Chapter 136 - Group Brainstorming Session

The orphanage had changed. Even before its architecture was overhauled within the recent month, Marie recognised that the dynamic within the orphanage had shifted. Going back a few years, when her family was living under the old yet still sturdy roof of the building, while there was an excess of love and affection coursing in the ambience, there was a stark lack of 'something' that greatly unnerved Marie.

A family is a family only when there is- 'something'... What was it? All that time, Marie figured that the 'something' was love and affection. But even after gaining it, she still felt the absence of 'something'. Was it her greed - the so-called endless void of want hidden within the human psyche - that urged her to seek outwards to address this burgeoning itch? That's what Marie thought it was, and she actively suppressed that growing uneasiness in her heart.

'There is everything I need here,' she would tell herself. 'I have everything I deserve.'

But then everything changed. Someone new entered her life- entered the family. And with this new addition, the ambience in the house felt suddenly revitalised. It was hard to get used to the presence of this new entity in the family, but their assimilation was nigh flawless - they fit in like a missing puzzle piece. True to that analogy, the new presence brought with them the missing 'something' Marie was looking for.

It was support.

For the first time in her life, Marie felt that she could approach someone else with her problems. When she was stuck, when she felt down, when she was unsure, she could approach this new entity and, magically, everything that bothered her would get resolved.

Maybe it was this very reason that her body dragged her to this particular room of the orphanage: the source of the missing 'something' in her life.

As Marie entered the room, she observed that Teacher Larks wasn't alone. On the corner away from the entrance, Markus was seated with his back resting against the wall and was reading a book placed on a short table in front of him. It was interesting to note that while the room's location hadn't changed much, it had become quite spacious. During the refurbishing spree, most of the rooms in the orphanage had undergone a similar treatment. Now, Marie did not have to share her room with Jean. Nor did the twins. It was slightly jarring to get used to the sudden increase in space and stark lack of company at night, but Marie was definitely growing accustomed to the comfort brought by the privacy.

Markus raised his head and nodded a greeting towards her, which she reciprocated.

"Sit, sit!" Teacher Larks gestured from his desk. He was sitting in a cross-legged pose, the desk reaching right above his folded knees with a slight incline towards him such that he didn't have to arch his back while working.

Marie complied and sat down next to Teacher Larks' desk. "So? How're the lessons with your Master going?"

Marie scoffed involuntarily before quickly covering his mouth. She quickly centred herself and explained, "It's primarily self-studying. If I'm being honest, it's really frustrating. He's like... UGH! Like, this isn't even the first time, you know? With the magic primer sessions too, he just gave me a book about it and let me have at it. If it weren't for the sessions with you, I wouldn't have picked up half of what was prescribed within the time period."

She released her tense spine, collapsed onto the floor on her back and continued venting, "I'm not asking for much, you know? Besides, he was the one who asked me to become his Disciple. Why can't he treat me like one?"

At this point, Markus interrupted, "Actually, this is usually how a Master-Disciple relationship works, Marie. The Master's responsibility is to primarily pass on their techniques and cultivation arts, it is up to the Disciple to absorb it. Master Larks is just special, I think you should lower your expectations."

Marie turned her head and bore down on Markus with an incisive gaze.

"What? It's a fact!" Markus reasoned as he alternated his gaze between Marie and Guy. He noticed that Guy was returning a meaningful glance suggesting that he 'keep quiet'.

"Ignore him," Guy beckoned.

"As I was saying," Marie glared once again at Markus before continuing. "I feel like he can't teach, at all! Maybe, he doesn't even know what he is talking about."

Guy chuckled lightly and commented, "I don't think that's the case."

"*sigh* He did say that this was how his Master taught him and so on. But still, at least he should try, right?"

"Possibly," Guy sympathised. "Though you must understand that he is really, really old. It would be like asking a river to flow a different way."

"What else am I supposed to do?!" Marie exclaimed as she sprang up into a seated position. She immediately snapped her finger and dragged herself closer to Guy. "Can you help me?"

