“So you wake up in a big open pond, and your first idea is to buy a large plot of land?” Colvara asks, as we practice flying around with my cool new wings! “Yeah! I just LOVE building! Just wait ‘till you see what I can do with my hands!” I shout over the rushing wind, making her giggle as I scout out a nice piece of land.

“You need help with wording.” She says, making me chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I do. My old friends used to say that all the time.” I say, surprising her for like, the twentieth time today- “Oh my god, you must miss them so much.” She says, as we land on the spot I look, and I look around.

“‘Like you wouldn’t believe- Do you have any paper?” I ask, and she looks at her hands. “Oh, I can make you some. Shouldn’t your memory be good enough by itself, though?” She asks, and I recall with one hundred percent clarity everything I had done today…

“Holy shit.” I say, as I reach for my head- “What? Is that not normal where you come from?” She asks, folding her arms… “How would that be NORMAL? Learning shit must be so easy! What the fuck is this?!” I ask, and she kind of just shrugs.

“You would just have to blink at each page of a book! Everything is so easy for you!” I shout, as I recall all the sleepless nights I spent on these hard-earned skills! “I’m sorry! I didn’t make it this way!” She says, and my arms go slack…

“Fair enough. I’m definitely going to exploit the shit out of this.” I say, stretching a little, as I walk around analyzing every inch of ground. “That’s what everyone I know does- Hey, Oliver! This area might be unclaimed, actually.” She says, surprising me as she runs up.

“Governmental bodies can’t claim outside a certain radius depending on their size, so if you head up and check the surrounding civilizations, you could probably claim this spot, with little resistance.” She says, and I fold my arms, a little confused how that works…

“How’s that work?” I of course ask, deciding I want more info. “Well, I mean, Utopia for example, could just claim any spot that suddenly becomes open for the taking, before anyone gets to it. This is of course enforced by most countries, including the world councils, and the world powers.” She tells me, as I nod slowly, and I feel my chin, only now realizing I have a little bit of beard.

“Well, only you’re sure. I’ll take a quick look around, and tell you what I see.” I say, and she gives me a thumbs up, before my wings shoot me into the sky.

-√Z2-

I smash the glass wall with my large monster-fist, and look around at my siblings in their test-tubes… “Experiment three has escaped! Capture her!” One of the guards shout, and I run over to another tube, smashing it open.

This one is like me, but skinny, green, and not quite as fluffy… She awakens, and looks at me. Her eyes are yellow, and despite her lanky disposition, her fists are huge- She stands up and slams them down on a guard, digging him through the floor…

I look at the other three, and point at them as I stare at her. She stares back, but we don’t know how to speak to each other… I decide to assume she knows what I want, as I rush over to the next one with the little friend inside.

He’s like a little purple ball with arms and legs, and a huge mouth. I smash open his container, and he flops out like a dead fish… I look at green-friend again, and her fist slams into another guard, knocking him away from her, as I bash open another container…

This one is a blue friend, he’s not as lanky as green-friend, but his body is covered in bulbous protrusions that make him look weirdly strong in his own right. I look around, purple-friend has already awoken, and blue is getting up right now as I speak.

Purple is throwing himself against our enemies, as more and more rush in with long pointy poles to poke us with… We’re backed into a large door, and I turn around… “No, you fools! That’s where experiment five is kept!” Another one of the attackers screamed, as I slammed my fist into it, hoping I could dig my way out, since I hadn't realized it was actually a door in the first place…

Blue friend grabs a stick, tears it from the guard’s grasp, and begins fighting off multiple at a time, barely able to hold them back, as I beat my fists into the door, until green-friend runs over, and her fist shoots right through…

We tear it open, and rush through followed by the other two, just before the attackers can overwhelm our blue-friend- The room is dark and empty, not one thing in sight, or so I thought, until a loud grumbling sound rumbles from the depths…

