Curse of Compassion

Chapter 8

Mikal was sitting in the middle of Sabertooth's training field the next day.  Rogue had recuperated completely by the end of the night, and was also on the training field with Sting. They were busy coming up with new attack and duo combinations, while Mikal and Yukino were focusing on endurance training. Several other guild members were doing similar activities including sparring matches to prepare for the Grand Magic Games.

Mikal's hands rested on her folded legs as she inhaled a steady breath. The weather was much nicer than it had been the past month; there was a gentle breeze cooling the land. She kept her attention on the ground beneath her, and felt the minerals deep within the earth. She wasn't sure on the mineral compostion in the Grand Magic Games' arena, but she figured it would be best to touch-up her skills on conjuring the available minerals around her even though she could create them at will. She had mastered both skills, but she was the best at creating quartz by the latter strategy. If she wanted to participate in the Games, she'd have to dust off her older tricks and practice.

She felt her magical energy surround her in every direction as if it was an active whirlwind.  Her pinkish aura became visible to those around her as she took another breath to increase her power once more.  Her hair whipped at her face as the whirlwind of power became stronger. In her darkest time, she had turned to endurance training as a form of therapy.  She could harness her energy and manifest it around her, eventually mastering her control over it for several hours on end. Sabertooth had come to the training field at six in the morning, and it had just hit noon a few minutes ago.  The entire time, she had been in the exact same position as she was in now. 

"She's incredible," Yukino mumbled to herself. Mikal had told her and the rest of the guild to stay at least fifteen feet away from her until she stood up. Yukino had been in and out of her training the past few hours; she was only able to maintain a steady energy for an hour at the most. She was dripping in sweat as she glanced over to see if Mikal had moved a muscle.  "Maybe I should talk to her and Lucy about their secrets?  I think Lucy said she had unlocked her second origin. Has Mikal unlocked hers as well?"

BOOM!  The ground rumbled beneath them.  Yukino turns to her left to find a large crater in the earth, with Sting and Rogue on the other side.

"Your holy nova combined with my shadow dragon's eruption is a site to behold," Rogue turned to Sting with a pleased look on his face. "I'd like to see Gajeel take that on."

"I'd like to see Natsu's face when he sees that comin' right at him," Sting nodded. "We'll definitely save that one for the two of them."

"That was so cool guys!" Lector came running up to them. "With your powers, we'll be sure to beat Fairy Tail for the third time in a row!"

"Yeah! You're the best!" Frosch followed after Lector and hugged Rogue's leg. 

"I'd like to see Fairy Tail against our wild card, too." Sting eyed Mikal's still-unmoving body in the distance.

"Are you automatically putting her on the team?" Rogue was caught off guard. He had expected Sting to still be upset about the prior day's events, but he showed no sign of ill-will towards Mikal.

"She's been sitting there for six hours now. I would be a pretty idiotic master if I didn't let her join. How long can either of us hold a steady stream of power like that? And she doesn't even look like she'll be done anytime soon."

Rogue stepped next to Sting. "You're right. She isn't showing any sign of fatigue.  She didn't stir when the ground rumbled, either."  He peered over to Sting's neutral expression. "You're not upset anymore?"

"Like I said yesterday, I wasn't upset with her. Not at you, either. Just annoyed that you took a reckless action.  As long as you understand that, we're all good."