Chapter 62

Cyrus POV

Immediately, I opened my eyes once more and saw that the entirety of the Pool of Reflection was now painted in the color of magenta. With barely any time to take in the accomplishment, a rush of insight came flooding into my mind. Then, without a moment's rest, I was teleported back to the Stellar Pathway. Looking down at the node that had once faintly glowed, I now saw it had turned magenta as well, with another node beside it beginning to glow faintly.

"You are now able to access another extension of your first rune," Dox informed me. "Since you finally have an awareness of the gravitational fields around you from your time spent in the rift, I think this next node is perfect for you."

I focused on the new node, staring down at it as the images and knowledge that had flooded my mind earlier started to make sense. The first node under my rune was actually called Gravity Well—it increased the gravity around me based on the mass of my core. This new node was called Gravity Well Minor, which essentially allowed me to decrease gravity in an area.

"This might just come in handy, especially against behemoths who are bigger and stronger than my increased gravity field," I thought to myself. "What good will all their strength and speed do if they're floating in the air?"

I released my hand from the Stellar Pathway, causing it to deactivate.

"Say, Dox, I've got a question."

"Go on."

"So, every time I complete a resonance trial, I'm granted another piece of insight."

"Correct."

"Is there a certain percentage of resonance I have to reach in order to advance to the next stage?"

"For most Starbound, they would need to reach roughly sixteen percent resonance with their constellation before being allowed to take the next Astral Trial. However, every constellation's Stellar Pathway is different. Some have more nodes to master, and some have fewer. Generally, if there are fewer to master, it means the concept of their constellation isn't as straightforward as that of someone whose constellation might be related to an element."

"So what about mine? It seems I only have three nodes under my first rune."

"The Paradoxon constellation is a combination of both. Gravity is a multifaceted pillar of the universe. It can be as simple as an element like fire or water, but it can also be as complex as the concept of time."

"Okay, thanks, Dox. This kind of makes sense now. I'm gonna head out—I'm starting to get a little tired, and my cosmic energy is running low."

"Farewell," Dox replied in a monotone voice.

"Alright, I'll be back after I recover and get a chance to work through things with this new insight," I said, using the last bit of energy I had left to float toward the exit.

Back in my body, the only thing I could do was relax and refill my reserves until I fell asleep.

__________

With the morning upon us, it was time to head into the Astral Realm using the gate. My father was already wide awake and ready to go—he had packed everything we needed for our journey in a neat and organized fashion. Before leaving, he told me he needed to pick up one last thing and instructed me to meet him at the gate shortly.

It didn't take me long to get ready, and I arrived at the gate in no time.

When I got there, he was leaning against the Astral Gate. "I'm actually surprised you weren't late," my father said, chuckling as he reached into his bag.

"I mean, you stressed the importance of leaving as early as possible, and I'm more than ready to leave this place anyway."

"Fair. But here, I had something made for you," he said, handing me what looked like a sheath of some sort. "I struck a deal with one of the merchants in town who sells various weapons. I figured you'd need a way to carry this efficiently since you don't have access to your forge yet," he added, sticking his hand into the portal that appeared next to his outstretched palm.

He pulled out the horn fragment made by Rava, examined it one more time, then handed it back to me.

"Did you get two relics from defeating that rift?"

"Only one. This was something entirely different—it's a memento from my first battle with a Voidborn," I responded as I sheathed the blade into its holder and wrapped it around my torso.

"Yeah, I need all the details of this rift and everything that happened," my father said, nearly beaming with excitement. It was a familiar sight—I recognized this expression from whenever he talked about his science experiments. It was also something I had seen in Adam's memories when they were younger, during their conversations about rifts and their adventures.

I couldn't help but smile and chuckle at my father as he unintentionally broke through the barriers I had put up to stay focused. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll tell you everything. But before we go… what did you end up doing with that large man you fought?"

"Oh, you mean Kael Arvath? I let him live."

I couldn't hold back my expression. "Why? Isn't he one of the generals of Lux Tenebris? He's part of the faction that killed everyone."

"He is. But during our battle, I learned a lot about him and his desires. He's not that much different from me—we want very similar things but have different ways of trying to achieve them. I have a feeling our battle might have changed him, and I believe there's room for him to grow. At least, I hope that's the case." My father paused before continuing.

"Besides, he has a family. I didn't want to take a husband and father away from them, Cyrus. It's not my place to play god over someone's life. And with the extensive injuries he suffered, I don't think he'll be causing problems for anyone anytime soon," he said as he gestured for us to enter the portal.