While the exhaustion Ezekiel felt wasn’t something he liked dealing with, he was so accustomed to such things that it was easy enough for him to get used to his situation. It also gave him time to think and contemplate what he had managed to glean from the tablet left by the Ancient Void, and the different things he sensed while caught up in the memory.
This pondering led him to gain a deeper understanding of his own spells. In particular his [Void Jump] spell. To go along with the [Understanding] that he had barely gleaned from the memory. He was calling it [Spatial Connection], since it connected two points in space.
Though it wasn’t until what he assumed was three days had passed before the others finally let him use his magic again.
“It’s not just teleportation...” Ezekiel slowly channeled his mana in his hands, forming a small [Void Pane] that he made float between his fingers. “Technically speaking, it’s an instantaneous swapping of matter within a given space. In this case, the space is the range of my senses, and the matter is myself and the atmosphere that is in the place where I am [Jumping] to.”
Verbalizing his thoughts helped him think, and since Riley was meditating over another tablet of the Ancient Flame, it wasn’t like he was disturbing anyone.
“That’s also likely why other people feel sick the first few times I [Jump] with them. They aren’t used to the sudden movement. Whereas I am subconsciously aware of spatial positioning due to my elemental senses.”
Expanding his senses outwards, Ezekiel focused on the placement of every object in his vicinity. A mental map appeared as he closed his eyes but kept an acute awareness of the physical position of everything around him.
His senses still didn’t go deeper than the surface, but this three-dimensional map was incredibly detailed. To the point where he could roughly estimate the mass of the things around him.
Focusing on one point behind him, he reached out with the intention of [Jumping] and realized that there was a sensation, not unlike falling, that overcame him for a barely perceptible moment.
“Hmm....” Reaching out to another spot, Ezekiel felt the same thing.
Switching to an area with a chair in it, he nearly felt himself yanked forward, even though there was no actual force being applied to him.
“Oof!” Ezekiel felt like he just got punched in the gut. “Now, why did that happen...”
Taking a moment to center himself again, he tried to more clearly visualize what he was trying to do. Which in this case meant switching places with the chair, not the atmosphere in the area he was moving to.
A sharp pain lanced through his head as the shape of the space he wanted to [Jump] to seemed to be blocked. Reflecting over it once more, Ezekiel smacked his forehead in realization.
“You, okay?” Shine asked when they noticed Ezekiel’s behavior. They were once more floating in their manifested avatar. Another pair of [Void Panes] between their hands. A pile of perfectly split rocks lay beneath their floating sword body.
While he had fully recovered, Riley and the two Spirits decided that Ezekiel still needed to be watched for the time being. Just to make sure he didn’t try to strain himself again. So, Shine wasn’t delving into any memory tablets at the moment.
“Yes. I think I just figured something out is all.”
Reimagining something else, Ezekiel pictured a sphere of [Void Panes] surrounding him. Then, a similar sphere surrounded the chair.
Exerting his [Willpower] and a little bit of mana, the two spheres swapped places in an instant. At a much lower mana cost than he was expecting it to.
A silent ‘click’ in his mind and a rush of information indicated a deeper [Understanding] was achieved regarding this spell. He now knew how to instantaneously switch positions with a given space within his sensory range.
To the side, Shine seemed to vibrate for a moment as they acquired the same Understanding as Ezekiel. The [Void Panes] they were conjuring seemed to flicker for a moment before the stone inside them was perfectly cut down the middle.
“... I think we just gained a new weapon...” Shine’s avatar seemed to sigh, before they shoved the broken rock away and grabbed a new one.
But they paused for a moment, as they realized that Ezekiel wasn’t processing his new [Understanding] in full. Instead, it seemed like he was doing something else. Riding the wave of knowledge and trying yet another new thing.
In the meantime, Ezekiel continued to examine his spell. New ideas continued to flow through his mind, both from the knowledge in the memory, and from his own experiences.
“So, if that’s the case...” Ezekiel muttered as he flexed his mana for a different type of [Jump]. “Then this should be...”
Thinking back to the blind [Jumps] he had done in the past, Ezekiel realized that, since those [Jumps] sometimes went well beyond his sensory range, that meant that he was doing something different. But what, exactly, was happening was something he wasn’t aware of just yet.
