Chapter 7

TARA

I could feel the xin erupting below me. I was sitting on the back of Eli as he started enhancing his body for our journey. Power spread through all his cells, and even I could feel it pulsating. If I were to use this much power to augment myself, I would probably last two minutes if my core was filled to the brim. He started jogging, slowly getting up to speed. It only took a few steps until we reached what I was capable of on my best day, but he kept accelerating.

He used the air pressure magic he learned just hours ago as well, to reduce the air resistance, which would've been useless at lower speed, but we were getting so quick, it was hard even for me to keep up. He relied on me to show him the way, but it was getting increasingly difficult to see where we were even going. Now I understood why he suggested the piggyback method. After a few minutes, when we apparently reached Eli top speed, I sent Neo a mind message.

<I literally can't see, and my shouts won't reach him due to the wind. I don't know where we are, I can't show him the way.> It was embarrassing, but true. I pride myself on my speed, but even for me, we were going so fast, the landmarks I was looking for blurred together and I couldn't tell where we were or where we were going.

<Understood. I'll connect your brains together and figure something out,> came the reply. The problem was, during this conversation, we traveled probably about ten kilometers. At this point, he wasn't even touching the ground, every few seconds he just summoned a compressed air pad that he jumped from. We were dozens of meters from the ground. I held onto him a bit tighter, to which he responded by grabbing my legs more firmly.

I felt my brain being scanned again, which was a bit uncomfortable, but I knew Neo was working hard on something. He rested comfortably between my right hand and Eli's shoulder. I was a bit reluctant to squeeze Neo this hard, but he reassured me, saying he's quite firm and I won't be able to hurt him.

<Neo, you're amazing! This is like an augmented reality GPS.> I heard suddenly Eli's voice in my head. Since when could we send messages to each other? Neo was truly something.

<Thank you. I put it together using your idea of navigation, and Tara's knowledge of the surroundings. Of course, I know this part a bit as well, and I have a few brains connected to me, so I sort of know where we are.>

<You are like a supercomputer built into the coolest body on the planet.> He really loved jellyfish. He mumbled something about that when he jumped out from behind our cover to fight the bear beast.

<Flattery will get you nowhere.>

<So why can I hear you talking as well?> I asked both of them suddenly.

<Huh? Tara's here?>

<I told you I'd connect your brains as well. I'm not saying you don't need me to communicate, since you're sending stuff through me, but it's quite simple and effective.>

<We can add "sort of internet" to your description as well.>

< Eli, you know neither of us understand what these words mean right?> He said so many weird things describing Neo, my head started to spin.

<I understand more or less since I scanned his memories, so it's only you. Sorry.> Way to leave me out. Thanks, Neo.

<Well if you're interested, I'm more than happy to teach you the way of electricity. But it's totally useless since fine circuitry immediately breaks in the presence of xin, so…>

<That's alright. You just say weird things sometimes. I'd probably go over my head.>

Sometimes I forget, but he also lost the world he came from. All the things he learned, the way their culture, technology and everyday life worked, all became obsolete and useless information. It would be interesting to learn about how his old world worked, with this "electricity". Of course, I had my own share of this useless knowledge, of how my world worked back then. It was so long ago I almost forgot it by this point.

No need to dwell on the past, and as I put these thoughts into the back of my mind, I wiped a tear off my face. I'd like to think it was because of the howling wind that screamed past us, but I wasn't sure.

ELI

I needed constant distraction from the fact that I was holding Tara. She was way too close. And what's worse, our minds were connected, so if I thought of something inappropriate too loudly, she would be able to hear. It was so embarrassing, I felt like a 14-year-old when she was near me. I don't even know how old I am. Around 18 mentally, but physically? No clue. So instead, I concentrated on the transparent red arrow in front of me that Neo put there.

It really was amazing. Tara couldn't see well at this speed, and I didn't know where we were going, so Neo bridged the problem beautifully. He was a fantastic addition to our team. I still didn't know where we were going by the way, aside from following the red arrow. The conversation I had with Tara was also disconcerting. It was a harsh reminder that we might act like friends, but I basically didn't know her at all. It made me a bit sad that she still didn't trust me, but I hoped that with time, the distance between us shrank a bit.

I was running for an hour now, and I was pleasantly surprised at how little my crystal drained. It drained about a percent every ten minutes or so. I still had a bit of charge from yesterday's crystal that I consumed, so it was a bit less than half full now. I also had a more accurate read on the amount in my crystal, which was a nice change. This expansion I unlocked deemed to be very useful. I suddenly remembered something Patrik said to me about the layers on my xin core in that collapsed subway tunnel.

<Hey Tara. How do xin crystal layers work? What does that mean?> I sent her a message so I could break the silence a bit. We were still awkward with each other.

<It determines the level of your crystal. The more you have, the more xin you can hold, the faster you can absorb it, deploy it and use it. Your body collects ambient xin, which is collected and purified in your crystal, and the purified xin is stored. The efficiency of how much you can covert from ambient xin into your own also increases the more layers you have.> She answered me in a tone that suggested she learned this from somewhere and repeated it until she knew every word while also losing the meaning behind it.

