A series of teleports carried Eli to the top of the gigantic skyscraper until he towered above the clouds. Constant wind ripped across the dirty, bare rooftop with a maintenance door access. He sat on the lip of the roof with his legs dangling over the edge. Clouds billowed beneath him like a grand expanse of gray intersected with flowing grids of flight lanes where people flew under their own power, rode on air shuttles, or piloted their own aircars enchanted to drive across the sky and the road.
Enchanted stone creaked as he clenched his fists on the barrier.
This world had everything he wanted, but none of it was his.
Eli's sigh was torn away in a gust of wind that overfilled his reserves of lumencloud. He lifted his hand as he studied the shifting currents of lumencloud under his skin. Wisps of lumencloud trailed out of his hand as he concentrated on transforming not into radiance, but into lumencloud itself. Bands of infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light smoldered as they sparkled off the dazzling contours of his fingers. Skin fuzzed as transluscence spread from his fingertips down to his wrist. Veins crackled as his blood ignited with light.
Resistance butted up against his will for his body to transform, which was ridiculous. Lumencloud Revivification felt like it had done far more than allow his lumencloud to heal him or others. It had become a part of him. Every breath of air, mote of light, or droplet of water that so much as touched him turned into lumencloud. He knew it was within his grasp for him to transform into it.
Eli gritted his teeth as swaths of his body swirled with the rising tide of lumencloud as he pushed its connection with his physiology deeper. It seeped deeper into his cells as his features blurred into cloudy suggestions of anatomy. His clothes fluttered as he gradually dispersed, even as his senses and everything else sharpened. Transcended his human limitations.
His vision widened until he saw around himself from every angle as every molecule of lumencloud became a sensory organ. Glowing lights flickered and radiated in time with his beating heart no different from every other lumencloud bank.
Body of Light kicked into overdrive as he willed his lumencloud form to blaze with radiance. Dazzling fractals shimmered around him as his humanoid shape floated with a ripple of intent. Eli ascended as he became the nexus for light and cloud. Wind caressed his vapory membrane as he streaked across the sky like a comet.
Pulses of Starlight Conjuration coursed through him as Eli kindled a star in the core of his nimbus form. It was little more than a seed of starlight that sparkled with mounting radiation as Lumencloud Revivification and Body of Light balanced and guided it as it slowly grew. Microscopic strands of starlight unspooled from it as he dialed up its output. Hints of other types of light whispered as his range of infrared and ultraviolet expanded.
Meanwhile, Nullspace Horizon expanded his senses tenfold as he barreled through the sky.
Silhouettes of the cityscape below flickered beneath him while the boundary of the atmosphere and true outer space beckoned to him. Eli continued his flight as he soared above the countryside while he threw himself into a series of maneuvers for the sheer thrill of boundless flight. Space has been his domain for almost two months now ever since he learned how to chain enough teleports together to blast himself across the sky, but it was astounding how different it was to zip through the air under his own growing power.
Webs of starlight extended throughout his nimbus form before its saturation of lumencloud merged enough that he felt Lumencloud Revivification change from the acceptance. He flowed to a halt as portions of opulent clouds drifted around his billowing core. That acceptance clarified something to him.
Lumencloud was composed of an equal synthesis between light, air, and water. While Dynamic Vitality had been an equal split between Strength, Perception, and Stamina with Hyper-Regeneration to sink it further into his body until lumencloud was inseparable from his physiology.
Nullspace crystallized around him as he wrapped a barrier around himself with a flip of space so that he could study himself in nimbus form. Sections of radiant cloud streamed away from his vaguely humanoid core with a breathing orb of starlight at the center of where his chest would be. Right now, his composition was equal between the three states of lumencloud. Droplets of condensation misted around him as he shed the light and air from his lumencloud form.
Eli dropped in an ultra-dense splash of water with filaments of darkness suspended in the streams of his water form. He let himself plummet without a care until he crashed into the pavement of a closed gas station parking lot. Enchantments warped with visible strain before they shattered with a sharp crack of asphalt as he pooled into the small crater he'd formed from the impact. A thought snapped his pooled water form up into a humanoid shape as he took a wobbling step out of the hole.
Lumencloud Revivification continued to absorb the ambient air and water vapor around him before converting it to pure ultra-dense water. Satisfaction burbled through his body with a stream of bubbles at the realization that he could fake being Herbert easier now until it stilled with the realization that he wouldn't have much reason to pretend if he would not attend the Tri-Delve Cup in Herbert's place.
Something about that bothered him.
