Irwin's Journey 467: Aura Cards

It took them a few hours and some searching to find the pillar of glass sand that surrounded the exit portal. Nothing seemed to have changed from it, not from the outside nor the inside.

"It's incredible," Nimlarel whispered, staring at the black tear in reality with the small lightning bolts jittering across the edges. 

"Wait until you go inside," Brecka exclaimed, walking forward before hesitating. "We can go in, right?"

Irwin scanned the portal, trying to discern if anything was wrong and finding nothing. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"We can. Let me go first, then you two jump in right after."

Brecka grinned, grabbing Nimlarel's hand and pulling her closer. 

Irwin stepped in front of the portal, took a deep breath, and then jumped inside. For a fraction of a second, the world turned black, something that he wasn't used to anymore, but before he reappeared in the corridor, he sensed something that made his heart skip a beat. A massive soulforce presence seemed to surround him. Then it was gone, and he was hurtling through the corridor. He instantly knew something was wrong when he saw nothing but darkness beyond the barrier. Then an eye opened, and another, continuing until a section of the corridor's barrier wall was looking at him. 

'Occulithar!' Ambraz hissed. 'Don't make any noise, or they might start screaming. They seem to be… partially asleep? It's hard to tell, but their soulforce feels off.'

Irwin swallowed as he saw what Ambraz probably meant. The soulforce of the Occulithar seemed to be stable and unmoving, even though their eyes were tracking him.

The others!

He spun around to see Brecka and Nimlarel appear almost two hundred feet behind him. Seeing them open their mouths in surprise, he raised his finger to his lips, trying to signal to Brecka, but it wasn't needed. His not-a-sister snapped her mouth shut as she looked around. Although her dark skin turned a light gray and her eyes widened, she moved like a blur, covering Nimlarel's mouth. Irwin saw the stunned surprise on the Oxarite's face, but Brecka shook her head, putting a finger on her lips as Irwin had, pointing at the eyes and miming to be quiet.

Irwin waited until he was sure Nimlarel understood before sharing a worried look with Brecka.

'Kid… those are young ones,' Ambraz said. 'Look at the size of their eyes, they are probably smaller than your giant body.'

Irwin focused on the eye-filled border, nodding slowly.

'I see it,' he said. 'Do you think this has something to do with the time dilation?'

'It wouldn't surprise me,' Ambraz grunted. 'What worries me, though, is that they seem to continue all the way to the other end.'

Irwin scanned forward, using his soulforce senses to scan as far ahead as he could, and found Ambraz was right. It almost seemed like the Oculithar were plastered across the corridor's entire length.

'They could be on the other side,' he muttered, focusing on his connection to his soulscape. Even with such a short time, he could sense the tension that had been with him for the last few years weaken. If this continued, he'd be able to move things in and out before he reached the end of it.

'I think it might be best if I use my giantself,' he said. 'If it can actually fit through the exit…'

'I have no idea about that,' Ambraz said softly. 'But even if you can't, you should move those two into your soulscape as soon as you can.'

Irwin nodded, turning around and looking at Brecka and Nimlarel. They were looking back at him, and he could see the fear in both their eyes. Especially Nimlarel looked ready to faint.

Come here, Irwin mimed, beckoning them over. 

Nimlarel seemed confused, but Brecka understood him immediately. A long rope appeared in one of her hands, likely plucked from her soulscape, and her massive club in the other. She tied the rope to the bat and a moment later hurled it toward Irwin, who caught it with ease. He ignored the thousands of narrowed eyes that were still focused on him as he reeled them in.

Wait, Irwin mimed, before holding the rope and winding it around his arm.

They continued rushing through the corridor, and finally, what felt like hours later, Irwin sensed the pressure ease to a point where he felt safe to bring the two into his soulscape.

He turned to the others, and both had largely calmed down.

I'm bringing you into my soulscape, Irwin mouthed, getting an immediate and relieved nod from Brecka and a confused look from Nimlarel.

