---James---
Oven the course just under twenty minutes, James diverted over a dozen boulders. Each ‘catch’ involved absorbing enough kinetic energy his veins felt like they were run raw. James was nearly positive his heart had burst at one point – a sharp prickle of pain following one particularly fast catch. His rapidly rushing blood had felt like it ripped straight through the organ…in fact James was positive his heart was no longer beating. Instead of periodic ‘beats’, his blood now flowed continuously following his mana.
The last few boulders had been spread over a much larger period of time – as if whoever was standing above chucking boulders down realized they weren’t working and got bored.
In terms of goals, the group seemed to have ideas of what they wanted to do, but no real plans – they had camped outside of the town for a bit, seemingly ignoring the dungeon as they strategized.
James would be bored if the boulders hadn’t been some of the best training he had gone through in ages. Maddy was even periodically healing him, her magic sinking into his stressed body and solidifying his gains.
He had sent a few pulses to try and reach Richard – mostly as a way to burn excess power – and couldn’t reach him. At least it might grow his long distance capabilities?
Finally the group came to an agreement – James’s contribution having been seriously considered and accepted.
Maddy was going to start using future sight again while staying glued to Jess.
Troy was sticking to James and together they were going to do something fun.
Climb the sheer cliff.
If there was literally someone up there tossing boulders down and playing at being god, they needed a good pounding and James was offering.
Don't word it that way... The dick up there needs to be put in its place. Dammit.
----------------------------------------
---Maddy---
Maddy had a lot to think about. It felt like she could spend a lifetime learning the ins and outs of her magic before it was ‘complete’…but everything pointed to crystalizing her understanding and locking in how her magic worked as soon as she could.
The solution was obvious – she had to crystalize an understanding that allowed her to continue to grow and learn. She had to leave a method for future expansion. Pretend her magic was a tree that could grow and expand even if its form was set.
But…crystallization felt like one of those tradeoffs. Accepting a limit in exchange for power.
If she tried to bypass that? Wouldn’t she be weaker?
What if that wasn’t how it worked, but the very worry she had that it would work that way turned it into a self fulfilling prophecy?
There was enough of these sort of worries Maddy could be stuck in decision paralysis forever. She’d been thinking about this problem for weeks now and yet the world wouldn’t wait for her naval gazing. The stones being deflected every minute or so were proof of that.
With a more urgent deadline Maddy began to consider the problem more seriously.
There was no way a proper crystallization couldn’t continue to grow. At the very least you could slowly but surely gain new concepts and increase the amount of mana you had. No Maddy had gotten completely off track.
Crystallization wasn’t settling in terms of what you could do, it was a settling of the methods you used. An acceptance of what was possible. if you crystalized magic you couldn't use as impossible you would be insulating yourself from its effects.
It was giving weight to your techniques…making sure your foundation was finally set and allowing you to build up after that.
Like how her life and death affinity let her see power in death. She’d used a bit of it and could see how she might have worked towards a stereotypical necromancers power…but hadn’t made that a part of her strength. She accepted it was possible and knew she could do it.
Crystallization was freezing the fact that she could gain power from death with a future growth gaining more power from death.
If magic worked how you thought it worked and you suddenly realized you were doing something impossible…would you stop being able to perform magic?
That was a good train of thought.
What are the benefits of crystallization. Why would anyone go about with it?
Yes, that was the correct question.
Crystallization was making it so you no longer had to worry about belief. Even if you stopped believing your magic would still work.
What else?
Well…a domain was simply the area she could sense and effect. The area she had control over or, more accurately, the area her magic worked in.
Crystallization made that fact more important somehow. Her domain already existed but crystallization forced it to the forefront.
If her fundamental understandings of magic were compatible with someone else’s, her domain could overlap with theirs. Both of their magic working correctly in the overlap. If her understanding was not compatible…well then the domains would push up against each other the domains themselves fighting as they rejected the others 'truth'.
So the point of the active powers should be focused on that point. Active powers are for fights where your domain needs to fight against someone else’s domain. Your understanding of magic actively fighting another's understanding of magic as it contested the area it could effect.
In terms of compatibility…well Maddy could either see a permissible domain where she accepted anything was possible and was as compatible with as many people as possible…or a secular sort of domain where she refused all magic but her own.
Maybe that was the point of domain actualization? Her normal state was one where she accepted all magic was possible and her active one was a state where she decided to fight against that ‘fact’.
So her regular state could be accepting the truth that magic can do…a lot. That wasn’t enough. Magic has the potential to do anything…
And then her active state is her saying no matter what magic can do, she can counter it. No matter what happens she has a way of fighting against it.
…
Maddy felt all of her ideas beginning to settle. She was 99% sure her thoughts were accurate – really at this point there were only two parts she had left to focus on.
In terms of the magic she had already used she felt like something was missing. She felt like until she figured that out she couldn’t continue.