A colossal red arm stretches forward, grabbing the floor to lift up an object I hadn’t noticed… Two bright glowing yellow eyes stare down at us, as we stare in awe of his size- His fist flies through the door with no resistance, causing the area to shake as fear begins to take us…

He pulls his arm back, and sits down again, scratching his head as he stares at us, no longer so threatening… I hold out my hand, and he does the same, allowing me to grab his finger, and the others do the same with his other fingers, before picking all of us up, and carrying us out of the metal tomb…

We arrive at the surface, staring in a newfound awe of the big bright world that they had tried to hide from us…

“Hey! You!” Another small hairless one calls out, surprising everyone, even Big-Red-Friend, causing him to drop us… “You guys okay?” He asks, yet we don’t really quite get what he’s saying…

He’s wearing all kinds of pale and green cloth over his body, he has black wings, and feathers protruding from his cheeks… “I’m Oliver, it’s nice to meet you.” He says, holding out his hand, and THAT is something I recognize-

I reach out, holding out my finger with a big dumb smile, allowing him to grab it. “You guys don’t talk much… Huh?” I don’t know what that means, but I hug him anyway, because I just made a new friend!

-√Z-

I slam my fist into the metal wall, feeling it pass through half a foot of iron like paper… “I’ll admit I dropped the density, but as you can see, you’re a lot stronger than you thought.” Colvara says, as I look at my fist-

She pours lava on my arm, and I scream- “DAH-” It drips from my arm, and I kind of just stare at it… “Oh…” I say… *Ploop* goes the magma as it falls right off, and she bops my shoulder with a metal rod- “Ow! Hey!” I shout, nursing it as she looks at the small dent in her stupid pole…

“Nothing particularly special. You’re about a sixth as tough as I am.” She says, surprising me… “You don’t look all that strong.” I say, and she throws her fist to the ground, kicking it up and creating a table with it… “Uh…” I mutter, as she rests her elbow on it, and raises an eyebrow.

“Square up, bitch. I’ll feed you those words.” She says, and I take an involuntary step back… “Yeah, no… I’d rather not…” I say, and she stands up. “That’s what I thought.” She says, folding her arms…

“So where’s that place for me in comparison with the strongest guy in the world?” I ask, and she thinks to herself. “Well, that would easily be the beast-king… No idea. Incomprehensible.” She says, and I just stare at her…

“You say that like he could pop a planet.” I say, and she nods. “Yeah, sounds about right. The legendary creatures even believe it was the first beast king that created the stars.” She says, and it dawns on me just what kind of world I’m in…

“Huh… And I was just starting to feel kind of strong…” I say, my arms going slack again… “Hey, don’t sweat it. You can always just amass power of your own.” She says, and I consider it for a minute, but ultimately: “Nah. I don’t need it. Teach me how to make metal and dirt and stuff.” I say, and she nods in compliance.

“Right, so you can build stuff. Well, to start with, you’re going to want LOTS of mana, you should buy a mana-star.” She says, surprising me. “What’s that?” I ask. “It’s a small orb that will contain and compress mana, like an astrological star.” She says, and I nod in agreement.

“Right, that sounds pretty useful, for whenever I’m not using my magic.” I say, and she pumps her fists again- “Yeah! And you can bigger ones too! If you get an ether star, it'll even produce its OWN mana!” She says, and I nod along as I rub my chin.

“Alright, I’m sold. We’ll build a village, sell it to the highest bidder, and get a star.” I say, and she cheers- “Wooh!!! Let’s get started!” She says, making me chuckle, before we get started with the planning phase…

-√Z3-

“Kid, are you even there?! Just grab my hand, fool!” But I already decided to die, I’m too small, too weak to ever stand up to the oppressive force of the templar… Just leave me to die… I’m not worth it… “It’s not too late! I’m just like you!” He says, but I close my eyes, waiting for the flames to take me…

“If you don’t grab my hand, right here right now, then nothing will EVER get better! Don’t let them win!!!” He screams, his words touching my soul… “Are you sure?” I ask, surprising him… “Can someone, even like me, truly make a difference?” I ask, as I open them again…

