Vortex Origins

Ash stared at the boy suspended in the sky, drifting within the soft shimmer of a Soul space that felt far too calm for something so strange. He had no idea how a child this young had ended up inside his soul. None of it made sense. And seeing him face-to-face only raised more questions.

The boy's voice came gently.

"Mm. Ash, are you okay?"

That pulled Ash back. His gaze snapped away, clearing the fog in his mind.

"Yeah. I'm good."

He turned his eyes to the open field again, pretending that the green grass swaying beneath them could explain anything.

"You're saying you made all this?"

The boy's smile rose like it meant something.

"Yeah, I did. It wasn't easy, but I made it. All of it."

Ash stepped forward. The air was warm here—surprisingly gentle, like the world itself was breathing slow. He had felt a kind of pity for the boy when he first appeared. That pity began to rot now, replaced by something colder. Something cautious.

"How did you do this?"

His voice held weight now.

"I've read everything there is on Soul spaces. No one can shape them. Not like this. But you did. So who are you really?"

The boy's smile cracked. His head dropped, eyes sinking toward the grass. Something in him broke. Ash didn't need to ask again—he could already feel it unraveling.

He waited.

The boy's voice came low.

"When I first woke up here... I didn't know who I was. Nothing. Just your face and your name. That's all I had."

He pulled his knees close, hugging them without shame. The air seemed heavier now.

"I was glad you found me. I don't even know why. It just... felt right."

He took a slow breath. Not a trace of bitterness. Only silence long enough to swallow.

"I stayed here, hoping the memories would come back. But nothing did. Not until I entered my Soul space. But that wasn't enough."

Ash didn't move. He just watched. Something real was about taking shape here. He left like he was about something new again.

"The name this place called me... is Chironox Nerath."

The way he spoke it felt like the name had been buried, not forgotten.

"But since we're close, just call me Nox. I like how people shortened your name. Ashley to Ash. Thought I'd try it too."

His hand lifted toward the sky. Two glowing orbs circled above, faintly pulsing with life.

"As for this place… it changed because of the skills that came with my Soulcore."

Ash tilted his head.

"Skills?"

In Varagos, newly ascended—called Awakened—don't gain skills immediately after forming their Soulcore or awakening their soul space. The slot for skills remains hollow and untouched.

But even with nothing inside, they're far from defenseless.

Core Abilities—that's what fills the void. These aren't skills. They're the raw essence of a Soulcore bleeding into the world. In other words, passive traits that mimic skills but only bend the world within the boundaries of their soul's nature.

Skills, though? Those are shatter boundaries.

Skills break the laws of the wielder's attribute. A fire-type Soulcore might create flame, but a Skill from that same core might make flame solid, give it weight, will, or even intent.

Take Kael, for example.

At Stage 5, he had more than a few skills. But back in Sandworm Valley, and again in Ironhold, only four of his skills were ever shown.

The first skill—his favorite skill—was Firewall.

Not a wave of flame. Not a surge. But a wall.

A searing, solid barrier that could melt metal and cage enemies in a prison of fire.

Kael used it often. Not for defense. He just hated it when his enemies ran.

The second was a growth-type skill: Scorch Body.

An evolved form of one of Ash's skill, Scorch Palm, which only enhanced his strikes.

Scorch Body is different. It ignited everything. Kael's speed, strength, and resilience. And the new skill that came with the Divine Soulcore he carried—the Infernal Mandate—amplified it further. Every time Kael fought, the Infernal Mandate carved that power deeper into his bones.

Then came the third skill—Solar Orb.

His newly learnt skill. After reaching stage 5 and getting three new skill slots, right before he inherited the divine soulcore.

This new skill was a compact star. A miniature sun, forged to kill.

It was Solar Orb that let Kael incinerate a Tier 6 Sandworm—one of this region's most feared burrowers.

That orb didn't just burn. It obliterated.

And that's what made it one of his deadliest skills.

But still, nothing compared to Kael's core ability—Fire Manipulation.

