Path of Stars, Ch 4: Chaos Wilds (Patreon)

The stars streamed past as the Will of the Path carried Sam along. It was almost like walking, but he could sense the shifting currents of the astral threads moving around him as the stars turned into lines of diamond-edged flame.

He’d walked along the astral threads in the memory from the Path, but this was a little different. It felt like the Will was bending the threads around them at a far faster rate, compressing the distance into some type of teleportation, and it gave him something to study.

Normal teleportation through the Void relied on transferring energy to a separate dimension and then back again in a different location, or at least that was one of the main methods. It wasn’t too dangerous, since you could just skim the surface of the other dimension before returning, but it wasn’t without its troubles.

This wasn’t the same as walking the astral threads either. For that, you merged your energy with the stars to accelerate your path along the strand of light. With the right pulse of energy, the stars would hurl you along faster. It required a high level of attunement to achieve and as far as Sam had heard so far, only the Astral Titans could do it. It was so much a part of his nature that the song of the threads was constantly at the back of his mind as he looked around.

This was different, more like the platform that had brought him here, except that it was even faster. The Void was bending around them. With each brush of starlight against his skin, he could feel how they were accelerating. It seemed like the Will was using the starlight to create a channel they were traveling along, but he had to wonder why they were moving this way instead of teleporting.

“Our destination is on the far side of our homeland and it will only take a few hours to reach it,” the Will explained calmly. “I could transfer my avatar instantly, since I am in all of these places at once, but carrying you takes a bit longer. The delay is minimal for the distance we are traveling, however. It is more than a thousand times the distance you covered from Aster Fall to reach me.”

The idea of that distance was staggering. As soon as Sam heard the Will’s explanation, more questions jumped into his mind.

“How large is the Titans’ home? Are you everywhere in it?”

“I am the consciousness of the Path. As such, I am everywhere within our domain,, as well as everywhere that it reaches. I can observe outside of it, but my ability to reach other locations is more limited. Within my reach, one of my functions is to accelerate travel.” The Will pointed ahead of them toward the streaking starlight in the distance as he continued to elaborate.

“This current method is a compression of dimensional space between the stars. I am folding the space between them so that we skip from one to the next like stepping stones that stretch to the horizon. The streaks you see are visual imprints left behind as a result of the dimensional folds. This is the fastest method I possess and it is normally limited to the most serious of missions.”

“What is the shape of our homeland?” Sam asked. The Will had given him a great deal of information in the history lesson, but most of it was a deeper understanding of the Titan’s history. Minor details like directions were probably in there somewhere, but it would take him a little while to find them.

“Look.” The Will reached out with a hand shaped like a swirling mass of stars and an image suddenly appeared in Sam’s mind. It was the dimensions of their galaxy.

Unlike some of the images he’d seen among the stars, their galaxy looked like a sphere that was flatter on top and bottom. The age of it radiated in his mind as he saw the enormous expanses of stars, but also the vast distances between them that made up the Void. It was filled with more stars than he could count.

The image changed as a thin silver line divided the galaxy almost exactly down the middle, separating it into two halves. On the left, the Void felt darker and more chaotic. On the right, it was stable and he could sense the Path threaded through it, connecting star to star.

Sections of the galaxy began to light up in different colors, creating a map in his mind that showed him where the younger races lived. There were hundreds of them, perhaps even a thousand or more, and the sizes of their empires differed widely from one another. Some races had a thousand stars while others had only one.

A line of silvery-blue light traced out an area of the galaxy that made up about 10% of the right half. It looked almost like a slice of pie, but even the narrow end had a long border where it met the dividing line of the galaxy. The familiar presence of the Titans’ energy rose up from it and Sam knew he was looking at their ancestral domain.

The Titans’ homeland was shaped like a broad wedge. It touched the central dividing line and then it swept outward until it met the greater Void on the other side, where there was an even longer border. A tiny blue dot appeared toward the top of the galaxy and at the far left corner, close to the middle dividing line of the galaxy and just inside the Titans’ region.

“This is where we met,” the Will explained. “It is just within our borders, near where it meets the edge of the Chaos Wild. That is the name for the dark region where beasts and other things rule, which covers about half of the galaxy. To the younger races the area is famous for bringing a swift death, so they enter it rarely and with great care. It is where we are going now. You will need to spend most of your time inside of it.”

