Dallion struck the cloud in the side. His Mind trait was high enough to let him see a flash of target markers an instant after he did. It had been a while since he’d relied on those, but this was a turning point. Each successful hit caused the white figure to pause for a split second, until after five successes, Dallion was able to burst into a multi-attack, doing the equivalent of a dozen strikes in the course of one. Any other creature would have been devastated by such an attack, sadly fighting a cloud proved to be completely unaffected. It was similar to the time Dallion had fought a slime back in the dawn of his awakening, but to a whole new level. At least in the case of the slime, blunt attacks had an impact. Against this opponent, nothing seemed to.

You can’t keep delaying it, Nil said in a sharp tone. Either fight like you’re supposed to or just end this nonsense.

Gritting his teeth, Dallion spun around in the air, slamming the white figure with his shield.

Spark! He used his final trump card. Such an attack had the power to destroy entire crackling colonies. Alas, his opponent wasn’t a crackling. The shield passed though, glowing as it did, after which the woman reformed, just in time to land an arrow in Dallion’s shoulder.

MODERATE WOUND

Your health has been decreased by 20%

This was the fourth such attack Dallion had suffered. Of course, damage of such a scale hardly mattered with Lux around, but it was a reminder that Nil was right. There was no point in delaying his decision. Even with his current stamina and health regeneration capabilities, there would come a moment when Dallion was too tired to continue. It might take hours, days, or even weeks, but it was inevitable.

What am I to do, Felygn? Dallion asked.

There had been several instances in the past when the Green Moon had actively helped Dalloin during a trial. However, this time, there was no answer.

“Gleam, can you help out?” Dallion attempted to fly away. Sadly, his speed was easily matched by his opponent. The shardfly attempted to help by attacking herself, but the only thing that did was to distract the white figure for a moment.

Dallion’s head felt like it would split. Every fiber in his being screamed that he should summon the thread splitter. At the same time, every fiber also screamed for him not to do so. As the saying went, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

Stop! Dallion shouted, causing all the voices in his head to disappear. Time seemed to stop, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

It’s a simple choice, a strange voice said. It had been quite a while since Dallion had heard it. It’s only your emotions that make it appear difficult. Go abstract. You are presented with two things: A and B. All you need to do is pick one or the other.

Helped by the advice, Dallion constructed a mental image of him sitting at a table with two boxes in front, one labeled A and the other B.

Both will lead me to break a vow to a Moon, Dallion replied.

In that case, don’t pick any, the voice suggested.

Dallion considered it. Funny how he hadn’t thought of it before. Technically, that was a way out. It wouldn’t help him get anywhere, but it would allow him to keep on doing the things he liked. The general had told Dallion that he wanted the heart of a cloud creature, but he had also failed to give him a deadline. As far as he was concerned, Dallion could well spend a hundred years searching for cloud citadels to complete that request and he would still not be breaking his vow. It was a lawyer’s way out, but a way out nonetheless.

Not choose any, Dallion thought, looking at the two boxes in his mental room. It was just a choice, after all. But what if…

Reaching forward Dallion took the B box and put it in front of him. He had no idea what the box stood for, but it didn’t matter. It was one possible choice, and as the voice said, it was better to think in the abstract.

What if I choose both? He reached out and took the other box as well.

Aren’t they mutually exclusive? The voice asked.

Dallion placed the second box onto the table. What’s to say they are?

Time returned to normal, with the cloud throwing two more arrows in the direction of Dallion’s torso. Splitting into half a dozen instances, Dallion successfully blocked the arrows with his shield. Then, he summoned the thread cutter knife and struck at his opponent.

AVERAGE STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 50%

An expression of disbelief appeared on the cloud’s face, along with the red rectangle. Her glance moved from the weapon in Dallion’s hand to the rectangle, to her left arm. Similar to dozens of times, the attack had sliced off half of her appendage, causing it to turn into a small cloud. However, this time the cloud didn’t reattach.

That was the strength of sea iron. It wasn’t as strong or powerful as the rest of the magical metals, but in a few specialized cases, it could do what no other material could.

“So, you made your choice,” the cloud said. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I didn’t think I did as well.” Dallion did another strike. His heart tightened as the blade sliced through the white figure’s leg, causing another red rectangle to appear.

There was no white rectangle displaying the being’s health state, there couldn’t be. After all, this was a creature that Dallion hadn’t seen before, one created through the fear of his mind. And just as his fears were flawed, so was the way he viewed this trial.

“I don’t want to kill you,” he said, fighting through the pain in his chest. “I just wanted to make it clear that I could.”

