Sight came back to Synexus revealing he was standing in the middle of a pure silver road. Deep blue grass contrasted with the silver and could be seen as far as his eyes could see to his right and left. Two stars hung in the sky, but one was significantly smaller and dimmer than the one he was familiar with. What really caught his eye was right in front of him.

  Glistening towers that reached the clouds themselves reflected the light from the two stars. A massive gate engraved with the same circuit pattern that Gene had on his body, blocked the road in front of them. To his surprise there were no walls connected to the gate which seemed odd.

  Gene saw his quizzical gaze settle on the sides of the gate. “Forcefields. The entire city is enclosed in a powerful dome that repels most attacks.”

  “Amazing. Can you really call this a city though. This had to be a hundred times bigger than Gale and those towers…” He trailed off due to being lost in thought and pure amazement.

  “It is quite the sight. This city takes up nearly a quarter of the planet. The hub for the Zax civilization and the pride of the Zaxillian. Synexus, welcome to your home planet of Zax’xian.” Gene stopped for a moment to let it sink in and then continued. “Let us walk while we talk. I have so much to show you.”

  “My home planet? That’s incredible! I have so many questions. Why is everything so shiny? Why are the towers so tall? Are my people here?”

  “Woah, we will get to all of that. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. The others spent a maximum of five years in their trials; we are going to be in here for at least ten. There is no sense in rushing through your trial, and it will give us time to prepare you.”

  “Prepare me for what?”

  Gene sighed. “Synexus there is much you don’t know and I’m glad you chose to confront your past, so we could finally talk openly about the weight that comes from your race. You’ll no doubt learn all about the decisions that were made that led to what happened to you. I won’t spoil anything, but there is danger walking around telling people where you come from and what class you are. Twenty years ago, the Class Council actually banned the Progress Druid class. Luckily, you lived so sheltered that the Branch Elder didn’t know that. Most people have never even heard of it because it’s quite rare to get to begin with and then on top of that those that do get the option aren’t allowed to take it in many civilized areas. Even in Gale, it just is so unlikely that someone will get it that people know nothing about it.”

  “Why was it banned?”

  “That’s what I want to touch on first. We are headed somewhere that might shed some light on some things and I have no doubt the System will have something from your trial there. First though, I need to ask you a question. What do you think mana is?”

  “Mana? Well, I would say it’s an energy. A fuel for skills. A resource for class chosen to utilize in various ways.”

  The owl nodded. “That’s correct of course, but what is it? What is it made of? Your class is all about the building blocks and unraveling the secrets of various underlying foundations.”

  “That is a good question that I’ve never thought about. When I pull up any of the aethers in my Material Database, it mainly lists various emotions which I’ve never understood. For example, Fear Aether says 78% Fear, 12% Dark, 2% Death, 2% Loneliness, and 6% of other various nonsensical materials. I always assumed it meant fear mana or death mana.”

  “Hmm that’s interesting. Aether is mana made physical, so your assumption is valid. I’m surprised it’s showing you the makeup of mana instead, but I suppose it makes sense. You have the answer to my question right there. Synexus, mana is the energy made from the will of all living beings. An incomprehensible number of souls have existed in the universe and eventually once that number got high enough the left-over bits of energy from their souls started to accumulate into a physical energy. In turn that drew out the will of living beings. We ourselves started to produce mana which is why we can regenerate it. Of course, we pull in mana as well.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “So, you’re saying that when it says fear in the Fear Aether, it actually means the fear of people. The fear from people’s souls that they released into the world.”

  “Yes, think about how Abyss eats. It creates a situation where people feel fear, so their souls will spill fear into the air and in turn it eats that fear to become stronger.”

  “I’m not sure I feel comfortable using bits of peoples souls in order to use skills.” He looked around at the beautiful architecture of his people and the fascinating technologies they had as they walked. After a few minutes something occurred to him. “Wait, does that mean the Ullashtt are embodiments of these portions of peoples souls?”

  “That’s fairly accurate. Some are a combination of types, but most have focused on one type. Abyss is mainly fear but absorbed elemental mana as well which is naturally made from the ocean itself. It’s pure mana that has soaked in the attributes of water. The worm you defeated was a lesser Ullashtt and was focused on hunger but mixed in with ground mana.”

  “Interesting, but horrifying knowing that we fought the embodiment of people’s fear.”

  “I suppose that is a perspective that takes some time to accept. I’m sorry that this all has to come at once. Unfortunately, we need you to be ready for what’s going to come. These ten years will be used in order to prepare you for the challenges that will ultimately come your way. Looks like we’ve reached our first destination.”

  Synexus looked up in awe at a massive statue made of polished stone. It stood nearly a hundred feet tall, and it depicted a man with mirrored eyes. Then a flash of light happened in front of the statue, and they both looked down.

  Light coalesced into ethereal figures standing at the base of the statue. They all had silver eyes and dark hair. One at the front wearing an expensive looking robe started to speak to the crowd.

  “People of Zax’xian. We gather here today in front of the statue of Zunzutoxsian, legendary citizen of the Zax civilization to once again pay our respects on the anniversary of his death. His contributions to our people, and the universe as a whole, will never be forgotten. Even in death he teaches us every day. Let us keep his memory alive forever and always.”

  “Forever and always!” The crowd roared in Synexus’ first language.

  Another man popped into existence to the side of the statue and interrupted the ceremony. “That’s fine priest. He should never be forgotten, but what will we do about it. We all know he was slain in cold blood out of fear, and jealousy. His legacy is being mocked by those that make us their enemies.”

  “Ah yes, there is that. This is a celebration of his life and not his death. Of course, the people harbor rage for what those people did, and they will be brought to justice with time.”

  “That’s not good enough. An attack on him is an attack on our civilization. On our people as a whole. We’ve done nothing but give to the universe and they betrayed us. Instead of a celebration of life, we need to be holding a call to arms.”

  “That is for the great minds to decide, Cixiaian.”

  The man stormed off in anger and frustration and the images faded away.

  “What was that?!” Synexus said immediately.

  “That was part of your trial. The System is showing you the events that led to the decisions your mother had to make.” Gene flew up to the base of the statue and nodded for Synexus to follow. “Come, sit, it’s time for a history lesson.”

  When he climbed the base of the statue he realized something he had overlooked before. Growing around the leg of the immortalized man, was a familiar tree.

  “Wait, isn’t that your tree?”

  “That is me, yes. I have roots on tens of thousands of occupied planets. However, this one was my original. Synexus, this was technically my birth planet too. Now, we will cover all that, but first we need to discuss mana weaving.”

  “Okay, I’m not sure if I can focus on mana weaving after that information. You were born here?! You’re a Zaxillian?”

  Gene sighed. “No. This statue as you just learned depicts the greatest Zaxillian to ever live, Zunzutoxsian.” The Living System paused for a moment, seemingly deciding what the next words would be. “Do you remember during your first skill selection; you had an option to obtain a plant companion that would grow inside your body?”

  “Of course, I have a perfect memory, remember?”

  “Right, right. Well, Zunzutoxsian created that skill. I was his plant companion.”