[THE WEEPING FOREST, INTERIOR REGION — THREE WEEKS LATER]
Jacender fell onto the floor with a loud groan and took in sharp breaths. In front of him, Aleximus stood with his dagger in hand and faced Nahasch. He, too, was on the brink of exhaustion but had not yet fallen.
The lord of the forest smiled. They had been training for over three weeks now and their acclimation to Sanctum Essence was going extraordinarily well. Despite only recently tapping into their Sanctum Energy, both brothers were finding it incredibly easy to wield their newfound power. Perhaps it was due to all the years of watching their sister use Sanctum Energy, or perhaps it had something to do with their lineage as Ashfields at work; either way, they were becoming stronger
BRRMMMM!!
"That's enough for today," Nahasch said as he withdrew his energy. "You've done well in keeping with my instructions and have achieved the Primary Sanctum phase. Your next step is to breach into the Manifestation phase and develop your innate ability."
Aryeh, who had been watching from the shade with her daughter, released a sound reminiscent of a chuckle at the boys' torment. Her son, on the other hand, wore a great smile as he ran towards Jace and licked his face. He had nothing but curiosity and interest in this young boy.
Aleximus let out a heavy sigh and dimmed his own energy, allowing his knees to buckle as he sunk toward the ground and released his dagger. "Manifestation phase..?"
Nahasch nodded and took a seat on his throne. "Yes, it references the power to manifest your innate ability in conjunction with Sanctum Energy. Think of it as your Sanctum core's power-given form — an attribute specific to only you. It's commonly referred to as a Sanctum Type. You will use the next four days before the Dwanivit to rest and develop your Sanctum Energy until it takes shape."
Jace sat upright and put the cub in his lap. "How does our manifested power work? Is it like the Sanctum classes?"
Nahasch watched Tannin slither up his robe and run his finger along her head so she'd be docile. "Not quite. Your Sanctum Type, as I said before, is specific only to you. The power you form rests completely in your hands depending on your aptitude and personality. As long as it's something that resonates with you as a person, the possibilities are endless."
Aleximus's eyes widened. Endless, huh?
He glanced at his brother who still seemed to be confused by the instruction and smiled. "It's something only we can do from here on out, Jace. Think about a thing that you've always admired and that should help."
Jace thought for a moment before smiling. "Rrr?" the cub's head tilted. It stared at Jace, hoping to hear what he'd come up with. But instead of revealing it, Jace lifted the little lion and held him up to his face with a wider grin. "I think I've got the perfect idea then!" he announced.
"Excellent," Nahasch smiled. He raised a finger and tapped his armrest, causing the trees on his left and right to open up. One path opened on both sides of his throne as he looked back at them.
"Then from here on, Aleximus will train personally with me in the deeper section of the Weeping Forest."
Aleximus couldn't even open his mouth to ask why before Jacender cut in with, "What?! Unfair! What about me?!", loudly in his ears.
Aleximus flinched and covered both his ears. "Shut the hell up, you idiot!" he boomed, spinning towards him. "You almost made me go deaf!"
The cub, sensing a scuffle, jumped out of Jace's lap and ran back to its mother.
Jace cracked his knuckles. "Good! Maybe it'll make it more fair that way!"
They both jumped to their feet with agitated expressions, but Nahasch cleared his throat and shut them both up.
"Silence. You will be training with Aryeh privately over the next four days, Jacender, is that understood?"
"Huh?"
Jace turned to the lioness and noticed she had risen. Her eyes were no longer playful; nor was her expression happy. Instead, she opened her jaw to reveal her thick fangs and growled.
Her daughter chuckled to herself while her son comically shook his head as if praying for the boy.
Aryeh huffed out of her nose and walked towards the path that her lord had opened up. She glanced quickly at Jace before she disappeared into the woods and beckoned him to follow.
"Ha!" Aleximus sneered with his arms crossed. "You've gotta go fight that lion for four days! Now what's unfair?!"
He looked at Jace, realizing that he hadn't responded, and slowly let his arms fall to his side.
"Aleximus," his brother breathed carefully. His voice was serious and his eyes were furrowed with excitement. "I'll see you in four days."
TMP!!
Just like that, Jacender was off with a dash towards the path Aryeh had come from. He didn't turn around to wave his brother goodbye; He didn't feel he had to. Aleximus knew what his brother had meant by his words and tsked.
As the path closed behind Jace, he reached down and picked up his fallen dagger.
I won't let you get stronger than me, Jace! Train as hard as you can until we see each other again!
He faced Nahasch and made his way for the path on the left. "Let's go, snake-king. We've got work to do."
