[Floor Twelve]

  Three Anima Principles:

  Source: Anima flows from the soul, a finite but a self-replenishing well. Extreme usage leads to Anima Depletion, causing internal ruptures, numbness, or even lose one’s self.

  Affinity: Individuals often have the affinity for Internal or External Anima, but masters can learn both. Affinity can be shaped by personality, culture, and trauma.

  Resonance: The material and history of an object can affect Anima efficiency. A cherished heirloom holds better than a random stick. Living things are more responsive than non-living things.

  ***

  Lodio sat criss-crossed on the floor, his eyes closed.

  “What’ya see?” Poppy asked, hovering behind him.

  In the voided space, a pink flame crackled.

  “A flame…”

  “Good, make that flame smaller and smaller, but don’t-ya let it extinguish!” Poppy warned.

  Slowly, the flame dimmed down into a small ember.

  “You should feel it trying to expand, but don’t-ya let it!”

  His heart felt heavy as if boulders weighed it down.

  “Release!”

  Suddenly, his Anima engulfed his body; it cackled and whirled.

  “Good-ya! We’re going to do this a lot of times!” Poppy paused. “When not in combat, you can use Flaring to replenish your Anima. Obviously, you won’t sit down in battle to do this, but this is the formal way to do it… there’s times where you subconsciously flared your Anima, right?”

  Lodio’s mind flashed back to the time when he met that person.

  “Y-yes…”

  “Then you should master Flaring in no time! There’s nothing much to it really!” Poppy rested on Lodio’s head, humming.

  After an hour, Poppy flew up.

  “See? It was easy! But now, you need Coating.” They paused for a second. “Tell me, how do you coat your sword?”

  Opening his eyes, Lodio looked up. “I unsheathe it and the Anima naturally engulfs it,” he explained.

  Poppy’s eyes glimmered. “So that’s your cherished item! It practically has a soul now… but first, stand up.”

  Lodio nodded and stood.

  “Try to guide your Anima to one of your hands!”

  Staring at his palms, his eyes sharpened, but nothing happened. The aura only engulfed his body. A small sigh escaped from his lips.

  Guide? Guide? Guide?

  Lodio furrowed his eyebrows.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Guide? Guide? Guide… guide? Like a current?

  Closing his eyes, he focused on his body. In his mind, a stream materialized: water splashed against flat stones and a leaf. That leaf followed the current. Then it stopped, stuck against a flat stone.

  Opening his eyes, he stared at his palm, an aura ball engulfing it. But as quickly as it came, as quickly it left.

  “Nice progress-ya! Buttttt, I saw that you needed to focus, so when you opened your eyes… you lost that focus, Doey.With your big doe eyes, you need to focus your Anima to your hand. Not closing them.”

  With a sigh, his gaze burned a hole through his palm.

  Like a stream…

  Lodio’s eyes sharpened, glinting under the fictional sun. And slowly, more Anima coiled around his palm. Then it fizzled out.

  In the first hour, Lodio managed to withhold Anima for ten minutes in one hand. In the second, thirty minutes. In the third, it would exceed more than an hour. By the time that was done, Poppy explained that he should split the Anima so it wraps around his two hands.

  At first, more Anima wrapped around one hand than the other. Then, the second hour, he finally managed to balance it on both sides. But not for long. More hours blurred by, leaving Lodio on the ground.

  Ragged breaths.

  [Hours (10/72)]

  Poppy was sitting on his stomach, humming. “Maybe we should stop practicing Coating-ya. Not exactly stop, but at least you can manage to hold it for a good thirty minutes,” Poppy said as they held up one finger.”

  “W-why did you help me?” Lodio asked between breaths.

  “Hmm…” Poppy tapped their finger on their chin. Then a small smirk. “‘Cause you’re beautiful.”

  Blinking a few times, he lifted his head. “W-what?”

  They chuckled. “Your Anima is pink! We fairies love pink! And! There’s something about your Anima… it’s like raw.”

  His breath hitched.

  Raw? That’s what they said!

  “By the way, I forgot to ask-ya, hehe, but when you use your Anima… what strains your body the most?” Poppy suddenly asked, their eyes widening.

  Lodio didn’t answer at first. Instead, he flared his Anima.

  “I don’t know.”

  Slowly, he started to stand, making Poppy fly. On his feet, he unsheathed his sword and coated his Anima on it. Gradually, white-to-pink dogwood blooms circulated around the blade.

  “I don’t feel anything…”

  Lodio said as he stared at Poppy’s widened eyes.

  “Y-you’re a… okay! There’s a bunch of classes for Anima users. Three per each, so we’re focusing on the External class. What you are is a Shaper,” Poppy paused. “Basically, you can your Anima to anything you want.”

  Anything?

  A second passed.

  The book said “Affinity can be shaped by personality, culture, and trauma.” So are my petals that? How about my vines? Are those too? The blood-to-petals? I can’t remember. Can’t remember. Can’t. Can’t.

  In his mind, a sharp cry echoed.

  How? How? How! I can’t. Don’t let me remember. I can’t—

  “H-hey-ya!” Poppy shook him. “I’ve been calling your name a billion times!”

  A shatter.

  “You’re bleeding!”

  Blood seeped into his linen shirt.

  Did the stitching come off?

  Lifting up his shirt, he stared at the snapped vines, blood oozing out.

  Shaper?

  Again, his hand hovered over and stitched his wound.

  Poppy stared. They opened their mouth and closed it like a fish out of water before finally saying, “Two abilities? That’s…” They did not dare to finish their sentence. “Let’s just rest-ya.” With that, Poppy flew toward a shade-providing tree.

  Lodio didn’t follow yet. He stared at the cracked limestone floor, tracing the lines and ridges. Then, his feet carried him toward Poppy.

  Off the platform and under the tree, he sat, slumping against the tree bark. His eyes shut close. Drifting off to sleep, drifting under the ever-beating sun, drifting under the soft rustles of the leaves.

  [Hours (20/72)]

  Open awakening, Lodio stood, stretched, and his shoulders shagged.

  Poppy was already in the arena. Hovered over it.

  “Morning-ya!” They waved.

  “Morning,” he muttered as he made his way to the arena.

  “Ready-ya? Because we’re going to continue Coating.” They flashed a grin, eyes crinkling.

  Lodio nodded.

  “Good-ya! First, wiggle your eyes or try to feel where it is… then try to move your Anima toward it,” they instructed.

  In a practiced motion, Lodio’s anima flared. He moved his eyes left, right, left, and right. And just like his palms, the Anima shifted toward his eyes. There it was. Locked on Poppy, he saw how a green aura moved inside their body, following each pulse point. But the aura gathered more in their heart, a pulsing fiery ball.

  “See? You did it!” Poppy clasped their hands. “Now, look-ya!”

  Their Anima coursed inside their body before gathering at their eyes. It steamed. Grinning, Poppy pointed at their own eyes. “I’m an Internal user. And this? This is how I see Anima-ya!”

  Is that how the archer saw me?

  “Now… it’s time to teach-ya the last principle! It’s called Masking.”