CHAPTER 8
Ttowards this shrine. The realization hit them, hard. “So uh, how is this shrine supposed to help us?” Zack asked, annoyed.
“We don’t know, Vey and Dray never told us.” Lex sighed.
The group didn’t know what to do, or where to continue. Heck, they didn’t even know if Vey and Dray were still alive! But they clung to hope like a rope in a storm. If they’d been told to come here, then this place had to matter. Until they figured it out, they decided to stay put and make the best of their limited supplies. Their "camp" was as crude as it could get. With no tents or proper bedding, they resorted to piling leaves over the dirt ground and huddled around a modest campfire. Comfort was a distant dream.
Amelia, however, was too preoccupied to care. She spent the night pondering about her new strand and abilities. The art of climbing was useful for getting out of more hairy situations, and her new strand seemed to be going on about some “Chaos and Order” stuff. She didn’t even know who the heck Ometecuhtli was, so she assumed him to be a minor god of little importance. However, the powers she gained said otherwise.
Balance of the Cosmos
The skill sounded impressive, however it was so broad she had no idea how to actually use it. She thought back to her battle with the wolf-man.
Indeed, it was easier said than done. To use the skill, its user would have to be able to understand it at a certain level, and the more they understood, the better they could use it.
So she thought. She thought hard, straining the limits of her knowledge.
Her thoughts spiraled into more questions.
Amelia was exasperated. She had all these questions, yet no answers. This was getting her nowhere. Suddenly, a memory resurfaced - something Dray had told them back in training: “The best way to learn is through experience.”That’s right! I just need to put my ideas to the test and see! Sitting here and overthinking wasn’t going to magically give her answers. If she wanted to understand Balance of the Cosmos, she needed to use it, test it, and learn from what happened.
Quietly, she rose to her feet and stepped out of the camp. The night air was cold and sharp against her skin as she ventured further into the clearing. She glanced around, ensuring she wouldn’t disturb the others - or accidentally burn down the forest. Then, taking a deep breath, she focused inward.
“Okay,” she whispered to herself. “Time to see what this strand can do.”
Amelia closed her eyes and tried to recall the sensation from the fight - the surge of energy, the instinctive certainty of what she needed to do. She reached for that feeling again, hesitantly at first, then with growing confidence.
She scanned her surroundings, trying to see things differently—not as a tired traveler or an exhausted fighter, but as someone searching for meaning in the world itself. Her eyes landed on a patch of thorny bushes tangled together at the base of a tree.
The bushes were wild, their thorns twisting in every direction. A chaotic mess. But the tree they clung to stood tall and sturdy, growing straight up - as if trying to reach the sky.
“That’s it,” Amelia whispered, approaching the bush. “Chaos in the thorns, order in the tree.”
She placed a hand on the bush, ignoring the prick of a thorn. Closing her eyes, she imagined drawing the chaotic energy from the bush into her left hand, while channeling the tree’s steady order into her right. The glow returned to her hands, faint but steady, and she felt a subtle shift - like two opposing forces brushing against each other.
At first, it seemed to work. The bush rustled, its thorns quivering as though alive. But then the energy grew unstable, and Amelia yelped as a thorn pricked her finger. She pulled back, watching as the glow faded.
“Not that simple,” she muttered, sucking on her bleeding finger.
Her gaze shifted to a shallow stream nearby, its water rushing over rocks. Chaos was in the unpredictable splashes and ripples, but order was in the stream’s unyielding flow, following its path downhill.
“This might work better,” she murmured.
She crouched by the stream, dipping her hands into the icy water. The chill made her shiver, but she focused, trying to feel the balance in the current. She envisioned pulling the chaos from the splashes and ripples, weaving it into the order of the stream’s steady flow.
The water seemed to respond. The splashes smoothed out, and the stream’s surface grew calm. A grin spread across Amelia’s face - until the calm gave way to a sudden burst of turbulence, water spraying wildly as the balance snapped, drenching her with icy droplets. She stumbled back, coughing and sputtering.
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“Okay, that was it,” she grumbled, shaking water from her hair.
The failures stung, but they only made her more determined. Amelia turned her attention to the stars overhead. The night sky was both chaos and order - stars scattered randomly, yet moving in perfect harmony with the cosmos.
She stood and raised her hands to the sky, drawing on the vastness above her. “Balance of the Cosmos,” she whispered. “If you’re really about balance, show me how to find it here.”
The glow returned, brighter this time, and Amelia felt something shift deep within her. It wasn’t just about controlling chaos or order - it was about understanding how they worked together, and to find a
Her eyes landed on a fallen log half-buried in the dirt. One side was smooth, the other was rough and splintered., crumbling into the soil. Chaos and order, side by side.
