Chapter 3
Cage eventually looked up and watched the horizon while warring with what he thought he knew and what he now new. Somehow he had been brought here by magic, healed of all injury and now he couldn’t dispute he just used it intentionally. Science has always said magic wasn’t real, but they couldn’t prove it with any form of empirical data. He wasn’t hallucinating or going crazy because such an elaborate setup is impossible to falsify. As a rationalist he believed in fact, but never saw true magic and here now he did it and felt the effects from the draining. Of course he had seen illusionists perform, but even as a small child he knew how they did the trick. There were countless books on ‘real’ magic, but none could truly perform it and there were thousands of fantasy novels and stories to entertain or scare children.
“I need to make sure.” He then did as he did before and pictured a small flame in the palm of his hand and as he spoke “Fire.” An orange flame the size of a marble came into being and the tingle told that he was using magic. He let the thought go and the flame winked out. It took five minutes to recover enough to think straight.
Well it’s conclusive, I’ve just done magic. Just what has happened to me? He thought. This is too much. “Sweet!” he crowed and laughed to himself. “What else can I do? Better not just yet… don’t want to wind up blacked out again. I’d be a sitting duck if the wolves found me after trying something stupid… Better just stick with the plan and regain strength and scout the island.” With that decided he tried standing, only to fall backwards from dizziness. The cane came in handy again and allowed him to walk around for an hour to fully process how drastic his perceptions had been changed. He went over and collected more fruit and edible plants to decide since most of the day had been spent he’d refuel and rest off the effects for that seemed to be how things worked. As he ate, the headache vanished and energy returned back to normal, well recently normal. All the sweet sugars seemed to help and he memorized that little detail for later. Night set in quickly and he broke out the ocarina to play, bringing the sounds of the ocean into harmony with his music.
Morning returned and Cage found himself feeling remarkably refreshed. Taking a day off to rest seemed to have excellent results. He stood up much more surely than he had all week. A quick stretch made him feel ready to take on the next challenge.
Cage bound the fire in a tightly packed tinder bundle so it could smolder without needing to be checked every few minutes. He then tied it to the vines that held the knife, sandals and instrument. For as long as he ran on the soft white sand he didn’t need foot protection since he already had blisters. Making everything sure it was secure, he had a quick idea and marked this location with three logs, plunged into the sand and leaning against each other. He made them stand out as something natured didn’t do on the beach, but kept it far above the tide that he had watched these past two days.
Alright let’s see how long it takes to do a round trip. He thought while picking up the cane.
Not one to take things easy, except with magic at this point, Cage gritted his teeth and began to run with everything he had within. He surprised himself as he began to run over a hundred steps before requiring the cane to keep him from tripping. He remembered taking college courses under a false name and identity at a community college, sometimes to learn for himself or for a mission. He remembered a medical class that focused primarily on human movement. Cage began slightly modifying how he stepped and it began to make running much more smooth. A routine began to emerge as he’d run hard and walk it off till he recovered his breath and pushed harder. After he believed he moved about five miles did his legs give out altogether.
He rested for an hour before tearing up the ground again.
Two weeks passed before Cage finally saw the marker and smiled. “Success.” But then he remembered the journey to reach the human size wooden monument. Luckily the island’s beach is mostly uniformed white sand, with a few jagged areas and tide pools that required the use of the wooden sandals. But as he ran he studied the currents and reefs to realize there is absolutely no safe place to enter or exit. Hardly depressed, he fell on his back to rest in the shade as the sun burned brightly overhead.
About four days ago Cage no longer relied on the cane, but hadn’t let it go for it proved invaluable as a spear to knock down coconuts or help dig up edible roots and tubers. He could now run a whole mile before collapsing or slowing down and only once did he take a full day to break from the challenge and rest his weary body.
Cage sat up and looked at his legs to see a visible difference. His knees no longer appeared knobby and his calves and quads were nearly a healthy, respectable size. Even his abdominal muscles had tightened up to almost be flat again. His chest and arms hadn’t changed in the least. “I’m almost back.”
He rested for the day and set out for another circuit in the morning, but from the opposite way, hoping for a different perspective to the confining situation.
Over the next two months Cage saw obvious improvements in how fast he became and how quickly his legs transformed from living twigs to lean and athletic limbs to be proud of once again. What once took two weeks now took little more than two days to completely circle the island. It had become almost too easy to run on the soft, even sand. Cage’s endurance developed so quickly he could run for miles and not get winded to the point of collapse. The sun started becoming a problem, but he smeared coconut oils from the meat and it acted like natural sunscreen. That was till his tan turned golden.
He looked to the mountain and decided to make it the next big challenge.
Taking no time to consider alternatives, Cage tore into the island without the least sign of hesitation. The river helped keep him from losing his way, especially since all the beginning springtime growth had come into full, lush vegetation, completely changing the feel of the land he journeyed on so few weeks ago.
