Part 1: Reflections.

  I jolt awake, my head pounding with a splitting headache. Great. Having all five of us crammed into one brain apparently makes the pain five times worse. Why does it even work like that?

  I try to stand, but I trip over myself, falling backwards, my head smacking into the floorboards with a loud thud. The headache intensifies. Awesome. I give up and just stay there, ft on my back, just... done with everything. Honestly, the floor's not that bad once you’ve been on it long enough. It's generally silent in my head right now, so I take this time to reflect. Staring up at the ceiling, it takes a moment to remember everything that's just happened. The attic. Right. That spell. Lay. The shard. Everything’s coming back in pieces.

  Today’s been… way longer than it should’ve been. I mean seriously, we nearly killed ourselves casting a basic spell, Lay’s angry at us, and some weird gss thing tried to... kill me? control me..? Wait, what even was that thing?I roll my head to one side. Sunlight spills in through the window, warm and comforting. The angle tells me it’s around midday, so it hasn't been too long since we got knocked out. And thankfully, Mom hasn’t come looking for us yet.

  So… we still have time.

  "Hey," I mumble, rubbing my eyes. "Are we all good?"

  "Yeah, all good here," Ashley groans. "Why are we still on the ground?"

  I let out a dramatic exhale, my voice ced with sarcasm, "Because the floor feels nice."

  "Really?" she says, sounding genuinely curious.

  "No." I say, picking myself up off the floor. I do a little twirl, watching the hem of my shirt sway as the dust flies off. "We should get moving before lunch. Hey Celia, do you know what happened to us?"

  Celia replies, her voice monotone, "Response: We entered a state of unconsciousness due to rapid mana depletion, combined with mental and physical exhaustion. Mana reserves have since partially recovered."

  Rose groans in pain from our shared headache. "I insist we never push our mana to such extremes again. This headache is... painful, to say the least."

  "Conjecture: Our severe cephalgia (head pain) is most likely caused by psychological stress, rather than magical strain."

  "Stress, huh..." I mutter aloud but under my breath.

  There’s an awkward pause before Ashley speaks up again.

  "So, uh," she starts, "anyone else wanna talk about the weird murder crystal?"

  "You mean the gss shard?" Rose asks.

  "Nope, totally a murder crystal." Ashley says, her tone smug.

  I can't help but ugh a little at that. By now, I’ve finished dusting myself off. I adjust the swords Lay had been pying with, making sure everything’s back in pce before heading toward the hatch that leads out of the attic.

  "I still think it was weak," Rose comments dismissively. "Barely even put up a fight."

  "I actually agree," I chime in, slowly climbing down the dder. "Not nearly as strong as Ashley."

  "Somehow less annoying."

  "What did I even do to you today?" Ashley snaps, genuinely offended.

  "Wait, hold on…" I pause mid-step. "Why was it even up there in the first pce? I don’t think Mom’s the type to collect murder crystals."

  "Dunno," Ashley says, taking a moment to think before continuing, "Maybe it has something to do with the book she wrote?"

  Celia replies instantly, "Response: That is highly unlikely, from what I’ve seen of the book’s contents there is no mention of anything remotely simir to what we experienced."

  "Alright but if we see another one of those fucking things, I’m throwing it out the window," Ashley groans.

  I sigh, "I’m just gd we got to it before Lay did."

  "Lay…" Ogma’s voice is barely a whisper.

  Me, Rose, and Ashley immediately try to calm her down, which takes much longer than normal.

  The truth is, I don't know if I made the right choice. Celia told me there weren’t any other options. I know we shouldn't let Lay use magic. She would be severely hurt. But it still feels like I could've done something else... anything else. Should I have just read to her, but told her the incantations wrong? Would that have hurt her more? I mean, I'm the one who pushed to bring her with us, I'm the one who cast the spell knowing full well she was in the room with us. The responsibility for this is mine alone.

  I reach the bottom of the dder and head to lunch...

  That night, when we all head to bed, I notice Lay’s curled up in her own bed.

  Not ours.

  She’s not in her usual spot, not tucked up against my side like always. I try not to think too much about it, but the empty space beside me feels… wrong.

  She’ll probably forget about this in a few days... I hope.

