– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 217, Season of the Setting Sun, Day 70 –

Terry and Rafael were trapped in the arena battle with Xuan. While Terry was still feeling okay without sleep or food, he could already see that Rafael was doing less than well.

[What were you talking about when you said that you wouldn’t make it in time?] asked Terry.

Terry and Rafael had begun using their time to exchange information. Initially, they had tried to come up with ideas to overcome Xuan, but eventually, they had settled for getting to know each other better. This was the first time that they had a chance to chat for longer periods, because the fights were usually more short-paced and they could not communicate with the talismans when Terry was in his cell that blocked mana.

[Remember when the Third Scion talked about me being hunted by the Thunderous Palm Sect?] asked Rafael. [I got into a fight with one of their young masters and, long story short, their young master is dead and I came into possession of a valuable entrance ticket that was intended for him.]

[Entrance ticket?] Terry raised his brows. [To what?]

[A secret realm with an inheritance site by a powerful senior,] explained Rafael. [The site is supposed to open at the end of the Setting Sun and is rumored to contain vast riches, amazing cultivation resources, and even some named artifacts of legend.]

Terry tried to recall what he knew about the secret realms of mana martialists, which admittedly wasn’t much.

He only remembered a few references from his uncle Samuel. When they had investigated the interaction between oscillating mana and space magic, Samuel had explained that secret realms are applications of space folding to create small pockets hidden from sight and unreachable by non-magical means. There was naturally some spellwork that would achieve similar effects for less cost.

Samuel had also briefly mentioned inheritance sites in a conversation about dungeons, but only insofar as to compare the inheritance sites of mana martialists to artificial dungeons – with challenges and often with an intelligent spirit or soul in charge to substitute for the lack of a dungeon core.

Nothing in Terry’s memory explained how such sites related to an entrance ticket. [How does the entrance ticket work?]

[It teleports you and whomever you are touching inside the secret realm where the inheritance site is located,] explained Rafael.

[Wait, if you have a teleportation device with you, why are you still here?] asked Terry with narrowed eyes.

[If I still had it, I wouldn’t be here,] grumbled Rafael. [When I was arrested, it was too early and the ticket wasn’t usable. I barely managed to conceal and hold onto my belt but all my other possessions were taken from me. I hoped I could escape and retrieve the entrance ticket in time, but…]

[Could we exchange some items for the ticket and then escape from the arena?] asked Terry. He didn’t know where the secret realm was located, but the senior should have been a mana martialist and their lands were in the Free Factions Union. Further north and closer to Arcana.

[I wish,] grumbled Rafael. [Even if they don’t know what it is, they wouldn’t just hand it to a prisoner. I can exchange for some items, but only stuff that they know inside out. They’re not going to return items to me that they don’t understand.]

Terry recalled how his mana sublimator had been confiscated and taken away for research. He frowned.

[And I believe someone suspects that it’s valuable,] sighed Rafael. [It has been moved since I’ve been arrested. It’s not with my other possessions.]

[How do you know?] asked Terry.

[I know,] stressed Rafael without elaborating on the details. [That ticket is the fortunate encounter of a lifetime. I’ve made sure I can track it.]

The stalemate in the arena continued for three more days.

At that point, Terry could tell that Rafael was at the end of his rope. The felan didn’t show it and kept up his usual posturing act, but Terry could sense the weakness in his mana signature.

Terry was forced to make a decision. He had progressed smoothly through the arena with the help of Rafael and his Heavenly Wolf Slash, but now there was a battle where Terry was not able to continue as before. If Terry insisted on continuing this starvation match with Xuan, then the alliance with Rafael would be over. No matter if Terry or Xuan persevered in the end, Rafael would have long starved by then.

Terry clenched his fists and inhaled deeply. He moved his fingers over the inscribed glove on his left arm and then over the keen dagger at his hip.

‘Follow the kind of person you want to become.’ Terry felt himself taken back to the time he had been crying in his room at Arcana Academy, the time that Samuel had spoken to him about the Path of a Mage.

Terry exhaled sharply and then loosened the laces from his bidirectional attraction glove. He held out both the glove and the keen dagger. “We surrender. They’re yours.”

Xuan crossed his arms. “I know you have a healing wand. I’ll take that too.”

Terry didn’t quibble and retrieved the wand that Samuel had sent to him when he was in the Libra Outpost. “If you step back, I will place everything on the floor. We will leave and then you can take them.” Terry wanted to make sure that he would be able to retrieve the items in case Xuan played any tricks. He had a rough idea of the difference in speed between himself and the lizan.

Xuan moved his gaze from Terry to Rafael and back. Afterwards, he retreated to one of the walls.

Terry’s eyes were drawn to something left behind on the floor. He walked over and then placed the glove, the dagger, and the wand down on the ground. In exchange, Terry grabbed the loose scale from Xuan, which was the object that had drawn Terry’s attention. He took the scale as a memento of their fight.

