The realization struck like a gut punch, halting mid-step and forcing a step back toward the gate. There was more that began to echo that place. The one crawling with those twisted, chira-like monsters that had co so close to being my end.
At the mont, the clearing was quiet. No beasts in sight. But beyond those trees? I couldn't be sure. I didn’t have enough information to rule it out.
i was still rambling, cheerfully naming the different plant species surrounding us. Most of them apparently studied or catalogued, but a phrase cut through her chatter and grabbed my focus.
“Crazy how our mistakes resulted in such magical things.”
I blinked at her, stunned. “What do you an by mistakes?”
She stepped closer, the air shimred with iridescent hues cast by strange flora, and she plucked a single bloom from a stem—its petals open wide, glowing faintly. “The Engineers had a catastrophe, years ago. A disease that ca from the stars.”
That… didn’t sound good. A space disease? “Lots of people died from it? What does that have to do with the plants?”
She shook her head, then tossed the flower casually over her shoulder. It drifted, featherlight, and landed gently among the others swaying in the field.
“Not deadly to people. And this is all pulled from ancient written records, so who knows how much is myth, but…” She hesitated, gaze dropping in thought, before rising again to et mine. “It wiped out food crops. Most of them.”
I nodded, the implications clicking into place. No food. A civilization-level crisis. Simple to understand.
“Then ca the second calamity,” she continued, her voice shifting. “But this one arrived with a gift hidden inside. The rain of blood.”
It was a lot to process at once, and all too familiar. If what she ant was what I thought, then I had already seen a version of it. In my own ho. “It gave you your Blessings,” I said, not a question, but certainty.
She smiled, confirming with a glance, and turned back toward the field, continuing her impromptu lecture. “Ancestor Ai was among the first. She said the first calamity happened long before she was born. Nearly wiped out the Engineer Clan. And when the second hit, so few remained.”
Synthia and I followed in her steps, weaving through the sea of strange flowers. The field was beautiful, but it pressed up against the edge of those awful trees.
“After that, the Blessings changed everything,” i said, her tone growing reverent. “They let us record things with precision. Invent again. And…” She paused, then spun back around, lifting her wrist to show the glowing brace wrapped around it. “They enhanced our skill in Extraction.”
It was getting harder to maintain my composure. My throat tightened as I swallowed down a rising wave of unease. The Bloodline—the so-called rain of blood, the blessings, were, as I’d co to suspect, almost certainly tied to the Great Ancestor.
A dark savior, appearing at a mont of crisis. But why? What did he stand to gain? Who were those voices, those angry, wailing presences, that cried out when we broke through the barrier of Bodily Cultivation? Were they Guardians? Sothing else?
But the why still remained. There had to be so benefit of spreading his blood so widely. To turn worlds into so strange form of descendents. So that rose so high they could breach the space between worlds.
I shelved the thoughts, knowing they’d only spiral, and turned my attention back to i. I lifted a finger, pointing to the light pulsing faintly within her wrist brace. “Extraction. Is that how you increase your power?”
I didn’t want to give away how much I knew about *seeing *Force in the air, but it seed to be a concept that was either unknown, or just unpracticed here.
i lowered her arm, the glow dimming slightly, and flashed a playful wink. “If I tell you... what do I get in return? Besides,” she added with a grin, “don’t forget that we’ve got a fight coming up.”
I smirked, casting a sideways glance at Synthia. “It’s not Force, is it?”
Synthia chuckled, her gaze flicking from my face to i’s, who now wore an expression equal parts eager and betrayed.
“Sorry, i,” she said with a small shrug. “I owe him a lot. He’s the reason I was able to progress to where I am now.”
i pouted, folding her arms. “Fine…”
We continued walking, though my thoughts drifted to Synthia’s cryptic words. As we moved through the strange landscape, I kept one eye on the surroundings, scanning for anything else that might echo the bowl-shaped dungeon.
This book's true ho is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Extraction isn’t Force,” Synthia confird, her tone low but certain. “They haven’t told much, but—”
“Don’t bla ,” i cut in, her voice sharp with indignation. She marched ahead of us, arms still crossed. “Dad’s the one who won’t let share anything.”
Synthia paused, addressing i with a tone softer than I expected. “I know. Honestly, it probably wouldn’t suit anyway. I’d need to harden my emotions a bit more.”
I frowned at that, narrowing my eyes.
Steel her emotions? This girl had coldly slaughtered mbers of her own people during the trial. She’d shattered the spirits of forr clan mbers.
