Beyond The System

A void, surrounded by a fountain of pure energy, roiling and shifting, wreathed in violet flame and streaked with red lightning that swam in tandem.

This was my Nexus. Larger than me. Like a celestial body drawing me in. Vines extended from it in two directions, while a single golden core hovered above, still and isolated.

I had no body, only the whisper of my spirit. Somehow staring inward. At first, there were waves. Pulses of something echoing throughout the system I had built. Something like an earthquake. Then evaporation.

It shook me so hard that if I’d had a body, I’m sure I would’ve fainted. 

Where would I go then?

It was falling apart. Everything I’d worked for, shattering into nothing piece by piece. Though, I could only see the Nexus, I felt it, felt the destruction. The tuning scars evaporated from my extremities first. The channel cracking, then splitting into nothingness.

It traveled inward, closer to my center with each breathless moment.

And as if to taunt me, the energy remained unformed, but present.

The roots retracted but didn’t vanish. They folded in on themselves, pulling away from their homes, unbinding from their anchors.

But the panic only lasted until the shattering reached my knees and shoulders. It didn’t stop there, but I thought about Luna. What she went through… Change was natural.

Hopefully, on the outside, I wasn't turning into a flower too.

Yeeeah. Happy thoughts. Just think of a few hours ago. Perfect.

“Wyrem!” I called out, testing if anyone could hear, but there was no response. He was in here somewhere, in some part of me. He’ll be fine right?

The roots kept folding inward, and the destruction followed, almost as if caused by them. It crept forward without stopping toward the core.

The black tendrils were now coiled like springs, gently swaying near the cosmic empty that lodged itself in the center. And my body, or this spiritual space—was empty.

Nothing remained but scattered dust and drifting Inner Force.

Wrr.

Another pulse from the Nexus. From deep inside. Then another, this one clearly from the Voidseed.

Blinding light surged all around me, and I had no way to shield myself from the intensity. Then black.

Every leftover speck from my channel, even the smallest particle of dust, turned dark like the tendrils. Dyeing themselves in an instant.

I expected pain for some reason. Like when I forged the Grand Channel. That destruction, followed by rebirth, but this wasn’t like that. It was quiet. Even peaceful.

Everything went completely still as if frozen in time. Then, the growth began.

First, two thick branches unfurled, each with two buds. As they expanded, they absorbed portions of the blackened, remaining dust, sprouting new, thinner limbs.

Unlike before, they didn’t stretch outward. Instead, they formed a tangled root network around my Nexus, like the roots of an ancient tree.

More of the scattered resources gathered, condensing. Hardened into thick pipelines woven among the largest branches. It ran through me, even to my head, like void-roadways.

Finally, the last fragments solidified into darkened venules. Now etched where my scars once were, set up with patterns like electric circuits, spreading into even the smallest corners of my body.

Then… stillness.

Inner Force began to flow again, moving freely around the newly formed Harmonic Foundation.

At the center, the Nexus pulsed. Surrounded by roots, it glowed as a thread of World Force slipped in from them. It passed through, touching every former tuning scar, now a circuit. Slowly, converting itself in my colors.

Automatic absorption, flow, and conversion.

Near my golden core, small bits of Internal Force hardened like jelly, just for a moment, before spreading a wave outward. Then it all reversed, turning back into it's original form, repeating in rhythm.

This was it. 

Automatic purification. No Internal Force wasted.

I had done it.

The effort. The trials. What I endured… it was finally worth it.

The Harmonic Foundation.

The culmination of our discoveries and creations now lay inside me. Complete. Though maybe the Voidseed left it a little… darker than planned.

My head turned fuzzy again, and my perception dulled, blurred, then clouded over. And as the darkness consumed me, a very upset voice screamed in my mind.

WHAT ON THE PLANES IS GOING ON?!

Wyrem? Are you alright? I asked immediately.

Alright?!... Yeah. I’m fine, he shifted tone, suddenly casual, like he hadn’t just been shouting in my brain. Glad you’re not dead, by the way.

Me too, Luna chimed in, her voice concerned. You really scared me. All your energy just… vanished. You were hollow. If I couldn’t feel your blood, I wouldn’t have even known you were alive.

Scary.

