Legacy of the M'Zee Chapter 28

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

So, we're done with platforming. Hope you enjoyed this one!

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

This pillar was different. Rather than a circle, it had a long oval top. A dense thicket of trees made a straight line across the middle, blocking all sight of what was beyond. Looking at it, I knew I needed to move forward. I walked quickly, keeping my head on a swivel. The last few Beasts that sought to block my path were winging themselves farther forward. “Guess I get to fight them later,” I grumbled.

I reached the trees, and pushed myself through the natural wall they made. My arm was aching, but I wanted to find safety first. The branches tried to scratch at my arms and face, but my body was too strong for that now. Sticks broke, and I found myself on a large stone stage. A podium extended out of the floor only three steps in front of me, right where the stage dropped. Beyond the platform, a kaleidoscope of colors covered the ground.

There were no Beasts visible, the area past the pillar shrouded in a veil of mist. “Oh, good,” I mumbled, then collapsed to a seated position. I pulled Aether into me, sending it crashing down my arm and bone meridians to encase the shattered ulna and radius in my right arm. It took me nearly an hour to repair all the damage that I had taken, and then another hour to refill my center. Gathering is going to take longer and longer, isn’t it? I thought. Even though I can gather faster each time I level up, the rate of gathering increase is much less than the rate of increase in storage capacity. It’s only going to get worse as I compress my Aether even more. I guess this is why everyone is using gathering pills all the time. I shook my head and got up, “Focus on the now.”

I approached the podium, and the puzzle below me grew into focus. “It’s one of those sliding type puzzles,” I exclaimed. I looked around, “But I don’t know what it’s supposed to be. I guess I’ll just shift things around until I get a picture?”

I jumped off the stage and realized each piece was nearly twenty centimeters square. “That’s a lot of stone,” I said, then started to shove one piece next to the empty spot. It wouldn’t move. I flared Aether through me, strengthening my body, but no matter how hard I pushed, it would not budge. Finally, a minute or so later, I slumped on top of the puzzle stone. “Well, that’s not working. What did I miss?”

I rolled over, and the podium entered my field of view. “Of course,” I smacked my head, then hopped to my feet. I jumped back onto the elevated stage, then walked over to the podium. It was a pillar of grey stone, with an angled flat extension like you’d see on a music stand. On the flat part, there were a bunch of indentations that I realized matched where my fingers would sit if I placed my hands on it.

I put my hands in the indicated spots, my fingers sinking into the bumps for them. Nothing happened immediately. I pushed harder with each finger in turn, but the indentations weren’t buttons. “Okay, not manual, so probably Aether,” I muttered to myself. I pushed Aether out of my hands into the podium. A massive crashing sound echoed out of the puzzle in front of me as dozens of pieces ran into their neighbors. “Oops!” I laughed.

I looked at the puzzle again, pulling my hands away. The piece I had tried to move had shifted, and now there was an opening below it. “Okay, well, that did something, but it wasn’t correct. Now why?” I looked again, focusing through the stone to try and see the Aether pathways. I put my hands down and pushed a tiny amount of Aether out of my right index finger.

Eight different channels lit up, and a bunch of impacts sounded from below. “Each pathway was for a different Element,” I mumbled, then used my left index finger. The Lightning, Fire, Metal, and Earth Aether went down the same four pathways, but the other Aether types found four additional channels. When I used my right pinky instead, straining to control the Aether in a different way than I normally did, it was the reverse. The left pinky copied the Wood, Water, Ice, and Air channels of the left index finger, but used different ones

“So there are sixteen different channels. The puzzle is twenty by twenty though, so how does that work?” I grumbled. I kept my hands planted then dove into my center. It was entirely full, the tiny amounts I’d sent into the podium not able to make a dent in light of my natural regeneration. I carefully scooped off a tiny bundle of Lightning Aether, then directed it up through my meridians to exit at my right index finger again.

