Chrysalis: The Crucible of Immortality Book 2

by Leto Spirit Blackman

  Shroud of Peace (Novice, Lvl 1)

  You may now surround yourself with a barrier which negates all mind-based attacks.

  Mental Cost: 25%

  Duration: Continuous

  Experience awarded: 100

  "Thank you Progenitor Construct Kala. You may choose a new Focus skill every ten levels." It says in its chorus of voices. Then its body disperses into the air.

  Galvis is staring at Kala like a puppy begging for scraps.

  "I suppose you want to see what my new skills are?" Kala raises her eyebrow.

  "Please. May I use my Scribe skill to transcribe the info from the Lunette?" Galvis flips through the large tome to a blank page.

  "What is a Lunette?" Kala asks.

  "Oh...it is what we call the information windows all of us can see. Gifted to all from the Administrator." Galvis says with almost religious fervor.

  "That is not proven. We don't actually know that the Administrator gifted anything. Just look at his name, the Administrator. Seems like most with that title report to someone. So, who is its boss?" Max says.

  Galvis grumbles and then sighs, "Now is not the time to try and answer age old questions. Kala, what do you say?"

  "Why should I give you this info? Earlier I was a prisoner. Where is Vua? What do you intend to do with me?" Kala asks.

  Galvis looks uncomfortable.

  "Kala, you must understand why we had to hold you. You and Jax are something different. Power and death follow you both. It is my responsibility to protect all within my kingdom. Vua is quite safe and is in a very comfortable room. I will take you to see her soon. Vua is remarkable, no one as seen an Ancient Alvinius before. The Alvinius diplomat has been contacted and will be here within a day." Max's intense eyes meet Kala's.

  "Okay, I believe you. Here." Kala swipes the new skill info over to Galvis.

  The older man’s eyes almost bulge out of his head. "Oh my...astounding...master of meditation..." He mumbles and then his quill glows with energy and something happens in his book, but Kala can't see what.

  Kala closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in. She feels at peace with the world. She then activates Shroud of Peace. Immediately she feels a presence, which she didn't even know was there, disconnect from her mind. "Huh...that's strange."

  Max and Galvis both look up from the book. "What is wrong?" Max asks.

  "It's... nothing. Just getting used to my new skills." Kala evades.

  Max squints at Kala. "Interesting. I can't get anything from you. Analyze and Examine don't work on you anymore."

  "You know using Analyze on someone without permission is not very nice?" Kala frowns at Max. "What is Examine?"

  "Actually, here in the city it is a crime to Analyze someone without permission. Don't ever use it on a guard or someone of Royalty, you would end up locked up or worse. However, you Kala, are a special case, we had to know what you are capable of." Max looks at Kala appraisingly. "Do you realize how powerful that shroud skill is? Yes, most people can hide their skills and other info. But, guards and others have special skills too that allow them to see everything about an individual, regardless if they have hidden anything. You will need to be careful where you have that skill active." Max stretches and cracks his neck. "Examine is a powerful sup-skill of Analyze. It can even tell me what the person has equipped." Max turns to Galvis, "Would you excuse us Master Keeper?"

  "Wha...oh yes, of course." Galvis bows to Max and then bows to Kala. "My quee..." He begins to say, then stops himself. He looks flustered, he turns around and leaves.

  Max chuckles, "You know, Galvis was appointed Keeper of Skills by you, a very long time ago."

  "Was he about to call me queen?" Kala asks, a bit shocked.

  "Have a seat, eat some food, and tell me all about your adventures. But, first, my curiosity is killing me. Did you and Jax have anything to do with the World Event Quests surrounding the Ceanla?"

  Chapter Ten: Chrysalis

  ~

  The Progenitor looks down at me, like I'm an insect.

  "Pathetic. Why are you even here?" Master Jiao asks me with disdain.

  I lost track of the number of days I have been stuck in this training dome, or whatever it is. The Master has been running me through different, hard techniques, which he called basic.

  "I asked you a question. You do not deserve to be called one of my race."

  I wipe the blood from my broken nose. "I am here to become stronger. I wish to destroy any that wish to harm me or my friends."

