Depthless Hunger

"How can there be an Insanity on Deadwaste?" Zae Zin Nim asked. She stared at the shard of metal as if she expected it to attack or explode at any moment.

"It's called the True Metal." Omilaena began walking around it, her eyes alight again. "It appears in some legends, supposedly a piece of metal that fell from the sky and inspired everyone else to create metals in imitation. I'd have dismissed it as a myth except that there have been credible reports over the years about weapons formed from a metal that seemed impossibly strong and sharp."

"Didn't you say Irunian steel uses Essence to strengthen itself? It's useful, it's not an Insanity."

"I do not know this term," Tusquo said, "but you may be right. Let me tell you about the secret history of Irun and you can judge for yourselves."

They quickly assembled to listen. Kai had never even heard a whisper of this, which he supposed just meant it was a well-kept secret. Tusquo cleared his throat and then began.

"The earliest tribes of Irun stumbled on this shard and discovered that, when exposed to mana, it created pools of liquid steel. It granted them abilities that became the Path of Steel, so they forged the tribes into a nation. Everywhere they took the shard, it created more pools. Never ending, never diminishing, it seemed to have infinite strength."

"That sounds like an Insanity," Omilaena said. "But I assume it didn't last."

"Correct. After centuries, we began to notice a slight weakening. In the beginning it created endless powerful pools, almost more than could be managed. This abundance faded over time, then the pools became less potent. We saw fewer Truesteel results and Bronze appeared for the first time. Now, in just the last century, the number of pools themselves began to decline."

"Far beyond anything we have, but not infinite," Zae Zin Nim said thoughtfully. "If the Insanities aren't truly divine objects, then perhaps that makes sense. Is it possible that one day, the First Crest could simply... run out of power?"

"If it does, the Commonwealth of Traebor is fucked," Omilaena said. "But don't let us interrupt you, Tusquo. What did the past Irunians do?"

"As they were sadly human, they often squabbled with one another and they wasted the years while Irun was still strong, when they could have prevented the decline." Tusquo shook his head sadly. "This is our dirty secret, one that could either make another power invade or turn us into a backwater. We trust you not to reveal it, but... we had hoped for more..."

Omilaena swiftly moved to the center, examining first the pool and then the shard with her goggles. She took a syringeful of the liquid metal and toyed with it before pushing it back out. When she tried to do the same with the shard, it failed to penetrate. Even her needles and knives couldn't put a scratch on the powerful metal.

Eventually she stepped back and removed her goggles. "There's nothing I can do to recharge or boost this. This is an honest-to-fuck Insanity, beyond anything I've seen. Even if you could extract the essence, I don't think you could refine it, and the process would probably be a zero sum game when it's in a piece of metal instead of a growing body. Sorry."

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"It would have been too much to hope," Tusquo said. "Is there nothing that can be done?"

"Hypothetically I wonder if you could keep refining your own metal, then try to revert it back to this pool form... but I wouldn't have a clue about how to start. No, I suggest you work on the Ironpath Physique, maybe invest in chakra from overseas. That's your best chance."

They were silent for a time, and Kai was frustrated that they'd come so far only to end at this wall. None of his powers were likely to be of any help. Just when he thought they had no choice but to retreat, Tusquo spoke again.

"The pool directly beneath the shard is the only one that retains its strength. Usually, we only allow the truly exceptional to touch it, the geniuses of entire generations. But given what you've done for Irun... if you pledge to try to use that power to help us again, we'll offer you a chance."

"You mean at the Path of Steel?" Omilaena raised her eyebrows as if only mildly interested, but Kai could tell she was eager from the way she shifted her weight.

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"Yes. Consider it a gift of thanks, and an investment for the future." Tusquo gestured down to the pool. "I believe you're already familiar with the methods from all your research?"

"Test of willpower, dive to the bottom, grab spheres of potential. Got it."

"In that case... you may begin when you're ready."

Omilaena took a long, deep breath with her eyes closed. In her position, Kai would have spent a while meditating and maybe gotten a complete night of sleep. But that had never been her way - as soon as Omilaena's eyes opened, she sprinted forward and performed a swan dive directly into the liquid metal.

