Mischievous gusts of wind threaded through the cloudy carpet in dancing patterns. Alcius reclined in one of the two chairs tucked away in the corner, while Eli stood by the paintings showing the others’ challenges. He rolled the Epic power gem around in his hands. Profound Erudition rattled observations around in his head.
Thankfully, their talk and crushing ping pong game had gone on long enough that Profound Erudition’s cooldown had expired so he’d been able to equip it again.
Dad fought in a grand aerial battle. He weaved in and out the furious onslaught of luminescent orai riding on giant birds. Rivers of lightning and kinetic cannon blasts broke the swarm surrounding him repeatedly.
He turned to study Roman’s painting with concern, then shook his head with a wry smile. Roman toiled in a pitch black forge crafted out of thunderclouds. A smelter deposited pools of molten lightning that cooled into sparkling ingots of metal.
“What is that metal called?” Eli asked.
“Sparkmetal as a catch-all. I believe that specific sample is voltsteel. Would you like your final boon to relate to the power your manservant is being assessed for?”
“No, thank you.” Eli felt awkward about Alcius’s continued references to Roman as him being his manservant instead of his friend, but didn’t know if it was worth bringing up. It felt pretty unwise to antagonize him.
Alcius muttered something under his breath about impatient humans dragging things out. Eli ignored him in favor of checking on Other-Rick’s challenge. “How is capturing butterflies a challenge?”
“Torrential Figments are both Dream and Storm elementals and a living creature at the same. It is a significant feat to kill one, and even better to catch them.”
“Are they really strong?”
“Not physically. A drop of their rainwater, gust from their wings, or a bolt of their lightning is all it takes to fall prey to their illusions. They would be exiled if orai were not functionally immortal.”
“Sounds like exile isn’t enough.” Starspace grated into glittering edges around Eli’s hands. Coils of starlightning arced from finger to finger. If one of those things tried to put him under their spell—
“Many enjoy the side effects in a tranquil environment. Torrential Figment eggs or any of their byproduct substances are considered quite the commodity amongst the Enlightened Realms.”
Eli frowned at that. While he didn’t care what others did, he personally couldn’t imagine willfully putting himself under a dream like that.
“You fear Dreams,” Alcius chuckled. “Like a little human child who hides under the bed when they hear thunder? Or a small breeze who cries when they see a rainbow?”
“And you’re not afraid? Dream powers don’t make sense. They’re unnatural.”
Alcius appeared in front of him faster than Eli could teleport. Wind buffeted into Eli as Alcius’s pale blue eyes darkened to midnight. “Dream is a fundamental element of the subjective universe. It is the primal force of the mind and what could be. I admit that it is scary, but would you not say Storm or Space is scarier?”
“Space? Haha, what does that have to do with anything?”
“I am not a fool, Elias Newton. Mastering one’s essence allows them to sense powers. I feel the cosmic winds woven into the tapestry of your body. Northern lightning sparks with its potential every time you breathe or your skin touches air. The symphony of the stars buzz near you. Even your own voice Dreams in your ears.”
Alcius held his hand out as something vast and terrible bore down on him. “I suggest you take or discover a power associated with Dream or you will regret it one day.”
“Fair enough.” Hard faceted edges stuck Eli’s palm where he squeezed the gem.
“You asked for a power tailored to you with my assistance, and I wholeheartedly suggest you take a power suited to Dreams. Would you allow me to make you one in honor of our accord?”
“I would rather not take a Dream power if I can help it.” Eli scrunched his nose in disgust.
“Do as you will with it, however, this is what I choose for your boon. I will craft it from my own breath and soul.”
“Fine. Watch closely.” Alcius smiled as energy shone in an aura around him. Pressure bore down on Eli as a colossal force poured out of the Eleyna sovereign.
Eli stumbled back as the System fuzzed around them. Each of his powers hummed with suppressed static as he felt that energy grow. Was that essence? It started as a transparent energy that darkened as it took on different shapes and characteristics. Ideas stabbed into his mind through the hairline fractures of his tampering with Profound Erudition.
