Infraburst

Every bone in his body felt drained as Alex maintained a crushing grip on his arm. Ashley continued to gradually amp up the pressure in the room, even though he was barely moving at this point.

Jubert added to the pot by blurring his vision, making it difficult to see what was right in front of his face. The three magics combined made it virtually impossible to maneuver through the training room. His task was deceptively simple, yet at the same time entirely unfeasible. All he had to do was walk to the other side of the room.

"Keep moving," Jubert called out, his voice more demanding than usual.

Brand's body began to shut down in response. "I can't," he managed, every breath labored. Choking up on his own words, he collapsed to the ground, instantly blacking out.

It took Alex a moment to realize Brand was hanging limply in his grip.

Seated at the kitchen table in the boys' loft-like cavern, Brand shared lunch with the team. The only person missing was Ernest, who he last encountered when he dragged him into their cave and locked him in their after the disastrous court session.

The day after being locked up went on as usual, as if nothing happened. Jubert, Alex, and Ashley took charge of his training the day after, Ernest having apparently gone missing.

The three of them were exposing him to their power in small doses, so that he would be able to handle himself under any of their influence. After all, he wouldn't be all that useful in the field if he too fell because of Ashley's overbearing magic.

"I know I'm not sup-" Brand started, then halted mid-sentence as the entire table was glaring him down. Even Edwin, who was normally so cheerful, had a solemn look on his face. He remembered the first time he asked them about Robyn since the court session took place. Asking questions around here apparently didn't end well.

Changing the subject, Jubert encouraged him, "You're building up a stronger resistance to our powers."

Brand had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in response. Even though it was likely he was building a tolerance, he didn't notice. It felt just as debilitating every time.

"Yeah, you're making fairly consistent progress," Ashley added on, doing his best to show support. In terms of normality, or at the very least stability, he and Jubert were the only ones who even came close in the group.

Disgruntled, Alex laid his head on the table, his long ghastly hair spread out across the mess.

Unbothered, Edwin returned to his gluttonous self, gorging on what little food remained. All the while Jubert, Ashley, and Brand did their best to continue casual conversation.

Tired of pretending like everything was okay, Brand excused himself and returned to his bunk. He found himself staring at the bottom of the bed above him, wondering what he could possibly do. He felt so powerless, which infuriated him.

The one thing that plagued him, nearly every second of every day, was what in the world was happening to Robyn. There were so many uncertainties haunting him. With the gnawing worry, he was getting ready to do something about it, no matter how stupid it wound up being.