As Samuel stepped through the portal he’d created and entered the Ethereal Plane, his first impression was of deafening noise. What sounded like a howling storm was rushing all around him, whipping his face and stinging his eyes. He raised one arm to cover his face, and immediately noticed strange, colorless energy clinging to his form. A second later, he realized that it was chaotic mana. He was surrounded by the stuff, and it was draining his mana at an alarming rate.
He coated his body in Ki at once, and the effect was removed. He’d lost a fair chunk of mana in that first second or two, but it wasn’t much compared to his vast reserves. Not for the first time, he was thankful for the sheer amount of mana he’d been gifted as Arcana’s Champion. He could sustain such draining effects far more easily than the average mage.
“This must be what drives mages mad when they enter,” he muttered. His voice was too quiet to even reach his own ears, even now that the roaring sound had been lessened. Chaos still reigned around him, though it ignored him now that he wasn’t a delicious feast. Samuel glanced around him quickly, ensuring that there were no threats nearby. Apart from the veritable ocean of chaotic mana, he was safe.
In his limited research of the Ethereal Plane, he’d come across several mentions of a place known as the Sea of Chaos. It was a vast space that drained the will and life of a person. Samuel supposed that this must be the same sea. He hoped that the texts claims of its endlessness weren’t true. He couldn’t maintain his ki shroud for much longer than a day, thanks to his training with Tobito.
He quickly realized another problem as he tried to move. Unlike water, the space around him felt like a thick swamp, defying his efforts to propel himself in any given direction. The energy around him was swirling and surging in random, unpredictable patterns, preventing him from making progress. Anytime he tried to push forward, the sea pushed back, and he was demoted to a snail’s pace.
He couldn’t get anywhere with this expedition if he couldn’t move. Tentatively, he pulled a thin layer of mana over his body, preparing to teleport. His chosen destination, some spot five hundred yards ahead, flared to life with his mana. At once, the nearby chaotic mana surged over to it, devouring his magic in an instant. He cursed quietly, recognizing the foolishness of that idea a moment too late.
Well now, he thought to himself. He couldn’t use arcane magic to propel himself or move at all. He might have large reserves of mana, but even he couldn’t hope to continuously fire off futile spells and expect to live. The spell he used to enter the plane was still active, providing a gentle yet constant drain on his resources. He had to keep an eye on that, he reminded himself. When he was just about out of mana, he’d have to pull himself back.
He studied the movement of the energy around him for what felt like hours, wondering at the chaotic nature of it. There was no set pattern to it at all. Energy simply clumped together swirling in any direction of its choice, only changing trajectory when it came across another clump or stream of energy. Samuel noticed that, in those cases, the larger mass of energy always won the contest, forcing the smaller to shift direction once again and move off to inevitably collide again.
Samuel also noticed that, every once in a while, two masses of equal size and power would slam into each other, and neither would be diverted. They’d simply stick to each other, in one place. It resembled some sort of struggle. Three times, one of the energy masses won the fight and continued, significantly larger. Once, however, the two masses joined together, doubling in mass and continuing on its way.
There was something to the latter situation, Samuel thought, and he kept his eyes peeled for another sign of it happening. It was almost twenty minutes before he spotted it. Two truly massive streams of chaotic mana collided and fused, then soared past Samuel, four times wider than he was tall. It obliterated several smaller masses as it moved, then met its end as it slammed into an even bigger version of itself.
Samuel stared at this last mass. It seemed to be the biggest of the lot and had probably existed for quite a while. It was then that Samuel noticed the most peculiar fact of his surroundings. The largest stream, winding around at its whim, was having an easier time of traveling than the others. At first, Samuel thought this was due to its sheer size, but then he saw that some bits of chaotic mana would turn sharply to avoid contact with it, leaving the path relatively clear.
“It’s a basic rule of nature,” Samuel muttered to himself, again, inaudibly. The smaller masses, while essentially chaotic, nonliving objects, were displaying signs of self-preservation.
