Jon felt his thoughts come to a halt, arm half-raised – paused – as if to sip from the bottle in his hands. The words that Ashvattha Rana had just spoken needing a moment to register within his Fragment Of Mind.

  “You… want me to transform you into a fragment pathway?” Jon questioned, his tone incredulous. The sporting highlights that were being displayed on the television before him had long since being ignored, nothing more than a series of flashing lights splattering on the wall behind him.

  The light did not go further than the kitchen, seeping onto the plants and spiritual materials that Jon had placed on his countertop. The Earth Reincarnation Womb nodding her leaves in response to his words.

  “Of course. I mean, the effects that I possess right this moment are quite good all things considered, especially in comparison to other summoned companions. Although I lack the powerful supportive abilities of a Memento Source Item, I still can compete with the buffing effects of Rhidian and Celadonis.”

  “But if I am being completely honest, do not think that my abilities will be able to keep up with your growth and number of fragment pathways.”

  Rana paused, as if to take a short breath or release a brief sigh.

  “The strength of fragment pathways, in addition to their ability to “connect” certain concepts together, will become more apparent as you ascend to Lordship and Barony. You have already experienced the complimentary effects granted to you by your Fragment Of Alnus-Viridis Protection and Fragment Of Carnivorous Alnus-Viridis.”

  “One improves the effectiveness of the Spell effect, while another decreases the mana expenditure. Although you were prevented from obtaining the Title Fragment associated with discovering this “connective” effect, it does require the integration of Title Fragments during the pathway formation.”

  “Luminous Shidonai Acolyte possesses concepts related to ‘desire,’ ‘sin,’ and other miscellaneous desire-related concepts. With your vast array of sin-related fragments, the formation of a triple-fragment pathway is not impossible, especially considering the System rewards you still have saved up.”

  “Using said knowledge to obtain a powerful concept will make it easier to transform myself into a fragment pathway as well. Although I would be willing to undergo an extreme conceptual shift – I would – if I am being completely honest, prefer to remain at least somewhat arboreal.”

  The sound of rustling leaves and shifting roots echoed in the depths of his Three Seas Of Knowledge. Jon remaining motionless atop his Soothing-Comfort Couch, before raising his arm and finishing the half-empty bottle on his hand.

  Tabitha-Cedarspear Arm reaching for another bottle, cracking it open with but a flick of his thumb against the cap. Fragment Of Shapeless-Carcosa catching the uninitiated bottle cap in one hand, throwing it into the recycling bin with a single wave of its hand.

  Fear of rubbish and littering; what a surprisingly innocent fear…

  Carcosa-Form Horrors smiling back at him with a grin that revealed far too many teeth to anything even remotely close to human. Writhing tendrils brushing up against his Slothful-Harmony Pillows and worm-shaped fingers adoring the structure and design of his Glacial-Wood Table.

  “Wouldn’t the process… potentially rewrite the concepts that form, well, “Ashvattha Rana”? I mean, that is quite literally what I would be doing. Not just fusing the concepts contained within other fragments into you, but you into other fragments as well.”

  “Giving birth to some sort of… Rana-esque-looking existence?” Jon tried to articulate himself, failing halfway through. Letting out a loud and overexaggerated sigh, the twenty-year-old placed his beer down on the table-shaped spiritual item in front of him.

  The Earth Reincarnation Womb ruffled her leaves, half-nodding in affirmation.

  “Potentially yes, that could be the case.”

  “It is entirely possible that you could rewrite the concepts relating to the ‘Earth Reincarnation Womb; when combining fragments into a fragment pathway. Unless you had someone that possessed knowledge relating to a specified fragment pathway that could guide you, there is always a chance of me being, well…”

  Rana went silent for a few seconds, before letting out an almost imperceptible sigh.

  “The term is referred to as “summoning dissonance.” Our concepts, that is, the concepts of a summoned companion are placed within random fragments by the System, which are then handed out over time through System Integrations or System Acknowledged Feats.”

  “The concepts contained within our Titles are close enough to “tree” or “dragon” or “summon” that we can merge with Fragments Of Tree or Fragments Of Dragon. Upon integration, instead of an ability manifestation, the individual in question is granted a portion of said concepts, so as to evoke our Titles rather than the concept in question.”

  “Summoning rituals are technically under the purview of the System, although also tie into rituals as a whole, which is a whole other thing entirely.”

  “At the end of the day, “summoning dissonance” is what happens when an individual focuses too much on the concepts contained with their fragments, rather than the concepts contained within their summoned companions Title.”

  “It often results in the birth of a completely new ability.”

