The Grand Weave

"So, let me get this straight. Despite me proving to you that you were wrong the first time, I need to do this under your supervision?" Shifting to my left, I dramatically pointed a thumb at Celanae. "And Celanae is totally not forcing you to do this. That you are fully willing and wanting to help me, all of your own volition?" I asked, not bothering to hide the disbelief in my voice.

Celanae gave me a bright smile, but she had a hand suspiciously behind Isaac's back. We were about half a day from the nearest village, so we decided to camp near a traveler's shelter. The stone benches and walls weren't comfortable, but the resting area protected us from the rain.

I continued to stare as Isaac grit his teeth, obviously frustrated. Another suspicious movement from Celanae's arm made him clear his throat and stare at me with crossed arms.

"Look, I already apologized yesterday. So let's forget about that. Let's focus on preventing you from doing something stupid," he said before Celanae elbowed him. He closed his mouth and took a deep breath before continuing. "I mean something idio- err, reckless."

Narrowing my eyes, I was sure I heard Igas laughing somewhere in the background. I didn't see him, but his deep laugh was unmistakable. For a moment, long enough to make Isaac squirm, I stared at the two.

"Alright then..." I replied slowly. Sitting on the nearest bench, I waited for them to settle into their seats. "From the tidbits of information I retained after your lecture, I've gathered that shadow or dark mana is dangerous. And because of that danger, you're going to help me, somehow, when I try out my skill?"

Isaac stopped fidgeting in his seat and leaned forward, his face completely serious. "It's not that I think your skill is going to harm you. Rather, if it can do what I think it does, it will potentially get you killed. No, I know it will get you killed if we let you mess around without knowing the proper danger."

"And that danger is what, exactly?" I thought they were being dramatic, but I was willing to listen.

Celanae pulled out a book and flipped to a page with a drawing on it. The page showed a picture of a man who looked normal. Besides the first picture was the same man, but he looked sickly and thin. Massive scars were running across the entire right side of the man's body.

She pointed to his feet and tapped the second picture. "What's missing in this picture compared to the first?" she asked inquisitively.

I studied the picture and found the problem right away. It was the man's shadow. The first picture was drawn as a stretched image of black and grey. But in the second picture, the same man was missing his shadow at his feet despite the drawing having the same light perspective.

"I take it this all relates to why the dude no longer has a shadow?"

She nodded her head and motioned for Isaac to take over. Isaac nodded once and then pointed to the scars around the man's body.

"Shadow mana is not inherently more dangerous than other mana aspects. Lava will melt, lightning can electrocute you, and so on and so on. The problem with shadow mana is that it naturally connects to the elemental plane. Specifically the plane of shadows and absolute darkness."

"And that's bad?"

He looked stupefied and looked at me like the answer was obvious. When I continued staring at him blankly, he went back to scowling at me incredulously. "Of course it's bad! You've felt firsthand what it's like connecting to the shadow plane. You were a bleeding, dying wreck!"

This time, I did sigh and facepalm myself with an audible groan. After Cal left, I didn't actually explain what happened to me. Teddy forced the others to be considerate of my exhaustion and my privacy. I gave them the most bare-bones explanation, especially regarding the memory loss near the end.

The lack of explanation has led to an incorrect assumption of my experience.

Dragging my hand down my face, I slumped against the bench and looked at the man with tired eyes. "I told you guys that I connected to an elemental plane. I didn't say which one," I explained.

Watching their faces, realization slowly dawned on both of them and then they stared daggers my way. Isaac looked more annoyed than angry, and Celanae looked both frustrated and excited. From what I knew of the elven woman, she was probably mad I didn't explain things adequately so she could interrogate me.

"Yo-you! Damn, you! So you didn't connect to the shadow plane! Then that means you connected to the death plane! And somehow, that's even worse!" Isaac went off on a tirade, and I silently accepted it.

Celanae poked a finger at me. "You will tell me more about that later. I want all the details. At least, the few you can remember."

I nodded my head in reply. After successfully mollifying Celanae, I waited for Isaac to sit back in his seat. It took a full minute and a half, but eventually, he returned and sat down, albeit begrudgingly.

"Whatever. Shadow plane, death plane, what matters is that your new familiar uses shadows. And from what I've seen, it specifically delves into the shadow plane to use its ability," Isaac continued. He looked around and then pointed to the picture of the shadowless man. "This is the danger of delving too deep."

