The foreman didn’t expect to see Marissa and her children with us, but it was okay since he trusted us. She ensured her daughters stayed out of the way while we worked. During breaks, Fisher showed the girls how to ride the bikes I had made them.

  I seriously didn’t know why I hadn’t considered it before the other night. Bicycles were one thing, but skateboards? Unicycles? A wagon? A carriage? Roller skates?

  Blood crystals were the ultimate tool—the perfect building block. The things I made were personalized with the paint I had bought. No longer would everything be the same bright crimson. The gifts I had made Nimyra and Dineria could be worn without anyone linking them to me.

  Mari was a natural at her bike, but her sister needed training wheels. They looked to ‘Mr. Finn’ with awe in their eyes when they saw his masterful control. I made one with two seats, so Marissa sat behind Fisher as he pedaled up the road. Of course, the two kids wanted a turn. Fisher struggled to reign in the tears. That gentle smile proved his love for his family was genuine.

  Deep down? He was a good man.

  Albert took to the rollerbdes like an expert. His sense of bance was impeccable as he cruised—his long, grey ponytail flowing in the wind.

  Itarr liked the bike. She fell a lot, but she was determined to get good. Indulging in these little hobbies worked well for our souls.

  Momo favored the skateboard. She was a singi, and they were athletic with a good sense of bance, so it naturally came to her after a few stumbles here.

  The two koena thanked me but refused to try. Percival found everything more difficult than initially thought, eventually cursing a storm before apologizing for losing his cool.

  *****

  *****

  Progress continued over the next few days.

  News of my odd inventions and the insane rate of construction had spread—most of that was thanks to Merka’s magnificent control over the earth. More workers wanted to join after being inspired, I suppose. We had so many volunteers that the construction company posted a notice for an official night shift. That extended to the number who wanted to work at the orphanage since it was being doused with care. The guild received so many applicants that the duchess had to personally conduct interviews.

  Part of that could’ve been because the emergency work on Arcton was nearing its end. There would always be things to do, but the most pressing issues were being handled. Mages with [Telekinesis] and earth magic were invaluable in repairing the walls.

  Well, that and an order from the crown rescinding the emergency order. King Lando's message didn’t expin why the mountains went missing. However, the ruler wrote that the most intelligent researchers Inith had to offer had deduced that the phenomenon could not be reproduced.

  So…

  Better than nothing? It wasn’t the best. Either way, the tension dramatically lowered after the report, which rubbed off on the citizens and the atmosphere. People kept speaking about the Arcton Mountain Cataclysm. Everyone had their theories, but trust in the crown was at a high even though there were sinister people who took advantage of the remaining fear gripping some hearts.

  Percival had said the duchess was brutal in her questioning. She ‘attacked’ at angles most didn’t expect, which weeded out the ones looking for an easy job. Only a select few passed her strenuous interrogation, who were required to help with construction. To the best of their abilities, of course. It wouldn't be apt to tell an aging man to pull two wagons of thick lumber when they could focus on less physical work.

  Srassa wasn’t back, though. Percival escorted me to Harold’s mansion a few times, but the lord of the house was never in. Duchess Ashford sent a messenger pigeon, but he was probably busy helping the king or arguing on my behalf. I still hadn’t received any letters or anything. Or even a word from Harold about Saline. I was worried, but leaving would’ve caused far more trouble. As much as I wanted to march on Adenaford to verify her safety myself…

  The risk was too much. Too many people could’ve been punished since this house arrest was an order from the crown. Doing so would’ve made me the kingdom’s most wanted criminal. Sending an undead bird to the capital was risky. I probably had a gaggle of eyes on me.

  I still didn’t know if Bunbun was safe. The skeleton priest was still disguised in Arcton, but it hadn’t found a trace of her. The Dogkin researcher—the one who hated Cassidy—was alive. He had shed his ego and lowered his medicines’ prices to make them more affordable. Maylee was still kicking, too. That dwarven bcksmith, Edgar, and his daughter, Eine—had made it through. He broke his arm, but that was already healed.

