Memories

I wanted to ignore the world for a moment as I tried to press against that wall, that block that was restricting access to my memories. The feeling of uncertainty, that I was missing something profound was too worrisome to ignore. It left me unbalanced, a work on the tip of your tongue that you just couldn't think of. This was worse. The wall that separated me from my memories was debilitating, I couldn't function like this, always losing focus and concentration as I poked and prodded trying to restore those memories.

Fighting and attacking that formation with will was fruitless, I needed a weapon, a sledgehammer to break down the foundation that the wall was built on. And I had one now. I didn't know how to cycle or cultivate. I didn't know technique or spell. But I did have a slowly filling pool of Qi.

Gathering that energy, I fumbled in my attempts at control. But what I was attempting needed no finesse. Each time I managed to control even a thimble full of Qi, I would send it rocketing chipping away the attack intermittent but my will and focus absolute.

The process seemed to take hours, days even. But in reality was a matter of moments. Each second magnified until they seemed to warp my connection to the flow of time.

But persistence pays off, and finally, the first breach was created. That small opening revitalizing my attempts, tempering my determination with frantic explosive control. Inevitable the wall stood no chance and crumbled, releasing what had been sealed behind it.

Genesis. Digi-verse.

I had been uploaded and reincarnated. Transmigrated into this world of the familiar and strange. The memories of this body, the life that I was intimately familiar with were a lie. Not a lie as much as an alternative reality. I was not flesh and blood; I was digitized code, binary defined by 1's and 0's that was saved to file and part of an executable that allowed this reality to be.

Now that I had pierced the veil of memory and understood why I had been so frantic to restore what had been lost, I regained equilibrium. The difference between this world and my past was that I knew who created it, my place in it, and the mysteries of death were known. That knowledge was comforting.

Now that I could examine the information about this world and this character, I spent another minute or two comparing these character's memories with my past world's. Today I had stepped foot into a new world, and this Jay had stepped forth unto the path of the cultivator.

Her life was about to change drastically.

Here humans had not evolved to become the dominant species. Somewhere in the evolutionary process, Elves had become the apex predator. One of many. They had been forced to share dominion with beasts that were capable of absorbing the dense World energy of primordial forests and plants. Allowing them to form and construct beast cores. Cores that allowed primordial beasts a way to advance realms and grow stronger.

Elves were as resilient as the humans on Earth, but they were more concerned about nature and harmony as they perfected that resilience. It may have been why they evolved in place of Homo sapiens.

The world was huge, easily the size of Jupiter, filled with coniferous and deciduous plants that flourished and processed the extra magnetic energies that such a large planet produced. World energies that made Qi absorption and cultivation possible.

Their druid like beliefs and desire to live in harmony with the planet eliminated the sprawling urban blight and deforestation that had happened on Earth. Still, they had managed to tame the world enough to build niches of relative safety, doing so without the need to destroy or conquer everything they touched.

Once beast cores and the benefits and uses those cores offered the Elves, cultivation and Qi manipulation soon followed, a metaphysical infrastructure and economy blossomed. The increased magnetic field of the World explained why the bodies of Elves developing channels and meridians.

They had needed these vestigial organs to process the energies they absorbed naturally. The race had been unconsciously absorbing and utilizing Qi energy the entire time, an adaption of evolution that explained the reason behind the Elves longevity.

Alchemy, arrays, and hunting became instrumental for survival. These tools become the foundation for building a society that flourished despite the threats of dinosaurs, dragons, saber-tooth tigers, and beast tides.

Part of the lower caste, she, no I, had woken and cultivated a spirit root that was highly tiered and opened up doors that would have been closed to me based on my Caste. Platinum wasn't technically the strongest bonded Spirit Root possible, that designation belonged to gold, but the difference was only an additional point of understanding, Gold having one more electron than platinum. The bonding difference between the two metals was negligible. Both were extremely rare.

It was obvious that Cultivation, Qi gathering, and skills that allowed an individual to harness and control that Qi was highly prized, even the standard for success in this World. I wasn't sure why Digi-verse's AI placed me here, but it met all the parameters I'd noted.

I also wasn't really sure what to expect, even though I'd read my share of Wuxia novels, the reality could be drastically different from the novels I'd enjoyed. Dinosaurs that survived and evolved to absorb World energy and form cores was a far stretch from anything I had expected.

Not just dinosaurs. Every strange permutation of life I could think of, all those mutations that had gone extinct on Earth seemed to flourish here. Dodo Birds, flying birds large enough to be bare the weight of a rider and could only be classified Hippogriffs and Gryphons, as well as Woolly Mammoths. Each species evolving and living on a planet so large that it made it possible for them to thrive.

