Chương 30: Look what the gate dragged in

Kite sat down in relief as the officiating construct confirmed his hopes. He was done. He had passed. Uncle Walker's belief in his path had apparently not been misplaced. He swallowed a trio of pills for health, stamina and mana as he continued to listen to Third.

"As you have cleared the trial, you will be eligible for its reward. When you are ready, I will initiate the reconfiguration of the realm into the final forging and you will receive the gift you have earned. The creator of this place, the Queen of Jade and Sky, rewards those strong of path and brave of heart. But be aware that once the final forging is complete, you will be returned out through the gate."

"So I may rest and recover first?"

"That you may. And I must admit that it would be nice to speak some more. I will not get more chances for that, after all, once this trial is completed."

"Then speak we shall, Third. You did me a kindness when you chose to heed my request for company, and I will pay you back in turn." Kite answered, smiling. It had been almost three weeks since he had entered the gate, and Third had been his only company with the gift of speech. So they remained there for hours, Kite resting while they talked and reminisced. He made sure to praise the construct when he could, as he had always seen the pride and thought which had been put into this place.

And he did admit to himself that hindsight and the relief of survival allowed him to view the whole trial in a more favorable light, providing a bit more honesty to his attempts to praise the construct's efforts.

"-and had you been silver rank or higher, there would have been a final challenge where you would face an amalgam of all the rulers in a cataclysmic final battle. But no matter how I tried, I could not fit such an advanced magical matrix on anything lower than silver rank." Third finished sadly as he told Kite about some ideas that had never been implemented in the current trial. After chuckling at what could have been, while he inwardly sighed in relief, Kite rose and rolled his shoulders.

"I believe it is time, Third. I am as recovered as I can be, and I do not think I will benefit more from postponing the end. Even if I do not know what awaits me outside anymore." He did feel a bit of trepidation as to what might happen when he emerged. While he hoped to find the clearing empty as his pursuers had become bored or assumed him dead, he thought it best not to assume such an easy resolution of this whole debacle. At his words, Third bobbed slightly in the air.

"Affirmative, trial-taker." A breath later, Kite was forced to his knees as a power far greater than he had ever experienced started flowing from the orb as its voice seemed to resonate with the whole realm.

"Accessing gate matrix. Realm reconfiguration initiated. Power flow opened. Designation; Stairway to heaven. Initiating the final forging - rank: Iron" As it spoke, waves of rippling distortions spread across the whole of the astral space. The floor fell away around them as the metal castle liquified, leaving only a single, blank platform beneath Kite and the orb.

Far away, he could see plumes of rainbow smoke rise and gather into a single roiling cloud as what Kite presumed to be the remaining monsters and manifestations were broken down before the different platforms and domains dissolved. While hard to make out at first, Kite could see the gate he had entered from rapidly approaching through the air as the platform beneath them reconfigured. A low dais appeared where the gate settled, as well as a smaller, thinner pedestal in the center of the platform.

Beneath where he knelt, another low dais rose from the ground and shifted, carrying him to the opposite side of the round platform across from the gate with the pedestal between them. The oppressively strong force calmed slightly as Third lowered itself onto the pedestal in the middle.

"Trial-taker. You have been deemed worthy by the jade-sky gate. A path such as yours deserves a tool to match its boundless potential, and this is the prize you will receive. The gate shall be the hammer and your soul shall be the anvil. And this vessel will receive a new purpose as raw material for what is to come." Kite was still rather stunned after seeing a whole realm deconstructed around him, but he managed to regain his faculties as Third made his proclamation.

"But Third, what does that even mean? How will you- Won't that mean that you will cease to be?"

"This vessel will become another, hopefully an intrinsic part of the path you are building."

"But-""It was always inevitable, trial-taker. As I said, I was ever only a small, compartmentalized piece of a much grander whole. The true being that is me still resides in this world. And it was a pleasure to see that which I had built be put to use, its potential brought to fruition. Even though I am still a bit cross with you after the wood domain." it added at the end, apparently still sulking a bit even as the world had literally changed around them.

