《Arcane Persistence》 Chapter 1 - Expedition The Wastes. Centuries ago, all living beings on Earth were plagued with an unknown sense of dread, similar to what many feel as they perish. The once bright skies seemed dimmer, and people lived their lives unaware of what happened. But like a truck, humanity was hit with two things: Prana and the cataclysm. When the Cataclysm happened, half of the world was engulfed. The Americas and parts of Asia were lost to miasma and overrun with corrupted beasts. Humans weren¡¯t spared from this, as our numbers dwindled to the hundred millions. Many were displaced. Many more were lost to the miasma. This corruption remains even after centuries, yet we¡¯ve barely cleared it. But despite how much was taken from us, the greatest asset of humanity continued to shine: perseverance. Refugees from all over the world made their way to parts of Europe and Africa, and with our smaller numbers kept on surviving. But how? Prana. All living beings were gifted with this newfound essence, capable of reshaping the world to those that could properly wield it. The very origin of a person became the core of their power. This newfound power also became the gift that allowed humanity to survive the Cataclysm, pushing back the miasma and giving immunity to those that were especially strong with its use. But humans weren¡¯t the only ones altered; animals of many kinds were changed by this, becoming closer to mystical beasts than the instinct driven beings we know them as. Household animals became empowered and beautiful protectors and those of the wild changed similarly, with some being capable of communication. But those engulfed by the miasma become closer to demons with never-before-seen ferocity. They grew more intelligent yet so did their savagery. Only their appearance could match this new behavior. Humans, too, were not spared from this, as many became insane with prolonged exposure and their cores becoming corrupted, changing their essence and appearance. But this is extremely rare, as many would simply perish before they could get to that stage. Yet despite this clear and present danger, I find myself in that very place, across the world. We lie in some random forest in North America. It was one of the first places engulfed by the miasma and the first continent to fall. Its forests and cities became a breeding ground for all sorts of beasts, aside from a few we''ve taken back. ¡°Omari, get your ass back to the camp!¡± I can¡¯t help but sigh when I hear this. I¡¯m just a little bit on the outskirts of the camp, but the leader of this expedition can¡¯t help but bother me. Reluctantly, I exit my mind start heading back to the main part of our camp, where my fellow explorers are. We are ten strong. Well, except me. Nine strong with one deadweight. Maybe that¡¯s why I got called back; they were concerned. With this in mind, I arrive and see that dinner is ready, freshly caught and purified boar with a side of packed green beans. ¡°You know not to wonder too far from the camp, kid. What the hell were you doing?¡± ¡°Just thinking sir. And I was pretty safe-¡° The gruff man talking is named Boreal and his gaze intensifies as we talk. ¡°You know damn well safe won¡¯t cut it. This is the Wastes! And you¡¯re not qualified for this, so stick with the group,¡± he says sternly. ¡°But there wasn¡¯t any danger. A little me time would hurt-¡° His prana purposely leaks from his body, constricting the atmosphere between us. ¡°You can¡¯t afford ¡®me time¡¯. Stay here.¡± ¡°Ease off the kid!¡± One of the more carefree members, named Daven, jumps in. ¡°He¡¯s just a little uncomfortable, let him breath.¡± ¡°You and me both know this is no place for a child- ¡° ¡°I¡¯m eighteen- ¡° ¡°-yet he got forced on us. He shouldn¡¯t even be here!¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Well, not much either of us can do about it. Just go with the flow Boreal.¡± ¡°He¡¯s fucking up ¡®the flow¡¯.¡± ¡°How the hell did you get married, man?¡± ¡°You mother- ¡° Daven raises his hand and holds it in front of Boreal¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll look after the kid since you¡¯re pissy about it.¡± Boreal, stumped, calm down and rescinds his prana. He takes time to ponder to himself before simply saying, ¡°Good luck.¡± Daven turns towards me and smiles. ¡°You¡¯d think he¡¯d be used to this by now. Even after weeks of being here, he¡¯s still on edge about you being here. I guess the oaf cares too much.¡± That man? Caring? Sometimes he seems like he¡¯s more bothered about having to carry my corpse than caring about my life. ¡°But we all know why he¡¯s worried. Hell, we all are. Why did you beg the old man to let you come?