Street Cultivation, page 17
She outlined the basics and he committed it all to memory. When she dismissed him, Rick was tempted to thank her, but realized that she probably wouldn't care. So instead he just nodded to her and left, rushing back home on a route that would take him past the liquor store.
The basic concept involved several steps. First, overload Melissa with new lucrim - easy to do with philosopher's elixir. Second, have her solidify that into a core with no other purpose - she'd gotten good marks in Lucrim Education in school, so she should be able to do it. Third, find some way to push her lucrim away from the core flame - that one would be the problem.
If they succeeded in all of those, then Melissa's condition should stabilize for the short term. More importantly, if she could find a way to maintain the sphere of lucrim and turn it into a proper shell, it could become a long term solution. Perhaps not a cure, and maintaining it sounded ludicrously expensive, but it was worth trying.
Inside the liquor store, Travis sat in his glass box, drinking from a plastic cup. The store was empty and the owner seemed vaguely irritated to see a customer, illogical as that seemed. But Rick had no time for such concerns today.
"I need philosopher's elixir, as high quality as you have."
"You can't afford the highest, kid." Travis stared at him for a bit, then grunted and pointed to a grimy sheet of paper with prices listed. "That's what we have. Money on the counter first."
Looking over the list, Rick saw that he was right: there was no way that he could afford the highest quality elixir the store sold. Above 250k, it actually required payments of lucrim in addition to money. But with all the money he had been earning from fights in the Underground, he could just barely afford the 250k option.
"A bottle of 250k, then." He set his money down on the transaction counter, but to his surprise Travis didn't grab it immediately.
"That's strong stuff, kid. I'm not supposed to sell it to somebody like you."
"Are you really going to turn down my money?"
"Ain't that simple. For one, if you get yourself killed or do something stupid, it could come back to me." Travis watched him with a smug look. "And based on your behavior last time, I'm starting to think that you might be prone to irrational behavior."
Gritting his teeth, Rick began to consider his other options. The glass cube was built to withstand people stronger than him, but it wasn't invincible. He knew intellectually that robbing a store would never lead him to a real solution, but he was running out of options...
Something in his eyes must have changed, because Travis switched to a frown. "Tell you what... if you pay me for that bottle you cheated from me last time, and you get down on your knees and beg, maybe I'll sell it to you."
Rick slapped the money down on the counter and dropped to the floor. "Please... I beg you. Someone I love is very sick, and without-"
"Alright, already." Travis shifted back in his seat, staring at him. He tried to laugh mockingly, but it just sounded uncomfortable. "Didn't realize you'd be that shameless. If you're willing to go that far, it's yours. And don't think about testing this one... believe me, it's 250k."
The money had already been collected, so Rick stood up and accepted the bottle. This one glowed brilliantly in his hands, though he still checked as best he could. It definitely felt far more intense than any philosopher's elixir he'd ever handled before, intense enough that he didn't dare try it personally. But hopefully, that meant it would be enough for Melissa.
Travis started to say something else to mock him, but Rick turned around and walked out without listening to a word. He had almost no money left, so if this didn't work...
Better not to think about that. Securing the bottle in his jacket, he headed back as fast as he dared.
Chapter 22: Flame in the Void
When Rick returned home, he found Melissa in the middle of another fit, one that would have been a crisis until recently but now happened regularly. Despite her shuddering, it looked as though she'd taken one of her pills and was clutching several of the lucrim-filled marbles he'd left with her. She was getting better at resisting the symptoms, so if only they could find a solution...
"Melissa, can you hear me?" He touched her shoulder gently, afraid that she might break. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Rick? Do you... have something?"
"I found a temporary solution that might make you feel better. But it's going to require a lot of work on your part..." He explained the basic theory of the consuming flame where her soul should have had a lucrim seed. To his surprise, Melissa sat up and became much more alert, then actually smiled as he finished explaining.
"Is that really it? It's funny, but hearing an explanation like that makes it seems so much more manageable... I thought there was just a hole in me, but..." She cut off, wincing and grabbing her heart. "Gh... it's not... not a real fit... just hurts a bit..."
"We should start early. You're going to need to create a sphere of lucrim within yourself. Similar to what they taught in L.E. about building cores, but it's going to be much more difficult."
"Show me."
Since she seemed determined, Rick launched straight into the explanation. Melissa had always been sharp, so she picked it up quickly. Though she didn't have much experience working with lucrim and her body shivered involuntarily at times, she threw herself into the task. Soon she actually had the basics right, though after that she slumped back against the baseboard of her bed.
"I think... I got it a little... but I'm just so tired..."
"That's what this is for." Rick pulled the bottle of philosopher's elixir out of his backpack and held it just out of her reach. "Now, this part is going to be a little dangerous. In theory, because you don't have a core, the elixir can't latch on and burn you. But you do have lucrim inside you and it will react to that, so it will hurt a lot, and you'll need to be careful."
"Rick... what type is that? How expensive was it?"
"Don't worry about that - you need to focus 100% on getting ready to use it."
