Felix didn’t need to tell The Acharaya that he wanted to fight The Dragon, as soon as he failed to activate his Amulet of the Realms, The Acharaya knew.
Next to the other 20 doorways that were already there, a new one appeared.
Felix flew right over to the new doorway which, opened a portal as he approached, to reveal exactly what he was hoping for, the 2001st realm that his companions had previously spruced up.
Stepping through the portal, the area was the same as they had left it. The fog was still parted in the area, providing an oasis from the weather. The stone brick ground still split up the various parks and other environments. Some of the furniture had even been left behind.
Felix didn’t even register any of that though as he flew through the realm and straight into the Iridescent Bubble.
He then immediately activated his Amulet to reappear in the 2001st, just to make sure it worked, before heading back in to the 2000th.
It had been long enough since Felix had last fought The Dragon that it should have essentially forgotten about him. However the heat and completely molten planet surface told Felix that it hadn’t been as long as he had thought. He knew time was weird in the realms but it seemed as though a couple epochs in The Acharaya’s Realms had amounted to at most an hour or so in The Dragon’s.
Despite that, The Dragon seemed calm instead of on edge as Felix had expected.
He found it standing on the top of a stone pillar that stuck out from the sea of magma below. It looked the same, identical even, to Felix’s memory. It’s posture though, it’s Aura or possibly just the vibe it was giving off seemed subtly different to Felix in some way. He wasn’t sure he wasn’t imagining it or it wasn’t a side effect of his losing his Convictions but it seemed stronger or possibly more confident.
Using his Staff of Arcane Wisdom, Felix empowered his Instinct Casts to rush The Dragon as fast as he dared.
He was about as fast as he had been with his Reaper’s Skills but Felix had only just managed to make his new ability consistent. He could feel that he still had a long way to go with them. He was only just scratching the surface. The ability felt incomplete, he could tell he wasn’t using them to nearly their full potential and they felt loose in a way.
They did not however, feel foreign.
The first thing Felix noticed as he started to make the new ability more consistent, was that the ability felt far more natural for him. Though he was still getting used to things and they were far from tight and practiced, they felt natural. Like he had been contorting himself to use The Reaper’s versions but now he was moving the way he was meant to.
Filled with an excitement that came from the untapped potential and the catharsis of finally using an ability that suited him, so perfectly, Felix rushed forwards and got right in The Dragon’s face. It recoiled a little in surprise before snapping forwards at Felix.
With an Instinct Cast to help him, Felix barely dodged out of the way of its teeth, his face shifting into a wide smile. As he rose up past its head, he took his Staff in both hands and with all the physical force he could muster and no Spell to help him, Felix delivered a satisfying bonk onto its head.
THUNK
The Dragon was smart enough to have an idea of how Felix fought, his habits and tendencies. It was smart enough to associate those with him. That meant it was smart enough to be completely thrown off. It didn’t take any real damage at all, that wasn’t Felix’s intention. It was stunned though from the divergence in Felix’s behavior for a moment, which also wasn’t Felix’s intention.
It didn’t hesitate for more than an instant before recklessly whipping its entire body in Felix’s direction.
He responded by activating the blink he had preemptively charged up because he knew what he was doing was stupid. He just wanted to.
The Dragon pursued, as Felix expected and he let it approach.
Felix very specifically didn’t seriously attack The Dragon once. He very specifically didn’t want to kill it yet. He still had so much to work on, upgrade, improve and, so did The Dragon.
He couldn’t yet but, even if he somehow had a chance through improving his new ability to kill it in a battle of attrition, he wouldn’t have dared.
A few seconds later, he activated his Amulet and reappeared on the landscaped area, his face plastered with a wide smile.
“You are a psychopath. You know that?” Kerix’s voice sounded out just as Felix appeared.
He fell down to a meditative position and just shrugged in response.
A few minutes later, he flew back into the realm for another few seconds. Then again and again he entered the realm, wrestled with The Dragon and slowly learned how to use his abilities. He learned how his new abilities worked and what its limits were. Then he learned more and pushed those limits.
Most of all though, Felix realized how right The Acharaya was.
As much as he learned and refined his ability while sparring with The Acharaya, fighting The Dragon was completely different. It was nothing more than his desire to conquer The Dragon motivating him. A feeling he couldn’t reproduce in a sparring match or against a being that wasn’t truly his enemy.
It seemed The Dragon felt similarly too because for every stride Felix made, so did The Dragon.
He got faster, The Dragon got stronger. He got stronger, The Dragon got faster. They both got smarter.
The push and pull as they fought both fueled Felix’s motivation and taught him things about himself that he wasn’t sure he would have easily realized otherwise.
Even when Felix had his Convictions and was at the peak of his will power, his Aura was weaker than The Dragon’s. Though he couldn’t directly test his will power against its, he was pretty sure The Dragon’s was stronger. His Soul was stronger defensively but, that was about it.
Now, without his Convictions, the gap between them widened and Felix realized he enjoyed that. There was something primal within him that fed on the challenge.
He also found commanding his body and the Ambient Anima easier when The Dragon’s Aura pushed down on him.
At first he thought it was his Soul rising to meet the challenge but he realized that wasn’t it exactly, at least not entirely. Instead it was more along the lines of him enjoying the defiance. He enjoyed pushing back and resisting. He enjoyed fighting against the odds.
