Yuzuriha sat cross-legged on the floor in a silent room, breathing in deeply through her nostrils and exhaling slowly through her mouth.

  She had her eyes closed, even though there wasn't much of a difference from her usual. A few inches in front of her was her doting older sister Marcille, who should also be in the same sitting position.

  It was quiet, save for the soft rhythm of their breaths and the faint noises of the city outside their window.

  In all honesty, the floor was so hard that it made her knees ache and the fact they've been sitting in the same position for who knows how long didn't help either.

  But she didn't complain. This was much more preferable than what she had gone through moments ago.

  This moment of peace had come after a minor storm.

  The second Yuzuriha returned from the bathroom, Marcille had ambushed her like a cornered mother hen. She bombarded her with a barrage of anxious questions that made her head spin.

  Such questions were like; Was she okay? Did she need anything? Or was it something she ate? Should punish Leo for feeding her poison? Or should they go to the hospital?

  A lot more like that followed, but you get the point. And the manner in which she asked those questions was terrifying. Even thinking about it made her shiver.

  Fortunately, she had endured it with the patience of someone who was used to this kind of affection, she however was not but she played the part quite well. So, props to her for that.

  It was only after a while that Marcille had calmed down, and they began to meditate afterwards. Apparently, this was the training she was talking about.

  'You know, when she mentioned training I thought it would be something like learning how to fight or some physical workout. Not sitting in the same position for hours!'

  After that explanation Sawatari gave her and Marcille informing her about practicing her astris, she was under the impression it would be something engaging. She was even looking forward to it.

  Right now, she was filled with so much excitement that it bored her out of her mind!

  Again, she didn't complain or argue. She merely followed Marcille's instructions, this wasn't something new to her after all.

  She focused on her breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

  Fortunately she had done this before. Funny how this body remembered how she used to do it. Back in her old life, when she was the CEO of Ichimonji International and a mother of two, she occasionally practiced mindfulness to keep herself from losing her mind completely.

  Meditation had been her retreat when meetings dragged on too long, when the weight of expectations threatened to split her spine and dealing with Hana and Haru's shenanigans. Five minutes a day to silence the static

  That was her normal, but this felt different, though.

  'I don't know how to explain it, but this feels strangely calming once you try to focus on the positives.'

  There was a serenity here she hadn't known she missed. It was quiet, yes, but there were other notable sounds. Like the clock ticking in the corner, the unknown noises from outside the window and Marcille's slow, methodical breathing like waves brushing a shore.

  'She's pretty good at this'

  By the calm way her chest expanded and contracted, Yuzuriha could tell Marcille had done this often, and seriously. Maybe even religiously.

  Since she was giving it her all, she might as well return the favor. Yuzuriha shifted slightly, letting her thoughts swirl and settle.

  As she fully locked in, a couple more minutes passed before Marcille finally decided to break the silence.

  "This should be fine. Now we can start but find first. I always ask you this question, asking you to improve your understanding each time. So now, I'm interested in what you understand"

  Marcille allowed a few seconds to go by before asking the question.

  "Yor, what do you think astris is?"

  Yuzuriha slightly jerked her head up, not because of the question. Because in that department. A technical definition, the one Sawatari told her tried to rise in her throat but she didn't voice it, not because she didn't understand it but…

  'That's strange. If she always asks this question then why don't I remember it?'

  Usually, whenever a question about this world was brought to her attention, she would suddenly get floods of information, depending on the clarity of it. But in this case she didn't get any of that.

  It was blank. What did this mean?

  Marcille didn't say anything, she was waiting on her little sister's response and Yuzuriha could sense her attention sharpen.

  This…was a trap.

  'Ahh, a trap?! Is she on to me?! What gave me away?!'

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  Yuzuriha panicked internally. On the outside she didn't express a single reaction that might hint she's having a breakdown.

  That's how good she was at emotional intelligence, or something like that.

  'No, I'm jumping to conclusions. I should relax, calm down and play it cool. She's my older sister, why would she suspect me? And who could she suspect me to be anyways?'

  It was a ridiculous notion to even think about, so to Marcille's question, Yuzuriha decided to feign ignorance.

  Before answering, she took another breath. Deeper this time as if trying to find the answer somewhere inside her lungs.

  "...Astris? Umm, astris is, uh. Some kind of energy source, right? I'm sorry, my head's not working well today"

  'Nailed it!'

  She absolutely killed it. Yuzuriha wasn't a great actor but playing the dummy was relatively easy, especially because she wasn't lying in this situation.

  But by the sound of it, Marcille wasn't exactly proud of her response. The silence that once plagued the room was back.

  Yuzuriha couldn't tell what face she was making but it was hopefully a disappointed one. The answer she gave her was wrong on purpose, but it didn't really stray too far from what Sawatari told her.

  'So then, how will she respond?'

  For a few seconds longer, Marcille said nothing. When she did, she said…

  "Seriously, Yor? We have covered this a hundred times already. I told you that astris is an unseen yet omnipresent current that binds all things, living or otherwise. It naturally leaks from our forms in varying amounts."

  Yuzuriha raised an eyebrow at Marcille's words.

  'What the, a new definition?'

  That was another definition of astris Yuzuriha had heard that day.

  It was not much different from Sawatari's explanation, but it was simple and easier to understand. Much better than the confusion her supposed assistant ambushed her with.

