Chapter 18

1

John stood solemnly outside the room that he had come to find. He had been to it only once before that, having come to confirm his mother’s words with his own eyes. Now he stood there with a new purpose. Placing a hand on the sealed door, John waited for the system message.

“The owner of this room has been Shuffled. Notice, you are eligible for this Shuffle through your Universal Shuffle Master Title. Would you like to join the Shuffle event?”

John didn’t hesitate to agree. He had waited months for this opportunity. There was nothing in the world he wanted more in that moment. At his affirmation, he heard a strange chime in his mind. A moment later, a new system message came.

“Congratulations! This Shuffle Event has been added to your Destinations! You can now access it through any available transition pad! Warning! If you choose to participate, you will be subject to the same trial as the owner of this room, and you will be unable to return until you complete the Shuffle!”

John nodded to himself. It made sense that he couldn’t just enter anyone’s room while they were off on a Shuffle. That made him feel more secure about peoples’ ability to access his own room. Or better yet, Jules’ room, which now held a ridiculous stash of genes.

The Garden was an insane and dangerous place, but it was nice to know that there was at least one place everyone could feel safe. John moved back through the streets impatiently. He had never been so anxious before. Even the operation he and Liz had pulled did not fill him with such anxiety.

He knew it was the personal stake he had in the matter. He would have one chance to find and return his father, and if he failed too, that was two members of the family lost to the same trap. It was almost enough to shake his determination.

If there was one thing John knew though, it was that he wouldn’t and didn’t rest easy at night knowing he hadn’t tried. Ever since gaining the Universal Shuffle Master title, there had been a nagging voice in his head reminding him that Jack was still lost. It plagued his thoughts when he tried to sleep at night. It shouted at him that he was being a coward.

But John had not rushed his decision. He had intended to attempt the rescue weeks earlier. Liz’s cry for help had given him a sense of obligation to help her first though, and he knew it had been the right choice. Now that he had only one mental occupation, he was done procrastinating the task.

John finally stepped back into his room a few minutes later, still full of nerves. His hands shook with anticipation of his actions. As his door slid closed behind him, he moved to the transition pad without further ado.

John picked the “Shuffle” option from his list of destinations and confirmed his choice. Like most every other time he used a transition pad, he felt the sensation in his stomach first. Quickly it spread through his whole body and the darkness took him once more.

As with his own shuffle, John took longer than usual to return to the light. When he did, there was only him and his transition pad surrounded by wilderness. There were trees all around him, but that wasn’t what caught John’s attention.

He immediately heard a rush of water off to his right. Remembering what Ali had said about his father’s location, John immediately rushed for the river. He found it only a few seconds from his starting position.

Once he had though, he was unsure which way he should follow it. Ali had said south, but John looked at the sun high in the sky before confirming that he had no idea which direction was north and which was south. Ali had also said it was six hundred thousand miles away from his own base.

John had noticed the change in time when going from base to base before. His recent excursion into Teal Base had taught him that dawn came nearly four hours sooner than in Emerald Base. He hadn’t had the wherewithal to notice in the moment, but reflection had filled in the information.

Similarly, Thunder Fox Sanctuary had a vast several-hour difference to both Emerald Base and Teal Base. He was interested to know just how immense The Garden was. But as for the moment, he found himself wishing it was the beginning or end of the day where he had come out.

It had been only a couple hours after sunrise when he left Emerald Base. The scorching globe was now near its apex, but John had no idea from which direction it was moving. He wondered briefly if his father had known which way he was going or if he just followed the river without considering such things.

As John pondered the situation, a flash of movement caught his attention. He ducked out of reflex as an immense brown hawk dove at his head. He rolled to the side to avoid its clutching talons.

John already had his bow in hand as he regained his feet. He turned to find the massive bird already high in the trees, circling to line up another dive. Such speed was nothing John could match.

Nevertheless, he aimed his bow at the winged predator as it tilted on a current of air and dropped like a bullet through the trees. His hastily fired shot was far from accurate, and his foe easily leaned to one side to avoid it.

John dove aside once more as the hawk’s talons scraped against his armor. He wasn’t as hasty in his attempts to rise as the first time, but luckily, the extra time he took didn’t hinder him. The gargantuan bird was once more circling high above.

The sheer speed with which the bird could move was unbelievable. As he watched it stalk him from above, he understood that he could neither best nor escape the beast through any feat of speed. He would need another tactic to tip the scales.

“Must be Advanced, maybe Wizened,” he thought.

John returned his bow, knowing it would do him no good. Instead, he stood apparently defenseless as the hawk began another dive in his direction. John watched the swift approach of the bird with nervous anticipation.

He looked on in suppressed terror as it stretched its razor sharps talons in his direction. He wasn’t sure if his armor was up to the task or not, and he didn’t like the idea of experimenting in the middle of a fight. Luckily, that wasn’t his plan.