This time around, he surrounded himself with a Void Pane once more. Though, he left an opening to make a request to the Guardian before he continued.
“Guardian! Could you please open a tunnel that extends as long as you can make it?”
Shine stopped what they were doing and looked more closely at Ezekiel. At the same time, an opening appeared in the wall in front of Ezekiel.
“What are you doing?” Shine asked.
“Trying a new form of [Void Jump].” Ezekiel shaped the spell for a [Jump] in such a way that space seemed to stretch out. Reaching into the distance as much as he could, while also pulling back. Like a bowstring being pulled to the limit.
“Wait-”
A loud ‘crack’ as Ezekiel broke the sound barrier filled the room. With a shockwave that nearly disrupted Riley and Celia’s focus. Though it did cause them to return to awareness earlier than expected. Fortunately, they hadn’t delved too deeply into the tune of the memory, so there were no consequences to suffer from.
Moments later, however, a muffled boom echoed from down the tunnel the Guardian had created.
‘I’m okay!’ Ezekiel mentally called Shine through their link.
At the same time, the Void Spirit felt a flow of information regarding how to basically turn themself into a slingshot with their mana. Sending them flying through a given space at a ridiculous speed. Traveling a distance that was determined by the amount of mana used in the spell.
Once more, their [Understanding] of Void magic seemed to improve. But not in relation to the [Void Gates] they were still trying to make work.
Another boom filled the room as Ezekiel came flying through the tunnel too fast for the others to see. He seemed to appear out of nowhere for a brief moment, before it seemed like he was slammed into a wall. Only for his [Void Panes] to keep him from being physically damaged.
As he stood there, right next to the wall, Ezekiel allowed the [Understanding] of his spells to fill him up entirely. The knowledge which he subconsciously labeled [Spatial Stretch], [Spatial Contraction] and [Spatial Swap] settled into his mana.
Spells that involved these concepts would now be incredibly easy for him compared to before. Thoughts and ideas also filled his mind as different ways of applying these concepts filled his soul. New spells formed as he figured out how to better use the Void.
Mana from all around flowed toward him as he subconsciously controlled the different elements that were present in order to form a balance as he gathered mana within him.
Shine provided aid, pushing Ezekiel’s mana reserves to their current peak, and past it in an instant. Breaking through to Step five of Tier four. The place he had been stuck at for several months since his recovery. No sign of safely moving forward had appeared before now.
As his consciousness returned to the present, Ezekiel realized that Riley and Celia were looking at him strangely. But Shine was still meditating and had lost a fair bit of mana to Ezekiel. So, before anything else, he shared his mana back to Shine.
The moment he did this, he felt a pulling sensation, and the mana Shine had given him was returned, with interest, as Shine also broke through to Step five of Tier four.
Now somewhat drained, but not at all tired, Ezekiel let out a breath of relief before smiling at Riley, who had a look of exasperated affection on her face.
“Why can’t your breakthroughs happen quietly, like with the rest of us?” she asked with a teasing tone in her voice.
“Because that would be too easy,” Ezekiel said with a chuckle. “I’m sorry if I disturbed your focus.”
“It’s fine. But I expect you to show me what you learned once you’re topped up on mana.” Riley gave a toothy grin at the thought of sparring with Ezekiel.
He shot her a smile that was just as wide. Just as Shine was coming out of fully processing their new [Understanding]. Seeing Ezekiel and Riley smiling widely at each other, they just rolled their manifested eyes before entering a meditative state.
Better to be prepared for whatever chaos Ezekiel and Riley were undoubtedly looking forward to.
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Standing across from Riley in the large open cavern once more, Ezekiel was once more garbed in his Spirit Armor, with Riley much the same. Both wielded their weapons as they prepared themselves.
Taking a deep breath, Ezekiel threw a stone from his hand into the air. It seemed to fall in slow motion as he and Riley waited for it to hit the ground.
A stray thought crossed his mind. He could easily set up the battlefield in such a way as to ensure the first move would belong to him. It would be simple. Riley wouldn’t even be able to notice it, since she couldn’t sense Void mana.
Minutely shaking his head, Ezekiel tossed those thoughts aside. This wasn’t the time for that. Though, he made a note to ask the Guardian for golems to battle, like in his previous trials, so that he could fight all out, rather than simply testing things.
