Feyd closed the door to Amethyst's office, somewhat confused.
'She's not here... I wonder where she went.'
He had knocked on the door and called her name multiple times but received no response. In the end he decided to open the door to check if there was anybody inside and turns out Amethyst wasn't inside.
Feyd slowly walked away as he tried to guess where Amethyst could be.
'She shouldn't be on a mission, nor outside around this time of the day... Unless something important happened? But I saw her only a few minutes ago on my way to meet Ray...'
Feyd subconsciously walked to where he previously saw Amethyst and instinctively turned to where she had been headed.
'That direction is towards the washrooms? She went for that? No... Further along the corridor is the training rooms!'
A eureka moment sparked within Feyd as he realized where Amethyst probably was. Although he knew she trained alot, she usually used her own personal room for training.
'If she isn't there then I'm not sure she could be.'
Feyd lightly jogged towards the training rooms, greeting a few co-workers along the way.
The training area was divided into two parts– the singular rooms and a large open field– which could both be used by anyone. The singular, private rooms were for assessment using high-tech magical equipment and also for some privacy, whereas the open field was where everyday training was held. There were many facilities within the field and beside it.
More importantly however was the fact that whoever was using the private rooms would have to scan their personal badge issued by the military before entering. This would record whoever was using the room and display it on a small screen outside. Not only that, you could send an alert if you needed to talk to the person inside.
Although Feyd felt it to be slightly rude to interrupt someone who was in the middle of training, he could always blame it all on Jace which he wasn't going to feel bad about, considering Jace is an Aberrant.
He passed by a few empty and occupied training rooms before finding one that read 'Amethyst'. He gently pressed the alert button while thinking of what to say.
After a short while the door of the training room parted in a double sliding door motion. Amethyst was in a training suit that hugged her body, with her tied up hair slightly soaked in sweat and skin flushes from physical activity.
Amethyst had clear purple eyes and slightly darker purple hair. Her skin was clear and smooth without a trace of blemish. Feyd had initially assumed that she chose her codename based on her hair and eye colour, but it was probably her Manipulator powers that influenced both aforementioned things.
It seems that powers, especially Manipulations, would influence the user's appearance in some way, shape or form. Her hair and eye colour was probably a result of that.
She looked somewhat surprised to see Feyd outside of the training room.
"Mhmm, what's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing too much, just wanted to ask some questions. I hope it's not much of a problem."
Amethyst seemed quite indifferent to being disturbed in the middle of her training as she nodded.
"Alright, come in. It'll be weird to talk here."
Feyd made a sound to convey her agreement and followed her in. The doors shut behind them soon after.
"So what do you want to ask?"
"First of all I would like to ask some questions regarding the next few missions planned for me and my friend."
"Hmm alright. I was planning on informing you this tonight anyways. You and Feyd will assist me with an investigation the day after before going on a bandit clearing mission with Jace three days from now."
Feyd nodded and paused for a moment before asking another question:
"Alright. And what exactly are the contents of the final assessment?"
Amethyst seemed to pause for a moment, considering a few things before shaking her head slowly.
"You'll know when the time comes. Though I'm sure you and your friend will do fine enough."
Feyd was slightly disappointed but continued on.
"Okay, and final question. How do I improve my Manipulation?"
Amethyst seemed to raise an eyebrow at the question as she fired back a question of her own in response.
"How'd you know I'm a Manipulator? I'm sure I didn't use my powers with you and your friend around."
"Oh well I first went and asked this question to Jace, but then he told me You're a Manipulator and to ask you instead."
Amethyst looked somewhat peeved but sighed as she slowly answered.
"Alright, it's fine. If you know you know, just don't tell others about it."
Feyd gave a thumbs up to her request.
"Anyways if you want to get better it's simple. Just use it alot. I would recommend trying things you haven't done before, like making new shapes, forming it in places you don't usually produce flames from, making a single plume of fire last as long as possible or try and micromanage every movement of a small flame."
