“Why do I have to be first?” Asked Davis loudly. He was initially thrilled about taking this step. However, Veles’s current behavior ruined all his previous enthusiasm.

Standing a considerable distance away, Veles had his arms crossed as he watched Davis with caution. “Because if something went astray, I could provide help. You, on the other hand, have no idea what’s going on.”

Davis couldn’t help but silently agree with Veles’s words. Every single theory and possible outcome Veles had informed him of were still objects of wonder he couldn’t wrap his head around.

For the past week, they didn’t do much except travel from village to village, not spending much in any of them, just using their cheap inns for the night’s rest. The rest of their time was spent slowly walking with seemingly no destination in mind.

However, there wasn’t a single moment when Veles didn’t have a book in his hand. He was constantly researching something and, at the same time, visibly coming to various conclusions—as proven by his incomprehensible murmurs. At first, it was a worrying sight. Veles would simultaneously walk, read, and talk to himself. All the while, his steps never faltered. Even without a focus, he never did as much as pause his steps, like he’d done this on pure instinct.

Davis was honestly impressed. Even more so after all the explanation he’d later received. Despite not fully understanding the overly complicated stuff Veles had informed him about. The sheer dedication displayed was enough to give him some courage.

They both reached the end of the Third Stage and were about to cross into the Fourth. Even by Osvalen standards, this was a major breakthrough. It signified a person crossing from initial Evolutionary Stages and becoming the real deal—the real deal as if having the ability to perform the magic that could actually do wonders.

Yet, since he’d met the other side of the forest, Davis was concerned about his future advancements. These ‘classes’ one got after finishing the Third Stage weren’t even mentioned back in Osvalen. Everything was new and unknown, and Veles’s words that those living in Osvalen were somehow suppressed or manipulated by the higher power made these matters more worrying.

The only saving grace was that Davis had prior experience. Before whatever Veles did to reduce him to the Second stage, Davis was the Fifth one. Although this enlightenment and class giving, when crossing from Third to Fourth, didn’t happen, there was the classic spike in power Osvalenians experienced when reaching the Fourth Stage. Hopefully what he was about to experience would be similar…

“Stop hesitating and do it,” said Veles. “Nothing life-threatening would happen. Just trust the process and push through it.”

“Very reassuring,” mumbled Davis quietly. Then he took a deep breath and said, “Okay. I’m starting.”

He focused on his body. Mainly on his Mana Pathways, they were like a complex web flowing within his body, passively spreading gentle amounts of mana. The last one he had to push the opening of was placed in the middle of his solar plexus. This pathway was usually the last one to be opened, Davis had no idea why this one specifically, but his instincts guided him to keep this one as last.

Forcing a minuscule amount of mana from nearby pathways to the last one, he felt it gently spread its wall and reach for the end of his skin. Once it did, it was time to experience why the one in the solar plexus was supposed to be the last one.

A small siphon of atmospheric mana rushed towards his chest, sinking inside the final opened Mana Pathway. It violently coursed throughout the other pathways, like performing one final push to make sure everything was properly functioning.

But to Davis’s shock, his previous experience with this event completely differentiated. The same euphoric feeling was there. It was a signature sign that one had passed the Third Stage. Like a breath of fresh air after spending days inside a damp cellar, it hits hard but passes as fast as it came, leaving only the feeling of having achieved something significant. And this event… was supposed to end here.

This time, the extra mana that was supposed to pass through his body stayed inside. It rushed madly towards his abdomen core and sunk inside violently. Davis didn’t even have time to act. His mind slowly sunk…

He felt like diving deep inside dark water with no discomfort at all. There was no pressure or any urgency to gasp for air. If anything, it felt pleasing.

However, suddenly, his throat ached. An unbelievable amount of thirst assaulted him. His eyes snapped open with urgency, and both of his hands clasped his neck.

To his horror. His eyes caught his surroundings. And the sight… further enchanted his shock.

With no visible end. In every direction he’d looked was nothing except the endless patches of dried-out earth. Everything was barren and desolate, with nothing but the dirt that had been exposed to the scorching heat for far too long.

He frantically spun his head around, searching for something… something to quench this unbearable thirst.

Unfortunately, his search was fruitless, there was nothing in his vicinity but this poor earth that shared the same thirst as he did. Seeing no better solution, he picked the pace and walked in a random direction.

For hours and hours, he walked without stopping, searching for something to at least provide solace for his ever-dry throat. Hell, at this point, he wished for anything to appear in this forsaken place.

Just as he was about to give in despair, from the corner of his eye, he saw gusts of black smoke rising on the horizon, reaching far in the sky until it gently dispersed in the atmosphere.