Eli shook himself as he tried walking around with rising irritation at how his 'feet' kept puddling with each step. It was easier to flow around instead. He streamed out of the parking lot onto the road with distaste at how dirty the asphalt was. Gradual slopes and gravity fought desperately to pull him down into the grates along the curb. He refused the call of physics as he splashed upward in a cascade of water before he froze himself into a hail of ice that cracked, then refroze once he landed with a clatter. Vibrations bounced through his body as he forced himself into a human shape again with far more ease.
Ice creaked, then fractured along his joints as shards of frost flaked off his outer shell with his every movement. In some ways, it was easier to be ice than water. He felt unbelievably strong in a profoundly sturdy way, but he was so slow. A thought melted his glacial body as bubbles boiled throughout his water form. Steam coiled off him as if it were separate from him for a single second before all his water evaporated upward on a draft of steam. While he darted through the air, he had to constantly boil his water form to prevent the altitude from cooling him down.
A ripple stirred through his steam body as he transformed into a howling gale of air. At his center of self, air churned around him like a portable tornado of arid light. Gusts and breezes wafted off and through him as his world expanded into one of air currents. He'd never felt as free and—
Energy blasts traveled through space as they flash boiled the water vapor in the air as they closed in on him.
Eli dropped dozens of feet as he condensed into his water form for a split second before he returned to air form. A massive aircraft decked out with the telltale signs of enchantments hovered silently while racks of mounted guns trained on Eli's position as the same energy crackled in the barrel of each gun. On the side of the aircraft were the all too visible letters: APD.
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Anchora Police Department.
Nullspace stretched as Eli opened a tiny window into the interior of the craft so that he could sense the silhouettes of the squad of six officers in high-end delving equipment. Guns, rifles, batons, and uniform sized blades were all stowed away in various sheaths and holsters on their matching sets of armor.
"Spawn is some sort of hybrid air-water elemental. Target spawn dodged opening fire and has used an unverified power to penetrate the Pursuer's hull," said one of the pilots into the radio headset. "Preparing to open fire."
Wind howled as Eli flew away as fast as he could. Should he turn back into his human form or would he get in more trouble? What if they tried to identify him with a System enchantment?
Fuck.
"Spawn has demonstrated sapience and a grasp of English by fleeing. Permission to engage?" While Eli flew away, he stretched Nullspace Horizon so he could hear the tiny crackling voice on the other end.
"Confirmed."
Energy blasts exploded in a salvo behind him as Eli teleported up hundreds of feet. Each bolt refracted as they jolted up to where Eli floated in his air form. Chunks of Eli's air form vaporized as the bolts drew closer within moments of them reorienting. He teleported again and again. Each time they swerved toward his new position until finally they fizzled out.
The second they dissipated, new blasts burst from the aircraft's guns.
He vanished into the void of nullspace, then grimaced as the bolts converged on his last position with a thunderous roar as bolt hammered each other. Eli slowly transformed back into his human self while he watched the aircraft ascend until it hovered outside of his hiding hole in nullspace. Despite the risk of getting caught, he extended a tendril of nullspace into the cabin.
"Spawn has vanished, but sensors still show the presence of its powers.”
A pause while Eli tried to thread the tendril closer to the headset so he could hear more without alerting them again.
"I don't believe it is dream or illusive in nature, but rather... spatial? It has used air, water, and spatial powers during this encounter. Also, sir, I believe it's crafty. I think it's still listening."
"Deploy jammer and do whatever you can to contain or kill it. We need to know if this is a new spawn someone created or if there's been a dungeon break," said the voice of the man on the radio before a pulse emitted from the aircraft cutting the thread of nullspace. Energy crackled inside of each barrel again as another wave charged up.
Eli winced as he backed up in the void. Camille had been able to claw through his teleports... how long until they found a way to push through the safety of his last teleport to attack him in the void?
Nullspace shivered as it clamped around him until it severed the surrounding space from his senses.
Lumencloud and Body of Light faded as he seemed to disappear entirely. He tried to activate Starlight Conjuration, but he couldn't find any purchase on where to create it. Only the infinite embrace of nullspace around him. Shock shot through him at the same time that he noticed he couldn't even feel his body or anything else. It was as if Nullspace Horizon had nullified everything except his awareness.
Fear twanged through his awareness as panic that he wouldn't be able to go back mounted as he wondered if he'd be able to walk the paths of campus, hang out with Roman, go to Pandemonium Cafe, or delve into a dungeon again. Would he even be able to go home to his own dimension? Eli tried to smile as he thought about swimming both in and out of swim meets, if he'd ever see his sisters or parents again.