Knowing she might be startled, he tried to pull them into the simple guest building's large living room. He felt a slight drop in his soulforce and more resistance than he'd like, but a jolt later, they vanished from the corridor. 

-- Irwin's Soulscape --

Brecka felt a wave of relief as she appeared in the familiar room of Irwin's soulscape. The temperature was nice, and it smelled of volcanoes. With a weary sigh, she walked to a couch and thudded down.

"That was horrible," she said, shaking her head. "Why are they all there?"

"Who knows," Ambraz snapped, causing her to look up in surprise.

"Brecka," the Ganvil grunted, "Why don't you explain to Nimlarel what is happening? She seems a bit… confused."

Brecka cursed as she looked at the Oxarite who was standing frozen on the spot, looking around the room.

"Where… are we?" she whispered. "What happened?"

"Ah, right," Brecka muttered, scratching her head as she got up. "I guess I need to explain this. We are in Irwin's soulscape?"

"He has a room as a soulscape?" Nimlarel exclaimed, sounding confused.

"Uh.. yeah, not exactly," Brecka said. "Come with me, and try to stay calm?"

"Why?!"

"Well… just come along and you will see."

Brecka walked through the room, pulled open the door, and stomped outside. The first thing she saw was that Irwin had moved the house on a hill that looked out across his enormous soullake, while the volcano rose in the distance. Far to the left was the sprawling forrest of dark trees, flowing partially across the hills they were in.

“What… what…” Nimlarel whispered, looking around. "What is this?"

"This is what a big soulscape looks like," Ambraz said, landing on Brecka's shoulder. 

"Who are you?" Nimlarel asked, staring at him. "Are you like Frisyuustis?"

"That rustbucket?" Ambraz snapped. "No, I'm-"

"Calm down, Ambraz."

Brecka spun around to see Irwin's giantself walk towards them, a weary smile on his face.

"Brother!"

Irwin smiled at her before sitting down on a massive rocky ridge.

"Nimlarel, I'm sorry I didn't properly warn you," he said in his deep rumbling voice. "I brought you two in my soulscape because I'm not sure what will happen when we move out of the exit corridor. Those Occulithar might be on the other side, and that means it's safer in here."

"I… my soulscape is maybe three hundred feet across," Nimlarel exclaimed. "How many soulcards do you have? I thought we could only have a few?!"

"I have three," Irwin said with a smile. "But mine are a bit different than yours."

"Also, I thought you were able to grow! Why are you in here? Are you not also… outside… I… I'm confused!"

"I understand, and I'll explain," Irwin said, glancing at Brecka. "Can you get us some drinks?"

"Sure," Brecka said, turning around.

I wonder if brother still has some of that Ignitzian liquor, she thought as she walked to the backroom.

-- The corridor --

Irwin ignored his otherself and Nimlarel's confusion. Instead, he focused partially on the exit of the portal corridor and Scintilla. Time was rapidly speeding up, and soon it would be synchronized with the Portal Gallery. Because of this, Scintilla had moved out of the room, and he could even hear some sounds if he focused fully on his body. It was still slow, the voices and sounds drawn out, but it wouldn't be long till things were in sync enough for him to use his other bodies. Part of that was because it would allow him to be with Scintilla, while the other part would allow him to use his large body to fight if he had to.

Time ticked by, and when he finally saw the exit rush in, Irwin readied himself. By now, the time dilation was the same as in Eluathar, but he couldn't act yet. As soon as he moved through the portal, the time would flow the other way, due to Eluathar's time dilation. 

'Get ready,' he said, reading himself in case another presence would appear.

He struck the exit portal, and the world turned black for a split second. It lasted for a moment, and unlike on the other end, he didn't sense the immense Oculithar presence. Instead, there was a moment of darkness, and then he was falling down from where the exit portal hung in the middle of the air. 

A soft howling came from all around, and Irwin was in the air. Hordes of Oculithar flew around in a swirling mass of tentacles, and they saw him as fast as he saw them.

