Walker's laughter was short-lived. When he took the time to pay attention to the screen in front of him, he found he only had about thirty minutes of time left before the entirety of the Evolver's multiverse found out he was the new System Administrator, and sent everything they had to tear him and his dreams apart.
"Fuck!" He yelled out to no one in particular.
He refocused on the screen's writing.
Program 3 Part 1:
1. Modify the code of a system
2. Create a new distortion point
...You will be released from the first set of the training program...
Based on Kwaya's life, she'd designed commands with the system to fit with the hand motions that she and Phylla had designed. It was an ingenious move, as nobody would know how to communicate with the system in the slightest without first being trained by her. He was sure that Alma had something to do with it as well, likely a set of further instructions built within the passed-on Origin, but he didn't have that. Luckily, he did have the Book of Souls and the experiences he'd gained from within it.
Tapping into his memories, he quickly sped through as many of the visions as he could where he'd seen Kwaya work with Phylla. A subtle twist here meant danger, while a dip with two fingers meant open. It wasn't the most complicated form of sign language he'd ever seen, the American version took the cake on that, but with his Awakened mind and dextrous fingers, he felt it was certainly doable.
Walker lifted his hands and made the sign for open.....nothing happened.
He tried making a similar motion that meant close, but still, he found no changes.
Tapping into the System Editor, he found the world in front of him returned to its grid-like view, however, no matter the signs he made, no changes occurred. With an eye on the screen, he tried to think about how Kwaya did it. Then he remembered that her hands had been covered in a thin layer of purple while she made her motions, and it suddenly made sense.
Tapping into his tired Origin, Walker's hands blazed in darkness. He made the sign for reveal, and watched as not only was the darkness siphoned away from his hands, but the grid in front of him changed. Rather than strangely disconnected lines, he saw a series of interconnected systems, easily labeled and converted into a language he recognized through the Universal Translator.
It made him wonder, just for a moment, if perhaps this was its true purpose.
He quickly scanned his eyes over the bird he'd seen before. Rather than just an outline of green with the confusing lines he'd seen before, the translator kicked in, and a moment later they changed to a detailed breakdown of what he was looking at.
Scarlet Tanager (False)
A creation that fits within the user's ideas of comfort.
This creation emanates from a reflection of the user's soul and will serve as a protector should an attack occur from within.
Current upgrade path: 1%
This can be upgraded by using the power of the user's soul.
As shocking as that was, not to mention the idea that he could be attacked within his own soul, Walker also came to another startling realization. He hadn't considered it before, but the system directly connected to his metaphysical plane. Using logic, that meant that, to a large degree, the system was an alternative way of thinking about a soul.
The further implication that line of thought took him was a head trip. If using the system was similar to working with the soul, and it applied across the entire Evolvers multiverse, then that meant the system was a universe's soul. One, giant, soul. It meant that System Administrators were, in essence, soul engineers. Those who could tap into the soul of a thing, and make changes as they saw fit. The idea of it was staggering, and Walker lost himself in thought for some time as he considered what that meant.
Could he modify other's souls now?
Could he modify his own?
What would happen if he made a system that worked from within a person?
Was the 4AA rendition's system somehow linked to the center's system, or were they each independently run? If they were, that meant there was an independent location within each universe that stored all of its primordial energy. Or, what if it all got pushed out of the center all at once, only being redirected when necessary?
Deep in thought, Walker barely noticed when another minute ticked down on the screen in front of him. He slapped his hands together, "Focus!"
Looking at the screen again, he needed to modify one single code in the system. Walker covered his hands in darkness again, then pinpointed one singular area, the screen. Looking at it, he made the sign for red, and just like that, the screen turned red. There was no coding, or yes and no options, like the soul construct stated. Instead, it was his will and intent, along with the direction of the signs provided, that changed the world in front of him. Rather than a semi-transparent screen, one that was the same color of red that he saw in his mind was now in its place. He mentally noted that, because the system used the power of the soul, he should be able to direct it quite easily. The limits on what he was able to accomplish would slowly erode as he grew to practice it, and further advanced in his own Awakened powers.
Looking at his hands, he found his origin had only lost a small amount of power. The first task updated on the screen as complete, while the second glared at him.
"A distortion point...."
He moved the darkness to his eyes so he could better read the detailed breakdown again.