In terms of taking that final step…she had to figure out how to push through that final layer. Creating a spell for her domain actualization was a good start but...she had to commit. She had to transform herself into herself with her domain solidified and empowered.
Maddy tried to consider what she was missing in terms of tools for performing magic. Was it that she hadn’t tried doing something like alchemy? Potion making? No…it felt different than that. Magic seemed to like patterns.
What was a pattern she hadn’t finished?
…
Maddy finally tracked down the problem. The nagging belief that made her feel like she wasn't ready.
There were three parts of magic and each part…well if the pattern continued each part had three directions.
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Mana. The base, it had three ‘directions’ in terms of affinities. For her life/death affinity for example there was one side that was a power that healed and had conceptual life embedded into its strength. “Inverting it” turned that power into an energy that killed and had conceptual death into it. The third ‘direction’ was trying to balance that power in the middle. Neutral weak mana with zero affinity – ‘pure’ mana that didn’t have the strength of the affinity.
Maddy created three small spells to demonstrate this split – a orb of light an orb of darkness and an orb that was nearly invisible, the mana barely holding its shape without the innate conceptual strength behind it.
Next there was concepts.
There was one direction that was focusing on using the word and ideas she had about that word to attack. She could invert that understanding into an opposite direction where those ideas coming towards her were what was attacked. And then…the third weaker balance between those two sides could be when she attacked the concept itself. Not giving it a direction so the spell stopped part way and detonated in the conceptual layer.
She attacked the concept of sound to create silence – the ‘attack’ never landing on anything but the concept itself. Not quite as satisfying of a third direction but it felt right.
Maddy made a sound that healed everything that heard it, a spell that healed what it heard, and a spell that killed sound about it.
Shape. Shape was the real problem – the final part of the pattern she hadn’t completed.
The default shape was describing what she wanted to have happen. Communicating with the mana. Feeding her intent into the spell.
What was the opposite of that? Not doing anything? A spell where she didn’t give any shape to the mana? Spells without words or thoughts?
…no that wasn’t a true inversion. That was abandoning shape. If anything that felt like the ‘middle’ weaker section. What Maddy needed was to figure out what the ‘opposite’ of shaping things into what she wanted was. The final technique.
…
And a few minutes later Maddy had started to imagine what it might be. Inversions were a ‘different’ way of thinking about things. The true opposite technique was…to shape what a spell wasn’t.
That was it!
“An illusion of light and life. A leaf – a green fleck of green removed from a tree.”
Maddy created an illusion of a leaf using a quick description and a firm picture in her mind.
She next pushed light-life into the concept of sound and did nothing else watching as her mana started to twirl about the surrounding sounds drifting intentness in the wind.
Finally…
“A healing light that isn’t a dot or soak or such. A spell that isn’t a repeat of that which I’ve done, a spell that performs the goal of healing – for that is what I care about – but can do so in any way it wishes. I don’t care how you heal just heal and get it done. You can access my concepts as you need. Don’t feel forced to use them if they don’t help however. Don’t be slow or weak – don’t heal my enemies and don’t have negative side effects.”
Wish a rush a massive chunk of Maddy’s mana left her. For a brief shuddering second it looked like her mana was intentness, shifting and swirling in a cloud in front of her and then her negative logic activated and her mana firmed up as it found itself a shape.
Sound traveled out in all directions – like a web.
Her mana shot invisible lines of connection intent in all directions – threads moving out at the speed of sound visible only to Maddy’s magical sights.
At periodic distances those threads suddenly connected to each other lines, crossing the distance and turning the mana into what Maddy could only call a spider web.
The rest of her mana took shape firmly in front of her – a spider the size of her fist forming and sinking into the web in front of her head.
Maddy’s web of healing passed through and ‘saw’ all her friends. The payload of healing life seemed to almost intelligently observe all the creatures it touched and then suddenly zeroed in on James.
With a flicker the payload travelled through its web and arrived on James’s chest where it crawled inwards – the spider already weaving silk like it was about to give the man stiches.
…okay then. That…that happened.
Maddy looked at the results critically. It seemed to have given a result almost as strong as her regular ‘maggot/vine healing’ ignoring the repeated use that made that spell more efficient.
…she didn’t like the symbolism but had to admit shape wise the spell had been efficient. Slightly harder for her to think about – like how inverse concepts were harder to think about and how she gravitated slightly towards one side of each affinity more.
...obviously less control over the results, but in some ways it was almost easier? She'd have to keep it in mind as a tool for the future.
With that bit of magic done, she finally felt ready to start focusing on building her domain spell. She’d already spent quite a bit of time brainstorming that…but now she finally felt ready to start taking those final steps.
