His Rival

Fire and Ice

Hey guys, Jess here!

This chapter is on the longer side (26.7 pages/ 9,154 words), and with the amount of breaks I had to take while writing it, I strongly recommend that you do the same.

If you have any questions or comments about this chapter, let me know; I'd like to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

*Heavy Angst Warning

There's a second warning, but for the sake of preventing any spoilers, I've put it in the chapter around the time that it begins. So for now, here's a *Trigger Warning

You couldn't help but let out a deep, exasperated huff as the transmission screen on your slate glitched out yet again. It had been at least the 30th time you've checked, and there was still too much interference on Keith's end. So much for getting a replacement black paladin.

No matter how much you hoped, you had to face the facts. Your team wasn't going to get stabilized anytime soon. But you've lived with these anxieties enough to know how to deal with them. You just brushed them to the back of your thoughts, putting all your focus on whatever new task or mission you were presented with.

"Oh, you're here again!" you interjected as you encountered Allura in the control room. It was just and only her, so everyone else was probably busy doing their own things. "Do you have another mission or..."

"Not this time" she answered, clasping her hands over her waist. "After you performed so well yesterday, I've decided it's time that we take your powers to the next level."

"And what would that be exactly?" you replied, that last phrase capturing your attention. Even though you've been honing your abilities for countless weeks, you've only focused on two different maneuvers. It had been ages since you had done something new with them.

"You've gained a good handle on quintessence deflection, so the next step would be quintessence emission."

"Like that one guy mentioned at The Powers Conference?" you recalled, the silver-bearded sage with his all-knowing twinkling eyes popping up in your mind.

"Yes, it'd result in alchemy and healing instead of mere destruction."

"So it would show everyone that I'm more than just a weapon" that realization made warmth start to pool in your chest. If you mastered this skill, it could put an end to all the fear and prejudice towards you and further bury the prospect of becoming an assassin. This was the solution you were looking for.

"Precisely, it may be able to ease your mental state after everything that's happened recently." Right, any satisfaction from this could be a perfect distraction from the situation with Shiro.

"So where are we heading?"

"I've got a glen near Olkcandis reserved for our private session." With that she held up an arm, a holographic image of a forestry section near an azure body of water immerging from the pink module on her armor. "The natural energies of that zone helped you unlock the secrets to those narrowed finger repulsions, so it may work for you a second time."

You weren't the most confident since this was something brand new, but you still stayed optimistic nonetheless, knowing that you'd have to believe in yourself for this to work.

"Okay, but if I am able to emit the quintessence, where's it gonna go?"

"That's another reason I chose Olkarion. Their plant mech is crafted using a branch of magic similar to alchemy, and since their creations are already embedded with a life force, they're natural recipients of quintessence.