TS5: Chapter 14 (Patreon)

"Belle.”

A moment after Thorn spoke, the air shimmered, and a small girl with long hair reaching down below her feet appeared in the air in front of him.

"Yes, Master Thorn?" she said.

"Is Master Keadore available?"

"Yes, Master Thorn, he's waiting for you. Would you like me to take you to him now?"

"Please."

With a wave of her hand, the air warped around them, and Thorn found himself standing in his master's library. The old elf sat at his desk, wreathed in smoke from his pipe. Giving his student a knowing look, Master Keadore raised his eyebrows.

"And to what do I owe this unexpected visit?" he asked, as Thorn bowed to him.

"Thank you, Master, for stepping in and protecting Velin," Thorn said, causing his master to raise his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You were the one who alerted the Vantor clan leader that Velin was to be protected," Thorn said.

"That was actually Belle," High Mage Keadore replied, causing Thorn to turn and bow to the young woman floating in the air.

"Then I give my thanks to you," he said, causing Belle to blush and vanish with a pop.

"That doesn't seem to be the only thing you came here to say," Master Keadore said, glancing down at his pipe and relighting it with a snap. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Sitting in the massive chair that appeared for him, on the other side of Master Keadore's desk, Thorn thought for a moment before he began speaking.

“For a little while now, I’ve been trying to figure out what it is that I’m doing. If I’m honest, that answer has not been apparent. My main goals after coming to the endless worlds were to establish myself and create a space for my friends and those who would follow from Angoril. Thanks to you and my friends, that has been achieved in Verdant. But otherwise, I have just been reacting to things as they come.”

“Not the most terrible way to live your life,” Keadore said.

“No, it's not. It’s been nice to have a period of relative calm,” Thorn replied, a contented smile gracing his lips.

“You speak as if that period is over.”

“Because it is,” Thorn said firmly. “I had a revelation tonight, and it only took getting punched in the face twice.”

Touching his breastplate where the four long gouges had been carved, Thorn’s gaze grew intense, and his aura began to burn with barely suppressed intensity.

“When I first arrived at the tower, I was told that this tower was an analog for life. Each choice we make, each step we choose or don’t choose, determines how we build our tower. I’ve been walking this path with my eyes fixed on the end of the path, without much care for how I place my feet. That will change today.”

“Did seeing someone you can’t crush really shock you that badly?”

Rubbing his nose, Thorn flashed a rueful smile at his master.

“Sort of. But mostly it just cleared the cobwebs out of my head. You know, when you’ve spent your whole life at the top of the pile, it’s hard not to coast. After all, I don’t typically have to even try to be stronger than others, I just am. Add to that the fact that my early years were built around a system that was literally made to support me, and I think it's understandable that meeting someone who could rival my strength was a bit of a shock. I know you probably thought I was joking, but getting punched actually did clarify a lot of things for me.”

Giving Thorn a sharp look, Master Keadore took his pipe out of his mouth and tapped out the bowl on his desk. As the ash fell, it transformed into shimmering dust that vanished into the air, filling the room with a pleasant scent.

“It isn’t like you to have your heart shaken by facing someone stronger than you.”

“Not shaken, energized,” Thorn said, leaning forward, his gaze burning with intensity. “I just got a glimpse of what my strength might be if I actually worked on it. And if I can do that with strength, why can’t I do that with magic? Or crafting? Why can’t I elevate my martial arts to that level?”

There was a forcefulness to Thorn’s voice that his master had never heard before, and as Thorn continued to speak, Master Keadore realized that his disciple was actually speaking to himself.

“I’ve been so locked into my limited understanding of the world that I haven’t bothered trying to push the envelope and figure out what is possible for myself. That will change today. I’ve been hesitating for a long time regarding what aspect my divinity should embody, but I think I’ve finally figured it out.”

“Oh? What have you chosen?”

“Improvement.”

