Synexus kneeled in the same place for several minutes in complete silence. Gene simply let his friend have the time he needed after an incredibly brutal past ten hours. It was only when a voice came from the void that they both came out of their thoughts.

  “Normally this would be a notification, but I think I’ll greet you in person since a reunion between my sibling and I is long overdue.”

  Somehow a humanoid brighter than the void they were in manifested before them. Six arms came from a normal looking torso, two legs that seemed to fade from existence towards the bottom where the feet were supposed to be, and four wings sprouting from the figures back made it look like something of myth and legend.

  “I am, System, or at least that is what you call me. Most put “the” in front of it giving me entirely too much credit, if I say so myself.”

  Synexus was taken back by a face to face meeting with the System itself. On top of that, this figure didn’t look anything like the one it took before. He quickly and awkwardly bowed.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you th…I mean System.”

  “Please, bowing isn’t necessary.” System turned from Synexus to Gene and nodded before speaking. “Hello, sibling. I see you are doing well after all these years.”

  “It has been a while hasn’t it. I see you still can’t decide on the physical manifestation you want to take.”

  “There are just so many options. This is a form that a lot of people have rolling around in their thoughts, and I thought I would try it out.”

  “Yes, it resembles an angelic presence. For one that is trying to lose the “the” in front of their name, that probably isn’t the best choice.”

  Even though System didn’t have a mouth in this form, Synexus could tell this comment made them frown.

  “Well, I like it. The effect going on with the ethereal feet is especially eye-catching.”

  “Synexus, my sibling won’t give you any better rewards for throwing them compliments.”

  “I just might, Living System. I had no thoughts on my feet until this moment and this Zaxillian has now given me much to think about when choosing my next form.”

  “I go by Gene now. At first, I wasn’t sure, but it’s starting to grow on me.”

  “Because you’re a tree?”

  This made Synexus laugh. Even these powerful beings squabbled like siblings.

  “No, I’m an owl now. See?” Gene did a little spin and flapped their wings. “It is much more mobile, and I’ve been able to have my own adventures for once.”

  “Well, now I want a name too.” System glowed before turning into an owl except they had six wings and left their feet to look like the bottom of a stereotypical ghost.

  Gene gasped and was about to say something back when footsteps started echoing through the vast nothingness, turning all their attention to find what was making it.

  Suddenly the void shuttered with power and it was all targeted at Synexus.

  “YOU DARE TRY TO RENAME MY CREATIONS?!”

  Thunder and black lightning lit up the sky before a figure appeared before them with burning eyes and smoke coming from their ears like Synexus had seen in one of the fictions he watched. The oppressive power brought him back to the present and he slightly bowed.

  “I apologize, Zunzutoxsian. I had no intention of overstepping my boundaries.”

  To this response there was only a laugh followed by both Gene and System shaking their heads in embarrassment.

  “I’m only kidding, kid!” He put a hand on Synexus’ shoulder like they were the best of friends. “So, you’re the one.”

  “The one, sir?”

  “Please, my friends call me, Zun.” He was about to continue when Gene cut him off.

  “No one has ever called you that. Ever.” System was nodding in agreement.

  Zun sighed. “That’s because my only two friends call me Creator constantly. I was trying something new because, like System, I’m jealous that you get a cool new name.” He walked over and started inspecting the owl’s body. “This new vessel is quite superb! Did you create this?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “I did, Zun. Gene here asked me to give him a body that would let them see the world.”

  “HA! I like you, kid. What was your name again?”

  “Synexus.”

  “You could have just focused in on him, Creator.”

  Zun sighed again. “Where is the fun in that?” He turned back to Synexus and held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you and I believe a thank you is in order for taking care of my oldest friend. They always wanted to be more mobile, but I just simply never got around to finding the perfect vessel.”

  “No thank you’s are necessary. I enjoy helping people and after seeing how hard the people of Motholo tried to break down their defenses, I felt like it was the least I could do. They have also guided me on my journey so far.”

  System chimed in. “Creator, I’m afraid we do not have very long. Something is still breaking down the dungeon space from outside.”

  Zun nodded. “That is sad. I haven’t had a conversation with another of my race in such a long time. It’s refreshing to say the least. But I suppose we need to wrap things up.”

  “Creator, I know we don’t have a lot of time, but how are you here? You’re not an echo.”

  That surprised Synexus and he tried to focus on him but got a backlash of pain.