The lord's smile widened slightly. "Very well," was all he said as he followed after the young boy.
How curious these two are, he thought to himself. How curious indeed.
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[THE WEEPING FOREST, DWARVEN TRAINING VILLAGE]
"AGAIN!" Shuo's voice rang.
KLANG! KLANG!
Hidemi's hammer struck like a hard whip against the hard iron ore the banished dwarves had prepared for him. It was worn and chipped at the sides from repeated use, but Hidemi continued to strike it repeatedly, despite the buckets of sweat pouring from his body and drenching his shirt. Shuo had foreseen possible vision problems and tied the boy's hair back with a tightly wounded tree branch they had augmented with Sanctum Energy.
The anvil they had prepared for Hidemi was no better. It was short and thin, so if he made a mistake, the ore would either fall off, split in two, or the hammer itself would miss and slip off the ledge, causing him to lose momentum.
As of right now, he'd been going for nearly fifteen hours straight.
"Shouldn't he take a break?" one of the nearby dwarves asked Shuo. He'd been passing by and noticed how focused Hidemi's movements were. But after noticing the puddle of sweat that had amassed by the boy's feet, he figured something had better be said. "He's been going at it since the sun came up. Will basic swinging practice do him any good?"
Shuo shook his head and pointed at a nearby tub of water in the center of the encampment. "He hasn't swung a hammer in months. We need to rebuild his skills from scratch if he wants a shot at surpassing young master Hisagi in the Dwanivit. That water there will cool his hands down if his body begins to overheat."
His brow furrowed as golden wisps of Sanctum Energy fritzed along Hidemi's body like static whenever his hammer made contact with the metal. "Besides, something like overexhaustion won't hold young master Hidemi back. He's been repeatedly breaking his limits over and over these past few weeks. Eventually—"
BLAOW!!!
Both their eyes widened with shock. "S-See..?" Shuo grinned in disbelief. He pointed at the anvil shakily and said, "Eventually… a miracle will be born."
The ore, Hidemi's hammer, and even the anvil itself had shattered under the weight of the boy's last blow. The incus itself had been split in two, right down the middle, and its pieces collapsed at Hidemi's feet like torn paper.
However, what was most surprising was what Hidemi did next. Almost as if stuck in a trance-like state, he tossed away the hammer handle — the only remaining part of the tool left — into a nearby crate and pulled from it another burly hammer; this one was new and furbished.
DTH~UNG
Out from the ground came another, new anvil, ready for the half-dwarf to strike it. Sitting on it was another piece of iron ore, no doubt prepared by Shuo.
"No way," the other dwarf gulped. He edged closer to the crate where Hidemi had tossed away the broken handle and peered into it, almost afraid of what he might have found. "Are all these..?" he asked unsurely.
"Yes," Shuo responded with amazement. The pitch of his voice changed into excitement as he grinned at the sight of Hidemi's achievements. "Every four minutes, his smithing equipment breaks as a result of his Sanctum Energy and absorbs the pure Essence dispersed by his blows back into the ore. Take a look — the iron ores littering the ground below you have all been purified — almost as a master Alchemist would. If young master Hidemi is able to control this amazing talent of his and solidify his swinging to purify and expunge minerals with only a single blow…"
"...The song of Arsaes…" the other dwarf huffed with bated breath. "T-Then the Lord of The Weeping Forest was right! The young master really may be able to—"
"Nothing is set in stone yet!" Shuo bellowed, crossing his arms. An indescribable curiosity danced in his pupils.
"We must watch the changes and observe! At the moment, the young master is caught in a flux of extreme focus! We must be his anchors and not interrupt him!"
"R-Right!" the newcomer stammered. He quickly bowed and backed away from the two. A-Amazing, he goggled, Simply amazing! When the Dwanivit arrives… How many people will be able to argue about the validity of such talent?!
That's correct, young master Hidemi, Shuo thought. You're just like him — your father, Ivan, when he was younger. But an even greater potential lies deep down inside your soul. Awaken it, young master! Feel it! Change it!!
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[XASTOL CITY, UNDERGROUND MINES — THAT EVENING]
Banderd Murong stepped into the dingy tunnelway with his arms crossed behind his back. He looked different — almost sapped of life.
His muscular and bulky body — which was seen as the ideal shape for any dwarven Sanctum-Smith who had mastered augmentation — had shrunken and become greyer. Not only had his skin become much more pale, but his large robes, which had fit him perfectly before, were worn loosely on his once-great frame, with the Murong clan crest barely stretching along his back.
But what was worse, indeed, were the dark rings around his eyes. He'd obviously not been getting much sleep; That much was for certain. Whatever was happening, these were the symptoms of a prolonged problem; one that had been happening well before now.
