CHAPTER 17: COSMIC FORCE

'The Gifted'

A term that symbolizes those who are special, talented, and or unique. Those who break the established conventions when it comes to how one becomes a Celestial. But is that really what their existence means?

Does the Universe's will favor them so much that they do not require the activation of Elysian Monoliths? Or are they going against this deity's will and trying to usurp its power? Hermes did not know, but for some odd reason, it felt like hidden beneath the veil of his shrouded memories was the answer he was looking for.

'...Why does the Universe even grant people powers?'

During his days as a part-timer, he had already established a worldview that he had never found an instance of being proven wrong. In this world, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

He didn't believe that whatever entity was granting living creatures supernatural powers to be all good. There is something it is hiding. Some sort of agenda that requires it to grant them these 'blessings'. The same could be said about the 'Gifted'. According to Arthur, they still take the dreamscape test like anyone else, but their test usually happens randomly in their sleep. Even though they are an enigma, The laws governing Celestials are still applicable to them, though in a different manner.

Another thing he needed to consider was when these powers even came to be. Could they have always been a thing? And if so, why did no scientist back during modern times even discover a trace of this hidden Cosmic Force energy? What happened 18,464 years ago to cause these changes?

No matter how much he wracked his brain, he could not find a solution or a theory. It felt like history was not only warping but also obscured behind a grey deep fog that stretches back towards the milleniums.

In a sense, he was essentially throwing himself into a pond that he knew nothing about other than its surface, and that scared him.

'What if becoming a Celestial enslaves you to follow the Universe's will? It's possible that they have to face hardships in return for the strength that is granted to them. And how does dimensionality play in the mix? Why and how does dimensionality make a Celestial's powers their own? Are they truly their own anyway?'

The more he thought about it, the more hesitant and apprehensive he became about his initial goal of striving to become stronger. If that strength came with this many risks, then what was the point? His goal was to become stronger so that he could forge his destiny with his own hands, not handing it to someone else directly.

'What is the point of gaining strength only for me to become someone else's tool?'

Sensing his thoughts, Arthur decided to relieve his worries.

"I know what you are thinking about right now. But you do not have to worry, even I who had reached the threshold as a complete Celestial had never been restricted by the Will of the Universe, if it even exists..."

Angelica nodded and added on.

"Indeed, it seems the will does not impose its authority on those who are granted powers from it. We don't know why, but there are some theories. Some may say that the Will is passive and lets the beings of the world dictate how they use it."

"Others say the WIll is in a weakened state and can't interact with those who are granted powers from it. It is unknown what the truth is, however, there has never been a case in Sanctuary City's 1,000-year history that a Celestial acted in accordance to a will that isn't their own, other than being under the influence of a Mutant."

Hermes nodded in acknowledgment, however, he still had many doubts. For one, it could be that the Will of the Universe is waiting for something to happen before it uses its 'pawns'. This is a deity that encompasses the entire Universe itself after all. Mortals are nothing to it.

Noticing the shift in the mood, Hermes decided to change the subject.

"You said that you are a complete Celestial. Does this mean that there are 9 stages to a Celestial in total?"

From what he had heard of Angelica, Arthur is a Stage 9 powerhouse that is stronger than the 10 Elder Counsel which is mainly composed of Stage 7 and 8 Celestials. Because of this, his control over the Guardian Regiments is heavily monitored to make sure he doesn't try to take over the City.

Only the three heads of each Noble house which are stage 8 could theoretically put up a fight against him together. This delicate balance is what keeps the stability of Sanctuary City.

Angelica nodded and replied with a smile.

"Yes, there are 9 Celestial Stages and 9 Dimensions of Authority. Arthur is close to becoming a fully 9-dimensional being."

Suddenly, a small frown replaced her soothing smile as she sighed and continued to speak solemnly.

"Sadly, We do not have or know the ritual for advancing further. We do know further realms exist, we just have no idea what they are or how to reach them. The last Celestial in Sanctuary City's history to reach stage 9 and become a 9-dimensional being was lord Damascus Césaire, about 300 years ago."

Tilting her head to Arthur, she smiled.

"It's extremely difficult to reach Stage 9. It took Arthur 30 years to get there. And he has slowly advanced his dimensionality to the max since about 7 years ago. One usually advances their dimensionality over time by using their cosmic force, but because of his role as the commander, not a lot of combat scenarios emerge where he needs to take action himself. It's estimated he will need about 2 or 3 more years before completely becoming a 9-dimensional being."

Hermes was speechless. He did not think it would take that long to reach that far. It seems his hypothesis that the Elysian Monolith Dreamscape Challenges get harder and harder the more you advance is true.

Not only that, the difficulty of advancing one's dimensionality and controlling their inner Cosmic Force gets exponentially more arduous and time-consuming the further you go.

'The risk of mutating into a monster due to failing the test also increases with difficulty. Not many would probably want to take the risk of advancing further than what they need.'

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Although there are many suspicions that Hermes had, he still decided it was best to continue being a Celestial. For one, he was already a stage 1 Celestial in the first place, there is no escaping the Will of the Universe, so he might as well try to get strong enough to resist it or find another solution.

Second, all of his future goals depend on him being strong enough. Discarding being a Celestial would essentially just make him into a normal civilian waiting to be slaughtered by the horrors this world has to offer. He has no choice but to march on.

Noticing the conviction in his eyes, Arthur nodded silently and turned to face the door of the office.

"Alright, since you are well, follow me."

Confused, Hermes asked:

"Where are we going?"

