Running up to the creaky wooden stairs of his old family house, Archibald whizzed up the steps in excitement. With child-like joy, he thought to himself, “Finally! Finally! Today’s the day I awaken! Today’s the day that my life changes for the better! I’ll be among the best in town! I can’t believe this is happening to someone like me!” Archibald clenched his fists in determination as he arrived at the short hallway at the top of the stairs. Ahead of him was a window, underneath which a small shelf held a small and delicate looking shimmering and translucent blue clover-like plant in a beige pot.

Wasting no time gazing at the beautiful plant, Archibald quickly made a hard left where a wooden door lay wide open. Running past the door, Archibald rushed into the room and right onto a worn quilt laid neatly onto a plain brown bed that was located in the far right corner.

Almost nauseous from jittery excitement and nervousness, Archibald had a hard time assuming his meditative half lotus stance and calming his mind and body. Trying to calm himself, he ranted in his mind, “You have to be calm Archibald, absolutely no messing this up. You have to succeed! This is what you have been waiting sixteen years for. Ooh, I just hope everything goes well!," Archibald quickly brought up his hands and lightly slapped his cheeks at the negative thought. Forcing his negative thoughts away Archibald mentally picked himself up, "No! Everything has to go well! Everything will go well!"

Archibald closed his slightly glowing eyes, placed the palms of his hands on his knees, and tried to enter Introspection. Thoughts still racing, Archibald hyped himself up, “Alright! It's make or break time. As long as I awaken everything will be better. It doesn’t even matter if my talent is poor, I’ll be something better. I, Archibald Riege, will be a Physiquer!” With that final ecstatic thought, Archibald for the first time in his life successfully entered Introspection and started to grasp at the green and brown Tether Energy that he had only begun to sense less than half an hour ago.

Glowing eyes closed and with muscles relaxed in the half lotus position, Archibald fully quieted his mind. All those years of practice meditating would help ease his Awakening today. Unlike those that naturally and effortlessly awakened in their sleep at younger ages, Archibald had to put in immense effort to ensure that he had a successful Awakening.

To become an Awakened was every child and young adult's dream. Unfortunately, not everyone had a shot at Awakening, in fact, it was exceedingly rare. Even those that did have the opportunity could only try Awakening once and those that awakened earlier had an astronomically easier time with it.

Gradually, Archibald mentally pulled at the Tether Energy around him. Luckily, from the Mentor’s lessons in the orphanage, Archibald knew that this should be a fairly natural process. Those undergoing Awakening were for a short time nature’s beloved. As such, Tether Energy would naturally drift toward him and aid him during his Awakening. This phenomenon was called the Thrum, due to the deep and humming sound that Tether Energy made when coalescing around someone’s body.

Archibald remembered from the orphanage’s lessons that the first hurdle to Awakening was the opening of the Spirit Pool. Slowly, remembering years of instruction, Archibald gathered the Tether Energy from outside his body into his head in the form of a ball. Eyebrows knitting into intense concentration, Archibald felt the veins on his head throb from the pain and immense exertion. He knew that should he be disturbed he may lose the natural balance of energy and utterly fail his Awakening. Only now did he truly realize why Awakenings were such a private matter and why the mentor advised a solitary Awakening. One disturbance. Just one, and Archibald knew he would fall just a step short of entering heaven and instead plummet into hell, destined to become something like a sewer cleaner or expendable farm hand for the rest of his life.

Tether Energy fully condensed, a dull boom resounded throughout Archibald’s mind and body as he stifled a pained snort. The opening of the spirit pool had gone roughly, but it had ultimately succeeded. Initially a little bit uneasy at this unexpected setback, Archibald shook his head and gritted his teeth in determination.

“Focus, focus. I will succeed. I have to succeed. This is my only chance at a new life!” With renewed vigor and concentration, Archibald then focused on the second step of the Awakening. The opening of the Physique Tree, arguably the most vital aspect of a Physiquer.

Once again recalling the Mentor’s words, Archibald mentally prodded the leftover Tether Energy in his newly opened Spirit Pool outward. Forcing the energy outward, a vague outline started to form around the Spirit Pool, one that looked like countless crisscrossing branches. Naturally, the expelled Tether Energy flowed around the Physique Tree until it fully depleted itself.

Even while still adjusting to two entirely new and alien aspects of his being while in Introspection, Archibald was able to realize that he had opened the First Ring of the Physique Tree successfully.

