Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Matt opened his eyes and saw.

It was like the world had been hidden by sunglasses that were finally taken off. The world was sharper. Colors had distinct edges where they changed hue. Removing his mental finger from his Concept, the world returned to normal. Matt took a moment to play with this new ability.

It was a stronger effect of what the Emperor did when he spoke with Melinda.

That thought made Matt shiver. Intellectually he knew the man was a monster at Tier 50, but he had created the same effect through a call.

And Liz grew up with these monsters.

Matt looked around and saw that Travis was the only one still sitting in the chairs they had placed in the open area around the house. Quietly, he walked inside, jumping when he kicked a finger long shard of what he thought was glass.

After looking at the Tier 17 and ensuring he wasnt bothered, Matt scooped it up. He could feel the same energy that had permeated the air during the ascension. Some still lingered, but in a much smaller quantity. Here in this shard, the energy was condensed. He could even see a part of the ascenders calf captured in the shard.

He walked inside, and noticed that Aunt Helen was holding Aster. The fox was shivering. Now that he wasnt so absorbed in his own thoughts about the success of his Concept, he could feel his bond in distress.

He crossed the intervening distance with hurried steps. As he reached out to scoop up the white fox, Aunt Helen shifted slightly to deny him.

He looked to the Tier 24 Phoenix with concern. Her feathered hair swooshed in an arc as she moved.

Quietly he asked, Whats wrong with her?

He trusted that the older woman had her reasons for preventing him from taking his bond.

She smiled, but it was one filled with what he interpreted as remembered pain. Or maybe a shared experience.

Beasts who advance usually do so without complications from Tier 1 through 4. Tier 5 is a monumental change. Little Aster is having her mind forcefully enhanced. She is going from Sentience to Sapience. And it hurts like nothing else.

She looked down, and kept stroking the little fox, whose flank was now violently quivering.

Matt wanted to clarify. So shes becoming more human? And that hurts?

Aunt Helen smiled. I remember mine, though it was so very long ago. Its excruciating Matt. And there isnt much that can be done without hurting her more. Her mind is growing and creating new connections. Im using my powers to soothe her, but I cant interfere any more.

Is this going to happen every time she Tiers up?

His stomach rolled at the idea, and he tried to send warm, comforting thoughts to his bond. But she was curled up tight, even mentally. She let nothing in, and Matt was getting desperate to help.

No, Matt. This will be the worst. Tiers 5 through 10 are all about the mind evolving, and Tiers 11 through 14 are about feeling your body feeling... wrong. Easier advancement has its drawbacks. Beasts minds will grow, which makes it so that we start feeling trapped in our own bodies. Its why we create a more fitting form once we reach Tier 15.

She gently rocked the ball of white fur in her arms. This is the worst of it. Shell get better in a few more hours. Its almost over.

Matt opened his mouth to ask a question, and Aunt Helen spoke over him. When she finishes this, shell need a good cuddle and sleep with the people she cares about. The next few days will be hard for her. The world will be a completely new place to her. It will be up to you and Liz to guide her through this. But, Ill give Aster some advice before I leave. Shell come out of this stronger. Its painful, but natural.

He still wanted to grab his bond and hold her, but he respected the phoenix, and would wait for Aunt Helen to finish. Matt wasnt so arrogant to think that he could do something that a million-year-old cultivator couldnt do.

Trying to change the subject, he asked, Aunt Helen, was the ascension enough to form your Intent? Liz said you had some problems, but the ascension seemed very helpful.

He petered off as he realized that he was bringing up memories of her long-dead family, but the woman just laughed slightly, and reached up to stroke his sandy blond hair.

No dear, not yet. But it helps. Im trying to piece a shattered vase back together. My Concept shattered when my son died, and then was ground to powder when my husband couldnt handle it either.

The Tier 24 looked off into the distance, before murmuring, I already discarded my Concept once. I, like most fire beasts, had a fire Concept. But that wasnt me. I am family. So I destroyed that one, and created my family Concept. I could have cleaned out the fragments of my shattered Concept and easily created a new one, but that would be removing the last bit of my husband and son that I have left. So I've been rebuilding this one for the last few million years.

The woman shrugged like it wasnt a big deal, but Matt could relate to her, at least a little bit. He had lost his parents at such a young age, he had trouble even remembering their faces.

Matt pulled the smaller woman into a soft hug. It doesnt get easier, does it?

She only shook her head, and they stood there for a long moment, before Asters renewed shivering brought them both back to the present.

Aunt Helen started petting and rocking the little fox again. Two happy things; Im almost done rebuilding, and you have a Concept. What did you settle on?

Matt grinned and touched his Concept. It was like a toy he yearned to play with.

My phrase is I am Endless. And its paired with a white hole image.

Matt scratched the back of his head. Though I dont know what it will do.

Admitting that felt far more awkward than he expected.

Shouldnt I just know? Its my Concept, after all.

Aunt Helen just chuckled. Oh, Matt. You are hardly the first to have that issue. Go explore your new power with BethBeth. Shes insufferable. Just bouncing around, waiting for you to finish.

