An unreasonable terror gripped Ori’s heart as just when he was starting to get used to this place and its inscrutability, something or someone new arrived to unsettle the tentative understanding he had begun to depend on.
"Who's this?" Ori asked into the walls of the Crucible.
"I am, for all intents and purposes your lucky break, boyo," the voice answered.
"Is this part of the Crucible? Is this another trial?"
"I am the Crucible, and no... hmm… no... your trials haven't been that far down the mind path for you to be so paranoid, so… I'll just assume this is part of your nature, how tedious," the voice, rich and cultured, rose and fell like a tide laced with condescension as if speaking to Ori at all was only a mere courtesy and that he found himself far better company.
"You're the Crucible?" Ori asked, mistrust and confusion evident in his tone.
"Well, yes. To be precise, I am the will fragment left behind by the original creator, slumbering for untold aeons, only to be forced into such a droll conversation with a living, breathing nitwit," the Crucible sighed. "Let's move things along, shall we? So yes, you're Ori Suba, a human manling from the Material demiplane, indeterminate sex-toy of a wayward succubus, familiar bonded to a sprite, and now the Mortal Astral Aspirant, I suppose it does have a ring to it. In the trial, you had a very slow start, but we managed to find that one thing that makes you, special, didn't we? However, it's now looking like you're nearing the boundaries of your talents with all but diminishing returns to be had in further trials. Would you like to refine now?" the Crucible asked, sounding almost dismissive.
"I have no idea what you're on about: How do you even know all that stuff about me? What’s an Astral Aspirant? And what do you mean that I'm at the boundaries of my talent?"
"Good grief, I am far too groggy to be dealing with imbeciles," the entity known as the Crucible whined as an aside before continuing aloud. "No, no, no, all insipid questions with boring answers. Understand that I awoke because apparently, someone had become interesting. Interesting is good, I like interesting, I do interesting things to things I like. Do you understand?"
"No, I really don't."
"Such insolence. Hmmm, though I suppose insolence—in this context at least, is interesting. All you need to know is as things stand, there is little left for you inside the Cornucopia, given your talents and proclivities —Good job with the suns by the way, very… creative. Sure, you might be able to scrape together a few more evolved catalysts, but you'll just be a curiosity, a mortal with brand-new, irregular affinities, yes, but with absolutely zero power behind them; you'd be a newborn chick with golden feathers, and unlike the chick, you would not survive the plucking."
"But what about magic?"
"You apparently came from a realm without mana, so you do not possess magic, the Crucible, ergo me, can only refine what is, not add which there is not," Crucible replied.
"What about awakening or evolution?" Ori tried.
"Awakening cannot turn you into something you're not. And while evolution might help, to evolve is impossible without mana. However, if my read on the situation is correct, there is a… an alternative possibility." The Crucible's sonorous voice resonated with the chamber walls, even the air seemed to tingle in expectation as Ori held in his response. "You need strength… power… power enough to strike down the demons who abducted you and set yourself free. Yes? Moreover, as a mortal, with Irregular…" the voice scoffed as if the very notion was preposterous. "...affinities, you couldn’t hope to survive unless…” The entity stretched out the word before the awkward silence became excruciatingly painful, “Unless… I send you across time and space. Across eras and demiplanes to confluences of fate, to situations where an aspirant was summoned, to those who can add where I can only subtract. Yes, yes… Reactant, Reagent, Catalysts, Mana, Carnis-Synthesis! You'll become my eleventh masterwork, my fifty-eighth aspirant to successfully walk the path and my first complete flesh enchantment. Ah, finally, the excitement of doing something new, the joy of interesting work. Yes… yesss, worth waking up for indeed. So, here’s the deal, One that is an outrageously beneficial deal for you. A deal that gives you at least a chance of life and all it requires is a promise,"
Ori wanted to reject the omnipresent voice out of hand. Accepting faustian deals with limited, and potentially suspect information never seemed like the right play. However, Ori feared that the voice was right and that he could leave this place little better off than he had been when he entered. After all the time, pain, sweat, and blood spent on this endeavour, such an outcome was simply unacceptable.
"What's the promise?" Ori asked failing to keep the edge out of his voice.
"Suspicious little brat…, aren't you? Well, the only thing I want from you is to un-anchor me and take me with you. Actually, I’ll do the un-anchoring myself and all you need to do is wear an unassuming ring while getting as far out of reach of these infernal cretins as possible, another realm or demiplane ideally. I won't even magically bind you to an oath, though I can’t and won’t stop those pesky dragons from requesting a donation to their hoard.