“Yes! I promise. It all starts with a decision.” He says, and I stand up, before slamming my foot into the ground, and ascending to him, barely grasping his hand as he pulls me up to the surface! “I got you, buddy… I got you…” He says, sighing as his back hits the floor, while I sit on his chest…

“Another one?” A girl asks, frightening me as I step back- “Hey, it’s okay, the templar can’t get you. What’s your name?” She asks, and I look at my hands, then at her, and shake my head… “I don’t have one.” I say, and she gives me a simple nod…

“Hey, that’s okay, big guy. Hey, Oliver, you get him to one of the dropships, I’ve gotta’ help out elsewhere.” She says, as the roar of battle screams in the distance… “Right, thanks Colly.” He says, making her giggle- “Not in front of the kid, dude.” She says, making him chuckle…

“Alright, sorry. Come on, buddy.” He says to me, taking my hand, and raising me up to his chest before running forward with me. “We have to stay down, buddy. We’re not quite out of the pit yet.” He says, as a large ship comes into view, before being destroyed…

“Dammit!” He shouts, as an all too familiar figure steps out of it… Covered in head to toe with armor that sports no weakness… It’s a templar… “Child, for the heinous sin of further acting against the will of the gods, you will meet your fate by incineration.” He says, pointing at us with a large hammer in his off hand, before pulling out a gun…

“Shit…” Oliver says, as the monster points its gun at us, and Oliver’s wings shoot out, only to shoot us into the air, as he fires, and multiple people descend upon him! “They’re Dread-Templar, they’ll protect us.” He says, and I nod, watching the giant tear one of their arms off, before another shoves its sword through his body…

A whistling noise rings in my ears, and I realize what’s happening- “WATCH OUT!!!” I scream, and he tries to turn around, but the bullet hits him, exploding against his back, sending us to the forest floor, and slamming Oliver into a tree, as he takes the fall for me…

“H-Hey- Are you okay?” I ask, and he gives me a sad looking thumbs up… “Yeah, I’m just fine- KAHACK-” He coughs out, blood from his mouth hitting his clothes, as he tries to stand up- “Shit, man… Those things pack a punch… Ey?” He says, as he continues to smile like an idiot…

“Why? Why for ME? I can’t even use magic…” I say, and he shakes his head… “It’s like I told you… If we don’t do anything, then nothing will ever get better…” He says, reminding me… “Right… But does that really include everyone?” I ask, and he nods.

“Yeah, even you man… Now stop worrying, you’re upsetting my wound, dude. Just come up with a name while I recover…” He says, and I sit down. “Okay… Um… Could you-” I say, but he raises his hand- “Nah, don’t ask me. It’s gotta’ be from the heart.” He says, and I fold my arms.

“Okay… Slade.” I say, surprising him- “Like the mercenary?” He asks, confusing me- “What’s a mercenary?” I ask, and he laughs- “Dude! Do you not know ANYTHING cool?” He asks, and I shrug. “Alright, alright. I’ll tell you.” He says, sitting up, and opening his eyes again.

He tells me about mercenaries, how they’re badass warriors with guns, who listens to nobody- “That sounds so cool! Then I chose to go by Slade! Slade the pig!” I say, and he throws his fist into the air- “Yeah! Slade the pig! That’s what I’m talking about!” He announces, before standing up…

“Alright, I think I’m good, Slade. You get to safety.” I nod, as he limps past me- “Wait- You’re not going back in there, are you? Will I ever see you again?” I ask, and he looks at me, before giving me a thumbs up… “Of course you will. I won’t let something like this kill me.” He says, before running off…

-√Z-

“I must say, Mr. Smith, this is QUITE an impressive display. How long did it take?” My wonderful client asks, as I show him around the castle. “About six months, that’s all.” I say, and he nods. “Ah, you work quickly. I MUST commission you for work sometime.” He says, and I nod graciously.