Twice he slipped on slick stones, but caught himself before falling. Then he’d charge ahead without slowing. Jumping became easier, especially when it became necessary from other streams that bled into the main one he paralleled.
Cutting around a curve he tumbled over something large, soft and more surprised than he. Startled limbs tangled, but after a quick roll, the human found himself flat on his back. Cage got his arms under the creature and threw it over him before he ended up hurt. He then brought his heels up and threw them out while pushing with his arms to stand instantly. He spun around and stopped cold. “I just tripped over a…” mountain lion! He thought the last of the sentence.
Sputtering, splashing and yowling a roar, the large feline righted itself in the shallows of the river. First he minded his business, just getting a nice drink of water and suddenly found himself soaking wet and switched into a foul mood.
The almost adult cat was just as large as the wolves earlier, but frighteningly more deadly when alone. The wet feline didn’t take long to find Cage as the culprit to his moist situation. Its hair of its neck stood on end and bared its teeth, a frightening display to most.
Cage grinned as he felt the call of battle and rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. Most people who are unaccustomed to the charge of adrenaline experience perspective slowness or say time practically stopped, but Cage was so used to it, it simply gave clarity to what was all around him and focus to fight a worthy opponent. “Here, Kitty Kitty!” He taunted joyously and the mountain lion charged out of the water and swatted at Cage as he tested himself now that he knew he could move properly again, but the strike only caught air as he moved back a half step. Training in hundreds of fighting styles came flooding into Cage. He feared that when there came a need he wouldn’t remember, but all the pain, struggles and muscle memory returned fully to fortify him against any adversary and save his life.
When the swipe failed, the animal wasn’t used to prey not running away for him to chase, let alone sprint headfirst into combat. Survival of the fittest is the basic law and Cage loved the excitement such a situation presented. It’s h
ow he lived, life and death meant everything. If you survive one more moment than your opponent then you were honoring the defeated by keeping them in your memory, remembering them as they were in their final moment. A good fight always brought out the best in Cage and he looked forward to throw himself into the fray. A quick smack on the pink nose and lightning strike elbow to the jaw stunned the beast for but a moment. Cage leaned back as it roared and swiped again, but didn’t get out of reach quick enough and received four long scratches to his right chest, but not before kicking up into the mountain lion’s throat. Before it had time to recover, Cage moved in behind, grabbed it’s long golden tail, lifted and kicked with all he had in the cat’s balls.
It had an instant reaction, unknown fear and manly pain.
“Alley-op!” And Cage leaned back while spinning to lift the feline and throw it clear across the river, landing in the shallows. The cat looked at him with wide eyes before running away for its very life.
As it disappeared into the thick brush Cage laughed, hard, enjoying the feeling of his first true successful fight against a worthy opponent and the feeling he had truly become whole if he could fight equally against such a being and wear the wounds on his chest in pride. He sat down and patted his legs, silently thanking them for returning and supporting him without fail. He understood if the situation were any different it might have ended with either more wounds or even his end if he were the one attacked.
The chest wounds burned with pain and blood flowed freely down his torso. He cleaned it with the water and saw the marks were only slightly deeper than necessary to spill blood, but it didn’t reach muscle. A simple flesh wound. He moved to the water and began tending to the wound while endorphins dulled the pain enough for him to work quickly.
Adrenaline receded and left him feeling remarkably calm. Cage reflected on the battle, remembering every miniscule movement the two made and if there was to be another encounter he would know how to react. The greatest factor to the survival of the fight is that the mountain lion wasn’t yet full grown.
Cage waited till the wound was flushed clean and stopped bleeding before continuing his run, but with much more caution and a better grip on his cane.
After bedding down for the night, and repairing both sandals for morning, Cage arose to find the cat’s scratches scabbed over and there weren’t any signs of infection. He got up and began running again, quickly feeling the effects of varying terrain. It became increasingly harder to keep an even pace and it pushed his reactions to their limit.
Cage returned to the majestic waterfall and lake to marvel at it for awhile. Again he felt the pull to that odd spot. It was doubly more tantalizing, but he still didn’t feel ready to get near. It seemed to want him and didn’t make his gut feel queasy like something with malevolent intent. It felt patient and would wait till he felt ready. He knew deep down he wasn’t. Not yet.
Several hours later he powered up the mountain and reached its grassy peak. He stayed up there again for a whole night, seeing the few lights far to the eastern land. Nothing had changed since his last visit except that he was exceptionally stronger and could truly defend himself. More old style sailboats sailed the sea to the west, usually one or two a night and they still didn’t seem to pay attention or attempt any form of curiosity.
After light came back, Cage ran down the opposite side of the mountain, finding more variety to his diet and other interesting locations. Once such place was a cave on the mountain that stood several uneven inches above Cage’s six foot six height. It went in about ten yards and didn’t have any signs of animal habitation. It was dry and didn’t smell at all. It is the very first place he found as a proper shelter and living for the past few months made him come to understand the climate and how often it rains. He decided to make the northern cave his home when in the area and was easy to find again. By nightfall he reached the ocean and coming morning turned around.