  Part 2: Limit Testing

  It’s been two days since our first spell. Lay hasn’t said much to me since. It hurts... the heartbreak I feel whenever she looks at me, her usual sparkling golden eyes now dull. The gut wrenching pain I feel when I see her sleeping in the other bed at night; I didn't know how much harder it would be to sleep without her. And through all that, I still haven’t apologized... not yet, anyway. Rose offered to step in and handle it for me, but... I need to do this myself. I can't keep relying on the others for everything.

  Fortunately, I've come up with a pn, one I made entirely myself. Well... maybe with a little information from Celia... But that doesn't count! For this to work, I need to focus on improving my magic as much as I can over the next few days. It might seem selfish, waiting so long to apologize, but there’s a good reason for it. I may not be good with words like Rose, and I’m definitely not as confident as Ashley, but I’m going to apologize my own way... the Nyxie way.

  So right now, I’m back in the attic.

  I rush over, struggling to push open the chest containing all the books. When it fully opens, I lean over the side reach in and grab the book titled "Guide to Elementary Magic." Setting it down on the ground and opening to the page with the burst spell on it. Taking a few extra seconds to let Ashley memorize the contents.

  Once I’m sure she’s got it, I prop the book up against a nearby wooden crate, adjusting it so it won't fall over. I wipe the sweat off my brow with the sleeve of my shirt, then head over to the far wall. Then, when my back is up against the wall, I ease myself down, crossing my legs as I settle myself on the cold wooden floor.

  I take a deep breath.

  "Hey, Ashley," I whisper, trying not to be too loud. "You’re up today."

  Immediately I'm shoved out of my body with extreme force; she's gotten a lot better at that recently. She shouts inside our mind, her voice excited, "Hell the fuck yeah, finally!" She pauses taking a deep breath, "Hey nix, you know our mana capacity doubled since st time?"

  "You can see that!?" I say surprised, not bothering to stay quiet.

  She crosses our arms and smiles, "Yup, pretty impressive huh!" She says, her voice as smug as ever.

  "Actually... yeah" I pause for a moment, "But uhh... Celia told me... so I already know."

  She stops, "Wait... when?"

  "During lunch yesterday, Celia noticed while I let you eat." I say, lowering my voice.

  "Of course she did." She sighs, uncrossing our arms and holding them behind our head, "Didn't the book say you have to wait until fifteen?"

  Celia jumps in, her voice stiff, "Response: Our mana capacity has grown twofold since our st attempt. The depletion of mana have contributed to this increase."

  "Depletion of mana..?" Ashley says aloud, likely confused.

  "Reasoning: Simir to a muscle with excessive training, we can increase our mana's total capacity. Furthermore, the book's suggestion to wait until fifteen is based on typical growth patterns. However, the rate at which we've been pushing our mana reserves has increased our total capacity twofold. The book seems to have it wrong in regards to your mana capacity being assigned at birth." Celia says smoothly.

  "So we should get to it then!" She says, I watch as she stretches our arms out, cracks our knuckles and squints over at the book on the other side of the room. "Shouldn't I try some other magic? I was thinking a giant fireball or-"

  Rose cuts her off before she can finish, her voice lined with sarcasm, "Ah yes, a fireball in a wooden attic, great idea Arsonist! I mean... Ashley!"

  Ashley scoffs. "Okay, I get it, no fire. Thank you for your amazing wisdom, Miss Rose Candebra."

  Rose gasps, clearly offended. "You little-"

  "Can you both go two sentences without fighting?" I groan, cutting her off. "Ashley, hurry up. Rose goes right after you."

  "Alright, alright! Just shut up already." Ashley grumbles, clearly wanting to show off.

  She throws one hand forward, gripping her forearm with her other hand dramatically, then starts reciting the incantation just like I did before. I try to focus on the words, but I’m too distracted by the swirling vortex of air forming in front of her, powerful winds swirling and coalescing into a small point. The st word escapes her mouth. [BURST]

  Then BOOM.

  The spell detonates, shaking the entire room and bsting air outward extremely violently. The wind this time was much stronger, it exploded with even more violence. Thankfully, we’re braced against the wall, so we don’t get unched across the attic like st time. The wind dies down quickly, and the attic settles.

  Ashley stands there in stunned silence, staring down at her hands. Is she... okay? I figured she’d be ecstatic about casting magic-

  "WOOHOO!" She yells, pumping her fist up into the air. "I DID IT! TAKE THAT, MAGIC SCHOOL! I DIDN’T EVEN NEED YOU ANYWAY!"

