Unaware of the events occurring out in the world, Ezekiel continued to study the secrets left behind by the Ancient Void. Though he failed to truly [Understand] the concepts and forces at work, he found that, through trial and error, he was able to begin crafting spells that emulated the effects of what he saw.
Floating above his hands as he sat at a desk, Ezekiel examined the spiraling dust he had set to spin around his finger. A glowing white orb floated above the tip of his nail, the center of the solar system he was simulating.
Different particles condensed together to form larger spheres that were more difficult to control. While light was bent, ever so slightly, to focus energy that altered the matter being moved.
This would’ve been impossible if he hadn’t been using his mana to speed up the process and ensure that everything was self-contained. Even then, he still knew that there was a risk of causing an explosion of energy if he wasn’t careful.
That was not his primary concern, however, since explosions that could harm him were something he had dealt with before. Usually in much more dangerous conditions.
‘Any luck on your end?’ he asked Shine, who was staring at a set of [Void Panes] that were set up, side-by-side, facing each other. In front of which, Shine’s materialized avatar stared intently.
Having witnessed a scene where the Ancient Void sent physical objects across vast distances, without traversing them itself, Shine had decided that they wanted to work on doing the same. So that they would be able to teleport without [Jumping].
A small stone continuously tapped against the [Void Pane]. Every now and then it seemed to flicker, whenever something happened to the spell, but nothing good.
Instead, small piles of sand began to form as the stone was chipped away. The alterations to the spell caused instabilities to occur, and in the process the stone was damaged.
‘Nothing that we can use. Not at this point anyway.’ Shine sounded morose as they continued to tap the stone against their spell. ‘I think I’ve learned more about what not to do than you have, however.’
Their avatar turned its head, and Ezekiel looked to see a much larger pile of sand, reaching nearly his hip in height, that was being swept away by small golems that were cleaning the room.
‘There’s got to be something we’re missing.’ Ezekiel leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling. Kicking his legs up on the desk, he balanced precariously as he let his mind wander.
The spell he’d been focusing on faded away, and the grains of matter he’d been messing with fell to the table. Though the condensed spheres retained their shape.
Countless images ran through his head regarding the different Spells that the Ancient Void had used and recorded in its memory slates. Given the amount of time they’d spent here, he’d gone over almost all of them at least once. With a few that he’d reviewed numerous times due to his desire to better comprehend them. Yet, nothing had been figured out.
Thinking back, he realized that something must’ve been different when he had broken through the lower Tiers, since back then he had had the information literally downloaded into his mind, due to his bond with Shine.
Thinking back on it, he tried to figure out what exactly the difference was. There seemed to be something, but it was just out of his reach. A missing piece that wasn’t present in the memories that he was viewing at this time.
“Ezekiel?” Riley’s voice cut through his thought process. His eyes shot open as he reflexively extended his leg. A moment later, he fell backward, landing on his head with a ‘thud’ but was otherwise unharmed. “Are you okay!? I didn’t mean to surprise you like that!”
Ezekiel looked up at Riley, her legs obstructing his view from seeing her face, but as she stepped back to look at him, he could see the concern in her eyes as she reached down to help him up. Celia was once more perched atop her head like a hat. Even the little Flame Spirit looked down at him curiously.
Allowing himself to be pulled up, Ezekiel just smiled as he replied.
“It’s fine. I wasn’t meditating or anything dangerous. Just trying to remember something.” Riley let out a sigh of relief at Ezekiel’s words. “Was there something you needed help with?”
He could tell she had been more worried about his mental and spiritual state than his physical one. A small bump on the head from falling off his chair wouldn’t have hurt him.
“Ah! Yes, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sparring with me for a bit. I think I figured something out and was hoping you could help me refine things.” Riley’s smile lit up her face, and while Ezekiel felt a bit of frustration at his relative lack of progress compared to her, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation regarding what new [Understanding] Riley had managed to achieve.