Feyd seemed to get a few new ideas as his eyes shone slightly at Amethyst's words.
"Also, try using them in battle or life and death situations. They improve your skills the fastest. I'm saying this from first hand experience."
Feyd nodded in agreement. He had also felt growth most in the middle or aftermath of an intense fight.
"Finally try and dedicate your time to a few moves only. And–"
Feyd tilted his head slightly as her words as he almost immediately blurted out, "why?".
Amethyst didn't mind him interrupting her as she calmly answered his question.
"Since after you use a certain way of channeling your powers many times and get proficient in it, you can develop it into a Skill."
"A Skill?"
"Yes, a Skill. Skills are basically a form of attack or Manipulation you have taken a liking to or feel an affinity with and use a lot. Your body and mind have adapted and learned to use it more effectively than other forms of using your powers and thus making it stronger."
"For example let's say you frequently make balls of fire. Eventually that will become a Skill and your fire balls will become more powerful than before, and more powerful than your other attacks."
"Ohh, I see!"
Feyd excitedly nodded his head as he realized why a few forms of using his powers felt more comfortable and powerful than others.
"Anways if that's it you can go now."
Feyd thanked her a few times on the way out before waving goodbye to her and making his way towards Ray.
'He is NOT gonna believe why his Shadow Spikes are stronger than shadow blades. It's obviously not because spikes are stronger than blades, it's because he just hasn't used enough shadow blades yet!'
...
Ray laid resting on his bed, pondering about important matters.
'I haven't been pulled into the void recently, nor have I heard his voice. Did something happen?'
He continued to stare blankly at the ceiling for a while before shaking his head and getting up swiftly.
'Doesn't matter! It's not like I can find it anything right now, might as well just shelf the though.'
Ray had thought of some ways to expose Jace, such as stealing the Aberrant detection devices the military had stored deep within the base, or calling Albert and asking him to hide somewhere and watch over.
Or maybe also...
Ray's thoughts trailed away as his eyes noticed his reflection in the mirror, where upon his darkened eyes and black streaked hair reflected into his vision.
Ray's hand slowly moved towards the dark strands of hair and began to pinch and play with them.
A slight gloom surfaced from his eyes, a subtle frown blooming on his face.
Ray sighed slowly as he thought about his current condition:
'The black hair keeps increasing... And my eyes are becoming darker too. I can feel Eribos' influence growing. I'm not sure how to resist it either...'
One of the reasons Ray wanted to enter the military was to find any information about Eribos, Gods and ways to resist them. Ever since he noticed himself changing he knew things weren't looking good.
However just as Ray was about to think more the door opened suddenly as Feyd boisterously began to talk.
"Ray! The reason your spikes are stronger than blades isn't because spikes are better than blades, it's because you don't use blades enough!"
Ray was extremely startled by Feyd. He had been too concentrated on his thoughts to pay attention to his surroundings. He immediately jumped up with a yelp and turned to face Feyd.
"...What are you talking about?"
Feyd immediately began to explain what he had learned from Amethyst, particularly about the concept of Skills.
Ray gazed at Feyd's fully focused expression as he recounted his talk with Amethyst with a warm and now relaxed expression. A smile crept up as the slight gloominess had been dissipated from his heart.
'I had forgotten we argued about why my shadow spikes were stronger than blades. That was months ago! Heh... Can't believe you're still caught up on that... What a fool.'
"...Anyways none of that matters. Most importantly I know when we can have Jace come out of his disguised state. We'll go out on a bandit clearing mission soon. All we gotta do is make him deal with more bandits and get tired, then on the way back take him somewhere secluded and expose him!"
Ray snapped back to reality and nodded seriously. Although somewhat distracted head also been listening to whatever Feyd was saying.
"Alright, sounds like a plan! Why don't we practice some combos and coordination before hand, since your new powers are kinda different."
"Hehe alright! Right now?"
"Right now."