I followed Sai through the grassy field of the graveyard.
Having visited my Firmament at least once every year of my life, you’d think I would be used to how it feels to walk in it, but you’d be wrong. Each step through the dewy grass felt odd on my boots, like the water was just passing through them and touching my skin. I thought that maybe the wear and tear they’ve been getting recently might be the culprit, but after taking a closer look at them, they seemed intact enough to prevent liquids from getting through.
As we walked, I brushed up against a particularly wet tombstone. Although my shirt was the only thing that really made contact, it still felt like the water was dripping straight onto me.
I paused, out of curiosity, and began rubbing the bottom of my shirt on several objects to confirm the feeling.
Sai, who had continued on the path, eventually realized that I was no longer beside him. I felt his annoyance as he walked back to me.
“There is power to be gained, and here you are, wasting your time. What are you doing?”
After a few swipes against the grass and other gravestones, I scratched the side of my head.
“Why does it feel like my clothes are part of my body?” I asked.
Sai, whose irritation I could almost taste, now looked at me with interest. “Again, your capacity for thought far exceeds my expectations. Well done, boy.”
I did my best to bury my negative feelings for the guy. When I get the power I need from here, I’m gonna beat you so bad, Sai, I thought to myself, happily.
He began walking again, and I followed.
“In the Firmament, your clothes are part of your body. This place is not like a dream where your perspective and anatomy are figments of your imagination. Instead, it is an actual location in the Web of Mana, and the you who is here is a manifestation of yourself, created by your own mana.”
I had learned a good bit about mana from the Valkyries. It is a force of nature, similar to gravity; it always was and always will be. It is mainly used for manipulating the forces of nature to produce a desired result, like starting a fire from nothing, or controlling people's minds. There was way more to mana than that, but my brain was pretty much fizzled out with all the thinking I had previously done on the meaning of family. I nodded my head as if I understood, though I didn’t, and continued to walk with him.
We passed several lines of tombstones to an area of the Firmament I had never before set foot in. In this place, instead of gravestones and obelisks, there were large, complex entrances to tombs. Each was decorated uniquely; one was themed after the Pacific Islands and sported carvings of men sailing the sea, watching the stars, and swimming with the sharks; another had decorations and designs that hearkened back to medieval Japan, with beautiful paintings of the ocean, mystical ogres, and samurai hanging off a massive red Torii; the third tomb was made of a red stone and gilded with gold hieroglyphs that were alien to me, giving off the impression of opulence and authority; the last of the tombs, and the one we seemed to be heading towards, was simple in design, almost ragged. The only thing really keeping it from looking like a disheveled cave was the black maggot statue on the top. It almost looked goey from the reflection it cast.
Ewww, I thought to myself.
“The Firmament is the amalgamation of an individual's connection to mana.” Sai commented, out of the blue.
He stopped me, just as we reached the entrance of the maggot cave.
“It shows you what kind of power your connection with the Mana Web can give you.”
I looked down into the dark cave and saw lights criss-crossing deep within.
“Okay...what does that have to do with this creepy cave?”
He sighed. “It has everything to do with this creepy cave, Steven. I suppose you wouldn’t know, since humans are dangerously behind on understanding the Firmament, and those who do know of its power keep the knowledge to themselves. I won’t hold it against you. In there, you will find the closest connection to the source of all mana you have available.”
I had another question, but, before I could ask, he held up his hand, gesturing for me to be quiet.
“You could stand here and ask questions for eternity, but that is not why you are here. Your curiosity will be answered at another time. As for now, continue on down into the tomb. You will find the power you seek.”
With those last words he walked away, heading towards the glowing tree.
“I will be at the center of the graveyard when you are finished. Be careful not to anger our mother too much.”
He then vanished into the thick fog.
I carefully examined the path downward and realized the whole stairway was made of the same material as the maggot statue, giving it a shiny, oozy look. When a light would cut across, the reflection would cause the material to flicker, as if it was burning oil.
I steeled myself and began my walk. Each step I took on the black smooth stairs sounded like a gentle wind chime, as if someone was following me, hitting the musical instrument with each foot placement.
When I reached midway, a voice sounded from the bottom of the cave. “Hurry the hell up, boy! I don’t have all day!”
The words threw me off balance and I started tumbling down the steep stairs. I was able to stop my descent just before I reached the bottom.
