Book II, Part I: Outbreak - Vector's Gambit
Chapter IX—Genesis
[Ethereal Plane, Fifth Division Barracks]
Sparks flew as blades clashed in the barracks' courtyard, the metallic ringing carrying easily over the relative quiet of the outside area. Kari watched intently as Ben and Etchel dueled in front of her, making mental notes about Ben's form and tendencies - and Etchel's too, if she was being completely honest with herself. She had only rarely seen Etchel fight, being in different divisions before and during the Harrowing and then separated from him in the time that followed.
"You're getting tired, old man!" Ben taunted jokingly, dodging a swipe from Etchel's blade before diving in with a lunge that the Grim Angel also ducked away from. Both of them spun to face the other again, blades locking up as they struggled against each other's strength to gain the upper hand.
"I've still got plenty left in me, kid," Etchel remarked, breaking the lock and flash stepping away for a moment to put distance between them again. Surprisingly, Kari noticed, Etchel was not eating an apple, which meant he was actually taking this fairly seriously for a change of pace. Magic flew from Ben's fingers in the next instant, a Haste spell settling over his form while Slow magic engulfed Etchel as he tried to even out the speed advantage that he knew Etchel held over him. Etchel frowned just the tiniest bit as he started to raise a hand for a spell of his own, only to have Ben suddenly dart forward and slice upward with his blade in an eruption of energy. Kari couldn't see anything for a few seconds through the dust, but finally spotted Etchel in the air above the small explosion using his reiatsu to suspend himself. The Slow magic was gone, but a barrage of icicles was heading his way from below, and Etchel quickly sliced out with a blade that formed a burst of energy which shattered the icicles into shards of frost.
"You're being overzealous," Etchel intoned, looking down at the Planeswalker below him as he started to float back down to the ground. "Tone it down a bit. You won't get anywhere like that."
Ben stopped for a moment, nodding and acknowledging Etchel's advice before he retook his stance, taking the other sword out of the sheath at his side and brandishing it as well. Kari knew that she and Etchel both had done wonders to temper the Planeswalker's over-aggressive fighting style into something a bit more balanced and thoughtful, and she could see that their efforts had borne fruit. The Blade Knight took a deep breath before starting to attack again, his strikes more focused and measured this time as Etchel's blade flew to the defense. Black energy gathered around Ben's left hand sword as he called up one of the new skills Etchel had taught him, and it crashed into Etchel's Diviner an instant later with force that surprised the Grim Angel. Etchel grunted a bit under the force but kept his guard up, knowing what was going to happen next as he saw the remnants of the black energy that had surrounded the blade begin to glimmer around Ben's body.
Ben's right-hand sword rose and fell in an instant, and Etchel flashed away from a strike that crushed the ground under it into powder, the sword tearing into the grass of the barracks grounds like flimsy paper and rending it asunder with an explosion of debris.
"Did I...?" Ben muttered to himself, looking at his sword for a moment in disbelief.
"Finally starting to notice, huh?" Etchel commented, looking smug. "I bet you thought I was just trying to kill you in training instead of actually teaching you things, didn't you?"
"The thought did cross my mind, yes," Ben deadpanned.
"Well...maybe once or twice," Etchel said with a shrug, reaching into the folds of his overcoat and pulling out another apple.
"I just didn't expect to be able to do...that," Ben remarked, gesturing at the ruined area of ground in front of him.
"Look, kid. I'll be honest with you. You're not giving yourself enough credit. I wouldn't be here bothering to train you if Kari didn't think you had some kind of potential, and I'm pretty sure she's had plenty of chances to give up on you if she didn't think you could cut it. You're never going to be able to hit like Odin, but what you did there is just the start if you keep training the way you have been with us."
Ben just shrugged, replacing his swords into their sheaths as he saw Etchel dismiss his own blade in a brief flash of light. "So, what now?"
"Didn't you say that Mai was going to be here?" Etchel asked Kari, stepping over and taking a seat beside her on the steps leading into the barracks.
"I believe so, yes. I expected her to be here by now, truthfully."
"Maybe she stopped for lunch?" Etchel said with a grin, causing Kari to sigh heavily at her fellow Captain's antics. Ben started to say something but found himself cut off by a deep rumbling from his own stomach.