Great, just great!

He switched his bodies, something that felt incredibly easy compared to the last few times, and a moment later, Irwin's giant self appeared in mid-air. He fell for only a few moments before slamming into the ground. He hesitated for a moment about whether he should summon his second, then instead pulled his full presence into his body. He managed a quick warning to the others before he readied himself for what was to come. 

The Oculithar, even the smaller ones, were bigger than him and shot down towards him. But that was for now, and Irwin wasn't planning on keeping it that way. He triggered the ability he'd barely used on Scour due to the drain it put on his soulscape: Surging Growth.

Irwin's body almost exploded outward as the skill used his soulforce to facilitate a massive growth spike. It left him dizzy for a moment, then he shook his head clear and stared at the Oculithar. They had gone from bigger than him to smaller, some even tiny, and it wasn't just him who saw it. The front line of chaotic limbs began flailing around, trying to dodge sideways, only to collide with others in a tangle of limbs. Irwin didn't care. He summoned his Volcano Titan's Gauntlets and reached out, grabbed the first of the Oculithar, immediately tearing the limbs he caught apart.

Seeing the cloud of Oculithar almost covering him, he took a quick breath and let out the loudest roar he could. A slightly silvery bubble rippled outward, striking the Oculithar and crushing the first parts of them it touched. The flesh exploded outward in a faint mist of purplish blood, but Irwin didn't waver. He zipped across the soundwaves, appearing above the cloud.

'There's about a hundred,' Ambraz said. 'They must have been within the barrier before it regenerated, and something lured them here! Kill them all before they can get away and cause trouble later.'

Irwin didn't need the reminder as he dropped in the midst of the Oculithar cloud, letting out another roar as he grabbed two Oculithar and squeezed them into pulp. As powerful as they were, they had no chance against his metalic flesh.

Irwin ripped one apart, then another, and before he knew it, he lost all sense of time as he zipped around, leaving a blood mess of tentacles and gore on the ground below.

When he finally finished, he was out of breath, out of soulforce, and standing a good distance from the portal. The final Oculithar had actually attempted to flee, and he glared at their ripped apart remains, which now lay a lot further from the exit portal.

"That… was… annoying," he rumbled, stopping Surging Growth, which caused his body to shrink in a quick burst.

'Perhaps, but you just saved this entire section of the portal gallery a hundred years of grief,' Ambraz muttered. 'The thing is… how did they get here this fast? Even with how weird Scour's time dilation was fluctuating, no more than a few days should have passed out here.'

Irwin looked around, trying to ignore how weary he felt. He did notice that his soulscape was recovering rapidly, as it always had. Faster even. Curiously, he took a look at his soulscape and quickly found the cause. The Ancestral Copperion pond, which he'd placed in the volcanic region, was leaking the soulforce it had absorbed over the last few weeks back into the ambient soulforce.

'Do you sense any more?' he asked, looking around.

'No. I think that was all, but it's hard to be completely sure. That said, did you sense what happened to their soulforce?'

Irwin frowned, staring at the nearest Oculithar. It took him a few moments to realize what Ambraz meant.

'There's no soulforce!'

'Exactly. You were too busy, but I managed to see what was happening. I knew cards usually don't appear within most Portal Galleries, but I think I have figured out exactly why. If there's enough ambient soulforce around the card, it will have a much better chance to form.'

Irwin stared at the bodies, then frowned. 

'If you would wrap one of those barriers around one of them before I kill them,' he said. 'That should greatly increase the odds, right?'

'... Yes… If I could wrap an entire barrier around an Oculithar, which I can't!'

Irwin grinned as he turned back to the Scour exit portal and zipped towards it. It took him only a few moments until he returned, standing a slight bit aside so he didn't stand inside the bloody gore.