  They weren’t pnning to leave Arcton. Not when the repair work was going so well. The town had months, if not years, before it would resemble normalcy, but the city was unified.

  As for Albert’s suggestion-- meditating to attune our spiritual side with the element of earth?

  The theory held far more merit than I thought. Merka constructed two earth-like, rocky shrines in our soul world for us to sit under. Immediately, it felt like some…invisible, unseeable cord connected me to the nearby rocks. I was surrounded by darkness when I closed my eyes, but a faint spark of brown light appeared in the distance when I opened them. Yet the void surrounded me. It was like nothing else existed except me, the light, and this cord tethering me to it.

  It felt…stubborn? It was like a csh of ideals. I walked, but it moved away. Pulling the cord made it pull back with equal force—like the most banced game of tug-of-war.

  The feeling was abstract, but Albert didn’t report anything like what I experienced. We’d spend all night meditating since there wasn’t much we could do. Itarr was as lost as we were. Albert handed her the blood crystal with geomancy, but she couldn’t focus on meditating. It was the same with Momo.

  Fisher often remained at the homestead. The devoted worker only took a break when the others forced one upon him. Or when he was gently scolded by his wife. Or when two little girls pleaded with tears in their eyes. That was their 'go-to' move to get him to do something since it worked the first time.

  Then something happened four nights after we took Olga outside for the first time.

  I didn’t know how best to describe it other than…I was being more obstinate than a rock? The light pulled hard against the cord—the first time it had made the initial move—but I yanked it back with conviction.

  But then it pulled…

  I returned the effort, turning whatever this was into a tug of war.

  I gritted my teeth and dug my heels into the darkness below, using all my might to rip the cord away. The faint brown light pulsed with each grunt. Each flicker illuminated the void surrounding us—bit by bit—until it was eventually cast away, revealing a tremendous desert. It stretched endlessly under the hot sun. Sandstorms raged violently in the infinite distance, but our game continued with neither giving quarter.

  Was this a challenge? Or a trial? I didn’t know, but I knew I hadn’t gone anywhere. I was still in the soul world. My body was meditating within that shrine, so this had to be either within my mind... Or maybe this was located inside the skill? Was this a simuted reality or an augmented pce geomancers went to train their skills?

  When I thought about it, a rock could st for thousands or even millions of years. The Arcton Mountain Range would’ve existed for who knew how many more lifetimes if Itarr had manifested elsewhere. So, was that the key? Stubbornness? That was my first thought, so...

  When I first met Itarr, it felt like I had spent decades or centuries with her. But it turned out only a few hours, if at that, had passed. I felt a simir sensation here. It wasn’t the same, however. Something...was off about it.

  “You think you can make me give up? Huh? Well, think again!” I barked, pulling harder. The light matched my strength, locking us in a stalemate as it fshed brighter.

  The hot sun barreled down, but I never sweated. I never got thirsty. My stomach never rumbled for food. I could only think about not moving. Giving an inch? Not in a million years. Whatever this was would not get the best of me!

  *****

  *****

  Just...

  How much time...had passed?

  The sun kept setting...and rising

  The moon kept rising...and setting.

  The stars were in one pce before dramatically changing. They were unrecognizable, almost like a new set of celestial bodies had projected themselves.

  The rampaging sandstorms ventured ever closer, but they always stayed away... The longer I stared...the more it felt like I understood what they were saying... How long did it take to get to this point?

  Give up... Let go... You’re going to die... Why do you endure it when death is all that awaits you at the end?

  “Because I won’t die? I know how this works! I’ve experienced something like it before! You won’t break my will! You won’t shatter my resolve!”

  You dare think you can manipute the earth? You dare think you can bring the mighty rock under your control? You dare think you can command the power of swirling sandstorms? Your mind will break! They always do! Nothing can outst the almighty earth!

  “Then you haven’t met me! I can do this until the end!”