"You had to mention lunch..." he grumbled, realizing only now that he'd been training all morning and hadn't eaten, more or less, since he awoke. He sighed as he went to sit down beside his teachers, wondering if it would be improper for him to ask to go back to the mortal plane briefly for food.
"Ascending to a higher level of mortal being makes you hungry, doesn't it?" Etchel joked, taking a bite from his apple before reaching into his coat and grabbing another that he tossed over to Ben. No sooner had Ben taken a bite from the fruit, however, than he felt the tell-tale energies of Planeswalking as a trio of figures phased into the area in front of them. He recognized the first easily as Angel, but the other two - both female - were new to him.
"I apologize for being late," the taller woman said, looking over towards Kari and Etchel and bowing respectfully. Ben didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about her appearance - a red coat draping down past her waist with a tan shirt and black pants, along with dark hair pulled into twin ponytails - but he could sense an extraordinary amount of power from her, more so than either of the two Malakh he'd been spending time training with. The other girl looked a bit younger than the one who had spoken, no more than his own age by his guess and with much less spiritual energy than either Angel or her other companion. She also looked rather tomboyish to Ben, with a slightly over-sized jacket covering what looked like a tank top and a black skirt along with shoulder-length red hair.
"It's quite all right, Kuroki-san," Kari said, also bowing to the red-clad woman. "Hiraki-san, Bayloh-san, it's good to see you both again as well."
"The pleasure is mine, as always," Angel said with a smile. "Doing okay there, Ben?"
"He's trying to kill me," Ben said flatly, jerking a thumb in Etchel's direction, who merely shrugged.
"Guilty."
"Powell-san, allow me to introduce Mai Kuroki," Kari began, motioning to the dark-haired woman, "and Maria Hiraki."
"It's nice to meet you, Sir Powell," Mai said, bowing again and causing Ben to stand in order to return the bow. "I've heard a little about you from Lady Inihara and Lady Freya, but it's good to finally meet you in person."
"It's good to meet you, too," Ben replied.
"Lady Kuroki is one of our older Planeswalkers, having spent over a century in Lady Freya's charge, and she is also the only Erudite to ever be chosen for the position," Kari explained.
"The only one? Really?" Ben said, astonished. He knew the Ethereal Plane's history dated back over two millennia, and he was instantly impressed that Mai was the only Erudite ever deemed worthy enough by Freya to be made a Planeswalker.
"Yes, that's right," Mai remarked. "It has been an honor to serve Lady Freya over the years."
"Lady Hiraki is much like yourself, actually. She was championed only a few years ago, and she also hails from the same world as yourself - Earth, in the First Realm." Ben's eyes widened briefly at the statement - so she was the other Planeswalker from Earth that he'd heard about...
"Nice to meet you," Maria said, her voice sounding much like she didn't like dealing with all the ceremony. She bowed politely anyway, and Ben returned her bow yet again.
"Same to you, Lady Hiraki," he said, causing Maria to scoff.
"It's just Maria. I don't like all the fancy titles and stuff."
Ben started to say something, then stopped. Something was...wrong? No, wrong wasn't the right word, he thought to himself. Maybe...different? It seemed to take a moment for his brain to process what he knew had happened, but didn't seem to matter a moment ago when he'd been talking. He was sure that Maria wasn't speaking English...but he hadn't even noticed. In fact, he was sure that while he knew what language she was speaking - Japanese, from the sound of it - he didn't speak it himself, yet had been able to speak with her all the same without an issue.
"So, La - Maria...sorry if this sounds crazy, but you were speaking Japanese a second ago, right?" he asked, still a little confused.
"Of course I was. I was born in Odaiba. I'm speaking it right now," she answered, seeming mildly annoyed at the seemingly-obvious answer. "What about it?"
"...I don't speak Japanese. I'm guessing you don't speak English. How the heck can we understand each other?"
"You're kidding, right? Didn't they explain that to you when they picked you?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip.
"I don't know what you're talking about. No one explained anything to me about understanding languages you don't speak when I became a Planeswalker," Ben replied, shaking his head.
"You will have to forgive Sir Powell," Kari interrupted, looking at Maria. "His training has been...eclectic, you could say. As such, he has not had the depth of instruction on what it means to be a Planeswalker that you received from Lady Kuroki when you were chosen. That is the reason I asked her to come here, in fact."
"I can explain your confusion over the language interaction, Sir Powell," Mai said, "though I would like to begin by explaining another topic that I feel more important."