  Okay, she's fine...

  "Analysis: Mana reserves at 52%," Celia chimes in, her voice monotone. "Caution: Rose, be aware that casting your spell will likely result in temporary unconsciousness."

  Before Ashley can say anything else, Rose pushes forward and takes control. "That's fine... let’s just get this over with," she mutters.

  She pces one hand on her hip, extending her other hand forward. Her posture is calm, almost regal; honestly, she looks pretty impressive. Actually, she's done this before so I guess it's just me and Ashley who aren't used to it. She begins reciting the incantation, the swirling air coalesces extremely fast into the ball in front of her, quickly finishing the incantation. [BURST]

  And BOOM.

  But it was different from ours.

  Instead of exploding and sending wind surging in every direction like mine or Ashley’s, the spell condenses into a rge beam. Ethereal wind pours outward, creating a swirling mass of wind. It crashes into the far wall, rattling the weapons on the rack. It’s not nearly as powerful as ours, but Rose managed to control it instead of letting it explode outwards.

  "Show off" Ashley mutters under her breath.

  Immediately after she cast that spell I feel our exhaustion peak. My limbs go numb, and everything turns blurry. The world turns to a mesh of swirling bright colors, it puts me into a trance. Rose tries to keep our body upright, but it’s no use. We colpse on the floor with a loud thud

  Day 2: Brief Update

  Today we went over everything again, casting the burst spell a total of four times before falling unconscious. Somehow, our mana doubled again after we exhausted it all; Is it going to double every time? Oh, Also, Ashley and I managed to copy what Rose did with her burst spell! This is a huge step forward just on the second day.

  Honestly, these past 2 days were a huge success; I learned way too much in that minute amount of time. Turns out, magic isn’t just about casting the same spell over and over. The different kinds of spells we’re using have a lot more potential than we realized. For example, I thought "Burst" was just a wind explosion, but turns out, you can control where it goes. You can make a spell that usually bsts in all directions focus on one spot instead. It’s kind of like coding; you can edit the properties of the magic making it accomplish a different effect.

  Good news and bad news though. First off, the bad news, it seems like the more adjustments we make to the spell the more mana it costs. Although, good news, if we keep growing as much as we are we aren't going to have to worry about it!

  Tomorrow we're trying different spells, burst is getting a little old at this point. So we agreed to work on Ice and Water magic, those two seem the least likely to destroy the attic when we cast them.

  Day 3: Casting Different Spells

  Once again, I find myself standing against the far wall in the attic. Since we’re trying out some new spells today, I managed to find an empty barrel that was tucked away in a corner, which I dragged into the center of the room for target practice. I'm holding the book in my arms, its cover closed. The warm sunlight filters through the small window, casting a golden glow over the room. Today’s the day we finally start casting some new magic.

  I rest the book in my forearm, its pretty heavy but I can manage. Flipping to the page where the ice magic begins, I get a mischievous grin on my face. "How about we start off with something actually interesting?" I say, my eyes scanning the page. "This one’s called 'Ice Bolt.'"

  Rose cuts in, sounding confused, "Nyxie... before ice, should we not be starting with water magic?

  "Eh, does it really matter?" I say, starting to smile, "Something tells me the ice spells are going to be way cooler anyway. I mean come on, ice magic sounds super easy, we got this snow problem. Also, the weathers perfect for it, it's an ice day out."

  "I'm... sorry I said anything." Rose responds, mildly annoyed.

  "You know I love you nix.... but please shut up." Ashley says coldly.

  Celia joins in too, "Quip: It's just a joke, so chill out."

  "Just get on with it already!" Rose yells, breaking her usual composure.

  I spend a moment giggling, trying to catch my breath. “Alright, alright. I’m done.” I refocus, eyes locked back on the incantation in the book. With a determined look, I extend my arm forward, locking my aim on the barrel I dragged to the center of the room. I take a deep breath, then I say the incantation as its inscribed. “Oh, He who rules from the Frozen Throne, grant me your strength, forge a spear of ice.” [ICE BOLT]

  My hand loses all its warmth, and the air around me grows colder with every word. Soon, tiny beads of cyan light begin to materialize in the surrounding air, slowly they move to the point in front of my hand. As the beads start to collide they expand, forming into an icicle that hangs idlily in the air. Finally, as I finish the st word the icicle fully forms in front of me. [ICE BOLT]

  The icicle falls straight onto the ground with a thud, shattering into pieces as it hits the ground.

