◇ ◇ ◇
2… 3… 5… 7… Matt stood before the eight campfire and smacked the flint. He prepared himself for the nondescript nonsensical visions once more. The spark flew, ignited and bursted into a fiery pillar before it disappeared.
[Progress: 8 out of 9.]
Matt bitterly smiled as he began to distance himself from the very last wolf. He prepared himself for a very painful headache since they had been getting worse and worse the more fires he started. He braced himself, but this time, something else happened. A gruff entered his mind, it was an aged voice that came from a very old man.
The first spark.
It’s all it takes. The very first spark is the reason for being. There is no other secret to life other than the very first spark, it’s all it takes to be, all it takes to exist. The first to come should be the last to come, there shouldn’t be follow up, the follow up—the things that come after should come by themselves, they should…
Exist by themselves.
One wolf died, and there was a last one. It paused, its abyssal eyes turned a deep shade of yellow as if they were lit by the shades of hell themselves. It howled at the sky before turning to Matt. The visions had stopped, and he was confused as he was stared at by the wolf. And before he knew it, the wolf pounced, furiously as if it didn’t care for its life. Matt scrambled and dodged, but the wolf landed on its agile paws and swept at Matt’s arm, drawing blood. Its obsidian claws shone in a crimson red. And that’s when Matt realized.
It’s not the same wolf. He hastily stood up, the wound of his arm was stiff and covered by a thin layer of blood clots, it ached and constantly itched. Meanwhile his forearm was burning, his skin had been torn off. Shit. He turned and ran, his head felt heavy as if a hammer was constantly pounding the back of his brain, his breathing was uneven and hard, and his entire body felt cold. Matt cussed in his mind as he ran with all his might, he was unsure of how fast he was running, but the wolf had caught him once, biting onto his ribs. He had managed to burn the head of the wolf but it recovered in nothing but a few seconds.
He ran.
Exhausted. Bloody. He reached the campsite and ignited it, the wolf pounced onto his back as Matt was blasted into the incandescent pillar of fire. It entered his mind just as he was about to black out.
[Progress: 9 out of 9, Complete!]
[You have cleared the second stage.]
Memories forced him to stay awake. And then, it all clicked. He saw visions of fire, come from nothing within a cave. He saw things that didn’t exist come to be. Explode. Ignite. The Old man’s voice reached him once more as he saw a hand touch a stone. Its finger traced as sparks flew.
The first spark. The finger traced away, and distanced along with the hand. It clenched onto a fist and punched—fire bloomed as the wall combusted. It’s all it takes.
The visions continued along with the words, Matt felt strange heat within his very body. He felt uncomfortable heat well within his very blood, as it spread through his core and onto his mana. The mana within his body became something closer to a puddle of lava as the old man continued speaking. He received a notification that he barely registered as the voice began another sentence.
They should exist by themselves. He saw a silhouette walk away within his mind, his face felt hot but at that moment it was as if he was laying on cold hard ground watching a distant figure walk away. Every step triggered wisps of fire that went nowhere. And finally. The visions ended as memories sprawled within his mind—no it was closer to an instinct.
Matt snapped back to reality as if nothing had happened, but he felt different. Everything he saw was a possible fire, a possible spark. Impossibility. He reached for a stone on the ground as soon as he touched it he desired it. His mana welled onto his skin and in an instant the rock combusted.
The first spark. The first touch. Matt looked at the campfire that was now missing. A touch of fire. A touch of flames. He didn’t understand everything within his mind, but he would in due time.
[You have acquired the power of a Prophecy. The Prophecy has been adjusted based on your understanding.]
[You have learned E ranked Prophecy: The First Touch.]
Matt almost laughed. He felt as if he could understand so much more, but not without touching things first. He looked at what remained of the wolf—a pile of ash, and smiled. A small wisp fell from the sky as if it were rain and touched the ashes.
The first spark.
It exploded into a pillar of fire penetrating the sky itself. The ground rumbled as Matt sweated from the heat.
[The final stage commences.]
The pillar disappeared and in the middle stood a man, his skin was a charred gray and his features were devoid of color.
[Ashen One: The Primordial.]
Matt laughed, rubbing his fingers as small embers emerged. He felt hungry. Tired. His head pounded. His legs trembled. And his shoulder was still destroyed. But— He really was looking forward to it.
◇ ◇ ◇
Matt closed his eyes as the system notification met him. He couldn’t feel his arm. And he was missing a good part of his skin. His entire body throbbed in pain.
[You have completed the trial. Congratulations! Clear time: 5d 10h 9m.]
A cool breeze hit him and he opened his eyes. He was standing within the clearing where he had gotten the Prophecy. He felt hungry and on the verge of death. He had been inside that wretched space for five days it seemed. His eyes wandered to the top of his vision as he briefly remembered the two women that were with him.
[Incubation Period: 3 days 11 hours 32 minutes]
Huh? His mind drew a blank as he heard the bushes shuffle. Matt gritted his teeth trying to stand up as memories of the Skirmish surfaced within his mind. He was going to die if he remained where he currently was. And then, he heard a voice.
“Holy shit, Matt, what happened to you?”
He saw the woman he vaguely identified as Samantha and a dry laugh left him. He had spent five days there only to come back like an hour later. His energy drained and he finally, for the first time in nearly six days— rested.
