Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 559: Zach

Sage of Mind

The Mind room was small, a rectangular room with a marble obelisk in its center. From it, Mind Essence flowed out, filling the entire room. The sensation was strange to explain. It was as if just stepping into the room opened ones mind.

It gave Zach’s thoughts a substance that he had only ever encountered inside of Hastur’s Mind Prison. Time seemed to slow down, and reality beyond the room, beyond his own mind, slowly faded away.

Zach was powerful enough to know and understand what was happening. His perks and willpower prevented him from succumbing to any of the Mind Essences more harmful effects, but even without them he was confident that he would’ve been able to control the effects.

The obelisk itself was the Source of the Essence, which in turn meant that it was connected to the Plane of Mind. Zach had spent a lot of time over the last year in this place, absorbing and contemplating on the Essence.

In a way, he was conflicted. He understood Mind intimately, perhaps on the same level as he understood Time, or at least his version of it. What had halted his process in acquiring the understanding worthy of being called a Sage was the nature of the Plane of Mind.

Like all Essence Planes, it was shaped and guided by the will of all those that utilized it. And Mind, far more than Time, was used by more people. It was a vast plane filled with so many different understandings.

For some it was about twisting the thoughts of others, about reading their thoughts. For others, it was about discipline and self-reflection. And for many it was an escape into a fantasy.

There were too many differing ideas for most people to grasp them. Zach was one of few that probably could. He understood now why there were so few Sages around. Most people followed Aspects that were common, used by many. Understanding such an Aspect would’ve taken a long time for even the most talented in the world, or a level comprehension that was unmatched.

Zach was an old soul and mind in a young body. His memory was an ocean filled with self-reflection and meditation, of time spent only with his own thoughts. He had lived out fantasies, he had suffered, he had glimpsed at the things that had lurked within his mind.

Ever since then, he had been carefully keeping his thoughts under control. He had skills that utilized his mental prowess, that allowed him to think faster to note details and analyze. Yet still he struggled at times. His memory was too long, held too much weight.

It was why he had picked up another Mind related skill, to help him organize his thoughts and memories. Through his training in the Mind room, he had been able to quickly advance it into its current form, |Perfect Memory Vault: My Thoughts, Organized|.

It had helped a lot, allowing him to enter an area within his mind and review memories and thoughts. Even repair old ones. Coupled with his new passive skill which made everything he learned perfectly clear, it made his new memories nearly perfectly preserved. His memories of the life before the Mind Prison had been vague, remembered as if they were a hazy dream. He had repaired most of them by now. And he was getting ready to evolve his skill again. But first, he wanted to become a Sage.

He took a seat in front of the obelisk and opened his mind, reaching into the Aspect’s Plane through it. He sunk into a dreamy landscape, filled with worlds. They shifted all around him constantly, voices echoed and images flashed. Thoughts of the people that utilized the Mind Essence, in other word every thinking being in the world. Most of the things around him were just impressions of people and beasts. They were unfocused, fleeting daily thoughts.

There were dark and light pockets too, places where intense thoughts resided, fueled by emotions. Places that brought the boundary of the Mind Plane close to the planes of emotions.

But ultimately, those scapes were unimportant. They were the background of the Mind Plane. What mattered were the more structured areas. Where those who truly devoted themselves to the Aspect of the Mind left their imprint on the plane.

Grim pockets existed, where those who used the Mind to do terrible things. More than Zach thought there should be. It was disappointing, but just as there was the dark, there was also the light. Places where people who devoted their lives to healing minds dwelled.

Zach’s own understanding differed than the norm. For him the Mind was an anchor for his being. It helped him carry the weight of his life.

He knew that creating the Way of Mind according to his own understanding would’ve changed a lot about the nature of the Aspect. It would cut off to many people, cripple some even.

And if he was being honest with himself, Zach didn’t think that he would be able to do it even if he seriously tried. There were too many influences for someone who had such a singular vision of the Aspect like Zach did.

But not being able to force the entire plane into his mold did not mean that he couldn’t understand it.

He let himself drift across the plane, the Mind Essence flowed through his thoughts, shifting from idea to idea, not really registering them just going along for the ride.

He understood the darker aspects of it. Knew how it could be used to hurt, he had gone through such torture before. He had felt the touch of Hastur upon his thoughts.

And he knew the lighter ones too. He only had to think about Naha and feel love, happiness. Know loyalty and understanding.

Over the last year he had slowly been solidifying his knowledge about all the different voices of the Mind Plane, and he understood the most basic principle upon which the entire Aspect was built—imagination.

The Mind Plane was whatever you wanted it to be. You could create worlds within your own mind, or in the minds of others. You could live entire lives within them, lose yourself. You could use it to create masterpieces, to train yourself, to imagine everything and anything that you wanted.

He felt that knowledge slowly expand out of him, reaching out to the plane, and he awaited its response.

The Mind Plane knew his mind, just as he knew all of its facets. It accepted him, and it granted him that title that anointed him as one who knew it fully, who understood it.

As the notification pinged in his head, Zach smiled and pulled back from the Mind Plane, leaving the fantasy and horrors behind.

Zach and Naha sat on their bed, in their bedroom, high in the corner of the School building of the Academy. The top floor they had reserved for themselves, as their home, while the one below was designated as one for administrative purposes.

Their room was spacious and decorated with almost lavish decor. Naha had done all the decorating, and he’d encouraged her to go wild. To indulge herself and not worry about anything. Their lives had been filled with too much dark, they deserved more.

The bed was gigantic, and they had two large dressers and nearby. Two tables in the corners of the room, one for each of them, in case they wanted to work from home. Not that they had much cause to spend time at the tables, but it might be useful in the future.

They’ve started coming back here every night even though they didn’t need much sleep. Just taking the opportunity to spend time together. Living their life in the best way they knew how.

That connection, intimacy, it was what made life worth living. It fueled Zach, made him want to try more.

“What do you think about the latest proposal?” Naha asked as they sat leaned back against the headrest, their shoulders touching.

“I’m not sure that anyone would be able to afford it,” Zach answered. “Bera wants too much.”

“Running the Academy is going to be expensive, you know that,” Naha added.

Zach grimaced. “I do, but I want to help as many as possible. Her suggestion would see only the most elite and wealthy able to attend.”

“We could always go with the previous proposal, have a quota, half and half, and use the funds gained from the wealthy to cover for the not so fortunate.”

“Perhaps we could put them to work while they study, offset the cost somehow,” Zach said, not really meaning it, his mind was whirling with thoughts. Many things from Earth were bouncing through his head. He hated all of them.

He knew that reality would always clash with his idealism. But still, he wanted to try.

“Perhaps we could cover the cost, sponsor people,” he commented.

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“All of this is far in the future. We are not going to have the capacity for large numbers of people for a long while.”

“You’re right,” he bowed his head. He was getting ahead of himself. They still had to work on the different schooling plans. The one that he was most interested in getting off the ground was for the young, children that had just gotten access to the Framework.

It was hard, the Infinite Realm didn’t have a unified school system. Most had none, only tutors that the parents could hire. People’s fate was usually decided long before they even gained Framework access.

And having every child sent to the Academy would be impossible. He had… they had to build something that would have reach across the world.

It would take a long time to change that.

He had to have influence, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he would have to do things he didn’t like.

“Zach? What is it?” Naha moved to lean over him, looking at him intently.

He met her eyes, the familiar face. She was a shapeshifter, comfortable in any shape and form. Yet her most common form was the one that she had crafted for him. The face that looked down at him now was the face that he fell in love with, the woman that he had known as Quell. It was a human version of the first of her forms he met. The features were slightly different, but he still saw that first face hidden within.

Pink skin, two horns and a tail. Her hands and legs were like those of a drake, covered in scales and claws. Muscled, imposing and powerful. Her Unique Form was all that he believed her to be. It embodied her perfectly.

She tilted her head, and he remembered that she had asked him a question.

“It’s nothing, I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

Zach didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stood up from the bed and walked over to the window. He looked out at the world stretching before him. The Infinite Realm was so large, so filled with injustices. The Wardens had once tried to be a force for good, in their own way, enforcing laws. But ultimately they failed. He didn’t want to do that again, but he had to have influence.

His name was known, he commanded respect and fear. “Perhaps we should do something similar to the practice the Grand Spirit of Knowledge practiced. I plan for this to be a repository of knowledge, a school, a place of learning. Eventually, people will come from all over the place to seek knowledge, both from this place and the Castle of Knowledge on the other side. Perhaps I should ask for things in return, things of equivalent value.”

Naha walked up and put her arms around him from behind. “There is a lot of wealth in the Infinite Realm. A single High Ranker could pay us enough to fund years of classes for lower tier people.”

Zach and Naha possessed a lot of knowledge. They could share understanding about the Aspects they were familiar with, insights about advancing them, even how to gain mastery enough to become a Sage. And for the Aspects that they weren’t familiar with they could allow access to the spirits in the Castle of Knowledge, to the repository. He knew that such things would be incredibly valuable to the right people.

They would need to spread the word, let the right people know that they could offer such things. And set the expectation that they would require a payment.

Yet… Zach didn’t want to limit knowledge in that way. Would he keep these things from the students in the future? He wasn’t an idiot, he understood that some knowledge could be dangerous. That it had to be used carefully.

He placed his hands over Naha’s, and leaned back into her embrace. He had to have more discussions with everyone.

A couple days later, a visitor from the Twilight Melody Sect stepped through the teleporter, two of them actually. Zach met Lesamitrius Danos and Hiro in the courtyard of the Academy.

“Greetings Elder,” Lesamitrius bowed his head and Zach returned with a shallower bow. He wasn’t well versed in the Sect culture, but he had learned a bit. “Welcome friend,” Zach said with a smile. Lesamitrius had been their main point of contact with the Sect and had helped organize most of their supply chain.

He turned to look at Hiro and then embraced him, then he pulled back and looked him over. “Naha’s been overjoyed ever since you sent word. She is in one of the Aspect rooms right now, but she should be emerging shortly.”

Hiro smiled, the ears on top of his head twitching. “I’m glad to be back.”

Zach then turned back to Lesamitrius. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“I bear a message from the Sect Head, if we could speak in private?”

Zach nodded, curious about what the message was.

“I’ll go and wait for Naha,” Hiro said and headed to the Aspect Gallery.

Zach escorted Lesamitrius through the School building. He pointed out a few of the additions they made since he had last visited, but didn’t delay too much. Quickly, they reached his office.

Zach triggered the arrays on the room, ensuring their privacy and then turned to look at the ravzor, raising an eyebrow.

“So, what is it?”

“Some matters regarding the Reaction Engines you gave to our care have emerged,” Lesamitrius started, then explained about the people that had escaped from the Exalted Empire and sought refuge in the Twilight Melody Sect. Once he mentioned the item they brought with them Zach grimaced.

“That’s not good,” he said with a sigh. He had given the three small Reaction Engines to Ryun for safekeeping. He understood the value of such things, the threat that they posed. He still possessed one of the bigger versions.

They were weapons of incredible potency, but also powerful deterrents. He hadn’t known where the Unchained had gotten them until now. Berion had been unaware, it was Kael who acquired them and he never shared his supplier.

Zach understood the warning that Lesamitrius relayed. If the Exalted Empire had started manufacturing them in large quantities…

The balance of power in the Settled Territories had been shattered by the Dome monsters, by the wars that followed. But a new one had emerged. The Sects, the Exalted Empire, and the Triumphant Hive on the were the three largest forces in the Infinite Realm. Zach didn’t keep himself too involved in the politics, but even he knew that the balance between the three was a tenuous thing.

Once this information spread, there was only one way he saw this going. Another war.

“What is Ryun planning to do?” Zach asked finally.

“The Sect Head intends to inform the Sects, beyond that I do not know his thoughts.”

The matters of the Core didn’t impact Zach too much. His Academy was on the other side of the Twilight Melody Sect territory. Far west, close to the western ocean. There wasn’t anyone around him, the Core was far away. But Zach knew better than to think that he could avoid the world at large.