  "Friends? What is this word? There is only strength, power, honor, and knowledge. No matter, stand. We will try something different, as you seem utterly inadequate at just about everything."

  I sigh, I have tried repeatedly to get any information from this...ghost? I don't know what he is, maybe a trapped or uploaded consciousness. Whatever he is, he will not answer any of my questions. I had to use the bathroom over by the edge of the dome, while he watched. One of those drones came in and cleaned up my mess. I stand up and glare at him.

  Jiao looks at me and swipes in the air, apparently looking at a window I can't see. "You use mainly mental-based skills. Why would you enlist in Legion training? You should have gone to the Polumathes."

  I am confused for a moment. When he said that last word it sounded strange. Then I realize that it was translated to the closest word I might know. If I remember correctly, Polumathes is Greek for someone of great learning. "Yes, that does sound like it would fit me better. Can you transfer me?" I ask hopeful.

  "No. You have been collared. It can't be removed until you pass." Jiao sighs, evidently not pleased to be stuck with me. "We will try a little cross training." He waves his hand and a black ball the size of my fist appears in the air and then falls to the ground with a loud thud. "This is a tool used to train our subdivision of Polumathes within the Legion. We do not like to rely on those arrogant fools, so we train some in their arts. All you must do is lift the ball and hold it for 24 hours. I grow tired of you." Master Jiao disappears.

  I'm not sure if I feel relieved that he is gone. Then I notice I don't really feel any emotions, I must be exhausted. The black ball sits there, taunting me. Sighing, I walk over and place my hands on it. Needle-like pain stabs my head and I stumble and fall onto my back.

  "What the hell?" I yell. At least I can feel anger. My stomach rumbles at me for not having anything to eat in a few days. "Can I get something to eat?"

  A light shoots out from the dome surrounding me. I flinch, thinking I am being attacked. But, the light is warm and I feel my hunger abate. My nose is still broken, but it's stopped bleeding.

  "Thanks?" I mumble and turn to my side, maybe I will close my eyes for a moment.

  I awake screaming, and then gagging. Liquid metal fills my mouth and lungs. Then I realize that it was only a dream. Looking around, the world comes crashing back, I am stuck in the training dome, the collar around my neck, and the black ball still taunting me.

  New Quest Alert:

  Complete White Legion, Polumathes Subdivision Training

  You are locked in a Progenitor training dome with a Xoria Suppressant Collar. The only way to escape is to finish the training.

  Quest Type: Personal

  Difficulty: Cruel

  Rewards: 10,000 Experience, other variable rewards

  Step One: Hold Polumathes Training Ball continuously for one day. 0/1

  Step Two: Conjure a Shard of each of the Prime Elements, Fire, Water, Earth, Air. 0/4

  Step Three: Defeat Master Jiao. 0/1

  Do you accept this quest? Y/N

  "Holy fu..." I stare at the quest. That is a huge amount of experience, I would level a few times just from this one quest. Why was I only given this quest now? I have been stuck in this dome for a few days now. Is it because I have been given a new type of training? Did the Administrator assume I was incapable of completing normal Legion training? I rub my face, something didn't seem right. I go over the quest again, and then it clicks. The
snarky way the pop-up windows always spoke to me has ceased. This is very cut and dry. I was told that the text was generated by my subconscious, or at least how it was worded. The quest window fades away, I try and bring it back up, but it seems I am still blocked.

  Gathering up my courage, I return to the black ball on the ground. I feel hopeless, I could barely touch that thing, and now I have to hold it for a day. Clenching my teeth I grab and hold the insidious ball. Instantly my brain feels like it is being sliced apart. I scream, and try to pick it off of the ground, but the ball feels like it weighs a hundred pounds. Panting, I release the ball and fall back.

  I notice a timer that started when I touched the ball, it says I held it for 19 seconds. "This is impossible."

