do I drink!? She raised her voice, "If you must know it's because I found out my entire life was a lie. I found out my chance at living with real parents outside of a shadey organization was ripped from me. If you must know, it's because the ones responsible are still at large. It's because no matter how far I have gone down the line of clues and evidence I have amassed, I am no closer to finding who really is responsible. If you must know, I drink because instead of spending my time buttering up crime bosses to get information, I have to spend my time with a brother who betrayed me, and a psychopath who tricked me. AND NOW! She raised her voice even louder, "THADEUS! Thadeus shows his face! It's like everyone who ever wronged me in any way has conspired to just show up all at once in my life again." She stood up, her anger welling to almost tears. But she choked them back and calmed herself. She learned not to cry back when she joined the yakuza, and she wasn't about to break that habit now.

She walked over back to the alcohol counter and poured herself a glass of straight whiskey on the rocks. She walked back to her chair and plopped back down in it.

"Just- just stop psychoanalyzing me. Okay? If you're worried about me growing dependent and ruining my liver, don't. Once every month I begin a process where all of my body is renewed and I shed my skin. It resets my alcohol dependency and heals any liver damage as well. So- just stop." She explained, downing half of her glass in one gulp.

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo seemed hesitant to respond at first, he ate another one of his snacks and then finally spoke. "Dr. Nemo "X's" Smiley, P-H-D of Read a Lot of Books About It university." He joked.

There was more Nemo could have said about the subject. However seeing that his words only seemed to result in Raiya drinking more, he figured later would be a better time. Nemo continued to clean his weapon as he spoke. "Got any hobbies? Y'know, what do you like to do? All work no play makes Raiya a dull girl, hmm?" Nemo inquired.

"What are the things you like?" He added, holding up his still mostly disassembled revolver. "I can make just about anything, made these myself. It's the least I can do to repay you for your service."

"Speaking of which, you know what I've always found does wonders for stress?" Nemo looked from side to side, almost as if he was checking to see if the coast was clear before telling a secret. "Massage." He suggested, nodding his head seriously.

[Mal2103]

"Don't worry. You'll be fine now." Alya said reassuringly as she raised her right palm and cast a rejuvenation spell. The still unnamed girl was bathed in a light blue magical light coming from Alya's palm. The magic applied a soothing and invigorating effect which should restore stamina and heal any minor injuries. "Feeling better?" Alya asked as the spell ended.

Alya performed a quick manalysis to see if there are any sort of magical related curses or injuries. Alya was a bit surprised at the result.
'She has very little mana right now, and her aura is... Black. Interesting.'

[Accurian]

The spell that she casted on her felt quite reliving, her emotional pains slowly faded away. Her memories were still really fuzzy, but Alya’s magic reminded her of one thing. Her own name. “Z-Zuri..” she mumbled under her breath. “My name is Zuri!” she exclaimed. “What’s yours?” she asks the girl with a curious tone after she healed her emotional and physical wounds.

[ShiningSector]

After the debriefing Travis has laid out as asked, Felix surprisingly seemed more intrigued about their encounter with the golem and mused about the Paragon's observed functionality with fueling other spells aside from its natural abilities rather than the scuffle with Thadeus and his team. Travis couldn't help but wonder if Felix had any sort of hunch of Thadeus' eventual involvement with their operation or it was quite simply he had already figured the motive upon engaging Thadues and was focusing on other matters. Whichever the case may have been, it was then Felix waved Travis over to follow him and Travis did comply.

Felix and Travis came to a basement that Travis had recalled Artos taking temporary residence in before they departed for the Paragon of Espial. Stepping by what appeared to be a generator powered by mana crystals to which Travis briefly pondered how efficient the energy output the crystals could generate, Felix reached and and pulled on a mana torch which in turn resonated a series of mechanical clicking sounds. The undecorated wall adjacent to the false torch had then begun to shift and pull inward with a bright light casting out of the new entrance and a new flight of stairs. It was evident now to Travis that this was a secret room Felix was keeping hidden; but for what purpose?

Down the stars they went with Felix at the front and into very elaborate and complex laboratory, complete with a wide array of devices and tools necessary to test and create new magics. Or to study a newly obtained Paragon which Felix soon verified that the mana crystals constructed into the walls and other safeguards would prevent the Paragon's massive mana wave emissions from leave the residence. Travis quickly became eager to bring his own research equipment down to this new and productive environment to begin studying but remained firm for the moment in order to reply to Felix's query for his opinion of the installation.