  Why do you think so?

  “Because I know so!”

  Do you think yourself as sturdy as the nd you’re standing on? The nd will be here after your death! The nd cannot be destroyed until all life ceases to exist! You dare think you can outst that?!

  “I do!”

  What a fool... Outliving this very earth that nurtures all life? That sustains the pnts and trees? That provides shelter and warmth? The same element that ravages a city in a mighty roar, bringing it to the utmost ruin? Do you cim you can control that power? Are you worthy of wielding it?

  “If given a chance? Yes! I can!”

  Then let go. Stop pulling. Give yourself to me.

  “Like hell, I will!” My reply was instant. This felt like a test. I wasn’t falling for it. The light continued for who knew how long to make me give up. They promised untold power if I shed a mortal’s flesh for a body of the same element I wish to manipute. But that was a trick. It had to have been. I refused. Over and over, I kept struggling with all my strength. Again, the light continued to tempt me.

  Would you choose the road less traveled? The road paved with hardships? The road filled with obstacles that may not be overcome? Why choose the path of hardships when a gentle trail is an option?

  “Do I need a reason? I just do, okay? It’s not that hard to understand. I know... I know I’m weak! I could’ve... I could’ve saved a lot of people if I had more power! There’s only so much my undead can do! I can only store that many blood crystals before they’re drained to empower my abilities!” My true feelings suddenly erupted from my mouth. “I could’ve saved Arcton! I could’ve saved those at Sakdu’s base! Even if I’m a goddess... I’m... I can’t do everything!!”

  The light didn’t speak, but I did. I vented...and vented...and vented...what I didn’t want to vent. I shouted, stressing my throat...

  I was disgusted with myself... I hated myself... Itarr cried for Arcton. She wept for the city, but...

  Just what had I done?

  I left a city hostage to save one person... And to save that one person... Only a divine above knew how many were drained by the necromancers. Those people hadn't asked to get involved. Yet they were pulled into the conflict. The very people I swore to defend since they couldn't protect themselves...just died.

  However, they could still be saved with something like [Resurrection] or an unrestricted variant like [True Resurrection]-- if it existed.

  That was the one silver lining, except that wasn't the case for the ones who died at the mountain range. The souls that fueled Itarr's manifestation were gone. The goddess confirmed it-- nothing we did could ever return them to life. That was fine for the enemies-- they deserved death-- but what about the sves forced to serve the whims of Sakdu's forces? They were the victims...

  I don't regret saving Momo. I'll never regret it... So...does that make me...just as bad as...them?

  Just why was it hitting me now? Why now? Why...

  “I don’t even feel like a person... I don’t feel alive... I... I can’t describe it! I kill! I eat! I sleep! That’s it! It feels like that’s all I’ve been doing! I don’t know who I am or who I want to be! I don’t know if this is... Just what am I? Who am I? Just what personality am I supposed to have?! I don’t feel constant! I feel like... I feel like... I...” I sighed and slowly shook my head.

  Just...

  I didn’t know the first thing about myself... I really didn’t. I had no memories, so how could I be sure that this desire to protect those who couldn’t defend themselves truly came from...me?

  I couldn’t. I didn’t even know if my name was Servi. I felt like a stranger to myself...like someone just going along with the flow to prevent causing any problems. Identity...

  I didn’t have an identity to call my own.

  Give up. Let go. The power you desire shall be yours, and failure shall not taste your tongue.

  “No...”

  What?

  “I said no. I don’t think I will. Letting go? It doesn’t feel right.”

  Would you give up the chance to obtain the power you seek? Where will you go from here? Will you continue to fail? Will you let those you cannot save die?

  “Do you think this is another mistake? Maybe... I’ve made a hundred. And thousands have died from them. I trusted people who shouldn’t be trusted. I selfishly ignored the warning signs to believe what I wanted to.” Cassidy’s face popped into my mind. “I was ignorant. I was dumb. I regret not seeing the truth when the evidence was right there. I have this power. I should’ve been smarter. I should’ve been a lot of things…but I wasn’t. Now I must live with the mistakes because they’ll always be here. But I can learn from them, can’t I? I can acknowledge my mistakes and not repeat them in the future. Taking the easy route is one of them. I’ve coasted for so long on my immortality. I don’t even know how to properly fight.”