As Guy gazed into Marie's sparkling, pleading eyes, his heart softened. "I'd be glad to, but I don't think I am allowed to, right?"

Marie waved her hands and said, "Whatever! If it's not allowed, my 'Master' in his omniscient capacity would stop me. So can you? Please?"

'I hope he doesn't decimate me...' Guy prayed internally. After an intense debate with himself, he finally acquiesced. After all, a diligent student's plea for help was his greatest weakness.

Marie clapped enthusiastically and began explaining.

"That really... does not help us at all," Guy sighed.

"What does it even mean? Waves of fate?" Markus chimed in. "Are they like energy? How are they generated?"

"How would I know?" Marie retorted. "That's why I'm here!"

Markus scratched his chin in contemplation before suggesting, "Have you tried splitting the problem into-"

"bite-size modules?" Marie finished with a smug smile. "Why don't you try it, huh?" She goaded.

"Fighting isn't productive, guys. Nonetheless, even if we do break up this problem, I suspect that we cannot proceed further without determining what these waves of fate are," Guy interjected.

"That was my conclusion as well," Marie added. "But I can't connect it with anything I already know. The other aspects of the problem are known, it's just the waves that are stonewalling me."

"What method did Mage Nara utilise to detect these waves?" Markus inquired. "Did he observe them with his eyes?"

Marie furrowed her brows as she tried to recollect the scene from before. "No. His eyes were closed."

"Then it has to be either through smell, sound, or touch," Markus hypothesised.

"Why can't it taste?" Marie challenged.

"Stop being so willful!" Markus retorted. "I doubt that he stuck his tongue out when he divined the weather."

"I'm saying that he could have!"

"Did he?" Markus challenged back.

"Stop!" Guy reprimanded.

"Why are you like this?" Markus scolded Marie. "I bet this is why your Master doesn't bother teaching you. You'd just challenge him at every step!"

"ENOUGH!" Guy screamed. He turned to Marie and spoke with a stern voice, "Do you need help or not?"

"I-I do..."

"Then stop instigating Markus. Can't you see that he is trying to help?"

"B-But I'm just proposing a counterpoint," Marie reasoned.

"Was there a reason behind your counterpoint?"

"I mean, he just dropped a possible avenue just through an assumption."

"Was it valid?" Guy replied. "Markus is using deductive reasoning to filter out illogical or unnecessary paths to streamline our research. Look, when it comes to things like this we MUST be constructive with our feedback, criticisms and suggestions."

Marie nodded at Guy and hummed a low apology to Markus.

"Back to our discussion. I firmly believe that the way to sense out these 'waves' is through the mana sense," Guy proposed.

"Why is that, Master?"

"Mage Nara did not teach Marie any special techniques that alter or augment the human's sensory organs and its perception. He waited till Marie was capable of controlling her internal mana before letting her take the first step in cultivating The Heavenly Eye. That much should be enough to conclude that Marie first required the ability to use her mana in some way."

Markus nodded affirmatively and added, "I concur, however, we don't know what to look for. Mana sense covers so much ground, how will we be able to narrow down our search?"

That point brought pause to the productive discussion. As stated before, the mana sense was akin to a sensor that could read anything and everything that prevailed in the world. One just had to know what they were looking for, what it meant, and how to decipher it. Knowing that these arcane waves of fate could be observed through the mana sense didn't offer anything.

"We could brute force it," Markus suggested. "Master, myself and Big Sis - we could each work through the various information that comes in through mana sense and filter it out one at a time."

"That isn't tractable. We don't even know what all information CAN be obtained through mana sense," Guy countered.

"And I don't think you guys will even be able to sense it," Marie interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Guy asked.

"Well... If everyone could sense it, then why did Master choose me specifically? Why couldn't he have taken just about anyone to continue The Heavenly Eye?" Marie reasoned. "I remember him saying that there could only be two of us at a time. What is the factor restricting others from entering the fold?"

"So you're saying that-"

"I believe that no one else apart from me and Master Nara can observe these waves of fate.. Even if you guys try, I don't think that you will detect it," Marie concluded solemnly.