Awakening, Awareness, and Agreement

1

Upon his return from The Garden, John took a few days off. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to immediately return to his development. In fact, that was all that he wanted. But there were two problems.

First, his mom. He couldn’t convince her that he wasn’t who she thought he was if he didn’t at least take a break. Not that he wanted to deceive his mother, nor did he.

She had made it clear how aware she was of his inclination. She was his mother, after all. He had never been able to hide things from her. And she recognized perhaps better than himself the fanatical drive he had to move forward.

But he did feel bad. She was clearly adjusting very poorly to the forced situation that their family found themselves in. John wondered at his own inability to feel the strain. It was like after his first horrifying experience in The Garden, he had become completely numb to the worry.

Or perhaps it was that he never stopped focusing on his goal. How could he feel stressed out when his only thought was improvement. Brushes with death were becoming commonplace. Certainly more-so than he would ever let his mother know. He couldn’t let them weigh him down if he was going to keep moving forward. And that brought him to his second reason for taking some time off.

John had absolutely no idea how to cope with the sheer amount of information his mind was subject to after opening the First Gate. Third Eye of Callysta was a Mind Cultivation unlike any other. Of that John now had no doubt.

Even at a passive level, without actively implementing any of the multiple facets of the Cultivation, John was able to think much more clearly, comprehend information at an alarming rate, analyze situations effortlessly, make any mathematical calculation almost as if he were a computer, the number of differences he noticed continued to increase.

It was alarming in a way to realize just how quickly and entirely his brain had been changed. He hadn’t even been given the choice. He was simply thrust through a door of possibility so immense that he had trouble comprehending it even now.

But in his heart, he knew that even if he had been given the choice, even if he had been told about the mind shattering pain of the information download he endured, the result would have been the same. He would have willingly and stupidly walked through that door. The circumstance behind the ordeal was irrelevant.

But now that he had the information, he was finding himself completely unable to cope with it. He was constantly finding himself at a loss. Simple tasks now came with so many minute calculations. Where before he saw only the task that he was trying to complete, now he saw endless possibility.

His mind was constantly a few steps beyond any given situation. He could calculate almost without meaning to the three most likely outcomes of any given situation he found himself in and just as easily calculate the most likely direction any of the following situations might take.

It was like playing chess with that annoying kid who always knew exactly how to counter any kind of offensive move before you made it. Only now, he was the annoying kid. Something so mundane as chess, a game he had once thought to be the ultimate test of intelligence and forethought, John couldn’t even enjoy it anymore.

He had tried. He wanted to see the extent of his newfound ability. So he had charged his phone, now dead for months as it had no real function since the internet ceased to exist. But what it did have was a basic chess app.

While he was unable to find a live opponent, there was still the AI setting. So he had started a match at his phone’s last known skill level, somewhere near 1000.

But as the first few moves of the match passed, John began to realize that there was no move the computer could make to best him. He was able to find a checkmate much more effortlessly than he had ever been before. It was almost too easy.

When the game was over, he had set the difficulty of the computer as high as it went. Supposedly on the level of Grand Master in the real world. Then he began.

But to his astonishment and soon, his exasperation, no move could be made that he didn’t see through. It was literally like playing a child at the game. At first John was exhilarated to know how well his mind worked. But soon he grew to begrudge his own ability. A game he had loved since his father had first shown him when he was six was now so utterly uncomplicated that it gave him newfound appreciation for the phrase “ignorance is bliss.”

It didn’t stop there though. Conversations, interactions, even simple events like pouring a glass of water became another mindless calculation. It never ended.

From the time anyone started speaking to him he could already guess not only what they wanted to talk about based on body language, tone, and urgency, but also accurately predict most of their subsequent topics of conversation based on any answer he chose to give. It was like guiding the conversation away from racism when that one really crazy relative started drinking too much. Only he now had the ability to seamlessly and indeed effortlessly steer any conversation wherever he wanted it to go if he so chose.

Interactions too. Every time another human crossed his path in any way, there were innumerable subconscious calculations taking place. The more people in any situation the more complicated the calculations became, but nonetheless, calculation was all it was.

It began to feel like the world was moving more slowly around him. Like everyone else was constantly driving 25 and he was in a sports car. It was mind numbing after awhile to sit through every event in slow motion even though he could already see where the next five minutes of his life would go before it happened.

No one could surprise him with anything anymore. The whole world as well as any likely futures were constantly laid bare for him to see. And in truth, John was terrified.

His new mental ability also came with some pretty unambiguous criteria for future growth. He understood instinctively that the only way forward was to laboriously gain conscious proficiency with each aspect of Third Eye of Callysta. Therein was the source of his disquiet.

There were twelve branches that stemmed from the Cultivation. Analysis was the first and most basic aspect. There was also Simulation, Culmination, Neutralization, Reciprocation, Falsification, Dissemination, Isolation, Contamination, Sterilization, Annihilation, and Liberation.

As he had told Emma, understanding each of the twelve branches of the Mind Cultivation and how they all related to one another was the key to understanding Third Eye of Callysta in its entirety. The problem was that John was nowhere near able to comprehend the extent of even a single branch of the Cultivation. Analysis alone left him so full of information that he didn’t know what to do with it all.