"What's that?"
"The history of Planeswalkers, the Authors, and the Realms that they have created."
"Looks like it's story time," Angel said, stepping past Ben and clapping him on the shoulder before sitting down behind him. Ben sat down again a moment later, followed by Maria as she made her way over to the steps to sit beside him. Mai remained standing in front of everyone, waiting for everyone to take a seat before she started speaking.
"I am going to explain everything from the beginning, so as to not make any assumptions on what you may or may not know, Sir Powell," Mai said. "This will also be a nice refresher for you, Maria."
"I always hated history class," she grumbled, but obediently fell silent once again.
"To understand the history of the Realms, we must first understand the beings who created them - the Authors. Authors, quite simply, are ancient beings of unimaginable power, capable of bending the fabric of reality to their will. True gods and goddesses, you might say. No one knows where the Authors came from, but in the beginning they were fewer than they are now. The first of all was Hana, who even now remains chief among the Authors countless years later. From there, other Authors were born and sometimes elevated to power to join the others. At present, as it has been for thousands and thousands of years, there are ten Authors in all who reign over the major universes in our reality, which we refer to as the Major Realms."
"So, wait...you mean that there have been people who have literally ascended to godhood?" Ben said with surprise.
"You could call it such, yes."
Ben just mutely nodded in acknowledgment.
"There are many other realms that make up our reality, but only the ten created by the Authors have the distinction of participating in a...rivalry, of sorts, between the Authors. It was not always this way, but the Authors now maintain this ongoing competition which we Planeswalkers have termed the 'Metagame.'"
"The 'Metagame?' Which means we're basically pieces in a...chess game, or something?"
"Something like that," Angel replied with a shrug. "It's not all bad, though. They've got our best interests at heart. Well, most of them, from what I hear."
"The Author of our Realm, Erasmus, once confided in me," Kari added, breaking into the conversation. "I do not remember all that he spoke of, but I will always remember the last thing he said to me. He told me that they play to see the worthiness of their creations, and to see the roles they inevitably choose to play."
"The roles we choose to play..." Ben mused thoughtfully, filing the words away in his mind. "So, you mentioned someone named Hana, and now Erasmus. Do you know who all of the Authors are?"
"Yes. There are ten at present, as I said, and though I have not had the opportunity to meet all of them, there are stories told of their actions and personalities. Hana rules the First Realm, patient and ever fair in her judgment and position. The Second Realm is Carani's domain, child-like and exuberant in her ways. Rashiel created the Third Realm, benevolent and guiding yet remaining detached from his creations. Savra reigns over the Fourth Realm, a weaver of conflicting philosophies that yet embolden her creations. Kindrian claims the Fifth Realm, wise beyond perhaps even his eons of age. Godric commands the Sixth Realm, antagonistic and even cruel to his creations and fellow Authors alike. The Seventh Realm belongs to Shailara, aloof in her actions yet caring in her words and direction. The Eighth Realm - this realm - is led by Erasmus, eccentric yet undeniably devoted to the well-being of his created and chosen. Garland founded the Ninth Realm, an Author of passion and honor above all else. Finally, the Tenth Realm is the creation of Wilhelm, one with a thirst for knowledge and the desire to test his creations and see the results of their effort."
"I feel like I should be taking notes," Ben said, mostly to himself. His statement earned a chuckle from Angel and a roll of the eyes from Maria before Mai continued speaking.
"In the beginning, the Authors had only one rule - that of no interference. They refrained from interfering with both the creations of others and their own, instead choosing to see what their creations would make of their existences without knowledge of the higher powers that created them. Over time, however, that changed."
"When the first Planeswalkers were chosen, you mean?" Ben asked, receiving a nod in reply.
"Eventually, the Authors grew interested to see what their creations would do with the knowledge that beings such as they existed in the world. They gave their creations the knowledge of other worlds, other dimensions of existence, and through that came the advent of the first Planeswalkers. The first Planeswalkers did not possess that name, however - they were christened 'Emissaries' by their patron deities."
"Emissaries...wait a minute. I remember Fayt calling me that a long time ago," Ben told Mai. "I didn't know what it meant back then. So, it's just the old name for Planeswalkers?"
"Correct," she replied. "Over the years, the first Emissaries came to understand the tasks placed upon them by their patrons, tasks which often sent them far away to other planes or to others of the Major Realms. They decided to rechristen themselves 'Planeswalkers,' to better fit their charge under the Authors that they served."