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The stone hit the ground. Riley exploded into motion, moving forward in an instant as a trail of white-blue fire burned from her feet. After-images and wavy mirages seemed to fill the area as she used her magic in ways that weren’t purely offense oriented.
But with a flex of his mana, Ezekiel slung himself to the side, instantly moving out of the way, at a fraction of the cost of a proper [Jump] from before. He did stumble for a moment, as the momentarily lost his footing since he wasn’t flying. The momentum of literally throwing himself through space, totally ignoring everything in front of him, was jarring.
He took a moment to center himself, while also expanding his senses, which just so happened to encompass the entirety of this chamber.
“Pay attention!” Riley cried out as she let loose a wave of white fire.
But Ezekiel had been given enough time to set up his next move. Something that was made easier, since Riley wasn’t moving as she cast her spell.
An invisible bubble appeared around Riley and Ezekiel, though only after the fire from Riley’s spell had gotten a certain distance away from her. This meant that she wasn’t aware of anything changing around her. So, Ezekiel’s next move caught her completely off guard.
As did the white-hot fire that covered her figure a moment later. Since, her and Ezekiel’s positions had been swapped in an instant.
Were it anyone else, Ezekiel would’ve dropped the [Void Panes] used to anchor the space that was swapped. But doing so would’ve meant that Riley would’ve taken her own flames directly to the face.
While he knew that Riley had very good control of her flames, when they were still emanating from her, he didn’t want to test her control when they had been separated from her [Will]. He knew from experience that those white-blue flames were far too hot to handle without some form of protection.
Given that Riley was curled up in reflex to the fire surrounding her, even as it faded away, he felt that this was a good decision.
“You, okay?” he called out. A moment later, Riley glanced up from behind her arms, which were covering her face. She slowly stretched out but made no aggressive movements seeing as Ezekiel wasn’t in a battle-ready stance.
“I think so. Was that your new magic? Swapping places without the person even noticing it?” She sounded curious, so Ezekiel explained the details of what he had figured out.
Riley nodded along, but it was clear to Ezekiel, after he saw her eyes glazed over in confusion, that she wasn’t following him. So, with a sigh, he just called it Void mystery magic and called it a day. Only to get slapped on the arm for laughing at her.
‘Hey, can I try something too? It might be too much for Riley though.’ Shine mentally called out to Ezekiel. He got the sense that Shine was somewhat uncertain about this.
‘Oh? Did you figure something out while I was practicing my [Jumps]?’ Curious about what Shine had to offer at this time, Ezekiel stepped away from Riley. “Guardian! Can you make some golems for what we’re about to try next?”
Seeing that he was about to do something potentially dangerous, though hopefully not to himself, Riley backed away from Ezekiel even further, until she and him were on opposite sides of the room. A large alcove opened up in the wall. One with a chair that she could sit in as she watched.
A large number of golems rose up from the ground. Their forms varied, but overall embodied the different types of Cruor. Each one was roughly the level of an Adept, so Ezekiel didn’t think he’d have much difficulty in taking them down. Even if he wasn’t wearing his Spirit Armor.
Even so, standing perfectly still, per the instructions given by Shine, was something that made him sweat a little when seeing a horde of Cruor constructs charging toward him.
Fortunately, it was apparent that he had nothing to worry about, because the moment they got within ten feet of his body, they seemed to hit an invisible wall. A series of [Void Panes] blocked their progress. But rather than simply stop them, it seemed like they partially sunk into them.
A majority reached over a third of the way in, their bodies partially transporting to other sections of the barrier that Shine had erected. Over half of the horde was trapped before Shine could no longer hold the spell.
The sound of shattered glass echoed through the room. The constructs that were stuck fell to pieces. Their severed body parts crumpled to the floor as they were split apart over a distance that hadn’t been real to them just moments before.
“Amazing...” Ezekiel couldn’t help but mutter in wonder at the devastation Shine had just caused.
But he didn’t have time to keep staring, as the rest of the horde continued forward. Tentatively reaching through his bond with Shine, he realized that the Void Spirit had used up nearly all of their mana in that plan just now.