Out of curiosity, he gathered a large ball of mana up in his hands and threw it away from himself. He aimed it directly for the head of the approaching massive column of chaotic mana and watched in fascination as the stream changed direction to catch it. That had been less than one-thousandth of his total mana pool, but he’d successfully affected the energy around him. This gave him an idea as to how he could travel. As long as he did it carefully, he reminded himself.
He waited for the larger mass of energy to move quite a ways from him, then conjured another, smaller ball of mana. He propelled it in the direction he’d chosen, and, at once, the energy around him rushed to devour it. Samuel was so intent on moving in that direction that he felt propelled forward at once, without using any sort of mana or ki to speed his movement. One moment he’d been completely still, the next, thrust forward. He had no clue how far he’d traveled, but it felt like considerable progress.
Had he just willed chaotic mana to behave the way he wanted? True, the energy that surrounded him was unlike any he’d encountered before. The two Enari he’d face in the material plane had been an angry sort of chaos. Here, the Sea of Chaos was in a more neutral state, simply flowing wherever it wanted, influenced by the tiniest of events around it.
It was the first unique lesson that a mage entering the Ethereal Plane had to learn, and quickly. No sooner had Samuel discovered this newfound ability than he saw a flash of light far behind him, in the direction from which he’d come. He could sense… something. There was some massive creature, even larger than the largest of the streams he’d observed, swirling through the sea, clearly coming in his direction.
Killed. I will kill. I will kill!
The whispering, hissing voice reached his mind, and he reacted instinctively, pulling himself further away. The action that had been so strange and new now felt as natural as breathing to him, and it was a good thing it did. He could feel a cold, hungry sort of anger coming closer. Whatever that creature was, it hated Samuel and was coming in for the kill. He did the only thing he could and raced off and away from it.
He could tell that it was giving pursuit and increased the rate at which he was sacrificing mana. He had an acute sense of his reserves and limitations and knew that, by now, he’d used about a quarter of his available mana. But he shouldered the risk easily, especially as the signs of mana exhaustion were lessened by some mystery effect of the sea.
He lost the creature eventually after he’d traveled what felt like several kilometers in one direction. Distance was nearly impossible to gauge in this space, just as was time. It could have been hours since he’d entered the plane, or minutes. It could even have been days. He pushed on regardless, determined to continue until he either ran out of resources or found the end to this sea of chaos.
Though the rush of chaos seemed never-ending, he found a sort of peace in the chaotic nature of it. This was dangerous, as it caused him to lose focus a few times and expose himself to the draining effect, but he’d gained a new perspective on chaotic mana. What he’d face previously had been warped by humanity or contact with the material plane, he realized. It hadn’t been true chaos, which was impartial, uncaring, and not driven by emotion. True chaos just existed, with no rule but the rule of strength. As such, it could be influenced, if one had a strong enough will.
It was almost human in a way, Samuel thought, as he pushed himself along. It was just a shame that he couldn’t traverse for extended periods. Any spell he cast had a slightly higher cost to it due to the presence of the chaos around him. This gave him a sudden surge of doubt. How was he to learn anything from the plane if it so directly opposed his nature? Such a venture would require a dedicated teacher, and he wouldn’t find one in the middle of the Sea of Chaos.
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It was perhaps an hour or so later, though again it was hard to track time in this place, that he noticed the first change in his surroundings. Ahead and slightly to the right, there was a large collection of rocks floating in the void. He could only see the bottom of the truly massive chunk of stone, as he was set to go directly under it. It was easily the size of Milagre, he noticed. Curious, he changed his direction, shooting straight up to get a higher point of view.
When he drew level with the top, he noticed the rock was almost nearly perfect. It varied in some places, but for the most part, it was pretty level. Equally as strange, there were buildings placed on it. At first, Samuel thought his eyes might be playing tricks on him, making him see things after hours of nothingness around him. But there was no denying the obvious signs of civilization before him.
