3 - Brilliance

Ca-clink!

“Huff… Huff…”

Arthur took a few breaths, using the tool in his hands as support to rest for a few moments. In the end, it seemed like that place really was like a prison, even having them work. Still, he was having a hard time, to say the least.

Gripped in his hands was the handle of a pickaxe, a tool he had never used in his old world, which, added to this body's physical weakness, made it quite hard to do his job properly. Still, he felt like it wasn't only his body at fault- other people, not any bigger than him, were swinging those heavy tools with speed and strength.

In front of him laid a rack of large rocks, from which he had to extract specific crystals. But, as of the moment, he had only managed to break out a crystal from a single rock, he still had a long way to go. Ayn, stationed at a close by post, approached him, seeing the youth struggle.

“Feeling sick? A bit ill from eating pavement slop, perhaps?”

“Oh, shut it… I'm just… Not used to this body, yet. Children are weak… And aren't you supposed to be the same age as me? How come you're so much faster?”

In between laboured breaths spoke Arthur, pointing accusingly back and forth at Ayn and his pile of crystals. The latter twisted his head slightly, as if confused, looking at the yet not mined rocks in front of them.

“I mean, these pickaxes aren't that heavy, and those rocks aren't that hard…”

Stopping himself mid-sentence, Ayn's eyes widened for a moment, before he'd turn fully towards Arthur. He'd squint, as if trying to look for some hidden detail- at the same time, Arthur heard a low, droning sound, as if a small engine had just been started.

“That's it!”

Hitting his own palm with a sideways fist, Ayn spoke, revealing what he had just figured out.

“You don't know how to flow Ark through your body. Ugh, I should have realized this sooner…”

The youth slapped his forehead with a hand, while spouting out words with meaning unknown to Arthur. That was the second time now Ayn had mentioned something called Archê, or Ark- first, in relation to the Obedience Seals, and now, in relation to their bodies. Going off of contextual clues alone, he guessed it was probably related to ‘magic.’ Though, he had no idea what ‘Ark’ was, exactly, nor what ‘flowing’ it meant. Seeing him deep in thought, Ayn spoke.

“Right, otherworldly ignorance and all. Let me see, I did say I'd explain it… Where do you want me to start?”

“Knowing what ‘Ark’ is, could be useful.”

“Archê, not Ark. That's the, er, main concept.”

A slight difference in pronunciation, which apparently wasn't due to Ayn mispronouncing it, but due to two different meanings.

“Let's see… According to most researchers, Archê is an infinite, unperceivable source of energy. Or, rather, it is an energy itself- but due to how it works, the line kinda gets blurry. You can't really ‘feel’ Archê the way you would, uhm, something like heat, or light, but you can feel it… Instinctively?”

Arthur nodded, still uncertain. Despite Ayn's rather confusing explanation, he thought he got the gist of it- a limitless energy source, which exists outside of senses.

“And, er, if you can feel it instinctively, you can interact with it.”

“I… See, kind of. You're not good at explaining, huh.”

“Oh, come on, give me a break. It's like… Trying to explain sight to a blind person. I- well, I guess everyone, is born knowing, feeling Archê. In this context, you're the blind person, who suddenly got thrown into the body of someone with 20/20 vision. Well, that's my humble opinion, anyway.”

Despite the weirdly smug comment he added at the end, which Arthur thought was a joke that didn't land, it somewhat made things easier to understand. A blind person cast into the body of someone with perfect sight- like gaining a new sense, perhaps he had gained the ability to perceive Archê, without even noticing. No, he did notice, but he misinterpreted it.

Ever since waking up in the cell, a feeling had been flooding his body and brain- as if he was afloat in water, moving sluggishly, his senses dulled. He looked down at his body, focusing on the visibly carved joints- he felt like he was forgetting something important.

“‘Feeling’ Archê… I think I get it, somewhat. A tempestuous sea, a storm raging inside your very being, which you can only feel and reach if you follow your instincts… Like letting yourself sink to the bottom of a seabed, even if your body screams at you to swimp up for oxygen.”

“...? Well… Yes? No? Those are- some really weird comparisons. I wouldn't say it's that extreme, but there are a lot of teachers and lecturers that compare Archê to, er, dipping your body in water, or similar things.”

Nodding once again, this time more solemnly, Arthur thought he could understand what Archê was, after all. That sensation, dulling his senses and body, was probably due to his ignorance about how Archê worked, and how to use it. But, did that mean this body had Archê, in it? As far as he could tell, that deduction had some weird implications. He wondered if newborns, in that world, felt the same as he was, at the moment.

“I'm an otherworldly newborn…”

“What?”

“Don't, uh, nevermind. Talking to myself. Back to the topic at hand- you said it yourself, those pickaxes aren't too heavy, but I can barely swing one. Does ‘flowing’ my Archê make that much of a difference? Does it make you stronger, physically?”

“Ark, not Archê.”

“???”

Well, now he was back to the starting point. He thought flowing Archê through his body would do the trick, but apparently, it was Ark that needed to be used, not Archê. Which, he still did not know what it was. Letting out an exasperated exhale, Ayn snickered quietly, before clearing his throat and speaking.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Right, so. If you can feel Archê, what you need to do next, is actually… Touching it. Or, er, well, it's not actually touching it, but more like, moving it…? Let's say you do feel it as a stormy sea or whatever you said, right? Direct that storm, and gather it at the center of your being.”

“Direct the storm and gather it… This sounds straight out of a fantasy novel…”

Stupid terms aside, Arthur closed his eyes briefly, trying to follow Ayn's guidance. ‘Feel it instinctively’, that was what he needed to do.