No kidding, Wyrem agreed. I couldn’t even move. That wave of destruction? Terrifying. But… I might’ve come out ahead.

Really? My interest perked up.

Well, who knows. My energy’s aspect changed, that’s all.

The Voidseed affected him too? Hopefully it was for the better like he said.

“And he was complaining about me sleeping?” Trevor’s voice burst in, joking. “Maybe he’s really not so different than before. He used to sleep during class too.”

“Really?” Marcus' voice followed. “He always seemed a bit… well, never mind. That aside, I was impressed with your progress.”

“All thanks to you,” Trevor replied, brushing the compliment forward. “I was exhausted before, but thanks for teaching me so well.”

“No problem. We all need to be ready. Keep up progress like that, and you’ll catch up in no time.”

“I’m not a plant, right?” My eyes fluttered open after some effort.

You wish.

“Just part one, I’m afraid,” Marcus laughed, his arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace, bouncing us up and down. I was in front of him on a mount.

“I want to get off.”

He squeezed harder. “Do I make you uncomfortable…”

“The.” I swallowed, “The hor—se, thing.” I held something back. “Please stop.”

“Oh. Right. Forgot you have that issue,” he said, loosening the safety hug.

I jumped off the creature the moment I could, landing on sweet, sweet ground. The plants around us looked strange. More… tropical?

“How are you feeling?” Thea asked as she approached, apparently on walking duty.

I perked up at her voice. “Fine, but—”

“Three days,” she said flatly. The words hit harder than expected. “You were out for quite a while.”

“Anything major?” I asked, trying to keep my nerves down as I stood and walked with her.

“We picked up the pace, and—”

“Peter!” Velea shouted, hopping down from the steed she shared with Lyra. “Look!”

She held her hands forward. Slowly, a thin sheet of ice formed between them.

I froze, wide-eyed.

“So?” She looked up, expectant.

“That’s incredible,” I said. “I don’t even know how to form a barrier yet. Maybe you can teach me later.”

“Yeah, but only if you teach me the weapon skill.”

I nodded. “Deal. But maybe let’s focus on Body Refinement first?”

“You think that’s a good idea?” Thea asked, visibly worried.

“I—Maybe,” I admitted, recalling the Great Ancestor’s control over me… and the ethereal woman’s calm assurance. “There’s not much choice.”

Thea sighed. Vel glanced between us. 

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” she said. “Like Peter said. I have to get stronger.”

Sand began to mix into the soil beneath our feet. The grass was thinning.

“Eep!” I lunged forward, scooping up Vel and took off.

It only took a minute… and a lot of screaming, as the young teenager clung to me like her life depended on it.

“Wooow.” The sight was incredible. It was pure, untouched, and endlessly blue. “You ever seen anything like this?”

I set her down, and she turned toward the ocean, frozen by the view. “It… just goes on.”

The salty wind blew over us, sharp and clean. “Incredible.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Vel?” I asked, watching her closely. She had practiced enough to tell by now I think. “When you cultivate… does it feel like there are two types of Force? Two energies acting differently?”

She didn’t answer at first, just kept walking forward, and I followed close behind.

The waves lapped at the shore, water soaking into the sand. She took off her shoes, and I mirrored her.

“I heard Mom talking,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “Before you came. She and Dad.”

We walked until the water barely submerged our toes with every other wave.

“Yeah?” I caught the tremble in her voice. “Do you want me to get Thea?”

She answered softly, so quiet that I wondered if the word had any breath behind it. “No… I—I can’t tell her.”

I stepped closer and knelt down beside her, noticing the tears forming in her eyes. “What’s wrong, Vel?”

“I know why they let me go.” She sniffled, wiping her cheeks. “It’s not right… I shouldn’t be this happy.”

The words and the look in her eyes broke something in me. I didn’t know what happened, but I gently wrapped my arms around her. “Of course you should be happy. Why would you even think—”

She collapsed against me, sobbing. “They’re already—!” She gasped through it, her whole body shaking. “They shouldn’t have gotten involved! It was selfish!!”

I didn’t say anything. Just held her. Let her continue.

“THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE—WHY DID THEY STAY?!”

“…Now,” she whispered hoarsely. “They’re probably gone already.”