"It brilliantly constructed." complemented Travis, "Far more efficient that what I had going in Mexico. I definitely look forward now in expanding my projects but I suppose the better question is; when do we start studying ol' Espial there?"

[Prodigal Son]

Felix took joy in Travis' compliments.

"Well, thank you for the compliments, Travis. I did work hard on this particular aspect of the headquarters. So, I am glad to see it is appreciated," Felix expressed gratitude. "And as for studying ol' Espy here," Felix replied, "I was thinking about conducting a few tests right here and now."

Felix placed the container orb in another golden colored stand, that looked like four gold claws clutching at the container. He then tapped the top of the container, which immediately hinged open. Felix reached in and grasped the paragon. And held it out in front of him.

"The first thing I wish to do, is to see if the paragon functions like a mana crystal does. When we use loaded mana crystals, it is possible to cast spells using the mana crystal as the medium of the spell. It is much like forming mana from our own wells into our hands before saying the incantation and releasing the mana into a physical form. But with a mana crystal, instead of pulling mana from our own wells, we already have mana at our finger tips, we only need to manipulate it and say our incantation or use runes as our incantations." Felix explained. "So what I am going to do is a very simple test to see if I can cast a spell via the Paragon. I am first going to attempt to manipulate a bit of mana from the paragon, then attempt to create a spell with the mana. It'll be a simple light spell. If you can use manalysis adequately, try and observe the paragon and my aura manipulating the mana from it, and take any mental notes of any abnormalities you may see."

Felix grasped the paragon in both hands, "Okay here I go." Felix said. He then concentrated his manalysis into feeling and manipulating the mana. Once again he was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the mana well. He began to feel inside the paragon to draw forth from the paragon's well, any observing party would see tendrils of his white aura flowing from his hands and reaching into the paragon. As his aura tendrils penetrated the rock, the paragon's purple aura latched onto Felix's white aura, and pulled it a bit. Felix immediately felt as though his own mana well would fall into the paragon. This frightened Felix, and in an instant, he threw the paragon to the ground, it bouncing a few feet before skidding to a halt on the white laboratory floor.

Felix turned to Travis, "Sorry, I was taken a bit aback by what just happened there." Felix walked over to the paragon and retrieved it from the floor where it lay.

"It felt as though my mana would all be assimilated into the paragon if I had continued. Which would leave me a manaless husk of dried, mummified flesh." Felix frowned.

"Please tell me, Travis, did you observe anything odd while watching?" Felix asked

---

Raiya sipped on her drink as she thought for a moment. She didn't owe Nemo anything other than her presence. But the liquor had taken its hold, and was inclining her to be a bit more candid than normal.

"What do I like, what do I like... hmm.." She tapped her glass with her fore finger as she held it in her grip. Then she blinked and held up the fore finger if her other hand in a manner of epiphany. "Oh! I like drinking." She replied in a sarcastic manner, giving a halfhearted smirk. "I love the thrill of a good fight, exercising my magical and combat prowess. I love the cold sharp steel edge of my knives, and how they rend flesh from bone. I love the smell of gunsmoke after a freshly fired round. I love the kickback from firing multiple rounds at once, the way it makes my hands feel numb. I love seeing my enemies driven before me. I love righteous vengeance. I love speaking in Japanese. And, I suppose I have a bit of a soft spot for cooking."

After she finished talking, Nemo suggested a massage, to which Raiya replied, "You touch me, and I will charge my skin with 200 milliamps of electricity, causing your heart to cease beating, and you'll fall down in a lifeless pile of smoking flesh." Raiya replied with narrowed eyes.

[ShiningSector]

Gleeful anticipation filled Travis as Felix agreed to begin conducting tests on the Paragon. He watched as Felix sat the container containing the ancient mana crystal within it on to a claw-like stand before opening and reaching in to take the Paragon out. he then explained that their first step was to see if it behaved like a regular mana crystal as it appeared and could act as a medium to help cast a spell. The logic of the test made sense as it allowed them how the Paragon could be used outside of its innate capabilities. While Travis was familiar with the concept of using mana crystals in such a way, it had previously never occurred to him how it might actually prove helpful, now that there was a now guaranteed chance in going into a fight again. As such, he pulled his notepad out and wrote a small memo to look into the subject more before making a full page ready for the imminent experiment.