Now, I have a reference of what I need to break.

The scale was heavier than Terry expected. He clenched his fist around it.

Terry and Rafael walked out of the arena. Xuan kept his word. The lizan left with Terry’s items as compensation for letting them go.

[Perhaps this is fate…] Rafel’s voice transmission contained sorrow. [I was never meant to make it to the inheritance site. I’d be lucky to even make it out of the Mad Empire.]

Terry clenched his fists and followed the overseer’s assistants out of the arena.

***

General Eli was skimming through some of the many documents on his desk. The crimson eye on his forehead looked up. “Report, Yana.”

“It doesn’t get any less confusing,” said Yana and handed over a stack of papers. “We’ve tried to put him under surveillance but the vague information from the scryers contradicts the information from our invisible scouts on site.”

Eli received the new documents and raised his head to look properly at Yana. “He knows that he is being watched then. He detects the scouts and adjusts his behavior.”

“That would explain the discrepancy, but he is in a mana-containment cell.” Yana creased her brows. “If he can detect invisible people outside the inner cell, that just adds to the contradictions. The scryed information is too vague for our needs, we need eyes. I’m thinking that a scout from the shadows is our best option.”

Eli fingered through the documents and spread them out on the table. While his normal pair of eyes was looking at Yana, his crimson eye was scanning the contents of the reports. “That will take time. The shadow plane is too big of a strategic risk to lift the general lockdown within the first four perimeters around the city. There is a strict limit on the number of shadow licenses that can pass. I’m not free to watch him personally and I think it’s safe to assume the other license holders are equally busy, which means we will have to apply for an additional exception. That will take time, but it’s a good idea.”

“I’ll make the preparations,” declared Yana.

“Knowing all this…” Eli gestured over the documents. “...what is your opinion on the matter?”

“I trust Yesenia’s instinct,” said Yana. “She said if he is really hiding spells and if he is only pretending to be aspect-impaired, then he deserves an award for his acting performance in the arena.”

Eli was still holding Yana’s gaze while his crimson eye was fixed on a specific sheet of paper. “He nearly died in the arena according to the reports. The one who saved his life was one of our own.”

“Damian, a recent veteran that has been selected for the Lucky Wing,” said Yana. “We have looked into him more closely too. There are no indications of Damian having any connection to Arcana. There was a chance encounter between Damian and our person of interest during Damian’s scouting deployment in Tiv’s northwest.”

“And yet somehow, this Terry left enough of an impression on Damian to make him go out of his way to move Terry to the Proving Grounds.” Eli pointed out.

“We’ve had our eyes on Damian with more success than with our person of interest,” said Yana. “It’s just a political ploy to distract one of the people looking to settle a blood debt. Opportunism and coincidence from the looks of it.”

“We’ll see,” said Eli noncommittally. “Some reports from the soldiers that took Terry into custody are still…” He left his voice hanging in the air.

“...under investigation, yes,” continued Yana. “There are a few whose testimonies seem rather taciturn. It’s possible that they don’t want to deal with the paperwork or that they are reluctant to share the full account for another reason. Either way, I will make sure that we will get what we need.”

“Thank you,” said Eli and returned his full attention to the documents on his desk.

***

Rafael’s clenched paws were shaking. [FUCK! And we were so close to getting through this battle day, FUCK!]

Terry didn’t even bother to remind Rafael not to shout through voice transmission.

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Terry had already been mentally prepared for who was going to walk through the arena entrance. He had already sensed the familiar mana signature.

“What will it cost us?” Terry asked with resignation. He looked warily at the lizan mana martialist in front of him and Rafael.

“The glove,” said Xuan.

Terry moved his hands over the corset glove on his left hand. He retrieved a different item from his storage bracelet. “This whip should be valuable.” It was the weapon that Terry had picked up from a dead member of the Blazing Sun Sect.

“I want the glove,” repeated Xuan.

Terry had feared that Xuan would insist. The person offering to match the value of items that Xuan takes from me is probably aiming specifically for those I actually care about.

Rafael shot Terry an apologetic look. [Sorry, if I—]

[Don’t mention it.] Terry shook his head. [I’m their target.] He mentally added. And without the Heavenly Wolf Slash, I might not have even come this far, certainly not this quickly. Not with my reach problems and the lack of powerful attacks…

“This glove looks different,” remarked Xuan while Terry was taking his glove off.

“It is different,” said Terry. “This glove has only been imprinted with the Gravitational Attraction imprint. It’s far less valuable than the one you took from me before.” Hope welled up in Terry. “Are you sure that you don’t want the whip instead?”

Terry had anticipated that he would have to meet Xuan again in the arena. If Xuan was backed by Beatrice who was looking to settle the blood debt with Terry, then repeated encounters were inevitable. Terry already knew that Beatrice was capable of influencing contestant match-ups to some degree.

