Mask of Humanity

Nicolai tapped the Blue Hornet, thinking I choose you. Immediately the statue shrank away, the other Symbiotes disappearing, and at the same time a new hand emerged from the statue, holding a small pouch which Nicolai, teeth grit, struggled to grab.

The reason for his struggle was the electricity surging through his body.

The Blue Hornet had immediately sunk its pincer-like mandibles into the flesh of his finger, its wings humming and crackling with energy, then blasted him. His muscles locked up and his body shook while the tiny bug gripped tight to his finger even as his hand clenched tight, until it was riding his fist, savaging his flesh like an angry dog. Fortunately, the burst of energy soon faded and Nicolai relaxed, steam rising from his skin while the Blue Hornet continued to cling tight, body moving as it struggled to regain its energy.

He could feel it where it touched him, his Soul contacting it. He grasped the second pouch which presumably contained its food, whilst lunging forwards with his Soul through the physical connection.

Nicolai began to apply a constant, slow pressure, squeezing against it, into it. It ripped its mandibles away and its wings moved as if to take off but Nicolai dropped the pouch to put his other hand behind it, cupping it, holding it gently against him while he leveraged his Soul.

It stopped moving, stopped charging its lightning. It was too busy defending itself from his Soul.

The Symbiote felt, to his Soul and Soul Sense, like it had an invisible spiritual shell around it, one that instinctively resisted him. In fact, it was angry he was even trying to break that shell and something was now surging out from it, its own Soul or something like that, which pressed against him and tried to beat him in turn, full of domineering intent. It bit at him again, sinking mandibles back into his flesh as it fought against him.

Nicolai’s smile grew at the pain, grim and determined as he fought against it. It felt little different from the dark urges he lived with every day, which he was well used to fighting against. He pushed it back with his own urge to dominate, and once more started to squeeze its spiritual shell. Tiny cracks began to spread and the Hornet froze utterly, all of its focus on fighting the spreading cracks and sealing them.

His progress was slow, very slow, and he recognised that this was something that would take hours. On top of that, he could feel his Soul Sense dwindling, his Soul sustaining some damage of its own, though he had little time to think on that.

But all of this was merely a distraction. Nicolai dug around in the little pouch and pulled something out.

It was a chunk of honeycomb, golden and crispy, sticky with honey, and he could feel how it was filled with energy, a natural store of Oma. His mouth salivated at the sight and smell of it, but it was not for him.

He placed it on his hand beside the Hornet, and at the same time he did as Kleos had told him. He switched the dominating intent within his Soul Sense into a sense of friendliness, a reaching-out, a desire to work together, and he reduced the pressure he was holding on the Hornet, until he was still pressuring it but not to the extent that cracks formed on its spiritual shell.

The bug twitched, head turning to stare at the honeycomb. Its mandibles tugged out of his flesh, shiny with his blood. It felt like two little thorns pulled out of him. Then it crept over and took a bite. Chewed thoughtfully. Another, more eager bite. He felt its focus quickly switch, and he felt a kind of smug sense of victory and superiority from it. It believed he had given up. He could hear the faint crunch of it chewing, and in a short time the piece of honeycomb was gone. Nicolai immediately placed another where it had been. The bug kept eating. He sensed another change from it. Sleepiness.

Once more he reduced the spiritual pressure he was applying, then he carried it over to a corner of the room and placed it there, and moved his hand back, breaking the Soul-to-Soul connection he held with it, switching his focus to his Soul Sense which he used to maintain an even smaller pressure. There was a sense of consideration from the bug. He gave it another, smaller piece of honeycomb. It ate, and Nicolai stopped applying any pressure, just feeling at it. It settled down. He could feel how it had decided to bide its time. A kind of: I’m not in any danger. I’ll wait until I’m less full. Then I’ll beat you…

Nicolai put a light piece of cloth over it, covering it and giving it some darkness, then he stepped away. The Blue Hornet remained in place, content to sleep. Nicolai smiled, then grinned. It had worked. He looked over the skin of his hand and fingers it had torn at, but the wounds were minor, just small cuts, though impressive considering how little the bug was compared to him.

Where the statue had appeared there were now two more pouches, the final rewards which had risen without him noticing as he struggled with the Hornet. He checked them and found ten more Oma crystals, and another one-thousand points-tag. That brought him to five thousand points, all together.

Nicolai settled down beside Kleos, full of a quiet satisfaction. The head seemed equally satisfied, neither of them feeling a need to talk on it. Once Nicolai had a few hours spare, he would take control of the bug. But for now, he had more questions, more to explore.