Once he realized that, Felix started to tap into the feeling of controlling the universe and reality through his movements. It was the ultimate defiance, to move faster than he should or with more power, and it exhilarated him. The challenge it posed on top of that, made it so Felix started to feel like everything was coming together.
He still had a lot of training to do and his abilities were far from refined but, by the time he decided he was satisfied and returned to The Acharaya’s realms, he was at least as fast as The Dragon in most cases.
Finding the Titan on the endless white platform beneath the stars above, Felix eagerly asked, “What’s next?”
What is the next step you wish to take?
“I don’t want to completely shift gears yet. I still have a lot of work to do. I also still don’t really understand how I’m supposed to replace my Convictions.”
Where do you believe your path leads?
“What I know so far is that Convictions help you align the Anima of your Soul. In order to do anything with my Soul, I make a decision and essentially try to do a thing. Some of my Soul is aligned and agrees with what I’m doing and helps me do that thing. The rest either disagrees or isn’t motivated enough to follow along. Convictions are like Curses, they are powerful enough beliefs that they can basically inspire my Soul into being aligned.”
That is where your path has led up to now. Where does it lead beyond the now?
“If I don’t have Convictions, then I either need some other way to align my Soul which… feels wrong, like another shortcut or stopgap, or I need my Soul to be aligned naturally. If it was just all on board all the time, that would be the ideal.”
That is the destination, what is the path that leads there?
“I know commanding my Soul to follow kind of works. It doesn’t even fully replace Convictions yet but it feels wrong. I don’t want to live the rest of my existence constantly commanding myself just so I listen. Kerix seems almost completely aligned which was one of the reasons I wanted Titan. His… lack of focus made it hard for me to believe his entire Soul would just follow along with whatever he did which made me think it had to be Titan.”
You speak of the already trodden path.
“You mean past tense? Yeah, I don’t believe that anymore. I think there’s something else I’m missing. How he got there, I can only imagine involved countless epochs of meditation, refinement and effort.”
That is a path many follow to reach this destination.
“It’s not the only one though? Is it?”
There is never only a single path. The path you speak of is often the shortest, for most. For you, I do not believe this to be the case.
“But you don’t know what that other path would be?”
I do not. It is merely a feeling.
“In that case, how do you suggest I find it?”
You are more aware of your path and the paths that must not be followed than most.
“Right, competition and challenge, defiance of odds seems to work well for me.”
I do not only guide those who seek the end of their beginning. I often help those with more spiritual matters as well.
“You have something specific in mind?”
Suddenly, a forest appeared on the endless white platform with trees so thick, they had to be taller than any mountain Felix had ever seen. Looking up, he couldn’t actually see the tops at all. In between the absurd trunks, were bushes and more trunks. There was no space between them. There was path through them. They formed a solid wall on either side of him.
The trees didn’t surround him though, instead there was a path before him that he could only see a few meters of for some inexplicable reason.
What he was seeing wasn’t physical though, or maybe it was. It was Spirit, Anima. It was The Acharaya’s Aura manifested. The way Titans worked though, Anima was physical or was one with the physical in their bodies and here, it seemed to be the same.
On top of the manifestation, Felix felt the Aura itself. It felt like self discovery and the pursuit of insight and understanding into one’s self.
“Is this your Aura?” Felix called out.
An Aura manifested is referred to by most as a Domain.
“Domain? This feels nothing like Romar’s Domain or… There were Domains outside, System Skills. This feels different.”
I cannot speak to that which I have no insight.
“Can Kerix do this?”
His path has led here. It was the area he struggled with the most. It was the source of his anger.
“So this isn’t essential to becoming Titan, it’s something else entirely?”
Many reach the beginning. A Domain however is not a destination many are aware of.
“So I could do this?”
The path that leads to the beginning for most is much shorter than the path that has led you here. You already travel a similar path.
“So I’m not really that far off?”
The path you must travel to this destination is indeed shorter than most.
“Okay, what advice do you have, what can you tell me?”
The Acharaya didn’t respond, instead he dropped his Domain then reached off to the side into a portal that just appeared and pulled a confused looking Kerix through. The rudely summoned Titan quickly swallowed the half eaten sandwich hanging out of his mouth then shoved the other one, in his hand, down his gullet as well.
He swallowed, then nodded to Felix, “Yo.” Then, turned to The Acharaya, “What?”
What steps have you taken towards a Domain?
“Ugh. I’m working on it, alright? Just because I came back doesn’t mean I have everything figured out.”
The one you used as an excuse to return seeks to travel the same path as you. Guide him.
Then, The Acharaya vanished.
Kerix grumbled at the air for a moment then turned to Felix with a sigh, “So, Domain huh?”
“Makes the most sense as a next step to me. I need to figure out my Soul Shit so…”
Kerix waved him off then sighed again, “Show me where you’re at with your Aura, all out.”
Felix nodded then released his Aura which, even he knew was pathetic. Kerix didn’t comment on that though and just nodded.
“First things first, your Aura is a weird combination between being a part of your Soul and not. Pick one and stick with it. Do you want your Aura and your surroundings to be a part of your Soul or not?”
“I did that because it was easier to use my other abilities, the one that helps me move, when my Aura was a part of my Soul.”