  “One that is devoid of the Summon Trait in its entirety.”

  Jon’s living room turned quiet, in the face of this startling realization. His expression somewhat torn, wanting to argue against transforming Rana, Eis or Song into fragment pathways. Despite their willingness to be transformed into fragment pathways, Jon was also not willing to risk losing any of them, even if it was in the pursuit of stronger abilities and greater rewards.

  He could understand their positions, Rana in particular considering he had been with her the longest.

  The Earth Reincarnation Womb once possessed powerful defensive and supportive abilities that granted her a wide variety of unique and powerful effects. Now constrained to just a single fragment each Rank, the transformation into a fragment pathway was now her easiest method to grow stronger.

  Albeit one that relied on Jon on the Title Fragments he decided to integrate into her.

  The quiet silence in Jon’s newly bough house seemed to grow louder and louder with each passing moment. The thoughts of the Earth Reincarnation Womb and Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation completely their own, even as Rana awkwardly squirmed, leaves worriedly rustling in anticipation for Jon’s response.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Are you… mad Jon?” Rana hesitantly asked.

  “No of course not,” Jon immediately responded, “Just a little taken back is all.”

  “If I were to mess up the formation of your fragment pathway, then you would be gone forever. I was just wondering, how much you trust me not to mess up something so important, especially considering it affects you more than it effects me.”

  Jon sighing, reaching towards the half-empty bottle of beer before him, picking it back up and taking another large sip. Glacial-Wood Table maintaining the bottles temperature, even in the presence of a warm summer heat.

  “If it is what you and the others want, then of course I’ll consider doing it upon reaching Lordship. I remember Eis saying that she was torn between wanting to integrate a Fragment Of Mask or a Fragment Of Femininity at Lordship.”

  “It seems perhaps that she also has a plan regarding her eventual transformation into a fragment pathway.”

  “Song conferred with Eis and me, desiring to seek our opinions on our own transformations.” Rana mentioned, gesturing towards the Fragment Of Summon and Fragment Of Dragon within his Ice Mana Core and Weave Mana Core.

  “The Threaded-Heart Of Terminus Est is similarly torn between integrating a Fragment Of Tachyon or a Fragment Of Photon. It seems that Song desires to move away from the concepts of ‘threads, ‘endings,’ and ‘fate’ that he once possessed, although has not yet truly decided on the path that he should walk.”

  “And yourself?” Jon could not help but ask.

  Rana hummed in thought for a moment, feeling just a tad bit closer to Jon right this moment. The bodhi deva tree releasing a golden-green light from in-between his conscious and subconscious minds, softly brushing against the depths of his Sea Of Hadal.

  “Well, since you asked so nicely…”

  “I was thinking about choosing between either a Fragment Of Mother or a Fragment Of Propagation…”

  Break.

  Lordship was still a ways away, given that he still needed to form all six of his spiritual veins and create his complete Knight Ranked Title. Before the rather abrupt ending to the System Introduction, Jon had formed four spiritual veins, corresponding with his Knowledge, Ice, Spear and Wood Mana Cores.

  Knowledge spiritual vein warped into the expansive form of a draconian shadow, mimicking the structure of “draconian reflections” and “shadowed knowledge” contained within [Thou Is Mine Shadow, Born From Dragons And Knowledge].

  Ice spiritual vein assuming the structure of an ice-given annihilation, pulsating with the horrifying destructive potential of “cold annihilation” and “ice cataclysms” contained within [Frozen End Art; Ice Mountain Annihilation, White Sea Cataclysm].

  Spear spiritual vein taking the form of twin vajra-spears, each crackling with the visceral and murderous properties of “irresistible eradication” and “indestructible-vajra” contained within [Imperial Spear Art; Vajra-Spear Extinction].

  Wood spiritual vein on the other hand-.

  ‘Is a work in progress at the moment…’

  Jon cleared his throat, sipping on a cup of freshly poured coffee. [Bestial Intuition] allowing him to perceive the soft emanations of chatter coming from the morning news program, discussions about certain policies and foreign political implications boring him to no end.

  Despite listening for any news regarding mysterious sightings or strange creatures, Jon was once again disappointed, softly sighing before moving his attention elsewhere. Minerva-Infiltration Eyes instead observing the blossoming spiritual materials all around him, dutifully nurtured under his tender hands.

  Mortal Ranked Golden Fruit Flowers sat beside Knight Ranked Luminous-Light Vines.

  Knight Ranked Herbal-Fragrance Ginseng grew alongside Mortal Ranked Joyous Spirit Grass.

