Chapter 49: The Trial Of The Knight

  Erik had a quick conversation with the rest of the group outside his mindplace and saw Jessie without her hoodie, her chest glowing an otherwise ominous red. He accepted Competence Possessor from Sophie, who had kept it safe for him during his previous trial. It had a pleasant, gentle warmth. He then went back in for his last trial for the foreseeable future. He placed the almost transparent quartz in the first available slot on the tail following his ‘Authority’ ability.

  Reappearing inside his mindplace, he saw Gloom orbiting the twin suns in a haphazard pattern. It looked to be having fun. Poking it with his will didn’t prompt any response, which made sense as none of the spirits would appear during his trials.

  He found it odd that Gloom was so noticeable. He’d never seen the rest, except Cross during Sovereign’s and Licious’ trials. All the landmarks in his mind world were there, though. Was Gloom feigning to be one of these landmarks?

  He realised there hadn’t been a big change here after Gloom’s trial either. Cross had mentioned the pillars. If the major abilities were pillars, did that mean the minor abilities wouldn’t be as impactful to this world? Gloom was satelliting the landmark from his trial with Brill; the major ability slot attached to Gloom’s minor one. There might be a connection there.

  For the first time in a trial, a form, looking much like Erik had started to expect most spirits to look like, appeared on one of the many roots above water level connecting Leviathan Island with the Obelisk tree like an improvised bridge.

  It was grey and donned armour lighter than Cross'. Thin, black lines accented the light colour, making it look almost like a pencil drawing; it made its details look striking—especially with a shaded white cape flowing in the pretend wind—its own pencil-like lines moving just like actual shadows on moving fabric. Erik manifested a body in front of the spirit.

  “Titan!” it shouted just as Erik’s body had formed. It took Erik by surprise. They had never talked to him during a trial before, except Licious, though that was a trial all on its own. “You dare to think yourself worthy of my power? Such excellence is hard-earned, son!”

  “Son?” Erik asked, making light of the spirit’s earlier words. It took no observable notice of it.

  “’Tis but a manner of speech! Think not of me as your father!” it defended. “Now! Any questions before we begin, Titan?” The last word sounded almost demeaning.

  “Well, yes. What will the trial entail?” Erik attempted, having little hope of getting a truthful answer to his question, and much less a good one.

  “Excellent! I feel you will be an adequate squire given a few years of studying beneath my station! To answer your question; You must only take this from me and into your own clutches.”

  A clear bubble with a pale orange flame inside appeared floating above his hand. The fire burned hotter and colder as if breathing, and the bubble encompassing it floated up, then down in response to the heat of the flame.

  “So… stealth? Or do I fight you for it?”

  “As you please! This is not training, young one; this is a test! In a test, you use what skills and knowledge you can muster!”

  “Anything else I should know before we begin?” Asking an open question such as this wasn’t going to get him anything, but he couldn’t think of anything else to ask.

  “Of course! I’ll not be idle during this test. Based on what skills you use against me, I’ll respond… in kind.”

  His last words sounded kind of ominous, but Erik brushed it away as just the innate dramatic disposition the spirit seemed to possess.

  “Okay. Are you ready?”

  “The test started the moment the objective was known,” sang the knightly spirit, ending with an upbeat laugh.

  The Titan dashed towards the spirit, reaching it in under a second. He grabbed at the bubble-flame, but the spirit’s hand slapped his away with ease. Erik turned his near-stumble past his adversary into a tackle, aiming to slam into the spirit with his shoulder. The spirit danced around him with a graceful pirouette.

  Erik fell to the ground but rolled and got back on his feet in a flash. He leapt back into the fray, but his first fist—aimed at the spirit this time—was once more evaded with ease. Erik had seen it coming and turned himself around, swiping wide with his other hand, claws from Unleash extended to give him increased reach.

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  The spirit seemed to notice, and instead of dancing away this time, it hit Erik’s transformed hand with its own in an upward manner, forcing the claws to miss as they swept the air above the spirit. Erik had already transformed his other hand, and once again turned his body around, swiping with the first hand again. This time, the spirit didn’t move, and Erik would reach his target…except his claws had retracted. In fact, both hands had returned to normal, human hands.

  As Erik’s dull hand flew, the extended fingers missing their target, the spirit’s own left hand grew claws of its own—these longer and thicker than Erik’s had been—though only four of them extended.

  With a lunge, the spirit stabbed its claws into Erik’s unprotected shoulder. The Titan pulled back with a grunt, feeling the claws get torn out of him as he did. He went back in for another attack but didn’t feel his Unleash ability activate at all. Erik’s closed, normal fist hit where the spirit’s shoulder used to be a moment earlier, punching only empty air. Blood sprayed as Erik’s back ripped open, sharp claws tearing at his skin.

