by A F Kay
Ruwen looked around at everyone. “You might want to turn away and close your eyes. With what just happened, I’m scared I might be a little too bright to look at.”
Once everyone had faced away, Ruwen unwound the strips of cloth around his face, and the room lit up. When he picked up the burlap sack, the hood’s other side had black stitched “eyes” that each looked like the letter “x.” He quickly pulled the burlap sack over his head, worried he would be blind since the hood didn’t have any holes to see through.
The room darkened again, and Ruwen could see perfectly, as if he wore nothing at all. He reached up and touched the mask, unsure it was there.
“You look scary,” Hamma said.
Kaylin narrowed her eyes. “That is definitely disturbing.”
Mica shivered. “I hate scarecrows.”
Ruwen felt his mask again, marveling that the gloves didn’t interfere with his touch at all. This would be so much better than the wraps.
“It’s only until we can leave this Realm. And maybe it will stop creatures from bothering us,” Ruwen said.
Sift walked up to the group, looked at Ruwen, and tapped his chin. “I don’t know what’s changed, but you look much better.”
Chapter 22
Ruwen spent the next three days following the same schedule. One hour per Meridian using the Fortification breathing along with the proper Fortification pose, followed by six hours of Spirit Condensing using the breathing technique since he couldn’t use Harden here. While none of the Suffocation gear worked in this Realm, it felt like the breathing techniques and poses were more effective. But because he couldn’t see his stats, there was no way to be sure how much progress he’d made.
At the end of the fourth cycle, the Spirit he’d collected had condensed enough that he could twist it back into a Core. Without Harden, this Core was much larger than his previous one. That and he hadn’t used all the Plague Siren’s Spirit yet. His center expanded, leaving plenty of room for his new larger Core, but increasing the Core Velocity on this more diffuse Core took a lot more effort.
Why did my center expand while the demon’s exploded? Ruwen asked Rami.
I’m not an expert, but it’s tied to how many Meridians connect to your center. So if you only have a few, your center won’t expand much, and your Core quickly fills it, which limits your available Spirit.
The Plague Siren used the term Axiom, and then you called me that.
It’s an old term, and one we probably shouldn’t say out loud. It’s used to describe a being with all twelve meridians attached to their center, which I already told you is uncomprehendingly rare.
I’ve seen it used for math. It’s a starting point, like a seed of truth, that you can use to grow your theorems, Ruwen said.
For Harvesters, it has a similar meaning, but it centers on religion, not math.
Sift’s parents are religious. Even Sift talks about the one true god. He says my gods are false.
False isn’t the right word. Fortification is a path to becoming a god, which the Plague Siren had almost completed, and many others have attained. Sift just gives more weight to the first person to finish the process.
A week ago, I never gave religion much thought. Now, I’m a piece in whatever game Uru is playing with the other deities. It makes me a little angry.
Ruwen stood and looked for his friends. Kaylin and Mica sat holding hands, and Una leaned against Jagen, while Slib and Juva practiced with swords. Hamma sat near the Champions and had Sift’s turtle, Shelly, in one hand while she rubbed the turtle’s shell with the other.
“Where are Sift and Lylan?” Ruwen asked.
Slib and Juva stopped their sparring, and everyone else stood.
“They’re on watch,” Kaylin said.
Mica moved closer to Ruwen and walked in a circle around him.
“What’s wrong?” Ruwen asked.
“The spatial warping has disappeared,” Mica said. “Is your center empty?”
Ruwen shook his head.
“Then it must be a property of the cloth armor,” Mica said.
Kaylin joined them. “Isn’t that good?”
Mica nodded. “Yes. It’s just I got to thinking having a Dread Lord in our party might dissuade some from attacking.”
“There are ten of us now,” Kaylin said. “That should stop most.”
“Did all the centers from the throne get moved into the main cavern?” Ruwen asked.
“Yes,” Hamma said. “I feel terrible for all those people. What a vile creature.”
“Good. Can someone fetch Sift and Lylan?” Ruwen asked.
“I’ll do it,” Slib said, and then ran for the door.
