B5 Chapter 28

A Gathering Node formed right next to the Wild Gate I’d emptied. It came to be just like that.

Well, actually, it wasn’t all that easy. The Mikoniv child’s brows furrowed in exhaustion as the Gathering Node materialized, and his expression only worsened as he anchored the node. The anchoring procedure took quite some effort, and it drained a monumental amount of ether as well. That only seemed to irritate the child more.

Confusion was scribbled all over his face, yet the corner of his lips curled up at the challenge.

I forgot the anchor last time. I recognized my mistake and made a mental note and stirred. And that movement, no matter how small it was, revealed yet another issue.

The ether used to create the anchor was being consumed as I moved. It was only a fraction, yet it wasn’t like I had made any big moves yet. Moving around, especially working out or fighting, would affect the Node’s anchor much more than a little stir.

The Gate Outflow Syndrome consumed the ether within the weave, which did include the ether within the Node. For the Node had to anchor in the weave. The Mikoniv child seemed to realize that as well because his irritation kept growing. But instead of throwing a tantrum, I felt his perception brush mine as it expanded. Ether flowed toward him from further away. It was sucked out of the ether-imbued structures all around us and seeped into my weave through the Mikoniv’s palm.

He created another node, this time a Stage-3 Gathering Node. No, I narrowed my eyes at the structure forming within me, that wasn’t the case. This was not a Stage-3 Gathering Node forming but something far more complex. A Stage…4 Gathering Node? Truth be told, I had no idea what the child was creating in my weave, but it felt correct. It worked. It absorbed ether, which filtered through the structure and entered the Wild Gate, feeding it.

The structure, whatever it was, did exactly what I wanted. Yet, as soon as the Mikoniv released his hold of the structure, its stability decreased.

“What? Why?” it grumbled, half-furious, half-excited before dissolving the Stage-4 Node. Water-attuned ether flooded the weave, filling my body with power, but it didn’t stay there for long. The Mikoniv regained control of the ether and created Stage-1 Nodes. A cluster, almost a dozen small Stage-1 Nodes, made of water-attuned ether, yet also coated in regular ether. The cluster took almost an hour to create, yet that too didn’t work out quite as well as it should have. If it had, the child would have looked less irritated and a lot happier.

I let him be, my attention on his creations and the way he wielded ether. It obeyed him simply enough, but there was more to it. I felt it; however, my mind failed to digest the information at my disposal. So I stayed silent, let the Mikoniv do as he pleased, and analyzed him until he collapsed on his back with a smile.

He giggled, but not because he finally succeeded in creating something good enough for his liking. It looked more like the opposite was the case. A temporary node cluster formed right next to my Wild Gate, which was slowly being replenished with ambient ether, yet no matter how efficient the process appeared to be, it was temporary. It was also not strong enough to fill the Gate. The current rate of recovery was likely enough to make up for the ether I’d lose through simple motions and a somewhat strenuous workout, but long battles and high-intensity workout sessions or spars would consume more ether than the cluster of nodes could replenish.

The Mikoniv’s mother, shocked to see her child collapse, rushed up to her young one. She glared my way but said nothing as she helped the young Mikoniv sit upright.

“Again,” the child demanded, eyes gleaming. “You weird. All humans weird?”

I glanced at the mother, whose expression softened a touch. She was still glaring, but recognized that her child was happy rather than injured.

Lips parted, I tried to come up with an answer. That wasn’t all that easy, though. My body was different from other humans, but that didn’t mean the Mikoniv’s Nodes would work on other humans just because they didn’t work on me. It was impossible to say if this was a me thing or a human thing.

“Not today, honey,” the Mikoniv’s mother called, pinching the young one’s cheeks. “You exhausted yourself and it’s late already.”

She was right. It was already late, and I hadn’t even noticed that. The sun was down, meaning I’d been in their home for several hours. It hadn’t felt that long, though, and I could keep going. If anything, I wanted to keep going considering how much I was learning from the child.

Somehow, the young Mikoniv seemed to be of the same opinion. He wanted to continue and said as much in Aqae. The Mikoniv let out a squeal and threw a temper tantrum, saying a lot of things I didn’t quite understand. Even Aureus, who was trying to translate for me, couldn’t keep up with the young boy.

“How about I come back tomorrow?” I called out in half-baked Aqae, silencing the screams and complaints echoing through the living room.

“Promise?” He looked up at me.

“Of course.” Honestly, what kind of question was that even? It would be incredibly stupid not to return to the home of the Heilos House. Meeting the young Mikoniv’s gaze only confirmed that. Those eyes wanted answers more than I did, and I already felt like I was obsessing over the Nodes and filters.

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Heck, if everything turned out just like I was hoping, I would never have to worry about the Gate Outflow Syndrome anymore. Even better, if my Gates were full, the surplus ambient ether entering the weave could be repurposed to fill more Gates. To do so, I’d probably need more Gates in the future, but that was not a problem for now. At this point, I had to figure out how to create some long-lasting Nodes with the right effects. Once they lasted long enough and I managed to create dozens of them, I could push further and create permanent clusters of Nodes or filters, though I doubted the Gate Outflow Syndrome would allow permanent clusters.

