Lianshi was staring down at her hands but blinked and flicked her gaze up to meet his own. And in that moment, he knew.
“You’ve reached Emberling,” he whispered, sitting up once more.
Her eyes gleamed, and her smile was tight and victorious, her whole frame thrumming with energy as she moved forward to stand before him. She went to say something but was clearly overcome with emotion, so instead, she simply gave him a curt nod, her lips parting into a brilliant smile.
“She what?” Leonis still lay atop his bier, one arm draped over his eyes. “No. That’s not fair. I was supposed to make Emberling first.”
Scorio studied her with wonder. “The Trial? You underwent it?”
“Yes.” Her voice was an awed whisper. “I did. And… and I understand now why we’re told not to discuss it with those who’ve yet to undergo it.”
“Wait,” protested Leonis, shoving himself up to sitting. “You saying you’re not going to tell us?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, real regret twisting her features. “But there’s a reason. I would if I thought it would help you, but it would do the opposite. It would only twist the trial itself. And… beyond that, I think what I experienced would have nothing to do with what you’ll undergo.”
“Huh.” Scorio stared at her, nonplussed, but then he grinned and lurched off the bier to envelop her in a fierce hug. “You did it! You made Emberling!” And he picked her up and wheeled her around, causing her to laugh self-consciously. Setting her down, he stepped back to regard her. “What’s it like?”
“And what can you do?” asked Leonis, padding over. “You figure that out yet? Your technique?”
“I have, actually. The knowledge comes to you at the trial’s end.” Lianshi took a deep, shaky breath, and then cast around, searching the floor. “Wait a second.” She hurried away, dipping and examining the spaces between the biers, and then returned with a stout plank of wood and handed it to Leonis. “Here. Hit me in the face as hard as you can.”
Leonis blinked and turned the inch-thick plank over in his hands. “You’re… sure?”
“Positive. As hard as you can. Trust me.”
Leonis licked his lower lip and raised the board over one shoulder with both hands. “This doesn’t feel right. I’m only hitting you in the face as hard as I can because you’re my friend.”
Lianshi laughed nervously. “This should work. Don’t worry.”
Leonis glared at her. “Should work? If it doesn’t, I’ll take off your head.”
“No, it’s fine. Swing on three.”
Leonis settled back down and rippled his fingers over the stout board.
Scorio watched as Lianshi counted, heart in his throat, his darkvision reducing them both to gray outlines. A defensive power, then? Nothing that would hurt Leonis. What would it be? That ruled out a ranged attack like Hera’s or Feng’s. Something like Jova’s resistance…?
“Three,” said Lianshi.
Leonis grunted and swung, brought the board screaming around against Lianshi’s face.
The board shattered.
Leonis staggered, off-balance, then lifted the foot and a half of broken board that remained in his hand in shock.
But Scorio only had eyes for Lianshi. A gleam had washed over her, reflective and smooth like a coating of glass. It lasted four heartbeats, then faded away.
Lianshi let out a whoosh of air and shook out her arms. “It worked!” She laughed nervously, then cut herself off. “I mean, I knew it would, it’s just that—wow. I…” And she gave her head a quick shake.
“Wait.” Leonis tossed the board away. “Your Emberling power is immunity to wooden boards?”
“No, idiot,” said Lianshi, stepping forward to shove him in the chest. Leonis didn’t budge. “It’s more than that. It’s… complete immunity. To anything. Any attack.”
Scorio let out a low whistle. “Complete immunity? You become invulnerable?”
“Yeah,” said Lianshi softly. “I think so. But only for a few moments. And I can’t use the power immediately again. It takes a little while to become available.”
“Huh.” Leonis placed his hands on his hips. “How long?”
“I think it’s ready again now,” said Lianshi, curling a long strand of hair behind her ear. “But… that’s going to be tricky, to use it in a fight.”
“Yeah,” said Scorio. “You’ll have to time its use just right. But damn, Lianshi. Invulnerability? And that will only grow as you advance in power, right?”
Lianshi smiled shyly and again curled her lock of hair behind her ear as it slipped free. “I think so, yeah.”
Scorio shook his head in wonder. “Even Jova takes damage. And do you become immovable, too?”
“I—I don’t know,” said Lianshi. “I mean, I think so? I didn’t budge when Leonis hit me.”
“Let’s try it,” said Scorio. “Activate your power, and then we’ll try to push you over.”
She gave a sharp nod, inhaled, and then that glassy sheen swept over her again. Together, Leonis and Scorio stepped forward and gripped her arms. It was like taking hold of a steel statue. They grunted, trying to move her, and completely failed.
“There!” gasped Lianshi, releasing her power. “That’s as long as I can hold it for.”
“That’s fantastic,” said Scorio in wonder. “Imagine, you could activate your power and block a door, or stop before a carriage so that it crashes through you, or…”
“Wait,” said Leonis. “Can you move when you have your power activated?”
Lianshi just nodded, eyes wide.
Leonis let out a low whistle. “Now we’re talking. Does it make you stronger?”
“No, I don’t think it does.” Lianshi hugged herself tightly. “Not like I could push through a wall or something.”
Scorio nodded, mind whirling. “But, for example, in the room we just died in, the one with the flying blocks, you’d be perfect at racing through it.”
“You just died in the room with flying blocks?” asked Lianshi, clearly confused.
“Yeah. You didn’t appear when we did, so we grew… concerned,” said Leonis.
“Oh. Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t have any control over that. It just came upon me during our last statue fight.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Scorio, brushing her words away with a sweep of his hand. “But what did it feel like? The onset of the Trial? Did you know what was happening?”
“It’s just like Hera told us,” said Lianshi, stepping back to hike herself back up onto a bier. “It was becoming nearly impossible to fill my reservoir. And then during that fight, remember how I hung back?”
Both men nodded.
“I was desperately trying to ignite. I felt like I was drowning, just drawing in more Coal, but I couldn’t will it to ignite. And the more I panicked, the more I drew in. It felt like suffocating, but maybe that’s because I was working with Coal, but I saw you both fighting, and realized I couldn’t hang back and wait. So I ran in—”
“Without igniting?” asked Leonis in disbelief.
She nodded. “But I kept drawing in mana as I went. And when the axman cornered me, I felt… I don’t know how to put it. This strange mixture of desperation and determination. I wanted to ignite so badly, knew I was dead without my Cinder abilities, and knew that you’d die if I fell too quickly, and I think… well.” She frowned and looked down at her knees. “I think I managed to ignite just before he clove me through the chest. And that’s… that’s when everything changed.”
“Damn,” whispered Leonis. “And now you’re an Emberling.”
“What about the standard Emberling powers?” asked Scorio. “Can you use them?”
Lianshi paused, then laughed. “I hadn’t even thought to check. Let’s see.” And she stared past them, frowning. She blinked a few times, her face without depth in his darkvision, and her eyes widened.
“Oh, wow. Yes. My darkvision has widened to nearly double what I could do before. And… there’s… it’s hard to put this into words. I can sense more? It’s like…” She trailed off, then twisted about in her seat, looking around the dark interior of the basilica. “I can sense the mana? It’s all Coal, but I can feel it, see it—but it’s more like a translucent overlay, it doesn’t block the room, but… it’s really hard to put into words.”