The Standard

I’ve beaten myself up over plenty of things but never physically.

. . . . .

Graham and his Copy stared each other down. Copy didn’t move far from the mirror, ensuring Graham couldn’t get through it without getting through him. “I need to pull him away from there. Make him more focused on the fight so he forgets about protecting the mirror.”

He took stock of what he had: two spikes, one in hand; a shield; his clothes. “It’s not much. And he has three spikes. Not to mention…” His eyes landed on the spike he’d thrown earlier. “If he picks that up, he’ll have four.”

“Have you given up, Graham? If you don’t want to fight, then I guess I’ll take my leave,” Copy said.

Graham grit his teeth. “Y’know what? Fine! You asked for it.” He shuffled forward with his shield up until he reached attacking distance. Copy lunged first, his spike seeking Graham’s throat. Graham deflected and struck back, but Copy ducked and launched forward. His shoulder rammed into Graham’s stomach, pushing him back.

Graham managed to keep his footing and stabbed down at Copy’s unprotected back. Copy pushed Graham’s arm away and kneed him in the groin, but missed his mark. Seeing an opportunity, Graham shoved him to the side and ran for the mirror.

Before he could reach it, Copy tackled his legs out from under him. He held on tight as Graham struggled. “Get the fuck off me!” Graham shouted.

Copy laughed. “You’re not leaving, Graham!”

Graham punched him in the face, once, twice, then shook his hand, cringing. “Fuck, that hurt!” Copy’s nose was bleeding but he ignored it and pulled himself forward with Graham’s legs. He tried to punch Graham back, but Graham had placed his shield between them.

Copy reached for a spike and started stabbing around the edge of the shield. Graham bared his teeth and angled the shield to stop the stabs but one got through, leaving a gash on his arm. He growled and lowered the shield, then headbutted his doppelganger, sending him reeling back. He pushed him off and scrambled to his feet, taking some distance.

A lull ensued as they both caught their breath. Copy stood, holding his forehead, a trickle of blood running down the side of his face. “Oh, Graham. If only you’d tried this hard at the other aspects of your life. Maybe you wouldn’t even be here?”

Graham spat at the ground, blood mixed with saliva. “Yeah, maybe.” His eyes ran over this ‘alternate’ self. “But maybe I’d have turned out like you. A complete asshole.” He snorted. “Spare me that.”

Copy frowned. “You wouldn’t understand greatness if it punched you in the face! So, maybe I should do it a couple times. That oughta help you get the picture.” He ran at Graham once more and they clashed. They struggled against each other, each looking for an advantage, something that could turn the tide in their favor.

Their struggle neared the wall and Graham shoved Copy into it with all his strength. He put a few punches into his gut. Copy spat blood into Graham’s eyes, causing him to reel back, and stabbed a spike into his side.

Graham yelled and stumbled back with his hands on his side. He fell on his ass, breathing heavily. He cringed every time his trembling hand bumped the protruding spike.

Copy laughed, tilting his head to the ceiling. “I’ve won! I am your better!” His head lowered, face split by a triumphant grin. “As it should be. I commend you for your struggle, though. You did better than I ever expected.” He shook his head. “The gap was just too great.”

Graham glared at him, breathing through his teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead and arms, mixing with the blood all over him. Graham and his Copy no longer looked so similar. He tried to stand, but he couldn’t put strength into his legs. “I can’t just let this happen! Just let this guy usurp my life? Fuck no!” He undid the straps on his shield and let it clatter to the ground then tried to stand again. The result was the same.

The spike in his side shifted with every movement and he feared it might pierce an organ if he moved recklessly. That is if it hadn’t already.

Copy circled him, moving closer to the mirror. “Well, I shan’t stay to torture you. That’s not really in my nature. Oh, don’t worry, I’ll send our parents your love. And maybe I’ll look up Melissa?”

Copy stopped a meter from the mirror that didn’t reflect him, hands on his hips. “I guess this is goodbye.” He turned to look at Graham and, at the same time, a silver disk flew past him and struck the mirror, shattering it.

Copy’s jaw fell and cracks spread across his body as the fragments of the mirror hit the ground. And then he, too, shattered.

Graham fell to his back, taking a deep breath. “I should’ve done that from the start. Might’ve saved me a lot of pain.” The wall behind him shimmered as the door reappeared. Graham smiled.

Orion stood. “I can’t wait anymore. I’m trying one.” He headed toward the door Graham had used.

Robin hopped up, clutching Graham’s jacket. “O-Orion! Maybe you should wait… just a bit longer…”

Orion tried the door. It didn’t budge. “You don’t have to follow if you don’t want to. But I’m going.” He moved to the next door down the line.

“Wait, y-you don’t know what’s behind there! And what if Graham comes back in just a few minutes? He… he could tell us about what was behind the door!”

It was too late. Orion had already touched the handle of the second door. He drew his hand back with a hiss, a stream of red running down to the mark on his arm.

Robin sank to her knees. “I’m going to be in here all alone. I… should I try one of the doors, too?” She shook her head. It was just too uncertain. Any of the doors might offer salvation, but it was more likely they would bring death.