“Just remember.” Colvara cuts in: “We’re not going below the asking price. You’re getting what you pay for.” She says, and he nods in agreement. “Of course- Of course- I have to admit, though. I didn’t quite believe it when I saw your ad in the paper, I figured I would have to build my own kingdom from the ground up.” He says, making me laugh.

“Please! A noble of YOUR standard? As if!” Making him join in our pompous laughter, as Colvara stares. “Puhuhu! Quite! Now, let’s get your payment sorted out, my friend.” He says, and I rub my hands, quickly nodding in agreement.

“Absolutely! Come, let me show you to the- I mean YOUR office.” I say, making the two of us laugh again, before running off with him to go cement the deal. After that, Colvara and I helped him settle in with his family, and promised we would visit some time, before heading off…

~A couple hours later~

“I can’t believe someone would pay so much for a castle.” Colvara says, as we leisurely walk through the forest, her bank account being much richer than it was a while ago. “Of course. Doesn’t anyone do architectural work here?” I ask, and of course she nods.

“Well yeah, obviously. But most people usually hire someone BEFORE starting construction...” She says, intriguing me a little… “I see… So we have quite the business going then…” I say, and she shrugs. “Yeah, I guess we do. Come on, let’s go get your Mana Star.” She says, pumping her arms again as I give her a thumbs up.

After that, we flew for miles and miles, taking rest-stops in between to recharge, before arriving at a massive city named Eightreoth… “This place is incredible…” I say, staring at the giant platforms floating in the air, connected by tubes and glowing bridges.

Characters of all shapes and sizes navigate the city, some sitting around, while others rush to their destinations, for what, I could not tell you… “Eightreoth is the closest city that sells Mana Stars and Ether Stars.” Colvara says, as we travel around, passing by a pack of hyena demihumans taking up a park, and a giant demihuman standing over thirty meters tall…

They seem to be some sort of hybrid between a human and a bear… “This way, Oliver.” Colvara says, breaking me from my stupor… “I didn’t know giants existed.” I say. “Yeah, they usually spend most of their time on Pandora.” She explains, and I accept this answer.

We finally arrive at the place, and I look around at these segmented orbs… “Wow, and you can put all that mana in such a small space…” I say, as I pick up the display star… “Oh, of course. You can condense your mana as much as you like. You should try it out.” She says, and so I do.

I condense my magic into a single point, and push it out, watching a little sparkle fly out of my hand… “Wow…” I say, holding it between my hands as I feel my mana recovering already- Colvara grabs it and giggles- “Thanks for the mana.” She says, before running over to the counter again…

“Hey! That’s mine!” I shout, making her laugh at me as she rings the service bell… A man comes out, and grabs her arm- “Please don’t break my bell.” He says, his eyes covered by his sunglasses. “Sorry. We’re here to buy, we want a Mana Star with an ether core.” She says, and he nods.

“Of course, this way.” He says, jumping over the counter and gliding over on roller skates before stopping at one about the size of his head. “Would this work?” He asks, and she looks at the price. “Nah, bigger. We just need the one.” She says, and he nods, kicking off the ground lightly and rolling to the next one.

He falls over, now lying on his back… “What do you think of this one?” He asks, and I just stare at him, as Colvara checks out the price of THIS option… “You okay?” I ask, and he gives me a thumbs up. “We’ll take it. It’s for my buddy here.” Colvara says, giving me a hug…

“Very good.” He begins. “Just wait here and I’ll have your product ready in minutes. May I offer any modifications or other such enhancements?” He asks, and she shakes her head. “That’s quite alright, thank you.” She says, and he pulls his legs in, kicking off his back and back onto his skates, making us catch him before he falls again-

“I’m not very good with these yet. Thank you for your patience.” He says, before swinging behind the display case and behind the counter, into another room…

A hot few minutes later, a door opens, and he beckons us in with his hand, and so we of course head in, to find a large orb much like the one Colvara asked for… “Luckily, we had it in reserve, and it’s ready for imprinting.” He says, guiding me to a catwalk leading up to it…