"But Third, I-""Please, trial-taker. I can sense your turmoil in your aura. Better take your time, save your strength and steady yourself for what is to come. It will not truly hurt you, but I will not deny that it will be difficult to endure. The more you endure, the stronger our bond will become. Do you understand?" Kite wanted to protest again, but swallowed it. He took a breath to calm his breathing, and another to calm his mind.

"I… I do. Thank you, Third. No matter your origin, you will be remembered."

"Then I shall initiate the forging." Third stated as its form started to brighten. The seemingly too-real metal shone with a faint inner glow, as did the gate which started to brighten in the same way. Kite could feel power building up as something was awaiting to be unleashed.

"And I am ever grateful that you listened to my ambitions and plans for what was the very reason for my existence. Thank you. Kite." the orb finished. Not even a heartbeat later, the gate suddenly dimmed as a low, resounding reverberation echoed through the whole realm.

"It is happening. Something is finally happening. My vengeance is at hand. Yes. YES! Show me his corpse!" Rise of Morning Glory, initiate of the Victorious Sunset sect shouted as he was stalking back and forth in front of the gate. The circular construct had remained inert through their whole stay, and hadn't even made any visible sign of activity when Kite had entered it. It was on the morning of the twenty-first day that it had suddenly started glowing, a palpable power starting to build inside it.

After a short while, it suddenly dimmed before starting to brighten yet again. The process of gradual brightening and suddenly dimming repeated again and again. Both of the meditating silver-ranker's eyes had snapped open as they had felt the power which started building. Mistress Dew looked mostly surprised while grand elder Lark had a concerned scowl.

"Huh. I believe that the boy actually did it." she stated in a low voice. While she did not know the exact details of a gate's trial being completed, she had heard rumors that the only times they showed any sign of activity was when the trial had ended.

"This changes nothing." grand elder Lark stated sourly.

"He is still one iron ranker against the five initiates."

"Oh we shall see about that." mistress Dew stated, eyes thinning as she focused on what might come next. Another of the pulses was released and Kite could feel the resonance through the whole realm as well as deep inside him on a level which he had previously been unable to distinguish. Each time that the power was released, a more directed ripple could be seen projected through the gate, passing through the now inert form of Third before hitting Kite and being reflected back to the gate.

With each passing, the orb started glowing just a bit more as its form somehow became less distinct. And with each passing, Kite's soul rang like a gong. It was not a sharp pain, but a dull ache through his whole being on a level previously unknown to him. And with each strike, the reverberations kept increasing as did his discomfort.

Part of his mind screamed that he should get away and flee the source of this low-intensity torment, but it was kept in check by his conscious mind as he kept it firmly fixed on meditation. He returned to the technique where he visualized his path as it went on towards eternity. Over the last months, he had continued to develop it and as he had absorbed his last awakening stone, the pieces of that mental puzzle had all been present.

Further progression had been incorporating all that he was into that path, a task whose complexity staggered his young mind. But he kept on trying, and gradually, the inner image of his path had grown more solid and defined. And now, it was all shaking. With each pulse from the gate, his path shook and pieces started to crumble away.

As a way to distract himself from the abstract but undeniable pain, he directed his conscious mind to visualize how he rebuilt the pieces which crumbled away, but stronger and more defined. That which fell away was not true damage, but weakness which was excised to be replaced with firmer purpose. Kite was not a forceful man, and neither did he aspire to be. But he wanted to think himself resolute, channeling the very concept of the essence his aunties had gifted him. And now he dedicated this struggle to Third.

He could not, by any means, call the construct a true friend. It was a creation of a realm which had been temporary from the outset, without interest to befriend him or even act in his best interest. But the orb and its limited parts of a conscience had been a companion, oddly passionate about its existence with a curiosity to see how its choices would pan out and what impact it could have on its world, limited as it was.