“There never was any doubt. The moment you stopped pulling yourself back, you’d easily be able to defeat me.”

“I don’t even want you to surrender.”

This made the woman float slightly back in surprise.

“You’re giving up the trial?” the cloud asked. “Even after you cut off my arm?”

And your leg, Dallion added in his mind. If this wasn’t as serious as it was, it had the start of a really good joke.

“I need your heart to complete the trial. However, I don’t need all of it.”

The puzzled expression on the other’s face turned into a smile.

“I kept thinking of you as a person, but you aren’t. You’re a cloud, and for a cloud, a heart is very different.”

“A cloud fragment could be as large or as small as it has to be,” the white figure agreed. “It’s not an organ that’s located in a single spot, it’s a focal point of energy or magic. Even if it’s painful, taking a small part won’t kill me and you’ll still keep your vow to the general.”

“Both choices.” Dallion nodded.

“But what if you’re wrong? There’s no telling what a real cloud might end up being. What if its heart is no different from yours?”

“In that case, I’ll just scrape off a bit from the edge. A few cells of a heart are still part of a heart. If the general wanted the whole thing, he should have given me a much larger cube.”

Laughter filled the air, each ringing with joy and hope. Dallion could see it radiate from the being like waves, changing everything they touched. The rags and bandages peeled off, changing into flawless white clothes. Building remains grew, rising to the state they had been in the past, even the swamp seemed to be erased with every touch of the sounds. Not after long, Dallion found himself in the middle of a cloud citadel again, only this time there were only two people present: him and the flaw he had been facing.

Letting her feet touch the ground of fluffy white, the cloud reached into her chest with her left hand, then took out a small puff of white, no larger than a ball of cotton.

“Here’s your heart,” she said. “Take it and the trial will be over.”

“It’s not enough.” Dallion said. “I had to work a lot to get this right, so I want more than passing the trial. I want another echo.”

“Are you sure? You’ve already got a few.”

“None that are initiates.”

“It’s nice that you ask for our permission to remain in your realm, but you know you don’t have to? We’re your creations, after all.”

“Well, yeah, but you have your own personalities. Besides, creating copies of myself is really weird. If I have to, at least let it be from the subconscious elements of my mind.”

“You know I’ll agree.”

“Only if it’s what you want.”

“If someone offers you existence, what else can one want?” There was a sudden burst of mist covering everything. Even splitting into a dozen instances revealed nothing but whiteness in all directions. When, in a few seconds, the mist faded away, Dallion was standing at the threshold of a small stone room.

You have broken through your forty-second barrier.

Your level has increased to 42

Choose the focus that will serve you best.

Once again, Dallion chose to improve his perception. According to his plan, he was going to boost that up to twenty-five before switching to reaction again. Of course, any achievements he managed to make along the way would be more than welcome.

Now that the trial was over, the pain in his chest had subsided. Not only that, but all the dark feelings had vanished as well.

Defeating flaws really is a cheat, Dallion thought. Thinking about it logically, it could have done the same back on Earth, if he set his mind to it. Not the fighting, but figuring out the problem and resolving it followed the same principle: there was a lot of pain and effort involved, but ultimately it changed a person for the better. In this world, the changes were physical.

Looking down, Dallion focused on the blade he was holding. It was definitely going to be quite useful and deadly… just like a surgeon’s scalpel. The general had given him quite the useful gift. He had also made sure to place a few spying echoes within it. After a mild threat, though, all of them had poofed out of existence—one of the benefits of having one’s very own crackling.

Unsummoning the thread splitter, Dallion made his way back up the staircase.

“Took you a while,” an echo of him with white hair and white clothes said. Just as all other echoes before, this one too had changed into a version of Dallion, although he had kept certain elements of his former appearance. “Just please don’t name me cloud.”

Drat! Dallion thought. Being an echo, it knew his thoughts, though clearly had developed a different taste.

“No months or days either,” the echo added. “And no colors either.”

“You’re very picky.” Dallion crossed his arms.

“No more than the current.”

That was probably true. Even so, Dallion hated coming up with names. He was bad even back on Earth. In most of the cases, the names he really wanted were already taken, forcing him to resort to random objects. This was going to be no different.

“Ariel,” Dallion said, half expecting the new echo to protest. To his surprise, it didn’t. “You know what it means, right?”

“I know most things you know,” Ariel replied with a smile.

“Most? What happened to all?”

“I’m a bit more powerful than Gen and July. I have an idea of some of the things going on. And most is good. As you said, each of us has our own personalities. Why burden ourselves with more of yours?”

“Really funny.” Dallion shook his head.

There was no doubt about it—Ariel was going to fit right in.