Consulting her group Maddy found James really wanted to look for the source of the boulders which…sounded like a smart plan. She knew what she wanted – if anything she wouldn’t need to fight anything she would just need to be protected for a bit while she took those final steps. Jess could protect her…considering her friend already had a budding protection domain it might even help her with her own domain crystallization.
Just as Maddy flicked on her past and future sights once more, their plans were suddenly derailed.
The narrative changed – and the shade that represented her appeared somehow holding hands with the shade of James despite all logic.
Their copies stared across at them with hatred in their eyes. Already she could see her past self had loaded up with supplies and was tossing clumps of sage into a circle about her while preparing defenses.
For the barest of moments Maddy remembered the ‘prophecy’ of her being killed by her past self.
And then she reached out her hand and spoke without letting herself dwell on it.
“A death upon this fake. A mercy for this lie I make. I don’t care how its done, I don’t care about the method or cost. Please, just make it quick and painless. Die.” Maddy barely noticed how little she hesitated when it came to her shade.
With a rush of dark destructive death, Maddy’s pool of mana crawled out of her mouth and launched itself at the fake. She saw the flash of claws shaped like scythes – the blob of her mana held into a shape with an orb concept…and then her mana melted through the neck of her copy. Just like that. How had her future self had trouble with her when it was so easy to overkill someone with this mana type?
Floor 2 complete. Paradox.
The timeline is broken. Spit on with nauseatingly sweet words. Time itself will now attempt to right itself – for there is no way you could have killed your past if you had already been dead by this point. Isn’t that right Madison?
Time to paradox correction. [59:12s]
Oh…oh yeah her future self had been trying to keep her alive when fighting her.
Opps?
----------------------------------------
---James---
James looked across at the smug little shit wearing his face. He was supposed to let this puppet beat him? Just roll over and submit to the weakling who hadn’t gone through what he had?
Even as he watched his past self [haste] towards him in a blur, James found his lip curling.
Reaching out James gathered the overmana collected from his last boulder syphon and punched harder than he had punched anything but the air before.
His fist went under his copy's attempt to dodge and kept going – the crack of the sound barrier ringing out before it even touched them.
Impacting the fake's chest in a crunch, James’s arm went straight through the copy. His fist shook as it broke through bone then shot out the fakes back in a burst of blood.
The fake gasped and attempted to steal kinetic energy from the impact.
James clamped down.
No system skill could hold back his real strength. There was no way he could lose to this creature.
Tossing the body back James watched as his double staggered into a crouch and launched forward.
Geeze, you have a hole in your chest. Calm down zombie –
With a kick James twirled and punted his punching back backwards. With a quick redirection of energy, James shot off again. He angled his body in the air and then accelerated down into a stomp that smashed through the slow lump of fleshes head.
His fakes body continued to move. Its head was pulped and yet its fist still weekly swung towards James.
Staring down at his fakes stomach James leapt and then stomped once more the last of his energy released and directed into where his copies cores were located.
Crunch.
Floor 2 complete. Paradox.
The timeline is broken. Shattered by oafish hands and dull brainless thought. Time itself will now attempt to right itself – for there is no way you could have killed your past if you had already been dead by this point is there James?
Time to paradox correction. [59:58s]
…
Alright then. Well, no going back now. James walked the distance back to his acquaintances marveling for a moment at how far he had traveled. His circuit was cripplingly low but James actively worked to try and fill it instead of leaving it to manually grow drop by drop.
Gravity was ripped away and shoved into his circuit. The force pushing down on him twisted and syphoned. A slight breeze was kicking up the trickle of wind a drop in the bucket as it fell dead at his side.
Reaching the group James turned to Troy and nodded slightly.
Troy nodded back and they split off heading towards the cliff in comfortable silence.
So, he had an hour to beat the shit out of whatever puppet master was running this place right?
James could do that.
The two walked in silence for a bit before coming up against the wall staring upwards and squinting at the sheer face.
“It's really not structured like something meant to be climbed is it?” James asked staring at the smooth stone stretching upwards farther than he could see.
“Nope” Troy responded and then reached out. With a jab his hand flashed white and sunk into stone.
Taking a deep breath, the archer began to climb without another word. His hands and feet sunk into stone as he climbed in silence creating his own footholds.
Ripping more and more gravity away James attempted to twist the vector pushing down on him.
Slowly but surely he twisted the force towards the wall and stepped forward. It wasn’t quite a full reorientation but after a moment James stood on the wall and began to walk. He strolled beside the crawling dude marveling at how easily each strike melted through stone while not being jealous.
A handful of pebbles fell on James’s face sand filling his mouth and eyes a minute or so into their climb.
James jumped upwards as soon as he felt the shadow cover his face – a open palm slapping the surprise boulder away from the wall.
In the moment of impact James was shot backwards, his back scraping against the wall like sandpaper as he fell over half the distance he had just walked.
Grimacing as he righted himself on the wall once again, James stared upwards squinting in frustration.
Oh, it was on.