A dream...?
Was he actually just dreaming right now? Galeon thought it was very likely the case. There was simply no way that such things could be happening to him if it was not in a dream. Perhaps it was not only this, but even the Vernal Bloom itself was a dream. He had to wake up before he lost himself in it entirely.
But then he heard it, the turning of the rings, the grinding gears that seemed both chaotic and in perfect synchrony and harmony. They reverberated loudly in a cacophony of noises that seemed to meld into one distinct sound.
Tick Tick Tick
The sound was like that of gears slowly moving, like a clock moving its hands. And it does not end. Galeon was entranced by the sound, its ticking seemingly a sonorous tune than lulled his mind into sweet surrender. With each tick, he could feel what he sought after moving farther away. With each tick, he felt himself moving toward it at a faster pace. It was paradoxical, but it somehow felt right.
And with each tick, he could see the massive construct open itself, its resplendent core locking onto him like an eye.
[$#@&{%]
The sound came again, reverberating against the hollow walls of the void. This time, he could hear it even more clearly. He could get a sense for what it sounded like. It was like a blaring horn that echoed from deep below the earth. It mixed with the horrid cries of dying life, their tragic suffering melding perfectly with the roars and bellows of indignation of those who continued to fight for survival. This one sound was a microcosm of the world, depicting the painful truths that Galeon knew all too well.
Among the tormented cries, he could hear a voice that sounded remarkably similar to his younger self. A cry that reminded him of what he was — a victim, an orphan..., a survivor.
The end had already come for him and for all others, yet here he was, hearing all their voices once more. With every passing second, their despair crept up his body as they tried to drown him in the reality that he had forgotten.
The end had already come for him and for all others....
How could he forget that?
All it took was one little nudge and his mind shifted back into place, a locked memory hidden in the recesses had been returned. It was dredged up like a metal ore dug out of a deep cave, a relic excavated from underground. And there he saw it, there he felt... his end.
A bright flash lit up the night sky of the city, but it was not something to celebrate. It was a tragedy that marked them all for death. It came crashing down, wiping out most things with a burst of alien power, its luminous veins stretching below the earth as it began corrupting the very land itself. It was a Prismacore. But just as quickly as its roots spread out, they all retreated back to their origin, focusing all their attention to another thing entirely.
In the middle of the crater, a young boy lay quietly after having lost even the strength to whimper. He could no longer move and could barely even breathe. It was a miracle that he even lasted long enough to know what happened to him. And as he turned a weak gaze toward his chest, the light in his eyes finally faded.
The boy died...
And 'he' was born.
Galeon gasped awake, his head throbbing with an unbearable pain that made him want to split it open and end it all. He barely held himself back as his hand instinctively reached for his chest. Against his trembling fingers, the smooth texture of a crystal was like a jolt of electricity. It reminded him that it was real, that this was real.
He had died and lived again.
It was a repressed memory that seemed like a natural course of events, but Galeon could tell that there was something strange about it. It was as though he was made to never question his past, to never look back to a time before he had the Prismacore. He always knew he had been born without it, so why had he never thought to seek answers? It was only recently that he thought he had been experimented on because of the description given to him by the Vernal Bloom, but it seems his assumption was wrong.
He had not been a guinea pig in someone's sick experiment. He was just an unfortunate child who happened to be standing right where the Prismacore crashed, impaling him right through the chest. It was a miracle that he did not explode and die the moment it hit him. He was a product of coincidences on top of coincidences. He was not meant to live long in this world..., but Galeon did not care.
He is the Shaper.
Finality cannot be his End. Only Eternity may await him.
Whatever that giant eye was, it did not seem to be hostile. After all, if it was, then he would not even be alive to be thinking all this now. He had already woken up from the dream, but he felt as though he was stuck in something much worse than a beast tide now. This was a living nightmare, an sick enduring game that Fate was playing on him. There was something out there that was watching him, and it knows a great many things about him, perhaps even everything.
Galeon sat up, his chest lighting up with fervour as a new resolve blazed within him. He had already died once. He would not squander this second chance at life, especially now when he had the power to achieve his ambition.
He looked around him to find out where he was only to find himself in a simple room with minimal furnishings. He was on a bed with all his clothes still on. He did not feel any discomfort even though he had been wearing them in his sleep simply because they were practically a part of his body. It was good to know that they do not just disappear when he falls unconscious as they could still provide him with a level of protection, though not by much. And seeing that he was alone in this small room, Galeon finally turned his attention to the notification that has been flashing in a corner of his vision for a while now.
[The @{7)&^!# has cast its gaze upon you.]
[The @{7)&^!# has witnessed your traits and distinctions.]
[You have been deemed qualified to take on the Trial of Ascension.]
[You have begun your Trial of Ascension.]
[As you are not the Originator of the Cor Ena – Vernal Bloom, it will be restricted during the Trial of Ascension.]
[The Cor Ena – Vernal Bloom may only exert the limited authority it currently has and may not grow until the Trial of Ascension has ended.]
[The Trial of Ascension gauges your worth as an individual. There are no rules or conditions to follow other than to prove your worth.]
[The @{7)&^!# is watching you.]
[The @{7)&^!# urges you to ascend soon.]
The series of notifications would have brought shock to anyone else, but Galeon's mind was already too heavy to be moved by this. He had just seen an entity far too powerful for him to even understand the form of. How could this sudden Trial of Ascension shake him? Besides, he could feel that this unrecognisable name was referring to that same entity, that giant eye made of golden gears and rings. It was the only being powerful enough to have seen through him right now.
As for the matter of the Vernal Bloom being restricted, he did not worry too much about it. Although he could feel an undeniable authority currently settling within him, wrapping around the Vernal Bloom, he could sense that it did not cripple its current abilities at all. And in order to be certain, Galeon tested it out with a simple idea.
[Shaper is attempting to influence the complexity of the Molecular System.]
[The Vernal Bloom has extrapolated new complexities.]
[You have obtained the trait: Electrokinesis]
[Electrokinesis has been added as a new Node in the Molecular System.]
There it was, a new ability added to his growing repertoire. With this he had ascertained that whatever restriction was placed on the Vernal Bloom, it did not affect its current functionalities. Even its current dynamic with Shaper did not change. Or rather it did, but not in a negative way. If anything, because the authority of the Vernal Bloom was being restricted, it had become a lot easier for the authority of the Shaper of Self to influence the workings of the Vernal Bloom.
But while all this was well and good, these notifications also brought forth a new problem for Galeon. The notifications said that he was not the Originator of the Cor Ena – Vernal Bloom. It meant there was someone else before him who had it, possibly the one who had somehow created it. And if that was the case, then it meant that the Vernal Bloom was not a singular thing. Perhaps this 'Cor Ena' that it is always referred to is a category of such objects with similarly life-changing powers. And if that was the case, then Galeon was being wary of the wrong people.
His likely enemies were not the ones on Corrin chasing after an emerald amber that they did not even understand. He should be watching out for those who already had these Cor Ena, those like him and the ones called 'Originators.'