Interlude - Brilliance

Interlude - Brilliance

Brilliance

Hiro watched Zach as he climbed on top of a rock and gestured wildly. He couldnt take his eyes off him, he was learning so much, even though sometimes his lessons went to places that he couldnt quite understand. Hiro wondered if others felt this way. Those who were taught by the elites of this world. And he had learned that Zach, his guardian, was one of the strongest in the world. That he had been part of the team that killed the Dome Leader. He had seen the notification, but he hadnt made the connection, he hadnt even remembered the name that he read back then. But just knowing that he was being taught by people that had defeated the monster that took his home

Well, Zach did most of the teaching, but Naha did some too. Mostly she interjected when Zach went on tangents, getting fascinated by Essences around them. But who wouldnt be? There was so much power in Essence that Hiro couldnt wait to evolve his Class. And Zach had promised that he would, they had even given him enough Essence to level to level 50!

Soon, he would get his first Class Evolution. He hoped that it was going to be a good one, he didnt want to disappoint them.

The Essences are the basis of everything. All that you can see, all that you can feel, and more! Zach gestured with both hands, spreading them wide and opening his hands. You need to decide on an Essence type, something that you feel can be a part of who you are.

But how can I choose? I I might not get the choice I want, Hiro said slowly.

Zach frowned, opened his mouth, then closed it quickly. His expression turned thoughtful, then his eyes got the faraway look that he often got.

All Classes have requirements, Naha said from the side, and Hiro turned his eyes to look at her. She was sitting near the fire, preparing their meals. She glanced at him. Dont worry about that, I know enough requirements for the lower tiered Classes. Just think about what kind of Essence you would want to be tied to your Class. Though, your starting Class will influence what type of Classes you can get.

Hiro dipped his head down in shame. He had the Survivor Class, something that he had been almost forced to take. He he didnt like it. It made him feel like a coward. His abilities and perks let him just survive. He couldnt do fight like Zach could.

Dont be ashamed, Naha said, and he raised his head. There is nothing shameful about your Class, many of the Rankers from the old worlds had that same Class. And many of them had reached the Infinite Realm, survived their old worlds.

Hiro blinked. Really?

Really, Naha smiled at him.

He already suspected what kind of Essence she had. Strange things happened around her. Her shadow sometimes it didnt move right. And the shadows around her sometimes got darker when she walked by. So, he turned to Zach, who blinked as he saw Hiro looking.

What is your Essence?

Zach looked down at his hands as he answered. I I rule over many, some more than others. So many Essences, Aspects of this world But I see one more than all others he trailed off.

Which one? Hiro asked.

Zach raised his head and looked straight ahead, over Hiros head. His eyes were suddenly almost blazing with power. Time. It moves so so how is it like this? He whispered, almost harshly. His hand turned into a blade, dark green in color. And Hiro felt Naha stand up and start walking toward them slowly. Time, time, time! In the prison it was a copy? A pale imitation. Yet it passed, mind tricking the mind, accelerating. But Time itself Oh, how it moves Can you see it? Can you tell?

Zach turned his eyes back down at Hiro and he smiled at him. Hiro didnt understand what he meant, but he could tell that he was getting lost in one of his waking dreams.

Naha stepped close to him, her hands wide and spoke.

Zach, do you hear me? Naha whispered, trying not to upset him. He couldnt have picked the worst one today. She shouldve known, shouldve steered Hiros curiosity in another direction. Talking about Essences it helped Zach, but sometimes he got caught up on things that only his mind could understand. The only upside was that they were in the wilderness. The last time they had been in a village, and he got obsessed with fire. She had to pay for the damages. They had decided then to keep to the wild on their trip to the sect lands.

With that, he turned his eyes to the forest around them. Naha studied him for a while, and then spoke.

Do you really see it? Or or is it just your mind tricking you?

Zach turned back to look at her, then tilted his head. See what?

Essence? Naha said. Are you using your ability?

Zach shook his head. Sometimes. The ability lets me see, but I dont like it. It feels like it lets me see, but narrows my vision.

Naha didnt understand what he meant. How could you see otherwise?

How could I not? Zach asked back. What are skills? Just ways of improving what we can all already do. Everything is Essence, we are Essence. All our sensations are just interactions between them, effects that come from contact.

Zach raised his hand, showed her his palm, then placed it against the ground. There, I am sensing Earth Essence.

Naha blinked. Thats not what you she trailed off when he smiled. For a moment she feared that she had nudged him when perhaps she shouldnt have. That perhaps he would go into the deep again, but his eyes seemed clear.

Is it not? Perks, skills, abilities, and techniques, they can all let you interact, control, and see or sense Essence better. But you are always sensing it, always interacting with it, Zach whispered. Then, he closed his eyes. Sometimes, when I lose myself. I feel so much closer to it all. As if as if I can glimpse into something more. I dont know that is just my madness playing tricks on me, but when I come out of it there is always a sense of failing to grasp something, as if it just slipped through my fingers.

Naha didnt say anything as he made a grasping motion in front of his face.

I can feel the wind on my skin, Zach whispered. I feel my soul buried deep inside. And time. The three that are part of my attunement, they are closer to me. Had been even in Hasturs prison, even though they were fake. They feel like they are so much more here. In the moments like these, I I dont feel like there is anything really different. Time moves faster here, but in the prison it felt I dont even know how to explain it, it was both slower and faster. It didnt feel like Time that exists here, as if its rules were different. I dont feel what I feel when I lose myself. Perhaps it is just madness, playing tricks on me.

I dont know, Naha said. Trying to remember how her own madness had felt. I didnt feel like that. I just I had urges that forced me to be more of what my focuses shaped me to be.

Zach nodded. The Lord of Aspects, a Class for someone who knows and understands Essences, a Cultivation Path of the Lightning Blade, and two skills; one that cut through time, and the other that lets me see all flawseven in Essence. I Ive always enjoyedor no, I dont know if you can call it enjoyable, not when you have nothing else better to dobut Ive always sought to understand Essence. And in the prison, I I feel like it is all the same as it was there, but also different.

It was all fake, all just made out of Mind Essence, Naha said.

It isnt just that, Zach argued. I dont know how to explain it, since I dont know what it is myself and I cant trust what my madness tells me. But It is as if the rules that existed inside the prison are just a part of the greater whole here. What the Essence of Wind was in the prison still applied here, but there was more in this world. As if the nature of the Essence, the concepts behind that Aspect, were malleable.

Naha nodded. Your understanding can shape what your Aspect is like, how it acts.

How? Zach whispered. And most importantly, why?

Naha had no answer for him. After a few minutes of silence, she urged him to sleep. He didnt need it, just as she didnt, but she still forced him to. It helped him keep himself together. She pulled out a sleeping potion and had him drink it. It wouldnt work on him for long, an hour at most, though it had started at five. He was becoming more and more resistant to it. They would need to find a different one soon.

The city of Leu was days walk. She hoped that they found what they were looking for there. She didnt know how much longer he had before the madness consumed him.