In the dim night, under the multicolored sky, a faint light of a screen illuminated a face covered with gauzes.

The dim screen of the device showed an ongoing call with a single-digit number displayed on top of it in red, signifying its dying life.

The night was not the only one that was dim tonight. I clutched my phone harder after each declined call. There really wasn’t any point in trying again and again after the succeeding declines, but the calls kept on going, regardless.

The mind was a weird thing, or rather fantastically efficient. When the body’s primary needs are in danger, such as survival, the mind loses all its unwanted and unneeded feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Becoming a tool with the sole thought of survival in its mind.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, was it?

Well, it was not like this meant I lost the means to contact my family in another country. I, of course, know their numbers, and when things get sorted out. If things get sorted out, I could always try again.

But the dying phone signified something more. It really made hit it home to how faint our connection really was, how fickle it was. And made me truly realize that they were thousands of miles away from me, across the ocean. That I was probably never going to be seeing them again.

There wasn’t another moment that made me regret so much that I came here. Away from the people I loved, away from the people that truly mattered.

I could have been there with them, helped them survive this absurd situation. Helped the people that cared for me my whole life when they needed me the most, instead of pointless and meaninglessly surviving here.

Faint footsteps walked closer towards me. Lea sat down beside me wordlessly and looked above the colored sky without a word of consoling or concern. I was thankful for that.

For quite a while we just watched the aurora-filled sky in peace, my depressing mood slowly being washed away by cosmic awe and sonder.

I looked over at Lea. I had never really seen her express any concern or trying to contact her loved ones.

“Do you have someone that you’re worried about?” I asked her.

“No.” but before I could get jealous, she continued, “I was an orphan, haven’t known my parents. Haven’t asked to see them either. The people at the orphanage weren’t what you describe as warm either, so got no one really close from where I grew up.”

I looked at her in surprise. I expected a lot of things, but I wasn’t expecting that.

“There wasn’t an option for adoption?“ That may have been a stupid question, but there was no orphanage house in my town, so the most I knew about that was from movies and stuff, which I didn’t watch.

“If you weren’t adopted before 10 or 12, you most likely won’t be adopted till they kicked you out after turning 18. They had programs for us, though. Physical type jobs for the males and clerk and front desk jobs for the females. So, we weren’t at risk of being homeless, and without a job after turning 18, they would even provide us a shitty hostel or lodges for cheap prices until we could afford a better one. Most wouldn’t."

Her gaZe left the starry sky as she looked down "I couldn’t bare it, bare the thought of growing up and living under the pity of the people, not cared, not heard, not doing anything different, not deciding my own way from the beginning to the end.” She ended with a gloomy expression.

But then took a much happier one and continued. “So, I worked hard and got a scholarship for my education and to get a job where I don’t have to be under anyone. It was hard, terribly so, but it was satisfying. Though I still can’t support myself from just my freelance job and have to work part-time,“ she said with a small laugh.

“so…what about you, I've seen you call your family dozens of times. How are they?“ she asked me.

“Overbearing,“ I replied, but also picked up on her real question. “Our town’s culture and positions are something that is considered fixed, the son of the carpenter also become carpenter, the kid of the doctor also becomes a doctor, so mine didn’t think kindly when I wanted to fly out and do my own thing, they resisted a lot and made a lot of fuss but even I know, that they are really kind and that they prioritized my wished instead of theirs…” my smile faded into a frown and my face pointed to the floor ” That they are too soft and kind for this…“

“I see…“ Lea spoke softly.

“well, let's hope that only this country is doomed and mine is fine“

“Heh, you're lucky I’m not patriotic and hate this country,“ Lea replied with a smirk.

I looked at her and burst out laughing at her poor joke, which she also joined in.

The night ending with 2 people on a rooftop laughing under the northern lights, which was not at the north. While the device in hand lost its light.

.......

...

“You ready?” I asked Lea, with a wooden stick in hand that was just about as long as my pitchfork.

The tip of the stick had a round cloth at the end. Made with sponges that we pulled out from a chair which then were covered with a cloth and tied at the end of the stick with tape. Looking as if a small light bulb was attached to the end of the stick.

“You sure that you’ll be fine?“ she replied with concern with a thick steel pipe in hand which was meant to emulate the axe’s weight.

“Yeah“ I replied confidently. This was the perfect arrangement.

Lea needed some practice and training on how to move and dodge properly, thus the wooden stick with a sponge attached at the end. And I could afford some higher difficulty and danger with the steel pipe. Which was also good for Lea, as it could make her get used to moving with the axe.

She nodded lightly and swung her steel pipe weakly at me. Can’t have that, need to make her understand that she needs to come at me seriously or this wouldn’t be useful for either of us.

I, who was already in ‘vitality‘ dodged it and thrusted the stick to her stomach. She fell to her knees, clutching her stomach in pain.

Ok, even I who is a true advocate of gender equality kinda felt bad for that one.

5 minutes later, with an even padded end of the stick, which made it look like there was a ball attached to the end, we started again.

She swung again, this time with less hesitation and maybe a bit of anger. I easily dodged it and poked the stick right into her forehead. She fell down backward but got up quickly and less hurt this time. I thrusted my stick to her head right as she got up which made her fall again.

She grunted and got up again while muttering some words under her breath.

And I poked again just as she did so, making her fall down again.

“Stop it” Lea yelled at me from the ground.

