by Aaron Oster
Dabu shook his head, but Morgan knew it had been a long shot. The question was too specific and had been aimed at one of the areas he was not allowed to talk about.
“How about this, then? I know that there is someone else. Someone far more powerful than any of them. Samuel tampered with a beast zone while Sarah was in there, and was punished for it. Who is this entity?”
Dabu’s face went uncharacteristically grim, and he held a hand up to stop Morgan from saying any more.
“Yes. There is indeed a higher power. A being that controls us all.” His face darkened even further, and his voice grew hard. “Do not look into this any further if you value your freedom, Morgan. Once you have his attention, you will be bound by his rules as the rest of us are. Do you understand?”
Morgan nodded quickly, feeling a chill race down his spine at the mention of this being. He would take Dabu at his word, and not pry any further into this. He’d been prepared to die, rather than become Samuel’s slave, and becoming bound to the same rules as the others was a form of slavery.
He had to wonder still what games these gods were playing. Samuel was a puzzle, as was Gold. Whenever he thought he’d figured one out, they did something that completely contradicted his previous assumptions. He knew that Samuel was interested in him, but he still didn’t know why. He wanted him to kill Edmund and the Pinnacle King, but what did he have planned for him after that?
And then there was Gold. He’d pretended to be an academy teacher, and had imparted a lot of knowledge to him. He’d trained him, taught him to use his abilities, and guided him in the right direction. Then he’d stabbed an ally in the back. Morgan had thought that the man had only been toying with him, using him for some personal goal. But the way he’d acted the last time he’d seen him, said something to the contrary.
Then there was this mysterious third party, the one who’d had him modified, and taken his memories. He couldn’t be sure what they wanted either, but he knew that Samuel was opposed to them as well. This meant that he was essentially in the middle of a three way tug-of-war with a bunch of gods, all of which wanted him for some unknowable reason.
“I see that I have given you much to think about,” Dabu said, cutting into his thoughts. “So I will send you back now. You should awaken in the Central Kingdom’s war camp, so do not be alarmed. And remember, you must work on control above all else. The power jump between Intermediate and Advanced is massive, so it’s crucial that you learn control now.”
Morgan nodded and gave the man a smile. Then the clearing vanished.
50
Morgan opened his eyes and stared up at the unfamiliar wood-paneled ceiling. Judging by the lack of light coming in from under the window shutters, it was nighttime already, which meant that he had been asleep for at least six or seven hours. Doing a quick check of his surroundings, Morgan sat up in bed, taking several deep breaths and filling his lungs with an unfamiliar scent.
The air was definitely more damp than it had been in the West, which convinced him that Dabu had been correct. The sound of muffled voices came through the door, and Morgan sensed two people outside. Judging by the reiki, he could tell one was Gwendolyn, but the chi outside was unfamiliar.
The door opened a second later, and Gwendolyn walked in, followed shortly after by…Katherine? He was momentarily surprised, as the chi had been too strong to belong to her. She must have regained her lost power, and then some! If he was reading it correctly, she was now at the maximum of 50.
He also noticed that her style of dress hadn’t changed much over the last few weeks. She wore a tight-fitting sleeveless shirt that, oddly enough, came all the way up to just below her collarbone, and pants that looked as though they’d been painted onto her skin. Gwendolyn, by contrast was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, an armored waistband and wide, billowy pants. The two of them were still talking, but Gwendolyn abruptly cut off when she realized he was up.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you’d be awake,” she said, looking genuinely pleased.
Morgan was about to respond, when Katherine practically threw herself on top of him.
“I missed you, husband!” she said, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tight.
“Not your husband,” Morgan said, but found himself hugging her back.
Despite the fact that he now had a handle on his emotions, it still felt quite nice to hold this beautiful woman in his arms. He could feel his heart racing as Katherine pulled back and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
“Regardless of whether you’ll marry me or not,” she said, pulling back and looking at him. “It’s good to see you again.”
Morgan felt his cheeks warming a bit when she flashed him her dazzling smile; and he felt a light tingle run down his spine.
“It’s good to see you, too,” he replied. “Now if you don’t mind,” he said, motioning for her to get off.
“Of course. Silly me,” she said with a light laugh, extricating herself from his lap.
He noticed that she took great care to lean forward as she did so, giving him a very good and unobstructed view down her top. For some inexplicable reason, Morgan felt his eyes drawn to the exposed skin, before he realized what he was doing and quickly snapped his eyes back to her face. He caught her self-satisfied smirk, and knew he’d been caught.
“Looks like you were right, Gwen,” Katherine said as she straightened to her full height.
Gwendolyn just rolled her eyes, and sat down on the corner of Morgan’s bed.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, reaching out and placing a hand on his cheek.
His eyes shifted away from Katherine and he gave Gwendolyn a smile.
“Much better now, thank you,” he said, and he meant it.
