Fabric of the Universe

Fayden awoke with a gasp, drenched in cold sweat. He pushed himself off of the bathroom floor and shivered, the war he had seen would make grown men puke. He glanced into the mirror, but there was nothing special about his reflection.

Walking out, he could already tell that the sun had risen, so he started preparing for the day. Once he was done, he headed out of his room and made a beeline for the chamber where Zerion was waiting for them. He found Ashton already there, engaged in conversation with Zerion. On his right arm, a bracelet lay, it was made of black metal with runes inscribed on the band. At the center of the bracelet lay a hovering orb of concentrated nacht.

Nathan and Elijah appeared moments after he had reached the pedestal. "Is that the thing Azrul made to replace your bandages?" Fayden asked, looking pointedly at the bracelet.

"Nah, that won't be done for a while. This is to keep Noctis' spell active." Ashton answered, showing the bracelet to him.

Fayden leaned forward to get a better look at it, his eyes glowed as the ambient nacht became visible to him. "It has a lot of nacht in it, it should keep the spell active for a really long time."

"Noctis had to consider the amount of time you will be spending in this chamber, so he put more nacht into it than what was necessary," Zerion said, "Just make sure never to destabilize it and we will be fine."

"So, what's the plan for today?" Nathan asked, entering the conversation.

"Do we get to fight each other again?" Fayden asked, glancing at Ashton.

"No," Zerion answered, "It's clear that the two of you will keep dancing between one stage and the other and never actually kill each other. No, this time I will be the one fighting you. You are welcome to team up against me."

"We are dying today, aren't we?" Elijah asked no one in particular.

"Oh, definitely." Ashton sighed.

"You'll get better, don't worry." Zerion said, as if that was supposed to reassure them. He walked up to the hub of the room, and took a few minutes to set it up. Once he was done, the entire room was cut off from the outside world, and the concentration of aether and mana increased exponentially. "Well then, shall we begin?"

Once he entered the field, he made the fight look like a joke. Throughout the days they spent in there, none of them managed to land a single hit on him. Every time someone would come close to hitting him, he would send a mental suggestion to deliberately miss, and their aim was thrown apart.

Apart from his mental assaults, he would injure, or kill anyone who got close enough to him. From crushed hearts to shattered skulls, he made sure that all of them had experienced at least a thousand types of deaths in the five years they were in there.

Most of their waking hours would be spent in the chamber, Zerion had included a few houses in the pocket world inside so that they never needed to leave it. Needless to say, they were grateful when their extended visit in the chamber ended.

"Well, your minds have help up to the abuse," Zerion said, "for the most part at least."

"For the most part?" Nathan echoed, "I wouldn't be surprised if I got genuine brain damage by staying in that chamber."

"Please it wasn't that bad, we didn't even have any metal breakdowns." Ashton remarked, half-jokingly.

"Speak for yourself," he retaliated, grumbling to himself, "I'm surprised I'm still sane after all that."

"Stop dilly-dallying around, Noctis is waiting for you outside." Zerion said, "He'll be taking over your training for the next few months."

"How long has it been exactly since we entered the chamber?" Fayden asked.

"Around six months, give or take," Zerion answered, "You experienced time ten times slower in there."

"Six months? Shocked, I haven't been dragged home yet, though lucky since I need that gauntlet. Any word on that?" Ashton asked.

Zerion looked at him as if he had just grown a second head, "Brat, if you haven't noticed I've been in the chamber with you lot this whole time."

"I'm sorry I figured you had some kinda way to chat with the outside." Ashton shot back. "So much for advanced."

"Not really very easy to contact the outside world when you're entirely cut off from it and are moving ten times slower. It's not practical unless there's an emergency. And no, your new toy does not count as one." He retorted, "Just go ask Azrul himself if you're so impatient."

"Not to you but my lifes on the fuckin line." Ashton grumbled, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with this asura.