Then he noticed the people, and immediately dropped low to avoid being spotted. From the brief glimpse he’d managed, he could identify the energy of the beings that lived on the rock. They were unmistakably Enari. But they had closely resembled humans, with arms and legs. He’d never expected to see so many gathered in one place, but knew at once that he had to avoid interaction.
From the near distance, he heard laughing. Laughing? Then he heard one of the beings shout something, and another replied. The distance was too great for Samuel to make out any words, but he was still thrown by any such creatures having the ability to communicate. If they were creatures formed of chaotic mana, then how could they have enough reason to speak? To Samuel, this showed growth and intelligence that posed danger rather than relieving him. If chaotic mana were given the power of independent thought, they could cause a lot of damage.
Still, he had come to this plane to investigate and potentially learn new magic. He couldn’t turn away after he’d just discovered his first sign of civilization. To be true, he couldn’t risk discovery by dozens, maybe even hundreds of Enari, but he could stay hidden from them, and eavesdrop. Maybe he could spy long enough to learn something. He felt confident that, if he saw magic performed, he could eventually replicate it with Arcana’s help.
He kept himself as close to the rock as possible and inched slowly higher. The bottom of the floating island was jagged, and his progress was hampered by the chaotic movement of energy around him. He could feel the presence of the Enari now, perhaps eight or nine of them in a small group at the very edge. He paused, not sure if it was safe to continue. But they were just gathered facing the sea, not in the direction from which he’d come.
With his tensed nerves, finishing his slow ascent was nearly as exhausting as if he’d climbed it manually. But he finally cleared the lip at the edge and pushed himself behind a small collection of buildings. He could hear the group of Enari now and tilted his head to listen.
“No Kani today,” one of them said. Their voice was strangely melodic, an obvious byproduct of magical communication. They let out a sigh. “There goes my excuse for avoiding Tana.”
Another of the Enari laughed. Samuel couldn’t be sure, but he would have wagered that it was a female voice. “Still terrified of bonding with her, Edri?”
“You be quiet, Inka,” Edri replied, a bit of anger present now. Samuel felt the emotion rippling through the air, passing past him like a cold breeze. He resisted the urge to shiver with some difficulty. “At least my Chosen Bond is still in the same plane as me.”
That seemed to quiet Inka for several long seconds. Finally, she said, “You know that’s a sore subject, Edri. How dare you mention Samuel, after all these years?”
Samuel, in his hiding spot behind the building, jerked his head up at that. Had the Enari just said his name? No, he told himself. He must have misheard her. He inched closer, holding his breath as if not daring to breathe, and peeked around the very corner of the building. There, in the open space, were seven Enari, just as he’d noticed. Five of them were indistinct, blurry shapes, without features.
The other two, however, were very different. They had clearly defined features, and they were even wearing long billowing robes. The man, who Samuel assumed to be Edri, had flaming red hair, and what was visible of his face seemed very long and thin. Inka’s face was more rounded, and she had long flowing black hair that rippled around her in a nonexistent breeze. She had very gentle green eyes, and Samuel felt certain that if smiling, she would have been breathtaking. But at the moment her mouth was turned down in a frown.
“He hasn’t been gone that long,” Edri replied, turning to face Inka more directly. “I know that you feel like it’s been centuries, but it's barely been five years.”
Another long silence. “I forgot you could tell the passage of time.”
“Of course,” Edri replied, and he sounded smug about this skill. “He taught me how, after all.”
They both turned outward to face the sea once more, Edri reaching up to awkwardly scratch his chin. There was something about his posture that reminded Samuel of guilt as if he regretted his earlier comment. This was confirmed a few seconds later when he spoke. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Inka replied, again after several long seconds had passed. Then another long stretch of silence elapsed. “Do you think he’ll really come back?”
“I do. Saniel promised us he would return, as soon as he could.”