He blinked through the agony as he caught a few of the concepts interwoven in the chain of essence.
Pools of color, constantly evolving in response to the turbulent world around them.
Thought, a shape for the capacity of different ideas. It felt like it was intended to act as a vessel for the different colors.
Dream.
Eli gasped as the humming power grew. These weren’t just concepts, but power perks.
Alcius’s aura swelled as the chain of essence condensed in the center before it slotted in place with a harsh click. His aura dulled ever so slightly. Was that the hidden attributes or loss of essence that Eli felt?
Chromatic Dream Ev. 0 (Rare) In return for N/A> Accept Offer Power in Trade Decline> “Thank you.” Eli accepted the trade with a repressed grimace. A gritty sensation washed over him as Chromatic Dream plugged into his status. He felt the intimacy of the spawn’s own essence even as the power slightly adjusted to him. It was gradual and uncomfortable, but Eli knew on a visceral level that it wasn’t his, but Alcius’s. “Now, I believe our business is concluded. If you would like to take the Electroethos Challenge again, you may the next time you return. Fare—“ “Wait!” Eli interrupted him before he left. “Yes?” “How do I do that?” Eli waved his hand in the air sharply. He groped at where he felt the System interface with his will, but he couldn’t feel any hint or sign of essence. “It takes a lot of practice and skill. It’s mainly taught through meditation. Try it with all your powers unequipped. Different enlightened species suggest straining or breaking a power or perk you don’t care for. If you do that, you might be able to feel the essence leaking out of the power, or a lot of suddenly free essence. It is excruciating, however, it can work. I suggest also watching others as they use their powers to feel their essence. In the end, it comes down to lots of practice and repetition. Is there anything else?” “No, that’s it.” Eli sighed. “Thank you again. I appreciate it.” “The pleasure is mine. Farewell.” Alcius vanished with a muffled clap of thunder. Everyone was still in the middle of their challenges and likely would be for a while. Eli decided it was time to check what he got from Zeffi and obtain a new power from at least Hunter’s Bounty. He paced while status windows scrolled across his vision. Joyous Fulmination Ev. 2/Lv. 13 (Epic) Pastoral Will (Spring’s Flock) (Legendary) You may now select from one of the following options: Siphon Power Experience Gain a Power Perk Obtain Power from the Conquered> Nimbus Sentinel Ev. 0 Hunter’s Bounty Ev. 0 You may now select from one of the following options: Evolve Power Merge Power Obtain New Power N/A> Eli took Joyous Fulmination, it’d be nice to fiddle with it and Sorrowful Fulmination either as-is or to break them apart to create something new. He checked the evolution for both Nimbus Sentinel and Hunter’s Bounty. Oh, interesting. Eli smirked at his evolution prompt for Hunter’s Void. Seemed like infusing Stellar Body during his blackhole induced rampage pushed Hunter’s Bounty significantly, while he hadn’t done more than push Nimbus Sentinel’s ability to produce more clones. Eli declined. He’d rather perfect Solar Synthesis and Accumulative Stockpile and merge them in with these two powers when they were all maxed out. Time to check his new power list. Matter Transmutation (Uncommon) Ultra Warpspeed (Uncommon) Enchanter’s Siphon (Uncommon) Warlock’s Dreamspace (Rare) Stasis (Rare) BACK> Eli chose Stasis and Enchanter’s Siphon without wasting another second to think about it. He already wanted more of a pure enchanting power and if Stasis worked like he thought… Well, it’d be a waste to not take it. Enchanter’s Siphon Ev. 0/Lv. 0 (Uncommon) Stasis Ev. 0/Lv. 0 (Rare) Would you like to equip them? Y/N> Eli swapped out Starspace Nexus and Aurora Stardust. With Stellar Body, he didn’t really need to worry about cutting off his ability to teleport or control space. A moment later, he grunted as his body noticeably weakened from the loss of Aurora Stardust. He felt almost lesser without both powers equipped. In return, new senses and possibilities unfolded once he tapped into Enchanter’s Siphon and Stasis. Multitudes of symbols, concepts, and physical phenomena shimmered in a tapestry all around him. Primarily clouds full of base air, wind, life-giving rain, or devastating floods. For a second, he could have sworn that he sensed the smallest amounts of essence in the clouds. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Pressure spiked behind his eyes from the influx of what he recognized as a facet of Dream. Profound Erudition helped him process and manage the increasing tide of information. Capillaries spread like threads from him to each of those concepts. All he had to do was pull and they’d be his. Eli stumbled toward the pool table crafted from solidified vapor. His fingers curled around the nearest pool cue he could reach. New streams of information rushed through Enchanter’s Siphon into his mind. Pool cue, entertainment, projection of self, staff or spear. Cloud, base air, convergence of air and water, vapor, plush cushion, sky, vessel for wind, pliable. It was simplicity to pluck fragments of its symbolism out of the pool cue. Entertainment yanked out of it and into Enchanter’s Siphon with ease. Enticing designs vanished as the pool cue transformed into an instrument split between a staff or a spear. He culled any semblance of vapor or cushion out of it. It darkened from an ashy wooden gray to an almost black splinter. It twisted both in his hands and his mental grasp of the weapon. Eli felt how he could pull from countless sources all around him and inject what he wanted into objects. He also felt how he could twist and shape the concepts already held within a source to better suit his needs. Cloud transformed into thundercloud as he heightened its sense for projection of self, spear, and vessel for wind. It thrummed against his fingertips as a tether tugged between him and his device. Air churned at his command on the tip of the spear that he willed to shorten. Staff or spear corrupted into wand or baton. It felt almost rough in his hand, but an electric thrill of excitement hummed in the back of his mind. Eli almost wished he had been offered this sooner. That he hadn’t taken a shortcut with Imbue using the experience from killing Dave. If he hadn’t been forced to use that experience to powerlevel Lumengust into Lumencloud, he could have turned Imbue into something incredible. It was time for his redemption as a fledgling enchanter. Endless possibilities beckoned to him as he shoved more of himself into Enchanter’s Siphon. Thundercloud and vessel for wind sharpened into his goal for his creation to shoot bolts of electricity. It transformed one final time. Vibrations rattled as the wand jerked in his hand. Unstable sparks fizzed, eager for him to spur its power to lightning. Eli pointed the wand at the wall while his heartbeat drummed against his ribs. He trusted that Alcius would have built the room to withstand quite a bit, but he had no true idea what his wand was capable of. He commanded it to show him. Air heavy with an ionized charge burst out of his wand in a gust. Wind brushed against the opposite wall— Electricity ripped out of the wand. One bolt of lightning slammed into the wall with an almost blinding flash of power. Sparks burned his hand as the wand shuddered. Another and another arc of lightning burst. A delicate web of concepts burned as one final lightning strike exploded the wand. Dark cloudy wisps splintered as his empty hand curled into a fist. Nothing remained of his enchantments except for the burning smell of ozone and a blackened crater in the wall. Eli smiled with a wince. Jagged thorns blazed in his mind from the backlash of Dream. He limped over to the recliners, his eyes sagged with exhaustion. Eli wasn’t used to Dream powers, but he suspected that this wasn’t a normal case of overextending himself to the point of falling unconscious. Profound Erudition reassured him that this was a consequence of Dream powers. Apparently, in order to use them well, the wielder had to sleep and dream regularly. His thoughts stilled moments after he closed his eyes. Eli dreamed of game shows and lashes of lightning ripping across dark skies. He stood at a podium alongside three other contestants. A woman with large menacing hawk wings preened since her podium showed an impossibly high score of 9999. Hazel was on her team and she kept sending apologetic glances over to Eli and Roman. Oh, Roman was on his team. They were both brutally losing with a flat zero score. Eli tossed and turned as his dreams continued. *** Sweat dripped from Roman’s skin