Chapter 3: chapter 2
Feeling my restlessness, the golden book shot like an arrow and pierced my chest. I felt as if I were being torn apart from the inside and fainted.
When I woke up, I realized it was just a dream. "Strange dream," I thought, lifting my shirt and checking my intact ribs.
"Glad it was just a dream."
Tired of lying in bed, I stood up as usual, but as soon as my feet touched the ground, a deafening thunderous noise echoed, and my vision blurred. In front of me, a golden glow and the image of the golden book appeared. It seemed more sacred than when it was in the library.
The brightness increased, almost blinding. Thick golden-purple beams shot in all directions, filling the entire cave with light. I closed my eyes tightly, but could still feel the brightness.
Seconds later, it disintegrated like a dying bonfire. The strange symbols it left behind formed words and connected to form geometric symbols, emitting a purple glow. I screamed in fright.
Not understanding how the abilities worked, I thought it was witchcraft or a curse. With my screams, the cave door violently opened, and Marlon appeared, his eyes gleaming at the purple sparks around me.
"You've unlocked your ability," he said, almost emotionless, yet his greedy eyes betrayed him.
"Among all I've seen, you're the first to unlock it with almost no effort and physically show it without having any control," his hands glowed.
He sent the same healing energy into my body, and the purple symbols disappeared.
"Rest, kid. We'll talk tomorrow," he said, stepping back, smiling, and leaving the house.
"It wasn't me who did that... I swear," I thought of saying, but he probably wouldn't believe me.
It took a while to sleep again; I was still afraid those lines would return, but luckily, they didn't. Finally, sleep came after exhausting minutes, cradling me in its gentle and comforting arms.
The next morning, Marlon came early and, as usual, made bread with meat and eggs. He brought it on a wooden tray to me in bed. His eyes followed me while I ate.
That was weird... but he helped me all this time. When I finished eating, I arranged the plate and the glass in the tray while he just stood there, staring, static.
"You finally woke up," his voice sounded strangely soft, breaking the silent atmosphere. "It means you can pay me now."
"What?" I asked confused.
"You heard me. I wasted more than half of my supplies taking care of you. Restocking fruits and nearly 300kg of meat in the chest. Now it's all gone because of you. I had to hunt farther since animals sensed something was wrong. You need to contribute," he explained.
"How can I help? I can barely get out of bed without feeling dizzy," I said, not understanding. Earlier, he was understanding, but now he demanded payment for voluntarily taking care of me?
"Nothing is free in this world. I didn't ask for anything until now because I thought you wouldn't recover anytime soon, but it seems I was wrong," he closed the door, grabbed a stool, and sat beside my bed.
"Don't worry; you can help once you recover, with your ability, of course," he smiled, his eyes again showing greed.
"I was looking at your condition, and the reason for your slow recovery was your ability. It was forcing your body to awaken forcefully, taking almost 80% of my healing energy. Now that you've awakened, your recovery should be faster," he explained, sending the healing energy again, making the purple symbols vanish.
"Rest assured, kid. We'll talk tomorrow," he stepped back, looking at me with a smile before leaving the house again.
"It wasn't me who did that... I swear," I thought of saying, but he probably wouldn't believe me.
It took a while to sleep again; I was still afraid those lines would return, but luckily, they didn't. Finally, sleep came after exhausting minutes, cradling me in its gentle and comforting arms.
The next morning, Marlon came early and, as usual, made bread with meat and eggs. He brought it on a wooden tray to me in bed. His eyes followed me while I ate.
That was weird... but he helped me all this time. When I finished eating, I arranged the plate and the glass in the tray while he just stood there, staring, static.
"You finally woke up," his voice sounded strangely soft, breaking the silent atmosphere. "It means you can pay me now."
"What?" I asked confused.
"You heard me. I wasted more than half of my supplies taking care of you. Restocking fruits and nearly 300kg of meat in the chest. Now it's all gone because of you. I had to hunt farther since animals sensed something was wrong. You need to contribute," he explained.
"How can I help? I can barely get out of bed without feeling dizzy," I said, not understanding. Earlier, he was understanding, but now he demanded payment for voluntarily taking care of me?
"Nothing is free in this world. I didn't ask for anything until now because I thought you wouldn't recover anytime soon, but it seems I was wrong," he closed the door, grabbed a stool, and sat beside my bed.