“Sure. Let’s go now. Shine!” Ezekiel held out a hand to his Spirit, who looked just as curious as he felt towards whatever Riley had to show them. Though it could have also been a desire to get away from the wall they were bashing themselves against.
“Let’s go!” Shine vocalized their words this time so Riley could hear, before retracting inside their blade, and flying into Ezekiel’s hand.
A flash of light later, and both Riley and Ezekiel were clad in their Spirit Armor.
“Guardian!” Ezekiel called out. “Please open a path to the battle chamber!”
The massive study they were in rumbled for a second before a tunnel appeared in the wall next to them. A road to another area where they would be able to use their magic in a more destructive manner. It was something they had discovered after the first few days of studying, when they realized that they needed more space to safely practice what they learned.
Not that their magic could cause harm to the tablets left by the Ancients. It was just a precaution since there was a chance that, if they were experimenting with something special, that they could injure each other without the proper head up.
Taking to the air, the two Hunters flew down the tunnel so that they could fight properly.
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There were no artificial lights to illuminate the arena where Ezekiel and Riley sparred. This was both an advantage and an obstacle that they were forced to overcome as they fought. Though, not that big of one, since Riley’s magic lit up the area fairly well.
Ducking under a ring of blue fire, Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder, even as the heat permeated through his Spirit Armor. The fire, while still the same color he remembered, was very different. It was clear that Riley’s understanding of Flames had far surpassed his own.
His knowledge extended entirely to the basics of the fire triangle, and the fact that different chemicals could change the color of fire. The different heat levels for blue, white, and clear flames were a part of this.
Yet, this flame wasn’t merely hotter than a normal one. This Flame seemed to warp and bend, while at the same time it burned away some of the gasses in the air from Ezekiel’s immediate proximity.
This caused him to stumble for a moment as he became lightheaded for a moment. Taking a spear shaft straight to the chest as Riley smacked him through the opening he provided.
But that wasn’t all. Rather than the normal flames that Ezekiel knew Riley often released from her spear when fighting, this time she released a concussive force of energy. One that Ezekiel could feel cracked his ribs as he went flying backwards.
“Gah!” he couldn’t help but cry out in surprised pain as he impacted against the wall. But he didn’t let that stop him.
Grabbing the stone behind him, he levered himself away, using his greater physique to get out of the area. Just in time, since Riley had fired off a number of flame-dagger constructs at his previous position. Though they didn’t go deep, Ezekiel could tell that the wall had at least been scratched by Riley’s spell.
“Explosives and burning specific gasses... Very interesting.” Ezekiel couldn’t hide the fact that he was impressed by Riley’s progress. He hadn’t thought that controlling what elements were used as fuel for her Flames was something that was even possible. But apparently it was.
“Hehe, I learned this one from a memory of the Ancient Flame clearing up the atmosphere of smog after one of the great battles from millennia ago.” Riley smiled widely as her helmet retracted from her face. “In it, they needed to clear up the poisonous fumes that had spread across a crater the size of... I don’t actually know how big it was... but I know it was big! Anyway, they had to be careful not to ignite the explosive gasses, while burning away the deadly toxins. Something that not even the Ancient Tempest could separate at the time.”
Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel even more impressed. That was molecular manipulation, though, how exactly a Flame Mage could tell the difference between such small substances was beyond him. At least for now. He figured that it was a part of the unique senses ingrained in the different elemental types.
“The explosion was actually simpler. But it was somewhat more mana intensive.”
Ezekiel nodded, since he could somewhat understand why that would be the case.
While it wouldn’t take too much energy to ignite an unstable and combustible substance, it would take a fair bit more to do so if the substances were as accepting of the energy.
A part of him realized that the closer Riley got to the peak of Flame Magic, the closer she was likely to get to fission and fusion. The thought of nuking the Cruor and the Cult of Light filled his stomach with butterflies, but also made him scared for what would eventually happen to the world.