<I see. So how many do you have?>

<Seven, and I'm very proud of it. Many people live well into their thirties with five or less.>

<So, you're some kind of prodigy, eh? How do you get new layers?> I asked the question that was bugging me. If it's so much better to have more layers, but people settle for a few, it must be quite a difficult task.

<You need to overfill your crystal and force it to develop a new layer. It needs around ten times the amount that you can store, and it is quite a painful and long process. It happens naturally as well, but it takes years, so if you don't bother, you get a new layer every decade or so.>

I started thinking. So, if I were to give her some of my xin, could I force her crystal to develop a new layer? It would be pretty amazing. Neo could probably help with the pain as well. We have quite a few cores to absorb from as well, so I could probably help her this way. I have many layers, more than I know what to do with. It even restricted me and "shrunk" due to my low levels. It would be nice to unlock my crystal's full potential, but at this point I'm satisfied with what I have, and the side effects are quite apparent at this point. It could be dangerous, and we don't have a ridiculous amount of xin to waste for something like this.

Such thoughts swirled in my head while I was running. We must've looked ridiculous. A skeleton-like gray haired dude carrying a hottie who's holding a jellyfish in her hands, while going as fast as a bullet train. I almost needed to laugh.

Two more hours passed like this. I was starting to get worn out. I had plenty more xin, but my stamina was absolutely horrible. I was working out some while in the cave hideout, just to put on some muscle, but running was never my strong suit. I could sprint a few hundred meters, if need be, but long distance? You could chase me to the end of the Earth with that. I never was an athletic type. I liked staying indoors, playing on my pc, or coding, or reading.

According to the information cobbled together by Neo, we were almost there. What a relief, I wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. I started to slow my insane pace. It took a while to decelerate, since we were going so fast, and if I stopped suddenly, the g forces would cause our brains and lungs to explode. I started approaching a more casual running speed, one that Tara would run at. So not casual at all, but after my pace, it felt like crawling. The sand helped slow me down, as it slowly replaced the grassy ground.

I was sufficiently tired, and all my muscles ached. I pushed so much magic into my legs that xin veins started to appear, where I only had them in my arms before. I still needed to push some into them, unless I wanted them to buckle, and I felt like if I stopped and fell down now, I couldn't get up for at least hours. So, I slowed down to regular walking speed. Tara hopped down from my back, which I was grateful for, and Neo floated gently next to us.

I wobbled a bit, and my knees gave out, despite reinforcing them with a truckload of xin. I bucked fell to one knee, and I would've collapsed but Tara quickly caught me.

"Are you okay? You pushed yourself too hard." She scolded me while helping me sit down.

"Sorry. I didn't even realize I was running this empty."

I guess I was more exhausted than I thought. My vision got blurry and dark, after emptying my body's resources it wanted to black out to get some rest. But we needed to suppress my xin if we wanted to live, so after a few minutes of catching my breath and getting my act together, I stood up with the help of Tara and finally looked around to actually see where we were.

It was a desert. The climate must have been pretty messed up, because we only traveled fifteen hundred or maybe two thousand kilometers. I ran at the speed of a commercial plane, so it wasn't that much, but still, we were in a mountainous, cold area a few hours prior. It wasn't that big of a desert, or we were at the edge of it, because I could see the edge, where a few trees grew, and yellow grasslands spread across the horizon.

But all around us were beautiful orange dunes spreading out like a golden ocean. A soft, warm breeze caressed my face as it built and moved the soft sand hills. In front of our small group, there was a tall sandstone hill, and an oasis sat on top of it. In the side all around, a path was carved into the red rock, leading to the top like a corkscrew. We started walking toward the bottom of that path.

"She lives on the top of that hill, so we have to climb it." Tara declared with a concerned face. She was still supporting me while we walked, and the boulder was at least a hundred meters tall. I was struggling a bit because of the sand swallowed my foot and it was hard to keep my balance, but I recovered quickly all things considered. I was still severely exhausted, and all my muscles ached.

That was when it hit me. Why the hell am I even walking? I ignited a bit of xin and soupified the air around me. All the weight pushing me down disappeared, and a dull, burning pressure came in its place as my xin veins suffered under the repeated loads. But it was still better than walking and crawling up the hill the normal way. My body was exhausted, so I decided not to use it. I was floating with Neo next to Tara who was struggling in the sand.

"Funny. At least you won't collapse like this, just gently float away when you lose consciousness."

"Well, someone's all stingy despite being carried all the way here." I poked back at her.

"It was the best three hours of my life, fearing for our lives the whole time."

"Well, sorry it wasn't a first-class seat. Next time I'll serve some champagne." She let out a quiet chuckle. It was nice fooling around like this, much better than drowning in awkwardness. I decided not to let the drama bother me and just go with the flow. We have priorities as well.

We reached the first steps. It wasn't steep, but a gentle slope as it coiled around the massive structure. I pushed myself along gently along the carved wall. It must have been made a while ago, as it was apparent the elements started to eat away at the stone.

"So, who's this person we're going to meet?" I asked Tara on the way up.

