Memories didn’t just open due to convenience; sometimes, thoughts were required to unlock them. But when memories and thoughts get entangled, it creates a path towards understanding. Interestingly, sometimes, understanding unlocks memories that refuse to open. This was the cycle I happened to be caught in at the moment, and It felt like I was embarking on a journey in my head, one of realization and understanding.

  The memory of my first meeting with Black Steel played out in my head. I wasn’t consciously trying to remember it, but it just opened because Black Steel was all I could think of at that moment. I remembered standing across it, separated by a valley at Ashen Highlands—a windswept Verge of cracked obsidian and ash.

  The ash was no ordinary dust, but a lingering testament of an ancient battle that permanently scarred the Verge. Legend had it that the battle was so cataclysmic that essences of the ones killed during the battle were condensed into solid form—fine particles that one would mistake as dust.

  I’d stalked Black Steel for quite some time, following it into Ashen Highlands. I couldn’t tell why it went there, but I decided to make my move there because it just felt right—a perfect setting that could bear witness to an interesting duel.

  After a short-lived stand-off, Black Steel charged, snapping the tension. Its movements were a blur of precision, and its sword arced towards me with a frightening hum like it was tearing reality itself. I reacted, compressing the space around it, imposing constricting forces around it, slowing it down. Just for a very brief moment, I was able to immobilize it, suspending its motion. But before I made another move at it, it broke free. It possessed an overwhelming amount of naethrium, strong enough to dispel my attacks.

  It continued its charge at me once again, and this time I let it. I was curious in knowing what sheer strength it possessed. Its sword met mine in an explosive collision that sent shockwaves across the Verge.

  “Not bad,” I remarked.

  We went back and forth with the exchanges, until I backed out, realizing that my sword would give out if I continued. My sword; a gift from my mother, a weapon forged from a very ancient ore—one only dragon fire could smelt, was no match to Black Steel’s. I could feel the strain on it with each clash, and though it held on stubbornly, I knew when to stop.

  I tried to overwhelm Black Steel, unleashing a terrifying storm of fire at it. I never wielded fire of any sorts, it was an ability I’d gained after I killed a wyvern that attacked me in the past. The flames burned fiercely, and even I who unleashed it was overwhelmed by the intensity of the heat. It also carried immense pressure, like it was distorting the space around.

  It didn’t come off as so much of a surprise to me when the flames dissipated upon contact with Black Steel’s naethrium blade. It did so in a peculiar fashion, almost like life was being sucked out of it leaving only a faint ripple of heat.

  Though it was true that I wasn’t bound by the constraints of all three essences, that only held true in relation with the fact that I would hold my own against any attacks from spells conjured from any essence. Even as powerful as I was as a Sovereign, I still had limitations; one of them being unable to wield naethrium.

  Naethrium was a very unique essence, so much so that not even the most powerful beings could wield it. But it wasn’t an all powerful essence that stood invincible, because while it serves the purpose of balance, it could be overwhelmed, diminishing its effect. That was why Black Steel was just the weapon I needed—some control over naethrium.

  The only problem was, I didn’t think I had enough power to overwhelm Black Steel. The naethrium it wielded appeared to be strong enough to withstand the spells I conjured. But I had to win one way or another, losing was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

  It charged at me again, once again, arcing its sword with the same frightening hum, in my direction. Warping space at my intent, I moved away from the attack, its blade’s tip, grazing the air where I’d stood. I countered, stretching the space between us into an elongated corridor, forcing Black Steel to travel the distance, away from me before crashing into a rocky elevation.

  Its purple eyes flared, and with a thrust of its sword, it unleashed a pulse of naethrium, shattering the distortion I’d created, snapping the distance back to normal. I was amazed—my eyes witnessing a new discovery. Black Steel’s blade wasn’t just powerful and sturdy, it adapted, countering with precision.

  I searched my head for a solution. I needed a new approach. My sword couldn’t endure another direct clash, and even the wyvern’s flames at my disposal were fodder to Black Steel’s blade. I was struck with a sudden realization. It turned out that the Verge was all I needed to win. Who would have thought that the place I chose to fight purely because of its aesthetics would provide a huge advantage for me.

  “The ash,” I voiced.

  I’d always known myself as someone with a tough luck, but on that day, the wheels of fortune spun in my favor. The presence of condensed essences present as fine dust was one thing, the fact that it played into the cards of the nature of my abilities, was another. All I had to do to was to absorb as much essence as I could to overwhelm Black Steel.

  As it came at me, the ash swirled thicker around me, stinging my eyes. I strengthened my spatial dominion, folding the space around it, not just to constrict it, rather, creating a prison where every direction looped back to the center. Black Steel swung its sword, trying to break free, but my spatial prison reflected the energy it gave off back to it. It continued relentlessly, but all I needed to do was reinforce the prison for as long as I could. I was able to hold on, thanks to the ash’s constant supply of raw essence.

