Inside the underground chamber prepared by squad Beta for shelter, the initiates were meditating in the darkness. They were stabilizing their minds and taming the flow of Ether within them to prepare themselves for their awakenings.
The serenity inside the still underground chamber is shattered. Zavian senses a deep, rhythmic pressure. Riven feels a massive shift in the mass and a force in the space outside the chamber. Hera opens her eyes and begins to scan her surroundings.
The air inside suddenly grows heavy and humid. The crimson water began to seep in through the walls and ceiling of the chamber. The chamber floods rapidly. All exits were sealed and the strange liquid begins to rise.
All three of them act rapidly together and blast their way out of the shelter, emerging on the surface of the drowning island. They were now surrounded. The safe haven that they had dug underground was now flooded and the outer region of the forest's periphery which was deemed to be safe was going to be submerged underwater in a few moments.
They had no choice but to head into the forest. But they couldn't go too deep inside as they didn't know what danger awaited them there. The were in no position to partake in a lethal battle as they were in a vulnerable state.
While Zavian and Riven were thinking of ways to escape this dilemma, Hera made the only possible call; that they should gain altitude quickly. She pointed to the tallest, most ancient Mirewood Tree. The plan was to destroy the monster's core precisely without destroying its body completely.
Riven takes lead on defense Using his staff to create brief footholds of solid light and deflect the vines attacking them. Hera ascends first to determine the position of the core. She uses her perception to navigate the confusing and shifting branches. Zavian stays on alert and informs his team whenever an illusion was being cast by the tree. Hera used her Mist cuffs to cover Zavian, Riven and herself whenever an illusion was cast.
While this method was safe and convenient, it was not fast enough. The crimson water was rising rapidly in the darkness. Hera hurried her search and moved tactfully with her teammates. As they passed the center of the gargantuan tree and moved towards the top, Zavian saw a flood of information surging in from beneath him. This was the core of the monster but Zavian being able to sense this directly was an indication that his Trine Tempering had begun.
Zavian informed Hera and Riven about the core's position and indication of his awakening. Hera immediately absorbed the fog covering them and materialized a heavy mace. Zavian activated his Mindshaft. Together with Riven's heavy staff they struck the core's position with all their might and shattered it.
The overflowing longing and desire coming from the Mirewood died down slowly as its giant and ancient corpse stood in place. They moved upwards immediately but suddenly Zavian fell down and genuflected in pain. His metamorphosis had started. Hera and Riven halted and rushed towards Zavian but the water was still rising. Riven tried teleporting themselves to the top of the tree but was unable to do so. The flow was Ether was rampant inside him and he wasn't able to lock onto to their coordinates accurately to execute a teleport.
Hera formed a lasso using her Mist Cuffs. She threw it towards Zavian and captured him. After securing Zavian who was still in pain and was unable to move by himself, Riven and Hera moved swiftly towards their destination.
Suddenly Hera's vision blurred and her body trembled causing her grip on Zavian to loosen. She tried regaining her strength but was unable to so due to writhing pain throughout her body. Riven immediately ran to Hera's aid but the lasso made from fog disappeared and Zavian fell into the crimson water. Riven was now out of options. He had started suppressing his Ether flow, from when they first started ascending the tree. The Ether was going to burst through and reform him at any moment.
He made a decision that he was not going to try and save Zavian because the chances of him successfully diving underwater while carrying Hera and also retrieving Zavian while resisting the changes brought by ether, was zero.
He controlled his rampant emotions, composed himself and moved towards the top with a heavy heart. Riven reached the top of the gigantic tree with Hera on his back, he fell down after placing down Hera safely. He looked down while panting. Towards the rising red sea that had stopped just a few inches away from them. His eyes searched for traces of Zavian but the only thing that was visible was the endless, vermillion sea.
Inside the endless red of the sinister sea, Zavian was sinking down, he opened his eyes and all he could see was darkness and all he could feel was pain. He couldn't see his teammates, his body and mind were in extreme anguish and he was drowning. The only thing he was able to perceive was the surge of information enveloping him. He avoided his attention from this flood of information and grabbed his giant arrow on his back.