"Thus, in return for bestowing upon you the opportunity to attain the perfect foundations for unparalleled power, you shall become the esteemed guardian of an ancient artefact. Your sole responsibility: to adorn yourself with an unassuming ring and continue on with your merry little life, preferably far away from here."
“Is there a timelimit? A deadline?”
“Deadline? Hmmmm, a mortal lifespan should be enough. Though since I have no interest in your soul, I suppose I can’t really hold it against you if you die before getting far enough from here as long as you make the attempt,”
“Could I take you back to my, erm, realm? To Earth?”
“Hmmmm. An entire realm without mana, a vault to harvest grace...” It mumbled seemly to itself. “It wouldn’t be ideal, but then again literally anywhere would be better than here, though if what I’m sensing in the twisting of threads… I’ll tell you what, if you agree to take me to the Celestial plane or the Faewilds, I will reforge you into something that may yet survive the attempt.”
“I guess I’m taking your offer. But I’d also like your advice.” Ori answered after a hard, but brief think. He had no bargaining power, no leverage. Meanwhile, he faced a temperamental being of unknown power and influence. Given these facts, Ori knew that he had to appeal to the entity’s vanity or pride.
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“Whoyh-yo? Go on.”
“So, as your guardian, would it not behoove you to instruct such an ignorant retch as I? After all, the more I know, the further I’ll be able to take you?”
“Hmmm, I suppose my magnanimous self can entertain the questions of my future guardian. Well? Begin.”
“Yeah, so...”
It wasn’t until he got some answers from the Crucible’s Will did Ori begin to grasp the magnitude of his circumstances.
While Freya’s knowledge had alluded to this, Ori now had confirmation that the catalysts within the Crucible followed the same, ranking system as almost everything else under the Library of Fates:
> Mortal (between G and F rank)
>
> Lesser (F to E rank)
>
> Awakened (E rank)
>
> Nascent (D rank)
>
> Greater (C rank)
>
> Sovereign (B rank)
>
> Immortal (A rank)
>
> Divinity (S rank)
>
>
Individuals evolve along racial lines and class ranks, progressing through each rank to bring about qualitative and often fundamental changes in their power. The disparity between a Mortal and an Awakened's strength could be as much as tenfold; however, this difference is often distributed across multiple attributes. For instance, instead of a tenfold increase in strength alone, improvements in both speed and strength might be balanced, resulting in a five times enhancement for each attribute. Ultimately, this leap in power and capability is replicated upon reaching every rank, transforming individuals who evolve to the Immortal or Divinity realms into living, breathing gods capable of reshaping worlds at will.
This ranking system also applies to items and artefacts as well as animals and beasts, providing a rough gauge of the power rating or, for example, the attribute requirements an item might possess. However, unbeknownst to most, this ranking system did not end with Divinity; branching into three distinct, exclusive paths:
> Immortal (A rank) to Pinnacle (SS rank)
>
> Titan (S - SS rank) to Primordial (SSS rank)
>
> Irregular (E - SS rank) to Transcendent (EX rank)
In the dream, which was, in fact, Ori's fifth trial attempt, new catalysts with fresh ideals and multiple facets of the same principles were discovered in such abundance and completeness that they fused into more advanced concepts, ideals, and fundamental truths, surpassing the initial item rank and compelling the catalysts to evolve multiple times into lesser essences and primordial energies.
It was at the Irregular branch of the extended ranking system where Ori's catalysts had stabilised, introducing concepts that were novel even to the all-powerful Library of Fates. When asked what it might mean, the Crucible's response proved less than helpful.
"It is an Awakened's lifetime achievement to do what you have managed, with my help I must add, in a single night's sleep. Preposterous. Yes, yes, you’ve found them, comprehended them, you have those affinities now. Even without refinement, if you managed to find Quintessence you could probably do something with it. Meanwhile, all astral and celestial powers would be under your command… if you had any Mana to speak off that is, and somehow you’re also on the cusp of merging your mental and spiritual characteristics, as a mortal no less! Ha!