That was what had Kite using the orb's existence as an anchor throughout this trial as his soul was hammered. Because they had formed a bond of their own, a bond which Kite was not willing to simply abandon. He had not been able to understand all of which the orb spoke of, but he understood that his perseverance now would be what defined how that bond came out on the other end of this tribulation.

As he endured, his mind returned to the mantra which had been formed and refined during his many hours of training and meditation.

"My path will not be shifted by the world. My path will not be cracked by the world. My path will not be moved by the world. The world will be moved by my path." However, as of lately the mantra no longer felt entirely right. Kite had always had the feeling that it was woefully incomplete, but it had at least felt right in the moments where it had helped him endure. But Kite's continual development had given him more insights about himself, and he hoped that process would continue.

While Kite was resolute, he was not a hard man. He would seek adventure and face adversity, but also be humble in the face of his inexperience and sometimes change his perspective along with what he had experienced. While his current situation was utterly uncomfortable, it was during such experiences that he had found his mind forced to take those next steps, delve into his unconscious and form what nascent understanding that had begun to coalesce in those depths.

As such, his mantra gradually changed as new meaning and revelation was brought forth by the spiritual hammer blows to his soul. He sat there with closed eyes, face damp with sweat as strands of black hair clung to it, and as he felt what he assumed to be the crescendo of the forging, his mind was repeating something new as his inner path stretched far in the void of his mind.

"My path will not be shifted by the world, but learn from it. My path will not be cracked by the world, but be tempered by it. My path will not be moved by the world, but use it to gain momentum. The world will be moved by my path, made indestructible by the bonds I forge." The feeling of something breaking inside him, followed by a wellspring bursting forth from within, was familiar but Kite had trouble placing it as his beleaguered being was hammered one final time.

A resounding, pure sound chimed through his being, its purity a balm for his worn mind. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. WWJS: Essence gift (Negation) - Nothing before Nothingness has evolved into Tempered Soul Resonance Tempered Soul Resonance - You have increased resistance to aura suppression and soul attacks. Your spells and effects that cancel magical effects or drain mana ignores resistance from rank disparity.

When striking an opponent, your attacks gradually erodes any increased effects of the opponent's rank disparity against you or your allies, up to the point where all effects of rank disparity are negated. This effect lasts until the target has had the time to achieve a state of calm to center itself. Finally opening his eyes, he felt surprisingly restored in both body and mind, albeit with the faint ache on a deeper level hinting that a time of recovery would still be needed. Around him, the realm had stilled.

The gate's glow was now a stable beacon in otherwise dark surroundings. And where the orb that was once third had rested, something else awaited him. Kite saw a metal staff lying waiting for him on the pedestal. It was entirely made of the same almost white metal as Third had been built from and retained a bit of the strange 'more-real-than-reality'-quality.

Almost as long as Kite was tall, the top part of the staff had symmetrical, curving extensions on each side of the shaft which came together at the absolute top. From the loop formed by those extensions, a single metal ring was hanging. It was capped with another affixed ring at the bottom. Even from afar, Kite could feel both power and a sense of connection to what he knew with certainty was a weapon.

While it looked more akin to a ritualistic implement, there was a reverberating echo to its aura which hinted of power, even if much of it was sealed by the iron rank of the weapon. Springing to his feet with surprising ease, Kite walked over to reverently gaze at the prize from this tribulation, gently sliding his hands over the staff which now had a firm connection formed with his soul.

WWJS: [Item] Immutable Echo Combat Staff Iron rank - [Growth] Legendary Forged through unyielding reverberations of inner strength, this staff heralds an immovable path. [Effect] Greatly increased striking power [Effect] Echoes the effect of special attacks delivered through this weapon once. The echo deals only half the damage of the original attack, but any other effects are undiminished. Can occur once every five seconds.

