He awoke disoriented and screaming in alarm, as he felt the wind whip past his face. Was-Was Faiz ? He could see a great azure vastness getting closer and closer, the horizon fast approaching. About time he discovered the ability honestly, even if he was a tad loathe to share the air with other flying nuisances.

  He then got to wondering how long it would take to reach the edge of this new blue heaven, his wail slowly dying down. He had heard that the skies were limitless, without a bound or seal. Faiz could now confidently say such assumptions were incorrect; He could clearly see it get larger and larger, its rippling crest-

  Rippling?

  Logic reasserted itself. Obviously going up wouldn’t have made the sky larger, and even disregarding that, he felt no tug at his back to suggest the pull of gravity. This gave him a terrible dawning understanding of his current predicament.

  Faiz wasn’t rising, he was . Straight down into a bright blue ocean.

  He started screaming again, “AAHH! GODS HELP ME IM FAAALLIIING!! HEEEELLPP!!!

  His cries only became more incoherent as he was about to smash into the waves, the scent of salt in his nose, everything shifting

  And Faiz landed on soft soil, winded and wheezing. His hurt, limbs and chest throbbing and a metallic tang to his tongue. It was hard to see through the blur covering every facet of reality, but he was mostly certain he’d landed back in the (tree) . So his death wasn’t ordained today after all.

  “Fortune. I retrieved you in time. But you are injured.” And now Faiz knew who to thank for saving him from death by water. Aujyav lifted him up (surprisingly gently) and placlaid him out in a chair, proffering a canteen, “Drink. You will heal.”

  Faiz sniffed the lid. A scent like dying embers and wilting dreams. Having ascertained his complete ignorance of the substance, he took a swig from the container, coughing as an unexpected sweetness flooded his mouth.

  “A--are you sure this is medicine? It doesn’t taste like vomit or makes me want to die…will it be effective?” It certainly felt effective, a heated itch spreading from his throat to his lungs and down into his limbs and extremities. Slightly uncomfortable, but far better than moments prior. Now Faiz wasn’t on the verge of coughing blood, at least. “I..do you know how that happened? I thought if I didn’t panic nothing would happen… Please, tell me I won’t be taking a second flight anytime soon?”

  “Speak less, it impedes mending. And yes, I know.” Aujyav answered simply, inspecting Faiz with some intensity. “This servitude, inept at restraining the beyond. Such fluctuations shall worsen. Your fulfillment is paramount. Can you stand?”

  Faiz could indeed stand on his own two feet, though slightly dizzy still. “Yeah, I’m up and fine, promise! Now uhm..can you tell me about that ‘fulfillment’ you mentioned? About time I’m useful for something other than crying or looking confused.”

  Aujyav nodded slightly, and then tilted his head as he looked at some area behind him. He brought a hand to the blade lodged in him, then quick as a sparked flame, thrust said hand forward into thin air…. At first Faiz was startled, but when he looked around, he realized the two of were back on top of that massive tree!

  “As suspected. Precise intervention begets accurate transportation. Future aid will be easier to provide.” Faiz heard those words and sighed in relief. He had nearly forgotten how it felt to be with someone who knew what they were doing and actually did the doing of what they knew. His mind would no longer split in twain describing simple scenery.

  “That’s splendid news, absolutely great yeah! If we’re here, does that mean the nasties I have to hunt are here too?” He had nary a chance to appreciate the view from on high last..night? Technically, it was always day here, but also not really. What a weird place…that storm of broken space was still raging at the edge of his sight though, something Faiz could’ve one without seeing again.

  “In a manner of speaking. Many a beast would roam here, visible clearly from on high.” And yet.. Faiz could see no hide or tusk in the green below, nor any bestial noises- the entire forest eerily silent compared to how it was when he first came here. Perhaps a sudden onset of shyness had afflicted the local residents?

  “Right…the beasts that I’m definitely seeing right now, those ones. I suppose I’m to be blamed for whatever’s happened to this place?”

  “Perhaps. All that lived here is now elsewhere, save weak prey. Such suffices as training. Come along.” The other man began walking towards the stairwell. Faiz followed, inwardly offering prayers for whichever hapless creature fell victim to the transportation, conjured into being high above the sea like he had been.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Faiz felt like lamenting his fate, a single schema sending his mind hurtling here- where trees wound and turned into camps and he could fall into seas while asleep. And all this madness stemming from a ridiculous moneymaking scheme…If only he could’ve knocked some sense into those two geniuses. He shook himself from his thoughts as he stepped out the door into the forest.

  “Y’know, I think we failed to take something into consideration sir. I…don’t have a weapon. I’d ask for yours but you seem a tad to it so…” Should Faiz have broached the issue earlier? Maybe, but he was rather busy trying not to lose balance on that ever spiraling set of steps.

  “You have many. Your diffraction of the Eschaton shall provide.” Aujyav gestured at Faiz’s lightdial, the one that supposedly contained the universe or something. He nearly tripped over a vine before righting himself and replying with frustration.

