A New Dawn
Waking up or rather coming back to my senses was a much subdued phenomenon as compared to the excitement and stressful circumstances under which I lost consciousness. It was possibly a blessing in disguise for after my sudden repose, I feel much more grounded and it feels as if I have stabilized. I don't know for sure, but I now feel whole, complete, as if the fragmentation issue has been dealt with. I also have a significant amount of foreign knowledge as well as memories in my head(?), particularly knowledge about the profession of a Genetic Engineer as well as technological advancements belonging to a world much more advanced than mine. Hmm, I think that that globule which I consumed was another person, who was a genetic engineer coming from another technologically advanced world. Surprising, and mildly disturbing, but nothing I would not repeat again for survival and to get what I want.
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For the first time in forever, I realized that I could extend my perception beyond my immediate surroundings. I was now a fist-sized crystal orb, the very same shade of violet as the portal. I was currently situated in a verdant cavern, surrounded by a wide variety of plants, with a ray of sunlight somehow managing to reach the floor through a fissure in the ceiling, providing a measure of light, illuminating the entire space. The cavern was huge, with the meagre lighting creating excellent shadows and generating an overall spooky and gloomy atmosphere. Despite my new surroundings and the overall sombre atmosphere, rather than fear all I felt was excitement and an all consuming hunger- hunger to prove my worth and make my promise come true! To Take What I Want, To Be Free, and CARVE OUT MY OWN PLACE IN THIS CRUEL WORLD!!
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Okkay, lost my calm there for a moment, not very used to my new form.. And it also seems that my thoughts are much more active(?) I don't have arms or a body to actually manipulate but I can still interact, still feel my surroundings. There's this force around me, which I can control if I concentrate a bit. Is this telekinesis? I doubt that, for rather than moving things with the power of my mind, I am consciously manipulating a foreign element present in the environment to act according to my wishes, and the feedback from that element acts as my one sense. Hmm, so lets call this foreign element as "THE FORCE", because, well, I can.
Trying to manipulate the Force, I attempted to dig a pit behind a huge tree which looked similar to a Dawn Redwood, which acted as a living curtain hiding my current form from view of whatever creatures lived in the cavern as deducted from the low symphony of noise which I had somehow managed to ignore before. Manipulating the Force is much harder than using it to sense my surroundings. It is unyielding, and trying to move it is a chore; Correction: It was unyielding, it's getting easier to manipulate and I am improving drastically in real time, it seems to be similar to a muscle which improves proportionally to its usage.
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The Force is ... different. Its more than just an element in the environment which I can use to sense my surroundings. I've spent quite some time trying to force the Force to dig into the ground (See what I did there?) and it has given me a set of different results which has allowed me to reach a possible hypothesis which can conveniently explain its effects.
This element reacts to my will and acts according to my imagination. Calling it "FORCE" would be severely limiting its potential and my imagination. To think outside the box and not be limited by stereotypes, I hereby name this ever-present element - MANA!
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After a significant amount of time, I looked proudly at my creation, a prototype defensive structure made of enhanced and strengthened earth, twigs and leaves creating a perfect camouflage. I molded the earth into a maze of sorts, creating a network of interconnecting and identical tunnels with multiple dead ends and crossroads. From above, nothing was visible except for a small hole in the ground cleverly hidden beneath shrubs and twigs, but acted as a pathway to a fortified burrow about 20 meters deep through 7 crossroads, 12 intersections and 6 dead ends; all this built according to my size, which meant creature not larger than mice could actually access my Sanctuary (Well, why not).
How did I know this? The Mana which I controlled, ultimately became a part of me, and when I used that said Mana to build structures and enhance them, let's say I INFUSED a Part of ME INTO the structure, so now I am always aware of what goes on there....
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Relocating myself is a chore. I am using Mana to push myself(or is roll a better word?) into the burrow until I reach the fortified room. In forethought, this decision feels like a wrong one, what if I break myself trying to move? I can already imagine it making to the headlines: Man dies while trying to roll over, a second chance-waasteedd!! Like seriously, that would probably be one of the dumbest ways to die ever.. and there was a certain chance that it could happen to me, so I started directing that Mana towards my body (the orb) and willed it to enhance me, but before I could actually decide the direction of enhancement, the Mana was absorbed and my orb increased in size. The change was small, but it was there. So I decided to hold off enhancing myself until I reached the burrow for getting stuck in between pathways and not being able to use the fortified burrow which I put so much time and effort in would simply suck.
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So finally reached the burrow, and covered the entrance to the maze with a thin layer of twigs. And in time as well, for the sunlight was dimming slowly but surely and soon would completely disperse, ensuring that the complete cavern was enveloped in darkness and an oppressive silence. The darkness didn't affect me much for my senses were all based on Mana, and I instead used this opportunity to absorb Mana at a much faster pace, the gradually increasing the rate of consumption proof of my increasing capabilities which I utilized to the utmost and infused my surroundings with more Mana, expanding the burrow to accommodate my still increasing size and spread out my senses to prepare for any uncertainties which are sure to arise; all of this happening at the same time, while the light faded away, and everything was embraced by darkness.