The Inner Odyssey

Alden collapsed, exhausted, to the ground.

He panted.

'...Hurts.'

Everything hurt.

His face was a mess, swollen and bruised. The skin on his knuckles had turned raw as well, leaking blood.

And his body pulsed with pain.

Deep, angry pain.

Now that the thrill of the fight was slowly subsiding, and his bloodlust was receding…

Alden groaned.

It was as if someone had battered every inch of his frame with a hammer.

He gritted his teeth, hissing quietly. Then, he forced himself to relax, staring idly at the ceiling. His chest rose and fell, slowly returning to its normal rhythm.

The Dark Elf hadn't controlled every single icicle, so there were still some remaining on the roof of the cave. They glowed softly, like little pinpricks of ethereal light in Alden's hazy vision.

Very soon after, his eyelids turned heavy, and the white-haired young man surrendered to the embrace of sleep.

***

Some time later, Alden awoke.

As soon as he regained consciousness, he groaned.

…The pain had only gotten worse.

He muttered a fiery curse under his breath.

Slowly, torturously, Alden sat up.

He gritted his teeth, inhaling deeply, and then pushed himself up onto his feet.

Ignoring the cold corpse of the Dark Elf for the moment, the young man stumbled over to his little familiar. Ignia was unresponsive, back in the comatose state that she had been in before he returned from the Trial.

Alden was not really worried, though.

If his intuition was correct, this time, she would spend less time being inert.
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Cradling the small phoenix in his arms - her small, avian frame emitting gentle, almost feeble warmth, he returned to his previous spot. There, he placed her gently on the ground, and without batting an eye, placed a whole palm on the corrupted creature's chest.

The Dark Elf's corpse slowly crumbled.

Alden circulated his mana to speed up the process, a tenebrous energy coating his hand. In the next moment, any sign that his foe had ever existed disappeared.

Alden's expression was utterly indifferent. Perhaps his lack of emotion towards carrying out such a morbid and slightly callous act was a little perturbing, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to care. His heart was cold and empty. And the only people capable of thawing its frozen expanse were either not present, did not want anything to do with him, or comatose.

A bitter chuckle escaped Alden's mouth.

…Even that sounded hollow to his ears.

Shaking his head, Alden crossed his legs and sat on the spot where the Dark Elf had been moments prior. He gently lifted Ignia and lay her on his lap. He stroked her feathers for a while, finding comfort in her adorable resting face.

Eventually, though, Alden sighed.

A soft, chilly breeze drifted into the cavern.

He retrieved some dry rations, wincing at the pain he felt when chewing, before slowly replenishing his spent energy - Asterons knew how much his body needed that.

Then, when Alden finished and had his fill, he closed his good eye.

The young man inhaled and exhaled.

Soon, he entered a meditative state.

…It was time for him to begin refining his core.

***

As he turned his Mana Sense inwards, Alden gazed at his lightless core.

It was the size of a couple small orbs, and its black, crystal-like exterior was slightly dim, as if lacking in a certain energy. No doubt that would change soon once he replenished more of his mana, though.

Peering closer, Alden noticed small veins snaking across its surface.

This wasn't the first time he had inspected his core, but he always found it very curious how similar these markings were to the web of vessels and veins that connected his mana core to the rest of his body. Perhaps they shared a subtle connection. Alden wasn't sure - anatomy, especially of the magical kind, hadn't been his most reished subject during mandatory schooling.

Still, he knew enough about the human body to know how the magical implement functioned in conjunction with his heart and vessels, how the mana travelled through its pathways - requiring its own set of internal passages-, and what one, full circulation looked like.

Concentrating, Alden tugged at his core. Under his watchful gaze, a small, nebulous cloud of mana diffused from the orb. As soon as it left his core, it experienced a rapid transformation, turning into a drop of pitch-black liquid.

The droplet of magic entered his mana veins, and slowly, Alden circulated his mana.

It travelled from his midsection, towards his head, before looping back down to his feet, and then back to his core. The pain Alden felt dulled slightly. He exhaled, brows furrowed in deep focus.

Following his father's guidance, he controlled the drop with his mind and manipulated its shape, refashioning it to have a sharp tip, similar to an arrowhead.

Then, he urged it forward.

However, in the next moment, it abruptly winked out.

Alden cursed.

'My control still isn't good enough.'

He made a mental note to fix that.

He would naturally become more proficient at the exercise with time, but Alden wanted to see himself make at least a little progress with his core refinement. So, he gritted his teeth, ignored how his head throbbed, and repeated the process again.

Over.

And over.

And over again.

The drop of magic consumed his entire awareness, the passage of time irrelevant. Finally, Alden was able to control it without the droplet dissipating. He instinctively held his breath.

His temple throbbed.

The young man carefully guided the sharp drop over to his core, slowly scraping across its crystal-like structure. Fine, magical dust seemed to seep from the magical implement, dissipating into nothingness as it fell down.

What a curious sight that was.

The areas he had 'scraped' appeared to have become more crystalline. His core also seemed a bit more polished. Satisfied, Alden allowed himself to relax. Immediately, a wave of suppressed pain and hunger gnawed at him.

Alden groaned, his stomach protesting angrily.

'Okay, okay, I get it. I'm sorry.'

He chuckled to himself.

After quenching his thirst, having a little more of his rations, and checking up on Ignia to make sure she was well - as well as one could be in a comatose state, at least -, the white-haired young man turned his attention back to his core.

Specifically, his inner world.

As his mind slipped into its expanse, an endless, familiar plain stretched before him, shrouded in twilight's glow. And there, in the far distance, atop the forlorn mountain, stood the imposing edifice of the Citadel of Genesis.

Staring at it once more, Alden couldn't help but feel a sense of grand awe.

Its architecture was stunning, but most of all, it exuded an aura of solemn majesty.

…Befitting a progenitor.

Alden wasn't quite sure why he had returned to his inner world. Perhaps it was just out of idle boredom - he didn't have much to do apart from rest, after all. However, there was something nagging at him from the back of his mind. A strange premonition.

Alden wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Scrutinising the fiery plain, he found nothing amiss. Even after increasing the range of his vision, the result was still the same. Nothing aroused his suspicion.

Alden sighed.

All that was left was to enter the Citadel of Genesis.

He still wasn't exactly sure how to feel about the fact that an older version of himself now existed inside him.

Was he supposed to be happy, overjoyed, relieved?

After all, his future self was like a treasure trove of knowledge. Alden could ask him any question he wanted - particularly in regards to growing stronger and the reprehensible Asterons. Of course, that was assuming he could trust his other self. If Alden knew one thing about himself, it was that he could be very cunning.

That most definitely also applied to his future self, so he just felt apprehensive and wary.

Shaking his head, the young man entered the citadel, passed by the murals depicting the clash between Lumina and Erebus, descended the staircase, and phased through the door forged of ancient iron.

He let his good eye adjust to the dim light for a moment, before he froze.

Abruptly, goosebumps erupted all over his skin.

All the hair on Alden's body stood on end as well.

The reason?

A pair of cold, striking, crimson eyes studied him from the other end of the cell, containing a hint of mild amusement in their depths.

Alden cursed.

…His future self was awake.