Chapter 252 - Systems Truth

The question reverberated in Nate’s mind. What did he desire? The obvious answer was clearly developing his Destruction affinity. Something Lord Ankh’Aris seemed uniquely capable of providing. Had The System known all along? Of course it had, he realised. It could see his thoughts, read his hopes and dreams like it was reading a book. So, it had maneuvered him into this position, both for his own benefit and for its own plans. Reciprocity bound it so it had to offer him something in return. But, it seemed like it was footing the bill so to speak, for whatever Lord Ankh’Aris could provide them. And since Lord Ankh’Aris was not bound by Reciprocity, Nate could effectively ask for whatever he wanted, and The System would have to repay the dragon. 

That brought him full-circle back to the question at hand. What did he desire? The answer was simple. Everything. He wanted answers. What was The System? What was this all about? Only then could he understand how he fit into these moves and plays by some of the strongest entities he knew of within this Reality. More than that, he wanted to create art. Create art in a way that most might not even conceive of. He wanted Kiri to be safe. For the pair of them to grow together. To see an infinite number of dawns rise over countless worlds together, and to paint them all.

But at the heart of it all, he knew there was a question he should ask. The wise choice. He had ideas about what he wanted, and the things he needed to achieve them, but he was also still a child in this world of magic. A powerful child, perhaps, but a child nonetheless, with only a couple of years under his belt. He lacked the knowledge to make his desires known. 

Silently next to him Kiri waited, clearly trusting him to ask for the both of them. 

“What do you think we need?” he asked.

Lord Ankh’Aris stared at them, yellow eyes so sharp they looked like they could pierce flesh, blood, and bone.

“Do you know what The System is using you for?” asked the dragon, still shifted into its dragon-humanoid form.

Nate and Kiri shook their heads. They had suspicions. They had ideas. But they didn’t know.

Lord Ankh’Aris spun on his heel and started walking away.

“Come,” he called.

Nate, Kiri, and Frick followed, having to quicken their pace to match the giant strides of the three metre tall draconic. The walk was further than Nate expected, taking a couple of minutes within the throne room, before they passed through a doorway that yawned four metres by four metres. Within the room they entered Nate was surprised to find furniture. Huge furniture, clearly meant for someone of Ankh’Aris’s current size. The warm furniture was made from a dark wood that looked like amber. The stonework was a glittering obsidian, but the shiny surface easily reflected the light given off by a fireplace that had ignited the moment they entered. Cushions and other comforts abounded and Ankh’Aris motioned to them with a clawed hand.

“Find a seat. We will be at this for a while I expect.”

Nate and Kiri sat together on one of the couches. Glancing at each other they tried not to laugh as they simultaneously pulled their legs up and tucked them under themselves, rather than let them dangle above the floor. Frick still clung to Nate’s shoulder but the room and the change of scenery was enough to finally break through the hold the dragon had over the spirit.

“Boss, you think I am included in his options for teaching?”

“I’ll ask,” Nate sent back.

With everyone comfortable, Ankh’Aris sat on one of the larger chairs that had a slit down the middle of the back, perfectly placed to let his tail slide through the middle.

“Very well. I am going to tell you a story. A story about how this Reality was forever changed,” began Ankh’Aris.

“Over ten thousand years ago, mana did not exist in our Reality. But, that did not prevent us, its denizens, from tapping into greater powers. The power of the Soul, the power of the Dark, which you would call Demonic, the power of the Light, which you would call Celestial, and the greatest of all, the power of the Truth, the Concepts that underpin our Reality. Countless civilisations existed, touching on these powers whether they wanted to or not, as these powers are the laws that govern our Reality. But some were capable of seeking more, of connecting with these powers and truths. They accomplished this in a myriad of ways, and called it a myriad of names. Seeking Truth, Cultivating, Spirit Walking, Spiritual Growth, Zen, Oneness, the list of names is almost as long as the societies that attempted it. Most failed to do more than dip a toe into this pool of power, a drop of water that was incapable of even wetting their dried lips as they died of thirst. The short lifespans of most species did not help.”

