Death filled the air. Unfathomable heat and pressure scoured the world. The only sign of movement across the barren landscape was Behemoth, its ponderous steps cracking the baked earth. Toxic clouds broke apart from its mere presence and dispersed into a trailing miasma.
As massive as the Titan of Earth may be, the world was bigger, and the heavens moreso. From a great enough height, even the Titan of Earth could be captured within a single glimpse.
Soaring high above, Phoenix observed Behemoth, far beyond the reach of those great, sweeping arms. Hundreds of pairs of its wings flapped in uncanny rhythm, defying the pull of the earth below and the push from the heavens above.
While the others had spent eons experiencing the strange world they found themselves in, Phoenix had in turn spent eons observing the other Titans. It had become evident that none of the others could see beyond themselves. Whenever their paths crossed, they clashed, concerned with only what was right before them. A flame could only see what it illuminated, and nothing hidden within the darkness beyond.
Yet their ignorance, Phoenix understood, was a natural law, an imposition from the heavens. Each Titan was the paragon of its element. The distinction between them was clear, yet they often combined to form a concept beyond their individual grasp. After circling the world from above countless times, Phoenix had begun to comprehend the faintest hint of what that meant.
Physical reality arose from their conflict. Water and Earth in particular had shaped most of the material world, birthing seas and mountains through their clashes. For a long time, Fire had not understood its own purpose, and so it turned its blazing mind upon itself and its brethren, seeking the underlying meaning behind its own existence.
It was, finally, beginning to decipher the will of the heavens.
Phoenix tucked its manifold wings close, swooping down from the dark skies. Reality warped and twisted in its presence, its domain cleansing anything that dared to cross its path. Behemoth stopped mid-stride and began to turn its great bulk to face the sky. One of its many-fingered hands reached toward the incoming threat, each individual finger larger than Phoenix itself.
Too slow.
Phoenix pierced through fields of conceptual weight and force. A moment later, it grazed along Behemoth’s forearm, burning wingtips leaving behind trails of molten stone. Lava flowed from the wounds like ichor, dripped to the world below to form great channels in the earth. Phoenix whirled about, subtle shifts of its wings altering its path out of the way of Behemoth’s other hand.
It dove down along Behemoth’s chest, scoring more superficial hits along the endless slab of divine stone. As devastating as the wounds appeared, they were no more than thin lines along the Titan’s bulk. Within a few days, they would heal into scars, slightly discolored compared to the surrounding stone.
Once Phoenix was satisfied with the flow of lava across the surface, it broke away from Behemoth. Early in their existence, the Titan of Earth would have chased its attacker to the ends of the earth. Over the years it had learned that Phoenix could escape its grasp by ascending far into the sky, beyond the reach of its domain.
Now, Behemoth merely watched as Phoenix spun away and took flight. As always, Phoenix detected no real understanding from its kin, no desire to communicate. But Behemoth had proven it could learn. It could pay attention. Behind the earthen shell, a massive mind was thinking.
Phoenix soared high above, once more observing from a distance. Behemoth, ever so slowly, looked down at its wounds, then to the ground below. After a long time, it continued walking along, facing straight ahead.
One day, thought Phoenix, they will understand.
* * *
As the vision ended, Cyril’s consciousness trickled back together. The bizarre vision remained within his mind, strangely clear and vivid. Though Phoenix’s thoughts had existed on a completely different level than his own, he clearly understood its intentions and thought process, far more than that of the very Titan he had bonded to.
A moment later, he realized part of the reason why. His breakthrough wasn’t over. He opened his eyes--or thought he did--and found himself floating high above his own body. Almost like Phoenix soaring above Behemoth, except he was both at the same time. Astral projection, he realized. He was in a state of existence parallel to the material world, unable to do more than observe.
Below him, he saw his own physical body, deep in meditation, while Loras and his Uncle Asher stood guard, back-to-back.
Except he wasn’t looking down at the material world. Not quite. He saw reality through the lens of the sea of knowledge. Everything was made of concepts, blending and contrasting against one another. Too many to make sense of. This strange new vision stretched the limits of his mind. It felt as if his senses had muddled together into an abstract mess, like he had taken some potent hallucinogen.
Cyril calmed his mind. He had some idea what was happening, at least. The first vision had come from his bloodline connection to the Dominion of the Sun. His Ancestor had received Phoenix’s blessing, so when he broke through, he had acquired an ancestral memory opposed to one from Behemoth.
Ascending to the Third Sphere of the Sun had, for better or worse, cascaded into a secondary breakthrough in his Dominion of Knowledge. Cultivators with sufficient resources and planning often attempted to cluster their breakthroughs in an attempt to force a synergy, hoping that each ascension would compound upon the others.
His first memory, like everyone with at least one innate Dominion, came from the moment his core formed while he was still in his mother’s womb. It had been a fairly basic vision: a book on fire, refusing to burn.
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When he had reached the threshold of the Second Sphere in both of his innate Dominions, he had entered secluded meditation under his family’s guidance. His breakthrough back then had been more complex than the first, and had mostly slipped from memory. He vaguely recalled a sea of fire merged with the sea of knowledge.
Now, his breakthrough into the Third Sphere for both Dominions had followed a similar pattern. Phoenix’s thoughts and intent had likely been interpreted in the light of that synergy. Like most of his lucid thoughts in such moments, he knew that much of his comprehension would fade, leaving behind a small mark on his heart.
