Dimensional Descent

Aina sat in silent meditation, her aura in perfect balance. She took deep breaths, controlling her inhale and exhale in cycles that lasted sometimes up to several minutes.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes just as there was a light knock to her and Leonel's room.

"Yes, you can enter."

Savahn came in with a worried expression on her face, one that actually caused Aina to laugh slightly.

"What is it?"

Savahn was speechless. "Why are you laughing, this is serious."

"I don't know, this is just the first time in a while I've seen anything but a smile on your face, I found it interesting."

Savahn blushed, seemingly understanding what Aina was getting at. But then she remembered that she wasn't entirely without ammo in this conversation.

"You're one to talk, I can still smell it in the air."

Aina suddenly panicked. "Smell? What smell?!"

Aina's head snapped around before she froze. This time, it was her turn to blush. There was no smell, clearly Savahn was just making fun of her and had won this round.

was very used to Aina's shyness and she used to have all sorts of fun making fun of her. After the Metamorphosis, she had thought that maybe all their previous interactions had all been an act, but by now, she knew that it wasn't that the Aina she had known was fake, it was only that it was just one dimension of who she was. That Aina was

eyes and coughed slightly, trying to clear her

something important? Look at you

as innocent

that Aina was too flustered to respond, Savahn graciously took her victory and remembered

attacked and according to the news... Hutch has

the man personally. Even so,

life, and there was definitely no grandparent who wanted their grandchild's life. However, Hutch had been unlucky in two ways,

being there, Leonel knew that Hutch would choose to die rather than make such a voice. It didn't matter to him that Leonel

by. Despite his talent, he never really felt the same passion he had in his youth, and maybe that was because he had simply lost too

his choice or not, Aina knew that

should we

and exhaled. "Nothing. Now isn't the time

gaze flickered. "Even with the capital being

shook her head and smiled bitterly. She couldn't repeat what Leonel had said before he left. Her thoughts flashed

bit... is what he had said. That man was really too

explain. If he could stop the unnecessary deaths, he would, but he wasn't some

tying down the four Great Families. It didn't make sense if

everything, he would have. As such, there was a certain delicate

turned to leave but hesitated for a