He walked along the tunnelway, watching as dozens of dwarves mined away at dark purple rocks in an open area with golden pickaxes. The tips were curiously designed with slits in-between their centers so small charges of Sanctum Energy would be dispersed through and make both drilling and cutting large chunks of rock out much easier.
Instead of acknowledging the workers, Banderd's mind was preoccupied with other thoughts; Thoughts of a time that had long since passed, and of people that had long since gone.
He thought of his brother, Ivan, and the day he had become Speaker of Xastol's council.
"Look, brother!" he had once said to Banderd. "With this… Things might finally start changing around here!"
Banderd smiled to himself as he walked. His thoughts then shifted to his younger brother, Ruo, the man who had passed just a few months ago.
"Bah! A dwarf's value lies in his ability!" he'd say. "How can you call yourself a citizen of Xastol without mastering the skills it takes to be one?"
He would always be drunk, spouting nonsense unbecoming of a man of his station. Banderd fondly recalled the times he would chastise him for his behavior. He longed for those days to return.
Then, after a pause, he thought of his father, Dwygrand, the previous Speaker and leader of Xastol City before Ivan took over his position.
He couldn't remember anything specific his father would say to him. He could only recall his rigid and stone-cold back. No matter how much he stared or tried to get it to turn, it never would. His father was always so close. So close, yet too out of reach.
"Speaker Banderd!" a voice called, cutting through his reminiscence. He raised his head and looked ahead. The pathway had opened up to a large hole forty feet wide and nearly one hundred meters deep.
Large, overflowing pools of lava gushed forth from the ceiling and ran down the hole from the left and right like a flaming waterfall. It was contained so it wouldn't spill over to the workers, but it was dangerous nonetheless. Banderd had gotten close enough to fall in had he not been warned.
"Wājué," he murmured. His eyes came back into focus as he looked at the dwarf before him. He was a young freckled teenager holding a clipboard with items crossed off. In his other hand sat a large pickaxe.
"Thank you. Had you been a moment too late, I'd have fallen." he bowed.
Wājué flinched at the sight of a councilman bowing and dropped his items, waving frantically for him to stop. "N-No! It's my pleasure, honestly, sir! There's no need to bow to someone like me!"
"Nonsense," Banderd responded with a dry smile. "My position has nothing to do with the way I treat others. You deserve my respect, and therefore I will give it to you."
The young dwarf scratched his head curiously and nodded. "If you say so, sir…"
Banderd picked up the clipboard and examined its contents. His posture stiffened at the sight of the last marking below. "So… the Jidan has finally been uncovered, eh?" he said in a low voice. Wājué noticed that behind his tone stood a hint of dejection. Was he not pleased?
"Yes, Speaker Banderd," the boy said. He nodded towards the edge and beckoned the councilman forward. They both looked over to find a handful of dwarves sifting through heaps of dirt while transporting it away on what looked to be robotic wheelbarrows. "If you look closely, the great Jidan Ore we detected a few months ago is finally visible. It's taken tons of manpower to bring it up to the surface as is, and we needed to cut through lava to do it. Unluckily for us, the ore only thrives while submerged in the stuff. If it's taken out, it'll freeze due to the unknown temperature of the air topside and become virtually useless. Whatever you need it for, I can't imagine it'll make once we get it up there."
He glanced at Banderd, hoping for him to shed some light on the mysterious ore. Why? Wājué wondered. Why did a councilman need something this massive? Where did he find material that even Xastol's most ancient texts didn't list? How was he even aware that it was underneath the city?
Many questions plagued him, but he knew Banderd would never answer. Instead, the Speaker wore the same tight-lipped expression each time they had made progress on the ore — as if he didn't want it uncovered in the first place.
Banderd put his arm on his shoulder and comforted him. "It's fine. Getting it uncovered is all that matters at the moment. You are doing Xastol an unparalleled service, Wājué. Please remember that."
Wājué sighed. "You say that every time and yet you still won't tell me what you need this for. None of the other counselors are even allowed to come near this place."
Banderd chuckled and turned away from him. "Perhaps I'll tell you one day. For now, just focus on having the Jidan fully uncovered by the Dwanivit. It's imperative that it happen on that day."
He always says that, too. Wājué nodded. Oh well. It's an honor to help the council in any way I can. It's the dwarven thing to do.
He watched Banderd walk past the mining dwarves, his eyes fixed on his back and the crest of the clan he wore proudly for all to see. Then, Wājué turned his attention back to the excavation team below. They had much work to do.