How could he possibly tie eleven other concepts to what he was already sorting through? Especially when those concepts were things like Dissemination, or Reciprocation, or, oh yeah, fucking Annihilation! Any time he even tried to make a correlation to one of the other branches from Analysis it was like learning the Cultivation all at once again.

Voices and equations, calculations and relationships, all slammed into his mind as a jumble and despite his best efforts to make sense of them, he was only left aching at the brain for several minutes. Whatever the full scope of the Cultivation was, it was well beyond what John could hope to comprehend.

Just how powerful was this Callysta anyway? How formidable did one have to be to not only understand everything he was now privy to, but to be the one to invent this way of thinking? It was clear now more than ever that Callysta, whatever she truly was, was a being beyond all others.

At least, if there was something out there short of God itself more formidable than the assumed cat creature, John knew for certain he never wanted to meet it. Which wasn’t at all to say that he would like to meet Callysta either.

Indeed, the more he understood about the Mind Cultivation he had been given, the less he wanted to ever meet the one responsible for creating it. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful. If anything he felt himself unworthy.

Better he never met the creature than to have to explain how someone so utterly incompetent became her first and only successor. He didn’t need all the newfound calculative ability to see the most likely outcome of that interaction. But what could he do?

It certainly wasn’t like he could stop such an eventuality from coming to pass. The Garden has said Callysta herself had marked him with her “Divine Signature” whatever that meant. He knew what it didn’t mean. It didn’t mean that he was free.

For this unimaginably powerful cat creature to instantaneously mark him upon completing its Cultivation method was an alarmingly transparent way of saying “the cat is now watching you.” He knew as sure as a duck's ass was watertight that one day sooner or later, he would be called upon for answers. He just hoped that when that day came, he had even one answer to give.

2

John’s break from The Garden to become acclimated to his new abilities lasted for more than two weeks. Time where his mother rested more easily, John slowly made sense of his larger mind, and his sister obsessed over every scrap of information he would give her concerning Third Eye of Callysta.

Her unceasing acquisition of information was alarming to John. He had even had to take the scroll from her more than once when he found that she had been losing sleep to pour over it. It wasn’t like children too young to enter The Garden had anything to do with their time except study. She didn’t need to sacrifice her health.

Only after making her promise to practice moderation did he agree to return it to her. Even so, he found himself unsure if he was right or wrong. It had become clear all too quick that Emma was not going to stop. Did he let her keep working at a goal so helplessly beyond even him that it consumed her every waking thought?

He didn’t know. On the other hand, if she could make sense of even a fraction of the analytical aspect, John would consider her time well spent. More than that, he couldn’t hope for.

But after more than two weeks of trying to piece together the multifaceted puzzle of Third Eye of Callysta, John could resist no longer. He had to get back into The Garden if for no other reason than to tell Jules everything that had happened. So with minimal hardship from his mother, he set off for the transition station.

At the station, John received his first surprise since gaining his mental acuity. The transition pad didn’t automatically take him to The Garden when he stepped on it. Instead, the voice of The Garden spoke to him.

“Select destination.”

John had completely forgotten that he now had more than one base to choose from. Making a mental selection, he quickly began to feel himself shift between worlds. In moments, he was standing once again in his now quaint room within Emerald Base.

He had to return to Thunder Fox Sanctuary soon to speak with the empress herself, but before that, he needed to catch up with his one friend in The Garden. It was clear when he looked at his room that he wasn’t the only one with such thoughts. Numerous letters lay at his door, and he could tell even from the distance whose impeccable script adorned them.

John walked to the pile, apparently a favorite pastime of his friend, and picked up a letter at random. Reading it, he couldn’t help but smile. After all he had been through, all he had learned in the last weeks, he couldn’t have predicted the four words he saw written on the paper.

“Call me back bitch!”

Selecting another, he read its contents as well. “I know you’re back, fucker.” And a third: “You can’t hide forever.”

It was as if Jules had had nothing to do with his time in the weeks since John completed his Shuffle but to think of new and more annoying things to write on paper and then dump through his mail slot. They were all less than a half dozen words long. And no two were the same. Truly it was like the man had spent every waking moment composing them. Even as John stood inspecting the many letters, his mail slot flipped briefly open as another paper was slid through.

Quicker than he would have previously been able, John opened his door, grabbed the man who had just dropped the letter, pulled him inside, and shut the door again. It all happened in the span of two seconds after the letter but the floor.

“Jesus!” Jules shouted as he was suddenly sitting on John’s bed with little recognition of how he had ended up there.

“I prefer John,” John smiled at the man.

“John!” Jules exclaimed when his brain was able to catch up to the situation. He leapt from the bed and embraced John.

“It’s great to see you man,” John said.

“What the hell happened to you man?” Jules asked.

John was certain that he was already aware of the Shuffle John had been through. His mother had come to Jules during the time he was gone if nothing else. So he assumed the man wanted details.

John was more than happy to supply them. Here was his friend and closest confidant within The Garden. If there was anyone he could tell about all of the insanity he had experienced during his trial, it was Jules. So John told him.

