MM - Chapter 188 - PRECIOUS COMMODITIES

Selena's lips were set in a deep scowl as the ground continued to shake beneath her feet. Impressively, only a portion of her apparent fear colored her tone. “Your efforts to distract me are unnecessary. I am a Celendine. There is no such thing as an impossible ordeal, and I have trained all my life for this day. It is I who will deliver us from this catastrophe.”

Raine held in a snicker, not wanting to derail Selena’s momentum. It was good she was taking over the pep talking; he preferred the stick. “Great. In the meantime, I was serious about my questions.” Raine sat with his legs tucked beneath his butt, allowing his eyes to close. He breathed deeply, muscles relaxing through sheer mental control. “If I don’t understand Primal Energy, I’ll die before the next shrine, just like you said.”

While he spoke, Selena’s gaze had drifted in the direction of the still-distant boss. The rumbling was growing stronger, bringing her fear back into control. “How would knowing change anything?!” Selena snapped, “Knowing does not speed the process of cleansing. Nor does proximity to the altar. Only time within the bounds of the shrine has any effect. You are the one who chose to leave, and now you have doomed us both!”

Raine ignored the accusations, focusing on the details that came before. “Great. Good start. What else?”

Selena recoiled as if struck. “I was not answering your questions! I am fed up with your complete lack of clarification! If you want anything more from me, then explain yourself properly.”

Raine cracked an eye, examining the set of her jaw and how fiercely her arms squeezed her chest. “I have a skill that might allow me to cleanse the Primal Energy, but my intent is all wrong to make it work. Right now, I can’t imagine the energy as anything other than a benefit. Knowing more might convince my intent enough to get the job done.”

Selena blinked at him, stunned. “Oh… that… is actually a credible argument.”

Raine snorted. “Of course it is. I rarely waste time without a good reason. Now hurry up, we only have about a quarter knuckle until the boss catches up.”

Selena allowed herself to look in Zagan’s direction again. The rumbles were now mixed with the cracking of falling trees and a background buzz from thousands of additional, smaller feet. Her words started slow, but quickly gathered speed. “Well. Uhm, Primal Energy is the source of all energies, all potential, and even all of creation. Though it cannot normally be sustained outside the Primal Realm.”

Raine latched onto the last piece of information, as it was the only one that might carry a negative connotation. “Why not?”

“Shh!” Selena shushed him, scowl returning full blast. “As the source of all things, Primal Energy is rapidly absorbed to empower the world around it. Plants, people, and even the air are all greedy to integrate it.”

The line of questioning wasn’t helping, so Raine swapped tactics. “What did you mean, 'it's the source of all energy and creation?'”

Selena shook her head, swallowing hard. “That is a long story, and this is no time for a history lesson!”

Raine struggled not to snap at her as his voice dropped, stretching each word. “Then give me the abridged version.”

“R-right.” Salena swallowed hard from the threat in his tone. “Primal Energy is also referred to as The Spark of Creation. Long ago, many millennia before Vaateaire was a speck of dust on the cosmic canvas, a cataclysmic spark of Primal Energy was delivered to our reality. The Spark detonated, but instead of spreading destruction, it spread radiant life and energy in an ever-expanding wave, creating the stars, planets, and moons; all things came from The Spark. This is true for each of the known realms; yours as well.”

Not having any issue envisioning the Big Bang that Selena was referring to, Raine twirled a finger through the air, prompting her to continue.

“Beyond creating reality as we know it, Primal Energy affected the creatures of each realm uniquely. In the Mundane Realm, it gave us the power of the elements and Discipline. The Celestial Realm, Celestial Power. Demonic Realm, Demonic Power. It was not until the realms were connected for the first time that the derivative powers bled through, allowing for broader applications. Still, those not of the other realms are ill-suited to utilizing the specialties that manifested there. I will never be a master of the Demonic arts, and vice versa.”

Raine took another slow, deep breath, absorbing her words. “So, through some kind of chain reaction with individual realities, Primal Energy created the powers that we have access to, and if not for some kind of connection forming between realities, we wouldn’t have access to the powers of the other realms?”

