"So, uhh, you got any more questions?" Eo eventually broke the silence.
Nick continued looked at the stars for a mont before turning to et Eo’s sparkly gaze. Her eyes seed to glow brighter than the stars. Nick lost himself as he stared into them.
"Honey?" Eo asked, breaking the spell.
"Mhm?"
"Do you have any more questions?" She repeated, seeing Nick’s confusion.
He was silent for a mont before asking,
"These power crystals..." Nick was a little scared of the answer, but he continued anyway. "Do you think they can be the key to acquiring the strength you ntioned?" He asked.
Eo’s eyes widened slightly.
Just a few hours ago, Nick had been on the brink of despair at the futility of the task that returning ho was. But now, he was already considering the possibility of doing it. It was admirable.
Eo’s eyes turned toward the stars again, as if she were looking at Nick’s goals.
"They are definitely the key, but not only in the way you think. These power crystals are most likely a product of this dinsion’s Rules."
"Which ans, outside this dinsion, they won’t be very effective?" Nick guessed.
"Yes."
That ant he wouldn’t be able to rely on them to return to Earth.
"But, what they represent, on the other hand..."
"What they represent?" Nick echoed, confused.
"Power crystals. They are crystals of power. Crystalized power. Power given physical form. Well, there are a few ways to put it, but the essence is the sa. That essence, however, is defined by the aning of power." Eo turned to Nick again.
"What is power to you, Nick?" She asked with a gaze deeper than the abyss of empty space. Nick could feel himself being drawn in again, but it was different from when he lost himself in her beauty.
Instinctively, he could tell that it was the sa reaction as the one other people showed when they first saw Eo. It was the clash between a dinsional being with its rules and an outerdinsional being.
But unlike most of the others, who felt fear and existential dread and rejection, Nick felt...curious.
He didn’t lose track of reality or enter a complete daze. So, he seriously pondered on Eo’s question while looking into the depth of her eyes, trying to see through her. Surprisingly, he had a harder ti reading her expressions now that she was a human.
’Power...’
There were all kinds of things that could be considered power. Physical strength. Social influence. Economical surplus. Political status. Emotional leverage. Technical skills.
There were also less abstract things like heat, gravity, electricity, wind, and the power of natural phenona.
The power crystals...
Training with one close by could increase the speed and upper limit of the body. Power crystals could also sohow grant a person the ability to use the bullshit known as magic. Apparently, from what Nick had gathered from the others in the forest, there was no limit to what magic could be.
The only thing that the ones he had talked to about it could agree on was the fact that magic, without exception, was bullshit.
What did that an for the power crystals, the source of magic? And what did that an for the power of those power crystals?
Clearly, the crystals weren’t the only form of this intangible ’power.’ People without crystals had awakened magic without it. There was no need to touch one to experience its effects. Proximity just improved efficiency.
That ant the air was filled with ’power.’
Nick suddenly wondered about the renewability of power crystals. Did they run out of ’power’? They had to, otherwise, the value would only go down with ti as more and more were mined.
But that wasn’t relevant. Or was it?
An inexhaustible source of indefinable ’power.’
Could power run out? Did power have an end?
A person could lose their ’power.’ They could get hit by sickness and lose their strength. A scandal could tear down their social influence. A pandemic could ruin the economy and devalue assets, lowering a person’s economic surplus and wealth.
Did that an ’power’ alone wasn’t enough? Or was it not enough power? Could the things that decreased power be considered power? If yes, why and how? If not, why not?
And the other cases. Humans already controlled fire and lightning. Did that an they had the power of fire and lightning in their hands?
Nick could feel his mind spinning as an endless slew of questions pushed him deeper down a seemingly bottomless spiral. He sank like he was stuck in quicksand, but he still couldn’t figure it out.
He couldn’t define power. Maybe he could have given an answer before being teleported to a fantasy world. But now, there were too many things that wouldn’t align with whatever answer he gave.
So, he started thinking about the similarities and differences of all the kinds of power he could think of.
Eventually, he found a thread.
He started thinking about what physical strength could do, almost like it was rock, paper, scissors.
A strong person could beat up a rich or influential person. But a rich or influential person could have strong people act on their behalf. A skilled person could do whatever it was they were good at. If they were good at fighting, a rich person would have to be very rich to hire enough people to deal with them.
That sort of thing.
It was similar with the elents of nature. Water beats fire unless it’s a lot of fire or burning oil. Then, it needs a lot of water.
It took him back to the questions about power not being enough, and not having enough power.
Eventually, as if a switch was flipped, light shone down on Nick’s muddled mind.
It didn’t matter what kind of power it was. As long as there was enough, it would be enough. What mattered was the fundantal principle of power. Nick ca up to here smoothly. But it took him a while to finally figure out what that fundantal principle was.
Nick’s enlightennt told him that power was the ability to change things.
Power was the ability to alter reality.
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