This time, I followed the Aether as it flowed down the channel. When it got to the bottom, it split into four different streams, two of which went to the horizontal edge and two to the vertical edge. Two of the puzzle pieces smashed into their surroundings. I moved through the Elements, watching as a variety of different pieces tried to move, before I went back to Lightning.

This time, I focused and pushed my mental control with the Aether. It was hard, and I lost control quickly the first time, and the second time, and the third time. It took six tries before I was able to force the Lightning Aether into a single spot. Nothing happened when I did. “Ugh, got to move it to two spots, I guess,” I said. “Make grid coordinates. Let’s see, I need Air for the opening right now, or Water for the piece to the left of the opening.”

Two more tries later, and I managed to make the correct puzzle piece move. It crashed upwards, rather than to the right like I wanted. I tried again, this time it went down. “Okay, there’s got to be a way to direct it. Can I send two streams? Air and Water, select the piece I want and the spot I want it to go?”

Four tries later, it worked. “Finally,” I groaned, then went to move another piece. I shuffled the pieces around for ten minutes or so, each one taking thirty seconds or more as I had to figure out which Aether types to use and control them. After a bit, I realized what the puzzle was. “It’s Sia!” I shouted, and started to plot where I would need to move the pieces. I figured out a good path, then nodded and went to work. Ten more minutes later, the pieces stopped responding.

“Now what?” I grumbled. I tried a bunch of different Aethers, then flooded the podium again in frustration. Smashing sounded from below as the puzzle responded to my aggression. Great, now I got to use more than one Aether, I thought. I brought a mass of Aether into both of my hands, then stripped out Lightning and Fire from my right and Lightning and Water from my left.

I lost control. I tried over and over again, each time getting better at finely controlling the Aether I sent out so far from my body. The channels seemed to help me maintain control beyond what I could in empty air, but it was still just as difficult as putting runes at the farthest reach from my body that I could.

Over the next half hour, I got half of the pieces required locked in, and then I had to work with three different streams of Aether. I got stuck for a while here, until I figured out that occasionally I needed two of the same Aether, sending twice as much Lightning as Earth in the first example. Pieces clunked into the right spots quickly after that, until I reached the last quarter, when I had to use four Aether streams at the same time.

Four was past my capability, and I had to take a break after another twenty minutes when a massive migraine crippled my ability to concentrate. I shuffled back and sat down, leaning against one of the trees screening this half of the challenge from the other. At least, I hoped it was half. I rested my head against the bark, the hard surface feeling soft due to the massive increase in my physical capabilities. Wood and Water Aether flowed into my head as I worked to soothe the headache.

I fell asleep, taking a quick cat nap, and woke refreshed. “Okay, let's finish this,” I said, jumping to my feet. I ran over to the podium, and placed my hands in the appropriate spots. I immediately started to channel four streams of Aether, Wood, Lightning, Fire, and Metal, to select the right piece before sending Wood, Air, Water, Fire to grab the empty spot.

Ten minutes later, I was down to only three moves left, and my head was pounding yet again. “Three more. Just three more, and I’m done,” I ground out. “I refuse to quit!” My Aether shot out of my hands yet again, and I quickly but carefully braided the various bits together into two streams With a clack, a piece moved. I cut off the Aether, pulling back to me whatever I could grab, then repeated with a different set of Aether types.

One last time, I thought, my vision blurring as my head thundered. Aether flowed out, and I held on to it as best as I could. A loud click sounded over the pillar’s surface as the last piece slotted into the right place. I dropped to my knees and threw up next to the pillar just as the puzzle exploded into light. The Aether surge blinded me, and I threw myself backwards to avoid falling in my throw up.

I flailed at my face, managing to get my hands over my eyes before the light made them bleed or something. I thought about channeling Aether to my head to reduce the pain and swelling, but just the thought of moving Aether deliberately made me more nauseous. I just lay there, feeling the Aether from the puzzle swelling as more and more was brought into the area. It was enough that the pillar sized death beam felt weak. It reached a crescendo, and then vanished.

