I’m feeling fatigued, and the sense of bodily pain is intruding even into this non-physical space. Deciding to take a short break, I withdraw back into my body. It’s always a strange sensation, and there’s always a moment where my body feels like an ill-fitting suit. When I’m fully settled into my physicality once more, I wince – my head feels like it’s several sizes too small and my brain is pounding in complaint at the fact.

Funnily enough, the sun doesn’t seem to have moved much from where it was when I entered my inner space. I’d spent what felt like hours examining the sphere and the bite chewed out of it, but it seems like only half an hour has passed at the maximum. Is it because I existed as a mind almost separate from my physical form that my judgement of time has been so inaccurate?

I take some time to eat and drink – despite having eaten less than an hour ago, I’m starving. I also take a moment to loosen muscles which have stiffened up over my period of inactivity. Unlike getting stiff on Earth, my improved Constitution means that it only takes seconds of movement for my muscles to release their tension. I continue wandering around and swinging my arms: the calm, aimless movement also serves to release mental tension, causing my headache to slowly reduce.

Probably about another twenty minutes or so later, I feel a lot better. My headache is gone, and I have significantly more energy. If mental energy had a regeneration rate, I reckon that mine would jump after eating and drinking a little. I take a moment to check on my companions – not much change there – and then return to my spot. It’s not in the sun any more, but I don’t mind: the temperature is on the cooler side, but it’s still pleasant. It’ll get cold later, but by then I should be inside with a warm fire.

Closing my eyes, I dive back in. The sphere is waiting for me, only taking a few moments to reveal itself now that I know what to look for. I navigate to the area with the unnatural blackness. Refreshed, I actually have an idea of how to deal with it.

The filaments are mana, right? Or whatever Energy – or energy – is held within my Core. I’m pretty sure about that: the colour of the filaments is identical to that of the Core, though significantly dimmer. So, what if I could recreate the connections with mana?

It seems like an impossible task. The sheer intricacy of the design is breath-taking; to think of actually having to recreate it is daunting. However, I sensed something the last time I focused on one of the broken connections. Wanting to double-check, I zoom back into that area.

Focusing on the connection, I concentrate hard. Yes, I was right. There’s some sort of...ghost connection? Like ashes which show where something was before it burned, or a fading smell in the air after someone’s walked past with strong perfume. It’s only a little beyond the edge of the connection, but I can sense where the line used to go. If that sense continues even when – if – I manage to redraw the line, then I should be able to follow it like I’m using tracing paper.

It’s a mammoth task. Truly intimidating. But I’ve got to do something. Not only are there connections hanging around in mid-air, meaning that I can’t access any new Skills, but worse: an instinct tells me that this kind of damage is degenerative. Already, if I look at the faded end of a connection for long enough, I see it becoming a little dimmer. If the damage is spreading….

I need to try. Focusing on a single connection, I split my attention, my increased Intelligence allowing me to do that sufficiently. One half of my focus is on the faded end itself; the other follows the line through the weave all the way back to my Core. I tease out as tiny a speck of mana as I possibly can. Due to the minuscule thickness of the connection, especially as it moves further away from the Core, even the tiniest fraction of mana that I could extract looks like a snake that’s eaten a massive pumpkin.

The bead flashes down the connection, moving by itself. It travels far quicker than I was expecting. When it reaches the end of the thread, I barely have enough time to focus on following the ashen trail of the faded end before it arrives.

The thread grows by a noticeable fraction, the end extending a little more into the blackness, its colour changing to gold even at its furthest end. Even as I watch, though, the colour dims back to old bronze or dim copper. Still, my theory has been proven; I have a way to regenerate at least some of the connections.

My celebration proves to be premature, however: a moment later a sharp pain goes through me and an ominous cracking sound makes the sphere shudder. I focus my attention on my Core and, if I had eyes and a mouth, they’d be wide and cursing, respectively.

I stare dismayed at the glowing centre to my internal web as the cracks spider-webbing around my Core expand just a little more. It’s not much worse than before, but I have a feeling that even so it’ll be reflected in my stats. Pulling out of the metaphysical space, I quickly pull up my status screen.