Despite it not being a pleasant phenomenon, It was nonetheless a new strand of hope. He changed his course, aiming at the finally something new except this poor earth he walked on.

Hours turned into days. His goal slowly grew closer with each step, as did his hopelessness. Even from this distance, he knew what lay beneath those black clouds. He knew his destination would provide him with no solution to his problem.

Still, he persisted…

Finally, after what felt like years. He stood before the culprit who released those sickening clouds. His gaze watched the sky-piercing peak of an angry volcano. The molten rock and rivers of lava it released appeared like it wanted nothing more but to wage war against the world. The debris and coats of cooled-down rock served as its weapons, their only purpose to win against the poor, barren earth.

Watching that tall peak constantly sending barrages of molten rock, Davis felt the urge in his heart to climb it. It was an unexplainable feeling like it was something he must do.

Clutching his throat yet again. The thirst he’d felt only got worse. It was becoming hard to endure, maddening so. And he was sure if he wanted to reach that peak, he wouldn’t be able to do it like this.

Then he blinked. A crazy notion crossed his mind. His gaze snapped a few meters next to him towards the ever-growing river of molten lava. He licked his cracked lips. There was no saliva to coat them nor the blood seeping between those cracks—just a pure subconscious movement.

Acting on his ridiculous thoughts. He kneeled in front of the lava river. The heat it produced gave him no discomfort. He reached forward, his couped hands grasping their full of molten rock. And without hesitation, he drank it…

“Ah…” It was the first sound he made ever since appearing inside this place. And it was one of relief.

There was no need for seconds. This small handful of lava not only got rid of his thirst, but it also removed small traces of hunger he’d secretly felt.

Next, he felt a sudden urge to lie down; he placed his back against a warm, jagged stone. For some strange reason, it provided a decent comfort.

His eyelids grew heavy. They demanded a short nap after a ravishing meal. Seeing no reason to refuse, Davis gave in and let them shut close.

But, before his eyes were completely closed, he caught the seven round-shaped objects floating beyond the black fog. Each and every one of them shone in different colors as they threateningly floated high, but he couldn’t care less right now.

“Well, that’s an interesting phenomenon,” Veles’s voice suddenly stirred him awake.

Immediately, Davis’s body jerked. He found himself back at where everything began. In confusion, he watched the circle of dried-up earth surrounding him. He was about to say something when a painful pang flickered inside his head…

“Elementalist”

This word rang inside his mind. It stood there like a permanent brand, each time reminding him of what he actually was.

“You okay?” Asked Veles without giving Davis much attention. He was more focused on the sudden circle of dry earth surrounding him.

“I’m fine,” replied Davis. “In fact, I feel great.” This was the truth. All that thirst he felt in that place was nothing more than an unpleasant memory, in fact, he felt like everything he’d experienced was a fleeting dream that had lost its meaning when he woke up.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Tapping into overflowing mana inside his core, Davis sent a tiny stranding beneath him.

Immediately, a person-sized pillar erupted from where Veles stood.

Davis’s eyes bulged. It was a tiny bit of mana, yet the effects were mind-blowing.

Veles, who dodged the pillar effortlessly, commented, “As expected of the one who represents natural change. Still, you have a lot of work to do.”

“You seem familiar with my abilities?” asked Davis hopefully. His excitement to explore his new tricks with possible guidance from Veles was evident by his beaming expression.

“Kind of,” said Veles. “However, first, you must explain everything in detail.”

Davis nodded. Then, he started recounting everything he’d experienced…

***

After half an hour of explaining his strange journey inside a dried-up world, Davis ended by talking about that word echoing inside his head…

“That word is the name of your class,” said Veles, pointing at the book he held. “And by the description of that place you’ve been in. I know what it is.”

Veles’s voice then turned serious, “It’s no wonder nothing was said about this ‘enlightenment’ inside any book I’ve read so far. The place you’ve been to is called Soul Sanctuary, and nobody must know what it looks like and what you do inside. Be warned, you told me this, but nobody else must know about it!”

Davis blinked in confusion. “Soul Sanctuary? Have I made some mistake?” His worry was valid. Veles had already explained to him how some things weren’t meant to be shared or known, and how simple words could sometimes become the deadliest of weapons.

“No, not really,” replied Veles with a sigh. “Soul Sanctuary is what some call deep subconsciousness of the soul. It represents the union of your Body, Mind, and Spirit. More importantly, it is built upon your past, present, and possibly future self. In short, it represents the core of your existence…” Veles then rubbed his chin in pondering. “This topic isn’t important for current you, and neither is it for me. However, like I said, make sure nobody hears about your experience inside that place. Skilled individuals can use that information to harm you.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Davis took Veles’s words seriously. “It’s your turn now?”