He wielded it like it was born inside his blood. Like every fire Soulcore wielder, Kael could control flames—but he took it further. He flew on an aura of burning air surrounding his body, hurled fireballs with a snap of his fingers, and conjured roaring pyres out of nothing.

And now, thanks with the help of Infernal Mandate amplifying his core, Kael's flames had become something else entirely. Hungrier. Wilder and ever more Terrifying.

Ash, though, was different.

He had three Soulcores.

Three gifts. Three burdens.

His first was Fire Manipulation, the same as Kael's. But being stuck at Stage One made all the difference. His flames flickered compared to Kael's storms.

The second was Lightning Manipulation. A core ability meant for precision, speed, and brutality. But in Ash's hands? It barely did more than stun someone long enough to breathe. If he pushed too far, he'd be the one passing out.

Then there was the last. The one he hated.

Dark Manipulation.

He'd never seen it do anything. Not once. His mother, a wielder of the same dark Soulcore, once told him that understanding darkness at Stage One was damn near impossible. It refused to be tamed.

To Ash, it wasn't a power. It was a weight. A chain clamped to his soul. And he despised it.

His eyes drifted from Nox to the boy's Soulcores glowing beneath the skin. They seem to look like Earth... and Light. One is common and another is rare. But Light. that was a problem.

Ash had never met a light wielder before.

And if this kid was one?

Then maybe... just maybe...

He was meant to be Ash's enemy.

After all, buried deep inside Ash's soul was a Soulroot branded with a cruel name:

Hunter of Light.

Ash narrowed his eyes.

That green core in the sky… something about it gnawed at him.

It didn't look like any Earth Soulcore he'd seen in the manuals back at the academy. There was no fractured stone, no brown fault lines, no dirt-crusted glow. Just pure green light pulsing like a heartbeat, serene yet unnatural. Still, it wasn't like he'd seen many Soulcores in person. Maybe this was just a rarer form.

He turned his gaze to Nox.

"Skill? Don't you mean core ability? You've got an Earth Soulcore, so I'm guessing that's how you changed this whole place. And the light core… It's brightening everything around here. I'm impressed, I didn't know this was possible. Maybe there's more to learn about the Soul space than I thought."

Nox tilted his head like a confused child, then gave a crooked smile.

"Actually, you got it all wrong," he said softly. "I don't have the Earth or Light core."

Ash blinked. "…What?"

"I have something different. Something I don't think exists in your world."

Ash's brow furrowed.

"Wait… my world? Aren't you from Varagos?"

Nox's eyes widened, and for a heartbeat, the atmosphere around them shifted.

"…Did I say that?" he muttered. "Tch. Must've slipped out. I still don't remember anything about myself. Maybe I'm not really from this world after all."

Ash exhaled sharply.

"So if you don't have the earth or light soulcore"

He stepped forward, pointing at the sky.

"Then what are those?"

Nox followed his gaze. Two orbs hovered above—one a swirling emerald mist, the other a pale orb rippling with bands of white.

"Oh, those?"

Nox smiled as if talking about something obvious.

"Those are the Time and Space Soulcores. Haven't you seen them before?"

Silence.

Ash didn't breathe for a moment. His blood froze in his veins.

'Time… and Space?'

He knew the elements of Varagos. All six. The ascended academy drilled them into the minds of children—Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, and Darkness. That was it. No more.

He remembered the story his mother told him once, late at night when the wind clawed at the windows. How did God not create humans, but shape them from the beasts? Gave them thought and the six different type of soulcores.

But she never spoke of Time or Space .

If such Soulcores existed. If anyone had ever possessed them. The world would've burned just from the knowledge alone.

And yet… they pulsed above him like twin dying stars.

"…You're joking," Ash whispered.

Nox blinked, tilting his head like Ash had just said something strange.

Ash exhaled slowly, grounding himself.

Of course. He had no right to be shocked.

He carried a Soulcore of his own—one that didn't belong in any book or legend. The Divine Soulcore. He still had no memory of how he awakened it, no understanding of its nature. But it had gifted him a skill that felt ancient… and wrong.

Maybe these were the same.

Maybe Time and Space were just the beginning, and there were a lot more types outside the world of Varagos.