“Feeling better, now?” Zulli asked Sen as he stood up from his sitting position on the floor of the parlor room.

After being absorbed, the Potent Essence seemed to have bolstered Sen's vigor tenfold, but Sen felt it twice over, both in his mind and in his body. After the phase of Essence absorption had faded, he still felt jittery and his fight or flight response still sent an immense amount of adrenaline coursing through his nervous system. He felt tingly and alive. The Potent Essence had linked to his Spirit attribute, boosting his awareness and perception, as well as his mana pool and mana recovery. His eyes darted back and forth as any of the other three made any movements, whether toward him or otherwise.

“Yeah.” Sen replied to Zulli, sitting back down in his chair. When he did so, Garrus Carbon moved around the table to sit back down in his chair, having enough space between his chair and the table to cross one leg atop the other, his hands clasped in rest. August stayed standing, his own eyes stoically focused.

“Just feeling a little tense still, but I’m feeling good. I need to meditate." Sen said. "I had completely forgotten about doing it. The last time I meditated was right before I met you.” Sen said.

The Potent Essence was a very sought-after Essence due to its synergy with almost all other Essences, especially in the journey to iron rank, as having the Potent Essence allows other essences to unlock more powerful versions of the abilities it already has. Since it had linked to Sen’s spirit attribute, his mind felt more potent, and he could focus and remember things better, as if a cloud of distraction was lifted from the pathways of his mind.

“I looked up that Essence last night.” Sen said to Garrus. “It’s expensive. I don’t think what I’m going to do for you is equal in recompense.”

“But yet you took it anyway?” Garrus mused.

“I wanted it. And you made the terms.”

“The terms were vague. How do you know you’re not being sent to your death, or a labor camp?”

“Because you’re sending August with us.” Sen said, his low eyes looking over to the man whose presence seemed massive, despite being a few inches shorter than Sen.

“And you trust August?”

“I do.”

“Why?” August asked before Garrus could.

“Just… that look in your eyes, August. You’ve felt pain before, you’ve seen savagery, and despite what the Disney channel might tell you, savagery only lets you understand kindness more. I'm also very lucky when it comes to guessing things, so maybe that's it.”

August’s lips stiffened as his eyes studied Sen. Sen’s gaze didn’t waiver.

“How old are you?” August asked.

“Actual years? I think thirty. But I was in stasis for three of those, apparently.”

August nodded, not saying anything more.

“We’re getting off topic, Senadin, I am very curious about the Essence Ability that came from the Potent Essence for you.” Garrus chimed in.

“Oh, right.” Sen said.

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* Essence Ability Manifested: Potent.

* Abyssal Vestments [Conjuration – Dimension/Void/Dark - Armor]:

Effect (Iron): Conjure a set of plated abyssal armor. The armor produces no sound. The user can expend mana to provide the wearer with moments of weightlessness. The armor can focus void abilities and is considered [Armor] as well as [Weapon] for the use of other abilities.

Cost: High Mana (Conjuring) - Low Mana (Weightless Moment)

Cooldown: None

----------------------------------------

“How much is high mana?” Sen asked himself, feeling that his mana pool was not quite topped off after gaining a bonus to his maximum capacity of mana after linking the Potent Essence to his Spirit attribute.

“What do you mean?” Garrus asked.

“Well I have this ability that has this other ability that lets me use certain things subconsciously. Basically, I have one of those Magic Society tablets in my brain and it gives me information that even the Magic Society doesn’t know.” Sen said before pursing his lips, feeling like he said too much.

Garrus looked at Sen with a bemused grin. “Very interesting. And it is telling you that the Essence Ability costs you a high amount of mana? Is it the Bolster ability?”

“No. I think I just want to show you.” Sen said. “I think you’ll like this, Zulli.”

“Can’t wait.” Zulli said.

Sen stood up and took a couple steps away from the table.