“Take a break. I’ll finish things off.” Channeling his own mana through Shine’s blade, Ezekiel swiftly cut through the relatively weak constructs. “I’m surprised that you didn’t achieve any greater [Understanding] when you figured this out.”
‘I based this off the [Understanding] that you acquired when you strained yourself in that tablet.’ Shine replied.
Thinking about it for a second, Ezekiel realized that it really did apply the concepts and instinctive knowledge that they had acquired from the tablet.
“Interesting... We will have to test this more later.” Ezekiel said as he walked back to where Riley was now standing, away from the alcove that had disappeared.
“Did you get what you wanted from this spar?” she asked with a grin.
Ezekiel nodded, and the two moved to return to their studies.
But as they went, Ezekiel felt something he hadn’t experienced in a long while. A sinking sensation filled with dread in the middle of his gut.
Pausing for a moment in the middle of the tunnel, Ezekiel couldn’t help it as he looked up at an angle. Unable to see through the walls, and with no way to know how far away from the surface they were, he still knew that something had happened. Something that affected him in some way.
“Ezekiel, what’s wrong?”
He turned back to Riley, a look of fear and worry covering his face.
“We can’t afford to take our time anymore. I think our two-year deadline is coming up much sooner than we expected.”
The look on Ezekiel’s face was mirrored on Riley as he finished speaking. They both immediately took to the air and flew the rest of the way down the tunnel.
Reaching the first tablets they could, they immediately began delving deep into the Memories of their respective element’s Ancient Spirits.
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Just a few assumed days later, Ezekiel once again found himself within the memory of the Ancient Void. This time, he was reviewing a new tablet. One that he had only glossed over before, not diving too deeply into its secrets.
Within his mind, he felt the ever-familiar presence of his Spirit. Together, they split the burden of the enhanced senses that came with delving more deeply into the memories of the vastly more powerful Ancient. A trick that Riley and Celia had figured out first and shared with them later.
This particular memory was something that Shine didn’t understand the relevance of, but as Ezekiel watched more of it, he grew much more focused. Almost to the point of diving too deeply for even his and Shine’s souls combined could handle.
‘What, exactly, is so interesting about this memory?’ Shine couldn’t help but ask as they watched the emptiness of space. Nothing but stars in the infinite distance were visible.
This was a memory from before even the creation of Eldramir. Something that Ezekiel still had questions about but had put on hold for the time being. A memory that simply showed the stars in the distance, and the Ancient Void traversing the emptiness.
‘That’s something I’m trying to figure out.’ Ezekiel continued to stare into the distance. The pressure on his mind wasn’t lessening, but unlike when he shared senses with the Ancient Void the first time, there was nothing for him to experience.
Nothing that his expanded senses could focus on.
Continuing to stare into the distance, his viewpoint continued to change. The stars in the cosmos changed position as the Ancient Void moved around.
‘I don’t get it. What’s so interesting about watching the stars move around?’ Shine asked.
Like a bomb exploded in his mind, Shine’s innocent question made Ezekiel realize what he was really looking at.
It wasn’t the Ancient Void that was moving. It was the stars themselves.
‘Time.’ Ezekiel declared. ‘This memory is all about time, and the speed at which it moves. Countless billions of years have occurred since we entered this memory. Since that is how long it would take for the stars to change their position if we remained still.’
For a moment, Shine didn’t say anything, and it seemed like Ezekiel was about to enter into a state of enlightenment once more. But nothing happened. It seemed like this observation was not enough to trigger the instinctive understanding of his magic.
‘Perhaps... does this also have to do with the closed spheres we’ve been making?’
Ezekiel thought back to his other newly comprehended spells and magic. Each of them involved creating a completely sealed space within a barrier made of [Void Panes]. Picturing different bubbles in his mind, he started making them move. Some moved faster than others, and he tried to recall something from his past life that had been a fun fact, but not something he ever thought he would be applying to real life. At least, not to his life anyway.
‘The relative speed changes the relative time...’
An image of a person flying through space nearly at the speed of light and aging slower than someone stuck on the first person’s planet filled his mind.
The bubbles he pictured were filled with generic images of different people, plants, or animals. As the bubbles spun, faster or slower, the beings inside them aged at a different rate. Some were slower and some were faster. But they all aged at a rate different from the norm.