Nodding in confirmation, Veles warned, “I suggest you take a good distance away,” he then pointed at the patch of cracked earth, the result of Davis’s advancement. “I would probably cause an even worse reaction, so be on guard.”

Still pointing at the same place, Veles added, “Also, you should scoop all this dirt and place it inside your ring. It might serve a purpose later.”

Not wasting any more time, Veles went a distance away, and instead of sitting cross-legged on the ground, he sat down normally and leaned his back against the nearby tree. He closed his eyes, a small smile tugging his lips.

Soul Sanctuary? It was a very long time since he’d visited his. The opportunity to take a glimpse of it was very welcomed. He knew how to traverse this place many mortals found incomprehensible. In fact, it was very easy for him. To reach the peak of one’s strength, having the ability to manipulate your own Soul Sanctuary was a must, and the true peak was projecting it on the ‘outside world’. The feat Veles had already achieved not once, but many times.

Despite this, Veles knew he wouldn’t gain anything significant by just checking out this place. However, what he was sure about was that many of his questions would be answered. Mainly concerning his appearance in this world and his lack of memories…

Without further ado. He pushed the last Mana Pathway open. After experiencing the same euphoria Davis did, the feeling of sinking followed.

The moment he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the glaring blue sun. As expected, it didn’t provide much warmth, nor did it do much to brighten the dark surroundings. Instead, its gently bluish hue served to enchant the beauty of the place it shone upon.

“Oh, it changed quite a bit,” Veles exclaimed in genuine surprise. He scanned his horizon and saw an entirely different atmosphere than he’d last remembered.

Below his feet stood ankle-long grass, entirely black in color. To the right, all throughout the endless field were hundreds of differently shaped monuments—each and every one of them was made out of blue stone, aged, and ruined beyond repair.

He ignored this place which was supposed to highlight all the titles and achievements he’d earned throughout his life. They were pointless and served no purpose. He was even glad they weren’t proudly standing there, displaying some things he wasn’t very proud of.

Looking to the left, he basked in beautiful scenery. A colorful forest graced his gaze. Colorful if taking into account that every color permeating there was black, silver, or purple. Each and every tree or any plant at that had its trunk or stem colored black. Their leaves and petals, however, were beautifully shining in purple or silver, each displaying a particular shape depending on their species.

His head elevated slightly. The gigantic black tree was hard to miss. Its leafless branches and sheer size dwarfed over hills of beautiful nature.

“Well, kind of expected,” Veles quietly commented after everything had settled in. Many things had changed. First and foremost was the giant tree. It wasn’t previously there. And the purple color, he knows what it signifies, yet he wasn’t expecting it to take this deep of a root inside his very soul this fast. It was quite worrying…

Seeing the road made of trampled blue stone leading deeper into the forest, Veles, without hesitation, took it. It was obvious where it led, and he was planning to go there anyway.

The moment he took a few steps inside the forest, dozens of curious cyan eyes observed his every move. They would look at him for a couple of seconds before gently giving him a nod or a blink in respect. Then they would vanish, going their own way.

This continued for days. His expression didn’t change for a single second until he encountered a split in the road. He focused on the right path, fully knowing where it led to, but he hesitated.

“Very well,” he said after exhaling in defeat. Not even a minute after taking the right path, he saw it.

There stood the small monument raised in the middle of the clearing between the trees. Made of a blue stone with black engraving that he had no heart to read. The vine it was enveloped in was the same as he’d remembered, except this time, amongst the silver roses, the purple ones shone, too.

He looked at the numerous animals surrounding this monument. Mainly, he looked at the rather big stag with a bird nest on top of its antlers. This animal was completely black except for its cyan eyes—just like every other animal in this place. They looked at one another until both greeted each other with a gentle nod.

This place brought back memories he didn’t want to deal with. So, he wisely turned around and joined the original path. Spending days until he reached the final destination.

The giant tree was truly giant in every sense of that word. He doubted he could circle it around even if he spent the whole week trying. However, that wasn’t of any importance right now. His sole focus was on the thing attached at the beginning of its trunk.

“Took you long enough,” A voice addressed him. The voice which sounded the same as his…

“Wasn’t very thrilled to reach this place,” replied Veles as he looked at his almost identical copy of himself, which was firmly stuck inside the tree by the numerous tiny branches. He wasn’t surprised, nor worried by seeing this ‘thing’.

“Understandable,” said his copy.