From the inside, the trial had been a long ordeal of willpower, struggling in the spiritual depths of the pool. Watching from the outside, he barely had time for a couple breaths before Omilaena popped out of the pool with a fist clenched around a metal sphere. Despite the brief absence, she looked as if she'd run for days.

"Harder... than it looks..." She turned around and plunged back into the pool.

They held their breath a little longer before Omilaena emerged again. Instead of breaking out triumphantly, she floated up to the surface on her back, her head tilted to one side and her eyes unfocused.

"Can't..." Her voice was little better than a whisper. "That's... all I can..."

"Come on!" Kai shouted. "I got three of them when I had nothing going for me!"

Tusquo raised his hands. "You really shouldn't... two is already the normal-"

"Go on," Zae Zin Nim spat out. "Or are you too lazy to swim? I'd have already gotten four by now!"

"Oh... you bitch..." Omilaena took a huge breath and then forced herself down again.

The pool rippled as she disappeared, then the ripples slowly faded out. Tusquo put his face into his hand, but he didn't seem worried. From what Kai remembered, the only real risk was the pool throwing a person out as it grew denser and denser. Still, as the silence stretched on and on, he began to grow concerned.

Abruptly Omilaena burst out and half-collapsed, spilling three shining spheres from her arms. She lay there for a while, just gasping, until Kai moved closer and helped her up. When she clung to his body, for once he didn't think she meant anything by it except that she was exhausted.

"Very good," Tusquo said. He bent down beside the spheres floating atop the metal. "These are-"

"No." Omilaena hadn't fully recovered, but she spoke with surprising focus. She let go of Kai and pulled herself over, gathering up the spheres in her arms. "My path... is not... the Path of Steel. This is the source of something else."

None of them were sure what to make of this pronouncement. On a spiritual level, it felt as though something within her cracked open. Yet not like a wound... it seemed to be intentional, as if Omilaena had torn open her own chest. Her chakra was mixing together with the bright spheres in her arms. Gradually the spheres seemed to dissolve, not into one another but into her body.

When she was done, Omilaena raised a hand. It trembled just with the effort of keeping itself aloft, but liquid metal began to flow from her palm. Instead of the usual Irunian silver, this metal had a blue shimmer to it. After curling around her wrist, it solidified into a bracelet marked with three spheres.

Then Omilaena collapsed - she just lay on her back for a while, grinning.

Since she couldn't talk, Kai examined her soul.

Name: Omilaena

Total Power: 755

Heart of Poison: Level 64 (256)

Lethal Artisan: Spinel Rank (215)

Path of Venomsteel: Step 1 (15)

Physique: D-4 (220)

Soul Level: 7 (49)

>

The leap in power wasn't huge, but he immediately understood that it was what she had wanted: a true synergy. Hopefully that would help her develop all her powers, just like she'd helped the Irunians reinforce their own abilities.

While Omilaena recovered they discussed the potential for Zae Zin Nim to enter the pool, but she felt strongly that this wouldn't be compatible with her cultivation. It was definitely her decision, so Kai didn't press. He didn't feel any urge to try to take the test again, either. That part of his life was in the past, just a step on the path to where he stood now.

When Omilaena got back to her feet she was still unsteady, so Kai went to help her. Zae Zin Nim had moved as well and she sagged in between the two of them as they made their way down the corridor. She didn't say a word, but the way she gripped his arm was enough.

"Again, you can't speak to anyone about this," Tusquo warned them. "We hope that one day you'll be able to return to Irun to reverse the worst of this, but if not, consider this a gift as thanks for your services to the nation."

"We got it," Kai said.

The portal at the end of the hall took them to a different random location within Irun, this time a bleak section of mountains. After another wait, a portal appeared to take them back to Brasyan. By the time they stepped through, Kai was more than a little disoriented. Some part of his body knew that they had leapt across great distances in a short time and it had more of an impact than elven teleportation.

To his surprise, there were people waiting for them. Not more Irunians, but a group of Frontier elites. Most shocking of all, they were headed by his old mentor, Gunjin Granfian. He was still scarred from the incursion, but his back stood straighter.

"Finally back," he said. "Are you done here? Been dutiful with your compression exercises?"

"Yes, sir," Kai said, automatically falling back into old patterns.

"Good. Now that you have a foundation, it's time for your real training to begin."