Chapter 74 - Keynote Prime (Patreon)

Jiran released a heavy sigh, doing his best to shake off the feeling he was being watched by the rock all around him. The vibrations from whatever passed him in the darkness were nothing more than an unpleasant memory that he couldn’t wait to put behind him. But in order to do that, he needed to find the node and hightail it out of Adelphoros’s bowels.

At least mana isn't an issue in here, and whatever that was didn’t find me so if it comes back, I’ll hide again. Though maybe a little deeper next time. I could go straight through the rock… No, vibration bad. Enough procrastinating!

Jiran floated forward, moving ever closer to the quest marker while hugging the wall, ready to dive back inside the second he felt even the smallest rumble or warning from foresight. In the eerie dark, with no other senses to rely on, the eleven-meter radius of his manabody no longer felt like such a great accomplishment.

After creeping along for only a few minutes, he encountered something different from the seemingly endless smooth stone and muggy air: A collapsed section of the ceiling formed a deep pile of debris partially blocking his way. Several loose stones that cluttered the floor were setting off alarm bells in his brain. He remembered the last time he found himself deep underground and similar stones had turned out to be beasts waiting in ambush. He ran his aura over them and found them to be stones just like any other. Until a twitch deep within one of them caught his attention.

As he watched, the insides of the stones churned more and more before they shuddered and unfurled into thick worms made of malleable rock. A slit opened on each one, rapidly turning into a gaping mouth with stalactites for teeth.

[Bobbitipede: (Tier 3) Ambush predator capable of staying dormant for months. It curls into a tight ball to mimic natural rock formations until prey approaches.]

Dormant my ass! That was one hundred percent a rock ten seconds ago!

Jiran wrapped his aura around the three beasts while dashing toward them. He easily raised them into the air before spearing them with spikes of Coating. The second his mana pierced their bodies, he knew he wasn’t wrong about them. They had no stomach or organs of any kind. Their bodies were made entirely of rock and writhing density.

He gently placed them back on the floor, trying to make as little sound as possible.

What is going on here? I know the density is thick in here but can that really turn rocks into beasts? And why did it happen right as I got here, or is it because of whatever made that howl earlier?

Notifications flashed and since his eyes were useless in the dark tunnel anyway, he closed them to peruse his status.

EXP: + 3

Strength: + .4

Agility: + .3

Endurance: + .4

Durability: + .3

Wisdom: + .5

Intelligence: + .5

Shaping: + 1

Channeling: + 2

Identify: + 1

NAME: Jiran of Feylon

RACE: Human

AGE: 15

WEIGHT: 892.16kg > 953.21kg

STATUS: Introductory User Interface / Active Dual Mind / Unified Manabody / Party System / Healthy

TIMER: N/A

TIER: 3

EXP: 45/100

GROWTH: 15.84%

MANA: 6

CONCENTRATION: 6

STRENGTH: 62.9 > 66.6

AGILITY: 63.8 > 67.2

ENDURANCE: 62.9 > 67.7

DURABILITY: 64.2 > 68.1

WISDOM: 63.4 > 68.6

INTELLIGENCE: 63.7 > 68.8

SKILLS:

Molding - Mana Expansion: 75 > 78

Shaping - Elemental Compression: 50 > 56

Channeling: 1 > 28

Identify: 1 > 6

TECHNIQUES:

Forcing: 36 > 37

Coating - Elemental Aegis: 50 > 63 (four meters)

Revelation: 1 > 4

True Origin of Fire: 17 > 23

True Origin of Lightning: 21 > 22

True Origin of Ice: 18 > 20

True Origin of Water: 3 > 13

True Origin of Wind: 3 > 11

Gas Manipulation: 12 > 19

Big Bang: 12 > 15

Acid Manipulation: 1

Metal Manipulation: 6 > 10

Light Manipulation: 12 > 13

Restoration: 15 > 22

Mana Siphon: 16 > 23

OTHER:

UNIQUE: Foresight

In the few seconds he was distracted, a dozen more of the nearby rocks began to squirm within his manabody. He formed six snaking ropes of Coating, giving each a sharp edge before slashing them through the air around him as he floated toward the cave-in. Metal Manipulation made short work of the blockage while his blades cut apart each rock as it began to squirm.

Each rock he cut in half only turned into two smaller rocks that continued to transform. Realizing how stupid he was being, Jiran changed tactics to spearing them with Coating before sucking all the density out with Mana Siphon. He nodded in satisfaction when the beasts stopped forming all around him. The additional mana made clearing the obstacle a breeze and within seconds, he was blasting down the passage as a hundred more stones were preparing to come to life.