To which Veles asked, “Scenario seven?”

“Both seven and twelve,” replied the copy. “That place messed you up really bad…”

Veles grimaced. The two worst possibilities he’d expected to happen after entering that place seem to have occurred.

He was always a cautious individual, even if sometimes he worried about himself being too paranoid, Veles never shied away from overly preparing for every risky move he would make, and one of the methods was creating numerous scenarios of what could happen while also making the solutions for them—which often were truly extreme.

He certainly prepared for numerous scenarios when he’d embarked on his last expedition to find a solution to his curse. Unfortunately, it appeared that the worst possible scenarios had played out.

The seventh scenario was succumbing to madness, with the solution resulting in forcefully cutting part of his mind and sealing it away until stabilized enough—this created the possibility of having a second personality formed that would keep the harmful memories being processed until the solution was formed.

But the twelfth… It was made if he became a danger to himself. It was unlikely for this to happen, and he really didn’t have a valid solution for it at that time. But seeing this ‘thing’ In front of him. It looked like he did experience something unsettling…

Veles looked at his copy. The guy was in a miserable state. His exposed body was riddled with scars that ruined his numerous tattoos. His eyes were vacant and empty, and his whole demeanor was overly depressing.

“You look like shit,” said Veles.

His copy just rolled his eyes. “Trust me, it was even worse…”

“Did I at least make it worth a while?” Veles asked. This ‘copy’ he was talking about sure knew a bunch of stuff. But knowing himself, he was sure it wouldn’t tell him anything because, after all, that thing was nothing more than a pocket of memory saved on the side, only capable of following instructions his previous self had set—at least, that was what he could tell.

The copy grinned widely, “You sure did!” Then it burst out laughing, “Hahahahaha! You showed them all. Showed them what you are capable of!”

Noticing his state, Veles shook his head. “Enough. Tell me the next step.”

Immediately calming down, copy simply said, “Nothing. You do what you’ve already planned.”

“That’s it? I haven’t left any message for my ‘future’ self or any other cliché?” Asked Veles skeptically. “Nothing I should be careful about? The curse? People hunting me down?

“Nope,” copy replied. “This place you appeared in is perfect for you to grow. Keep going as you are now, and everything will slowly fall in place.”

Suddenly, both he and the copy looked straight up. Veles being the first one to comment, “This thing is persistent. Should I let it scan me?”

“Absolutely not,” cope firmly denied. “You still haven’t grasped even the slight changes that have happened to you. Letting something else do it before you would only bring disaster.”

“I’ve got quite an upgrade. Didn’t I?” Asked Veles after quickly scanning the giant tree and a few purple plants on the side.

“Sure did,” confirmed the copy. “Now get lost and let me suffer in peace. Though, if I had to say something, I wouldn’t mind you growing faster so you can eliminate me.”

Veles looked at his suffering copy, or backup memory packet, whatever this ‘thing’ was. There was no malice or much dissatisfaction behind that scarred face. It was like a conscious machine doing its own work.

“I will try,” said Veles before gently closing his eyes. The next moment, just as he was about to leave this place, disturbing words reached him…

“By the way,” his copy said, a tinge of mischief behind its voice. “Mother is alive. Apparently, she changed for the better. Though, I do wonder how she will react when she sees you powerless like this...”

The wave of panic assaulted Veles. Making his eyes snap open. But it was too late. He was yet again ‘outside’ watching as Davis looked at him in wonder.

The pang clicked at the back of his mind. Resounding with the word:

“Sorcerer”

He could hardly care about it right now. The urgency caused by the words of his copy shook his whole body. That crazy woman was alive? He couldn’t find a better reason for panic. His only hope was that she couldn’t find him. Although he doubted that, knowing her capabilities, it was only a matter of time.

“Fuck…” Clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction while calming the chill that coursed down his spine. He had to calm down, that damn thing truly knew how to make him panic.

He took a deep breath and just decided not to think about it. So, he switched his focus to their current situation and performed a small test.

He activated his mana and focused it on his mind. As a result, the blade hidden in one of his sleeves gently floated in front of his face. Then, with another push of mana, it vanished. Only to appear a few steps in front of Davis before proceeding to zoom past his face, leaving the poor guy bewildered.

Standing up, he looked around himself. The small patch around him was turned into black grass. Even the tree he leaned onto was now colored pitch black with no leaves at all. He even spotted a couple of silver and purple flowers around.

It would be a pain to uproot all of it. Or would it? He looked at still stupefied Davis and grinned, “I found a way for you to practice your earth manipulation thingy.”

Veles further smiled as he noticed Davis had no idea what he was talking about.