Chương 85: Chapter 72 – Rebuilding the Broken

Cade crouched in the ash, surrounded by fragments of the shattered shell. He had spread them out across the ground, turning each piece over in his hands, rotating them, testing edges against one another. Slowly, the chaos began to take shape as he found pieces that fit together. Jagged lines found their counterparts. Curves aligned. What had once been broken started to resemble something whole again. It was just a puzzle after all. A massive, broken puzzle.

He picked up two fragments and pressed them together, adjusting their angle until the edges fit as closely as possible. Small gaps remained where pieces had been lost or worn away.

"That is where the ash comes in." Cade glanced up as Vorduun stepped closer. The Duke lowered his clawed fist. A thin layer of fine ash drifted down, settling across the seam between the fragments.

"Use it to bridge the gap," Vorduun instructed. Cade frowned slightly but nodded. He focused inward, drawing his essence to the surface, then guided it into the first fragment. The connection formed quickly as the essence flowed through the first piece, following its internal pathways before reaching the broken edge. There, it hesitated. Cade pressed the second fragment closer with his other hand and reached for it with his will. The ash between them stirred.

A faint resistance pushed back against him, causing the connection to flicker and destabilize.

"… Come on," Cade muttered. He pushed harder, forcing his essence outward, threading it through the first piece and into the ash, reaching for the second. It was like pushing wet spaghetti through sand. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the ash brightened as his essence pushed through. A faint glow spread along the seam, thin strands of essence stretching between the two pieces. The connection wavered, unstable, threatening to collapse— Cade held it and focused his will, forcing it to stabilize.

The glow intensified until the light became blindingly bright and the resistance vanished—not completely, but enough for the flow to stabilize. His essence flowed smoothly from the first fragment into the second as the two fragments settled together, no longer separate, but connected—fused into a single piece. Cade blinked, staring at the joined fragments in his hands.

"…Huh," he breathed.

"That… actually worked. I thought this would take hours before I got them to fuse together." He looked up towards Vorduun who was staring off into the distance where the Ashen Front had gone. Cade followed the old tortoise's gaze. Far off in the distance, a massive shape moved through the haze of drifting ash. The massive silhouette grew clearer as it approached, ash shifting around its bulk. Cade straightened slightly, still holding the fused fragment in his hands as Brahm came charging back through the ash.

The younger tortoise moved far faster than before, his strides heavy and urgent. Brahm came to a stop before Vorduun and dipped his head.

"Duke," he forced out, his voice rough as he struggled to catch his breath. Vorduun regarded him calmly.

"Speak."

"There has been a change at the front," Brahm said between labored breaths.

"The Primordial Thicket is advancing faster than ever before." Cade's ears perked at that, even as he tried not to stare outright. He shifted slightly, pretending to examine the fragment in his hands while listening in on their conversation.

"According to Lady Hono, the growth has accelerated," Brahm continued.

"More than any Cycle previously. She believes it may catch up to the front if left unchecked." Vorduun stilled. For the first time since Cade had met him, something resembling concern flickered across the ancient tortoise's expression.

"I see," the Duke said quietly. A brief silence followed before Vorduun gave a slow nod.

"Then my presence is required." Vorduun turned his attention back to Cade.

"You will remain here," the Duke said.

"Continue restoring your shell. There is more than enough essence in the surrounding ash to complete the task." Cade glanced down at the scattered fragments, then back up at Vorduun.

"You want me to… rebuild the whole thing?"

"Yes."

"And when I'm done?"

"Join us at the Ashen Front." Cade nodded slowly, though a part of him bristled at the thought. Great. Finally get a teacher who actually explains things, and he's already leaving. His thoughts churned as he watched the two tortoises prepare to depart. If Vorduun was going, then this might be his last chance to ask anything before he was on his own again. What else didn't he know? What had he completely overlooked? Cade's eyes widened slightly. A Core. He had no idea how one was even formed.

"…Seriously?" he muttered under his breath.

"How did I not ask about that? After all this time." He looked up quickly.