Cyril resigned himself to that fate. The vision, and the strange perspective of his astral form, were interesting, but in the end, unnecessary to remember.
Then, he felt a shift in his consciousness. An inexorable force, like an invisible hand, grabbed onto him and flung him back down to earth. He blinked as he plummeted toward his physical form. Before he connected, he twisted and glanced back up at the heavens.
High above, wrought from concepts and divinity, one of Behemoth’s eyes stared straight down at Cyril, like a moon in the sky. The metaphysical weight of the Titan pressed down on him as it regarded him with its full attention.
PHOENIX, Behemoth rumbled.
* * *
The world blurred. Cyril gasped for breath and clutched his chest. Reality asserted itself, and he found he was back in his own body, awake. His heart pounded in his chest. He glanced up at the sky, half-expecting to see Behemoth’s looming eye, but there was only the sun.
A heavy hand fell upon Cyril’s shoulder. Asher’s face was full of concern, but behind that, there was a glimmer of pride and joy in his eyes. He squeezed Cyril’s shoulder.
More surprisingly, Loras nodded at him. “Excellent work. I am not quite sure what you did, but it was an extraordinary breakthrough.”
“How…” Cyril trailed off. He shook his head and regathered his thoughts. “How long was I out?”
“Three minutes and twelve seconds,” said Loras.
Cyril sighed in relief. He supposed it made sense--they would have moved him elsewhere if it had been longer than a few hours. After all his worries about an extended breakthrough, he had ascended in record time.
Then, a realization dawned on him. He remembered everything about the experience. Loss of comprehension was an immutable rule of breakthrough visions. One had to meditate upon their thoughts and experiences to recall the full extent of their epiphany. Some cultivators reflected upon those memories for a lifetime and still couldn't remember everything.
Behemoth wanted to remember that, he thought to himself.
“So, what boons did you receive?” said Asher, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
Cyril had been so shocked he hadn’t even bothered to check. Banishing all stray thoughts, he delved into his soul and searched for the newest entries.
Dominion of The Sun:
Third Sphere- formation of a Magmatic Heart. (0/10000)
Magmatic Heart- amplify qi expression through emotional control.
This one was no real surprise to Cyril. Over the ages, his family had compiled a comprehensive list of boons. The Magmatic Heart, while far from unique, was considered a boon nearly on par with acquiring a domain. Many of his family members, including Uncle Asher, cultivated their heart on top of other aspects of their soul, often as the keystone of their foundations. No record existed of anyone manifesting it below the Fifth Sphere.
Cyril sensed it as a glowing stone within his chest. Sometimes, when enraged, he had felt a similar sensation, but now it existed as a metaphysical truth. It was weak--pitifully weak, even, likely as a sign of his faltering determination. And now that he had accomplished his goal of returning home, he had no idea what he needed to do next.
Whatever fate had in store for him, he suspected it wouldn’t be easy.
He tilted his head up to the heavens. Whatever happens, I’ll be the one standing in the end.
The glow in his chest brightened ever so slightly.
Smiling, he moved on to the next boon.
Dominion of Knowledge:
Third Sphere- improved spatial memory and understanding. World Map Cantrip acquired. (521/10000)
World Map- create, alter, and display a map of previously explored locations
Without another word, he began channeling his qi in the complex pattern demanded by the Cantrip. His first few attempts rapidly dissolved into entropy. Too complex, too much information to process at once.
He took a deep breath and reconsidered the problem. It’s a matter of perspective, isn’t it? What if I just..think of it as slapping a bunch of pages of Mind Scroll together? Combine pieces together instead of trying to force a single, complex structure wholly into existence.
It took a few more tries and a half of his core, but finally he managed to piece together the World Map. He doubted it was supposed to look like a bunch of papyrus scrolls stitched together, but it worked. A patchwork map as large as a tapestry hovered in the air before him.
“What’s this?” asked Uncle Asher, leaning forward in curiosity.
Cyril explained the results of his breakthrough, barely paying attention to his own words. He was disappointed, after all. The World Map included only locations he had visited. He had never traveled beyond the desert, and so anything beyond the borders remained completely blank. His hope had been that Behemoth’s past exploration would have counted. Since the Titan had stomped across most of the known world, countless locations would have been revealed to him.
Well, he thought. If I keep advancing, there’s a good chance that’ll happen naturally.
He was already reassured to see precise markers for Beljeza and the Underdark entrance. He could backtrack to them without any issues. It also meant he could go back to the settlement. Even the previous location of Loras’ Pagoda was depicted, though the building was currently sitting inside of Loras in the form of a deck of cards.
Once Cyril’s explanation ended, Asher and Loras lapsed into silence, most likely reflecting on the possibilities of Cyril’s new boons. No doubt the two old warriors were trying to figure out some grueling training regime for him.
A mote of fire qi materialized next to Cyril’s face, winking away a second later. He blinked at it, stunned. That qi…after his vision, he recognized it. Another mote popped into existence nearby, confirming his suspicions.
“Uncle,” he said.
Asher blinked, startled out of his thoughts, and looked down at Cyril. “Yes?”
“Why is the Phoenix’s qi here?”