“Even if it’s a bit more costly, it’s still a tool for you to use in the future. Also, if you can lower the costs by improving your [Understanding] of the spell.” Ezekiel chose to ignore his prior thoughts, though Shine noticed the shift, and continued to praise his girlfriend. “Ultimately, I think if we were fighting for real, you could’ve killed me fairly easily this time around.”
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The thought of killing Ezekiel wiped Riley’s smile off her face. It was apparent to him that this wasn’t something she had even thought of. Though he couldn’t help but let his mind wander. He had been progressing at a much slower rate than her, but Ezekiel knew that, once he got over the hurdle in front of him, he would likely shoot to a much greater height even more quickly.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. This is a good thing. It means that you’ll be able to protect me if things go poorly for me.” Ezekiel smiled and tried to lighten the mood, and it seemed to work, since Riley brightened up once more. “Out of curiosity, what Step are you at now?”
While he wasn’t exactly trying, Ezekiel could just barely tell that Riley’s mana had surpassed his own at this point. So, it was clear that she had experienced enlightenment at least a few more times.
Riley fidgeted on the spot. It seemed like she was worried about how Ezekiel would react to her answer.
“I reached Step six about a day ago. I’m not certain, since we don’t have a great measure of time down here.” Riley looked to the ground.
“You know I’m not upset, right?” Ezekiel moved forward to give her a hug. “While I’m upset with my own failings, I’m not going to be mad at you just because you’re doing well for yourself.”
In the back of his mind, Ezekiel could feel a sense of guilt emanate from his bond with Shine. But he sent back feelings of encouragement, and a guarantee that it wasn’t Shine’s fault. It seemed like they had relied too much on the enlightenment that they had received when breaking through the lower Tiers.
‘This was just another roadblock that we need to destroy. Nothing more.’ Ezekiel said to Shine.
‘That doesn’t make it any less frustrating.’ The Spirit grumbled.
But Riley wasn’t entirely relieved by Ezekiel’s words.
“... I know. I just wish I could help you out like you helped me out back then.” It might’ve been less than a year ago, but Riley still felt that the aid that she had received was basically life defining for her.
“I don’t know if it’s that simple. When I first broke through on my own, I basically entered a state of enlightenment each time. The instinctive knowledge of Void Magic that Shine received was downloaded straight into my head.” Ezekiel sighed and sat on the ground, dismissing his Spirit Armor. Riley did the same, and stones along the lit up and cast the bare training room in a dull light.
“Well, what’s different this time around? Obviously, you’re not getting the information, but what about the feel of it? I know that when I was studying the Ancient Flame’s memories, the heat of its magic nearly sent me reeling from how hot it was.” Ezekiel looked confused for a second before his eyes widened in shock.
“Wait! You were experiencing a physical sensation while you were in the memory of the Ancient Flame?” Riley seemed surprised by Ezekiel’s shock, but it didn’t take long for her to understand.
“Yes. It wasn’t like that at first, but when I saw the memories of the magic from the tablet, I realized that it was difficult to understand just from seeing it, so I tried to imagine what the fire would feel like. Since I can feel the fire that I make when casting my spells. After I did that, something clicked, and I found myself feeling exactly what the Ancient Flame was doing with their mana.”
Halfway through Riley’s explanation, Ezekiel seemed to figure something out, and had started mumbling to himself before shooting up in excitement.
“If it’s possible to sense the way that the mana is flowing when submerged in the memories of the Ancients, then maybe I’ll be able to figure something out if I do the same!” Ezekiel reached down to pull Riley to her feet. “C’mon! I need to give this a test as soon as possible. Guardian! We need a path back to the memory hall!”
Feeling just as excited for the help she had provided, Riley nearly jumped onto Ezekiel before they both donned their Spirit Armor and flew down the tunnel that had appeared in the wall. Making their way back to the study filled with tablets.
Grabbing the first memory he could, Ezekiel didn’t even pay attention to which one it was before diving deep into the record from the Ancient Void.
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As Ezekiel delved deeper and deeper into the sensation of being inside the Ancient Void’s memory, he found his point of view changing.
