Book 6, chapter 9

Sweat beaded on her forehead as Zee took deep, calming breaths. Drawn in by the ascension sphere embedded in the walls, the world river crashed around her. With each breath she took, immense amounts of attuned spatial energy caressed her skin. She took in as much as she could, letting it be purified before it was dragged into her inner world. The storm inside had already reached hurricane levels, battering the spire, and ripping large chunks off the floating islands.

It had been building for years now, a storm of such ferocity that it would rip her soul apart if she didn't do something. Zee had known she would need to evolve her inner world for a while now, but given the danger to her life, had been hesitant to take that step. 

Now, after she was forced to shatter the ritual keeping it sealed, she couldn't wait any longer. The islands were being torn apart, and large cracks were spreading up the obsidian spire. Whether she was ready or not, she had to take the next step. It was time to evolve her inner world and strengthen her soul.

Reaching into her spatial storage, she pulled out several things. Each was procured at an exorbitant price, purchased before she left Lorocos. She had known this day was coming and had prepared as best she could given the circumstances. 

Doing something like evolving an inner world in the E grade was madness, but she didn't have much of a choice.

She was paving her own path here, so she would have to hope her hair-brained scheme would work.

 If it didn't, she, and probably The Fist would be ripped apart in a storm of unprecedented ferocity. 

She supposed that was why Tanra put her in this heavily fortified cultivation chamber. Zee pushed aside that distracting thought. Picking up the leftmost item in front of her, she cracked open the vial and drank the nectar inside in one go.

It was sweet and tangy, with the consistency of syrup slithering down her throat. The effect was immediate, feeling like she had just drank a hundred cups of caffeinated tea at once.

It was like her mind suddenly went on overdrive, her Well of mental energy turning from a small pond to a vast ocean. Hands shaking, Zee took the second of her gathered treasures out of its sealed container and pressed it to the base of her skull on the back of her head.

The soul treasure melted into her skin, and a huge surge of energy funneled directly into her inner world. It felt like her fragment would explode as the energy inside was pushed beyond the tipping point. 

The pain made her eyes water, but she endured.

"Try to keep the cage intact as long as you can, I will work as fast as I can, but I have no idea how long this is going to take," Zee said through gritted teeth. 

"Good luck in there," Dern said, his tone concerned. 

"I will help the best I can, let me know when you are ready," Kur Zul replied. 

Zee took a deep, calming breath.

Time to begin..

Gritting her teeth, she plunged her mind into her inner world, her senses immediately assaulted by a ferocious storm. Pitch-black spatial energy dominated the storm, with the occasional flashes of violet, silver, and blue. The flashes were the other concepts she cultivated, soul, spirit, and gravity each playing its own role in the storm.

The last concept, time, was mixed in as well, though it was much harder to discern. 

It was a concept that Zee didn't have the faintest idea of how to control. The heart of fire was the catalyst for it, and she was usually just along for the ride. Zee watched on, as rocks the size of carts were thrown around like leaves on the wind, some of them shattering against the obsidian spire.

For a moment, she felt so insignificant. How was she supposed to contain this? Not only that, to evolve her soul, she would have to take all this energy and use it for something. 

It was daunting. 

Pushing down her fears, Zee moved her consciousness up through the clouds. How could she fear a storm that was in her own soul? 

After all, it was her soul. Appearing above the storm, Zee gazed down upon the swirling clouds. Now, where to start? 

Might as well use the peak of the tower peeking through as the focal point. Tentative, she reached out with her mind, and gathered some of the storm together.

It swirled and formed a small vortex. Nodding to herself, Zee set to work. She was on borrowed time. The two treasures she used would only last so long before their energies abated. 

The clouds roiled as Zee dragged them in, pulling the storm toward a singular point. It was easy at first, but the more she gathered the harder it became.

Containing the gathered storm put a lot of strain on her mind. It was getting a lot harder to gather more, while also containing what she had.

At this rate, her mental energy would be drained dry long before she gathered it all. Well, she had expected this. Plans never survive contact with the enemy. 

It's why she had a few more things prepared. She downed a second vial of that syrupy liquid, using the new burst of mental energy to speed up the process. As the storm shrank, and her contained orb of doom grew, she was forced to drink more of the liquid.

The third vial helped, but the effect wasn't near as pronounced as the first. 

Before long, all five vials, which were only acquired after harsh bargaining with Farsaic were drained. Trading half of the scales she would get from Oknarog was a high price, but Zee didn't have much of a choice. 