Zavian held onto to the arrow with both his arms. Even this action of moving his joints to hold the arrow was so painful that he almost fainted. His heart grew full of desire to escape, to survive, to see his brother again and stand alongside him. His intent was resonated in his arrow, Mindshaft quivered and the ring on his index finger glowed faintly in the darkness.
His mind became singular. The only thought on Zavian's mind was to survive, to reach the top of the dead tree. The arrow moved, carrying Zavian upwards. Somewhere along the way Zavian had lost his consciousness but his intent was so strong that the arrow didn't stop moving.
Riven's vision had started to blur when he saw ripples appearing on the surface of water. His eyes widened as his body felt energized again. He gathered all his strength and stood up. The arrow was still going upwards even after exiting the water due the intensity of Zavian's intent. Riven grabbed Zavian from the arrow, but he was not able to separate Zavian's grip form the arrow. He was using all his force to hold him down but this couldn't last long. He saw the ring on Zavian's finger glimmering with faint light. He pulled the ring from Zavian's finger, the connection between him and the arrow broke and the arrow fell on Riven along with Zavian.
Riven pushed Zavian gently and placed him to his side along with his ring and arrow. Beads of water fell down from the corners of his eyes as he sighed and lied down with a faint smile on his face.
The first light of dawn arrived at the top of the dead Mirewood. The three members of squad Beta lied there exhausted, battered, but alive, overlooking the receding crimson sea.
The first thing they noticed was the flow of ether that was now more stable because it had a defined path now. They could perceive the faint glow of the Ether channels beneath their skin, pulsing softly. All their injuries were healed during their transformation. Their bodies were new stronger, more agile and coiled with potent, new energy. All their senses were augmented permanently.
Zavian was now able to clearly feel the consciousness of those around him. He could feel the distinct sentience of his teammates. He could feel Hera's analytical calm and burden of her leadership. He could feel Riven's weary relief under his carefree persona. He could also feel the sleeping presence of the island itself. This was the result of the awakening of his PulseCognivault.
His memory was now enhanced. He could access his memories like they were books serialized in order inside a library. His reflexes were extremely sharp and precise. He was able to map the terrain around him mentally. He also had a stable state of mind that would not waver in any illusion or confusion.
He noticed an Infinity-shaped mark on his right forearm. The patterns that formed the shaped were so deep, like they could never be measured. The intricate brand glowed with deep indigo light. This was his MarkEchotrace.
Riven's Pulse, Orbit Sense had awakened. His perception was completely transformed. He saw the world with complete awareness of motion, force and space. He was now able to see the world as an amalgamation of vectors, force, tension and subtle gravitational shifts which allowed him to develop peculiar, precognitive reflexes in combat.
Riven now possessed perfect navigation and impeccable spatial memory. He had also developed an advanced instinct that allowed him to perform "guided strikes" that precisely targeted an enemy's weak point.
A radiant compass sigil, seemingly made up of star dust had formed on his right hand. It was burning with light and contained countless speck of stardust which solidified and formed this metaphysical brand. This was his MarkStarborne Array.
Hera's perception of world was not changed but distorted. She perceived the world as a seamless curtain of interconnected information. Her sight allowed her to discern the invisible abstract threads that connected a cause to its effect. She could now detect a line of sight, a sound's path, or an attacker's intent. She could ascertain lies and deception by recognizing tangled thread of corrupted information. This was her Pulse Umbrasil Drift.
Her presence was now "edited" from her surroundings due the muffling of her psychic signature. She was now more evasive and stealthier. Her mind now possessed a void that was presented to anyone who tried to pry into her thoughts. This made her indiscernible to other psychics.
Her Mark, The Redacted Sigil was not an intricate pattern, but a rectangle of absolute black on her right forearm. It was like a censor bar placed over classified information. Its edges were abnormally sharp and geometric, that made it seem more like a hole on her skin that had been cut out of reality.
The settled Ether within them resonated with the dawn, and a faint, shimmering light etched itself into their skin.
It was a final clarification that caused the words of silver-blue light to bloom into existence.
On Hera's arm, tangled in shadow, were the words: The Unseen Aegis.
On Riven's, circling a captured star, was the title: Astraveld Vagrant.
And on Zavian's, woven into infinity, was the promise: The Scribe of a New Genesis.