  The next few days pass in a monotonous and painful blur. I go from touching the ball with a finger for as long as I can bear it, to being able to hold the ball a few inches off of the ground for two minutes. The dome keeps me from going hungry, and even banishes exhaustion and sleepiness, I'm a bit resentful about the last part. I want to just lay down and sleep, just to be out of this hell for a few hours. Master Jiao has not returned, and I almost welcome the sadistic teacher, more than this black ball. I even broke my foot in a fit of anger when I kicked the inky-black device after a particularly painful session. The light from the dome healed my foot after I was forced to suffer the pain for many hours. I tried to cheat and wrap the ball in my shirt and then pick it up, but the timer would not start.

  I scream out in pain as the ball falls out of my fingers and crushes my chest, breaking a few ribs. The ball rolls off of me and lands on the ground with a heavy thud. I had been laying on my back, holding the ball above me for four hours and 17 minutes. My arms were numb, my head in the worst pain of my life, and now broken ribs. I roll to my side and cough up blood. Even through all of my pain, I grin and laugh, that was the longest I had ever held the ball. Then I cry, realizing that I had to start over again. Time outside of the training dome has ceased to exist for me, it may have been a few days, or weeks, I don't know anymore. All that exists is the black ball of death, as I now call it. I will defeat it. I will defeat all. No one, or thing, will ever have power over me again. I repeat this mantra over and over as I pick up the ball again, not waiting for my broken ribs to heal.

  Twelve hours and 43 minutes. I am delirious, or maybe the sanest I have ever been. The ball now talks to me, its voice like fingers on a chalkboard.

  "They are all dead. Why do you fight me, Jax? It would be so easy to just give up, no one would know, no one would care. Just let me go over your head, I will crush you and take all of your pain away."

  Laughing, I lean my head up from the ground and kiss the ball.

  Nineteen hours and two minutes.

  "Mary had a little lamb, a little lamb, a little lamb. Mary had a little lamb, and its fleece was white as snow!" I sing to the baby I hold in my hands. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, beautiful baby. Tears stream down my face. My fingers slip and I almost drop her. "Careful, you idiot!" I yell at myself.

  Ding.

  The black ball of death disappears from my hands. I am startled, scared, and confused. "No!" I scream. The pain, the sweet caress, is gone from my head. The weight no longer upon my arms and hands. Pins and needles shoot through me as I regain feeling from my numb extremities. Light envelops me and all pain, exhaustion, hunger are gone. The light raises me off of the floor, my clothes are gone, I'm covered in my own piss and shit. The light, like a loving mothers caress, cleans me, and new clothes appear on me, then she gently places me back on the floor.

  Step One: Hold Polumathes Training Ball continuously for one day. 1/1

  Rewards: Intelligence increased by 10. Strength increased by 10.

  Willpower increased by 10.

  Congratulations! You have earned the Perk: Indomitable Will

  Under formidable duress you overcame a great challenge of willpower, strength, and mental fortitude. You now have a 50% chance to resist any attacks that will Stun, Knocked Prone, Charm, or any type of physical or mental control.

  The light flashes again and a hot meal of a hamburger and fries appears, a glass with ice filled with a brown liquid is next to the steaming food. I cry out in joy. Biting into the burger I moan in pleasure, it is the best thing I have ever tasted. The last 24 hours are a haze. I vaguely remember singing children's songs, and maybe holding a baby.

  "Oh, fuck you." I moan to the french fry that I had just taken a bite out of. It is hot, crispy on the outside, and salty. Perfection. These Progenitors are sadistic, but damn they can cook! I could care less about the pop-up windows and the new perk. This meal is the best reward. I stop chewing for a moment to ponder just how much access to my mind and memories they have to be able to recreate this meal. But, I throw those thoughts out the window after I realize I don't care.

  After the small drones have cleaned up my dishes I see text floating, informing me of step two. "I have to conjure a Shard of each of the Prime Elements? I'm not a wizard, what is this crap? And how am I supposed to do anything with this collar on?" I talk to myself.

