Chapter 9

Kalex looked up from the pane of glass hovering in front of him. “A Sage? As Lyla said earlier, I was just born here. How could I have gone through the ranks that quickly?” Lex pulsed with a white light as it answered.

“Mr. Wounder, when you left Diat, you were already a Silver Seer Savant on the cusp of Platinum. When you arrived on Enternia, you received a large influx of myst that was automatically infused into your spark. If I may, after your transition, your spark looks more like a seed and is the core of your power and I’d like to refer to it as such. Due to complications with the transfer of myst when entering this world, most of it was not absorbed. What you did absorb was enough to push you to Platinum rank."

"With your first glimpse into this world with your presence sight, you inadvertently consumed a very small amount of myst from everything you looked at. Although the amount from each myst-containing entity and object you took was negligible enough to not be noticed, it was enough to bring you most of the way through Platinum. The myst you brought in from the wall and from Lyla drove you to the peak. What you did while I was applying your physical presence was enough to push you to the level of Sage.”

A blank stare was the only thing Kalex could convey as there was a lot of information to take in. “I was trapped in my area of darkness and the only way I knew how to force myself out was to say my intention. It worked and there was a lot of myst that came into that space. The space seemed a lot bigger as well. It was somewhat confining before but now it feels like an endless space.” Looking down at a spot slightly above his navel. Lex interrupted Kalex’s thoughts. “That explains why you’re more than halfway through the Sage stage and why I’m sensing spatial fluctuations within you.”

“Spatial fluctuations? That can’t be good right?” Lyla interjected. Lex lifted itself to the center of the cave. “On the contrary, Lyla. Although it’ll take some testing, I believe this will be to Mr. Wounder’s benefit. The fluctuations are indicative of a spatial artifact, and one tied closely to Mr. Wounder.”

Raising his hand, Kalex spoke up. “I remember shoving my presence into my cube as the ion blade was dissipating my presence… Wait. It can’t be. Lex, do you recall where you were between the time of my death and my birth here?” Lex began to rapidly blink. “I will retrieve the records from that point. There seems to be a lot of information to go through. Allow me a few units to parse the logs.” With that, Lex began to blink erratically.

Lyla looked from Lex to Kalex. “While he’s doing his thing, how about we get you into some actual clothes. I have an old set that I carry around with me in case something happens to my everyday gear, but it looks like it’ll fit you better than what you’re wearing now.” Kalex looked down at his attire and a blush entered his cheeks. “That would be great, thank you.”

When Kalex was in Fulrog, he was lightly swaddled in a threadbare blanket, but on the way out, Lyla had the forethought to grab an abandoned undershirt to wrap the child in. As Kalex completed his transformation, the shirt was only big enough to barely cover his unmentionables, so he was happy to receive proper clothing.

Out of a large rattan bag that looked mostly empty, Lyla pulled out a pair of thin leather trousers and a worn buttoned robe. The pants fit loosely and needed to be held up with a length of rope and the robe was tattered to the point where it only reached above the back of his knees. The length of the arms was much too long and swiftly cinched up Kalex’s forearm. The faded viridian of the robe reminded Kalex of the colors the Wounder empire employed, sparking a flash of nostalgia.

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“Maybe you’ll grow into it.” Lyla giggled after Kalex returned from a darkened corner he used to change. “At least the robe matches your eyes.”

For the past few days, Kalex and Lyla were surviving on very meager rations of hard bread and berries that could be found close to the mouth of the cave. Although they didn’t have to eat as often as people in the earlier ranks, they still had to eat. Lyla’s bag was almost emptied of foodstuffs and now that Kalex could freely walk around without the risk of smashing his face into the ground, it was time to find some actual food. After peering into the surroundings with his presence sight, Kalex was happy to discover a small game animal that looked a lot like a Yorik, although this one had only four legs instead of eight. Either way, Kalex was excited to get a good meal and with the help of Lex, find a suitable recipe.

Lyla was sorting the few things she had in her bag when Kalex disappeared. She could see him from the corner of her eye, and then poof, he was gone. Before she could run to the cave entrance to start searching, Kalex appeared in the middle of the cave holding a small animal. “I brought food!” Kalex said with a smile that nearly reached both of his ears. Lyla’s features softened. “I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore.”

Lyla pulled a small stone and a piece of metal out of her bag and moved towards a small bundle of sticks she had gathered at an earlier time. “Why don’t you use a flare stick to light that?” Lyla looked in Kalex’s direction as he said that. “What’s a flare stick? All I have is some flint and lunar steel.”

Kalex squinted his eyes as he tried to find the right words. “A flare stick is exactly what it sounds like. It lights… wait, I’ll just show you.” Kalex flicked his wrist and a small metal stick appeared in his hand. “This is a flare stick. All you have to do is merge it with your presence and…” A five-foot flame erupted from the end of the stick. “You have a fire. I think this one might be broken, it usually only projects a flame the size of my little finger.”

Lyla closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose. “Kalex. Where did you just get that from?”

Kalex innocently answered. “ I just got it out of my cube, actually I have another you can hav…” They both looked at each other in disbelief. “My storage cube! I have access to it now! But the last time I saw it, I was just about to swallow it. Is it still inside of me? Are these the spatial fluctuations Lex was talking about?” A bright light caught his attention and he was answered.

“That is precisely what it is. It seems that during your transfer to Enternia, you’re presence was trapped in the cube and it ended up coming over with you. During your bodily transformation, something changed and it seems like you have access to it again.” Lex stated.

Kalex nodded. “That’s amazing, but where is the cube? I can’t feel it inside of me anymore.” Lex blinked a few times. “Mr. Wounder, it seems you are the cube, or it would be more accurate to say that the cube inadvertently bonded itself to your core. You'll have to experiment, but it would seem that you can use your storage cube internally."

Kalex couldn’t believe what he had heard. He looked over to Lyla. “I can store your stuff for you so you don’t have to carry that bag around if you want." Looking at her bag, she let out a sorrowful breath. “The majority of my things were taken before I entered Fulrog on the same day that we met. Unfortunately, All I have are a few provisions and a pair of spare clothes. Everything else including my money was stolen.”

With a crackling fire and skewers of roasted meat in hand, Lyla told Kalex what had happened. “I was blindsided right before getting to the gate. There was a group of men who told me to give them my bag or die. I ended up fighting them and escaping but was only able to get away with a few things, everything else was strewn across the ground and I saw the bandits picking it all up as I ran away.”

Kalex stared at her in rapt attention. “That’s terrible, but I guess it doesn’t matter what world you’re in, there are always going to be thieves. You said it was right outside of Fulrog, let me see if they left anything behind.” A slight breeze engulfed Kalex, whipping his pearl-white hair around, as he used his presence sight to lay his attention on Fulrog and its surrounding area.

The town itself was empty besides a few scavengers picking through some of the houses as everything had been picked clean. The main house belonging to the leader of the town was a little different though. Deep underneath the home, was a large accumulation of myst. Kalex couldn’t see exactly what it was and was instantly curious. “I couldn’t find any of your belongings around Fulrog, but I found a bright spot underneath the biggest house in town. I’m going to check it out. I’ll be right back!” Before Lyla could get a word in otherwise, Kalex had vanished.