“But don't let it go to your head. Gods have successfully traversed the path to Divinity with nothing but the most common of affinities. Just because yours are... Irregular, doesn't mean you are entitled to anything from anyone. Intriguing? Unusual? Perhaps. But when your worth isn't determined by what you can do, but rather by what can be extracted from you, you become a resource rather than a being, a commodity to be exploited rather than something to be respected. So, let's just say that at least for now if it weren't for the fact that I, the magnanimous entity that I am, hold a vested interest in your survival and possess no concern for your... affinities, we would be engaging in a vastly different conversation or, more accurately, no conversation at all."
“So what does refining actually do then, if I already have these affinities?”
“Boy, would you eat a cake that hasn’t been baked? Would you rather swing a blank of Iron instead of a blade of forged steel? I am the Crucible that will burn these gifts into your mind, body and spirit, refinement will turn you from an insignificant peculiarity, into something that could cause ripples in Fate.”
Asked what was ‘the path’ and its significance, Crucible had this to say for itself:
“Many Awakened are acquainted with 'The Eternal Path,' a journey frequently immortalised through legend and song, of those who forge or dismantle realms, of heroes and villains spanning epochs both ancient and unfamiliar, to even one such as I. 'The Path' gently calls to all Awakened, whether men, beasts, demons, or even objects as inanimate as stone. Yet for those attuned to its subtleties, certain individuals glean more than others. A subtle thing, until it’s obvious, an inconsequential thing until it’s all-important. Distinct from fate and predestination but no less potent, with all else being equal, a man on the path shall more often than not, triumph over one who was not. As those on the path weave the threads of fortune in ways they often neither realise nor comprehend:
“By serendipity, they may encounter friends or lovers who guide and impel them, adversaries who test their mettle and endow them with a sense of purpose, landscapes of wonder and danger, each tribulation refining their spirit and tempering their resolve, or fortuitous artefacts of antiquity, long forsaken by time and hidden from view until the destined moment of unearthing.
“And tribulations there will be, for every God or Titan who has successfully traversed the path, a million corpses of those who shone too brightly, too soon, or those who failed to shine brightly enough when they needed to the most. A million tales of those who were on the path before a desperate world teeming with monsters, devoured them whole. For despite these dubious advantages, fate and fortune shall prove fickle patrons indeed. And make no mistake, for you are on the path, as an Irregular no less; the most perilous path of all. For there shall be no maps to guide you, no mentors to instruct you, only your wits, your resolve, and your fortune – and even then, that will not be enough, not nearly enough.”
Ori wanted to laugh at the entity's representation of his situation. Crucible turned his living house fire of a week into the beginning of an epic suitable for Netflix. If it weren’t for the fact that his life had already changed for the worse before the Crucible, the revelation that he was now living the computer gaming equivalent of hardcore mode would have hit more than it did.
"So, why are you calling me the Astral Aspirant? Is it to do with that infinity sign next to the Astral Catalyst?" Ori asked
"Interesting aspirants receive titles, some of which may even be acknowledged as accolades by those old dragons. Believe it or not, there are certain things even I cannot measure, and your affinity with the Astral and Celestial Demiplanes… Well, let me just say that I'm eager to see how this all unravels," Crucible replied, exuding a mix of delight and smugness for reasons Ori didn't care to speculate about.
“What happens next?” Ori asked, his head spinning after having his list of questions answered.
“You have four attempts of the trial remaining, the laws of this construct state that each trial will count as one attempt, this will include the extra-planar summonings we’ll be attempting. However, I have power enough for only three chances unless you’d care to wait the two thousand years required for me to… charge up a fourth attempt?”
“I’ll make do with three,” Ori replied.
“Wonderful, In that case, I’d strongly advise returning to the Crucible for the final time.”
“But didn’t you say I’ve reached my limits?”
"Ah, yes, I wondered if this question would arise again," Crucible mused. "In the simplest terms, an individual is defined equally by their capabilities and limitations. Every sapient being possesses strengths and weaknesses, as well as likes and dislikes. Within a thousand branches of Fate, there are actions that an Ori Suba will never take, while another individual might. Actions that, for all your determination, would never accomplish no matter the attempts. At these innermost edges of these possibilities lie the boundaries of one's talent. These boundaries can only be approached, for expanding them would require altering the very psyche of the individual in question.
"For you, Ori Suba, though you may harbour darkness in your heart, you will never follow the shadows. While you may respect the light, you will never join their ranks. Though you may misdirect, you will never master deception. And while you might be sought after, revered, and even followed, you will never rule. As an irregular, you walk the path on the razor's edge and despite your profane potential, these are the limits that define you."