For the next two weeks Cage ran back, forth and everywhere around the island to learn all it had to offer. Once he came across the big cat again and when it saw him it bolted for its life and appeared to be hiding its genitals. It would never forget their last encounter, giving it a healthy respect for human kind and just who is the top dog on the island. When it became easier to run hard on the changing terrain he returned to the waterfall paradise that drew him, but still avoided the oddity.
Cage stayed off to one side of the vertical cliff and began rock climbing, free-style. Several times he fell off, wasn’t seriously hurt. The worst injury was a fractured coccyx that wouldn’t allow him to sit properly for weeks and a sprained ankle made him rest for a day before trying another climb again.
It took about three days to figure out how to do it again. Then he did the hardest part, climbing back down. It took three times as long to descend the two hundred foot wall than to ascend.
When he felt confident he had regained sufficient muscle tone and experience did he begin practicing all the fighting styles and moves that could be done alone. Some required partners to spar with, but he made due with a wooden punching bag, a log for flipping end over end, doing squats, dead-lifts and bench pressing. Many of the moves felt awkward since he hadn’t used them is so very long. He decided to work out every morning and rest for a few hours before trying something he couldn’t possibly forget.
In the shade of large trees and situated beside him were fruits, vegetables and water. “Last time I used magic, food seemed to help.” He remembered. Before him sat materials for ideas he had made since the initial monumental discovery. “It also worked better when I wasn’t already exhausted. Now what should I begin with?”
He mulled it over and came to a decision.
Cage turned his hand upwards and did as he did before and conjured a flame. Again he felt the tingling sensation that tells he is using magic while also sensing how he became slightly tired so long as he keeps the flame alive. He tossed the flame at the tender bundle he created and it caught almost instantly. When it did he quit using magic and the sensation ended as did the growing exhaustion.
“Water.” He said and watched as a bubble of water gathered in his hand, coming from the nearby river. He felt the different draw of energy it took to hold the water’s shape and keep it afloat. It was only mildly easier, but he couldn’t hold it aloft for long as he grew weaker and let it splash in his hand and on his crossed legs.
He began to munch on the fruit he brought and rested. Like last time, it helped as he hoped and regained his faculties within a half hour, but he still felt exhausted from what the magic extracted. He wanted to test the limits and made another spell, as he remembered the name for the use of applied magic, and this time he wasn’t surprised to see a reflection appear in thin air.
His beard had grown thicker since the last time and the magic was infinitely easier to maintain than a basic primary element for the mirror wasn’t really there. He had sharpened the stone knife carefully over the past few days in preparation for this and began the painful task of shaving. In the first swipe he bit the skin and drew a line of blood. “Ouch.” And changed the angle. Cage wished for a proper blade of metal with a razor’s edge, but he’d have to make due.
By the time he got off most of the uncomfortable beard and trimmed his hair, overuse of magic left him gasping for breath, nearly blacking out, but looked much better before making the image vanish.
Again he ate, but it did little to help and he couldn’t remain awake for long.
Sizzling hissing gained Cage’s attention as cold gripped him and he awoke in the middle of the night to a rainstorm. Great. He thought and slowly stood, feeling the effects still weakening him. But not so much that he couldn’t move beneath a leafy plant that blocked much of the rain. It passed in a half hour, but in that time it killed the fire that had kept him warm and safe and he decided when morning arrived that he’d experiment in the cave to keep from getting soaked again.
He did just that.
Another morning workout helped cal
m and relax the body and mind and Cage used magic to lift a stone the size of a marble and did so. “Float away.” He told it and it did as he imagined, but as it did he felt the drain increase more rapidly and when it reached about a hundred feet it began to shake from the difficulty Cage felt in maintaining something at a distance. He kept seeing how far he could push it and it progressed another yard or two before dropping to the ground as he lost all consciousness.
Half hour later he awoke, groggy. Light stung his eyes. He felt drunk with a hangover, but had only experienced it once to see what it would be like. All the senses were raw and the sounds grated against the nerves the most. The fire at the mouth of the cave still burned and by how much they burned made it easy to determine just how long he’d been out. “So this is what it feels like when you push to the limit. Better eat something.”
When he felt better he lifted his hand and commanded “Give me an orb of light the size of a light bulb, without giving off heat and will last for an hour.”
An orb appeared in his hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze to feel it had an actual substance like a balloon. The comforting cave lit with the intensity of a hundred watt bulb, but gave off not even the hint of warmth like he wanted and was easier to create than fire. But then he felt the immense draw of magic flowing into the orb he palmed. It greedily kept consuming more and more and it began to cause great worry. “Come on, stop! I order you!” but it didn’t heed warning as it continued filling the light.