He left out no detail. He even told the man about Abi and the Tower. His eyes were like saucers at the idea that there was anything so fantastic as “Gods” offering to grant wishes or answer any question asked of them. John supposed that if he hadn’t stumbled upon the place and witnessed the unerringly accurate answers to his questions, nor if he hadn’t then verified the substance of that information, he probably wouldn’t have believed it either.

But Jules never interrupted, never contradicted John. He soaked in every word he was given like the drain in a fountain. John had no doubt that Jules would spend unimaginable time ordering all of the new information he gave the man in the coming days. But for the moment, he was as a sponge, simply absorbing all he was given.

John told him of the price of knowledge. He told him about the pack of raptors that almost killed him. He told him about the giant bird that had almost sucked him into the sky before becoming cinders. He told him about the test to gain admittance to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. He told him about each of the fights he had won in as exacting details as possible, which he discovered was extremely exact.

In hindsight, he could recall the number of feathers that flew from the Wizened bird when his arrow slammed into its chest. He could count how many revolutions the armadillo had made on its way to flatten him. He could even recall the exact shape of the bloodstain that had been left on the wall after removing the salamander from his javelin.

When he told Jules of the fox herself and how she had immediately healed his injuries, the man could no longer contain himself. He had simply never imagined that there were creatures in The Garden that wouldn’t automatically kill him.

“A fox that can turn people to ash with lightning and heal any injury? Jesus dude. How is the supposed God you met somehow the least interesting thing that happened to you?”

John laughed at his friend’s feigned exasperation. In truth, John would have felt the same way. In fact, he had been of much the same mindset as the events themselves occurred. But since his First Gate breakthrough, even the Thunder Fox seemed a mundane topic.

But he let his friend bask in the adventure as John himself had. He did refrain from telling the man about his newly gained Mind Cultivation. Some things even Jules didn’t need to know about. When he was finished recounting his tale, it was Jules’s turn.

“Things on this end have been insane as well. Nothing like what you’re always getting up to, but when you never showed up for the meeting with Sean, he started saying I was unreliable. That I was just collecting genes in exchange for a promise that would never be kept.”

John grimaced. He had known the horrible timing of his Shuffle would complicate things for his friend’s business. He also knew he couldn’t have prevented it, but he still felt bad.

“I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean to make things harder for you,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it. I came here the day of the meeting because I hadn’t heard from you and seen that you had been Shuffled. I wasn’t sure what to do, and I didn’t want to tell Sean the truth. So I went to the meeting without you and told him that you were tied up with a previous contract and needed an extra day. That’s when he made all the noise I told you about, but ultimately he agreed to meet us the next day.”

“Us?” John asked.

“Well I had to do something! I didn’t know when or even if you would come back. No one has ever returned from a shuffle before you know.”

“I do know,” John smiled.

“Smug little shit aren’t you? Anyway, I had to come up with something. I couldn’t let Sean defame my business without fighting back. So I asked your girl Liz for help.”

“Liz? How is she doing?” John asked. He hadn’t even thought of her newfound connection to Jules. He supposed he should have. No one came into contact with Jules without the man adding them to his network.

“She’s something else, I can tell you that.”

John laughed.

“I did tell you didn’t I?” He asked.

“I suppose you did. But god damn dude I think you might have left out a few details.”

“What do you mean?” John asked.

“Well I went to her asking if she could help me with something on your behalf.”

“And?” John asked.

“And she laughed in my face and told me to bring you to her if you needed her help.”

“Smart girl,” John laughed.

“Maybe. Maybe just a sadist. In any case, it took a lot of time explaining before she agreed to help me. And only then because I made it clear she could make a profit.”

“Smart girl,” John repeated.

“Mm, well as it turns out, asking her for help was akin to asking,” and here Jules paused to look John directly in the eyes before continuing in a much louder voice, “a giant fucking bear to kill a fly for you.”

John couldn’t help himself any longer. He burst out laughing. He had specifically not told Jules about the Wizened Grizzly Soul he had received. And he certainly hadn’t told him that he had lent it to Liz.

“Yeah, laugh it up asshole. She went with me to meet Sean. To her credit, she didn’t back down to his intimidation and didn’t take the bait when he tried to goad her. What she did do was instantly become a giant bear and roar in his face loud enough that I could see the shit fall into his pants in real time. It took everything I had not to follow suit. When you said she would rip my dick off, you really weren’t kidding were you?”

“Have I ever been?” John smiled.

“Good point. But damn dude, way to save me from myself. Anyway, she made such a solid impression on Sean that he agreed to let her call the shots for the entire contract. I went with them to make sure everything was okay, but with a fucking bear ready to mail your enemies there isn’t a whole lot of risk in the attempt. She did great. Kept him safe, provided adequate support, even let Sean get the last hit on the beast. Got himself an Advanced Soul for it. He was so happy that he gave Liz three Enhanced genes.”

“Wow, he must have been really happy then,” John said.

“Not as happy as Liz was after Sean left. She turned to me right then and there and asked me for a job.”

John’s eyebrows rose.

“A job?”

“Yeah. She said that she finally understood how you were so strong. Said she wanted to take every job I could give.”

“So? What did you do?”