"It makes you sick and tears you apart? I'm guessing that's why you thought I went to a shadow plane instead of a death one."

"Yes, Exactly."

"Aight. So what's the danger then?"

He paused and finally leaned back, settling himself into the chair. "Brelten taught me from a young age, so I learned the dangers of using shadow mana early. For those who don't have someone like Uncle, the guild or the church is usually the first to tell you. They have a special protocol for when a kid shows a high affinity for dark mana. And since all kids get a test on their awakening day, almost everyone is taught the rules when it comes to dealing with the dark."

"Okay then, I'm following along for now, but first, quick question. Awakening day?"

Celanae answered before Isaac could. "Awakening day is the day when a person unlocks their system in full. Either on the child's eleventh or twelfth birthday, their system status sheet completely unlocks, and they can start absorbing skillstones. It is one of the few major milestones we celebrate in Solunaria. Do they call it something else where you're from?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't think so. I couldn't tell you with my amnesia."

She frowned but nodded her head in understanding.

"As I was explaining. The problem with shadow mana is that it is naturally connected to the elemental plane, more so than almost any other element. And if you're not resistant to the mana, you'll find yourself lacking. Shadow mana takes away. When you first delve into the shadows, you'll find yourself surrounded by the cold emptiness of darkness. Easiest to imagine it like plunging yourself into an increasingly cold lake. You start out fine, maybe a little uncomfortable. But soon, you start to lose feeling. The warmth goes away." Isaac coated his hand in shadows during his explanation, watching it flow across his skin.

"And it takes more than just your warmth, right?"

"Yes. Instead of body heat, it takes away feelings, emotions, and life force. The symptoms expand a broad spectrum, from the ability to feel your arm to the lack of concern for the hole in your stomach. And stay in too long; you'll come out bleak, lesser, lacking. I've seen a woman use her skill for too long to save her teammates. She managed to save them all but was no longer herself for nine months. She couldn't feel angry, happy, or sad. When her friends and family thanked her with open arms and crying faces, she stared at them like a doll. Unmoving and unfeeling in every way. That's half the reason why shadow mana is dangerous."

I digested his words and gave them some thought. I felt Erebus' mana when I summoned him. I could literally taste it, too. And a night ago, when he popped out the other two balls of loot from the crystal carps, I had touched the orbs of mana. Erebus' used a mix of death and dark mana, but still, I knew what it was like. And outside of the slight tingling cold across my fingers, it didn't feel nearly as dangerous as Isaac described.

When I summoned my familiars, I held a connection to them deeper than any physical sense could describe. Inside my soulspace, I felt the little spider's soul floating around, weighing my being with a metaphysical heaviness. And I knew more than anything that Erebus would never willingly hurt me with his powers.

The one thing that made me accept Isaac's words more was the memory of fighting against the witch. One could argue that allowing myself to absorb fire ruined my body because it was not adapted to be entirely fireproof. But even that line of thinking had its holes. The major problem was that the witch's fire was not my own mana. It was hostile and directed with an intent to harm me.

I just didn't know much about how mana truly worked in this world. My lack of a lifetime of experience and education in the subject hindered me in times like this.

"You said half. What's the other reason?"

In response, he stood up and slowly sank into the shadowy ground. I looked to Celanae, but she held up a hand and stared intensely at the spot where Isaac disappeared. She looked relaxed, but I could feel her mana begin to pool near the end of her fingers.

Not even thirty seconds later, Isaac comes rushing out of the ground. He exits completely, but his right arm stays stuck at his feet in the pool of liquid darkness.

"I'm fine, Celanae. Make the cube," Isaac calls out.

With a snap of her fingers, a purple barrier forms into a square base. Four walls of purple crystal appear, and Isaac retracts his arm out of the ground.

Surrounding his hand from the wrist up are two long tentacles of black that coil and wrap around a squirming mass. Moving quickly, he rushes over and holds the squirming tentacle-sack over the cube barrier.

"Do it."

Another layer of purple crystal grows over and seals off the cube. The tentacles attached to Isaac's hand detach, and he pulls away. Inside the barrier, the tentacle-sack comes undone, and out rolls a roiling orb of shadows.

