#080. Whirlpool of Desire (6)
The blue dot shone like a midday star. At first, they thought it was Michael's summoned beast, but as it grew larger, they realized their mistake. Veronica's eyes widened comically as she followed Ray's gaze upward, her lips parting in a silent gasp.
It was a Rockdear.
A creature formed entirely of water - eyes, nostrils, every feature translucent enough to see the sky through its body. It tore through the air with overwhelming presence, trailing cerulean light like a comet's wake.
Veronica's mouth worked soundlessly toward Ray, but the boy showed no reaction. His trance-like focus remained locked on the approaching phenomenon.
The azure Rockdear alighted in the clearing with featherlight grace. No thud of impact, no disturbance beyond the constant rippling of its aqueous form that made the very air seem to waver. It landed twenty meters behind Michael, turning its shimmering head to survey the battlefield.
Their eyes met.
Neither boy nor beast looked away. Ray's breath caught at the diamond-shaped gem glowing in its forehead - deep ocean blue, refracting light through liquid flesh to scatter prismatic patterns across the ground.
Thump-thump.
His heart pulsed with unfamiliar rhythm. Not fear or excitement, but... longing. A bittersweet pressure behind his ribs, like fingers pressing against half-remembered memories.
Why did that gem feel so achingly familiar? Why did this encounter feel like the continuation of some ancient conversation?
The surrounding air thickened with sapphire mana particles, swirling like captive starlight. Ray could think only one thing: Beautiful. The kind of beauty that made him want to walk among constellations.
As Ray stood transfixed, the Rockdear shifted attention to the others. It began moving with glacial purpose.
"Aah... Aaah...!" John's arthritic finger trembled toward the creature. When Michael followed the gesture, the breath left his lungs.
No one moved. Not from the crushing mana saturating the air, nor fear of deadly retaliation. This being's mere presence paralyzed them - a walking miracle that made nerves crackle and minds go blank.
The Rockdear halted before John. The old man's outstretched hand shook violently, tears pooling in milky eyes that now blazed with desperate recognition.
Slow as drifting clouds, the creature inclined its head. The gem touched John's fingertips for one electric moment before withdrawing.
Croak!
Fran materialized beside them, tail wagging. The Rockdear spared the smaller creature a glance but continued toward the bomb crater at the field's center. When Fran's mother called with deeper Crooak, her offspring reluctantly retreated.
Azure light erupted as the Rockdear reached the crater's heart. For three heartbeats, the world became cerulean radiance.
When vision returned...
"Impossible," Michael breathed.
The scarred earth now held an oasis of crystalline water. The Rockdear soared upward, becoming a shrinking blue dot that vanished into the firmament.
Croak. Crooak.
Other Rockdears emerged - dehydrated, battle-wounded - dragging themselves toward the newborn spring. The old man watched through tear-blurred eyes, seeing his youth reflected in those lapping waves.
John lay with a faint smile etched in wrinkles. "...My hero," Michael whispered, closing sightless eyes. Around them, rehydrated Rockdears departed through the canyon, leaving wrecked vehicles and bodies behind.
"Will you leave now?" Michael asked when he found Ray packing.
"Soon. Need to organize thoughts." Ray's reply came crisp. He'd confirmed the blue Rockdear's existence and secured the Ignis Cards - objectives achieved. Yet questions swirled: What were these creatures? Was the gem their power source? Could it relate to Rainbow Fragments?
Michael's voice broke through his musing. "...I don't know what to do next. The Boss told me to leave, but..." His hands clenched. "I can't shine on my own."
Ray tilted his head. "Meaning?"
"I can't accomplish great things like he did."
Silence stretched before Ray shrugged. "Dunno. You seem plenty capable to me."
“…Are you talking about me?”
Ray’s head nodded slightly.
It was a statement backed by his own reasoning.
‘You can’t forcibly implant emotions into Michael.’
The emotion Michael currently harbored was confusion. Ray had attempted to amplify it by channeling ambient mana, but the transferred mana still failed to enter the vessel.
He had identified a common trait among those resistant to emotional implantation.
‘A halo of light.’
Philip, Veronica, Michael, and a few others encountered on the streets—all had a fingernail-sized halo floating at the core of their vessels. Each glowed in a distinct color.
‘Now that I think of it, even Niles and others in Sector 50 had these.’
This was a recent realization. As Ray’s efforts to comprehend emotions intensified, so had his mana sensitivity.
He’d deduced the commonality among those bearing these ‘stars’:
‘Unshakable conviction.’
They couldn’t be easily swayed, possessing clearly defined values.
…Veronica especially, who rarely lent an ear to others.
‘She only hears what she wants.’
The dictionary term fitting their disposition was:
Conviction.
The strength to believe one’s own truth.
‘Such people hold overwhelming advantage in achieving goals. Their resolve doesn’t falter.’
Thus, if Michael desired something, he’d likely attain it.
Ray nodded and delivered his belated answer.
“Yes. You.”
“…….”
His tone carried absolute seriousness—no hollow comfort. Michael struggled for a response before murmuring:
“…Thank you. For saying that much. But without my familiars, I…”
Skreee──
A shrill cry pierced the sky.
Three specks approached rapidly, resolving into hawks that landed beside Michael. Their vision-obscuring helmets were gone, likely destroyed mid-combat.
Despite newfound freedom, they remained.
“They chose to stay,” Ray observed.
“…….”
Michael’s expression tightened. He opened his coat, and the familiars vanished into its subspace with a swish.
After a pause, he lifted John’s body.
“Your plans?”
“Bury the Director in sunlight… then return to the Mage Tower. To contemplate my path.” He bowed stiffly. “My apologies for the trouble. And gratitude—for sheltering us both.”
John was placed in the least damaged vehicle. As Michael took the wheel, his parting words drifted through shattered glass:
“If fate allows… we’ll meet again.”
The engine faded into silence.
────
Ray moved first.
He looted mercenaries and guards with methodical efficiency, stuffing a sack with coins and valuables. Veronica stared blankly at the carnage—human and beast corpses tangled in gore. For a sixteen-year-old, shock was natural. Only street-hardened survivors or emotion-limited anomalies like Ray could remain impassive.
“Half-hearted pity gets you killed,” he stated, sensing her turmoil.
“…….”
“Enemies exploit weakness. Like John’s charge earlier—nearly fatal.”
“…….”
“Eliminate threats. No hesitation.”
The sack swelled with loot—trivial compared to John’s assets, but Ray followed ingrained ritual. Survival’s first law: the victor claims all.
“Guilt doesn’t feed you.”
Veronica wordlessly joined the scavenging. When her hands finally moved, it was to chide him:
“Why stop? Keep going.”
────
“That moment during the Rock Deer summoning—” she asked later, eyeing his chest. “—Was it your epiphany?”
“Moment?”
“When mana cycled uncontrollably. You felt it, yes? Reached 2nd Circle?”
“1.5.”
“What?”
“Between 1st and 2nd. I’ll explain back home.”
She mimed exaggerated curiosity, but let it drop. Another question lingered:
“Those Rock Deer… what were they? So beautiful.”
Ray paused mid-motion.
“Yes. Breathtakingly so.”
A voice answered from behind before he could.