"Please, your bracelet has enough nacht to keep you going for at least another year, it's not as precarious as you make it sound." He said, before sighing, "Just go and meet up with Noctis, he's probably waiting for you at the ground floor."

"No need for that," Noctis said, walking into their vision, "You were taking too long, I decided to come get you myself."

He turned to Ashton, "Your gauntlet is ready, it has been for a while now. You can go collect it any time."

"Well, where should I meet you all once I get it?" He asked, already getting ready to leave.

"Once Azrul finishes installing it on your arm, ask him to send you to Mistilteinn, he will send you to my district." Noctis said.

"Sounds like a deal." Ashton said as he made his way out of the chamber, instantly shadow stepping into the lab.

Once he was gone, Noctis turned to the rest, "As for you three,"

He snapped his fingers, and then they were gone, leaving behind only ethereal black mist.

"I have added everything you requested," Azrul said as he tightened the gauntlet on his arm. "You'll feel a little sting on your arm." He warned, and millions of tiny needles pricked Ashton's skin. He grit his teeth at the sudden pain but refused to cry out under it.

Tendrils from the gauntlet punctured through his skin and flesh and wiggled their way to the nearest wires in his body, effortlessly meshing with them. The gauntlet began glowing as the mana from Ashton's provided it with the energy it needed to run.

The gauntlet was primarily black with sharp claws at the end of each finger, it's palm had a redder color scheme with a ring at its center. The red crawled up his forearm, all parts of it glowing, It was almost as if the gauntlet was alive and had blood flowing through it.

"That will slow down your deification process," Azrul said, "while still allowing it to keep altering your body at a steady pace. The gauntlet can store a large amount of aether or mana for you to use in emergencies, and it is nigh indestructible. I would recommend against using it as a shield, however, you do not want the inside machinations to be damaged in any way. Unless of course there's someone who can fix it in your world."

"Hm, doubtful. Though I will let my world's artificer check it out to see." Ashton said, flexing his fingers to test out the gauntlet. "Hate to rush this, but if that's all, can you send me to Mistilteinn so I can join the others?"

"Hm? Ah yes, of course, Noctis' district." Azrul realized, "Off you go then.

He waved his arm and a veil of shadows covered Ashton's vision, a moment later he was hundreds of miles away and back with the others.

Mistilteinn was more lively than Fayden expected, he could see children down on the streets enjoying their lives without a care in the world. He could also see how a soldier patrolled every street. The mana in the air was buzzing with excitement, and Fayden could hear swords clashing and thunder crackling.

As absurd as it sounded, Mistilteinn was shaped like a sword, and Noctis' castle floated over at the center of where the cross-guard would have been.

"Welcome to the heart of Losvillion," Noctis said, "This is where our young are taught and trained, it is also where you will be honing your skills with your preferred weapon and learn to better manipulate the mana and aether."

"I still don't know what aether is by the way," Fayden said, his hand half raised.

Noctis nodded, "We will teach you about aether, marchosium and our history with the Indrath here too. Follow me."

He led them into the building and to a basement floor. How a basement existed on a floating building was beyond Fayden, but he had learned not to question the absurdity of it all. A metallic tube pierced through the center of the room, and the sheer amount of energy that was being channeled down by it made his skin crawl.

"I assume you know of the four different types of mana available in the world?" Noctis spoke, gathering their attention.

"Fire, water, earth and wind, right?" Fayden asked, he had seen the motes of mana whenever he activated Canine Divinity.

Noctis nodded, "Yes. Once you are able to refine that mana it loses it's color and reverts to its pure white state. It is due to this that certain spells are universal, regardless of your elemental affinity."

"If the mana in our core is refined and pure," Elijah began, "Why is it that affinities exist, shouldn't everyone be able to use every element?"

"It would be, except mana is not the only factor in spellcasting," Noctis said, "Your body is naturally inclined to particular elements, it depends on the conditions your mothers were in when they were holding you, and also where you are born. That is why people born in Darv are more inclined towards earth magic, and people born in Elenoir are inclined towards earth and water magic."