Once advised of what Felix will be doing, Travis nodded and summoned his manalysis and prepared to record their findings. Felix then clutched the Paragon with both hands and began to interface with the Paragon with his own mana in an attempt to create a standard light spell. Without being overwhelmed like everyone else who used the manalysis to examine it, he was careful not to make direct eye contact with the Paragon lest he be overwhelmed himself and instead focused on what occurred between the auras of Felix and the Paragon Espial.

He watched as Felix's aura begin to tap into the Paragon for it to draw the sufficient mana needed to the spell. Initially, everything was transpiring as if a normal transaction would would make with using a regular mana crystal as a medium. But then the Paragon began to respond with its own aura expanding and then surround Felix as is he was within the maw of a large creature. Even more startling was the Paragon's own purplish aura began to slither around and taking hold of Felix's white glow as seen through Travis' manalysis as if to consume this.

Before Travis could vocally interject to Felix about the ill-occurring matter, the Arch-Mage, seemingly aware of the same thing to a degree, erratically tossed the Paragon crystal to the side. The action was almost enough to make Travis jump. Of course it was not out of the sudden movement but merely the sudden rough handling of the mana crystal though Travis quickly came to the conclusion that the Paragon was quite durable to say the least.

Felix then turned to Travis and apologized, explaining how the Paragon was seemingly trying to absorb all of his inner most mana and he pulled away before he was sapped dry; literally, "Definitely doesn't seem all that friendly if you ask me."

Travis looked over his notes transcribing the incident before filling Felix in about this observation, "Assimilated could be a proper term to explain what you encountered...but from my angle, it looked as if the Paragon's aura was literally trying to swallow you whole. In another explanation, I think it was trying to tap into you the same way you were doing to it."

[Cottonmouth]

"Another time then." Nemo suggested casually in response to Raiya's threat.

He let out a sigh and sunk back into his chair with a slight chuckle. "Well, at least around two of those things weren't completely psycho." He commented. "I was hoping you'd say something like:"

"I like gardening... I like to ride motorcycles, or maybe I like videogames." He said with his best impersonation of Raiya's voice. "Here are my favorite foods, what I want for Christmas." Nemo continued. But I'll take the cooking thing, that's a good start."

"I'm sure that sounds rich coming from a guy like me, but that's the point. Seems we do have a few things in common. You're saying things that somebody like me would say. And look how people view me? Monster, demon, crazy, freak, not very good... not very good at all." Nemo started to finish up all the food he took out. "I had 'social disadvantages' since the beginning, but I acknowledge it takes two to tango, things would not have gotten so out of hand had it not been for my own actions. There's always another path to take, but I chose this one because I felt it was all I had."

"I never got any closer to what I wanted, I simply just began to forget that I ever wanted it. When you choose the path of a murdering psychopath, there are consequences. Doesn't matter if you ever intend to stop one day. Everybody around you will forget you are a person, that you're human, and eventually you will too... And once that day comes, it's too late. There's no going back." Nemo explained as he finished rebuilding his gun, spinning the cylinder with his hand and then placing it on the table afterwards.

"And that, that is the sacrifice one will make to 'further their abilities' as a killer. To toss the things which are no longer needed. Cut away and amputate parts of themselves like a broken limb. Because they're only a hindrance to you now." Needless to say, Nemo's tone had become much less lighthearted at this point.

"How about a demonstration?" He asked as he unsheathed his wavy bladed kris knife from the back of his belt. Nemo placed his arm on the table, moving his items out of the way and looked to Raiya. "Mazel Tov!" He proclaimed before suddenly taking the knife and forcefully stabbing it into his forearm. A small thud was heard when the knife went through his arm and pinned it to the table.

Nemo, however, sat completely blank faced throughout the incident, as if he felt nothing. After a few moments he wiggled the fingers of the skewered arm at Raiya. "See?" He asked with a slight grin.

[Prodigal Son]

Felix nodded in concurrence with what Travis had gathered. Felix placed the paragon back inside the case but left it open.

"Yes, this is what I suspected as soon as I first lay manalysis upon the Paragon."

