Savage Awakening 335. The Fifth Tier Breakthrough (VIII) (Patreon)

Zane woke up with his face planted in a pile of quartz.

His head throbbed—a dull pounding. He rolled around, groaning, and propped himself up. Checked his body.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out—but it was long enough now that he’d mostly healed. There were still some soreness—phantom pains throbbing down his chest, his legs, where the gold had carved through him.

But all told, he was rather alright, he thought.

His essence had replenished nearly fully—his body had done it naturally. He could take it in from the air again. Where that little pocket dimension was dominated by Solar Flare, essence flowed free here in the wider universe.

He was back.

He held out a palm, curious.

A little serpent of Heavenly Flare burst into being. Rising and falling languidly, casting his palm in a lovely sunrise gold.

It was quite a beautiful power, Zane thought. He let the little Flare drop, and it carved through the ground as if it were air, vaporizing all in its path. And everything around it blackened for dozens of feet, warbling, melting…

This Flare stuff had a special aura, a special heat, he felt. It made the air around it restless.

He remembered Noughtfire’s demonstration and that first Concept—Radiation. The haze that blanketed that flare, softening and weakening its targets before it even struck. Like radiation from a nuclear blast.

It made the Flare’s Destruction even stronger.

But that was for another time.

Zane yawned. He was a bit tired from all that comprehension.

He let the Flare coil back into his hand until it swirled there, a shining miniature sun. And closed his fist.

That was Tier 5 Law done—the power of a star, in the palm of his hand.

He’d quite enjoyed that.

***

Burnwater’s Estate

Garden Moon #6

Zane found Burnwater on a moon so tiny it was nearly an asteroid, tending to a garden in a little greenhouse.

The flowers here spouted mists or leaked magma or bubbled water like a fountain. Some had petals frozen in ice; others offered helpings of morning sunshine. Beautiful delicate things.

Burnwater was humming along, a set of clippers in one hand, a little watering can in the other. He had a bunch of other watering cans strapped to a belt on his belly. He bumbled about, slowly watering.

He watered the water-plants with water cans, the fire-plants with fire cans, and so on.

Zane watched on for a bit, curious.

“Oh dear,” said Burnwater, frowning. He stopped at an electricity plant—a big fern. It had overgrown its pot—it was starting to zap its neighbor, a darkness-spewing flytrap.

“That’s a bit too far, isn’t it?” fretted Burnwater. “There’s no need to fight. Let’s play nice—then you can all live happy together. Isn’t that much better?”

Cheerfully he took out the clippers.

Then, at last, he noticed Zane.

It was a bit surprising to Zane it took so long. In his experience, he was usually rather noticeable. It was especially the case in this little greenhouse.

The shadow of him stretched halfway across the place—he’d had to duck under so his head wouldn’t bump the ceiling, and turn a bit sideways so he wouldn’t knock over the plants. This place was not made for folk his size.

“Hey there,” said Zane, making a little careful wave. “I’m done.”

“You’ve made the Heavenly Flare?” gasped Burnwater, eyes wide. At Zane’s nod, he gave some little claps—“Wonderful!”

“Thanks.”

“Will you be trying for the Fourth Incentive next—clearing Ragnos’s third planet, that is?”

“Sure,” said Zane. He figured it was a good chance to test his new powers anyway.

“Very good,” said Burnwater cheerfully. “The reward’ll be great help with Solar Flare’s first Concept. It’s the ‘Corpse of the Fallen Star’—the Master’s gone through quite some effort to procure it for you. It’s the remains of a dead C-Tier Star, as the name suggests—incredibly radioactive. Oh, yes—your ring! I’ve kept it safe, just as promised.”

Zane checked. And sure enough, all of Evan’s cookies were still there. He was pretty sure the fortune Reina gave him was also there, but he didn’t look too closely.

“Thanks for that,” said Zane, and pocketed it.

“Mhm! All us scholars of Stormfire, we’ll be watching on. I don’t mean to make you feel self-conscious, Zane—but each time you break through, it’s quite exciting for the whole Path.”

Zane was not one to feel self-conscious. “Sure.”

Suddenly the old fellow looked alarmed. “Ah—I’ve forgot—I have tea with the Master in an hour! He’ll be delighted to hear the news. Do take care!”

With that, he bumbled off.

***

Before he went off to test himself in the Killing Star, Zane made a pit stop back home on Stormhaven. He’d have to recover fully before he went off, he figured.

“’Lo there!” said Jawl with a friendly wave. The old warrior was busy hammering in a nail, trying to fix one of the bridge posts going up to Zane’s floating mansion, when Zane arrived. “You’ve broken through, my lord?”

Zane nodded.

“Sounds like you’re plowing through those Laws,” he chuckled. “Well, we’ve got dinner ready.”

Zane had a nice meal of a sweet tasty meat—plasma eel, he learned—and wine.

After that, little Rei—the littlest Prince on Stormhaven—pattered up to him. Then he remembered. Last time, he’d given this little fellow some pointers on how to make Pseudo-Stormfire. With the time dilation, a few months must’ve gone by since.

The little fellow gave Zane a little demonstration, making a shower of purple firecrackers.

“Huh,” said Zane, blinking. That was pretty fast. “Good work.”

He had a bright future.