“Heh” was all that came out of my mouth.

Bullying…is actually pretty fun. I see why kids do this.

She got up again and backed off instantly, stayed out of my range this time, and started swinging from time to time while watching out for any pokes and stabs from me. She still got hit many times but was getting better at dodging them as well as also making it harder for me to dodge her swings.

Her magic was pretty well magical, but vitality was pretty magical for itself as well. Turning me, who knows nothing about combat, into someone who could dodge a steel pipe to his face calmly, all within a second. It was as if my brain was switched out with a better one. I could feel the wind better, feel my muscles tensing, see more of her frustrated expression, see the sweat that was moving down her neck to her….

Gahh. I barely dodged another swing to my head. She was getting really into it now, believing in me faithfully that I could dodge it.

I moved my feet backward to move out of the way for another swing when my feet got stuck to a random junk that was lying around. And Lea, who did not notice that, swinged the thick steel pipe like a baseball bat.

I watched the path of the pipe in slow-mo as it was about to break my ribs. I moved my fragile stick towards it, bracing for the inevitable as it breaks along with my ribs.

And I watched an incredible moment in the first-class seat as a stick as thin as a fountain pen stopped a blow from a steel pipe.

We both stared at the impact, but she quickly backed off, in fear of another hit from me. But I was still preoccupied with being amazed by what I was holding.

Guess it was a lot sturdier than I thought. I concluded as we both continued, and she thinking that I intended the previous block tried even harder to hit me.

We continued this bout for 5 more minutes when the sudden weakness and exhaustion started to kick in. The after-effect of vitality.

I tried fending off for about a minute even after the feeling of weakness started to really kick in. To see how well I could do in a real situation until I got a taste of death when the steel pipe almost smacked my face, I moved backward and dodged it, but only barely, as my nose bled from being hit. Thankfully it didn’t feel like it was broken.

“OK....” I said while holding my bleeding nose and dropping the stick. ”Guess this is it for today”

“Okay, I'll clean myself and change first, “ said Lea with a satisfying grin on her face while looking at me holding my bleeding nose.

I think her reason for swinging so confidently wasn’t completely due to her trust in me. I thought as she smugly walked towards the room to wipe off the sweat and change her dress.

I sat down on the floor, shaking the weakness and dizziness off of me.

Guess 5 minutes is my limit, for now. Good to know. Now that I knew my time limit, another question was whether I could change ‘vitality‘ in any way.

Lea had already done something completely opposite to what the original ability was thought to be as, conjuring a cold area above her hands in contrast to the flame she made when she first got it. So, I tried to change or increase my intensity of vitality during the bout.

I instinctively could feel that I could do it, but it felt like there was a mental block preventing me from doing so, my mind and body instinctively telling me not to do it.

I got up as the initial dizziness faded away; I picked the stick that was lying on the ground and stared at it. I could use vitality for a few more seconds.

I flared my aura and swinged the stick to the pole that was next to me, and contrary to my mind’s expectation of seeing a splattered stick, the stick was still in one piece.

Yep.

My focus went inwards as I sensed my aura while not dropping ‘vitality‘, it was straining as I was already at the end of my limit, but I persevered.

I saw the usual flowing energy, flowing from my heart to my brain to my fingertips, that was holding the stick. And I saw a splattered fog of aura that was in the shape of the stick I was holding, extending from my body in my hand.

I opened my eyes as I let go. The weakness crashed into me, now doubly so, as I crashed down into the floor. But my mind paid no heed to that. It was thinking of something else.

Guess it makes sense in hindsight. I thought while struggling to breathe. My pitchfork went through a lot of skulls and flesh. It didn’t consider me as odd then, but it should have been broken a long time ago.

I imagined the intended scenario where it should have broken when I was using it as a weapon rather than the farm tool it actually was. This effect of vitality might be the actual thing that was saving me all this time.

And also might be the strongest depending on how I use it.

“Are you okay? Is it still bleeding?" Lea asked with concern on her face.

Amidst my monologues, Lea had already finished changing and was standing right beside me.

“I’m sorry, just when you were recovering. I'll get the med-kit and some water” said Lea as she turned back to get them but I caught her arm before she could turn me into a mummey again.

“No, I'm fine.“ I spoke as I got up with a grunt. “I tried using vitality again and got diZZy, that’s all” I reassured her.

She didn’t seem convinced as her guilty look didn’t fade away.

I tapped her shoulders and walked towards the room. “Come on, I'm starving already”

Another thing, now that my body was kinda healed up and that my mind could think of ‘useless things’ was 'how the hell did I do this for the past few days.

I stared at the storeroom that was as small as my bathroom at my house. The two make-shift beds that were thought to be situated on the opposite sides of the room now seemed so close that they were practically together.

But this was quickly washed away by the tidal realization that I was thinking of these stupid things while my family was potentially dead. I quickly went over to the bed and did my daily sensing of my soul.

Time moved a lot quicker while my focus was on my soul, this was soemthing that I had to learn the hard way when I got out of the state and it was morning already. It was hard to get track of how long I have been concentrating even when I was mindful of it. So, I moved my focus from inwards to the real world hoping that I don’t see the sun when I do so.

Lea was already sleeping, peacefully on the mattress right next to mine and it seemed to be still in the dead of night. I stared at her sleeping face for a second and then turned around and slept. The ‘useless thoughts’ returning again.

Sleep did not come easily that night.