The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 353

Chapter 353: Paradigm Shift

ARTHUR LEYWIN

I kicked one leg over the rooftop’s sheer ledge, leaning back against the crenelated wall and letting my attention wander across the Central Academy campus. Regis, back to his full strength in the form of a large shadow wolf, put his front paws atop the red stone merlon and let the cool breeze fan the flames of his mane.

It was still early morning and the campus was mostly dark, with a spray of pink and orange highlighting the distant horizon. Despite the hour, students were already active around the campus, exercising or working through drills. Flashes of occasional magic lit the campus like fireworks, but it was whisper quiet atop the tower. Perfect for thinking.

“So, you really think we should stay, huh?” Regis said, sniffing at the wind. “With the relic…”

I leaned my head back and stared into the blue-black sky. “The ascension half of the Compass stays in place when we enter the Relictombs. Even though we can come and go at will, we still need a safe place to activate it.”

Regis looked back at me curiously, his glowing eyes intelligent. “And is this place really that safe? We could go back to Darrin Ordin, or hell, just find a cave in the mountains somewhere or something.”

“That’s another set of variables that I can’t account for. Here, I know what to expect. We’re at risk no matter where we go in Alacrya, but at least we have a story here, an identity.”

As a professor, not only did I have a cover story and political protection, but I’d come to realize that the respect inherently offered to my position was its own kind of shield. Whatever curiosity or doubt my students and co-faculty might have about me, it was unlikely that they would ever suspect I was a Dicathian spy. There were a host of simpler explanations for any missteps I might make, and the wealthy and powerful would always assume any mystery somehow fit into their own pet intrigues.

“Besides, we don’t fully understand the Compass yet.”

Regis stretched before lying down lazily. “Don’t we? It seems simple enough to me.”

I took out the descension half of the Compass from my storage rune and stared idly at its curved and unblemished surface as if waiting for it to refute Regis.

He was right though. While one half of the relic created a portal into the Relictombs, the other allowed me to return, although not by creating a second portal. It had taken me some time to piece the functionality together, as the second half of the relic had not reacted in any way when I entered the Relictombs, forcing me to clear the zone. However, when I imbued aether into it near the zone’s exit portal, the second half of the relic had blazed to life, outlining the portal with a brilliant light. When the glow faded, I could see my rooms on the other side, Caera waiting impatiently for me to return.

Being able to enter and leave the Relictombs at will changed everything. After the original test, Caera, Regis, and I had gone back in together to further explore the relic’s capabilities, absorbing a significant amount of aether in the process.

“So, exactly how much grape juice can your core hold now?” Regis asked, obviously reading my thoughts.

Despite exploring the zone for an hour or more, and absorbing aether from both the beasts I killed and the atmosphere, I still hadn’t reached the two-layer core’s limit. “We’re not calling it that,” I said with an amused huff, “and I don’t really know. At least ten times more than before.”

Eager for any excuse to tap into that power, I withdrew the seed-pod toy from my dimension rune. My companion shifted to lie on his side, watching me work with a slightly bored air.

The size of my aether reservoir had never been the primary roadblock keeping me from completing Three Steps’ challenge, but the increased purity of my stored aether and efficiency of my aether channels only made focusing on it easier.

When I channeled aether to my hand to form the claw, I could feel the difference right away. First, the drain on my core wasn’t even noticeable. The form of the claw was steadier and more solid, and it felt inherently easier to focus. And while this claw was simply a step toward my real goal, it felt good to finally be making tangible progress.

Regis let out an exaggerated yawn, drawing my attention. Leaning lazily on his side, he made a show of extending and retracting his own, sharper and longer, claws.

I scoffed. “Show off.”

Taking the hard shell in one hand, I slid a claw into the slot and fished around for the seed within. As it settled into the hole left behind by the stem, I pulled downward, trying to force it out, just as I had done dozens of times before. The claw held its form, automatically drawing on aether from my core to keep itself stable.

Releasing a slow, steadying breath, I imagined the shape of the claw extending and curving inward more deeply, almost wrapping around the small seed so that it fit perfectly within the curve. The aether responded quickly to my intention.

I grinned.

Then I pulled. Not too hard, but with a steady pressure that I slowly increased until the edges of the hole cracked and bulged outward, and I could feel the seed sliding through.

Then the pressure released.

The dull brown seed popped free and landed in my palm.

I stared down at it, imagining that the Shadow Claws had some ceremony to celebrate when one of their children completed this right of passage. If I’d had more time in the Relictombs with Three Steps, perhaps she would have had some encouraging memory to share with me to congratulate me, but…

A gust of wind whipped across the tower roof and tugged at the seed, forcing me to close my hand tightly around it. It was a strange and sobering thought to realize that the result of my long efforts with the seed-pod could be blown away in an instant, leaving nothing behind.

I glanced around the barren rooftop and the idle streets below. Snow-capped mountains rose purple in the distance. The unfamiliar stars above were fading away, absorbed by the sunrise.

For a Shadow Claw cub, retrieving the seed would have meant securing a place in their tribe. For me, though, it was simply a reminder that I was without one.

“I mean if you really don’t want it, I can take it off your hands,” Regis said, sniffing eagerly at the small brown sphere.

Following his gaze, I looked more closely at the seed and noticed a nick in the plain brown surface. A subtle purple glimmer was shining through where my claw had dug into the seed. Using an aether claw, I scratched away more of the brown, revealing a solid orb of condensed aether within, it’s signature entirely hidden away by the organic exterior.