¡± Oh. I guess he saw it. I ran away from my home and had to make ends meet someway. I was fine doing my job, but a surprise payment led me to taking this on. ¡°Money. I need money.¡± ¡°¡­ Most of us are here just to explore or for research, yet you¡¯re here for¡­money?¡± ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± ¡°No, you just chose a really shitty way to get it. Needlessly dangerous for you, too. You haven¡¯t even unlocked your Origin.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­but I can handle myself- ¡° ¡°You can¡¯t. You haven¡¯t for the past 7 weeks. How many times has a hawk, or a corrupted dog damn there killed you man?¡± ¡°Just a couple of times¡­?¡± ¡°Too many.¡± I know, I know. The whole You¡¯re getting in the way or You¡¯re too weak to be here tangent. I¡¯ve heard it all, and they aren¡¯t wrong, but circumstances don¡¯t care about how strong or weak you are. They just happen. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kid. I¡¯ll watch your back for the rest of the journey. We¡¯re just about ready to get back to the teleporter anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­unexpected. And I¡¯m eighteen!¡± ¡°We¡¯re all in our thirties here. You¡¯re still a kid to us! But it¡¯s too bad you missed one of the old members of our group. She was kind of close to your age.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­what a loss.¡± Daven shaped his prana into a ball and used his fingers to flick it into my forehead. ¡°What the fuck- ¡° ¡°Don¡¯t roll your eyes at me.¡± Powerless, I can only stare at him with anger. As we conversed, the expedition was gearing up for our final journey here: the way back home. The Wastes haven¡¯t been conquered, but portions of it have cleared up due to natural shifts. Old cities have been uncovered and are constantly purified by the powerful mages stationed there. Our destination is one of those cities, as we lie on the very dangerous outskirts of the city, being over 200 miles from base. The miasma is still quite strong but Boreal, the man from before, frequently clears the areas we reside in, but the time to go comes when he becomes fatigued. ¡°Daven! Omari! We¡¯re just about ready to go!¡± An older woman, named Olivia, comes up and greets us. ¡°Are the tools gathered?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been doing this for years, of course! But are you ready to go?¡± Daven blankly stares at her as if she asked a dumb question. ¡°Thank you for the answer, then¡­¡± The rest of the expedition is scurrying around, making sure nothing is left behind for the miasma to ruin. Within hours, the bags are filled and everyone, except for me, is carrying something. Sometimes I wonder why that old man let me come here. But during our first week, I understood. They wanted an errand boy. Somehow, this was more taxing than my actual job. But that¡¯s beside the point. Our journey began. To pass the time, their conversations were retold again¡­and again¡­.and again¡­ and sometimes new info would be revealed in the expedition¡¯s retellings. ¡°Oh yeah! Daven! All these years working together, and you still haven¡¯t told me your stats¡±, Olivia said, her green eyes full of anticipation. ¡°... You have it on file. We all had to fill out our applications with our stats¡­¡± ¡°I value privacy.¡± ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m normal, C-D ranks across the board. My Attunements are mostly C-rank, though, with a B in Conjuration.¡± ¡°I see¡­we¡¯re pretty similar, but I have an A in Restoration!¡± ¡°Show off. Act your age, lady.¡± ¡°Your highest rank isn¡¯t something to scoff at, though! What about you, Omari- oh.¡± When Prana came into the world, many gems, specifically quartz and diamonds, became empowered and could absorb prana. Those two gems specific sensitivity allowed it to change its color and brightness based on the properties of the prana it is filled with, and within the last 50 years, we¡¯ve managed to use technology to turn these into values. The values, known as ranks, go from X to F, with X being godlike, and F being trash. They test two things: personal attributes and Attunements. Quartz is used to test personal attributes. They are: Might Defense Vitality Speed Control and Reserves. But once you unlock your origin, the core of your existence and being, your attunements can be measured and graded based on what you get. ¡°I don¡¯t have an origin yet¡­but I did test my attributes. It¡¯s bad¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you have Fs in everything¡±, Daven snickers to himself. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°No way.¡± ¡°Of course not! Just an F in Reserves¡­and Vitality. Everything else is D¡­ but Control and Speed is C!¡± ¡°You¡¯re hopeless, kid.