[Effect] Absorbs a part of the physical force behind intercepted strikes, if any, lessening the remaining physical force to be endured by the wielder. After absorbing force in such a way, the next attack delivered will deal additional resonating force damage. The damage increases with the amount of physical force absorbed from the blow. [Effect] Vastly increased durability This item is bound to [Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune] and cannot be used by anyone else.

When picking up the weapon, it was like receiving yet another lost part of himself which had not existed before yet had somehow always been missing. Kite almost chuckled as he thought that the last year had provided plenty of such experiences. Putting those thoughts aside, he took a steadying breath. In most ways, he was the same yet he felt reborn. Or reforged might be a more apt wording.

He did realize that the time for introspection would have to be later, however, as he could see the space around him starting to break down into flecks of white nothingness. It would probably be several minutes until it would be dangerous, but taking chances with such forces felt beyond foolish. With a final look at his new staff, he said a silent thanks to Third and the Queen of Jade and Sky, before stepping up to the gate. It was time to make his exit.

Everyone assembled in the clearing had followed the pulsing of the gate with interest, albeit different outward reactions. The two hidden silver-rankers both stood in stoic, still silence while the initiates had gravitated toward the gate. Only initiate Rise was still pacing back and forth while initiate Providence hung slightly further back.

"Come on. Come on!" the irate initiate growled as the pulsing artifact continued its silent, mysterious process.

"Why won't you-" he started, but interrupted himself as the gate suddenly flared brighter once, before settling into a steady glow. Five heartbeats passed, then five more. Then, just as initiate Rise seemed to be on the verge of speaking again, there was a clanging as if a great gong had been sounded. They could all feel it on a deep, primal level, but even more felt was the shockwave which followed.

All five initiates were thrown back several meters and the trees closest to the clearing were toppled, leaves in warm colors thrown up in small plumes. Only the silver-rankers remained on their feet and clearly saw Kite as he emerged, albeit slightly changed as he stopped just outside the gate to take in his surroundings. The most obvious change was the gray stone armor with the obsidian ridges, a bit more imposing than his previous wood armor.

To mistress Dew, who knew Kite the best, she could also detect the change to his aura. It was not vast or all-encompassing, but there was a hint of firmness to it which was not as prominent before. Of the sprawled initiates, Rise was the first to scramble to his feet, pointing a finger towards Kite as he tried to use the surprise and fear of suddenly being thrown away like a sack-puppet to fuel the rage he had tried keeping alive during all this time.

"Couldn't hide anymore, trash? Did the gate spit you out since you just hid in there for three weeks? How dare you make me wait for so long?!" he shouted at Kite as he brought his aura to bear against him. Kite knew that he would have had a slight advantage against Rise alone before he went through the trial. Now, he barely had to make any effort to keep the unseen attack at bay.

He knew that it was due to the racial gift evolution that the final forging had triggered in him, as it gave him increased resistance to having his aura suppressed. Kite took the moment to test it a bit further, and the ability did only seem to extend to him keeping his own aura from being suppressed while his more offensive use of his aura did not receive the same boost.

He was very thankful for the boon though, as it even allowed him to hold off the aura assault as the final remnants of dizziness from the portal lifted. It did allow him to keep his wits about him this time, even as the other initiates joined in the onslaught. Kite did note that it was only four auras this time around, as initiate Providence refrained from joining in from where he stood furthest back among the gathered young students of the sect.

"And I could pose a similar question to you, initiate Rise. Why spend three weeks waiting to finish an unlawful and dishonorable ambush which you planned in the first place? And for what? The fact that you lost a clash of paths you challenged me to? I would not believe that the honor of a member of the Victorious Sunset sect would be so fragile."

"Shut up, outcast filth! Shut your lying mouth! You know that you cheated, that you had it planned! I-""Fine, if that's how it shall be. Then I, Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune, challenge you to another clash of paths. You may take your time and make whatever preparations you see fit." Kite stated as he interrupted the initiate's tirade.

