Runeblade

After being half-warned about the pitfalls of his display of instinctive stubborn aggression, Kaius grappled with the amused, almost-violent, smile she now gave him.

If anything, he felt a little embarrassed. He had zero memory of the moment she mentioned. Killing three challengers at once, one with his teeth? It was a little gratuitous. Still, the embarrassment itself left him a little off balance.

Why would that bother him — knowing that he could say with certainty that he would fight to the bitter end would normally fill him with at least a little pride. Though, he supposed given the circumstances it was uncomfortably close to being teased for a lapse in judgement, rather than a testament to his valour.

Xenanra laughed again.

"You're going pink!"

She stepped up through the air, reaching over to pat his head.

Kaius froze. Xenanra seemed hell-bent on leaving him off balance. Ekum, at least, had acted with the gravitas that he expected from a god.

She stepped back, still clearly amused. "Sorry — I'll stop with the teasing. Now, you've passed the first Trial of this Crucible — with impressive haste, mind you; though that is not all that uncommon for those with seeds of your nature. It does, however, mean that I am free to answer some more of your questions before you start the next one. You can also check your skill increases before then too."

Kaius wracked his brain — it was a rare opportunity that he wouldn't pass up, but he wasn't exactly sure where to start.

Trying to buy some time to gather some thoughts, he swept his eyes over his surroundings again. The architecture was interesting — different from anything he had seen or heard of. The paintings for one — both the canvases and the ceiling frescos — showed foreign sights. Immense caverns where every surface had been carved into buildings and sculpture — a seamless blend of form and function. Underground cities, full of twinkling lights — but utterly different from what he'd seen of the dwarves, his only other reference point.

"What is this place?" he asked.

The ascendant shrugged, looking at the same painting.

"A ballroom, based on many I have visited among my people. There's no significance to it, just somewhere familiar — and most importantly, not plain voidglass."

Voidglass? It must have been the obsidian-like material that the Cruicible had been built from, though he'd never heard of it before.

"Why not change the entrance room them?"

"It's one of the few places I can't change. Even if I am the designer and administrator of this Challenge, I am ultimately acting as an instrument of the System's will — there are limits on what I can or am allowed to do."

So, those were different things. Ascendants were not all powerful, even if they may as well have been compared to him or anyone else on Vaastivar. He wasn't impudent enough to dare to question those limits, but it was still something he could file away for later.

Regardless, he'd had enough time to think of something else to ask. Their earlier discussion — about Corporus and the weight. He felt it, like she'd said, and it still waited for him — simmering beneath the surface.

What he didn't understand was why. What was so important about it, and why was it so vital the system would design an entire trial around it.

Before he could think of how to phrase his question, Xenanra's mouth twitched and she started to answer.

"A good question, with an answer that is both simple, and also something I cannot explain in full — not just yet, at least."

Kaius focused on her fully, meeting her eyes.

"The Aspect Triumvirate is more than just another collection of enhancements granted to you by the system. They are personal, unique, and old; a tempering that stretches back to the very root of all things. It is a method of refining the Authority needed to impose yourself upon the world. Ascendancy, if one of the very first steps."

Her words thrummed within him, sending his heart racing. Ascendancy — he still struggled to grapple with it, no matter how plainly it had been stated. He wanted to know — how? Why?

"I cannot tell you — only that it is a tradition and a rite inextricably linked to integration and the System as a whole. For now, satisfy yourself with what I can share of the Triumvirate."

Anything. With how adrift and cut off Vaastivar was from its history, with how desperately knowledge had been hoarded, lost, and burned, almost nothing survived from the earliest days of the integration. Whatever insight might have come then had been lost — he'd take what he could get.

"I've told you this trial is to assist those who would walk the Path," Xenanra continued. "Igniting your pillars is only the first part of the first step of Aspects. The second is connection and sensation — feeling how they fill you, enhance you, and support your existence. Corporus is the Aspect of the body, but it is also the Truth of how your pursue your goals, concretely fill the space around you, and assert your will through action. It is technically optional — and not really a step of its own — but those who forgo it often regret that choice. Of those that do embody, most do so immediately before or in tandem with refining in the second tier."

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"As for why you need to be able to feel your aspects so deeply…it is the subject of a later trial, and the final part of this step of the Path. For now, just know that you must."

The ascendant's explanation — incomplete as it may have been — made sense after what he had experienced. Not just in the trial, but with his interactions with Ascendant's themselves. Both Xenanra and Ekum were pinnacle existences, and the very world seemed to leap to their command — even their unconscious desires. They felt unassailable in a way that went beyond simple volume of power.