¡± ¡°Maybe a little¡­¡± Another expedition member joins the conversation. He¡¯s Collins, the second strongest next to Boreal and the lead researcher AND cook. ¡°I¡¯d shoot myself with those stats. Why don¡¯t you study and become a researcher?¡± ¡°You have to go to college for that, and there¡¯s NO one that will accept me.¡± ¡°Tough shit, kid. Better get that Origin then.¡± ¡°How- ¡° ¡°You probably won¡¯t. It¡¯s too bad you can¡¯t be like me and get a cool origin!¡± Olivia interjects. ¡°So, what¡¯s so cool about yours?¡± ¡°Amalgam. My prana is like slime, but deadly.¡± Almost in unison, everyone that hears this says, ¡°Ew.¡± But Collins used his prana on a tree, and it is quickly gnawed away. ¡°Ew my ass! I even got a B on Transmutation!¡± Yeah, attunements. I haven¡¯t even experienced those yet. But in the midst of our conversation, an ear-piercing roar could be heard and silence flushes through our group. Boreal breaks this silence. ¡°Tuskers! The damn pigs are coming. Prepare for battle!¡± Crap. Chapter 2 - Hoards The corrupted, wild beings of abandon, Tuskers, move in hoards. Their thick and brown hides can resist basic cuts from both weapons and Prana. Their tusks, being their namesake, can emit a field of corrupting miasma that makes touching the beasts cause mild pain to your average person. Individually, they''re tough, but collectively they become a catastrophe that would require multiple A-rank fighters to subdue. Unfortunately for us, we only have one person that fits this criteria. Boreal. And to make matters worse, he also has the duty of repelling the miasma. Being only ten people strong, the odds were not in our favor. Naturally, panic sets in and everyone looks around the forest and uniformly stare in the direction of the roars. The sound of trumpeting footsteps compliment these sounds as well. But in the midst of panic, Boreal takes charge. "Collins! To the frontline! I want you to clear a path with your prana and help me fend off those things!" Another member joins in. "We''ll keep up as the core and support you!" Prana cascades to the frontline, their enhanced strength becoming visible. A few feet away, I can see Olivia''s golden prana glow up as she surrounds herself in a golden light. Her Origin is Wellspring, having heavy ties to healing. I guess she''s ready for us to get hurt. "Kid." I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder as I jolt and turn. It''s Daven. "I hope you won''t feel too embarrassed." "What do you mean-!" The madman puts me on his shoulders like I''m a wounded soldier. I know I''m light for my height, but this is just too much... "You know as much as everyone else that you won''t be much help here. Don''t cause too much trouble." "...Alright." We begin to move swiftly through the forest as we attempt to outrun the hoard. No one in their right mind would stay and fight these things, and so each member has the same thought: run! Collins and Boreal remain headstrong as our path is cleared by them, but it''s not without struggle. The number of Hell Spiders we''ve unhoused has grown, and they''ve joined the chase. Boreal summons his prana with even greater ferocity now. His origin is simply Knight. He can conjure swords and clear areas in a single slash, among other things. He shows no mercy to the spiders, as brown prana surrounds him. A long sword is formed in his hands, and he goes to work, slashing the Hell Spiders as they cascade down. One jumps at him, it''s fangs ready to sink its teeth into his skin, and it succeeds. However, his defense is formidable, and its fangs crack from its own force. Boreal grunts and smacks it with the back of his hand, with the spider''s remains heading directly to Collins. He summons a wall of his...slime and melts these before it reaches his face. "You nasty brute-" "Keep going!" We continue moving through the cascade of spiders, and it seems that our pace is quick enough to avoid the Tuskers. At least that''s what we hoped at the time. The first of the Tuskers poked its corrupted brown head out from a tree further from my view, its many steps being heard moments later. Behind him were even more Tuskers. They caught up. "Daven, they''re here!" I yell loud enough to feel the sound in my head. "Shit!" He fires a bolt of prana at the Tuskers, and it penetrates its miasma yet not the monster itself. Another member follows up with a blazing arrow to finish it off. But that''s only one out of the many we''ll have to face. Its brothers appear one by one around us, each maintaining a horrify speed and an even more terrifying formation, as if they''re encircling prey. We continue on as to not get caught in this obvious trap, but everyone''s stamina is running out. Near the front, Boreal gives a command. "Prepare the ant lion formation!" With urgency, Daven