The projection of Exoklein appeared in her mind – the black sphere that Logos had shown her before. She realized it was the actual Nexus map that Riders used for Way-Shearing. It was not just a simple illustration.
Within the sphere, she saw numerous white threads connecting white specks within the blackness. These were Nexus Streams, linking two essential points: the Plane where the glass cube was located and Dorban, her home Plane. She reached into the sphere, her hand passing through its edge, and grasped one of the threads, pulling it out. She chose this Stream as the optimal path to reach her home, the one that would create a Way-Shear closest to her village, near the creek where she used to draw water. She selected it with the warning, "DO NOT enter the Nexus without knowing where you are and where you are going, or you will be lost and die," echoing in her mind.
To open a Way-Shear and travel within the Nexus, she had to connect to the Akashic Records first to extract the coordinates of her current location and destination, allowing her to choose the optimal Stream from the Nexus map provided by the Akashic Records. This had to be done beforehand, as knowing her starting and ending points was crucial before opening a Way-Shear. The map was reliable, constantly updated due to ongoing archiving and trades, making it the only safe way to navigate the ever-changing and expanding universe.
Entering the Nexus impulsively would be a grave mistake, as the densely interwoven Nexus-Streams could easily lead one astray.
Elara moved to the right, extending her right hand forward as the Way-Shear Rune, appeared at its center. Black veins glowing with a dark light spread from her palm, up her arm, and to her shoulder. A black, snow globe-sized orb filled with small white dots emerged from her palm. This was the Nexus-Key, the instrument for creating a Way-Shear. She consciously inserted the chosen Nexus-Stream into the orb, ensuring the Way-Shear would connect to the correct path.
As she prepared to Way-Shear into the Nexus, she noticed Logos observing her with a knowing smirk. She felt another thought slipping into her mind.
The orb moved a dozen feet away, and the space around it began to fold, forming a large white sphere with the black orb at its center. This was the Way-Shear, the portal to the Nexus-Stream that would lead her home. It resembled a spherical, white-lit room with a floating black hole at its center. The size of the Way-Shear was proportionate to the Rider who created it, so this one was Elara's size.
She knew that each Rune required a certain amount of StreamBreath to trigger, but opening a Way-Shear demanded a tremendous amount.
Looking at the Way-Shear, knowing its destination and the unimaginable speed at which objects moved within the Nexus, Elara was aware of the Nexus's unique laws and harsh environment. Only Riders with protective Aegis-Veils could withstand the Ride.
Without the shield of an Aegis-Veil, anyone who entered the Way-Shear would instantly disintegrate.
Way-Shears closed behind those who entered and reappeared only upon reaching the destination, vanishing once the Riders exited. The only exceptions were when a Masson, Forgemaster, or Ace was involved.
She also knew that no form of communication could be transmitted within or through the Nexus, not even the Akashic-Key Rune. Therefore, relying on the Nexus map to understand the conditions and environment of the destination was essential. If the destination was a Null-Field and the Riders lacked a charged BlackStone, they could be stranded, unable to use Runes or Way-Shear ever again.
However, Elara was not entering the Way-Shear just yet. She intended to use it as a source of StreamBreath, creating a zone from which she could draw energy. She began absorbing the StreamBreath flowing from the Way-Shear through her Sigil.
As she focused on the Way-Shear, the white space around her began to transform. Within seconds, it morphed into a familiar scene – the prairie, the forest, and the creek near her home village. It was her favorite place. The Akashic Records remained suspended in their original position. Elara was astonished by the sudden shift. "How?" she gasped, her eyes filled with wonder.
"Guess!" Logos smirked.
I shouldn't have asked, Elara thought, knowing she wouldn't get a straight answer.
Logos, grinning, raised his left hand, revealing the Convert Rune, on his wrist. He flexed his arm, and Elara noticed the symbol just before a dome of ice, as large as the Akashic Records, materialized around her, trapping her inside. She felt the biting cold as she stood frozen at the center of the icy prison.
Anger flared within her as she activated Convert, envisioning a storm of fire engulfing the ice dome. A tornado of red flames materialized, melting the ice from the outside and evaporating the water without a trace. She deactivated Convert, and the flames instantly vanished.
The Convert Rune allowed her to convert the StreamBreath flowing into her body through her Primal Rune and give it physical form as it exited. She could transform energy into almost any matter, shape, or state she desired, simply by visualizing it. However, to maintain the generated matter, she needed to keep Convert active. The moment it was deactivated, the matter would revert to StreamBreath. She also knew that Convert could not create organic matter.
"Well done," Logos commended. "Lift this." He pointed behind her.
Elara turned and saw a massive black hexagonal prism made of steel, as large as the Akashic Records. Logos must have generated it while I was distracted, she thought, a smile playing on her lips. She deactivated Mind-Lace and triggered three Runes simultaneously.
The first was the Might Rune, appearing on her right forearm. She knew she would need its strength-enhancing properties to accomplish this task. The Might Rune had augmented her physical prowess regardless of her mass.
The second was the Mass-Shift Rune, appearing above Might on her right forearm. Mass-Shift allowed her to control her weight, increasing or decreasing it at will, regardless of external conditions.
She needed Might to support her body as she increased her weight to match or exceed that of the massive steel prism. She was aware that reaching extreme weights would take time.
The third Rune was Mind-Hand, appearing on her left forearm. This allowed her to move objects with her mind, but its effectiveness depended on her weight. To maximize its power, she needed to increase her weight to match or surpass that of the prism. It was only applicable to targets not shielded by an Aegis-Veil and objects not coated with Bastion, as long as her own Aegis-Veil was active.