As the hawk came close enough to feel the wind from it’s great wings, John fell backward in what appeared to be an extremely urgent trust fall. The avian screeched angrily as John fell away from its grasp. It dove even lower to clutch at him before he hit the ground.

Unfortunately for the oversized beast, falling was not the extent of John’s plan. As his equilibrium tipped beyond what he could recover from before hitting the ground, John summoned a weapon into his hands. It wasn’t his bow, nor was it the Tail of the Kitsune.

The griffon winged javelin suddenly popped into existence in his hands. He held it leveled at the diving bird even as he continued to fall towards the ground. Almost as soon as it entered his hands, the butt of the weapon pressed into the ground.

John let his grip slide across the shaft of the javelin as he continued to fall. The sudden appearance of the weapon went almost unnoticed by the attacking bird. And as it dove ever lower to grasp at its falling target, it unknowingly impaled itself on the suddenly stationary weapon.

The momentum of the great bird carried it over John’s head in an arc to slam into the ground like a failed catapult. The javelin acted as an anchor for the mortally wounded beast. It flapped impotently around, oozing blood from the spike in its chest.

“God, I wish birds would stop attacking me. I hate this part,” John lamented to himself.

Then, without approaching, he returned the javelin to its place in his mind. The tide of blood grew exponentially as the dam was removed. John turned away from the sight with revulsion. After an excruciating amount of time, the bird grew still.

2

“You have killed Advanced Gale Hawk. Soul of Gale Hawk gained. Advanced gene available for harvest.”

John blinked at the message. He had not been expecting to get the soul, but he would take it. When he saw what it was though, he had to admit he was disappointed.

“Another pair of wings?” He asked.

It wasn’t that they wouldn’t be useful, but his first set of wings were Wizened. He couldn’t imagine the Advanced pair would be better. That made him think back to his conversation with Alikeelifice.

If the granted souls based on what John needed most, why would he get a second pair of wings? It almost seemed like a waste of a soul. He didn’t want to complain, but it was hard not to feel shafted.

After removing and absorbing the Advanced gene, his tally had reached seventy-eight. That was at least a suitable consolation prize for the lackluster soul. Thinking of the wings, John considered the river he had been about to follow.

“Or maybe,” he hypothesized, “it’s just meant to be a hint.”

John summoned his Cockatiel wings and soared out over the water before gaining altitude. He quickly rose to the level of the treetops, but he knew he would need to reach far loftier heights if he hoped to find his answer. With the roaring river below as a guide, John began scanning the land both up and downstream from his vantage.

For several minutes, John saw nothing. He simply continued to rise and analyze the landscape for any sign of civilization. It wasn’t until the river was a small line below him and the chilled air seemed to invade his armor with icy tendrils that John found what he was looking for.

So far in the distance that John hoped he wasn’t imagining it was a collection of shapes that could have been what he came to find. Giving a final scan in the opposite direction, John set out toward the mass. He gradually lowered his altitude as he went, unable to stand the chill any longer.

The trip to the mysterious conglomerate in the distance was a peaceful if not relaxing one. John could make out the forms of many types of creatures below. He was happy that few could reach him in the air.

As he soared over the rolling landscape and often treacherous terrain, he felt bad for his father. If John had struggled through all of the challenges provided by the land alone only to be so thoroughly hassled upon finding civilization again, he might have lost all composure. But he knew Jack was no weak willed individual.

He had inherited only a fraction of the perseverance his father possessed. No matter what the problem was, Jack would tackle it from any angle he could find until he beat it into submission. John had seen it happen again and again growing up.

Anything that someone else had told Jack was impossible only encouraged him to prove them wrong. One such expression of doubt was the impetus for his father building their entire house several years previously. If John knew anything, it was that Jack would have already calmly assessed his options, and furthermore, that his father would not have been cowed by what seemed to be a hopeless situation.

It was that optimism that John held firmly in place as he approached the rapidly enlarging base. It was still too far to make out specifics, but he could tell even from there that it was larger than Emerald Base. He suspected it was at the rank of Advanced, as there was still an unfathomable gap between it and that of Thunder Fox Sanctuary.

John squinted his eyes to make out the shapes that were moving about near the base. He couldn’t have been sure based on his eyes alone, but with the addition of information given by Alikeelifice, it was easy to tell they weren’t humans. They maintained the same general shape, but they all looked bulky to John.

He couldn’t make sense of it from so far out, so he just continued to approach, wary of what he was flying into. It wasn’t long before John was noticed approaching the base from on high. He watched in anticipation as a single form dispatched from the base to intercept him.

There would have been nothing remarkable about the individual at all if not for the wings sprouting from his back. He, like John, had the ability to fly. Judging by his solitary presence, it was probably granted by a soul like John’s flight. Furthermore, it told John that wings were so rare that the second set of wings he now possessed may have been worth far more than he had realized.