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[THE WEEPING FOREST, NAHASCH & ALEXIMUS]
Nahasch sat atop a wide log and playfully let Tanning slither through his fingers. Aleximus rested against a tree trunk, watching them silently. Between them, a fire crackled; the only sound in the silence.
His face was bruised, but his determination hadn't faded. For him, this was merely a stepping stone — something he had to overcome to achieve the power he dreamed of. But something else tugged at the back of his mind. Something that went back to what Nahasch had told them a few days ago.
"Ask your question," Nahasch said suddenly without looking. "I can sense your restlessness."
Aleximus raised his brow, barely shocked that the strange entity had guessed his thoughts. He'd seen enough of the lord's awesome power to never question his abilities.
"Those… cracks in your face. How did you get them? When you were teaching us about Sanctum Energy, you said that you're a 'fragment of what you used to be' — that you were weakened."
Nahasch didn't respond.
"Who did it?" Aleximus pressed. "Who was strong enough to hurt you?"
Nahasch scoffed. "Not 'who', child. But 'what'. My enemy is a primordial force beyond any classification of the word. The entity that harmed me so… I hesitate even to name it; For names are chains, and they cannot be bound. My companions once called it 'Fate', but even that word is but a shadow of what it truly is."
As if spooked from just hearing the name, Tannin hissed madly and slithered back into his robe's sleeve.
"It is an ever-coiling serpent," Nahasch continued. "He exists beyond time, space, reason — even beyond the reach of the system you tap into Sanctum Energy. Fate is a boundless creature undeterred by limits and thought. When it moves, multiverses unravel. When it speaks, realities are rewritten. It is not bound by rules, for it is the weaver of them; The silent hand that shapes all things yet bows to none."
His voice lowered for the first time as he stared into the fire between them both and recalled an ancient memory. "Eons ago… No, even before the existence of time immemorial, those I once traveled with challenged it and failed. We carried with us the hopes of every being throughout every facet of reality — even those yet not born and those who had been killed in the eternal battle. And yet, we were snuffed out one by one, our dreams dashed and crushed."
As he spoke, he envisioned the shadows cast by the flame taking the shape of his old allies as they fought back against the encroaching darkness, but they were each consumed and buried the moment the fire roared even a bit.
Nahasch touched his face and brushed the long crack running along his cheek. "This visage of mine is a result of that age-old battle. I have long since given up hopes of ending the cruel monster myself. Instead, I have waited here, in the center of the wide omniverse, on the planet my closest friend constructed to cultivate a civilization of people who he hoped would one day embody our lost dream, and rise to challenge the monstrous creature once more. Oh, how long I have waited."
"Is he still alive?" Aleximus asked, a sudden interest in the story flashing in his eyes. "Your friend?"
"I have no doubt he's still out there fighting on his own. He was always childish and stubborn, believing things could change if he tried hard enough. He had many names once, but the people of this world have come to call him by one title…"
He smiled and looked up at the sky. The drifting clouds beautifully smiled back at him, like eyes watching them speak.
"...God."
A fire swelled deep inside Aleximus's abdomen — like something warm had been nestled firmly within his stomach on a cold winter day. An unmistakable feeling that he would never have believed he held simmered in his crimson pupils.
Faith. Faith of something grander and larger than he was coursed through his body like lightning. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
"God..?" he repeated. He couldn't even bring himself to laugh it off or question it. Nahasch was not the kind to lie. He knew that. But something was different about this. He could tell deep within his bones that this was true; like his soul couldn't even reject such an idea.
"As time passes, you'll come to know more about it," Nahasch told him. "For now, however, your thoughts and efforts will be better spent on the here and now. Pave your own road forward with unquestionable power. Face this world that fate desperately tries to inhabit and breakthrough with your own ability. That is the meaning of strength. And with that strength, perhaps you, too, will one day come across your answer of what it means to be free. Perhaps you will be able to do what I was not able to: make a change."
Aleximus fell silent for a moment and then rose to his feet. His black Sanctum Energy gushed forward until his surroundings were filled by it. Even the flame sitting in the center had been covered in its overwhelming intensity.
But something peculiar happened right after. Hints of red appeared along the black waves of energy. They were nearly imperceptible, but Nahasch noticed them. Something was changing within Aleximus, whether mentally or physically.
"It seems you've still got some energy left," he smirked. He rose from the log and stood in front of Aleximus. "Very well. Training resumes now, then."
Aleximus's eyes furrowed as he took up a fighting stance.
He was going to become stronger. He swore it.
And if he did… maybe he would finally be able to search for something beyond his dream of exploring the outside world. Maybe, just maybe, there was still another piece of himself he needed to find.
[PREPERATION [II] ]