“What do you think I did man? I put her ass to work. We’ve had a never-ending stream of requests coming in. It’s been almost impossible to catalogue all the data. She wanted to work for genes, so I sent her into the field with a dozen people at a time. The requests are mostly for newbies to get some relatively safe exposure to The Garden. With Liz as protector and each of them armed with basic defensive and offensive souls, it was almost child’s play. We’ve spent the last two weeks doing a half dozen of those babysitting missions a day. It’s taken time but I’m finally almost caught up with the Primitive requests. I haven’t even began work on the requests beyond Primitive tier though. And more come in each day.”

“You’ve really had your hands full these past weeks eh? I’m sorry I wasn’t here man. I… needed some time after my Shuffle. But I’m back now. And even better, I can’t be Shuffled again. I can help you get everything in order now. But I think it’s good that you enlisted Liz. That girl has more drive than a gearshift. I think you should offer her a permanent position.”

Jules shook his head.

“I would love to, but the girl has already outgrown Primitive genes. If she keeps progressing at a Johnly rate, there won’t be anything I can offer her. I have to face the facts. I need to start drafting.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

John considered that for a second, his mind automatically envisioning several outcomes that could branch from that decision. After some thought, John nodded.

“I think I can help with that,” he said.

“That’s what I was hoping to hear. What do you have in mind though? I have a few potential candidates including Sean that I could approach.”

“Find as many people as you can trust. We have enough gene surplus that we can afford to bribe them with a full compliment of the lower genes. There need to be a few for each tier though. Any who outgrow the tier they are hired for can apply for higher tiered assignments. That will create the basis for employment. When each applicant is assigned to a tier based on their ability, you turn them loose. It’ll take some time to build a network of experienced help for anything above Enhanced tier, but eventually we will be able to accept any task asked of us. Any high level requests that Liz doesn’t want to accept, bring to me. As long as the chain of command remains fluent and no one reaches beyond their due, things should be fairly easy to keep on track.”

“Wow,” Jules said, “you’ve really put a lot of thought into this haven’t you?”

“Not really,” John laughed, more to himself than his friend.

3

John and Jules spent some time ironing out the details John had outlined for the blossoming business they had started. As always, Jules was obsessive over every little point. He organized information so efficiently that he could have had a complex Mind Cultivation himself. The fact that John knew that wasn’t the case made the man even more incredible.

“You know,” John had told him after having the thought, “you have an impressive mind. You should really learn a Mind Cultivation to enhance that.”

“I know, it’s on the list of things to do. I just need a higher-level gene to make it worth the investment.”

“I recommend Advanced tier. If my hunch is correct, you’ll still be able to make it through the First Gate with a lot of work.”

“The First Gate?” Jules asked.

John nodded. He took some time to explain what he knew about Cultivation after his Shuffle. He didn’t explain how he knew, simply implying that he had learned the information. Then he told Jules what his mom had said.

“I…” the man started.

John smacked him on the back of the head. It was a light reprimand, and one without any real malice. Still, the light crack that his hand made on the man’s head was satisfying to John.

“What were you thinking? Telling my mom about this stuff? Come on man, don’t shit in my Cheerios.”

“I didn’t know what to say. She came to me after you didn’t come home. Said the same thing happened to your dad…”

John didn’t respond. He hadn’t told Jules about his father. He didn’t see the need to change the subject now, either.

“Well… she was in shambles. I didn’t know what to say. I told her not to worry. That you have been in all kinds of dangerous situations. She didn’t exactly take that as the reassurance I meant it to be. Started asking what kind of shit you do. It was too late to back track, and your mom has one of those bullshit detectors like the government uses. She got the truth out of me.”

“How much of the truth?” John asked.

“I just told her that I find you suitable targets and you use your bow to kill them.”

“Somehow, I doubt that’s the whole story or she wouldn’t be up my ass about how dangerous I’m being.”

“Well, I might have mentioned the time we had to run from the bear.”

“Of course you did. Listen, from now on, if something happens and she comes to you, tell her everything is fine and that I swore not to take risks. I can do without the sabotage,” John said.

“Sorry man.”

John agreed to meet Jules the next day to begin assessing the candidates for missions. Then he bid the man farewell, saying he needed to get back home before his mom worried. Jules agreed and took his leave.

After he was gone, John returned to his transition pad and selected his destination. When he made the shift though, it wasn’t to the station on Earth. It was to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Not only because he wanted to fulfill the desire of the empress to speak with him, but also because the surrounding area had much more powerful beasts to hunt.

When he moved to the door though, John was surprised to see that there were four genes waiting in a basket on the ground outside. It took his new brain only a second to understand. These were the genes of the four beasts he had to defeat to gain access to the base.

Two Advanced and two Wizened genes. It was an unexpected windfall. He hadn’t thought to harvest the genes after his battle. But clearly something had.

John took the basket and placed it on his bed. Seeing no reason not to, John immediately began consuming the genes. He has long since used his surplus of genes to refill his Primitive tally. Now it was only Advanced and up that he needed.

In the end, John gained eleven Advanced genes and twelve Widened genes. That brought his totals up to thirty five and twenty eight respectively. Having both numbers over twenty five made John feel incredibly sturdy.

He wondered if weapons or beasts of the Primitive tier would even be a danger to him anymore. He would certainly be surprised if that wasn’t the case. After all, he had no hope of killing anything of the Advanced tier with his Primitive mantis dagger.