John watched the figure ascend to meet him, but John quickly lowered himself to the ground as he glided into range of the base. It was a seemingly foolish choice to make, giving his potential adversary the advantage of height. But John’s greatest weapon was his ability to deceive. If he thought John weak or foolish based on who looked down at the other, that would only serve his purposes.

They were still a great distance from the base, so John had still not had a good look at the species he was about to confront. But as the one who flew out to meet him glided down to hover above as expected, John squinted his eyes in disbelief.

What floated disdainfully above him was indeed humanoid in form. But the similarities stopped there. Indeed, to call it a similarity at all would have been generous. But that wasn’t to say the anatomy of the one in front of him was unfamiliar either.

Standing or rather floating on two legs instead of the four John was used to seeing was an unarmored and unambiguous possum girl. The wings sprouting from her back looked even more out of place than the ones John had coming from his. The possum girl brandished a summoned spear, hissing and leveling it at John.

Holding both hands up in innocence, John presented the least imposing target he could. He tried to make it clear that he meant no harm to her. She continued to make angry hissing noises at him as he looked back.

John stepped back submissively while he slowly reached for the orb in his hip pouch. The hissing reached a new tenor as he revealed the sphere to the possum. When he dropped it harmlessly to the ground though, she stopped to see what would happen.

After the usual preparation period, the orb flared into action. He was always shocked by the versatility of the translation. Even with that expectation, John was surprised at the youthful and clearly female voice that was projected.

“-in the world is this thing? Suspicious bug creature! Why does it walk on two legs? I have never seen such…”

The hairy marsupial stopped talking as it heard the translated sounds escape from the sphere between them. For several seconds, she just looked at the object. It tilted its head to the side and hissed once more, but again it was transformed into recognizable speech.

“This thing changes my words. Why does it do that?”

“So that I can speak with you,” John replied.

At the sound of his voice, the suspicious possum startled back. She looked at him like she hadn’t expected him to make a peep. When she heard his speech converted to her own tongue, her beady little eyes went wide.

“What is your name?” He asked before she had regained her composure.

“Name? We are not given a distinction until our deeds have earned us one.”

“Then what should I call you?” John asked

“Why do you presume to call me anything?”

“I… don’t know. I only want to be polite. I don’t want to refer to you as possum girl forever.”

The hissing that followed that statement was never converted to speech, yet John understood perfectly the message she was attempting to convey. Apparently, she didn’t appreciate being called a possum. She eventually got around to forming an understandable response.

“I said our distinctions are given based on deeds. I did not say that my deeds had yet to garner such a distinction.”

“So… you do have a name?”

“Those of status among my people call me Wind Striker.”

“Wind Striker? Is it because of the wings? Say, how many people have wings like that? It can’t be too many if your name is based around having them.”

“Wings are… not common. I am not the only one who possesses a set, but they are rare enough that only I was dispatched to assess the threat.”

“The threat? You mean me?”

“Yes,” she said directly.

“I am not here for trouble,” John said.

“Yet you come quite suitably prepared for it.”

“I’m sorry, Windy. Do you venture into The Garden without being prepared for trouble? That’s a poor characterization,” John admonished.

“Windy? It’s Wind Striker. And you make an acceptable point.”

“Well, I’m going to call you Windy. It’s more suitable to my brain.”

“It seems rather rude to demand a name from someone and then refuse to use it properly,” Windy hissed.

“No more than brandishing a blade in my face the second we met.”

“I take your point once again. I assume you also have a name. Or should I keep thinking of you as a creepy talking bug person?”

“I suppose I deserve that after the possum thing. My name is John,” he said.

3

Windy continued to hover over John as they exchanged words. It was becoming clear that she was someone of status within the base, but John couldn’t tell if that was based on merit, nepotism, or some combination of both. What he could tell was that he was running out of time to speak with her one on one.

There was a procession of figures dispatching from the base that gave John the impression that their conversation was drawing to a close. He wanted to make enough progress with Windy before that happened that she might vouch for his intentions. He gestured at the group, which Windy did not have to see in order to understand his meaning.

“What happens when they get here? I take it that mob contains at least one person that can tell you what to do?”

“That… is an accurate assessment. I imagine when they get here, you will need to convince them not to attack.”

“Do your people attack everyone who comes knocking?”

“Only the ones that scare them,” Windy replied.

“Again with that? How am I scary?” John asked, almost offended.

“My people are very cautious. We evolved from one of the most skittish species on our world. Fierce we may be, but we cannot cast aside our nature.”

“So you… did evolve from possums? You know, on my planet, we don’t even know if they’re called possums or opossums. Myself included. Wait, there’s not a difference is there? I bet it’s like calling a Chinese man Korean. Oh man, my people are so racist, we’ve even started segregating the damn animals. I swear, you spend a few million years thinking your some miracle of creation and suddenly everything else is inferior.”

“Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about? Because I have no idea what you’re talking about. John was it? Well John, if you didn’t come here to kill or be killed, please explain what it is that you did come for. Perhaps I can delay the inevitable violence my people seek to bring you.”