  Letting out a shout of pain, Erik stumbled forward and turned around in all haste. Seeing his adversary in no rush, Erik took a moment to breathe.

  Had the spirit stolen his Unleash? He attempted to use it several times, but nothing changed. It wasn’t just limited to his hands either, as his legs were still their normal human-shaped selves. The spirit possessing its own morphing powers was possible, but the fact that it hadn’t used them before Erik couldn’t, rubbed him the wrong way.

  Erik fired a few blasts of ‘Flash’. The quick beams of light hit their mark, but most of them deflected off the armour and the arm, which had now become wide and smooth, somewhat resembling a shield. Once again, he cursed the weakness of ‘Flash’. Speed seemed to be its sole purpose, but if it didn’t even harm those it hit, what reason did he have to use it?

  In a training bout with Leviathan, the beast-spirit had said that Erik only thought of the brawn in his abilities, not the brains. In the same session, Erik had thought of transforming his feet to something easier to jump around with, not just clawed appendages like his arms.

  He couldn’t think of any way to use ‘Flash’ other than lighting up the area or blinding his enemies if he hit them straight in the eyes. He could use it as a distraction, but it seemed simple tricks wouldn’t fool Competence Possessor.

  The wounds on Erik’s body healed as he stood thinking. He only noticed after the wounds on his back had already closed, the skin that regrew itching as it did.

  “Why am I healing?” he asked, and his tester was as candid as ever as it replied:

  “Why, we wouldn’t want you to keel over before the test is complete, now would we?”

  “Wouldn’t that just be considered defeat?”

  “What? Why? The only defeat in this test is your conceding, of course! You take this…” He held up the bubble. “Or you give up. There is no easy way out of my test.”

  Erik grimaced. Losing consciousness—or worse, dying—was the easy way out. Erik wasn’t one to just give up. He never surrendered, even when he should have. It didn’t resonate with him.

  “This is a bit weird, isn’t it? None of the others did their tests like this.”

  “Well, to each their own, I suppose! Now, are you ready for more?”

  The spirit was talking so boisterously, so… extravagantly. Erik conceded he was quite a character. Every spirit he’d met stood out from the others. They were just like… people.

  Erik nodded in confirmation, and an arrow appeared in his right hand. He slammed it down onto the root he stood on, and the root split open with a loud cracking sound. Erik jumped to another root and tossed a handful of screws from his left hand.

  The knight jumped away from the splintering wood just as Erik had and was heading straight into the screws hurtling towards it. A group of frisbees, each its own colour, surrounded the spirit, parking in mid-air in every direction. Just as the first started lighting up, another set of screws hit the invisible wall-trap.

  Competence Possessor slammed some of the now-blue screws with his shield-arm, knocking enough of them into the wall to mess up their formation. The second set landed around its legs and lit up the same way.

  The thieving spirit jumped up and used the invisible walls to wall-jump higher. A saw blade then whirred towards the spirit. It stopped ascending just before the saw blade would’ve made contact, and it flew right above the spirit, missing its mark.

  The knight lost its footing and started falling downwards again after having lost its upward momentum. Just before he hit the ground, a large boulder crashed into the spirit, smashing it into an invisible wall behind it. Bones in the spirit cracked, and its body slumped over Erik’s Earthkeep armour. Erik stepped back, grabbing for the bubble. It wasn’t there!

  “Excellent! Marvellous,” the spirit panted, grasping for breath as Erik searched all around them for his aim. “How about this?” it shouted as Erik felt his armour being pulled away from him.

  He turned, and a massive stone creature loomed above him, its fists clenched and ready to slam the Titan into the ground. As before, he felt his Earthkeep ability being blocked. It was robbing him of his abilities, after all.

  As the massive arms of the golem-like armour slammed down, Erik’s arms turned to bucklers themselves, and he raised both to protect his head from above. The mountain’s slam caused several bones in both arms to crack. Splintering and cracking, the wood caused both fighters to lose their balance. The stumbling armoured knight, with all its mass, fell into the waters beneath them while Erik fell to the other side, towards an already broken root, though one big enough to hold him above water. He groaned and cursed in a pained voice. He felt the bones inside him starting to mend, but it would take some time—time he couldn’t afford.

  Erik got up on his legs without using his broken arms as the surface of the water broke again. He ignored the ‘Ha-ha!’ from behind him as he looked around for the bubble. Where had he hidden it?

  He looked up, finding it floating right where Competence Possessor had stopped its ascent earlier. The walls were gone, and Erik heard the spirit slump onto wood. He had to get it now.

  With his ‘Unleash’ back, the Titan transformed his legs to familiar, feline feet, lending him an inhuman jumping ability. He leapt. He brushed against the bubble with a broken arm as it started floating away. As Erik fell, he saw his objective flying back towards the spirit.

  “Fuck!” he screamed as he landed on the uneven, splintered root below.