Oasis

Michael looked at Danny's war rune in surprise. "Is that a tier 1 war rune?" Michael continued investigating as his brother fell silent. Danny cleared his throat, "Time flows differently in the Origin Expanse."

Michael looked at him with a knowing smirk. "You've only been gone for a day. That means you've only spent two days inside the Expanse."

Michael's face grew worried. "What's your soul trait?"

Daniel spoke honestly, "I'm still figuring it out."

-

Daniel smiled genuinely as he saw the summoning gate come into view. Even though there wasn't anything there, he was glad that the gate was still standing. He cleared his throat before speaking, "Ales?"

There was no notification response. He was quite happy about this though. Although he may have deserved it, he didn't appreciate the idea of being haunted. As Daniel neared the gate, a presence began to weigh on Daniel.

[Someone else is here.]

Daniel's eyes widened at the familiar voice. He gazed around for the source of the pressure and whispered under his breath, "I'm sorry, Ales." A sharp pain hit his chest, but no notification came.

Daniel's hair began to stand on end as the pressure intensified. Daniel tried using his sword qi to create a blade, but it wasn't as well-shaped as before. He looked down at the fragmented 'stick' with disdain. His ability had obviously grown too fast. He wouldn't be surprised if his soul trait was permanently damaged.

"How peculiar."

Daniel instantly turned around to face a 4ft tall lizard-looking humanoid. Although his stature wasn't imposing, the pressure Daniel felt from the creature told him all he needed to know about the difference in their power.

The being kicked his feet in the sand and looked around in confusion. "You'll be surprised to know that there are many lords in this area."

Indeed, Daniel was surprised. How was it possible for lords to survive in this climate? The lizard looked at him with a sly smirk and continued, "However, they all started with an oasis, a bountiful source of water." As the being walked away from Daniel, the suffocating pressure lessened. "You didn't even get a manor? A protection barrier? What a joke. It's like the omniscient will of the origin expansion didn't even see you."

Daniel brandished his poorly constructed stick firmly as he watched the being move. He agreed with the words, but nobody in the Origin Expanse did anything without personal gain. "What do you want?" Daniel said abruptly.

The small creature smiled, "An alliance. We'll call 'it' an investment and you can call me, Tirmar." Tirmar crossed his arms and glanced back to Daniel. "I was told to come here."

Daniel swallowed. "You were told wrong then. You've mistaken me for someone else."

As Tirmar's brown eyes locked with Daniel's, his eye began to bleed and instantly turned white, pulsing the entire environment around them. Darkness immediately overcame their area of the desert and all Michael could see was the being in front of him. Tirmar held up his war rune with a prideful and mischievous look. "My soul trait is Clairvoyance. I don't make mistakes."

Daniel looked down to see his war rune reacting with Tirmar's. A soft white hue enveloped it. As he saw this, a terrifying presence came from behind him. Daniel went to turn, but Tirmar stopped him. "Don't. You don't want to see it." Daniel paused and found that he could no longer move his head. Tirmar laughed, "She's pretty-" Tirmar's demeanor changed immediately as he finished his sentence, "-fucking pissed." Daniel moved his eyes down while his head remained still and saw a large tail coiling around his abdomen.

A moment later, the environment pulsed again and went back to the mundane, harsh desert. Daniel breathed out a sigh of relief, "I respect your admiration, but I can barely survive myself. The chance of me successfully retaining subjects is next to impossible without the 'Oasis' you speak of." 

Tirmar glared at Daniel. "You want me to give you answers?" Daniel paused for a moment but eventually nodded. Tirmar brought his little green hand up to his face and shook his head. "Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?" Daniel tilted his head in confusion and Tirmar continued provokingly, "How did 'you' escape dehydration?" 

Daniel's eyes widened in realization.

[Tell him]