Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 302: Kael

Inspiration

He sat on the floor, cycling the Essence of water and tranquility mixed together. It was close enough that it didnt matter. The room he was in was a shrine that had belonged to a spirit, one of the wardens of the prison. He had killed it a long time ago, so long that he wasnt quite sure how much time had passed. The Ethereal played tricks on the mind, and even if it didnt, he was in a trance.

Time passed differently for him than it used to.

He hadnt known just what had happened to him at first. He remembered clearly thinking that it was another trap from the dungeon, something that was affecting him. But it was not.

He had achieved something that his teacher had mentioned to him only once, a state that some Cultivators could enter at times of great concentration and enlightenment. When they feel closer to their aspect, when they sought inspiration. A state that could last for years, decades even for some. He had never experienced it before, but now He had never felt as in tune with his aspect as he was now. He was tranquil as he had never been before. And so he cycled, advanced his paths.

He had been left alone, the shades and spirits that roamed the dungeon hadnt yet found him. They had hunted him since the moment he had entered the dungeon, and he had hunted them. The information he gained was sparse, it came from the survivors of the initial attack from the dungeon and the expedition that came after. All procured from the Unbroken Mining Company and their records. There was more there than what they had seen, accounts from a person that was only referred to as the Warden.

But, it was enough that Kael could prepare. He had hoped to have some of his people with him the first time he entered, but the situation in the core and Heors pursuit forced his hand. He needed power, and this place it was one of the few options he had. He couldve raided another High Rankers vault, but with Heor hunting for him it was unrealistic for him to think that he would get away with it. There were a few dungeons on the Island of Dungeons that couldve provided him the power he sought, but they all had the same issueHeor could find him.

The Ethereal Dungeon was the only one that he was certain Heor couldnt successfully follow. Some of the accounts about the monsters in the dungeon mentioned a powerful spirit, the head warden of the prison, the accounts indicated that the spirit was one of the most powerful ever encountered. And they had some ideas about how that spirit found them once inside.

Kael had bet his all on them being right. The spirit could some how detect intrusive influences, the Essence that intruded on that of the dungeon itself. Kaels tranquility was anything but intrusive, it calmed him and everything around him. Heor was the opposite, his very presence would disturb everything around him, if he had followed him in. He didnt, or at least Kael hadnt seen any evidence of him. The dungeon was buried, but it was a tower that stretched deep in the Under, he had found another way in. Perhaps Heor simply didnt know how to enter it, if he even suspected where Kael had gone.

Kael had spent his early days hunting the spirits that roamed the dungeon on its upper levels. Some, he had avoided, he was powerful, but there was no point in taking some fights. He had been taking advantage of his Pilfering Class, harvesting Essence related to his aspect, cycling as much as he could. Looting what the shades were wearing, and even finding a few rooms filled with secured items. He had found two masterwork items of great worth and power, a pair of armored gloves and a great axe. They werent as useful for him, but he could always sell or give them to his people. And he had found a dozen lesser items that could be useful. But that had encouraged him, there was more that he could find in this dungeon.

The danger, however was ever increasing. The shades and the spirits knew that he was inside, and they were searching for him. It had reached the point where he had tried to leave, to exit back into the Real Realm, and found himself barred. The portal was closed, and the item he had couldnt open the way back. Something was wrong, somehow the Ethereal Realm was cut off from the Real Realm. He had no choice but to remain in the dungeon, and hope that he would eventually be able to get back. His Qi gave him some protection from staying inside the Ethereal Realm for extended periods of time, and he had a few potions that protected him from turning into a shade, but he would run out eventually.

So, he explored the dungeon further. And as he moved deeper into the areas where the spirits had their shrines he started to sense the change in him. The trance didnt fully materialize until he had found this tranquility-related shrine, but now it was He felt like he was on the cusp of finding his Ascended Inspiration.

Most people misunderstood what the inspiration was, and how one should seek it. Inspiration was often similar between people, enough that they often thought that it was the same for two people. But, that was how they crippled themselves without realizing. It was unique for every person, those slight differences mattered.

An inspiration was tied to the Paths and the type of Essence that the Cultivator utilized. His Immortal Inspiration had been about pushing his body beyond its limits. His Paths were at odds with his Aspect, The Path of the Primal Wrath and the Path of the Primal Dream with the Aspect of Tranquility. While opposing ideas were not always incompatible, his were difficult to balance.

Tranquility on the Path of the Primal Wrath meant that he harnessed the wrath of his path, that he entered a state of pure tranquility and fury. Body moving with wrathful power while maintaining focus. It robbed his path of some power, but it gave him control. He had pushed his body to the limits of what Tranquility could do to it, forcing his body in a state of pure calmness, of balance. That had been his Immortal Inspiration, and it put him on the path to discovering the Crucible of Body later.

