Runeblade

Kaius eyed his reborn blade with a mixture of trepidation. The changes that had been wrought upon it were marvelous — beyond all he could have imagined — but the cost to advance it further was just as weighty.

An Epic material of the second tier — how in all of the forsaken hells was he supposed to manage that?! Even the Wyvern Bone that had been set aside for him was a stroke of luck, and that was only in the first tier!

He couldn't exactly go dragon hunting — even for a lesser one like a wyvern. A fully grown dragon was a fight of legends! Whole battalions of high-tiered fighters had fallen before them. Even with his strength and ability, he doubted it would be enough.

Plus, who knew if it only needed one!

If that wasn't enough, he barely knew a shred of how to even develop his sword to the point that it could even accept additional material. Xenanra had hinted that it was as simple as using it as he should, but in the same breath had mentioned his experience would be more demanding than normal.

What did that even mean? Years of battle? More?

Kaius sighed, sliding his sword home into its scabbard — a linked set as they were, it too had shifted to accommodate the change in size.

He knew too little about growth weapons in general; they weren't exactly common enough to make for easy researching, and no doubt any other users kept the secrets of their development closely guarded.

If Father had still been here, he would have had a million questions. As it was, he only had a god — which was just about the next best thing.

"How am I even supposed to find an Epic material — and what do you mean by using my blade for its purpose?" he asked.

Lounging comfortably on her divan, the ascendant floated closer towards him with casual ease — stopping at eye level a couple of strides away.

"Growth weapons are rather fascinating — they are almost alive, at this stage at least, and exist in a dependent symbiosis with their bearer. Without the stabilisation of a true soul, the stresses of growth and change are harrowing. They need to settle — grow sturdy and ironclad in their new forms, through simple use, care, and acquiring feats worthy of their station."

The ascendant paused for a moment, idly stroking a groove in the filigree of her seat with a single finger.

"If I was to put it simply — you need to use it, and grow its legend. Imagine they need experience to reach the end of their tier, before they're ready to evolve like you would. It's an imperfect analogy, since it's not actually experience — it needs to wear a groove in reality, and collect feats in a similar manner that such things would impact your future classes."

Kaius looked down at the hilt of his blade. Huh. It seemed reasonable — and now that it had been mentioned, there was a faint presence he could feel leeching across his link with his sword. It was nascent — almost foreign, and a rather strange sensation. Not alive, nor aware — but almost. A half life, brushing up against his own for warmth.

If what Xenandra said was true, he couldn't really see himself having too many issues with that part of the process. He loved melee combat, and it wasn't like he'd been running into a sudden lack of challenging or notable battles recently.

Still…she'd mentioned it was similar to experience. Would it really only help the blade ready itself for the next advancement, or was there more to it?

"Will it make it stronger? Empower it at all?" he asked.

The ascendant shook her head quickly — much to Kaius's disappointment.

"No — that is another failing of the metaphor. It is a growth of spiritual weight, not leverageable power. At most, you'll feel supernaturally comfortable wielding it as an extension of yourself — but not overly so. It's a complicated thing that is difficult for me to fully explain. It brushes too close on tenants of this very trial — at the very least, know that after you experience the Crucible, you will grasp the crux of the process."

Kaius watched the ascendant closely — looking for any sign that she would let slip more. Gods' scorn, what could she mean by that? How could the two be tied together? It wasn't like having a growth item was a requirement — that would be ridiculous!

Unfortunately, the ascendant was unreadable — only giving him a sly wink before she blatantly changed the subject.

"As for finding the required materials? Yes, it will be difficult — but by no means impossible for someone like you. Sufficient Guardian rewards at a deep enough layer are the obvious, boring and slow answer. Hunting dragons and similar greater beasts with such close ties to mana is the quick, dirty, and dangerous one. But, they are not the only options. There is at least one other major challenge you will likely encounter on your current course — if you play your cards right, it will give you what you need."

Kaius froze, narrowing his eyes as he honed in on the way she had stressed 'challenge'. The ascendant's expression was frozen in a knowing smile — adamantly refusing to expand more, despite his obvious interest.

Likely couldn't expand more, he realised with a start. She'd already mentioned several times she was bound to multiple rules, both similar and different to the ones he assumed Ekum operated on as a 'Watcher'. If directly explaining exactly what the challenge was violated her duties, it made it all too easy to infer.

After all, beyond Crucibles and Guardians, there was only one major challenge he could think of. One that had also come with the phase change.

Tyrants — though he still knew nothing of what they were, other than monsters of great and terrible power.

A goal then; a worthy hunt, if it would let him advance his blade that much sooner.

Xenanra winked — drawing a wide grin out of him.

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"Why don't you watch your team? Their own transitions are about to get interesting."

Under the ascendant's urging, Kaius sat on the hard obsidian floor, watching his friends with his chin propped up on one hand.

All three of them were quiet and still, as if they were sleeping peacefully. To his manasight, it was a completely different story. They burned with energy — each suffused with a different mix of affinities and elements surging through them in a roaring torrent.

It was clearly not the main effect of whatever transformation was ongoing within them — it seemed too chaotic and undirected. More like the natural energy of the world was flowing behind something else: something invisible to his sight, that caused mana to stir and boil.

What he would have given for Kenva's ability to see souls and energy flows at a close distance. Whatever was happening had to be fascinating.