Elves remained inhabitants of vast forests, making homes in trees, encouraging nature to grow into structures that became viable living and business outposts. Appropriating vistas of land devoid of trees to farm and raise domesticated beasts.

Our sight and hearing were enhanced, a requirement to survive alongside some of the fiercest predators, including flying mammals and reptiles. Our increased dexterity and strength were a function of the planet's increased gravity. Our adaptability allowed us to compete as well as any other creature that was at home traversing the soaring branches and paths of tree and vine.

Farming and technology were heavily dependent on stratagems that made use of our ability to gather and direct Qi. Techniques that allowed us to practice and refine alchemical and array constructs. These tools were the final requirement to allow us parity with the beasts; they allowed us to arm ourselves with weapons, armor, and trinkets that increased the viability of survival.

Some larger and more powerful Sects and Clans had managed to create vast underground fortresses and cities, choosing locals that were high in rare elements that were used for crafting and blacksmithing.

Those that could control Qi would find themselves capable to resonate with the elements. Affinities that became the second step for advancement as a cultivator. Fire, Water, Air, and Earth were the four primary elements that all other permutations and alignments were derived from. Lightning was a combination of air and water. Space a blending of all four. Gravity a confluence of Earth and Air.

Those with the ability to synergize with more than one Element were either the weakest amongst Cultivators or the strongest. The determining factor was two-fold. The metal one's Spirit Root aligned with, those that could bond with heavier metals enjoyed wider meridians and deeper soul pools, capable of storing and refining greater amounts of World energies. And those that coalesced cores that had a high tensile strength, ranked Jade, Quartz, Opal, Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond had even more potential.

"How are you feeling Miss?" A young woman asked as she opened the door without knocking and entered. She was obviously a healer of some type. I'm not sure why I believed that. She didn't have the normal accouterments that Doctors or Nurses would wear. No stethoscope or name badge. But her clothing was crisp and spotless, her shoes were obviously designed for comfort and durability, and she exuded an 'aura' of calmness.

And like all health-care professionals, she really wasn't interested in my answer. She would ascertain for herself what my condition was after conducting a cursory examination. An examination that included the probing of my meridians.

The sensation was strange. Something like the jarring dissonance one felt when nails and chalkboard interacted. The exam didn't hurt, but it was cringe-worthy. Her Qi extended smoothly with no fluctuation. But as steady and under her control that Qi was, my body recognized it as an invasion of my newly formed Qi network.

"OK," I answered hesitantly pretending I hadn't heard the conversation earlier. "What happened to me?"

"Nothing to worry about. Your acclimation took a bit longer than expected. Congratulations are in order; you managed to clear your meridians and open a network of pathways that place you at the Platinum grade.

"78 pathways successfully established. During your training, the preparation for acclimation, your potential had only been measured at Iron grade. There were occasional flashes of Cobalt grade ability, but no one had expected you to manifest such a high Grade. Your body hadn't received the nourishment or foundation training for that Grade of acclimation.

"We had to support you with potions high in Qi and body tempering pills as you processed and built the network and pathways that such a high-grade Spirit root demanded.

"You will have to learn a new cultivation technique to take advantage of the increased Grade level, and soon. Do not cultivate with the method you have now. Your affinities haven't been determined, and if you use the technique you've been using, the core you form will not be as deep and flexible as it could be.

"Elder Rhys has left this jade token for you," she said as she passed the item to me. "It is your sect identifier. He left instructions for you to head to intake so that you can be assigned rooms, a mentor, and an appointment to meet with the training hall Elder."

"What about my Parents? Do they know what's going on? They came with me for the ceremony," I mentioned.

"Elder Rhys has informed them of your successful admittance into Sect Flowing Water. They were allowed to visit with you for a brief moment while you were reflecting. For now, they have been escorted home. You will have time to visit with them once your Qi adaption is completed. The process was interrupted, but no harm is done. The Training Elder is expecting you and will inform you about what happens next.

"He is waiting for you in the Testing Hall," she said, her intonation informing me that keeping the Elder waiting was not a good idea.

The overlay of memories that I had obtained seemed to have been fully integrated into both short-term and long-term memories. Instead of viewing and processing those memories as secondary or separate, they now were part of me that inhabited this body.

What the assimilation of this world's knowledge and memories afforded me was a point of reference. I knew Elder Rhys was the testing Elder, where my parents lived, what it meant that I had been accepted into a Sect and that this world was both wondrous and dangerous. The luxuries of technology I had become dependent on were no more. But Dharmic spells and Qi abilities were possible.

It seemed a fair trade-off.