The Precipice of Power

8 - Unraveling

Kiro raced to the harvests in a smooth jog, taking in the fresh morning air. On his right, the forest passed by in a blur of lush greens, and on his left, open fields graced him with a sea of red waves. The sky was as clear as could be, and the sun peeked out over the horizon, staining it with brilliant streaks of multicolored light.

The world had never felt as beautiful.

He laughed, feeling the rush of wind against his face as he dashed along the rough dirt trail. Three days. In just three days, if all went right, he would be selling the first batch of the elixir. Wait, no. He shook his head. Not the elixir — the Starlight's Drop. A named concoction, that he had made after months of research.

After a couple tips from Supervisor Meng, it was more potent than ever, and a surge of energy shot through him every time he thought of the possibilities. If this worked, maybe he could really succeed —

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

He narrowly dodged a stumbling Sun, jumping to the side and bowing his head in apology. "Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's alright. Just be more careful, will you? Wait..." The woman squinted at him. "Kiro, right?"

"Ah, yes?" He turned back towards her.

"Uh..." The other Sun hesitated. "If you don't mind, could you tell your sister thanks for dealing with Supervisor Ba?"

He grinned. "Of course. I'll be sure to tell her."

Suddenly, the slightest hint of pressure brushed against his back, and on instinct he threw himself to the ground, gritting his teeth in anticipation of a supervisor's wrath. Yet, it wasn't a supervisor. As if summoned by their conversation, Seira blurred past them at a full sprint.

He coughed, picking himself back up and frantically waving to her back. "Wait, Seira! Where are you going?"

She skidded to a halt, flipping to stop her momentum and landing perfectly back on her feet. "Kiro? What are you doing here?"

Her voice was perfectly cheerful, but as she approached, he could tell something was wrong. In contrast with her normal smile, her face was flushed, and her eyes were puffy and red, as if she had been crying.

"Seira, this is my normal route to the harvests. But you look horrible. Are you okay?"

"Um... Kiro, I..." She scratched her Brave mark, anxiously shifting from foot to foot. "You don't know how much I need to talk to you, but I really have to be somewhere right now. So tonight? Before dusk?"

He opened his mouth, but the other Sun stepped forwards, bowing to them. "Honored Brave, I just wanted to say how grateful I am that —"

"You're welcome!" She waved to them, kicking up a cloud of dust as she accelerated back to a superhuman pace. "I'm sorry, but I really need to go! Kiro, tonight! I promise!"

"Wait!" He tried to pursue, but even his best efforts were no match for her mana-enhanced gait.

But he needed to find out what was hurting her so much.

In the distance, Seira turned into the forest, and he memorized the spot, slowly running after her.

* * *

A few minutes later, he finally found her, sitting on a log in front of a beautiful silver tree.

"S —"

"Are you sure we shouldn't tell anyone?"

He gasped, taking a step back. Was there someone else here?