  Ashley bursts into ughter, I turn around embarrassed, even though I know that wont accomplish anything.

  Wait a minute… I think I know what went wrong. I take a deep breath, steeling myself, and try again. This time, the spell flies forward, the icicle speeding forward. It strikes the barrel with a sharp crack, embedding itself deep into the wood, the barrel is knocked back slightly from the impact.

  Ah, I see. For spells like this, I need to actually specify a direction and velocity. That makes things a lot easier...

  The next two spells, "Chill" and "Breeze," weren’t anything too interesting. Chill was just a way to lower the temperature in a small area, the more mana you pour into it the colder that area becomes, technically you could freeze water with it, but its too inefficient. Breeze was simirly simple. The spell created a gust of wind that could move small objects or give you a small tailwind. You can't increase the wind's velocity with mana, but you can increase its duration and direction after you cast it, which is interesting.

  The final spell we wanted to try is "Water Ball." Honestly, this spell sounds like it could be a problem; I don’t want the water leaking through the floorboards. I gnce around the attic, looking for something to contain it. My eyes fall on the beat up barrel I used earlier for target practice. I drag it over next to one of the crates, crawling on top of the crate so I can reach the top of the barrel. I extend my hands outwards above it, taking a moment to memorize the incantation in the book.

  Suddenly, I hear a faint voice, one I wasn’t expecting to speak up. "Um... Nyxie... c-can I try it?" Ogma asks.

  I just stand there in shock, everyone else too stunned to speak. She’s barely ever spoken up, let alone wanted to try something like this. I know next to nothing about her, except that she’s hopelessly depressed. Every tear she sheds feels genuine, and I just wish I could do more for her. She’s the st person I’d expect to want to try any spells, especially since she’s always so scared of magic. But here she is, her voice trembling with small sobs, asking to try the spell. It feels like an opportunity, and I have no reason to refuse her.

  I hesitate, then nod. "Alright. If you want, go for it."

  I gently release control of our body, allowing Ogma to take my pce. As she settles in, I start to feel fuzzy, and a wave of sorrow surges through me. Our eyes are moist, on the verge of crying. She stares bnkly at the book in her hands. I know she can’t read, so I quietly read the book to her, so that she can do it herself.

  There’s a brief pause, "T-thank you... Nyxie." She finally says, her voice trembling.

  "Yeah, of course." I return, worried she'll give up.

  She looks forward, extending our hands as far as she can without falling. She stops, staring straight for a few seconds before blinking, then she begins to recite the incantation, very slowly. "O-Oh, umm, great leviathan who dominates the sea... allow your p-power to flow before me... siphon a s-sphere of water." [WATER BALL]

  As she speaks the words, starting from the point in front of us the, creating an effect that looks like an invisible wave. Soon, water begins to form from nothing. It gathers towards the top of the barrel. Creating a swirl of liquid begins to twist, growing in size as it siphons the created water into a ball. Once all the water is gathered it simply drops, falling into the barrel with a spsh.

  Ogma blinks. She leans over the edge, staring into the rippling surface of the water. For a long moment, she doesn’t move. She just gazes into her reflection, the surface slowly settling until it mirrors her face clearly. For not even a second, she smiles, then she starts to cry again.

  Nobody says a word; I don't even want to think too loudly. Not wanting to interrupt her, we all stay there silent. Slowly we drift, falling unconscious from ck of mana. She ys down as we do, curling up into a ball and falling asleep.

  Day 4: Summoning Magic

  This was our st day. We spent it practicing in silence, casting only the spells we were already familiar with. None of us wanted to push our luck again after the whole "Burst" incident. But we were all tired... exhausting your mana so many days in a row really puts a lot of strain on the body. But this is my final step, I need to apologize to Lay, so I have to commit myself.

  Summoning magic turned out to be simple. All you had to do was channel your mana into the circle, and it worked just like speaking the incantation aloud. Not much else to comment on; the whole day ended off with me casting an upwards of 20 spells before finally passing out.

  Tomorrow. I apologize. Now? I rest.