rises and his prana manifests across the field. His Origin is Antlion. A creature known for its infantile traps and power. His prana manifests this across the developing battlefield as parts of the ground begin to glow. The onslaught of Tuskers are caught in these parts and their limbs are caught and shred. "Normal my ass! You''re at least all Bs-" "Shush! I can''t do this AND protect you while you ramble!" I save my concerns for until we''re out of this mess. We continue running as the Tuskers are slowed by Daven. "I bought us a few seconds, but this ain''t looking too good!" "Are we screwed?" I ask this as he carries me, but my eyes are glued on the hoard as they approach. "...not yet." The Tuskers overcome Daven''s traps and continue onward towards us, their warning roars eventually becoming the roars of death as their semi-circle formation begins closing in on us. Boreal continues firing out his sword slashes and Collins devours as much as he can with his slime, but nothing slows them down. Even Daven''s hidden strength and traps can''t stop them for long. I look at boreal; his face mirroring the feelings of everyone here as we''re pinned down. Dread. "Bastards!" Boreal unleashes his prana to an even greater degree, piercing the hides of many Tuskers. The survivors move through the fallen and attempt to overpower him. One such Tusker lunges towards his arm but Boreal weaves at the last second. He still sustains a cut from this. Collins follows up and blinds the boar as Boreal finishes it. More members begin to attack and strengthen the others, and our group becomes a giant beacon for the Tuskers. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Not that it matters, we have to give it all we have. Yet all I can do is sit and watch as this happens around me. One member is pierced in his side in the ensuing chaos but a stray Tusker, with two members coming together to kill the boar with fire and metal prana respectively. Olivia immediately goes to work on him and seals the wound enough to get him back up for combat, but he''s still struggling. Collins sustains a back bruise as a Tusker forces itself through our group, charging at him. Daven stops it in it tracks for Boreal to behead the beast. Olivia switches her attention and her and another member begin to heal him, but this isn''t looking good for him. He can''t get up. Yet he fights on. And so does Boreal, as his forearm is pierced by a Tusker, to which he cuts it with a vertical slash in return. Another member shreds the beast''s body and uses its remains as projectiles, with its remains cutting the approaching Tuskers. Combat effectiveness is falling. But I notice the Tuskers are disproportionately focused on Boreal. The Tuskers are piling up on him three times more than everyone here. As I watch him, he, too, too charged but remains steadfast against the attack, grabbing the Tusker and ripping its head off. Another follows up, but he manifests his sword and it impales its head into it. His prana swells and many of the Tuskers around his begin to turn their attention to him. Wait. That''s how they''ll survive. "Everyone! They''re attracted to anything with a crap ton of light, like Boreal and his prana!" This revelation stirs everyone but Boreal, who responds,"... You''re right." His expression shifts as his prana swells up. He''s going to... "Wait!-" "Everyone start moving. They''ll be focusing on me for the time being-" I interrupt him. "Let me do it!" He''s dumbfounded. And so is everyone else. "What?!" They nearly say this in unison. "Enhance me. Give me everything you got. I''ll distract them as you guys run." Boreal is the first to speak up. "This isn''t a burden for you to take! You''re-" "It''s either we lose an F-rank or an A-rank, and we CAN''T lose you. This is this best option." "I''m not letting you do this, you brat!" "Let me do this!" "Let this kid try it." Daven speaks on my behalf. "We''re screwed either way." Olivia interjects. "But he''s-" "He''s making his own choice. Just like we must if we want to live today." Without further discussion, the core of the group begin to enhance me with their prana. Strength I''ve never felt before runs through me as I can see parts of my body glow. "This isn''t right." Olivia reluctantly begins to strengthen me as well. "But if this is what you choose...who am I to say no?" Boreal comes up and taps my head, allowing his prana to seep in, as Collins and Daven create a blockade for the Tuskers as this transpires. They push but this combination of traps and slime impedes them long enough for me. "...I''ll be sure to come back and get...you. And I''ll let your family know you fought valiantly." "No need, Boreal. Just keep going." "Thank you, kid." The group disperses from me