Power is incredible, and the feeling of a power you cannot grasp is exhilarating and depressing at the same time.
When I returned from the fight in the bathroom, I saw Noel standing close to the exit gate from the spatium challenge, my steps quickly approaching with a wide grin.
“Hi there, I see you reached the center without meeting me. It’s a shame, I wish I had seen you fight, I bet it was overwhelmingly fun, wasn’t it?” I ask, the slightly chubby boy laughing at that.
“I mostly froze people and took hits, it’s what I do best in any type of fight. But you are the number one, how did you manage that?” He asked, a grin forming on my slightly older looking changed face.
“Well, had Skulk with me, and after solving the puzzle, everything else was easy. Apropos skulk, I have to introduce you to him when he gets out of the infirmary, now though, we should head to the Vitus test, a friend of mine is going to be there, and I have to wish them luck. Just for your warning though, they are half elf.” I said, Noel nodding at that.
“Then let’s wish them luck, any others you’ll need to attend? Geos is going to be second to last, and I was thinking about grabbing a sausage or something. I’m still surprised these tests aren’t for the public to view, only being accessible to registered academy students.”
I simply nodded as we proceeded on our path.
We saw the gates towards the vitus trials open, with a shout of mine drawing attention.
Quickly, I ran towards my friend, introducing the two as we reached them.
“Sine this is Noel, Noel, this is sine. Good luck in there, and happy hunting. If it’s anything like the previous tests, it will be a fight, so get ready to defend yourself.”
The two nodded at each other, before Sine had to disappear into the maw like gate of the vitus challenge, an estimated four hours until the competition would commence for pyro, and an equal amount of time before the lumen trials would begin. Tempora trials were apparently held at the same time as all other trials, though nobody knew exactly how that worked.
The tests were designed by the professors, and then given to the guardians and gods to oversee, at least that’s what everyone here said, and I chose to believe them.
As Noel went to get some food, I asked him to warn me when Vita started to end, so I could get some rest in the meantime.
As I closed my eyes, the first thing to happen was a feeling similar to the fourth refinement, a fleeting moment of being one with the surrounding space. Absolute freedom to become nothing, unraveling alongside the weave of spatium, returning to the material world at any point my essence managed to touch. It was incredible, but took all my concentration to remain awake during this state of oneness. Reappearing felt like forcing myself to wear tight socks, while concentrating on a spider, knowing it would disappear once I looked away, catapulting me back to the ethereal form I previously held. It would be addicting, but I could only do it once a day while being absolutely sure to return, a good trade for this cheapest form of immortality, a ghost resting across a small piece of space.
Once this option cemented itself in my mind, another option appeared, the opportunity to temporarily claim a domain, a space in which I could somewhat designate how physics worked on me and others, things like flying quite possible inside. Outside my domain though, the world would be harder on me. Both were incredible, and incredible dangerous. One would connect me deeper to this world, the other making me stick out as the foreign influence I am.
After considering, I decided upon the first mutation, the opportunity on where it might lead too grand to pass up.
Then, the second choice appeared before me, this one a much more familiar one.
Tier 3 Spatium runes:
Gate
Access
Target
Tier 3 Necros runes:
Still
Expire
Specter
Tier 2 Lumen runes:
Radiant
Hidden
Prism
Tier 3 Aqua runes:
Wave
Rain
Cloud
Tier 3 Neutral runes:
Overwrite
Organize
Warn
My options were impressive, third tier runes being so incredibly versatile, it gave me goosebumps from excitement. Four of those, I could choose today, the others would have to wait until my next slaughter. It was really simple at the core, and yet, I knew exactly what I wanted to look at.
Overwrite and access sounded too fun to disregard, the mere opportunity of finding something to cast this combination on was already too exiting to disregard. The other two I chose were specter and radiant, mostly because I loved the Idea of some glowing angel thingy to protect me when I summoned it.
Tier 1 runes
Rune
Description
Move
Spatium
Open
Spatium
Close
Spatium
Decay
Necros
Infect
Necros
Corrupt
Necros
Projectile
Null
Gather
Null
Dispel
Null
Bright
Lumen
Opacity
Lumen
Dim
Lumen
Condense
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Aqua
Pour
Aqua
Ebb
Aqua
Tier 2 Runes
Rune
Description
Bubble
Aqua
Stream
Aqua
Drain
Aqua
Area
Null
Control
Null
Focus
Null
Exhaust
Necros
Corpse
Necros
Consume
Necros
Spatium
Warp
Spatium
Connect
Spatium
Mirror
Lumen
Flash
Lumen
Beam
Lumen
Tier 3 runes
Rune
Description
Overwrite
Null
Specter
Necros
Access
Spatium
Radiant
Lumen
Name:
Luce Bravelight
Race:
Human (child) (Mutant)
Class:
Empty
Soul:
Fourth refinement, Tier 7
Body:
Second refinement, Tier 2
Mind:
Second refinement, Tier 2
Mutation
Description
Unbound 4
You are easier to affect with space magic, exposure to dimensional effects will unlock further effects.
Undying 6
Your physical growth and decay will happen at a slower rate exposure to Necros will upgrade this effect.
Anima chimera 3
Your soul is used to absorbing others, when you kill something, a part of it will be naturally drawn to you.
As I finally awoke, it was to Noel shaking me, a delicious looking piece of food in both his hands, one stretched out towards me.
“Pyro starts soon, and after sleeping this long, you are probably hungry.” He said, and I thanked him as I took the food, both of us eating as we made our way, looking for Ember as we did so.
“This is going to be exciting, let’s get Sine before going to him, I bet they want to see him off too.”
Thus, we went to our half elven friend, grinning as they stood there, prideful under a sign that called them number one.
“I won, it felt like days in a survival camp, every day fighting, I bet those dimensions work different from real time, that clock says we only spend four hours in there.” They exclaimed, and we laughed, listening closely as they complained about other competitors having absolutely no hygiene, before we finally approached my fiery friend, surrounded by a group of people in red robes as he talks about different ways to light a flame.
“We don’t want to disturb you for too long, we just wanted to wish you luck, though I assume this fight will be nothing to you?” My question was answered with the most evil of grins as he moved out of the circle, excusing himself for a while.
“Their magic can’t even touch me, I bet. You know my soul, they have not a cinder of a chance.”
We high-fived, the action too fun to gate keep from an entire world.
Then, he began filing into the gate just as everyone else, ready to fight for his right to be there.
After this, I would have to go and demonstrate the power of my light. I used to be some sort of chosen one, and given that I just absorbed a part of a guy who genuinely thought himself to be the manifestation of the world, I knew it was my responsibility to outshine everyone else, and if my pure greatness wouldn’t push them away, a radiant beam would probably knock them out quickly enough. I was better than them, and my friends were the best among the best. People might call me proud, arrogant or self obsessed, but I was only ever obsessed with immortality, and that would mean ascending past any gods, mortals and demons that would claim my goals to be against the world order.
As my thoughts drifted to Embers all consuming flames, and the way even magic gave way when his soul got into contact, I once again remembered the guardians, the manifestation of spatium, necros and lumen that once tried to recruit me, the way their power was not in question, until I took a piece out of Spatium. There was nothing in this world at a power level I would need, nothing truly immortal, everything hanging in a balance that would probably break in a thousand or so years, and a hero would be summoned.
I needed power, and the fastest way was making sure my friends and I had worthy adversaries to train against.