“I just need a few minutes, and then we’ll discuss our next steps,” Ruwen said.
Ruwen moved twenty feet to the side and began the Refinement form he’d learned. Again, he noticed how responsive his Spirit felt since he’d put on the Scarecrow armor. His Core Velocity, while significantly slower than before, still flowed fast enough for him to loop all twelve of his Meridians into his Core. He would need to exert some effort to keep his Core Velocity up, but it felt good to be Refining again.
When Ruwen finished, Sift and Lylan had returned.
Hamma handed Ruwen his cloak back. “We found some backpacks in the debris covering the main cavern floor. So we don’t need your cloak anymore.”
Ruwen nodded his thanks. Sift remained quiet, and as Ruwen put his cloak back on, he focused on Sift. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Sift asked.
“You look guilty,” Ruwen said.
“You look ugly,” Sift replied.
“The idiot stabbed himself again,” Lylan said.
Now that Ruwen knew what to look for, he noticed Sift favoring his left shoulder, but nothing else appeared injured.
“I compromised,” Sift mumbled.
“Compromised?” Hamma asked, her voice rising. “Only stabbing yourself a little is not a compromise.”
But Ruwen understood. The Air Meridian affected the left shoulder, arm, and hand, and the upper arm contained the actual Meridian. Ever since he’d known Sift, his friend just wanted to fly. The Air Meridian would be the quickest route to that dream.
Sift looked down as Ruwen stepped up to him.
Ruwen pointed at the shoulder. “Cutting only one Meridian’s path will lower your odds of a successful connection when you heal.”
“I know,” Sift said. “But I still need to be useful in a fight.”
“Why start being useful now?” Ruwen asked.
The guilt disappeared, and Sift pointed his finger at Ruwen, preparing to argue.
Ruwen laughed and Sift hesitated. Ruwen grabbed Sift’s hand, sending a surge of Spirit into him. Sift grew stiff as he absorbed all the Spirit.
Ruwen leaned close. “Let me know when you’ve used that up healing, and I’ll recharge you.” He stepped back. “But I want something in return.”
Sift narrowed his eyes. “What?”
Ruwen held out his arms. “There is something odd about this Clan Aspect armor. My Spirit manipulation feels easier, and Mica said it hid my Core. My guess is–” Ruwen stopped speaking and pointed at one of Juva’s Spirit-filled swords. “Can I borrow that, please?” Juva quickly handed the sword to Ruwen.
Ruwen placed the tip of the sword against his left palm and gently pressed them together. As the pressure increased, he sensed the armor tapping his Core to strengthen itself. He smiled under his mask. Removing his hand, he held it out and swept the sword down hard against his wrist.
Spirit surged into the armor, and the sword clanged loudly as it bounced off the cloth.
Ruwen returned the sword to Juva and faced Sift. “If you want my help, you need to wear one of the other Clan Aspects. At least until we get to the Material Realm.”
Sift bit his lip. “Fine.”
Sift had Fortified his heart to Jade, but the rest of his body remained Lead, and he would benefit from the protection
. Because the armor used Spirit, Ruwen didn’t think it would work for anyone else but Sift. But he didn’t know for sure, so he addressed the group. “Everyone else try a piece on, too, and see if it activates for you when you strike it with a weapon.”
Sift went to the loot pile and removed the bird Aspect armor. The helm, made from the skull of a giant falcon, protruded outward, the sharp beak throwing Sift’s face in shadow. Feathers covered the back of Sift’s head and neck. On the jacket, feathers ran down the back of both arms, and the attached half-gloves had talons poking out near the knuckles. The pants had feathers, but they looked shorter and sharper, almost like spines.
“I look stupid,” Sift said.
“True, at least the armor hides it,” Ruwen said.
Sift threw a punch at Ruwen but stopped when the talons in the gloves extended and curled around Sift’s fist. Sift could have continued to punch and hit Ruwen with the talons or swiped his arm and used them like blades. As Sift stared at the talons, they withdrew into the cloth behind his knuckles.
“That is amazing,” Ruwen said. “I wonder if mine does anything?”
