Luckily, Lucy and Lucius couldn’t use the blessings created and left in the library anymore. So the current situation wouldn’t make any difference for them. And Meru had given Darian a few tips, so he felt confident he could help them build a foundation.
The main thing was to understand how their mutant spiritual root worked. A normal one was only meant to store the power of the ring and connect to the heavenly laws to use the blessing.
Darian ran a few tests his master had taught him.
In the end, he found out that his black and white power wasn’t compatible with them. But...
"Bro, why do I feel something weird and cold coming from her now?"
Lucius asked in a low voice, then shot a wary glance at Niara. That feeling had only appeared now that he’d formed the ring and the physical body. It was such a strong and unnatural sensation that he asked directly. But clearly, he was on the defensive and avoided looking her in the eyes... like she was some kind of monster.
Darian was surprised and turned to Lucy. She confirmed she felt the same, shooting a cold look as sharp as a blade toward Niara.
Darian sighed, pointed at their two Summoners, and asked if the twins felt anything.
In the end, they did feel something — much weaker — but they noticed it clearly. For Darian, that was enough of a confirmation. There was a big difference between Niara and those two.
"What you’re feeling is karma," Darian said with a sigh.
Because of the power from his rings that altered their roots, the twins had gained a bit of his technique. They couldn’t see karma, or see the past, devour it, or anything like that... but now, they could feel it very clearly in people.
As for Niara — even though she hadn’t directly killed innocent people, the karma from the sacrifice of countless lives used to nourish her was still connected to her. That’s why her black karma was stronger than average.
When Darian had first met Niara, he’d been scared because, on Earth, he’d never seen anyone above average in that regard. But nowadays, after seeing so many terrifying people, Niara only seemed slightly above normal. If he met someone else like her now, he wouldn’t care as much.
After saying all that, Darian explained what karma was. The fact that the twins could sense it was a good thing. They’d never be fooled if they ran into someone with really negative karma.
Darian made a point of stressing that almost everyone had karma to some degree. No one was a saint, and they couldn’t judge people for their past actions. Maybe some of them hadn’t even done anything wrong intentionally, but had been stained by karma — just like Niara. The laws were very harsh when it came to karma.
Only the ones who really stood out were the ones doing shady stuff in the present — and those were the ones they needed to be on full alert around.
After Darian explained everything...
"I’m sorry," Lucius turned to Niara and spoke right away. "I was wrong to judge you without knowing you."
Niara didn’t mind and smiled slightly. This boy was very kind and cared about others. Darian had a bit of that in him too, and he’d shown it to her a few times.
But Lucy... she didn’t say a word.
Darian looked at Lucy seriously. They exchanged looks, and silence filled the cave.
Darian couldn’t really scold his sister... he’d judged Niara wrong at first too; only after reading her past and getting to know her did that go away.
Niara nodded inwardly. This little sister was very careful and thoughtful, which also made her pretty unapproachable. To her eyes, both of them were really cute and very similar to Darian; he acted the same way when he got serious.
Seeing his brother’s stubbornness and silent frustration, Lucy finally gave in.
She sighed sharply and looked at the Dragoness. Then she turned to Darian with an annoyed look:
"You’ve only come here once before... you two have only known each other for like a month. Why do you trust her so much? Is it just ’cause she’s pretty?"
Niara stayed quiet. She and Darian had gotten along very well, very fast. Honestly, it didn’t feel like it had only been that short a time.
"You’ll understand in time, after you get to know your own Summoner better." Darian said calmly.
Lucy let out a mocking laugh. She was sure there was more to it.
Darian took a deep breath and spoke carefully:
"Listen up, brat, the bond between Summoners and Spiritual Guardians is way different from normal humans on Earth. Nothing can be hidden between you — you can feel everything the other one feels, even without saying a word. Me and Niara went through... some intense shit together. And it’s in those kinds of extreme moments that you really see what people are like. That’s how we learned to trust each other, ’cause we literally can’t hide our intentions. So you don’t need to be on guard with her."
Lucy listened without reacting. Then she turned to the Dragoness.
"So? He’s still a guy, after all." Lucy said, eyeing Niara and sizing up her curves and her chest.
Darian jumped in and shot back, serious: "Wait, did you even listen to what I just said? Don’t be so damn stubborn!"
Niara let out a soft sigh.
"It’s fine. I did take advantage of his innocence a bit to get closer. Darian likes feeling comfortable around us..."
Darian coughed awkwardly.
Lucy narrowed her eyes, and the two of them locked eyes sharply.
"... making him feel happy and treating him well isn’t a problem, right? I always want him to be happy." Niara added with a faint smile.
The two kept staring at each other for several seconds.
Darian and Lucius were both tense. Lucy seemed really serious about this.
"Okay." Lucy huffed after a while.
"At least you’re honest, I kinda like you. My brother’s a bit clumsy, hesitant, sometimes an idiot, sometimes can’t see the obvious, sometimes a complete... well, never mind. But he deserves everything you can give him and way more."
Darian’s face twisted in indignation.
Niara simply nodded. Lucy had understood her intentions right away. But she always acted with no hidden thoughts or malice — just had to ask directly and they’d get along fine.
Darian sighed but was a little confused.
Was all this really necessary? He and Niara were just partners working together. He was sure Lucy was misunderstanding something. Or... maybe he didn’t fully get the whole situation.
The two girls turned to look at the slug.
Both of them sighed in sync. He really could be an idiot sometimes.
Author’s Note: Power Stones event! Check the rules below.