“If it’s inevitable, why try to delay it? I find its best to get it all over with as soon as possible.”

“Are you saying that you would rather fight my people than give an explanation?”

“Oh no, not at all. I only wonder why I should answer your questions if violence is unavoidable. Wouldn’t I be giving something for nothing if that was the case? Less than nothing, really. I tell you what you want to know and I still probably get my ass kicked for it, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll just accept the ass kicking.”

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

“Ass kicked? My people are not unsophisticated apes.”

“And yet, you try to coerce me using brutish and unsophisticated means. Tell me, have you ever spoken to another sentient race before? I don’t get the feeling that your people are the foreign diplomacy sort.”

“…No. I have not,” Windy admitted.

“Has anyone of your race spoken to another race before?”

“Not that I know of,” she admitted again

“And it didn’t occur to you that what you’re doing right now is making history for your people? Can your distinction change? If so, you may want to be careful. One wrong move and you might end up known as Bug Talker for the rest of your life.”

Windy’s following silence suggested to John that he might have touched upon a grain of truth, perhaps even insecurity or fear. He raised his hands in surrender once more. He didn’t have time to suitably chastise the possum girl before her people reached them.

“Look, as I said, I didn’t come here to fight. And while I don’t appreciate that you demand answers as compensation for not immediately trying to kill me, I can respect that this is not my civilization. I’ll bend to your suspicions if only so that I don’t have to kill any of your people.”

“You must have great self confidence to think yourself capable of such a mercy, let alone punishment.”

“I think myself capable of patience, but only to a point.”

“And where does that point lie, John?”

“Somewhere around five minutes ago,” John said, gesturing over his shoulder.

“If it is answers you wish to give, then give them. I do not fear your bravado.”

“Scaring you isn’t what I am here for. I suspect my purpose here is as clear to you as it is to your superiors. I’ve come for the human.”

Windy’s possum like eyes widened for a second before she attempted to school her expression. It was more than enough for John to notice, but he let the admission of guilt go. Instead, he took a different approach. With a dismissive gesture, John’s armor melted from him and disappeared.

“See? I’m a human myself. Doesn’t it make sense now that I would want to save one of my own?”

“It does. What it doesn’t explain is how you know there are humans here,” Windy countered.

“So, it isn’t just the one? Well, that does complicate things a bit. How many humans do you have locked up in there?”

“I am not in charge of the captured ones. But I do know that it isn’t only humans that we detain. Before now, we have never had the means to understand another species. As I said, it is easier for my people to be suspicious than trusting.”

“And it would be easier if I didn’t care about diplomacy, but I’m trying to avoid making more enemies.”

“You haven’t told me how you knew there were humans here. None who have come near have been permitted to leave.”

“Wait a second. Did you just say your people imprisoned every non… what are your people called?”

“We are the Drizk.”

“Drizk? Okay, so your people imprisoned every non Drizk that has ever come near the place?”

“Well… yes. As I said, we are a suspicious people.”

“No, Windy. You watch your neighbors through the blinds if you have suspicion. You don’t throw a bag on their heads and toss them into prison. Your people are tyrants. Plain and simple.”

Windy hissed again, incomprehensible to the translator between them. John held her gaze with steel in his own as the noise from the approaching group grew louder. When her words were translatable again, John was not surprised to hear the change in her tone.

“You are quick to give offense, human. I would watch to whom I chose to give it.”

“There you go again, playing victim. I came here as politely as possible, ready to negotiate until we found a common ground. But your people would rather soak in their fear than to overcome it. Tell me, is it also an inherited trait that you’re all such spineless cowards?”

“I will not-”

“That’s enough out of you. Bring me all of the humans you have captive. Until then, I have nothing to say to you.”

John’s armor returned to him just as the troupe of possum people came into sight. Windy turned around at their approach, but was reluctant to leave John with the last word. Unfortunately for her, she had no choice as he collected the translation sphere in her distraction.

Then John summoned his wings once more and retreated to a safe distance while Wind Striker spoke with her people. Even without translation, he could tell that the leader of the group was angry with Windy. She hissed back at him in what John interpreted as an urgent tone.

4

John took a moment while they conversed to look over the group in detail. There were around a dozen of the Drizk, with sizes and body shapes extremely similar to that of humans. Some were large and and more hairy while others were skinny or diminutive with hair less thick.

All were armed, a few with spears or some kind of blunt instrument, but much of the weaponry was unfamiliar to John. Apparently the Drizk had developed tools and weapons very different from that of humans. The Garden seemed indiscriminate of the resources it could provide. John was intrigued at the idea.

Few of the Drizk had any form of armor, but one of them held a shield that John could recognize the rank of just by looking at it. It was pristine and radiated durability. The sight of it made John take the group more seriously.

“They have Wizened equipment,” he thought in surprise.

