Skyflare (Rise To Omniscience Book 3)

by Aaron Oster

  “Something just happened, didn’t it?” she asked as Morgan sat upright, despite his horrible injuries.

  He nodded, flexing his fingers a few times.

  “There’s no need for me to spend the attribute points I gained just yet. I’ll survive just fine, but we need to find somewhere safe to hunker down. I have to talk to Dabu.”

  ***

  Dabu was sitting in his usual spot when Morgan appeared in the sunlit clearing. He didn’t even bother looking up from his book as Morgan approached and sat down across from him.

  “I gather that you have many questions,” Dabu said, turning a page in his book.

  “You can say that,” Morgan replied, flexing the fingers of his right hand.

  No matter the show he’d put on for Sarah, losing his arm had been absolutely terrifying. He wasn’t entirely sure if it would grow back, and didn’t know what he would do if it didn’t. For now, he consoled himself by using the appendage created for him in this world. His physical body wasn’t here as Dabu had once explained, only a physical representation of himself created by his mind.

  “Would these questions have anything to do with the West Kingdom, or the Ruined City in which you currently find yourself in?”

  “That, and some other things,” Morgan replied.

  “Ah, but those are the only questions that I am at liberty to answer,” he replied, closing the book and setting it down. “To an extent, anyway.”

  Morgan sighed. He’d figured that Dabu wouldn’t be able to disclose any information on Gold or Samuel, but he had to try.

  “Can you tell me who I am?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Dabu replied with a sad smile. “I have been forbidden from telling you any information regarding your past, but I can, however, tell you a bit about what caused the calamity in the Ruined City. I can also tell you that you can expect a guest once you leave here. They will guide you on the next steps of your journey.”

  “I see you’re cryptic as ever,” Morgan replied with a grin.

  Dabu smiled back, then procured a cup of steaming tea from seemingly nowhere, which he handed over to Morgan, along with a small plate of cakes.

  Morgan’s grin widened. Dabu always had the most exotic tasting food. He knew that he procured them from other worlds, so he was getting to eat food that no one in the entire Five Kingdoms had ever tasted.

  Biting into one of the cakes, Morgan had to suppress a groan of pleasure as the light, spongy material hit his tongue. He sucked the air from inside his mouth, compressing the airy cake until it was dense - this was always his favorite thing to do with cake - and only then began to chew.

  “Allow me to begin from the beginning,” Dabu said, earning him a raised eyebrow from Morgan.

  Where else was he supposed to begin?

  “About twenty-five years ago, the West Kingdom began experimenting with punching into another dimension. There are ability users who have the skills to move through space, and one or two who can even manipulate time to an extent, so they figured, why not use their combined power, to open a portal to another world?

  “It took them many years to do so, but they finally succeeded. When they managed to open a portal, they received a visit from someone warning them to cease all activity and to close down their operation. They, of course, ignored this warning.

  “After exploring a bit of the new world, one of the people discovered something amazing: an entirely new type of energy that they’d never seen before. Naturally, they had to know more, so they began experimenting with this new energy to see what it could do. They didn’t want to test it on people, so they instead began running the tests on beasts they’d captured.

  “These experiments went on for nearly seven years. In all that time, they discovered that the new energy had the power to drastically increase the amount of energy inside a beast’s core. The only problem was that no one could safely absorb it. Even those who had taken in this new energy and could open the core’s status as a result, had no such luck.

  “There were those that tried, of course, but their bodies couldn’t contain the energy and broke apart soon after. But even still, the researchers were not deterred. On the contrary, it emboldened them to try and go bigger. They were convinced that if they could create the perfect beast using this new energy, they would be able to absorb the cores safely.

  “You see, they discovered that they had no way to grow this new source of energy within themselves, without constantly going back to this new world and absorbing it there. There was also no way for them to utilize it, as their bodies could not handle the strain, so even if they did take the time to grow the power in the other world, it was still useless.”

  Dabu paused to take a long and very slow sip of his tea, but Morgan knew better than to rush the man, despite his impatience. He was giving him valuable information and had already revealed that the divine energy in his core was from another world, not as he’d previously thought, as a result of his evolution.

  Dabu hadn’t said it outright, as he was forbidden, but Morgan could easily come to that conclusion on his own.

  “So they constructed an extremely powerful item to help them achieve their goals,” Dabu continued after setting his tea down. “A spire to harness the power of a storm. They were hoping that the gathered energy of a lightning bolt could trigger some sort of transformation when coupled with the otherworldly power.

  “But, as it is with all things of this nature, something went wrong. As the lightning struck the spire, one of the beasts got loose and damaged a conductor. The result was disastrous, and the subsequent explosion was powerful enough to wipe out the entire city.

  “The energy washed over all the beasts in the area, transforming and corrupting them. Changing them into the beasts you fought below.”

  “And the most powerful one, the one that appeared to be nearly a Pinnacle beast?” Morgan asked, leaning forward eagerly.

  “The beast that damaged the conductor,” Dabu replied. “I’m not entirely sure what happened there, but it was transformed in a different way than the other beasts. When the lightning struck, the corruption was contained, and the beast, nearly perfected.”