He was suddenly covered by shadow, which darkened to the point of looking like a hole was cut in the universe, revealing only the silhouette of a man. The shadow tightened against his skin, his clothes disappearing underneath, becoming a pliable full body covering made of a material somewhere between leather and polyester, cut off at his neck and wrists.

What happened next raised both Garrus’ and August eyebrows, and probably Zulli’s too, if she had them.

Plates of black chrome jutted out from different points on Sen’s body. They were light and thin, and only covered certain parts while leaving the obsidian black lining open to the air. First was his chest, which scaled the black chrome plates from his collar down to his solar plexus, leaving his abdomen free to rotate and move without hindrance. Plates covering his back followed, staying uniform with the plates in the front.

Next was his right shoulder, which wrapped a few pointed plates around his upper arm, flaring off like raven feathers away from his body. From those plates, more plates grew down his right arm, covering his whole arm in a scaling gradient of black chrome, ending in a jet-black gauntlet covering his entire hand. Sen positioned his arm upward and watched as the plates covered his fingers and felt the weight of the armor covering his entire arm. It felt heavy, but light enough for him to still have dexterity in his fingers with and outstretched arm.

Sen expected his left arm to be next, but it stayed bare.

Two large plates formed around each of his thighs, one wide towards the top of his leg while the other thinned out from the middle of his thigh to the top of his knee. Small round knee-plates formed, followed by more scaling plates forming on his shins, flaring outward from his calves like the shoulder plates had done before.

The armor’s conjuration finished by placing more scaling plates on the top of his feet, but leaving the bottom bare, and despite his feet being covered in the black-shadow lining, he felt barefoot, the shadow lining itself wrapping in-between his toes.

Oddly, the entire process created no sound, and they all watched in complete silence.

Sen stood before them, a smirk on his face. Only his left hand and head were uncovered by the Abyssal Vestments. His right arm was covered in armor while his left was unburdened. The bottom of his feet could feel the floor underneath him. His head being unprotected was an oddity for an armor conjuration ability. They usually came with a full set, or only one piece, like a shield or helmet.

“That’s impossible.” August said.

“It’s exactly what we were waiting for, August.” Garrus replied.

“Some guy from another world in some dark, brooding, and if I must say, kind of sexy armor?” Sen asked. “Zulli? Was I correct in my assumption?”

“I do like it.” Zulli said. “Pretty cool.”

Sen bowed at her sarcastically, then felt the light shock in the back of his head from the use of mana. Apparently high mana was indeed high mana, and while he still had a small amount left in reserve, he’d rather not go any lower just for show.

“Senadin-” Garrus started but was cut off by a finger raised straight into the air on Sen’s empty left hand.

“It’s my first time, Garrus, let’s not rush it.” Sen said, lowering his finger and taking a few steps around the parlor, moving around his armored arm and patting the plates on his legs. He also did some nimble stretches, crouching down a couple times and rotating his torso like he was getting ready to step into a boxing ring. Garrus sent him an unamused scowl, but obliged by not rushing Sen further.

“How does it feel, Sen?” Zulli couldn’t help but ask. “An armor set made just for you must feel pretty nice right?”

“It feels good. It feels badass, really. I feel free while also protected. Kind of an OP starting ability.”

Zulli stood and walked over to Sen, pulling and pushing at the plates and feeling the fabric underneath between her fingertips. “It feels like oil.” She said as she pinched at the fabric on his left arm. It pulled out from his skin as she pinched it, but leaked out of her grasp to reform tight against Sen's skin once more.

Garrus and August shared a look, wishing to continue with Sen absorbing the Awakening Stone, but also wishing to respect the first moments of receiving a new ability. They had done it themselves, twenty times with a full set of essences and the abilities that come with them. They knew the giddiness, excitement, and confusion that came with uncovering one’s abilities.

But Sen’s was a little bit different.

“Sen, I hate to rush you along.” August said with an inflection implying he would finish the sentence, but he never did.