The Will highlighted their borders within the whole and then drew Sam’s attention back to the settled region, as well as a thin strip of purple that divided the red Chaos Wild from the blue regions.

“There are some settlements and independent areas in the slightly calmer zone between the settled half of the galaxy and the wild. The area is called the Borderlands. It is extremely long, but relatively narrow in width. You might find it useful to visit some areas there, especially if you desire conversation with others, but for the most part, you should spend your time in the Chaos Wild.

“Be careful there and do not trust easily. Many who live in the Borderlands are exiles or mercenaries, as well as adventurers who are only looking for wealth and power. Those with strength are typically at the Third or Fourth Evolution, with an occasional one who is stronger. Those are usually in command of a planet or a star system, with many lesser powers under them, including children who have known nothing else.

“To them, the Titans are powerful forces of law, and they may try to attack you for imagined slights, or to gain the knowledge they believe you have.”

A moment later, a bright green dot flared to life as well, pulling Sam’s toward the centerline of the galaxy and then to a very specific point that was about 25% of the way into the dark zone, set back from the civilized border near the far northern edge of the galaxy. It was a region that had few stars.

As his attention settled on it, he could feel the familiar trace of Aster Fall’s energy and the World Core, as well as the swirling draw of the Nexus.

“This is the location of Aster Fall and the Nexus,” the Will explained. Following his words, a silver path stretched away from Aster Fall, crossed over the purple strip of the Borderlands, and continued until it met the blue dot of their location. “And this is the path you followed to reach me. Coming here required you to cross a significant expanse of the Chaos Wild. Had you been traveling on your own, the way would have been dangerous for you. You might have survived and found yourself, but it had a much higher chance of failure than the area to which I am taking you.”

The map shifted again, highlighting the two halves of the galaxy. The Chaos Wild was tinged a faint red with a dark undertone, while the civilized side of the galaxy was tinged a faint blue. The borders of the various races were interlocking shapes inside of the blue.

The Titans’ domain was the largest of the settled areas by far, perhaps a thousand times larger than any kingdom of the younger races. To claim 10% of the civilized galaxy was apparently an enormous feat. Even so, Sam could feel that the stars of their area were natural, their energies harmonious and balanced. It felt like their area was pristine, barely touched by passing time, and the stars felt stronger there than anywhere outside of it.

“We have enough space for ourselves,” the Will explained as it heard his thoughts. “Taking more than this is unnecessary. We prefer a certain amount of territory, especially given our ability to walk the astral threads, but there are only a few thousand of us in existence. Perhaps a quarter of us survived the First Age. That is one reason we are in search of astral chaos. It would be good to have more voices among the stars, especially younger ones like you who bring new energy and perspective.”

The Will drew Sam’s attention back to the Titans’ region, highlighting it again. This time, threads of silver light extended outward from it in a vast web that covered most of the settled blue regions. Each of them felt like the Path. One of those threads also extended to Aster Fall, but it was much thinner than the rest.

“Although our own domain is only a tenth of the settled galaxy, my reach extends through nearly the entirely settled region. This is the result of connecting the Path to each of the younger races’ home stars as we extended our protection.

“My core energy remains in our region, and especially in our defenses, but the younger races have benefited greatly from our contact, particularly in terms of teleportation and communication with one another, which were the first projects we worked on for each of them, millions of years ago.

“Most of the teleportation systems they use are still linked to me, especially those that have the ability to travel between stars. Overseeing them takes some of my attention, but it is preferable to having a thousand competing systems that could conflict with one another. From time to time, they create their own systems, but so far there has not been one that can compete with ours, especially as the ages pass.”

The map shifted again, highlighting eight regions that were fairly close to the Titans’ home. Six of the regions were massive, stretching outward for a great distance, but two were very small and home to only a few stars. One of the smaller regions felt familiar, with a hint of crystalline energy to it. Sam had the feeling that was where the Astral Guardian had come from.

The home of the Cer’Aleth.

“These are the homelands of the eight younger races we encountered first, the ones who now make up the primary council for the settled galaxy. The High Nine or the Nine Stars, as they call themselves, since they like to count us among their number. I support this and have long used their nine-pointed star symbol as a marker for our teleportation system and messages that I send, since it ensures that they do not forget about us.”