Gazing at the illusory Physique Tree, something that was the very essence of his body. Archibald felt near to tears in joy. Almost sobbing from a mix of hope, excitement, and longing Archibald struggled to keep his mind calm.

Sniffling, he chided himself, “Come on Archie calm down already,” He stifled another sniffle, “This is it, only one more step, and my life will be entirely different!”

Quickly recalling the Mentor’s lessons, Archibald prepared himself for the third and final step. The opening of the mind. Not much was known about what opening the mind did, or at least the Mentor didn’t know much about what it did. Nevertheless, it was still the most dangerous aspect of the Awakening. A slip up here either meant permanent brain damage or even death. “I wonder how easy it was for those that awaken at a young age in their sleep. Ah! No use in being jealous, Archie! You’ve got this!” Archibald hyped himself up further as he subconsciously straightened his back in anticipation.

Psyched up, Archibald initiated the opening of the mind. Focusing on the Spirit Pool, Archibald chose one of the myriad streams that connected the Spirit Pool to a branch of the Physique Tree. Fully concentrated, Archibald absentmindedly mumbled to himself, “Alright easiest part done…now on to the hard part. Tracing the branch until it meets the boundary to the Second Ring…”

Deadly serious and determined, Archibald painstakingly mentally traced a branch of the Physique Tree. Unlike the prior two steps that occurred fairly naturally even for someone with Archibald’s poor level of talent, the opening of the mind was a true obstacle that demanded undivided attention and patience from those that were poorly talented, the unlucky majority that Awakened late.

Beads of sweat slowly formed on Archibald's forehead as his brows knitted in intense concentration. Soon, after what felt like an eternity balancing on the edge of a knife, Archibald felt himself close to the boundary of the Second Ring.

Heart rate spiking in anxiety, Archibald arrived closer and closer to the boundary. Closer and closer to a brand new life. One of power, adventure, and anything he could ever hope for.

Eyebrows somehow becoming even more knitted, Archibald thought to himself in concentration, “Come on…come on…almost there,” The end was literally in sight, it seemed mere moments away. “This is it…this is it…my new life. My new me…dawns today!”

With that thought, Archibald heard an illusory cracking that rang through his very being. “YES! YES! I’m a Phys…Ack!” Instead of the supposed euphoric pleasure and contentment that all who Awakened said they felt, Archibald instead felt a rising pain.

“No…no,” Archibald cried out in distress. “What’s wrong with me? Why does it hurt!” The mere possibility that something had gone wrong, that his only chance at Awakening had failed or gone wrong almost drove him mad. “No! I won’t let this happen. It can’t happen! I will be a Physiquer!” Determined to succeed at all costs, Archibald forced himself back into Introspection, back into the Physique Tree.

However, instead of the usual colorless branches, Archibald was greeted by branches that seemed to glow in low prismatic light. “What the…this is all wrong…why is this happening to me…” Too consumed by rising despair, Archibald didn’t notice that the prismatic light was rapidly expanding throughout the Physique Tree and into the Spirit Pool.

Abruptly, Archibald was forced out of Introspection. Head pounding, Archibald felt like his brain was somehow hammering on the walls of his skull. Screaming out in pain, Archibald involuntarily broke out of his half-lotus position and squirmed on the bed in absolute agony.

Deliriously he cried out in pain as blood trickled out of his nose and his whole face and neck grew scarlet red. In so much pain and despair, Archibald called out for his parents in blind delirium, even forgetting that they were long dead, “Mommy, Daddy! Help me! It hurts! It hurts! Ahhh!” So consumed by pain and torment, Archibald screamed himself hoarse.

Slowly, too consumed by the abject torture to notice anything, Archibald’s eyes also started to glow in low prismatic light.

Flailing aimlessly, Archibald’s torment only grew worse as he could feel his throat start to close in on itself. Futilely, Archibald clutched at his throat as he let out strangled coughs and inhalations as he desperately tried to suck in even a molecule of air.

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Eyes seeming to pop out of his skull, Archibald’s face and neck were now blood red with veins popping up underneath his skin like worms. Slowly fading in and out of torturous consciousness, Archibald felt his strength slip away. Hands vainly clutched around his neck and staring wide-eyed in terror at the bare wooden ceiling, Archibald was only able to croak out one last miserable garbled question, before his body ceased struggling and his hands fell limp by his side. “...Why.”

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Once again Archibald awoke in a void. By now, he was begrudgingly used to this. However, instead of being in the black void that he was used to, Archibald instead found himself in a space that seemed almost fractal, shattered. Pieces of space broken and made to look like shards of glass. Briefly confused, Archibald looked down at himself to gather his bearings. Mildly surprised, Archibald found that he was no longer a prismatic body of light. Instead, when Archibald looked down he saw a vague fog that, collectively, let out a dim white light.