"Don't worry; you can help once you recover, with your ability, of course," he smiled, his eyes again showing greed.
"I was looking at your condition, and the reason for your slow recovery was your ability. It was forcing your body to awaken forcefully, taking almost 80% of my healing energy. Now that you've awakened, your recovery should be faster," he explained, sending the healing energy again, making the purple symbols vanish.
"Rest assured, kid. We'll talk tomorrow," he stepped back, looking at me with a smile before leaving the house again.
"Not my doing... I swear," I thought, but he probably wouldn't believe me.
It took a while to sleep again; I was still afraid those lines would return, but luckily, they didn't. Finally, sleep came after exhausting minutes, cradling me in its gentle and comforting arms.
The next morning, Marlon came early and, as usual, made bread with meat and eggs. He brought it on a wooden tray to me in bed. His eyes followed me while I ate.
That was weird... but he helped me all this time. When I finished eating, I arranged the plate and the glass in the tray while he just stood there, staring, static.
"You finally woke up," his voice sounded strangely soft, breaking the silent atmosphere. "It means you can pay me now."
"What?" I asked confused.
"You heard me. I wasted more than half of my supplies taking care of you. Restocking fruits and nearly 300kg of meat in the chest. Now it's all gone because of you. I had to hunt farther since animals sensed something was wrong. You need to contribute," he explained.
"How can I help? I can barely get out of bed without feeling dizzy," I said, not understanding. Earlier, he was understanding, but now he demanded payment for voluntarily taking care of me?
– There is nothing free in the world. I haven't made a move until now because I thought you wouldn't improve so soon, but it seems I was wrong. — He closes the door, grabs a stool from the corner, drags it, and sits next to the bed.
— Don't worry; you can help me once you recover, with your skill, of course. — He smiles, his eyes once again sharp and greedy.
— I was examining your condition, and the reason for your slow recovery was due to your ability. It was forcing your body to awaken its strength, consuming almost 80% of my healing energy, so your body was barely healing and even worsening.
I admit that initially, I thought nothing was wrong, but as it worsened after treatments, I considered giving you a quick and painless death. — He spoke calmly, as if it were the most common thing in the world.
— When you woke up yesterday, as soon as I touched you, I felt something like a black hole coming from you, devouring almost all my energy. Luckily, I'm very proficient with my abilities, and I managed to separate when I sent more than enough to heal you and severed the connection with your ability; otherwise, I would be lying on the floor right now. — His expression was slightly bitter. All his precious energy he had saved for so long had to be spent almost entirely on the boy, and he was nearly drained; his complexion turned a bit pale.
— So, I believe now your recovery will be much faster, actually faster than mine. It seems you have a remarkable ability, boy. I'm tired of spending days having my energy drained. Now that you've awakened, you can use yours to help me. — I became even more confused; he just laughs.
— I'll help you, so don't worry.
— Can you tell me what my abilities are? — He furrows his brow, thoughtful.
— No. But did you have a vision or something? As far as I know, although confusing, most abilities are presented that way; mine was the same. However, there are other ways to acquire them; anything can happen. If I'm not mistaken, yours must be related to enchantments; those purple sparks are called magic, or more precisely; enchantments. — He said, smiling and laughing. The way his eyes stared at me changed for a few seconds before returning to their natural rudeness.
— It's rare for someone to have these abilities. Besides you, only my teacher has the same abilities, but his are golden, a bit purer than yours, I think.
— You have a teacher? Are there other people besides us here? — I asked, trying to contain my excitement. My goal has always been to find other people to be together.
— Well, yes, but not here. I come from a clan... — He suddenly stopped talking, his expression frozen. — You... you're not from here? — His voice became deeper. He stood up with a bang; the stool was thrown to the other side of the room by the rebound force.
His whole body turned blue, a thin layer under the skin that enveloped his entire body.
— No, I-I was just asking... — I swallow hard, scared. Damn, what the hell was that? I have to get out of here! I try to get up, but it's useless; my vision is spinning. I still need care. He approached, his eyes turning blue too. I couldn't help but tremble involuntarily.
— Don't lie to me! Oh my god! Now everything makes sense. — He exclaimed as if he had gained some enlightenment.
