________________________________________________________

!ERROR! REPAIR NEEDED. LV2 DEVICE REQUIRED.

Skill List:

Kanji (lv0): Aspect of Energy: Electricity, Thermal.

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Full destructive power limit: Village]

Skills: [1. Infuse/Absorb] [2. Energy travel] [3. Energy trail] [4. Energy bolt] [5. Energy wave] [6. Energy blade] [7. Energy shield] [8. Energy dual conduit] [9. Energy healing] [10. Umbral Cape]

Inventory: Geographic sphere, mechanical soap, spyware device, tungsten-infused nanotech silver chain, tech tablet (Portal) (Hide, Input, Output, Convert, Compress), night vision goggles.

Claire (lv0): Aspect of Creation

Skills: [1. Create (Slots: 5)]

Inventory: Black cloak, crossbow, crossbow bolt (modified with rotatenium), ammo pouch, Fanfics, mechanical soap, a spyglass.

David (lv0): Aspect of Form

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Range limit: Self]

Skills: [1. Expand (x2)] [2. Spikefacation] [3. Delay (1-10s)] [4. Shieldfacation] [5. Trigger] [6. Transform pattern Wave] [7. Net Transform] [8. Whip transform] [9. Blend around] [10. Uno]

Inventory: Iron bat, AK -47, mechanical soap.

Amelia (lv0): Aspect of Reality

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Attack type: illusion] [Attack range: x3 field of view]

Skills: [1. Third-person vision] [2. Blurring Mirage] [3. Double] [4. Connect] [5. Vision Swap] [6. Disguise] [7. Flash Mirage] [8. False movement] [9. False Touch] [Mentaltomisis]

Inventory: Frying Pan, knife, mechanical soap.

Sarah (lv0): Aspect of Fiction

[Skill access: 1 skill for each item] [Conjured item 1]

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Nezha’s leopard bag (Nezha’s ring).

Noah (lv0): Aspect of Emotion

Skills: [Emotion infusion] (Emotional requirement: High)

Inventory: Gilded axe, mechanical soap, a sharpening stone.

Diana (lv0): Aspect of Law

{Laws unlocked: Law of Friction} {Limit: Only manipulate small values}

Inventory: Mechanical soap, a pickaxe.

Adrian (lv0): Aspect of Knowledge.

{Connected Minds} {Info Extraction} [Limit: half of basic info}]

Inventory: Mechanical soap. rope.

Azan (lv0): Aspect of Change.

{Limitation: 1. Follow under the concept “change” only. 2. Changes under other aspects require hand holding.}

Change slot: 1

Inventory: Metal suitcase, mechanical soap

Mina (lv0): Aspect of Time

{Limitations: 4 skills (Currently).}

Skills (!ERROR!) (Auto Input Activated): |1. Aging| |2. Time Exchange|

Inventory: A machete, mechanical soap.

Gwen (lv0): Aspect of Destruction

{Limitation: Gas only}

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Izzybot, ???.

________________________________________________________

It's been hours since Karnat gave out the command to search Earth.

Unfortunately, luck was not on the general's side.

KARNAT "FUCK! FUCK!!! WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?!"

|Incoming Transmission|

KK stares at the alert nervously, his right-hand trembles as he reaches in to answer the call.

"Good morning, General Karlac."

KARNAT "Good morning, your majesty. It's a pleasure to hear your glorious voice."

"Humph. Enough with the flattery. Tell me some results. How are our "targets" doing?"

KARNAT "Presently, they are... undetectable. I believe they learned of the method for how we tracked their location. I'm sorry for this terrible news, your highness."

"That's unfortunate. But don't fret, you have plenty of chances to make up for your mistakes once you find them. That's all. Good Luck... Oh, I suggest you tinker around with Quantum Coordinates. It might help with your search."

|Transmission ends|

KARNAT "Whew! She seems happy. I don't know why. Maybe it was something I did... Nah! Who cares?! Let's focus!"

His hands hover over several holographic panels. Moving from tab to tab, he reaches a particularly messy one.

KARNAT "Ha, here it is! Searching statistics. Hmmm... We searched about 98 percent of Earth's terrain. Still no sign." "Are they in a different dimension? No, there's no way. SHIT! Maybe I do have to fuck around with Quantum Coordinates. That's mean... fuck. I have to call HER."