I move down the catwalk and place my hand on the orb, feeling a shock jolt through my arm, and my consciousness psychically LINK with the orb… I steady myself, the shock having made me lose my balance, as I feel one of the plates on the orb split open, and reveal the wellspring of mana inside…

“Amazing…” I say, as I stare at it… “Yes. I should warn you, with an ether core… You can unleash the ether for a much more powerful effect, but it’ll exhaust the supply, and you’ll have to replace the ether.” He says, and I nod. “Right.” I say, as I watch plates open, and blue flares shoot through the openings and back into the star…

“So does this thing simulate a star?” I ask, and he nods. “Yes. The ether will just make it bigger, as the core counteracts the ether by condensing it regularly. If you like, you can even adjust the condenser rate.” He says, and I try it out, turning the star into a bright single point, shining through the cracks of the segmented orb…

“Well, thank you again. His payment, Colvara?” I ask, and she nods, taking him back to the main room after telling me to go try out my new ‘toy’. I walk outside with it, and flap my wings, practicing with them a little more as it sits there-

“Oh.” I say to nobody in particular, as I realize I have to guide it regularly. And so, for a while, I practice with that, waiting for colvara to exit the shop.

My orb and I fly around and I land on it, sitting on top of it as I surrender a portion of my consciousness to keep it shut-

Allow me to introduce myself.

WHAT THE FUCK-

Oh, sorry, am I not supposed to talk?

Who are you?!

Your secondary conscience. I keep track of your memories, skills, spells, stuff like that. I even sort your memories and think about the stuff you don’t care about.

Dude, I do NOT want another me rooting around inside my head, walking around when I’m asleep-

Oh, don’t worry. I can just stay quiet from now on and forever, ‘makes no difference to me. But I should mention that I am not at all capable of controlling my body.

Well, okay… And I guess you don’t HAVE to shut up for now and forever.

Cool, thanks! So I noticed you were thinking about a tertiary conscience… So we’ll have to create a skill to rework and alter our brain functions.

That certainly doesn’t sound EASY.

Nope! But I’m sure we’ll get some’n some day! Good luck!

Thanks, man! I’m starting to like you.

Hell yeah.

*Fist Bump*-*Fist Bump*

“OLIVER!!!”

Colvara suddenly calls to me, startling me as I clamber to the edge to look down- Her face is beat-red, and she is FUMMING… “Hey!” I call down to her! “Don’t you HEY me!!! Get down here RIGHT now!” She screams, and make slip off of the star, and catch myself with my wings-

I reorientate myself, and descend with my star, landing next to her. “Sorry, I was kind of talking with my, uh, head-roommate I just found out I have.” I say, and she rolls her eyes. “Right. Figures. I figured yours would just stay silent.” She says, making me frown-

I don’t think she likes me, man.

Nah, it’s cool.

“Hey, you’re upsetting him.” I say, folding my arms. “Whatever, come on. Let’s go already.” She says, grabbing my arm, to rush off to god knows where THIS time…

-√Z4-

“HORONVA!!!” My boss roars, making me shudder- “SORRY!” I shout, crouching to try and reduce my presence… “You moron! Did you think I wouldn’t notice?!” He shouts, from the room where I accidentally broke some priceless artifacts…

“Do you WANT me to send you back to the facility?!” He screams, and I look at the door, scooching over to it little by little… “Get in here! Right now!” He shouts, as I feel tears welling in my eyes… I reach for the door, but it opens on its own…

“Oh, hello.” Says a man with tiny feathers for a beard, looking down at me. “Are you okay, miss?” He asks, kneeling down as I use the cotton on my arms to wipe away my tears. “I’m okay.” I say, and he stares at me for a full minute…

“Right…” He says, before standing up, only for BOTH of us to be startled this time- “Horonva, I will kick your ass!!!” Screams my boss again, walking through the halls and into this very room, revealing he is a dragon fuming with rage until he sees the guy standing behind me…

“Horonva! Why didn’t you tell me we had a guest?!” The large Dragon shouts, as he watches tears fall from my eyes… “I’m sorry.” I choke out, and he rolls his eyes. “Sir, I’m sorry about her, she’s got no control over her emotions.” He says, walking up to the man behind me.

