by A F Kay
That made him think about the three iris plants he’d taken from the Spirit Realm. He pulled his cloak out and looked in the pocket he’d placed them in. They looked fine, and he sighed in relief. Maybe Sift was right about grass from a Divine Realm. He might never get a chance like this again, and who knew what power it might hold.
Remembering what he’d read on gathering grasses in the Collector Novice Manual (part 1), Ruwen kneeled and carefully removed five clumps of grass, making sure to keep the roots intact. He placed them in a different cloak pocket and stood, trying his best to look innocent.
“Ruwen?” Hamma asked.
Ruwen jumped, his guilty conscious positive Uru had caught him.
Hamma laughed. “You’d make a terrible thief.” Her face grew serious. “She wants to talk to you.”
Ruwen nodded and strode over to Uru. She stood near the cliff, staring at the distant storm. He smelled water in the air and wondered if it might rain.
“Thank you,” Uru said.
Ruwen tried to hide his surprise. “For what?”
“For helping me keep a promise. For softening a heart and providing us a powerful ally.” Uru faced Ruwen. “And for bringing me hope.”
Ruwen didn’t know how to respond. He still felt angry about being manipulated and deceived. And hurt that the other Champions had been given a choice, while he had been betrayed.
The Spirit Realm had changed him. The pain he’d endured there, coupled with the crushing weight of the consequences if he failed to get everyone home, had matured him. His experiences and knowledge had given him a fresh perspective on the world and armored him with courage.
“The others had a choice,” Ruwen said.
Uru nodded. “Because it didn’t matter if Naktos took them. If it failed, there would be other opportunities to do my research. But you had to go. Your shock needed to be one hundred percent believable. Tremine has taken this as hard as you.” Uru placed a hand over Ruwen’s heart and the other over her own. “I am truly sorry for the way you entered the Spirit Realm, and for not allowing you more time to prepare. Too many variables clouded my ability to see the path forward, and events overtook me. It forced my hand. Somehow, you still succeeded, and that makes me proud.”
Uru removed her hand and returned her attention to the sea. The praise felt good, and Ruwen believed her explanation. It made what happened a little easier to bear. Hearing Tremine still felt bad released a heavy weight that had been crushing his soul. He hadn’t been betrayed after all.
“Thank you for telling me all that,” Ruwen said. “It helps. You mentioned your research…” Ruwen trailed off, not sure how to continue.
“Io,” Uru said with a sigh. “How much do you know?”
“Io didn’t break his oath of silence. Rami read his memories,” Ruwen said, and then shrugged. “Rami convinced me not to hear it all. So I only know you used Io to fix some of my paths, to create an Axiom.”
Uru turned and touched Ruwen’s right ear. “Thank you, Rami, for that. And for being a critical part of Ruwen’s success. I owe you a debt as well. Your mother has excellent reasons to be so proud of you.”
Rami vibrated erratically for a few seconds, and Uru laughed.
“You’re welcome, Rami,” Uru said.
Are you talking to her? Ruwen asked Rami.
She is, for sure, my favorite, Rami replied.
Uru lowered her hand and focused back on Ruwen. “You have a right to know. And you will know. But I think the first explanation should come from your parents. I owe them that opportunity.”
Ruwen’s heart beat rapidly. “So they're alive? I need to find them. Can’t this third temple wait a month or two?”
“Sadly, no. It may already be too late. Enemy Scouts fill our southern lands. Thankfully, the Pact limits the number and level of enemies near the temple, but the gathering army will only complicate your goals.”
Ruwen’s shoulders sank.
Uru locked eyes with Ruwen. “Believe me when I say that the fate of your parents relies on your success. It is all tied together.”
Ruwen nodded, his disappointment making his throat tight.
“Let’s join the others,” Uru said. “It is time to send you on your way.”
Sift, Hamma, and Lylan all held pieces of grass pointed at the turtle still in Sift’s palm. Shelly alternated taking bites from each blade.