This kind of marvelous treasure that boosted her Well, and gave her huge amounts of mental energy was just too hard to get. Not even Bastion could get his hands on some. The cost was high, but the results were as desired. 

Hovering above Kur Zul's tower was a pitch black storm with the occasional crackle of energy within. The swirling ball of energy dwarfed the tower, an orb of darkness that loomed large in her inner world.

It was incredibly difficult to keep the energy together, and her mental energy reserves were waning once more. She had hoped her creation would be stable, but it wasn't. 

What to do now? The gathered energies undulated, swirling and crackling, looking ready to blow. If she let go, Zee would turn herself into a bomb. She didn't have the slightest clue how to make a huge ball of gaseous energy stable.

Or did she? Desperate for solutions, her mind raced. The only instance she could recall that was even vaguely similar to this was when she awakened a spark of insight into compression. 

She had been shown a vision, one of a bug-like entity compressing a star. It wasn't really the same as this situation, but she didn't have any other ideas. Anxiety welled in her chest as she reached out and squeezed. 

The pain was incredible. It was like having her head kicked by a pissed-off lizard. The gathered storm fought back, as if refusing to be compressed.

Zee grit her teeth, feeling blood leaking from her nose and eyes as she pressed harder. Elation filled her as the orb of darkness shrunk noticeably.

Eye-watering pain assaulted her entire being, so intense that she nearly passed out. Zee would have despaired but for a faint glimmer of hope. She could feel it. The energies inside that orb of doom felt more stable somehow.

It was a light at the end of the tunnel, a glimmer of hope. If she could compress this thing enough, it might fully stabilize. Feeling as though every cell in her body was being set on fire, she pushed on.

It was the most pain she had ever endured. Zee supposed it made sense to be wracked with pain. She was remolding her own soul after all. Time seemed to fly by, and one pill after another was tossed into her mouth.Her body couldn't endure the beating on its own.

Even now, she was on the edge of collapse, wrung dry. It was quite vexing, Zee could endure the pain, but her reserves of energy were finite. 

The new celestial object inside her inner world was half as large as before, and yet, it wasn't good enough. It was still too unstable.

Unable to eat any more pills for fear of passing out, Zee had to resort to the final trump card.

It was a stupid plan, one both spirits in her mind hated the moment she thought of it, but they weren't in charge. 

She was the captain of this sinking ship, and by golly she was going to either save them, or go out with a bang. Deep cracks spread along her fragment as the avatar of dominion was conjured inside her inner world. 

An orb of vibrant blue spiritual flames grew next to a much larger orb of pitch black spatial energy.

It was like two titans had met on the battlefield, their powerful auras colliding with spectacular effect. The tower, the floating islands and the entire inner world shook under the pressure. 

Zee ignore the screams of pain in her mind, knowing any lapse in concentration here would cost them dearly.

The avatar of dominion swelled in size, drinking in the impurities which her compression had made the other orb spit out. That was a happy bonus, but her elation quickly fled. The avatar reached its full size in a few seconds, and now she had to do something that could kill her.

And even if it didn't she was going to be in a sorry state. Even so, she couldn't back down. Bracing herself, she hurled the two celestial objects towards each other. Bright blue spiritual flames slammed into utter darkness, and her world went black.

She gasped, coming back to consciousness with a shout of pain. Bloody tears streaked from her eyes, her body in such a sorry state she feared she would keel over and die. 

The living book flapped around her small room in a panic, seeming desperate to help, but the most it was doing was nudging her with its cover. She had no idea how it got out of its case, but that was a mystery for later. She ignored the little book, turning her attention on the more pressing concerns inward. 

"You two alright?" Zee asked with a pained groan. 

"We are holding on," Dern said.

"How long was out cold?" Zee asked, coughing up blood.

"A few minutes. You need to get back in there and finish the job, Zul and I can't hang on much longer," Dern said tiredly

Panic welled in her chest as her mind plunged back into her inner world. 

That panic only grew when she took in the war zone that was her soul space. 

The entire space had been utterly destroyed, with all but one of the floating islands' clouds of debris. The remaining island, with a pitch black tower floating amidst a sea of blue fire and floating high in the sky, was a pitch black sun.

The scene took her breath away. She had never intended this, but it was beautiful nonetheless. A sea of blue fire, with a sun as black as night. Seeming to float along the sloshing waves was a small island with a tower. Zee was rather proud of her creation. The only problem was, it wasn't stable. 