The next moment, that sense of enlightenment filled him once more. To the point that he couldn’t hold anything back. Subconsciously, mana began gathering within him once more. The same occurred to Shine. Though it was much more subtle for the both of them.
‘[Accelerate]’ Ezekiel mentally whispered as the new [Understanding] and magic filled him. He and Shine took a moment to examine their condition before leaving the memory.
The two of them had broken through to Step six of Tier four. Their eighth [Understanding] was now settled in their souls.
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There was a sudden change in plans as Ezekiel and Riley found themselves called for by the Guardian of the Ancient Legacy. Usually, their studies were left uninterrupted, and other than the odd requests when the Guardian would possess a golem to speak with them, there was really no need for them to speak with one another. They hadn’t actually spoken to the Guardian in person since they had begun their training with the Ancient Spirit’s tablets.
“Greetings, young Hunters. It has been a while since we spoke face to face.” The Guardian said as it reclined in a massive stone chair. “Given the amount of time you have spent here, I am forced to ask if you will be taking the next trial anytime soon?”
Ezekiel and Riley shared a look. Their Spirits were, respectively, attached at the hip, and perched on the head, of their partners. Carefully observing the current discussion.
Ultimately, the two Hunters knew they couldn’t stay here forever. Riley had had some initial growth, same as Ezekiel, even if his came later than hers, but there was something missing. While they were certainly at a higher Step than they were before, it just seemed like they had reached a plateau. Like simply [Understanding] their magic and element wasn’t enough.
According to Riley, due to her head start, she had actually managed to consolidate ten [Understandings] over time so far, but even with her soul having grown a fair bit by experiencing the strain of the weight of an Ancient’s memory, she still hadn’t reached the peak of Tier four.
She was stuck at Step eight, which was still two higher than Ezekiel’s, but given her training speed had a head start on his, she should’ve been knocking on the gates to Tier five by now. Though, it was possible that her soul hadn’t grown enough just yet. Hers was originally behind Ezekiel’s, after all.
“I am uncertain that we would be able to pass the test at this point. At least if it is as dangerous as you are implying it to be.” Ezekiel eventually replied to the Guardian’s inquiry.
“Agreed. I have actually been stuck for quite some time now. At least, given the resources we have, I feel like I should’ve made more progress at this point.” Riley also responded.
“Ha! You both passed the first three trials with relative ease. With your improved [Understanding] I am almost certain you will pass the next trial as well.” The Guardian barked out a short chuckle, as if it couldn’t believe what it was hearing from them. “As for your progress... the only thing that will help you at this point will be to discover who you really are. It is not something that you will learn here. Only by returning to the surface will you be able to cross that line to the realm of Myths.”
Hearing the Mythical Guardian’s words, Ezekiel felt his faltering resolve affirm itself. Yes, he currently had less [Understanding] of his element than Riley, but he could still face her on equal footing. The difference between their elements meant that he simply had a natural advantage.
Though, that didn’t discount Riley’s own efforts and power. She was still probably just as strong as a peak Legendary that forced their way to the top with a stronger soul and better mana crystal resources.
It had to be noted that both Hunters had only had breakthroughs during their enlightenments, and the subsequent resonation with their elements. So, if they had the mana crystals, it was almost a certainty that, at least Ezekiel would be at a higher Step right now.
“Ezekiel... maybe we should go for it.” Riley was the first to speak up after a minute of thinking. “You had a bad feeling a while ago, right? Well, like you said, I don’t think we can afford to stay here too much longer. We can’t just take our time anymore.”
Ezekiel closed his eyes and sighed. He knew Riley was right. Especially since he was the first to say it days ago.
“One more day. I want to study for one more day and see if I can glean anything more from a couple of the tablets, I feel I am this close to understanding.” Ezekiel pinched his fingers together close enough that they were nearly touching.
Riley nodded her head, and the Guardian let out a sigh.
“Good. Then two days from now, I will summon you once again, and you will face your third and final trial.” with a wave of one of its hands, a tunnel appeared behind the Hunters. “Go, rest, study, prepare. You have chosen to face death once more. Do so, with the best preparations you can make.”
Turning around, Ezekiel and Riley donned their Spirit Armor and flew down the tunnel.
There was no time to waste walking.