Chapter Eighteen
“Thank you, Becca,” says Ray, shifting his attention from the doctor to me. “Never thought you’d be able to grow a beard.”
Awkwardly chuckling, I feel my face and realize how thick my facial hair is.
“How– how long have I been asleep?”
Pulling up a chair, Ray replies, “Fourteen months.”
Fourteen… months?!
“Your body was incredibly weak. To keep you alive, we had to take extreme measures,” says Becca. “Your body was rejecting the Herisin, and we had to sedate you. But that was only half the problem. You suffered from a heatstroke before we were able to operate, and with the combined stress of the surgery, your body fell into a coma.”
Gazing at my wrist, Becca continues, “It might take some time for your body to wake back up, but your limbs are as good as new. Believe it or not, your heavenly flames ability made the reattachment procedure go quite smoothly. It was extremely fortunate that none of your gemcores were separated from your main body.”
My eyes widen as I recall the spots Toriana had sliced during the duel.
She didn’t target them on purpose…
“Mateo, you alright?” asks Ray, shaking my shoulder.
“Yeah… I just… I’ve missed so much,” I reply, glancing at him. “Wait, this is Soulbell, right? How are you here? Don’t tell me you got convicted too!”
Ray laughs with a shake of the head, “I’m not that stupid.”
My brows furrow together, “Then why are you here?”
After taking a breath, Ray answers, “Ever since I heard you got thrown in the clink, I knew something wasn’t right. I first went to your family–”
“How are they?!” I interrupt, the beeps speeding up.
“Look, Mateo, you just woke up…”
“Tell me,” I urge. "You have to tell me..."
With a bobble of the head, Ray replies, “Eric is doing alright, but he’s still struggling with addiction. As for your mom, she initially improved after you left, but over time, she's gotten worse. Much worse. Her health has taken a huge decline these past eighteen months.”
Sitting there, unable to speak with moist eyes, I just… think. If I was there, things could’ve been different.
"If I didn’t lose, if I won against Toriana, I might’ve been home by now! It’s my fault–!"
“Don’t blame yourself,” says Ray. “I’ve heard how much you’ve sacrificed, how hard you’ve worked. I know you didn’t kill that man, so please don’t blame yourself.”
“But if I was there–!”
“That’s not on you!” expresses Ray, raising his voice. “Eric and I have done everything we can for your mom! She’s getting the best treatment we can offer, so please, Mateo, don’t blame yourself!”
My voice trembles, “I’ll never forgive myself for ending up here, separated from them when they need me most. But I’ll be with them soon. I have to be.”
Recognizing the awkward silence, I quickly try to change the subject, “Sorry, I interrupted you earlier. Please, uh–”
“Right,” Ray pauses. “After I became a lawyer, I went to your family, and they told me what you told them. The entire story was full of holes, and the legal documentation only furthered my doubts. Somebody framed you, and I needed to get to the bottom of it. I began working under the warden as his executive assistant a little after your duel with Toriana. I’m here to help prove your innocence, and if I can’t do that, I want to help you escape.”
“Hey,” I say, quickly glancing at the doctor. “Be careful.”
Ray looks at Becca and smiles, “Oh, we met in school and were good friends. A job opened up here, and it was actually a coincidence we reconnected. She knows everything. You can trust her.”
I look at Becca, “Sorry.”
Becca waves her hand, “Oh, it’s fine! I’m glad you were skeptical. Means your mind is still sharp! I’m here to help however I can!”
Relieved to have people I can fully trust, I exchange looks between the two, “Thank you, both of you.”
“But Mateo,” says Ray, his grave tone imposing a shift in the atmosphere. “A lot has changed these past fourteen months, both in and out of Soulbell. You’ve already lost one fight, which means you can only afford to lose one more.”
“I know. Doesn’t leave much room for error, but I doubt I’ll have to fight Toriana again. I should be able to handle the others pretty easily once I’m back in fighting shape.”
“That kind of arrogance is what got you here. You and Toriana aren’t the only tri-wielders anymore, and while you’ve been asleep, everybody has grown stronger. I’ve seen it, I’ve watched the duels. These people are incredibly powerful, Mateo, so never underestimate them. Never.”
Remembering my last duel, I nod.
“Toriana is still on top, undefeated with six wins, but there are dozens of capable fighters now. You’re going to be playing catch-up. You’ve already hit evolution, though, so you’re talented enough to make up for lost ground.”
“What do you mean by ‘Evolution’?”
“As I said, a lot changed.”