Though Melissa gave him another nervous glance, eventually she nodded determinedly. When he handed her the bottle she took a whiff and looked queasy, but kept exposing herself to the intensity of it. As she did so, she began repeating the core exercise as well. Seeing her try so hard made something in him ache, but he didn't know what to say and so he just helped guide her a little.
Eventually there was no sense in trying to prepare more, especially because another fit was likely before too long. Melissa gave him a weak smile and lifted the bottle without saying anything. Normally she would have made some quip, or at least referenced an old joke, but she was silent. She really was quite worn down... but if she thought she was ready, he wouldn't stop her.
She took a sip of the elixir and a violent shudder went through her entire body. Rick automatically reached out and caught the bottle before any of it could spill, and got ready to catch her as well. But instead of collapsing, Melissa straightened her back and closed her eyes, repeating what she'd practiced.
After several minutes, the rush of power from the sip became a glow within her. Rick knew they weren't out of the woods yet, but his tension eased a little. If they had been entirely wrong, that sip of philosopher's elixir could have killed her. This might work.
"Haha, so weird..." Melissa opened her eyes in his direction, but didn't seem able to focus. "It's burning... I feel drunk... I mean, I've never been drunk, but I think this is how it would feel..."
"Was that a weak cover for your underage drinking?" He tried for a joke since she seemed a little better, but instead of responding, Melissa just gave another giggle and reached for the bottle. Something about her behavior bothered him a bit, but he handed it to her.
Her second sip went more smoothly, not dropping the bottle this time. She took a third, then a fourth, repeating the core exercise with greater fervor. When she tried to take a fifth drink from the bottle, Rick held it gently.
"Don't go too fast, sis. Give yourself time."
"I feel... I don't know... I've always felt broken, but now..." She shook her head, eyes still unfocused. "I need more."
"Your core work feels good as far as I can tell, but a core isn't enough - your flame will just eat through it. Somehow you need to push the inner lucrim of the sphere outward so it forms a hollow shell. Honestly... I've never done something quite like that before, so I don't know what to tell you."
"I'll figure it out, Rick. Don't worry." Melissa gave him a sharp smile and pulled the bottle back. "Trust me, I'll be okay. Just keep me from hitting my head on anything."
Though he wanted to hover around her, Rick decided that he could trust her to continue on her own. Melissa kept drinking from the bottle, larger doses each time. After several drinks she set the bottle aside and slept for a few hours, but when she woke she went back to work almost immediately.
Rick sat at a distance, technically working on his own training but struggling to focus on it. He'd never seen Melissa quite like this. She could be determined and hard-working, even stubborn, yet there was something else. The singular intensity with which she threw herself into the task before her was slightly manic in a way that troubled him, but he had to trust that she knew herself best.
When only a quarter of the bottle was left, Melissa finally set it aside. Her fingers trembled in a way that they hadn't since she'd started the exercise, but not quite the same as a shivering fit. Once the bottle was in place on the nightstand, her arm fell back to her side as if it had no strength.
She opened her mouth and might have tried to say his name, but no sound came out. Rick rushed to her side.
"Are you okay?"
"Tired..." Melissa struggled to keep her eyes open, but she was failing. "It kind of worked... but kind of not..."
"What do you mean?"
"I feel better, but only because I have a lot of power in me." As she explained, Rick helped her lie down in a more comfortable position and tucked her in. "I kind of have a sphere, but... I'm wound up really tight. It needs to be harder, but I'm afraid it's gonna break... maybe try again... in the morning..."
Considering how hard she'd been working, it was more than time for her to take a break. Once he confirmed she was well on her way to sleeping peacefully, Rick headed out and closed the door behind him.
Then he just sat on the couch for a while, recovering. His emotions had been through such a wringer, it was difficult to even feel relief. That emotion would be premature, anyway, not when the solution was incomplete. Such expensive philosopher's elixir would have delayed the side effects of her condition anyway, so this proved nothing. Not until they settled things.
There was nothing he could do to help her with the core of her task, because ultimately everyone's lucrima was their own. You could only do so much to help fellow fighters get the feel for it, much less someone with a rare condition like his sister.
What she'd said at the end, however, was something he could work with. Repeating exercises designed to modify cores often left people with tension they described as their soul wound up like a spring. Pressing too hard was actually bad for long term development, since a tense lucrima would develop more slowly. In his sister's case, it could prove to be the flaw that made the entire plan come crumbling down. He might be able to find a solution to that, but not that night.
Rick slept for a while but was woken in the middle of a chilling dream of Melissa dying and coming back as some sort of zombie. He left the nightmare behind, yet his mind filled up with endless thoughts of things he should be doing. She needed more philosopher's elixir, and more pills, and likely some new medications. Even if certain elements of her situation were unique, he could assist with other elements.
Overflowing with such thoughts, there was no way he was getting back to sleep. Instead he stayed up and trained feverishly, watching his phone's clock. For once, he was awaiting the time he needed to go to work. Earlier he had been planning to skip it, but now he had a reason to go.
