Chapter 30: Unknown...
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The unknown... is it the source of our ignorance? Or is it the opposite? Is ignorance the source of the unknown?
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After all the digressions about the real subject of the lesson on this beautiful Obscurity afternoon, and without Lumian showing any more surprise than that at Liu's words, the Form directly became the center of the lesson again.
"Mm, so, the connection I wanted to make with all of this is that the things the Form absorbed during her birth all have, more or less, a direct consequence on the Form herself, and that's what's going to determine how we act with the Form from now on."
Lumian neatly redirected everything they had explored straight toward the Form and the rest of what they had to cover this afternoon.
"Ow!"
'... serves him right.'
But Liu and Milo, instead of really paying attention to what he was saying, bickered a little, having remained standing and motionless for too long.
"Follow me."
Heading toward the tree where the Form had taken shelter in the shade, he added:
"Liu, don't forget to stay five steps away, otherwise it's going to be a pain."
'... I wasn't planning on getting any closer than that anyway...'
She nodded, following Milo closely, still hiding behind him.
The tree under which the Form had hidden was almost the darkest spot in the surroundings, giving Liu a few cold sweats as she took her last step.
"Alright, before starting the lesson, we need to test how it reacts and to what."
Said Lumian, leaning on the tree as if the Form weren't a few centimeters from him.
Milo, for his part, had stayed quite far from the Form, maybe out of fear or maybe out of consideration, but either way, he was no less a good shield for Liu.
'... isn't this going to be dangerous?'
"It's definitely going to be dangerous, not for you, but for me."
He answered Liu's thoughts once again, adding a layer to her curiosity, but...
'What is he doing!?!!'
... that curiosity was completely swept away by Lumian's incomprehensible movement.
"Since I'm going to be the cobaye first to run these tests anyway, just to have enough info before we do other tests to see the reactions she has when it's Liu doing them." ("cobaye" is the French equivalent of "guinea pig," but translating it into English would be inappropriate in this context. Explanations in the afterword.)
Without warning and in an abrupt manner, he had plunged his hand... into the Form, which made Liu and Milo jump, completely stunned by the movement.
'... is he crazy??!'
On top of that, Liu stepped back a bit abruptly in reaction, but stopped when she realized there was no sound of chewing or cracking...
'...?'
... before a logical thought could even cross her mind, she imagined the worst...
'... why?...'
... she imagined there was a way not to be absorbed by the Form, even while putting one's hand in it.
That ridiculous thought, that ridiculous idea, gave her a strong feeling of self-mockery, causing a feeling of distress to be born within her, until...
"Don't worry, I made sure the barrier blocks the sound..."
... Lumian, expressionless, simply pulled his hand out of the Form.
His hand, which...
'...!'
... was by no means intact; it had of course been completely absorbed by the Form, leaving only something like a stump.
But the scene wasn't disgusting or repulsive...
"... and as you can see, it's really dangerous."
... it was captivating. Lumian's hand reformed entirely in only a few seconds in a mass of threads and magnificent colors.
Quickly plunging Liu back into the striking moment where her arm had been reformed.
'....'
"Except you have to understand that it isn't the Form that's dangerous, but her ignorance as well as ours. Her ignorance is what mak.."
And although the words were heard, Liu and Milo visibly didn't take them in. Lumian therefore stopped his explanation, to wake them up in his own way.
"Hey-ho! Staying stuck on something you have no real understanding of won't make you stronger, it'll just frustrate you."
He spoke only one sentence, a sentence meant to wake Liu and Milo up, which of course worked, but also a sentence that could serve as a lesson.
But despite that, Liu still found something to complain about.
'... that bastard really needs to warn people when he does crazy stuff like that...'
Setting Lumian's hand aside, she shot him a nasty look, complaining mentally once again.
'... because of him, I'm always jumping to conclusions... I hope he can really read my thoughts, otherwise...'
"Uh... why ignorance?"
While Liu was complaining mentally, Milo took the lead, probably a bit too used to Lumian's way of doing things. He asked a question, utterly mundane in such a situation, right?
'....?'
And Lumian, that son of a *****, jumped straight onto the Form, without any sign that could show the possibility, or even the logical plausibility, that such an action would be his next one.
'What the!!..'
Without having time to react and without being able to tear her gaze from what the lunatic was doing, Liu opened her mouth to... have no sound come out, and before the lunatic's body entered the Form, she shut her eyes, abruptly and by reflex.
"Huh!?"
Beside Liu, Milo exclaimed in a voice full of surprise... other than that, no sound indicating anything else was heard.
'...?? Mm...?'
Liu's heart was beating fast, she had no idea what was going on, Milo visibly surprised, Lumian's actions completely insane... anger? stress? surprise? fear?
What was she supposed to do? Open her eyes? Keep them closed?
"How is that possible?"
In a really low voice, Milo asked a question that drew Liu's attention. That question, which Milo murmured, was the trigger.
'....'
Liu, her body trembling a little but not having moved from her spot, very slowly opened her eyes, to...
"What's wrong with you? Is your heart dancing the Macarena? Oh la la..."
... see Lumian... a big smile on his lips, taking wicked pleasure in teasing Liu about her weaknesses.
'... I need to hit him! But...'
"... how is that possible?"
She murmured in turn upon seeing... Lumian, settled in a relaxed way on the Form, almost as if it were just a couch?
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The unknown is of ignorance, ignorance is of the unknown... words are merely tools of the situation...
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