The creature lashed at the tentacles with tiny appendages. Each slice took a small piece away, and I could see the mass grow ever so slightly. Once Isaac's tentacles had disappeared into the ball of darkness, it began striking at the walls, only to be rebuffed.

Each hit caused tiny dings to echo out, but the enclosed barrier muffled most of the sound. Massaging his hand, Isaac walks over and rests a hand ontop of the cube.

"This, right here, is the other reason. You should know this more than most, but an elemental plane is filled with spirits. And in the plane of shadows, it's filled with monsters like these who greedily take a bite out of whatever enters their waters."

I stepped closer and watched the small spirit strike at every corner. It was an endless staccato of dings, each tiny tendril a whip that flailed around.

"So you're saying that the monster underneath my bed was real?" I asked jokingly.

While slightly terrifying to know that an entire realm of monsters existed underneath our feet, I wasn't that disturbed. If anything, I saw the little guy more like a scared and combative kitten. I was more than half tempted to see if I could befriend the little guy and make him a familiar.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You... annoying, confusing demon! Stop staring at the shadowspawn like you want to pet it!" Isaac yelled.

I turned away from the inkball of rage and blinked innocently at the man. "But look at its tiny arms! They're so cute and angry. I could try to contract it. I already have a name for the guy. I'll call him Scath. A bit on the nose, but who cares?"

Another round of chuckling could be heard coming from behind the wall, and I had to fight a smile from showing. It was mean of me, but it felt good to tease Isaac. Ever since my talk with Teddy, I have been increasingly conflicted about how I thought about the guy.

Isaac looked ready to pop a vessel, but Celanae came up and gently touched his shoulder. Giving him a light pat, she turned and pointed a finger. "Cyrus, stop teasing. Isaac is going out of his way to help you learn and avoid danger, the kind of danger that could easily lead to your death. Now pay attention and commit this to memory."

Clearing his throat, Isaac tapped the glass. The little spirit inside went on another spasm of anger and rung the barrier with its tiny whips. "It may not look much, but a swarm of these guys would destroy you. And it's not them that we're afraid of. It's the leviathans that slumber in the deeper parts of the realm."

"How big we talking?"

"Ancients the size of villages. Elder spirits so large and old they are bigger than some city towers. Every time you delve into the shadow plane, you risk alerting one of these spirits. And they will strip you of anything you ever were. This is why a protocol is in place to prevent meaningless deaths. And this is why we shadow users only skim the surface of the shadow plane."

With a small gesture, Isaac motioned at Celanae, and she snapped her fingers. Instantly, the barrier imploded and tore the small spirit into shreds.

A brief surge of pure rage flowed through me, and I froze. Even if I joked about calling the small monster cute and making it my friend, I felt like someone had slapped me.

I heard someone call my name, and I snapped out of my paralysis."Huh? What did you say?"

Celanae gave me a concerned smile, but she didn't prod. "Now that the lecture is over, are you ready to try fusing with your familiar?"

I shook my head and sat back down on the bench. This time, I brought my legs up and sat cross-legged. A surge of my mana brought forth that itchy feeling and sour smell, but it disappeared as Erebus poofed into existence.

"You ready to do this, Erebus?" A rush of confirmation and eagerness came through our connection. Sitting the guy on my lap, I focused on the two as they stood nearby, nearly hovering over me.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be. We don't even know if I can enter the shadow realm, let alone sense it. I couldn't sense it when you entered it."

"Don't worry about that. For now, get a feeling for the mana and see what you can do," Celanae instructed.

With a shrug, I lifted Eerebus to the center of my chest and allowed my mana to connect to my Spirit Lord's Invocation.

Erebus lifted into the air and broke apart into purple motes of light. As they sunk into my body, I watched as a blob of darkness exploded out of me. Before I closed my eyes, I noticed that the flowing mana formed into the shape of skulls before it rejoined the mass and coiled up my legs.

Inside my soulspace, I connected to my inner senses and felt around for changes in my form. The first noticeable thing was the shell of energy surrounding my limbs. Both my arms and legs were covered with a hardened material. The next thing to note was the halo sprouting off my head. Unlike when I fused with Zharia, bits, and pieces of the same solidified material were floating in a ring of energy.

And the last change within my form was the small set of bumps at the base of my spine. Following the way the mana pushed out into the shell of energy, two stubs on each side of my spine were aligned vertically.