Even Porkchop was hard to read. Their bond was opaque and clouded — shut off from him by the System's will, as it always was during such moments of change. Still, even through that veil, he could feel his brother's soul undergoing a purification and metamorphosis. Less a change, and more of a distillation or restructuring of what was already present.

The storm of mana within his friends began to taper.

Porkchop rose to wakefulness first, stretching out before he pushed himself up.

"Huh. That was weird — I see why they call it soap, I feel like I've been scrubbed raw." he said, shaking his head.

Kaius smiled, hurrying over to his brother's side.

"What happened? It wasn't too uncomfortable, I hope?"

"Uncomfortable, yes — but not painful. Something deep was…refined, I suppose. Not really purified, but my soul feels less rigid? More flexible? It's hard to explain."

Frowning slightly, Kaius diverted his attention to their now unveiled bond. Through the link he could see Porkchop's soul. The change was subtle, but noticeable. It wasn't brighter, nor did it flare more intensely — but it was reactive in a way it wasn't before, with tongues of flame that danced more vigorously than before.

Kaius just blinked, before giving Porkchop a befuddled shrug.

"I see what you mean."

"Well, if it helps with Aspects, that's good enough for me—"

Kaius heard a yawn behind him, and turned to see Kenva covering her mouth.

"Sorry! Though, I can say that my experience was less eventful. It feels like I just had a nap, but now I have another racial trait."

"That would be my doing," Xenanra interjected, drawing their immediate attention. "As I'm sure your front line can tell you, the process of gaining traits is supremely uncomfortable — I took the liberty of rendering the two of you unconscious for the process."

"That bad?" Ianmus asked, giving him a questioning look.

Kaius shuddered and nodded — immediately remembering the sensation of his body dissolving from the inside out as his physiology mutated in a sea of liquid change.

Seeing his discomfort, Ianmus gave the master of the Crucible a grateful nod, before he turned his attention to the blade at Kaius's hip. Kaius grinned.

"Go on — we both know you want to show off your new toy." Ianmus said, rolling his eyes good naturedly.

Kaius ripped his blade out of its scabbard, delighting in the polite oh's and ah's he received in recompense as he glossed over some of its many changes, and answered his team's questions.

Xenanra cleared her throat a heartbeat after he had finished, drawing their full attention.

"Now that we have those rewards out of the way, and I'm sure I'll have your full attention, shall we get down to business?"

His stomach clenched in anticipation as he nodded. This was it — they'd finally learn what they were tasked with doing to beat the Crucible.

The tips of the ascendant's teeth poked past her lips as she smiled at their silence.

"Let me explain the trials you will face then. A Crucible is a specific challenge, with five trials designed to assist those who would attempt to take a step on the path — gaining and mastering the Aspect Triumvirate. It will likely be different than what you expect, as each trial is undertaken individually — the very nature of Aspects demands it, and the challenge itself is a not-insignificant portion of the reward."

Her divan swung through the air, twisting so that she could fix both him and Porkchop with a stare. "That includes both of you. Even with your bond-skill, you will likely be separated — the system specifies you are treated as one when it is beneficial. You might be placed together for one or two trials, but expect to be alone for most of them."

Kaius looked over, sharing a worried look with his brother. They would be separated? He wasn't sure if he liked the thought of that. Not because he thought he would be incapable without Porkchop, but… Gods, he just could barely imagine working alone now.

Still, if it was truly in their best interest, he'd have to be a fool to rail against it — not that it would do any good in the first place. He wasn't the one with all the power here.

Their ascendant guide continued on, uncaring of their trepidation.

"You should also be warned that these trials are dangerous. Even if they are not guaranteed to be combat related, you should always treat them as if your life's on the line, because it may well be." All traces of the ascendant's earlier joviality had vanished, and the very air seemed to grow thick and heavy — as if it was paralysed by her gravitas.

Kaius hung on her words, held in place as if by a vice.

"But—"

He breathed.

" —failure does not guarantee death. Such a thing would be an atrocious loss of talent. It all depends on what pressures and risks will help you rise to the heights of your potential. Whether than potential is enough to see you through to the end is for you to decide."

Xenanra gave them a long look.

"The first trial is the Labour of Corporus. As you have all already ignited that pillar, it will be more heavily bent towards deepening your understanding of how Corporus affects you — both your individual seed, and the general aspect as a whole. I will not lie, it will be a tough, physical struggle — but persevere and know yourself, and you will succeed. Are you ready?"

Kaius grinned, feeling the heavy rush of bloodsong start to call from deep within him — bundling with his nerves and excitement to leave him energetic and restless.

He was.

Looking around, he found the rest of his team were just as eager. Porkchop was shifting, excitedly clawing at the indestructible floor, and Ianmus and Kenva met his eyes with eager smiles of their own.

Meeting Xenanra's waiting gaze, he nodded. The ascendant smiled.

Casually, like she was summoning a servant, Xenanra waved her hand. In that same moment, the obsidian floor behind her rippled.

Four spots quivered as if they had been transmuted into pools of liquid ink, each a full ten strides wide. A moment later, four black arches rose from their depths — rising to a height Kaius would have struggled to reach with an outstretched hand.

Fully formed, black rushed in — creating an imposing portal of darkness.

"Then go, and stay firm in your resolve to walk the Path."

Taking a deep breath, Kaius rose to his feet with his sword in hand.

"Good luck," he pushed through his bond, approaching the black arch.

"You too," Porkchop replied.

Kaius stepped in, ready to face whatever challenge waited for him.