"How long have Planeswalkers been around, then?" the Blade Knight asked, looking thoughtful. "I know that it's the year 2152 here, so that's two millennia, but I'm guessing that all of these Realms might not keep the same time or even have been made at the same time."
"Truthfully, I do not know how long the Realms have existed," Mai responded, shaking her head. "Two thousand years is to the Authors as a fleeting second is to us. Hundreds of thousands, millions, perhaps even billions of years may have passed to the Authors. After all, we are not Erasmus' first creations, likely not his last, and only he knows how many have come before."
"Our world's the odd one out, too," Maria said, drawing a quizzical look from Ben.
"How so?"
"Well, Earth is part of the First Realm, which Hana made. But apparently, Hana already 'won' the Metagame a long time ago, so she doesn't play anymore - she just watches and sort of referees. That means that we don't play for her, really."
"Why not? Shouldn't we be Planeswalkers for Hana if we're from the First Realm?"
"You would think so, but that's why I said that we're the odd one," Maria started. "Mai told me that the First Realm is unique - we don't play in the Metagame, but any other Author can ask Hana for the use of some of her creations...like us."
"Then, that means...someone asked for me?" Ben said hesitantly, starting to piece together the explanation.
"Bingo," Angel replied from behind him. "I asked Lady Freya about it a while back. Seems like she struck up an interest in you, but wasn't sure if you were really ready at the time to do the job. So Wilhelm, being the nice guy that he is, told Freya that he'd test you in her place."
"Which means...Spira's in the Tenth Realm?"
"Yup."
Ben didn't say anything for a few moments as he contemplated what Angel had just told him. "Well...that clears a lot of things up," he finally said, looking back at the Vayash Moru. "You know you just answered a question I've been asking myself for the better part of two years, right?"
"Always happy to help."
"I should hit you for not telling me sooner."
"If you two are done," Maria interrupted, "can she get back to talking now?"
"...Right, sorry," Ben said sheepishly, obligingly quieting down so that Mai could continue.
"Planeswalkers originally existed to fulfill the requests of the Author who championed them, but as the Authors created more and more Realms throughout the cycles of the Metagame, it...evolved. The Authors created the beings you know as Ancients, even as they created more and more complex life and realms to rule over. Every creation was different, and the Ancients soon became capable of championing Planeswalkers of their own, working towards their desires just as they served their Author to further their status and causes."
"Ancients...like Lady Freya, I assume?"
"Exactly. The Eighth Realm is split into four planes of existence that comprise it. There is the mortal plane, which is overseen along with the Ethereal Plane by the Creator, Freya Vanadis. There is the Nether Plane, home to instinctual beings ruled by the Overlord, Aizen Sosuke. Finally, there is Soul Society, the home of spirits and those whose lives have ended, ruled by the Lord Sovereign Byakuya Kuchiki."
"This might be a silly question, but why is Lady Freya called the Creator? What did she...well, create?" Ben asked, earning a smile from Mai.
"Lady Freya created the very mortal plane that you now reside in - Gaia. When Erasmus gave life to Freya and the Ethereal Plane itself, she was also given the freedom to create life herself as she saw fit. One of her first actions was to create the mortal plane and the beings who live there, known as Hume."
"Is that common? For Ancients to get that kind of power, I mean."
"It depends on the realm and the Author. Erasmus takes a very...calm approach with respect to his creations," Mai replied.
"That's a fancy way of saying that he's really hands-off. Or lazy. I'm still not sure," Maria added.
"Maria!"
Mai's voice was mortified, but Maria's face was the picture of innocence.
"What? It's not my fault that he acts like he's some crazy old man instead of an all-powerful god, you know."
"Kid's got a point," Etchel said, tossing away the core of his apple. "I've met him. She's right - he's probably crazy."
"What, and you're not?" Ben snarked, glancing over at the Grim Angel.
"I never said that I wasn't - simply that Erasmus almost certainly is."
"Right," Ben sighed, turning his attention back to Mai. "So...what happens when an Author wins? Actually, do you know how they win in the first place?"
"Nope, not a clue," Maria answered cheerfully before Mai could speak.
"Maria is correct," Mai continued. "I know neither how the Metagame may be won, nor an Author's reward for doing so. That knowledge may lie with one of the Ancients of this realm, but I have never heard it spoken of."
