Chapter 5: 5. Inner Depths

Rhys opened his eyes to discover he was floating in a vast darkness. Just below his feet was a giant sphere. From that position, Rhys could see grand mountain chains and entire oceans. Something stirred within him. He felt homesick when he looked at that place.

Lights. An unimaginable amount of lights of every colour flickered into existence. Far from that place, he called home. His attachment to that place disappeared and in its place flourished curiosity and a desire for power. The power that he would need to survive and explore that environment.

Rhys chose a direction and advanced. His home realm soon fell far behind as his eyes focused on the ones in the distance. Before long, a great number of humanoid figures appeared on his path, their features enshrouded in a pale blue light.

It seemed like a free for all as a figure that appeared to wear robes flew towards him. Spells burst from the figures’ hands as Rhys conjured a circular shield of pure power in front of him. The spell slammed on it and disappeared, allowing Rhys to see the figure through his defensive spell.

The pair exchanged bursts of fire and lightning. They sought to break that stalemate and take advantage of any gap in their opponent’s defences. Eventually, Rhys’ opponent exploded in a burst of light as he continued his advance on that battlefield.

Many weak figures assaulted him. However, that only led to a trail of corpses behind him. Suddenly, a powerful feeling swept over him as an unknown figure rushed towards him. The figure’s silhouette seemed to wearing some sort of armour as it wielded a large, two-handed hammer.

An Enhancer. Rhys thought, as he unleashed devastating spells, that the figure shrugged off. He was chased throughout the battlefield as he attempted to prevent that figure from getting close, but he was not fast enough.

Rhys’ brain rattled inside his skull as the Enhancer struck him with its hammer. Sending him flying across the battlefield. By the time Rhys recovered from the blow, he saw a beam of condensed power chasing after him!

He barely had enough time to conjure multiple barriers of golden light. The beam shattered the first three in quick succession but burnt out before it could break the final one. Rhys watched as the Enhancer flew towards him at high speed as a smirk appeared on his face.

He was ready for that. A brown light engulfed both of his hands as he cast his next spell. A cube of golden light surrounded the Enhancer, preventing him from escaping. Rhys filled the inside with flames and listened to the figure scream.

He manipulated the prison to shrink down to take the shape of a coffin around his opponent before summoning a mountain of stone. He waved his hands through the air, forcing the stone to take the shape of bricks as he buried the coffin of light in the centre of a giant pyramid.

Golden lines and circles spread over its surface as he cast a spell that sealed the tomb he had created. A wave of his hand sent that structure flying deep into the endlessness of the Aether. Rhys nodded in satisfaction at that sight as glanced around the battlefield.

Corpses were floating around everywhere, but he felt something pulling at his consciousness. He restarted his journey as a certain pride in his own power flooded his body. The weaker figures now actively avoided him, leaving a space for him to pass in safety.

A sudden sense of danger filled his being as a staff appeared in his left hand. He swung it towards the space on his left side and a metallic sound reverberated in the area. His eyes went wide as a spear appeared where he had struck. His staff had deviated its trajectory, causing it to miss his heart!

A new figure appeared at the other end of the spear and two loud roars came from somewhere behind it. Two enormous creatures that looked like malnourished dogs appeared. Their fangs dripped with purple saliva as they growled at him.

They pounced towards him as the figure withdrew. He waved a hand at one of them and a powerful lightning bolt struck it. However, the other creature whipped its long barbed tail towards his face! Rhys ignored that attack and kept his gaze on the spear wielding figure. This one belongs to the Predator class.

A small golden square of light appeared, stopping the barbed tail from reaching his skin. The figure circled around Rhys’ fight with its tamed beasts, looking for an opening. However, Rhys simply defended from their joint attacks until the moment he had been waiting for came.

Both creatures pounced at him from opposite directions! However, the figure seemed to become confused as Rhys had disappeared from his position! The two mighty beasts crashed into each other as Rhys reappeared behind the Predator’s back.

Black flames erupted from Rhys’ palm and engulfed his opponent. Screams burst from the figure as those ravenous flames ate away at it. Rhys merely watched on with an amused expression as they reduced the figure to bones, but even they were eventually consumed by the power of his spell.

Rhys nodded at the sight of another powerful enemy falling to him. But something seemed to be missing. A frown appeared on his face as he closed his eyes. He needed to go further beyond what he was capable of. It was not enough to only be capable of killing his enemies.

Centuries seemed to pass as he thought about what his next step had to be. A platform made of hard light bricks in the Aether as Rhys continuously cast spells. The platform soon became a tower, then a castle, and finally a grand city filled with high walls, building and trees.