“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but I think I already have, from the other side of the building from how it sounded.” The man surprisingly says, making me giggle- “Heh. You like that one?” He asks, and I realize my mistake, and run off-

“Kid!” He calls out, as I run off to pretend I’m doing my chores… “Dude, that kid was crying.” He says, but my boss rolls his eyes and sighs. “Listen, I’ve had her here for two years, she’s practically LOOKING for something to cry about sometimes.” He says, reminding me why I despise the way I am…

“Right… I’m here to see the Eye of Solaris.” The man says, surprising me he even knows about it. “Of course, right this-” My boss says, stopping midway- “No. I’ll find it, thank you for the offer.” The man says, walking in my direction-

I hear another set of footsteps- My boss- I begin to run, but I feel a hand land on my shoulder… “Kid.” He says, and I slowly turn around to look at him, drying the tears from my face… “P-Please… Don’t tell my boss…” I say, and he shakes his head.

“Horonva, right? If someone grabs you, the first thing you should do is try to get out of that situation, and look for help.” He says, staring at me with scary intensity- “I’m not going to tell your boss anything…” He says, and I feel myself calm down a little.

“I’m Oliver Alexander Smith. It’s nice to meet you.” He says, holding out that same hand to shake mine. “H-Horonva. Just Horonva, it’s easier on my boss.” I say, and Oliver cringes a little, but sighs and continues anyways.

“Now I need you to be honest. Is that man hurting you?” He asks, and I shake my head. “N-No. He’s never touched me.” I say, and he sighs again, the tension rising off of us like steam from a pot… “Good. Does he always talk to you like that?” He asks, and I look away…

“Kind of… But it’s only because I’m pathetic, like he says.” I say, and the tension returns to his face- “No. That’s not normal. Listen, I’m not going to pretend like I know you. But if you’re ever uncomfortable, or you feel unsafe…” He says, as he glares into my eyes…

“Call for me, and I’ll find you. But remember, only IF you call for me. And don’t try that ‘testing it out’ crap either, I’m not coming over here because you stubbed your toe or something.” He says, standing up and pointing at me, as he makes me giggle again…

“Okay.” I say, and he stands up. “Good. Now… If you wouldn’t mind… Might you show me the Eye of Solaris?” He asks, and I nod, putting my broom away. “Okay, it’s this way.” I say, excited to do the escorting today.

…

We arrive and I point at it, Oliver humming as he walks around it… “Supposedly…” I begin, as we continue to observe. “This was just the Eye of Solaris himself. He was believed to be the prophet of our star, existing two million years ago.” I explain as he nods and stares at it…

“Yes, I heard he would spread gifts and miracles from the sun, nobody would go hungry.” Oliver explains, as he flaps his wings and looks at the top of it. “Quite the story, is it not? I wonder if its subjects were like us.” He continues, landing on the floor.

“Were they as powerful as we are? Or did he truly provide for them entirely? What did they do? Did they form factions and war against each other? Or were they content with what they had?” He asks, and I stare at him…

“I don’t know, I’m twelve.” I say, making him laugh. “You’re a funny kid, I like you.” He says, giving me a thumbs up, and making me smile. “Thank you.” I say, looking away, and he folds his arms. “Yeah… You know what? I’m gonna’ get you some friends, and boost your self esteem.” He says, surprising me again as I look around.

“N-No. I don’t need help with my self esteem…” I say, and he raises an eyebrow. “Really, now? You let that mean’ol dragon bully you for what I can only assume is living expenses.” He stretches again- “ANY~ways… You’re getting some damn sunlight.” He says, and I look at the windows.