Program 3 Part 1:
1. Modify the code of a system (Complete)
2. Create a new distortion point
A distortion point within the system's purview is a deviation from current operations. No new system can be added without one, as you are essentially creating a gap in the current fabric of the protocol, and placing a new addition. The evolvers have access to a basic version of this, but they're unable to create any new major systems themselves. Distortion points are easily created by certified system administrators. Simply, poke a hole.
...You will be released from the first set of the training program...
As fun as it might be, he didn't want to make a major distortion point. Having to wait for the system to update, not to mention notifying the Evolvers about whatever he added, was risky. He still only had so much time, and the Part 1 writing gave him a clue that at least one more part was coming. Wrapping his hands in darkness again, he eyed the grid in front of him. Anywhere that the bird flew, small inflection points would light up. Words like, flight, movement, breathing, and everything the bird was doing were tracked and categorized into innumerable systems that ran everything in the background. He needed to find a single area where he could "poke a hole."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Thinking on it, poking a hole in the area near the bird made no sense. There were plenty of empty grids around him. One small box near him only had a small section where, after looking at it for a moment, it translated for him.
Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide (false)
There is no air within the metaphysical space. This is an illusion to comfort the user's previous life experiences.
Walker stretched forth his hands and brought them together. Walker formed the sign for poke, then made his hands into the shape of a gun. Pulling the trigger, or a cocked back thumb in this case, he shot a small spout of origin right at the grid. He made sure as he fired it to put his intent into the darkness within his hands just before the opaque black coloring left his hands.
A tiny hole appeared in the grid, floating in the middle of the air. Rather than look at the screen, he turned off the system editor in his overlay and found the hole was missing. Turning it back on brought it back to his vision, telling him everything he needed to know. Anytime he worked with the system, it was likely he was the only one who could see what he was working with. That was both good and bad. Bad because he couldn't ask for help, good because he could work on things around people who wouldn't know a damn thing unless they also had access to the System Editor.
Walker noticed the hole wasn't moving, so he stepped closer. Looking around at it, he didn't find any change in the broken pattern of the system. It was likely that it would stay there for as long as he needed it to, forcing the other patterns and programs of the system to move around it.
He stepped back and watched as the screen noticed he was looking at it, then updated.
Program 3 Part 1:
1. Modify the code of a system (complete)
2. Create a new distortion point (complete)
...You will be released from the first set of the training program...
...The second part is now beginning...
Program 3 Part 2:
Escape from the Soul plane
---
Congratulations Administrator Dante!
As you have completed the first two programs, as well as the first part of the third, you will now receive your final test.
Note from Administrator Kwaya: I would say good luck, but if I've already trained you, you won't need it.
"Escape from the Soul plane? What the fuck?" Walker said as he looked at it. Just then, the screen updated again.
Timer removed.
Planet of origin recognized.
Creating defenders....
Created....
...Defenders Released...
"Fuck you Kwaya!"
As he yelled out to the false forest in front of him, a huge cat appeared in the near distance. Not the kind that you would find in a home, but the mountainous kind who ate weary hikers on the final downslope home. It immediately began to stalk forward, silent as can be. The only good thing about this situation was that it didn't blend in well with the surrounding trees and bushes, which gave him a good look at the predator in all of its majesty. Muscles rippling along its body, it moved toward him at a sedate pace, gliding from shrub to trunk in its attempt to still maintain some semblance of stealth. As he watched it move, parts of its body shimmered, as if he were staring at a mirage. Walker didn't know what to do.
He tried the first thing that he thought would work. He phoned a friend.
"Hey..uh..Book of Souls. You don't want to die here do you?"
Walker received a cold feeling back, "So, why not get us out of here?"
He waited for a moment, the Cat fully in his view as it stared at him from just behind a tree only a few dozen feet away, but nothing happened.
"Well, shit."
The cat went on the move again at the sound of his voice. As it grew closer, he heard a chirp in the background. A red bird flew out of the top of the branches, arcing down and toward the large cat in front of him. The defender didn't even seem to notice, and Walker had a small hope in his heart that his protector would help him out.
The Scarlet Tanager lightly bounced off of its head.
Walker sighed.
Giving a light chuffing sound, it continued forward while the bird lifted itself off of the ground. It chirped a few times, then continued to move toward the large cat in front of him, landing on its back and pecking with a good burst of energy. But, it made little to no progress, and soon enough the massive cat was in front of him, a small bird feebly attacking it. Giving a high-pitched hiss and growl combination, it swiped at him.
Walker jumped back, then moved forward right after, throwing a punch at the cat.
His hand passed right through, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. The cat took this chance to slash out again, catching him on the shoulder with its quick reflexes.