"Well, I tried," Ben said with a shrug. It didn't really surprise him that Mai didn't have the information, even given her status as both an Erudite and a Planeswalker. "That's quite a history lesson there...it's a lot to take in all at once."
"I understand," Mai said with a nod. "It is unfortunate that you were chosen in such a manner as to neglect your instruction in the things all Planeswalkers should know. Now that I have educated you on the history of your station, allow me to inform you of the benefits."
"I think I've figured out a little of it already," Ben said, nodding. "I always feel just a little stronger than I remember being when I was...normal. I haven't ever been sick in the last few years, either. Does that all have to do with being a Planeswalker?"
"Yes, on both counts," Mai confirmed. "Let me elaborate. Planeswalkers are special beings to their patrons, gifts to be treasured above all else. As such, patrons have taken strides to ensure that their Planeswalkers remain healthy and capable for as long as possible. This manifests passively in three particular ways - an extended lifespan, heightened natural healing, and increased control of your natural magical energy."
Ben's face looked shocked for a moment before he got himself back under control. The healing he was familiar with. The magical control, he could understand. But an extended lifespan? That wasn't what he'd expected to hear.
"So...by extended lifespan, how extended are we talking here?" he asked.
"Typically, Planeswalkers will live for around twice as long as the normal lifespan of a member of their race. For you, as a Hume, you may live to be around a hundred and fifty or a hundred and sixty. For a Vayash Moru such as Sir Bayloh, perhaps five or six hundred years. And as for an Erudite like myself..."
She paused for a moment, then smiled. "It's not polite for a lady to talk about her age, or potential age in this case."
"She could be, like...eight thousand years old when she dies," Maria said, completely shredding any sense of tact Mai might have wanted on the subject.
"Maria!"
"I think I'm starting to like her," Etchel commented, earning an unusually stern look from Kari.
"Erudites can live four thousand years naturally?" Ben asked, a little dumbfounded.
"Erudite - the word is the same in plural," Mai corrected. "And yes, we can. There are some who remain today who were born shortly after Lady Freya created this plane."
"Odin and Xeios?" Ben said, venturing a guess.
"Yes, but a few remain besides who are of similar age."
"...Wow. That's...okay, sorry. Please continue, Lady Kuroki," Ben said, getting over his momentary shock.
"The heightened natural healing that Planeswalkers are gifted with applies equally to illness and injury. Planeswalkers almost never get appreciably sick in their lifetimes, and can heal from minor injuries practically overnight. It is closely related to the innate magical control they possess, letting their bodies channel their energy more efficiently and naturally in order to help recover from harm."
"Never being sick ever again was almost reason enough on its own for me to become a Planeswalker," Maria said with a wry smile.
"That being said, the magical control that Planeswalkers are gifted applies to all forms of magic that they know and learn, be it their other talents as a Planeswalker or planar magic such as Gaians use," Mai explained. "Over time, most magic they learn becomes second nature to them as they become more adept at using magic in general."
"That must be why I started getting a lot better at magic around the time of the tournament..." Ben mused to himself. "I sucked at it for a long time in Spira."
"At least you don't use it like a cudgel any more," Angel said with a shrug. "You learned better than that...eventually."
"Planeswalkers possess one other innate skill, which you experienced earlier," Mai told Ben. "Upon entering a new plane, Planeswalkers become capable of comprehending - and speaking, if necessary - any languages native to that plane. This was done so as to avoid miscommunication as much as possible. It simply would not do to have an inter-dimensional conflict stemming from something as petty as a mispronunciation or mistranslation, after all. That is why you were able to understand Maria when she was speaking Japanese - and I would wager that you could speak it yourself if you tried now."
Ben looked like his jaw was about to fall open and hit the steps he was sitting on. Universal translation, without any kind of device or book? That was, in a word, incredible. He'd never dreamed of such a thing, and despite his fluency in Spanish he had always wanted to pick up another language to add to his repertoire.
"There is one caveat to this, one that I personally have never encountered but know of through stories. You must be physically capable of producing the sounds or other means needed to 'speak' the language," Mai added. "Comprehension of such language is apparently unaffected, however."
Ben thought for a moment about what kind of language would exist that would be impossible for Planeswalkers in those regards, but gave up on it quickly as he returned his attention to Maria. Thoughts for another time, he reasoned.