“Okay. Then commit to that.”
“What does that mean?”
“Adopt your surroundings completely.”
Felix winced, “Not only do I not think that’s the right path for me, but I’m not even sure that would be possible with my Soul.”
“Then stop trying. It’s not worth it.”
“Fine. I can cut it off. Isn’t everyone’s Aura a part of their Soul though?”
“No.” Kerix fell into a cross legged sit in front of Felix, “Either, you adopt your surroundings. This is typically for people that are really open and welcoming and trusting and all that shit. The other option, much more popular, is that you just influence and control your surroundings.”
“That second option sounds way better suited to me.”
“I agree.” Kerix nodded, “The Acharaya is the only being I know that is truly suited to the first method.”
“Is his Domain stronger because of it?”
“The method, no. The suitability, yes.”
“Okay so, The Acharaya’s Domain is a path through a forest.”
“Forest?” The Titan shook his head, “It’s just a path. I see a city street with impassable buildings. Others see labyrinths, mansions, caves or some other shit that’s meaningful to them.”
“Really? It seemed… real. Physical even. How is that possible if everyone sees it differently?”
“What was the forest like? The one you saw?”
“Trees were absurdly big and pressed right up against each-other.”
“So big their outside was almost completely flat?”
“Yeah…”
“Right, so if I see buildings and you see the trees that are flat, that’s just visual. The actual physicality is the same.”
“I see. How do I get there?”
Kerix snorted, “Meditate on who you are for a few eternities and hope.”
Felix hung his head in disappointment at Kerix, “Come on. You know what I mean.”
He sighed, “Yeah, yeah. Alright, just… First things first, you’re thinking of your Aura wrong.”
“What do you mean? How can you tell what I’m thinking?”
“The way you use it. Your Aura isn’t just push your Soul out and see what happens. Your Aura is the area of influence of your will power.”
“So you’re saying The Acharaya and… everyone else actively creates that path and those trees and stuff?”
“Yes and no. You’re being completely passive right now. You don’t want to manually design everything but you do need to take more control. You don’t have to think about what you’re doing, though you can tune things when you need, your Soul is doing all the work. You’re just letting it fall into its natural state… kind of.”
Felix nodded quickly, “So you’re saying, The Acharaya’s Soul, when he just lets it go on some Anima, creates that. His Soul naturally tries to create a path.”
“Yeah… kind of. It’s a little more complicated than that with him. He isn’t creating a path, he’s showing you your path. Kind of. Like, he’s creating the environment but…”
“I get it. I think. How do I know what I’m going to create.”
Kerix’s expression darkened for a moment, “You don’t.” It vanished a moment later, “Just work at it and you’ll find out.”
Felix nodded then went through the manual process of dismantling what he had done to his Aura recently. It wasn’t meant to be a part of him. It had felt unnatural when he was doing it in the first place but he had just decided that was his getting used to things.
Controlling the Anima around him made much more sense to Felix. His Soul, being as hard and insular as it was, didn’t like stretching outwards. Controlling everything around him though, was much more natural.
Once his Aura had been completely dismantled then stripped clean from his body, leaving his Mana Scales as the outer most layer of his Soul, Felix began reaching out to control the Anima around him.
It wasn’t hard to control the ambient Anima in the slightest. Controlling it to the degree that The Acharaya had with his Domain though, that wasn’t just control.
Even though Felix was going about it a different way, he was convinced he could reach a similar point with his Aura.
Just controlling the Anima directly around him, Felix began stretching out his control little by little. It was a slow process of manual pushing then relaxing and letting his Soul naturally control things. Then he took over and manually spread it outwards again before relaxing and letting everything essentially just fall into place.
He had no idea what his Aura, and then Domain, would become but he was very curious to find out.
Unfortunately, his control and Aura didn’t come with any manifestation. Instead, he ended up growing an Aura that was similar to before. It was stronger but not massively. It was just an area around him that felt different.
“I know it feels like you aren’t getting anywhere with this because you don’t see massive trees. This is way better than where you were though.”
Felix sighed, “I don’t know. It feels mostly the same to me.”
“A proper Domain will come with time. Just keep expanding it. Keep it up as much as you can too. Although…”
“What?”
“Maybe not around anyone who isn’t aware of what you’re doing. Your Aura is… hard to mistake as friendly.”
“You mean someone feeling it is going to think I’m trying to attack them?”
“Uh… Kind of? It’s like you’re begging everyone around you to challenge your authority. Like you want them to fight you so you can prove to them how… superior you are.”
“Huh… Thanks for the tip.”
He nodded and Felix chose a realm at random to get some privacy. There, he meditated and worked on his Aura. He also spent time working on his new ability that replaced his Reaper’s Skills.
While he had thought of a number of names already, he wasn’t ready to commit to a name just yet because he was still figuring out the ability and it was still changing.
In growing his Aura and learning more about how Domains worked, Felix also slowly began to grasp the edges of an understanding of what he needed to do with his Soul to replace Convictions. It wasn’t anything actionable but he felt himself making progress.
Most of all though, he wanted to fight The Dragon. Not actually fight it but pit his Aura against it. The issue, was that without adopting the Anima around him, his replacement for the Reaper’s Skills was inconsistent meaning, he wasn’t ready. He could always blink and use his Amulet to escape but if he couldn’t stay in range of his Aura for an extended period, there wasn’t really any point because he wouldn’t be able to test much of anything.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Kerix, had a solution though, “Back before I… left, there was a student… I wonder if they’re still here…”
“Who?”
