Claudia
White; an endless scape of white. As if a blank canvas stood before me, imploring itself to be dyed in a multitude of colours.
I exhaled, a small lump forming in my throat as I envisioned an endless atelier of extraordinary pieces, all made with my hands alone.
My face became heated as I willed for the space to pull together, imagining it to shrink; and shrink it did.
Space warped noiselessly, all conforming to my imagination. Empty golden frames materialised, alongside delicately crafted sculptures.
Marble pillars sprouted from below, its smooth surface unraveling to form the walls and floors.
With my fingers outstretched, I made a sudden jerk sideways, causing the now constructed rooms to display an interminable hallway.
It was a bold move to do, for I had no talent in architecture and had no idea if it would still be structurally sound with the rooms becoming a disoriented mess.
Curved archways, stairs ascending to the top. A few hallways became a nightmare for all claustrophobics, whilst some rooms were a terror for those with agoraphobia.
With just some minor alterations in the design, I was eventually satisfied with my work.
"The Labyrinthine Atelier." It was a suitable name for now, quite a dull name for such a remarkable construction, but it would do for now.
Ding!
All of a sudden, the world around me froze. I was stupefied by this sudden event that I had barely just read the prompt from the System.
An iridescent light flickered into existence, forming an unimpressive blue screen that said, "Domain has been formed? New Skill created?" I gasped. Rubbing my eyes I made sure that I had not mistaken anything.
"A new skill has been created? Just for me?" Muttering under my breath, I instantaneously recalled what the System had lectured them on Skills.
Abilities were unlike talents that were constantly active. In fact the System states that talents are in fact, actually a branch of Skills.
Abilities were those that needed one to consciously activate. An example was Touka's {Counterfeit Craft}.
Of course there were once those who would keep their abilities active at all times and had their powers mistaken for a talent.
But in the end they proved the others right. Having a new ability created just for themselves meant that the person had accomplished something incredibly heaven defying and was the first to do so.
Only problem was, "How? What did I do to deserve this?" I was utterly shocked by this development, from the recounts of my little brother, I knew that even he had never done something such as I did.
What had I done to achieve something like this? "System?!" Gazing up at the sky of my domain, I realized that it was a sparkling glass ceiling.
It was reminiscent of me breaking the glass ceiling in the art market, with my pieces having gone up to over 612,000 dollars in value.
Far more valuable than my male peers during my time in the London College Of Arts. Of course I might be exaggerating a little, but still it was quite an exciting thing to bear witness to.
Truthfully, if it weren't for my little brothers inspiring me to paint such a piece, I would have never broken through it.
At this moment the System's voice resounded in my mind. [What do you wish to inquire about?].
Hearing his cold and monotonous voice did not help at all with my uneasiness, but Alviss was the best person to go to for this so, "Why was I prompted with the creation of a new skill?"
I was straightforward with my question, not wanting him to beat around the bush in any way.
[Oh, that? That's easy. All you did was create a Domain, right?]. I nodded, wondering what following to instructions had to do any of this.
After all Alviss did state that all we needed to do was create our dream castle. Mine was just an atelier, that and a studio for my art.
But, strangely enough a throne room had been erected the moment since I named the place.
And I believe the cause of it was the System. [Yeah see, out of everyone else, you're the first to completely finish it. Not to mention you being the first in aeons to elevate your Domain from Castle Tier to Labyrinth Tier]. My eyes widened in shock, something that I had decided on a whim decided my fate?
What kind of luck was this? I was thrown in disarray. Almost feeling strangely uncomfortable with myself, until I realised what he had been saying.
"Wait, did you say aeons? How long ago had this Domain Creation Method been around for?" The Domain Creation Method I was referring to, was the blueprints I had been given the moment I awoke.
[Correct. It has been around approximately, three billion years, it originally came from an alternate universe named Universe PT-12. Quite an interesting one too]. This revelation was mind blowing, even more so than knowing my brother had a System.
Frowning, I knew what this meant for us. With this technique as proof, it evidently means that we were too weak, too weak to even create something similar to a mysterious method capable of creating territories.
Clenching my fists, I was revelling in excitement knowing that an opportunity as exciting as this would be too hard to pass out on.
"Show me my new skills." I demanded Alviss, despite him not prompting me of it, I knew that I had obtained one Skill and had awakened my latent ability at the same time.
Excitedly I swiped the air, purple light flickered as two magenta screens sparked into existence.
....
[Mirage
Type: Ability
Mirage is the ability to materialise lifelike illusions into existence.
Note: What is fake becomes reality.
Note: Charisma/ Charm Stats affect the strength of illusions.
Note: Able to be upgraded].
....
[Tainted Mandala- (...)
The Tainted Mandala scatters kaleidoscopic paint across the sky, raining pigments that splotches the hearts of men.
Note: This particular Mandala is unnamed, hence the creator of the skill is able to dictate its true function and modify its name.
Note: Mandalas are of a spiritual nature, meaning it's true powers are for the user to comprehend.
Note: Different comprehensions of the same Mandala can result in different abilities].
....
I stood agape, floating as I read on, immersed in the last notes. The latter skill was quite a handy one.
A completely new concept that even I, an avid reader of fantasy novels, could not make sense of.
It is true that I am more focused on the Western side of fantasy, but even then I think that Touka and the others would have never thought of this.
"The Tainted Mandala, huh? It's got a nice ring to it. Hm, I'm going to call it: Tainted Mandala- Distempering Kaleidoscope." Satisfied, I closed my eyes and pushed both my index and thumb against each other, sitting in a lotus position.
Unbeknownst to me, which I discovered later on; lines were strewn across where I sat, an iridescent array of geometrical patterns.
The circle pulsated, contracting and expanding as I breathed. Fumes started to emit from all my facial orifices.
A telltale sign of improvement- but that is for another time.