Orion snorted, looking at the mark on his arm. “Same thing as Graham’s.” He glanced at Robin. “I know you’re scared, but it’s in our best interests to investigate these doors. Nothing will happen if we just sit here.”

Robin responded in a small voice. “I don’t want anything to happen.” Her hand brushed her side and she frowned. “I don’t want anything to change.”

Orion sighed and checked his mark. “I have to go. Good luck.”

Robin tilted her head, frowning. “Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?”

“Probably, yeah.” He turned the handle and entered.

Robin swallowed the lump in her throat and crawled back to the fire, huddling her arms around her knees, Graham’s Jacket draped over her shoulders. “Hurry and get back, Graham…”

Having rested enough, Graham pushed himself into a sitting position. The spike was still lodged in his side, and he wasn’t willing to pull it out without one of the healing fruit on hand. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much choice. Whenever he moved, excruciating pain coursed through his torso. If he wanted to get out of here, he’d have to take it out.

He leaned himself against the wall and looked around for something to distract him from what he was about to do. His doppelganger was completely gone, as well as everything he held. Graham’s shield lay on the ground next to the shattered fragments of the mirror. He chuckled. “I feel like I need to apologize. Without that shield, I never would have made it this far. I’m sorry Mr. Shield; I was wrong. You’re useful.”

He snickered at himself. “Oh man, I think I’m losing too much blood.” The spike had mostly stemmed the flow, but there was a steady seepage from the other cuts he’d accumulated, particularly the gash in his arm.

Graham’s brow furrowed. “Hang on. All of the copy’s stuff vanished, so why is this spike still in my side?” It took him a few seconds to come to the conclusion. “This is my own spike! Did I stab myself?!” His mind shook. All that time, he’d been wrestling with an illusion. But it had been so convincing! Every blow felt real! He gulped. “You can do this kind of stuff with sigils?”

Sigils were truly formidable. It’d be great if he could learn how to use them… Graham shook his head. “It’s gotta be difficult to learn. And it won’t help if I don’t find a scripture, as I won’t be able to use my Qi.”

He shifted and hissed as the spike moved. “First thing’s first.” He did it quick, like a band-aid. He screamed as the spike came out and clamped his hand over the wound, doing his best to prevent too much blood loss. “Gotta get back. I could really use that fruit right now.” He worked his way to his feet with one hand and limped over to the shield.

A bright light shone from a fragment of glass, blinding him. “What the—” He blinked and reached down to pick it up. A flash of red pierced his arm and slithered to the mark, changing the message. At the same time, the fragment flew out of his hand and the mirror began to reassemble itself.

The message read, You’ve completed the first door. Choose two rewards. Graham’s eyes widened and he laughed. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” His brow furrowed. “How do I pick one?” Letters appeared on the mirror, glowing and ethereal. It showed his options for rewards.

Standard Scripture - Purify the body and gain use of your Qi.

Bestiary - A guide to the most common monsters.

Apothecary’s Primer - Learn to make basic salves, ointments, and poultices.

Beginner’s guide to Sigilcraft - An introduction to the basic principles of Sigilcraft.

Spellbook: Thinwell - Draw water from thin air and gather it in your hand.

Shield Talisman - Offers protection for a brief period. Rechargeable.

Leather Armor - Flexible with decent protection. Each piece counts as one reward: Chest, vambraces, greaves, boots, gloves.

Robe - Durable, hardy, easy to move in. Less protection than the leather armor.

Graham whistled. “Alright, maybe those two really do know what they’re doing.” The guide to Sigilcraft was pretty enticing after what he’d learned it could do, but he couldn’t imagine being able to put it into practice anytime soon. The Scripture was a no-brainer. He needed it more than anything.

He touched the option for the scripture and it glowed brighter. Graham loosed a breath. “Alright, one more.” The Bestiary could be useful since it would give him information on the monsters he might meet, but the description said the most common monsters. What if this place only had unusual monsters?

The Apothecary’s Primer might’ve been useful for Gloria, if she were sane, but it’d probably be just as useful as the sigilcraft one for Graham. The armor and the robe didn’t interest him, his clothes were holding together well enough and the armor wouldn’t protect him from being bitten in half by a giant bear.

It was down to the talisman and the spellbook. He chose the spellbook. “The talisman can’t be used frequently; it’d just prolong death if I’m faced with something powerful. At least with the spell, I won’t have to worry about water.” That was provided he could learn it. He tapped the option and it glowed brighter.

The mirror cracked and fell to pieces once more, revealing a compartment in the wall behind. It held a scroll and a book. He took them both and moved away from the glass on the floor. He sat down, moving slow and careful to avoid hurting himself further. He examined the scroll, laughter welling up from his chest.

“A scripture. I’ve finally got one. Now I can be a Seeker!” He unrolled it with one hand—as the other was bloody and he didn’t want to dirty the scroll—and placed it on the ground. “The Standard Scripture, huh? I know a bit about this one. It’s the most common one for people to use. Even so, normally you can only get your hands on it if you’re recruited by a sect.”