Where previously, he would watch events as if they were occurring in front of him, but he remained disconnected like watching a film from Earth, this time, he found himself melding into something. Almost like he was sinking into an armchair. It was comfortable, at first.
Then it hurt, as his senses forcibly expanded well beyond any lengths they had even reached before.
For a moment, his mind felt like it was on fire, and the worst part was, this wasn’t even one of the more impressive memories. Through the pain and overwhelming awareness of the world, he could tell that this was a memory of the [Void Gates] that the Ancient Void had used to transport objects without moving himself.
It was the spell that Shine had been working on earlier. The same spell that they didn’t have a name for yet.
For a moment, Ezekiel felt his senses retracting, and while it was a great relief for his mind, he knew that he was also falling out of sync with the memory. He couldn’t allow that to happen.
So, he forced himself to relax as best he could. Sinking deeper into the memory once again.
The pain returned, but so did the feeling of what was occurring with the mana that the Ancient used when enacting their magic.
At first, it appeared as though the Ancient Void attempted the same thing as Shine. Forcing a solid object into an invisible wall, before exiting another one, miles away, as literal oceans and mountains were transported across the world. Only to be reshaped by the other Ancients once they were placed in the appropriate areas.
However, this time, with his senses in sync with the Ancient Void, Ezekiel could feel the thin bubble that wrapped around the objects being teleported. This stopped them from being destroyed by the forces being imposed on them.
He also saw another layer, one wrapped around the protective layer covering the objects. This layer merged with the [Void Panes] that were altered to act as [Void Gates]. They were basically sucked into the Void, where a reflection seemed to flicker for a brief moment in the other gate.
An instant later, a connection leading to the other gate formed. One that wasn’t bound by time and space. And the object in question, a mountain this time, was slowly shifted through the gate.
As Ezekiel focused on the feeling of the gate, he realized that a solid, everlasting, network would now be feasible for him to create, as not even the Ancient Void was able to make one.
‘I don’t think I could even make one more than a hundred meters away.’ Ezekiel’s stray thought nearly threw him from the memory, giving him a temporary relief from the forced expansion of his senses, but he restrained himself, and continued to observe.
He could feel the shift of the mountain, as the matter moved from one place to another. The transition was so seamless that, if he wasn’t aware of the distances involved, he wouldn’t have noticed it moving at all.
But as he tried to peer deeper into the gate, he found himself feeling both too large and too small for his own skin. It was as if he was tightly wrapped in bandages, but also stretching out spread eagle at the same time. There was also a startling lack of pain for the second that he maintained this state.
The sudden shift was so confusing that he found himself flinching, his body and mind snapping into place like a rubber band after being stretched.
Little to no damage was caused by the act itself, and Ezekiel could tell that he was in no worse condition than before.
Yet, the movement he had that realization, he felt an all-consuming exhaustion overwhelm him, and his vision faded to black as the mountain was only halfway through the portal.
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Blinking his eyes slowly, Ezekiel returned to consciousness in a blurry haze. His body felt heavy, and he could barely move as he felt a weight pinning him down to the bed that he was laying in.
Shifting slightly, his vision began to clear as the weight on his torso lessened. There was a muffled sound that he thought was his name being called, but it sounded far away.
It took a few more seconds before his senses fully returned to him, but it still felt like he was wrapped up in a hundred layers of blankets.
“Ezekiel! Can you hear me? Please let me know if you can hear me!” As his sight cleared up, Ezekiel could just make out Riley staring down at him in concern. Realizing what she had said, he nodded his head, though he was much slower than he expected to be.
A look of relief flooded Riley’s face, and her body slumped forward, as tears began falling from her eyes.
“Thank the Ancients! I was so worried when you started bleeding. Then you collapsed, and I didn’t know what to do!” Riley reached up to wipe the tears off her face. “I tried to pry that tablet away from you, but the Guardian suddenly appeared, and it threw me to the other side of the room. It said that pulling you out of the memory would do more harm than good.”