Hope began dwindling by the second as he felt his life get sucked out of him, but a half minute after the casting of a spell the draw and tingle came to an abrupt end. Cage stood on his hands and knees as the orb dropped and bounced lightly on the ground. He breathed in gasps, fighting the headache and weakness that wracked the whole body. Several minutes later he sat and leaned against the wall, trying to not stare directly at the light that had almost cost his life in its creation.
The orb found its way into his hand and he began thinking aloud, as if taking mental notes. “Creating, maintaining or moving magic has different draining costs. It really isn’t all that hard to use magic, but if I’m not careful I might actually kill myself just to experiment. Distance also has an effect on objects and the closer I am to the object the less strain and vice versa. Light uses less than fire which does create light, but also makes heat. I can also give life to magic and give over more strength if I need it to sustain itself. After giving it more to sustain itself and it doesn’t keep siphoning from me, I don’t need to concentrate to keep it alive. I wonder if I can alter my orb after it has been purposed…” he began thinking on what he wanted to happen, but thought better. “I’d like to see if it lasts the hour like it is supposed to.”
He sat it down on the opposite side of the cave to rest, ate slowly and watch the orb. Its light was strange as Cage watched the creation. The light it gave off was truly uniform and didn’t have a pulse one would imagine or weaken its light like objects on Earth would when the batteries run low. And as it had been worded the light made it an hour and began to shrink while its light dimmed till it winked out all in two or three seconds. “Interesting, now let’s try it again…”
Cage remembered quite well what happened, but felt he had enough to do it again. He focused, spoke exactly as last time and an precise orb came to be as if it had never vanished. He felt much weaker than before, but remained lucid. After recovering he picked up the orb and stared right at it. “Dim the light so the energy I gave you lasts until morning.” Felt the tingle in his back and watched closely as the ball shrank to half its size and a tenth of its brightness. Firelight overwhelmed the luminescence of the orb as the outside world went into another night, but it continued glowing. “So I succeeded… if I need to, I know I can just as easily feed the orb if I need it for longer than its original creation. Tomorrow I’ll see if it will allow me to absorb what I put into it, but first…” Cage decided to add another spell atop the last longevity spell, as he decided to call it. “If I’m not awake by first light, flash bright like the sun.” the orb shrunk a half inch again, but didn’t dim.
He placed it on a small ledge in the cave and easily fell asleep.
An intense bright light startled Cage and his eyes were blinded for several minutes and he went over to blindly feel where he had left the orb to find it had disappeared, doing as he made it.
He still felt internally tired, but otherwise fine. He did another intense exercise routine and scouted around to gather more food from different locations so that he didn’t deplete any one area just because he was lazy. Eating another meal, he continued figuring out how to word what he wanted and how to got the desired effects. Cage was more than used to complex ideas and it felt good to do so again. There was no right, wrong or one way about anything and he had learned it is exactly the same thing for what he was beginning to learn and the possibilities he now had in his already impressive arsenal.
He tried absorbing a half hours worth of what he put into the orb and it was proving difficult, but he managed to only take back only a minute or two’s worth, but usually it made the orb wink out. He tried manipulating different colors and had easy success and found the darker blues green and reds lasted minutes longer than the brighter yellows, oranges and white by making a second orb with the same time allotment. He even made a black light that made the whiter colors pop more uniquely.
Cage felt content to experiment with light for a few days and found it became marginally easier to use the more he practiced, just like he did when learning to walk and fight again.
After he learned all he could think to do with light and orbs he began learning how to defend himself if attacked. He picked up a stone once and made a variation to his levitation spell he done the time before. “Fly straight and true into that tree.” And the magic poured into the small rock and without a sound he threw the rock and felt it speed up to a bullets velocity before the magic stopped being applied. The rock made a thump, imbedding itself several inches into the trunk, exactly in the center he carved. Cage became excited “Don’t have to worry about running out of ammunition.” And looked at the ground, grinning. “Sand, collect into a cone shape, compress together and speed like a bullet into the ring above the bull’s-eye.” He watched as he felt the familiar effects of working magic and saw a sand-bullet form and with a thought, saw it fly exactly where he wanted it, but since it was weaker it didn’t go in nearly as deeply as the rock, but it did pierce the bark. “What if I used my magic without relying on a rock? Hmm… I got it!” he raised his hand and faced his palm at the tree and said “Fire a solid piece of magic capable enough to rival any bullet.”
This time he watched a pure black dot grew as it was fed. The energy required was immense and made his legs go weak, but still it grew to a two inch cone and seemed to feel harder than steel. The tingling changed as the pure black bullet of magic ceased to eat for its making, but began to build up energy around its backside and unlike the time before with the rock, the black bullet made a dull crack as it fired and around it for a split-second was a white puff which Cage knew to be the sound barrier. The bullet fired, flying faster than the eye could follow.