Bubbles of real-space spawned in the absolute emptiness of nullspace like portable windows with various degrees of clarity. Real-space beckoned to him with equal pulls from each window.
One led out in front of the campus gates where the border of the campus ended. Another bubble hovered with the sprawling view of Pandemonium Cafe's storefront. Tension strained as he felt other bubbles leading to their dorm room and the Crucible attempt to form before it eased. Instead, dim, barely visible portals shimmered open as if he was staring down at a picture at the bottom of a murky pool.
A familiar beach lit under a faint smattering of stars under a polluted sky stared back at him. Lopsided cabins leaned in the wind as their rotting walls sagged. Unfamiliar bodies dotted the shore. Metallic insects, weird humanoid plant things, and trolls all rotted in the open air.
More bubbles opened up.
Where his home used to be was now a devastated lot. The roof had collapsed along with the second floor into the fire scarred ashen interior. Instead of fairly immaculate outside, their front lawn and backyards were in chaotic disarray. A large crack ran through the side of the ivy-covered house. It seemed like the rest of the neighborhood was barely any better.
Houses were boarded up or locked by various powers. He noticed numerous people standing or sitting on rooftops with rifles or bows at the ready. While he watched, a group of the humanoid plant spawn climbed out of the rainwater drainage before they grew larger. Immediately, bullets and other energy projectiles ricocheted off them as the awake people attacked.
Another window opened in the skyline above the DMV in Farbrook. If Eli could have felt his heart, he knew it would've clenched at the unmistakable sight of mechanical armor that Roman would have killed to craft. He watched Romulus descend until he landed with a crash of breaking concrete. Water streamed out of a canister before reforming into a person that could've easily been Eli's twin.
Herbert watched as hordes of people converged on them with weapons and other powers activated, but held back.
Pain sawed at Eli's nerves as he yanked on his connection to his home dimension with all his power. Fissures webbed across the bubble as the window clarity improved while he watched a young woman that he quickly realized was Kady step forward along with he guessed was her mom. A few moments of conversation later, a lightning bolt speared down from the heavens before it resolved into the almost recognizable image of his dad.
Dad leaped forward to pull Herbert into a hug before the man pushed him back and shook his head. While they spoke, Dad's face became crestfallen. Sullen. The image zoomed and Eli frowned at the ridges of new wrinkles on Dad's face and specks of gray in his hair, but most notable was how Dad's glasses were replaced with the unmistakable vigor of someone who slotted a power into the Body stat.
How long has he been gone?
Nullspace shuddered as all the windows that led into his home dimension broke.
Eli tugged on the window that led out in front of the grounds of Anchora campus and stumbled as he popped back into existence with a simple teleport. A slew of notifications rattled across his vision the moment he stood back on solid ground. He read each of his level ups with a raised eyebrow while he walked.
He needed the distraction while he tried to figure out what the hell he was going to do.
Spawn were somehow a very real problem back home? How had that happened?
Unease nipped at him while his thoughts spun.
It had hurt to see Herbert talk to his dad. Eli hated how hypocritical that was, but he hadn't really understood the scope of everything until he saw Dad try to hug Herbert.
Eli exhaled a ragged breath as tears raked their way out of his eyes. Sobs shook his chest as the scenes of his favorite beach covered in monster corpses, the ruins of his home, and his father's face replayed again and again in his head. Starlight pulsed from in the center of his chest as it overflowed with light as his emotions overwhelmed Starlight Conjuration. He hadn't realized had been using it that entire time.
To get away from that he finally read his notifications.
Lumencloud Revivification Ev. 0 You may now select from one of the following options: Evolve Power Obtain New Power> Roman and Maeve were right. It wasn't up to anyone but Eli to get them back home and it was time to start taking it seriously. He prompted the System to evolve Lumencloud Revivification then accepted the change with a resolute stare at the rest of his status. Instead of going back to his dorm room, he headed over to the Delve team's private gym. He was going to grind out the rest of his powers before sunrise in six hours. It wasn't like he needed much—or any—sleep with the assistance of Body of Light and Lumencloud Transfiguration. [Stats: Body: Light (Photon Shot) Mind: None Will: None ] [Equipped Power List: Slot One -- Nullspace Horizon Ev. 0/Lv. 4 Slot Two -- Lumencloud Transfiguration Ev. 1/Lv. 0 Slot Three -- Starlight Conjuration Ev. 0/Lv. 2 ] [Unequipped Powers: Warlock's Sanctum Ev. 0/Lv. 3 ] [Unequipped Perks: Blight ]