The Seed was close, finally closer than the Spear’s noisy siblings.

The Seed was not one of them, though. It was something else. The Spear did not have a word for what the Seed was, or what the Seed was becoming. This is why the Spear found the Seed so interesting.

The Spear understood itself. When wielded by one with the correct requirements, the Spear would manifest a purpose held within its form. The intent to move forward was intrinsic to its being, the Spear’s will bent entirely around that idea. If grasped by one whose goals were to dominate the world, the Spear would assist them in doing so. If held by one whose ideals were to craft peace, the Spear would make it so.

The Spear did not understand the Seed. It tentatively understood its siblings, though there was a disconnect to this knowledge. The Spear knew that the Sword, for example, was similar to itself. The Sword would push its wielder in much the same way, though it was not progression that the Sword desired but instead, victory. The Spear did not care whether it covered itself in glory but the Sword could not help itself. Especially not when linked to the Crown.

So, what, then, did the Seed desire?

The Spear watched as the Seed devoured the energy the Spear had sent to it. If the Seed or its wielders were stopped by the memory constructs of Guan Yo Shen then that would have been that. Instead, the Seed grew more potent even as the Spear was analysing its potential. This was troubling, as the other relics did not grow stronger. It was exciting, as the other relics did not grow stronger.

To understand this, the Spear analysed what it knew.

The Spear did not remember the true beginning. If such a thing even existed, so many cycles had occurred in the time since that the start was all but irrelevant. The spear was aware that it had not always been what it now was. This cycle, however, the Spear was the Spear. A fragment of a much greater will. Each of its siblings came from this origin, whipped at Jaia from all angles as the Whole became torn asunder.

There had been intent to this action. Their appearance in Jaia had been calamity and destruction, a reset to the life which had grown multitudinous over the previous cycle. Jaia burned as the pieces of the Whole cooled. The fragments took shapes, forms which best fit their new surroundings and the intent which gave them purpose. Spear, Sword, Crown, Belt, Sceptre, Whip, Bow, Gauntlets, Boots, Shield, Hammer and Scythe.

As the pieces had cooled, they had released their influence into the world. The world needed them, the concepts which they embodied, to forge new life and new destinies. The Hammer, Gauntlets and Sceptre healed the torn landscape. The Sword, Whip and Scythe cleaved away the broken and rotten pieces of the old cycle. The Belt, Crown and Shield set boundaries to this new world, created pride and desire and the desire to survive in all things. The Bow and the Boots found and then expanded upon horizons.

The Spear did its part, encouraging the world to progress onwards through the new cycle. Life returned to the surface of the planet, new shoots of existence which leapt forth and populated their new home.

Other, forgotten and hidden things were stirring in the shadows. To protect their new world, the relics created the labyrinth. A network of tunnels, veins underneath the crust of the planet which would corral and hide the monsters from the fledgling civilisations above.

In time, the Spear’s siblings were found and the world continued to be shaped by their presence. So then what was it which came from the Seed. What concept did it embody and how would it change the world? The Spear knew that whatever the Seed did, it would mean one thing. Progress.

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The Sword, Belt and Crown were still clashing with the Whip and the Sceptre below, outside the tower. Neither would likely defeat the other and neither could allow the other to leave. Their deadlock was a certainty for now. Others with consequence enough to be noticed were also flocking forward. The call to arms which the Spear had cried to the labyrinth had bore fruit. Soon, its long wait would be over and something would change.

This was good. The Spear had spent far too long stagnant, lost to the rest of itself. If the Spear could resent, its solitude may have twisted it. The Spear could not hold a grudge, though. Such things were not in its nature. Instead, the Spear looked forward to the possibilities ahead and waited.

———————————

There had been no break between attacks up to this point but that didn’t mean they could relax. Dan was brimming with energy which made it difficult to calm down, the electric storm of excitement and power within his core keeping him bouncing from one foot to the other.

“Is that the last of them? Please.” Fa Lian asked and then begged, tempting fate. Even Shade winced a little as they all waited for the next group to appear. For the past hour, Dan had cycled between venting his energy into powerful attacks and absorbing the enemies as they appeared. Fa Lian and Shade had been worn down mentally but Dan had used his new abundance of mana to keep them physically pristine. There was a strange mirror there, with Dan covered in small bruises and cuts yet no fatigue, while the others could have been walking into a gala, except for their sweat and mood.

“It… appears so.” Shade was tentatively hopeful in his reply, though he kept his sword firmly in hand. Dan looked at the two of them with wonder as they surveyed the large, gloomy room. They had pushed through barrier after barrier, won fight after fight and in no uncertain terms carried Dan through hardships he could never have powered through alone.

Dan thought of the others who had led him to this place. Hyun Soon and Xiaomei who had first reached out a hand to a scared and shy boy. He had changed from that frightened boy who had stepped into Sasin forest on a school mission but they were still with Dan. He had helped them find safety and they had helped him find a purpose. From them, Dan had taken techniques, friendship and purpose.

Yurie had brute forced her way into their lives with the impulsive way she moved through the world. Dan felt a heavy dose of guilt when he considered how dangerous Yurie’s life had become since it intersected with his own. In what could only be described as being intentionally chaotic, she had shown Dan that stringent and passive living is not the only path. Dan smiled, thinking that maybe our scars can heal as long as we throw ourselves forward to continually wear them away.

Guan Shi Ai and Park Man-Shik. The first two elders in Dan’s life to not just treat him with warmth but to expect something of him. Dan worried about them. The lands of the Guan were in turmoil and without help, may fall to either the majaal to the east or the Shin empire to the north. Dan knew that what he did here today would impact their lives and the lives of everyone he had ever met.

He thought about all of these important people in his life. They had lifted him up in ways that he didn’t have words for. Being here, further from where he started than he ever dared to hope he could reach, was only the beginning in a lot of ways. It was staggeringly unlikely that things became calm all of a sudden

Dan realised he was okay with that. He could shoulder that burden because the people he loved needed him to. Something about Dan was different to other people and that meant that he could do things no one else could. When he was younger, he thought that the difference inside of him made him other. Recently though, he had shifted to thinking special.

Upon defeating the waves of mana-crafted enemies, Dan felt something in the room unlock. He pressed his mana, his intent, into the small raised portion of the far wall. Just like the labyrinth outside, the tower moved aside at Dan’s mental insistence. A new layer of the tower opened.

“Are we ready?” Dan asked his companions. They both looked at him like he was crazy. Fa Lian stalked towards the new door first, Shade following behind with a smirk. After she reached the door and looked inside, she rolled her eyes and turned around.

“You’re the one staring off into space and smiling, not us. Looks like we’re not done here yet. My brother’s waiting, let’s go.”

So they did.

———————

Another door opened.

Would the Seed be able to pass through the final barriers or would the Spear be claimed by another? Both possibilities were very likely and the Spear did not have the capacity to have a preference.

Even now, the Seed was feeding on the nourishment of the labyrinth. The Spear drew from what little energy Yo Shen could give it and took the rest that it needed from the planet itself. If The Spear was capable of such things, the Seed might appear threatening. Such explosive growth made sense, The Spear had come to realise. A seed has no purpose but to grow. The same was true for Guan Ah Dan.

With this new certainty in mind the Spear watched. Just like with its siblings, the Spear felt it could now understand the concept which gave the Seed purpose. The Seed would grow, influence growth and then, eventually, it would change. Excitement and fear were very similar concepts, both of which caused the Spear to more seriously examine the possibilities ahead.

It would not be long now, either way.