“Yeah, August. I’m sorry. I’ll have plenty of time to check this out. Do you guys think that Awakening Stone will drain me of any mana? I’m a little low.”

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“Can you see how low?” Garrus asked, genuinely curious as to the extent of the information that Sen could see.

“Like a mana bar? No. Nothing like that. No numbers or bars, I just have to feel it out. I can feel it in the back of my head when I’m running out of mana, and the front when I’m really low.”

“That’s par for the course. No, this Awakening Stone specifically should not give you any mana trouble.” Garrus said.

Sen looked at Garrus under lowered eyebrows. “Do you have golf here?”

“Golf?” Garrus asked. “I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s a rich man’s sport on my world. Well, more like a sport for people that think they’re rich, but rich people play it too. My translation power must have taken a phrase you have in your world and changed it to one relative to mine. Magic is crazy.”

The armor Sen wore liquified and melted back into his body in what seemed like a sticky ichor being sucked into his pores. His clothes, the gray long sleeve shirt and pair of blue jeans, and even his boots, were revealed underneath, unblemished by the inky liquid and unwrinkled.

“I had a feeling I was going to be naked when I did that. Also, I feel like I should get mana back for absorbing the armor. That is not the case.” Sen still felt a tinge of pressure in the back of his head.

He and Zulli walked back over to the table. Zulli sat back down in her chair, while Sen stayed standing, picking up the bluish-gray crystal off the table.

----------------------------------------

* Item: Awakening Stone of Balance (Rare) – Awakening Stone

* Provides the user with the gift of balance

* Awakens one Essence Ability

* Essence: Void

* You have (4) unawakened Essence Abilities

* Essence: Potent

* You have (4) unawakened Essence Abilities

----------------------------------------

When he was reminded that most of his abilities were still unawakened, he wasted no time. He had a lot to do before he hit the end game. Sen clasped the stone in his fist, and his fist trembled for a moment before a tinny sound of broken glass reverberated through the parlor again, this time with less gusto than the Essence before it.

A pale blue light shone from Sen’s fist, glowing faintly. His feet felt planted into the ground, while he felt lightheadedness rush through his cranium. The room began to spin, and he felt like he was going to fall over, but his feet were planted firm. The feeling wasn’t as intense as when he absorbed the Essence, but it had its own flavor of disorientation. Vertigo creeped up on him, motion sickness, and he began to sweat. He hadn't eaten anything yet this morning but had gorged himself the night before on Garrus' charitable dinner. He felt like he was going to throw up, but he held it back on the precipice of evacuation. The vertigo soon passed, and Sen was greeted by another dialogue box.

----------------------------------------

* Essence Ability Manifested:

* Primordial Transfiguration [Transfiguration – Augmentation -Dimension/Void] [Awakening Stone of Balance]-:

Effect (Iron): Your void special attacks and spells can be transfigured into different forms.

* Void [Base]: Void abilities are pure and unaltered, creating a vacuum of nothingness that pushes and pulls by its own will.

* Cost: None

* Primordial Fire: Your void abilities take the form of chaotic fire, dealing extra [Disruptive] damage with a chance to apply [Frostburn]

* [Frostburn] – Afflicted target takes [Cold] damage over time for a short period. This effect can stack.

* Cost: Low Mana in addition to the ability’s base cost.

* Entropic: Your void abilities unravel reality, creating a random elemental, magical, or non-magical effect. This effect has a chance to fail. This effect has a chance to hurt the user. This effect can heal the user as well as enemies. This effect can trigger other effects.

* Cost: Varies

----------------------------------------

Sen read the ability and re-read over some parts.

“I don’t have any special attacks or spells.” He said disappointedly.

Garrus tapped his finger against the table, his impatience for something seeping through his body language.

Sen looked at Zulli, then the rest of the group.

“It’s an augmentation power, it changes my special attacks and spells, but I don’t have any.”

Garrus nodded, a small smirk playing on his lips.