“Yes, I want the glove.” Xuan immediately destroyed Terry’s hopes.

Terry had chosen his equipment according to the situation. He did not wear anything he could not afford to lose. He had hoped that he could offer equipment he did not care about, but from the looks of it, Xuan would always pick the item most important to Terry’s fighting style.

Soon after, Terry was being escorted back to his cell, now with one less item to remember his home and loved ones, one less item to fight in the style he was accustomed to. Terry took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

[Why are you so calm?] Rafael’s thought transmission arrived. [If this keeps happening we’re going—]

[I know.] Truthfully, Terry had been far from calm after their first encounter with Xuan. It had felt as if he could already see where all of this would lead.

Item privileges were useless without good items to use. Worse than useless. The privileges they had already earned meant that Terry and Rafael would be paired against stronger opponents and without the corresponding items, they were even worse off than a fresh contestant.

Terry had hammered uselessly against the walls of his transparent prison after he had been brought there. Losing the glove, dagger, and especially the wand had left Terry unnerved. He still had some healing items, but those were consumables. He still had a second inscribed glove from his aunt and another keen dagger, but could he afford to use them? The moment he was placed in the arena with Xuan, he might lose them forever.

Terry had tested his weapons and ideas on the single scale from Xuan that was in his possession. His keen dagger had barely been able to scratch it when Terry forced as much mana into the dagger as it allowed. The high quality blades on his inscribed barrier spears had not fared any better.

Terry was not sure if darkwater or acid were workable – the diminished stock he still possessed was outside his reach, because Damian had not returned them to Terry. They were in the storage bracelet that was on the table in Terry’s outer cell.

Terry knew of their location, because he regularly attempted to sabotage his inner cell with the help of the Liquify Earth spell from Lori’s crafted wand. Terry knew the contents of the storage bracelet very well.

However, even if Terry found a way to get to the containers, he knew that it was futile. The gravity field around Xuan would block that kind of attack before it could even reach the lizan.

[Is the entrance ticket you spoke about usable for more than one person?] asked Terry.

[Up to ten or so, why? I told you I can’t trade for it, even if we had more valuables to trade with.]

[I know,] said Terry calmly. [I’m at my cell, talk to you later.]

The soldiers brought Terry into the transparent inner cell and locked it behind him.

After the soldiers had left, Terry picked up the scale he had taken from Xuan.

After his first encounter with Xuan, Terry had felt overcome with despair. He could see where this would lead and he didn’t see a way out. His escape preparations might be coming along but he was still missing both an essential piece and, above all, time.

Terry had thought that he could survive in the arena, but after running into a wall, he wasn’t so sure anymore. Without his items, another situation like with the pebble-less battlefield could easily break Terry’s neck.

Despite it all, Terry had discovered an unexpected glimmer of hope on the tough lizan scale. It wasn’t the weak marks that had been left behind by his keen dagger and barrier spear. It was the backside of the scale.

Terry had only noticed the tiny indentations right before he had to leave for the current battle day. Now that he was back in his cell, Terry immediately went to pick the heavy scale up.

Terry narrowed his eyes and tried not to glance at the entrance to the outer cell. Thanks to his mana touch, Terry was able to keep tabs on what was going on outside his field of view. He had noticed invisible mages sneaking around occasionally, then more frequently, and now less frequently again.

Terry wasn’t sure what to make of the change.

Perhaps something important was going on in the city and they tightened security? Terry thought back to the incidents with the Blazing Sun Sect. From the overseer’s way of address, that three-eyed person was a general of Thanatos. It could be that there was something…

Terry still decided to wait before doing anything that could invite unwanted attention. He carefully guided his mana outside the transparent cell. He pushed a thin layer of mana with his mana touch. His reach had increased enough that he could feel around outside his cell freely.

After making sure that he had a way to sense outside, Terry sat down to examine the scale more closely. He placed the unfolded, chocolate-smeared tertium cube next to it.

It looks similar… Terry’s heartbeat accelerated. But it’s not the same.

Tiny indentations.

What does it mean?

Terry got the gnawing feeling that he might have encountered similar marks before. Once again, Terry longed for his notebooks. If he had noticed them before, he would have written it down. Unfortunately, the notebooks remained unreachable in his dimensional bag on the table outside.

Damian’s assistant had returned Terry’s crafter’s pendant to him, but the dimensional bag was still considered prohibited goods because of the unretrievable items inside.

Of course, Terry knew that the unretrievable items were his metal items that Terry had aspected with oscillating mana – containers and throwing needles. In contrast to Terry, the people from Thanatos didn’t know that. They only knew that there was something strange, which is why they kept the dimensional bag out of Terry’s reach even though the bag was considered less valuable than the crafter’s pendant.