“Lea.”
“We could always ask Velerena?”
Kerix shrugged, “Sure.”
“Is it worth it? What made you think of her?”
“Well, the reason she came to The Acharaya in the first place, was that she couldn’t control her Aura.”
Felix’s eyes widened a little, “As in?”
“It’s too strong for her to control.”
“It’s her aura? How could it be too strong for her to control?”
“You’ll see.” Kerix smirked, “Just… Ah,” He shook his head, “You’ll be fine.”
“What?”
“Some people have accidentally died from her Aura alone.”
That alone didn’t mean much considering the massive range of Soul strengths that existed. Still, Felix was rather excited.
They found Velerena in the ruins and she directed them to one of the other realms The Acharaya connected and maintained, an infinite cavernous expanse. The two of them followed the winding caves for hours and hours before Kerix finally latched on to her Aura.
Then, it took them days to make the rest of the journey.
While Nura had an Aura of some kind from the Curse that had infected her, her Aura was more of an effect she naturally had on the ambient Anima around her. The Aura Felix and Kerix followed, was wholly different.
It wasn’t a Domain, there was a distinct lack of control but, it was the strongest pure Aura Felix had ever felt. It was also the most chaotic in every sense. There were patches of Aura that were so strong, Felix felt like he was being physically crushed. Like he had swam to the bottom of the ocean.
Then, there were patches of nothing. Some of them so faint, they completely lost track of where they were going at times.
The further they got, the stronger the strongest sections were and the less common the completely empty sections were until physical manifestations began to appear.
Unlike The Acharaya’s Domain though, there weren’t physical structures like trees or anything that distinct. She wasn’t controlling and creating anything, the physical manifestations appeared naturally from the raw strength of her completely uncontrolled Aura.
The manifestations were just streaks and flares. Like pure red fire was just appearing then dissipating a moment later without any heat.
The closer they got, the redder Felix’s vision became until finally, they arrived at an open central chamber where Felix felt like he had somehow wandered inside of a red star. There was still no heat but the Aura alone was so oppressive, Felix could feel his physical body deforming and shrinking, even beneath his Mana Scales.
As the flares and streaks appeared, they tore into the stone around them, like claws scraping dust and sand into the air before vanishing. With his Matter Senses, Felix could tell the room was slowly expanding every minute.
At the center of the Aura, was a lithe woman with black hair loosely tied behind her head and completely white, clouded eyes.
[?] Lea (Lvl ?)
Huh. The first non Titan I’ve met in here.
Despite the lack of identification from The System, Felix judged her physical body to be around the mid to high B grade. Her Spirit though, especially considering her Aura, made him doubt whether or not that was accurate. There was no way a mid or even high B grade body wouldn’t be crushed by that Aura.
“Hey Lea, been a while.”
She turned to them and smiled, “Kerix. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again. And who is this?”
“This is Felix.”
Felix waved and she smiled wide, “It is a pleasure to meet you Felix.”
The genuine excitement in her voice confused Felix for a moment, which Kerix noticed, “Her Aura makes it hard for anyone to come and see her. Sarros never cared which meant it was pretty much just me and The Acharaya that ever visited her.”
“Your Aura is surprisingly weak.” She looked at Kerix, “Are you quite certain he won’t… perish?”
Kerix snorted, “Oh yeah. He’ll be fine.”
She nodded, “Then I appreciate the introduction. Knowing you though, you aren’t here just to be nice?”
“Hey…” Kerix’s shoulder’s dropped a little, “Okay, fair enough. Felix here is working on his Aura. He works best when he can push back against something. Competition, an enemy, that kind of thing.”
“I seem to remember you were quite the rebel and made most of your breakthroughs in similar situations, if my memory serves.” She smirked as she teased him.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little competition.” Kerix pushed back.
“There is not. However you are not much competition when you still insist on suppressing your Aura the way you do.”
He waved her off, “Not looking to be competition right now. Just helping him out so he can help me when we finally leave.”
“I see. You remain in denial.”
“I’m not in denial I just…”
They continued to bicker and catch up as Kerix sat down across from her while Felix zoned the two of them out for the time being. All his attention, went to his own Aura which he desperately tried to do anything significant with.
He got absolutely nowhere though, her Aura was far too strong. It was an aura of immense wrath but, not the Curse. The Curse would have tried to make him angry but this, was more like she was in an eternal state of being angry at everything else and it was oppressive. It also exuded power and regality in equal amounts but they were less obvious.
So, as Kerix caught up with her, Felix flew back out of the cave, towards the exit. There, he manifested his Aura then slowly flew back into the cave, inch by inch.
As he did, he began to strengthen his Aura against Lea’s, temper it in hers.
By the time he finally made it to the center of the room, Kerix and Lea were still bickering but Felix’s Aura, felt far more real to him. It was however, tiny. Growing out his Aura next to Lea though felt far more productive than before. He was growing its radius at a slower rate but he could feel its strength increasing much faster.
Kerix wasn’t there the whole time either, he left after a while and returned every once in a while. Felix however, didn’t move from his spot just a meter to Lea’s side.