“You understand? And if you don’t, I’ll tell your boss how much of a bother you’ve been.” He says, and my eyes snap open with realization- “Okay! I’ll go outside!” I say, making him smile. “There we go. And if you promise to make some friends, I’ll even do your chores-”

“R-Really?!” I ask, beaming with excitement! “Y-Yeah. Sure… How hard can it be?” He asks, and I grab his arm, taking him to my room! We arrive and I show him the large list of stuff I do all day, making him cringe again, for some reason…

“Good lord- I’m gonna’ kick that guy’s ass. Alright, you have fun, Horonva, just leave it up to me.” He says, and I thank him before running to the exit!

-√Z-

“Alright, so the only real way to create materials like this is through good’ol trial-and-error.” Colvara says, as she places multiple orbs in front of me. “You just have to replicate the atomic structure and change your mana.” She says, and I try it, shaping, restructuring and assigning the mana…

I create a psychedelic orb with the combined consistency of playdough and chalk… “Huh…” I say, staring at it… “That’s a great start, and it’s got good consistency.” Colvara says, picking it up, and mushing it around in her hand- “here, let me just lock the mana for you.” She says, gathering it all into an orb again.

She places it, and taps it, the whole thing changing from that psychedelic mess to that familiar brown I instantly recognize! “This is so cool!” I say, as I create another, and try again, trying to imagine how she locked it like that… Then it hits me.

I pick it up, and feel the mana, using my magic to alter its very existence into what is my synthetic dirt! “Good job! I’m so proud of you!” She says, as I parade around with it! “Dirt’s a great one to start with, since you can quickly learn clay, sand, and silt!” She says, and I excitedly take a minute to try it out-

“I did it!” I say, and she claps her hands. “You know, you learn pretty fast, Oliver.” She says, as I try creating iron and other materials- “I’m gonna’ try iron now.” I say, and spend about half an hour trying to do that…

I spent days, which then led to months practicing magic, training, until I had even begun to learn mythical magic, getting quite a few of them under my belt.

…

“Oliver! Hey!” Colvara calls out from the other room, surprising me- “Sorry, I’m kind of busy reading!” I call back, and earn a moment of silence- “Get out here, dumbass!” She shouts, and I walk over to open the door. “Alright, fine.” I say, entering the kitchen, surprised to see a cake…

“Oh.” I say, staring at the big one sitting on an arch above it… “Hello.” Liyoxis says, surprising me he’s here. “What’s going on?” I ask, making him laugh. “It’s technically your birthday. Your Orion birthday, to be exact.” He says, and my eyes widen-

“I had no idea.” I say, walking over to sit down, as Colvara watches me, then sits down next to me. “Hey, Liyoxis, what does our future say NOW?” She asks, hugging me for some reason… “I don’t know. It’s up to you, isn’t it?” He asks, and she laughs.

“Yeah, it better be!” She says, kicking her leg into the air, as I hold up her back… “Jeez, I swear- You go CRAZY when he’s around.” I say, and she shrugs. “Don’t blame her, I should visit more.” Liyoxis says, rubbing the back of his head.

“You’re dwelling is very quaint, I must say.” Liyoxis says, smiling as he looks around the nice log-cabin I made. “I could settle down in something like this, if I wasn’t so busy all the time…” He continues as Colvara cuts three slices of cake out, passing them out.

“I’m glad you decided to be here, Liyoxis- Can I call you that?” She asks, smiling brightly as she practically pampers him… “Yes, that’s fine. You can consider me your friend. Also, good job earning that mana-star out there. That kingdom will see good history.” Liyoxis says, as I sit back and reminisce of my handiwork.

“I believe you called the town… Tauseht?” He asks, and I nod. “Ah, just making sure… It's nothing special.” He says, as I sit here a little awkwardly… “Hey, you said you would need me for my math skills? Should I be working on that?” I ask, and he looks away…

“WELL… I think you’re actually ready. You’ve settled in well with your new form, from what I can see. And Colvara has taught you well about life on Orion, so I’m ready as soon as you are.” He says, and I stand up.

