Chapter 46: Manifestation.
Arbus led Arora north of the forest, deeper than he had ever taken her before. After about thirty minutes, they pushed past a row of bushes as they arrived at a narrow stream.
Arora's eyes widened as her gaze swept over the area.
Countless tiny orbs of light in varying colors floated calmly above the stream, illuminating the water's surface. It was as if dozens of rainbows had merged together to form a single beautiful river.
The scene left her speechless as she stepped closer, mesmerized.
Arbus smiled brightly as he followed behind her. "It's breathtaking isn't it?" He said wistfully.
"My dad used to bring me here when I was younger, whenever I was feeling down about our situation. It always managed to cheer me up... even now." His voice grew softer. "I come here from time to time whenever I feel sad, or lonely, or anything else."
Arora stretched out her hand as a few of the tiny light orbs landed gently on her palm. She wasn't sure if this was a natural phenomenon for this planet or if it was just a trick of the twin suns rays reflecting off the water. Frankly, she didn't care. All she knew was that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
After a while, she glanced at Arbus with a smile. "Thank you, for showing me this."
He scratched the back of his head. " It's not a big deal or anything... but you're welcome."
She played around a bit more as Arbus sat on the patch of grass nearby to rest. He remembered how his father would sit here, watching over him as he ran about.
Suddenly, something caught his attention as he looked to the side. "Oh, looks like they're already appearing." He said as he caught sight of several small flying creatures.
Arora gave him a puzzled look, then followed his line of sight. Floating among the balls of light were several small, humanoid creatures with insect-like wings and a single eye.
"Wow, what are those?" Arora said excitedly, while also being a bit apprehensive.
Arbus smiled.
"Don't worry, you don't have to be afraid of them. Those are Pixies. Extremely troublesome creatures. They're completely harmless though. I'm surprised they're already here, since they don't usually appear around this time of the year."
His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! There's a green one among them, You should try catching it!"
"Why?" She asked curiously.
"My father used to tell me about how much luck they brought to those who managed to capture them. You don't have to worry about keeping it, though. Catching them is already enough" Arbus responded.
"Oh, alright then." Arora said as she stepped into the stream hesitantly.
She was still mesmerised by it's beauty as she she made her wat through it. Thankfully, the stream wasn't as deep as she'd originally thought. She tried to sneak up on the pixies, doing her best to stay as quiet as possible.
"Gotcha!" she shouted as she lunged at them, only to be effortlessly dodged, causing her to land face first in the water. The pixies finally turned their attention to her, giggling at her attempt.
The green one stuck its tongue out mockingly, as it laughed hysterically.
Arora frowned as she slowly got up, adjusting her glasses.
"Don't worry, just keep trying. You've got this" Arbus cheered on from the side, stifling his own laughter. He was reminded of his own failed attempts when he was younger.
Arora glared at him briefly, then focused on the pixies. She jumped again, swinging her arms desperately, as she tried catching the green one. it avoided her with ease, while yawning tiredly.
She was beginning to get frustrated. The pixies didn't even consider running away despite her attempts to capture them. Instead, they had decided to play with her.
She wanted to make them regret that.
Minutes stretched on as Arora kept trying, and failing, to capture a single pixie.
Arbus was starting to feel sorry for her. He'd only suggested this to mess with her a bit, knowing how difficult pixies were to actually catch. He looked upward, realizing the suns were already getting quite low.
"Let's head back. The suns are already setting. You can try again tomorrow."
"A few more minutes! I've almost caught one!" Arora shouted back, her voice filled with irritation.
Just then, the green pixie made the bold move of coming close enough that Arora could almost reach it. Her hand shot up as she leaped desperately to grasp the creature.
The pixie giggled maniacally as it moved to escape her reach, like it had done countless times before.
Arora's eyes widened as she realized she wouldn't make it again.
She gritted her teeth in pure indignation.
"No! You! Don't!" she shouted.
Suddenly, her eyes changed.
The bright orange color of her iris switched with the deep black of her pupils.
The giggling pixie froze as it felt a sensation it had never experienced before. It glanced back at Arora, noticing her strange eyes, and then saw a pitch-black energy emanating from her palm.
ZING!
A ray of pitch-black light shot out, as it passed through several towering trees nearby, engulfing them, before finally halting at a distant cliff.
Arbus's eyes widened in shock.
Everything remained silent for a moment.
Then it all fell apart.
The trees that had been touched by the black light suddenly disintegrated into nothingness. Most of the distant cliff that had managed to halt the ray, evaporated as well, leaving behind only a smooth surface at the base of the cliff as if carved out by an eraser.
Finally, the pixie that had almost been hit point-blank fell to the surface of the stream. At least, what remained of it. More than half of it's body had been simply wiped away, leaving behind only part of its upper torso and head.
Arora froze in shock for several moments, staring at her hand in disbelief. Her eyes had returned to normal at some point.
The other pixies glanced at their friend in horror before immediately fleeing in fright.
She had finally discovered her ability.
Almost an entire minute passed before Arora finally moved. She turned toward the remains of the pixie, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.
She picked it up before walking out of the stream to meet Arbus.
"I did it! I finally unlocked my ability!" she said as she jumped with uncontained joy, as the water from her drenched clothing dripped to the grass.
She held up what was left of the green pixie. "I caught this as well!" she added gleefully.
Arbus remained silent, his expression unreadable as he stared at the pixie's remains.
Eventually, he forced himself to smile.
"Congratulations."