John pondered his physique for a few minutes, but ultimately had no way of testing his query. Having no further business in his room, John opened the door once more and stepped from the building. He took a look around the massive base and quickly became confused.

Joe was he supposed to find the fox in such a massive place? What was worse, there were no other humans in sight. He couldn’t even ask anyone for directions.

His conundrum lasted for a few seconds only, time which he sort of placed back and forth in helplessness. He attempted to ask a few of the less intimidating creatures that passed by for directions, but as expected, none of them understood him. Just before he lost hope and returned to his room, a brilliant silver lightning bolt illuminated the entire base. When it darkened once more, the Thunder Fox stood across from him.

John jumped back in surprise at the instantaneous change. Even his mind couldn’t assess a situation that quickly. The fox snorted in amusement before dropping the weird light ball at his feet.

It flashed its light at his head as it had the last time before settling between the two of them. John bowed his head in respect before speaking to the Fox.

“Hello again. I, uh… came back to speak with you as you’ve asked Ms… um… what should I call you?”

The fox snorted in amusement. At least, John assumed it was amusement. It was hard to say for sure, but the look in the fox’s eye seemed to be one of amusement.

“Names are powerful things, human. You do not wish to dominate me do you?”

The question took John aback. Dominate her? That did the fox mean? He couldn’t imagine even trying to get the better of something so formidable.

“No miss, I simply wish to know how I might address you. It seems oddly impersonal to call you Thunder Fox.”

“And yet you’ve not given me a more personal title by which to call you, human.”

“My name is John.”

“John. An interesting name. Do you think it suits you?”

“I… guess it does,” John said, confused, “I haven’t really considered that.”

“I see. Well John, if a name you want, then you may address me as Suné. Understand that this is not my true name. As I said, names carry power.”

“Suné. That’s a beautiful name. What does it mean?”

“It means fox,” Suné snorted.

John smiled despite himself. He had to admit, being pranked by a terrifying shocky fox was way better than being incinerated by it. If she wanted to fuck around and have a laugh, he would put on a jester’s hat.

“Well Suné, I have come. What is it you do wish to speak with me about?”

“Come with me,” the fox said, suddenly standing.

“Come where? I’m not exactly as fast as you are,” John said.

“No matter. Here, put your hand on my back and grab on,” Suné replied.

She was moving to scoop up the translating sphere in her mouth as she spoke. John hesitated but complied with her command. He put his hand on the fox, feeling like he was touching an electric fence.

The second his hand touched her, he felt a current of electricity pass through his body and into the ground beneath his feet. It was like his hand was glued to the beast. The current wouldn’t let him let go.

“Hold on tight,” was all John heard before the entire world disappeared in a flash of light.

The next thing he knew, he was all but laying on the ground. Suné was standing over him with an amused expression. His hand was still stuck to her.

“I said hold on tight,” Suné chuffed.

John slowly removed his hand, an action that took more effort than he liked. Then he found his legs and struggled to his feet. What the hell had just happened? He looked around himself and couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping his mouth.

He was now in what looked like a temple. The ceilings were so high that John couldn’t have thrown a rock to hit them. The place was so large that it would have taken him several minutes to run from one side to the other. All along the walls were insanely ornate statues of beasts. Everything from lizards to monkeys to dragons.

At the far end of the room was a massive set of double doors larger than any John had ever seen. They had to have been hundreds of feet tall. John turned to see that Suné had moved to a large plush cushion at the base of yet another statue.

It was the statue of a beautiful fox. It had ten tails and somehow gave off the feeling of electricity. It was a statue of Suné herself, John realized.

She had brought them to the equivalent of her thrown room. John was amazed at the scope of the place. Only then did he understand how far above Wizened tier Divine tier was. Looking at all of the statues around the place, John understood that they were statues of past leaders of the base. And he could tell that any one of them would have destroyed him in a blink.

“You see the history of this place. What do you think?” Suné asked.

John looked back to the fox and noticed that she had dropped the ball between them once more. He smiled in wonder at the question.

“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything so extravagant,” he said.

“Is that so? Yet, you also visited the Moment Mistress, isn’t that true?”

“I… well yes. I did. But that was just a beautiful building. This is a chronicle of The Garden.”

“I see. You have a very interesting mind, John.”

“Suné, what is it you wished to speak with me about?” John asked.

“You waste little time, that is good. The reason I have asked you here is because you have something I need.”

“I do?”

“You do,” Suné replied.

“What is it?” John asked.

“Do you know the difference between you and I, John?”

“I… am a human and you are a fox?”

“Well, yes. But what difference does that make? How do we differ in cultivation?”

“Because we need different things to advance?”

“Exactly. You require the gene of a slain beast to progress. We beasts require the flesh of our foes to move forward.”

“And what does that have to do with what you need from me?” John asked.

“The differences between us don’t stop there. Let’s talk, for example, about reproduction.”

“Okay?”

“If you were to find a mate and create offspring with them, would they be born stronger than any other due to your advanced gene progression?”

“I… don’t know. I guess it’s possible. Are you saying humans will evolve because of our newfound access to The Garden?”