  The light remained quiet, but I continued. It was just rambling at this point. The whining… Was it like me to do this? Or was I doing it because I wanted to be a whiner? Was I trying to be who I was? Or was I trying to be who I thought I was?

  “But the easy road is not for me,” I confessed, getting to the end of whatever little speech this was. “Why should it be? The things…I’ve probably done… Maybe I’m a woman who doesn’t deserve the welcoming path. So I choose hardships. There’s no shortcut to mastering this power. It’s different from [Necromancy]. I can tell that much at face value. I can’t just summon a skeleton or lesser lich and always have them solve my problems. I doubt there are pre-registered or prebuilt spells like [Create Sandy Lich]. I know it’s gonna be hard. Maybe I’m the type to welcome those difficulties? Besides, I know this is a trap. It can’t be anything but it. Even if it really wasn’t? I…still wouldn’t take the handout. Because I genuinely believe a woman like me… doesn’t deserve it. Momo? Albert? Itarr? Too good for me. That’s my cynicism speaking for me. I try not to acknowledge it, but I’m petrified of who I used to be. I have this…yearning to always see the negative in everything.”

  The light remained quiet.

  “I’m like a bnk canvas. Maybe I had hoped I’d have some color splotched onto it, but it still feels devoid of anything that truly defines me as…me. Maybe becoming a geomancer can help lead me down the right path. Wow, you’re really getting it all out of me. Even Itarr doesn’t know about this… No, she probably does. We share a soul. It’s difficult to hide things from each other.”

  The light…smirked? It fshed, but the color was different. It stopped pulling the cord linking us, convincing me it was okay to approach. The sand felt solid as my surroundings gradually turned from a desert into a rocky shrine. Towering arches just flooded up from around us. The floor was repced. Tremendous chandeliers sprouted from the ceiling, and the light rested on a pedestal.

  Your answer is satisfactory. You’ve successfully refused the temptation by showcasing a stone heart worthy of a geomancer. For crification, I am the trial. An entity like me exists inside each copy of [Earth Manipution].

  “Can I assume it’s the same for the other elements?”

  Yes, you may. Those trials are different. I do not know what they may contain.

  “That makes sense.”

  You harbor deep fears. You ck the confidence a proper geomancer must have, but you have convinced me you have what it takes to get started. Approach, child. Reach inside me to accept the gift.

  I did as the light said. There was…something there? I pulled it out. "A brown rock?" I asked. "Is that the gift?"

  You shall use the conduit until your body learns to feel the earth and all its stubborn intricacies. It shall aid you and vanish once you’re ready for the next step. Focus. Apply pressure. Mold the conduit to resemble a sword without its bde.

  I did, but not at first. It was rigid and solid until I felt that tingle return. Only then did the rock resemble cy.

  Good. Kneel. Press it into the almighty earth and shape an edge.

  The odd tingle remained as I obliged. The conduit hardened. I touched the tip to the ground and slowly…lifted it. The ground silently, quietly vibrated as small particles broke apart and stuck to the catalyst like gss breaking in reverse.

  Good. Recall the feeling. Never abandon it. Practice well. Do not betray the trust the almighty earth has in you. For it shall not steer you wrong. It will not lead you astray.

  “Will I see you again? It sounds like you’re about to leave.”

  Indeed. My task is done. The trial has no more use, so it must meet its conclusion. Do you have any questions?

  “Do you know someone named Itarr? She might be known as the Primordial Goddess.”

  That is the one who bears your soul’s other half. Her status cannot be properly processed. She also holds the same conduit you do.

  “What about my revenant? I gave him a blood crystal with [Earth Manipution]. Will he have access?”