How much more “steeled” could she possibly need?
“I’ve only seen it once,” she admitted after a beat. “And truthfully… there might not be much difference between cultivating animals for slaughter and it, but…” She looked down, her voice softening. “I like animals.”
Color rose to her cheeks, a quiet embarrassnt she didn’t quite manage to hide.
No need to be ashad of such a noble sentint, Wyrem offered from sowhere in the back of my mind, not that she could hear him. Dragons, if one were being crass could be considered ani—
Worms, Luna interjected, as the strange presence inside squird in subtle amusent.
DRAGONS, Wyrem corrected indignantly. And admiring them, refusing to harm them, is a natural instinct for any intelligent creature.
Didn’t you command one of your "descendants" to obey ? I projected back.
Wyrem coiled himself into a ball of energy, grumbling. I’m a dragon. Certain liberties are allowed when dealing with long-lost grandchildren.
I chuckled aloud, then raised my voice slightly, steering the conversation back. “I’ll tell you how I train,” I offered, watching i carefully, “if you tell about Extraction.”
She stopped, turned halfway, clearly tempted.
“For real,” I added, just in case Synthia’s presence made her wary. “Things even Synthia doesn’t know. No one does. Imagine it—being the first thirteen-year-old Engineer to discover sothing entirely new in your own culture.”
Her eyes lit up, briefly glowing with a mix of violet and neon blue, then dimming as skepticism crept in.
“You’re not going to trick , are you?” she asked, voice uncertain but sincere.
You are, aren’t you? Luna asked privately, her tone unimpressed.
Ignoring her, I leaned in with the final sweetener. “You get to na it as the one who discovered it here.”
There was a click, not audible, but visually. A turn of complexion and emotion.
“Deal!” she shouted, almost bouncing with excitent. “But one-for-one, okay? No uneven exchanges.”
"Fair enough." I nodded. “Great. What has Synthia told you, then?”
Synthia answered before i could. “Only that I practice a different form of energy manipulation than they do. I never gave more than that. It didn’t feel right to share sothing that wasn’t mine to give.”
That level of restraint was surprising. For soone who barely knew , her moral compass on secrecy seed surprisingly intact. Still, I wasn’t about to waste the advantage it gave .
I leaned in slightly, voice low. “Anything about cultivation?”
Still, she shook her head. “They gave protection, so I offered to be i’s guard. I only showed my own abilities.”
i nodded eagerly, like a child recounting their favorite mont. “Only after she demolished my previous guard. He was so embarrassed. Thirty years of training just to be beaten by soone half his age. But…” Her eyes sparkled with the mory. “I did see that weapon. The one she made from nothing.”
“Let’s sit,” I said, settling cross-legged onto the grass. My voice was calm but firm, setting the tone for what ca next. “I’ll start, then you explain Extraction.”
i joined without hesitation, Synthia settling beside her so that the three of us ford a small triangle in the open field.
I took a slow breath, letting the quiet between us solidify the agreent.
“First,” I began, “is the concept of Force. It’s an energy that exists everywhere—woven through the world itself. Around us. Inside us. Dormant, until awakened. Usually through soone who already knows how to manipulate it.”
As I spoke, another thought rose unbidden. Who was the first to awaken Force? Who had sensed it before there was anyone to guide them? Unlike Trevor or , there had been no teacher for that first being.
“Everywhere? Even here?” i leaned forward, wide-eyed and clearly intrigued.
I nodded. “Of course. Even here.”
She leaned back, narrowing her eyes in mild suspicion. “How do you know?”
I smirked, holding the mont. “This is the last piece before your turn.” I took another breath. “I can see it. When I use my power, the energy inside pulls the energy outside toward it. It gathers. And I can see that.”
Her gaze didn’t waver. She glanced at Synthia, the blue glow in her irises flaring brighter, sharper with focus. “You all see it?”
Synthia looked at for confirmation. I nodded.
Synthia shook her head slightly. “I can’t see anything. But… I can feel it. The energy around , but even that’s considered rare.”
She looked at again, thoughtful now. In the illusion world, I’d never told her how I found the artifacts. Maybe she had thought we were the sa before.
Really wish I could’ve kept those artifacts. Oh well.
“Peter’s more unique if he can actually see it,” she admitted, quietly.
“Thank you,” i exhaled, satisfied at last. Her expression brightened with anticipation. “Then I’ll explain Extraction. The energy behind it… and how we increase it.”
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