“Scare birds and make kids cry,” Sift said.
Ruwen borrowed Juva’s sword again and swung down, trying to slice off Sift’s left arm. If Sift’s armor failed, he’d have another chance to form a connection from his Air Meridian to his center.
The sword struck the cloth armor and clanged loudly, and the feathers stood up on the back of Sift’s helm. Ruwen nodded, glad the armor only needed Sprit to work, and not an actual Core. He handed the sword back to Juva and faced Sift again.
“Can you tell how much Spirit that used?” Ruwen asked.
Sift shook his head. “A lot, I think.”
Ruwen frowned, even though no one could see it. “Okay, that means when you’ve used half your Spirit healing, talk to me to get recharged. I want you to save half your Spirit to power the armor.”
“I don’t need armor,” Sift said, holding out his arms.
Lylan stepped up to Sift. “This will keep you safe,” She said as she ran her hands down the arms of the armor. “I think you look handsome.”
Ruwen turned to watch Una poke Jagen with a dagger. The armor allowed the blade to pass right through it. The same held true for everyone. Just as Ruwen thought, the armor only worked with Spirit.
“Why doesn’t it work for us?” Slib asked.
Hamma and Lylan focused on Ruwen, interested in the answer. He didn’t know what the Champions knew but planned on learning that when they left the mine. Sift knew Ruwen could Cultivate but didn’t understand how impossible that should be. Blapy had told him to keep his Harvesting a secret, but that had been impossible here in the Spirit Realm.
His friends would learn the details soon enough. But he needed to keep Juva and Slib ignorant if possible, which would be difficult since they’d heard him use the term “Core” when explaining how he’d defeated the Plague Siren.
He decided to tell some misleading truths.
“I died on my Ascension Day,” Ruwen said.
“What!” Slib said. “How?”
“When the Guardians attacked the intruders, their weapons struck me,” Ruwen said.
“On your Ascension Day? That is horrible luck,” Juva said.
Ruwen thought about his birthmark changing, even though that had been on his original Ascension. “When I woke in the temple, my body wasn’t the same.”
Slib looked sympathetic.
Ruwen continued, knowing Slib would think he meant Fractal, not Blapy. “Then, in the dungeon, because of how my body had changed, I had to learn a different way to use Mana.” Another truth since Mana was just Spirit that came from the gods.
Juva patted Ruwen on the shoulder. “I’m sorry about the premature death and the broken Ascension. You really have the worst luck.”
Ruwen felt guilty for lying, but knew it was necessary. “Since I’m so different, I use the Cultivator term ‘Core’ for my power now.”
Slib nodded. “That sucks that your quick Ascension broke you, but at least you can use your Mana here when the rest of us can’t.”
The Champions kept their faces neutral, and Hamma and Lylan looked doubtful, but Slib and Juva seemed satisfied. Sift had spent the entire time searching for a pocket in his new armor to hold Shelly. He found one on the inside of his coat, near his heart.
“Is everyone ready to go?” Ruwen asked.
“Go where?” Una asked.
Ruwen nodded. “That is a great question. Our first step is out of this mine. Then our destination is the Iris, which is south of us. Do any of you know its location?”
The Champions all shook their heads, and Ruwen’s mask hid his disappointment.
Any luck on the Iris, Rami?
Still looking, but two of the sources mention boats. So it might be near water.
“Our first stop is the sea,” Ruwen said.
Chapter 23
Ruwen removed the granite pillars blocking an entrance out of the cavern using his Stone Meridian and a touch of Spirit. The tunnel led them up and out of the mine’s depths, which surprised him. But it made sense the more he thought about it. The Plague Siren had wanted every path to end in her lair. Nothing bothered them on their climb, and as they neared the mine’s main exit, Kaylin put out an arm and stopped him.
“You’re new here and should know some things before we venture out,” Kaylin said.
“That’s an excellent idea,” Ruwen said.
Everyone grouped around Kaylin as she spoke. “You’d think the most dangerous thing here are creatures like the Plague Siren, but you’d be wrong. It’s the weather.”
