16 – Nodes and Paths

Ren pulled off the oversized cloak, resting it on the back of the simple wooden chair. He set the Masumi sake on the table and removed the shattered stub of the bokken from his torn and bloodied jeans, resting it on the table beside the bottle before moving over to sit on the bed.

The cloth-covered hay rustled as he lowered himself onto it, the ends of a few stray stalks poking through into his legs. He closed his eyes. Breathe. In and out. In and out. He spent several minutes calming his body and mind, focused on relaxing each portion of his body. As he sat, the faint thrumming of his two cores became more pronounced, or at least more noticeable.

In and out. In and out. His attention floated and meandered like a stray leaf in a gentle stream. He focused on the energy inside him. Like in the forest, the sense of his surroundings faded to the background, replaced by a vision in his mind of two glowing stars hovering above a sea of black glass. As before, he could sense the energy in them, radiating out like faint wisps of red and blue.

He willed himself forward, reaching for the two orbs. As he moved toward them a line of light traced the edges of an ornate doorway just beyond the spheres before dissolving into an opening, a stark portal cut from reality. Through the opening he could see infinity, stars and galaxies stretching out into the endless nothing.

In and out.

He moved his consciousness through the doorway. A faint sensation washed over him, as if stepping through a gentle, warm, waterfall of light, a fluttering over his exposed skin. The stars rushed around him in a cosmic ballet, twirling and spinning and streaking in endless complex patterns until, all at once, the hard, smooth surface of the void space pressed into his shoes.

The twilight world surrounded him with a swirling nebula of countless stars, filling the inky blue sky. This time he had a vague sense of the energy permeating the strange place. He stared upwards at the nebula, entranced. It slowly expanded, taking well over half a minute before it reversed and started contracting. Faint brushes of static moved across his bare arms. So that’s what they meant, the heartbeat of the world.

Two constellations towered in the near distance, crimson and teal. As before, the several higher branching tiers were dim save for the bottom row where two spheres twinkled softly.

Though it looked and felt real, Ren also had a sense of the hay underneath him and the very distant, muffled sounds of the inn. Glancing behind him, a tall arched doorway stood, revealing the cozy room beyond. “Alright, nice, we have an actual way out this time. You here, Julie?”

Light coalesced in front of him as the voice of his french culinary instructor emanated from it. “[Sufficient node mana density detected. Advance your path.]”

“Nice to see you again, too. Ok, let’s see…” Ren focused first on the collection of deep red stars, willing them forward. At the bottom, two of the five balls of light continued their ceaseless glow, with vibrating and arcing with small bouts of electricity. He examined it.

“[Dashing Strike, sufficient mana density. Choose node refinement.]”

“Huh, I feel like I’ve only used that a few times, that seems kind of fast. Not that I’m complaining, Julie. Add it to the list of things to ask Kaylin I guess.” He willed the skill– star, node, thing– closer. “So what is this refinement deal?” As he focused on it, the arcing energy burst into three small, planet-like, orbs that drifted around the center glowing sphere. “Ah, I guess that’s what it is.” He shifted his attention to the first one.

“[Refine Distance. Moderately increases the distance capabilities of dashing strike, also allows for higher elevation changes.]”

“[Refine Efficient Mana Drain. Moderately decreases the required mana needed for dashing strike allowing for several uses in rapid succession.]”

“[Refine Power. Moderately increases the mana focus you are able to bring to bear for dashing strike allowing for a significantly stronger attack.]”

“Well, that makes sense. That’s like the three main things it does, I guess. Any suggestions, Julie?”

The light stayed silent.

Ren thought back through the encounters with the badgers and scorpions, analyzing what would have been most helpful in the different scenarios. As in the kitchen when working through a new dish, he started muttering to himself. “Distance is out for now, I haven’t needed to go further. I mean sure at some point I might need to scale a castle or something.” He chuckled at the thought. “But it’s gotta be power or time between uses.” He thought a while longer before finally making a decision.

“[Dashing strike refined with efficient mana drain, two refinements required for complete node.]” The small middle orb around the Dashing Strike star illuminated while the others remained dim. As it did so, a faint line of red light crept from the larger sphere to the smaller one, filling it with light before continuing onward to float towards Ren’s chest.

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“Oh, man, here we go again.” It moved through his shirt as if it was non-existent, touching his skin. A wave of energy coursed through him; more adrenaline and focus than pain. After a breath, it dissipated. Ren looked back at the Dashing Strike node, now brighter with a single faint, shimmering planetary ball floating in its orbit.

“[Insufficient mana density for further refinement.]”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll use it more.” He examined the second glowing star, Duelist’s Eye. While it possessed some of the lingering mana, arcing occasionally across its surface, it was nothing like the first, no balls fractured off of it as it floated quietly in the void. “And I guess I’ll keep using that one too. Alright, now for the other.”

He mentally moved the first constellation into the background, replacing it with the cerulean tree of the Fusion Chef. Like the stars for his Path of the Sword Saint, the bottom tier pulsed with the two orbs. One appeared to have enough latent power to expand. “Julie, what was that energy thing called? For the ones that are ready to advance.”

The white light pulsed in front of him “[Sufficient node mana density detected. Advance your path.]”

“Mana density, right. You’re a gem. Ok…” He shifted his attention back to the neon teal ball crackling with mana.