“That's one way to come down quickly,” the voice said, chuckling.
When I picked myself up, I was met with a large room, lined with obsidian and lit up by moving spheres of golden light. It was as if I stood in the midst of space.
I then turned my attention to the center of the room where a young woman on a black jagged throne sat with her legs crossed, wearing a black and red kimono. Her eyes were a deep red, and her hair a shade of black that seemed to suck the light away.
“Well? Don't just stand there, get over here!” Her voice was shrill and loud, as if yelling was her main form of communication.
I quickly jogged to the foot of the throne and looked up at her. We locked eye contact and she waved her hand to tell me I could speak.
“Uhh, Sai sent me here to figure out how to use the Firmament, ma’am,” I sputtered out nervously.
The woman smiled, her teeth an unnatural white. “You should have told him to come down here. I love seeing Old Grouchy. He’s one of my favorite sons.”
“Son?” I asked, scanning her closely. From what I could tell, this woman couldn’t be over thirty. Heck, she probably couldn’t be over twenty. If she walked up to me, trying to get into a club, I’d probably triple-check her ID.
“Yes, ‘son’. I birthed him, after all. Well, not really. But he is one of my great great great…” She continued this for several minutes, “great grandsons, and so are you. That's why you are here, after all.”
I guess seeing a young old lady in this place wasn’t that weird, especially since zombies were a thing.
“Does that mean you were the first person to ever be born, or something?”
She laughed. “No, that would be silly. Even when I was walking the universe there were those more ancient than I. But I am the first to receive mana in your line.”
I was confused. The way she talked about mana didn’t match what I was taught.
“What do you mean ‘the first to receive mana’? I thought mana was just another force of nature?”
The woman stared up at the ceiling of the catacomb and my eyes followed.
Above us, floating silently, was a massive, glowing sphere, whose color was constantly fluctuating, and whose size was comparable to a mountain. The distance I had fallen to get to this place didn’t account one bit for how huge this thing was.
“You see that? It is the First Instance, a spell that was cast eons ago, sparking the fire that would become mana. Without it, the foundations of the Mana Web would not be possible.”
That word again. When Sai mentioned it I just thought he was talking about mana as I knew it.
“What is the Mana Web?”
She put her fingers to her lips. “Hmm, it looks like your understanding of mana is more miniscule than I thought. Going into great detail on the matter would only serve to confuse you. In that vein, think of the Mana Web as the internet. An interconnecting web of uncountable beings that have accessed the powers of the First Instance over a large expanse of time. These beings add knowledge to the First Instance that can be accessed by others, very similar to how you open a webpage. The difference being that the data you receive from the Mana Web affects the real world.”
I nodded my head, pretending that I understood.
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you, Steven?”
I shook my head. “Not a word, ma’am.”
She laughed and slapped her hands on the armrests of her throne. “That is why I love you, Sitiveni. You're a simple boy with simple wants. That is why you are here, isn't it? The simple desire for strength?”
“Yes ma’am,” I answered, the desire to obtain that strength and get back to my companions welling up inside me. “How do I start?”
The woman flourished her fingers in several different signs, similar to Isran, summoning a thick purple smoke that danced around her hand. “Like a story, we start from the beginning.” The smoke then surrounded me, like the light produced by the practice unit.
“Who are you?” the woman asked. The question was odd, especially since it sounded like she knew me, but I figured playing along would get me the results I was looking for.
“I am Sitiveni L. Lotu.” I felt a slight nudge to my head and several pokes throughout my body.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Ah, yes. Sitiveni. You are physically strong, intimidating to others, filled with vigor, and watched over by your ancestors.”
Just as with the practice unit initialization, I saw all four stats appear in front of my face.
Strength 6 Endurance 0 Predecessor 2 Intimidation 3
The temptation to ask how I was seeing a HUD, despite not having my practice unit, crossed my mind, but letting this whole thing play out was probably the better idea.
She continued. “But more than that, you are scared of a world that has been very harsh to you, deathly loyal to those who have taken care of you, and disappointed in who you are and want to become more.” The woman's voice was gentle and calming, a far shot from how she had sounded when I first entered the cave.
Several boxes appeared, floating in front of my face next to my stats. At the very top of the boxes there was a title that read, “DNA Combination Choices, Limit: 1”. I read through the options.