The lingering presence from the avatar of dominion was fading, though the sea of blue flames remained. With each passing second, the abyss star, which she decided to call it, was reasserting its dominance. Without the presence of the avatar to balance it out, it was becoming unstable once more. 

This was a problem. She hadn't the faintest idea of how to create a stable equilibrium. 

Just then, the living book bumped into the side of her head painfully, drawing some of her attention outside. The pesky book flapped around her head, orbiting her like a planet might orbit a star.

The thought gave her pause. 

Was it really that simple? Without any better ideas, Zee focused back inward on the abyssal star in her inner world. 

It hung just above Kur Zuls tower, like an orb of ominous darkness. She was exhausted, but still she gave it a mental prod. 

The star moved, if only a little causing waves to kick up in the frothing sea of fire below. Having verified that it was possible to move it, she set to work.

It took every ounce of her remaining mental energy, but she pushed the abyss star further away. Then she started pushing it in an orbit of sorts. Below, the fire battered the remaining island with tsunami size swells, threatening to rip it apart.

Maybe it was too close? Much to her relief, pushing it further away reduced the size of the waves. On the other hand, moving it too far away had an equally undesirable effect. Zee with a feverish pace, she imposed her will, struggling to find the perfect orbit for the abyss star. 

To close and the sea of fire went crazy, threatening to rip apart her island. Too far away, the star threatened to destabilize. She was so tired, her body and mind feeling like a wet towel wrung dry. And yet, her perseverance finally paid off.

Over fifteen thousand Ether crystals, striking a deal with the emperor, and five of her mother's incredibly potent healing pills had gone into this breakthrough. Not to mention the years of effort to get this far. And finally, all of her effort paid off. A sense of completeness washed over her, as her inner word stabilized.

Her body surged with power, her mental energy recovering at three times its normal pace. Not only that, but her Well had turned from a small puddle into a deep pond. Her body was still in a sorry state, but her newly evolved soul was already showing its benefits. 

Her m. Her many wounds were healing at a noticeable pace, and her body's depleted stores of energy were recovering as well. Zee reveled in her success, her mind awash with spirituality from the lake of flames below and dense pulses of spatial energy from the abyss star above. She could feel it, her affinity towards those two concepts had taken a leap forward.

Her other concepts were mixed in, though she only got a vague impression of them. Her main two concepts were just so overbearing that the others fell to nothing more than background noise.

That was okay, though. Space and the Spirit were by far her two most potent combat-oriented skills, so this was a great outcome. Given her crude methods, she was lucky she was even alive. Gaining power from the ordeal was just a happy coincidence. She still couldn't believe throwing the avatar of dominion at the problem actually worked. 

The other two passengers in her mind seemed none too happy about their close brush with death, but that was okay. None of them spoke, just relaxing after their ordeal. 

She needed time to recover, and thankfully, none bothered her. She was honestly surprised Tanra hadn't come rushing in given how chaotic the world river had been during her breakthrough. 

It was probably for the best. Both her body and her small room were covered in blood. They might get the wrong idea. Given the amount of blood, they might think she was a corpse. If not for her mothers healing pills she would have been. Note to self, she needed to get her mother something very nice on her return. 

Getting rid of the pill toxins from eating five of those potent pills was going to be a pain, but it beat dying. Even after using half of the pills she was given, she needed to go see a healer. But before that, just a few minutes of rest. For the second time that week, she promptly fell on her face, passing out from exhaustion. This time was different from the last time. For the first time in a long time, she dreamed. It was an odd dream. She was standing in a field of flowers, looking up at a lone tree atop a hill.

The tree swayed in the wind and the sounds of crying echoed through the air.

Zee was puzzled. She glanced down at her body, noting the blood on her uniform, the dirt under her boots and even the smell of grass on the wind.

She knew this was a dream, and yet, it felt so real. Her real body was passed out in a cultivation chamber aboard The Fist.

She knew that, and yet, this place felt so real. Just where was she, and what was that crying? The grass clacked in the wind as she walked towards the sound, moving towards the swaying tree. 

It was a small tree only about fifty meters tall, and she quickly rounded its base.

It wasn't the tree crying, but a small hunched figure sitting on the other side. Long auburn hair fell over a childlike face, their body heaving with each sob. 

It was a human child, no older than four, maybe five years old.

