Standing at the border of Whispering Shadow Grove, Rufus's journey was to begin actually, in many ways. The twisted, ancient trunks of dense, oddly shaped trees creaked against the breeze, whispering secrets no longer loud enough to hear. The dark pull of the grove, once exhausting, now felt like the breath caught on every whisper of the breeze. The power running through his veins was something that would never be left unchanged. He was no longer the lost son of a duke, treated with animosity and banished from his family. Nor was he a feeble, second-rate soldier unable to keep still while holding a sword upright for a duel. He'd left even those behind a long time ago.
But he was not yet all-knowing. As much as he could feel the cosmos's flow within him, one thing evaded him-a certain clarity. He needed to grasp how powerful he was-to have a measure of it, somehow to fathom it.
A sudden, almost instinctive thought came to his mind: Status.
Rufus felt the very fabric of reality shift; the ripples came over him. Symbols, much as he had seen them appear in the grove, began to coalesce before him, shimmering in the air. They presented themselves into glowing runes and numbers, a display only he could view. It was the Celestial Convergence system, now attuned to him, responding to his command.
[Status]
Name: Rufus Caelum Verdant
Title: Bearer of Celestial Convergence, Successor to the First Primordial
Species: Human (Elysaran)
Power Level: 10th Circle (Transcendent Initiate)
Abilities:
Cosmic Manipulation (Basic): partial ability to control the manipulation of cosmic energy. It can bend slightly the minor laws of reality.
Omniscient Sight (Partial): glimpse into events across space and time, but only relative to the near future and past
Energy Control (Advanced): controls external energy sources, converting them into power or healing.
Dimensional Step: This enables travelling between realms and dimensions but with limits that are applied.
Primordial Force (Locked): The first and purest force of creation, unattainable in this era
Current State: Stable
Psychic Condition: High awareness
Progress to the Next Stage: 55%
Attributes:
Strength: 150
Agility: 130
Endurance: 200
Intellect: 180
Wisdom: 175
Mana: ∞ (Boundless, thanks to Celestial Convergence)
Rufus scanned all the information available before him, running through it all in his head. His old life felt so far away from who he was now. He couldn't believe the raw numbers, especially his Power Level: 10th Circle. He had heard of mighty kings and emperors reaching the 7th Circle, and that no one had reached the 9th. He'd read how no one in Elysara's history has ever gone past that level. And here he was, a 10th Circle Transcendent Initiate.
It hit him with force—that realization that he had exceeded the limits of his world.
But this was just the start. Rufus noticed that his highest ability, the Primordial Force, was still locked. He knew that more trials lay ahead for him, tougher challenges he would face to unlock the full extent of his abilities.
This sense of boundlessness excited and unsettled him. He felt the thrill of energy surging through his veins, but beneath it all lay a humbling truth: he was powerful, yes, but he was not yet complete. The world of Elysara might have its limits, but outside of it, in the larger universe, there were entities far stronger. He had glimpses of it in his wake of consciousness, mere flashes of the realms where beings wove whole worlds with their thoughts, where the forces of creation and destruction waltzed as old friends.
His mind snapped back to the present. Strength: 150. Agility: 130. Mana: limitless. He couldn't believe the vast discrepancies that had occurred since he was only a young noble, barely able to cast spells at all. When he was that young noble, his mana pools were ridiculously small, not even enough for him to survive a duel. Now, though, mana flowed endlessly through him, inexhaustible and tapped deep into the universe.
Abilities:
Cosmic Manipulation. Rufus recalled employing it during his tests in the grove, warping light and shadows, reality's subtle moldings. The word 'basic' applied to this ability sent him shivering. If basic cosmic manipulation was such a thing, then what was more?
Omniscient Sight. Rufus shut his eyes and concentrated on this gift. At once, the world around him smeared into insignificance, and fractured visions slid before him. He saw a marketplace in a faraway town where vendors were trading, unmindful of the storm that would soon sweep over them. Brief visions of his family back at the Verdant Dominion-the chill of his father's stare locking with his mother's sorrowful glance. He blinked and the images disappeared. He wasn't able to fully reach control over the vision yet, but with practice, he'd tap into past and future events with more accuracy.
Dimensional Step. This was the most fascinating part of it all. It wasn't just teleportation across short distances, but travel between realms. Rufus had always heard rumors of other worlds, of higher planes beyond Elysara. He had no doubt now that those stories were true. His Dimensional Step would let him cross these planes, although the real extent of this power was still unknown to him. Could he step into the heart of the universe?
As he reflected on his new powers, the wind shifted direction, bringing with it the slightest hint of sound-whispers from the grove. The ancient trees still remembered him, still called to him. There was no fear this time; only a feeling of longing. The grove had been the crucible that transformed him, and now the memories of his trials there seemed far away, almost as if they were half-forgotten dreams.
Still, he knew that he couldn't stay here forever. The world outside waited for him. The cities, the people, even his family, however much they had cast him out as a failure, soon would hear of his return. How would they react when they found the man who had been cast out as a failure returns as something far beyond what they could ever comprehend?
He heard another voice and wasn't coming through the system but from inside his brain. And it was soft and powerful, with an old history echoing within the words.
"You are not the first one, Rufus, who walked this path. And you would not be the last either," echoed the voice.
Rufus instinctively straightened. He knew that voice-it was familiar; was it the one that guided him throughout the trials of the grove?
"Others have reached where you stand now, and many more have fallen short. But the real test is not in whether you can raise your power but in whether you comprehend it."
Rufus crammed his fists and felt his power rise within him. "I won't fail."
"Well, a power without purpose leads to ruin. The universe will reveal itself to you, but you must walk with wisdom. Your journey has only begun."
The voice faded away, leaving Rufus with determination and caution. Now he knew that such power wasn't in raw strength or anything cosmic. Its basic question would not be how much of a superman he could turn to be but how he was going to wield this force for himself and all those around him in the universe.
He stood up, gazing toward the horizon. Somewhere out there, beyond the forests, the cities, and the mountains, his destiny waited for him. Elysara could no longer catch him now-the cage having merely been the beginning of much greater things. His tour to remake his destiny and perhaps the very thing that would be about the shape of the universe had just started.
Taking a deep breath, Rufus pushed the Status display aside and stepped forward, the cosmos weighing behind every stride.