Selena clearly found the topic fascinating. A healthy portion of her fear had yielded to excitement. “Yes! Precisely. But it goes much deeper. As with all things created, the races that appear in each reality are also derived from Primal Energy, hence the many similarities between our peoples.”

Raine frowned, “Back up. If the different powers, elemental, Discipline, etc, are all actually derivatives of Primal Energy, shouldn’t I be able to utilize it with my skills?”

Selena shook her head fiercely, “Primal Energy is not the same as the fundamental powers. It is more akin to pure potential, having a much more subtle effect on existing reality. The only exception is when Primal Energy is introduced to reality in the absence of the physical. Then, it has the potential for extreme creation, like The Spark.”

Raine found the hint buried in her words, knowing they were close. “If it has so little effect on matter, on physical reality, how does it make someone explode if there’s too much of it?”

Selena’s answer was prepared before he finished speaking. “As with many things that have a propensity to explode, the more of it you gather, the more dangerous it becomes. Small amounts of Primal Energy empower, but cross the tipping point, and boom.”

Raine lifted his hand, signaling a stop. “That’s enough. I got what I needed.”

You heard her, Amanesh. It’s a catalyst for change, little different than a poison or toxin. The right dosage and poison becomes a cure, or a cure, poison. Now, get this shit out of me.

Previously, Raine was too enamored by the Primal Energy empowering his actions to consider it truly harmful. It felt too good, and the results of its presence were too impactful. Now that he understood it a little more, he was no longer fooled. 

Raine’s intent crystallized as he braced for a skill he had yet to test. The Soul Flame of Amanesh’s Purge didn’t start small like Sacrifice. A fierce wave of violent, white-hot fire swept through him, stealing his breath and sight. His cells were ripped open, invaded, and seared in a torturous flashfire that left his thoughts scattered. It was bad. Really bad. But not nearly as awful as whatever the entities had done to his head when he first arrived in the Primal Realm.

[Innate skill 2 - Purge: In a burst of intense heat, eradicate toxins, poisons, and paralytics from the body. Note: causes some discomfort (Cooldown: 30 seconds)]

It only lasted a few seconds and left Raine’s body a wreck. He fell to the side, crimson strobing lights in his interface declaring the pain wasn’t for show, but that he’d nearly died. Selena was there in an instant, shaking his arm in a panic. “Alaric! Alaric!”

Raine tried to speak, but only coughed up dried, burnt blood. Instead of wasting time with Healing Burst, he triggered Soul of Reformation, healing to full and beyond in one go. A shimmer of Celestial Power swept over him. In an instant, he felt good as new, if significantly weaker due to lacking even a hint of Primal Energy.

Selena fell back, jaw dropping open. “What was that?! How can you be caster, warrior, and cleric?”

Standing and dusting himself off, Raine shot her a sly smile, “Offer still stands. If you want me to teach you all the secrets of the Travelers, it’ll only cost a million gold.” The coming outburst was both obvious and unnecessary, so Raine spoke over her. “Enough messing around. Let’s go.”

Reminded of the impending crisis, Selena glanced over her shoulder before her head snapped back to Raine. “I would like that very much.”

Without another word, they dashed north. Unfortunately, the boss was approaching from the west and would gain ground on them, but there was no helping it. As they crashed through thick foliage, Raine took the lead, swapping to the Fraction of Grace. “Burn through your Discipline as fast as you can!”

“But—”

“Just do it!”

Selena’s growl was loud. She kept up until Raine leaned forward and picked up speed. Like a laser, he bodily cut a swath through the jungle, avoiding only the trees. His Connection and killing intent were concentrated ahead, both a warning of ambushers and a means to push some of the vegetation out of his path.

“W-wait!” Selena gasped from behind, unable to maintain such a demanding pace after only a couple of minutes.

Raine slowed so abruptly that they nearly collided. Seeing his arms spread to the side, she got the picture and hopped aboard. Grace of Nirvana increased Raine’s speed by 400% and they streaked ahead at just over 300 meters per second. If not for Discipline boosting his brain's processing speed, they would have splattered into a tree within the first second.