Arthur turned his head back to face Hermes' puzzled expression and replied stoically.

"To finish your Guardian Recruitment Examination."

...

Entering a corridor, Hermes followed closely behind Arthur as Angelica stood beside him with her hands in her lab coat pockets, completely oblivious to his nervousness.

Although Hermes had already shown his strength and was convinced he would pass, he was still apprehensive about scoring poorly in the other criteria. Just because he is strong, doesn't mean he will be able to garner the respect of the city and be trusted.

If he cannot prove his competence in other areas, they may regulate him to being just a regular Guardian cadet, his chances at promotion or even gaining connections with the nobles could go down the drain.

His goals demanded him to be completely engaged. He cannot treat this like he would treat a part-time job and only do what is minimally required of him.

Although Hermes did not want to be a king or ruler, he did want to at least have his voice heard. Maybe he could find solutions to Sanctuary City's suffering, but if no one listened to what he had to say, then it would all be for naught. He no longer wanted to feel powerless.

Soon, they arrived at their destination. A metal door that's fit to let one person pass through at a time was reflected in his eyes. Arthur slowly twisted the knob and entered with Angelica in tow.

Turning on the lights, Hermes was able to see a completely white room. There was no furniture, decorations, or items. It reminded him of those sensory deprivation rooms he would see on TV where a person has to stay for months inside by themselves to win an award.

The only difference however was that in the middle, a large white podium protruded out of the center tile of the room. On it was a strange orb radiating out waves of different colored energies.

Peering his eyes inside, one can see large homogeneous clouds that shifted around in no distinct pattern whatsoever.

Glancing at Arthur, Hermes decided to voice his puzzlement.

"What is that orb?"

Nodding, Arthur answered him sternly.

"That is a kind of Stellar Artifact that rapidly absorbs the Cosmic Force in your body. We will see how concentrated your Cosmic Force is. This will give us valuable insight on how long you can last in a fight, what areas to improve on etc."

"But I have no idea how to use Cosmic Force... The time I did it on the punching machine was a complete fluke."

Nodding, Arthur answered.

"You do not need to invoke your Cosmic Force. all you need to do is place your hand on the orb and it will rapidly absorb your energy."

Listening to his instructions, Hermes positioned himself before the orb and awaited the signal from Angelica who was readying a timer using her tablet. Arthur decided to give a final warning.

"By the way, the process will be somewhat painful. It will be forcefully draining you of your Cosmic Force so by the end, you will be completely depleted of energy."

Hermes turned to face him and nodded solemnly. He had already known that there might be risks to take when doing this, but he didn't care. He could not let something this small stop his ambitions.

"fuuuuuuuuuuu....."

Taking a deep breath, Hermes placed his hand on the orb the moment Angelica told him to start. The moment he did, he was able to feel a strange feeling moving from his arm towards the orb. What followed was an immense stinging sensation.

"Ack!"

His feet almost buckled from the pain of having his cosmic force drained. To him, it felt like thousands of worms were crawling underneath his skin and rushing towards the orb. The feeling was unholy, but he decided to resist, never letting go of the orb. He wanted to see how long he would last during this test.

Hermes had always had a somewhat competitive nature when it came to anything he did. Although he was never a complete straight-A student, he would still try his utmost. He never tried to hold himself back from achieving what he wanted to achieve, especially when it came to topics regarding Astronomy and Science.

Although his previous accomplishments are now blown in the sands of time, his spirit has not wavered.

Enduring the mind-numbing pain, seconds turned to minutes as time continued to pass. He had no idea how long he had been placing his hand on the machine, but he resolutely refused to let go until he was completely drained.

Angelica and Arthur continued to watch on as Hermes whose skin was rapidly paling and knees buckling resolutely refused to let go of the orb. His willpower impressed them both. In some cases, the cadets would give up before completely draining themselves because of the pain.

Time continued to pass with no end to the exam in sight. His vision was slowly fading away. After 2 minutes of fighting against his own exhaustion, his hand finally slid off the orb as his consciousness faded away. He had completely passed out.

Angelica looked at the timer in shock as her face slowly warped into a frown. Her brows furrowed.

"11 minutes and 34 seconds. How... Is this possible? This score is only a few seconds short of what Lord Damascus was able to achieve during his examination..."

Arthur nodded at her comments and added on.

"Could it be that the Nano-Biotic machine increased his Cosmic Force concentration?"

Angelica shook her head.

"Impossible, the Nano-Biotic machine activated his pores to rapidly absorb Cosmic Force only. He should have been in peak condition, however, it does not have the ability to increase someone's Cosmic Force capacity. That's something only training can do."

Arthur looked towards the ground, it was unknown what he was thinking about as his face continued to be unchanged. Sighing, Arthur turned to face Angelica who was still struggling to accept the result, and said solemnly.

"Change his result and say he only achieved 8 minutes and 34 seconds. We can't allow the Verdier family to try to suppress him. It's already hard enough that his results during the punching machine test were leaked."

Angelica knew exactly what he meant and nodded in agreement. Hermes' results would definitely become a heated topic among the 10 Elder Counsel. The Verdier family which especially hates those who are not of noble blood would definitely try to pull every trick in the book to suppress his growth.

Before Hermes could gain the trust of the other City officials, creating too many enemies could become a hindrance to him.

Angelica smiled wryly and sighed.

"Here we are trying to survive this harsh and hellish landscape and people still find ways to fight amongst themselves... Truly laughable."

END OF CHAPTER