He could tell even without inspecting the shield with the scope of his bow that it was Wizened. Much like the javelin he gained from the Wizened griffon, the aura around the shield was palpable. With cautious eyes, John returned his attention to Windy and the possum she still conversed with.

The larger male Drizk hissed loudly at Windy, causing the smaller possum to shrink. She hissed back in turn, still trying earnestly to explain something to the other. All she got for her effort was a careless shove as the male turned towards John.

It hissed up at him like a dog barking at a stray cat beyond the reach of its chain. John watched, unconcerned as the Drizk gesticulated at him impotently. At least, he thought it was impotence until two contraptions appeared on the possum’s wrists.

John barely had time to identify them as some kind of leather slings when the Drizk began twirling each sling vertically. Before he could wonder what was happening, the slings began to glow at the ends. John’s eyes widened as he recognized what he was seeing.

He darted to the side with a swift flap of his wings as fist sized balls of energy shot toward him. They were extraordinarily fast, and only John’s precognition allowed him to dodge the shots. He cursed aloud as the possum man continued to twirl his slings, producing a new glowing projectile in each every few seconds.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Dual wielding semiautomatic spirit slingshots? Well thanks for the bow!” John shouted at the sky.

John could tell by the speed and power of each projectile that the slings were Wizened tier. Moreover, the Drizk was using ammo far beyond that of his Muckray arrow. True, even the spirit arrows he had recently learned to create were inferior to the condensed power of the projectiles.

That told John exactly how dangerous the Drizk man was. His control and power could have meant only one thing. Whoever the possum man was, he had broken open his first Spiritual Gate.

John could feel from his own progress with Spiritual Cultivation that he was still a fair distance from that point. That more than anything gave him the caution he needed to assess the threat with accuracy. Unfortunately, the speed and regularity of the attacks gave John very little time to study.

He was forced to constantly change direction in an attempt to keep the other guessing. Even so, his opponent was nothing if not formidable. Despite John’s evasion, the Drizk managed to tip the scales.

Just as John fell into the speed and rhythm of his opponent’s attacks, the tempo changed on a dime. John dodged erratically to the side as the shot he expected never came. His eyes widened in recognition of his mistake as the Drizk made the motion to release a shot once more.

John stopped dead in midair with the aid of his wings, again thinking he was avoiding an attack at the last possible second. But once more, the shot didn’t come. Instead, the shot John had not been watching for came.

As soon as John had noticed the motion the possum man made to launch a spirit attack, he had come to a dead halt. What he hadn’t paid attention to was the second sling the Drizk had also been spinning. The second John came to a halt to avoid the faux attack, the true attack struck.

Even as outmatched as he was, John’s extensive analytical ability told him his mistake just as the attack left the sling. It was not soon enough for him to avoid the blow, but he was able to twist his body through the air so that the horrifying energy meant for his chest blasted into his right shoulder. Even so, the sheer destructive effect of the attack left John devastated.

In an instant, an immense chunk of John’s armor was blasted into pieces. His clothes were incinerated. His entire right arm, shoulder, and much of his torso on that side was exposed. Worse still, much of his exposed skin had blackened centered around a fist sized circle of charred flesh between his shoulder and pectoral.

The immense power behind the attack left John unable to do much more than scream in sublime torment. He fell from the sky, already all but blind to the world around him as the pain overtook his every sense. His one sane action as he did so was all that saved him from certain death.

Unbeknownst to John although extremely expected, the Drizk leader was already readying another projectile as he fell from the sky. Just before he sent it to finish off the defenseless human, an unexpected forced slammed into his knees from behind, toppling the possum man.

The attack meant for John sailed high into the sky as Jane bowled him over from behind. John couldn’t see much of anything beyond his pain, but he trusted his Divine Soul companion to keep attention from him while he tried to find a way to combat the torment. Startled hissing from more than one source told him she was performing admirably.

John turned his attention back to his situation. He was barely able to focus beyond the pain, but something significant managed to catch his attention. Something about the energy that had ravaged his body was familiar to John.

It was reminiscent of Lunar Radiance, yet also entirely different from it. Only the core of the energy seemed to share commonality. But no, through the pain and the smell of his own charred flesh, the real answer came to him.

It wasn’t the Spirit attack itself that he was finding familiar. It was the source from which the power had been drawn. From that source, John made a connection that he had been dancing around for months. John groaned in agony as he began the steps to circulate Lunar Radiance through his body.

In the absence of any actual moonlight, nothing should have happened. But the pain and familiarity of the energy coursing into his skin through the severe burns he had suffered provided a clarity of thought he had never considered before. And in that clarity, he found salvation.

Lunar Radiance was a skill to harness the spiritual essence of moonlight as it fell upon the user. Until then, John had thought of the Cultivation as just that; using moonlight to enhance his spirit.

But when he recognized the attack of the Drizk for what it was, John’s eyes were suddenly opened to the truth. The possum man had practiced some form of Spiritual Cultivation that, like Lunar Radiance, was based on light. Unlike his own, however, his adversary cultivated through sunlight, not moonlight.