Cage dropped to his knees as he had done too much again, but a minute later stood and wanted to see the results of the havoc he wrought. His jaw dropped as he saw a half inch hole, dead center where the rock had been, and a perfect hole cut through the tree. Behind it, where it exited, opened a three inch exit wound with splinters standing out. He followed the path to find it had pierced through two more trees and three feet of solid boulder before flying off somewhere. “Definitely a last resort.” He vowed. “Making my own bullets will do way more harm than I’m comfortable with. I’ll stick to the plentiful ammo at my feet.”
Then the constant nagging he’d felt for months began to almost call out to him. He couldn’t help remembering the paradise and felt… ready. The personal hesitation had disappeared entirely. His body felt strong and for the past few days he had grown more c
omfortable with what he could do. The draw became tantalizingly impossible to resist or deny. An addiction.
He went back to the cave to retrieve his ocarina, knife and wooden sandals. He ate and rested enough to make the journey over the mountain.
By the next morning he arrived at the amazing location and looked over the scene from high above. He stood at the lip of the cliff and through the journey he wondered how to get close to the strange oddity that he couldn’t forget for it was the only thing on the island that seemed unnatural. He stood beside the largest waterfall and watched as it showed its unbelievable power. He watched for minutes, confirming there wouldn’t be any way to get anywhere near close enough without the waterfall’s current pushing him away or worse, under. Almost as if it mocked him for what he had planned. “You might be stronger, but not nearly as smart.” He chuckled and began searching. The ground at his feet was nothing but solid granite that would be impossible to dig into and he knew it would be foolish to use a spell to even make it easier or turn to sand. But over several yards away he found large boulders approximately his own size. Ideas began springing to mind and one won out. He grabbed two sturdy branches and dozens of straight, rolling kinds and plenty of healthy vine.
He began to work, lifting one side of rock with all he had and used magic to successfully place the two earlier sticks as modified sleds beneath and wrapped the end of the vine several times around the bulk. He lowered the end as the physical and magical exertion left him weak, but did the job of four individuals in a matter of minutes. While he sat to rest he began braiding the vines to increase their individual strength and not snap the first time he tugged.
Recovered enough, he placed the rolling logs in one direction and pushed on the end of the boulder. “Go up!” he growled as he pushed with all his legs had and a moment later the sleds jumped onto the track he made. Cage dropped, skinning his knees slightly, but not breaking the skin. He knelt, recovering from the strain of the last move.
Afterwards he pushed and the effort required was much less and the heavy stone would have been if he had to impossibly lift or dread dragging it. The only issue was not trying to trip on the logs as they passed under. In less than a minute he forcibly pushed the large granite slab into the rushing water, but grabbed the rope before it got sucked down the fall. He watched as the stone sunk several feet into the rapid flowing water and ran upstream to jump up and use tree limbs to cross the water. On the other side he found a solid protrusion in the stone and wrapped one side of the vine around it. He then began to inch the stone through the water till it reached the center. Its large size created a disturbance, but not enough of one to do anything meaningful. Ending the day, he cut the vines at the bank since it couldn’t be unbound without seeing and picturing the knot he made.
The next day he pushed another large stone, half the original’s size, but still humanly impossible to lift, and pushed it into the water.
It took three days total to move rocks and make the rushing water split at its mouth. As he saw the void he cheered “Success!” and half-ran to the closest path to safely reach the lake below. It took a half hour.
Cutting through the brush, Cage looked at his handiwork and smiled. Up above he had practically cut a knife into the water, creating two waterfalls out of one. Moisture still clung into the smooth wall where the water did its work over centuries, but what brought Cage’s brow together was at the base. Open to the world was a huge cave that had been covered by the ever rushing water. “But what made the slightly protruding dome?” he wondered for a minute. “Cave’s cannot do something like that…” But his adventurous personality got the better of him for here was a huge, uncovered cave he hadn’t found in all the time he had been here. “Time for a dip I suppose.” He untied his ocarina and sandals to leave on the lake’s bank, but placed the handle of his knife between his teeth for the moment.
He dove into the cool water and swam freely to enjoy the experience while heading to the cave. But as he got closer he felt a familiar tingle, but he wasn’t doing magic. He floated in place for some time, thinking about what he felt and knowing he wasn’t the cause. Whatever is happening was larger than any magic he had done to date. Still feeling the draw to the cave, he swam closer, but at a crawl since he could fall into a trap he didn’t know about.
Reaching within five yards of the mouth Cage looked down to see land beneath and stood with the water up to his ribs. He walked forward, not able to hear anything from the water falling to either side. Cage looked at the cave while trying to figure out what to decide. It was pitch black and the afternoon sunlight barely revealed thirty feet. The top reached over two stories in height and thirty across, but what really made things odd was that it was perfectly smooth on the walls, roof and floor and couldn’t have been made by nature for nothing in nature grows or is carved so perfectly. Nature’s beauty lies in its differences, not uniformity.
Cage took a few steps and the water lowered to his ankles. With another step he jumped back in surprise when he ran into something solid. “What did I just hit?” He asked as he reached forward. Another step brought his hands onto something that felt as glass, but its touch sent the tingling more entirely through his body and felt like he had been charged with static electricity. He let go and the feeling lessened, but not for long as he touched again. He pushed with both hands, but it didn’t give in the least. It might have been easier to lift the first boulder than to push against the invisible barrier.