as he swung his newly forged hammer of electric metal into the glowing ingot. Vibrations numbed his left arm where he squeezed his fist around the tongs that held the narrowed bar of metal. He had no idea how much time had passed. Aches stiffened the muscles in his arms, shoulders, neck, and the entirety of his back. Roman’s hands felt like burning leather from the forge’s heat. Electricity numbed his hands with every ringing strike of his hammer. A notification hung suspended in front of his eyes. Roman knew in the marrow of his bones that most of his efforts would be wasted if he stopped now. He swung again and again as he twisted the bar of metal over his anvil. Before it cooled, he shoved it back into the broiling heat of the forge for a single second. He held it against the anvil again. Sparks of electricity and embers danced with every single one of his powerful blows. Panting breaths rasped in his arid mouth. It wasn’t over yet. Roman hurried. A single edge formed as the blade lengthened to a blunt tip. He shoved the rough dagger into a waiting bucket of rainwater eliciting a hissing cloud of steam. Would you like to claim Voltsteel Smithing Ev. 0 or retry the challenge?> “Retry,” Roman coughed. He hadn’t stopped smelting or crafting his hammer until he earned the perfect score. There was no way he was going to settle for less now. Anatomical Engine whirred to life as he flooded his body with his exosuit’s self-repair enchantments and programs. More of his resources vanished, but it was worth it. Roman knew with an absolute certainty that he almost had it. *** Rick Newton hurtled across the sky. Bruises and stinging gashes covered every inch of his exposed, scoured skin. He refused to be outdone by Eli, his son, or Roman. He especially wouldn’t let himself lose to Richard. Storm Cloud activated with an agonizing cramp. He had overused all his powers in the Battle of Farbrook just a couple of days ago, and he was doing it again. It was almost addicting to push himself for all he was worth and feel growth from it. If only programming or any of his other pursuits in life had been as clear-cut when he improved or failed. Dark clouds rumbled in a fresh suit of armor around him. Flocks of orai on their birds swept toward him. Lances dipped, aimed for his breast or the slit of space in his helm. Rick compacted his Storm Cloud armor before he launched himself into the fray. Thunder boomed in his wake. His newly merged Voltaic Galeshift converted all the sonic and kinetic energy into a howling blast of power. Two ranks of orai and their flying mounts died. Storm Cloud churned out more armor as he patched in the damage from his chaotic power. He had merged Aerovolt Shift with Energy Conversion to create Voltaic Galeshift and loved it. Blades, hammers, and arrows cracked into his armor. Rick didn’t budge with Body of Force’s assistance, but new wounds broke his skin. Explosions of kinetic force ripped back into his surrounding foes as he exponentially boosted the backlash of their attacks. He had stopped healing himself with Body of Force in favor of ending as many of his opponents as he could. Besides, Voltaic Galeshift did more than convert energy into it, but it allowed him to transform himself into it as well. Howling wind ignited the same time he did. Rick blasted into the next platoon of orai with a wide smile of lightning where his mouth would have been. Notifications filled his vision like raindrops. He didn’t get to allow himself to break loose too often. Too many people relied on him in Farbrook to be one of the last lines of defense. While these orai countered a lot of his weather control, they were no match for the sheer force he could muster at a moment’s notice. Even if they felt endless. Air turned to primal lightning as it devoured enemy one after the next in a constant chain. Thunder looped back into more powerful winds that he ignited and fueled with Body of Force. It was too bad he didn’t have a use for Cybermancer’s Tech in this battle. He would have loved to let rip with his son’s gift. There was always the next fight. *** Dreamer’s Foresight warned Richard with shadows of probability, showing that the Torrential Figment aimed to lance the back of his head. He didn’t want to lose this challenge from its foul proboscis slurping out his brains again. Richard Newton ducked as the Torrential