‘My Seed has changed into something else, into a little spherical marble thing dug into my heart. Do you know what that signifies?’

‘That’ll be your Node,’ said Kleos. ‘That’s what you’ll use to Cultivate.’

‘Go on.’

‘Nodes form the cornerstones of every normal Cultivator’s system. I wasn’t sure if it would work the same for you. For most, born with Souls, they all generally start with Nodes throughout their bodies, or develop them during childhood. However, these Nodes are clogged, broken, unusable; sometimes missing entirely. A Cultivator must cleanse and clear these Nodes, so they become usable, or build ones where none exist. Once an individual has cleared their first Node—a difficult job—that would typically be when they gain true Soul Sense. From there things get easier as they focus on clearing their remaining Nodes.

‘For yourself, it seems you’ll have to build them all. A tough job, but not without benefits. By building them all from scratch you can ensure each one matches your aptitude. Nodes built from scratch will be at a consistent level; so long as they are built with skill. In my day, people would tear apart any lacking Nodes they started with, and build fresh ones. In the long run, you’ll likely do the same to the Node your Seed has turned into. I doubt it’ll be perfect. Likely it’ll be somewhere between trash and decent, that’s what most starting Nodes tend to be, unless you’re very lucky.’

‘How can I see what level mine is at?’ asked Nicolai, frowning.

Kleos did a little shrug with its eyebrows. ‘If you were more… normal, then growing up you’d have been graded by a more experienced Cultivator. They’d take a look at your Nodes and give you a ranking for each area, alongside an overall based on the level of all your Nodes combined. As it is… I don’t know. You have no frame of reference to judge them, and I’m not sure how I could explain the intricacies of how different Nodes feel; its something you have to experience.’

‘Huh. Okay. How do I build them?’

‘That depends on the type of Node. There are Minor, and Major. Your heart’s Node should be a major one, and it will act as a kind of hub that enables you to build a few minor ones relatively easily. I’m not sure where those should be, it depends on how the Cultivator looks inside, their organs. Normally the heart’s Major Node will be focused on breathing and blood. Breathing is the easiest way to gain energy to create Oma, and blood is the easiest way to spread it through the body; this tends to be the case in most species. The heart’s Node would therefore link to the body's breathing and blood filtering systems, where you would be able to build minor Nodes in order to improve the process.’

‘Lungs, and kidneys,’ said Nicolai, nodding.

‘Those, then. If you feel around with your Soul Sense you should find places which are… it’s hard to describe. You’ll know it when you feel it. Places of potential, if that makes sense, within those organs. There, you can build Minor Nodes, working on them gradually.’

‘What do I use to do so?’

‘Oma, that’s it. Just pour Oma into wherever you feel the potential, and once you feel it’s in the right spot, start to form the Node. The method to do so… it’s a little complex. I’ll explain when you do it.’

‘I have a lot of crystals,’ said Nicolai. ‘Can I start now?’

‘Whenever you feel ready.’ The head did a kind of shrug with its eyebrows. ‘Once you’ve finished a Node you’ll need to wait some time for it to be finished, to mesh and synchronise with the rest of your system, unless you have a way to instantly synchronise. In the meantime it’ll require upkeep.’

‘Instantly synchronise?’

‘Cultivators normally use Symbiotes to do that. There are many Symbiotes that aid Cultivation directly, as opposed to providing abilities for combat or other purposes.’

Nicolai slowly nodded. He was thinking that, in spite of Kleos’ words, he may have a way to find out the level of his Node. A way to have a better look at his Cultivation overall.

He tapped his Mark, and the menu popped out. He clicked on Cultivation. It was his first time doing so since integrating his Seed, and the menu flickered, changing.

User Interface 376 | User #53,217

- Cultivation

>Seed has been Integrated…

>Soul detected…

>Internal System detected…

>Please wait, calibrating…

>Calibration complete.

The golden light faded into his hand, then re-emerged, to display a larger screen. Nicolai held his hand a little further away, looking it all over with interest. This was the most complex display his Mark had yet shown him.

On the right side in a large box was a diagram of his body, arms and legs spread, reminiscent of DaVinci’s Vitruvian man.

A bright point of light shone in his chest; his heart. His Major Node. In his upper body, five more dimmer points of light also shone. One halfway down his windpipe, one in each of his lungs, and one in each of his kidneys. Tapping on each, the view zoomed closer and he was able to see the exact positioning. These must be the points of potential Kleos had mentioned.

On the left of this box was the same kind of textual menu he’d grown used to.