The Will continued to explain the map to Sam as they traveled, showing no signs of impatience as it answered his questions. Eventually, Sam felt like he had a fairly good grasp of the layout, at least on a broad scale. Ironically, even the smallest of the kingdoms was far larger than the tiny green dot that was Aster Fall. The sheer amount of space available within the Void was incredible.

“How quickly could I travel home from here?” he asked when he was done looking at it and turned his attention back to the Will.

“If you were alone, you could walk the astral threads, but it would take much longer,” the Will advised him, “perhaps five hundred years if you reached the Third Evolution. Accelerating travel is one of the reasons I was created.”

“What if I reach the Fourth Evolution?” Sam asked with a frown as he studied the distance home. “Would I be able to drop it to 30 years, or even faster?”

Aster Fall was a good distance into the Chaos Wild. If it took him just as long to return, then he needed to hurry up. He wanted to be back by his sister’s birthday. It didn’t matter if it was realistic or not. He was still going to try to do it.

That timeline gave him something like 210 years from when he started, although he’d need to subtract a bit to make it back before her birthday. If travel to and from Aster Fall was 30 years each way, that left him with about 150 years to accomplish whatever he could on the Path.

He’d take advantage of everything he could learn here, but once his essence was balanced, he would leave. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the Will of the Path would try to keep him. It just wanted him to grow stronger and live up to his potential.

There had to be a fast way to finish this.

“Travel at the Fourth Evolution would still be slower,” the Will explained kindly. “You would need to reach the Fifth Evolution to be faster than the method I used to bring you here.”

Sam nodded, a sense of purpose filling him. If he needed to be stronger to go home quickly, then he would get stronger. That was one thing he was sure of. He looked forward and squared his shoulders, and then he turned back to the Will. There were a few more things he wanted to know before they arrived.

“So, who was Asenya?” Sam asked seriously. He’d only met the memory fragment she’d left in the World Core, but it seemed like she was at the center of everything, from his class to the World Seal and the current balance of power. “You said she was a friend of the Titans and I know she created my first class, but how did she become so important?”

“The Titans' desire to create a child was met with the demons’ desire for power,” the Will replied. There was a rumble in his voice this time, as if he were still irritated by something that had happened. “A few of us agreed to assist them in combining the essence and experience systems into a new being, hoping that it would gather the trace of astral chaos the demons carried with them. Asenya was the result. We did not realize at the time that they sacrificed the life essence of one of their own to create her, nor that they hoped she would be more powerful than us.”

“What happened?” Sam asked, frowning. “The memory fragment she left behind seemed kind, almost innocent.”

“Yes, when she was young, she was a free spirit. Several of us protected her, sheltering her from the demons’ plans. As a result, when she grew up, she sided with us against them. Aster Fall was her home, and she was fiercely protective of it.

“The demons’ desire to break it in the pursuit of power was one of the key reasons she rejected their plans. That is why we allowed her to become the caretaker of the World Core, and also why she created the World Seal.”

“I see,” Sam said thoughtfully, as his mind turned to his own race change. The Will had told him a bit about Cerei, but he wanted to know more. “You said a spark of astral chaos was the key factor that created me, but where did it come from? Why did they have it? The demon carrying it can’t have been the only one who was killed in that area.”

“You are correct. There were many demons slain near the Nexus and in other areas during the war,” the Will explained, “but yours is the only spark of astral chaos that was ever discovered. Besides that, there were only traces to tempt us.

“Until your appearance, I was not even aware they had a true spark. The demons were able to hide it somehow, which is something we need to investigate. It suggests they may have been hiding critical information all along.

“Doesn’t that mean the Titans who went through the Nexus could be in danger?” Sam asked with a frown. “If there’s something that important that they didn’t know, then they could run into other things too.”

“Do not worry too much yet, young one,” the Will replied. “The Titans are some of the most powerful beings in this galaxy. They should be capable of protecting themselves. If there is something on the other side that could threaten them, I do not believe that the World Seal would stop it either. We would have noticed something.”