Wind
The scared and forgotten of the world follow after the wind, as it leads them to fortune, love, and adventure. The mana of the world has bestowed upon you the DNA of wind. You gain +10 to dexterity, +10 to speed, and the skill ‘Winds of Change’.
Elephant
The loyal and brave follow the elephant, as it teaches its students to be steadfast and upright, in order to protect those they love. The mana of the world has bestowed upon you the DNA of an elephant. You gain +20 to endurance and the skill ‘Cloak of Thorns’.
Cow
The hungry and ambitious follow the cow, as it denies its destiny and seeks free pastures. The mana of the world has bestowed upon you the DNA of a cow. You gain +10 to strength, +5 to endurance, +5 to potential, and the skill ‘Milk for the Hearty’.
“Darn, I was hoping you’d get maggot as one of your choices. One day, someone in my lineage will be like me. Oh well, choose wisely, Sitiveni. You only get one shot.”
She didn’t have to sound so disappointed. It made me think I was missing out on some crazy power, or something.
I mentally tapped on each DNA combination’s skill.
Winds of Change
The wind is at your back and Lady Luck is not far behind. Gives +10 to luck, reveals one hidden treasure within a five-mile radius every ten hours, and the user gains potential for skill ‘Fast Travel.’ Buff lasts 24 hours and requires a sacrifice of one diluted ruby.
Cloak of Thorns
Attacking you is like attacking a brick wall–it hurts. Reflects 50% of damage received back to the attacker. Buff lasts three hours and has a two hour cooldown.
Milk for the Hearty
You are like a starfish; your enemies can cut you up and throw you around, but you always come back. Heals 20 HP, and health regen is tripled (can stack with other health regen buffs). Buff lasts for one hour and has a three hour cooldown. Can be used on allies.
I wanted to pick wind, just to spite Sai, who called me fat and slow, but I didn’t know enough about system combat economics to know if it would be a good bet. Plus, I had no idea what a diluted ruby is. Maybe money mattered a lot, maybe it didn’t. For me, the risk was too high.
I looked at the other two. I really liked the elephant. The stats were simple, and the skill was straight forward–everything I could have hoped for–but I had a feeling that if I chose the elephant, all the skills I would get throughout leveling would be simple and rigid. I wanted a little more flexibility than that.
I clicked on the cow. Its stats were a bit more spread out, and I didn’t like the idea of learning a new attribute, ‘potential’, but the skill was just too good to pass up. Not only could it make me a solid tank, but in situations where I’m severely underleveled, I could still be an incredibly useful support.
A box popped up. “Are you sure?” I mentally clicked ‘yes’.
“A cow? Wow, that was unexpected. From the memories I’ve seen, I would have pegged you for the elephant, for sure. But you can’t really know someone from just memories. Onto the next!”
The purple smoke that encompassed me swirled, pushing away the stat and DNA combination boxes. Now, in front of me were several symbols.
“These are your totem choices. Not everyone gets the chance to pick a totem, but you have several personalities within you that can fulfill that purpose. Just know that if a spirit becomes a totem, you will not be able to gain their skills and passives through your predecessor attribute. With that in mind, I would suggest not selecting Sai or Aho as your totem, for their power is much greater than that of anyone else in our line. What say you?”
Her words reminded me that I hadn’t looked at the description of the predecessor attribute since I got it. There had been so much going on that doing so completely slipped my mind.
I nodded my head. “That sounds reasonable to me, even though I have no idea what that means. You can take their symbols out and I’ll choose from the others.”
Two of the four symbols disappeared right before my eyes. I focused on the first. It was a symbol that looked like an eagle swooping in on its prey.
Gideon
The Totem of the Eagle. Gideon excels in combat statistics, helping you make the right choice when confronting an enemy. His abilities in combat are only second to those who hold legendary totem personalities. He lacks ability in any other form of data management, and cannot access mana webs necessary for proper build management.
I really do like doing well in combat, and I assume I’ll be doing a ton of it in this mess of a world. I’d likely pick Gideon, but I checked the second totem, just in case. The symbol it sported was a leaf with a drop of dew rolling off of it.
Illana
The Totem of Respite. Illana excels in build management and can offer insight on the workings of the Mana Web. She underperforms in combat, but makes up for it in every other aspect of data management, where she is slightly above average. She lacks the ability to analyze live fights, instead opting to coach users on previous fights.