User Interface 376 | User #53,217

- Cultivation

Major Realm: Foundation

Minor Realm: 1

Progress to next Tier: 0%

Total Nodes: 1 Major, 0 Minor

Available unconstructed Nodes: 0 Major, 5 Minor

- Nodes in progress;

n/a (0%)

Completed Nodes;

Heart (Flawless) (Oma: 100/100)

Nicolai eyebrows rose. ‘My Mark is giving me all the details. Looks like I won’t need someone to check them for me. It says my heart’s Node is Flawless.’ He looked to Kleos.

Kleos’ eyes widened. ‘What? That… that’s… huh.’ The head frowned. It chewed its lip, thoughtful. ‘Heaven gave you that Seed, didn’t it?’

Nicolai recalled something vast and writhing, shining and silver, watching him from a dark place. Then the Seed had been placed in his hands. It was a blurry, confusing memory, and thinking on it, trying to recall what he’d seen, gave him a sense of deep, existential unease.

‘Something gave me the Seed,’ he said at length, after pushing the feeling deep, deep down. ‘Don’t know if it was Heaven, but I suppose it was on Heaven’s behalf.’

‘Then I’m guessing that’s a little gift, a little kindness. Flawless Nodes are what everyone aims for, though few achieve it. It’s the ideal. It means your Node will hold the maximum possible Oma, recharge faster… it will do everything better. I suppose it’s a little balancing act, from Heaven. Most won’t have to build all their other Nodes from scratch, like you will. At least your first will provide a boost.’

‘So, when I start building them, the goal would be to make all my Nodes flawless?’

Kleos chuckled. ‘Sure, that’s the ideal. That’s how you get yourself a flawless foundation. Most settle for simply a good or decent foundation, if they even manage to raise their Nodes over their natural limit.’

Nicolai frowned. ‘It mentions foundation, too. It says my major realm is Foundation.’

Kleos snorted. ‘I wouldn’t put you at proper Foundation, myself, but I suppose you’re at the feet of it. Some refer to the entire first stage of a Cultivator’s development simply as Foundation. I guess Heaven is included. Myself, I’d be more specific and say you’re in the first part of Foundation, which is called Clearing.’

‘What’s the difference?’

‘Clearing means you still need to finish your internal system, get all the Nodes sorted out. Since you only have one Node, you’re right at the start of that. Foundation truly begins once you have those Nodes. Still, in a way it’s all a part of the same process.’

‘So how do I get a Flawless Foundation?’

‘There’s a lot that goes into it. Most don’t even try. The importance of a good foundation depends on how far you wish to go. The stronger you want to become, the more crucial a good foundation is. However, if you just want to get stronger fast, or don’t see yourself ever going so far, or simply find yourself unable to gain the necessary resources, you can push on without perfecting it. As I said, the vast majority don’t improve their foundation at all, other than the basics. It’s difficult and costly to improve Nodes past your natural limit. Very rare for someone to develop a truly Flawless Foundation.’

A Flawless Foundation it will be, then. Nicolai wasn’t a fan of half-assing anything.

‘How do I improve a Node past my limit?’

Kleos chuckled, looking away, an almost fond expression on its face. Nicolai had the impression it would have been shaking its head, if it could. ‘You remind me of myself, back when I was younger. You don’t even know what your limit is, but already you’re so eager to exceed it. It’s not easy, but I know you won’t be dissuaded. I see it in you. For now, focus on completing your system and get done with Clearing, though I suppose for you it should be called Building. Build as many Nodes as your body can hold. You won’t know what your Aptitude is until you complete the first new one, anyway. Once you’ve completed all that, then worry about taking your Nodes to Flawless.’

‘I still want to know how I’d actually go about doing that.’

‘It depends on what your Aptitude is—which determines the natural limit of how good a Node you can create—and then either increasing that Aptitude, which is very hard, or simply pushing each Node past that limit via later processes—an easier and more accessible route. Or both. All of this requires significant time, effort, and resources. It’s not something you’ll have to worry about for a while. For now, your first step should be completing your system.’

‘What about increasing my Minor Realm? It says my progress on that front is zero percent.’

Kleos sighed, seeming a little impatient. ‘Again, it’s not something you really need to worry about for now. It requires a process focused on developing the Oma production parts of your internal system, trying to bring it all to a higher level. It’s generally not even possible until you have the production parts of your internal system completed; that means chest and stomach Nodes.’

Nicolai nodded. Alright. He looked away, to his hand where the Blood Bite ring was dug into his finger.

