The realization struck like a gut punch, halting me mid-step and forcing a step back toward the gate. There was more that began to echo that place. The one crawling with those twisted, chimera-like monsters that had come so close to being my end.
At the moment, the clearing was quiet. No beasts in sight. But beyond those trees? I couldn't be sure. I didn’t have enough information to rule it out.
Mei was still rambling, cheerfully naming the different plant species surrounding us. Most of them apparently studied or catalogued, but a phrase cut through her chatter and grabbed my focus.
“Crazy how our mistakes resulted in such magical things.”
I blinked at her, stunned. “What do you mean by mistakes?”
She stepped closer, the air shimmered with iridescent hues cast by strange flora, and she plucked a single bloom from a stem—its petals open wide, glowing faintly. “The Engineers had a catastrophe, years ago. A disease that came from the stars.”
That… didn’t sound good. A space disease? “Lots of people died from it? What does that have to do with the plants?”
She shook her head, then tossed the flower casually over her shoulder. It drifted, featherlight, and landed gently among the others swaying in the field.
“Not deadly to people. And this is all pulled from ancient written records, so who knows how much is myth, but…” She hesitated, gaze dropping in thought, before rising again to meet mine. “It wiped out food crops. Most of them.”
I nodded, the implications clicking into place. No food. A civilization-level crisis. Simple to understand.
“Then came the second calamity,” she continued, her voice shifting. “But this one arrived with a gift hidden inside. The rain of blood.”
It was a lot to process at once, and all too familiar. If what she meant was what I thought, then I had already seen a version of it. In my own home. “It gave you your Blessings,” I said, not a question, but certainty.
She smiled, confirming with a glance, and turned back toward the field, continuing her impromptu lecture. “Ancestor Amei was among the first. She said the first calamity happened long before she was born. Nearly wiped out the Engineer Clan. And when the second hit, so few remained.”
Synthia and I followed in her steps, weaving through the sea of strange flowers. The field was beautiful, but it pressed up against the edge of those awful trees.
“After that, the Blessings changed everything,” Mei said, her tone growing reverent. “They let us record things with precision. Invent again. And…” She paused, then spun back around, lifting her wrist to show the glowing brace wrapped around it. “They enhanced our skill in Extraction.”
It was getting harder to maintain my composure. My throat tightened as I swallowed down a rising wave of unease. The Bloodline—the so-called rain of blood, the blessings, were, as I’d come to suspect, almost certainly tied to the Great Ancestor.
A dark savior, appearing at a moment of crisis. But why? What did he stand to gain? Who were those voices, those angry, wailing presences, that cried out when we broke through the barrier of Bodily Cultivation? Were they Guardians? Something else?
But the why still remained. There had to be some benefit of spreading his blood so widely. To turn worlds into some strange form of descendents. Some that rose so high they could breach the space between worlds.
I shelved the thoughts, knowing they’d only spiral, and turned my attention back to Mei. I lifted a finger, pointing to the light pulsing faintly within her wrist brace. “Extraction. Is that how you increase your power?”
I didn’t want to give away how much I knew about *seeing *Force in the air, but it seemed to be a concept that was either unknown, or just unpracticed here.
Mei lowered her arm, the glow dimming slightly, and flashed me a playful wink. “If I tell you... what do I get in return? Besides,” she added with a grin, “don’t forget that we’ve got a fight coming up.”
I smirked, casting a sideways glance at Synthia. “It’s not Force, is it?”
Synthia chuckled, her gaze flicking from my face to Mei’s, who now wore an expression equal parts eager and betrayed.
“Sorry, Mei,” she said with a small shrug. “I owe him a lot. He’s the reason I was able to progress to where I am now.”
Mei pouted, folding her arms. “Fine…”
We continued walking, though my thoughts drifted to Synthia’s cryptic words. As we moved through the strange landscape, I kept one eye on the surroundings, scanning for anything else that might echo the bowl-shaped dungeon.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Extraction isn’t Force,” Synthia confirmed, her tone low but certain. “They haven’t told me much, but—”
“Don’t blame me,” Mei cut in, her voice sharp with indignation. She marched ahead of us, arms still crossed. “Dad’s the one who won’t let me share anything.”
Synthia paused, addressing Mei with a tone softer than I expected. “I know. Honestly, it probably wouldn’t suit me anyway. I’d need to harden my emotions a bit more.”
I frowned at that, narrowing my eyes.
Steel her emotions? This girl had coldly slaughtered members of her own people during the trial. She’d shattered the spirits of former clan members.