What do I know? Terry’s eyes moved from the scale to the tertium cube.

I know that my mana isn’t force-aspected and that it doesn’t apply force on objects, even at high concentrations. I’ve tested and falsified that hypothesis.

“But something is happening,” muttered Terry quietly.

My mana is interacting with the physical realm. My mana touch that works even on mana-less items made from non-mana interactive materials is clear evidence of that.

The oscillation in my mana could be evidence too.

Terry’s eyes returned to Xuan’s scale and he picked it up.

As tiny as the indentations are, they are deeper than anything my weapons accomplished.

Not as deep as what Rafael managed with the Heavenly Wolf Slash but deeper than anything I—

Terry moved the scale closer to his eyes. “Why at the back?” Terry’s fingers moved over the indentations at the back of the scale.

Only at the back.

The back of the scale would have been facing Xuan’s body.

There is no way that any of our attacks caused this.

Terry glanced at the unfolded tertium cube. “Inside.” Given the location of the melted chocolate, Terry was sure that the indentations were placed at the surface that had been facing inside of the folded cube.

Inside is assuming that the indentations were really created when I was hiding from the undead and elementals. What if they weren’t?

Terry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What if they were?

Encountering these indentations once could be a coincidence, but twice? Or more?

Terry slowly shook his head.

Assuming that the tertium cube was damaged back then, what do these two have in common?

Terry looked at the scale and the unfolded tertium cube.

What happened?

Terry pondered while letting his eyes wander over the interior of his cell. Subconsciously, Terry stopped his gaze at one of the many pebbles in his exercise collection. “Balance…” But there was no oscillating mana charge. And my aspecting experiments didn’t cause any damage as far as I can tell and…

Terry’s mouth opened when an idea came to his mind. “Spell.” No mana charge but an active Immovable Object spell. Terry moved his fingers over the back of the scale. “Spell slicer.” The damage is where my spell slicers hit first.

Terry furrowed his brow. I’ve never heard of disruption discharges doing anything aside from disrupting. Even if there was something special about oscillating mana, there would have to be a general rule as well.

I’ve disrupted plenty of spells and I’ve never seen… Terry’s eyes opened wide. He recalled the difference in behavior with his oscillating needles. He exclaimed in a whisper: “Naturalization.” What if there is a difference between disrupting someone else’s spell and disrupting your own?

How many mages learn disruption discharges? How many mana cultivators learn some spellwork? How many people ever see the need to stop their own spell with a disruption discharge? Terry’s mind was racing.

He himself mostly relied on disrupting his spell in combination with his crafted items. A triggering mechanism for his anchored throwing needles. Terry frowned. I never noticed that before though. It’s possible that my anchored needles with the imprints weren’t naturalized like when I cast the spell from scratch but…

How many mana cultivators use single-aspected disruption discharges?

Normally, the instructions are kept separate for aspected discharges and disruption discharges. The former revolves around the refractors for separating aspects and the latter around the focus refractors for creating spell slicers.

There normally is no need to separate aspects for a disruption discharge…

Terry inhaled slowly and stood up. Is it possible…?

“I need confirmation.” Terry picked up a tertium slab and transfixed it in the air. Afterwards, he punched out a layered disruption discharge.

*Clang* The tertium slab fell to the floor.

For others, it was very difficult to disrupt Terry’s spellwork because his compressed spellwork was highly stable and because it was small which made it hard to hit. For Terry, however, it felt as simple as flipping his palm thanks to his accuracy with mana as well as the intensity, velocity, and sharpness of his spell slicers.

Terry picked up the tertium slab and examined it closely. After some time, disappointment settled in.

Another failed experiment.

Another hare-brained idea…

Terry was about to throw the tertium slab into a corner when he paused. He glanced at the unfolded tertium cube with the chocolate stains.

Wait a second…

Terry did not remember the situation back then too well because his brain felt kind of foggy from sleep deprivation at the time. Nevertheless, Terry was able to place himself into the situation and think about what he would have done. “Definitely not try to…” …disrupt my own spell. Not purposefully.

Terry transfixed the tertium slab again. Once more, Terry prepared a layered discharge. This time, however, Terry adjusted his aim to avoid the ignited spell structure. He intentionally aimed the spell slicers at another part of the immovable tertium slab so as to avoid disrupting the spell.

The tertium slab remained hanging in the air and Terry moved closer to examine it.

“Mana…” Terry felt his pulse quicken and his breathing became erratic. “But…”

‘A shift to a colliding plane.’ Terry recalled the words from Samuel when his uncle had voiced his theory of oscillating mana as the intersection between the life and space aspects.

Nothing to do with force.

Something clicked in Terry’s agitated mind.

Everything to do with the shift.

No, not shift…

Shifts! Terry gulped and calm determination settled in his eyes. That’s why it’s moving. That’s why…

***