It itched at him where it touched on his skin, his Soul. Through that touch, he was able to press into it, just as he would have done through his Seed, only far more easily. His Soul was able to move into it almost instantly, where the Seed had always taken a moment. As soon as he was connected to the Imbued ring, he felt it calling for energy. For Oma.

Nicolai smiled. Cultivation and the Symbiote could wait for now. He had something more immediate to play with.

His focus moved to the marble in his heart—his Node—and he took control of the Oma within it. With only a thought he pulled a stream of Oma from the Node, which formed a tiny river, running through his body. It moved rapidly to his hand and there into the ring.

As soon as it was within the ring he activated the Art. Nothing happened, except that his skin itched, as he wasn’t bleeding. But Nicolai was grinning ear to ear because he had activated the Art with far more ease than ever before. For the first time it felt right, as though his body was in the state it was meant to be, able to control the magic as it was meant to be used.

Rising and moving to where he’d dumped his things, he retrieved the rapier and held it, able to feel it not just with his body but with his Soul. He connected to it easily and pulled Oma from his Node, just as he would have pulled at the Oma in his Seed. The Oma responded immediately, far more easily than his Seed’s ever had, and it poured out to form a slender river that roved through his body until it reached the rapier. As soon as the Oma pushed into the rapier the weapon lit up, glowing with faint blue lines up and down its length.

Only a day or two ago, he’d first used this rapier through his Seed, moving it with his Seed’s Soul Sense. Now he did the same, but with his own Soul Sense.

The speed and grace of the rapier was significantly improved, spinning and darting through the air in response to his Soul Sense as he gestured with his arm and hand, directing it as a conductor might direct music, dancing just a few feet away from him. So long as it was within his passive cloud of Soul Sense, he didn’t even need to think or perform any real effort. It just moved as he wished.

Except in one regard. He noticed that when he didn’t move his arm the rapier was slow and it lacked power, more like when he’d used it through his Seed. But so long as he did move his arm, it moved significantly faster and with more power than the last time he’d tried, and he controlled it more easily, more intuitively. As he moved his body, padding after the rapier which advanced in lunges ahead of him, he found himself occasionally overbalancing, found that everything felt slightly off. After a moment, he realised why.

He was faster. His entire body, every action, came out notably faster. He felt lighter than ever on his feet. Was he stronger? Stronger and faster? Nicolai danced over the stone, the rapier twisting through the air before him, getting used to his movements. He adjusted quickly, and began to frown at how close the rapier was to him. He wanted it further out in front, attacking imaginary opponents at a distance beyond the reach of his arm

He extended his tendril of Soul Sense and moved the rapier with it, through it, maintaining control of it. He’d been worried this wouldn’t work but that worry had been in vain, the rapier extended easily along with his Soul Sense.

‘Ha!’ Nicolai twisted and punched out with his hand and his Soul Sense, and the rapier darted through the doorway to stop some metres away, above the crack in the other room, at the limit of his Soul Sense’s range. Nicolai resumed his dance, moving his arm as though he fought with the rapier in truth, pulling back and thrusting out.

A wide grin stretched his face as he laughed, enjoying the sensation of the rapier and his Soul Sense and his arm all moving together. It was all connected. There was a kind of intuitive muscularity to the act, one that made it feel satisfying. Not to mention, his moves were faster and smoother than ever with his improved body.

With a flick of his wrist both rapier and Soul Sense snapped back towards him. He caught the rapier from the air just as it ran out of energy. A laugh bubbled out of him as he examined the sharp point. Now, this is useful.

He no longer needed to worry about his Seed. No more would he have to go through the lengthy, clunky process of taking it from his mouth, touching it to the Imbued item, charging it while his Seed fought him. It had always resented the loss of Oma. And all the while he’d been worrying about how exposed his Seed was.

He’d barely used his Imbued items, other than the glove and the Pegasi ring, and even them just a little. All because of the limitations of his Seed. Now, he had a Soul which possessed the same powers his Seed had held, but magnified. Not only that, but alongside gaining a Soul his body had improved in every way possible.

A low chuckle crept out from between his lips. ‘Stronger,’ he muttered. ‘Faster.’ He clenched his fist. ‘Better.’ Nicolai grinned, and the laugh came again and rose and rose until he let out a shout of joy that bounced off the walls.

This was what it was all about. The whole point! His combat capabilities were increasing and he was reaching closer to the ideal he dreamt of. The perfect warrior. His body tingled, hands clenching with eagerness. He looked to his other Imbued. It was time to see what he was truly capable of, now that at long last he was a Cultivator.