Chapter 15

“The Lumen?” Lyla asked as they continued their run. “Yes dear, they usually only show themselves when an Axiom is born. They’re here for Kalex.” Vivian said as she turned to Kalex. “Young Kalex, I fear you are the only one amongst us who can fend off a Lumen, as they are previous Axioms born to this world. I will try my best to help, but I’m afraid my power will not compare to theirs. With the information given to me by Lex regarding ranks and power, I have to ask you to trust me. I know I have done things that do not warrant trust, but it’s the only way I can help.”

Kalex looked at Vivian. “Elder Tora, if it was up to me, I would immediately say no but throughout my time on this planet, I’ve had Lyla to rely on. Her decisions have never steered me wrong so I will rely on her today as well.” Kalex turned to Lyla, who gave an almost indiscernible nod in the positive. Choking back his unwillingness, he nodded at Vivian.

“I am on the cusp of becoming a Sage, but I lack knowledge that would title me as a savant. I inquired about this issue with Lex and he confirmed that the information required could be given to me via my Lexidex. Lex only needs approval.” Kalex asked Lex if what she was saying was true and he got a warm feeling in the middle of his brain which he translated to a ‘yes.’ “Okay, Lex. Approval granted.”

Lex began blinking in so many colors that his light looked white. “Thank you Mr. Wounder. Initiating two-way information transfer between Elder Tora and Mr. Wounder… Transfer complete.” Lex slowed his blinking and shot into Kalex’s pocket. As the transfer was completed, they found themselves running into a clearing in the middle of the forest. Vibrant trees lined the perimeter, with only patches of grass and low-growing plants peppering the ground. Vivian stopped and fell to her knees, the amount of information being processed by her brain and her Lexidex caused her to lose the ability to stand for the moment.

Lyla hurriedly ran over to the non-responsive Elder. Before she could examine her too closely, a loud rumble emanated through the clearing, followed by an earthquake that sent everyone to the ground. Kalex quickly shaped his presence around all three of them in case of another blasting rumble. Vivian’s eyes shot open. “They’re here, I can feel them.” Vivian relaxed slightly as she looked over her status screen.

Name: Vivian Graves

Race: Human (Enternia)

Rank: Sage

Maturity: 20/1000

Path: Afflicted Traveler (Master)

Vitality: 25,400/25,400

Myst: 5,990,000/6,000,000

Strength: 215 (Diat’s Bounty)

Wisdom: 1,500 (Diat’s Bounty)

Agility: 267 (Diat’s Bounty)

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Charisma: 102 (Diat’s Bounty)

Luck: 12,924 (Diat’s Bounty)

She felt almost as powerful as many of the Axioms she had met during her stint on the higher planet and knew she'd be able to hold her own against a Lumen. She had perused Kalex’s presence when he first arrived and knew he was strong, but now with a Lumen hot on their trails, she needed to know exactly how much power they had in their corner.

Expecting to be vastly superior in stats than Kalex, she was blown away after opening his status. After she had been sent back to Enternia from the higher planet, she had essentially started back at square one. She was to be at the same power that a child would start at, but she had one advantage. The moments before her death allowed her to begin in Enternia with Diat’s Blessing and allowed her to transfer most of her power from Diat into Enternia. When the Lumen had set her back to the lower worlds, they didn’t expect her to revert to the power she had at the end of her life on Diat.

Since Vivian’s foundation was her peak on Diat, she had expected to tower over everyone on Enternia in power. Kalex threw that idea out the window. Only overtaking him in one stat was something she was not expecting and made her wonder what he had done to become so strong in such a short time. Coming out of her thoughts, she saw a blue veil covering her and the two children and touched it with her presence. It felt stronger than a mountain and more fluid than the ocean and most importantly, it felt nostalgic. This was the presence that she helped nurture for years, and she was proud.

The ground stopped shaking and Kalex was the first to his feet. “Is everyone alright? I tried covering you as soon as I could.” Lyla gave an exaggerated nod. “I’m fine, just a littl…” Lyla was cut short by a booming voice originating from somewhere in the sky.

“Daughter of Diat, you’ve become strong. We cannot call you the Weeping Fool anymore. With you harboring an Axiom with intent to not concede, we will just refer to you now as Diat’s Fool.” A figure came close enough to be seen. It was a humanoid-shaped being that was speaking to them. Kalex instinctively withdrew his presence as much as he could and attempted to exude a false presence of one of the weak children he had seen in Grangardd. “That attempt to hide the child will not fool me. I see the Axiom boy and I will be taking him.” The Lumen loudly stated.

If someone who was trying to see into Kalex’s presence felt like an itch, the feeling he got felt like every part of his body was being torn apart. There was nothing he could do to stop the inquiry. “Kalex. Curious, you don’t seem to have fully absorbed the Lumen’s light and become a full Axiom. This will not do. Luckily, it looks like we have another candidate who is open to taking the mantle in your stead."

Kalex bolted to get in front of Lyla as Vivian did the same. “Don’t be daft, children. Your attempts to stop me are futile.” The Lumen showed himself. The sky grew brighter as his full form came into view. They saw a tall man who wore light metallic armor that barely fit his thin frame, with flowing locks of bright yellow hair.

Lex flew out of Kalex’s pocket and went directly to the Lumen as soon as the glowing halo around his body disappeared. “Resorting to throwing stones, child. At least you have some teeth.”

Lex hit the Lumen directly between the eyes. As Lex fell from the impact, the Lumen caught it and glared at it in his palm. “A construct? How odd. Even if this was made to hurt me, I cannot be injured by a mere rock!” Lex began to pulse brightly. The blinking got faster until it was a pure solid light. The Lumen dropped Lex out of instinct.

“Data on unknown entity has been extracted. Deployed emergency measures to force the entity to unhand me. Entity status available.” Kalex didn’t pull up the status immediately as the situation was too tense to avert his attention.

“Insolence! You dare cause a Lumen harm? You will pay for this boy! And I will take the girl.” Power gathered in the Lumen’s fist and he began to lunge towards Kalex. “As the old laws dictate, we cannot have two new Axiom this century and one must be destroyed in order to keep the balance! I will be the arbitrator of this sentence. Prepare yourself, your time on Enternia has come to an end, Kalex the Broken.”