“August, have a seat.”

August obliged with Garrus’ request.

“August said that the ability you gained was impossible. And it is.”

“Yeah, we kind of glossed over that, didn’t we?” Sen replied. “What’s up with that?’

Zulli impatiently reached across the table to grab the wand that was waiting for her. She inspected it thoroughly: the jagged edges of the dark, smoky crystal, the light emanating from the base where she held the wand in her hand. It resembled a comet flying through space and crashing into her palm. She looked up to see everyone staring at her unamused, except for Sen, who had his trademark smirk on his face as he watched her.

“Continue.” Zulli said unabashedly, waving the wand as a conductor would direct her orchestra.

August’s head shook slightly as he looked away from Zulli and directed his attention on Sen.

“There are certain abilities linked to Essences and Awakening Stones. You have a certain chance to get certain abilities based on the Essences and Awakening Stones you use. A set of all black armor has never, ever been awakened by the absorption of the Potent Essence.”

“But the next ability, Senadin, does the information in your mind tell you the name of it?” Garrus asked.

“Oh- uh…” Sen had already forgotten the name. It was a lot to take in. “Primordial Transfiguration.” He said, having quickly opened and closed the dialogue box containing its details.

August and Garrus shared another one of their astounded looks.

“That is also not an ability given by the Awakening Stone of Balance or the Potent Essence.” Garrus stated. “It is by all rights and reason, impossible for you to have these abilities.”

“From the tone of your voice, Garrus, I’m guessing you know why I do?” Sen remarked.

“I have a theory, but it is so preposterous that most of the people I have talked to about it have labelled me as mad. Going insane. Lost my marbles, what have you.” Garrus said almost with a laugh.

“Your quest.” Zulli chimed in. “Are we travelling to where you first came up with this theory? The place that drove you mad?” She asked, tapping the end of the wand pertly against her cheek in boredom.

Garrus took a second to connect the dots on his own, wondering how she had come to that conclusion so quickly. He didn’t think he had given enough information for it to be teased out so easily. Despite Zulli’s unconventional nature, both physically and mentally, as well as most likely spiritually, she seemed rather clever.

“Yes. You’ll go and see what I saw, maybe more.”

Zulli nodded, placing her head in her hand and leaning onto the table, her bleak silver eyes drawn to Sen.

“Ah. So it's personal. Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning? You didn’t have to be all creepy about it.” Sen asked.

“I wasn’t sure if you were the one. Or the two, rather.” Garrus said, his eyes dancing between the two outworlders. “And would you have believed me? I must admit, I even doubted myself more than I should have.”

Sen shrugged.

“I don’t know, maybe. August, you’re in on this “theory” too? Is that why you’re working with Garrus?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“…”

“Well alright. What else do we need to know about it?”

“I’d rather not spoil the surprise, like I said before, your Essence is special, and my own knowledge is fragmented, as if I was only supposed to know the bits I know and nothing more. What I can tell you is that when I see you after the quest, I’ll answer any questions I can.”

“And if this quest ends in our demise?”

“It will not.” August said.

“It can not.” Garrus added.

Sen raised an eyebrow at the resolve of their answers. He believed them, for whatever reason, both August’s determination and Garrus’ beseeching tone resounding in his mind.

“It will not.” Sen agreed. He looked over at Zulli. “We have adventures to go on after.”

Her body language lightened, and he could feel her smile through her expressionless, blank face.

“Silverwind has a magic level around the rank of mid-bronze. I will be able to kill any monster there, even if a silver manifests.” August told them. “It will be an excellent place for you to become acclimated with your abilities.”

“And a perfect place for August to train you two.”

August pointed a dull look of dismay at Garrus.

“Don’t worry about going too hard on them, August. Something tells me they can take it. Something tells me they will have to.”