I really wasn’t that great at learning from words, so her coaching would probably go over my head. But the opportunity to learn more about how this convoluted system worked? Sign me up.
I clicked on Illana’s symbol, and a box appeared. “Gideon has been returned to the Firmament.” After a second, another box popped up. “Illana will now be integrated into your mind. Please wait.”
I felt the strange, poking sensation once again, and instead of a gentle nudge on my head, I felt a sharp pain, like I was hit with a frying pan. “Process Complete.” At the very top of my eyesight, where my health bar was when I wore the practice unit, was Illana’s symbol.
--- Mana System Initialization: 100% - Beginning Body Transformation ---
The sharp pain that had hit me in the head suddenly spread all throughout my body. At the same time, the purple smoke around me faded away, revealing the woman. She sat still on her throne, just watching me, almost in awe. Then, I saw a golden light streaming from above me.
I examined it as it snaked upward and saw that the First Instance was connecting to me through the stream. Worry was plastered on my face as my eyes met with the woman on the throne.
“Don’t worry, Steven. The pain will subside when your DNA and the cow’s DNA are fully integrated. It's going to hurt a lot until then, but you’ll be fine…I hope.”
I wanted to say, “You hope?” but the pain I was feeling was just too much for me to even open my mouth. It was like I was being boiled alive in a vat of oil. I looked at my hands and realized that that wasn’t far from the truth. They were red and gave off steam, like a train. I then noticed that my palms were slowly turning black and felt as though they were made of hard plastic.
The woman giggled and I looked up.
“You should see yourself, it's a pretty drastic transformation.” She lifted her hand and purple smoke gathered together, creating a mirror.
I stared into it and saw what she meant.
The change to my palms was only the beginning. My short black hair had several large streaks of white and had lengthened to my shoulders; my wide upper body had grown, along with my height, probably putting me at seven or eight feet tall; the gut I had tried to get rid of my whole life was gone, leaving a solid six-pack; and growing out of the sides of my head were two large bull horns. I noticed that the scar the Ash Collector gave me didn’t go away, making me look like a battle-hardened warrior. I didn’t mind that.
The process continued for a few more minutes, altering small things, like the sharpness of my jaw, and growing a goatee. For the most part, I kept a relatively human look.
When it was all done, I stood up. The throne that had previously dwarfed me was now only slightly taller, and the woman who sat upon it looked almost like a child from my new perspective.
“Good, you didn’t die.” She smiled up at me.
I looked at her incredulously. “I could have died from that?”
The woman waved her hand, brushing away my concerns like they were a nuisance. “Of course you could have died. Direct connection to the First Instance is like going to a fire hydrant for water; you could drown trying to sate your thirst. Why else do you think most beings use those funny little ear implements to gain their power?”
I pursed my lips. “I’ve been thinking about that, actually. I was going to ask Sai, but since you seem to know more about it, why don’t people just use Lexicons instead of going through the MAS system?”
The woman leaned her head on her hand, looking a little upset. “I hate questions about the outside. Where’s Aho when you need him?”
I stayed quiet, waiting for a response.
She wiggled around in her throne, probably hoping to ignore my question. However, after several minutes, she stood up.
“Fine, this will be the only question I answer. You can talk to Sai, Aho, or any of the other intelligent beings within this Firmament to get your fill on outside information from now on.” The torrent of words left her mouth like a machine gun, leaving her slightly winded.
I nodded.
She sat back down and straightened out her dress. “Like I said before, to gain power through the Firmament itself, one must touch the First Instance and survive the experience. For those on the outside who value their insignificant lives, this is a massive inconvenience. So, their mages, scientists, and leaders banded together to create the Funnel, or MAS, as the humans call it. It is an object made of formless matter that acts as a filter for channeling the power of the First Instance, allowing the user to benefit from the Firmament without actually dealing with it. This leads to only obtaining two-thirds of the power one could have had. Some warriors outside find this distasteful and make it their mission to prepare their bodies to receive the First Instance’s power.”
She put a hand over her mouth. “I have said more than the question demanded. Off with you. You have gained as much as we can give this day. Sai or Aho will contact you in your sleep and give you more instructions. Don’t die out there.”
I tried to stop her, wanting to learn more about all this craziness, but with a wave of her hand, purple smoke surrounded my view and grew thicker, until there was nothing but darkness.