◇ ◇ ◇
2… 3… 5… 7… Matt stood before the eight campfire and smacked the flint. He prepared himself for the nondescript nonsensical visions once more. The spark flew, ignited and bursted into a fiery pillar before it disappeared.
[Progress: 8 out of 9.]
Matt bitterly smiled as he began to distance himself from the very last wolf. He prepared himself for a very painful headache since they had been getting worse and worse the more fires he started. He braced himself, but this time, something else happened. A gruff entered his mind, it was an aged voice that came from a very old man.
The first spark.
It’s all it takes. The very first spark is the reason for being. There is no other secret to life other than the very first spark, it’s all it takes to be, all it takes to exist. The first to come should be the last to come, there shouldn’t be follow up, the follow up—the things that come after should come by themselves, they should…
Exist by themselves.
One wolf died, and there was a last one. It paused, its abyssal eyes turned a deep shade of yellow as if they were lit by the shades of hell themselves. It howled at the sky before turning to Matt. The visions had stopped, and he was confused as he was stared at by the wolf. And before he knew it, the wolf pounced, furiously as if it didn’t care for its life. Matt scrambled and dodged, but the wolf landed on its agile paws and swept at Matt’s arm, drawing blood. Its obsidian claws shone in a crimson red. And that’s when Matt realized.
It’s not the same wolf. He hastily stood up, the wound of his arm was stiff and covered by a thin layer of blood clots, it ached and constantly itched. Meanwhile his forearm was burning, his skin had been torn off. Shit. He turned and ran, his head felt heavy as if a hammer was constantly pounding the back of his brain, his breathing was uneven and hard, and his entire body felt cold. Matt cussed in his mind as he ran with all his might, he was unsure of how fast he was running, but the wolf had caught him once, biting onto his ribs. He had managed to burn the head of the wolf but it recovered in nothing but a few seconds.
He ran.
Exhausted. Bloody. He reached the campsite and ignited it, the wolf pounced onto his back as Matt was blasted into the incandescent pillar of fire. It entered his mind just as he was about to black out.
[Progress: 9 out of 9, Complete!]
[You have cleared the second stage.]
Memories forced him to stay awake. And then, it all clicked. He saw visions of fire, come from nothing within a cave. He saw things that didn’t exist come to be. Explode. Ignite. The Old man’s voice reached him once more as he saw a hand touch a stone. Its finger traced as sparks flew.
The first spark. The finger traced away, and distanced along with the hand. It clenched onto a fist and punched—fire bloomed as the wall combusted. It’s all it takes.
The visions continued along with the words, Matt felt strange heat within his very body. He felt uncomfortable heat well within his very blood, as it spread through his core and onto his mana. The mana within his body became something closer to a puddle of lava as the old man continued speaking. He received a notification that he barely registered as the voice began another sentence.
They should exist by themselves. He saw a silhouette walk away within his mind, his face felt hot but at that moment it was as if he was laying on cold hard ground watching a distant figure walk away. Every step triggered wisps of fire that went nowhere. And finally. The visions ended as memories sprawled within his mind—no it was closer to an instinct.
Matt snapped back to reality as if nothing had happened, but he felt different. Everything he saw was a possible fire, a possible spark. Impossibility. He reached for a stone on the ground as soon as he touched it he desired it. His mana welled onto his skin and in an instant the rock combusted.
The first spark. The first touch. Matt looked at the campfire that was now missing. A touch of fire. A touch of flames. He didn’t understand everything within his mind, but he would in due time.
[You have acquired the power of a Prophecy. The Prophecy has been adjusted based on your understanding.]
[You have learned E ranked Prophecy: The First Touch.]
Matt almost laughed. He felt as if he could understand so much more, but not without touching things first. He looked at what remained of the wolf—a pile of ash, and smiled. A small wisp fell from the sky as if it were rain and touched the ashes.
The first spark.
It exploded into a pillar of fire penetrating the sky itself. The ground rumbled as Matt sweated from the heat.
[The final stage commences.]
The pillar disappeared and in the middle stood a man, his skin was a charred gray and his features were devoid of color.
[Ashen One: The Primordial.]
Matt laughed, rubbing his fingers as small embers emerged. He felt hungry. Tired. His head pounded. His legs trembled. And his shoulder was still destroyed. But— He really was looking forward to it.
◇ ◇ ◇
Matt closed his eyes as the system notification met him. He couldn’t feel his arm. And he was missing a good part of his skin. His entire body throbbed in pain.
[You have completed the trial. Congratulations! Clear time: 5d 10h 9m.]
A cool breeze hit him and he opened his eyes. He was standing within the clearing where he had gotten the Prophecy. He felt hungry and on the verge of death. He had been inside that wretched space for five days it seemed. His eyes wandered to the top of his vision as he briefly remembered the two women that were with him.
[Incubation Period: 3 days 11 hours 32 minutes]
Huh? His mind drew a blank as he heard the bushes shuffle. Matt gritted his teeth trying to stand up as memories of the Skirmish surfaced within his mind. He was going to die if he remained where he currently was. And then, he heard a voice.
“Holy shit, Matt, what happened to you?”
He saw the woman he vaguely identified as Samantha and a dry laugh left him. He had spent five days there only to come back like an hour later. His energy drained and he finally, for the first time in nearly six days— rested.