  While Knight Ranked Gluttonous-Root Flowers softly chewed on the remains of Knight-level flesh constructs. Some of the remaining biomass that he had accumulated in the moments before returning back to Earth.

  Placing his coffee cup down on the kitchen benchtop, Jon turned his attention inwards, focusing on the wood spiritual vein within him.

  The structure and formation of said spiritual vein was in absolute tatters. Ruined by the combined efforts of the Angel Of Green and Angel Of Transformation. Both inadvertently attempting to rewrite his wood spiritual vein in an attempt to further subvert the fragment-pathways each created, destroying the underlying shape and circulation pattern that Jon had initially formed.

  ‘The transformation of [Imperial Wood Art; Towering Tree Barrier] into [Alnus-Viridis Wood Art; Majestic Towers Of Springtime Green] completely altered the structure of my wood spiritual vein. It was changed in order to suit the Fragment Of Alnus-Viridis Protection, rather than my Fragment Of Barrier.’

  ‘The addition of [Alnus-Viridis Wood Art; Vast Mouths Of Thorned Green] and [Behold Thy Wooden Metamorphosis, Clad In Cedarwood Spearlight] only further distorted the structure of my wood spiritual vein, transforming it into some sort of… malformed abomination.’

  ‘Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, the Angel Of Green and Angel Of Transformation both ruined my spiritual vein. Because of this, I have been forced to completely destroy it, reducing my Tier from Fourth-Vein back down to Third-Vein.’

  In exchange for obtaining three new dual-fragment pathways, Jon had been forced to unravel the wood spiritual vein that he had once tried so hard to create. Motes of wood natured spiritual energy dissipating into the ambient environment of his new abode, mostly integrated into the spiritual materials that he had placed throughout his kitchen, living, and dining room.

  Despite this retreat from Lordship, Jon did discover one interesting thing about the relationship between spiritual veins and the abilities that help form them.

  Dozens upon dozens Wood Mana Cores gathered around him in various unorganized piles and chaotic mounds. His [Red Archives Of Mars Quirinus] emptying out anything that even remotely looked like a Wood Mana Core into his kitchen, filling the room with an overabundance of wood natured spiritual energy.

  Tendrils of weave natured spiritual energy and knowledge natured spiritual energy reaching towards these ambient motes of wood mana, pulling them towards his flesh, somewhere within the gap between where his mind and spirit connected with his heart and marrow.

  With all the additional wood natured spiritual energy produced by these Mana Cores, Jon now had an overabundance of mana to help shape the new structure of his wood spiritual vein. Although he knew that forming it in a single attempt was unlikely, he would at least be able to test a few structures first before deciding on anything permanent.

  Spiritual channels and metaphysical veins carved alongside physical arteries and major blood channels. Some spiritual veins were carved straight through flesh and major organs, their intrinsic nature leaving them unaffected, albeit with a strange lingering, tingling sensation.

  While others curved alongside bones and tendons, entwining around them.

  ‘Spiritual veins are essentially structures designed to circulate spiritual energy in predefined patterns. Patterns that have conceptual similarities towards abilities, or perhaps rather, the fragments that form them.’

  The corners of Jon’s mouth curved upwards.

  ‘But what are fragments but the ‘fragment of a greater concept?’

  ‘If I use a concept as the basis for the shape of my spiritual vein rather than a specific ability then-.’

  ‘Could I not have a spiritual vein that encompasses two different abilities? Or perhaps even three? Spiritual veins can be structured however one pleases can they not?’

  ‘If I create an ‘Alnus-Viridis’ wood spiritual vein, could it not extend to both my Fragment Of Alnus-Viridis Protection and Fragment Of Carnivorous Alnus-Viridis?’

  Jon didn’t know.

  But Rana did not deny the possibility.

  That, in of itself, was more than enough of a chance for Jon to gamble on.

  The occasional sound of a buzzing phone were ignored as Jon continued to practice his spiritual vein formation. Several texts from more than half-a-dozen different phone numbers flashing in rapid succession; phone numbers that were all too familiar.

  Wisps of wood natured spiritual energy saturated the walls and hallways of his three-storied abode. The continuous practice and manipulation of specific abilities, such as his Fragment Of Thieving-Envy or Fragment Of Cedarspear Mutation, had resulted in Jon steeping his environment with mana and traces of specific concepts.

  Spiritual items, potions and numerous books regarding languages and ability details laid scattered about within one of the spare bedrooms. Imperceptible currents of mana flowing towards one single point of this room, behind one of the table legs that had been placed beside an uninitiated workbench.

  Accumulating. Gathering. Folding. Congealing into-.

  A small, fingernail sized rectangular-looking gemstone.