As Sorel and his team continue to learn more about iris, some new terms have been designated to classify different things,” says Ray, holding up five fingers. “There are five known stages to a gemcores development, and you can tell which stage a wielder is on by the complexity of their gem's shape.”
Five stages?
Ray drops four fingers, only keeping one up, “The ‘Awakening Stage’, which starts as soon as a person awakens. During this stage, the wielder’s gem is a sphere. The awakening stage is all about the wielder feeling out what iris is and gaining a basic understanding of their ability. It’s kind of like you’re a baby bird learning to fly.”
I nod, so he continues, “Then there’s the ‘Emergence Stage’. This is more of a transitional stage, where the wielder becomes more comfortable with iris and their gem starts to stretch in shape into more of an ovoid.”
I cock a brow, “What’s an ovoid?”
“It’s the three-dimensional version of an oval,” replies Ray, and I nod. “Additionally, during every stage, it’s believed that the iris core inside gradually develops into a much stronger, denser state.”
Joey said something along those lines… that my core looked denser.
“Are you saying that the iris core sort of... restarts every stage?”
“What do you mean?” asks Ray.
“Like… if the iris core slowly becomes denser throughout every stage, does that density reset every time the wielder advances into the next stage?”
“Ohhh, I see what you’re getting at. Short answer: yes… when the gem transforms into a new shape, the iris core inside expends iris energy to make that transformation happen. Do you get me?”
I nod, “So that expended iris energy causes the iris core to lose some density.”
Ray snaps his fingers and points at me, “Right on. Throughout each stage, an iris wielder works to develop their iris core as much as possible, increasing its density. Once the iris core reaches a certain threshold and the gemcore is ready to advance into the next stage, that’s when the iris core expends a large amount of iris energy to do so.”
I reflect on how I’ve trained so far, “So when you really get down to it, it’s just like gaining or acquiring enough experience to level up.”
“Pretty much. The density doesn’t exactly disappear, though. When your iris core expends that energy, the density transfers to your gem, making it tougher to break.”
Recalling how people have mentioned that the gem is like a shield that protects the iris core inside, I say while nodding, “Okay, that makes sense. With a tougher shell, it’d be more difficult for people to steal the core from you. Gives wielders another reason to get stronger. What’s stage three?”
“The third stage is the stage you’re on, the ‘Evolution Stage’. After the wielder has developed their iris capabilities to a certain point, their gem core has a breakthrough, and the gem becomes the shape of a tetrahedron.”
“Tetrahedron?”
“Think along the lines of a pyramid with a triangular base. Anyway, it’s believed that every wielder who has advanced to the evolution stage also unlocks some new traits. One has to do with orasi. Once a wielder has a gem core that reaches evolution, they can determine the stage of other wielders’ gemcores using orasi. However, you can only see the stage of somebody that matches the stage you’re on or is below you.”
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“So, I wouldn’t be able to see anybody in stage four or five?”
“Correct. Once you get out of here, you can test this out yourself. An evolved wielder also sees their abilities develop in new ways after one of their cores evolves. Like for you, you grew wings and learned the ability to fly.”
Reminded about that, I frantically look out to both sides of me and see nothing.
My wings! Are they gone now?
“If you’re confused about why the wings aren’t permanent, they are simply another aspect of your ability. Like igniting yourself with your flames, you also can create and remove those wings yourself,” says Ray, interpreting my brief panic.
“Okay, that’s kind of cool,” I say. “So does the iris core also change in shape to match the new shape of the gem, or does it stay as a sphere inside?”
“It stays the same. It only fluctuates in density over time,” clarifies Ray.
“Okay,” I say. “I’m good there. You can move on.”
“So only a small handful worldwide have reached stage four, Toriana being among them. This is the ‘Advanced Stage’, and the gem becomes the shape of a cube. By this point, the wielder has grown so capable that everything comes naturally to them. Like the previous stages, the iris core progressively becomes more dense until there’s another breakthrough at stage five.”
“How do you know Toriana has advanced to stage four?”
“The iris scanner. When a tattoo is scanned, there’s an indication of what stage somebody is on.”
I slowly itch my neck.
I kind of felt like things came naturally to me, too, but clearly, I wasn’t at the advanced level yet.
“The fifth and final stage… is called ‘Mastery’, and the gem becomes an octahedron.”
“An octa what?”
With a quick breath, Ray smiles and looks up, “Uh, okay, so you know how a cube has six sides?”
“Yeah.”
“An octahedron has eight sides, and each side is the shape of a triangle,” explains Ray, and he realizes he’s not getting anywhere. “Do you remember the tetrahedron?”
“Ehhhhhh,” I rub my lips together. “What’s that again?”