"Wait," Cade called out.

"Before you go—can you tell me how a Core is created?" Brahm glanced at him, but Vorduun let out a low chuckle.

"This hatchling has only just opened his eyes, yet already looks to the sky," the Duke murmured. Cade frowned slightly at that but held his ground.

"A Core," Vorduun continued, "is the crystallization of the beginning of one's path. It is formed by gathering vast amounts of essence into oneself and compressing it. Over time, with sufficient control and will, that essence is condensed into a stable sphere." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"That's it?" Cade asked.

"That sounds… kind of simple." Vorduun's gaze shifted toward him, faint amusement flickering in his ember-lit eyes.

"That is the foundation," he said.

"But not the whole of it." He shifted slightly, ash stirring beneath him.

"To form a Core, one must also bind it to both body and soul. It must exist between the physical and the metaphysical. A bridge between the two." Cade's brow furrowed.

"…And how do you do that?" Vorduun's expression stilled.

"That," he said, "is a lesson for another time." Cade exhaled through his nose, frustration flickering—but he didn't push.

"When you have completed your task here," Vorduun continued, "and you rejoin us at the Ashen Front, I will guide you." He paused, then added, "Even for one who learns as fast as you, progress must be taken one step at a time." Cade nodded reluctantly.

"…Alright." Vorduun inclined his head once, then turned.

"Come, Brahm." Without another word, the two tortoises began moving back toward the distant haze of the Ashen Front, their massive forms fading into the drifting ash. Cade stood there for a moment, watching them go. Then he looked down at the fragments scattered across the ground.

"… Guess it's just me and you," he muttered. He crouched once more, reached for the next piece, and got back to work. Time blurred as he worked to complete the repairs. Each piece was different. Some fit easily, their pathways simple and cooperative. Others resisted, their internal structures more complex, requiring careful adjustment and precise control to align properly. Cade learned to recognize the difference quickly.

The moment his essence entered a fragment, he could feel it—the density of its channels, the branching complexity, the subtle resistance that dictated how much pressure he could apply. He adapted. Where brute force failed, he refined. Where hesitation caused instability, he committed. Each attempt sharpened his understanding, building on the last. Individual fragments became pairs. Pairs became larger segments. And with each successful fusion, the internal pathways grew more intricate. Not just larger—denser.

More layered. The flow of essence within them no longer followed simple routes. It twisted, branched, and rejoined in ways that demanded more of him to maintain control. Cade welcomed the challenge. He slipped into [Hyperfocused Meditation] when needed, letting his awareness narrow to the fragments in his hands. Time vanished when he did, hours collapsing into what felt like minutes as he guided essence through the increasingly complex structure. But he was careful.

Each time the strain built too high, he released the skill, forcing himself to step back before the backlash could take hold again. The lingering headaches weren't worth pushing too far—not yet. Days passed, and the scattered fragments gradually diminished, replaced by larger and larger sections of reconstructed shell. What had once been nothing but an inert pile of broken pieces was slowly becoming whole again. And as he made progress, Cade's control deepened. He no longer thought about each individual pathway.

His will adapted, adjusting instinctively as the essence flowed through the growing structure. As he fused the final segment into place, an unexpected screen popped into his vision. Ding! You have upgraded the [Essence Manipulation] skill. [Essence Manipulation (epic)] – You have gained the ability to directly interact with essence. Enables intake, circulation, and output of essence through the body's channels.

Allows essence to be shaped for internal enhancement, external effects, and the formation of fine external threads under conscious control. Passive circulation through your channels has been established. A stable boundary layer of essence now lines your channels, significantly reducing dissipation and increasing flow efficiency. Cade read through it and immediately questioned why this warranted a notification but upgrading his [Hyperfocused Meditation] skill didn't. Another question to file away for later.

His [Essence Manipulation] skill had gone from rare to epic, but the description hadn't changed as much as he would have expected for such a jump in rarity. A grin tugged at his mouth despite himself. Whatever else was going on, he had just earned his first epic skill. In any other situation, he probably would have stopped to celebrate properly. Most of the description was familiar, but one addition stood out. Formation of fine external threads under conscious control.

