"Yeah, he didn't pull any punches, did he?" Tabito asked after swallowing a bite of his greasy cheese steak grinder. A couple peppers and onions dropped onto his paper plate with each gaping bite he ripped from the sandwich. "He could have been a little less harsh with his feedback."

"You should know he's a straightforward professor by now," Hara added, flicking through her phone. She had a half-eaten panini resting on her plate she hadn't touched in the last several minutes. "He'll tell it like it is. Yeah, what he says might be rough, but showering you with compliments will never let you grow as a magic user."

"I know, but he didn't hold back at all," sighed Riarshi with a glum look in his eyes. He had only taken a single bite of his sandwich before placing it onto his plate. His appetite had vanished.

On their way to Merino's, Tabito and Riarshi had run into Hara as they entered the city square. She was looking over the goods one jewelery stand offered. Tabito happily invited her to join them for dinner and, as they strolled to Merino's, cued her in on what had occurred at the practice field nearly an hour ago.

The usual smell of fried food, grilled meats, and the occasional fish dish filled the diner. Despite the fall chill creeping through the door with each new customer, the flaming, sizzling grills released enough heat to make the dining room comfortable to sit in without coats.

Now that the sun fell over the jagged horizon earlier in the day, fluorescent lights above each table illuminated the dining room with a faint yellow glow.

Riarshi rested his chin in his palm and, using his straw, swirled his dark brown cola. It wasn't the straightforward feedback that upset him and erased his appetite, but the accuracy of Khohn's assessment.

After watching his classmates' strength quickly progress throughout the length of the program, Riarshi recognized that he was still completely out of their league, despite his own recent improvements in magical strength.

What continued holding him back each time he sought more power was the damned pitch-black wall blocking his way - his own demonic powers.

He felt as though he was fighting an uphill battle, and with each ascending step growing steeper and taller, the harder it was for his body to prevent him from falling towards the bottom. He was stepping on nails, playing with fire, walking a tightrope. One wrong step and he'd lose everything he worked so hard for. He would fall into the depths of darkness.

"Hey. Don't let what he said get you down, Riarshi," Tabito mumbled with a mouth full of food. He swallowed and continued. "You gave it your all in that fight. I definitely had a run for my money. For the longest time, I couldn't even land a hit on you... and I wasn't even holding back. You're getting stronger, Riarshi. The gap between us is closing quickly."

Tabito's words brought Riarshi's cloudy mind back to the present. He stirred his drink again, watching it churn into a tiny whirlpool of ice and cola, sloshing against the edge of the glass. His lips quirked.

"Thanks, Tabito," he murmured.

Hara put her phone down and took another bite of her small panini. After placing the sandwich back onto her paper plate and wiping her mouth with a napkin, she looked at Riarshi with her big sapphire eyes. To his surprise, they weren't as cold as usual.

"Lasting in a fight against Tabito for as long as he says you did isn't something to scoff at. He's easily in the top three of our class in terms of pure magical power."

"Oh jeez, Hara, stop it!" said Tabito, waving a dismissive hand at her. "I'm not that good, come on," He had a cheeky smile across his face despite the humble objections.

Riarshi blinked.

Was he dreaming? Did Hara compliment him? The stars must have aligned or her cola had something strong swirling with the ice. Was there a secret menu to order a rum and cola here? Riarshi's mind spun. 

He stared at her with parted lips and wide eyes. Was this actually Hara?

Hara noticed the evident bewilderment written over his face. She narrowed her eyes, grabbing her phone. "What? Confused that I just gave you a compliment? Don't let it get to your head. You're still miles away from either of us." She turned her head away in a huff and dug her nose into her phone.

She was right, Riarshi was dumbfounded. Riarshi wondered if her power also let her read minds, but shook the thought away as quickly as it came.

"Well to be honest, yeah. I am kinda confused," said Riarshi, pushing his back against the cushion. He raked his fingers through his hair.

She raised her nose from her phone. Her typical frigid expression washed over her face in the form of a scowl.

"I mean, you have gotten stronger," she said, rolling her eyes. "But Khohn is right. The Internship Tryouts are getting closer. Do you think you can properly compete with the power you have now?"

Riarshi gazed out the window, and without answering her question, he picked up his sandwich, squeezed the bread to flatten it slightly, and took another bite.

Could he really compete with his current strength? Why was he even questioning it? Riarshi knew the answer - he couldn't.

Only two weeks separated the three of them from the Tryout. But how much stronger could he really become in the course of fourteen days? It wasn't just himself he had to worry about, either. Students from other classes with strength equal or possibly greater to Tabito and Hara were also likely to compete. Would he ever be strong enough to complete the Program with only his human magic?

These questions flooded Riarshi's mind as he continued to chow through his delectable and flaky fish sandwich, the saltiness of the fish delightful on his tongue.