I wonder how I'm going to clean this, he thought, grimacing at the gruesome scene. Perhaps he could throw them through the Portal Gallery walls. He hesitated for a few moments before deciding to try to ignore it. He moved a little further away before he clasped his hands.

'Alright, let's prepare-' he began, only for Ambra to appear within the Portal Gallery.

"Finally! It's been way too long," Ambraz shouted, flitting around before landing on the ground beside Irwin.

"Right," Irwin said with a grin. "So, let's prepare."

Ambraz hummed happily, zipped up again, and flew around before landing once more.

Irwin took the final two cards for his soulscape, examining them. One was ruby-rank, but far more powerful than most others, while the other was a highly stable diamond rank. Both were aura cards, and they would finish up his fourt hartcard.

"Alright, you are still sure we don't need to make this one diamond?" he asked, glancing at the ruby-rank card with a thin bracelet-like shape. 

"Yes," Ambraz said, sounding a hundred percent sure. "There is nobody we know that can create that specific one to diamond, and for you, it's already perfect. Besides, combine it with the other five cards and an ammolite base, and everything will be fine. Ruby first, and then the diamond."

Irwin stared at the cards, thought for exactly one more moment about the alternative, then put the ruby-rank card on the back of his hand. The condensed soulforce resonance slid into his hand, and as it did, Irwin felt something new settle in his mind. Unlike his regular cards, which gained him an active ability that he sensed in a specific part of his mind, the new card seemed to slowly spread out. 

"Don't wait, put in the other one!"

Irwin grunted, grabbed the diamond card, and put it on the back of his hand. He felt a slight resistance, then the card flowed inside as the first one had, and a moment later, the spread-out sense came again, but stronger. 

"I think you should probably sit down for a moment," Ambraz said, sounding amused.

Irwin rolled his eyes, then had an idea and jumped atop Ambraz. 

"What! I'm not a chair!"

Irwin wanted to respond, but before he had a chance, it felt like his entire mind began itching. It started along the edges, and it continued inward until his hands were clasped.

"What…?" he grunted.

"I told you it's just a single chance," Ambraz grunted. "Slotting an Aura card changed something on a fundamental level. I told you this! … I did. Wait, did I?"

Irwin gritted his teeth, his fingers clasped around the edge of Ambraz's surface as he felt the itching sensation continue.

"I won't take long," Ambraz said, but Irwin barely heard it.

The itching filled his entire mind and lasted for longer than he wanted. At some point, he had the idea that it became better when something clicked in his mind, and he felt the itching spread into his soulscape. It felt like a tiny drop on a massive plate, but only for the first few minutes. Before the itching could fill out across his entire soulscape, Irwin blissfully went unconscious.

--

Irwin woke slowly, hearing some complaining and grumbling below him. Blinking stupidly, he looked up at the Portal Gallery.

"What happened?" he muttered.

"I might have understated your soulscape size a little," Ambraz replied, sounding annoyed. "Now get up! You don't have a lot of time, and you just slept for close to an hour!"

Irwin blinked again, then pushed himself up, looking around. The horrible itching was gone, but he felt something odd in his soulscape, like a bubbling sensation that wanted to overflow.

"Is that the aura?" he asked, sitting upright and noticing that Ambraz had grown his own size large enough for him to comfortably sleep on.

"Yes, but there's no time to practice it," Ambraz grunted. "Besides, you would have to practice again after you get your heartcard anyway. It's best to do it all at once."

Irwin hopped from Ambraz and prodded the bubbling sensation before focusing on his two new cards. They both had an active ability, but he instantly knew it would use the bubbling sensation of the aura in his soulscape.

"Alright, your soulscape is full, so let's go and create your heartcard," Ambraz shouted, sounding far more enthusiastic than mere moments before.

Irwin looked at him, then at his hands, and finally around. The disgusting gore still lay in the distance below the portal. 

"Yes, let's," he said, cracking his neck and summoning his hammer.