“I'm, going to go back to my post. I see some guards glaring at me. I'll help you out in a few, alright? Just, uh, try and do that, for now.”

Hearing him speak, as if he was speaking through the water's surface, Arthur nodded. He could feel his senses dulling even more, strength abandoning his body, his corpse afloat in the water- he was on the right path. Despite his big words and metaphors, in actuality, it felt less like a stormy sea… And more like being completely submerged in an abyss, the pressure just barely not crushing him.

That must be what reaching out to the Archê was, then. If it truly was a limitless energy, it made sense it would feel so heavy, the weight falling upon his entire being. From that abyss, he could feel jolts of energy, surges like electrical shocks travelling through the water, spreading around him. Not from him, but rather, from the environment, everyone and everything around him.

Those jolts weren't just travelling through the abyss, they originated from it. The energy created by the immense pressure, and from the movement of the waves, to put it in an understandable way- the excess energy from that infinite source could be picked off by those able to, to feel and control it.

“It's like a power socket…”

Mumbling to himself, reaching a more accurate depiction of what ‘Archê’ might be like. If Archê was the power socket, and the electricity itself, then, those sparks and jolts he could feel were, most likely, the application of that electricity. Like an utensil which required electricity to work…

“...Then, could there be circuits, too?”

‘Focus’. Shutting himself from the world once again, feeling only from his instincts. Sharpening that ‘sense’. Focusing on the energy coming off of Ayn, specifically- those sparks of energy originated and traversed through the abyss of Archê, gathering at the center of his chest, close to his heart. And the Archê which he took in, then, flowed through his entire body in thin, albeit easily perceivable, wires and strings.

As he thought, as if circuits for the Archê to pass through were built into his body, those energy-full canals drew intricate shapes and carvings in Ayn's being. If ever so slightly, those circuits reminded him of the visible joints this body of his possessed. Perhaps, that's where the secret to ‘flowing’ Archê lied?

“That one has been idle for some time now… Should I take action, sir?”

“Nay, wait a few seconds… I feel like we're goin' to see somethin' interestin'.”

“I assume that's your… Gut feeling?”

“Aye.”

Two officers, keeping guard of the prisoners and workers, spoke with each other, watching the youth meditate. Despite it slowing down his personal work, he hadn't been doing too much anyways. The seemingly higher ranking guard, a rugged man with a disheveled beard, tinted glasses resting on his eyes, and various scars on his face, spoke with an expectant tone. A slight smirk found its way onto his face- as if he could see something even that elf couldn't.

“Follow his movements… Gather that abyss into my center, then direct it… Flow it throughout my body, flow it throughout those carvings…”

Slowly, but surely, he was managing to imitate Ayn. Energy was quickly condensing towards Arthur's chest, forming a swirling mass of Archê, which he found hard to properly control. From there, he slowly took awareness of his own body. His joints, each place, line and carving where his body differed from that of humans he knew, would quickly start glowing with energy, albeit dimly.

He picked up the pickaxe once again, fully focused on maintaining that energy spread out. Like Ayn did before striking the rock, he'd lift it up, and as it was falling down, a large amount of energy would come rushing into his arms-

BOOM!

“ARTHUR!”

“Jackpot.”

Throwing his pickaxe aside, Ayn rushed to his ‘brother’s’ side, a cloud of dust, dirt and rock fragments rising up from his post. The officer moved at the same time, walking at a leisurely pace, grinning at the panicking elf. Heading into the epicenter of whatever had just happened, the youth would place a hand in front of his nose and mouth, to avoid breathing in dust.

“Shit… I did it…”

With laboured breaths, and an unfocused gaze, Arthur muttered some words, before promptly falling to the ground, unconscious. Wasting no time carrying him outside of that dust cloud, Ayn didn't even notice the rock, split open- as well as the shattered pickaxe beside it. Cursing himself under his breath, the shorter haired one would check Arthur’s body for any injuries, laying him down on the ground.

“Tsk… I thought muscle memory would do the trick, but he didn't know how to…-”

“Bravo! What a brilliant showcase…”

Ayn clicked his tongue, his mumbling interrupted by a second, loud voice. Clapping in a slow rhythm, the high ranked guard would finally walk up to the two, his gaze hidden by the shades he wore. Though, it was clearly aimed at the unconscious body of the elf.

“This brilliance, you don't come across such a lump of talent everyday… And you're not bad either, on closer look.”

Stepping back, slightly frightened from the imposing presence approaching the two, the elf glared at the guard, but didn't dare lift a finger against him.

“Now, now, Katzen… No need for such a fierce look. You haven't done anything to incur a guard’s wrath, yet… However, I will be taking your friend with me. To the medical bay, of course. You're free to visit him, after your work hours are done… You should thank your parents for having sharp ears, you'll get just that little more freedom in here.”

“... I couldn't stop you even if I wanted to.”

“You understand quickly! Well then, if you want to check up on this one, ask for Sol. Now, then…”

Ayn shuddered slightly at the mention of the name Sol, he had heard it before. To think such a powerful man had set his sights on his ‘brother’, could have meant enormous problems for his plans. The man, ‘Sol’, snapped his fingers, and the other guard immediately came to his side, picking up the unconscious boy and carrying him off somewhere, with the larger man leading the way.

He'd bite his nail, an annoyed expression spreading on the elf’s face. This was bad.

“Mother… This better be part of your plan…”

He muttered something to himself, before resigning to fate- and going back to his workstation. For now, he could only finish his assigned task.