The power washed over James, and using his eyes, he saw its nature. It wasn't a dangerous power. He could tell from both looking at it and how it interacted with him. It simply washed over him, sticking like glue to his body, creating a brown outline. Trying to manipulate it with his own aura, he found it acting as a form of barrier trapping his power inside of him. It didn't attack; it only suppressed him. Seeing what it protected, James understood why it had such a nature. Not only did it follow doctrine, but it also protected the treasures littering the room.
Throughout the Archive, numerous Artefacts sat neatly, each in either a glass container or a special seal. Those that had special sealing, he didn't even dare get close to knowing that one wrong move, and he could accidentally release whatever was being contained inside. He wanted to move foward but the brown power around him troubled him.
If he wanted to leave with the Key he needed to remove it. He was sure that it was put in place as both a signal to whoever cast the power that there was an intruder, as well as a way to easily spot them. To a normal person, they wouldn't be able to see the mark it left on a person, but for James, he sees the truth behind abilities. Looking at it, he thought. He knew he didn't have much time; the moment the door opened would send the alarm, but he still needed to leave.
'Maybe if I copy it.' James stared at the brown fog that filled the room, that stuck to him. 'Detection, marking, calm, non-invasive.' Deciphering both what it did and how it felt to him, James closed his eyes, focusing on the thin layer that outlined his body. Looking at his own blank white aura, he tried to change it. His brow creased as he tried to do it, but after a few seconds, he let out a sigh and rubbed his head.
'I need to see the caster to truly do it.' Once again, he found a limitation of his own power. Sure, he understood, but a power outside of a person's body worked entirely differently from when it was inside their body. Looking at the brown outline, another idea came to mind. 'What if I let it in. Try and change it that way.'
It was a gamble, but one he had to take. He didn't truly understand the path his ability was taking, but if he were to describe it, it was like a blank sheet of paper being filled in when he needed it. Instead of drawing from scratch, why didn't he directly steal a power that was already on him?
It was a gamble in the truest sense. If he was wrong, then the worst-case scenario meant he had put the marker inside his body rather than letting it hover. But James was willing. He didn't believe that this ability was stronger than his own. It may take a while, but he's sure he could erase the mark and return his ability to its original form.
Closing his eyes again, James spread his aura around his body, making it as thin as possible. Mobalising it towards the brown layer around him, he let it attach itself and once again tried to mimic it. Unlike before, it was much easier, the brown aura around him sinking into his own white one. As more attached itself, it became easier, the power slowly blending until he was dyed in its colour.
James opened his eyes and realised he had been wasting too much time. The brown fog didn't approach him once more, believing itself to be a part of him. Although he had no clue how to use the power or what it actually did, it was enough. Walking through, he glanced at a few of the Aretfacts, heading deeper into the Archive. Using his eyes, he made sure to see everything and came to a sudden stop, seeing a familiar colour in the distance.
The Ancient Green he saw in the book lingered in the distance. Yet there was a slight difference. Flickers of a purple aura sparked out; each time it did, the space around warped, before being instantly repaired. The purple was unlike anything he had ever seen. It gave a noble, proud feeling, as if it were boasting that it held the world together alone.
James slowly made his way closer and carefully lifted the glass container it was in. Putting it down on the floor, he stared at the key. As Xavier said, it was strange. It was sleek in design, looking like a knife from the future, but its texture and colour were old, as if he were holding a rusted pipe. At the top, beneath the sharp point, a circular disk sat, inside the most spectacular amethyst.
James looked past the key and at the stone, focusing his eyes on it. Inside, he saw the purple aura. Although only a tiny amount, the power it held was immense, feeling like it could destroy the entire room if unleashed.
Getting lost in the key, the sound of footsteps didn't enter James mind until they were by the door. Jumping up and looking towards the figure, he saw a towering knight looking at him coldly, reaching for his sword. Before he pulled it, he stopped and looked around the room, clicking his tongue.
James gulped at the sight of the man. Looking past the armour out of place in the era they were in, he saw his aura. A blinding light that made someone blind if they stared too long. James took a deep breath and looked deeper. The deeper he went, the clearer it was from the beginning. Finally, he saw it. A Pentagram with an eye, the symbol the Children used. At James gaze, the closed eye opened and looked back at him with a pitiful gaze, closing once more.
James tensed up. If he were to describe the power, it was a faith weaponised in a person. And being where they were and how dense the power was inside the knight, James couldn't help but be terrified. 'It must be the faith of millions, no, maybe billions centred on him. On the thing inside of him.' He didn't know the Children's scripture, but guessed that the man before him was mimicking the role of someone in it.
The final piece clicked in James mind about what the strength behind the children was. They were eerily similar to New Horizon. The skull belonged to the first enlightened of the Children, a figure of great reverence and near worship. It housed the faith of billions. Now, the man before him was the same, bearing a part of that belief himself. It wasn't like the skull's light, however, that was warmth, parental in a sense. This one was cold, even sad.
'They're doing the same thing. Collective belief.' If the situation he found himself in wasn't so tense, he might have laughed at the irony of it. 'Such a power must have limits; otherwise, it's too strong.' The knight stepped forward, lifting his hand into a prayer. The light inside him stirred as he opened his mouth.
"The Almighty above." He spoke with a calm, but cold voice, "He looked upon his creation." James wanted to move, but found himself trapped. It was a slow prayer, one that left thousands of openings to counter, yet he couldn't bring himself to exploit it, being weighted down by an invisible pressure that told him he deserved to be punished. "Upon himself. And he spoke,"
"No." A third voice said behind the knight, surprising him. From behind, a man with eyes like rubies appeared; next to him, a woman with yellow eyes and white hair. "Freya." The woman pulled out a stopwatch, clicked it, and waited.
"None shall move." The knight carried on ignoring the new arrivals, ready to include them in his power. "None shall..."
"Start the timer." Freya clicked the watch as the man lifted his hand. James saw a power spread out from the man's hand, spreading across him, spreading far beyond the confines of the building. His ruby eyes glowed, blood falling from them, his ears and nose freezing in midair when they fell from his body. Slowly, he stepped forward, each one stiff and painful. Despite that, the world was silent, bar the stopwatch that ticked away, counting a single minute.
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Xavier sat staring at the Cardinal. "We can't agree to term four, twelve, eighteen and..." The Cardinals' words came to an abrupt stop as he froze in mid-sentence. The man pouring a fresh glass of water froze, along with water hovering in mid-air. Fredrick's finger that bounced up and down in annoyance paused.
Xavier looked around, lifting his hand up, seeing if he could still move, although feeling like he was trying to swim through syrup. Taking a sharp breath and nervously chuckling, he couldn't believe what happened and tried to use his ability. Unlike before, he saw absolutely nothing, not even the darkness that he saw when he was blocked.
It was a situation he only ever found himself in once in his life. "Who stopped it?" All he could do was ask himself as he thought back to when he tried to see James ' future. "What have you done Dear Detective." Smiling to himself, he leaned back and patiently waited, knowing that anyone who stopped time couldn't do so for too long. Why he was immune, he could only assume it was because he was also controlling part of the time.