Ordinarily, someone struck by such a devastating energy would be done for. Indeed, even the glancing blow John had received left him as near to death as he had ever been. But the recognition of sunlight had unlocked the door behind which all the answers John had been missing resided.

Lunar Radiance was not truly a skill to harness moonlight. John understood that now because in truth, there was no such thing as moonlight. Any light a moon gave off was simply a product of the sunlight that was shining upon it. Making that connection was all John had been missing to truly understand what he was attempting to do with Lunar Radiance.

His Spiritual Cultivation path was not meant to harness moonlight. His task was not to draw from the presence of a moon. Instead, he was meant to become the moon. Looking back on the trial he had suffered through, especially the severe burns he had received attempting it, John felt he understood what he had been missing.

Sunlight coursed through his body, and the heat continued to produce pangs of agony. John took a deep breath and redoubled his efforts to practice the circulation of Lunar Radiance. With no moonlight to speak of, the cultivation method sought out an alternative.

As fresh waves of pain coursed through John with each beat of his heart, the residual solar energy slowly found its way to the pathways that Lunar Radiance demanded John follow. At first, the only change was that the heat he felt at the injury sight began coursing through his entire body instead. John controlled his breathing despite all the distraction his mind was dealing with and focused on trying to push the heat along the proper route.

As the seconds passed by, John prayed he wasn’t about to be immolated by the formidable possum man. Forcing his mind to recenter, John began a four second repetitive process of collecting the solar energy to his core before sending it along the circuit meant for Lunar Radiance and back to his center. The heat was so immense that John felt his blood was boiling.

Through gritted teeth, he forced breaths out. The agony seemed to only grow worse as each second passed. But just before he lost all hope, John felt a critical shift in the energy he was circulating.

The heat of the solar energy he felt scouring his entire body fizzled out as suddenly as the pain had come. What remained was an overwhelming plethora of neutral energy circulating in a four second loop throughout his body. The absence of heat made it feel like a tidal wave of soothing energy washing over him.

The immense pain from his injury had not subsided, but with the acquisition of Spiritual Essence, John was much more capable of dealing with it. Moreover, the siphoned energy circulating through him was far greater than anything he had ever gathered through moonlight.

That spoke to the sheer volume of essence contained in the attack. John shuddered at the ability the Drizk man had at his disposal. He had entirely underestimated the force he was confronting.

John focused his new plethora of Spiritual Essence on the charred and blackened area on his body. Like pouring alcohol on an open wound, the area stung and sizzled anew. John gritted his teeth through the pain as he felt the traumatized area cool.

For the first time in what felt like several minutes, John opened his eyes. He looked at his brunt flesh as the blackened area began to flake away from him. Layer after layer of skin and flesh fell away as Lunar Radiance continued to make rounds through his pathways.

Slowly, his burnt skin fell away to reveal supple pink flesh. The bone searing pain did not fully subside, and John suspected he would feel the effects of the attack for weeks to come. But the positive change in his mental equilibrium was enough to grant John his feet once more.

5

As his miraculous recovery continued, John finally surveyed the battlefield. He was both surprised and impressed by what he saw there. Following the simple instruction she had been sent out with, Jane had become the worlds most effective distraction.

Even now, the wily fox spirit was darting between the increasingly agitated possums while whipping them with her tail to keep their attention. The leader of the possums was no exemption to the order, and every time he attempted to get his slings moving again, Jane dashed out with Divine speed and interrupted his efforts. John looked down at his demolished armor with disdain.

He knew instinctively that it would eventually repair the damage to itself even as John himself was currently doing. That didn’t change the fact that he was now much more vulnerable. John cursed silently to himself as he returned his attention to the conflict.

Jane’s demeanor suddenly changed as she moved through the men expertly, responding to a new mental command from John. Now instead of only garnering attention, the fox began actively harassing the men. She clawed at the legs of the Drizk and nipped at their arms when one took a swing.

John’s first order had been given as an attempt to avoid great bloodshed. Despite the blatant hostility and serious injury he had suffered, he still hadn’t wanted to descend into conflict. Now, John had similar intentions, but his command held more purpose than simple survival.

As Jane provoked the gang of Drizk into taking shots at her, John watched and analyzed the movements and abilities of each. He paid special attention to the various weapons he was unfamiliar with, and soon John began to understand how each enemy, weapon, body, and mind worked.

John was especially focused on the apparent leader of the Drizk. Like John, his eyes tracked Jane with purpose. The way his dark possum eyes seemed to dissect what they were seeing was familiar to John. His respect and apprehension for the Drizk man rose even higher as he realized the possum had also made exemplary progress on some kind of analytical Mind Cultivation.

It only made sense after the Drizk’s ability to track, predict and outplay John. Once more he was forced to acknowledge that he might have been in far over his head. The primitive and clueless speed at which his own people had been advancing since entering The Garden was so far below the rate John had been progressing that he completely underestimated the heights that others might have reached.