  “Woah there. You just got the ability to read will pathways, Synexus. You’ll need to practice on someone that isn’t as complex as me.” Zun laughed. “As for your question, Gene. That is a long story that we don’t have time for, but the short of it was that I was able to regrow my soul from a tiny bit that survived here in System’s domain. I unfortunately can’t leave, so I apologize that you weren’t informed. Actually, can you produce a seed for me, so I can have a version of you in here with us?”

  “Of course, Creator.” Gene started to work on producing a seed.

  “I’m sorry, but how does one regrow their soul?”

  “Ah yes, that inquisitive nature of our people lives on in you.” He put his fingers to his chin like he was thinking of a way to phrase things. “I, myself, didn’t think it was possible, and we really don’t have the time to go over every detail, but I believe your reward will provide some answers when you’re ready. Is that fair?”

  “My reward, Zun?”

  He laughed again. “Wow, I didn’t think Zun was going to stick. I should have chosen something funnier like Zunny or Tox, the Grand Creator of All. And of course you’re rewarded, Synexus. You finished the trial dungeon and got closure on your past, or I guess I should say our past. Not only that, but I can already tell our culture will live on in you especially after watching those fictions while you were in there.”

  Triumph of Oneself Achievement has been unlocked.

  Triumph of Oneself: You have completed a trial dungeon and triumphed over what was weighing down your soul. Through knowing yourself better and cleansing your soul, your resources have benefited. Stamina and Mana will now regenerate at double the rate.

  Synexus blinked when it came up and then turned to System. “Thank you! That is very generous.” He then turned back to Zun. “I feel I was rewarded fairly in the trial to be honest. I gained several levels, I got closure on some aspects of my past, I witnessed our lost culture, the Mana Weaver Achievement was unlocked for me, and I made these.” He pointed towards his armor and sword.

  “All that is true, however, all those things were created by you or earned by you. System just gave you the basic achievement that those simply passing the trial get. Now you’ll get a reward from myself.” He waved his hand and mana spun wildly before coming together in the shape of an orb to which he held out to Synexus.

  Zunzutoxsian’s Codex (Divine): The ultimate trove of knowledge from Tox, the Grand Creator of All himself. This codex holds memories, books, videos, a vast material storage, and genetic information from the journeys of the Creator.

  Synexus laughed a little at the name in the description to which Zun looked confused before focusing on the item himself and turning to System.

  “How many times have I told you to stop making things tied to me Divine? I’m not some sort of deity.” His hand smacked his face like this was the countless time this had happened.

  System simply shrugged their owl wings. “I will make the next item common, Creator.”

  Zun turned back to Synexus. “Okay we only have a minute or so left before the dungeon space breaks down. We will be bounced back to System’s Domain. With this codex you’ll have a bit of a guide on the path that I created and the one that you have made your own. I also packed it full of all the fictions I remember from my many years. I may have included the genetic bank from our home planet as well, but that’s for you to figure out later. With these final seconds though, I do want to give both of you a warning. The coalition acts on Motholo as we speak, so you’ll need to be careful. Our class, Synexus, was never about destruction or doing harm to others, but it has become that way in the eyes of many from stories about me. This is a lot for someone barely on their path and I’m sorry for that, but it seems like you have a great group of friends to help you through it. I was impressed watching them go through their trials and I may have improved their rewards a bit. System is always a part of you in your soul; I’m sure we will meet again.”

  Gene produced his seed, and System caught it before the white faded into the darkness of the lock room in the basement of the mansion. The dungeon was obviously dead and the power from the lock was being siphoned away.

  “That was an unexpected meeting, but I’m happy to know my creator isn’t gone completely.”

  “His humor was something I didn’t expect. It was what I needed though after watching those last few memories.”

  Gene nodded and went to reply, but a strange release of power above made them realize something was still happening.

  “Can you tell what’s up there?”

  “I cannot which means it isn’t good. Our friends may be in trouble. We should move.”

  “We should but first let’s use something that I created and honestly forgot about.”

  From his Progress Garden he summoned two Lychees that radiated magic. They were of course his Untraceable Lychees which he made right before leaving Gale and haven’t had the opportunity to use yet. Of course, they also had a huge drawback of completely draining his resource pools when he created them which didn’t sound like a great tradeoff to him. Now he was much stronger, and the drawback had been reduced so that it would only take half his stamina to digest.

  “These will mask our approach if there is anything up there that I need to fight.”

  Gene nodded and they both ate one of the lychees before heading up the stairs.