“Why did they all go through?” Sam grimaced. “Shouldn’t some have stayed behind to keep an eye on things here?”

“Curiosity is a flaw all Titans share,” the Will answered. “Over the long years of our lives, the desire for answers is something that never fades. Every year without progress pushes us to a greater height. They were swayed by the chance to gather astral chaos. Some hoped to find a way to recreate it here.

“When they went through, they planned to search the galaxy on the other side for the origin. They didn’t plan to interact directly with the demons, nor did they intend to harm them. They saw them as a younger race with bloodthirsty tendencies and as a distraction from what was truly important.

“You mean, they didn’t even see them as worthy enemies?” Sam frowned again. That seemed overconfident.

“Correct. Some of them were strong for their race, but they were not Primordial. You will understand the difference in time. We saw them as a threat, not to us directly, but to the younger races and to our home. They were also very insulting, especially in their desire to consume the stars of our Void.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked. “They wanted to eat the stars here?” He’d heard the idea before in his dreams, but he’d never been quite sure what it meant. It sounded like that was one of the primary motivations the Outsiders had.

“Yes,” the Will explained patiently. His form swirled as motes of drifting starlight moved in it, almost like he was breathing. “The younger races here do not use essence, but the stars of our Void are rich with it, partly due to our attempts to create new life from them. Essence radiates throughout our galaxy, which is why you can gain strength from the starlight.

“It was extremely tempting to the demons when they arrived and they tried to seize it for themselves. They saw this galaxy as ripe for conquest and feeding. If they were allowed to enter here, they would consume the stars and the Void would go dark. That desire makes them little different from the Vos’Rekan, which is the main reason we opposed them and assisted Asenya in creating the World Seal.”

“How strong are the Titans then, really?” Sam asked, thinking about the power the Titans must have had. “What Evolution was the Titan in that first memory you shared with me? The one who fought the Vos’Rekan?”

“He was at the Fourth Star then,” the Will answered. “When he slew the beast, he reached the Fifth Star. That is what allowed him to see the runes clearly. Later, he grew stronger still, to the Sixth Star and then beyond the limits of Evolution. His name was Caerlon.

“He was one of my creators and the Titan in that memory of the Nexus, and it is due to him and a few others that I do not worry too much about the Titans. His power is great enough to bend the Void to his will. Trapping him would be nearly impossible. You remind me of him. You both have a similar drive.”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly as he considered the strength he’d seen in that memory. If that was only the Fourth Star, then what were the Fifth and Sixth like?

“How strong is a Titan normally, when they are first born?”

“The Third Star is the minimum strength required to awaken in the Void,” the Will said. “That is why I said you were not as strong as you should be. In your current state, you would still be growing as a new star.

“As a result, the Path will be dangerous for you, but your rewards may be greater. The disparity in strength between you and your opponents will accelerate your understanding of the Laws of the Void. The weakest of Void beasts will be at the Second Evolution.”

Sam looked down at his hands as he flexed them. He could feel the crushing strength behind them. If that was weak, then the Void was definitely not a soft place. After a moment, he looked up again, returning to a subject he was still curious about.

“So, all of the Titans who are alive now were born in the First Age?” he asked. “How long ago was that?”

“Approximately seven hundred million years,” the Will said. “Cerei herself was one of the last children born in the First Age. It was not for lack of trying, but as the firstborn of chaos, our nature depended upon it.”

The length of time left Sam staring at the Will. He’d known the Titans had been around for a long time, but hearing it like that was astonishing. When the Will noticed his reaction, it rippled with silent laughter.

“It is not that long, in the grand course of things. We are Primordial. We share our dreams with the stars. We are fully capable of wandering through the Void for a million years on a single journey. It is why the younger races see us as distant and elusive. This is due to how we are born.

“You should understand that a Titan’s birth is similar to that of a star. Layers of essence and astral energy are shaped into the desired being and then ignited by astral chaos. We grow in the Void, absorbing the ambient energy until we are ready to awaken. Until that happens, we dream of the passing ages. From that first moment, our view of time is different.”

“I don’t have that same view,” Sam said with frustration. He was thinking of his family and how much had happened in just a couple of years. “I can’t wait that long.”