— You in that godforsaken place, wandering around without any healing potion or any knowledge about abilities. This is common knowledge... — He panicked, hands on his head, pacing back and forth until an idea came to his mind. His color returned to normal.
— You don't need to be afraid; I won't hurt you. — His scowl softened when I stopped trembling. He had a sinister smile.
— But you must join my clan — he said after contemplating.
— With your powers, we can achieve great things. Besides, my teacher can help you improve and control your powers. You won't go hungry or be mistreated as long as you work hard, and you'll have protection. Do you accept?
— Do I have a choice?... — He shook his head. Damn.
— I accept — I sighed defeated, after all, I was practically in his clutches. It can't be worse than being alone and hungry, constantly at risk. It might be a good thing. I tried to cheer myself up.
He smiled and pulled a badge from his pocket that looked like a feather, completely white with the initials "holy," and placed it on my chest, on the rags of my shirt. Curiously, I touch the badge; as soon as I do, my head hurts, and I almost faint.
— This will help you. It's a real-time locator. There's something called mental force that can help when using abilities, and new technology. Please, be more careful; if you lose it, you won't get another. — He turned around and was about to leave when I stopped him, holding his hand.
— Any problem? — He said somewhat annoyed; I retract my hands. I raised my eyes as high as I could, trying to look into his eyes.
— I didn't ask... What's your name? — Now that I remembered, over the weeks we spent together, I never asked his name, and I was tired of referring to him as "the man" or "he."
— Marlon. Better not forget; I don't usually repeat it twice. — He replied irritated. — And yours?
— Nicolas.
After that day, things changed. My wounds healed very quickly; in less than two days, even Marlon was shocked at first, but then reasoned that it must have something to do with the ability I awakened.
It was challenging to start walking again; in the first few days, I could barely stand for a minute and had to hold onto objects or the wall to stay upright; my legs were very weak.
Marlon said it was because I had been without moving my body for too long or something like that.
As time passed, I began to have better balance; a few days (for me) later, I could stand for more than 5 minutes before dizziness returned, and my legs became weak again.
Contrary to what I imagined, my ability did not give me any additional powers. I always read that when people awaken, their senses and strengths are improved by a good number, but this did not happen to me, except for my healing, and knowing that I had an ability practically changed nothing. Damn fantasy stories!
With my recovery coming to an end, I could leave the cave for the first time; I was almost getting claustrophobic just staying in this cave. I felt that if I continued for some more time, I would start seeing gray things to complete my problems.
As soon as I pushed the wooden door, a breeze with a slight smell of leaves attacked me.
The sun was very strong, and I instinctively closed my eyes. After getting used to the brightness, I opened my eyes again and was greeted by the sight of a small canyon surrounded by gigantic sand-made mountains, some with white peaks.
Few trees surrounded the place. There was a stable to my right, a house with a chest symbol ahead. The ground varied between what seemed to be stone slabs and a yellowish grass extending all over. Further ahead, there was a blue lake where Marlon sat on a small dock fishing.
Noticing movement behind him, Marlon turned, seeing me approaching. Initially scolding me for being careless, he then expressed joy at my improvement, suggesting I could help him, and finally, I could learn to use my ability.
I didn't know what was happening, but the more time I spent with Marlon, the stranger he seemed. We never discussed his past; he always found a way to change the subject and never allowed me to explore beyond the canyon.
After regaining the ability to walk normally, I began my training with Marlon. It mainly involved recalling what I saw when I awakened and maintaining that memory. Manifesting my power wasn't too difficult, given the scene of the altar and a small floating leather-bound book pulsating within me.
While training one day, Marlon executed a strike on a pile of stones, turning them to dust. Distracted, I saw it and was astonished. Those rocks reminded me of the world that crumbled, of when those symbols appeared in the cave.
The way the dust was carried by the wind resembled the book when it absorbed all the world's dust... that...
Suddenly, I heard the sound of something breaking. With a flash, everything around me became clear. Feeling a bit dizzy, I struggled to stay on my feet.
Everything was bathed in brightness. Walking around, I saw the same altar where I took the book, now beautifully adorned with bookshelves and various purple and golden symbols spread like veins on the altar. No more table or book; only the altar remained, and the surrounding world appeared to be a magnificent library with golden chandeliers emitting light. Symbols covered everything, climbing walls and disappearing into purple clouds covering the ceiling.
