3/3 for last week. About time.
Sorry for the wait. Despite what some might think, falling behind on my releases causes me an immense amount of stress, and I am doing my absolute best.
*
“In this world there’s two kinds of people,” Béchar grunted, stepping out onto the balcony. Despite the superb view of the Caribbean Sea, the owners had nonetheless decided to build an infinity pool there. A luxury he would have deemed futile, had he not found it impolite to judge humans who were certainly already dead. Especially when he was squatting in their house for free. “Those who let others sleep, and assholes.”
“I get the feeling you’re trying to send me a message.”
“Turn that light on one more time, and I’ll turn you off.”
“Ah, you mean the flash. I think it’s coming from that thing up there.”
Stifling a yawn, Béchar looked at Luc. Sucking up to high-ranking officials granted privileges, like arriving a day early for his Reunion… and directly on the planet. Where the plebs would have to earn enough points on the Moon just to teleport to Earth, the mercenary was already here, pointing a finger toward the firmament.
Béchar followed his gaze and growled. “A cloud. You want me to believe that was lightning without thunder?”
“Behind it.”
The shapeshifter squinted and, thanks to his high perception, spotted an azure dot in the pitch-black sky.
“An event?”
“I have the list, and that thing isn’t on it.”
Muttering about cheaters, Béchar modified his pupil so that it absorbed his iris and sclera. His eye turned entirely black to capture as much light as possible. Micro relaxed his crystalline lens, and the object in the sky sharpened.
“Fucking Depths. There’s a spider up there.”
“A blue spider?”
“That’s what surprises you? Not that we can see it from Earth?”
Luc shrugged. “Well, the theory of evolution can explain the advantage of being massive when traveling through space. To capture more light, or to be more subject to gravity. The blue color is weird.”
“The theory of evolution is—”
Erratum
To all T0-T5 agents currently stationed in the Solar System [Sector Hope],
The predicted catastrophe has been re-evaluated as a calamity. A mutant Aranea crystallina aetheria is traveling toward the local star. There is a non-zero chance that it could survive and devour the sun’s hydrogen, accelerating its evolution into a red giant within a month. In this scenario, it is highly probable that the first three planets of the stellar system will be swallowed during the star’s expansion. The remainder will then be consumed by the matured spider.
In the event that evacuation is impossible, you are advised to update your will in the appropriate tab.
Attachment: Petition to suspend Humanity’s Reunion to prevent the extinction of civilization. —Moderator Kada’ion
“Oh.” Béchar could almost feel the spider’s gaze on him. Eyes devoid of love or hatred—simply starving. The Tier 3 shuddered, imagining the monster making its nest at the center of the celestial body. There, nuclear fusion produced the twenty-six lightest atoms alongside terrible radiation. The perfect environment to accelerate the growth of an inner world and reach Tier 6. “Fuck.”
“What does he mean by a non-zero chance of survival? Thirty percent?”
“A yellow dwarf is a star, not some short dude with jaundice,” Béchar scoffed. “A hundredth of a percent chance of survival would be amazing under normal circumstances. Only the most powerful Tier 6s can hope to endure the conditions near your sun, and that thing isn’t even a Tier 5. It shouldn’t have time to mutate fast enough to adapt.”
“Shouldn’t?”
“Priam is a lucky guy and that spider eats luck.”
The Juggernaut had started his Tribulations less than an hour ago, and Béchar refused to believe the two events weren’t connected.
“Enough to survive?”
“I doubt it, but there’s a reason we’re getting this notification—”
A second one arrived as if in answer.
Petition rejected. I have my horse in this race. …but just in case, I am authorizing a modification of the Reunion rewards. For ten points, every human can be transferred to the planet of their choice. —Administrator Thaal
“Statistics don’t apply anymore when a Primordial has skin in the game,” Béchar sighed.
“The boss preparing a fallback plan is a bad sign,” Luc muttered. “Especially since my civ arrives tomorrow.” Hearing no reply, he turned to the Tier 3 and raised an eyebrow upon seeing him slump into an armchair. “A problem?”
“I don’t have enough credits or cores to bail out and teleport out of here.”
“Ah. Me neither.”
The shapeshifter clicked his tongue. “I’m not asking for anything, so don’t lie to me, boy. Between your job for 2die4, your girlfriend, and your luck, you must be filthy rich.”
