The Original Realm

The shadow bear's roar shook the chamber again, louder this time, a guttural cry of rage that rattled the stone walls and made the glowing relic pulse faintly in response. Eleanor's hands moved with practiced speed, nocking an arrow before the sound had faded.

"I'm running out of arrows, Luke," she muttered, her voice taut but still tinged with a forced playfulness. "Unless you've got a quiver hidden somewhere on that ragged outfit, you might want to start punching harder."

Luke grimaced, his glowing fists raised. "I'm already hitting it as hard as I can! This thing's built like a tank!" He dodged left as the bear's massive paw swiped the air where he had just been standing, the wind from its strike buffeting him.

"Slow it down then!" Eleanor loosed another arrow, this one striking the bear's flank. The creature barely reacted, snarling as its blind, green-glowing eyes focused entirely on her. It charged, claws scraping against the stone floor in a terrifying screech.

"Move!" Luke shouted.

Eleanor was already diving to the side, rolling nimbly to her feet and drawing another arrow in one fluid motion. Her Hunter essence sharpened her reflexes, but even her supernatural precision felt like little more than a delaying tactic. The bear's wounds—dark, oozing gashes from her arrows and Luke's strikes—weren't slowing it down. If anything, they seemed to enrage it further.

Luke darted forward, Advent energy flaring around his fists. He struck the bear's side with a thunderous blow, the golden glow of his essence rippling outward in a shockwave. This time, the beast stumbled slightly, growling in frustration.

"Finally," Luke muttered, drawing back for another hit. Before he could strike, the bear twisted with horrifying speed, its massive paw slamming into his torso.

Luke's world became a blur of pain. He was thrown backward, skidding across the chamber floor until he slammed into the base of the relic's shattered pillar. He coughed, tasting blood as he tried to stand. His Advent flickered weakly, the golden light dimming.

"Luke!" Eleanor shouted, her voice cutting through the haze.

The bear roared again, turning its attention back to her. She pulled her bowstring tight, aiming for its head.

"Hey, big guy," she called, her voice shaking but still laced with forced bravado. "I've got one last gift for you. Open wide."

She released the arrow, her Hunter essence guiding its flight. The projectile streaked toward the bear's face, embedding itself squarely in its left eye, right beside the arrow that was already there. The beast howled, staggering back as dark blood poured from the wound.

"Direct hit!" Eleanor said with a triumphant grin. Her victory was short-lived. The bear's roar turned into a guttural growl, and it swiped wildly in her direction, blind rage guiding its claws. The air seemed to shudder with each swing.

"Eleanor, look out!" Luke shouted, his voice raw. He tried to push himself up, but his limbs felt like lead.

The warning came too late. One of the bear's massive claws caught Eleanor as she tried to dodge, sending her flying. She hit the ground hard, her bow clattering to the floor beside her. Her body lay still, crumpled against the chamber wall.

"No!" Luke's voice broke. Adrenaline surged through him, overriding the pain as he forced himself to his feet. His breath was ragged, his fists trembling as his Advent energy flared once more.

The bear's blind gaze turned toward him, its body tense with unrelenting fury. Luke staggered backward, before tripping and falling, his eyes darting to Eleanor's still form and the glowing relic above him. The artifact pulsed brighter now that he was so close, its energy distorting the air around it. Space itself seemed to ripple, bending in impossible ways.

The bear roared again, louder than ever, shaking loose bits of stone from the ceiling. Luke raised his fists, but his movements were sluggish. He couldn't even stand, let alone fight. The beast charged, its bulk shaking the ground with each step.

This is it, Luke thought. I can't… I can't stop it.

His gaze drifted to the relic. It glowed impossibly bright, its light refracting into patterns that looked almost alive. The distortion around it seemed to pulse with a rhythm, like a heartbeat. Aldric's voice echoed in his mind:

"Yes, relics," Aldric had said, his tone dripping with exaggerated pride. "The most powerful artifacts in all of existence. They are, quite literally, the stuff of legend. Each relic represents an aspect of its respective race—ten races, ten relics. And each one has power beyond comprehension. They can bend the very fabric of reality."

Luke's vision blurred as he stared at the artifact. Bend reality, he thought. 

The bear's snarls brought him back to the moment. It was close now, its claws scraping against the stone as it prepared to strike. Luke's body refused to move. His Advent flickered, fading to nothing. He was spent.

The relic's glow intensified, its rhythm quickening. Luke's thoughts raced, Aldric's words mingling with fragments of other conversations.

"An essence is tied to someone's deepest beliefs, passions, or unconscious thoughts," Aldric had said. "It's like a reflection of their truest self."

My truest self, Luke thought. What does that even mean?

His mind spiraled, grasping for answers. What kind of person was he? A fighter? A protector? No… it was something deeper than that. Something fundamental. He was human. And what did that mean?

Images flashed through his mind: ancient fire-lit caves, towering skyscrapers, glowing computer screens. Humanity had always pushed forward, changing the world around them. They weren't the strongest or the fastest, but they were creators. Builders. Innovators. They didn't just adapt to reality—they reshaped it.

Progress. Technology. The internet.

Coding.

Luke's thoughts clicked into place. Code. The building blocks of systems, of logic. Lines of commands that could create or destroy. Change the code, and you changed reality.

His advent's golden light burned brighter, refracting into lines and patterns that looked almost like binary. Luke's fingers twitched, a strange sensation coursing through him. He didn't feel stronger, but something inside him—something essential—seemed to awaken.

The bear roared, leaping into the air, its massive jaws opening wide. Time seemed to slow as it descended toward him.

Luke's hand moved instinctively, his fingertips brushing the ground. Green light erupted from his skin, cascading outward like veins of energy. The lines spread across the stone floor, intricate and precise, forming patterns that resembled circuitry.

The bear froze mid-air, its roar cutting off in a strangled gasp. The ground beneath it erupted. Thousands of glowing spikes shot upward, piercing the creature from every angle. The beast writhed for a moment, its dark blood spilling across the glowing patterns, before collapsing into stillness.

Luke's hand trembled as he stared at the glowing lines etched into the ground around him. They pulsed faintly, the same green hue as the relic's light. His breath came in shallow gasps, his body weak but his mind racing.

One word echoed in his thoughts:

Code.