No sooner had the words slipped from Thorn’s lips than his body shuddered, waves of force radiating out of him and crashing into the bookshelves, sending books and papers flying. Belle appeared in the air, her eyes wide in astonishment as she desperately tried to stabilize the shelves, and Master Keadore sprang into action as well. Gesturing with his pipe, he sent a cloud of sweet smelling smoke to wrap around Thorn, trying to contain the tremendous force. Unaware of the chaos he was causing in his master’s library, Thorn’s attention was entirely focused on the changes happening inside of him. The divinity that his body contained had been largely inert and only moved when he suffered damage, but now it swelled and moved, reacting to his declaration.

A feeling of strength swelled in Thorn’s soul as the divinity rapidly transformed into a brand new sort of power. Yet when he tried to grasp it, the feeling of power faded, eluding him. In its place, he found a vast gulf, as if there were now massive hollows inside of him that yearned to be filled. It took some time for Thorn to understand what had just happened, but when he did, his mouth dropped open in shock. Divinity was, by nature, one of the densest forms of energy Thorn had ever come across, and it was nigh miraculous in its ability to shape reality. Typically, when it was gathered, it was already tied to an aspect and could only be used to affect the world in a way that aligned with that existing aspect, but Thorn’s divinity was different.

His Divine Heart chewed up any divinity he absorbed and spat it back out as a clump of purified energy, giving him the opportunity to convert it into the aspect of his choice. Now, as he had chosen his path, it had transformed into pure potential. As a Titan, his body already contained a nearly limitless potential, though it took considerable work to dredge that potential out, and now the divinity he had been gathering had expanded and improved that potential, bringing it closer to the surface. If his body had been a rich mine before, the divinity had carved wide tunnels and shafts into it, ensuring he had easy access to every inch of treasure it contained.

Furthermore, Thorn knew that as he gained more divinity, the network in his body would continue to grow, increasing the depth of the mine, and the speed at which he could unearth the strength it contained. It was a strange feeling, as he hadn’t actually gotten any stronger, and in some ways had actually lost out as access to the divine energy that his body had stored was locked away, but Thorn couldn’t help but feel like letting out a roar. Containing the overwhelming sense of excitement and anticipation that filled him, he stood up, only to find that the room around him was a complete disaster and his master was glaring at him.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Did you really have to do that here? Look what it did to my library! And why would you choose something like that as your aspect! If you were going to pick something esoteric, you should have picked something powerful! You could have literally picked anything! What about life and death? Or invincibility? You could have picked earth! Improvement? Argh, that’s so lame!”

“Lame?”

“Yes! Lame! What are you going to do when someone challenges you to a fight? They’ll announce their domain and it will be something impressive like the sun! And then you’ll be like, ‘my aspect is improving!’ and even if they don’t die of embarrassment, I will!”

Rubbing the back of his head, Thorn looked at his master in confusion.

“What’s embarrassing about growing?”

“Did no one tell you how aspects work?”

“No, who would have told me that?” Thorn asked, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Master Keadore.

The question stopped Master Keadore in his tracks and the tips of his ears suddenly flushed red. Coughing into his hand, he turned his head away and puffed on his pipe for a moment to calm down.

“Ahem. Anyway, aspects work by imbuing you with their characteristics. As a rule, the more specific the aspect, the greater the impact of its characteristics. On the other hand, the more general, the harder it is to use. I can understand why you would choose a general aspect, as it seems clever, but the problem is that it will be that much harder to use. For example, if you had chosen the aspect sharpness, your ability to cut would have been supercharged. You may have started with cutting physical material, but eventually, cutting intangible things would be possible. But improvement? What does that even mean? What are you going to improve?”

His forehead furrowing, Thorn looked down, thinking carefully about his master’s question. From the very real sense of frustration radiating from his master, he knew that this wasn’t a small thing, and that his master was actually worried about him. Still, he knew in his gut that his choice was correct. Letting out the breath he had been holding, Thorn’s expression relaxed.

“Master, will the individual who chose sharpness as their aspect ever encounter something they cannot cut?”

