Timeline: Present

Point of View: Claudia & Ralph

Location: Red Planet

Claudia was sitting on the ground, waiting for Ralph to return. She hadn’t been on this side of the pylon before, waiting for someone to return from their time with Ctaolthost. After she’d kicked Ralph into the pylon, she considered jumping in behind him. Ctaolthost would rebuild her again, but she’d been to this pylon already. As she’d learned from Lisa, entering the same pylon twice didn’t offer any real advantages, no additional power. Beyond that, she couldn't think of anything to speak to Ctaolthost about.

She’d spoken to it (him?) twice already, the second conversation not nearly as enlightening as the first. She was certain that Ralph’s world was being turned upside down at that very moment, as he learned about the sentience behind the rock he’d grown up on. The second time she’d spoken with the… Planet? God? She’d learned a bit more about their history, but Ctaolthost remained tight-lipped about the struggle it was facing. It was clear that the planet-God saw her as only a means to an end, and that frustrated her.

So she sat and she waited, pulling in as much of the essence as she could as it leaked out from the core of the planet.

In regard to whatever new abilities Ralph achieved, she had two hopes, either of which would be beneficial to her goals. The first, the most desirable, would be that Ralph returned with the vision to locate the pylons on Earth. She didn’t yet understand fully how achieving abilities worked, but Ralph’s abilities seemed to cater to the possibility for having the vision. He already had the Astral Projection and Teleportation abilities. It didn’t seem too far-fetched for him to receive an enhanced vision.

She thought about Lisa and felt deep sadness. She missed her deeply. Not just because her ability would have guided her to the pylons both on Earth as well as the remaining ones on Ctaolthost, but because she had become a close friend to her. Being back on the red planet, feeling the warmth on her skin again, she’d been thinking about her friend often (even if she hadn’t been vocalizing it with Ralph). She was remembering how she'd let Lisa down.

No you didn’t. Lisa made a choice. You can’t pin that on yourself.

Claudia ignored her inner monologue. Sometimes the truth didn’t matter as much as what she felt, and ever since it had happened, when Lisa was torn from her fully, she felt keenly that somehow, in some way, it had been her fault.

Claudia shook the thoughts from her mind, returning to the task at hand. The second optimal scenario, if not getting the vision, would be Ralph returning with abilities to assist in combat. She needed him to be able to protect himself when they fought the giants, if not also assist if they came upon them while on Earth (before they were able to reach the others, that was).

The worst possibility was that he returned with either no additional abilities at all, or an ability that Claudia could not use to assist her with her mission. He could return with an ability she already had, like the ability to heal, but she didn't think that likely. Claudia had only witnessed the gaining of power and abilities between her, Lisa, and Ralph, and it was frustrating to have such a limited scope of what was possible. Yet, it was also exciting in a way. The three of them had all received completely different abilities, yet all useful in different ways. What else was out there? A terrifying thought came to her that Lisa might have been the only person with her enhanced vision. She shook the thought from her mind. That kind of pessimism wouldn't help her.

She thought again about the others on Earth, the group Ralph had found on Reddit. Even if Ralph didn’t receive a desirable ability, what were the chances that one of the people in that group had the ability she needed? A worse thought, what if someone in that group was stronger than she was?

She hoped there wasn't. It would be dangerous to have someone else be more powerful than she. She also didn’t think it likely. Possible, but not likely. If these others had been to a pylon, then it meant they'd spoken to Ctaolthost and knew about his mission. If they knew about his mission, and they were stronger than she was, wouldn’t Ctaolthost tell her about them? Ctaolthost had spoken to her as if no one else had yet taking up the mission. It seemed more likely that it was a group of people like Ralph, people that had seen the planet without visiting it.

Yet, there was the second pylon…

No, that was impossible. The second pylon had been a graveyard. So who were these others on Earth making posts on Reddit?