Nate listened closely even as a part of his mind wondered about Earth. About the myths and legends of gods who wielded lightning, fire, super-human strength or the ability to heal or come back from the dead. Had they touched on these ancient methods?

“Then came Kali’Terra, the one you call The System, that the Calikex call The Guide. They have many names, but what they are is a Spirit, not unlike your little servant…”

“Familiar,” corrected Nate without thinking.

“Familiar then,” Ankh’Aris grunted, glossing over the interruption. “Kali’Terra came from another Reality, a Reality where mana is so thick that its universes drown in it, the Physical Realm slowly being degraded by the ever growing glut of its power. How it came to be, this mana, Kali’Terra has never revealed to me, and even I tread carefully in the Manabound Reality, where monolithic beings exist. Kali’Terra is a servant of one of those beings. One of many. And it has one purpose. To siphon mana from the Manabound Reality and release it into our own while its Master tries to solve the ever growing amount of mana within its own Reality.”

Ankh’aris smiled then, showing the sharp teeth of a dragon, “For Kali’Terra and its Master, our Reality is a trash heap where they can dump their mistakes while they try to fix the source of their problem. But, this is where the story becomes complicated. Kali’Terra was powerful when it first arrived. Greater than all the Ascendants of the time, myself included. But not greater than us combined. Together, we could have driven it from our Reality. But Kali’Terra came with sweet promises. Promises of a new power that could work with Soul, Dark, Light and Truth, empowering them all. Making them easier to access, especially for those already far down their Paths. And many of us took a sip of that power, and decided we wanted more. And more it gave us.”

“Kali’Terra opened a way between Realities, The Source it is called, short for The Source of Mana. It is not unlike a sun at the heart of our Reality, and the home of Kali’Terra’s actual Spiritual Body. But Kali’Terra, is a…singular…being and I do not say that as a compliment. Their path to power was in a place where mana is so thick you can hold it in your hand like a physical thing. In such a place, finding meaning and connecting with Truths is difficult at best and impossible at worst. Kali’Terra power is intrinsically tied to that singular ideal. Reciprocity. All must be balanced. And for it, killing thousands of sentients due to mana poisoning is not only unacceptable, but would destroy their connection to their Truth. Violating the balance would be the end of it. I imagine if Kali’Terra ever did so, it would simply cease to exist.”

“But Kali’Terra is not stupid. Far from it. So it devised a way to accomplish the task set before it by its Master.”

“Class Cores,” whispered Kiri, leaning forward on the edge of her seat, riveted.

“Yes!” hissed Ankh’Aris, his tone excited. “The Class Cores were its solution. With them, Kali’Terra could acclimate sentients to the ravages of mana. Better, they could use them to process and store mana, making room for more mana within our Reality. But, there was a cost to this. Kali’Terra’s own Truth, their own Divine Energy as you would call it. And while it had much to spare, it wouldn’t have been enough to fill a single percent of the sentients within our reality. It needed more. More Divine Energy. But how to get it?”

Ankh’Aris looked at the two of them then, a smirk forming on his black scaled lips.

“By assisting those it infected with Class Cores in reaching their own, lesser form of Ascendancy. Embodiments, Kali’Terra calls them, as it guides you via the Class Core, forcing you through your mana and the Skills it grants you, to better align with a Truth. Then, once you have succeeded, Kali’Terra locks further advancement behind more Divine Energy. You pay it to advance, and while a portion likely does go towards improving you, as Kali’Terra must maintain the balance, it receives a portion for itself. And while it is imperfect, tainted with your own Truths, your own Concepts, Kali’Terra is more than capable of filtering that Divine Energy, losing some in the process but granting Kali’Terra what it needs. More Divine Energy. And what does it do with it?”

“Creates more Class Cores,” Nate answered, committing to the leading question. “So that it can further spread mana within our Reality.”

“Very good. Very good indeed. Which leads us to the problem Kali’Terra faces, and why it is using you. Kali’Terra cannot simply take back what it has given. That is not balanced. That is not reciprocal. Nor can Kali’Terra simply erase a being causing it problems from existence. Its Truth is too all encompassing. It has no flexibility, a flaw in both it and its pawns. But, there is a secret known only by the highest of Ascendants, True Divines is the term it uses. Kali’Terra is forbidden from releasing its creations, its unwitting slaves, upon other Realities. Those who hold a Class Core within themselves, may not leave this Reality. And it can stop them, so long as they hold a Class Core. Do you see the problem it is faced with?”