"Now, I'll demonstrate the abilities given to Planeswalkers to aid them both in travel and in combat," Mai continued, standing up. "The first of these is a very basic skill which we refer to as Blink."
She looked around the area for a moment, seemingly scanning for something, before nodding to herself and vanishing in an instant, reappearing a few yards away from everyone who was present. Just as quickly, she returned to her original spot before beginning to speak again.
"Blink is effectively a short-range, line of sight teleportation skill. It is unique in that it does not use the Crystal Path like Planeswalking does, merely shifting the user within their own plane of residence a short distance. If you cannot see your destination, you cannot move to it, and most can only move a few hundred yards due to this limitation."
"I know how to do that one, at least," Ben said, nodding in understanding. "It was the first thing about being a Planeswalker that I learned, and I thought that's what actual Planeswalking was the first time I used it."
"You're already irritatingly good at it, too," Angel commented from beside him.
"It's a gift," Ben said with a grin. "Getting to people's blind spots in a fight almost instantly? I'll take that in a heartbeat."
"The next of our abilities, and one that is most invaluable to us in the event of combat against other Planeswalkers, is called Planar Lockout. As the name suggests, it locks out an area of effect against all intraplanar and extraplanar travel, whether into or out of the field."
Mai focused for a moment, calling up a thin aura of magical energy around her before the air around everyone started to shimmer, with faint motes of magical energy visible in the surroundings for anyone who looked closely enough.
"A Planar Lockout can be broken by beings stronger than the one who cast the spell with ease depending on the power difference, but it remains absolute against those weaker. It is a double-edged sword in some cases and must be used with caution, but it is a powerful tool to deal with foes who teleport or phase in and out of existence, such as wraiths."
"So it's not just for use against Planeswalkers, huh?"
"Most often, that would be the case, but any entity who makes use of movement of this kind is vulnerable. Undead spirits are a particularly notable case from my own experience."
Ben just nodded, suddenly grinning as he started humming something to himself. Maria looked at him strangely for a moment before rolling her eyes.
"That's the Ghostbusters theme, isn't it."
"Uh huh," Ben replied, smiling ear to ear. Maria didn't say a word, but simply walked over and slapped Ben upside the head, earning a suitably startled and surprised look from her fellow Planeswalker.
"What the heck was that for?!"
"For being an idiot," Maria replied matter of factly. "At least pretend you're taking this seriously."
"I am taking this seriously," Ben replied. "That's just...part of how I deal with stress. In case you didn't notice? This is just a little bit stressful."
"Maria, that's enough," Mai said calmly, directing her gaze over at her wayward student.
"Not my fault he's being stupid," she complained, but grudgingly sat back down as Mai had requested.
"I will not demonstrate the next ability that we possess, due to the fact that it comes with a period of weakness following its use. The skill that we call Fade can, in the right circumstances, allow you a second wind of sorts. It allows you to partially phase out of your plane of existence, giving you the ability to pass through objects and also to steal mana from living beings with your strikes. However, as I said, it takes a heavy toll on a Planeswalker's body to maintain such a partial phasing effect, and will render you physically weak for a small time afterwards. Be careful not to leave yourself in an unfavorable position when you release the technique."
"I'll be careful with it," Ben answered, serious again after his momentary tongue-lashing from Maria. "I prefer to just make things with alchemy to restore my mana, anyway."
"Finally, we come to the skill which makes us what we are - the ability to Planeswalk. To fully understand Planeswalking, you must understand the plane that we travel upon while doing so, an intermediary plane known as the Crystal Path. It is said that it got its name from the way that the multi-colored paths resemble facets of gems or crystal shining in the light, but no one knows for sure who named it such. Despite its physical appearance, the Path is mostly an illusion to ease the mind, as travel is dependent entirely on the user's will and perception."
"I've only been on it...once, maybe twice," Ben admitted. "And I wasn't there long enough to really pay a lot of attention to what it looked like."
"The Crystal Path links all realities, all planes, all dimensions together," Mai explained. "It is an elaborately woven tapestry of possibilities, and can allow us to go anywhere that we can imagine - with some limitations. The Crystal Path does not link to the realm of the Authors, but can be reached by one who is already there."
"Realm of the Authors?" Ben asked, looking curious. "You didn't mention that when you were talking about the Authors before."