  My body screamed under the effort, my human limits fraying, but I still held on. Black Steel’s eyes dimmed and its movements slowed. I was sure that it wasn’t growing tired because it was relentlessly trying to break free, my theory was that maybe, the naethrium energy its sword gave off had a negative effect on it.

  With every grit left in me, I collapsed the spatial prison inward in an attempt to crush Black Steel within it. I knew it wouldn’t just give up, and that was what I trusted. Though weakened, it fought against the collapsing prison, cancelling its effect with a last ditch effort. It survived, but its survival came with a cost as lines resembling cracks ran all over its body.

  I won. I staggered forward, blood dripping from my nose and eyes. I too, was overwhelmed by the amount of aether I wielded in order to defeat Black Steel. It was a price I had to pay for my victory.

  Black Steel wasn’t dead, but I could feel its life essence disappearing slowly. It was on its knees, with its sword providing support strong enough to prevent it from falling. It was a scenario I was prepared for, and I was about to take another risk.

  I was able to absorb abilities because the nature of my feel allowed it. But this was made possible because most abilities that people, beings and even creatures wielded followed a path created by either mana or aether. Naethrium was different, it didn’t just play the role of an essence, it was an ability to those who wielded it too, and that was the problem.

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  As a Sovereign, I had no affinity with naethrium but even if I did, there was nothing to absorb from Black Steel. It wasn’t like it could manipulate an element in a unique manner through naethrium; like how fire could be manipulated through mana, or space through aether—naethrium was just naethrium.

  I didn’t know much about Black Steel. I didn’t even have a clear plan on how to approach the battle, and also, I didn’t have the slightest idea on how to tame it, or make it an ally, or even the weapon I’d intended, whichever one that turned out to be the case. I just faced it with the belief I would be the victor and that a solution would somehow present itself. Fortunately, it did.

  Though it was a thought in my head, after our battle ended, I was exposed to the discovery that everything about Black Steel revolved around naethrium. It’s sentience, it’s life essence—it was all naethrium. I wasn’t sure if it had a life force or an existential force, but I leaned to the belief that it had to have both, or something similar because It was a sentient being after all. I reached for Black Steel’s naethrium In the same manner in which I absorbed abilities, but this time, instead of absorbing its naethrium which I obviously couldn’t, I managed to tether it to my existential force.

  It was difficult to believe that I was able to do the things I did as Varion. I wouldn’t even dare as Svan. But thoughts on that memory created many paths to understanding and discovery. Whether or not my understanding was right, it seemed reasonable to me. I believed one’s Feel was an intrinsic component of their existential force. It had to be true because I still retained my abilities as Varion even though I was reincarnated. As Svan, I’d always believed that the Feel was just a tether between humans and their elemental manipulation. While that was true, it wasn’t all to it, reinforcing my conclusion that it was part of one’s existential force.

  I remembered Darya telling Svan that humans aren’t able to tell apart life force and existential force, because to them, they are somewhat fused. Again, that held true—the reason why the Feel seems intangible to them even though they know it exists. Again, reinforcing my conclusion that the Feel was part of one’s existential force.

  But what steeled my belief was the understanding of my Feel as Varion, and its uniqueness. When I kill an opponent, their life force collapses but their existential force lingers briefly, carrying the Feel; abilities included. My Feel is able to reach out, like a hand grasping the fading Feel, and pulling the ability into my own. That was also the same reason I was able to forge a bond with Black Steel. Even though it wielded neither mana nor aether, I was able to reach out to its Feel.

  My bond with Black Steel was unique. I didn’t wield its aether, and it wasn’t dead, but it was a part of me—my existential force. This was what I intended, but that intent was realized purely through luck. Maybe it was the naethrium or the uniqueness of Black Steel’s life essence that played a role, in the end, I got what I wanted.

  This Black Steel was different from the one I fought at Ashen Verge; It was easy to tell, strength-wise. Ever since I forged a bond with it, it mirrored my strength. Though it was my doing, it wasn’t done intentionally—my Feel had to do what was best for me. The only way the bond could hold was if there was a sense of balance. Though I had know idea of what would happen if its Feel overwhelmed mine, I had a feeling that I would not be in control anymore because my existential force would probably be subdued by its own. Conversely, if mine was the overwhelming one, then its naethrium would probably be of little or no value to me.

  I finally realized the cause of the dark lines on my skin. As my body strained from the abilities I wielded, the naethrium my existential force held due to my bond with Black Steel, became visible. I was amazed by how this body held on this long. Even with the nature of my Feel, I only absorbed two abilities to myself before I met Black Steel because I knew my human limits—the wyvern’s flames, because it was the closest thing to dragon’s fire, and ice that I’d obtained from a frost Sovereign. Other abilities I gained after bonding with Black Steel was tethered to it, though, in the end, unfortunately, they were lost. The wyvern’s flames and the ice were still with me. I could feel both abilities within me, and they didn’t disappear because they were embedded within my existential force. I tried to think of a good reason why the ones I tethered to Black Steel vanished, but there were a lot of possibilities, and all of them seemed plausible.