The Standard scripture was very basic. It didn’t have the abilities or advantages that other, more specialized, scriptures enjoyed. For example, a scripture might give the ability to control water or give you iron-hard skin. The Standard scripture’s only real advantage was its versatility.

If you happened to find a scripture you liked better, you could easily change with minimal consequences. With other scriptures, it wasn’t so. You might lose some of the power you cultivated, or it might not be possible at all without dissolving the power you’d gained and starting over.

He read the instructions: Place your hand in the center of the sigil and open yourself to the energy of the world. The sigil will draw the energy to you and it will course through your body, dislodging the impurities. Once your Qi pathways are clear enough to circulate, you will not need the sigil anymore.

In the center of the scroll, there was a circular formation of strange characters with other geometric shapes within. Graham swallowed. “If this is some kind of trap… I mean, that’d be really low.”

He glanced around warily and stood, grunting and grasping his side. He shut the door to make sure there wouldn’t be any fishy visitors while he was vulnerable, moved the scroll to the center of the room, and sat down in front of it. He took his hand away from his side, noting that the wound had stopped bleeding. “That’s good.” He grimaced. “Still hurts, though.”

He took a deep breath and reached his other hand for the sigil. Even before it made contact, a magnetic force drew his hand nearer. Contact; his world changed. Expanded. New, strange colors filled his vision; currents of... something… battered at him. He remembered what the instructions said: open yourself to the energy of the world. So, he did. The currents drilled into him, turning his blood to magma, his muscles to stone, his skin to paper. The current pulsed through him, washing him this way and that way, chipping away little pieces of him and carrying them away.

And then it stopped. He’d raised his hand, removing it from the sigil. Sweat covered him from head to toe and his breath escaped him like wind through a mountain pass. There was energy still within him, moving, throbbing. It was intense and powerful and it made him want to move! To do something!

He stood with no effort, the pain of his wounds dulled to the point he no longer noticed them. He picked up the shield, strapped it on, and left the room. Back in the previous room, he stood brazenly before the largest pond and waited for the fish to notice him. They began to leap from the water, arcing through the air at high speed.

However, to Graham, they seemed slower than before. Every splash told him where a fish was coming from. He blurred into motion, swinging his shield about. One by one, they collided with the shield and Graham launched them into the mirror room. Soon, the pond was empty and Graham stood tall.

The energy slowed and he fell to his knees, feeling stiff. He laughed. “What the hell? I can’t believe I did that!” He flexed his fingers to work out the stiffness. Standing, he looked at the pile of flopping fish in the other room. “Looks like we’ll have something else to eat.” He wouldn’t even have to kill them. Just wait until they suffocated.

He smirked at the sharp-finned fish flopping around in the other room. “Serves you right! It’s your fault I got so cut up so don’t say you don’t deserve it!”

By the time the fish had stopped moving, the pain had returned, though it was lessened. Most of his cuts had scabbed over and some of the smaller ones had closed up. “So circulating can even heal?” From what he gathered, he could only utilize his Qi temporarily, via circulation. Ten seconds seemed to be his limit.

“I assume I’ll be able to go longer as I purify more of my body,” he thought. He gathered up all the fish and used a spike to remove the sharp fins, then he piled them onto the shield. “Hopefully, Orion won’t get mad. I don’t really have another way to carry them back.”

He glanced at the book he’d picked and shook his head. “I’ll look at that later. I should really get back before those two start to worry.” He grabbed the book and the scroll and shoved them into his pockets. Picking up the shield o’ fish, he went back to the watery room and stopped before the large pool.

“I bet I could jump right over if I circulate…” He closed his eyes and tried to feel the Qi that surrounded him. Minutes passed. His eyes opened. “Guess I’m not ready yet.” He set the shield down and pulled out the scripture, using the sigil. Energy rushed into him, swirling through every part of him. It was slower this time, almost sluggish. The sound of the waterfalls became louder; the scent of water, moss, and his own blood became stronger.

He quickly rolled the scroll up and grabbed the shield. Tensing his legs and feeling the energy swell within, he leapt, clearing half the room in one go. He hit the ground, stumbling and falling to his knees as the energy deserted him again. His body was stiff and it had begun to ache, mostly in the chest and at the joints.

He grimaced and flexed his fingers, popping sounds ringing out. “I guess I can’t just do that over and over. There’s a toll or something. Will it go away, or do I just have to deal with this?”

He stood and stretched a bit, moving his limbs until they no longer cracked. He winced as the ache spread to his head, throbbing behind his eyes. “Well, it’s not unbearable. Certainly unpleasant, though.”

He continued on. He waited a bit when he reached the steam trap, hoping the ache would go away so he could circulate again. Once it began to fade, he pulled out the scripture and, with the aid of circulation, leapt over the trap. He landed, taking a few steps to lose the momentum. “Better. I didn’t stumble.”

He laughed. “God, this is great. It’s like I’m a superhero, now!” The energy faded again and the world became less vibrant, his hearing less sharp, his sense of smell dull. The ache returned.

Graham sighed. “Everything has its price, right?”