The young human grimaced. “No, seriously, I have nothing. I reinvest everything I earn by betting on Priam.”
“... Dude, you have a serious gambling problem.”
*
The System turned its gaze… halfway.
Spotting his new tattoo, Priam frowned before watching the spider travel toward the sun. Was he really going to let the Tribulation survive for a month? The memory reset was such a pain that—
Lvl Up: [Memory Manipulation Resistance] lvl 15VIVA +1DEXT +1MEM +1
Ah. Smart.
Farming a resistance as rare as Memory Manipulation wasn’t easy. Even with the help of the Sun Shop, Priam hadn’t managed to create a trap capable of triggering amnesia without damaging his brain. Since his body was linked to his soul, he had eventually abandoned the idea.
On the other hand, one of his most dangerous rivals was a certain fae who specialized in memory. Trading one bad month to build an ironclad defense against her was a no-brainer.
A notification reminded him that he had more important things to consider.
The Mundane close their eyes and open their soul, They stand at the crossroads of Paths,
Let the aspirant to the Zenith step forward.
Aether ProficiencyMicroDomainMasteryMistPyroBreathPhoenixDragonFaithUnbound
D̵͖͝ē̴̺p̴̝̀ţ̴͆h̴̹͋s̷͓̏
A normal person would have worried about having a glitched option. Priam’s anxiety was far outweighed by his pride at having twelve options at his disposal. Kazuki had gotten six, and Jasmine five. Of course, more didn’t necessarily mean better; the important thing was reaching the Zenith… But it can’t hurt, right? As long as I’m not too greedy.
The dragon within him growled, and Priam snorted. Despite the little voice whispering for him to take everything, he wasn’t stupid. His life was on the line, and he had already messed up with his Tribulations just earlier. No need to add more problems out of sheer foolishness.
Alright, I have a Path to compose.
Or at least, the beginning of one. The path he would take at Tier 1 couldn’t be the same as at Tier 2, otherwise, he would end up in the exact same place. Today, Priam was choosing his next steps, nothing more. Which took nothing away from the importance of this selection. Setting off in the wrong direction would only make the rest of the journey harder.
To guide him, the aether had compiled a list, the first entry of which shook Priam the moment he laid eyes on it. Aether Proficiency. Aether Proficiency. Aether Proficiency.
The world slowed down, the primordial energy holding its breath as it awaited the candidate’s verdict. Facing this reaction, Priam remembered that the System merely translated a truth into words. However, a few letters of the Latin alphabet were far too simple a medium to express a Path so absolute.
Priam stopped reading with his eyes and began scanning his options with his soul. Behind each proposal lay a glimpse of the Zenith.
Micro promised health, Domain knowledge, and Mastery harmony. Mist highlighted the nebulae in the firmament, Pyro the stars, and Breath life. Phoenix hatched a big bang, and Dragon unleashed a roar that shattered the largest of black holes and the smallest of atoms. Faith evoked love and hatred, forgiveness and punishment. Unbound opened doors where none existed. Depths…
Depths drew his gaze toward an abyss of easy power. A mirror of the Zenith where, instead of climbing, one simply had to let go.
Priam leaned in to get a better look at the bottom, and—
*
The System looked… halfway.
The Juggernaut grimaced as a droplet fell into his eye. Wiping his forehead, he realized he was covered in a cold sweat. What just happened?
A notification assaulted him, and Priam pulled himself together. He had a choice to make among eleven options.
Starting from the top, he selected Aether Proficiency. As a kid, he had spent half of his free time reading fantasy, and the other half inventing worlds to practice the magic he read about. His curiosity was matched only by his love of freedom, and nothing made him more curious than the arcane.
If Aether Proficiency was the spell, Domain was the wand, and Priam took it as well. First, because bending the world to the will of his mind was cool, and second, because he was very good at it. Not only thanks [He Who Eludes Death] tempering his soul space, but also because he excelled at what he enjoyed.
Which might explain why he was relatively bad with Micro and Mastery. Moving his body and wielding a weapon appealed to him less than establishing his authority around him, and, if he was being honest with himself, Priam recognized he wasn’t a martial artist. His natural ability with a spear was in the upper-middle tier, further enhanced by a bonding Talent with Promesse and [Gladiator Insight]. Enough advantages to place him high in the 99th percentile, in the running for the Mastery Path, but not in the universal prodigy category like Kazuki. I could probably follow that Path, but it’d take twice the effort for half the results. A total hassle.
