Chapter Text
Lalna thought that blocking her in the tower was the best thing he could do, probably not the best for her, but it was probably also not the worst thing he could do. He tried to offer some empty reassurance while he laughed nervously, he admitted he had no idea what falling into a giant angry node and all that flux would do, however it can’t be anything good. He had hoped it would do nothing, but after hearing her complaining about dizziness, nausea, itchiness, and feeling hot and ‘tingly’, it didn't sound like nothing. Maybe she could just sleep it off...
“Goodnight!” Lalna shouted as and flew away, he couldn't say he didn't feel a little sad. He had quite liked having an apprentice... he just liked himself a lot more. When she comes out he figures he’ll probably have to ask her to leave, flux is volatile at best and that kind of exposure could have unpredictable consequences on the lab. He distantly heard her shouting after him and sighed, he would have to worry about that in the morning, but for now he decided to carry on with work as normal.
He did a circuit of his castle trying to remember what he was doing before Nano crashed into his fountain. He had a quick look at her quarry just to make sure that hadn't broken somehow, he looped around all his labs, dabbling into half completed projects before getting distracted. Finding nothing was capturing his attention particularly. Sooner or later he found himself wandering into his magic room for the first time in a while, he walked through all the jars of essentia purposelessly, pausing at the bright purple jar labelled ‘Mutatio’, and traced his fingers over the label mumbling, “chaos and flux,” as if to prove that he knew what it signified.
He begun to feel frustrated that he didn't know what would happen if someone was exposed to a pure version of this, turning quickly away he abandoned the jars and went to look in one of the chests for materials. Soon he was sat on the floor with a number of books and research papers spread out in front of him, his Thaumonomicon and smaller note book propped up on his lap. Though initially driven by frustration, it hadn't taken long for it to fall into excitement, leaving him to revel in the research. It had been so long since there was something he couldn't do, he laughed to himself, feeling giddy at the chance for new discoveries.
There was nothing written about any previous exposures to massive amounts of flux, which lead him to believe they never got the chance to write down their findings due to complication’s including but not limited to: death, madness, or the sudden removal of their hands.
At one point Lalna had decided to throw random potentia into the crucible just to see what happened, it didn't do much apart from create some odd foam, and after putting a gloved hand in to pop a bubble found it quickly turned into a purple vapour which tried to grab his finger. He emptied the crucible, glad there was finally something interesting enough to note down.
Time became a very loose concept down in the magic room, as it didn't have access to any sunlight, and his power suit removed the need to eat, he became absorbed in the warped reality of magic, which was dangerous for any sound mind. Lalna was unsure where his mind lay between sound and unsound, he figured it can’t be good to continuously follow this research in circles as he got nowhere finding out about the finer details of flux and nodes.
After drawing another blank, following what probably was a full day of research, he threw a glass vial against the wall and watched it shatter. The initial frustration creeping up on him. He got up and begun to pace, walking absent mindedly over the books and paper and the added broken glass, seeing only the notes he was thinking over in his head. Pacing up and down the rows of jars, he stopped again, this was where it had started, this mad idea of research, why was he doing it again? He hadn't thought much about his flux problem before? What had changed?
He traced his fingers over the label again trying to recall how he felt before, was it sad or guilty? Lalna didn't think that sounded like him but that was all came to mind, her worked his mind harder. Someone had fallen in the flux... it could have been his fault, but it probably wasn't. It wasn't like Nano was that careful any-
Nano! Of course it was her! That bright, feisty, naive girl! Lalna laughed and spun a little while remembering her. He laughed remembering his friend/apprentice. He was trying to help her, that, he thought that was a very heroic endeavour, he puffed his chest out in pride. He deflated when he begun feeling that unfamiliar mix of guilt and sadness again, realising it’s probably been a while and she probably would have got out by now... unless something else had happened. Something he could help with
He sighed realising he wouldn't be able to find a solution on his own, and begun worry his lip. He paced along another row of jars, reading the labels as he went for any sort of inspiration. Imperito... Fractus... Corpus... Bestia... Alienis. “Alienis, symbolising, the eldritch, strange and alien. As well as, The End.” He listed off, again just proving he still remembered something. “The End.” He mused, unhappy about the idea it gave him.
Lalna had always favoured science over magic, sure he liked the benefits magic gave him, rather than ever appreciating it as an art. But he did know someone so helplessly dedicated to magic, that it drove him to hate, and he was the one that could help, (even if the thought it made him clench his hands into fists so tightly his nails begun to dig in bluntly).
He sighed loudly and left his magic room. He flew up to his main science lab, as if being in his own are of expertise would give him the upper hand. He stepped back to lean on a chest, taking a moment to steady his angry breaths until he had them under control, ignoring the nerves he also felt. When he had the perfect appearance of nonchalance, he went to the nearest computer and begun typing commands, and after a moment another man had appeared in the room.
“Rythian, I'm going to need your help with something.”