The Lightning Mage

29 | The Eye-Fone Passcode

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Lyn slammed the glass mug down. A few drops of beer splashed onto the dark marble tabletop, while some customers next to her jumped from the sudden sound. Ignoring the dirty looks from them, Lyn's head slumped onto her palms.

She was weak.

So what if she had the ability of one of the rarest special elemental magic in the world? So what if she possessed the raw power that people vied for, along with all the coveted training and credentials? None of that mattered. She still did not stand a chance in the duel; she was still too weak.

"If you ever want to beat me, you should learn to rely on skills beyond your magic."

Her jaw clenched. She took another giant gulp of alcohol and slammed the mug down once again.

What the hell did that even mean? If she was weak, she was weak, what else was there to it?

A bunch of jumbled-up thoughts flooded into her brain, flowing and splashing around an unending spiral of darkness. Lyn reached into her pocket. Her mind was going wild again, like so many times in the past few months, and there was only one item that could calm her down: Cydney's eye-fone. Or, at least, that was what the petite woman had called it. It was left behind during that fateful night, and Lyn had kept it a secret from everyone since then.

She pressed the button on the palm-sized metal block. As usual, the surface lit up with the picture of Cydney, knocking the air out of Lyn's lungs.

Her large, round eyes, their color dark like the night, but sheen bright as the sun; her soft, rosy lips, smiling so widely, pushing against her cheeks so much that they were going to burst; her black, silky hair, dancing in the wind, outlining the most perfect face in the world...

A small whimper escaped Lyn's throat, as her hand tightened around the eye-fone. This used to be Cydney's most treasured item, and now, this was Lyn's.

The more Lyn stared at the image, the more her heart was tugged out of her chest. Where did Cinna go? Where was she right now? How was she doing?

Why did you leave me?

Maybe Cydney knew how weak Lyn was. There was no way she could ever protect Cydney in this state. Not from the Pussy Gang, not from fighters like Neil, not from the QA. Maybe that's why Cydney left. Lyn was too weak.

Her fingers began to caress the surface of the metal block. The picture darkened and the words "Enter Passcode" appeared, followed by the numbers zero to nine. Whoever enchanted this item must be powerful; Lyn had spent months trying to figure out this "passcode", or other alternative methods of getting past this riddle, but to no avail.

As she mulled over what combination of numbers she should try next, a voice startled her, almost causing her to drop the item.

"Lyn? Is that you?"

Lyn quickly slipped the metal block back into her pocket. She spun around and her eyes widened in shock.

"Em?"

The blonde woman was standing behind her, a slight furrow in her brows. Next to her was a tall brunette, who looked very familiar. The two of them were holding hands.

"Oh hey." Lyn forced out a grin. "Good to see you. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it is," Emily said. She glanced at her girlfriend and squeezed her shoulder. "Why don't you grab a seat first, babe? I'll join you soon."

The woman gave the two of them a reassuring smile before leaving them alone. As she trotted away, her curly, brown hair bounced on her bare back.

Lyn let out a tiny whistle. "Damn, Em, she's gorgeous. I feel like I've seen her before though. Is she from Dawn Avengers?"