Now more than ever, he was grateful to have met Dabu. Without his intervention and bestowal of a new trait, he would undoubtedly be a wreck right now. He also had to admit that he would be unable to focus on anything with Katherine in the room. She really was beautiful, and he could feel his body’s reaction to her presence even now. But he was in control. His trait didn’t dampen his emotions at all, because he could still feel every single one. What it did do, however, was give him far more control than he had any right to have.
For someone who couldn’t remember what it felt like to be happy, sad, angry, or anything else, the sudden onslaught of them all should have left him incapacitated for weeks. Now, however, he could focus on other, more important things.
“Sarah is in the North Kingdom’s war camp. I need to go get her,” he said, removing Gwendolyn’s hand from his cheek and moving to rise from the bed.
“Seeing as you’re not surprised to see me, I’m guessing that you know where you are?” Katherine asked.
“In the Central Kingdom’s war camp,” Morgan replied, reaching for the blanket covering his waist.
He felt Gwendolyn place a restraining hand on his arm and he gave her a questioning look.
“As much as you want to go after her, you may have to wait a bit. The North has been attacking us relentlessly for the last few days, and we can’t spare the troops we’ll need to go save her.”
“Besides,” Katherine put in. “She’ll be safe there. My father and Simon have agreed that Sarah will marry my younger brother, so no one would dare hurt her.”
Morgan’s fists tightened when he heard that, and he glared at the both of them.
“I won’t just wait around while Sarah needs me. I don’t need your help to get her. I can get in and out of the camp before any of them even knows what’s happening.”
Gwendolyn let out a sigh and placed a calming hand on his shoulder.
“Morgan. Listen to me. You might be strong, but there is only so much one person can do. Sure, with enough power, you can crush an entire army, but you don’t have that kind of power. Sarah is sure to be heavily guarded and surrounded by power dampeners. If you get within half a mile, you’ll probably fall out of the air.”
Morgan folded his arms over his chest, hi
s frown deepening. It appeared that neither of them were aware of his immunity to those kinds of abilities. And although he trusted them both and knew that Gwendolyn loved him like he was her own son, he decided to keep it from them. The fewer people who knew, the better.
As of right now, everyone in the Five Kingdoms, or at least the important people, would have a pretty good handle on his abilities after seeing them displayed at the tournament. Simon was likely expecting him to come for his daughter, and had probably prepared for such a contingency. If he were in Simon’s place, he’d probably set a trap, surrounding the area with powerful supers and mages who could best counter his skills.
He also knew about his flight skill, so they were probably watching the sky as well. The only thing he had going for him right now was that Simon probably didn’t expect him to be here so soon. The longer he waited, the worse his chances of success became. He opened his mouth to say something, when there was a knock at the door and a young woman dressed in the colors of the Central Kingdom poked her head in.
“What is it, Elidia?” Katherine asked, turning to the woman.
“The North is attacking out eastern flank. We need you.”
Katherine cursed under her breath, eyes flicking back to Morgan. She knew she should stay and try to talk him out of going after the North on his own, but she was needed on the battlefield. Finally, she sighed, nodding to the woman.
“I’ll be right there. Go tell Herald that they’re likely to attack our western flank as well, then launch a full assault from the north. My father always enjoyed those sorts of tactics.”
Elidia nodded, saluting sharply and leaving to deliver her message. Katherine then turned her eyes back to Morgan, her expression softening.
“I know that you feel like you need to rush in to save her. But please, for me, stay until we can gather a sufficient force to back you up.”
Morgan could feel the sincerity behind those words and see the care she held for him. He was surprised to find that he wanted to listen to her, if only not to upset her, but he knew that Sarah needed him. So, he did something he’d never seen any point in doing before. He lied to spare her feelings.
“Fine. I’ll hold off for now.”
He felt a twinge of guilt when he saw both women relax at his statement, but soon felt it overridden with determination. Sarah had been captured because he hadn’t been around to help her. He was sure if the two of them had been together, they would have managed to fight off Simon’s forces. And even if they hadn’t managed it, they could have, at the very least, escaped.
“Thank you,” Katherine said, giving him a smile. “I have to go now, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. You’ll have to tell me all about the Skyflare Tournament once this battle is over.”
Morgan nodded to her, not being able to force a smile himself.
“Get some rest, Morgan. You still look quite tired, not that I blame you after the ordeal you just went through,” Gwendolyn said, smoothing his hair back from his brow.
She leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, then rose from the bed. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
The two of them left then, leaving Morgan alone with his thoughts. He debated, just for a moment, listening to the two of them and not going. Almost immediately dismissing the idea, he rose from his bed and began to dress in the only outfit still available to him, the tattered uniform he’d worn during today’s match.
It was still stained with blood and sweat, and smelled something awful, but Morgan forced himself to pull it on as it was better than walking around naked, and now that he could feel embarrassment, he felt distinctly uncomfortable at the idea of walking around with no clothes on.
Next he pulled up his status to assign his remaining attribute points. He would need the boost to his power and had a decision to make: whether to pour all his points into one attribute, or split them up. He debated for nearly a full minute before realizing that indecision was costing him time. Sarah had already been in the hands of the enemy for several hours now and who knew what they were doing to her?