and heads forward as the Tuskers focus their attention on me and me alone. I catch glimpes of Daven and Olivia looking back, but their figures fade as they pave their way through the forest. Is this it? Will I die here? Nothing to my name and for nothing. It is. This is where I will be no more. But I can delay it. I burn through my own prana reserves to enhance my already glowing status. The Tuskers eyes glow at this sight as they begin charging. With newfound speed, I charge into the Tuskers with full force. No amount of enhancements can make me stand a chance against them, but I can evade them enough. One Tusker charges at me as I run towards the hoard, but it narrowly misses as I jump above it. I do, however, make contact with its hide and the miasma singes my right hand. Another Tusker tries to penetrate my chest as I recover from my jump, but I roll and transition into a sprint immediately. With this, I run for my life. And I run. For nearly an hour. I pass by Tuskers as I run through the forest with nothing on my mind but survival, but they, on the other hand, also have a singular thought: killing me. A group within the hoard charges at me as a single unit, but I jump on a tree right as I''m about to become their victim, but this does not impede the beasts, who charges the tree to collapse it. This works, and both the tree and I fall hard. But I cannot stop. I recover from the force within seconds due to my enhancements and continue running with every Tusker in this forest on my tail. Sometimes i stumble, and sometimes the Tuskers will catch up and attack, but I''ll keep running for as long as I have breath and power. But my luck continues to dwindle. I am nowhere near strong enough to hold of the miasma, and I feel burning throughout my body. My breathing becomes shallow and agonizing as well, but I continue on. The Tuskers have also began using their semi-circle formation against me and their unescapable death net continues to close in. I sprint sporatically to change directions, but this does not impede the beasts when it is one vs hundreds of them. For the first time, I manifest a pure prana projectile and fire at the ground, causing an explosion that beneath my feet that not only propels me a decent distance, but creates a plume of dust. This confuses my pursuers enough to create a few seconds of distance between us. But without an Origin, one can only expel raw prana with the most basic of applications. Years of personal research are null with no way to use it. Or so I thought. Boreal left a gift: his immense prana. With Daven as a blueprint, I propel prana into the ground with each step. Raw prana, when willed, explodes on contact with an object. The idea is to creates wells of prana in the ground that explode when the Tuskers themselves come in conact with them. And it works, barely. But once again, I don''t have the fire power to kill them, but I will slow them down no matter what. I also leak my prana into the air to cause the same mini explosion, hoping some will blind the beasts. And this works too. Just like sneeze will stop a sprinter. Which is to say, it does little. And so I keep running. Until everything runs out. The enhancements fade and the light I once had is gone. My body collapses as I reach the edge of the forest. There''s nothing but a cliff and the ground below. This is the end of the road. It''s time to accept that- NO NO I DON''T WANT TO DIE WHY DID I MAKE THiS CHOICE? I already knew I wouldn''t be able to accept it anyway. But I try to anyway. That''s how my life has always been. The Tuskers have caught up, their eyes still focused on my despite my lack of luster. They slowly approach, as if they, too, seek drama from this. I bag back further onto the edge of the cliff and I can feel part of it collapse. I turn to look at the Tuskers; they have all the patience in the world now. They approach closer and closer. IS THIS IT? NO WHY WHY LIKE THIS BUT I''ll go out on my own terms. Using the fumes of my prana, I manifest a large orb of prana as it glows with unforeseen luminosity. The Tuskers instinctively charge as I aim at cliff below my feet. The explosion sends me off, but those Tuskers aren''t safe. As I fall, I see the cliff and the ground it''s connected to collapse like a bridge and many of the Tuskers are engulfed. Some random F-rank at least killed this many Tuskers. That''s an achievement. That''s something. As I conjure up a final happy thought, I plummet to the ground, the wind hitting my back becoming my pleasant invitation to the end. And as I close my eyes, I feel a warmth in my chest and the remains of my prana stir. Is this how death feels? I then hit the ground. Chapter 3 - Survival Part 1 "Willpower is the single greatest power of humans, but what is the drive behind it? For many, it''s the need for Power. Admiration. Achievement.