“So, you have entered the Steel Realm? And that display before was your Steel body?”

I hadn’t told him about the world that is now my core, or of my fight or anything else. Only that I had entered the Steel ranks and that I seemed to have an unusual Steel body.

I know that Steel bodies can be focused, to a point. Actions taken before, or during the process that the body expunges many of the impurities inside of it can influence how the body will change.

My entering of the Steel Realm is out of the norm. Usually, the person would collapse, thrashing about as the impurities in their body are epguned through all of their orifices. It is not a pleasant process, both for the smell, and the pain of your body changing it’s biology.

An example of influencing the changes is that if a person wants a body focused on pure strength, it is best to build up muscle before hand and eat a large quantity of meat. Then, when the person is transfering to the Steel Realm, they must focus on the idea of being physically strong.

I close my black wrapped hand, forming it into a fist. I can feel the muscles under it contracting and constricting. This is the only thing that survived the changing process.

All my other clothes, it would seem, were broken down.

The cloth wrappings shift slightly when I close my fist, the silvery runes flashing on them for a second. My mind flashes back to what 303 had been talking about, There is something Demonic in these? What is Astral, and what is a Demonic Variant of it?

Kamar breaks me out of my thoughts, waving a hand in my face. “Oh, sorry. I just got lost in thought. Yes, it would seem my body is solely focused on dexterity, balance, flexibility and speed. No resilience for me…” I mutter the last part bitterly.

It must have been my fight with 303 that determined the traits, and my Steel body. I can remember twisting and dodging around his attacks, barely avoiding them. I also adapted to my situation where he knew every move that I would make, by going against all of my training.

I chuckle at that, Taras would be irate at the fact that I had both jumped and slid in a fight, and it had worked.

Then finally, my will to not accept death, and not give in to it’s siren call. To keep pushing on, to get stronger. That’s why I got the Immutable Will trait, isn’t it?

The trait seemed the least inflexible out of all of them, joke not intended. But it was powerful, having complete and total immunity to any mind affecting attacks would be extremely helpful.

I pull on my shirt, which is made of a thin, silky cloth. All my clothes are, they are baggy and thin, allowing my body not to get too hot, and providing protection against the sun.

There was even a full head wrap and mask to protect against flying sand. I pull the wrap over my head, and unwrap it so it sits around my neck.

I wear the baggy sleeves over my black wrapped hand, a glove covering it. It is now completely obscured. If there are more relics like my arm and Volans out there, I don’t want someone getting ideas about chopping my arm off for it.

Looking at Kamar, a thought strikes me. “How long have I been-er… out?”

The Asper looks up at me from his own thoughts, “About 4 days, nearing 5.”

I sit down in one of the large chairs. We are in a room just as spartan as my last one, this one being Kamar’s room. He is sitting on the slab that is supposed to serve as a bed and table.

Scrunching my brow, I ask, “What about the Sky Fisher’s crew? I didn’t see them.”

Kamar scratches his chin, looking at me. “After Kalleo calmed down from the airship crash, it settled back down in the sand. That was two days ago. The Thri-kreen escorted all the sailors to the nearest settlement. I refused to go with them, telling them I would wait till you woke up.”

I am a little surprised that he would stay. Then again, he still thinks I’m his ticket for finding Cereus.

Nodding, I sit back in the chair. My body feels weirdly light, and yet I am exhausted. I feel like I could run for miles, and yet not take another step. That would probably be the Katra exhaustion. I used up nearly all of it.

I hold up my right arm, looking at the strange wrappings that cover it. Seems like forever since Inik gave these to me.

Closing my eyes, I impress the image of the cyclone in my core spinning, it’s sides lashing at the walls of my core.

I can feel the drain of Vital Aura from the room as it rushes through my channels and into my core, then out again to be eventually converted into Gray katra and help further me along the through the Steel ranks.

My mind flashes back to the messages from the system and my System Classification of Artificer. What’s a system classification, and why is it different form a world classification?

The Artificer message said that I would be able to make things in the real world.

I sit straight in the chair, holding my right hand out, palm up. It would be nice to have a spear again.

Focusing, I move some of my recovered katra to my hand. With a shove of my will, I push it from my body. Strands of Gray katra form in my hand, waving in a nonexistent breeze.

Now, Spear. I command, pushing with my will. I can feel my katra shifting, but that is it.

I think for a minute. It said I needed intimate knowledge of what I wanted to create.

I focus on the image of the spear I got from the Head of House Ventos, it’s long blade and wooden handle. The texture and grain of the wood, it’s perfect balance and how it could be broken down for easy transportation.

Then I press that image into the katra in my hand, pushing with my will.

I can feel the Gray katra stirring, and I watch in excitement as its strands start to weave together. The start of a pole coming into being.