Amelia knelt by the log, placing one hand on the decayed side and the other on the splinters. She focused on bringing the two into harmony, letting the energies flow through her. This time, the glow didn’t falter. The decay slowed, and the splinters seemed to soften, their sharp edges dulling slightly.
Her heart raced with excitement. She was doing it! By the time the first light of dawn crept through the trees, Amelia was exhausted but exhilarated. She had tested her skill on bushes, streams, and even the stars above. Each attempt brought her closer to understanding Balance of the Cosmos.
By the time dawn broke, Amelia was exhausted but exhilarated. She had tested her skill on bushes, streams, and even the stars. Each attempt brought her closer to mastering Balance of the Cosmos. As she trudged back to camp, she felt a strange sense of peace. Chaos and order were everywhere - she just had to know where to look.
Level Up!
Balance of the Cosmos Lvl. 1 → 2
Lex sat by the campfire, feeding it with small sticks to keep the embers alive. He turned as she approached, his gaze sharp. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she replied, knowing he would understand. “Needed to clear my head.” She dropped onto a patch of leaves near the fire.
Lex raised an eyebrow but didn’t press her further. Zack, on the other hand, stirred from his mess of a sleeping spot, rubbing his eyes. “Ugh… What’s for breakfast?”
“Whatever we’ve got left,” Lex said, tossing a small pouch of dried fruits in Zack’s direction. Zack groaned.
Amelia glanced at the Linker, resting dormant on a flat stone. It had led them here, to the mysterious shrine surrounded by ancient trees. Despite its current stillness, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t done with them yet. “What are we supposed to do here?” she asked, breaking the silence.
Lex shrugged. “Vey and Dray didn’t exactly leave us instructions. They just said to follow the Linker.”
Zack groaned dramatically. “Great. So we’re just supposed to sit around and wait for something to happen?”
As if in response, the Linker began to glow faintly. The group froze, their attention snapping to the artifact. Its light pulsed in a steady rhythm, growing brighter with each beat.
“What did you do?” Zack asked, inching away.
“Nothing…?” Lex replied slowly.
The light from the Linker spread outward, forming a glowing path that led directly to the shrine’s entrance, beckoning for them to go in. The air grew thick, and the ground beneath them trembled. Lex was already on his feet and grabbing his bow, causing the rest of the group to approach the shrine cautiously, their weapons ready. The ancient stone structure was full of patterns and symbols, some of which began to glow as they got closer.
At the center of the shrine, a circular stone door shifted, grinding open to reveal a staircase descending into darkness. Suddenly, a notification “Going down dark creepy stairs is always a good idea,” Zack muttered.
The air grew colder as they descended, the light from the glowing path illuminating the way. At the bottom, they entered a vast chamber unlike anything they’d ever seen. The walls were covered in carvings showing battles between gods and mortals, chaotic storms, and serene, orderly skies. The chamber pulsed with an ancient and unrecognizable energy that seemed to react with their strands.
In the center of the room stood a pedestal with a crystalline orb that rested on top of it, shimmering with bright colors that changed as you moved. Around the pedestal, a series of patterns were etched into the ground, like some kind of ritual.
“What is this place?” Amelia whispered, her voice quiet.
“Look at that,” Zack said, his eyes gleaming. “It’s practically , take me!”
Jay frowned, halberd in hand. “And also , Zack. It’s also screaming .”
Etal rolled his eyes, spinning a chakram idly in his hand. “I don’t think we should just walk up and grab it.”
But Zack, ignoring the warnings, strode toward the pedestal. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Amelia laughed. “Zack you’re not actually gonna-”
Before she could finish, she was cut off by a loud hum. Zack had stepped onto the glowing patterns surrounding the pedestal, and the lines on the floor instantly lit up with light. The orb emitted the loud hum, and the patterns moved beneath Zack’s feet. Suddenly the pedestal sank into the floor, and the orb hovered higher into the air. The hum deepened, reverberating in their bones. “Oh, great,” Zack muttered, backing away.
Was a thought everyone unconsciously shared.
The glowing patterns erupted, creating walls of light that separated the group into different sections of the chamber. A deep, resonant voice echoed through the air. “”
The walls around them shifted, revealing doors marked with the symbols of all sorts of elements - water, fire, earth, wind, and… darkness? Whatever they were, it definitely beckoned them to go in. Zack sighed, flexing his fists. “That’s not ominous at all.”
Lex groaned in frustration. “Everyone, listen to me! We have to split up if we’re going to pass this trial, whether we like it or not! If you fail I’ll kill you!” Lex shouted.
“Very helpful Lex!” Jay laughed.
Perhaps this would be the last they would ever see each other. Who knows. Only fate could tell (or me).