Ruwen’s mask hid his surprise.
Kaylin continued. “The perpetual twilight never ends, but the sky sometimes roils with unstable Spirit.”
Ruwen thought of the chaos orbs. “What does it look like?”
“The sky fills with colored lightning,” Kaylin said. “And it rains colored orbs that sear right through you. The wounds take forever to heal, too, as it vaporizes what it touches.”
Ruwen bent the fingers he’d had to regrow after his encounter with the chaos orbs under the lake. “Is there any protection?”
“Staying underground,” Mica said.
They couldn’t do that as their destination lay somewhere south of them. “Anything else?” Ruwen asked.
Una pointed at Mica. “He usually sees them forming. Gives us a little warning.”
Mica nodded. “That’s why anything underground is usually full of trouble. I can’t explain the empty dungeon, but the mine didn’t have much in it because the Plague Siren sent her followers to the dungeon.”
Ruwen had accidently stripped the dungeon of Spirit, but he kept that to himself. “What else?”
Kaylin continued. “The mountains have the most creatures, so it’s good we are moving away.”
“Probably because of all the terium,” Ruwen said.
Everyone stared at him, even the Champions.
“I’m pretty sure terium is hardened Spirit,” Ruwen said.
“Oh my, why didn’t we see that?” Una asked.
Kaylin touched her pocket. “We should get rid of the coins. Many things can sense Spirit here.”
Ruwen had thought this through shortly after the coins originally appeared. He had even wondered if the Plague Siren had saved them in case she needed a last surge of Spirit. He shook his head. “It also means they have value here and back home. And they might not be as easy to detect in solid form. Worst case, we can try hiding them in this Aspect armor.”
Kaylin didn’t look completely convinced, but she nodded. The last reason Ruwen had kept to himself. He needed to find his parents, and it might take a lot of wealth to do that. Hamma had not been joking when she’d said each pouch had enough terium to buy a small country. Assuming they made it back, they would all be unimaginably rich.
“Is there any civilization here?” Hamma asked.
Kaylin nodded. “Further
south, there are pockets where creatures have banded together for protection, and there are even some Cultivator camps. But up here in the north, it’s wild country.”
“What about over the mountains?” Lylan asked.
Kaylin looked at Ruwen. “We were told to stay near Deepwell.”
Ruwen wanted to learn the story behind these Champions and what directions they’d received. But he didn’t want to do it with everyone listening.
“Kaylin and I will lead,” Ruwen said. “Sift and Jagen guard the rear. Everyone else between us.”
“No scouts?” Sift asked.
Ruwen turned to Kaylin. “You’re the expert here. Do we need scouts?”
Kaylin shook her head. “It’s too dangerous to separate. If I yell ‘climb,’ get up the nearest tree. Many creatures won’t climb, and we can avoid fights that way. If Mica yells ‘down,’ it means a Spirit storm is close. Crouch down into a ball.”
“How are we getting south?” Lylan asked.
“Geography here differs a little from the Material Realm,” Kaylin said. “I plan to take us east until we hit the Frigid Sea and then continue south.”
“Are there Merchants or creatures with boats here?” Ruwen asked.
Kaylin shook her head. “Not that any of us have seen, and we should avoid Deepwell and Stone Harbor.”
“Why?” Hamma asked.
Kaylin pointed at the sky. “Uru’s temples cause massive disturbances in this realm. Spirit storms are common there.”
Ascendancy and rebirth required terium, which Ruwen knew was solidified Spirit. It didn’t surprise Ruwen that the massive amounts of Spirit used at the temples affected this realm. Uru only had two temples, one in Deepwell and the other in Stone Harbor, and they were always busy.
If traders weren’t common this far north, and Stone Harbor had a lot of storms that kept everyone away, Ruwen needed to figure out a solution on his own. He didn’t want to walk down the entire coast.
“I’ll finally see the ocean,” Sift said, and then spoke into his armor. “And I’ll set you free, Shelly.”
Ruwen looked around. “Any other questions? Comments?”
When no one answered, Ruwen nodded to Kaylin, and they strode out of the mine.