“This is probably a good thing,” the Will agreed with another rippling laugh. “It will help you stay focused and progress faster than normal. Your birth was a rarity, a wonder of astral chaos thought to be lost. Perhaps it is time for a Titan with a new approach to things. Who knows what you might be able to change.”

“Why do you think the demons had that spark of chaos with them?” Sam asked, changing the topic. “If it is so rare and powerful, there must have been a reason.”

“Yes,” the Will agreed more solemnly. “I have been considering this matter as well. Astral chaos is a wild force, something that can only be channeled and never truly contained. That may be why their plan failed and it was eventually lost. I worry what they might have been planning to do with it, and whether they will try again.

“Should new astral chaos enter this galaxy without our guidance, it could disrupt the balance of power here. If attained by a Titan, it might create a wonder, but if it is given to an ancient Vos’Rekan, it could accelerate their growth beyond the current boundaries, which could threaten us all.

“That spark of astral chaos is no doubt what changed your race the first time when you absorbed it from the demon’s life essence at the border of Aster Fall. It must have carried an imprint from their bloodline energy that recreated your form. That is why your race resembled them at first. A race change in that manner breaks too many laws of the current galaxy.”

The Will’s explanation filled in a question that Sam had always had and he listened intently. Eventually, he nodded. The plan to fix the World Seal was still the same, but he knew a lot more about what was at stake now.

“There’s a strange similarity between the demons and the Titans, don’t you think?” Sam asked hesitantly. He wasn’t sure if what he was saying would offend the Will or not, but it was something that had been on his mind for a while. “My appearance shifted when my race changed, but only in degree. The horns, talons, and height were already similar.”

“Indeed, those similarities were of special interest to us at first. It is one reason we spoke with the demons so quickly when they first arrived,” the Will agreed calmly. “We thought at first that Titans might exist in their galaxy who were similar to us. Unfortunately, no trace of astral energy was found in them, so we concluded that it was only a coincidence.

“We are not the only race in this galaxy with horns and talons, but we are the only one with astral energy and the ability to change our height easily, along with our other features. Those are the key factors. The Void seems to have created many races, including humans, with some features that are similar to ours. It bears consideration, but there is no evidence of a stronger connection.”

The Will’s argument was persuasive, but it didn’t leave Sam fully convinced. The idea was too new to him. He was probably the only one who had been both races at some point, and that gave him a unique perspective, but the real reason the question stuck in his mind was how easily his race had changed. It happened in an instant.

He looked back through his memory, considering the differences between the two races. He hadn’t been a Voidborn for that long, but the bloodlust and desire for conquest were engraved in his mind. When he’d become a Titan, that had faded and he’d found the connection to the stars instead, but it almost felt like two sides of a coin.

“The most important question,” the Will said, pulling him away from his thoughts, “is why the demons had that spark and where they found it. That is the question you should pursue in the future when you are able.”

Its words grounded Sam, bringing him back to the present, but they also gave rise to a frustration that had been building up for a while.

“Do you really think I can fix all of this?” His words were a dissatisfied grumble.

The Titan’s history spoke to him at a primal level, but he was irritated that a race as powerful as theirs had abandoned the galaxy to search for astral chaos, leaving all of their problems behind for him to solve. The Will didn’t respond, but it didn’t need to. It just gave him time to gather his thoughts.

“Did the Titans all leave together?” he asked eventually.

“Not everyone left at once,” the Will replied. It showed no impatience. “The older and most curious went first. The younger stayed until they also felt the desire to find something new. The last left about 5,000 years ago, in Aster Fall’s time. It is closer to a million years for the rest of the galaxy.”

“Shouldn’t some have stayed behind?” Sam asked. They’d created the Nexus and then just left it behind with a faulty seal, trusting that Asenya would take care of it. Now that she was missing, the task had passed to him.

“The attraction was so great that most did not wish to wait,” the Will said, half apologetically. “Many of them had been waiting for millions of years to test a theory, and others were struck by the desire to reconnect with their origin and to find or create more Titans.

“They hoped that whatever they found on the other side would allow them to recreate astral chaos or at least give them the ability to have children. Time may be ephemeral to us, but it is marked by growth, and children are a joy of growth. The galaxy was more interesting in the First Age.”