"Fuck you and fuck your challenge!" Rise almost shrieked in response.

"We will tear you apart for what you've done. We will-" Once more, the initiate was interrupted, but not by Kite. Instead, all of the young iron-rankers froze as a silver rank aura washed over them.

"There now, initiate. Your righteous indignation is understandable, but your loss of decorum will soon be enough in and of itself to throw our good name to the wayside." stated a human man who came walking out into the clearing. He wore beautiful robes of the sect's red, gold and white and looked to be somewhere between thirty and forty years old, but his silver rank complicated any cursory assessment.

His long, black hair was gathered in a knot and tied together with a jade clasp, and his long, thin beard and thinning eyes gave him the look of someone both sharp and disciplined.

"Grand elder Lark!" the initiates cried before throwing themselves to the ground before him. Kite's knowledge of sect hierarchy was rather basic, but he did know that a grand elder answered only to the sect leader. This man had a high position indeed, and Kite decided that at least some deference was proper as he bowed from his waist.

"Grand elder." he greeted as he rose from the bow.

"As you might have surmised, I have been falsely accused by one of your students for grievances which exist in initiate Rise's mind alone. I-" he tried to continue, but was silenced by a quite rude shove of aura. While his resilience to such behavior had risen sharply, the grand elder was still two ranks above him and not unskilled by any means.

"I have detected no falsehood in my initiate's aura, outcast." grand elder Lark stated.

"And when words stand against words, I will believe those of my sect's chosen over those of some vagabond adventurer any day, heaven as my witness. But I will address that the initiates' actions to remedy the slight were rather crude, and I have a more civilized solution. As long as you hand over all the spoils that you have unlawfully taken from within the sect's territory, you will be allowed to leave unmolested."

It looked like Rise was about to protest, but another burst of aura had him lower his head back again.

"That is not the law as decreed by the Queen of Jade and Sky." Kite stated coldly.

"There is no law but that of the Victorious Sunset sect in these lands, boy. I advise you to accept my generous offer, and soon. Lest I turn my back to this and leave the handling of the matters in the initiates' capable hands." Kite knew he was at an impasse. Even if initiate Providence stayed out of it, four sect initiates who were out for blood would be a challenge he did not expect to walk out of. But he knew he would test his path against all of theirs rather than submit.

Apparently, the roots of the tree were as rotten as some of the fruit, as the grand elder's actions had clearly shown so far. There was little guarantee that he would even keep that promise. During his trial, he had formed a core of determination in his mind which had carried him through challenge after challenge. That core of defiance would not let him part with most of what he had fought for to this mockery of justice.

Also, there was another option that had started to present itself, noted with the help of his activated perception power which he had kept pulsing regularly during the conversation.

"I cry for the honor of your sect if this is how low you have sunken." Kite stated somberly.

"I decline your offer, grand elder."

"That was unwise, outcast, but I expected little else from your kind. I will wash my hands of this." the grand elder stated, and Kite thought he could see the hint of a smile on the man's lips. As if released from the leash of a master, Rise and his companions regained their feet.

"Ooooohhh, I must thank you, outcast filth." Rise almost moaned as his smile turned vicious.

"I almost thought that I would be denied what is rightfully mine. It feels so good to know I will get my due." Kite thought the initiate's actions were more than a bit odd. He had seen him to be prideful and prone to anger, but the viciousness of the man now was more along the lines of a deviant which reveled in the expected pain of others. But he had to put the thought aside as four iron-rank auras crashed into his. But this time, Kite's aura held.

He could see Rise starting off on another tirade of some sort when the opportunity he had been waiting for showed itself. He quickly chanted " Wall!" as the walls of force sprang up around him, before taking a short backwards leap. As they had talked, the portal ring of the gate behind Kite had slowly lost its faint glow. While listening to the grand elder and then to the crazed initiate, his all-round vision had let him see how the gate had slowly started to vibrate.