“Perhaps. But alas, such things only become apparent after several generations. Your offspring might have a higher baseline health and physique, but they would not be born with a gene tally. In other words, all humans must gain genes for themselves to grow stronger.”

“That makes sense. It would hardly be fair otherwise.”

“What makes you think things must be fair?”

“I suppose they don’t. But what does this all have to do with me?”

“We beasts of The Garden are different. Our tier at birth is based on that of our parents. Two Divine tier beasts might give life to a Divine beast themselves. It is not guaranteed, and it takes a great deal of energy to nourish such a life.”

John thought about what Suné was saying. His mind returned to the queen of the ants. He still had a few eggs that she had laid, and he remembered how nothing he did could damage them. His heart sped up at the implications of what Suné said.

“So, you can birth a Divine Fox like yourself?”

“Alas, no. That’s what I need your help with.”

“Me? What can I do?”

“It is more a matter of what you have already done.”

“I don’t understand,” John said.

So much for his ability to predict the flow of a conversation. This fox was consistently stumping his predictive abilities. It proved that not even his new mind was infallible.

“Long ago, when I was much younger, before I called this place home, I was given a challenge to complete. The Garden tasked me with collecting ten Divine cores from at least two branches of Cultivation. You probably don’t know what that means.”

John shook his head, but stayed silent. He still couldn’t predict where the fox was going with this. So, he let her continue.

“Divine cores are the compressed essence of a being’s Cultivation path. The core is the basis for all that we are. When a Divine being dies, their life essence is condensed into their core. Successfully assimilating with a fallen creature’s core allows one to gain insights into that beast’s Cultivation path.”

John nodded in comprehension. Still unwilling to break his silence, but wanting Suné to know he was following. The fox continued speaking.

“So, I accepted the task. At the time, I was Wizened, almost to the stage of compression. I knew that I only needed one or two more victories to finish the transition into Divinity. After your essence has been successfully compressed, your Divine core will form. Few of us have an affinity to any path at that point. And I was no different. When I did finally form my core, it wasn’t attuned. I had to spend years finding out what path was right for me. It took me longer than I would have liked, but eventually I was able to kill a foe attuned to the path of Regeneration. It was the first Divine core that my body didn’t reject.”

“You started with healing and not electricity?” John couldn’t help but ask.

“Indeed. In fact, it wasn’t until I had already claimed three cores of Regeneration that I found my affinity for Electricity. It was a painful experience, but my growing regenerative abilities were able to keep me alive long enough to slay my foe. They didn’t cultivate speed, only destructive force. It was that shortcoming that taught me the importance of balance. In any case, after many years and many more battles, I had finally collected five Divine cores of Regeneration and five of Electricity.”

“What happened?” John asked.

“I was given my reward. A reward only I would appreciate. You see, during the long journey to the peak of Divinity, I became severely injured more than once. On one such occasion, I was impaled in the side. The attack almost killed me, but I was able to stun my foe with lightning before escaping. Unfortunately, my internal organs had been severely damaged. I used my path of Regeneration to fix what I could, but some things are beyond even me. I lost my ability to reproduce that day.”

“I’m… sorry to hear that,” John said.

“Yes, all victory comes with a price. As I said, I was rewarded for my completion of the task. And the reward was something called a Divine Embryo. I was unsure what that meant, but I quickly learned the answer.

“It was a small egg-like object. I was told that by giving it some of my blood, it could grow and be born as my offspring.”

John’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even considered something like that to be possible. Just what exactly was The Garden anyway?

“What an amazing gift. Truly, The Garden rewards ambition,” he said.

“Yes, but there was a catch. The embryo requires a specific series of steps to be followed in order to properly gestate.”

“What kind of steps?” John asked.

“My race is known as ‘Ten Tailed Kitsune,’ and as such, each of our ten tails carries the Cultivation we chose to follow. My tails are split evenly. Half are Electricity and half Regeneration. But that is only because I chose to strengthen two paths instead of learn ten paths. It is possible for each tail to harness the power of a different path.”

“Ten different cultivation paths?” John blurted out. He couldn’t imagine trying so many. It reminded him of how hopeless he was trying to understand Third Eye of Callysta. He supposed it was the same thing.

“Indeed. Not many of us can divide ourselves so many times, however. I chose two paths because duality is very common in nature. But such a path is forbidden to the Divine Embryo. It must be given ten different Divine cores to assimilate. I have provided it with four already. Currently it follows the paths of Electricity, Regeneration, Earth, and Wind. Six more cores are needed to fulfill that requirement.”

“Six more Divine cores just to give birth to your child?” John asked.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. You see, the embryo will remain in stasis even after gaining ten paths. It isn’t a living creature. One cannot simply provide some blood and provide life from it. The embryo will grow based on my genetic code. But the cells that grow will be empty. A hollow shell in the form of a Ten Tailed Kitsune. A soul is needed to complete the process.”

“A soul? Where are you supposed to find the soul of a f-” John stopped talking as his eyes grew wide.

“You are sharp, John.”

“You need my beast Soul?” He asked.

“You cannot imagine how long I have waited for you, John. We beasts cannot gain tools from our enemies. Beast Souls are a blessing of the Enlightened races. Few of your kind ever make it to my home. Those that do nearly always fail the test. And of the few who made it into Thunder Fox Sanctuary, none ever came into possession of a companion soul, much less one in the form of a fox.”