“You are improving faster than I imagined possible.”
“Thanks.”
“Your Aura is concerningly similar to my own.”
“How is that concerning?”
“The nature of my Aura is… complicated.”
“Kerix mentioned you can’t control it. How is that possible?”
She reached down and pulled on the neckline of her shirt, revealing a circle of pure red embedded in the center of her chest.
Felix hadn’t realized it before, he couldn’t pinpoint it within her already overwhelming Aura, but having seen it, he could immediately tell the orb was the source of everything. It contained her Aura somehow. It imbued her with it. It created their surroundings.
Everything about the way it felt was identical to the Aura around them except solid. It was like someone had taken her Aura, compressed it down into a small ball, then multiplied it by many orders of magnitude.
“What is that?”
“This is a core of Novis. The King of the Elementals, or so he likes to believe.”
“It’s… you’re a warlock?”
“I am. In a sense. I borrow power from Novis through this core. It is difficult to control however so, here I am.”
“You ever thought of getting rid of it?”
“I cannot. It is entangled with my Soul in a way that makes it permanent. It is both a part of me and not while also being a part of Novis.”
“You can’t really go anywhere or do anything until you get it under control either, huh?”
“No. I cannot. It is far too risky as I have killed others in the past.”
“I actually… Can I try something?”
She shrugged and he floated over until he was right next to her then he offered her his hand. She cocked her head then took it and Felix pulled her into his Soul Garden.
There, she looked the same except her Aura was contained. Instead of reaching out in every direction and potentially killing those around her, the deep red formed a long dress that slowly faded out of existence towards the end.
“What is this?” She asked in wonder as she looked around.
Felix largely ignored her question as he checked her over to make sure her Aura wasn’t dangerous in his Mental World. Then, once he was sure, he moved the two of them into the center of Arkade.
“Welcome to my head.” Felix said aloud but made it so only she could hear him.
“This is… in your head?”
“Yup. In my Soul kind of but… yeah, you get the idea.”
She nodded, “Are these people… real?”
“They have Souls and brains, just not physical bodies. At least, most of them don’t.”
“Some do?” She craned her neck forwards in disbelief.
“Yeah. Don’t worry about them though. Maybe if you get control of your Aura one day, you can meet them.”
She nodded slowly, “I’ll add it to the list.”
“If you’d like, you can hang out here for a while.”
Lea marveled at the mountains and the distant landscape then shook her head, “As much as I appreciate this, I cannot afford to waste time frivolously like this.”
“You can’t even spare a few seconds?”
“It’s already been a few seconds.”
“Actually, no. Time here is very different from out there.”
She squinted at him, unsure if he was being truthful.
“How about this, I’ll pull you out in 1, 2 seconds?”
“One.” She nodded.
Felix nodded in confirmation then vanished, leaving her to fend for herself. Meanwhile, he pushed on his Aura for a grand total of one second before releasing her from his Mental World and back into her body, releasing her hand then floating back again.
“Has it only been a single second? Truly?”
“Yup.”
“I was in there for nearly 6 days!”
“Yup.”
Her jaw hung agape for a moment before she smiled, “Thank you. I very much needed that.”
Felix shrugged, “It costs me nothing so, don’t mind at all. As long as I get to sit here and work on my Aura.”
“You are more than welcome to sit here with me. I appreciate the company, even if you are drastically less talkative than Kerix.”
He shrugged again then, as if to prove her point, silently turned his attention back towards his Aura.
Felix didn’t spend all his time with Lea but he did spend a lot of it in the cave, bathing in her Aura. He took breaks to talk with The Acharaya and Kerix but, he never quite reached his goal of a Domain. His Aura was strong enough that he could suppress a small section of the cave around Lea, not quite half as his Aura wasn’t as strong as hers was but a section nonetheless.
More importantly though, his work on his Aura pushed his Reaper’s Skills replacement until it was both consistent, and stronger.
He even settled on a name for it, Spirit Command. It was a literal name but so were the names of the Reaper’s Skills it had replaced. He didn’t think the name was perfect but he didn’t think the ability was either. There was something specifically he knew he was missing, some way to further grow the ability, he just couldn’t pin it down just yet. Until then, he was satisfied with its current name.
With his Aura and Spirit Command having improved so drastically, Felix was excited to fight The Dragon once more so, he headed straight to its realm.
Surprisingly, he found The Acharaya floating in the 2001st realm, just outside the bubble.
“Were you just about to go in?”
I walk the path in the other direction.
“You just came out. Can I go in?”
Where has your path led thus far?
Felix smirked a little then fully released his Aura around him. In the sparse ambient Anima of the 2001st realm, it stretched out for nearly a hundred kilometers easily and everywhere within it, tiny sparks of blue and white appeared for just a moment. The manifestations were much smaller and less significant than Lea’s but, they were there. Felix just wished he knew what they were.
You have traveled far, quickly.
“I just wish I had gotten to a Domain.”
I believe your path is not entirely clear.
“Yeah, I don’t actually know what the blue and white sparks… flashes… whatever, are. I think if I did I’d have more direction. Any idea?”
Curious. Your path is one of the most clear and yet, it is one of the most difficult to perceive. I cannot say with any certainty… you will know soon enough.
“Alright. Can I go in then?”
Is this the only path you have traveled?