Figment’s wings swooshed past his head. Beads of toxic Dream moisture sprayed into his shroud of raindrops. Crushing atmospheric pressure expanded through his legs and out the soles of his feet. He leaped with a crack of air. Sky Body helped him dash toward the Torrential Figment. Mesmerizing patterns shimmered across its wings. Thunder Mind boomed around him as he reforged his mental defenses. He lashed out with Will of Deluge. Needles of rain pierced its wings. Geysers of mud burst from the force of his deluge of watery bullets. Richard dropped onto the giant butterfly now in freefall. Sonic booms cracked out of his hand which he forged into a solidified net of thunder. Netting entangled the Torrential Figment. He splashed back on the ground next to it as it thrashed beside him. Curtains of rain smacked its toxic Dreams out of the air before it could pull him under its illusions. Richard grinned as the Challenge concluded now that he had captured all his targets. “Bravo, Lord Newton. Your showing for Torrential Distortion was astounding.” Sovereign Alcius greeted him once his own instance of the Stormshrine dungeon finished and deposited him in the sovereign’s observatory. “Thank you.” Richard nodded while he let his senses spread across Eleyna. It appeared Elias finished his challenge first. “How did Eli do?” “Stunning,” Sovereign Alcius’s feral grin showed off each of his fanged electric blue teeth. “He hit far above what the Stormshrine predicted his capabilities to be. Burst his instance like a bubble when he annihilated Zeffi.” “He annihilated Zeffi’s avatar?” Richard quirked his eyebrows. “Zeffi, tell him,” Sovereign Alcius commanded. Shining white vapor curled as the Peerage of Spring answered her summons. The parrot appeared with a flap of her bright green wings. She landed on Sovereign Alcius’s shoulder with a gentle bow before turning her crimson eyes to Richard. “Your other son—“ “Nephew, my dear,” Sovereign Alcius interrupted her. “Of course. Your nephew had destroyed Erutus’s Autumnal Chamber by devouring it with a black hole or something similar to one! It was an impressive show that left the poor skeleton quite put out. As such, I wanted to do more than the usual meadow pageantry and actually challenge the boy.” “With what?” “I fought him in the Viridescent Heavens.” Zeffi shrugged. “He took the brunt of my Joyous Fulmination reinforced by my Pastoral Will quite well indeed. He was unfazed by the overgrowth that ripped through his body! Unchecked tumors and cancers plagued him, yet they healed. We sparred for a bit more, then he unleashed an impressive javelin at me.” “By impressive she means that it punched three holes through the fabric of the Stormshrine before it detonated inside of Zeffi.” “The radiation was quite overpowering!” She raised her wings to show off some crimped, blackened feathers. “He even hurt my real body through my avatar.” “So he failed?” “Hardly. We felt that we had to reward him. If his challenge hadn’t broken, he likely would have won.” “Did Boros and Notos give him their lightning too?” “You know how the twins are,” Sovereign Alcius scoffed. “I offered him three boons, two to replace what their gifts would have been along with one of my own. Bring him back here someday. I would like to see what he makes of himself after a century or two.” Sovereign Alcius vanished in a burst of prismatic clouds and lightning. Zeffi flapped her wings in a wave before she departed in a burst of neon green sparks. Richard’s surroundings blurred as he appeared in a cold rec room. Various game tables cluttered the room. A massive blackened scar had seared one of the walls. On another wall, two paintings hung depicting Rick and Roman’s challenges. He turned with a small smile at where Eli slept on one of the recliners in the corner. A throw blanket woven from clouds draped over the other chair. Richard grabbed it so he could place it over Eli, who he felt was almost a surrogate son. He sank into his own chair with a stifled groan. It was exactly as comfortable as he always imagined it would be to sit on a cloud. Whatever else Eli did must have impressed Sovereign Alcius a great deal. This entire room was a weighty gift. Usually challengers were thrown out nearly the second after they finished or failed their tasks. Richard opened his suspended notifications. Torrential Illusions Ev. 0 Distorting