His mind immediately began to spin forward, chasing possibilities. If the System, or the Record, recognized conscious control, then there had to be a way to refine it further. If he could push this from conscious effort into something more instinctive and unconscious, then maybe he could upgrade the skill again. Cade let out a slow breath and leaned back slightly, rolling his shoulders as the tension eased from his body.

Then he flexed his fingers, reached inward, and felt for the flow of essence moving through his channels. It responded instantly, smooth and steady. Then he pushed outward. A thin thread of essence extended from his hand, pale and faintly luminous against the ashen ground. It wavered for a moment before stabilizing, stretching toward the partially reconstructed shell in front of him. Cade's eyes widened as he guided the thread forward until it made contact with the shell.

The connection formed almost immediately, snapping into place with a clarity that surprised him. It wasn't like before—wasn't like forcing his essence into something. This was… cleaner. More direct. The thread anchored into the shell's pathways, and Cade felt it—felt the structure as if it were an extension of his own body. The intricate network within the fused fragments connected to his awareness, overlapping with his own internal channels in a way that felt both foreign and strangely natural.

He shifted the thread slightly, reinforcing weak points, smoothing out uneven flows. The shell responded. Not perfectly—but enough. A slow grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Okay," he muttered.

"But what can I actually do with it?" His attention drifted outward as something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. A faint plume of ash was rising in the distance. Cade squinted slightly.

"…Vorduun?" he wondered aloud.

"Or Brahm? Didn't they tell me to meet them at the Ashen Front? What are they doing back?" It didn't make much sense for them to come back so soon, but the movement caught his attention anyway. The Ashen Front had already passed through this area so nothing alive should be out here. Curiosity gnawed at him. Cade pushed himself to his feet, brushing ash from his hands as he watched the distant plume grow larger.

"…Huh." The shape beneath it became clearer as it approached. A long, massive shape moved beneath the ash, its body carving through the surface in powerful waves. Cade's expression shifted.

"… That's not them." Cade narrowed his eyes, tracking the plume more carefully as he realized it wasn't coming from the same direction Vorduun and Brahm had gone. The two tortoises had left in the direction of the Ashen Front, toward the thinning curtain of drifting ash where the frog's jungle was being stripped bare. This thing was coming from the opposite direction—deeper out in the wasteland the Ashen Front had already left behind.

The creature launched itself upward, ash exploding outward as it breached, its body rising above the ash before sinking back down. Even at this distance, Cade knew what it was. This one was smaller than the one he had seen fleeing the Ashen Emperor, but it was definitely the same species.

"… Another worm," he muttered. His brow furrowed. Vorduun had said the Ashen Front left nothing behind. That everything was broken down to nothing but ash containing pure essence. And yet there it was burrowing its way towards him. Why and how was it here? The question flickered in his mind but he let it go just as quickly. It didn't matter why it was here. What mattered was that it was here, and it could be an opportunity to test everything he's learned so far.

Cade glanced down at the reconstructed shell, then back at the approaching worm. Part of him surged at the thought, adrenaline rising as anticipation sparked through him. Finally, a chance to see what all of this training actually amounted to. But another part of him—the quieter, more measured voice—pushed back. While smaller than the worm the Ashen Emperor had taken out, this one was still massive. Easily the size of a school bus. It could be dangerous and he barely had any control over what he's just learned.

Cade exhaled slowly, weighing his options. Running was an option. Waiting and hiding was an option. He could let it pass and go back to the Ashen Front to complete his training. That would be safe. Predictable. The path he would have taken before the Tutorial began. But… He flexed his fingers, feeling the thread of essence still connected to the shell. Feeling the control he had built. The progress he had made.

"…Yeah," he muttered.

"I didn't come this far just to keep training." Cade lifted his gaze back to the approaching worm, resolve settling into place. Besides— What was the worst that could happen? It was just one oversized worm.