As he turned to go find his partner, Aunt Helen stopped him again.

What do you plan on doing with that shard in your hand?

Matt looked down at the reality shard that he was still holding. He had actually forgotten about it in their discussion.

I figured Id give to Keith and Travis as thanks for letting us stay.

Aunt Helen rolled her eyes so hard Matt felt it.

Matt. You are the second to last person out of the trance. If we wanted it, any of us would have taken it.

He paused at that.

So they are leaving it for a reason. But what reason?

Matt looked at the shard. It was good for helping people recreate the environment of an ascension on a small scale. It was valuable, but he didnt need the money. Liz, Aster, and he could use the money, but he doubted the higher Tiers would leave it for something so simple.

Matt knew what he wanted to do with it, so he half asked, Can I send this to a group of my friends?This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

Aunt Helens smile was radiant. Clearly, he had said the right thing.

I knew I liked you. Sharing what we have with those close to us allows everyone to evolve. If you write a letter, Ill deliver both to The Unbroken.

That made Matt pause. How did you know their team name?

The older woman winked at him. Having rebuilt most of my Concept gives some advantages. I can tell when influential people are growing, and I have a sense of what they need and when theyll need it.

Matt opened his mouth, but the womans arm stretched the nearly five-foot distance, and she pressed a finger to his mouth, before scratching his scalp. The sharp talons were perfect at hitting all the right spots, and he had a hard time formulating his question.

Aunt Helen chuckled at his slack face. Matt, I would have pulled you to the side whether you met my niece or not. Dont be afraid that youre not holding your own.

That somehow put him at ease. Matt didnt think it was from arrogance, but to think he hadnt gotten special attention of his own merit stung his pride a bit.

I need to watch that. Who am I to think Im special?

She continued, You run along now. Im waiting for Travis to come out of his trance. Ill leave tomorrow sometime, so write up a nice letter to your friends. Ill deliver it sooner than it would otherwise get to them.

Matt nodded and thanked her, then went to find Liz. The ring on his finger pulled him towards her room, so he went and knocked.

Come in. Lizs voice came through the door, and he found his redheaded teammate sitting on her balcony, looking over the valley.

She turned to him, and her grin was infectious.

I beat you by six hours!

Her yellow eyes reflected her grin, and Matt shot back, I didnt rush.

That wasnt exactly true, and the look he received in return told him that she didnt buy it for a second.

Ok, I tried to form my Intent.

Matt flopped down next to his teammate and chuckled at himself. Even with the extra power granted by his Concept, he had felt nothing.

Ha. Yeah, we need years with our Concepts to even be able to feel that.

Matt knew that the way Liz was kicking her feet meant that she was nervous.

Or higher, Matt corrected himself.

Eric finished off, We really dont have more time. Sorry, Matt. Once we can catch a break, well come find you. But now that you have your feet under you, feel free to send us messages. Well try to answer what we can. Just know, it might take time for us to get out of the rifts and be able to update our AIs. Rifts get a lot larger at higher Tiers.

They both said their goodbyes, and Matt looked at Liz.

She spoke before he did. They are so nice. We need to send a nice return message. Thats all really good advice for someone... without my, uhmm advantages.

Her stammering was amusing, but Matt didnt press it. You dont recognize them?

Liz rolled her eyes. I dont know everyone, Matt. Really, I dont. We can check with Aunt Helen, though. Possibly Travis and Keith, but Aunt Helen is the best bet.

Matt shrugged. Really, he didnt care. They were messaging him, and he couldnt fault them. They had been right. He needed to advance on his own, or he would have felt that any of his achievements were not his own. They had a better read on his mental state than he did back then.

He had been just one setback away from shattering back at Bennys. He had never even looked into alternative ways to make money. He had simply found the first way out and worked for it. Things had worked out in the end, but they might not have.

Standing, Matt felt reinvigorated. Come on, lets spar a bit. I want to test my Concept.

The two of them hurried to the training room and found Travis and Keith. They were lightly sparring at incredibly slow speeds. Which meant that Matt could only see blurs.

The couple stopped when they entered, and Travis called out, The newly Concepted pair! How does it feel?

Keith spoke over Travis and asked, What images did you settle on?

Matt and Liz looked to each other, and when they both gestured for the other to go, Liz rolled her eyes and went.

I did what I wanted and got myself into my rebirth through blood image. It should let me get all of the increased power of an internal Concept, with none of the drawbacks. Since I use blood externally, I should get the best of both worlds.

Matt picked up where Liz left off. I made a white hole image.

Keith cocked an eyebrow, but Travis nodded.

I have no idea what it will do, though.

Well, lets test it then. Travis rubbed his hands together at the suggestion.

Matt focused inward to his new sense, and with something that wasnt his mana, activated his Concept. He knew it was his will, but it wasnt like mana or essence that he could feel. This was more ethereal.

He felt the energy surge forward, and quickly felt his will draining. Worried that something was wrong, he stopped.

Travis and Keith both looked surprised, and Liz looked confused. So Matt asked, What? What happened?