It was an important lesson for him. Despite being repeatedly thrown into situations he shouldn’t have been able to handle, John had always found his way through them. He had quickly become jaded by his apparent success.

As he watched the Drizk leader hiss out commands to his men, John started to craft a plan forward based on his analysis. He was impressed at the group’s ability to adapt and follow orders. He immediately noticed a decrease in Jane’s effectiveness.

John skipped to the side as a glowing sphere of light suddenly shot towards him. He cursed at the close call and once more paid grudging respect to the Drizk leader. Even while commanding his men and orchestrating the fight, the man had not forgot his main objective.

John flexed the muscles in his right arm as the function was slowly restored. He stretched it wide to make sure no deep tissue damage remained. As he did so, he held the black stare of the Drizk leader.

A stillness fell over the field as the two respective bosses locked eyes. Jane took the opportunity to extricate herself from the rest of the Drizk and return to John’s side. The possum boss hissed a short command and his men likewise fell into line behind him.

John shook his head at his own stupidity. It had been his own foolish decision to demand release of the human captives and then remove any form of communication. He had been blind with anger at the cowardice of the Drizk and had thought he could avoid getting into a huge conflict by removing himself from the situation.

As he had already learned, that had been a foolish assumption. John watched as the leader hissed new orders to his men. As they moved into formation to carry out the command, John held a hand up in a halting gesture.

With the other, he once more dropped the communication orb on the ground between them. With a glance at the still grounded and clearly shaken Wind Striker, John focused his attention back on the leader. Before it could hiss a command in his direction, John started speaking.

“My name is John. What do your people call you?”

Nervous looks and hushed hissing followed the translation that was expelled from the orb between the two parties. None of the speech was loud or directed enough to be picked up by the orbs so John had no way of knowing what they said. When the leader responded though, it came through clear.

“I am known as Light Thrower. Why have you come here?”

“You really are a simple people,” John said with a sad shake of his head.

John could tell by the nervous agitation in his voice that Light Thrower was unsure of John. He had likely met few enough enemies that got back to their feet after one of his attacks. That John had at all was enough to make the Drizk doubt his own ability.

“You know why I am here. As Windy no doubt told you before you rudely pushed her aside, I want my people to be released.”

“What do you offer my people in return?” Light Thrower asked arrogantly.

“I offer your people peace. I am here only to return my people safely.”

“And why should my people not simply kill you?”

“Because you aren’t sure if they can, are you?”

Light Thrower narrowed his eyes in apparent anger, but John could tell it was an act designed to hide the nerve John had struck with his words. John smiled behind his Chimera helmet. Finally, a foothold with which he could climb.

“It’s okay, Lighty Boy. I know how you feel. I wasn’t sure I could handle all of your men before seeing what they could do. Now though, I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed.”

“Disappointed?”

“Yeah. Average marks at best, across the board. All except that one,” John said.

He pointed a finger to the Drizk who still held the pristine Wizened shield. The burly looking possum appeared surprised to be singled out. His boss, however, was not.

“You are not entirely without sense, then. Mirror Wall is a natural talent. But why do you consider the rest of my men to be so inadequate?”

“Because Lighty Boy, they are. I bet when you were preparing this expedition to confront me, you underestimated me just like I did you. You gathered one or two men with actual skill and a handful more just to look intimidating. I’ll bet some of them haven’t even been given a distinction yet have they?”

“Your mind is as sharp as your tongue. But your whit does not explain why I shouldn’t burn you to cinders.”

John gestured to the still gaping hole in his armor. The Drizk seemed to only notice the wound at that moment. Light Thrower’s eyes widened as he took in the continually replenishing skin where his attack had landed.

“You’re welcome to try again, but you should know before you do that I’ve taken your measure.”

“You have eh? And what is my measure exactly?” Light Thrower asked.

“You’re a capable adversary with excellent control of both Mental and Spiritual Cultivation. I have no doubt that your Physical Cultivation has reached a similar level.”

“Then you should know exactly how dangerous your situation is,” Light Thrower said.

“Oh I do. But it isn’t nearly as dangerous as the situation your men are in.”

More than one Drizk hissed in a non communicative manner, as Windy had a few times. John let the threat spread through the ranks as he continued to stare back at Light Thrower. Then the other spoke again, sealing his fate as he swallowed the bait John had dangled in front of him.

“Do explain how they are in danger,” he said.

“Well if you don’t see it, there’s no point trying to point it out to you. Some lessons have to be learned through the mistakes that teach them. It is a shame though, I thought you were sharper than that.”

Light Thrower just looked at John with open anger as he pondered the words. John watched as the gears slowly turned in his head. After a moment, he had the answer.

“They’re all close range,” Light Thrower admitted.

“Wow! Look at you! You got that one quick!” John mocked.