Thankfully, the beasts either couldn’t, or didn’t, choose to follow him. Though their thrashing bodies made enough of a racket that Jiran couldn’t get far away fast enough to soothe his nerves. The marker soon moved across his vision to point directly into the wall next to him. Metal Manipulation once more came to the rescue as he burrowed through solid stone before sealing himself inside.

He moved another dozen meters before his aura got its first glimpse at the node. Smooth stone-like material, similar to the teleportation pad, spread out before him. The clearly unnatural formation stood out with a sense of ancient sanctity that left the surrounding mountain rock seeming ordinary and young. Whatever this platform was, he knew in his gut it had been here long before the gargantuan mountain must have formed around it.

Metal Manipulation had no effect on it, so he was able to dig out the twelve-meter-wide platform with relative ease. He had to reopen his path to the tunnel before turning the surrounding rock into sand and shoving it out of the way with his manabody.

When he had enough space to stand, he touched down on the node and approached its center where a pedestal stood with a dull-green gem at its tip. Light Manipulation flooded the space and Jiran blinked repeatedly until his eyes adjusted from pitch darkness to low light. The quest marker in his interface perfectly overlaid the gem. Foresight was quiet, so with a nervous gulp, he placed his hand on the gem. When nothing happened, he pushed a tiny trickle of mana inside. His gem greedily soaked up his mana before filling the space with blinding emerald light as words sprang across his interface.

[- ERROR -]

[Unauthorized user dete—]

[Keynote Prime detected.]

[Authorization granted.]

[Activation sequence initiated.]

Suddenly, the trickle of mana Jiran was feeding the gem turned into a flood against his will. He tried to jerk his hand away from the gem but it was held fast. Green lines of perfectly straight light snaked out from the base of the pedestal and spread all across the platform. A humming buzz was the only warning Jiran had before a sphere of semi-transparent force flickered to life, sealing him and the entire platform inside.

The field cut through the surrounding stone with ease, melting it to magma that drained down the outside of the sphere like molten rain. When the last dregs of his mana were ripped from his body, the platform shifted subtly beneath his feet as six panels slid to the side. Metallic tentacles made of telescoping, prehensile segments tipped with mechanical hands lifted from within and latched onto his legs, torso, and arms.

“What the fuck? Let go of me!” As his mana was robbed, Jiran’s breaths turned short and fast. His eyes were wide with panic as past trauma was given new freedom within his mind.

More arms appeared, but instead of metal, they were transparent and shone with an eerie blue light. They moved with blinding speed, sinking into his aura. Jiran fought with everything he had but was powerless to resist as they grabbed, pulled, and stretched his manabody until it was spread out like a star with five points extending down into the platform.

“Welcome, Keynote Prime.” A robotic, yet feminine voice echoed from beside him.

Jiran snapped his head around to see Daughter standing next to him. Her face was an emotionless mask and she looked straight ahead, not meeting his eyes.

“Daughter! What the hell is going on? Make it stop! Let me go!”

“This unit is designated Node Assistant Gamma 56RA32BN27. This form error obtained from error for purposes of error. Please acknowledge.”

Shit-shit-shit! I still can’t get my hand off this stupid gem. Even if I convert all the density in my stomach to mana, I can tell it’s just going to drain me again. I have to calm down, I can’t think like this.

Jiran did his best to take even breaths, though his heart still rampaged out of control in his chest. “Okay, Gamma-whatever. Can you tell me what’s going on? Why am I being held here?”

“Please acknowledge.”

“Fine! Acknowledged, now tell me what the fuck is happening?”

“Thank you, Keynote Prime. Activation sequence has been initiated. Please stand by.”

The Daughter standing before him began to shake and glitch like a faulty hologram. Her head rocked back and forth and side to side as her face contorted between a hundred emotions in less than two seconds before suddenly snapping back into focus.

“Father! I am so sorry! It took me longer than I thought to gain access. I had hoped to be here from the start so this was less stressful for you,” Her eyebrows furrowed into the center of her brow.

“Is that really you? What is happening? Why won’t this stupid gem let go of me?” Jiran jerked his arm again, feeling his skin tear, and then instantly repair itself against his will.

“Everything is happening exactly as it’s supposed to. You must calm yourself and focus or you will be in grave danger! The restraints are for your protection. That field would kill you if you so much as grazed it.” She pointed to the green dome of force covering the platform.

And that didn’t trigger foresight?