How much more “steeled” could she possibly need?
“I’ve only seen it once,” she admitted after a beat. “And truthfully… there might not be much difference between cultivating animals for slaughter and it, but…” She looked down, her voice softening. “I like animals.”
Color rose to her cheeks, a quiet embarrassment she didn’t quite manage to hide.
No need to be ashamed of such a noble sentiment, Wyrem offered from somewhere in the back of my mind, not that she could hear him. Dragons, if one were being crass could be considered ani—
Worms, Luna interjected, as the strange presence inside me squirmed in subtle amusement.
DRAGONS, Wyrem corrected indignantly. And admiring them, refusing to harm them, is a natural instinct for any intelligent creature.
Didn’t you command one of your "descendants" to obey me? I projected back.
Wyrem coiled himself into a ball of energy, grumbling. I’m a dragon. Certain liberties are allowed when dealing with long-lost grandchildren.
I chuckled aloud, then raised my voice slightly, steering the conversation back. “I’ll tell you how I train,” I offered, watching Mei carefully, “if you tell me about Extraction.”
She stopped, turned halfway, clearly tempted.
“For real,” I added, just in case Synthia’s presence made her wary. “Things even Synthia doesn’t know. No one does. Imagine it—being the first thirteen-year-old Engineer to discover something entirely new in your own culture.”
Her eyes lit up, briefly glowing with a mix of violet and neon blue, then dimming as skepticism crept in.
“You’re not going to trick me, are you?” she asked, voice uncertain but sincere.
You are, aren’t you? Luna asked privately, her tone unimpressed.
Ignoring her, I leaned in with the final sweetener. “You get to name it as the one who discovered it here.”
There was a click, not audible, but visually. A turn of complexion and emotion.
“Deal!” she shouted, almost bouncing with excitement. “But one-for-one, okay? No uneven exchanges.”
"Fair enough." I nodded. “Great. What has Synthia told you, then?”
Synthia answered before Mei could. “Only that I practice a different form of energy manipulation than they do. I never gave more than that. It didn’t feel right to share something that wasn’t mine to give.”
That level of restraint was surprising. For someone who barely knew me, her moral compass on secrecy seemed surprisingly intact. Still, I wasn’t about to waste the advantage it gave me.
I leaned in slightly, voice low. “Anything about cultivation?”
Still, she shook her head. “They gave me protection, so I offered to be Mei’s guard. I only showed my own abilities.”
Mei nodded eagerly, like a child recounting their favorite moment. “Only after she demolished my previous guard. He was so embarrassed. Thirty years of training just to be beaten by someone half his age. But…” Her eyes sparkled with the memory. “I did see that weapon. The one she made from nothing.”
“Let’s sit,” I said, settling cross-legged onto the grass. My voice was calm but firm, setting the tone for what came next. “I’ll start, then you explain Extraction.”
Mei joined without hesitation, Synthia settling beside her so that the three of us formed a small triangle in the open field.
I took a slow breath, letting the quiet between us solidify the agreement.
“First,” I began, “is the concept of Force. It’s an energy that exists everywhere—woven through the world itself. Around us. Inside us. Dormant, until awakened. Usually through someone who already knows how to manipulate it.”
As I spoke, another thought rose unbidden. Who was the first to awaken Force? Who had sensed it before there was anyone to guide them? Unlike Trevor or me, there had been no teacher for that first being.
“Everywhere? Even here?” Mei leaned forward, wide-eyed and clearly intrigued.
I nodded. “Of course. Even here.”
She leaned back, narrowing her eyes in mild suspicion. “How do you know?”
I smirked, holding the moment. “This is the last piece before your turn.” I took another breath. “I can see it. When I use my power, the energy inside me pulls the energy outside toward it. It gathers. And I can see that.”
Her gaze didn’t waver. She glanced at Synthia, the blue glow in her irises flaring brighter, sharper with focus. “You all see it?”
Synthia looked at me for confirmation. I nodded.
Synthia shook her head slightly. “I can’t see anything. But… I can feel it. The energy around me, but even that’s considered rare.”
She looked at me again, thoughtful now. In the illusion world, I’d never told her how I found the artifacts. Maybe she had thought we were the same before.
Really wish I could’ve kept those artifacts. Oh well.
“Peter’s more unique if he can actually see it,” she admitted, quietly.
“Thank you,” Mei exhaled, satisfied at last. Her expression brightened with anticipation. “Then I’ll explain Extraction. The energy behind it… and how we increase it.”