Briefly confused, but too tired of the continuous bizarre situations like this to care too much for the moment, Archibald tsked and mumbled wryly to himself. “Heh, what am I now, huh. Some type of dispersed soul or something? Dispersed consciousness or thoughtform? Maybe this is what my soul actually looks like. Or maybe I should stop asking meaningless questions seeing that there’s no one to answer them.”

Satisfied with observing his new state of being, Archibald looked around himself for any possible information. “Come on now, there’s got to be a way out of here. Wasn’t that portal supposed to lead to reincarnation or something…” Archibald didn’t have to look around for too long before he saw something unusual.

Located far in the distance in front of him, Archibald was able to barely catch a glimpse of what looked like another vague lightly glowing fog like him. With patience and caution, Archibald slowly willed his body to travel towards that vague fog, “Feels good to be in control of myself again, even if everything feels really floaty.” With great caution, Archibald made sure not to run into any of what seemed and looked like fractal tears in the void. “Not sure what those are and I’m certainly not going to blindly touch them without any information. Hmm…of course maybe touching them will let me reincarnate? Ah forget it, that’ll be the last thing I try.”

Eventually, Archibald arrived near the vague fog. At some point in time, he had begun to feel an extremely vague sort of instinctual hunger. Soon dismissing that fleeting feeling Archibald scrutinized the vague fog in front of him. Approaching closer to the vague fog Archibald was baffled, and mumbled in his mind, “What the…doesn’t that look whatever I am right now.” He looked down at his glowing fog of a body and back up at the near identical fog in front of him, “Yup, that definitely looks like me. But why do I feel so…hungry whenever I look directly at it?” Archibald subconsciously disregarded the obvious conclusion that it was a consciousness like him, instead, his soul started to once again give off a growing prismatic light.

“Surely, It wouldn’t hurt to…take a small bite right? Just one tiny bite to satisfy my curiosity.” Not even noticing the abrupt and strange turn in his train of thought, Archibald mindlessly willed himself toward the light and circled it like a ravenous wolf. Only thoughts of hunger and blind desire directed his movements. All the while, his soul increasingly gave off more and more prismatic light.

With one final lap around the light glowing white fog, Archibald willed himself forward and pounced onto the fog. His soul merging with the other fog, Archibald’s body gave out a final burst of prismatic light before he was flooded with feelings of euphoria and satisfaction that seemed to come from the very core of his being.

Consumed by the pleasure, Archibald absentmindedly noticed that he was gradually devouring the other fog. Idly he contemplated the possibility that it was a soul like him. However, that thought was fleeting and was soon completely snuffed out by the rising euphoria he felt. The only thing he knew was blind hunger and rapturous pleasure.

After what seemed like only a few moments, the white fog began to thin out and Archibald's prismatic soul started to dim in the absence of the fog. Oh so gradually, the fog was completely consumed by Archibald leaving him with a sense of completeness and vague power that he had never felt before.

Snapping out of his blissful trance, Archibald only had a few moments of clarity, “Uh...What was I doing again?” Before he was once again thrust into unconsciousness.

…

“Ugh,” Archibald let out a pained snort that developed into a series of painful coughs. “Why can I barely breathe?” With a dry and almost mangled voice, Archibald questioned as he tried to force himself up. “Fuck…” Archibald found it near impossible to force himself upward, every time he tried to exert a muscle it left him deliriously light-headed and weak.

“Fuck this…ugh.” Archibald angrily resigned himself to frustrating weakness.

Staring into painful darkness, Archibald had time to contemplate the series of absolutely insane events that had occurred to him. He had been able to bottle it up for a bit, but now it was just too much. Now it was like his emotions were hitting him all at once for some reason.

First, it was the recurring nightmares. Oh, he could cope well enough with those well enough even though they left him exhausted and fearful. However, it wasn’t just the nightmares, oh no. Next, it was what he guessed was his literal death and the subsequent craziness that ensued. Oh, and that wasn’t the end either. Instead, he had to worry about randomly drifting off into space for eternity. Apparently, he couldn’t just reincarnate like the other souls. That would be too easy. Instead, he glowed in prismatic light, he was surrounded by eerie butterflies that whisked his soul to who knows where. His reincarnation just had to be different.