Approaching the altar, everything began to tremble. The golden symbols turned purple, and the altar shook. It emitted a beam of light that shot towards me, penetrating where the book had entered. My vision filled with symbols, and I felt dizzy. Just before fainting again, I heard, almost like a whisper, "magical incarnation," but I thought it was my imagination.
Nicolas didn't notice, but as he comprehended the symbols, the illusory form of a golden book appeared behind him, sucking all the symbols from the place.
The altar trembled more, with a loud noise, it cracked. Cracks spread through the library, which started to crumble, large blocks and books falling. Some hit Nicolas, but a barrier protected him, and he was unaffected. After some time, a formation appeared under his feet, teleporting him back.
I felt the same dizziness as the first time. When the flash disappeared, I saw a shocked Marlon. He was clearly in bad shape; his arms cut, even though healed, still marked.
His clothes were practically shredded, leaving him almost in just underwear. A tree was charred a few meters from me, and flowers wilted everywhere. It was as if his vitality had been drained.
"You... You managed to control your ability?" His eyes fixed on mine as he approached.
"Oh... y-yes... what happened?" I asked, shocked.
Marlon put his hand on my forehead, using the same energy as before on my body. This time, he couldn't see much, just a golden flow surrounding the blood.
"I don't know either. You were resting when suddenly, a pillar of light fell on your head. In a panic, I tried to break it, but I only suffered the barrier's rebound. I tried with all my power, and still couldn't break it." He withdrew his hand from my forehead.
"I thought it was some enemy attack until symbols appeared on the ground and in the air, heading towards the barrier. That's when I got the idea that you might be breaking through. I didn't expect the force to be so great that it affected everything around."
"That peak was over 500m with 12 colors in height, but look, if you count, you'll see it's only a few dozen meters now," he pointed to the peak of the nearest mountain, explaining.
"Colors? What do you mean?"
"You don't know? Oh, well, I forgot, you're not from this world," he retorted with a smile without showing his teeth.
"Colors were adopted in ancient times to refer to the passage of time. The coloration of a stone, for example, says a lot about the period it was formed. Pigments from minerals and oxidation can change its color, so there are many colored stones despite all being classified as stones."
"Leaving that aside. Can you use your ability?" He continued insisting on the same subject, seemingly undisturbed by anything else.
"I don't know, but I think so. We can test it." Confidently, I walked to the dead tree. Despite being burned, its wood was usable. I took one of the wooden axes Marlon left lying on the ground.
I managed to take some wooden logs, not using the creation ability for fear of Marlon freaking out and also because of the insignia that seemed to watch over me whenever I tried to execute creation.
He took them to the workbench and turned them into two long staves. Then, he handed one to me.
I closed my eyes and concentrated, but as it was my first time trying enchantment, I couldn't.
Error...
Error...
Error...
After more than 10 failed attempts, I thought about giving up. Marlon supported me at every moment, encouraging me to continue.
The days repeated, the same processes too. Day after day, Nicolas sat in the same place trying to enchant the two staves. He was completely exhausted as it consumed a lot of patience and mental energy.
It wasn't until the day he saw a symbol resembling an inverted V standing in front of him, floating, that he understood his mistake: instead of seeking a random enchantment, he should focus his power on predefined enchantments. He remembered that enchantment. In the golden world, he saw some on a mural labeled "basic," and this enchantment was one of them.
V - Sharpness 1: can slightly improve the sword's penetration power. Slight damage increase.
Being the most basic enchantment possible, he probably wouldn't have difficulty. Concentrating on the enchantment, a V formed by small triangles and squares appeared out of nowhere. It floated in the air, rotated before finally falling and merging with the staff.
If observed closely, one would notice purple sparks pulling the V into the staff, but it seemed that no one could notice.
The staff emitted a purple glow before floating and releasing an energy pillar. Marlon, who was distracted, thought it was an enemy attack and was already completely blue when he noticed the direction it came from and saw Nicolas holding the staff.
Contrary to what was imagined, where the staff would be covered with runes all over and emit a different aura. It wasn't different; the only change was the purple layer that bathed his body like a protective barrier.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone