Depthless Hunger

Kai had worried that he would become disoriented, given that it would be impossible to open his eyes underneath the surface. That was the reason he'd jumped in so directly, and he'd planned to follow his momentum to swim to the bottom.

None of that had been necessary. The liquid metal closed on him from all sides, far thicker than water, but the bottom was palpably oppressive. He could feel the difference in the pressure just between his feet and his head. There would never be any question which way he needed to go.

His second plan had been to pivot and kick off the side of the pool. When he turned, his feet flailed at nothing. Could he have drifted out so far? Had he dropped into some mystical space? There seemed to be nothing but the liquid metal on all sides, even overhead. All of it pressed in on him, as if trying to crush his very being.

Kai focused his will and began swimming down. Even though he was only a passable swimmer, he found himself plunging deeper. It really was about willpower alone, and though all the liquid struggled against him, he was able to overcome it.

When Kai extended his hand, he grasped something almost immediately. A sphere that churned separately from the water around him, as if a part of a different ocean. It resisted slightly when he pulled it up, but Kai managed to drag it back to the surface. The return trip was far easier, as the metal sought to expel him, and he soon burst to the surface with a fist over his head.

"Good!" The first thing he heard was Tusquo's voice, then clapping. As the liquid metal rolled away from his eyes, he had a blurry vision of the Irunian group applauding. "Hold the first sphere tight and go back down. You may have time for a second!"

Even his best dive only plunged him back into the endless abyss, but this time Kai was mentally prepared. He didn't flail at the liquid itself, just steadily pulled himself downward while he focused his willpower. The mental difficulty wasn't that much worse than many other forms of training.

But if not for all of that, he would have struggled. The liquid actively fought him every moment, trying to push his arms back up and sweep him to the surface. When he focused his will on moving downward, something pushed back. As he swam down, the metal grew hotter and denser. By the time Kai had reached the point of deepest concentration he was flailing, his fingers desperately scrabbling against the void for another pearl.

As soon as he felt something he shot back up with a sphere in each fist. The liquid became so much denser that the waves he formed hurt when they bounced off the sides of the pool and struck him. He could barely see the Irunians clapping, this time with more enthusiasm.

Kai shoved both metal spheres into his mouth and threw himself down again. He heard a few gasps, then the liquid metal closed over everything.

This time it was far worse. At first all he could do was hang in the void and try to cope with the crushing pressure. It nearly pushed him back up in that moment's lapse and he struggled just to maintain his position.

When he tried to swim downward, his arms felt like they were colliding with solid steel. He wasn't swimming anymore, he was digging through stone with his bare hands. Even when he managed to push down an inch, his only reward was greater pressure.

Maybe it really was impossible. Tusquo had implied that two spheres was the maximum... but no. Fate had given him a second chance, a new opportunity to seize enough power to matter in life. He couldn't let it go, no matter what it took. If he didn't give this absolutely everything he had, he'd never forgive himself.

So Kai swam deeper into the metal abyss, inch by excruciating inch. The heat around him rose until it seemed as though the metal was boiling, yet if anything it was even denser than before. It had passed beyond liquid or solid to become a seething mass of rejection, determined to throw him back.

All the rage Kai had ever felt at the unfairness of the world, he threw out ahead of him. No matter how impossible it seemed or how much it hurt, he forced himself deeper. He had no idea how far he'd gone or how far he had to go, he just knew that he had to keep going. His fingers reached downward as he kicked weakly, the last of his will ebbing away...

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

His hands closed around another sphere.

Kai blacked out for a moment and the next thing he knew, he could feel himself floating on the surface of the metal pool. His entire being hurt like hell, but there was a new pain: his lungs aching. When he rolled over onto his side, it felt like rolling on a sheet of solid metal.

After coughing out the spheres in his mouth, Kai spent a while just gasping for breath. The Irunians weren't clapping anymore, just staring at him.

Three spheres. Kai gathered them up with trembling fingers and struggled to his feet. The liquid metal practically threw him out of the pool and he struggled not to collapse in front of the others.

Still silence, especially as Tusquo carefully picked up the spheres. What had once been awe began to give way to something else, and Kai felt like he'd dropped back into the abyss. He had a feeling that he knew what was going to be said, but he had to ask.

"What..." Kai swallowed his desert of a mouth and tried again. "What rank are they?"

"All three metal seeds are Bronze." Tusquo spoke very quietly, but as soon as he did so, the other Irunians began to retreat. In their eyes Kai saw the same flickers of pity he'd seen so many times before.

"You didn't... mention Bronze..."

"I'm afraid that Bronze is the rank below Iron. This... doesn't usually happen. I'm sorry, Kai Granfian. My gift to you turned out to be an unworthy one."

"If..." Kai felt miserable sitting on the ground and forced himself up. He grasped the results of all his suffering and the three spheres rotated gently in his palm. "If I tried to follow the Path of Steel with these... what would happen?"

"You would become the most skilled Bronze user in the history of Irun." Tusquo's sad gaze made it clear exactly what that meant.

Groaning, Kai stumbled back against the side of the crevasse. The others had already left, as if his fate was sealed. Maybe it was... though the way things had gone, it seemed like his fate had been decided since the moment he was born. He could feel a primal connection to the spheres in his fist, but he instinctually knew that Tusquo was right: their power wasn't enough.

"I have an offer for you." Tusquo stood with his arms folded behind his back, oddly stiff. "It is simultaneously kind and cruel, fair and unfair."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Those seeds represent your potential, and ordinarily you would draw them into your soul. However, you do have the option to... permanently sell your future on the Path of Steel. This would forever seal that path from you, and strengthen mine. In return, I would try to give you something worth more than Bronze-ranked abilities."

Despite everything they'd been through together, Kai stared at Tusquo suspiciously. Had all of this been a ploy to strengthen himself? Could Tusquo have sabotaged his attempt to produce this very outcome? Other than his own intuitions, he had no proof of anything the Irunians had claimed about their system. If it really came down to it, the Irunians outnumbered them now.

No, that path was madness. He didn't believe that Tusquo would do that to him, not truly, he was just angry at the world. Kai sighed and forced himself to straighten up.

"If I do give you these," he asked, "what can you give me?"

"My ability to shape weapons was enhanced simply by accessing this fresh pool, and it would be strengthened by your sacrifice." Tusquo raised a palm and generated a sphere of steel, much faster than before. "I could create weapon spheres for you. I suppose even three, in exchange for yours."

"Weapon spheres?"

"Seeds of pure potential. Instead of relying on me to shape them, they would respond to your will and form a weapon exactly as you imagine. Not only that, I guarantee the steel of those weapons would not be easily destroyed by any monster. It is not equal to a full path to power, but it is the best I can offer."

"So three weapons...?"

"Three potential weapons. You could save them as long as you needed." Tusquo spread his arms with an apologetic smile. "I am sorry that I can offer no more. I wish that the elders of Irun could shower you with treasures, but I have little sway with them."

"Can I think about it?"

"Of course. If you wait too long, they may begin to bond with your soul, even if you don't absorb them. But you have enough time to think."

Without another pause, Tusquo began climbing out of the crevasse after the others. Soon Kai was left alone, and it wasn't long after that the sun's rays stopped reaching him and he was lit by nothing but the light of that damn pool. It sat still, another path closed to him, and Kai could only stare numbly.

Name: Kai Granfian

Total Power: 45

Laborer Class: 8 (8)

Path of Steel: Bronze 1 (1)

Physique Level: G-9 (20)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

???: ???

???: ???

>

Symbols welled up in his vision, almost without his conscious will. He realized that he had been hoping that luck would finally turn his way and he'd be blessed with some amazing power. Instead it was just his old power and a few more incomprehensible symbols.

If his fate wasn't going to change, what did that leave? Kai spent a long time searching for an answer.