“Alright,” Sam said at last. There was no point in complaining to the Will. It was obvious that it wanted to help, but it couldn’t reach the Nexus so easily. When he met the real Titans, he was going to give them a piece of his mind. “Then I want to learn everything I can about how the World Core and the World Seal were constructed.”

“Nothing would make me happier, young Titan,” the Will said as the starlight in it swirled faster. “I will teach you to the best of my abilities and in the finest traditions of our people. The study of dimensional laws is one of our most developed areas. Now, it is about time to introduce you to the Path, as well as the basic information you will need.”

The Will looked ahead of them into the stars and then it shifted around, its hand glowing with astral energy as it reached out to touch Sam’s forehead. When it made contact, an enormous burst of starlight flooded his mind.

Shapes, designs, runes, principles of astral energy, weapons carved from starlight and glowing bones, spellforms, and more flickered through Sam’s mind. They came in layers, one after another, as the heritage of a Primordial Race was engraved into his bones.

He closed his eyes to focus on the information, trying to gain as much from the images as he could. It was passing by so quickly that he was worried he would lose it, but he knew that whatever this was, it wasn’t something as simple as a skill.

The image that stood out to him the most was the technique that the Titan in his vision had used to form a blade of astral fire. He wasn’t strong enough to create one that powerful yet, but he suddenly knew how to do it.

“These are our most basic arts,” the Will explained as the images began to calm down, leaving an intricate web of knowledge in their place. “They are the techniques our race had from birth, when we whispered the concepts to one another among the stars before we were even born.

“With this, you begin the Path as every young Titan has begun it, in the full tradition of our people.”

It felt like some of the mysteries of the galaxy had sprung open for him. At the same time, he felt the presence of the Titans who had created the arts. Their memories were bound into them like messages flung to a distant star. He closed his eyes as he began to process everything.

Beside him, the Will nodded in silent approval, its ephemeral shoulders squared against the Void around them as their movement picked up.

*****

Eventually, Sam opened his eyes again. The information had settled into his memory, but the only technique that he thought he could use right now was the blade of astral fire. Most of the rest required him to become stronger first, but he could cheat that one a bit with his class ability.

Above his head, the Will’s expression was a slow swirl of light as it looked into the distance. It seemed to be studying something. Perhaps it was choosing the best region to set him down.

“We will be arriving shortly,” it announced as it looked down at him. “Before then, allow me to modify that little star on your hand. It is a good construct, but it does not have enough capability. I will update it so that it can track your progress independently no matter where you are, and when you return to Aster Fall, it will synchronize with the World Core. If you visit other worlds within the settled regions, it will be a marker of your identity for them.”

Sam looked down at the Guardian Star on his hand, which had been fairly quiet since he’d met the Will. Its nascent sense of personality had developed somewhat over the past thirty years, but it still wasn’t the best conversationalist.

He was sure the Will was far more capable, but he’d had the star for so long that he felt a bit defensive of it. He hesitated for a moment before he pushed his doubts aside and held his hand out.

“Your concern proves your character,” the Will said with a nod, “but do not worry. I am only going to give it more capabilities. It will be able to track your essence, experience, Traits, Abilities, and other improvements while you are on the Path, as well as anywhere you go in the future. That requires a few modifications.”

The Will reached out toward Sam and a beam of astral light shot out from its hand. It sparkled with an intense brilliance as it struck the star and fused into its structure. It looked like starlight was filling in an empty outline.

Where the star’s nine-points had glimmered with rainbow light in different colors before, now the entire structure turned the brilliant silver of astral energy. The current of power coming from it also increased, pulsing like a heartbeat in the Void with a resonant force before it dimmed down again.

When it settled again, the changes were subtle, but potent. The star’s color had shifted and the presence that it gave off felt far more aligned with Sam’s own energy. Where before it had felt like a separate thing, an artifact he carried around, now it felt more like a part of him.

It might be an effect of the astral energy in it, but it also felt like the Will had done more than it said. He’d always worried a little that the star wasn’t fully his, but that thought was washed away now.

He could sense the entire structure of the star’s enchantment, an intricate web of power that tied it into the Path. By itself, it wasn’t that powerful and mostly relied on him for strength, but its ability to tap into enchantments around it and to gather information had been greatly improved.