“My Spirit Command is better.” Felix waved his hand as fast as he could which, made it essentially disappear, “A bit at least.”
You have traveled further than many do their entire lives and yet you do not believe this to be far enough.
“Well, given where I think my path leads, ambition is kind of necessary, no?”
It is.
“Can I go in now?”
Be wary of those who could move you from your path. The Acharaya said before floating off to the side and giving Felix room to touch the bubble. Before he did though, he heeded The Acharaya’s warning and readied himself fully to use The Amulet if necessary.
As soon as he touched the bubble, he activated the Amulet.
“Shit.”
The Acharaya just floated there but Felix could tell they were relieved he was alive.
“I guess as fast as I’m progressing, it’s not fast enough.”
The weave that is your paths is winding.
Felix growled a little in frustration as he realized there was no point going back in. The Dragon had reached Titan and become way too dangerous for Felix to deal with at the moment.
On the other side of the bubble, The Dragon tore through reality and reached its head through space to snap at Felix. Even if he Blinked, it could just crawl through once again and it was so much faster than it had been.
Your enemy seeks a path beyond its prison.
“It’s trying to get out of the 2000th?”
It has sought this path since it has arrived.
“And you just gave it a way to get out?”
Its path is as hidden to it as it is to us.
“How long till it finds it?”
I cannot foretell how its path will intersect with others.
“Who could possibly stop that thing now but you?”
My path is not one of combat. There is another, the warden of your enemy’s prison.
“The warden? Of… The Realms?”
I am unable to see their path.
“So you don’t even know if they’re still alive? Well… shit. Okay, I can’t exactly fight that thing right now so, what’s next?”
Your path leads where it leads. Where does your path lead?
“Let’s say I want to be able to tank one of its hits, what’s the best path to get there?”
Reaching the end of the beginning may lead you to this destination. There are however, other paths.
Felix followed as The Acharaya vanished and reappeared in succession from the 2001st all the way back through the portal and into one of the 20 doorways. The realm he led him into was the smallest of the 20 realms Felix had seen. It consisted of a single room that was barely 10 meters in any direction.
The walls and floor were entirely black and there was a large block in the middle of the room the size of a table, also black.
“What’s this? What’s the point of this realm?”
This realm is a forge.
“A forge?” Felix looked around in confusion, “Forge for what?”
Ry Mallus.
“Wait… I thought… That was a myth? An indestructible material?”
Many paths are unclear to those that have not walked them.
“You’re saying it’s not indestructible? That’s just something some uninformed people say?”
Even an unclear path, can be followed for direction alone.
“Okay so, they aren’t entirely wrong. Based in truth and all that so… it’s nearly indestructible?”
The Acharaya didn’t respond and instead walked over to one of the walls where he reached through the solid material and withdrew a dagger with a white blade. It didn’t glow or otherwise exude indestructibility but, the blade was completely and perfectly white.
He held the dagger out for Felix who took it in his hand and examined it.
The Dagger had a normal handle of some high grade leather wrapping but that was uninteresting. The blade however, wasn’t a solid material. Felix had somewhat expected what he found but it was also completely surprising at the same time.
It was, like The Acharaya, Kerix and all other Titan’s bodies, made from Anima. It was a physical object made from Anima. It was also denser than any of them and perfectly contained. There was no Anima leakage. The blade didn’t have an Aura or will power or give anything away. It was solid Anima, perfected.
“I didn’t even think this was possible… This is so much denser than anything else I have ever seen. How does it keep all the Anima so well contained? It doesn’t glow, it doesn’t have an Aura, it’s just… perfect.”
This is why a forge is necessary.
“So if I want to survive a hit, I should forge a full suit of Ry Mallus?”
While that path would lead to the destination you seek, it is a much longer path than you realize.
Felix handed the dagger back to The Acharaya, “How long is that path?”
Taking that path would unravel yours from your enemy’s and this universes.
“Alright shit, never mind then. Why are we here?”
Sometimes knowing something exists, is enough to illuminate a path forwards.
“I mean… it’s interesting but I’m not sure how I can use this knowledge to do anything. You don’t happen to have a giant shield hiding in there, would you?”
Your path does not intertwine with any of the items in this room.
“Okay, can you at least show me how to use the forge?”
Your path might however, end the path of one of the items in this room. The Acharaya handed the dagger back to Felix.
He took it once again and slowly nodded, placing it on the large block at the center of the room, “I take it you aren’t going to walk me through this?”
Our time is limited but the value gained from walking a path on your own is worth taking the time.
“Fine.”
I will seal this realm as you work. It will open again in 10 days. The forge will remain functional so long as the realm is sealed.
“Wait… just 10 days? My Spirit Command and Aura took like… two epochs in total. Can’t you give me more than a single dekad?”
I could. Your enemy would escape by then.
“Yeah but, surely not in two dekads?”
Is this the final step you wish to take on your path within my realms?
“No… Alright, fine. See you in 10 days I guess.”
With that said, The Acharaya vanished as did the portal to enter the realm. As soon as it did, the forge activated. It didn’t heat up or glow or anything like that but rather, the entire room began to almost oppressively turn off.
Felix quickly realized the room was made of some material, made of Anima, that resisted Anima, almost entirely.