“You want me to give you Jane?”

John didn’t know how he felt about that. She had been essential to his survival many times since he gained her. Could he really give that up? Especially knowing she had just evolved into Divine tier thanks to his upgrade.

“I know what it is I ask of you. I watched you with your companion from the moment you left the Tower. I know she is important to you. I also know that nothing is without a prove in this world. I will reward you with something far beyond what I ask you to sacrifice. That is a promise,” Suné said.

John shut his mouth tight around the excuse he was going to make. It wasn’t that he had been convinced. Rather, The Garden spoke up at that moment.

“Suné the Ten Tailed Kitsune has offered you a deal. If you agree to give up your Silver Fox soul, she will reward you. This is the greatest desire of Suné and as such, your rewards will be much more extravagant than the price. Do you agree?”

“I still need Jane to help me,” John protested weakly.

“Do not worry. I am aware of your progress. You will have plenty of time to progress. The Embryo still needs six paths before it will be ready for a soul in any case. So, what do you say? I can guarantee you will not regret having me as an ally,” Suné said.

Implicit was the opposite concept that John would certainly regret having Suné as an enemy. He still didn’t immediately answer. Ultimately it was a question of if he could willingly surrender something for the promise of something better, even though he didn’t know what that was. It was a tough choice to make, but finally he made it.

“I agree to your terms. But I have to be ready before giving up Jane. She is precious to me. I won’t let her go until I can handle myself without her.”

“That is understood, John.”

“You have agreed to the terms of Suné’s deal. Failure to uphold your end of the bargain will make you an enemy of Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Failure by Suné to uphold her end of the bargain will grant you dominance over Thunder Fox Sanctuary.”

John’s eyes widened in shock. If Suné failed to reward him properly, she would lose control of the base to him? That was something John had never imagined possible.

“Is there anything you would like to accomplish here?” Suné asked him.

She spoke as though she hadn’t just agreed to surrender her entire throne to him. John was taken aback by her casual nature. He took a second to think before responding.

“Is there a station I can use to take me to my Cultivation Trials? I need to finish my Spirit Cultivation.”

“Indeed. I can take you there now. Or if you would rather take in the sights of the place, I can simply direct you. Though if you’re in a hurry, you may want to pass on that opportunity. It can take hours for some to traverse the base.”

“I suppose I’ll let you take me,” John said apprehensively.

4

Suné deposited John roughly onto the ground near the Cultivation Trial. Try though he might, he was unable to keep from falling to the ground upon landing. The speed of the fox was simply too much.

“Here you are. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, thank you. You’ve been very accommodating.”

“Enjoy your trial, John.”

Then she was gone. In a flash, John was alone. He turned to the transition pad that would lead him to his trial. At least he hoped it would. It would suck if he had to go all the way back to Emerald Base to practice Lunar Radiance. Especially since he had no idea where his room was from there.

John stepped on the pad and thankfully it lit up in recognition. John gladly confirmed his decision and felt himself shift to the trial. For the first time in half a month, John found himself standing on the starting point of Lunar Radiance.

John turned to the moon and quickly began to make his way through the course. His brain dissected the obstacles several moves ahead of his body so that when he reached each one, he was already confident in his action. To his shock, he started to see vague outlines of himself running the course a second ahead of his true body.

Some of them moved differently from his intended path some showing more proficiency than him while others showed less. It was like having the option to select the path that would benefit him most. John was shocked at how much he could see, and he realized that he had started to actively use Third Eye of Callysta for the first time.

It was a natural reaction to the physical exertion. His mind sprung into action, providing him with information no one else would have. He marveled at the simplicity with which he could dissect the course that had once given him so much trouble.

John quickly moved through each obstacle with apparent ease. Even the final obstacle was no hinderance to him, as he understood better than ever how to properly distribute his weight not to fall from the rail. In what seemed like no time at all, John was meditating under the moonlight.

After an hour of soaking in the energy, John returned to the starting point and turned his attention to the sun. As he studied the course, he became aware of each obstacle that was affected by the heat.

Every scorching bar, every wall slick with dripping water, every single thing John would have to keep in mind in order to pass the test was held fast in his mind. When he was sure he had missed nothing, he started forward.

The first obstacle was not illuminated by the sun, so John was easily able to grab the bar and pull himself up. The second bar he had to grab was not so benign. But John had prepared himself well.

Lunar Radiance expelled from his palms as he grabbed the bar. He felt the drain on his reserves immediately as he began pulling himself up. He rolled to the platform and thence to his feet before continuing onward.

The wall running, the swinging from bars, the delicate maneuvering of his body, all of it came much more easily than ever before. The drain on his essence was substantial, and John knew that if he failed for any reason, it would be the deficit of Lunar Radiance. But he didn’t let such thoughts dissuade him. He moved like a man possessed through each of the obstacles until he stood upon the last threshold.

Only the last obstacle remained. It was the only thing standing between him and his second Cultivation Scroll. But he knew he didn’t have enough juice to make it through. Sweat beaded his brow, and he had to control his breathing.