As long as they last a few weeks, or months maybe, and are easy enough to create and maintain, that’d be a win. A big one . I thought, all while understanding how far-fetched that goal was. At this point, the cluster was too expensive and would disperse after a day at most.

The Mikoniv’s mother raised an eyebrow at her child, then glanced from me back to her child. “He can only come back if you train and study well,” she said in Aqae. At least that was how Aureus translated the bits I didn’t catch.

The kid looked like he was about to shout and cry out loud again but nodded at his mother’s stern look. “Okay…”

Turning to me, her earlier glare was replaced with a far more pleasant smile. “You may return. However, while you will have to pay us the agreed-upon hourly rate, we will supply the ether required for our son’s research and experiments.”

The first part I half-expected. Even if the Mikoniv's mother likely didn’t need the 20 silver coins per hour, agreed-upon deals were sacred to the Mikoniv. She would not antagonize another Mikoniv just to give her son a plaything...because that was what I saw. At least, I was fairly sure she considered me that. Plaything. Guinea pig. The exact term didn’t really matter. Her child wanted me to return to experiment with me, and I was more than willing to give it a try.

But I was surprised she didn’t want me to pay for the ether via etherstones or ether crystals. That could only mean House Heilos gained something from their son's experiments with me.

You are a motivational factor. She’s selling you out to force the young one to train.

Aureus commented what I’d been thinking.

It came as no surprise that I was being used. However, I felt like I was gaining more in return. The Mikoniv child had used up enough water-attuned ether to fill two or three ether crystals. Large ether crystals, each of which contained enough pure water to fill one of my Wild Gates. They were far more valuable than 20 silver coins an hour.

“If he performs well, House Heilos will provide you with more resources to form Nodes.” The mother added, presumably taking my silence as disapproval. She couldn’t have been more wrong, but that was fine with me.

Regardless of the circumstances, this was a win-win situation. The child was having fun, I learned a lot and would hopefully create some permanent nodes in the future, while the mother found a way to motivate the young Mikoniv to train. I was pretty sure I gained the most from the whole exchange, but that was fine with me.

Except if you explode when the kid experiments too much on you.

Aureus commented.

I will heal you! Knit you together!!

Sapsie added helpfully, chuckling while she was at it.

The kid could experiment and try whatever...as long as he didn’t kill me in the process, that is. Maybe he shouldn’t cripple me either, but that was up for debate. Honestly, it was not up for debate, but I was trying to see the positives while ignoring the potential dangers. The bliss of ignorance and such.

***

As soon as I was back home, I couldn’t help myself. I sacrificed the liquid ether within two Wild Gates to create a new filter using parts of the Node structures the little boy – a Thaira was his name – had created within me. Copying an existing structure was theoretically possible, but I wasn’t well-versed in Nodes of such high complexity.

My creation was nowhere near as complex as Thaira’s, but it was much better than my first few tries. Unfortunately, the node started to deteriorate as soon as it twisted and changed into a filter. Maybe that would have been different with water-attuned ether, but it was not like I could conjure elemental ether out of nowhere. Except for life ether and earth ether.

You can always bind another sacred beast. A water sacred beast!

Sapsie exclaimed as if it was one of the easiest things in all of Razarn.

Still, binding a sacred beast of the water element would make things easier. Water Gates would transform regular liquefied ether into water-attuned ether. That, as well as the fact that Water Gates were special Gates, meant I’d probably gain something else as well.

The Liferoot Gates enhanced my vitality, the Earthen Gates strengthened the weave, and the Blazing Gates created an energy circulation system. Adding more may as well shatter the well-kept order, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

Maybe Resh will evolve into a Water Snake or something!

Sapsie added happily.

That...was highly unlikely. Resh, the Mirage Serpent, was something else. His cocoon had been growing ever since the World recovered, his demand for soul energy steadily increasing, but his evolution would take a few more months to complete. Until then, I wouldn’t know what exactly Resh was evolving into, but a sacred beast was unlikely. I didn’t think so.

I wouldn’t be so certain about that. You helped me evolve into a sacred beast.

Aureus commented matter-of-factly.

Primal Heir! Me next!!

Nox added.

The Ferronox Mantis wanted to become a sacred beast as well. Why? Well, because they could grow infinitely as long as their comprehension of their element deepened. For someone like Nox, that likely wouldn’t be an elemental aspect. Aureus had to grow the Earthen Aspect to grow, and Volix had always been the paragon of fire in my eyes. But Nox...Nox’s greatest power was most definitely his blades. Nullblade, to be precise.

“Can I do that? Create sacred beasts?” I didn’t think so. Honestly, I still didn’t understand how Aureus transformed into a sacred beast. He evolved from a Mutant Wild Beast and suddenly the Caldera knelt down and worshiped him as a sacred beast.

I am still growing as well. You can feel it, and so do I.

The Earthheart said sagely, and he couldn’t be more right. Something about Aureus was changing, improving, becoming much more potent than it already was, and I had no idea what it was.

“I know, and we will find out what’s going on.”

All we needed was time, and we had more than enough of it. Fortunately, because I really needed some time to get this Node thing rolling and to grow my World back into its old size.