Karnat ~sigh~. Look's like He made a decision.

On a separate panel on his left, Karnat navigates to the transmission tab. There's a list showcasing the numerous connections the general has.

______________________________

|Transmission forwarding|:

1. KJ (SG1)

2. XC (SG2)

3. AC (SG3)

4....

5....

....

______________________________

Karnat covers his eyes, he cringes as his hand slowly reaches over the third option.

|Transmission occurring..... Success|

KARNAT "Here we go. Hi, Cogarath Amaraz."

AMARAZ "Yo, K.K! WOW! You actually contacted me! Anyway, how has it been?! Oh! You should have seen what I saw today! Something fell out of the sky like "WOOOOSH!" and then-

KARNAT "STOP! NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR RIDICULOUS RAMBLINGS!"

AMARAZ "There's the cranky grumpy boy I know! Anyway, what do you want? Help with machines? Robots? Weapons?! A GIANT WORLD-ENDING GADGET!"

KARNAT "No, not something that extreme. I need help using Quantum Coordinates to find a couple of humans."

AMARAZ "Quantum Coordinates. BOOOOORRRRRINNGG! But, I will do anything to help my hive mate! Meet me by our Hive Mound around 6 pm tomorrow. BYE YAA!!"

Karnat ends the submission.

KARNAT "Thank god! That's over! Talking to her is a pain. What do I do now?... hah. I guess I'll just wait and hope those wielders don't become stronger."

________________________________________________________

On a coast near Stockholm, 11 bodies lay motionless on the sands.

As the sun rises, they arise from slumber. It's freezing.

One of them seems unhappy.

Dave "Well, shit! How am I gonna get my drone now?!"

Gwen moves toward her disgruntled friend. There is something in her hand, a strange oval object with a screen similar to an Ipad. She carefully holds it up while distancing her shoulders.

A butt ton of scattered information is displayed on the device.

Dave "Yo, what the fuck is this shit?! Some NASA quantum mind-breaking Giga device 5000?!"

Gwen "Actually, it's a Project Tracking Apparatus. Or P.T.A for short. I keep it to remember all the projects I started and their progression. But you don't need to know that. Dave, please look here."

One of her fingers directs his attention toward the top left corner of the screen.

Dave squints his eyes to read the tiny letters.

|Delivery Location changed... Transferring to correct Location. Estimated time: 48 hours 16 mins 56 seconds|

Dave "So like two days. That's good to hear, bro."

Amelia "Dave! I was honestly worried! You didn't say any "bro", "dude", or "man" like at all. But Golly! I'm bloody glad that you haven't changed."

Leaning in, she gives him a quick kiss on the cheek.

This scene... Gwen stares at them with a certain burning feeling. An unpleasant and vile feeling.

She turns around.

Gwen "Lucky."

Those three walk and catch up with the others. Oddly, their faces turn outward to the sea.

Gwen "You guys admiring the view. Or is there something of interest that catches your eye?"

Kanji points toward the collection of islands far offshore.

Gwen "Those islands, huh. Wait... now that I think about it. This place feels... familiar."

Adrian "Oh, maybe you've been before."

Gwen "Adrian... you might be correct. Let me try to recollect my memories... well... ah... I was a kid... perhaps five years of age. I remember now!"

The others see her sprint to a nearby tree.

Gwen "Yes, this was... one of the precious times where I actually felt like a normal kid. Playing on the sand and splashing in the water with my parents. I can't believe I forgot about this!"

They see what she's looking at.

Claire "Awww, did you carve this?! This carving is so sweet!"

Gwen "Yes, as you can tell the middle little girl holding the flower is me. On the side are my parents. I vaguely remember them telling me that they once wished to be explorers during their youth. A funny dream really but one I wish they pursued."

Mina "Really, now! Er... I mean... what a good wish!"

Dave "Yo, I think they got fucked over by Capitalism. Dude, that shit can make you stuck."

Kanji "Ok, settle down. Did you find any strange gems during that time?"

Gwen "It's a bit foggy... all I know is the fact that this place is near Stockholm. But why would you need that since we're planning to search the sands for it either way."