Looking at the dagger, he thought about where and how to start as he also just started trying anything. He tried smacking the dagger against the block that functioned as an anvil. He tried bending it, he tried moving it with his will power, he even tried placing it in his Core Soular System to see how it would react.
He didn’t learn anything from that at all.
Then, he decided to try something completely risky. The dagger was the strongest thing he had ever known. However, he wasn’t entirely certain about that because he had another material in his possession that was completely indestructible as far as he knew.
Reaching back, Felix grabbed his Staff that he no longer thought about as it simply floated near him at all times. If it was ever further than that, he could simply reach for it and summon it from wherever it was. He carefully placed it down on the anvil then lowered the dagger towards a corner.
His plan was to just see if it could scratch the surface, even just a little nick. He just wanted to know which was stronger and by how much.
Felix never got to the point where he might damage his Staff though because instead, it did something completely against everything Felix knew about The Staff.
As the dagger was lowered towards it, just before he actually made contact with it, The Staff of Arcane Wisdom projected out an image of the dagger into the air.
It never just… shows me things.
Even when upgrading his Spells, The Staff showed him the result, but never the actual Spell form. The projection of the dagger though was a complete diagram and showed him things he didn’t even know about the dagger himself. It was its composition and structure in perfect detail.
He quickly flipped things around, placing the dagger down on the anvil then lowering The Staff towards it to the same effect. Then, he zoomed in on the dagger and what he saw, wasn’t a material item made of Anima. It was a Spell form, or at least it looked like one.
It was more Anima Spell than Mana Spell but it was also neither of them. It had the shape of the dagger, or rather the shape of tiny parts of it and the composition within the Anima.
Using the projected blueprint, Felix began to mentally dissect it, breaking it down so he could understand it.
As he did, he realized so many things about Spells and materials he didn’t know. He realized the enchantments he used to harden and soften materials were inefficient and formulated completely new variations on the spot. He realized how Mana and Anima played a part in all material objects as it broke down the leather of the handle.
It was something he knew but not something he knew how. Now, he felt like a whole new world had opened up to him.
The blade itself though, was the most interesting part and by far the most complicated part.
Trying to dissect it felt impossible mostly because Felix didn’t know what any of the diagram did or meant. By the fifth day, he realized he wasn’t making any progress and he decided he needed a reference point. So, he took his Staff and reached towards one of the walls.
His Staff seemed to agree because it let him reach through the wall by casting a spell he didn’t even know how to begin casting, allowing his arm to phase through the wall.
With blueprints for a bracer, helm, gauntlet, arrow, pauldron, hatchet and a sickle, he had a much better idea of what the blueprints meant. He cross referenced common aspects between them and found parts that described the sharp edge. He found parts that described the durability and hardness, elasticity and rigidity.
He put the objects other than the dagger back where they belonged once he was done with them then focused his full attention on the dagger’s blueprint which he somewhat understood.
From there, he began looking for weakpoints and flaws in the design.
He didn’t find any weak links at all.
Instead, he was forced into trying to find a way to dismantle the dagger all at once. A way to destabilize the blueprint in its entirety.
With just two days left, he began formulating a plan. He had no idea if it would work yet because he still didn’t see the connection between the blueprint, which resembled a Spell form, and the actual object he could hold. He understood the blueprint represented the object but he didn’t understand how the blueprint would let him dismantle the dagger just yet.
He put his faith in the Staff though and just kept going.
Then, on the last day in the sealed forge, Felix finally reached down towards the dagger and began destabilizing it.
He very quickly saw the connection between the blueprint and the real item once he actually began working on it. The blueprint didn’t actually show its composition and how it was made but it was more like a diagram of how the materials and components, in the case of the dagger, Anima, interacted. It was a language to describe the object.
In creating a plan against the blueprint, he was quickly able to identify where the blueprint corresponded to the real item.
I’ve never even thought of trying to represent a physical object- or in this case Spirit object, with a Spell form… I mean why would I? Now though… I want to do this for everything.
Slowly, over the course of his last day, the dagger began to glow. Then, it began to vibrate a little. Finally, it exploded.
All of the Anima that made up the blade was released and it was a colossal amount. The Anima in the dagger was multiple orders of magnitude more than the sub System chunk. It was more Anima then Felix expected to find if he killed off all of Telviras and harvested their Souls. It was an absurd amount he wasn’t expecting at all, and didn’t have anything to do with it.
As the time was running out before The Acharaya unsealed the forge, Felix quickly began sucking it all into his Soul Space where he just left it for the time being.
His Soul still wasn’t strong enough just yet to incorporate any of the Anima but, based on his progress so far, he was hoping to get there soon.
You have taken a step.
“I know what step I want to take next.”
Wisdom often comes from walking the path.
“Spirit Weaving. Teach me.”
This is not a step, this is a direction.
“Spells specifically. I think I can figure everything else out myself.”
Your path here, in my realms, will end in 40 days. This is the step you wish to take?
“Shit, Dragon is getting out? Yes. I need to be able to hurt it.”
This is a path many walk and yet you are joining this path further along than most people ever reach.
“Is it possible? Despite the complexity then? In 40 days?”
I am surprised you reached your destination in just 10 days, dismantling the work of the Qal’Dari.
“So you don’t think so but I’ve surprised you before. Who are the Qal’Dari? You’re talking about the dagger?”