Walker screamed as he felt something tear. He quickly rolled away and looked where the defender had caught him at the shoulder, but worriedly found that his clothes were still in perfect shape. Instead, something deep down inside of him felt ripped and raw, as if a piece of him had been pulled away.
Quickly getting back to his feet, he looked at the cat and found it had grown in size. Before the attack, it had stood at his hips, whereas now it was halfway towards his chest. He also noticed that it looked more solid as if taking a piece of him had filled in a gap in itself.
Walker started to back up, thinking at a furious rate. The bird pecking it made him think that there was certainly a way to attack, he just needed to consider it carefully. Rubbing his shoulder, which had no visible damage, gave him the idea of what he was missing. Wrapping his hands in darkness, he sidestepped another blisteringly fast swipe and punched the cat in the face. It connected, throwing the creature several yards away and knocking it to the ground.
"Yes!" He yelled out, throwing a fist in the air. As he did that, the Scarlet Tanager flew over, landing on his hand.
Walker looked at it, "We can do this buddy!"
That was when he noticed some of the darkness of his soul was being absorbed by the bird. He flung it off by roughly shaking his fist.
"Mine!"
Just as he was about to go into a tirade about the bird being a thief, he noticed it zooming toward the cat much faster than before. The great cat had just picked itself up off of the ground, part of its jaw sloping to the side as if broken, when the bird crash-landed on its face. With two pecks, it pulled out one of the large cat's eyes, causing it to scream into the air and roll away from the offending scarlet nuisance. The bird gobbled it up, before flying back into the air, performing a loop, then moving in for another attack. It was pecking at the great cat's hindquarters when Walker showed up.
Rather than watch, and even while still feeling raw, Walker had quickly run over. Covering his feet in darkness, Walker threw a huge kick at its side. He knew this was too important of a moment to let it pass him by. He needed to destroy the cat that had taken a piece of him, and get out of here. The kick connected, throwing the creature down the way and breaking a few of its ribs, judging by the shaky way it was attempting to stand back up. The Scarlet Tanager took the cat's other eye, a weak growl coming out of it, when Walker showed up again. A quickly thrown hammer fist, crushing the great cat's skull into the ground, ended the fight before things got out of his control again.
A moment later, the cat's body vanished, and a yellow light rose up in its place. His protector swooped for it, quickly gobbling the soul up and growing in front of his eyes. Just like the cat when it took a swipe out of him, the bird seemed to grow more corporeal, more real, as it absorbed the light. Even its feathers changed a small amount, with a yellow feather taking the place of one of its red ones on each side.
Walker cast a small reveal sign and watched its information update a moment later.
Multihued Tanager (False)
A creation that fits within the user's ideas of comfort.
This creation emanates from a reflection of the user's soul and will serve as a protector should an attack occur from within.
Current upgrade path: 5%
This can be upgraded by using the power of the user's soul.
Note: The Multihued Tanager has grown through the power of another user's soul.
Changes have occurred.
Walker smiled, "These are souls huh?" He laughed to himself, "And what do you know, there's a Godeater here."
A moment later, a roar sounded out behind him, quickly followed by another. Turning around, he found a male and female lion stalking out of the forest, both eyes locked onto him, ignoring the deadly bird flying just above. Walker looked at the bird, who didn't look at him at all, then wrapped his feet in darkness. He began to run at the two lions, causing the male to stumble for a moment.
The female roared out again, only this time in pain as Walker's empowered foot connected with the side of her face. The race to see when Kwaya's Defense system ran out of juice was on.
----------------------------------------
In Universe 4AB, still empowered with the speed of time by the Alpha Protocol Council, a truly massive shape slowly emerged. It took minutes for the entirety of its body to exit the portal of its origin, and its eyeless face looked left and right, scanning for any potential dangers that may impede its progress.
As it started to move through the emptiness of space, it felt something. As if two great powers were clashing, right in front of it. Moving closer to get a sense of what it was feeling, it stopped in its tracks as it finally gained an understanding of what was happening. It knew, should it touch either of the two great beams, it would lose its life. Instead of unthinkingly running into the meeting of power, it circles them instead, trying to gain an idea of how to profit from this chance encounter. When nothing occurred after its third spin, it began to move away, thinking nothing would come of this after all.
But not before something black shot out of the clash of primordial energy and merged into its body. The gargantuan creature didn't notice, and a moment later a large portal opened up in space. It moved through without any worries, heading back to Rendition 4AA and the conquests it could still find within.