And ever so slowly, it had begun to lift from its position. Third had stated multiple times during their time together that the gate would depart after the trial closed. While he did not know how or where, Kite had decided to take quite the risk. That was why he leapt back at that particular moment, landing on the bottom part of the ring's interior just as it started ascending up into the sky with Kite frantically holding onto what handhold he could find on the artifact.

Grand elder Lark understood the outcast boy's plan before the initiates arrayed before him could even begin to comprehend it.

"Oh no you don't," he stated as he began to raise his hand. After all this, it would not do for the boy to escape. However, he had to halt the short step forward he was in the process of taking as a cluster of wickedly sharp ice formed from the ground before him, pointing diagonally toward his chest.

"I thought we were supposed to let the kids resolve their own business, hmm?" mistress Dew stated in feigned incomprehension as she seemingly took a step out of the many faceted reflections of the ice cluster. The grand elder had not thought her brazen enough to move against him in the open, and as she had decided to interfere he knew that he would not be able to stop the boy from escaping. Indignant fury welled out from inside him as his form was outlined in green fire.

"Outcast bitch! Your meddling in our rightful affairs have always been just below what we would tolerate. You will know the punishment for interfering in the affairs of the Victorious Sunset sect, as you now court death so willingly!" he snarled, lashing out with viridian incandescence. Kite's insides plummeted as the gate's ascent sped up, the unbelieving furious face of Rise quickly shrinking. However, he could also feel two silver-rank auras unfold in conflict, even recognizing one of them.

"Mistress Dew?" he asked in disbelief, but even the silver ranker would not hear his words at the height that the gate had reached. Kite did admit to himself that he did not know what to do next at this point. As he simultaneously took in the splendor of the Autumn lands now laid out before him far below, his mind tried to work out his next step.

One loose plan, assuming that the gate would indeed fly away as Third had indicated, had been to hitch a ride with the artifact for a bit before leaping off and using his slow-fall necklace to make sure that his descent was smooth and safe. However, as the gate had so far only ascended straight up, he would not land far enough away to ensure his escape. He would need to wait until it at least had the time to travel a little bit in any direction and then consider his plan.

That particular line of thought was abruptly snuffed out as the portal opened above him. It was a beautiful ring of clouds which showed only blue skies in its center. Before he knew it, the gate had passed through and he along with it. Clamping his eyes shut, he just managed to hold steady enough to not fall from the huge ring of the gate as a wave of disorientation struck him after passing through yet another portal this day.

What did force him to snap his eyes open was the chill, as tendrils of freezing temperatures were forcing their way in through the joints of his armor while his face almost went numb in moments. He was currently riding the ring through a beautiful sparkling vista of blue skies and white clouds, apparently being at an altitude he would have had trouble imagining. The air itself felt thin, and he managed to get a pill into his mouth which at least returned the heat to his body.

What little breath he had was stolen from him the next moment as the gate passed through some kind of invisible barrier, revealing that the sky was not as empty as it had seemed. A grand palace floated in the sky, its design an explosion of color. It had a plethora of towers, walls, parapets and domes which he could clearly see during the approach of his impromptu vessel.

As he drew closer, he could more clearly see that the whole gigantic building was constructed from jade in every color available, the shifting nuances composed in such a way that there were never any clashes of hue no matter where he looked. The scale and cost of such a project was beyond staggering to the young iron-ranker, who had mutely started praying to Fortune. When nearing the grandiose building in the sky, the air changed from freezing to utterly pleasant and breaths came easily once more.

Kite's mind hadn't the time to process much of the palace complex before the gate finally descended toward a large colorful courtyard, settling on a pedestal. He could see several other pedestals and even one other gate in attendance, albeit partially disassembled. Kite didn't even have the time to reach down with shaking feet before a booming, resonant voice crashed over him like a tidal wave.

"WELL THEN, LOOK WHAT THE GATE DRAGGED IN!" The beyond powerful aura that followed brought the instant relief of unconsciousness.