John laughed at the snarl that curled Light Thrower’s face. He raised his hands in a resigned shrug. Then he twisted the knife of insult by mansplaining the whole situation.

“See, except for Windy over there, I’m guessing none of your men have the ability to fly, including you. Since your only capable ally specializes in defense, I don’t see your men doing much damage. If you want me dead, it’ll have to be you who attempts it.”

“I am happy to oblige!” Light Thrower shouted as his slings appeared in hand once more.

Before he could get a full rotation in with either, he was on the ground, Jane pressing a heavy paw into his chest. She snarled at him, giving the Drizk his first real taste of fear since the confrontation had begun. No one moved as Jane continued to snarl at Light Thrower.

“Enough,” John said.

Jane immediately returned to his side, ever obedient. Light Thrower was visibly shaken by the swift dismantling. As he warily climbed to his feet, John spoke again.

“We both have our strengths Light, but we also both have weaknesses. The question is, how many of mine have you been able to uncover?”

“What do you want?” Light Thrower eventually asked.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” John said in exasperation.

“I. Want. My. People. Back,” he said, clipping each word as though spoken to a simpleton.

“What makes you think we have your people?” Light asked.

John didn’t respond, but the savage look on Jane’s face spoke volumes as she released a low and violent growl. Light Thrower visibly gulped. John commanded Jane to stop as he summoned his javelin to hand.

“Now why would you want to ask me a stupid question like that, Lighty Boy?”

All the eyes assembled focused on the exquisite weapon as John stared daggers back at his foe. As quickly as it had come, the weapon disappeared. The casual threat of the weapon did more to convince the group of his conviction than trading barbed words ever could.

“As I have been saying, I didn’t come here to fight. I want my people. I’ll forgive that you thought me worth trying to deceive. But one way or another, I’ll have what I came for.”

“You imagine that there are multiple ways of getting what you want? Even if there were, are you truly enough to force my hand?” Light asked.

“The way I see it, you can either hand over my people willingly, or I’ll be forced to start compromising.”

“Forced to compromise?”

“Yeah. See this,” John brandished the javelin anew, “it isn’t my only formidable tool of death.”

“I don’t see the significance.”

“Yes you do,” John insisted.

“You know better than anyone how ineffective those slings are at close range. Even this long ass javelin would be superior. And as I said, it isn’t the only weapon I have to offer,” John said.

“Offer? Are you trying to trade your souls for the lives of your people?”

“Hell no. Maybe I would have been amenable to such a course if you hadn’t immediately started lobbing magic at me. Still, I’m a fair guy. And I spoke of compromise.”

“Go on, then,” Light demanded.

“I have gathered that your people, or maybe it’s just meatheads like you, respect nothing more than capability. As such, I propose a contest.”

“You want to play games for the lives of your people?”

“No games. A fight. Plain and simple. Winner by unconsciousness, death, or surrender. If I win, you release all of the humans. All of them. And for good measure, I want those slings too. If I lose, in addition to my life I’m sure, you can have every soul I have accumulated thus far. All except Jane here, I’ve promised her to another. What do you say?”

Light Thrower looked about to respond when John saw his eyes lose focus. The Garden was speaking to him, asking him to confirm or deny the bargain. After several seconds or scanning, the Drizk could barely believe his eyes.

John smiled as he was sure soul after soul was listed for the Drizk to see. He was sure the extensive list was causing the man to reconsider his options. John held out a hand for the possum to shake.

“Do we have a deal?” He asked.

“We… do not,” Light said uneasily.

“Well that’s a shame to hear. I really thought I could entice you with that one. Oh well, I guess there’s always-”

John stopped talking as Light Thrower slowly and deliberately bowed to him. His eyebrows shot up in shock. The last thing he had expected had been reasonable action.

“I apologize for my disrespect. If you truly do possess all of those tools, let alone the Tail-”

“Let’s keep that one between the two of us huh?” John asked, though his tone was anything but open for interpretation.

“Very well… I suppose if there is nothing else you wish of me, I shall return to the base now to fulfill your request.”

“See that you do, I will wait here. And if I think you’re attempting to deceive me, Jane here will do more than pin you down.”

“I understand. Please, forgive me.”

“You already asked me for that. If I see some haste in returning my people, I might consider it.”

Without another word, Light Thrower turned and began moving swiftly back toward the base. One of his men hissed a question at the leader, but a violent hiss in response shut down any further thoughts of interrogation. With many a glance cast in his direction, the group left John to await their return.

When they were gone, Windy approached John cautiously. The orb on the ground still served to pass messages between them, and the girl quickly took advantage.

“John?” She asked nervously.

“Hm?” John asked politely.

“How did you do that?” She asked with a finger pointing at the hole in his armor where his skin had all but returned to normal.

“Lighty Boy isn’t the only one who has tricks.”

“Even so, why did he decide to listen to you? How did you make him agree to your terms?”

“Sometimes, you have to put all the cards on the table,” John replied.