As Ethan walks down the tunnel, he stays focused on the distant sounds of Sylas's pickaxe. He tunes the intensity of Strengthening to the stream of Ether he absorbs, creating a direct path between the strands of Ether and his muscles. Vapor evaporates from his exposed skin as his fibers tingle with intense heat.
The winds of Ether grow stronger, halting Ethan's steps. The threads touch, usually causing a tingle, feels like sandpaper. They leave fragments of Ether inside Ethan's skin, which he cannot easily manipulate. The sensation intensifies with each passing second, soon turning painful.
He closes his eyes for a moment, letting his body attune to the surrounding flow. "Ether manipulation leveled up," the voice announces. He takes a deep breath, focusing on the winds of Ether swirling around him.
Ethan raises his right hand, fingers spread, and concentrates on the Ether touching his hand. With a deliberate effort, he pulls on them, directing more Ether into his heart. The stream reaches a point at which Ethan fails to intensify it.
'I can freely control Ether inside my body. Perhaps I could command the outside threads to avoid me,' he thinks. He draws small threads of Ether from his heart into his fingertips, remaining in control as they leave his body. Using them, he pushes against the threads battering him and bends them away.
Absorbing Ether through his skin and emitting it from its fingers takes Ethan's full attention. His body heats up where the contradictory flows meet. He raises his left hand and limits the absorption of Ether to its surface. The flows met painlessly in his heart, swirling in a smooth pattern. "Ether manipulation leveled up," the voice repeats.
The outside Ether yields to his commands, parting like a curtain to clear his path. With each step forward, he grows more adept at manipulating the Ether surrounding him. The winds no longer batter him as fiercely as he finds a balance between absorption and deflection.
"Ether manipulation leveled up," the voice repeats for the third time. 'I'm on the right track', Ethan thinks. The tunnel ahead widens, and the winds become more turbulent.
He stops for a moment, concentrating on creating a barrier – a thin net of his own Ether that shields him from the worst of the outside threads. The winds howl, testing his new shield, but Ethan holds firm. He can feel the strain on his mind from the effort of maintaining his construct. "Ether manipulation leveled up."
As he continues down the tunnel, the sound of Sylas's pickaxe grows distant. He can still sense both Sylas and Russ through predator's sight and keeps an ear on their surroundings. He enters a widening cavern, its walls lined with glowing blue Ether crystals.
His eyes, adjusting to the dim, bluish glow, catch sight of something massive and dark lying in the center of the cavern. The remnants of a gigantic beast lie sprawled across the cavern floor, partially buried under layers of rocks. Its thick bones feel metallic, glowing in the cavern's light.
As he approaches, his eyes are drawn to the heart of the beast. There, nestled within the ribcage, is an amalgamation of Ether, a swirling substance that seems to pulse with a life of its own. The threads of Ether he has been following all converge here, forming a complex web that simmers with an ethereal, green light.
In the center of this amalgamation, a floating glass-like sphere catches his eye. It is translucent and crystalline, yet holding a weight and presence that are almost tangible. Inside the sphere, two beastly eyes float, locked onto him with an unblinking, predatory gaze.
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Ethan feels a shiver run down his spine as he meets the gaze of the sphere. Glancing around, he spots weapons and armor under the layers of dust, and then the corpses of their owners.
Each set of remains seems to be positioned as if the individuals had been converging on the sphere. He examines the skeletal remains and their equipment, each separated by important spans of time. Some appear to have been decomposing for a few years; others look like they are a touch away from crumbling to dust.
'The mountain emits an intense aura of Ether every few decades,' Ethan recalls. 'Could it be that it coincides with them approaching the remains? Is it conscious? Those eyes surely make it seem so.'
He looks around for anything else. 'I shouldn't approach anymore,' he thinks. 'But I could still use the occasion while Sylas is working.' He sits down, his legs crossed, as he closes his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he lets more Ether than he can absorb sip through his shield. It batters his skin and leaves shards of Ether inside. He reforms his protection and focuses on the unresponsive shards. His mind reaches out, sensing in more detail the effects they have on his body. They slowly dissipate, causing small damages akin to burns around them.
He guides small threads of his Ether to them, absorbing them with a simple touch. 'They are like the threads outside of my body,' he thinks. He lets successive waves through, repeating the operation repeatedly. "Ether manipulation leveled up," the voice echoes several times.
He manipulates his protection to make it large enough to protect not only him but several others. He notices a chunk of ore embedded in the cavern wall, glowing with concentrated Ether. His mind wanders, pondering the question, "How long did it take for Ether to sip into this ore?"
He pulls out a Glock magazine from his haversack and unloads a bullet he places between his fingers. 'I can use Piercing shot to instantly make it harder,' he thinks. He shrinks his shield and places the bullet just outside of it.
"Ether manipulation leveled up," Ethan hears again after long minutes of meditation. Sylas's pickaxe quiets, and Ethan can hear him stashing the ore through predator's sight. He stands up, picking up his experiment.
The copper outside layer barely holds any Ether. 'I guess it would take years, if not decades or centuries, for any meaningful quantity of Ether to naturally settle in it.'
As he walks back towards Sylas, he drops his protection, the density of Ether lessening. Through predator's sight, he detects that a host of humanoid creatures are waiting for them in the first cavern they explored.
Ethan approaches Sylas quietly, the young man unaware of his presence. Russ, ever vigilant, spots Ethan and starts wagging his tail but remains at his post, staring up the tunnel.
Sylas, busy grabbing and stashing heavy chunks of ore, draws in Ether with every inhale and expels it with each exhale. "You’re making great progress for someone who said it was impossible not long ago," Ethan says, startling Sylas.
"It's still hard," Sylas replies, catching his breath. "But I'm getting the hang of it. I think this load is around a hundred and fifty kilos. Do you mind putting some in your haversack?"
"It's almost full; I'll just carry the whole thing. Don't worry." Ethan helps gather the chunks into the bag, then swings it over his shoulder, using Strengthening to carry it with ease. "They are waiting for us in the cavern above. Just stay at the tunnel's edge while I deal with them," Ethan says, silently waiting for an acknowledgement.
Sylas's jaw drops slightly in surprise. He nods as he gathers his tools and steps behind Ethan. They walk back into the tunnel, soon reaching the cavern. Ethan drops the bag, unsheathing his sword as he steps inside.
"Russ, guard," he reiterates, motioning at Sylas. The Skullgors immediately react; their behavior is erratic and wild. Like mad gorillas, they beat their chests with frenzied force, jumping around the cavern and screaming in sharp noises.
Behind their skulls, their eyes glow with an intense, unsettling light. The biggest of them leaps toward Ethan, its massive arms swinging wildly. Ethan’s muscles tense as he feeds them with Strengthening. He dashes forward, meeting the attacker midway through its leap and cutting it in half. The blade shatters on impact, its fragments embedded in the Skullgor's body.
'That should deter them from approaching me,' he thinks, drawing his dagger and discarding the broken blade. The remaining Skullgors open their mouths in grotesque roars, the sound shaking the walls and ground. In unison, they charge forward, baring their fangs at Ethan.