But regardless, he knew better than to think that the distance would keep him isolated. He had power, and with that power came responsibility. Regardless of his own desires, he would be drawn into any conflicts between the powerful. It was inevitable.

It seemed that no matter how much he tried, the world always conspired to throw obstacles in his path.

“Thank you for relaying the message, Lesamitrius,” Zach said finally.

He had a lot to think about.

Power.

It was the only thing that seemed to matter in the Infinite Realm. Without power, one could not live freely, one could not make their dreams a reality. Could not live up to their ideals.

Zach had learned that lesson well. It made him sad, but he knew that trying to change that singular truth of the Infinite Realm was a fools bargain.

He could try to be better, to teach others to be better. But ultimately, power mattered. His plan was always to ensure that that power found a home with the right people. Those who understood and wanted to help protect those that were weaker than themselves. Those who would do good.

But he also knew that he himself lacked power. Fight against Ra’azel had shown him just how far he still had to go.

Zach focused as he sat on the floor of a very special chamber. There were two Time related rooms within the Academy. One was the room with the source of Aspect of Time. And the other was a much more powerful one.

A room in which time passed at a slower rate than it did on the outside. For every day inside, only three hours passed on the outside. He and Naha had spent a lot of time inside, training together over the last year.

He had evolved one more tier 9 skill, merging his sight related skill with his parry into |I Saw and Parried|.

It still gave him vision in most types of environments and light levels, but it also made his body react incredibly fast to attacks. Coupled with his other skills, he was rarely surprised by attacks, even when Naha attacked from stealth. The Skill Perk allowed him to pierce to parry one fully invisible attack against him a day, which was an incredible boon.

Now, he had only two more skill slots left, two more skills to evolve and merge. One of those was his |Perfect Memory Vault: My Thoughts, Organized|

The last slot he had picked with the future evolution in mind. |Perfect Knowledge Retention: My Memory, Perfect| served as a way to prevent what had happened in the past.

He focused, pulling on his willpower to evolve his skills. He had accomplished their skill quests long ago, now they needed just a little push. With an effort of will, the two skills merged and then evolved. He didn’t stop at tier 8 though, he had been preparing this for a while, he pushed further.

The skill trembled and then grew, becoming something more. He focused on his desires, his wish for the future of his Academy of what he wanted to do. To disseminate Knowledge, to elevate and help make people better. The skill solidified, pressing into shape a part of his Soul. His last tier 9 skill was a passive one, |I Remembered and Stored|.

A skill for a person that never wanted to forget again. It fit him, and he already knew the drawback, it was the exact thing that he had made the skill for in the first place. Remembering everything was both a boon and a curse.

The Skill Perk was useful as well. He could see that it allowed him to bring another person into his Memory Vault, show them his memories.

He took a deep breath as new notifications appeared, a title and a something that he had been expecting for a long while.

Total Understanding

Achieve nine tier 9 skills

+100 to all base stats, +10% to all base stats, Image, 50,000 Immortal Essence

Congratulations!

You’ve achieved the pinnacle of your focus! And you have gained great power.

Image formation unlocked.

Skill synchronization — 100%

Image formation — Advent

Image: The Master of Aspects

Your skills and path are those of one who masters the Aspects. The image of the Master of Aspects surrounds you and based on your will can influence the reality around you.

Current Image formation grade: Advent

Zach had wondered if he would reach the same synchronization as Naha had. She had the benefit of having her Image before reaching the peak of skills. The two of them had speculated that the synchronization was related to how well one embodied their being, their Soul’s meaning. Zach’s Class was Lord of Aspects, his goal and meaning was the pursuit of Knowledge, mastering Aspects was part of that. Each of his skills was a mixture of the Aspects that he possessed, the ones that were within his Arsenal.

Instinctively, he knew what his Image was, what it did. He could feel it shrouding him as he called on it. The Aspects within him sharpened, and he felt as if with just a thought he could connect to their Aspect Planes, pull on their power and improve it.

Like Naha’s Image, it empowered what he already had, but also added versatility by allowing him to reach the planes. It was a powerful tool.

He spent some time familiarizing himself with it, and then turned his attention to what came next. He looked at his Class, and prepared to level up once more.