Zane showed him how to throw in more Electricity, making the next level of Pseudo-Stormfire. Kind of like Noughtfire did for him. And the little fellow took it in quietly with big curious eyes, entranced.

Rei promised to head off to practice after he finished.

“Zane!” cried little Rei.

For some reason, every time Rei started talking to him, he cried “Zane” at him—even if Zane was standing right in front of him, looking at him.

“What’s up,” said Zane.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I had my own breakthrough,” Zane informed him. “I’m going to go beat up some Monster hordes with it, and claim a prize.”

There was a brief pause as Rei chewed this over, brow furrowed. He quivered a bit. Then—“Zane!” he cried.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t die!”

“…Thanks.”

Rei scampered off to go play with his new fires.

Zane finished one last sip of wine.

Then he was off to put his new powers to the test.

He headed off to the teleporters. Headed for the Killing Star of Ragnos.

The first run he’d tried Ragnos, he hadn’t even cleared the first planet. That one planet-sized golem Monster Lord had crushed him.

Then he’d come back, and gotten his revenge.

He’d gained something like forty Levels, a huge physique upgrade, and a new Law Tier since then.

How much stronger was the second planet? The third? Each was meant to be a big step up.

He was about to see.

***

Noughtfire sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, as Burnwater bustled about the little cabin, setting down little seashell coasters, pouring them cups of dragon-leaf tea.

“It’s a big day,” said Burnwater cheerfully. “That Heavenly Stormfire was something else—I can’t imagine what the Flare can do… imagine what it’ll look like when he’s got all his Concepts!”

Noughtfire gave a little nod.

“Do you think he'll clear the second planet on his first try?” said Burnwater. “Get a good way into the third, even? Lin Rai’s still stuck on that one—and she’s at the Great Circle of Solar Flare.”

A pause.

“I don’t make predictions about our newest disciple,” said Noughtfire.

Burnwater blinked. “Why not?”

“I don’t enjoy being wrong.”

Burnwater couldn't tell how he knew—Noughtfire’s face betrayed none of his feelings. But he got the sense the old Master was rather pleased with Zane. “Somehow, he always manages to surprise me.”

The old Sage was as calm as he was on any other day. But Burnwater knew better. He’d devoted his life to Stormfire.

Now that a disciple of his was making big strides—pushing the limits of the Path… how could it not mean a lot to him?

But admitting that was against everything Noughtfire believed in.

The old master would never give the appearance of favoritism. He certainly didn’t want Zane to think he was getting special treatment. He always told his disciples they’d have to walk their own paths.

Even so—it was clear to Burnwater the old Master had a soft spot for the big guy.

He was the one who’d instructed Burnwater to help Zane in case he found Astra troublesome. And while Zane had done his stint in the Steelheart Conclave, he’d gone out to the edges of the Dragonspire Galaxy to personally retrieve and install a custom Numinous Gate—a Gate of pure, basic, hyper-concentrated Solar Flare—the perfect treasure for Zane to break through.

Noughtfire was quiet about it. And he would scoff at the thought of handing his disciples anything. But the longer Burnwater knew the old Master, the more he saw the lengths Noughtfire went to put his disciples in positions to succeed—working quietly in the background, pulling strings they never saw. Even back before Zane had even become a disciple, he’d witnessed Noughtfire bringing the fury of the System down on the Monster Emperor Gilgorath—just for daring to mess with Zane.

That was just the old Sage’s way.

“I've brought us better viewing for Zane’s run!” said Burnwater. He tapped his Interspatial Ring and took out a scrying glass nearly half the width of the little hut. One of Noughtfire’s eyes twitched looking at it.

“…This is…”

“A scrying glass,” said Burnwater. “I picked it up on the Hub Planet the other day—saw it while doing groceries on the Market Continent. It was on sale!”

“Thank you,” said Noughtfire dryly, and took a sip of tea. Then he stilled. Frowned. “…Oh?”

“Is something wrong with it?” Burnwater inspected the scrying glass. It looked perfectly fine to him.

“Not the glass.” Noughtfire set down his cup. His expression was unreadable. “It seems we have company.”

For a second Burnwater was alarmed—he didn’t sense anything. Then he focused on the bottom of the mountain—and sure enough…

Whispers of Law.

Though all fighters of their calibers could suppress their auras almost totally, the barest particles of essence would still leak through.

Burnwater’s senses weren’t enough to pick them up—not unless he was looking for it. Noughtfire, though… the Old Master’s senses made him a little nervous at times. He seemed to know everything.

Then Burnwater clocked the strength of that Law—the way this world sagged around even the littlest wisps of it…

That was Tier 8 Law. Stellar Genesis.

Only one Empyrean on the Path of Core Magma had power like that.

“The Patriarch,” breathed Burnwater.

“Indeed,” said Noughtfire. “And it appears he’s brought his son.”

It was true. Haxorax—the scion of True Dragons. #1 Core Disciple, #3 on the Rising Dragon Ranking—was striding up the narrow mountain path, right behind.

Burnwater whirled to Noughtfire. “What could they possibly be here for?”

“I suspect,” said Noughtfire slowly. “It is the same reason we’re here. He’s here to judge whether Zane deserves the fame he’s gotten of late… where he ranks among the Azure Flame’s most valuable assets.”

He took a sip of tea.

“He’s here to see what Zane’s made of.”