Beyond The System

“How are you?” I whispered into her ear.

She let out a long breath. “Don’t know.” Her head shifted slightly, eyes lifting to meet mine. “You?”

“Heh.” I gave a soft chuckle. “Same, I guess. We—we should probably head back, right?”

“Yeah.”

But neither of us moved. Above the canopy, countless stars stretched on, shooting small beams of light through the foliage.

“I forget sometimes, you know?” she said, breaking the silence between us.

“You’ll need to be a little more specific.”

“You’re not from here. Somewhere out there, right?”

“Yeah. Maybe,” I shrugged. “I don’t recognize any stars, but I only ever saw pictures of them. We could be closer than I think... or ridiculously far. Either way, I’m here now.”

I pulled her closer.

“I’m feeling shy,” she admitted softly.

“Pfft.” I let out a quiet laugh. “Bit late for that, isn’t it?”

She pointed toward my right arm. “Her. She and… umm.”

Oh. Uhhh.

Wyrem?

Oh, relax. What do human rituals have to do—

Yeah, no. Stop right there, I cut in.

“One’s a worm, the other a flower... It was our moment,” I said, trying to sound comforting.

She buried her face in my chest and started shaking.

“You’re not crying, are y—”

She burst out laughing. “That was… I’m sorry, Peter, but that might be the lamest thing you’ve ever said.”

“I thought it was sweet,” I muttered.

Three voices—Luna, Wyrem, and Thea, answered in perfect unison, “You would.”

“So what were you trying to do before?” Thea asked once her laughter died down.

“Uh.” My face got warmer than it already was.

She must’ve picked up on it. “Before, Peter. When you shouted. Not—”

“Oh! Right. Sorry. I was practicing control. Trying to get my Water Force to manifest as actual water.”

She blinked. “What use is that?”

I shrugged. “No idea. Maybe none, but that’s what we do, right? Screw around, experiment, try new things?”

“Are you serious? Joking now?” she deadpanned, shaking her head. “Why’d you try to figure it out alone anyway? We’re a team right?”

“Yeah, of course. It just didn’t feel that major at the time,” I said. “If you want, we could look into it together.”

“We really should get up.”

“Yeeah,” I groaned, standing and offering her a hand. “Last thing we need is someone coming to look for us… if they haven’t already.”

“You don’t think—” she paused, brushing off her legs.

“No idea. Wasn’t exactly paying attention.” We both got ourselves together and started walking back. It wasn’t far, so we took our time.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about Inner Force,” Thea said. “Specifically, the Nexus. That energy inside of it.”

“What about it?”

“I never thought much about how it regenerates. I just accepted it as part of the system. But—” She took a breath. “It has to come from somewhere, right? Seems like it would originate there.”

I nodded. “Makes sense to me.”

“But then how? Why?” Her voice picked up a little, clearly excited. “There has to be some reason.”

“I never thought about it either. Why does World Force have to be converted into Inner Force for regeneration in the first place?” I shook my head. “Honestly, the nature of cosmic energy and will is way beyond our current stance, but let’s keep going until we figure it out.”

“Deal. Want to speed up?”

“Yeah. I think I might be close to finishing my foundation,” I said, picking up into a jog. “Don’t know for sure, but it feels close.”

“You think you’ll become a flower?” she joked.

“Hmm. Don’t know. Could happen, I guess.” I gave her a mock-sorrowful look, layered with just enough theatrical flair. “What—what would happen to us if I did?”

“I’d plant you somewhere nice and go on without you.”

I clutched my chest. “You wouldn’t!”

“I’d come back to water you… but I’d have to find another flower to be with,” she added, wiping an imaginary tear. “I know you’d want that.”

“Wait, another flower? Wouldn’t you be in the same situation?”

“Not if it’s like Luna,” she said with a smirk, completely ignoring my emotions of betrayal. “Actually… Luna?”

Let me speak, Luna requested.

No.

I’ll eat you. I’m bored, she threatened, dead serious.

“Yes?” Luna responded sweetly, through me.

“If Peter turns into a flower, want to come with me?” Thea asked without an ounce of sarcasm.

“Of course!” Luna chirped. “Like you said, we’ll leave him somewhere sunny, check in now and then…”

This is getting way too real, I groaned.

“What’s the first thing you’d want to do once you’re free?” Thea asked her.

“Hmm… try different kinds of food. OH!” Luna gasped. “Food! I’ve never eaten like you guys!”

“Good idea!” Thea nodded, just as the sound of crackling fire reached us. “You could now.”

“Nah, I drank plenty from the big thing Peter brought back.”

Can I have control again? I asked.

The shift happened instantly. “What kind of water would you give me?” I asked on impulse.