Suddenly she felt as if she did have something of deep importance to speak to Ctaolthost about. She stood, staring down the pylon, ready to jump, but not yet committing. She worried about Ralph returning without her present. Would Ctaolthost even tell her anything at all about the others? It was worth a try.

Before she could jump, she sensed Ralph’s return like a shift in the air, molecules displaced to make room for something else. She used her Astral Vision and scanned the area until she located Ralph. He was lying on the ground a short distance away, his newly acquired essence glowing hotly.

“Ralph, can you hear me?”

The body groaned and rolled over.

“Sit up, buddy. Work through it.”

Ralph got up on his knees, still crouched as if he was going to hurl. “Oh man, it hurts. My whole body hurts.”

“It’s a good pain. You’ll have to get used to it. Things will feel a little different.”

“I thought it was all a dream. Did I die down there?”

“I don’t know,” Claudia answered honestly, “I think so. But even so, Ctaolthost rebuilds us. You’re stronger now. Do you feel it?”

"I told you already. I feel like shit." Ralph rolled over and sat down. “Man, everything is so damn bright.”

Claudia said nothing. She took the opportunity to consider what he’d been given.

Name Ralph Lacy Hughett Base Ability Astral Projection Essence Current: 55 | Max: 50 Tiers Achieved 1: Energy Awareness

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

2: Super Human Learned Abilities • Astral Vision

• Teleportation

• Physics Manipulation Pylons Located 1

”Physics Manipulation... Interesting. Not what I was hoping for, but I wonder what that is,” Claudia said, thinking out loud. Is that like telekinesis? She thought to herself.

I think it can be, but I think it’s more than that. I think he can manipulate space through the use of his essence. I think he can…

“Claudia, I feel… I feel so hot,” Ralph said, “Oh man, I need to… I need to…” Ralph stood and began to wander, holding his head in his hands.

He walked dangerously close to the edge of the pylon pit, and Claudia had to step up close to him to guide him away. “Careful, Ralph. Calm down.”

“Claudia, I can’t. I can’t… I need to get this out… It hurts.” He was shaking his head. Claudia thought of Lisa again and got nervous, remembered her exploding her vessel inside this buzzsaw prison.

Should I run?

No, I don’t think this is like Lisa. I think he’s feeling his essence differently. Give him time.

“Ralph, you are stronger now, you have a new ability, you just need to calm yourself.”

Ralph pushed her away from him, hands still on his head. He looked up into the sky, at the bright red sun up there, and started to scream. It was a raw scream, a scream from deep within his throat. He was expelling emotional torment.

Then, Ralph looked at his hands. He was seeing something curious happening there alongside the new feelings. His essence was flowing into his hands, and then leaping up off of his hands just above his fingertips. It reminded him of a lighter. On a lighter, the flame is never burning at the point where the metal ends, where the fuel is ejected to be ignited. The flame always burns a few millimeters off of that point, as if suspending in the air. He’d always found that little scientific fact fascinating, and it was what his new essence felt like. It wasn’t fully within his body, but around the edges of it as well, and he could freely move it around the perimeter of his skin.

He thought about that first time he’d visited the red planet, so many years ago, back when he was the youngest child in a house full of boys. He remembered his father running upstairs while he sat there, playing with those leftover toys. What had he been making again? Oh yes, he’d been pretending to make a potion for his father. He'd always had a creative mind, was always thinking outside of the physical world and making up his own worlds in his imagination. Back then as a child he’d been a wizard. That's when he'd first visited the red planet, pretending to be a wizard making a magical potion. Why was he thinking about that now?

Because you’re a sorcerer, his essence told him. In a way. Not a wizard. A wizard learns his power through study and practice. You’re innately powerful, and the power comes from within. You feel it now, on the edges of your skin.

Ralph thought about the flame again, thought about how hot he felt, thought about the glowing red sun millions of miles above him. He thought about that essence floating there about the tips of his fingers. Then he ignited it.