If any future traps or unwanted connections had once existed in the star, he was sure they had just been wiped away. The Path was not something that the younger races had the capability to trifle with.

Before, it had been a mark of the Nine Stars. Now, it was a mark of the Titans.

A wash of familiar energy sparked through his body as the Guardian Star adjusted to its upgrade and analyzed the changes in him from the time he’d spent traveling.

Calculating changes, the star announced immediately. Its voice was more resonant than it had been before, which made it sound more confident. Update complete. Your status sheet is now synchronized with the Path. Available experience over the past thirty years has been limited to ambient gathering, but many skills and abilities have risen.

Before, the star hadn’t had the authority to modify his status sheet. Only the World Core had been able to do that. Now, it was apparently in a class of its own. He glanced at his status sheet, focusing on the changes.

Level: 202

Class Experience (Level 2 Astral Artificer): 1,231,150 / 2,000,000

General Experience (202): 1,231,150 / 2,000,000

Class: Astral Artificer

Subclass: Spirit of Crystal Flame

The experience wasn’t much, but he had gained two levels. Each of them gave him 5 Strength, 5 Constitution, 5 Wisdom, 10 Intelligence, 10 Aura, and 10 free attribute points to spend. He also still gained the 2 free attribute points for each general level. It left him with 24 free attribute points to spend.

Each level at the Second Evolution was worth almost ten times one at the First Evolution.

That wasn’t all, however, since while he’d been traveling, he’d also absorbed essence from the stars.

Essence Constellation (Single Star): 608,407 / 2,000,000.

He’d gained 10,315 essence. That was an average gain of about 343 per year. It wasn’t terrible, but it would take him about 4,000 more years to reach the Second Star at that rate. He’d much rather kill some Void beasts or Outsiders to speed it along.

Then he froze.

Gathering essence as fast as he could was how he’d ended up in this situation in the first place. He couldn’t help but frown with irritation. Maybe he should stick to Void beasts for a bit. It sounded like they were less trouble than Outsiders.

It would be nice to have all the time in the world to explore his options, walking at will through the stars as ages spun past in a timeless river, but he had things to do.

A glance over to the Will only showed the stars moving, which meant they weren’t there yet, so he turned back to his status sheet. The essence gave him 14 Strength, 17 Constitution, 4 Agility, and 25 Intelligence and Aura.

It looked like he’d passed a threshold with his Second Racial Evolution to a ‘Young Adult’ Astral Titan. His attributes had grown, but now it took twice as much essence to increase them by a point.

Without hesitating, he assigned all 24 free points to Charisma, which took it to 489. That was 179 points short, but it was moving along. Then he looked at his Abilities and Professions.

Initial Class Abilities: Reclaim Aura (Heroic), Identify Aura (Heroic), Aura Storage (Heroic), Imbue Aura (Epic), Intensify Aura (Epic), Assume Aura (Epic), Shatter Aura (Epic), Transfer Aura (Epic).

First Evolution Abilities: Modify Aura (Elite), Spell Forging (Expert), Aura Regeneration (Advanced).

Second Evolution Abilities: Astral Fire (Expert), Astral Ice (Expert).

Racial Class Ability: Aura of Crystal Flame (Heroic).

Initial Subclass Abilities: Crystal Focus (Heroic), Flame Strike (Epic), Essence Shield (Epic), Combust Aura (Epic).

First Evolution Subclass Ability: Crystal Passage (Expert).

Second Evolution Subclass Ability: Form of Crystal Flame (Basic).

The years of practice hadn’t been in vain. Modify Aura had jumped from Advanced to Elite, probably due to his practice in converting the auras in his storage, and Spell Forging had gone from Basic to Expert. He’d spent a lot of time thinking of new spells and ways to merge his abilities into new forms.

As for his new class ability, Astral Fire had also jumped from Basic to Expert, but that wasn’t the most surprising thing. That went to the Astral Ice ability that was listed now. He’d been practicing with Ice as the opposite of Fire for a long time, but he had the feeling it was Siwaha’s Blessing of Ice that had really given rise to that.

When he glanced at his Traits, he saw that Apprentice of Ice was now Adept of Ice. His Ice abilities had a 40% affinity bonus to their effectiveness.