  The status cannot be properly processed.

  The response was more robotic than the other replies. This was a fringe situation. I doubt anyone else had blood crystals. Those things were a loophole within a loophole, so I’d find out ter.

  “No. I don’t have any further questions. It was nice meeting you. I think I learned a little about myself. And a lot I don’t like. I know there’s much work to be done before…I even feel like a character. Our time was brief, but I hope there’s a next time. Goodbye.”

  Farewell to you, child.

  I stepped back as the light grew. It quickly enveloped me, the shrine, and everything else until darkness surrounded me once more.

  *****

  *****

  The beautiful, partially melded soul world repced my surroundings after I opened my eyes.

  “Already? It’s only been an hour,” Itarr said when I walked out. “What’s that? Where’d you find a dirt sword?”

  “Wait, does this mean…” Momo jumped down from a wall Merka had made, nding with a practiced roll. Her mirror appeared on her shoulder, and it looked...curious?

  How does a mirror look curious? Does it have a mind of its own?

  “Yep. Remember that light?” I asked after calling Albert. He broke his meditation while I told them what had happened.

  “A training aide, then? It makes sense. One cannot usually learn to wield a sword without starting with wood. You must gradually work your way to metal armaments.”

  “I don’t know how to make a conduit,” admitted Itarr. “The light said I could, but nothing happened.”

  “Press your hand against that dirt pile. Maybe it’ll show up.”

  “Okay. Servi, what you said unnerves me. ‘Her status cannot be properly processed?’ It sounds like it doesn’t know about me.”

  “Nor about I,” added Albert. I tossed him my conduit. He caught it, and he said the sensation had returned. He immediately crafted a sturdier, much more solid sword that barely fked thin, brown dust in no time. Itarr gasped when her conduit crafted itself from a nearby rock.

  “So… This means we can train together, Servi! I’m happy!” Itarr jumped for joy as she held the rock to her chest.

  “Yep. Although… Keep a hold of that,” I told Albert. I did what Itarr had done to create another one, so...

  “So you can have two conduits at once?” Albert inquired.

  “Three if we include the one you have,” I replied. “You have the crystal with the skill enchanted onto it, so whatever ‘permission’ I unlocked was probably passed to it as a byproduct? I’m a little worn out, though. Momo, Itarr... do you want to join me in the bed? I…don’t want to be alone.”

  “Okay.” My goddess absorbed her conduit as Albert wished us a good night. He would remain awake to experiment. So I could learn from him in the morning. “But is everything okay?” Itarr asked while we walked to the tower. It was still so ferociously imposing, but I loved it so much. It was a symbolic emblem of safety… A pce I knew I could always rely on whenever I felt meek, weak, or uncertain.

  Momo asked the same question. She squeezed my hand to let me know I wasn’t alone.

  I kept silent until we reached our room. Momo turned to me after Itarr shut the door. The two shared anxious expressions. “Come on. Talk to us, Servi. I’m worried.

  “You’ve never acted like this before. What’s wrong?” asked Momo as she led me to the bed.

  “It’s…” I didn’t know where to begin, so I told them about my discussion with the light. Itarr and Momo clung to every word and squeezed my fingers to stave off the tears. But it didn’t work. They were crying by the end.

  “So... That must've been what I was feeling. I didn't know what it was, but to think it was...that." Itarr stuttered through her weeping. She still looked so beautiful...even with glistening eyes and reddened cheeks.

  “I’m happy you told us. I know you two share a soul. You’re one and the same, but these...” Momo touched mine and Itarr’s rings. “We share a bond that can’t be broken.” Salty water obscured her pretty face as we id down. I was the one being supported in the middle. We held hands, but Itarr hugged me from the front. Momo protected me from the back.

  The two knew my regrets... They felt them because we shared them.

  Thousands should’ve been alive to greet the new day if we had...put more effort into it. We cried together and made a solemn vow to be better.

  Because we had to be better.

  We had to.

  RuggyRuggy