Claudia nearly fell back in surprise as the fire glowed, a small flame hovering above Ralph’s hands. A normal person might have commented on the ironic coolness of such an ability, because it suggested that the man might have the ability to control fire, even if now it was just a minor trick. Claudia, however, saw that flame and thought about everything Ralph might be able to do as he learned to control it. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she said, “Really? Really?”

Ralph looked up at her confused. He was in awe of what he’d done, perplexed by his own ability, but also confused about Claudia’s reaction to it. “What?” He asked.

“You can fucking create fire. You get an ability that can create fire out of thin air, and all I do is fight a little better. It’s…. It’s bullshit.” She kept some of the other thoughts to herself, thoughts like: Lisa could turn her bones into goddamn bullets and: he’s not even the smart one, yet he gets abilities like teleportation and…. Fucking magic. What the fuck.

Ralph, not wanting to cause a rift between them, decided to downplay what he’d done. “We don’t even know what this is. Probably all I can do is create a campfire with it.”

Palm the burning essence into your hand and throw it at a tree as if you’re throwing a base ball, his essence told him.

Ralph did exactly that, palming the fire in his hand and pulling it back behind his head. He felt it burning next to his ear as the flames licked his skin. He wound up and threw as hard as he could. He missed the tree he’d been aiming at by a wide margin, but luckily there were enough trees nearby that he hit another beside it. It hit low on the base of the tree. The carnivorous bark devoured the flame, sucking it up into itself. For a second, nothing happened. Then the tree ignited, starting from the base then growing rapidly until the entire tree, all the way up into the sky, was alight. It burned, and tiny embers fell from high above as it did.

“Oh, come on…” Claudia said, “That’s a bit more than building a campfire.”

There’s more you can do, but it will take practice. You can use your essence to alter the atomic composition of particles around you. You can also move objects near you by throwing your essence. However you must be careful. Watch your essence. Creating and then throwing fire took up a good chunk of your stockpile. You’ll need to learn to absorb more essence in the heat of battle, or you could drain yourself quickly.

Ralph looked at the burning tree, and decided he’d try to topple it. He found his essence, then sent it at the tree as his mind had suggested. He did this by focusing it into his palms, and then thrusting it forward as if he were creating wind. The essence created a tendril of energy between him and the tree, and the tree vibrated slightly, but did not fall.

Careful, watch your essence.

Ralph sent more essence, eager to push the tree, but it felt as though he were pushing a car. Not even a car, perhaps a bus. He pushed harder, but felt himself growing fatigued. He broke the connection and fell to the ground, too weak to stand.

“Jesus, you dumbass, you drained your essence,” Claudia said. So bullshit that he would get that ability and not me. She thought again to herself, knowing full well that she was being a child.

Ralph knelt on the ground, panting. “It would seem the ability isn’t as strong as it might look. I need to get stronger. I need to be able to gather more essence. Do you know where the next pylon is?”

Claudia thought about the question. She, too, had thought the same in her earlier fight with the buzzsaws, but now she wasn't so sure it was the right thing to do. She only knew where one other pylon was, the one at the other end of the river. However, she didn’t want to go back to that place yet. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever want to go back there.

“I think we came here to got what we need,” she said, holding his shoulders now. She slowly helped him to his feet. “We should go back to Earth. Find others. Did Ctaolthost tell you?”

“Yes. Earth is in terrible danger. The hive mind creatures… they’ve done so much damage already.”

But Ctaolthost doesn’t care about that, Claudia remembered. He only wants us to find and communicate with Tegrex, humanity be damned. She thought this, but decided not to get into the topic just yet. “Exactly. We need to get back, find others, then close the blood portal the hive mind has opened.” Then, after that, maybe… Maybe try to help Tegrex.

Ralph nodded his head in agreement. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

“Wait," Claudia said.

“What?”

“Your essence. Don’t teleport now, with nothing. Pull from the pylon, strengthen yourself, then let’s go. There won't be much on Earth for us.”

“Oh,” Ralph said absentmindedly, “Right.”

Fucking dumbass, Claudia thought. Physics Manipulation…. Bullshit!