As I stared at my prize, wondering just how much aether the seed contained, Regis’s chin came to rest on my knee. His bright eyes were locked on the seed, and his head inched closer.

Thinking back to the aether-rich fruit that grew in the jungle zone where I’d fought the millipede, I popped the seed into my mouth and swallowed.

It burned going down and settled in my guts like a molten stone as the seed’s aetheric core was broken apart and absorbed. My core thrummed as it accepted the rush of energy, and it was full in an instant.

It burned like a star in my solar plexus. I began to glow as a solid barrier of amethyst light shimmered across my skin, the aether threatening to escape. Flexing my intent, I felt the tower groan as its fortified stones and mortar strained against the pressure. The ambient aether buzzed to life, swirling like snowflakes around the rooftop.

“There’s a bit left over if you want it,” I said, snapping Regis out of his baffled daze.

My companion snapped his head away, scrunching his muzzle in a pout. “A god-made weapon of destruction like myself shouldn’t have to settle for second-hand scraps.”

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and turned my attention inward, exploring my blazing core. “Suit yourself. I’ll take it all then.”

Regis placed a placating paw on my knee as he looked at me deadpan. “Many apologies, sir.”

“Smooth as gravel,” I smirked as the shadow wolf’s immaterial form merged with my body and began absorbing from the ocean of aether.

***

I stayed on the tower’s roof until mid-morning, watching the campus rouse while Regis was busy siphoning the remaining aether from the seed in me.

Bathing in the warm glow of the sun and my success, I descended the tower and headed toward my classroom. My steps felt light, as if I had been moving underwater all my life until now; the seed had contained significantly more aether than seemed possible, considering its size.

I took my time to cross the campus, reluctant to face a room full of coddled Alacryan teens. Instead, I focused on controlling the power that was straining to burst out of me. The second layer of my core wasn’t an additive growth to my aether reserves, it was exponential. I could tell it would take time to adjust to the weight of it in my chest.

I had just passed the library when I caught sight of a familiar head of orange hair that faded out to bright yellow.

Briar was standing around with some other girls her age. One of them saw me and must have said something, because Briar turned and gave a small wave, causing her friends to giggle and tease her. Rolling her eyes at them, she broke away and walked quickly toward me.

“Hey, Professor,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet with her hands clasped behind her back. “I just heard. Congratulations. I am actually a little bummed that I’ve already taken that stupid class, otherwise I’d sign up. Vritra knows you’ll need good fighters.”

I frowned, caught off guard. “Sorry, what are you…?”

Her face reflected my own confusion. “Wait, have you not…Oh. Sorry, I assumed…” One of her friends called to her, and her frown deepened. “Nevermind. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. Take care. And…good luck.”

Just like that, Briar retreated and was folded back into the group of girls. Their heads bent together as they began to whisper, and Briar sent me one last uncertain look before they turned as a group and vanished into one of the many academy buildings I hadn’t explored yet.

‘What was that about?’ Regis asked.

Not sure. I’d seen the serious young Alacryan a few times around campus since she’d first guided me across Cargidan, but she never made a point to have friendly conversation.

Shrugging off Briar’s cryptic commentary, I turned toward the Striker complex, where my classroom was. I didn’t make it far before I was brought up short by another familiar face, one I would never have expected to see at Central Academy.

Am I seeing things? I asked Regis.

Someone bumped into me from behind. When I turned a sharp eye on the person—a young man wearing darkened steel armor over his uniform—he winced. “Sorry, Professor.”

I had to search for her in the crowd, as she was moving quickly, but she seemed to keep herself slightly apart from the stream of students, which made her stand out.

Walking even more quickly to catch up with her, I reached out and set a hand on her shoulder.

The young woman let out a surprised squeal and she spun around, her eyes wide and one hand going to cover her mouth.

“Mayla?”

I almost didn’t recognize the young mage from Maerin Town. She had just been a girl, equal parts nervous and excitable, but here, she seemed transformed.

Her surprise bloomed into delight as she recognized me. “Ascender Grey! It’s you! When I saw you listed as professor for the Melee Enhancement Tactics class, I had hoped, but then you didn’t show up the first couple days, so I thought—I don’t know—it was just a mistake or coincidence or something…” She trailed off as her cheeks turned red, reminding of her sister, Loreni, the first time we had met. Tucking a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear, she said, “Sorry. I’m rambling.”

“Mayla, what are you doing here?” I asked. “After the bestowment ceremony—”

“I went through a bunch of testing with the Ascenders Association,” she answered, “and they sent me here to be trained, because of my emblem. At first I was really scared and bummed, because it’s so far from Maerin Town, but it’s actually been okay.” She glanced at a few of the passing students out of the corner of her eye. “Except some of the highblood students aren’t very nice.”

“Wait,” I said as her rushed words wormed their way through my surprise. “Is your blood name Fairweather?”

“Yup, that’s me.” She gave me a small curtsey.

“I didn’t realize when I saw you listed on my class roster…but where were you last session?”

She kicked at the ground and gave me a sheepish smile. “Sorry, some of the other students were picking on the no names, y’know, and a nice boy tried to stick up for us, but then they only made fun of him, too, so I ended up leaving when I saw the professor—you weren’t there. Hoped that it would help the boy, too.” She shrugged. “It’s okay, though, honestly. I’ve learned so much already, it’s hard to believe it’s only been a few months.”