¡± A boy interjects. ¡®Like getting good grades!¡± Yes! But, in nature, willpower comes from the need to survive. That very need is why we, as humans, have survived. Even before we all gained prana, humans have shown great strength in events of peril. To save ourselves, we''ll break even our own body, down to the last tendon, to survive. I hope many of you haven''t experienced this.¡± Multiple students yell out their ¡°survival¡± experiences. ¡°I have! I had to fight a squirrel!¡± ¡°One time, I had to clean up fast before my mom got home!¡± The teacher lets a giggle out before responding. ¡°So, tell me, class. What motivates your willpower?" "Money!" "My parents!" "Scholarships!" ¡°So many answers! Can you all guess what mine is?¡± One of the girls on the front of the class responds. ¡°Ooh! Is it money, miss?¡± The teacher snickers for a bit and responds. ¡°That¡¯s a small part of it, yes. But there¡¯s something more important than that. Keep guessing!¡± The entire class throws out random words until, after three minutes of constant yelling, one of my classmates gets it. ¡°Children!¡± The teacher lights up. ¡°Yes! The children! I do this for not only my kids, but every child out there!¡± The answer was obvious, considering we all knew the teacher¡¯s history, but elementary kids aren¡¯t known for thinking deep. I was no exception.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Or rather, I didn¡¯t bother thinking about it at all. ¡°You know, Omari, you should speak more. Oh wait, tell me, what drives your willpower?¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know.¡± Her expression lightens a bit before she puts her hand on my shoulder and lowers her voice. ¡°I want you to think about what makes you, you. And then I want you to think about to gets you up at in the morning.¡± I say something unintentionally sarcastic. ¡°It¡¯s my alarm-¡° ¡°Not like that! Think more so people, feelings, ideas, or anything! Out of those, what gives you the willpower to wake up?¡± *** When I come to, a feel a bird poking at my eyebrow. Does it think I¡¯m dead? Well, I thought the same, too. Beneath me are a pile of dead Tuskers that probably cushioned my fall. Ironic. Rubble covers the surrounding area, yet somehow, I¡¯m unharmed. Well, relatively unharmed. My entire body is bruised, and the pain in my left leg is on the verge of being crippling. My arms are covered in cuts and bruises as well, while my head is ringing so much, barely allowing me to think. Around me, I hear the grunts of the surviving Tuskers wandering about. Though numerous, they¡¯re sluggish and injured from the fall as well. My stomach grumbles. The Tuskers collectively turn towards me, but they¡¯re all too exhausted to do anything. If I had the power, this would be an all you can eat occasion for me. But, I¡¯m just like them: weak and hurt. But there¡¯s no time to waste, so I lift myself up despite the ensuing agony. A few Tuskers view this, yet they continue doing nothing. Once I find my footing, the pain in my left leg almost makes me collapse back to the ground, yet I remain upright. There are three things necessary for survival: food, water, and shelter, yet I find myself lacking all of these. Well, with the many Tusker corpses around, I''d be good on food. However, water and shelter are a must. With this in mind, I limp out of the wreckage deeper into the forested areas. I''ve always had pride in my sense of direction, but it would be foolish to entirely rely on this. I use my replenishing prana to mark trees as I go into the forest. The bark feels especially rough, and so I input more prana to make on a mark. Simply walking through the forest would be simple enough, but the terrain constantly shifts between hills and flatlands. The threats of spiders still exists as well, so I have to keep my eyes out for them. This forest is perfect for them as well. It''s dominated by conifer trees that riddle the ground with their leaves, wide oak trees that obscure the sun and any animals, and massive trees with trunks the height of a high-rise apartment. Finding water here would be like trying to find a needle in a giant greenery filled haystack. There''s also the ongoing threat of the miasma, although air exposure is teetering on the edge of being bearable. It singes my skin a bit and my breathing feels like I''m taking a slow jog despite only walking. There''s also the matter of visibility, as this entire forest has a foggy, purple hue. Regardless, if I circulate my prana, it''s teetering on the edge of being bearable for someone like me. I will eventually run out of prana, though. "It can''t get much worse, can it?!" No one responds.