Their path converged to create that which you call, The System.
“Wait- WHAT? The race that created The System is called the Qal’Dari? And they created that dagger?”
Both originate from their collective path.
“What else can you tell me about them? Do they still exist, somewhere? Do you have any other relics from them? Books maybe?”
I can tell you much as it is where Kerix and my path intertwined. Is this where your path leads now?
“No.” Felix gritted his teeth, “Dammit. Later. First, Spirit Weaving in Spells.”
I am not an expert in Spells so I cannot guide you down that path. You have an expert in Spells at your disposal however. What I can do, is begin you on the path.
Felix looked over at his Staff that floated next to him and nodded, “The basics should be enough to get me started.”
What steps have you taken on this path?
“Kerix told me that Spirit Weaving uses your Soul because a Concept by itself is not stable. A Concept of sharpness will break down in a sword because there are more than just sharp edges. There’s also the flat of the blade, the pommel, guard, handle and the material making up the weapon.”
Wisdom often comes from walking the path.
“Moving my Soul out of my Soul though is not something my Soul likes though. I was hoping there would be another way?”
There are many paths to most destinations.
“Perfect. How do I do it.”
Your destination is confused with Kerix’s destination. A Concept is one aspect however it is a crutch, just as a Conviction and Curses are.
“All of them are Crutches? Does that mean it’s possible to destroy a Curse?”
Some paths very few walk. That does not mean it does not exist.
“Huh… You’re saying I don’t need my Soul to stabilize a Concept because I don’t need Concepts at all. Instead, I can just imbue Anima into a Spell and command it myself?”
This is a path you may choose.
“That seems too simple though.”
Often complexity lies beyond simplicity. You wisely seek the basics and they will let you take the first step.
Felix left the forge as The Acharaya vanished once more and began casting a simple Spell, a Fire Bolt. This time, he imbued some Anima into the Spell and imposed his will power on the Anima to make the Spell curve a little to the side.
He cast the Spell without The Staff and saw the effect was minimal. It was something he could do but didn’t see any point in doing. It was much more efficient and easier and less costly for him to simply modify the Spell form to curve the bolt. It didn’t even seem to do more damage as far as he could tell.
Then, he cast it through the Staff and instead of curving, the Fire Bolt cork screwed through the air.
This time, unlike every other time he had cast through The Staff, a Spell form appeared on top of it to cast the Fire Bolt. The Spell form was his Fire Bolt Spell form with a slight modification. Instead of loose Anima infused into the Spell, the Anima was contained loosely within the Spell form.
Felix tried that and found it definitely worked better.
Then, he cast through The Staff and this time, it showed him the same Mana Spell Form, with shaped Anima. The shape was a simple polyhedron.
Once again, the Spell was even better.
Then, the Spell form that appeared completely twisted Felix’s perception and made him feel quite stupid.
Instead of just a Mana Spell form, the Spell form for the Fire Bolt contained a small Anima Spell form as well.
Felix skipped a few steps and tried to craft a more complicated Anima Spell form but found it was much harder than he had anticipated to craft an Anima Spell free floating outside of his Soul. He gradually got the hang of it though and once he did, The Staff quickly ramped up the complexity until the Fire Bolt Mana Spell form and the Anima Spell form were equally as complex.
Then, it twisted his perception again by weaving the two into one. It wasn’t a Mana Spell or an Anima Spell or a combination of the two. It was a Spell made of both, a distinct entity that couldn’t exist without both Anima and Mana spell forms.
Felix had combined Mana and Anima Spells before, when he was creating the communication protocol between his Soul and Mark. That was an Anima Spell that activated an integrated Mana Spell, a form that could be distinctly split into Mana and Anima. This was a single weave that couldn’t be split at all as the Mana and Anima were completely intertwined and integrated into one form.
It was like learning Spell craft for the first time except accelerated because he already knew so much about Mana Spells. He also knew the fundamentals and quite a bit about Anima Spells. Combining them and the way The Staff directed him to create Anima Spells was completely different though.
Instead of creating an effect, the Spells worked the same way Mana Spells did. They used Anima as fuel and Attuned that to a specific desire. In the case of his Spells, that often mapped to Concepts, though not quite Concepts. What the Spells created were something else. It was like engineered Fire. It wasn’t unstable the way a Concept was but it was even more potent, especially once the complexity of the Spell form ramped up.
It was like he had dissected a Concept and recreated it from scratch, creating each underlying component then targeting them specifically throughout his Spell. Not every part of it needed to be hot, such as the Force propelling the projectile so, a Concept would be wasted there. Felix’s version, as the Staff had taught him, was able to direct the components.
The integration of Anima and Mana didn’t just empower the damage of his Spells either, they also allowed him to finally cast Spells he had only dreamed of casting before. He used dummies to test them as much as he could but he very quickly grew excited for using them for real, both on The Dragon and otherwise.
The most important result of his learning Spirit Weaving though, was that Felix began to realize something he had been missing before with his Soul and Spirit Command.
The blueprints of the Ry Mallus items, the Spirit Weaving in Spells dissecting and recreating a Concept from components, both of them were using the language of Spell Forms to describe or direct reality.
A properly crafted Spell was the ultimate form of command, it was a command on the universe itself in its own language and Felix, was a Caster first and foremost.