  “So, the researchers had been correct, then,” Morgan said thoughtfully.

  That still didn’t answer the question of how he’d survived. Had he been in the blast zone and been infused with the divine energy?

  “They had been, but they meddled with forces far beyond their means of comprehension,” Dabu replied, finishing his remaining tea in a single swallow.

  “But enough of that. Your visitor will explain more than I can once you go back. In the meantime, I have a new skill to bestow upon you.”

  Morgan was snapped from his contemplation when he heard that, and a wide grin spread across his face. He always loved learning new skills.

  Dabu held out a hand, and Morgan placed his hand into it. His face tightened in concentration for a moment, before a flow of power entered Morgan’s body. He shuddered lightly as Dabu pulled his hand away, and Morgan excitedly pulled up his status to check out the skill.

  Aura Flare (inherited) - You have been bestowed the gift of power by an Omniscient. You can now make those around you feel your power, merely by focusing your intent. This is not a damaging trait, but rather, one of intimidation. This can help you to avoid fights where they are not necessary.

  Morgan closed the skill, more than a little disappointed. Before he said anything, he thought over what the skill could do for him. Something like this could come in handy if he ever faced a large group of opponents that he didn’t have a chance of defeating. And even if he could win, making them doubt themselves was an excellent way to put an opponent on the back foot before a fight even began.

  “Thank you,” he said, bowing slightly at the waist.

  He then felt a light tugging at his center and sighed. His time with Dabu always felt too short. There were still so many things he’d wanted to ask, but just hadn’t had the time to.

&nb
sp; “A word of caution, before you go,” Dabu said, his tone suddenly deadly serious. “You may have a handle on that divine energy now, but your control over it is tenuous at best. You have maybe a week before it goes out of control and wreaks havoc inside your body.”

  Morgan’s eyes practically bulged out of skull when he heard that.

  Why the hell did he wait until now to mention it?

  He could feel his consciousness fading from the clearing, so he was quick to ask, “and how do I prevent that from happening?”

  “You must integrate your divine energy into your reiki. Find a way to combine the two before it’s too late. Oh, and I wouldn’t recommend attempting this before you reach rank 29.”

  Morgan could feel his mind in a turmoil, but right before he vanished, he remembered wanting to try something out with his improved Aura sense skill. He’d wanted to get a read on Dabu’s power for a while now, but since he couldn’t see details on anyone who was more than 9 ranks above him, he’d never tried. Now, however, he could get a decent idea of his power, though he wouldn’t be able to see his exact rank.

  As soon as he thought the word ‘sense,’ Morgan’s eyes nearly bulged from his head. Dabu’s entire body shone with a brilliance that nearly blinded him, and a rich violet aura flared up at least twenty feet from his body. It was so dense that he couldn’t see through it, and after just a few seconds of staring, he was forced to close his eyes as a stabbing pain began forming behind his eyes.

  If Morgan was powerful, Dabu was the very definition of power.

  ***

  When his eyes flickered open, the first thing Morgan did was look down to his arm. Then, he abruptly looked away as he felt a sense of nausea overtake him. The stump was writhing and lengthening in the most disturbing way, and he couldn’t bear to look. Guessing by the retching sounds coming from outside their small impromptu shelter, Sarah couldn’t either.

  He could feel his other wounds stitching themselves together as well, and let out a sigh of relief when after a couple of minutes, the tingling and squirming finally stopped. Looking down, Morgan stared at his now whole and undamaged arm.

  “You can come back in now. I’m done healing,” Morgan called out.

  He decided that he would keep Dabu’s news about his currently limited lifespan to himself. At least for now. He would have to scramble to find some way of combining the two energies within his core, but right this moment, he had other things to worry about.

  “Uh, Morgan. You might want to come out here.”

  Morgan was on his feet in a second. Sarah had sounded worried, and if there was another fight coming, he wanted to be prepared.

  Exiting into the mid-afternoon sun, Morgan looked around until he spotted Sarah. The two of them had made their shelter on the outside of the crater of rubble. There had been a few small openings in the tall mountains of debris, and they had picked the closest one with a defensible position.

  Sarah was standing just outside the opening and staring up the tall pile of rubble. Following her line of sight, Morgan’s eyes soon landed on a cloaked figure standing atop the pile and staring down at them. Or so he assumed, as he couldn’t see the person’s eyes.

  “You think he’s here for a fight?” Sarah asked as he stepped up to her.

  He could already feel the air around them cooling as Sarah prepared an attack, but Morgan placed a hand over hers to stop her.

  “No, Dabu said to expect someone,” then he quickly added, “I’ll tell you later,” to forestall any further questions.

  Sarah nodded, but when he tried to remove his hand, he found that he couldn’t, as Sarah had latched onto it and didn’t appear to want to let go. Rolling his eyes, Morgan turned his attention back to the cloaked figure.

  “What do you want?” he asked, not moving any closer.

  “I’ve been sent to give you a message, and perhaps a few answers.”

  The voice was deep and masculine and Morgan felt like he recognized it from somewhere, but he just couldn’t place it.