“I’m not gonna’ lie, Liyoxis, it’s been eating at me, man. I gotta’ know what could possibly use my mathematics expertise.” I say, staring at him, and he stands up himself. “Alright, come on. You too, Colvara.” He says, surprising her.

“YES!!!” She squeals- “Man, you have no idea- My mom is going to be so proud knowing I got to assist a WORLD POWER!” She says, as a portal opens behind Liyoxis, and we’re guided through.

We enter a massive room with sleek white hallways, and androids walking around doing whatever- “They don’t do anything, I just like watching my robots move around.” He says, chuckling as a door slides open in front of us.

“Now, thanks to my power, my only real technological limit is my tools.” He begins, as three chairs float over. “Hell yeah, floaty chairs!” I say, climbing onto mine as Colvara hyperventilates over getting to help Liyoxis into his. “Thank you, dear.” He says, and she swoons, caught by her own chair, making him hold down a laugh.

“Right, as I was.” Liyoxis begins again. “Thanks to that limit, we enter into the next step, one of the most complex machines I’ve ever made.” He says, as we speed down corridors, making me a little nervous as doors slide open just in time-

“A machine that can truly simulate and hold the complex mind of a creature, even a human.” He says, as we shoot through a super massive corridor with what looks to be some sort of sci-fi spaceship, the thing looking to be a mile long...

“You like it? It’s a tier six dreadnought, it’s still under construction and being prepared for its Supercarrier: The Shard of Elysium.” He says, as we pass by and into ANOTHER corridor. “Moving on he continues.” Adjusting himself a little.

“This is one of many different steps I could take to advance technology, but I have chosen this one.” he says, as we descend down into a hole. “So what’s the end product?” I ask, glancing at him as we descend into a large room.

“Here we are. Once your work is complete, we’ll be that much closer.” He says, pulling himself off the chair as Colvara and I stand up and jump down. “The end product… It’s a little embarrassing, I have to admit.” He says, surprising me as he covers his face.

“Anyways, I’ll give you your instructions.” He says, creating a small sparkle of mana float from his hand. “This sparkle has usable code for an entire video game, all its assets included. Or I think, at least. It’s all math, so I wrote it like that.” He says, as I can’t help but stare at it in silence…

“Okay, this still took me multiple years, just so you know.” He says, folding his arms, and I decide to get over it… “So you’re telling me that coding languages can be used here?” I ask, and he nods. “I just need you to write some scripts. They’re considerably more efficient.”

He walks over to his chair. “Now. You will know when you’re finished, but otherwise, there’s a gateway over there, for whenever you need to go home.” He says, pointing at the aforementioned gateway, as Colvara inspects it.

“And Colvara?” I ask, and he looks at her. “She’ll provide mana, explain anything that might confuse you, and just assist wherever she can. I’d do this myself, but admittedly, it’d take too long as I go through trial and error. So you’re kind of a godsend for me.” He answers.

Multiple panels, poles, and consoles extend out of the floor, and I help him onto his chair. “Thanks. Remember, you can leave at any time. There’s a lot of work to do, and the monitor will tell you everything that it needs written. Good luck.” He says, before the chair shoots into the ceiling again.

Colvara walks up to me. “So… We’re doing THIS now. You better get started.” She says, as the monitor lights up with instructions. And so I stretch, crack my knuckles, and look back on the time when I would make websites and help develop video games for my friends.

End of Chapter: 12√Z4 “Forward and on to solace.”

Thank you for reading.

“Uh, yeah… Thanks…”

“Hey! Ho! Thanks!”

“On behalf of the high priestess, I thank you.

“Puhuhu! Tank’yu!”

“Hey. Thanks. Much appreciated.”

“Hrmph… Where’d she- What? Oh, sure, thanks. Now go leave a donation.”