Then the image slicks off, like water on a wall. The image of the spear falls apart, and I watch as the katra unravels itself, losing its shape.

The ribbons of katra then dissolve, their energy all spent. They fall apart, flying away on a breeze that is not there, and fading away.

Why didn’t it work? I look at my now empty hand, curling the fingers in and enjoying their strange flexibility for a moment. Maybe I need more katra to make it? I’ll have to wait then.

Kamar speaks a bit later, drawing me from my thoughts of how my Artificer ability works. “When the sun sets, the Thri-kreen are going to escort us to the nearest settlement. A city named Parasan.”

I nod. So we’ve overstayed our welcome. I can’t really blame them, we are complete strangers. I’m just glad they decided to let us live. I remember from the now lost Fiend Folio that it said that Thri-kreen eat mainly meat. That they are not above eating other sentient races.

Kamar rolls out a reed mattress over the table, laying a blanket over it. He motions to it, lumbering out the door. “You best rest now, you look like you could use it. I’ll be outside.”

I look at his retreating back, he is now covered in a similar style of baggy, thin clothing as I am, our clothes the same color; beige.

Opening the door, he starts walking through. I stop him with a call, “Kamar!”

He looks over his massive shoulder, “Yes?”

I give a little bow, “Thank you. I know you mainly stayed behind for me because of Cereus, but I can tell that you also stayed behind for me. So, thank you.”

I keep my head bowed, not looking him in the eyes. I stare intently at the orange floor.

I hear a snort and his rumble of a voice, “Yeah, your welcome.”

Then the door closes with a light thud.

Standing up straight, I climb into the bed, resting my head and staring at the dimly light ceiling. I soon drift off to sleep.

My eyes open, only now I am no longer in my bed. I am floating in my Soul Space, my world floating in its vibrant colors before me.

What’s going on? Why am I here?

Suddenly, I can feel my link with Vengeance go taught. Then along the thin connection, he starts sends a thought. ‘Father, welcome back.’

I can feel some happiness that my mind links still seem to work. ‘Where are you?’

‘I am recuperating. My materialization drained me of almost all my power, and that evil being also attacked me. I was able to fend him off, but he kept me from communicating with you.’ Vengeance sounds regretful and a little bitter.

I take a second to carefully pick my words. ‘It is alright, Vengeance. I am fine, and in the end he ended up aiding me, even if he didn’t particularly want to. Rest for now, when you are feeling better, we can talk.’

I get the sense over my link that Vengeance is bowing his head, a says in his cold and hallow voice, ‘Yes, father.’

The link goes lax, no longer transmitting.

Now, why am I here? I thought I was asleep.

I move my mind’s eye out of my soul space, peering into my body. Everything appears normal only…

I am asleep.

Moving back from the edge of my soul space, I float in mid air, mulling over this new development. So while my body is sleeping, my spirit can reside here, awake in my soul space?

That didn’t make sense to me, because even my mind and soul need to sleep. I close my eyes, and try and find something.

There is a quiet calling in the back of my mind, urging me to fall asleep, wanting me to embrace the blissful land of dreams. So I do need to sleep, but it seems I can let my body sleep while I stay awake. I will have to let my mind rest as well, but probably not as often as my body.

It was intriguing, and I no longer felt any need to sleep. I could only assume that when my mind or spirit, or whatever needed sleep, I would feel it here.

Ignoring the indicting call of sleep in the back of my mind, I open my eyes in my soul space. For a few peaceful, blissful minutes, I gaze down at my world.

It turns slowly, one side hidden in shadow. It’s seas and oceans shine blue. The giant contents that sit far apart from each other covered in greens and browns. It’s an entire world. My world. I created this.

I still find it hard to believe that I had created this. That it existed inside of me, as part of me.

How are those humans I saw doing?

With a flick of my will, I fly through space, rushing past the stationary giant multi colored runes and down to the surface of my world. I glance at the giant sun that my core revolves around, strings of katra coming out of it and connecting to the runes.

I fly through the atmosphere of my world, past the many layers of gases of katra.

Something brushes up against me, and I stop.

I use my sense, feeling out my katra, which makes up this entire world.

Shocked, I hold out my right hand, palm up. I push with my will.

Strands of Gray Life katra weave themselves into a thick ball in my hand, floating a inch above my ghostly skin.

This is…

I dismiss the katra, grabbing a handful of another.

Gray Fire katra sparks to life in my palm, it’s ghostly tips licking in air.

With a wave of my hand, I dismiss this. Then i grab a handful of another type of katra. I keep repeating this cycle, pulling different kinds of katra from the atmosphere that I could never even dream up.

I eventually stop, dismissing a ball of what I would have to guess is Gray Oak Wood katra.

There are so many types. And so much of it… I have access to all of it, I can control all of it.