Kanji "Yeah..... about that... Baltic Coast includes ALL the shores that are connected to the Baltic seas. Meaning we have to scour through kilometers worth of sand!"

Gwen "Ah... that was quite short-sighted of me. I'm sorry."

Mina "Cheer up, Gwen! Everyone makes mistakes!"

Gwen "Thanks for the encouragement, Mina. There's no use in crying over spilled milk. I'll start digging through my memories. Perhaps there might be a clue after all."

Mina "Cool! That's the spirit! The rest of us will search everything nearby in the meantime!"

Kanji "Agreed. Everyone spread out and begin the gem hunt!"

Going in different directions, the search begins!

Gwen "Off, they go..."

She looks out at sea. Those islands, she... remembers. A figure? Was it her, or her mom, or her dad? Whoever, they were, threw something into the water. It was yellow and shiny.

Her memories lead to a single frame of the object floating away toward one of the islands.

She spots a large slab of stone and sits on it. Then, something clicks.

Gwen "That's it! It's over there!"

The Aspect of Destruction carefully takes out Izzybot from her inventory. The little machine wraps four straps of flexible roots over her waist and shoulders acting as a backpack.

Izzybot then nuzzles its screen against her cheek.

|I Miss You Nya|

Gwen "I miss you, too. Before we do anything, be careful! Every time I move my arms, purple sparks pop out of my shoulders. Can you avoid those at all cost?"

|Aye. Aye. Avoid Purple Stuff Command Added Nya|

Gwen Good. Now, can you wave to the others?"

|I Understand Nya! Commencing Wavy Hands.|

Dave is the first to notice Izzybot's gesture.

Dave "Da fuck?! Guys! I think Gwen got something!"

They move to where she's standing. Gwen points toward an island.

Kanji "Is that our clue? That island furthest from here."

Gwen nods to seal their next objective.

Kanji pulls out a raft from his subspace and everyone goes aboard.

They begin pedaling with no signs of stopping.

Dave "Arr me mateys. We seek the gem of yellow out on ye island."

Diana "We're not pirates! You shithead! We're sailors!"

Dave "Sailors, laaame! Me captain would agree"

Kanji "Knock it off, you two! Jesus, I feel like I'm dealing with children."

Dave "Woah! that's a bit harsh, dude. We were just playing around. No Kap."

Noah "Can you guys like... focus on paddling?" "My god! The waves are scary!"

Sarah "Yeah. And is it me or are the waves getting stronger?!"

Something hits the raft.

Azan "Yeah! No shit! Kanji, what do we do?!"

Kanji "Everyone remain calm! We're almost there! Just follow my lead!"

He paddles left and everyone follows his example.

They avoid a couple of jagged rocks.

Kanji's hands drive the raft right and everyone paddles right.

They dodge a huge wave.

Everything is now peaceful, with calmer waters and warm air. The water is clear, too clear.

It's like their eyes are tricking them and what's truly beneath the surface isn't real.

Dave "Yo, this is so trippy man. What the fuck am I looking at?!"

Kanji "Don't worry, this is most likely caused by the strange way light is displayed in this area. Let's keep moving. Remember the goal in mind."

They make their final push and reach the shore. Keeping their eyes on the surroundings, the wielders attempt to step out.

Yet as soon as they touch the sand. Something feels off.

They jump back on the raft.

Amelia "What the bloody hell was that?! The sand!"

Kanji "Everyone relax! We need to think through it carefully. Let's test something first."

Kanji reaches his hand and pushes on the sand. It sketches downward into the ground like pushing on a trampoline.

But he notices something stranger.

Kanji "The sand appears to have the same property as that rubber. But something caught my attention, my action didn't emit any sound at all. This entire shore goes against logic! This is good! We took a chance and struck gold."

Diana "So, what do we do now boss? Now that we know the crystal is nearby."

Kanji "I suggest someone volunteer and test if it's safe to traverse. I think I should take-

Azan "No, I will do it! You're our leader. It's better to let someone else take responsibility."

Mina "I'll go as well to help you."

Kanji "Ok, I guess it's decided then. Careful, you two."

The two wielders step out and nearly lose their balance.

They manage to hold each other's shoulders and create a greater balance.