Keith said, Huh, I got a boost to my Mana Regeneration. Im not sure if it was flat or percentage based, though.

He looked to his husband, and they clearly began sharing information with their AIs.

Travis spoke next. We both got different amounts of mana regen. We arent sure if its because of our differing cultivation, or different amounts of our missing mana.

Keith added, Or distance from you.

Matt thought that over and didnt get any answers from his Concept. He did get the feeling that there was more that he could do.

I think theres something else. Let me try something.

Matt activated his Concept a second time, but focused on the other feeling it gave him. His vision sharpened like usual, but he also saw white light seeping out of himself. The light was tinged blue at the base, and following his instincts from the Concept, he pushed it out with a surge of will. A sphere of bluish white light surrounded him.

Keith flicked something at him, but it slowed constantly, until it eventually reversed its direction, as if Matt had thrown it back at the Tier 17.

Matt coughed and felt something wet.

Wiping his mouth, he found his hand covered in blood. Keith and Travis both touched him, and healing energy rushed through him. Matt felt better, but the world seemed to have the colors drained out of it. He also found that his thoughts were hard to congeal. They floated just out of his mental hand.

Keith snapped in front of his face, and after a moment, his words came through. You used too much will. Meditate. Think inward. Itll help.

It took what seemed like years, but he focused into his cores and entered the area where his Concept resided. The mental space that once felt full of energy was drained, and his image was dim in his mind. It wasnt fragile, but it seemed to have no energy left.

Clearly, that last bit with the repulsion had overdone it.

Matt did find that his presence inside his Concept area was greatly speeding up the production of that energy. Once he didnt feel light-headed, Matt exited, and found that his peripherals lacked the proper colors.

Liz was hovering over him, so he smiled at her. The movement cracked the dried blood on his face.

The look on her face showed that while she appreciated the attempt, it wasnt very reassuring.

You better, Matt?

The concern put him at ease.

Yeah, Im fine.

That last one had taken far more energy than he expected.

Keith looked sorry, and when he opened his mouth, Matt spoke faster. Really, its fine. Better to push my limits here.

Travis laid a hand on Keiths shoulder and said, When you said white hole, I was afraid of this. Your image is whats considered... larger. Huge, really, but thats not an official designation.

Matt knew about the designations, but hadnt put two and two together. His Concepts image was huge. His mental image of it was on a cosmic scale. Powering it was draining to his will.

With the size of the image in his spirit, he figured that he had made the image small. That would have given him a greater efficiency, at the cost of some oomph.

Having a larger image meant that he could eventually get more will than most, as he grew with usage and strain. But lasting only seconds was something Matt hadnt even read about.

He shrugged. Nothing I can do about it. In the end, this is an advantage. Well, it will be the long run.

Keith added what Matt didnt. Getting there will be quite hard.

He looked at Liz. Well, lets see your Concept.

She looked at him weirdly, but nodded.

The blood mage summoned a small sphere of blood that hovered over her hand. She looked at it, but Matt didn't see anything change but the woman's smile.

Travis poked it. I can't tell. Did you do anything?

Liz kicked at his shin. Yes! Its stronger. I also feel like I can use my Concept to improve the healing that comes with my Tier 3 Talent.

She lashed out at her brother's wall. The blood didnt even scratch the Tier 15 materials that the house was made from, but there was a noticeable thump that she hadnt produced before.

It also seems to make my blood denser, harder, and less prone to splatter.

Matt remembered that he had a skill he wanted to test. The fogginess still present in his head shouldn't affect his skills, so he filled a mana crystal. When it was topped off at two hundred mana, he quickly drained it. Before his AI could eat into his reserve mana, he cast [Hail].

It was a new feeling for him. All of his skills up until now were only channels. This one grabbed a chunk of his mana, and instantly twisted it into the shape of the skill structure that resided in his spirit. He was instinctively aware that the skill would be cast where he intended, but also found that its range could only be extended about ten feet from his current position.

When he let the skill go, a rain of small chunks of ice patterned down in the center of the training room. With a bit of effort, he sent more mana into the skill, and the size and volume of the ice increased.

Keith walked in and commented, Seems to be working like normal. The skill is trying to slow me down. Also, congrats on having your first non channeled skill.

He walked out of the mini storm, and Matt tried to move the skill to follow the Tier 17, but found it immobile.

All in all, he was happy with it. It would help in a fight, sure, but more importantly, it was a source of free ice for his bond. She could save a lot of mana with him covering the cost of creating ice. Manipulation of the ice was cheap in comparison.

While they were playing with their Concepts and Matt was exploring his new skill and its abilities, Aunt Helen came in with a weary Aster.

With that, Matt and Liz returned to his room, and they gave the worn out fox the attention she needed.

Liz looked at the exhausted ball of fluff in between them and rubbed her back. Mom always said that Tier 5 was the worst. The others won't be great, but nothing in comparison. Sorry, I would have said something, but the worrying just makes it worse. Its almost as if you try and resist the changes.

Matt nodded. Aunt Helen said it would get better, so now we just wait.

They quietly turned on a movie and soon joined Aster in dreamland.