When Caelum awoke, he found himself lying on the cold metal, surrounded by darkness. He slowly stood up and took a look around. Everything seemed normal except for the fact that he was alone and couldn't find a way out.
'Was I dreaming? Did I fall asleep and this was a dream?'
Caelum shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind. He couldn't remember anything that happened after putting on the ring. He looked at his hand and saw that the ring was gone.
'It must have dissolved into my soul like the report said,' Caelum thought to himself.
'I need to get out before the mine guards find this?'
He started walking forward and noticed a faint light in the distance. As he made his way, he could make out the end.
'It's a elevator? How convenient.'
He reached the elevator and pressed the button, causing the doors to open. He stepped inside and hit the up button. As the doors closed, Caelum felt the elevator begin to ascend.
'This is weird, there isn't even a control panel.'
The elevator stopped suddenly and the doors opened. Caelum stepped out and saw that he was now standing in a long corridor with white walls and no doors or windows anywhere. He walked forward until he reached a dead end.
'Is this some sort of test?' His eyes fell on another crack in the seamless stone wall.
'It's the same mechanism as the one on the entrance, right?'
Caelum put his fingers into the crack and pulled. Nothing happened.
'I don't think this will work. It's probably sealed with some sort of magic. Maybe I should try pushing instead. Or maybe...'
Caelum placed his palms flat against the wall and tried pushing with all his strength. The wall refused to budge.
'Dammit! I really hate tests!' Caelum cursed under his breath.
He walked around the corridor, searching for another exit or a clue to where he should go next. Caelum's eyes fell on a rock near the corner of the wall. He picked it up and examined it closely.
'Where the hell did the rock chip off?'
Caelum dropped the rock and continued his search. He reached the opposite corner of the stone wall and saw another crack in the stone. He inserted his fingers and pulled. Nothing happened.
'Dammit!'
Caelum placed his palm on the wall and tried pushing with all his strength. Still, nothing happened.
"Fucking hell!" Caelum yelled in frustration as he slammed his fists against the wall. Suddenly, the wall crumbled beneath his blow, revealing a passageway hidden behind it.
"Ah fuck!" Caelum kissed his knuckles
'Wait what? Wasn't this a test?'
Caelum shrugged and stepped into the opening, finding a staircase leading upwards. He began climbing the stairs, hoping that this wasn't another trick. After reaching the top, he found himself standing in a circular chamber with an arched ceiling. The floor was made of polished marble, while the walls were decorated with paintings depicting scenes from Valtara's history.
'Looks like I ended up in the main building.'
Caelum looked around and spotted an exit at the far end of the room. He headed toward it and found himself standing in front of a large wooden door with a phoenix carved into the wood.
'How ironic.'
Caelum grabbed the handle and pulled. The heavy door swung open to reveal a familiar sight. He was in a back alley, just like his apartment.
'What the hell?'
He turned around and looked at the majestic heavy wooden door. Except it wasn't. It was plain and bare. Inconspicuous.
'So that's how the rebels avoided the council.'
Caelum let out a sigh and headed towards his apartment. He didn't want to risk being discovered, so he decided to use a different route than the one he took earlier. After several minutes of walking, he arrived at the alleyway leading to his apartment. He glanced at the dumpster and saw a rat eating garbage. Caelum chuckled as he recalled Jarek's reaction when they first saw a rat.
"Fuckin gross man," he remembered Jarek muttering under his breath.
'Where's Jarek now? Is he safe? Did he even make it out?'
Caelum shook his head, pushing the negative thoughts away. He entered the building and went up to his floor. When he opened the door, he found Jarek pacing back and forth, staring at the floor and mumbling.
"Cay! I thought you fucking died. You fell down the chasm. Most of the mine was destroyed, they had to close it off." Jarek hugged his friend
"How'd you get out? Did the guards ask you anything?" Caelum asked as he closed the door behind them.
Jarek ran a hand through his hair and laughed nervously, "Those guards are useless, they didn't even stop to question me."
'What the hell is this reaction?' Caelum thought.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean they didn't ask any questions or try to stop me or anything."
"That's odd, the council doesn't let people just walk out of a destroyed mine without any reports. Are you sure you weren't hallucinating or something?" Caelum probed.
"I'm positive. I walked out, and they didn't stop me or even bat an eye." Jarek replied with a shrug.
Caelum sat down on his mattress and sighed, "I don't know, man. Something is wrong here. I think they're hiding something."
"You think the council is up to something?"
"I have my suspicions," Caelum replied. "How big was the excavation team?"
"Around 20, I think. And around 10 guards."
Caelum rubbed his eyes wearily. 'Shit. So they're gonna find the abandoned rebel base. Then the files and see that the ring is missing. They know I've been in the mines, I checked in. It won't take long before they put two and two together. I've got to find another place to hide.'
After a long pause, Caelum addressed Jarek, reluctantly.
"Jarek, I need to tell you what I found in the chasm."
Caelum began recounting his tale and what happened after Jarek left him to his fate. When he finished, the two friends were silent for a long time.
Caelum stared at his hands, deep in thought.
"So you're saying there's a rebel base underneath the mine?" Jarek asked, stunned.
"Yes. And that's not all. The dammed rebels stole an Aether ring and kept it there. I was curious and wore it... and well it seems to be inside me? Or well, my soul to be precise."
"Cay, you know what this means, right? This means that you are a quiescent."
Caelum's face remained unchanged. "What's that?" He asked.
Jarek looked bewildered. "You don't know?"
"Well, I know that an Aether ring fuses with its wearers soul and can manifest a unique power, and that the rings are rare."
Jarek scratched his chin, considering. "Okay, let me tell you what that means. Aether users are people that have the ability to manipulate and gather prana plus they gain powers that manifest in different ways depending on what kind of Aether users they are. Yes, the rings are rare because of the monopoly on them by the Dominion, but the rings themselves form naturally. Basically any royalty or high ranking faction member you see is an Aether user, but when someone normal finds and absorbs one, they are immediately sought to get recruited to a faction or the Dominion itself. Because of their unique ability, they are extremely powerful, but most importantly, they have no qualms about killing anyone that opposes them. You can see how dangerous this power is, especially in the wrong hands."
Caelum nodded, taking it in. "So that's why the rebels stole the ring?"
Jarek nodded. "Shut up, listen. There are 7 stages to it. You are a quiescent, a beginner. You know how beasts have Aether cores, right? Well, their purpose is for increasing Aether users' prana to reach the next rank. I'm not exactly sure, but I read that meditating allows a user to peer into their soul."
"Wait, so I can see into my soul?" Caelum asked, his voice laced with curiosity.
"I don't know," Jarek said with a shrug.
"Close your eyes and try it." Caelum did as he was told. "Alright, now concentrate on the ring in your soul."
Caelum followed the instructions, picturing the ring and concentrating on it. He then felt a small tingling sensation in his chest, and he was suddenly surrounded by darkness though beside his face was a text, '0/3000' and floating 3 meters away from him was a small transparent sphere, the size of a lantern. Inside the sphere was a grey ring sitting sadly on the bottom. As Caelum was inspecting it, a voice whispered in his ear.
"Welcome Caelum."