“Open?” he asked while thinking the barrier would open, but didn’t happen as he planned. The tingle on Cage’s back from his own magic instantly had an effect, for with an audible pop like the opening of a champagne bottle, it broke. As the solid, smooth barrier vanished a huge wave of old, stagnant air rushed out and forced Cage to gag and had to swim out and away while air exchanged and did what it had to. A half hour passed before the whole area smelled as pleasant as usual, meaning the cave had aired out.
He swam back to the entrance to feel a tingle again, but not as intense. Cage stepped into the cave as the first obstacle didn’t bar the path anymore. Fresh air kept exchanging with the old and the smell lessened. He listened, but could only hear an echo from the falls. He put both fingers in his mouth and loosed a high pitched whistle and waited for bats, but none came. He doubted there would be any for the air alone spoke of a sealed area that nothing could pass.
Several steps brought him into the edge of light and knew he couldn’t make a torch to bring along so he made an orb of dull white light and held it aloft to look deep into the darkness. Nothing could be determined except it went straight and remained the same dimensions through the tunnel. Not sensing anything except the dull magic ahead and the one emanating on his back.
He pushed ahead, slowly. It took little time to adjust to the weaker light in his hand and the gripped knife in the other.
The tunnel went deep into the mountain, but its construction was so perfect that there wasn’t even a leak. All that made the travel unsettling is he couldn’t see further than several dozen feet and the lingering stale smell.
Hours later something had changed in the darkness.
Light up ahead made the one in his hand useless. The light was pure white, almost welcoming. He knew it wasn’t natural light by the color and sensations that grew the closer he approached.
“Hello! Is anybody in there?” He shouted, not wanting to walk in upon someone working on whatever it is that he felt. But no response came. He still kept walking to the light coming from around a slight left curve. Slowly Cage found the end to the tunnel and felt his jaw drop involuntarily.
Around the corner lay an open room over a hundred feet high and hanging fifty feet above the ground was a white orb like the one he uses, but looked to be taller than he and hovered in place, not moving or doing anything else. But the light wasn’t the object giving off the constantly growing feeling.
On the floor of the huge three hundred foot, circular cavern lay two lone pedestals with n
othing else in the room except emptiness. The pedestals were of three feet in height, perfectly circular and made out of the same dark granite as the rest of the cave and mountain. But one had a large, clear object and the other had four floating objects. The pull became greater and seeing no one around Cage slowly entered the room.
“Taylu, na era!” Cage jumped nearly out of his very skin as a disembodied voice came from behind. He spun around and pulled his fists and knife up, taking a fighting stance.
Before Cage stood something that shouldn’t exist. Death was the end and nothing existed after from what he knew to be true. Once again he had to rethink what is real or what wasn’t. At the entrance stood a man, but one without flesh or true substance. Shades of white gave definition and clarity to the ghost that wore a deep smile, like something had been lifted from him. The translucent ghost was a man who appeared young, like Cage. It is impossible to tell hair or eye color, but he was a handsome figure who wore what looked like a robe, but not for bathing, for common use like they did a long time ago. It looked so lifelike he wondered absently if it were even real or some kind of projection made of magical properties because he quickly glanced at the walls to not find any projectors or lasers capable of creating such a person. Spindly arms were outstretched as he bowed while saying “Meni lo orim, witero se uila n madie Ceembura.” And he arose with the smile slowly fading as he took in Cage’s defensive stance. “Qea tena?”
“What the hell is going on?” Cage demanded slowly, not knowing how to react in the compromising situation or if he could fight a ghost. Flesh he could strike, whatever it was made up of certainly didn’t appear to be touchable.
“Ah…” the ghost said and tapped his chest meaningfully, yet not a sound came from the drumming. “Ceembura.” And he pointed to Cage, not moving or coming any closer to appear threatening.
Cage’s hostility abated and stood calmly, but highly aware of everything the spirit did. In a response he tapped his own chest to say “Cage.”
Ceembura smiled broadly again “Cage.” and then pointed behind where Cage stood. “Keema.” And then mimed sliding something up an arm.
Cage turned around to merely glance, but suddenly he found Ceembura standing between the pedestals. He did the obvious and looked back to find where the ghost first stood to find him missing. “Cage… keema.” He turned around again to find Ceembura pointing to the pedestal with floating objects. Reluctantly he approached where the other man stood and took a closer look at what floated.
The four objects were floating, dancing in complex patterns like flying, black, snakes that never touched. Magic in the room felt like thousands of insects crawling all over him, but he was too intrigued. The closer look revealed the objects to be made of a substance that looked like flesh, cloth and something he couldn’t describe, but were pure black in the orb’s light. There were two nearly identical pairs of soft boots that would reach the calves and two gloves long enough to encompass an entire arm.