Azan "Hey, I got an idea. Do you trust me?"

Mina "Of course, I trust you Azzy!"

Azan "Ok, copy what I'm doing."

Azan bends his knees and so does Mina. She gets the idea!

At that moment, the two simultaneously leap into the air. They sprung toward and landed perfectly at the same time.

With this knowledge, they hop all over the shore to look for the source.

One more jump.

Oh no.

Mina tugs on Azan's hand.

Mina "Azzy, what's happened?!"

Azan "I think I found the source. Damn it, why does this spot stretch deeper? Wait, what is that-

Suddenly, both Azan and Mina get flung into the sky.

Mina hugs him tightly, while his mind races for an answer.

Approaching the ground, Azan sees something small sticking out of the sand.

Seeing this chance, his hand sketches down to grab it.

Success?

Released from the coils of sand, the object causes the shore to inhibit its original properties.

Mina manages to land first with nothing more than a couple of minor fractures.

Azan on the other hand isn't so lucky.

Azan can hear the crushing of his bones colliding with the sand. Flesh rips and tears off from his hand exposing all his knucklebones.

He can do nothing but scream in agony.

The others hear his howls. Quickly, they move to his location.

Gwen takes action, examining his arm like a doctor. Mina watches anxiously.

Mina "He's going to be alright. Right?!"

Gwen "No, this doesn't look good. His arm is completely broken and all the genetically modified cells are destroyed due to the strain of falling from such a great height. Darn! I wish I did more testing on that end!"

Mina "Can you fix it?!"

Gwen " Of course, I can. Izzybot if you please."

Izzybot grows a pair of needle-sharp branches. She shoots the two appendages into Azan's arm.

Mina "Hey! What is she doing?!"

Gwen "Now. Now. She's injecting some anesthetic to reduce the pain... and some of her cells."

Kanji "How would that help?"

Gwen "Glad, you asked that. You see Izzybot has full control over every single cell in her body and even the ones completely detached from her. All possessing biological data of her mind, thoughts, and memories. What's more, is the complex amount of control she has over them. They are like microbes but as smart as an advanced AI."

Mina "All of that is enlightening. But is he going to be ok?!"

Gwen "Yes, he'll recover. Unfortunately, he has to sit out for a while. I suggest putting him inside Kanji's subspace."

Kanji opens up the portal and helps them carry Azan inside. Once done, they head back out.

Kanji "Now, about this gem."

He holds it out for all to see, there seems to be a word sketched onto it.

Kanji "Anyone has any idea what language this is?"

Adrian "Me! ME! I know what this is! It's Latin! The word spells "Summon"."

Kanji "Summon, huh."

The gem begins to glow and jumps into the air.

Cracks can be seen forming from within its center. But there's something else.

Two orbs, one grey and one yellow. These manifestations rotate in unison within the center.

It breaks.

"CNOHEHUSOKOHEONFOSIA."

The group hears the loud and distorted sound, its pronunciation is incomprehensible to human minds.

Dave "Dude, the fuck was that spooky shit?!"

Kanji "We have triggered an unknown event. Our first course of action would be to decipher those cryptic words."

Sarah "Right, as if any of us know what that means! Heck, I'm the eldritch girl and I don't know what the fuck it said!"

Amelia looks around confused about the current conversation. Diana notices this and goes toward her.

Diana "What's wrong, Amelia?"

Amelia "I don't get it. What distorted words?"

Kanji "Huh? Didn't you hear it?"

Amelia "No, not at all really, just one very loud and clear voice. I believe it said "Arise two souls. Three islands north. A cave shall come forth." if I remember for the life of me."

Gwen "That's it! Maybe the sounds had a form of memetic effect causing anyone who hears them to not understand their meaning. Amelia, you weren't affected because of your new ability."

Amelia "Wow! Gosh! That's lucky ain't it! I guess we now know where to go."

Kanji "It said "Three islands north" which is straightforward meaning the distance is about three islands long north from here. "A cave shall come forth" might mean the place is a cave that rose out of the ground. As for two souls, one can only guess what that means. My theory is that they are the guardians of the anomaly crystal. Am I right, AN?"

