Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Choices

Ryun approached the two women sitting beneath a large tree. It was the tree that held the piece of Ender, his immortality. Karya had a book in her hand and was reading it softly. She noticed Ryun approaching and closed it up, then stood up.

“Sect Head,” Karya said softly.

“Karya,” he greeted in turn. “How is she?”

He knelt next to Tali, but she didn’t move, didn’t react at all. She was breathing, and her eyes were open, but he saw no reaction there.

“She is… I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” she answered.

Ryun reached over and picked Tali’s hand in his own, there was not even a twitch of muscle.

“Tali, hey, it’s Ryun. Can you hear me?”

He looked at her blank eyes and saw… nothing. There was no sign of his friend anywhere in those eyes.

“What do the healers say?” Ryun asked.

“They don’t know. Physically she is in perfect health, and the Soul Healers have found nothing wrong with her Soul either. By all accounts, she should be fine,” Karya answered.

Ryun looked at Tali with his eyes and expanded his Authority. His Essence passed through her body, there was no resistance there, no meaning to oppose him. He perceived her entire being and found… nothing.

Yet Tali didn’t move, didn’t react. Something was missing. He raised her hand and kissed the back of it.

“Don’t worry my friend,” he spoke softly. “I’ll figure this out. We’ll laugh together again. I promise.”

Zach stood at the base of a mountain, looking around. The Essence in the territory was of the highest tier. The tall Mountain with great Winds howling around it. A river crashing down from halfway up in a roaring waterfall then speeding across the territory through a large forest filled with Life and Nature. There were powerful monsters, and a lot more, like resources in the ground. Caves that led to the Under.

It was perfect.

“So, this is it?” Naha asked.

“Yes, I think so,” Zach answered. He pulled out a Town Stone out of his storage and activated it. It pulled already prepared resources from his storage and built a simple wooden town all around him, claiming the territory for his own.

Anrosh hadn’t been happy when Ryun gave him the territory. She had planned on expanding their Sect operations here soon. But Zach had promised to allow them to still come and take the resources. He would need them, his dream wouldn’t survive isolated. He would need trade, and an influx of people.

Once the simple town was done, he pulled out his Essence Castle item, then walked out of the town and closer to the mountain side.

Once there, both he and Naha started pulling out high quality materials, and Essence gems. They had asked around how exactly the item worked, as its wording was a bit vague. It would build a castle based on the tires of power and Aspects available to them. It turned out that meant available to them in general. They could buy and have Essences on hand.

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Zach had spent nearly half of his wealth on buying as much high tiered Essence crystals as he could, as well as sturdy building materials. He wanted the castle to be as strong as possible.

Once they were done, he took a deep breath and triggered it. A moment later a storm of light surrounded them, and slowly, piece by piece, a castle was born on the side of the mountain.

Berion sat on the ground, looking out at the town filled with people. They looked up to him, they waited for him, and he didn’t know how to face them. The Unchained were done, dead, their dream was killed by Berion’s hand.

And yet… he wasn’t feeling guilty for what he had done, not really. He felt guilty that he didn’t feel guilt. It was hilarious, and he was well aware of how irrational it was.

Kael was dead.

It was all on Berion now. These people whom he had saved, were his responsibility now. And he didn’t know what to do.

He had brought them far, outside of the Settled Territories. He watched over them, but he didn’t feel like he belonged, not anymore. In some of their eyes, he saw relief. Relief that they were free of the Unchained.

It made him feel so foolish, that he hadn’t seen it before. They had, they had seen what Kael and the others were turning into, they just couldn’t say anything. They didn’t have any power, and that meant that they didn’t have a voice.

He hadn’t noticed, even with all the power that he had at his disposal, he hadn’t seen it. It took so much pain and suffering for him to realize how far off the right path they had strayed.

He looked out ahead, at the town where the people tried to make sense of the situation they were in. They were organizing groups to hunt, preparing the land to plant crops. They were preparing for life.

It’s been weeks since the battle, and Berion hadn’t gone back to check and see what had happened. He had been too busy helping the people. He did wonder if the Yeti was still alive. It was one of his only fears now.

The shade was powerful, and Berion wasn’t sure if his crazy mind would decide to come after them. He had to be ready for it. It was why he was not in the town, if Ra’azel came he didn’t want to have to fight with all of his people around.

He kept his senses spread as far as they could go, monitored the Space.

Then the world twisted and space opened next to him. He detected the Ethereal Realm on the other side immediately and got ready for a fight.

A spirit stepped through, a bird of white and black feathers, almost as tall as Berion himself was. He blinked as it’s shape didn’t dissipate, as it didn’t start absorbing Essence to create a body. That meant that it was a very powerful spirit.

Berion was ready to attack, but he hesitated. He felt… kinship with the spirit. Its power was obviously related to Space somehow.

“Ah,” the spirit said. “Finally, you are very hard to find young chosen.”

Berion blinked. “That’s by design. Why are you looking for me?”

The spirit didn’t seem to take offense at Berion’s hard tone, instead it tilted its head.

“The new master of the Castle of Knowledge has asked me to find you. And with all the chaos in the Ethereal Realm right now, I could not refuse. Better to keep the new Master of Knowledge close.”

Berion blinked, not knowing what it meant. It turned and jumped back through the portal. A moment later, someone else stepped through.

“Berion,” Zacharia, the Warden, greeted him. “I apologize for the interruption. Can we talk?”

Berion narrowed his eyes.

“Why?” He didn’t know what they could possibly have to talk about.

Zacharia gave him a long look. “I have an offer. Give me a moment of your time, and if you don’t accept, then I shall leave you in peace.”

Berion hesitated, feeling conflicted. Zacharia waited patiently until Berion finally made a decision.

Selia raised her head as Ryun walked into their apartment in Consequence. Erdania was sprawled in a lounge chair nearby, and Selia sat on the couch, reading.

“Any changes?” She asked in a whisper, not wanting to wake up Erdania.

Ryun shook his head and walked over to her, he sat down on the ground next to her feet, then leaned his head against her knee.

She put her hand on his head and slowly ran her fingers through his hair. “She’s safe, she’s whole, we’ll figure out what’s wrong and we’ll fix it.”

“I know, but with every day I feel more and more powerless, more and more… angry.”

“Ra’azel will be dealt with,” Selia said.

“We don’t know where he is, we have no way of tracking him,” Ryun sighed.

“Anrosh has sent out our spies, we are monitoring other factions. He’ll do something, he can’t help himself, and we’ll find him.”

Ryun nodded, and they grew quiet, just enjoying each other’s presence.

They had changed. Like him, both Selia and Erdania had grown from the fight. Selia’s Aspect had changed into Legacy. Some of her perks had been altered. There had been a lot of changes, things that she had to get used to. That they all had to get used to.

But it had also made her realize where her priorities were. The things that she wanted to do. She was Legacy, and she wanted to build something that would last.

“Ryun,” Selia said softly. “I think that it’s time.”

He tilted his head back so that he could look in her eyes.

“I want children,” she said.

He froze for a moment, and then relaxed. He smiled and nodded and whispered back. “Yes.”