***

“You think they were outworlders?” A man said, pulling an intricate pointed dagger from the gut of a combat dummy and patting it twice on the shoulder, whereby it walked to a wall and hung itself on large, looped hooks. He was a tall, somewhat lanky man, wearing a tight black t-shirt with a pair of dark blue pants and a set of black boots.

“He smelled like my mother.” Jalex said to the man.

“Ah, that outworlder smell. She has it even though she’s a draconian?”

“She’s a draconian from another world, why wouldn’t she?” Jalex responded curtly.

“I don’t know, just weird to think of a draconian smelling like springtime. Why are you telling me this?”

“You were thinking about putting a team together and moving out of the city. I thought you might want to consider them.”

“There’s two kinds of outworlders, Jalex. Those that can’t hack it and die immediately, and those that survive and thrive.”

“I’ve heard it all before, Arc. These two don’t fit either of those. And it’s not true anyways, my mother is blatantly average.”

“I don’t think your father thought so. So what about them drew your eye?”

“The shadowy one, she gave me the chills, even with her high-pitched voice, maybe because of that voice, I don't know. It was like some kind of immense power was trying to get out of her. And her eyes were just creepy, always open. And that guy, his aura was…” Jalex stopped to think.

“I get it Jalex, I trust your judgement and I’ll look into it. If they’re outworlders, the Magic Society ought to have something on them.” Arc told the huge draconian. “What were they, bronze?”

“She was iron with all her essences but not a trace of any other awakened abilities. He was normal with one essence, one ability, probably his Aura ability.”

Arc looked at Jalex with a tinge of disbelief. “An iron-ranker gave the great Jalexectrand Urbonticos, the first Celestine Draconian, the chills. And you said a normal had an aura?”

“This is why I’m telling you, Arc.”

Arc rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“A normal having a perceptible aura is interesting on its own. I just don’t know if it would be worth it to train them. I want to get out there and adventure, not be bogged down by students like the Remores are.”

Jalex grumbled at the remark.

“My parents say that adventuring isn’t about-”

“I know what your parents say, Jalex!” Arc said, overdramatically raising his hands in the air and turning away from the draconian. “It’s about the power the world has in store for you. That’s what built the great Urbonticos empire of steel. Y’know, some of us weren’t born from royalty?”

“You don’t have to keep reminding me of that, either.” Jalex sneered, looking down his long snout at Arc.

Arc looked back at him, his eyes narrowing.

A tense moment of silence fell over them.

It was early in the day, the most ambitious adventurers were starting to fill the training grounds of the Adventure Society, but Arc and Jalex met in the same corner most mornings before setting off on their daily patrols or contracts. That is, before their original team split up.

They stared at each other still, one waiting for the other to make a move.

In a flash, Arc was in front of Jalex, his fist balled and extended directly toward the end of Jalex’s long snout. At least, that’s where Arc thought he was, before he felt the knuckle of the draconian’s wing impacting his side. Jalex not only had enough speed to move out of the way of Arc's punch, but had enough capacity of mind to position himself in a spot that allowed him to counter with his wing, leaving both of his arms ready to defend or strike as necessary.

Arc fell to the ground, a decent fall from the height of a few meters above, where Jalex’s snout always hung.

A large, scaled fist came down, and Arc rolled away before the fist crushed his head. He spun around in the dirt, quickly getting back on his feet with his fists in front of his face like a classic boxer. He got in close to Jalex, who towered over him and kept his long arms down at his sides.

“Arc, this isn’t like the old-oomph!” Jalex retorted before being cut off by a quick jab in the nose from Arc.

“Like the old what? Like the old ladies you take downtown?”

Another scaled fist came for Arc’s gut, but he both stepped back and blocked with his arms, removing some of the impact of the blow, which still had enough force to push him back a few feet as he slid in the dirt on his toes.

“Arcturus! Urbonticos! No sparring against each other in the dummy racks!” A voice yelled from behind a counter facing the training grounds.

“I win. Gotcha in the face.” Arcturus said.

"Not a chance, I got the last hit." Jalex sneered.