Pulling my senses out of my soulspace, I opened my eyes and held up my hands. Without my gloves, I had only my skin to mesh with the skill transformation.

A thin white shell covered my skin from my wrist to my claws and extended past my nails by a centimeter. The same material was fused with my leather boots and stopped at the metal toe caps on the end.

Summoning a small hand mirror I had purchased back in the city, I held it up to my face. My eyes had a ring of shimmery purple along the center. And further up past my horns was a small black halo that occasionally shined a flash of purple. Mixed within the glowing energy were small pieces of bone-white shards that spun lazily through the mana.

The transformation wasn't nearly as strange, white chitin being easier to handle than random patches of feathers. If my suspicions were correct, I might have two extra sets of limbs at my disposal in the future.

Setting down the mirror, I turned and found that the rest of the team had come to check out my transformation. Even Arturous was up, and he was the first to approach. He sniffed and chuffed with his giant nose before sneezing and backing away with a low growl. Padding back over to the fire, he flopped to the ground, causing a small quake, and went back to sleep.

Teddy laughed and patted Isaac on the shoulder. The man was getting a lot of those tonight. "Arturous thinks Cyrus smells like you now. All stinky and gross."

Isaac slid out of Teddy's grip and moved closer. He circled me like I was a fascinating museum piece before he stopped and began tapping his foot. "Definitely more shadow than death, but the death aspect is more noticeable. Not the same feeling as pure shadow. How do you feel?"

I shrugged again. "Fine? The boneplate on my arms is a little stiff, but other than that, I feel dandy. However, there's an odd sensation at my feet, almost like something is loose beneath it. I'm not sure how else to describe it."

"That might be the entrance to the shadow plane you're sensing. Most shadow aspect users describe a weird sensation beneath their feet when they get their first movement skill," Teddy answered.

Again, I could only mentally shrug my shoulders. "Could be. Hey, you said I smell all dirty and gross now, but doesn't that mean he thinks I'm delicious? Are you sure you're not reading Arturous wrong? Bears love carrion. I've literally seen one roll itself in a puddle of rotten moose bits and act like a feline high on catnip."

This time, the entire group stared at me funny. They all shared a look that I couldn't interpret before nodding their heads and moving on. Celanae approached with her journal and pencil in hand.

"Enough wasting time, time to experiment! Try to sink into the shadows. One foot at a time. We want to be slow with this," she instructed.

Isaac butted in. "I'll only save you once! If you sink too deep, you'll have to find your way out. I'm not going to risk becoming spirit food because of a rookie mistake."

Celanae didn't even glare at him this time, but I saw Teddy frown disapprovingly. At least I had him on my side.

Closing my eyes, I prompted Erebus' and received a reply of determination and readiness. Slowly, I tried to cut off the rest of the world and focus on the shadows under my foot. That sinking feeling was there but only at the edge of my thoughts, like a fleeting ghost.

I don't know how long I spent just standing there trying to feel my way around, but eventually, I caught on to the feeling and shifted my foot. The ground felt loose like sand, and I tried to push into it.

After another block of time, I felt my foot slip, and I stomped down hard, only for me to push my foot wrong and nearly fall over.

Opening my eyes, the others were staring at me with mixed expressions. Celanae kept an eager smile, and Teddy sent over a supportive thumbs-up. But Eodyne and Igas looked disappointed and bored. Isaac himself had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Welp. I thought I had it, but uh, it disappeared the moment I tried to push into the ground," I said.

Isaac's grin grew, and Igas and Eodyne groaned. Teddy shook his head, but he summoned the betting board and added a new tally under Isaac's and Celanae's names.

"Told you he wouldn't do it! Predictable amateur, pushing into shadows is idiotic. You sink or slip into them, not brute force your way through," Isaac taunted.

I frowned and undid my skill. Erebus reappeared in a condensing of particles, and I caught him before he fell and placed him on my head. Pointing an accusing finger at the others, I scowled deeply. "You fuckers bet on me?" I yelled.

No reply came, and the others all broke off to continue doing what they had done before. Even Isaac walked off with a cocky swagger. Only Celanae stuck around, and she approached closer and closer. "Now that I have you all to myself. Tell me more about your little trip to the spirit plane of death, yeah?"

I could only groan as Erebus kept sending me confused questions.