AN "Ah what... oh sorry! I was a bit distracted. Checking up on our update on the whole ascender ordeal. Things have gotten pretty rough on our end. But, you don't need to worry about that. And about your question, I have no idea since no wielder in history attempted to find an anomaly crystal."

Mina "Wait! Can't AN use the healing effect on Azzy?"

Kanji "I believe that would be a waste since he is already in a process of healing. I also don't think using it will speed up his recovery."

Mina "Oh. Well, I'll just wait and hope he gets better."

Kanji "Ok, since AN has no info, we will go with my assumption that we're dealing with two enemies. So before moving forward I recommend that Gwen you stay outside on the raft when we get there."

Gwen "Ummm.... fine. I can see why that would logical."

Kanji "Great! I'm happy you understood. Now, we shall move onward. North!"

They pick up the raft and carry it to the other side of the island. Upon placing down the inflatable, the wielders immediately board and begin paddling north.

The waves this time are silent. There's also a thick fog obscuring their path, but they don't care and keep moving forward.

Eventually, their eyes are set upon a triangular formation of black rocks sticking out from the water

Kanji "That must be it! Everybody prepare your weapons."

They make it and Kanji examines the exterior. Strange, it appears to be made of a form of obsidian but has a slicker and darker shade of black.

Kanji "Interesting, but let's do more inspecting later. Focus on this cave here."

There is a door blocking its entry, the outline of which is painted in red with gibberish texts.

Kanji "Shit. Amelia, can you read this?"

Amelia "Yes, I can. You know what I think this will be much better."

Amelia uses |4. Connect|.

Dave "Wow, that's good lol. Dude, why didn't we do that in the first place?"

Kanji "Yeah, we just overlooked that ability. So... before we proceed. Adrian have you linked your mind with everyone."

Adrian "Yes, Kanji. I'm guessing you want a way to contact Gwen."

Kanji "Correct. We won't know what will occur in this place."

Gwen "Ok, that's fair. I'll just guard the entrance then."

Izzybot creates a rope and Gwen ties a part of the raft to the cave.

The others look back at those words. Those unfathomable words. Now clear enough to read.

Kanji " "May the hand of the holder grant this sanctuary reformation." I think "holder" means "wielder. Maybe if I-

Touching the door with his hand, the words fade. A gust of wind pushes the door, granting entrance.

Claire "Woohoo! You did, Kaney!"

Diana "That's our boss for you!"

Kanji "Guys, it was simple really. Now, we need not waste more time. Let's travel further."

Down the diagonal pathway, there's a wall blocking further passage. On closer inspection, there are tiny pebbles lined to form a pentagon pointing up.

Each side has one of five vowels "aeiou" but is arranged clockwise.

Sarah "Guys... you might want to look at this."

Looking at the ground next to her, they see a similar shape carved into the floor. On the top point sits a metallic ball.

Sarah tries notching it out but nothing happens.

Sarah "Alright, there goes my idea. Anyone else cares to try?"

Diana "I'll have a go."

A pair of ginormous hands reach down, griping the spherical object. Pull after pull. Success is nowhere in sight.

Diana "Shit, is it super glued.?"

Kanji "No, I think there's another force that's driving its motionless state. The only clue we have is the wall. Seeing it has something to do with vowels. We can assume that this puzzle involves sound. Everyone stand back. I'm going to test something."

Approaching the object, he lets out a short and simple "a".

The ball rolls to the right.

Amelia "Nice! That was bloody easy."

Kanji "In terms of moving the thing, yes. However, solving this may take more than that. I believe the puzzle wants us to move it in a certain pattern. So, I shall begin test number two."

Once again, he lets out four letters in sequence "e", then "I", then "o", and then "u".

The sphere goes full circle.

All eyes pay attention to the wall. Nothing happens.

Kanji "Shit. Perhaps in reverse."

Kanja spews out five more vowels.

The sphere goes counter-clockwise back to the same position. Nothing happens.

Disappointed, His fist slams into the floor leaving cracks. The Aspect of the Knowledge approaches him nervously.

Adrian "I have.... a .... suggestion. Sorry, is this a bad time?"

Kanji "Nah, go on. I'm just expressing my frustration."

Adrian "Alright, maybe we are looking at this all wrong."

Moving towards the ball and leaning down, the word "aeiou" leaves his mouth.