  “Sent by who?” Sarah asked before he could reply.

  “I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”

  “Didn’t you just say you were here to give us answers?” Sarah shot back, not missing a beat.

  “I was, just not those answers,” the man replied smoothly.

  “Fine,” Morgan said, cutting the conversation off before it could escalate any further. “Just say what you came here to say, and leave.”

  “Very well,” the man said, folding his arms behind his back. Then he spoke with the official tone of someone delivering a message.

  “This is the city where you were born. And this is the city where you gained your power. Your memories have been taken, and your past erased. Go to the capital city of Westover. In the Queen’s palace, you will find the knowledge you are seeking.”

  The man finished speaking and produced a scroll from inside his robes, along with a glowing glass vial.

  “Wait, is that all?” Morgan asked, surprised that the message had been so brief.

  From what Dabu had said, he’d been expecting a bit more. Although, now that he thought about it, the man had given them some direction. He now knew where to find more information on the Ruined City, as well as information on his past.

  “That is the message I was tasked with delivering,” the man said, unrolling the scroll and pouring the glowing blue liquid onto it.

  Morgan and Sarah were both stunned when a portal opened above the scroll, and the man took half a step into it.

  “It was good seeing you again, Morgan. You haven’t changed much since I left.”

  Those words struck Morgan like lightning. This man knew him. Could he be responsible for his missing memories? Was he the one who altered his body and mind?

  He was already moving forward, dashing up the slope in a desperate attempt to stop the man from leaving, but it was already too late. The portal slammed shut before he even reached the top, and the scroll that had opened it was now just a smoldering pile of ash.

  Morgan blew out a long sigh, feeling the tension leave his body as he calmed himself. He’d waited this long to find out who had messed with him and had already found several people responsible for that. This just added one more to the list of people he would kill one day.

  Walking back down to Sarah, he saw her fishing around in the bag.

  “What are you looking for?” he asked, as she withdrew one of the armored tops Katherine had given them.

  “As much as I enjoy seeing you without a shirt, we have a long way to travel before reaching the capital,” she said with a grin.

  Morgan took the armor with a grunt of thanks and pulled it over his head.

  “Exactly how far is it?” he asked, feeling the armor conforming to his body.

  “About a week, if you fly at full speed.”

  “Even with the skill upgraded?”

  “How fast can you move now?”

  “Eighty-five feet per second.”

  Sarah closed her eyes for a moment and did some math. When she opened them, she was grinning.

  “That’s roughly fifty-seven miles per hour. If you can bump your reiki regeneration up, then we might make it in five days.”

  Morgan nodded, pulling up his status and assigning the points. He decided to put some into Intelligence as well, to increase the amount of RP he had to work with. When he was done, he took a moment to look it over.

  Name: Morgan

  Evolved Supermage: Rank - 28

  Energy to next rank - 157,202/807,000

  Ability Advancement: 1,250,478/3,800,000

  Total Available AP: 0

  Ability - Divine Gravity & Air

  RP - 1,900/1,900 (Regen - 19.3 per second)

  DV - 1,250/1,250 (Regen - 12.5 per minute)

  Strength - 172

  Agility - 194

  Constitution - 160

  Intelligence - 190 (+20)

  Wisdom - 193 (+23)

  Skills - Perfect flight, Explosi
ve impact, Storm blade II, Goldfire

  Divine - Shock-blast, Rage of the Gods

  Traits - Gravity field, Recovery, Aura sense (inherited), Aura flare (inherited)

  Extra - Gravity storm (2nd category), Starbreaker

  Just like last time, Morgan found that his Wisdom had a cap and would not go up any further, but he was happy with how close he’d gotten it to 200. With his Perfect flight costing 18 RP per second, he could now maintain the skill indefinitely, or until he got too tired to continue.

  He’d felt his mind sharpening at the massive increase to each of his attributes, and had seen the network of glowing gold and purple lines flowing up to his brain. It felt as though his mind had been torn apart, then repaired, but in a good way.

  He now thought he understood his power just a bit better and knew that the expansion of his core, and the reason that he was able to harness divine energy - even for a limited amount of time - was because of one simple reason. He was a supermage, and the others were not. Those only using the power of mana or chi to fuel their bodies could not withstand the strain. But reiki was the purest and most powerful energy in this world, so it stood to reason that he, as a user of that power, would be able to harness other energies on par with that. And he had no doubt in his mind that divine energy and reiki were on the same level.

  When he’d been fighting that beast, it felt as though he were fighting himself. It was much faster, stronger and smarter than it should have been, even with it being on the brink of evolution. The ape they’d fought wouldn’t have been able to survive his Starbreak, let alone the upgraded Starbreaker.

  Not only had the beast completely dodged the attack, but it had been smart enough to target Sarah instead of him with its counter. It had also dodged her attack and kept both of them on their toes. It hadn’t let up for a second, not even when it had been injured. If the Pinnacle Kings were anything like that beast, then he knew he couldn’t defeat them right now. At his state of power, he would be destroyed in a matter of seconds.

  Right now though, he had another goal in mind- staying alive long enough to reach the palace in the capital city.