Before he left, he woke Melissa up, just to be sure she was okay. Though a bit sleepy, she seemed determined to go back to her exercises, so he managed to convince himself it was okay to leave her. He rushed to work as quickly as he could.
One of his clients was already waiting and Rick did his best to actually focus, though he wasn't successful. As soon as his client was gone, Rick headed over to where Jimmy sat at his counter.
"Boss, can I ask for a favor?"
Jimmy grunted without looking up. "Wish I could stop you."
"I need my paycheck a few days early."
"What?" That got his boss to look up, staring at him with death in his eyes. "Why the fuck would I do that?"
"There's a family emergency and I can't afford everything I need. Come on, boss, I've been working here for years and I've always been a good employee."
"Feh. Not so much recently, getting into fights and bringing trouble back here."
"Do you honestly think I'd run off with the money or something? You know I'll still work here, I just need an advance."
Jimmy stared at him for a long time as if the very idea disgusted him and eventually Rick had to give in. Fine, he wasn't going to get his paycheck early.
While he worked with his next client, he considered his other options. There was no way he could get a conventional loan quickly enough, but if he paid in lucrima he had options. The most obvious would be to get a demonic bond. It would probably be a low quality bond given the circumstances, but if that was his only option, he would do it.
"Uh, Rick. You okay?"
He looked up and discovered that Lisa was already in the gym, watching him with a worried expression. Most likely he'd been sitting there and muttering to himself like a madman, so he understood her concern. All he could do was smile weakly. "Sorry, I'm just thinking about my sister. She's... well, she has a condition. Things have been bad lately."
"Oh, I didn't know!" Lisa put her hands to her mouth, eyes filling with concern. "You always said such nice things about your sister and how she was doing, I never thought she might... well..."
"Because she wouldn't want it to define her. But now..." Rick took a deep breath and tried to put away any sense of shame. "Lisa, I can't afford to pay you right away, but could I convince you to help my sister? She's working on a lucrim technique that will improve her condition, but it's tightening her lucrima. You have something that can help with that, right?"
Lisa nodded seriously. "Most likely. Plenty of my clients over-train themselves and need to have ether tension worked out. Some even plan for it and just consider it part of the job, though I think that's probably unhealthy. And you don't need to worry about paying, I-"
"No, we're not asking you for charity. We just-"
"Don't be stubborn! If you really want to pay me, do a good job sparring today!" Lisa smiled at him and he couldn't keep arguing... though he did plan to pay her for the treatment at some point.
Now that he had her cooperation assured, he was able to relax a little more. He did the best he could to spar with her. She'd improved her lucrima since the last time, and even though his portfolio was in worse shape, he was much more experienced fighting against stronger opponents than before. Somehow he managed to barely keep up with her, forcing her to work hard to land any blows.
Until his phone rang, his concentration vanished, and her next punch sent him flying into the wall.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Lisa rushed after him, shocked at her blow, but Rick didn't even feel the pain. He just crawled over to where he'd set his phone and accepted the call from his sister.
"...made a breakthrough... but..." Her voice faded in and out, extremely faint even at the best of times. Rick leapt to his feet, holding it tighter to his ear to try to listen. "...draining too much... I need... have to..."
"Melissa? Melissa, stay awake, I'm coming!"
Rick kept the phone by his ear in case she said anything else, but there was only silence from the other end. He turned to find some way to apologize to Lisa, only to find her standing nearby with a serious look on her face.
"It's your sister, isn't it? Is she in trouble?"
"I think so." Rick pushed past Lisa toward the door. "I'm sorry, I have to go. She probably needs someone to stabilize her..."
"Or you could let me help." Lisa moved alongside him, her aura flaring up around her. She opened the door with a wave of her hand and gestured for him to go, smiling grimly. "Don't even try to convince me otherwise. Come on, let's go."
Given the circumstances, he couldn't argue with her. They needed to get home as soon as possible and hope it wasn't too late.
Chapter 23: Brotherhood
Letting someone carry him while flying didn't sit well with him, but it didn't matter compared to his sister's life. Lisa lifted into the air and hooked her arms under his shoulders, which pressed her against his back, but it barely occurred to him to be uncomfortable. All that mattered was that this would be a much faster way of getting home.
Lisa's aura expanded around him and they lifted into the air. It had been a very long time since he'd flown with anyone, probably when he had been little and Uncle Frank had taken them on rides. This one was less smooth, but he was glad to see the city flashing underneath them. He directed Lisa to the apartment complex and they were soon touching down in the parking lot.
As they headed up he felt a twinge of embarrassment that Lisa would see his neighborhood and crappy apartment. Judging from how surprised she looked at some of the usual characters nearby, she was obviously used to nicer suburbs. But she was still going to help Melissa, so he would suffer much worse than that.
When he got the door open he forgot about Lisa entirely, rushing in to find his sister. Instead of shivering, she lay in bed with her back arched and her fingers clawing at the sheets.
