I wanted to ignore the world for a moment as I tried to press against that wall, that block of blackness, that was restricting access to my memories. It left me unbalanced, like a word on the tip of your tongue that you just couldn’t think of but couldn’t leave alone. The feeling of uncertainty, that I was missing something profound was too worrisome.

This was worse. The wall that separated me from my memories was debilitating, I couldn’t function like this. It was something I was unable to ignore. I would always be losing focus and concentration as I poked and prodded at that blank spot trying to access those memories.

Fighting and attacking that formation with will was fruitless, I needed a weapon, a sledgehammer to break down the foundation that the wall was built on. And I had one now. I didn’t know how to cycle or cultivate. I didn’t know any techniques or spells. But I did have a slowly filling pool of Qi.

Gathering that energy, I fumbled in my attempts at control, but what I was attempting needed no finesse. Each time I managed to control even a thimble full of the collected Qi, I would send it rocketing forward along those newly formed meridian channels, attempting to brute force an opening, chipping away at the artificial construct that separated me from myself.

My pounding was frantic and intermittent, occurring sporadically as I fumbled to control my Qi, but my will and focus were absolute. The process seemed to take hours, days even. But in reality, it was a matter of moments. Each second magnified, until my attempts seemed to sunder the connection I had with the passage of time.

My persistence did pay off, and finally, the first breach was created. A small opening that shone a light on what was hidden, a crack in the foundation that revitalized my attempts, tempering my determination with explosive control.

Inevitably the wall crumbled, it stood no chance against my relentless onslaught. And when it fell, it released what had been sealed behind it. And my memories returned.

Genesis and creation. Digi-verse and betrayal.

I had been uploaded and reincarnated. Transmigrated into this world of the familiar and strange. The memories of this body, the life that I remembered, the experiences I’d had were a lie. Not my life, not a true life as I had come to know the nature of life, but not exactly a lie either. More an alternative reality.

I was not flesh and blood; I was digitized code, a set of binary data defined by 1’s and 0’s, that was saved to file and part of an executable that allowed this reality to be.

Now that I had pierced the veil of memory lost, I understood why I had been so frantic to restore what had been lost. The knowledge of events and self-identity allowed me to regain equilibrium.

The difference between this world and my real past became apparent. Understanding came with certainty. I knew who created this Universe, I knew my place in it, and I had pierced the veil of the metaphysical to understand the mysteries of death.

For me, each death was a new beginning.

That knowledge was comforting. Not that regained memories and real enlightenment didn’t come with a fresh set of problems. I shouldn’t have been able to break down that wall, that construct that Genesis had created to safeguard my personality and memories. I shouldn’t have even been aware that a wall existed, that memories were missing, and that I could batter down that artificial barrier unleashing what had been segregated meant something with Genesis’ programming might be faulty.

Now that I could examine the information about this world and this character, I spent another minute or two comparing this character's memories of the world with my past world’s history.

Here humans had not evolved to become the dominant species. Somewhere in the evolutionary process, Elves had become the apex predator. One of many. They had been forced to share dominion with beasts that were capable of absorbing the dense World energy of primordial forests and plants.

The ability to absorb Qi permitting them to form and construct beast cores. Qi allowing their intellect to evolve, their potential for reasoning the equal of Elves. The cores allowed primordial beasts a way to advance realms and grow stronger. Intellect allowed them to strategize, claim territory, and protect what they had claimed.

Elves were as resilient on this planet as the humans were on Earth, but they were more concerned about nature and harmony as they perfected that resilience. It may have been why they evolved in place of Homo sapiens.

The world was huge, easily the size of Jupiter, filled with coniferous and deciduous plants that flourished and processed the extra magnetic energies that such a large planet produced. World energies that made Qi absorption and cultivation possible.

Their druid like beliefs and desire to live in harmony with the planet eliminated the sprawling urban blight and deforestation that had happened on Earth. Still, they had managed to tame the world enough to build niches of relative safety, doing so without the need to destroy or conquer everything they touched.

Once beast cores and the benefits and uses those cores offered the Elves was discovered, cultivation and Qi manipulation soon followed, a metaphysical infrastructure and economy blossomed. The increased magnetic field of the World impacted evolution and explained why the bodies of Elves developing channels and meridians.

They had needed those vestigial organs to process the energies they absorbed naturally. The race had been unconsciously absorbing and utilizing Qi energy since they before they walked upright, an adaption of evolution that explained the reason behind the Elves longevity.

Alchemy, arrays, and hunting became vital instruments of survival. These tools become the foundation for building a society that flourished despite the threats of dinosaurs, dragons, saber-tooth tigers, and beast tides.

Today I had stepped foot into a new world, and the Jai that existed here had stepped forth unto the path of the cultivator.

Her life was about to change drastically. Part of the lower caste, she, no I, had woken and cultivated a spirit root that was highly tiered and opened up doors that would have been closed to me based on my Caste.

Platinum wasn’t technically the strongest bonded Spirit Root possible, that designation belonged to gold, but the difference was only an additional point of understanding, Gold has one more electron than platinum, those that were Gold tiered required one more meridian channel to weave into a network.

One additional path, the bonding difference between the two metals was negligible, both were extremely rare, but one additional channel had an exponential impact on the rate of speed that Qi could be absorbed and released.

It was obvious that Cultivation, Qi gathering, and skills that allowed an individual to harness and control that Qi was highly prized, even the metric to determine power and success in this World.

