We made our way back to the dorm. My mind was reeling with the new flood of information. I didn't know what to believe. After everything that had happened, how could I be an Asterius?

There had been multiple times when my powers had been unable to help me. Even now, they seemed to have abandoned me when I needed them the most. If I was indeed the wielder of such legendary powers, then how come I had come close to death so many times before? But then, maybe that was the root of it all. I had come close to death, but I had escaped.

And could I be the child in the prophecy? There was no way. I was much weaker than my peers. Uncontrolled power. I didn't have the strength to wield light or fire or whatever the fuck it was.

I sighed and slumped against the elevator door. 

"Hey, Sunshine," Aris said softly after a while. "I hope you know I believe you."

I blinked at him, recovering from my reverie as he continued, "I...about that thing which you said attacked you. I...I did believe you." He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry it happened and I'm glad you're okay." 

I nodded at him, finding myself at a loss for words. It all felt unfamiliar somehow. 

We were silent as the elevator reached the tenth floor, and he turned to go. "I also don't think you should be going to your room tonight. As a precaution." I stared at him as he continued, "Come with us. I think we should try to practice your powers. And ours too. Maybe even try Nia's projection while at it."

I was puzzled again as to why he was so keen to help me. Even more shocking was how I yearned to believe him. Admittedly I was not looking forward to spending another night in the room where I had been almost killed and death threats remained scrawled beside my bed on the wall. My mind was still in a turmoil far too great to fall asleep anyway. I nodded finally.

"Alright. Let's go."

                                                                                        *

After a quarter of an hour later, we were walking towards the seventh floor of the central building. A place which Aris was sure, would be deserted at this time.

 Aahan was still in the library, which I was shocked to learn that remained open the entire night and Nia was tagging along with us silently. Her eyes were glassy, her lips pursed as if she was deep in thought. 

"What's on your mind?" I asked her curiously as she looked at me, blinking rapidly and seemed come to her senses. "I was just thinking..." she shook her head as if trying to get rid of a bothersome fly. "Nothing. Never mind."

I looked at her curiously but didn't press matters further. We were panting with effort as we climbed the staircase. The elevator was shut at this time of the night. We walked into a large hall room, not unlike the one where I had practised with Everhart what felt like ages ago. The hall was dark and I instinctively glanced at Aris, whose face was hidden under the shadows. I wondered if I should reach over and try to comfort him somehow, remembering his fear of the dark.

Nia switched on the lights and bathed the room in a soft glow and he let out a breath. I felt my heart sinking slightly. The strange yearning to comfort him had overpowered me for a second. 

He took a deep breath and walked over to stand at the other end of the hall, his gaze fixed on me. "Let's start." 

I nodded and tried to concentrate, my heart racing as the familiar empty feeling came to me again. I shut my eyes for a long time. The strange magentic force that I had felt earlier however seemed to be muted somehow. Elusive. I sighed and opened my eyes. "I can't feel it."

 Aris' eyebrows shot up his forehead as he looked at me. "What do you mean?" 

"Spending more than half of your life in the mortal world has affected your powers." A voice called, and we turned around as Aahan strolled in, his eyes trained on me. "You need an anchor."

I nodded at him and took the amethyst ring out of my breast-pocket as Aris gasped. "This is what you got that day?"

I nodded at him silently. "It belonged to my mother."

Aahan walked over and fished in his trouser pocket. He took out a compass, a pen, a piece of paper, a few coins, and a thread which he handed to me as I stared at him.

"For optimum powers, your anchor needs to be touching your skin. Providing intimate contact. You can, of course, use it as a ring although-"  he eyed it, "I don't think it will fit you. Make it into a locket, and it should work. You should be able to feel your powers."

I took the thread from him and tied it securely into place with the ring. I put it around my neck and felt its comforting weight. I slipped it inside my t-shirt, feeling the cold metal against my chest. Aris nodded approvingly. "Alright. Let's try again."

He took an offensive stance, his eyes burning into mine. I nodded and took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I started feeling for the power inside me. And this time, I found it easily. I could picture the dazzling streams of light weaving towards me in long threads of plasma-like material, floating in and out of swirling smoke, dreamlike ether and mystical liquid. 

I opened my eyes and gazed in wonder at the steadily increasing bright orb of light swirling in my palm. There were gasps of surprises. I felt an unfamiliar surge of euphoria. An alluring, shapeless, seductive entity radiating ancient powers as it beckoned to me.

Aris beamed. "Way to go, Sunshine!"

I shut my palm in an attempt to extinguish it. I felt a sharp sting on my skin, but it didn't burn, and the orb of light vanished. I grinned as Aahan slapped me on the back. "That was great control, Zeke!"

I tried expanding and reducing the orb again. It went off track a few times, requiring the three of them to stifle it. But overall, it felt like I was able to summon Starlight with much greater ease. I could feel the cold metal against my chest and silently heaved a sigh of relief.

"Okay, maybe we should try offensive now," Aris said after a while, as a thick tendril emerged from his hands and rose upwards.

 "I don't think it's prudent to go that far just yet," Nia remarked, her eyes dark. She bit her lip and shook her head. "His powers are still volatile and might go off track."

 Aahan nodded and glanced at me. "She's right, Aris. Zeke, I think you should take it slow."

The burning excitement in my chest was making it difficult to take his advice seriously. I was intoxicated by the surge of the warmth of the light as it coursed through me. I was getting addicted to the feeling. "We don't have much time," I told him. "I won't go overboard. Just a little further."

Aahan sighed, his jaw set. "Alright. But I don't think you should be going against Aris. You could injure him." 