  I couldn’t help but ask myself,

  “Am I even human?”

  ***

  “Hey, you look lost,” Evren said to me, snapping me out of my thoughts by tapping my shoulder.

  “Oh, I was caught up with something in my head,” I replied.

  Her attention was drawn to somewhere else. She couldn’t help but stare at Black Steel in disbelief.

  “Who is this guy?” She asked absentmindedly, pointing at Black Steel.

  I was silent for a short while because I couldn’t come up with a convincing lie to tell. The thing about lies and secrets was that, they were never simple. Once a lie is told, or a secret is kept, they had to be constantly sustained by more lies and more secrets.

  Black Steel walked closer to us and Evren took a few steps backwards. She too, was intimidated by it. It’s towering figure loomed over us, the purple glow of its eyes cutting through the red ambience imposed by Galdor’s fractured sky. I looked up in Yukina and Mom’s direction as they watched from the balcony above, their silhouettes framed against the building’s jagged architecture. Though I couldn’t define what expression their faces wore since they stood so high up, I knew they were as unsettled as Evren.

  “It’s… a companion,” I said, firmly settling with the simplest half-truth I could muster.

  Evren raised her eyebrows, her skepticism plain.

  “A companion? That thing looks like it can cut through a mountain with its sword.”

  She wasn’t wrong, Black Steel could actually cleave a mountain if I pushed it—but I kept that to myself.

  Just as I was about to speak, Evren’s dragon, now a small cat-like creature darted from the shadows near her feet and stood between her and Black Steel. Before I could react further, it changed. The air around it thickened, a sudden heat prickling my skin. The creature grew—exploded really, in a way that made me catch my breath. The fur melted away smoothing into a cascade of midnight-black scales, each one edged with a molten golden shimmer. The tiny limbs stretched and thickened, sprouting into massive muscled legs with claws that looked like curved swords. Wings erupted from its back, vast and sprawling, unfurling with a thunderous snap.

  Its head reared up, broad and reptilian with a crest of spines thrusting upwards—three dominant ones that looked like blackened spears, flanked by smaller jagged protrusions that trailed down its neck glowing faintly. Its yellow eyes—now massive elliptical pools of molten gold defined its majestic aura and I couldn’t help but marvel at how a creature could look both dangerous and beautiful at the same time

  Zephryix was a marvel to behold, a creature that seemed to straddle the line between legend and reality. It was the first time I’d ever laid my eyes on one, even as Varion—a beast I would have hunted or tried to harness, if fate had spun differently.

  Its tail lashed out, a whip of scales and barbs that stretched longer than Black Steel was tall. The tip trashing with a force that cracked the air. Zephryix stood there fully formed, its bulk towering over us, dwarfing even Black Steel’s Imposing frame. It’s breath released air so hot that I had to move away from the radius of its effect. Black Steel didn’t move, neither did it flinch. Its purple gaze was steady, but I felt a flicker along our tether—something like an awe, or maybe a challenge.

  My guess was, Zephryix sensed that Evren felt intimidated by Black Steel and decided to confront it. I smiled, wondering how a battle between them would unfold. I believed the old Black Steel, the one I fought at Ashen Verge, or even the one tethered to Varion, would have an edge. But I couldn’t be so sure because I’d never experienced the full power of a dragon. If they should clash now, Zephryix would most probably win. Its little show-off—imposing an overwhelming aura, hinted at its immense power.

  The stand-off ended when Evren spoke to Zephryix, persuading it to return to its cat-like appearance. But what even caught my attention was the fact that Evren appeared unaffected by the heat that Zephryix gave off with each breath. I was curious, eager to know the nature of their bond, but I wasn’t in a haste to do so, I knew I would with time.

  I withdrew Black Steel back to its domain, thankfully, Evren forgot about the question she asked me.

  She sighed in relief,

  “That was a close one,” she said, easing herself.

  “I didn’t think they were actually going to fight, they were both trying to assert dominance,” I said to her.

  “You can’t be so sure,” she cautioned.

  I looked up once again, and this time instead of two figures at the balcony, there were three of them. Though my vision wasn’t the clearest considering the height at which they stood, I could easily tell the third figure was feminine too.

  Yukina waved at us before gesturing that we should come up. I knew it was Yukina waving, because of the position at which she stood; on the left. Mom looked like she was having a conversation with the person who joined them, and the moment she turned in my direction, I recognized her immediately. She was no other person than Sophia.