His Evolved Inspiration was all about understanding how Tranquility impacted his body, accepting the changes and adapting to the new reality. Immortalities were tied to the Path or the Aspect. And his was tied to both. Regeneration came through control which came through a balance of opposites, his control. His body was tranquil, in perfect control of all of its functions, yet able to move and unleash wrathful power.

His next inspiration was at the edge of his understanding, so close that he was having trouble maintaining the trance. His eagerness to reach it was growing, and that in turn broke his tranquil state.

He tried to control himself, he wasnt in any rush. He focused on drawing in the Essence and cycling it through his core, creating crystals. He had long since passed the amount of useful cycles, the benefits were barely effective now, but There had to be a reason why the Framework allowed Cultivators to cycle as much as they wanted. And he did feel closer to his aspect. As if he understood it more. Perhaps the benefit wasnt just a tangible or physical thing?

Ascended, the inspiration for it had to follow some kind of logic, there had to be something that he was missing. So far, all of previous inspirations were tied to the body, as Cultivation was the improvement of the body at its core. His body was flesh and blood, unlike some other Paths his Forging of Body and Aspect simply put his body in a constant state of tranquility, allowing him full control over every part of it. It had many different benefits; for example, if he was injured, he could have his body stop regenerating most of the wounds and focus all of its efforts on one of the injuries, speeding its healing up. He never had to do that, of course, healing potions were common.

Or, he could stop the function of his organs at will, decide how much fat his body stored or how much energy it used. All the little processes in his body were fully under his control. His body was near the peak of what flesh and blood could accomplish. Some Cultivators had bodies wrought out of powerful Essences which gave them great power or great durability. His body was less in some way, and more in others. Flesh Essence couldnt compare to stone in durability, and yet his body worked in perfect harmony, making it greater than the sum of its parts. Blood and flesh and bone, it all worked together to make it greater than any single Essence.

His mind always came back to Essence, something about it made sense to him. To advance his path he needed to somehow improve his body or his understanding of it, as he had done for all the previous inspirations. There was something there his body was made out of Essence, of course. With each advancement of his path, each stage and realm, the Essence was improved. He had improved his Qi to tier 9 long ago, mastery of his Qi was something that he was good at, but the body He realized that he had relied on his Path advancement to improve the quality of the Essence his body was made out of. His body had to be made out of at least tier 7 Essence, if he assumed that with each Realm it had increased by one.

Perhaps he needed to improve it on his own for the next Realm?

That thought resonated inside of him, and he felt like he was close to the answer. The question though, was how did one even improve their body like that? His body wasnt just made out of a single Essence type or Qi, it was many. He would need to improve them all.

There were potions and elixirs, techniques even that could remove the impurities from a body, strengthen it. Perhaps he just needed to find a good alchemist, someone who could make for him a specialized kind of purifying potion.

The world shook around him and he felt like he had found the answer. Then it shook again, and he realized that it wasnt the effect of his trance, that the shaking came from outside of himself.

He opened his eyes as the doors leading into the shrine shattered into cubes that floated away as if pushed by some unseen force to the sides. A spirit entered, tall and with four legs and two arms, three faces each facing a different direction. It looked down on him and gestured.

His trance broke and he wasnt fast enough to react. White chains wrapped around him and pulled him to the ground as he reached for his ideal and found himself unable to touch it or any of his other powers.

Intruder, the spirit, the most powerful being that Kael had ever encountered, the head warden of this dungeon, looked down on him.

Kael struggled to turn his head and look up at the spirit, barely able to see high enough to gaze at its torso. There was nothing that he could do.

You thought that you could come in here, in my domain and reap the rewards, the spirit said. Now, you will remain here, forever.

Kael opened his mouth to speak, but then a sound of something tearing came from behind him, and he saw the spirit tense and raise its arms. A wind howled through the room, above Kael and it struck the spirit, chains of every color came into being and wrapped itself around it, pulling it back and out of the room. The spirit caught himself on the edges of the entrance, holding on as some incredible force pulled it back and the wind pushed.

Kael could see the spirit faces now, all three were twisted into a snarl.

You, it spat.

Me, a voice said from behind Kael.

Then, the spirit was gone, pulled out of the room.

He heard footsteps, something walking around him. And then boots and silver armor covered in strange symbols. He strained to raise his head and saw a yeti crouching in front of him, a mad glint in his eyes. He held a glowing orb in his hand that he moved closer to Kael, the light intensifying as it nearly touched him.

Huh, the yeti said. Didnt expect you, but my work never lies.

What do you want? Kael managed to say, the chains were still holding him tightly, making it hard to even breath.

The yeti tilted his head. What do I want? Well, in terms of priority, what I want is to leave this place, that bastard wont be delayed for much longer and while I am recovered I still would rather avoid fighting him. Secondly, I want you apparently. We shall see how useful you turn out to be.

The yeti reached for him and picked him up with the chains still wrapped around him. And then, the world twisted and then they were somewhere else.