They tore through multiple groups of Fetches that were much too slow to respond in time. By the end of Grace’s 15 seconds, they had overcome the boss’s advantage in positioning. Raine didn’t immediately release Selena, instead giving her time to recover Discipline. They continued at her top speed for 5 minutes while he used Rupture and strategically placed blows to send any Fetches out of their way.

Selena was deliriously exhausted by the time Raine allowed her on his back and once more triggered Grace of Nirvana. Like this, they rapidly progressed through the jungle while avoiding any unnecessary encounters. While Raine wanted to stop and fight for multiple reasons, he had a feeling their progress would stall with future shrines. After all, Mystic Realms had a penchant for growing more difficult the further one ventured into their depths.

The second shrine was much like the first, though instead of a grasping hand breaching soft grasses, it was the blade of a spear. Raine dropped Selena at the stone weapon, and she gently ran a finger along the dull blade. “Jouhr, father of pride, brother of conflict, this budding warrior beseeches you for guidance. By your might, may this hallowed ground become cleansed.”

A shudder from beneath mixed with the steady thuds of the encroaching boss. The statue rose, its spear stabbing toward the naked sky. Selena fell back, panting and wiping the sweat from her brow. 

Raine’s harsh voice caused her to flinch. “What are you doing?”

Selena looked back, uncomprehending as Raine trotted toward the edge of the shrine’s radius. “D-did you desire me to join in your training? I would prefer a moment of rest.”

“No…” Raine drawled, “We’re going to the next shrine. Get up.”

“Already?!” Selena squeaked, eyes darting for an escape that did not exist. In answer, Raine’s trot became a blazing-fast jog. “Abyss-spawned three-eyed goat!” Selena cursed at his back while coaxing her aching muscles into action.

***

The third shrine was much like those before it. Raine left Selena face down in the grass and dove back into the jungle to dispatch the nearest groups of Fetches. His Primal Energy was around half-full, boosting his damage by nearly 30%, not that he needed the help. With over double their attributes, the beasts didn’t stand a chance, no matter what tactics they employed. 

As he dispatched them with clinical efficiency, Raine repeatedly attempted to reach a state of unification. He hadn’t succeeded since reuniting with Selena, and was pretty sure he knew why.

Unification wasn’t some low-level martial technique like a sidestep that anyone could grasp with a bit of practice. In the past, it took nearly fifteen years before the word was first whispered by average Travelers, and another two before it became widely understood. Of all the people Raine encountered after thirty years, only Fizgore managed it with any regularity.

It was likely that the first to discover unification took at least five years to do so, as it required a deep understanding of Connection, killing intent, and the use of Discipline. Those forerunners were undoubtedly grandmasters. Suppose the peak of humanity took at least five years to figure it out. How was Raine, someone who was new to both mental abilities and True Connection, managing it?

The answer was simple: Primal Energy.

Selena had spoken of Primal Energy’s role in creation, how it was pure potential, and that it could not usually exist in the other realms, as the world was greedy to absorb and integrate it. Raine knew she was right. He’d felt it, more specifically, he’d felt the loss that came with cleansing his body of Primal Energy. His thoughts had turned sluggish, the inspirational ideas and ingenuity that were allowing him to seamlessly activate True Connection, and the feedback from bloodlust, had vanished into the wind the moment he used Purge.

Primal Energy really is pure potential, pure creativity. I’ve made months of progress in hours. Both True Connection and such sharp feedback from bloodlust should be well beyond my capabilities. That also explains why I was only able to use unification when I was full to bursting. It’s creating potential in me that wasn’t there before, massively enhancing my rate of learning.

Raine shook his head, not wanting to think about it further. If he wasn’t careful, his intent would grow conflicted enough that the next Purge would fail to expunge the dangerous energy from his body. Then, its benefits would no longer matter as he would die and be ejected from the Primal Realm.

That could not be allowed to happen. Raine knew better than anyone that such unparalleled, life-altering opportunities didn’t come once in a lifetime; they came once every other lifetime. He wasn’t about to waste this one by getting carried away. Each second here was precious. As he pulled his sword free from the chest of a Fetch, allowing its golden sap to gush across the ground, he was determined to take advantage of every single moment.