As they approached, Uru placed her hands across her chest and bowed to the turtle. “This one is thrilled to see you, Ancient Mother. Many had feared you’d left this universe. This one welcomes you and your return.”
Everyone looked in amazement between Uru and Shelly. Uru, a deity, sounded humble. Shelly stopped chewing and locked gazes with Uru and then dipped her head in acknowledgment.
Rami, please look for Ancient Mother.
Already searching.
Sift whistled, the sound light and clear. “Shelly, are you someone important?”
Ruwen, Hamma, and Lylan stared at Sift in shock.
“What?” Sift asked. “She must be, the way Uru talked to her.”
Ruwen pointed at Sift. “You just whi–”
“Good luck,” Uru said and raised her arms.
The world twisted, and everything went black.
Chapter 45
Ruwen stumbled on the uneven ground, and the dim light made it hard to see. Every part of his interface pulsed yellow, and his clock read 6:38 AM. He opened his map to see where Uru had put him and his friends, and found they were hundreds of miles south of Uru’s Blessing. They were in the foothills along the Desolate Range, deep inside the Grey Canyon. The last place his parents had been before they disappeared.
Relief flooded Ruwen. He had wanted nothing else but to reach this valley for a year. Assuming Uru had placed them here because of her temple, it made him wonder if his parents had come here for that reason too. Were they connected somehow? Finally, he could make some progress in finding them.
A loud whistle broke Ruwen’s concentration, and he turned to see Sift, Hamma, and Lylan behind him. Sift whistled again, and then again.
“Stop that,” Lylan said. “We might be in danger.”
Sift nodded and then held Shelly up to his face. He danced in place while whistling under his breath and then grinned. “I’m going to find my center,” Sift told Shelly, and then sat down and began meditating.
Hamma gasped as Sift’s clothes turned back into the Falcon Aspect. Ruwen’s stomach turned. He’d thought those Aspects had disappeared when they’d left the Spirit Realm, but Sift’s had reappeared. And Sift had forced Ruwen to wear his Aspect through the portal as well. With a sense of foreboding, Ruwen raised his arms, as if he were a scarecrow on a post.
A staff appeared across Ruwen’s shoulders and under his hands. He looked down to see his clothes had reverted to the burlap of the Scarecrow.
“Oh, no,” Ruwen said. “They’re inside us.”
Ruwen let go of the staff, and his clothes returned to normal. He cast a level one Blooming Leaf on himself, and his Aspect remained visible while he accessed his Spirit and while the spell filled him. It seemed like anytime he interacted with his Spirit, his Aspect would manifest.
“Great,” Ruwen said. “Now I’m carrying around the Scarecrow. Is it just as disturbing as it looked in the Spirit World?”
Hamma gave a weak smile, and her response sounded more like a question. “No?”
“Curse you, Sift, for making me wear it through the portal,” Ruwen said.
Lylan shook her head at the meditating Sift. “You’d think with only one life he’d take more care.”
Ruwen looked down at his friend. “Well, at least this time, it’s understandable.” He looked back at Lylan. “I’ll scout uphill, how about you search below. Let’s make sure we’re safe here. Hamma, can you guard Sift?”
Both women nodded, and Ruwen turned to scout the area above him. His pulsing interface distracted him, but it made sense to make sure they were safe before looking into the
details. He resisted the urge to open his Profile to understand why the Clear Mind buff had appeared when he wasn’t meditating. He knew once he started to look, it would be impossible to stop.
He reached over and opened his Void Band and then closed it again. Removing the Baton of a Thousand Uses, he pulled out a few tools before snapping it back to his waist. He had missed using these Worker items more than he’d thought he would.
Forcing himself to refocus, he channeled one Energy per second into Obscure, which would decrease signs of his passage by twenty percent, and Feather Feet, which would reduce the force of his steps by twenty percent. His Feather Boots of Grasping would lessen the force by another twenty percent while adding ten percent to their friction.