He closed his eyes, calming himself before starting to hum the song he and Ambraz had decided as the baseline. It would likely need to be changed as they went along, but it would be a great starting point. As soon as he had it fully in mind, he opened his mind and put his hands above Ambraz's surface.

"Let's go and finish this so we can talk with Scintilla and the kid," he said, his eyes gleaming.

--

The Oculithar moved back slowly, not sure what to do. Its mind wasn't able to fully comprehend what it sensed, but it knew one thing. The constantly increasing soulforce pressure was dangerous.

It backed up as the thick soulforce wafted closer.

Where should it go? It had been planning to go to the incredibly succulent soulforce it had sensed, perhaps snack on some of the younger and mindless ones. But this?

The pressure wafted out in a burst, and it made up its mind, turning and rushing away. It was time to leave. Besides the giant one roaming around, and now this, it was too dangerous in this area. There should be a safer area, somewhere far away, even if there wasn't such a banquiet of unstable soulforce.

As it shot away through the corridors, one of the Oculithar's eyes kept staring behind. He didn't think the dangerous and growing soulforce presence would hunt him, but it wasn't worth the risk. If it could kill hundreds of mindless ones, it could even harm him.

--

"Mommaheat! Can I go and watch Endil work? He has been trying a new type of card seed crafting!"

Scintilla snapped back awake and looked up at Zan. 

"Yes, but make sure you are back in time for dinner, alright?"

Zan bobbed her head up and down before sprinting out of the door. 

She's going to be just like Irwin soon, Scintilla thought with a shake of her head. 

She glanced back at the door where Irwin's body lay, and she smiled. He'd only been gone for a few weeks now, nearly every moment of it traveling to Scour, but he should have arrived by now.

I wonder how it is on Scour now, she thought.

The world's time dilation was horrendously fast, so perhaps when Irwin returned, he'd have been there for years? She hoped that wouldn't be needed. Instead, she hoped Irwin would find a way to bring them there. As beautiful and safe as Eluathar was, she would love to spend some years with the little embers on Scour. The temperature was better, and if it was safe, it was likely much safer.

She stood for a few moments, watching the door before letting out a weary sigh.

Let's go and train a bit, she thought.

A soft thud came from the door at the back of the room, and she spun around before she fully realized. Holding her breath, she heard heavy footsteps move to the door. Then the door was pulled open, and Irwin stepped out, his eyes blindingly silver and his face one big smile.

Scintilla blurred forward, triggering firedash to slam into him.

"Hey! Care… full…. I… mean… ne- Never…. Mind."

Scintilla grinned as she removed her lips from Irwin's, having interrupted all his words as best she could.

"Exactly," she said. "No complaining! How did everything go? How long will you be back?"

She felt her joy fade as Irwin's grin turned ugly. 

"What happened?" he asked, feeling her joy fade rapidly.

"That's a long story which I don't have the time for now," Irwin said. "I can only for an hour, maybe less."

Sctinilla watched him, her mind spinning. She could see Irwin was worried, but she also saw he'd been gone longer than she wanted to see. Gone and alone.

"How safe is Scour?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Irwin's mouth went open and closed, then he shrugged. "Not as safe as here." 

"Is it as safe as it used to be?" she asked, not willing to give up yet.

"When we were there? I… yes. It's definitely safer than that. Why?"

Sctinilla moved a few steps closer, cocking her head. "Can you move me and the kids with you?"

Irwin grinned as he pointed at his eyes. "I couldn't before, but I can probably move you across. But I need to make sure it's still safe first."

"It's not safe?" Scintilla asked, worriedly.

"Well… there's a cordon of Oculithar around the exit portal and thousands of portals below the ground," Irwin said.

"What?" Scintilla felt her mind shudder before, and it took her a moment to calm down. When she did, she frowned. "I'm going to call the kids so you can see them… then I want you to explain this to me! If it's safe, and you can bring us there…"

She didn't say anything else, frowned, and walked to the door.

"Irwin is back," she shouted, knowing full well it wouldn't just be her children who would come.