The same reasoning applied to Micro. With Louis and Jasmine, Priam had an example of a genius and the cream of the universe. He was not that.
Faced with the most important choice of his life, Priam looked at himself and accepted what he saw.
I am a polymath. Good at everything, but supreme in few things. Might as well focus on that. Being an Ace is all well and good at Tier 0, but I can’t keep going in every single direction. I need to specialize.
The way Priam saw it, he had done everything to build the best foundation at Tier 0 with three Supremacies, Aether Proficiency, his body tempering, and numerous Titles. With this High Tribulation, he was laying the first bricks of a tower, and the goal now was to go high. Which meant making sacrifices. Priam gritted his teeth, crossed out Micro and Mastery for good, and moved on before he could second-guess himself.
Pyro was an obvious selection… and Mist was rejected. The Concept the Seven had chosen for him had only grown on him thanks to a lavish expenditure of resources. Although he had learned to understand and love the element, his mist was a friend, whereas fire was family. At Tier 1, I’ll have to transform it into something that suits me better. Something I actually built. Something that belongs to me.
That left Breath. Priam hesitated briefly before selecting it. The Concept had the potential to speak of freedom and spirituality—two things that resonated with him—but above all, he had obtained it by dying. If there was a link to [He Who Eludes Death], Priam couldn’t afford to ignore it.
Next came the bloodlines. Phoenix and Dragon now flowed through his veins… but didn’t hold the same place in his hearts. While Priam was grateful to the bird for whispering the secrets of fire to him, he felt like a dragon. Pride, greed, and wrath: he accepted these sins for what they were: his own.
More than that, his mentor had advised him against choosing Phoenix. According to him, the royal road lay elsewhere. One didn’t need to be a genius to think of Nirvana. Once he reached Tier 1 and Ignis was permanently unlocked…
Selecting Dragon, Priam turned toward Faith and snorted. What a joke.
He couldn’t tell if the option came from his [Blasphemer] Title or from the fact that with fame came a portion of hardcore fans idolizing him, but this wasn’t his Path. Priam had never liked pyramid schemes; he wished to rise through his own efforts, not through the sacrifices of others. Above all, the Faith God disliked competition and gatekept the Zenith of the Faith Path. Why shoot himself an arrow in the knee by choosing that route?
That left Unbound. To be honest, Priam couldn’t pinpoint the origin of the option. His mind ennoblement and his Juggernaut crown? [He Who Eludes Death] and his relationship with his sponsor? His Heroic Aura? His numerous resistances? Something else?
It didn’t matter. The final option appealed to him.
Priam frowned. The tattoo spoke of twelve options, but he only saw eleven. Probably something I already eliminated earlier, he shrugged. Alright, selected and submitted.
Aether ProficiencyDomainPyroBreathDragonUnbound
The interface froze. The universe accepted Priam’s choice before presenting him with his trial in the form of a vision.
At the bottom of a lake of liquid aether, a dead dragon lies. Ignoring the pride of the supreme race, a thief steals one of his scales. She carries it to the other side of the world and hides it at the bottom of a sea where air is scarce and light is absent.
A century later, her descendant decides to melt it down.
Ignoring the Reaper, the dragon inhales once. His lungs empty the planet’s atmosphere and magic. Then, he exhales, and his breath burns the ocean, purging a civilization.
The dragon goes back to sleep. In his dream, he is the thief.
Priam remained silent. Anyone else might not have understood, but every action of the dragon spoke to him. He saw a Path in it. His own.
Once again, the System translated.
Path of the Dreaming DragonHe who tames the aether, Needs no noise, no light, To burn the sea forever,A single breath proclaims his might, A dragon patient of no slightWho scorns the Reaper
*
*
*
A/N: If you have any suggestions to improve the poem, I’m all ears. I spent way too many hours reworking it, but I’m not a native speaker after all.
Here it is in French for anyone interested.
Le Dao du Dragon RêveurCelui qui dompte l’aetherN’a besoin ni de lumière ni de bruit,Pour brûler la mer,Un souffle suffit,Au dragon insoumis,Qui rend la mort amère.