Rhys took his place on a throne, situated on a platform at the highest point of his creation. An army made of white light filled his home as they manned the walls and went about their business. Rhys focused his will on a point far away, and that magnificent structure moved to fulfil his desire.

From time to time, an army of figures would appear to challenge Rhys. But he felt that their power was beneath his notice. The gates to his fortress city opened as the army of followers rushed out to greet that threat.

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Rhys merely watched with indifference as his forces were weakened in their quest to annihilate the enemy army. Why do I feel so detached? For whatever reason, the lives of his followers seemed like the flames of a candle. They could go out at any minute. But he… He would endure.

Time passed as his fortress floated through the Aether. They passed white suns and realms filled with marvels. But Rhys’ attention was always fixated on somewhere he never caught a glimpse of.

A bright light appeared in front of his home as a new challenger appeared. Rhys’ eyes glowed with a green light as he felt the newcomer was on his level. Finally, some relief from the boredom.

Rhys flew out to meet the challenger as his followers cheered his name. He was almost certain that a smirk appeared on the challengers face as it split into multiple copies of itself! Each copy wasted no time in throwing unique powers at him. Giant ice shards, laser beams, rivers of lava and more converged on Rhys’ location!

Rhys frowned at that sight as he protected his body with a sphere of hard light. From his position inside of it, he analysed his opponent. This one must be a mutant. These aren’t spells. Rhys attempted to retaliate, but the copies would just teleport to avoid being hit.

I have to use that spell. Rhys sighed as he a storm of power flickered at his fingertips. The Aether itself seemed to crack as a huge tree burst through the crack! Its branches reached for the Mutant and its copies forcing them to retreat and regroup.

Flowers bloomed on the tree as they spread poisonous spores throughout the area. There was nowhere for the Mutant to run to! While the Mutant attempted to fend off the attacks of the tree, Rhys focused on destroying the copies.

Eventually, the Mutant fell under the barrage of spells. Its figure turned to dust as Rhys felt a sense of achievement he had not felt in centuries. But the need to increase his power again soon took him over. Stars were born and died while Rhys isolated himself to focus on his power.

Time seemed to have become irrelevant to him. I’m ready. Rhys thought, as he felt like he had reached the peak of power that his body could contain. His green eyes glowed with the power his body contained as he turned to stare at the light of the stars. It’s that way.

His fortress moved at a speed that few things could match as it headed for a green halo in the distance. Rhys wondered why he had never seen before when he realised that area of the Aether seemed familiar. But he could not place it in his memories.

The halo seemed to ignite something within him. A sense of peace and an end to his journey seemed to be before him. However, there was one last opponent waiting for him.

The figure was encased in metal. Guns, missiles, and bombs could be seen on it as an army of mechanical soldiers stood behind it. Rhys sighed at that obvious show of power from the figure, but he could not back down now. This one is of the Tinker class.

Rhys cast a spell that summoned a wooden figure with four arms that stood even taller than the Tinker’s mech suit. Hardlight armour and weapons appeared on it as it turned its gaze on the one who dared to challenge its master!

Armies of golems appeared from rifts in space as Rhys’ followers lined up behind them. It was clear this battle would turn into one of attrition. But there was no way to know would come out the victor.

Rhys rushed to engage the Tinker as the two armies clashed. Powerful shock waves erupted from that area with enough power to destroy entire realms. Spells, swords, spears, bullets, lasers and explosions filled the line of sight of everyone taking part in that battle.

The simplest mistake would spell the end for either of them as thousands of ships, mage towers, and other vessels appeared at the border of that battlefield. It was as if everyone was gathering to see which of them would claim the Nexus.

Wounds accumulated on Rhys’s body as blood flowed freely from them. He eyed his opponent to see that he had torn large chunks from his armour, but it regenerated itself from the scraps of metal its army had been reduced to.

Can I even beat that? Rhys sighed as he thought about whether there was a path to victory. I guess I have to use my trump card.

His expression became serious as he gathered all the power stored in his body. Rhys spread his arms out wide as black and golden waves of power was released in pulses. Suddenly, a blinding white light exploded from his body!

As the light faded, Rhys found himself standing back in the room in front of Eldre, who now stood before him. The ancient will’s eyes studied the violet crystal with growing intensity. Rhys could not help but analyse what he had experienced.

Was that the future? Or just a representation of what I’ll have to go through? There were some things that confused him about the experience, but he had to admit that it was rather overwhelming as he heard a laugh escape from the depths of Eldre’s chest.

“This is excellent! I’ve never seen such an ambition! Oh, you are just perfect, aren’t you?” Eldre said as he grinned madly. “Now, prepare yourself to receive my inheritance!”

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