Ceembura pointed not a foot from Cage’s chest to the almost living objects and back again.
Taking the hint, Cage reached forward and caught one of the boots and the other man seemed joyous. Ceembura began miming for him to put it on his feet.
Cage placed both sides of his hands to either opening and slipped his left foot into the cavity and found it to be a perfect fit, almost fitting like a second skin, but was so soft on his bare feet he couldn’t believe such footwear could be so perfect. As he touched it his fingernail scratched the fabric’s surface, but it felt as if he scratched his nails on reinforced steel. He reached forward and put on the other boot without any prodding for he would wear these new footwear and know his feet wouldn’t keep being torn up like usual. As he put the other on he noticed how seamless the objects were. The materials were strong as steel, but behaved like customized clothes. Nothing Cage had ever come across could have such properties. They could have only been made by magic he couldn’t even begin to comprehend how.
He then grabbed one of the floating long gloves to find something different about it as it went lifeless when coming off the pedestal. On the backside of where the hand would be were two solid objects set inside an engraving of what appeared to be an accurate representation of a grinning human skull. A closer look at the display showed the pieces to be some kind of black gemstone cut into an octagonal design, a half inch wide from nearly every angle and sat within the skull for its eyes. Cage looked to Ceembura to find him nodding for him to continue.
Shrugging, he slipped it on and found the sleeve stretched all the way to cover the entire shoulder. He looked at the backside of his hand to see the awesomely carved skull rested perfectly there with the jawbone brushing just behind where his knuckles protruded. The entire arm was covered by the material.
Lastly the remaining glove slipped on, having an identical skull and gemstones engraved on the back of his hand.
When all four parts were equipped something unexpected happened. The individual pieces made a sucking sound and Cage dropped to his knees and cried out in intense pain as they began burning every inch of covered skin. The four eyes twinkled slightly and the most intense tingle yet emanated from them and felt like lightning coursed through him, but the most intense pain exploded in his head, blurring every sense.
It felt like hours of agony passed, but it suddenly ended and he felt a jarring pain happen in his knees as they slammed into the solid floor.
“Can you understand me now?” Ceembura asked with some hesitation.
“What…?” he asked and grabbed both sides of a throbbing headache.
“The pain shall pass in but a moment.” He promised.
A small feeling appeared and all the pain began to diminish. It lasted only long enough to see straight. He shook his head and stood. As he did he saw Ceembura also stand. It took a moment to clear his thoughts to ask “What just happened?”
“Many things, but from the contexts of recent events your very brain has been manipulated so you can speak my language without spending months and years learning all a language has. Also the physical, burning pain you felt was the bonding process.”
“Wait! I can understand you!” Cage asked and smiled. “How?”
“Allow me to go back a bit, Sir Cage.” He then bowed again with open arms. “I am Ceembura, once a first class sorcerer and the very creator of your new equipment.”
“My what?” and Cage crossed his arms and gasped. “Something’s changed.”
“Fear not! They have done what they were meant to do. What you now feel has become one with your flesh. The gauntlets and boots are now one with you and nothing, not even death can separate you from my gift. They have become what your flesh was. Details on how it has been achieved will take far too long to explain on how they’ve bonded, but you can feel and sense things as your nervous system always has, but no weapon can cut, pierce, corrode or damage your arms and feet. Fire though will still burn your flesh, but your now well protected.”
Cage went to open his mouth, but Ceembura silenced him with a look. “Wait till I finish speaking about what you now wear and if I’m strong enough I’ll answer your questions if I can.” Cage nodded and the spirit continued. “Five thousand years ago I created what is now part of you. I spent three hundred years making them perfect and layering spells so intricate that I doubt anyone before or after has ever done. For simplicity’s sake just know I made them for myself, but I wasn’t worthy of their choice so I hid and protected them here since my passing the five thousand or so years ago. I wanted them to want me, but one spell, the last one I made upon them, was to find a person who knew Death intimately, could understand it and overcome any hardship the worlds had to throw. I believed I knew what it meant to know and be Death, but I was wrong. But several years ago I felt a thread of magic come from these gauntlets for the first time.
“Do not make a mistake my of words and think them alive for they were just tools searching for a worthy owner. Even one such as I can sense they have d
epleted all that they had and are empty.
“I followed the thread, but couldn’t go to where they must have found you. The magic stayed small, unnoticeable, but I believe it was sensing you and trying to determine if you could wield them properly. But a short time ago a huge surge of focused mana came from them on a scale I didn’t believe them possible of making…” He tapped his chin without making any grating sounds that would occur in flesh. “I guess the diamonds must have been storing and gathering mana over these past millennia so it had enough strength to bring you from wherever it did.”
“I came from a planet called Earth, if that helps.”