There were a few other changes, but they were expected. His Aura of Crystal Flame had advanced from Epic to Heroic, as had Crystal Focus, both the result of his practice and advancing awareness of space while traveling the Void.

Unfortunately, his new subclass ability, Form of Crystal Flame, was still at Basic. He hadn’t been able to practice with it as much as he would have liked. The same went for Crystal Passage. He would have to work on them.

Then he turned his attention to his professions, where most of his focus had gone over the years. His dimensional bags had been full of things when he left, but he’d long ago emptied them and been forced to rely on forging new materials from astral ice and fire. He'd had to get creative.

Professions:

• Aura Forger. Level 251.
• Elemental Smith, Level 263.
• Essence Scribe, Level 245.

All three of them had grown significantly and were higher than his own level. If he’d been on Aster Fall, the World Core would have given him experience for the crafting, but out here in the Void, he was on his own. The only marker of success was his increased ability.

Nonetheless, he wasn’t disappointed. His efforts hadn’t been wasted. Crafting was something that was always with him, no matter where he went, and it was one of the main Titan paths. Whatever was in the Chaos Wild, it would be important there too, and maybe some Void beasts would volunteer to refill his storage.

The only other change to his status sheet was in his Racial Abilities, where Astral Void had grown from Basic to Advanced. Traveling through the Void and seeing the Titans’ history had given him new insights, but he had the feeling it still wasn’t anywhere close to what he needed.

Overall, the years of practice had done a lot to give him a foundation for the Second Evolution. It had also let him study the Moonlight Relic’s library. His awareness of runes, crafting, and spellwork was much more advanced than when he’d left. Hopefully, it would help him to advance with his new class as an Astral Artificer.

As he looked ahead at the ocean of stars that was flooding toward him, he had the feeling he was going to need it. The stars were still the same streaks of light in front of them, but there was a building feeling of something wild and untamed, like a presence pushing at the edge of his awareness.

It drew him like a flame. If he’d been wandering the stars on his own, he probably would have been pulled here as soon as he noticed it.

“The energy you sense is the heart of the Chaos Wild,” the Will explained. “Once you enter, the currents of essence from the stars and other remnants from the formation of the galaxy will pull you in every direction. The imbalance in your essence will be more pronounced there, similar to how it was on Aster Fall. This makes it an ideal place to train, but it may take you some time to learn how to focus.

“For now, ask your final questions, young Titan. After this, I will be observing you from a distance, but I will not interfere until it is time for you to return.”

“How will I know it’s time?” Sam asked immediately. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from the Chaos Wild. He only turned his head slightly so he could see the Will from the corner of his vision. It felt like his blood was rushing through his veins and pounding in his temples, making it hard to focus. Nonetheless, he forced his question out. “Can you tell me anything else about balancing my essence?”

“The Path is unique to each Titan,” the Will replied calmly. “You will discover your own way forward. That is the nature of growth. You will know it is time when your essence is balanced.

“If you wish to track it more precisely, then pay attention to your Charisma. The amount you need will slowly decrease. It will not completely disappear, since Charisma is a key factor that represents the force of your personality, but each point will become more effective.”

Sam filed the information away, even as his last few questions tumbled free, one after the other.

“Are beasts the only things in the Chaos Wild?” he asked as he prepared himself. He could feel the border growing closer by the second. It was bright and red in his mind.

“No, there are many things within the chaotic regions. It is half of our galaxy and a region that is extremely rich in resources. The Borderlands are also a primary training ground for many of the younger races, who look for opportunities at the edges of the zone. Now and then, a more daring group enters in search of fortune. You might encounter some of them while on the Path.”

As the Will finished speaking, the stars around them began to slow down. Then the streaks faded, turning into glimmering points in the distance as they came to a stop.

Ahead of them, a waterfall of shadows and light cut across the Void like a curtain. Tangled strands of starlight wove through it at strange angles, mixing with patches of the Void that were darker than they should have been, as if they were saturated with emptiness.

“This is the border,” the Will announced, “a natural feature of the galaxy that has existed since the energy here stabilized at the end of the First Age. Now, it is time for you to begin.”

The Will raised one massive starlight hand and pointed ahead of them at the dividing line.

“Step through and discover who you are.”