They just were — existed on some level that he instinctively felt as inviolate.

If the Path she mentioned was started so early, than ascendancy had to be different than mere strength — more than the power others accrued through the more standard gifts the system bestowed.

Plus, such a metamorphosis would come with many incremental stages of development. It must.

He hungered for that growth — and thankfully, he had someone who had offered their advice.

"What else can you tell me that I should be paying attention to?"

Xenanra's eyes twinkled, "I'm glad you asked — there is one particularly annoying restriction that stops me from sharing much without your prompting. Not so much of a problem with a question that open ended."

"Don't just focus on the aspect of a given trial — try to feel out how they work with the others you have already embodied. They are a triumvirate, not a collection of individuals. Don't forget that."

Kaius engraved her words in his mind. A unified whole. Unfortunately, he doubted it would be easy — even knowing that Mentis must fill him the same way as Corporus, he couldn't feel the faintest trace of it. Something needed to catalyse the process.

The union of the pillars made sense, at least. He remembered the way that Corporus had been clawing for something more. Body, mind, soul. What else would they be but linked? Not one could work without the others, and all combined holistically to make him, him. Why wouldn't it be the same for their Aspects?

If Xenanra said that was the extent of what needed his focus right now, he would be a fool not to trust her.

He did have other, less existential questions though. His team. Despite finishing his trial, the soul-bond that connected him to Porkchop was still veiled. It was present, so he assumed nothing catastrophic had happened, but he couldn't even tell if Porkchop was conscious or not.

An uncomfortable silence he hadn't felt in over a year.

"My brother — my team — how are they doing?" Kaius asked. "Will they be joining us here after they have completed their own trials?"

It made sense to him that he would have finished first — Xenanra had said he was unusually quick, and it had only taken him a couple of hours. Even if they had been grueling.

The ascendant shook her head. "Unfortunately the state of your friends is one of the things I can't comment on — the personal journey is an important part of the Crucible. You won't meet them here, either. I run each rest point individually. There is a chance you will see Porkchop, if both of you would benefit from undergoing the same Trial. Perks of your bond.

Regardless if it had been confirmed that he had a chance to see his brother, he still frowned. Being separated from Porkchop felt unnatural — like being cut in two. Plus, with the danger of his own trial, he worried for his friends' safety. Porkchop would be fine — he was tough — but Kenva and Ianmus? They were fragile — something even a fraction as brutal as his own trial would brutalise them, and who knew if they would get the same saving grace as he had?

Xenanra gave him a warm smile and patted his shoulder.

"Don't overthink. The trials are personalised — they will have the chance to excel."

"What if they fail, or I fail? Are we barred from all future attempts?"

"No." The ascendant shook her head. "Not if you survive. You won't be able to reenter this Crucible, but if you find another with a level limit of two-hundred, you can meet me again."

Kaius narrowed his eyes. She would meet them if they found another Crucible? He thought she was the administrator of this trial.

A low chuckle filled the hall, louder than what should have been possible for someone of the ascendant's stature.

"Oh, the newly integrated — I forget what you don't know." She shook her head.

"I run the first Crucible of the Triumvirate — every challenge you find between the twenty-first and thirtieth layers are mine. There are more you can find deeper run by others, for later steps of the paths."

Kaius blinked. She what? No matter how rare Crucibles were, the world had to contain thousands — at least! Once again he found himself reeling at the enormity of it. Even if splitting herself seemed…reasonable, for a god, it still boggled his mind to think of doing so much at once.

The ascendant only winked.

"Now, that's about as much as I can tell you right now — are you ready for the trial of Mentis? It will be different, but remember that the goal is much the same. Feel the aspect, and how it melds with your others."

Kaius sighed — no matter how often he experienced it, he was still unused to someone so blatantly reading his mind. She was still right — he might have been burning with curiosity about what came later, but she'd made it clear she couldn't tell him more.

Without anything else pressing, he may as well move on — he had progress to make.

"I'm ready."

Xenanra smiled, and waved her hand past him.

Kaius turned, finding a familiar black glass arch jutting out of the ballroom's wooden floor.

He stepped forward, checking his waiting skill increases as he approached the next trial.

**General Skill Notifications Consolidated!**

**Explorer's Toolkit has reached level 191 > 200!**

…

**Uncanny Dodge has reached level 195 > 200!**

Another two down — perfect. More would join them soon.