John wasn’t about to give up though, energy or not. He would save as much of the few drops of Lunar Radiance he had for the last jump. That was all he could do.

John took off at a sprint, launching at the slanted wall like a jumping spider. He calculated the most efficient way to make it past the obstacle, landing high on the wall and using only enough energy to stop his feet from completely slipping before springing to the next part of the course.

His feet automatically pushed from the slanted wall and propelled him to the steaming wall above that he would need to push off of to successfully compress the switch below. With the slightest burst of Lunar Radiance, John avoided scalding his hands on the wall.

He shot down like a comet. His feet slammed into the plate, pressing it into the ground. The wall in front of him opened up and he took off running for the left side. His feet slid down the wall much more than he would have liked as he scrambled to the other side, his energy reserves nearing empty.

John leapt desperately for the springboard. His feet just barely made contact with it, but it was enough. He flew up and grabbed the bar, using the last dregs of his Lunar Radiance to keep from burning himself. Without hesitation, he swung himself forward and landed on the handrail.

John had nothing left to give at this point. His feet gave way easily under him as the slick patches of rail passed beneath him. Only through sheer force of will did he remain on his feet. Then, the end had come.

John leapt, reaching with everything he had for the last bar that would signify his success. It came closer and closer as he watched. Five feet. Three feet. One foot. And then, miraculously, his hands closed around the bar.

“Ahhhh!!!!” John screamed as his flesh sizzled around the metal.

He wailed in agony as his hands locked in place. The heat only grew more intense the tighter he held on. Through the pain and the screaming, John began to leverage a leg onto the scorching hot bar.

Even through his pants the heat was palpable. John continued to voice his torment as he slowly pulled himself up. There was a moment of horrified realization when he tried to pull his hands from the bar to grab the last platform only to find them completely singed to the metal.

He had to laboriously rip his own flesh from the bar just to let go. He screamed in newfound agony as he left scraps of himself behind. Using his elbows, John weakly leveraged himself onto the island.

“Congratulations! You have completed the Trial for Lunar Radiance! Proceed through the door to claim your Cultivation Scroll!”

John didn’t move. He just cradled his hands to his chest delicately. Beyond the scorching pain, one thought played through his head repeatedly.

“Never again, mother fucker.”

He had done it. He had passed the trial. Never again would he have to slide down the net to restart. Never again would he burn his hands on the course. He was done. He had proven himself worthy. And so what if he had mutilated his hands for a second time to do it?

After several aching minutes, John awkwardly climbed to his feet, careful not to use his palms for support. He walked to the door while holding his hands like he had mud all over them. The doorway was glowing like the entire opening was a lightbulb.

John couldn’t see what was beyond it, but he could pass through the light with no effort. A few steps into the room, the light dispersed. John was left standing in front of a pedestal.

There was nothing else in the room, which was about four paces wide on each side. The pedestal sat against the back wall. And upon it sat a familiar styled scroll. This one was clasped by a glowing white moon. Opening it would split the moon into a crescent and a waxing gibbous moon.

John took the scroll with his wrists, not able or wishing to dirty the prize with his burnt and bloodied flesh. As soon as he grabbed it, the floor beneath his feet opened to reveal a transition pad. Without asking his intent, the pad began sending him from the trial.

John materialized back in Thunder Fox Sanctuary a moment later. He looked around helplessly, not having the slightest clue which direction to go. He awkwardly put the Cultivation Scroll in his bag, wincing at the effort it took to open it.

Then John set out at random. He had no better course of action, so he just wandered the streets of the immense complex. There was an insane number of creatures on the wide streets. John had never imagined that so many beasts could live in one place without killing each other.

He walked among the residents for what seemed like hours, taking in the majesty of the base. Some of the attractions were familiar, like the Scroll Exchange. However, there were many areas that Emerald Base had no equivalent for.

Immense training fields where innumerable creatures practiced all manner of Cultivation Paths. Arena style areas where combatants could choose to fight each other. Entire sections of the base left abandoned as the population demands were well under control.

John walked until he came to a dead-end courtyard before sitting down to rest. He had no idea where he was going. He was content to drift aimlessly as the terrible ache in his ravaged hands slowly subsided.

He knew he would need extensive tissue repair when he returned home, but for now he didn’t want to think about it. As he was sitting in the courtyard not thinking about his situation, his thoughts were interrupted by a blinding flash. Blinking away the spots in his vision, John beheld Suné.

“Hello again, Suné,” John said, though she didn’t bring the translation ball this time, so it was unclear if the fox understood him.

She instead paced over to him and began licking his burnt hands. John immediately felt his skin start to bubble like someone had poured peroxide on it. It itched and made him shudder in discomfort, but he could feel the relief spread through his hands at the same time.

“Thank you,” John gasped as he scratched his palms.

He leaned down and grasped the fox around the neck with both arms, giving her a hug. She didn’t react to the gesture, except to chuff in amusement. Before John could wonder why, he felt his body lurch impossibly as Suné bolted away.

Quicker than he could yelp in surprise, though he still did after the fact, John was lying on the ground outside of the building he had selected as home within the base. His heart raced, as it always did after the electricity passed from him. And he began to chuckle despite himself.

“Good one,” he told the fox.