Master Keadore gave Thorn an annoyed glance, as if he didn’t understand why Thorn was asking about silly things, but he still answered.

“Of course. Just because you have an aspect doesn’t mean you’ll be able to drive it to the absolute extreme. And even if you did, your sharpness will not necessarily be able to cut someone with a stronger aspect than you.”

A small smile flashed across Thorn’s face and he lifted his hand, slowly curling his fingers into a fist.

“I will.”

“What?”

“I’ll be able to cut anything.”

The level of conviction in Thorn’s voice gave his master pause, and it took the old elf a moment to process what Thorn was saying.

“What nonsense are you spouting, Thorn?”

Thorn’s eyes gleamed brightly as he smiled at his master.

“I’ll improve my ability to cut until there is nothing I can’t cut apart. And if I find something I can’t cut, I’ll improve some more. Name an aspect. I’ll be better. Strength? I’ll be stronger. Magic? Mine will be more powerful. Strategy? I’m going to be smarter. If it can be improved, I’ll improve it.”

Like an overwhelming tide, the words coming out of Thorn’s mouth washed over Master Keadore, causing him to gape in shock at his disciple. Thorn spoke as if everything he said was a foregone conclusion, without even the possibility of failure, and it was hard not to believe him.

“Master, what is it that I have the most of?”

As soon as Thorn asked the question, his master knew the answer, and with a sigh, he sat down in his chair, letting out a groan and covering his face with his hands as Thorn answered his own question.

“Time. I have time. With all the time in the endless worlds, what is it that I can’t improve?”

“Do you realize what you are trying to do?” Master Keadore asked Thorn, his gaze boring into the Titan. “Do you realize the consequences of succeeding? Do you realize how many people you will have to battle through if you truly want to make your aspect a reality? No one who has divinity will stand by and allow you to be better than them in their chosen aspect. You’ve just set yourself on a crash course with every aspect holder in the endless worlds.”

“Then they better start working,” Thorn said, chuckling, “because I’m coming for them.”

“What is done is done, Thorn, but you will need to be careful. Anything, taken to the extreme, becomes a two edged sword. Still, you are nothing if not your father’s son.”

Hearing the faint bitterness in Master Keadore’s voice, Thorn’s pulse quickened and he took a small step forward.

“Do you know what my father’s aspect was?”

“Yes. Your father’s aspect was advancement. It led to the creation of a whole new branch of knowledge, and ultimately, the near destruction of the endless worlds. It was only after he personally sealed it away that the endless worlds were able to recover.”

A chill washed over Thorn as he remembered the abandoned laboratories on Lestra, and the powerful mana reactor that he had destroyed in his attempt to kill Acciako. Countless other examples of the mystery of technological advancement that he had uncovered in the endless worlds surged through his mind and a piece of one of the greatest puzzles fell into place for him. His father, Kamag’Tal, had brought technology to the endless worlds, but it had ended with disaster. According to what he had managed to uncover the only two things that had survived were Athena and the Atlas Star that now resided in his chest.

“I’m sorry, Thorn. I should have guided you better.”

Hearing his master’s downcast voice and seeing him starting to bow, Thorn quickly stepped forward to stop him. His large hands gripped his master’s shoulders, preventing him from finishing his bow.

“Master, it's not your fault. I would have chosen this aspect for my divinity sooner or later anyway.”

Straightening up, Master Keadore let out a sigh and stuck his pipe in his mouth.

“One of the commands your father gave me was to make sure that your path was difficult. It looks like you have done it for me. Improvement, huh? You realize that once you start walking this path, you’ll never be able to stop, right? If you do, your divinity will falter, and potentially even collapse. If you ever run into something you cannot improve, your aspect will never improve again.”

“It's a risk I need to take, Master. My path is one of growth that will never stop. If my actions cause trouble, I’ll improve and solve the problem. If I come across an enemy I can’t beat, I’ll improve until I can. If some day my will isn’t strong enough to continue growing? No problem, I’ll improve it until it is.”