Ruwen channeled two Energy per second into Silence, which he placed on himself. It remained dim enough that he toggled on Detect Temperature. Finally, he pulled the hood of his cloak up. The Hooded Pacifist’s Cloak of Wandering that Blapy had upgraded for him increased his senses by ten percent, and the smell of pine became intense.
The cloak prohibited the storage of weapons in any of its many pockets, which made it useless for Ky and her followers. Ruwen didn’t care about that, though, and the cloak’s ten percent increase to both Perception and Detect Traps made it invaluable to him.
As Ruwen climbed the hill, he channeled two Energy per second into Find Trap just to be safe. It would give him another ten percent chance per minute to find a trap.
Ruwen smiled. It felt good to be using magic again. His Resource bars had the wrong values, but he resisted the urge to look closer. It wouldn’t take them long to scout the area and ensure their safety, and then he could explore his progress in peace. He doubted the Spirt Realm had benefited him much anyway.
The hill narrowed, and Ruwen discovered the remnants of stone steps. He slowed and scanned the area. The trees had thinned out here, and the sky had brightened considerably. He toggled off Detect Temperature and carefully continued up the steps.
As he neared the top of the hill, a stone arch appeared. Empty windows stared down at him, and moss hung from the crumbling structure. Ruwen waited a few minutes to give his Find Trap spell time to warn him of any danger. When nothing turned red, he approached the arch keeping his back against the stone of the hilltop.
Across the valley, ruins were visible. A strange spire jutted into the air, surrounded by a decaying stone wall. The valley looked unnatural to Ruwen, like the area between the spire and this arch had once connected. He toggled on Magnify and studied the distant ruins.
Pine trees had taken over the valley, and using their size as a guide, Ruwen estimated one section of the wall might be a hundred feet high. The spire might be twice that high and looked even odder up close. It had no windows, and while covered in dirt, it looked structurally sound.
Ruwen studied the valley and didn’t find any other structures or people. He eased through the arch and looked eastward. A massive circular lake sat nestled in the foothills, and he imagined a giant fist pounding the earth, destroying the city and creating a depression in the stone. The lake fed multiple waterfalls that led to the stream that weaved itself through the Grey Canyon.
Toggling off Magnify, Ruwen relaxed a little and stepped into the arch. He hadn’t even seen any animals. With a lake that large, he would have expected people here and many animals. This place seemed to scream for a settlement with plenty of water, abundant timber for building, and ruins that looked inhabitable. If the lake had fish, there would even be a source of food.
He assumed that the city that had surrounded the distant ruins now lay submerged in the lake or buried under the stones in the valley. Whatever had happened here before the Pact, it had left a brutal legacy.
Ruwen hurried down the stone steps and back to Sift and Hamma. Sift held Shelly while he fed her a pine needle. Lylan had returned as well and stood talking with Hamma.
“Did you find anything?” Ruwen asked.
Lylan shook her head. “Something is wrong here. I didn’t even see a bird.”
Ruwen described what he’d found above.
“Do you think those ruins are the third temple?” Sift asked, not looking up from Shelly.
Ruwen shrugged. “I don’t know what else it can be. But the lack of people and animals means something bad is near.”
“Probably lives in the ruins,” Hamma said.
“Or the lake,” Lylan added.
Sift put Shelly back in his pocket and looked at Ruwen. “I need a favor.”
“What?” Ruwen asked.
Sift looked uncomfortable.
“Just say it,” Ruwen said.
With a grin, Sift pointed to his chest. “I found my center.”
“Congrats, buddy,” Ruwen said.
Sift’s happiness disappeared. “But I don’t have any Spirit, so I can’t create my Core.”
Ruwen gripped Sift arm, leaned close, and pushed Spirit into his friend. Sift jerked in surprise as the Scarecrow appeared in front of his face.
“You deserved that,” Ruwen said as his normal form reappeared.
“Oh no,” Sift said. “Does that mean that bird thing is inside me?”
Ruwen nodded. “And I’m carrying around the Scarecrow, which I find a little creepy.”
“This is your fault,” Sift said.
