Land of the Blades

3. Encounter

By Adamant's appointment, Phos was to guide me and teach me everything she knew. She was a bit disappointed at being away from her beloved Sensei, but she was very excited about the idea of having a student of her own. For this reason, we had left behind the building that was their home and gone into the wilderness. Having to force myself to keep up with her was very tiring, but by the time we reached our destination I had accustomed a bit to my own weight and was able to move easier.

—That is it, the place where we found you —she said, pointing to a nearby beach —but most of us came from that cliff over there, so you were either drag there by the waves or crawled your way there.

—I have no memories of doing either —I claimed, sitting in a rock. I tugged the neck of the clothes Red Beryl had given me before we started our little exploration. They were pretty identical to Phos' own attire, and were rather unisex, but they were still too frilly for my taste. Bort, who happened to be passing around, made a sympathy commentary. The shorts were too short too, so I had tied back the old sheet at my waist once Red Beryl wasn't around.

—Are you sure we should be here without having said anything to anyone? —I asked. I had noticed some of the gems carrying swords and going around in "patrols", so there should be some sort of danger around this island. I hadn't seen any wild animal, though.

—It's fine, its fine —Phos said with a carefree attitude—, Bort and Dia are patrolling very close to us, there is nothing to worry about. Also, Sensei said you were pretty strong and resistant, almost as much as him, so you can protect little me if Lunarians were to appear.

—I don't even have a sword, how am I supposed to fight? Punching them? Wait, who are the Lunarians again?

—Ah! Phos and the castaway! —Two voices in unison spoke, and looking over my shoulder I saw two identical gems. I had seen them before, but not at the same time, so it was a bit weird to realize there could be more than one gem of the same type.

—You were Amethyst...s, right?

—Exactly, I am Eighty Four —one of them said.

—And I'm Thirty three —the other added.

—You can call me Shirou.

—It is a pleasure working with you, Shirou-san —they both said entangling their hands and hitting softly each other head with their own, producing a reverb sound. Phos covered her eyes and looked away. After the sound has dissipated, Phos explained to me that gems can crack easily if they hit each other like that.

—That's not their case since they are twins, but it is still very uncomfortable to see. Please refrain to do such improper things in public.

—Sure —both said without any conviction. Then they approached me.

—Shirou-san, show us that thing that you did before! —Eighty four said.

—Yes, show us, please!—Thirty three added.

—The thing that I did?

—Ah, when we found you, Bort hit you with her sword and you turned into a mountain of spikes —Phos said.

—I don't remember doing that.

—Should I poke him with my sword? —Thirty three asked, her hand floating dangerously close to her sword's hilt.

—It's worth a try.

—Please don't, I'll try to do it myself.

I asked them to step a little back in case I actually turned into a pile of spikes, but I had no confidence. All this time I had been fighting just to move my body as it was, there was no way I could change its shape so radical. But I tried anyways, focusing on one finger. What even should I try to turn it into? A flower? That would be too complicated. They said I had turned into spikes, so that was my best option; maybe my body would remind that shape better. I closed my eyes and concentrated, feeling something like electricity moving all over my body. It was somewhat a familiar feeling.

—Trace... on... —I heard myself saying, unsure of why, and when I opened my eyes, I find it had worked, kind off. My finder had indeed turned spike-like, but my whole hand looked like it had started melting.

—Wow, impressive! —The amethyst said while clapping. Phos was also clapping, but her face showed she was visibly disturbed.

I somehow managed to return my hand to his original shape and consistence after a couple of trials.

—Oh! If you manage to make your hand like a blade, you will be able to fight even without a sword! —Phos suddenly said, and that made me remember what we were talking about.

However, before I could say anything, the Amethyst stood up and their expression became serious.

—A sun spot! —they said, pointing to a black cloud forming in the sky.

—Are those... the Lunarians?

The twins nodded. A smile draw on their faces.

—Want to see us fight them?

—...Yes.