As his head cleared up, Ezekiel slowly began to get an idea of what had happened. Though his current state was one he hadn’t experienced before, there were similarities that he recognized. Riley’s next words just confirmed things for him.
“Apparently, you underwent an immense amount of Spiritual strain, which came from forcing your senses to match that of the Ancient Void.” Riley sniffled, but her crying was stopping. “According to the Guardian, this proved something that it wasn’t sure of prior to today. It seems that the Ancient Void is significantly more powerful than the other Ancient Spirits. Because I never had any problems like this. There were supposed to be limits imposed on the tablets that prevented anything below Legendary from accessing the memories stored here. Similarly, there was supposed to be a restriction to prevent our souls from sensing too much for us to handle.”
Ezekiel closed his eyes. Thinking back on it, he should’ve known that the amount of pain he felt wasn’t natural. But to have that much of a difference between the Ancient Void and the other Ancient Spirits was unexpected. It raised even more questions that Ezekiel felt he needed answers for.
“... I’m sorry for worrying you,” he softly whispered, his throat was still dry from however long he’d been out for. “How bad was it? I didn’t break anything this time, did I?”
Riley shook her head.
“No. You’re just suffering from immense fatigue. Though, if you hadn’t fallen out of the memory when you did, you might’ve shattered your Spirit Paths again.” Riley leaned against him once more. “The Guardian said that it was only because your soul had suffered worse than this before, and was close to the peak of Tier four, that it didn’t simply shatter from the pressure.”
“I see...” Ezekiel’s senses had finally returned to a normal level. Looking around, he realized that Celia and Shine weren’t in the small room with them. Though there appeared to be a basic stone door across the room. “I assume our Spirits are still looking through the memories?”
“Yes. Though, they've been using the memories as training tools.” Riley chuckled at Ezekiel’s confused head tilt. “Apparently, the Guardian wasn’t aware that such strain was possible due to the restrictions. But, due to your recovery, it figured that it would be possible to use such pressure to help us expand and grow our souls. For when we try to break through to Tier five.”
A part of Ezekiel felt excited, though he winced in pain when he tried to sit up. Riley gave him a disapproving glare that made him reconsider getting up.
“You’re not going anywhere. Your soul still needs to recover, so sleep and sustenance are all you’ll be getting for at least a few more days.”
As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. His movements were still slow and sluggish, and while he could feel his mana if he focused, trying to make it move for the sake of spell casting was painful.
“I’ll stay here.”
Riley gave him a sad smile before kissing his forehead and moving to lean on him once more.
Ezekiel closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall back to sleep.
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Back in the study room, surrounded by numerous tablets, Shine and Celia continued their research. Stopping every now and then when they felt a tugging on their bond.
For quite a while now, Shine hadn’t felt anything that truly distracted him. But the moment Ezekiel woke up, they sensed his return to consciousness.
“It seems like he’s awake.” Shine’s avatar let out a sigh as they slumped over.
Beside him, Celia rubbed up against his sheathed sword body, which was floating a couple of feet from his avatar. She seemed to pause, before stretching and moving over to another tablet. Riley had likely sent her a message as well.
Turning to focus on his current task once more, Shine let out a hum of confusion. Holding their hands shoulder width apart, they formed two Void Panes. Then, following the steps that they remembered from examining Ezekiel’s memories, they attempted to make a short range [Void Gate].
Stones lifted into the air, surrounded by Void Magic, and drifted toward one of the [Void Panes] that Shine had made. Slowly, bit by bit, the stones traversed the distance of a couple of feet. Now split between the [Void Panes], but slowly stopping halfway.
The stones trembled, then began shaking violently before the [Void Panes] shattered, and with them, the rocks did as well.
Sighing in frustration, Shine crossed their arms in thought.
“At least it’s progress.” They mumbled quietly to themself.
Reaching toward a specific tablet, Shine dove once more into the memories of the Ancient Void. Careful not to delve as deeply as Ezekiel had. But still deep enough to exercise his soul.
Given that they didn’t know how long they had been here for, they needed every advantage they could get to grow stronger.