Ray stifles a laugh, “The pyramid with a triangle base. Do you remember it?”
Shaking my head, I tell Ray, “Dude, I just woke up from like a yearlong coma, and you’re throwing all these shapes and math terms at me, and… you lost me, man. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Chuckling, Ray asks Becca, “Can you grab the chart?”
Becca nods and walks back into the infirmary.
“While she’s doing that, I’ll talk a little more about the mastery stage. It’s believed that only two individuals have reached it. A pair of twins, Arcane and Aurora. Their overwhelming power and presence were unlike anything people had ever seen. Reports from the soldiers claimed that when they used orasi on the twins, their gemcores were so dense and bright that some people became temporarily blinded just from looking at them.”
“Blinded?”
“Yeah, those two… are gods of destruction.”
Becca walks back into the room with a clipboard, and while I’m sitting processing what Ray just told me, Ray grabs the clipboard from Becca and says, “Thanks.”
On the clipboard is a piece of paper with a table. In the left column are the written names for each of the five stages, and in the right column are the correlating gem shapes. In the fifth row in the right column, Ray points to the octahedron shape he mentioned earlier. It is a three-dimensional figure with eight flat, triangle sides.
Now that I can visualize the shapes of the gems for all five stages, I say, “Okay, I understand now.”
“You sure? I’m happy to go over anything if you’re confused.”
I bobble my head, looking at the paper and then back at him.
"Yeah, now that we have this chart, can you repeat all that?”
Gemcore Chart [https://i.postimg.cc/zvt7cCyH/IMG-5887.jpg]
***
After going through the five stages again, Ray says, “Keep in mind this is just a premise. It’ll take time before these five stages are confirmed to exist, but for now, it's a good guide to use.”
“And what about the two master wielders? You mentioned soldiers, and I’m just–”
Picking up on my confusion, Ray says, “Let me back up. Six months ago, a war broke out between the communist regime of Acirat and the democratic nation of Maracise. As you know, tensions have been high between the two for a long time. Acirat is much larger in land and population, but they’ve lacked the resources to sustain their nation’s rapid growth. Doesn’t help that a quarter of their land is tundra, but their next-door neighbor, Maracise, had everything they needed and some. Maracise recognized this, and geographically, they could block Acirat’s channels to the rest of the world's nations, and that’s what they did. They forced Acirat to fork over considerable margins in exchange for resources to survive.”
I nod, “Yeah, you mentioned some of this before to me when we were kids. Maracise is average regarding their country’s size, and while we are the most advanced, Maracise is by far the wealthiest. Considering what you said, they must’ve gotten most of their wealth from Acirat.”
“Mhm. And Acirat hated Maracise for that reason, but they also relied on Maracise to stay afloat. Looking back, we weren’t fully aware, but we still thought that Acirat’s military was among the most powerful in the world simply because of its size, and so did everybody else. But with iris, the way the world worked changed overnight, and Acirat was the first nation to recognize the militaristic benefits iris could offer. For decades, Maracise bled Acirat dry of money, but around half a year ago, Acirat finally took a stand."
Becca offers me a cup of water, and I accept it, “And this war involved wielders like me…”
“That’s right. Maracise held their own for four months, commanded by their long-time elected and respected leader, Nova. Nova is like you, a legacy of the Halos Legion, but–”
“The Halos Legion? That’s the group that fought the Monarchs of Kadillan centuries ago.”
“Yeah, I’ll explain that in a bit, but Mateo… Opuree is in grave danger. From both inside and out. Considering what we know, your family may even be targeted.”
My chest constricts, and the beeping rapidly speeds up as I start spitfire questions, “Danger? What kind of danger? Why would my family be targeted? And how am I involved with the Halos Legion? Is my family in danger because of me?”
“This is going to take a while,” sighs Ray. “It all started around two months ago. After four long months of war, the master twins of Acirat single-handedly laid waste to Maracise’s military in only a single night. In a last-ditch effort to protect his nation, Nova took the twins on himself, even though he was just an advanced wielder. He put up a good fight and even had the twins on the ropes for some time, but it was only a matter of time before Nova was overwhelmed and killed. Maracise fell with Nova, and word of their defeat spread like wildfire. Acirat is now irrefutably the most powerful nation in the world.”
Ray pauses, “Their sheer strength and reputation impose a threat to every nation, especially us. With Acirat occupying Maracise, we’re now the closest nation to their borders. Not to mention... we’re also the most technologically advanced. It doesn’t take much to piece two and two together, but that’s only half the issue. A couple days after Maracise fell, a group of rebels called the Amlovos made themselves publicly known. There’s been plenty of radical groups over the years that didn’t follow the teachings of Nevism. Still, the Amlovos seem to have some kind of grip over the population, and they’re not afraid of the Clover Trine.”