Nate’s mind was working through four problems at once and he did see. He saw it all. Everything that had led them to this point. Why Arikanvil had invested in him. Why Arikanvil found his phone so interesting, an item that in many ways, used technological principles that could be said to apply to a Class Core. Why Arikanvil had railed against The System. It was keeping Arikanvil prisoner.

“Arikanvil wants to leave this Reality. But he can’t so long as he holds a Class Core within himself. But to give it up would be to lose his ability to escape this Reality anyway. So he needs to replace it. Replace it with something similar that would let him keep his Skills and powers and Stats, even his Divine Energy, but would see him become unbound, like you,” Nate stated, his voice calm but the turmoil inside him worse than ever.

“Then what?” Lord Ankh’Aris pressed.

“Then he could escape this Reality. But he would still be said to have gained powers, gifts from Kali’Terra. It would be violating its agreement with its Master. Reciprocity would be broken, and if you’re right, Kali’Terra would cease to exist.”

“Taking all of you with it,” commented Ankh’Aris as he leaned back. “It cannot act directly, cannot take back that which it has given. So, it uses you, the tools he uses as well.”

“Arikanvil,” hissed Ankh’Aris. “I knew of him as the Wandering Thief. He never came here, but occasionally I venture into the universes that make up The Heartlands. Even as a fresh Ascendant he made a habit of getting into places he shouldn’t have been able to and taking what he wanted. His rise was meteoric, by the standards of The Heartlands.”

The dragon paused to look at the two of them and smiled, “But still slower than your own…”

“Anyway,” he continued. “He made a lot of enemies and was ultimately forced to flee. Or so I heard. Who would have thought he had stolen enough to rise to the level of one of Kali’Terra’s True Divinities. And now, he’s giving The System a toothache. It’s somewhat ironic really.”

Ankh’Aris looked both of them over.

“Now you know what both your Masters want. One to escape this Reality, likely killing half of the living creatures within it in one go. The other wants you to thwart that plan.”

“Why doesn’t Kali’Terra ask you to kill him then?” asked Kiri.

“Because my price for such a thing is more than it is willing to pay, child. I was not one of those who chose to sup on The Systems gifts. Few of my kind did. But Kali’Terra gained enough traction amongst the living Ascendants of that age to bring mana to our universe. And with it, my kind slowly dwindled, the dragonlings born afterwards forced to take on a Class Core, becoming limited beings, bound by Kali’Terra’s will, by its Truth. The elders amongst us have since left this Reality or been killed by those who came after, like locusts feeding on the corpses of those great trees that spent hundreds of years growing.” 

Lord Ankh’Aris sighed, his breath like a bellows and filled with the Concept of Destruction, though it never reached Nate or Kiri. Nate marvelled at the level of control it must take. Ankh’Aris didn’t just embody destruction. Nate could tell he was like the Calikex. He had become Destruction. It existed in every fibre of his being, and the dragon likely had to exert constant control over his Embodiment… his Truth, Nate corrected, lest he destroy his environment simply by existing.

“I am the last free dragon,” continued Ankh’Aris, his voice growing more strident. “And my price for saving Kali’Terra from itself, is that it leaves this Reality, which it cannot do, bound as it is by its Master’s command. That being said, I am not so heartless that I am unwilling to teach a couple of children, especially if they wish to learn. Truly learn. Kali’Terra owes you, and with that debt, comes an opportunity. Perhaps I can free you, where I could not free my own kind.”

Lord Ankh’Aris, Ancient Dragon of another age, leaned forward, his claws passing through ageless wood bound with mana and time like knives through flesh. His yellow eyes shining with an inner intensity.

“What do I think you need? I think you need to be free. So, would you like me to guide you down your Paths till freedom is within your grasp? Or will you remain shackled, bound to a being that sees you as little more than a source of fuel so that it may continue to dump its leavings into our Reality?”