Samuel heaved a sigh of relief as he heard the new name. It was similar enough to his own that he could have believed it a mistake. So he’d misheard after all. There was no way that these creatures could know him. He watched as Edri and Inka turned suddenly to face something to the left.
“Finally!” Edri crowed, throwing his arms up in the air. “I was starting to think I wouldn’t see any.”
He turned to face the five Enari behind himself and Inka. “Any of you want it?”
“You know they can’t speak to you,” Inka said sternly. “Don’t be an ass.”
Edri stepped closer to the edge and turned to face Inka. Now Samuel could make out the features of his face. It was indeed angular, like that of an elf, and he was sporting a huge amused grin. “Fine then. Do you want it?”
“I’m not a Hunter,” Inka replied, her voice barely audible over the sound of an approaching creature. “Why must you be this way?”
“Just the way I made myself, I guess,” Edri replied with a shrug. Then he threw himself off the edge, rocketing out of sight faster than Samuel could blink. That was way faster than he’d traveled himself, and Edri hadn’t seemed to use any energy to accomplish it.
Inka gave a quiet sigh as Edri vanished, and turned to the five others. “Be ready to haul it when he brings it back.”
They made no verbal reply but spread out in a long line. The last of the line actually came to a stop less than ten feet from where Samuel hid. He had to jump back behind the building, reducing his ki as much as he could, hoping that the Enari wouldn’t notice him. He seemed safe, and stared out into the void, wondering where Edri had gone.
He didn’t have to wonder for long. A whooping voice echoed back to his ears, and Edri reappeared. Except that he wasn’t alone. A massive beast, as wide as he was tall, was hot on his tail. Even as Samuel watched, the Enari turned sharply to the left, and the creature’s massive jaws missed him by inches.
“Careful, Edri!” Inka called, hurrying to move behind the protective line that the others had formed. “Don’t run it into the island this time!”
“I know, I know!” Edri called back. Samuel watched in silent wonder as he came to an abrupt stop from top speed, planting his feet against a passing stream of chaotic energy as if it were solid, and turned to face the opposite direction. The change in direction was so rapid that it might as well have taken place in the space of a few inches. The beast, which had been feet from the edge of the island, veered off to chase after him.
As Samuel watched Edri darting back and forth around the creature, which was revealed to have a body almost a hundred feet long, Samuel was watching his movements closely. His control over his speed and turns was impeccable, with no wasted momentum. Each turn chained smoothly into another burst of speed, and the larger creature simply couldn’t keep up.
But then the creature shook its head to the side without warning, slamming into Edri and knocking him back towards the island. Edri hit the stone ground hard and seemed stunned. The beast gave a victorious roar and closed in for the kill. Samuel reacted without thinking, launching himself from the rock. Maybe it was the fact that it would have struck very near where he had been hidden, or maybe it was a desire to protect the beautiful Inka. Either way, he met the beast head-on, delivering a powerful blast of Ki.
The creature shuddered under the impact, and the lines of Samuel’s spell arced away, slamming back into its hide with devastating force. It seemed to have an especially weak hide, he noticed, as his magic cut quite deeply. He created Shigeru’s unique magic in each hand, and threw them wide, directing them back inward and cleaving the great beast in half, just behind the skull.
“No!” Edri’s voice came to him, making him turn. The Enari was rushing towards him, a look of stricken disbelief on his face. “You fool! It’s useless to us dead!”
Samuel shoved himself backward with another explosion of ki, as Edri reached out to touch him. It was an instinctual response, borne from his memory of what had happened by touching the Enari he’d encountered outside of this plane. Edri seemed stunned for a second, as his head turned to face Samuel’s path. Maybe he’d thought he could grab the mage easily. Pity for him, Samuel thought. He wouldn't be captured that easily. But then he came to an abrupt halt as he saw Edri’s expression. It wasn’t hostile, or even angry. He looked shocked and happy.
“Samuel?”