The ball pops out.

Noah "Now, what?" "Good job Adrian!"

Adrian "I'm not really sure. I think we suppose to move it manually now."

Adrain places it back into its initial position and begins rolling it clockwise along the carved shape.

The strange ticking sound plays.

With no warning, the ground shatters open. Dropping them to a pitch-black void.

...

Kanji "Is everyone alright?"

Something illuminates their surrounding.

Dave "Yo, what is that?!"

Claire "Oh. Sorry. Was that too bright?"

In her hand is an extremely bright lantern.

Claire dimmers it down.

Looking around, they notice that there's a serious problem. Beneath them is nothing more than a small vertical cliff with nothing around it but a bottomless pit.

Diana "Guys, look over there!"

Looking over in that direction, they see something sticking out of the wall. It's like a basketing hoop but it's made of glass.

Kanji "Are we supposed to throw something over there?"

Adrian "Hey, check these out!"

Moving next to The Aspect of Knowledge, they look at the ground.

Five grey rubber balls are laying there.

Kanji "I'm guessing these are what we're working with. Which may mean we have only five chances."

Dave "Sweet no problem! I used to ace and slam dunk basketballs when I was a kid, dude. I'll g-

Kanji "Stop! It might be a trick! Consider the previous puzzle. We can assume that these balls also have a special effect."

He reaches and picks one of them up, but then lightly drops it just above the ground.

The ball zoom toward the ceiling and bounces straight down.

Luckily, Dave catches it before it flies off the edge.

Dave "Yo, that was close! Man, what do we do now?!"

Kanji "I guess we have to try our luck. Measuring from here to there, I said that you need to perform a flawlessly across-the-field swish."

Dave "Wow, yes. Surely, I will succeed. And since I'm the only one who had any experience, might as well take my fucking chances, dudes."

Dave picks one of the balls and throws it. It misses, and barely grazes the fragile glass rim before dipping down into darkness.

Another shot, this time while jumping. It hits the wall and ricochets from wall to wall causing the wielders to duck for cover.

Luckily, the ball never hit the rim and eventually falls into the pit.

On the third attempt, this time he attempts to use two balls hoping one of them will make it. With focus, the balls fly through the air.

They hit the side of the rim and rebound into the cavity.

The impact caused the whole rim to show signs of heavy fracture.

Dave "Yikes! Sorry, dudes! One last sho-

Diana "Gimme that! You suck! Here's how you do it!"

Without logical thinking, Diana throws the object straight at the rim.

It shatters.

Everyone looks at Diana.

Diana "Errrrr...Ummm... I... I didn't know my own strength. Sorry..."

Dave "Didn't know my own strength, my ass! You threw straight at the fucking thing!... Wait... do you guys hear that?"

Starting as small rumbles, it grows to a full-on quake shaking the foundation of where their standing.

Amelia "Dave, what's going on?! I'm scared!"

Dave "Yo, Amby! Don't worry! I'll protect ya!"

Kanji "Stay calm everyone!"

Sarah "But Kanji, I think we failed this fucking task!"

It stops.

The group looks down. There are hundreds of rocky slabs rise to form a staircase spiraling around the cliff.

Relief by this, they go down without questioning it.

Kanji "I get it now! I knew that rim is somewhat odd! Especially why its material is very different from the surrounding. It was meant to be fragile enough to be destroyed by the rubber balls. Thanks to Diana's recklessness. We passed that puzzle."

Diana "Yes... I attend that to happen."

She moves next to Dave, giving him a smug look.

Diana "Suck it, Icarus."

Dave "No, fuck you."

Eventually, the bottom of the pit is in sight and there's a door. It's made of the same yellowish material as the gem.

Sarah "Oh, Cthulhu's ass! Another fucking door! Why?!"

Kanji "Yeah, just hope it isn't another puzzle."

To their surprise, Kanji's hand easily pushes in the door. They enter the room, and Claire's lantern goes out.

It's so dark.

But then... it lights up! The door closes.

Looking around, the place is like an underground spring with tall metal totems that mysteriously produce light from an unknown source.

From the corner of the room, their eyes spot a cloudy grey mist forming into a sihoullete of a being.

The battle commences.

(To be continued)