“My fault? I was just the messenger, and you made me wear mine. I could have been normal.”
“Normal? Let’s not get carried away.”
Ruwen gritted his teeth.
Sift sat and closed his eyes. “There is probably a lesson to be learned here.”
Ruwen squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I feel like it’s one I already knew.”
“Thanks for the Spirit. I’ll need some time to condense it. Let me know when it’s time to move.”
Ruwen shook his head and walked over to Hamma and Lylan.
“Is he okay?” Lylan asked.
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” Ruwen said.
Lylan nodded knowingly.
“What’s your plan?” Hamma asked Ruwen.
“I need to get through my notifications,” Ruwen said. “My interface is killing my concentration with all the pulsing. And to be honest, I noticed we’re outside Uru’s Blessing, and not synchronizing to her. If we didn’t synch while in Uru’s Divine Realm, then what little progress we made in the Spirit Realm will be lost if we die.”
Hamma shook her head. “We all synched when we were with Uru. There’s a last synch time in your advanced profile settings. I’ll show you later.”
The two women looked at each other, their expressions serious.
“Thanks,” Ruwen said. “Are you two okay?”
“Have you looked at your Profile yet?” Lylan asked.
Ruwen shook his head. “Is something wrong?”
“We’ve been gone almost two months,” Lylan said.
It didn’t feel that long, but Ruwen already knew time moved differently depending on your location.
“Something else changed,” Hamma said. “Lylan and I have been searching our logs to find out why.”
“What change?” Ruwen asked. “I don’t understand.”
Hamma bit her lip. “Open your Profile. It’s probably best if you see it for yourself.”
Ruwen opened his Profile and glanced at the familiar values. But some of them had changed. Drastically.
“Impossible,” Ruwen muttered.
It seemed Ruwen’s trip to the Spirit Realm and back had caused a more significant impact than he’d thought. He had just reached level six before entering the Spirit Realm.
In disbelief, Ruwen reread the top portion of his Profile.
General
Name: Ruwen Starfield
Race: Human
Age: 16
Class: Worker
Hidden Class: Root (Observer)
Level: 18
Chapter 46
Ruwen opened his log, scanning for what had caused the massive jump in level, and immediately
understood why Hamma and Lylan hadn’t found it yet. Thousands of entries filled his logs, but they all had the timestamp from when they’d entered Uru’s realm.
Rami, can you summarize my log? I’m primarily interested in experience gained in the Spirit Realm and after.
Ruwen’s log sped by so fast the words turned into a white smear.
Here are the six places you received experience, Rami said.
Log entries hung in the middle of his vision.
Your body has entered the Spirit Realm!
You have gained 333,333 (333,333.3*(1 Realm Count))!
You have defeated a Leeching Wolverine (Level 21)!
You have gained 3,167 experience (11,350*(27.9% Group Modifier))!
You have defeated an Affliction Wolf, Infernal (Level 30)!
You have gained 1,752 experience (23,050*(7.6% Group Modifier))!
You have defeated an Affliction Wolf, Infernal (Level 33)!
You have gained 2,117 experience (27,850*(7.6% Group Modifier))!
You have defeated a Diamond Plague Siren, Infernal (Level 73)!
You have gained 10,249 experience (134,850*(7.6% Group Modifier))!
Your body has entered a Divine Realm (Uru)!
You have gained 666,667 (333,333.3*(2 Realm Count))
Ruwen stared in shock at the experience gains for moving your physical body between realms. Rami had said he’d been to the Spirit Realm before, but that had been before he’d Ascended and started to earn experience. And even though you couldn’t kill things in the Spirit Realm, it appeared you still gained experience from defeating them.
“It’s because we went into two other realms,” Ruwen said.
“We received experience just for that?” Lylan asked.
“It took a spell crafted by a god to put us in the Spirit Realm,” Ruwen said.
“That’s true,” Lylan said.
“What about all the Cultivators we met?” Hamma asked.
Ruwen shook his head. “No, their bodies were still in the Material Realm. Only their Spirits crossed.”