Deep down, he knew that she was probably being well cared for, but he couldn’t care less about that. She was a prisoner, plain and simple. Her freedom had been taken from her, the one thing she valued above all else. And now, Simon was trying to force her into a marriage with some Prince. Morgan felt his anger boiling up at the very idea of Sarah with someone other than him…
He froze, the realization hitting him like a lightning bolt.
He didn’t want Sarah to end up with anyone other than him!
When he thought about it, it made sense. She had been his only friend for years, and the only person he could rely on, no matter what. She was beautiful, strong and had made her intentions clear on how she felt about him. Until now, he’d been unable to reciprocate her feelings, but now, he could feel it. A feeling of utter joy and happiness filled him when he thought of their times together, and a feeling of dread did the same, at the thought of losing her to someone else.
Firming his resolve, Morgan focused back on his status and assigned all of the points to the attribute he thought would do him the most good. He felt his muscles grow, then contract, layering themselves on top of the already extremely dense muscles covering his entire frame.
He looked over his full status, noting the changes to his abilities and skills over the past few weeks.
Name: Morgan
Intermediate Supermage: Rank - 33
Energy to next rank - 78/550,000
Ability Advancement: 2,821/5,000,000
Total Available AP: 0
Ability - Natural Disaster
RP - 2,730/2,730 (Regen - 27.6 per second)
Strength - 262
Agility - 343 (+45)
Constitution - 266
Intelligence - 273
Wisdom - 276
Skills - Supersonic flight, Explosive impact III, Stormforger, Goldfire barrage, Nature’s wrath, Restructure
Traits - Dense body, Recovery, Aura sense (inherited), Aura flare (inherited), Body, Mind & Spirit (Inherited)
Extra - Gravity storm (3rd category), Starbreaker (2nd category), Collapsing star
Skills:
Supersonic flight - Manipulate gravity and air to reduce your weight and move through the skies. You can now reach your maximum speed instantaneously. There is no longer a weight limit. For an additional cost, you can briefly increase your speed to supersonic levels.
Cost - 25 RP per second
Max. height - 200 Ft
Max. speed - 125 Ft per second
Supersonic Speed Cost - 1,600 RP
Duration - 10 Seconds
Cooldown - 48 hours
Explosive impact III - Manipulate gravity and air to massively increase your speed and power for a short burst (Currently: Agility & Strength X3.05).
Cost - 180 RP
Duration - 4.5 seconds
Cooldown - 45 seconds
Stormforger - Manipulate gravity and air to forge solid whirling weapons in the shape of your choice. You can change the shape of your weapon without dismissing it. For an additional cost, you can charge your weapon with electricity.
Weapon Cost - 475 RP
Duration - Until dismissed
Charge cost - 125 RP
Duration - 3 Strikes
Goldfire barrage - Manipulate gravity and air to create flames using your reiki. You can now fire multiple attacks at once.
Cost - 200 RP
Cooldown - 25 seconds
Nature’s wrath - Infuse your body with the energy of the world, and harness the power of nature from your surroundings. This skill has no time limit, but will cause significant strain on the body. It will also drain reiki in ever-increasing amounts the longer it is used.
Cost - 5 RP per second; cost doubles every five seconds
Cooldown - 1 hour
Restructure - You can reshape the earth as you see fit. Control it all, or control none at all.
Cost - 50 RP per second
Traits:
Dense body - Your body has undergone an evolution and has become more dense and compact. All physical attacks are now 30% less damaging, and all skill-based attacks have a 1% chance of failing to damage you at all.
Recovery - The spirits of the air have blessed you with the power of healing. If you can survive for 10 hours after being wounded, no matter the injury, your body will be completely healed.
Aura Sense (inherited) - You have been bestowed the gift of sight by an omniscient. By concentrating on the natural energy within yourself, you can read the aura in the world around you.
Aura Flare (inherited) - You have been bestowed the gift of power by an Omniscient. You can make those around you feel your power, merely by focusing your intent. Your aura will now stun the weak minded for up to three seconds, and may cause some physiological damage as well.
Body, Mind & Spirit (Inherited) - You have been bestowed with the gift of balance by an Omniscient. Your body, mind, and soul are now, to a certain degree, under your control. As you grow in power, this skill will grow with you.
Current Control:
Body - 88%
Mind - 72%
Spirit - 50%
Extra:
Gravity storm (3rd category) - Create a cyclone of intense gravity, damaging winds, and lighting in a targeted area. The ground quakes and splinters under the force of this storm.
Cost - 750 RP
AOE - 50 Ft
Duration - 55 seconds
Cooldown - 6 hours
Starbreaker (2nd category) - Create a dense ball of superheated air and compressed gas, which will explode upon impact with a selected target. The heat is go great that it will melt stone upon impact.
Cost - 1,400 RP
AOE - 50 Ft
Cooldown - 12 hours
Collapsing star - Create a small sphere of super dense gravity that exudes the crushing force of a collapsing star.