"Well, I guess we'll have to train extra hard the next couple weeks, eh?" Tabito joked. He looked at Riarshi. "I'm willing to stay after a few more days a week with you to train - if you want. I'm not busy."

"I guess so," Hara remarked, surprisingly calm. "An hour each night would probably suffice."

Riarshi nearly dropped his sandwich onto his plate.

"Wait, are you saying...?"

Hara flashed a cold glare.

"What? I'm saying that I'll train with you two for the next couple weeks. I owe Tabito, so this is how I'll repay him. It'll benefit us all to stay in shape and improve our magic. Is that so unbelievable?"

No one noticed, but Tabito looked at her oddly. Why did she owe him?

Riarshi - unaware of Tabito's confused face - smirked, feeling like he was about to poke a bear with what he was about to say.

"Well, to be honest, yeah kinda," he said with a smug smirk.

Hara's thin, piercing glare dropped to below freezing. If this stare was an ice spell, it would have frostbit Riarshi's skin to the point of no return.

Tabito suddenly belted out a laugh, grabbing his sides. "To be honest, that kinda shocked me, too, Hara! But hey, the more the merrier, right? With all three of us working together, you'll definitely shoot up to us, man!"

While Tabito went over a game plan for the next week of training, Riarshi kept his eyes locked on the girl across the table. Her icy stare slowly thawed before she returned her eyes to her phone.

Riarshi quietly chuckled to himself before digging into his sandwich once more. Warm sauce spilled onto his fingers and down onto his plate, a mess he didn't mind all too much.

But then a question popped in his head, one he almost complete forgotten.

"Hey, Tabito. What did Khohn tell you after the duel? Anything you can share with me?" he asked with raised brows.

Tabito looked up from his sandwich, and his smile disappeared. "I can't tell you... sorry. He made me promise, or I'd risk expulsion," he said in a low, troublesome voice.

"Oh... I understand... no worries."

***

Riarshi slid his shoes off and kicked them to the side of his room. They bounced across the torn carpet, smacked into the wall, and came to rest into a tangled mess of leather and shoelace.

Using the final bits of energy remaining in his legs, he leapt onto his bed. He crossed his hands behind his head and stared at the gray emptiness above him. A few stray cracks stretched across the ceiling's length like bolts of lightning, one of them leaking some strange, orange liquid for the past week, thus creating an awful brown strain in the room's corner.

Glad his bed set wasn't as despicable as his apartment, Riarshi released a lengthy sigh and melted into the mattress. It was about nine at night and if his brain wasn't buzzing up a storm, his fatigued body would have easily fallen asleep.

Professor Khohn's words from earlier that day flooded back into his mind.

Why the hell was Khohn so upset with him? It's not like he didn't put up a fight during his spar with Tabito. He spent his free time staying after to train, when the other students left immediately once class finished. Was there no merit in putting in the extra effort?

Riarshi grimaced. Did that man hold natural power to a higher standard than a lowly commoner busting his ass to improve?

If only that black wall didn't block his path, he wouldn't have to hold anything back. He'd have the freedom to use his magic at will, feeling it course through his body like a warm, electric wave rather than a cold, sharp pain.

He wouldn't be climbing this massive hill with the crippling, paralysing fear of falling into the intense darkness below.

No, don't think that way. Look at that demon from the alley. His magic was so dark, cold, and evil. That's what would happen to me if I ever smashed through that wall, if I let that darkness grab me.

Riarshi sat himself up to the edge of his bed and studied his hands, calloused and scarred from his long history of fights. I should be thankful I have human magic to keep me from using that power.

He squeezed his fists with all of his might, blanching his knuckles, popping the tendons through his skin. He wanted to feel the tension of muscles, the pulse of his heart, the warmth of blood flow, and the pain of release - he wanted to feel human.

"Yeah, that's it," he said to himself earnestly. "That demon had no choice but to use that power. At least I have the option to stay away from that side of me, to ignore it, to throw it away. And that's exactly what I'll do."

He didn't care if Khohn thought he was holding back - he had to. If he didn't, the inky hands reaching for him from the black wall would grab him, pull him in, and trap him forever. He would become a cold, heartless monster like the alleyway demon he fought.

It would take everything in his power to avoid his darkness. He had to run away. It would be painful, difficult, maybe even impossible. But this was his fate. Even if it meant having to hide that side forever.

Before his brain allowed him to fall asleep, two questions swirled around Riarshi's mind.

What did Khohn tell Tabito after the spar? And why was it so secretive that Khohn threatened to expel Tabito if he told anyone?

Head losing steam, he couldn't answer either of these and decided to wait it out. He shifted up to his pillows and tossed his blankets over his body. He wrapped himself in a tight cocoon of linen. The touch was warm, soft, and quenched his thirst for close contact - something he never received as a child, teenager, or even an adult.

It always helped melt the worries away.

His heavy eyelids slowly closed, his mind went blank, and he fell into a deep, fatigue driven sleep.