Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Everyone changed back into their normal clothes and, less than fifteen minutes later, stood in a line to enter a new gate rune portal. Ruwen could tell from the fourth rune they would stay on this planet for trial three.

Ruwen and Sift had taken their normal place at the end of the line as Echo stepped through the portal first.

“How many trials are there?” Sift asked Ruwen.

Ruwen frowned in thought. “I hope only six, because that’s all I’ve figured out.”

“What do you think this one is?”

“Since the first two trials focused on the obvious patterns in the Steps, I’m guessing this third one is the last of those.”

“Hard and soft styles,” Sift muttered.

“Yeah.”

After a few seconds of silence, Sift whispered. “I sure hope Lyl and Hamma are okay.”

Ruwen couldn’t tell if Sift had spoken to himself or meant for Ruwen to hear.

“Me, too,” Ruwen whispered back. “Honestly though, between Hamma’s Wisdom and Lylan’s Dexterity, they can handle whatever’s happening.”

“I know,” Sift said. “I just couldn’t bear losing her again.”

Ruwen didn’t have a response for that, so he patted Sift on the back.

They approached the pillar, and Ruwen glanced at the Addas on the left and the three Founders on the right. Sift let out a long sigh as he prepared himself for entering the portal and then, like ripping off a bandage, he jumped through.

Ruwen stepped forward to follow, but Dusk held out a hand.

“One moment, Adept,” Dusk said.

Ruwen paused and bowed to the Founders.

“You healed all the other Adepts,” Dusk said. “Why?”

Ruwen had wondered if the Founders would stop him earlier and being questioned about it didn’t surprise him.

“Balance, of course,” Ruwen said.

“Explain,” Mist replied.

Ruwen considered his talk with Sivart, and then formed his response. “The spirit of the trials dictates no magic or foreign items that might help as we absorb the meaning and purpose of the test.”

“So, you know the purpose of these trials?” Thorn asked.

Ruwen faced Thorn and responded confidently. “Yes.”

Ruwen risked locking gazes with Thorn. Soon he might need the knowledge to counteract the hypnotic effect of her eyes. He triggered Last Breath and searched for its source.

Last Breath, with no additional mental focus to increase its effectiveness, stretched a second to over eight, slowing the world around Ruwen to a crawl. A Dizzy debuff appeared as he discovered the cause of the effect. Thorn’s pupils swayed rapidly from side to side. The distance wasn’t enough to notice with a glance, but the brain picked up on the motion, causing the hypnotic trance and dizziness.

One of many benefits of Ruwen’s Diamond Fortification was complete control of his body. He focused on his eyes and tried to mirror the movement of Thorn’s eyes. A second later, his Dizzy debuff disappeared as his pupils vibrated in synch with Thorn’s. He released Last Breath, pleased that he could maintain the vibration in the normal flow of time.

A notification glowed softly at the bottom of his vision, but he remained focused on the Founders.

Thorn’s steady breathing paused for a fraction of a second as shock overcame her training.

“What sorcery is this?” Thorn hissed. “You shed your Metal skin for Gem less than two years ago.”

Dusk placed a hand on Thorn’s shoulder. “Sister, we already witnessed his control.”

Thorn pointed at Ruwen, and half turned toward Dusk. “Control like this? He has barely hatched.”

Dusk turned toward Ruwen. “In this short period, how have you gained such mastery of your body?”

The question reminded Ruwen of Lalquinrial’s accusations in the Infernal Realm. When questioned about the world he’d built in his mind, he’d explained his obsessive nature, tireless training, and ability to focus on tasks until mastered. Coupled with an army of entities in his mind to help him break through mental blocks and a physical body made almost indestructible from Diamond Fortification, and the question seemed flawed. The real question, with all those benefits, was why he hadn’t made even more progress.

Thorn’s question triggered a realization for Ruwen. He had made such vast gains because he had nurtured and encouraged the expansion of his mental world. These mental constructs had, in turn, helped him master his physical world, including his body. Overlord especially, with his ability to control vast numbers of minions, had continually pushed Ruwen’s physical limits.

Ruwen shifted his gaze between the three Founders, and both Dusk and Mist matched his eye movement, confirming they remained immune from Thorn’s hypnotic power.