Time passed, and she felt Logos' eyes on her back as she focused on the prism. It began to tremble, slowly rising inches above the ground and then feet above her head. The speed of its ascent increased with each passing second as she grew heavier. To her, the prism felt as light as a feather, easily suspended dozens of feet in the air.
"Good," Logos said. "Now, set it down."
Elara nodded, a smile spreading across her face. She was exhilarated by her newfound abilities and decided to have a little fun before complying. She closed her hand, focusing her Mind-Hand on the prism. It instantly began to shrink, compressing and crumpling like a piece of paper.
She activated the Aegis-Veil Rune, which appeared on her right forearm above Might and Mass-Shift. A hair-thin, transparent shield enveloped her body, like a second skin. Although it did not touch her, she could sense anything that came into contact with it, registering the location of the touch without the physical sensation. She needed the protection of Aegis-Veil, a StreamBreath-based shield that could repel almost anything. It made her impervious to radiation, extreme temperatures, and external impacts, while also negating the effects of gravity and telekinesis on her body. Most importantly, it shielded her from the dangers of the Nexus.
Aegis-Veil had no weight, and natural, un-manipulated StreamBreath could pass through it unimpeded, entering the bodies of Riders.
Immediately after activating Aegis-Veil, Elara felt herself lifting off the ground. She used Mind-Hand to anchor herself as she released her hold on the deformed prism, which plummeted to the ground with the force of an explosion. Elara remained unmoved, her expression unchanged. "That was heavy!" she smirked, unfazed by the impact. "Now what?" she challenged playfully.
"Now split it in half," Logos instructed.
She activated Convert once more, and a block of black matter appeared beside her. She caught it with her right hand and simultaneously triggered the Alkahest Rune, which appeared on her left wrist. Placing her left hand on the block, she imagined a long sword. The block instantly morphed into the desired weapon.
She did not need to use Alkahest, but she wanted to.
This Rune allowed her to deconstruct and reconstruct any matter she touched at the particle level, transforming it into any form she could imagine. She could even alter its properties to a certain extent, turning dirt into glass, for example. The effects were permanent for any matter except that created by Convert. However, she could not apply Alkahest to Aegis-Veils or Bastion-coated objects, which were impervious to its effects.
As she approached the deformed prism, she deactivated Alkahest and activated the Bastion Rune, which appeared on the back of her right hand. A black, hair-thin layer coated the sword, enhancing its durability and effectiveness. Two feet away from the prism, she swung the sword, cleaving it perfectly in half with a single vertical strike. She turned back to Logos, a smirk on her face. "Is that good enough?" she asked, walking towards him.
"Not bad," he conceded just before vanishing in a blur. He reappeared beside one half of the split prism and, with a swift punch, sent it hurtling towards her.
Elara reacted instinctively, activating the Shatter Rune, which appeared on her left wrist. She pointed her hand at the oncoming half as a fist-sized black ball materialized near her palm. She launched it at the prism, triggering a massive explosion of fire and destruction. Shockwaves rippled through the area, exceeding the force of the prism's initial impact.
The blast sent the other half of the prism flying as well.
Unlike Convert, which allowed her to create, Shatter enabled her to destroy. Elara knew that the pure StreamBreath projectiles generated by Shatter had devastating effects, but her Aegis-Veil protected her from the blast's impact. She also knew that the longer she took to condense the StreamBreath, the greater the force of the explosion. With mastery, Shatter could even erase particles from existence.
As the dust settled from the first half's disintegration, she aimed her left hand at the remaining half, creating another Shatter projectile. To her surprise, the projectile bounced off the target just before impact and exploded harmlessly in the air. "Huh!" she exclaimed, bewildered.
She deactivated her Aegis-Veil as the dust cloud dissipated, revealing Logos standing between her and the unharmed second half. He appeared unaffected by the blast, as did the prism.
Elara walked towards him in silence. A few feet away, she sensed a dome-shaped Aegis-Veil surrounding Logos and the prism. Touching it, she realized he had used the Aegis-Weave Rune, to expand his Aegis-Veil, granting him the ability to shape and resize it within his reach. "You just..." she began.
"Come to this side," Logos interrupted, his lips moving silently behind the barrier of his Aegis-Veil.
Elara could not hear him, but she could read his lips, a skill she had not possessed before. How can I do that? Well, now's not the time for that, she thought. "How can I?" she asked aloud. "I can't pierce your Aegis-Veil. I don't have a Soul-Sever!"
"You can," Logos smiled, his gaze falling on her left hand. "You know how."
Elara's eyebrows shot up, her eyes widening in understanding. She deactivated Shatter and Bastion and activated the Revert Rune, which appeared in the center of her left palm. Black dust erupted from the area of Logos' Aegis-Veil where she touched it, and her sword vanished completely. She had created a hole just her size in Logos' Aegis-Veil. For a moment, she had forgotten that Revert allowed her to reverse-generate StreamBreath objects, dissolving them back into pure StreamBreath that she could absorb. It could also affect objects that contained StreamBreath. Logos reminded her that Revert worked on Shatter projectiles, Convert-created objects, Bastion coatings, and Aegis-Veils, but their effects were reciprocal.
After dissolving a portion of his expanded Aegis-Veil, she stepped through the opening. As she walked, she deactivated Revert and reactivated Aegis-Veil and Shatter, forming another Shatter projectile. She held it at bay, even as she stood a mere three feet from Logos. She stared at him in silence, his smirk unwavering.
"Finish it," he said. "Then come find me," he added before vanishing once more, leaving only a blur behind.