Cyrus Solaris
My body was weightless as I drifted; the roar of the river drowned out the sounds of the forest. I was exhausted, and the splitting pain in the back of my head was unbearable. An hour had passed since escaping the trap laid by the Araknos and Morphaelis heirs.
I lost all my totems, putting me in last place. I was at rock bottom, and so angry that the heat that radiated from my body caused the water I was floating in to evaporate. What occurred was a mockery of my clan and me.
I had to redeem myself and win. There wasn't another option.
My camera hovered above my face, stalking me. I was starting to despise this game, but it taught me a valuable lesson. I was weak and still lacked experience with my powers.
Floating down the river, I pulled out my map. I was still heading towards Stravos's stronghold. But in my current state, I needed more. I needed to master my second node. If I had unlocked its full extent, I might still have totems.
Tilting my head in the water, I looked around for shelter. I knew caves wouldn't do this time around. Staring up into the sky, I took in the towering trees. They reminded me of the world trees in the Slytharion astral territory.
I lunged out of the river and darted up one of the trees. A hundred feet above the forest, the crisp high altitude air brushed the back of my ears. With an hour left in the game, I knew what I needed to do to win, and I was going to do just that.
Centering myself, I took a slow inhale, causing my chest to rise, followed by the complementary exhale. Following the steps my father taught me, I began my astral projection.
My spiritual self detached from my body. I saw the bruises, the lacerations, the mangled hair. I looked like hell. Making me wonder how I must have looked after completing my first rift, or my battle with Adam. But I pushed it to the side and entered the swirling portal above my astral tattoo.
Floating into the dark expanse of my nexus never got old. But I didn't have time to admire the beauty of the sparkling stardust that speckled it. I willed myself toward my stellar pathway, and Dox appeared just as I was preparing to activate the resonance trial.
"Let me guess, I should see the other guy," Dox said, magenta light flashing with each word.
"Dox, I don't have time for your antics. Set up the trial."
"As you wish." Instantly, I was transported to the pool of reflection. Stardust rose from my feet and expanded, creating holographic objects inside the pool of stardust.
"Remember the advice I gave you."
"I remember." I shot back.
"You may begin."
Before me were four humanoid structures made of stardust. The first phase of the node was to learn how to decrease the gravity of objects weighing different amounts one at a time.
Now, to clear the last phase, I had to do that with multiple objects at once. Something I struggled with all summer. This time, I was determined to pass it; I needed to.
Entering my gravisense state, I felt the ripples in space each object created. After a week in this game, Dox's words echoed clearer than ever, you're not thinking vastly enough.
Back then, it sounded absurd. But confined to the web, forced to rely only on thought, the truth of it struck me.
Closing my eyes, I began to make a mental map, feeling the different bends in space created by the objects. Like I did while trapped on the web, I visualized my spiritual hand pushing up on the space underneath the object.
I felt the ripples slowly dissipate until they ceased. Next, I visualized three more hands doing the same thing beneath the other objects.
The strain on my brain was immense as I tried to push multiple divots in space upwards. Gravity felt like a textured map, as my mind pressed against each indentation in the fabric of space.
Some felt like shallow mounds, while others felt like deep chasms resisting my will. I felt like a sculptor shaping the invisible. But like marble, space was just as hard to manipulate. Then one of my mental hands faltered, and the indentation in space returned.
"You have failed the resonance trail."
I opened my eyes, and I saw the humanoid objects float back into the pool. My astral body flickered as my anger intensified—the pain of failing hurt just as much as my headache. I was so close.
Then Dox floated over towards me, "Would you like to try again?"
"Yes," I said, shaking off the frustration. "I'm not leaving until I conquer this. I will achieve my goals by any means."
"As you wish."
The pool glowed, and the four manifestations reappeared. This time, the humanoid objects had more detail. They resembled the team made up of the Morphaelis and the Araknos heirs. I looked at Dox.
"Did you do this?"
"The situation is dire. Correct?"
"Yes."
"Then this should be the push you need."
The events replayed in my head. I hated how I was manipulated by them, strung along for their goal. I wasn't going to be manipulated anymore; everyone will bend to me.
Like before, I visualized four hands pushing into the indentation in space that the objects created. The strain on my brain was just as intense as before, but I pushed past it, focusing my entire spirit on this one thing. The differently sized bumps were slowly being pushed up.
I was finally starting to feel progress in my powers, before I always tried moving them one at a time, which disrupted my focus. But now it made sense. I needed to think of it as all one space that was mine to manipulate.
Opening my eyes, I saw that all of my previous captors were now floating in the pool of reflection. They were helpless under my control. For the first time in a while, I felt powerful. The pool of stardust shifted from a brilliant white to the familiar magenta.
"You have passed your resonance trial. Gravity Well Minor is now mastered." Dox said, his glowing figure pulsating next to me. Then a sudden influx of information pierced my psyche, instilling new insight.
My astral form flickered as I suffered from the big drain of cosmic energy. But it was worth it; confidence brewed inside me with new resolve.
Floating towards me, Dox asked, "Would you like to see your third and last node of the embryonic stage?"
"No, I don't have time. I have to win this game."
I commanded my astral body toward the exit of my nexus.
Back in the physical realm, I saw my body calm and relaxed perched on top of the tree. I wanted to savor the moment of victory, but I saw the dome steadily shrinking, making its way towards me.
Quickly, I entered my body and began to scale down the tree. I took a look at the leaderboards and the map. My target was still in the same spot, ready for me to claim my prize.