“It would be a lot easier to calm down if my mana wasn’t forcibly taken! I wish you would have said that would happen before I… never mind, I wouldn't have come.”

“Exactly. Please be patient, I will explain everything, I promise. You cannot see below the platform but there are cables spreading throughout the mountain. When they connect with the subsidiary nodes, the ignition sequence will begin.”

“Ignition? Is that supposed to help me calm down? Because it’s not working!” Jiran shook his head with a scowl.

“I cannot say more about the specifics while we are out here but I can tell you more if you come with me. If you do not wish to see what I have to show you, then you will simply fall asleep and wake up when the node needs your help. Though, I would suggest you let me show you, as many of the truths you seek will be revealed.”

Like hell I’m going to sleep after coming this far and going through all of this. I want to know. I need to know.

“Show me,” Jiran said through clenched teeth, his jaw clenched so hard it ached.

Daughter tapped a finger to his forehead, and suddenly, his perspective shifted. Through her eyes, he watched as his body went limp, still suspended by the mechanical arms. He watched in silence, unable to speak or move as another arm rose into the air behind his flaccid form. It produced a needle from its tip and stuck it into his neck right where his foresight always tingled.

Jiran’s view became hazy and the world shook for several seconds. He was ripped from Daughter's perspective and dragged down an impossibly long tunnel at unfathomable speeds. Within seconds, the mind-bending trip ended and he found himself in a dark, undefinable space. His body was gone, his existence reduced to a conglomeration of shifting shadows.

A single exigent feature stood out within the darkness: A massive gate made of two intricate rings suspended by seemingly nothing. Beyond them, a wall of blue stretched in every direction as far as he could perceive.

Why am I so calm? Am I no longer in my body to feel my own emotions?

Someone appeared beside him a moment later but Jiran couldn’t pull his awareness from the gate. Even so, he knew it was Daughter. "Sorry I panicked and took it out on you. Are you okay? Last time we talked, you looked like you were in pain.” He wondered aloud, his voice sounding more like the gurgling of a brook or the wind sifting the branches of a tree than a human.

“Your panic was understandable and I am fine, that was merely a touch of backlash for overstepping my authority. If it happens again, I will die.”

Huh, I think if I had my emotions, I would probably make a big deal out of that.

“That sounds more serious than you’re making it out to be. So, where are we?”

"Inside your subconscious. Until the gate is open, this is no different from a dream."

"What is it? Does this have something to do with my injury?" He pointed a swirling mist of shadows at the gate.

"It has everything to do with your injury. This is a representation of the sealed rupture in your soulwall."

"My soul ruptured?”

"No, the soul cannot be damaged. However, the walls around it most certainly can. You were born with a weak spot in your soulwall. This is fairly common, especially for souls that come to Madra from far away."

"My first tiering failed because my soulwall ruptured?"

"Yes. As your body was being remade, this weak spot in the membrane tore. Your manabody sacrificed itself to reinforce the rent while your mana was absorbed to form the foundations of the gate."

Now that vision about my manabody makes sense. So it really did die that day. It wanted to explore the universe beyond the gate. I hope it got its wish.

"What would happen to someone if they had a ruptured soulwall that couldn’t be healed?"

"They would die very painfully. The body and the soul were never meant to commingle. They are together, yet forever separate."

A metallic needle larger than his body extended from the darkness behind them. Jiran instinctively knew it was the very one that had penetrated his neck. It shot forward and touched the empty space within the central ring of the vast gate. A wave of power rippled outward from the touch. When it passed the first ring, he felt a familiar tickle before the ring began to spin in place, rapidly building speed.

Daughter’s eyes followed his, knowing his next question before he spoke it.

"Madra stored some of her little remaining mana within your soul. A very small portion of it will be used to kickstart the ignition sequence and a chain reaction will reactivate this node."

"What? Madra stored mana… in my soul? I have a really bad feeling about this. There’s still something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?"

"Yes, but if I told you, you would become distracted and your chances of survival would plummet. When the time comes, remember your lessons with the Aahmra. Madra led you to him for a reason. Either they will save you, or this will be the last time we meet." She shook her head sadly, sparkling stars blossoming in the corners of her eyes.

Jiran wasn’t given time to piece together her warning as the gate rippled again and he realized why it felt so familiar.

That’s foresight. The gate is where my unique ability comes from! No, the gate is just a pathway to my soul. My unique abilities come from my soul!

The second Jiran realized the truth, the ring within the gate stopped spinning. A fissure formed a split in the blue wall which spread wide before him. A powerful suction gripped his shadowy form. Unable to resist, he was sucked into the vast light beyond.