Felix wheeled over a whiteboard and pulled out a dry erase marker from the tray it rested in under the board.

"I must readily admit to you that I am much more of a scholar than I am a mathematician. Otherwise, instead of drawing a diagram, I'd write it out in an equation." Felix explained as he uncapped the marker, "But, we make due with what the good Lord gives us."

Felix then drew detailed outline of a human body. He then, in the chest, drew two circles, one bigger than the other, with the bigger one below the larger one. He labeled the smaller one IMW and the bigger one TMW.

"I am sure this is all going to be review for you, but I will explain it from the ground up nonetheless. As you can tell, this diagram is a rudimentary picture of a Talent's body and inner mana workings." Felix explained. Then he pointed at the smaller circle with the IMW label. "This is the innate mana well. Every living creature has one of these. It's what binds all life together. It's what keeps our body's functioning. The spark of life, if you will. While everyone's innate mana well is the same size from birth, however, one can train themselves to increase the size of their innate mana wells, which is what Untalents, such as yourself, rely on." Felix explained. He then pointed at the circle with the TMW written in it, "This is the Talent mana well. Unlike the innate mana well, Talent mana wells vary in sizes depending on the person. Genetics does have a lot to do with the size of a Talent Mana well. However, there have been many well documented cases of Talents with abhorrent genetic codes having massive mana wells. So, there is still much to discover in the field of Mana Theory." Felix explained. "Much like the innate mana well, Talents can bolster their Talent Mana well with training, like body building for muscles, using magic often for long periods of time will increase the size of the well." Felix continued, "It once was commonly thought that both Talents and Untalents had only one single mana well. But within the past hundred years, scholars have discovered the existence of the innate mana well inside Talents. As you can imagine, since it is so easy to neglect the innate mana well as a Talent, many Talents do not train their innate mana wells. This is due to the fact that in order to train the innate mana well, one must expend all of their Talent Mana well. However, once one starts using the innate mana well, they must pay very close attention, or it is possible for them to expend all their mana and perish."

Felix drew a shroud around the outline. "This is the aura. This is the released state of one's inner mana." Felix then pointed at the wells again, "The mana wells, being made out of mana matter themselves, do not possess a physical organ. But once exercised. The wells release the mana through the physical system via our circulatory system. Which then comes bubbling through our skin cells, manifesting itself into an aura. This aura is then manipulated into the parts of the body necessary for the specific spell incantation. As the incantation is uttered, the mana takes physical form." Felix capped his marker.

"Obviously you knew all this already, and I am not trying to waste your time, I am going somewhere with this." Felix expressed in a candid tone.

He then took the dry eraser, erased everything, and drew an outline of the side of a hand and a diamond shape in front of it. The diagram looked as though the hand was pushing the diamond. Felix then drew wave like tendrils between the hand and the diamond.

"When charging a mana crystal, all that is happening is that you are manifesting the aura into your hand and manipulating it into a suitable vessel. In most cases it's blue quartz. The structure of the blue quartz makes for a tight vessel with little mana leakage. Of course, no natural material can keep mana perfectly sealed, or else there would have been no way to get the mana inside the material to begin with. But the structure of blue quartz in particular is very ideal for our needs. The crystalline structure of blue quartz shifts once mana has entered it, making it easy to charge, as well as allowing it to retain mana longer than most materials." Felix explained. "When attempting to utilize a charged crystal, there is still a small mana output from the user needed. In order to manipulate mana, you must produce a small controllable aura. Mana is attracted to mana, and of course, once a mage gets a hold of a charged crystal, it is easy to manipulate out the mana of the crystal with their own aura."

He then erased the diamond and drew a small outline of a body in front of the hand. "Now, imagine attempting, instead of a crystal, of charging a person with your mana. It's fairly simple to do. You need only bring forth the aura, and hold it against a person using your aura to manipulate it through that person's body. However, the party receiving the mana must also be willing to receive it, using their own aura to assimilate the mana into their body," Felix elaborated. "But, what if, say, you wished to take mana from someone in the same manner of attempting to draw mana from a crystal?" Felix erased the waves between the drawings and drew arrows pointing towards the hand from the body. "Well, this is dangerous. Because, as you reach your aura inside the person to retrieve their mana, if they feel the infiltration, they can use their aura to latch unto yours, from there a game of tug of war is played until either the physical contact is severed or one person wins."