A much smaller feeling of Aether came from the area, one I recognized. Seconds later, Sia cried out, his screech echoing across the vast distance of the room. “Sia!” I yelled to him.

“Aiden! What have you done to yourself now?” he asked, flying over to my side. I felt his Aether swoosh through me, then a small stream was directed to my head. He wasn’t the best healer, and was only able to help me due to our Bond, but the relief was still palpable.

“Had to use Aether to move puzzle pieces,” I told him. “At the very edge of my control, and braid together up to four streams twice at a time.”

“And you rushed, exhausting your Geist or mental energy too quickly why?” he asked sardonically.

“Well, finishing faster gives better rewards. I mean, you’re here, so obviously I succeeded and got a great reward,” I laughed.

He pecked my forehead, hard enough to sting but without it aggravating my headache anymore. I laughed again, then waited. A minute went by before I felt ready to soothe myself, and I moved a sufficient quantity of Wood and Water Aether to reduce the swelling in my brain.

Five minutes later, I was ready to sit up. I tried to, but Sia just rested one claw on my chest to hold me down. “A few more minutes. Tell me, did you choose strength, speed, or endurance for your first choice?” Sia asked.

“Uh, none of those,” I said, confusedly. “My choices were all profession based. I could pick Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Inscription, or Herbology, I think. I picked Alchemy and had to make a new powder.”

“Hmm, interesting,” he responded. “I chose speed, and then had to dodge arrows launched at me as I raced to the end of a flying course.”

“That doesn’t sound too difficult for you,” I said. “You’re a great flier. What was your next challenge?”

“I picked strength next, and was tasked with moving boulders from one platform to another. They were just on the edge of what I could lift without Aether, so I did without for all but the last three. My reward was a bathing of Fire Aether that permanently enhanced my strength, though only by a small amount. My next choice was speed, endurance, or intellect. I chose intellect, and was trapped in a small chamber that required me to use Earth, Air, and Water Aether in a specific pattern to escape. That was difficult, but rewarding. I received a specially treated Core that, when consumed, increased my Water Affinity.”

“Sounds like this has been a rewarding trip for you,” I said. “Even though you did lose your gathering level when we started.”

“The results of the tower far exceed what I lost,” Sia told me. “Now, when we advance again, I will be nearly three times as strong as I was. You have given me hope that I will be able to match, or even exceed, my mother’s power.”

“Wait, you’re expecting that we’ll be able to be stronger than the Fire Monarch?” I asked incredulously.

“Of course, though it will take decades or centuries to reach that level of strength,” he answered.

“Well, I hope I don’t let you down,” I said ruefully. “So, anything else interesting?”

“I also received a boost to my Ice Affinity, which eased a bundle of tension I hadn’t noticed. I will be able to gather faster, and help you gather faster as well. I was given a Metal Beast Technique to further enhance the power of my talons and beak. Somehow, the Tower tempered my body to Fire to a greater degree than it was. I did not believe that was possible.”

“That’s awesome,” I said. “So, after Alchemy I had …” I spent the next few minutes telling him about my trials and rewards.

“You reaped as many rewards as I did, or more,” Sia said. “Yet again, I am honored to have Bound my fate to yours. Now, sit up. Let us gather until we are full and ready to take on the next trial.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, awkwardly giving a salute, then gestured at his foot. “Uh, kinda need you to move first.”

“Make me,” Sia said.

“Ugh,” I grumbled, then gently channeled a bit of Aether into my arms. I shoved the talon sideways, and he let me. He lifted his foot before the claw could cut me, and I struggled to a sitting position. Once in the lotus position, he shrank to be about twice as big as I was. He pressed up against my back, his wings wrapping over my shoulders, and we started to gather.

Aether flowed ridiculously fast, though both of our wells were pretty dry, so it still took nearly half an hour to gather both of us to full. We spent ten more minutes after that soothing various small injuries and pains that we’d been ignoring. Once finished, I hopped to my feet. “I’m ready, let’s do this,” I shouted.