Aris rounded on him, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" 

Aahan looked at him unflinchingly. "If I go against him, I can injure him because my element is above his on the Polaris Circle. Which wouldn't be an issue usually but during initial stages, it can be crucial. Nia's fire is virtually parallel to his, thus, her powers won't affect him much. Your Earth lies on the left, which means that you won't be harmed by water but can be destroyed by Fire, Starlight, or Thunder, all of which lie opposite your element."

Aris rolled his eyes. "Thunder is not even a first-tier, primary element." He shook his head. "I am pretty sure I can take on Starlight."

Aahan frowned. "You need to deflate that head, Greenwood." 

"If your powers are stronger than mine, you should go against me, Aahan," I said as Aris opened his mouth to retort. His eyes darkened and he shook his head solemnly. I could feel the air around me solidifying and wondered if I had said something wrong as Nia and Aris exchanged dark glances. 

Aahan sighed, "I don't like...using my powers, Zeke."

I wasn't completely shocked at his revelation, having noticed his avoidance even before. I knew there had to be some story behind it, by the looks of their mutual glances. Sometimes, I seemed to forget that the three of them went way back. I bit my tongue. My insensitive remark had perhaps unhinged some memory in his mind. Guilt lashed inside me with a poisonous whip. I muttered awkwardly, "S-sorry."

Aahan squinted his eyes, as if confused and cocked his head to the side. "You don't have to apologize."

Thankfully, Nia stepped in before I could answer. "I think it's best if I go instead, Aris. I think it might be beneficial to Zeke as well." 

She looked at me, her eyes wide with urgency. I glanced between an indignant Aris and a scowling Aahan till I finally nodded. "Yeah. I guess that's the better option." 

She smiled softly and stood in front of me, about ten meters away. "I will try to attack, and you deflect it, okay?"

I nodded, adrenaline rushing through me at the idea of using my powers again. In my seventeen years of life, I had never been able to summon my powers. I was unsure that I even had any. But now, I could feel it. I could explore the massive potential that my powers had. However, I was afraid of unleashing too much in a little time. Afraid that I would ruin everything. 

She lifted her arms as a swirling tornado of flames formed between her hands. Her face was lighting up in the amber, her eyes glittering. She effortlessly brought the storm down and swung it towards me. I readied myself, ready to summon my powers. 

The threatening tornado flew quickly towards me, and I could feel its intense heating reflecting off my skin. It moved faster, moving towards me menacingly as suddenly, my mind disconnected. The tongues of flames flared around its edges like a vicious untamed beast. The entire room turned into a blazing furnace, the air searing with heat. 

Everything disappeared and I saw a vaguely familiar, derelict building, burning. Blazing. Scarlet tongues of fire engulfing it with monstrous ferocity. The heat was intense. My eyes watered, my heart palpitating as I stared, fixated at the building, and I felt a great loss. My heart seemed to burst as unbearable sadness washed through me.

When I came around, I was sitting upright on the cold hard floor, drenched in water that made me shiver slightly. Aahan, Aris, and Nia were all crouching around me. I felt once again like my mind was floating out of my body. The vision had been so fleeting that  I found myself doubting my sanity again. 

Aris gently touched my shoulder. "Hey, Sunshine? How are you feeling?"

I flinched away from him by reflex and shook my head, trying to clear the burning image and spoke, my voice croaky, "What happened?"

Aris and Aahan exchanged glances as Aahan spoke, "You fell, started shaking. Your eyes were wide. Like you saw something." 

I shuddered as the image returned with agonizing intensity. I covered my face. "Sorry. I had to drench you. There was only one way to stop Nia's attack," Aahan spoke softly.

Nia whispered, "I'm sorry, Zeke. I should've been able to retract it." 

I shook my head, regretting it instantly as bolts of pain shot up my skull. I felt dizzy. Disoriented. Confused by what had happened. It had felt like a vision, and yet I knew I was not clairvoyant. The alternate explanation would mean that everything I had worked so hard against was falling down like a house of cards. That maybe my mind wasn't yet ready to move on.

 "It's ...not your fault." I massaged my temple. "That has never happened before."

The lie fell smoothly from my tongue.

Terrfiyingly real nightmares and visions had been an integral part of my childhood and this episode was making me wonder if perhaps the assassin was also something I had merely envisioned. 

My heart sunk at the thought.

"Your body isn't used to wielding powers of such magnitude," Aahan explained gently. "You need to rest, Zeke. Take it slow. Let the power take its time to reach full potential."

I nodded reluctantly as Aris leaned over, trying to help me to rise to my feet. I leaned away from him, extremely aware of his hurt-puppy eyes but I felt too wary to care. I rose to my feet and stood still for a while. Thankfully, the room wasn't spinning. 

We made our way silently back to the dorms. Nia waved us goodbye and walked away towards the east while we went west.

That night, as I lay in my bed (in spite of Aahan's repeated offers to stay in their room instead), I stared up at the ceiling. I needed to be alone. Aris had lurked in the background, seeming to be deep in thought. Somehow, it was making me uncomfortable. I was once again finding his actions extremely annoying. He had no reason to care for me. None of them had. Why then were they? 

I needed to be able to think about something much graver. I was revelling over my abilities but also puzzled by the image. Vision; that was what it had felt like. I sighed and turned over to the side. If it was a vision, then what exactly had I seen? I could still feel the searing loss ripping through my heart with an intensity that made me curl up in a foetal position. The agony had felt tangible.

It seemed, however, that Aahan was right. My new powers did take a lot out of me, and I felt my eyelids drooping soon enough. I closed my eyes and slipped into a mercifully dreamless sleep, the ring caressing my chest so I could feel it with every heartbeat.