Felix walked back over to the paragon and focused his attention on it.

"So, with my long winded lesson, I come full circle to my point. And that point is, that this paragon is definitely not like a piece of blue quartz, but rather, it is a living breathing piece of mana. Which means, that it is impossible to pull from it directly to cast spells." Felix finished.

---

Raiya began to panic at the thought of herself having anything personally in common with Nemo. And as she began to think about it, the similarities were mounting. Eventually her panic overtook her, and she yelled, "I AM NOT LIKE YOU! I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!" Her face was red with frustration. In her confusion she dropped her glass which shattered on the ground, spilling ice and brown liquor in a puddle to the side of the table.

Not knowing what to do with herself, she promptly ran out of the room and up to her bed where she hid herself under the covers until she fell asleep.

[ShiningSector]

Travis knew immediately what Felix was going to describe once he drew out his diagram on the white board. Felix began to describe much of the basis with innate mana wells and the use of mana crystals, namely blue quartzs due to their reliability. Eventually he then walked through the the process of mana transfusion and what Travis could identify as reaping or more plainly, stealing. While he already knew much of this, the went ahead and jotted the notes down in correlation to the observation made on their experiment; on the plus side, it never hurt for a simple review and brainstorming new ideas.

"Hmph...So much for trying to use it as a battery," Travis frowned upon hearing Felix declaring that the Paragon could not be used with spell. He too gazed at the Paragon without his manalysis to ponder the facts presented to them.

After a brief moment of thought, he recalled a previous briefing made by Felix.

"Then again...way before we left for the catacombs, you mentioned there was feasible evidence that the earlier Enlisters of the Societas Academia somehow used the Paragon in order to recruit capable students, well before reverse engineering the means to do so today without it. How'd they get Espial to cooperate without sapping them?"

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo watched Raiya abandon the room through the door, his gaze still lingering even after she was gone. "I hope you're right." He spoke to himself after moments had passed.

Nemo turned back and adjusted his position in his seat. He now turned his gaze to the room, the smashed glass and liquor, his arm still firmly pinned to the table with blood oozing out. "What a mess." Nemo commented.

Grasping the handle of the knife in hand, Nemo pulled it out in one swift motion. His mana-threads immediately went to work at patching him up, repairing the impaled flesh and muscle. Within twenty seconds the procedure was nearly finished, as the threads faded the blood which leaked out earlier seemed to suck back up into the cut on his arm before it sealed up for good. Leaving a small scar only in the wooden table where his knife hit. He washed the excess blood off his blade in the sink before wiping it dry with a cloth and placing it back in the sheath.

Nemo turned his attention to the broken drink now. He began to hum "La donna e mobile" to himself as he searched for the cleaning supplies. Instead of just using his magic Nemo seemed intent on doing things manually. After a few minutes Nemo finished picking up the broken glass and wiping the alcohol off the ground. He disposed of the trash and sullied towels. By the time his was finished the floor was spotless.

Sitting back down at his chair once again, Nemo continued what he was originally doing. He reloaded his revolvers and finished his soda, still humming. After placing them back in their holsters Nemo dispelled the case and brought all of his plates to the kitchen and binned the bottle.

Finally done, Nemo settled down on a chair. He didn't bother to turn on the television, simply letting his thoughts entertain him as he waited.

[Mal2103]

"My name is Alya Summers. Nice to meet you Zuri, but how did you end up here?" Alya asked inquisitively. Alya knew that this place had been sealed for a very long time. Alya extended her right hand towards Zuri. "We should make our way out of here. I'm sure some fresh air would make you feel much better." She added in a friendly tone.

[Skepic]

The sun peaked through the low hanging clouds that floated like cotton balls through the air, illuminating the hillside farmland below. A small town, perched within the valley hills of the Austrian Alps, quietly tucked away from the world. It was a place seemingly frozen in time, with only old telephone poles dotting a dirt road to give any indication of the modern world that lay just outside these lands. This place had been mostly left alone by the world, isolated thanks to the fact that no major paved road even came close to the place. Good thing too, as there are some things in this world that are not meant to be seen by it. On of these things now lazily glided over the farms, parallel to the dirt road.

One might be somewhat awestruck by the sight, but to the people of this town, it was no more extraordinary that seeing the cattle grazing in the fields. A young girl, with large wings and a bird like tail glided over the countryside. She carried with her a mail bag, as this certainly unusual girl was merely an underling for the local post office. Much like a paper boy, she delivered the newspapers to the residents, somewhat specializing in reaching the more remote farmers thanks to her... "unique" abilities.

Despite the wonderful day, this girl seemed somewhat sad, bored even. Perhaps it had to do with that fact that she has been flying this route, doing this job, for the past three years. Perhaps it's because she longed to see what the real world was like out there. But, at least to this girl, it felt like she was forever trapped here.

As she approached her destination, a farm hand spotted her and waved. "Ava! Making the morning rounds I see, well my wife is waiting for ya at the house with some milk if yer interested. Fresh from the utter!" The farmer said with a smile.

"Thanks Mr. Müller!" Ava said, returning the wave. In truth though, it only made her sigh heavier. Yes, every day around this time of year, the same thing happened. Fly to the Müllers, get a free glass of milk. Fly to the Wagners, play with the daughter and gossip. Fly here, fly there, deliver this package, deliver this mail. Day. In. Day. Out. That's how exactly her day was going to go. Just thinking about it made her shiver.

"I never would have thought you could get cabin fever in a whole village...." she wondered to herself, only half jokingly. Ava then and there resolved today was going to be a little different. After she did her rounds, instead of just going home or heading into town for the market, she flew off, higher into the mountains. Today was going to be the day she continued her experiments with her new found control ove wind....

[Prodigal Son]

"Well, I have never seen a paragon up until now, all I had to go on were written accounts. And the accounts for this paragon all correlate to powers of reconnaissance, hence the moniker, 'Espial'," Felix explained. "Though, we do know that it can be used as a catalyst for a runic formula. You all observed it being used as the powerhouse for a golem. So, specifically, the paragon cannot be interfaced by a mage. Only indirectly interfaced through runes. Plus, the ability it innately possesses." Felix leaned over as if to observe the Paragon closer, "Though, I haven't the foggiest as to how to activate the ability. There must be some initiation process, possibly some sort of prerequisites that need to be met before one could use it."

Felix grasped the Paragon and looked at it closer. "I think I will try something." Felix suppressed all of his aura, leaving his body completely passive. He then concentrated on the paragon, forcing all his attention and physical senses on the Paragon. After a few moments, Felix broke concentration and sighed.

"Well, that's all I got." Felix relented, "If only Thadeus was on our side. He was always Thadeus was always very lucky when it came to figuring out ancient... relics" As Felix's mind wondered, a power suddenly came over him. A manalysis user could see the Paragon's purple aura shrouding Felix.

Felix's eyes went completely white, even whiter than Nemo's eyes. Suddenly Felix saw Thadeus standing in the courtyard of the Vatican, surrounded by the other Arch-Magi. Medical Magi were kneeling down next to Thadeus as they performed every known magic to resuscitate Dominick, who was still being cradled by a kneeling Dawn. Though Felix could see all of this, he could not hear anything. Felix knew this had to be the power of the Espial Paragon. He then drew forth his own mana to cover his body, which caused the shroud of Espial mana to dissipate and caused the vision to end.

"I just saw Thadeus. And he was talking with the other Arch-Magi while a team of medics were performing a medical diagnostic on the male twin. This had to be the Paragon's work." Felix explained. "So that must be it. In order to use the Paragon, you must quell your own aura. Though, I am not sure exactly what triggered it. It had to either be my mention of Thadeus, or me thinking about him. Or possibly both." Felix placed the Paragon back inside the case.

"More testing is needed, but alas," Felix looked at his mana dial which displayed the time as 23:42. The Vatican went by a 24 hour clock so this was the only clock Felix had ever used. "It is getting late. And I know you had a late night last night. Plus, with all that you have gone through today, you need to get some good rest." Felix closed the case to the Paragon, "We will do more tests tomorrow. But for now, get some sleep. And that's an order." Felix commanded.

[Accurian]

Zuri held onto Alya's hand like a lost child, blushing a bit as she did. "Do you know your way out of this place? It's so dark and hard to breathe in.." Her memories were still hazy and she doubts she'll remember. "I'm not sure how I ended up here, so.. What's the date?"