I wasn’t sure why Digi-verse’s AI placed me here, but it met all the parameters I’d noted. I also wasn’t sure what to expect, even though I’d read my share of Wuxia novels, the reality was drastically different from the novels I’d enjoyed.

Dinosaurs that survived and evolved to absorb World energy and form cores was a far stretch from anything I had expected.

Not just dinosaurs.

Every strange permutation of life I could think of, all those mutations that had gone extinct on Earth seemed to flourish here. Dodo Birds, flying birds large enough to be bear the weight of a rider and could only be classified as Hippogriffs and Gryphons, as well as Woolly Mammoths. Each species evolving and living on a planet so large that it made it possible for them to thrive.

Elves remained inhabitants of vast forests, making homes in trees, encouraging nature to grow into structures that became viable living and business outposts. Appropriating vistas of land devoid of trees to farm and raise domesticated beasts.

Our sight and hearing were enhanced, a requirement to survive alongside some of the fiercest predators, including flying mammals and reptiles. Our increased dexterity and strength were a function of the planet’s increased gravity. Our adaptability allowed us to compete as well as any other creature that was at home traversing the soaring branches and paths of tree and vine.

Farming and technology were heavily dependent on stratagems that made use of our ability to gather and direct Qi. Techniques that allowed us to practice and refine alchemical and array construction. These tools were the final requirement necessary to finally give us parity with the beasts; they allowed us to arm ourselves with weapons, armor, and trinkets that increased the chances of survival.

Some larger and more powerful Sects and Clans had managed to create vast underground fortresses and cities, choosing locals that were high in rare elements that were used for crafting and blacksmithing.

Those that could control Qi and formed Spirit Roots would find themselves capable of resonating with the elements. Affinities that became the second step for advancement as a cultivator. Fire, Water, Air, and Earth were the four primary elements that all other permutations and alignments were derived from. Lightning was a combination of air and water. Space a blending of all four. Gravity a confluence of Earth and Air.

Those with the ability to synergize with more than one Element were either the weakest amongst Cultivators or the strongest. The determining factor was two-fold. The metal one’s Spirit Root aligned with, those that could bond with heavier metals enjoyed wider meridians and deeper soul pools, capable of storing and refining greater amounts of World energies. And those that coalesced core shields that had a high tensile strength, ranked Jade, Quartz, Ametrine, Opal, Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond had even more potential.

“How are you feeling Miss?” A young woman asked as she opened the door without knocking and entered. She was a healer of some type. I’m not sure why I believed that. She didn’t have the normal accouterments that Doctors or Nurses would wear. No stethoscope or name badge. But her clothing was crisp and spotless, her shoes were designed for comfort and durability, and she exuded an ‘aura’ of calmness.

And like all health-care professionals, she wasn’t interested in my answer. She would ascertain for herself what my condition was after conducting a cursory examination. An examination that included the probing of my meridians.

The sensation was strange. Something like the jarring dissonance one felt when nails and chalkboard interacted. The exam didn’t hurt, but it was cringeworthy. Her Qi extended smoothly with no fluctuation. But as steady and under her control that Qi was, my body recognized it as an invasion of my newly formed Qi network.

“OK,” I answered hesitantly pretending I hadn’t heard the conversation earlier. “What happened to me?”

“Nothing to worry about. Your acclimation took a bit longer than expected. Congratulations are in order; you managed to clear your meridians and open a network of pathways that place you at the Platinum grade.

“You managed 78 pathways, and successfully established your meridian network. We aren’t sure why you resonated so much higher than the initial Iron tier you had been initially tested at. But it is the reason you wound up here.

“You should have received a more complex nutrient infusion as you were growing, the mistake left your body void of the required foundation. We had to support you with potions high in Qi and body tempering pills as you processed and built the network and pathways that such a high-grade Spirit root demand.

“Stop using the generic Qi absorption method you were taught. You will need to learn a new cultivation technique that augments the increased Grade level of your root, and soon. If you continue to cultivate with the low-rank method you have been using, you may do real harm to your foundation,” she warned.

“Elder Rhys has left this jade token for you,” she said as she passed the item to me. “It is your sect identifier token. He left instructions for you to head back to the testing stage so that you can find out what elements you have an affinity for.”

“What about my Parents? Do they know what’s going on? They came with me for the testing,” I asked.

“Elder Rhys has informed them of your successful admittance into Flowing Water Sect. They were allowed to visit with you for a brief moment while you were building your meridian network and reflecting.

“For now, they have been escorted home. You will have time to visit with them once your Qi adaption is completed and your affinities have been identified. The Training Elder is expecting you and will inform you about what happens next.

“He is waiting for you in the Testing Hall,” she said, her intonation informing me that keeping the Elder waiting was not a good idea.

The overlay of memories that I had obtained seemed to have been fully integrated into both short-term and long-term memories. Instead of viewing and processing those memories as secondary or separate, they now were part of me that inhabited this body.

What the assimilation of this world's knowledge and memories afforded me was a point of reference. I knew Elder Rhys was the testing Elder, where my parents lived, what it meant that I had been accepted into a Sect and that this world was both wondrous and dangerous. The luxuries of technology I had become dependent on were no more. But Dharmic spells and Qi abilities were possible and able to replicate most of what I had lost.

It seemed a fair trade-off.