“What?” Thea nearly tripped as we reached the others. “Just… normal water, I guess?”

“Oh.” I slowed down. The others were chatting, nothing important, just random topics.

“If anyone wants to gather World Force,” I announced, “now’s a good time.”

“I’ll keep watch,” Marcus offered. “Don’t want a monster sneaking up on us.”

“Thanks.”

I didn’t waste another second. I sat down, closed my eyes, and started feeding the black hole anchored in my center.

First, I focused entirely on my root, channeling power until another bud sprouted on the lower branch, but I didn’t stop there. I kept going, drawing in and using energy simultaneously.

A second bud bloomed. Then suddenly, it hit a wall. My Nexus wouldn’t accept anything more. It wasn’t a huge issue, but if it stayed like that, it could block my ability to train Spirit Sense. I pushed the concern aside. Hopefully it was just an indication that the Spiritual Root was fully formed.

Next, I did as before, splitting my focus, forming the scars again, linking them, on top of extending the new branches.

Everything clicked into place all at once. Two branches grew low, running down toward my feet, and the last scar seared into position.

I gathered all the energy I could, pushed past my limit, then opened my eyes.

Time seemed to have hardly even passed. The others were already moving around, but Marcus had taken someone's place, probably switching the moment the first person woke up.

“I’m free,” Drake called from behind. “Let’s get this done.”

He didn’t wait for confirmation. In a blink, he miraged forward, surging right into a punch. I ducked under his fist, but a leg was already swinging toward my head. It was as if it was prepared before I made a decision.

I lifted my arm to block, just barely faster than his strike, but he pivoted immediately, flowing into a new attack without pause. Again, as if he read my movements before they happened.

He appeared below me in a phase, mid-movement, sweeping for my legs.

I leapt back just as his hand rose. Several golden pellets materialized, launching at me in a tight burst.

Unconcerned, I readied my own strike, still choosing not to use my domain.

Poof. Poof. P-p-poof.

I didn’t sense any threat. Just pebbles of power.

That was my mistake.

“MY EYES! You jerk,it’s a spar! Take it—”

A heavy kick slammed into my chest, knocking me flat.

“HAHA!” Drake bellowed. “I win!”

“I’m fine,” I grumbled, standing while wiping the tears from my stinging eyes. “What the heck are you—”

“There you go, Griffith! You saw!” he shouted right over me, as if I didn’t exist.

A long, heavy sigh followed. “I was counting on you, Peter. How could you let such a pompous… I should’ve said three hits.”

“You said one. I got one,” Drake declared smugly. “I. WIN.”

“Okay, whatever this is, I’m still not done,” I muttered, trying not to lose it at being the object at some bet. “Can we please continue?”

“Please, I’m in no mood to burn out from another full spar. You think just seeing—”

“Drake…” the commander warned sharply.

“What? No one here’s gonna use it against me,” he laughed.

“I will!” Elric yelled from across the field, still sparring with his two companions.

I glanced at Thea, still sealed in full concentration, and then to Velea, quietly napping nearby.

Trevor… “How long’s he been out?” I asked.

“No clue. A while back, Marcus said he trained pretty hard. Plus, he’s not like the rest of us yet,” Drake said with a shrug.

That is true. Probably best to let him rest.

“Someone, please,” I started to beg.

“Both of us,” Griffith said, stepping up beside Drake. “Be aggressive. Go all out.”

I struck first, fist raised, covered in gauntlets in a moment, as a shield formed mid-swing to counter me. I blasted through a brown barrier, shattering it instantly with the first impact, my momentum barely slowing as glowing constructs around it dissolved into golden sand.

BANG!

I collided with another shield, solid this time. The commander's new weapon.

Whhr!

A metallic hiss slid out from behind it as golden wires unfurled. They slithered across the surface with a harsh scraping sound, then loosened… only to snap forward and loop around my wrist.

Seems like Drake managed to make his own weapon.

Two mounds of earth rose and swallowed my feet at the same time.

“AHH!” I hissed as they pierced my skin like razors. I sent out a wave of energy to blast them off, but the wires were too fine. The burst barely scattered the wind.

“Don’t give up yet,” Griffith called. “You’ve got two hands.”

I did, but the puppet master took that advice too, already flinging more threads at my free arm.

I forced more power to move through me. A click shook through me.

But it wasn’t just a shift.

It was… more.

I shuddered.

“Peter?” someone called, but it was muffled, distant. “What’s—”

It was like cotton filled my skull. Everything slowed and dulled, becoming repressed in every way.

My legs gave out. I felt myself fall in syrupy motion.

It was warm. Then blurry.

Then dark.

Darker.

Black.