The Amlovos… I remember now.
“So, are they criminals?” I ask, not sure how honest I should be. “I think I’ve heard that some of those Amlovos people are here at Soulbell.”
Ray clicks his tongue, “Yeah, I bet some are here, but that’s not what I meant. The power and influence the Amlovos have over our nation is growing, and growing fast. However, their goals still remain unclear, at least to me. They’ve vandalized and destroyed religious sites, yet here’s where the Amlovos really differ from other radical groups. Weaponry has disappeared, shards have been stolen, and the economy has plummeted because our technology development sites have been sabotaged. If the Amlovos wanted to stall and weaken our nation financially, they’re doing a great job. Some think they’re working with Acirat, but the thing that doesn’t sit right with me… is that retired teprans were dropping like flies until around six months ago.”
“Like Kavi… do you think the Amlovos killed him?”
“They could’ve, but there’s no evidence yet. I’ve been picking up bits of information... it’s all so cluttered and confusing. I have no idea how long the Amlovos have existed, and the fact that they’ve only recently begun making such bold and public moves is another huge question mark. Their motive is unclear, but the Amlovos might be the key to proving your innocence.”
So if I want to get out of here… I need to know what the Amlovos did to Kavi that night. And if I can find out how my father was wrapped up in all this, even better.
“Oh, and don’t walk around saying this stuff,” Ray adds. “Trust that I can figure things out on my end, and focus on earning your freedom back in the duels. Can you do that?”
I nod.
“Speaking of duels, there’s two duels a day now. The wait times have decreased, and you’re long overdue for your next duel.”
“What about the Halos Legion?” I ask, eager to know more.
"Do you know about the Legion?”
“Slightly. A tepran once spoke about it at a service. The Halos Legion fought the Monarchs of Kadillan way back in the olden days when only one large crystal shard supplied powers to people.”
“I’ve only been able to learn this history from people who grew up in other nations. That crystal shard is the iris meteor that brought a stark end to World War Three when it crashed into our planet centuries ago. It also nearly pushed humanity to the brink of extinction, and while most details have been lost with time, it’s believed select individuals were chosen and brought directly toward the iris meteor, where the last piece of habitable land existed. Humanity worked together for a stretch afterward, but lingering greed and hatred created divisions between the scarce number of people and land left. On one side of the iris meteor was a civilization called ‘Halos’, and on the other was the civilization of Kadillan. Both groups initially agreed to share the powers of the iris meteor to rebuild what they once lost. We don’t know when control issues over the iris meteor arose. Still, both sides believed they deserved the right to own and control the special iris meteor.”
Sounds a little like what’s going on now in Opuree…
“Decades began to pass by as ownership of the meteor teetered between both civilizations, but eventually, it was firmly under the control of the Halos Kingdom. Using the power of the meteor, the Halos forced the Kadillans into an extreme state of poverty. This played out for quite a few years, allowing Halos citizens to live in luxury while the Kadillans’, forced into slavery, began gathering their forces in the shadows. The battle between the Halos Legion and the Monarchs of Kadillan eventually ensued, a nine-on-eight battle involving the best fighters of both civilizations. There was no victor in this battle, and the iris meteor humanity abused so heavily for its power was destroyed.”
“I remember some of that from the service,” I say. “Nevis fought with the Halos Legion, who were the saviors of humanity. The Kadillan were the ones bearing down on the Halos, not the other way around.”
“I know, we learned things differently. It’s probably because our country is so reliant on religion and Nevism that the Halos had to be the good guys, otherwise people would question their beliefs in Nevis. I honestly don’t know which version is correct or even if there is a correct version.”
Taking another pause, Ray continues, “Each fighter of both the Halos Legion and the Monarchs of Kadillan had a signature power that they were known for. As for you, your ability is a Los type that allows you to create a mix of blue and white flames that give you the ability to fly. Los… Halos, Kadil… Kadillan. We never named these iris categories… they’ve already been classified for us. And mythic class abilities are by far the rarest.”
Becca suddenly whispers something into Ray’s ear, and Ray nods.
While Becca exits the room, Ray resumes, “After hearing the rumors and doing some research, I wasn’t alone in realizing that certain powers today are comparable to the ones our long-dead ancestors once carried. As for your ability, it was said that this man streaked through the sky in a blazing blue and white flash while taking on his enemies. The man who, even centuries later, still seems to influence every person in this country. Mateo, you are the legacy of Nevis.”
End of Part II