Name: Markus Wolfe

Race: Human

Class: Tamer

Level: 12

Energy to next level: 25%

Energy absorption rate: 26u/hr

Energy towards debt: 75%

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Intelligence

36

Mana: 327/327 (-9%)

Wisdom

34

Mana regeneration rate: 680u/hr (-20%)

Willpower

42+8 (+20%)

Health regeneration rate: 40u/hr (-20%)

Constitution

19

Health: 190/190

Strength

15

Stamina: 90/90

Dexterity

15

Stamina regeneration rate: 150u/hr

Class skills

Dominate – Novice 3

Tame – Beginner 6

Fade – Initiate 1

Non-Class skills

Lay-on-hands – Journeyman 2

Stealth – Novice 1

Animal Empathy – Novice 6

Energy Manipulation – Beginner 4

Sensation Management – Beginner 5

My mouth set in a grim line, I acknowledge that my fear had, unfortunately, been spot on. Once more, I’ve suffered a reduction to my mana capacity. By this point, I’ve got thirty-three fewer mana units than I should. That’s three potential Lay-on-hands less. If I could cast them, that is. Plus, the fact that I gained another percentage reduction by repairing the connection by a small fraction is not a good sign. If that continues happening, I’ll reduce my mana capacity down to nothing in very little time.

Even if there were no other consequences to such an action except for losing the ability to store mana, that would put paid to my efforts to repair the intricate connections which I suspect are my internal matrix. As it is, I suspect that causing such damage to my Core is likely to have far more serious consequences. I sigh. Perhaps I should have known that this would be the result – the last time I used magic, I caused more damage to my Core. I was hoping that this would be different since I was truly only using the smallest bit of mana that I could. Apparently not.

Well, on the one hand, I’ve gained proof of concept for the idea of regrowing the connections – as long as I continue to have a sense of where the connections should go, that is. Which is a concern: if the problem is degenerative, as it appears to be, then the longer it takes for me to get to fixing it, the harder my job will be. It might even render impossible the aim of fixing myself completely – and then where will I be with a defective Class? Though, I have also risen two levels in my Energy Manipulation Skill; hopefully raising that Skill higher should make my job easier and quicker, potentially offsetting the problems with leaving the repairs until later.

On the other, it appears that I need to fix my Core before I can even attempt to repair my internal matrix – if indeed that’s what the gleaming 3D mandala of connections truly is. How I do that is another question. I lean back and stare sightlessly up at the darkening sky above.

None of my companions have a Core. River seems to know what they are – if Energy-Hearts are the same things – but he doesn’t have one, and seems to only know about them in the broadest of terms. Based on what had to happen to me to cause it, I suspect that someone cracking their Core while it’s still in their bodies is not a common event. I can ask, but can’t hang my hopes on him knowing anything about it.

Kalanthia is another one I could ask. I strongly suspect that she has a Core, and maybe she’s even into the next stage, if there is a next stage. Whether she’ll know about cracked cores is another question. However, she’s currently cuddling with her cub and I don’t want to disturb that. I decide to ask her about it tomorrow. Still, I feel like it’s a rather urgent matter to deal with for multiple reasons.

I can’t not use mana, not when I’m out and about anyway. Fade uses mana, for one thing. As, more importantly, does Lay-on-hands – I really don’t want to risk being attacked out in the forest without having my healing Skill available. Not just for me, but also for my companions: it’s been a life-saver multiple times. Yes, we’ve just travelled for almost a day without being attacked, but in the twenty-eight or so hours previously, both Bastet and I would have been toast without a healing Skill on hand.

So no, I need to fix this, and sooner rather than later. Otherwise, I’ll be worse off than when I just arrived. And what happens if I try to level up? Will it stress the Core further? Or could that actually be a way of healing it? Well, that’s a while off – my Energy store isn’t exactly growing fast. Actually...could I be losing Energy? Is it possible? I shake my head. Too many questions which aren’t much use asking. I’ve got a cracked Core; I need to fix it. End of.

Pushing myself to my feet, I walk over to my Bound who’s sitting in the shade looking a touch lost. Hesitating for a moment, I decide that interrupting him might actually be a good idea – give him something else to think about. He looks up at me as soon as I approach, so I sit down heavily next to him. Hope in my heart despite myself, I ask River if he’s ever heard of a cracked Energy-Heart.

A cracked Energy-Heart? he repeats doubtfully. It’s possible to grind the shards that crack off Energy-Hearts to dust: my...the herbalist of my...the village does that to make her potions particularly powerful. But as far as I know, the Energy-Heart just breaks away in chunks. It doesn’t crack the entirety of it. And if it did, I have no idea of what solution you could apply – putting a herbal compress on it?

I thank him but refuse the offer of a herbal compress: I don’t know if my Core is even a physical object in my body. If it is, I suspect it must be somewhere important like inside my heart or my brain or something; there’s no way I want anyone digging around in those! Plus, the whole idea sounds about as reasonable as the mediaeval remedy of rubbing salt into the brain to cure madness. Though what do I know – maybe that’s a valid treatment in this new world of magic?

Anyway, I figure I might as well see what I can find out today. If I really don’t have any ideas, I’ll talk to Kalanthia tomorrow about it. Closing my eyes, I return to the trance state. This time, instead of inspecting the weave of glimmering connections that surround the Core in a glittering net of gold, I go straight for my Core.