  I tug on the collar around my neck, "Alright, think. You wouldn't have been given the quest if it was impossible to complete. What did he call this thing, a suppression collar? That's not the same thing as nullification." Okay, so let's start with a water shard. I'm sure there is moisture in the air, I just need to draw it together and condense it. Using my knowledge I try to form a water shard in my hand. But, nothing happens. Sitting down, I meditate, again nothing happens except that I get frustrated. Forcing my eyes closed, I try again. My mind wanders, my body screams at me to itch at every tiny sensation on my skin, but I do not relent. After a hour or more I begin to feel a slight peace and a tingling between my eyes. A deep purple begins to appear in the blackness of my closed eyes. I try to latch onto it, but that only causes it to retreat. I begin watching my breath until it is almost like I am a stranger watching me breathe. There is a feeling of standing at the edge of a cliff, I am paralyzed, I desperately want to fall into the dark, but I am terrified. Then I let everything go with one last breath. My outside body no longer breathing. I fall.

  Opening my eyes and I find that I have a new notification and buff. It seems I have reached a state called Nothingness, and that is exactly how I feel. Strange. I was trying to activate Meditation, but I reached this new state of being. I notice that I am still not breathing. Holding my hand in front of me I try to form a water shard. I can feel the power around me, and inside of me, being pushed aside by the collar I am wearing. Focusing on the collar I notice the tiniest trickle of Xoria, the size of a flea, getting through. I latch onto this infinitesimally small amount of power and use it for my purposes.

  Pain blooms behind my eyes and the collar grows hot. But I continue. Instinctually, I know this is hurting the Xoria, even killing some. I still do not understand what they are, but I know that what I am doing is wrong, but I have no choice. I realize this must be what it is like for The Caste. I can understand their anger and rage. No one should be denied access to the Xoria. What the Progenitors did to The Caste is barbaric. Emotionally, I know I should be furious at myself for having these thoughts. But, I feel nothing. Throwing all thoughts aside, I return to drawing out the power of the Xoria, instead of a symbiotic relationship, I am using brute force.

  The tiniest flicker appears between my hands, it is like a floating tear. The collar has grown even hotter and I can feel it burning my neck. I welcome the pain. It fuels my anger. After a few hours the water between my hands has grown to the size of a marble. Blood flows down my neck as the collar burns my flesh. Inspiration hits me and I pull on the moisture of the blood. A fine mist floats up from me and enters the floating water, tinting it red, but it grows much faster now. I hear a manic, crazy laughter, and almost lose my concentration looking for the source, before I realize that I was the one laughing. The red water floating is now the size of my hand and I know it is ready. Redirecting my focus, I
form the water into the shape of a double-sided arrowhead. Over the next two hours I draw the heat out of the water shard. It slowly turns frosty and then freezes.

  Ding!

  Step Two: You conjured a Shard one of the four Prime Elements.

  Water: 1/1

  Fire: 0/1

  Earth: 0/1

  Air: 0/1

  I release my hold on the shard and it falls to the ground and shatters. I also fall right after the shard, my vision turning dark, and I know I'm about to pass out. Then the dome covers me with warm light and my vision clears. Laughing a humorless laugh, I sit up, "No, no. Wouldn't want me to sleep." I say with a frown. I noticed a few notifications, but they disappeared before I could read them.

  "What? No meal?" I ask the shimmering dome that surrounds me. As expected, there is no response and no food. "Alright, next. Fire, earth or air?" I ask myself. "Let’s try fire." I'm a little surprised I never tried fire the whole time I have been on this planet. I do have a tendency to over think, and an obvious power, like hurling fireballs, would be too easy.

  Looking down at my arms I notice that my veins have a slight black tint to them now. I still haven't taken a breath since I reached the state of Nothingness, "Interesting." I mumble to myself. This Progenitor body is amazing, I wonder why my brain hasn't received damage from the lack of oxygen? I sit cross-legged and cup my hands in my lap. Again, I find a tiny amount of power coming through the suppression collar. It is easier to find and latch onto now. Using the power, I form a small globe of shimmering air in the middle of my cupped hands. The pain comes back behind my eyes and the collar begins to burn again, instead of fighting the pain, I welcome it, use it to fuel me. I set the globe of air into a self-sustaining system, pure oxygen enters, impurities exit. Slow, over the next few hours I heat the inside of the globe until combustion is reached. Since gravity does not affect the globe the flame is circular and blue in color. But, I am not done, if I am going to use this to defeat my enemies it needs to be more powerful. I continue to heat the inside of the globe.