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Red Skys and Royal Cards
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  I lost focus today.  I should not have let that happen.  I let myself get distracted.  It was foolish on my part and I won’t let it happen again.  I need to work on maintaining focus and centering my attention on one thing at a time, instead of on multiple.

  I removed my socks so I could feel the lush grass between my toes once I stepped onto the back patio.  The sun was nearing its time to set casting maroons, blood oranges and purples into the red sky.  The air was warm still and the birds still chipped from time to time.

  Walking out onto the grass I took slow even steps as I approached the pond D.O made me at the beginning of the school year here at the Academy.  I sat down at the edge of the glistening water, my legs crossed with my palms on the grass beside my knees.

  I needed to clear my head, relax and ground myself.

  Closing my eyes softly I drowned out all the noise around me.  I kept my focus internal as I let myself feel the earth living below my hands and under my legs.  It didn’t take long before I could feel the living roots beneath the soil, the way the grass grew and was compressed where I placed my body weight on it.  Shifting those feelings to the side I placed them into my subconscious, letting the earth as a whole body fill my mind.

  It was stubble but as I let the earth flow through my head I could pick up the small and slow shifts it made deep within its core.  The earth was always moving and I could now feel it to know it to be true.  Like D.O said one time before, it was possible to create an earthquake, all one had to do was force a shift in just the right place and the cascading affects would follow. 

  The moving of the tectonic plates was a low vibration through the earth.  Always present, always moving.  The fault lines easy to find and toy with.  I didn’t want to do something with them by accident so I strayed away from where the earth was easily manipulated.

  As D.O had once walked me through when I was learning to use his Specialty, I allowed myself to picture as if I was rooted to the ground.  My thoughts and emotions flowing through roots into the core of the earth before they returned to my body.  The earth filtering out the bad and leaving the good to continue its circuit within me. 

  I felt the peace earth brought with it comfort me and remove the fog and clouds from my thoughts and feelings.  Clear my mind to accept new information and accept the old and restless.  Taking deep calming breaths I calmed my heart to a slow beat.  The tense muscles slowly began to relax and my stress seeped away into the dark of the soil.

  I could feel the soft caresses of the grass while it grew and twined around my fingers and up my arms.  They criss-crossed and interlocked as they connected with me the earth even further.  The vines and roots wrapping around my legs securing me to the ground as my consciousness mingled with the element of growing life.

  I slowly opened my eyes as the grass and vines settled upon me.  My gaze was met with the glittering pool of water under the moon’s light that had risen while I was within my mind.

  It was still strange that I never had to go to my core to be able to access these powers I gained from my Ability.  I can still remember the way the bonds began to branch off and weave together within my core before spreading further from it once the final wall of my core burned away. 

  I can use the twelve Specialties with ease and precision as though it was ingrained in my body how to control them.  While I was in that white void I could call on all of them one at a time and maintain control of them at the same time.  It was painful back then to be reminded of them with the knowledge that I may never get to see them again.

  Now was different though.  I could see their smiling faces when they were willing to show them.  Hear them talk, laugh and joke with one another knowing that we weren’t going to be separated easily.  We would fight to stay together.

  I wasn’t sure if I could do as I did in that place where I remained neither dead nor alive.  I hadn’t tried using more than one of their Specialties at a time, let alone combining them if I could.  I didn’t want to chance something going wrong, which is why I only used one at a time and switched if I needed too.

  But I wasn’t going to learn anything if I didn’t at least try first.  I want to test the limits.  Know what I can do so I can prevent harm from befalling those around me.  I’ve already pretty much done it once before, so why shouldn’t I be able to repeat it – to some extent at least – once again. 

  If I do this I can’t loose focus.  Not even for a single second and that is my only worry.  I’ve had so much happen today that I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop my thoughts from being triggered or Prevent my emotions from influencing and mixing with the parts of my Ability.  I lost focus once today and I still have the marks to show for it.

  I sighed, I was once again stressed and anxious now that there was something in the near future to cause such feelings.  I once again made my emotions filter through the earth, the long green blades of grass on my arm tightening in a warm hug as my worry trickled away.

  “At least give it a try.  If it doesn’t work than at least you can say you tried.”  I whispered to myself for encouragement.

  Taking a few more deep breathes to steading my previously racing heart I focused on the way the moon reflected off the surface of the water.  I watched the way the water moved when a slight breeze blew over it and made it ripple. 