  'Having heard that, I can confirm that this "astris" they keep talking about is similar to magic in a way but also different. Ok, no, it isn't like magic, it's…some type of energy that ties everything together. That makes sense right?'

  She tilted her head to the side while keeping her eyes closed, but they were faltering to stay like that. If she could see herself right now, she would probably see steam coming out from her ears from the confusion she was putting herself under.

  Clearly, trying to compare this world's concepts from her old world was not working. It was just confusing her.

  Astris is an unseen yet omnipresent current that binds all things, living or otherwise. It naturally leaks from their forms in varying amounts.

  'That's what she said and I can confirm that with Sawatari if it's wrong. After all, Marcille is still a teenager, I can't take her at her word. There's always a different angle to something!'

  At this point, Yuzuriha was starting to question why she was overthinking things?

  As it stood, she was a foreigner in this strange land, inhabiting a local. The best she could do was try to learn their customs and such without comparisons.

  'Yeah, that would make it a lot easier to digest. I'm a genius'

  With a grin on her face, Yuzuriha turned her focus back to Marcille's training.

  "Ah, I get it. My definition was off. I'm sorry about that, I'll do better next time"

  Yuzuriha apologized while bowing her head slightly. She didn't really know how the people of this world expressed their sincerity so she worked with what she had been taught as a child.

  "...Oh-Uh, it's fine. I'm proud you gave it your best. It was close though. Let's proceed on the practical part of your training. That's going to make things go faster, right?"

  There was a drawn out moment of silence before Marcille said something. Her voice had a nervous tick which greatly unsettled Yuzuriha.

  'No. It's probably nothing. I should stop trying to overthink everything. It's going to drive me crazy one of these days, I swear'

  She gave her older sister an affirmative and they returned to their meditative atmosphere. With a deep breath and exhale, Marcille continued to speak.

  "Astris leaks from everything around us. People, trees, rocks, even this very building—in everything. It's invisible to the eye, but that doesn't mean we can't perceive it, it just takes practise to do so"

  The older sister spoke softly and Yuzuriha nodded her head to show that she understood, but that turned out to be useless since they both had their eyes closed.

  She didn't understand why but she felt embarrassed by that. With a faint tint of red on her cheeks, she showed her understanding with words instead.

  "Y-yes! I understand, it's like…heat or radio waves right?"

  It was quiet for a bit before Marcille responded.

  "That is one way of putting it I suppose, but it doesn't just float in the air. It brushes against you and the more sensitive you are, the more of it you can feel. Is that easy to understand, Yor?"

  "I get it, but how am I supposed to sense something I can't see?"

  "With a lot of effort. Follow these steps"

  Marcille exhaled a short breath and began listing the steps.

  "First, empty your thoughts. You need to reach a state where your body is quiet, but your awareness is loud"

  Yuzuriha knitted her brows, that part alone sounded like a riddle. However, it was simple enough to comprehend, so if she just based it off on her own understanding, there should be some type of reaction, right?

  Probably. Yuzuriha took a breath and obeyed.

  'Alright. Shut up, brain. Go dark. Clear your thoughts. Be quiet"

  Yuzuriha sat there for a while longer, placing all of her focus into achieving this one thing. It leaned toward mindfulness so it shouldn't be too hard to achieve.

  "..."

  It didn't work.

  'Uwuah! I can't do this. Asking me to clear my mind like that after every bizarre thing that's happened to me is too much! This isn't like the office you know!'

  Once again, Yuzuriha cried out internally but her external demeanor didn't falter. Her thoughts were like a hive of bees, bouncing off each other and buzzing nonstop.

  It was even to the point where she was stressing over little things like was she breathing too loudly or was she sitting straight enough?

  It was all too stressful to focus on one thing!

  Marcille must have noticed the tension in her shoulders, because she gently added.

  "Yor, don't force it. Just let the world come to you instead of chasing it"

  'You make it sound so easy'

  She pouted, but she understood what she meant. And so, another deep breath. This time, Yuzuriha stopped trying to do something.

  Instead she just listened. To the wind brushing her skin. To the ticks of the clock in the corner. To the faint sounds outside the window. To her heartbeat.

  'Clear your mind. Clear your mind. Clear your mind. Clear your mind'

  She repeated that a couple of times. And slowly, very slowly, she began to feel something.

  It wasn't a sound or a touch. It was more like pressure, soft but constant. She couldn't make it out specifically, but she could feel that it was coming from everywhere.

  'Wait. Is that…is that it?"

  Yes. It had to be because at that moment, Yuzuriha felt like the whole world was breathing alongside her. Like she was a part of it in a way. Like a thread running through everything.

  "Color!"

  Her eyes flew open—and then quickly shut again, sinking into embarrassment again. She wanted to see it but that would mess with her focus, she kept them shut. She didn't want to ruin this moment.

  And also, she shouted spontaneously like that. Marcille must have been startled but she didn't say anything. She just let it slide.

  At least, that's what Yuzuriha wanted to make herself believe anyways because in the next instance, she suddenly felt her body getting flung across the room and pinned against the wall.

  The impact knocked the air out of her lungs. Struggling to breath, she opened her eyes and tried to make sense of what had just happened.

  Something sharp and cold was pressing against her neck and she couldn't move, let alone make a sound.

  It wasn't until Marcille said something she began to understand what was happening.

  "Who are you?"