She wore a dirt stained green dress, and had a thin, malnourished frame. Zee paused in-front of her, uncertain what to do. The kid looked like she was on the brink of starvation. Reaching into her spatial storage, she pulled out a pouch filled with dried lizard jerky and dried fruit. 

Still crying, the kid took some, gobbling the unpalatable stuff down in large mouthfuls. She ate so fast that she started choking, upon which Zee offered a canteen.

Once the eating frenzy had mostly abated, she spoke. 

"Is everything alright?" Zee asked. 

"No, mothers gone," she replied, wiping tears from her eyes and sniffing back sobs.

"Where did mother go?" Zee asked, confused. 

"I don't know.. I have been alone for a long time," she said, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Do you know where dad is?" Zee asked.

The kid shook her head, wiping tears from her bright green eyes. 

Zee gave the kid her best comforting smile. It was just a dream, but why did it feel so real? 

Crouching down, Zee offered a hand. A little comfort couldn't hurt.

"I'm Zee. What's your name?" Zee asked.

"That's a funny name," she giggled, chewing on a piece of dried apple. 

Zee smiled. "Really? Is your name better?" Zee asked.

"Of course it is... Raina is the best name," she boasted. 

"Raina? That is a nice name. Do you know where we are, Raina," Zee asked.

Raina giggled again, the dirt on her face mottle from crying.

"You are funny. We are in a meadow, silly," Raina replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know we are in a meadow, but how did you get here?" Zee asked.

"My father brought me here," Raina replied.

"And how long have you been here?" Zee asked.

"A long time," Raina replied, with a helpless shrug. 

"Has anyone else been here since your parents left?" Zee asked.

"No," Raina replied, her eyes welling with tears once more. 

Zee sighed. She gave the girl a sidelong glance. Was this kid being purposefully obstinate? Or were all kids like this? This was getting her nowhere. Why was she even bothering with this kid? It was just a dream, if not the strangest dream she ever had. 

Maybe a different tack.

"What is your Father's name?" Zee asked.

Raina cocked her head.

"Father is Father. Why are you covered in blood?" Raina asked curiously.

Zee massaged her temples. At the corners of her vision, dark clouds swirled. She glanced towards the horizon, noticing a storm was drawing. 

Raina noticed it too, and fear crossed her childlike face. 

"Not again. I don't want to go back to sleep," Raina said.

"This has happened before?" Zee asked.

"Mhmm. I don't want to go back to sleep, it's so dark and scary," Raina replied, wrapping her hands around her knees and curling up in a ball next to the tree.

Zee felt bad for the kid. Raina looked so terrified. Not sure what else to do, she sat next to the small girl, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as the storm drew closer. Dark clouds blotted out the sky, swallowing the once tranquil meadow in darkness. 

Zee could feel her body fading away, her mind leaving the dream. She tried to give the kid one final assuring hug, but the dream ended. Zee awoke with a start, no longer in the cultivation chamber, but back in the ship's medical bay.

The living book was clenched tightly against her chest, held in a firm embrace. Her body was mostly healed, though some lingering damage to her fragment remained. Judging by the fact some of the cracks were already mended, her fragment would heal now that her soul had evolved.

Her room was quiet, though she could sense people waiting just outside her door. Before she called them, Zee was curious about something. 

Cracking open the book in her hands, she turned to the last page. Just as she remembered, the writing remained.

'To my dearest Raina, love Halico' 

Zee wasn't sure if this was a coincidence or not. There was no way it wasn't. There was only one person she knew of who could trap a person's soul inside of a book.

A vivid memory of Tarnival turning Petrie into a book flashed in her mind. The question was, why would that old geezer trap a little kid's soul inside of a book? And more importantly, why would he force her into a blood contract with said book?

Her mind whirled. She had just passed a huge hurdle, and yet, that was secondary. Was that terrified little kid trapped inside the living book? 

No wonder the book was so childlike in its actions. It was actually a child trapped in a book.

Seeing that child so terrified made her want to help them get out. Zee had no idea what to do about it, but maybe she could help the kid out.

Nodding to herself, she gave the book in her hands a gentle pat. 

"Don't worry Raina, we will find a way to get you out of there," Zee said.

It rustled its pages in excitement at her words. 

Zee smiled. Excitement welled in her chest, as she turned her focus back to celebrating. Time to see what all her efforts accomplished.

"Status," Zee said.