"What about me then?" Fayden asked, "I was born in Zestier, yet I have an affinity for all elements."

"The conditions of your awakening were far different than any other," Noctis said, "I had to force your core to form so that I could leave you your 'beast will'. Die to that your core was more artificial than natural, hence it was predisposed towards all elements. And when I gave you the will, your body changed to accommodate it. And you cannot use marchosium without having an affinity in all of the elements."

"That makes some sense I guess," Fayden said, "And what do you mean by Marchosium?"

Noctis raised an eyebrow, "You do not know?"

"No?"

He snapped his fingers and a blob of pure nacht floated above them, "Marchosium is the term we have given to the amalgamation of mana and aether."

"Oh," Fayden breathed out, "I just call it nacht. It means night in a certain language, and since nacht looks like the night sky," He shrugged, "I thought it was fitting."

Noctis furrowed his brows, "That is not a bad name." He rubbed his chin in thought, "I will have to bring it up when the council next time we convene."

Fayden blinked, "I was not expecting to cause such a big change with that information."

Noctis shrugged, "We only call it Marchosium because we did not have any better ideas, and it strokes our ego. Nacht is as fitting a name as any, I don't see why we shouldn't use it."

He shook his head, "Anyways, about aether."

Conjuring chairs for them to sit on, he interlaced his fingers, "Aether is something fundamentally different from mana. It is the fabric of reality itself, the building block of the universe. Without it, nothing would exist. There would be no time, no life, and no matter."

"It is impossible for lesser mortals to sense it, and even among asuras only a select few can." He said, "The Indraths were the first users of it, it is the reason they grew in power and gained the throne of Epheotus. Apart from the Indrath, the Asclepius were the second to learn it, although they only ever managed to understand one branch."

A shiver went down Nathans spine, that name, it string a cord within him. "What are the Asclepius?" He asked.

Noctis stared at him knowingly, before answering, "The Asclepius were a clan of firebirds, phoenixes if you will. They had all but mastered the branch of aether that dealt with life and death— vivum."

"What are the other branches then?" Elijah asked.

"The other branches are Spatium and Aevum. Spatium deals with space and matter, with it you can command space itself to bend under your will. Fayden's Void Step is an apt example of it." Noctis said, turning his gaze to the elf, "Aevum is the dominion over time, it can stop it, rewind it, or even speed it up. Fayden's bubbles are of this genus."

"You might think Aevum is the most powerful branch of aether. However," Noctis raised a finger, "The most terrifying branch of aether is vivum without doubt. The power over life and death, creation and destruction. It is far greater than the power over space and time."

"How strong is it exactly?" Fayden asked, "Because so far, Tartarean Vitality isn't terrifying in any way."

"Your vivum arts are subpar," Noctis said, "Ironic considering your body is naturally attuned to it."

"What? Didn't you just say that your will changed my body to accommodate all elements?"

"I did, but aether does not fall in elements." He said, "Everyone who can use aether is attuned to one branch of it, they can learn spells from other branches, but they will always be better at the branch they are naturally inclined towards. For instance, Ezekiel is of the sputum genus, he finds it easier to warp between large distances than heal a broken bone."

"That was…oddly specific." Fayden frowned, "So I will always be better at Vivum than any other branch is what you're trying to tell me?"

"For now, yes."

"For now?"

"As for you nathan," He turned to the boy lost in thought, "I'm sure you have already deduced it, but your genus is vivum too."

"...He can use aether?" Elijah asked, confused.

Noctis nodded, "Of course he can, he is half asura, he retains his races latent ability to manipulate vivum."

Fayden's eyes widened, "Ashton was right, he is-"

"A phoenix," Nathan looked up, and his resemblance to the firebird had never been so pronounced, "I am a phoenix."