"Her name's Anubis, and she's an interesting character to say the least. I think you'll get along fine, but she doesn't really like me."

"Why is that?"

"We don't exactly have matching principles. She won't help unless she gets something out of the deal, and when I asked for her help, she turned me down. I didn't have anything to pay her." She looked upset at her. I don't know what the circumstances were here, but I hoped it didn't affect our chances of her helping us.

"So do you have something to pay her now?" I asked after thinking about it a bit.

"What I have is a plan. It is a long shot, and I'll need your help with it. Also, please be on your guard, she can see into your soul."

"What does that even mean." I let out a defeated sigh. I guess I won't know until I meet her, which would be quite soon I imagine.

Just as we were reaching the top, and a few tropical trees peeked out from behind the corner, we heard the voice of a very angry woman.

"Identify yourselves."

Tara immediately answered her. "I'm Tara, we've met before. We came to trade." She just shouted it to the stone, but after a few moments of silence, a barely visible barrier was removed from in front of us. It was completely invisible until it started to move, and the air around it began to ripple and distort.

"Come in then." She sounded really grumpy, and I began to worry. I hoped Tara knew what she was doing.

"Let's go," she declared, and we started to climb the final steps. I changed back to walking mode as soon as we heard the voice, just in case we needed to fight, I was still not confident in my ability to fly while in combat.

We took step after step, and finally reached the oasis. It was a contained ecosystem, with dozens of tropical trees, vines, small birds and small wildlife. It even had a creek with a waterfall, that poured into a small pond. Under the waterfall, the small lake's surface rippled and danced in the sunlight, small droplets sparkled in the air. It would've been beautiful if I wasn't constantly on guard, looking for enemies behind every tree.

Tara seemed to know exactly where to go, and sure enough, behind the central, largest tree, there was a sandstone stair leading down into some kind of basement. It was beautifully carved out, and it was massive. We had to take large steps carefully, and I almost fell again. After slowly descending the huge stairs, we found ourselves in a cave. It was also carved out, and it was a gigantic room with one side completely open, and we had a beautiful view of the desert. It was like a wall-to-wall window, and I imagined it would've been very expensive to live in a place like this a thousand and so years ago.

It combined modern with naturalistic styles and gave off a mesmerizing aura. "Wow." I exclaimed accidentally. I knew we were in a possibly hostile environment, but this place completely captivated me. I suddenly stopped and stared in front of me. Because what I saw could only be Anubis.

"She" was a three-meter-tall cat, with soft golden-brown fur. Sitting like a sphynx, she carefully observed us as we entered her room. Her dark green, beautiful eyes had a piercing seriousness in them which made me quite uncomfortable.

"So, we meet again." she opened her mouth and fully articulated, human words came out. She didn't even have an accent. Her eyes were fixated on Tara, but after a few seconds, she looked at me. "You're new. Explain yourself. Do you plan on drawing all the giant monsters in the area with that amount of xin pouring out of you? Do you perhaps desire… war?" Her eyes radiated a threatening amount of power and intelligence. I couldn't help but feel like she was a deity. She commanded respect with her presence and words.

"Sorry about this, lady Anubis. We have no such intentions. We came for your help exactly because of this, he can't control it yet." Tara explained to her quickly. The look in Anubis' eyes changed a bit, and the hostility changed to a careful curiosity. "Can you please help us?"

"Who do you think I am? Of course, I can help. But you know fully well, I am not charity." It was just as Tara said. "What do you have in exchange for my aid?" Tara looked like a ghost. She was absolutely terrified. If her plan didn't work, we were screwed. I need to meditate all day, but at night? It will all pour out and who knows what kinds of monsters will come for us.

"He has knowledge of the old world. We can give you this ancient information about the lost world." Tara proposed nervously.

"How could this young man have any kind of…" She squinted her eyes suddenly and bored her sight into my very core. "Intriguing." She was thinking about something for a second, then started laughing. It was nice, happy laughter, like the bubbling of the waterfall above us. "What a fantastic pair you two are… Ha-ha! A woman with a soul as old as time in a young body, and a man older than magic itself, even though his soul is barely mature enough to call an adult… Truly fascinating." Again, I had no idea what she was even talking about, and it just reassured me that I knew nothing about Tara, and she was full of secrets. She looked at my confused face apologetically, as if to say she'll tell me everything once I'm ready. "Also, what an interesting friend you have here as well. I accept the conditions," she said while looking at Neo.

"Correct. His body is very old, and through the years he collected an incomprehensible amount of xin, and it's too much for him to control. I don't even know if it's possible." She had concern in her eyes. I understood that she cared for me for some reason, and she'd go through all this for my sake. But why? Why was I so important to her that she's come back to this person that she disliked very much? I didn't understand. But I trusted she'd tell me one day. I owed her a lot.

"How many layers do you even have? Let me see." She stood up and took a few steps toward me. When she was so close, I could smell her fur, she sat down, back into the sphynx position. I could see in her massive eyes that she was observing me very carefully. After a few seconds of silence, when she was done, she finally spoke. "Incredible… Young man… you have 317 layers."