Fog Ev. 0 Hysterical Wings Ev. 0> He took a look at the rest of his status before he declined. [Stats: Body: Sky (Atmospheric Dominance) Mind: Thunder (Thunderbolt Forge) Will: Deluge (Rainmaker’s Reign) ] [Class Power: Stormruler’s Writ Ev. 3/Lv. 14 ] [Equipped Powers: Slot One — Dreamer’s Foresight Ev. 3/Lv. 17 Slot Two — Bibliographic Script Ev. 3/Lv. 11 Slot Three — Progressive Vitality Ev. 2/Lv. 13 ] [Unequipped Powers: Distorting Fog Ev. 0/Lv. 0 ] Richard wondered if May or Herbert would accept the new power. Both of his children worried him with their excessive desire to plunder dungeons. He understood May. She always looked up to the DRC’s Enforcers and always felt like her Initialization of Planehop made it her duty to turn it, the rest of her powers, and herself into someone worthy of the position. He personally thought he was the best out of all of them. But Herbert didn’t see the burden of her responsibility, only the prestige of it. After meeting his counterpart’s children and seeing Eli’s recklessness with his own eyes… he realized how devastating events could have unfolded. Eli had opened a portal to another dimension in Richard’s backyard without a second thought. While he had spatial powers like May, he hadn’t stopped to think about how disastrous the failure could have been. Herbert likely would have done the same if he had the chance. That terrified Richard. What was going to happen when Herbert entered the national Tri-Delve Cup in July? He could easily see his son throwing himself into fight after fight without a care just to emulate or ‘beat’ his counterpart. “Oh, hey! You’re already finished,” Rick whispered as he appeared in a column of clouds. “Yeah. I finished a while ago, but apparently your son was the first one done. What did you get?” Richard smiled as if Eli hadn’t shattered his Stormshrine challenge. If it wasn’t for the dungeon’s built in protections, would Zeffi have survived as her true self? Could Richard endure it? Even with their Class Powers, that was a tall order. “Oh! I got Hydrovolt Monsoon. Basically feels like I’ll be able to create a flood of water at a whim and transform it into lightning.” Rick grinned as he walked closer to them. He pulled an old cell phone out of his pocket so he could take a picture of his sleeping son before putting it away. “What’d you get? And is Roman done already, then?” Just then, Roman fell out of another cloud. All around them, the furniture and walls melted as the room dropped out of Eleyna. In a minute or two, it’d land safely in the middle of the field they used to arrive here. Richard stood up with a nod at Roman who was talking to Rick. “I was in the Electrovolt Forge challenge, but I ended up earning a power called Pyrovolt Foundry. I think it’ll let me mass produce metal and alloys out of fire and electricity in whatever shape and strength I want?” Roman explained. “Oh wow! That’ll be incredible for you. I bet if you use it to create stuff back home Victoria will give you a lot of Farbrook Points.” Out of the family, only he himself and May had taken the Electrovolt Forge challenge. May eked out a four star score in all three rounds earning what eventually became her Storm Regalia power. As far as he knew, she had mixed it with an armory power she earned in a challenge with the Royal Guards in Sovereign Alcius’s court. However, Richard had given up on the final round and accepted a three star score. It had eventually become his Thunderbolt Forge power that he had slotted into his Mind stat when he had completed his second evolution. Richard looked at Roman who still chatted with Rick and then the still sleeping Eli who floated in his slumber. His cloudy blanket was wrapped snug around the boy’s shoulders even though Sovereign Alcius had let everything else disperse. He suppressed a shiver. In order to impress the ancient spawn, Eli must have impressed him even more than he had let on. Richard glanced at Roman. Considering how the two of them had Initialized only a couple of months ago, they had accomplished a monstrous amount with their powers. Richard forged a reminder in his Thunder Mind. He was going to have to ask May if anyone else had done the same. It seemed impossible based on everything Richard had learned throughout his life under the DRC’s rules and teachings. He had to find out whether or not that was intentional.