“The answer to my physical gains,” Ruwen said. “Reflects the purpose of these trials. It mirrors the world around us and the Universe that contains us. It is balance.”

“He mocks us,” Thorn said, her Disposition Aura fading from light green to almost invisible.

Dusk shook her head. “I do not think so. Mist?”

Mist considered Ruwen for a few moments before speaking. “You never finished your explanation. Why was healing the other Adepts in keeping with balance?”

“We endured our injuries during the trial,” Ruwen said. “Now that it’s concluded, we will transition to the next.” Memories of the time compressed years he had spent with Rami as she taught him the Bamboo Viper Steps swirled in his thoughts. As hard as that had been, she had insisted he spend some time every week relaxing and recovering. “Pain can certainly enhance training, but serves little purpose once the lesson is learned. In fact, it only hinders the focus on new lessons. As I said, it requires balance.”

The Founders studied Ruwen.

Finally, Dusk spoke again. “Have you mastered balance?”

Ruwen considered the question. Balance encompassed so much. How could he answer it truthfully? It reminded him of the “what is the most important Step” question.

Of all things, images of Famine appeared in Ruwen’s mind, the Apocalyptic figure his Scarecrow Aspect was based on. Famine carried a scale, which he’d spent a lot of time thinking about. Did the scales represent balance, or justice, or a way to distribute just enough food to avoid mass starvation, or worse, to guarantee it?

But now, reflecting on Dusk’s question, another explanation occurred to Ruwen.

Ruwen gave the Founders a small bow. “Balance is not something to master.” He held out his hands, palm upward, mimicking the scales Famine held. “Each of us carries a scale, not to parcel out the value of our thoughts, or actions, or entire existence like some merchant in a market, but to help reveal the truth.”

Ruwen activated Last Breath to gain a few seconds to think through the implications of what he’d just said.

Pen had removed all the Spirit and hidden it away in the Third Secret with Miranda. This caused massive hardship across the Universe, and in isolation appeared like a horrible act. He had done this, though, to starve the darkness that used Spirit to feed its advance. He had created a Spirit famine across existence in order to save it.

A perfect example of the ends justifying the means, and a philosophy that Ruwen resisted.

Ruwen knew he skewed toward mercy and not justice, and this risked the innocent in addition to his own life. His difficulty centered on what justice looked like. When did punishment, violence, and killing turn from justice into something darker?

Good and evil had always existed as two opposites in Ruwen’s mind, but the subjective nature of justice, coupled with Pen’s example, made him wonder if good and evil existed at all. And even if it did, how would you recognize it unless you had a full understanding?

Blapy’s words in Malth’s library about Echo and changing an arrow’s trajectory took on a new emphasis. It provided an example of a small action, adjusting the arrow before it’s fired, to the significant impact that change had on the arrow’s path.

Ruwen had aimed a couple of small actions at Echo during these trials and felt like he’d impacted her. He considered that good, but he doubted her family would agree.

Ruwen let go of Last Breath and gave the Founders a deep bow. “Thank you for your questions. They have provided new insight.”

“Which is?” Dusk asked.

“The idea of balance mirrors a scale’s true purpose. Stable or unstable, is not the lesson of balance, just like good or bad, is not the lesson of the scale. The lesson of both is nothing happens in isolation.”

Thorn’s Disposition Aura returned to its green color

Ruwen viewed himself in terms of right and wrong, but in the light of this new understanding, he needed to reconsider that standard. If he accepted what he’d just told the Founders, then right and wrong were just labels for the coins the powerful placed on the scales to justify their desired outcome. Good or bad, as the example of Pen’s Spirit removal showed, were nearly impossible to know.

The conclusion filled Ruwen with dread. This thought process seemed like a path to destruction, with no regard for a moral compass. It made him feel like Lalquinrial and all the other gods who followed their desires with no apparent care.

The Founders watched Ruwen, and the Addas studied the ground.

“Honestly, though,” Ruwen said. “I hope I’m wrong.”

Dusk nodded. “A noble thought.”

Ruwen stepped through the portal, confused and unsure. With a few simple questions, the Founders had, ironically, unbalanced him.