It wasn’t exactly the answer I expected, but if Mei had no problem playing with potentially dangerous powers, then I wasn’t going to waste time worrying about it, at least not right now. Besides, I still wasn’t even sure if she’d end up being able to actually make herself explode. “You showed me your abilities again,” Mei muttered, voice low. “Even went so far as to tell me they can hurt you…” I glanced down at her. She was fiddling with a loose petal between her fingers, gaze distant. I waited, letting her finish in her own time. “You’re not very smart, are you?” “I’m a genius,” I replied without hesitation. Not like I’d handed her everything on a silver platter. It was just a couple quick demonstrations. A little taste of how my energy worked. The basic feel of it. How it builds. That’s it. And… “I’m definitely smart,” I added with a nod. “You’re just not at an age where you can recognize brilliance when you see it.” She let out a dry chuckle and shoved my shoulder with a surprising amount of force. “I’m plenty mature enough to know you’re way too trusting. Now I just feel bad.” I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head. “Well, if you really feel bad, there’s a simple solution: show me what you can do. Then we’re even.” “You’re not serious.” “We could even spar a little,” I offered, already rising to my feet, limbs itching for movement. Mei glanced around as if expecting someone to leap out and stop us, but of course, it was just the three of us. No authorities, no instructors. “I—I don’t think we’re allowed to,” she said uncertainly, eyes still darting to invisible overseers. I had already walked a few paces away, rolling my neck in slow circles, stretching out the stiffness. “Says who? The Guardians? Have they ever said anything about that? I’ve already fought another champion. And besides, it’s just a friendly—” “No one’s been dumb enough to ask,” she called after me, her voice more unsure than defiant. It was a fair point. She was the youngest champion in history, or so her ancestor claimed. I doubted she knew all the rules, but the restrictions seemed to target the organizers more than the fighters themselves... You’re pushing it, Wyrem warned from within, his voice a flicker in the back of my mind. Just ask her to show you something. Exchanging is a bad idea. Even the kid knows it. I grumbled something from my throat, not realizing how much I really wanted to move around. How much I’d started getting used to the rhythm of cultivation, sitting mindlessly, followed by an immediate bout for conversion. “Peter…” Mei’s voice came softer this time. She was still glancing around nervously, uncertain. You’re older than her. That gives you authority, Wyrem added, more pointed now. Don’t abuse it. Aaand… He was right. Not just about the moral side of it, but the social dynamic. Mei was clearly starting to just go with what I said. Been around too many crazy people that I forgot. Even Lacy and Macy would occasionally listen to me when I got serious. “I’m only joking. Relax, Mei,” I said with an easy smile, trying to soften the tension. Of course, I kept stretching anyway which was probably not the best way to sell my lie. When I finished, she was still across the garden, watching me bounce on my toes with something between skepticism and exhaustion. “So, anything you want to show me?” I asked, shifting my voice into something gentler. Less a challenge, more a curiosity. She blinked at me from the other side, then let out a long sigh. Her shoulders sagged, the weight finally lifting. For a second, she just stood there, then raised her voice so I could hear her clearly. “I can explain the kind of powers Animora can be used for,” she offered. “Later… I’ll show you everything I can do. Promise.” I rolled my eyes. Of course she would. So would I. We would battle soon. No way that she felt even a little bad about me revealing to her my elemental attributes. “Alright, then show me how to Extract, okay?” She broke into a light jog toward me, leaving behind faint streaks of colorful light that trailed like ribbons. “I really thought you were going to get us in trouble,” she said, half-laughing, half-scolding. I shrugged. “I was going to, but you looked so nervous. I’m not a complete monster.” She gave a quick shake of her head, amusement still tugging at her mouth. “No, but you’re definitely not completely human.” The comment came with a small, dry laugh. “Anyway,” she went on, slipping easily back into lecture mode. “Most people develop no innate abilities. That’s why they rely on augments or devices that tap into skills from our systems.” I hadn’t known that last part, but I let her keep going. “But the abilities Animora unlocks can manifest in different ways. Usually—though not always—they’re connected to whatever it is the person Extracts.” A memory surfaced uninvited: a tiny creature with red-tinged black scales and a sturdy shell the color of dusk-blue. It clung to my girlfriend like a second skin, using a large snake as a mount. “Wait… does that mean Synthia’s going to get flower powers?” “Wha—You… Flower powers?” Mei stared at me like I’d just grown an extra head. The words clearly derailed her train of thought, but I wasn’t kidding. It made sense. Absorb a flower, gain some kind of… floral quality, right? I knew from experience how much influence a flower could hold. Still, her shoulders began to shake, a tiny smirk forming on her lips. One second. Then another. Then she broke completely, laughing so hard she nearly choked. “No!” she shouted through bursts of uncontrollable giggles. “She won’t get flower powers!” There was a strange urge in me then, to just grab her and launch us into the sky. Not far. Just enough to scare her into silence. When was the last time I’d jumped using everything? Not just muscle, but Force? Bet she’d stop laughing then. “N-not unless—” she gasped, wiping her eyes, “she absorbs the entire field, and then several more!” I resisted the urge. Barely, so we stayed on the ground. “You done?” I asked once the giggles started to fade. She took a few deep, calming breaths before finally nodding. “No plant powers from a single flower. And even if you Extracted Animora from thousands of the same one, there’s still no guarantee.” “Well then?” I prodded, curious. “What’s an example of powers you can get?” “For things like that?” She tapped a thoughtful finger to her chin. “Records show that the powers reflect the nature of the thing being taken. Like, a glowing plant might give you the ability to produce light.” “Human light bulb,” I muttered. “Sounds... efficient.” “Or,” she said with a smirk, “you could just use an actual light bulb.” I grinned, unoffended. “Fair.” “But say you extract from something medicinal like a healing herb, there’s a chance the ability you develop has some restorative aspect. Healing, regeneration… stuff like that.” That information was interesting. Much of what Elric and Lyra could do was still a total mystery in relation to their healing abilities, but it was still possible using Natural Force. And, not that I’ve tried, but the fact that Thea or Griffith haven’t suddenly developed the power to grind my bones back into place, I doubted it was possible to imitate them. Even Elric couldn’t mimic Lyra’s unique abilities. No one could. Maybe there was something else at play. A different energy, dormant but present, enhancing what they already had. Could this be it? “Animora exists in all living things, right?” I asked, needing confirmation. Mei nodded. “Some non-living things too. Like rocks. Rare, but it happens.” There was reason to be excited, but I kept it in check. This wasn’t a breakthrough yet. Nothing was confirmed, and ultimately, unlike the fragile hope of helping Lyra, this could only serve as a stepping stone. At best, it might help illuminate the nature of whatever element, or unknown resource, enabled healing magic in the first place. “Alright. Come on, Mei,” I teased lightly, giving her a sideways grin. “You could give me just a little taste of what you can do, couldn’t you? Unless… you can’t manifest Animora without your bracelet.” “I can,” she growled, quiet but fierce. “Well?” I prompted again, playful but persistent. “I said no earlier,” she snapped back, arms folding stubbornly across her chest. Yeah, Mei was nothing if not determined. I lifted my hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. I get it. I’ll stop asking.” A pause, then a new angle. “How about with animals, then?” The resistance didn’t vanish immediately, but I saw her guard begin to soften. She shifted her gaze away from me, looking instead toward Synthia. “Some people have been recorded adopting animal traits,” she admitted. “But it’s rare. Very rare.” I nudged her arm gently, letting the question drop for now. Study and patience would yield more than prying, anyway. “Can Master Mei please grace me with her instruction?” I said with exaggerated formality. She hummed, pretending to weigh the request. “Mmmm… alright. But you have to sit too. We’ve got less than an hour, and if I get a call—expect an interruption.” “Deal.” I dropped down into a sitting position beside her without complaint. She held out a freshly plucked glow-flower, its light a gentle pulse of amber-gold in the shade. Luna muttered something sarcastic in my mind about us nearing botanical genocide. “Same as before,” Mei said, her tone calm and focused. I took the flower, gripping the stem loosely between my fingers. This time, I noticed something I’d missed while watching her with Synthia. A subtle connection. A rhythm not visible to the eye, but somehow felt. The pulse generated through her help I'm sure. The Animora. Still, just before the mantra began, I glanced at her once more. “You can inject your power into other things?” I asked, curious. Mei jangled her wrist, letting her bracer catch the light. “Injector is the name I came up with.” I closed my eyes. The same words echoed through my ears that she had told Synthia. Soft, methodical, and steady. Calming my thoughts into a meditative state wasn’t unfamiliar. What mattered here was distinction. The separation. Feeling the Force that ran through this living plant and identifying the other essence layered beneath it. I activated Precursor Sense. Cool and invigorating against my fingertips, like chilled wind beneath warm skin. In that moment, I understood something Elric and I had gotten wrong. Profoundly wrong. Because this felt different. Was different. Not just circulation, not just technique. The reason Elric’s combat style countered mine so well wasn’t just his clever manipulation of the air—or maybe that was part of it, but not the core of it. His hidden strength had bled into that technique, warped it subtly, and led us to a flawed conclusion. It wasn’t just Force. The feeling beating from the plant. Another from me. From deep within.