"I apologize; it must have slipped my mind," Mai said. "Let me explain that briefly. The realm of the Authors is a realm referred to as Hueco Mundo. It exists separate from any of the realms that the Authors control, a neutral place that the Authors can live in and create from in peace. Access to Hueco Mundo is strictly controlled and requires the use of a specific gate located in each realm, of which there may be multiples. In our realm, there is one in each of the three outer planes."
"Isn't that the thing you used to guard, Kari?" Etchel broke in, looking over at his fellow Captain.
"Yes, that is correct," Kari remarked, looking over at Ben and Mai. "For a time, Lady Freya asked me to safeguard the gate to Hueco Mundo following the Harrowing."
"Each Author has their own place within Hueco Mundo, shaped solely to their own designs and liking. I have only visited Erasmus' domain once, and it was quite the sight to behold." Ben was silent for a few moments, clearly waiting on Mai to elaborate, and he seemed a bit sad that she didn't choose to.
"As for Planeswalking itself, it is both an incredibly precise and a surprisingly forgiving art to learn. The Crystal Path is not exact; sometimes you will end up some distance away from your intended point of exit, which can be mitigated a bit as you learn to manipulate the energy of the Path to your will. The Path behaves almost as if it was a sentient being, seemingly able to know your destination and intentions as you traverse it. The more that you use and come to understand the Crystal Path, the easier and more accurately you can use your Planeswalking ability. Truly skilled Planeswalkers can perform incredible feats with the aid of the Path, showing impossible accuracy and timing with their movement and even the ability to cast magic while within the Path which affects their destination."
Ben nodded slowly to himself, taking in Mai's words. He'd been training extensively as of late with his Planeswalking, and while he had noticed the mild inaccuracy of Planeswalking, he'd never heard any of the other information regarding the Crystal Path. It was a lot for him to take in; he'd heard more about Planeswalkers and the realms in the last half hour than he ever thought he'd learn.
"Do you have any questions, Sir Powell?" Mai asked suddenly. "I believe that I have given enough explanation for now."
"...It's both a gift and a curse, isn't it? Being a Planeswalker, I mean."
"There are no truer words," Mai replied, smiling. "It is a wonderful gift and the most terrible of burdens, all at once. To serve your patron is a duty the weight of which would crush nearly anyone, but we Planeswalkers bear it with honor."
"I feel like I've always been thrown into things before I was ready...but there's no point in worrying about any of that now," Ben said. "I've got a job to do here."
"Look at that," Maria said with a grin. "I think he gets it now."
"Took long enough to get through that thick skull of his," Angel added, also grinning and enjoying the chance to needle his fellow Planeswalker.
"My thick skull?" Ben protested. "You're certainly one to talk...that pot looks pretty black from where I'm sitting."
"I believe that we may have overstayed our welcome, Maria," Mai suddenly said, breaking up the joking argument. "Lady Inihara, thank you for allowing us to come here and join you," she said, bowing deeply to the former Grim Angel.
"The thanks should come from me, Lady Kuroki, for having you train my student in things that I myself cannot," Kari replied, also bowing respectfully.
"No thanks are needed - it is all for the safety of the realm."
"Plus, Earth's a little boring compared to this place. It's fun to get out for a while," Maria added, shrugging. Ben opened his mouth to say something...then stopped. She was right, he thought to himself - Earth was kind of boring by comparison. Then again, sometimes he missed boring. It had been a long time since he thought about his home, and he wasn't sure at first that he'd be able to see it again once he came here. But with his parents gone, and only minor ties to most of the rest of his immediate family sans one or two people...he'd thought long and hard about one thing.
Did he really want to go home again?
It was something to deal with later, he reasoned as he started to say goodbye to Mai and Maria. For now...he had training to complete. There wasn't much time left before he would be finished and back to Garden, and he wanted to make sure he was ready.
[Location Unknown]
Wilhelm stepped around the large tank in which his creation was recuperating, seeing the lumpy gray form inside bobbing gently in the water enclosure. A smile crossed his face as he listened to the creature's soft movements in the water, movements that sent ripples through the liquid around it. It had grown much in a short time, he knew, easily dwarfing him as it aged into its final form. As a low, keening sound came from the creature's large mouth, sounding almost like crying, Wilhelm's smile grew.
Soon, he'd know if this world was ready to face the glory of his creation.