That wasn’t even the end of it. After all that, he couldn’t even get a clean reincarnation despite all the extra hoops he had to jump through. Instead, he woke up in some strange fractured void, where he saw another thing that looked like him. Then, suddenly and without any answers, he blacked out again and was now in immense pain for some fucking reason.

Now this, this pain that seemed to be choking him to death was the final straw of his already dwindling patience. No longer could he force himself to calm down. Archibald was fed up, he was frustrated, furious even at these insane events. He felt like he was losing his mind.

Fury building up in his chest, Archibald cried out angrily in his heart, “Enough is enough! I can handle the crazy stuff, but now I have to endure torture on top of it! I swear to whatever god that exists! Whatever caused this should sleep with one eye open! I’m not some fucking toy goddamnit!”

Still out of breath, Archibald heaved as he tried to force air into his lungs. Slowly, the ball of fury melted into a light puddle as he once again regained control of his emotions with the presence of sweet, sweet air in his lungs.

Finally fully catching his breath after a few more painful coughs, Archibald forcefully shifted his thoughts to more productive matters. Heh, maybe this torture meant he was in hell or something for all he knew.

With even and calm breathing, Archibald slowly brought up his left hand to his face and absentmindedly wiped off some nearly dried blood underneath his nose. Hand abruptly pausing, Archibald’s expression turned incredulous, “Wait a second, I have hands?” Archibald painstakingly opened his eyes, blinked the tears away, and looked down at himself, “And a body?”

“Uh…” with a pained grunt, Archibald mustered up the energy to lift his torso up. Looking around himself, Archibald’s jaw dropped. No longer was he in the familiar bedroom of his bungalow or for that matter any room he had ever been in. Instead, what greeted him was a completely unfamiliar bedroom.

Looking down, Archibald found that he was lying on a worn-out quilt on a simple bed, the mattress was a light brown and seemed to be made of furs. The covers were a darker brown and seemed to be made from some type of cotton-like material. His clothes were also unfamiliar. He was wearing faded dark green pants and a beige short-sleeved shirt with old stains on it.

Moving his gaze to the right, Archibald saw that past his bed was a window, the only light that he saw was the occasional speck of yellow. Through the window, he could hear the vague patter of what seemed like rain. Other than that it was impossible to see further outside as it was completely dark out. “Nighttime rain maybe?” Archibald placidly observed, trying to stay calm in this foreign environment.

Still looking around the room, Archibald felt a racking pain run across his head in waves. Doubled over, trying to weather the sudden pain, out of nowhere images flashed rapidly through his mind. In pain, he was only able to fully understand a few images with a person in it. With the kaleidoscope of images finished racing through his mind, Archibald’s face fell flat as he mechanically straightened himself up and got off the bed.

With robotic movements, Archibald exited the bedroom and entered the bathroom across the hallway that he hadn’t even known existed a few moments ago. Picking up a strange dull yellow stone with a few runic carvings, Archibald deftly rubbed it before it started to give off a warm white light. Looking at his dull reflection in the strange green-tinted mirror, Archibald saw what looked like a younger version of himself.

Speechless, he stood there for a solid ten minutes, just staring at his reflection. Finally, breaking out of his reverie, Archibald looked down at his hands dumbfounded. “Archibald Riege huh…” He looked back up at his reflection and touched his face, “I’m not on Earth anymore am I?” Archibald asked a question that he already knew the answer to, after all, he had just inherited some of this bodies memories.

Staring at himself Archibald’s mind raced, his worldview damn close to shattering. “Even with that river of souls or whatever and the strange fractal space that I experienced, this still feels far more real. Like my mind is completely here.”

Just for good measure Archibald pinched himself hard on the face and winced in pain, “Nope, still feels real.” Still feeling a bit surreal in this situation, Archibald was only able to quietly mumble to himself and stare dumbly at the mirror, “Holy shit…this is really me now.”

Standing in the bathroom Archibald thought back to this body’s final moments of torture and winced once again, “Damn, sorry you had to go out that way Riege…but,” Archibald looked down at his right fist and clenched it, “...but it was you or me in some fucked up universal bullshit way, and your death meant my reincarnation…And I wouldn’t change what happened if it meant my death.” At that thought, Archibald’s mind became cold like iron, his resolve and determination rising like a tsunami. He had finally decided, as messed up as this situation was, that he would make the most of this new chance at life and whatever it would throw at him.

Expression deadly serious, Archibald mumbled to himself while looking in the mirror as he recalled Riege’s failed Awakening, “Now then…what exactly is a Physiquer?”