  “This thing? I guess I could somehow hurl myself and whatever is clinging to me into the sky to come crashing down, but not only is that easy to do here, it’ll probably be fatal for me too…unless you mean something else?” The prospect of becoming paste was somewhat unsavory for him, so Faiz was confident Aujyav would provide another solution.

  “An imitation of union is its least power. Conjuration of apocalypse is higher yet. The last day birthed fathomless ruin. Each doom carved into the Empyrean, conquerable by you.”

  “You mean, I could summon up cool weapons like Scythes and Akhjan?! That’s amazing! Oh, which one should I get first? There’s long ranged options, but up close and personal works for fun and-”a

  Aujyav looked back at him, then shook his head and continued walking, “The extermination of will requires will of your own. Yours must grow yet. Master the reigns of a minor end first, little one.” Faiz flushed slightly, mumbling agreement. Yes, any grand adventure needed a weak hero first right? No matter, he’d get strong enough to get his lady one day (soon hopefully).

  “Right, very true..So how do I get my one true blade? Should I focus on my wrist and like, push my spirit? Maybe discover a hidden system tucked into my dial? Do i get a blade buddy? Will it burn or hurt?”

  “Visualize. It suffices.”

  With that eminently helpful advice, Aujyav stopped in front of a leafy undergrowth, and brushed some foliage aside. “And here, your target.” A small curled thing, trembling with obvious fear, with downy fur and long horns curling around its legs. Its doe eyed wet stare reflected no intellect. In short, it was an utterly adorable and utterly pathetic organism.

  “You..want me to kill that? Seriously? It’s so weak and cute though, surely it can’t do much harm? This wouldn’t even be a challenge for a barehanded me!”

  “It is destruction. Lacking predation, prey gains vital spirit. They shall spread . Such grants them the title of exceptional offering. In this short time before inevitable decay, their endless issue shall grant you instinct. Now, if you would kindly end it.”

  Faiz really didn’t see any nobility in snuffing out such a meager thing, but if he would follow anyones request, it’d have to be the man who hadn’t been wrong yet. He had scant understanding of how to summon a weapon, so he focused on what he was told. Visualization: -Oh, there it was.

  “That was surprisingly easy? I…I thought that it’d-never mind.” The weapon was some prismatic flaring curve, emblazoned into the air in front of Faiz. It looked hot, but gave off no heat, and remained level with his gaze from whichever angle Faiz looked. His lightdial simmered at an unpleasant temperature, thankfully more tolerable than the searing intensity it had taken back on the ship.

  He looked back down at the trembling creature, and sighed. Not the worst thing he’d done, killing. As soon as the thought entered his mind, the curve shot down at a nigh instantaneous speed, cleaving the poor thing’s head from its body and then fading away. There wasn’t any blood to spatter on him, as the stump of its neck was a charred and smoking ruin.

  “Good. The sign of halvings manifests. Do you feel well, ending life?”

  “I feel like you should’ve asked me that before I chopped off its head, sir. That sure was an effective weapon, but where has it gone now? Whew…I feel kinda tired.” A slow creeping weight rested on Faiz’s spine, and the lightdial burned ever so slightly brighter.

  “The strain on your soul is severe. Growth shall manifest with increasing use. I shall show you the second prey. It is here already.” The impaled man pointed behind Faiz.

  He turned around and promptly fell back in shock. A large furry wall of flesh hanging right above him, and he never noticed! “! Is everything here out to get a rise out of me? How did I not see this hulking thing? It’s massive!”

  “You could not have noticed, as it hid itself from you. It will wake soon. End it. I will remain hidden, watching.” Aujyav faded into the shrubbery, disappearing from Faiz’s sight. He felt tempted to curse out loud, stopping only because he heard horrible purring sound from behind him.

  The creatures eyes had opened, great yellow plates of animalistic intellect gazing down at him. A thick muscular neck extended a furred and striped head down, triangular ears pointed backwards and an open blue maw revealing pointed ivory fangs. The thing’s pelt was blue, with greyish speckles extending down to its large forelimbs, terminating in large paw tipped with razor sharp claws. Claws which had previously been dug into a tree, but now flexed out as the beast climbed down and padded forward, slinking closer.

  All this was a very nice way of saying that a terrible and strong looking animal was now but a few meters away from Faiz, ready to spring into action and tear him apart probably. Faiz started desperately willing a weapon into being, trying not to imagine his terrible fate should he fail. His panic seemed to have aroused the creature, its purr deepening into a rumble as it became more alert.

  “Nice murder monster…please don’t attack yet, it’s all good…” Faiz inches back. The animal inches forward. He finally manages to call up the shape, blazing forth.

  That served as all the impetus the monster needed to pounce, launching itself at breakneck pace towards him. Faiz leapt out of the way right in the nick of time, ignoring the sickening heat blooming in him from exertion. The beast crashed through the undergrowth, a blue Mana Art flickering around it as it landed. It shook its maned head, turning around and refocusing on him.

  His survival instinct flared, and Faiz shook off his shock, calling up his shape to hand, as he gets back on his feet. “Alright…time to hunt, let’s hope I don’t die…”