  The more I kept my focus on the small pond I figured out what I wanted to do to start off and see if it would work.  Looking to the right half of the pond I felt as the water molecules began to vibrate and move around at a slower pace.  Their temperature cooling and lowering to their freezing point, cold enough that the bonding of two of them would spark the rest of the water molecules to rearrange themselves and freeze as well.

 With the time limit in mind I made to reach out to catalyze the reaction but I was meant with resistance.  I couldn’t lift my arms due to the grass coiled and locked around my hands are forearms.  Remaining calm and grounded as much as I could, I attempted to do something Xiumin hasn’t taught me yet.

  I need to trigger the ice to form without touch or movement.

  Xiumin can do it, but he’s had centuries to practice and train.  I, on the other hand, have had only a few weeks of controling this power and only days of training and practice of those weeks. 

  Panicking won’t do any good, so my only option is to remain calm and at least try.

  Zeroing in on the corner of the pool of water I placed my concentration on a single dot it the corner.  I only had to make two molecules bind together for the rest to follow.  Knowing this, I placed my mental concentration even further and let myself feel the quivering chilled molecules.

  My breath came out in a barely visible puff of heated air as I latched onto two of the water molecules in the pond of water and fused them together.  I didn’t have to wait long before I could see the other water molecules around the two I got to bond begin to form their own bonds with them in the hexagonal lattice.  From that point I started in the center of the chilled atoms, ice spears shot out in all directions.

  When it got to the middle of the p

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Thank you!
Wynter
With how crazy the world is right now, my updates are slower. I will not abandon this, please have patience and I promise to update again soon. Stay safe everyone please. Many Blessings, Wynter (8.20.20)

Comments

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ShawolBlinger4life
#1
Chapter 176: Still reading this in 2024! Hope you are doing well
YEOLLIEZEL
#2
Chapter 176: I am an avid fan of this great story. I am still waiting for an update even after almosr 3 years which means this is a very very great story 😊
poprocksgum
#3
Chapter 176: it’s probably my 10th time or something reading this. Been missing sky and her warriors 🥹 i hope you are well!
soshi16
#4
Chapter 176: I re reas this nth time 🥺🥺🥺🥺
PunkRock123 #5
Chapter 11: Heyy, i dont know if you know already but fhere is a fic that practically plagiarized your entire writing. The only difference is the mc background and the card appearance order. But the timeline and many sentences are the exact same. Here is the link https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1331812/descended-fromthe-stars
PunkRock123 #6
Chapter 174: oh my goshhh, a long time ago i remember i would always check for updates everytime i go on aff. I really appreciate you to update after 2 years and me reading this again after 5 years O.o its crazy!!!
YehetOhorat1994 #7
Chapter 176: hey wynter! ive started reading this fic years ago, as an early teen and now my teen years are almost ending. this story had brought me so much joy and strength, and is honestly one of the best ive read ever!! keep doing what you do, being a nurse definitely isnt easy at this time, so dont rush to put out updates, though we’ll all definitely be waiting eagerly for the upcoming content!! love what youve been doing so far, keep it up ♡ thank you for the hard work you put in as a nurse too, im sure everyone sppreciated it
iorifae #8
Chapter 2: omg this fanfic brought back so many memories 😭 the last time i read this was like when i was 12 (?) , i still remembered this fanfic cause man i was so in love with exo back then even noww~~ , im glad you still keep this story <3
PuffyBunnyIsLazy
#9
Chapter 23: Hi Wynter~!
It’s been awhile and I hope that you’re doing well. I’ve noticed since all of the craziness that’s been happening that lots of people are reverting back to the things that brought them comfort when they were younger. This chapter reminded me of that and I wanted to say that this fic of yours is definitely something I truly hold near and dear to my heart.

It reminds me of simpler times in middle school and high school and all the times I’ve read this to escape reality. Your story brings me comfort and joy each and every time. Throughout college I’ve been trying to re-read this from the beginning whenever I can (I’m probably on attempt three or four now? Lol), but I never really had enough time to due to school. As I’m trying to read every single chapter again, I just wanted to say how thankful and grateful I am to you for creating this story. I and many others have thoroughly enjoyed it over the years, and will continue to for many more.

You are truly an amazing and talented writer, and it’s admirable how you can create worlds and bring this much happiness to so many people with your words. It’s crazy to see how much things have changed (for EXO) since the beginning chapters, but that’s just part of life haha. I sincerely wish and hope you’re doing well and that you’re taking care of yourself. Much love <3