Ceembura’s jaw dropped. “Impossible.” He sounded out in near denial before looking away and cocking his head as if someone was speaking to him. This lasted about a minute till he smirked and continued speaking aloud. “But the amount that would be required would be needed…” He shook his head so quickly it dispersed broke apart for a moment, like mist parting before coming together. He went back to seeming as if he were listening to someone again before continuing. “Nevertheless, my time grows short and my strength fails.
“When you arrived here, I watched over you and what you’ve overcome to reach this point and it has made me realize something very important. I was wrong.
“Death isn’t what I believed for all these years and in all my time I’ve finally understood, but the arms will not choose someone who is already dead. Out of billions upon billions of humans to have lived over the years, I have never seen someone quite like you and I now know the equipment chose the perfect host. I watched over you where neither you or anything could sense me, but every action and word you made I haven’t missed… though I didn’t understand your language. What I’ve learned from observation is, after they healed all injury in your body, that you were alone, but overcame limitations I believe no other in a similar situation could have. I feared when the wolves attacked, but couldn’t do anything, but didn’t have to as you took care of four. And I laughed so freely when you fought the mountain lion. The speed at which you’ve come to learn the art magic has led me to believe you haven’t done it before.
“With all I have watched these months I now know why you are the better choice. I didn’t know what the real meaning of hardship is or how even the mundane is important, like urinating on a tree.” Ceembura laughed unabashedly and for once Cage joined him at remembering how good it felt to do so. “Death isn’t the end, but it can’t be stopped, just like your progress and recovery. You physically and psychologically overcame the impossible to reach this point and now I can say with certainty is that the truest meaning of death is the struggle of life. You, my dear Cage, embody the very essence of death in the living.
“From this point onward I hereby bestow you the honorable title of Lord Death.”
Cage stood in silence for over a minute, trying to absorb, process and understand all that the man said. As he stood and contemplated he noticed Ceembura wasn’t as clear and sharp in feature as he had first been. Cage got the very real feeling that the first person to give him a decent conversation was beginning to weaken. Quickly he thought to ask “Ceembura, what you say is true about me, but you give too much credit. Doesn’t everyone believe as I do or have had similar circumstances before?”
“That is the thing now isn’t it?” The spirit gave a small smile. “To answer your question, the only answer is no. You are utterly unique and only someone of your true rarity was worthy of your new flesh. I never did anything lightly or incomplete, especially when making mystical objects. You alone were chosen, the only one to be so fortunate for thousands of years. For a long time I worried that there would never be a successor, but you stand before me now and I’m pleased more than you’ll understand. Through my creations I feel as though you have become my son.”
“You said something about diamonds earlier. Are these eyes actually diamond?” he quickly asked.
“Indeed they are. Those rarest kind of all. Those four you now wear are truly flawless black diamond. Like your new arms they too will never break or be damaged so long as you live. I never like relying on weapons that could be taken so I decided to make these so that they can’t and will always be ready.”
“Good thing for you I prefer unarmed combat.” Cage grinned while making a fist to find making it as natural as it had always been. He then felt the small bite from his fingernail scratching the palm. “I have many concerns about wearing something that won’t come off, but my biggest two are how I’ll need to trim or bite off a fingernail since it too seems to have been changed and how will my skin breathe?”
“Take a very close look at your nails first while I explain.” Cage did so. “Your fingernails have been repaired and trimmed to the ideal man’s length, rounded as it naturally would, but it will not continue to grow anymore since the binding succeeded. They won’t even be able to crack or be ripped out if you are tortured.” Cage looked up for but a moment and smiled appreciatively. “Now as to skin breathing, the gauntlets and boots have truly become your skin and if you look close enough you can see your tiny pores that’ll allow sweat or whatever else the flesh needs to do without interfering in the body’s natural needs.” Ceembura’s voice began to lose its clarity and intensity and Cage asked what was wrong. “Just know it isn’t good for a spirit to stay as I have been for a prolonged time. I feel as if I have enough strength for one final question.”
“Alright, what I really want to ask is about this whole magic business, but I can already understand it is a vast subject that will be impossible to learn with the amount of time you have, but if I have just one… I must know how to get off this island. Is there something you can teach me on how to bypass the deadly currents surrounding us. I’ve looked and could not find a safe route to get out. I cannot stay here forever. Please help.”
“Very smart, Cage.” Ceembura complimented. “You understand what priorities need to be considered first and I didn’t expect for you to stay on your island forever. I’m not cruel and will force you to stay.”
“Wait, my island?”
“Of course. It was once mine and as the inheritor to my masterpieces it now belongs to you. It will always be your home for you were brought here first. Come with me to the other pedestal.” Cage followed the silently gliding and walking sorcerer. He noticed his feet made even less sound than being naturally barefooted. Originally the footwear were like boots, but he noticed they had changed slightly after becoming bonded. Unlike how boots have wiggle-room for toes, these contoured to the tops of his toes, but beneath them was a solid, flat base. It was almost like wearing sandals, but without any straps to hold the sole in place. To Cage it looked like a blending of a boxer’s boots and open-toed sandals. The soft underside felt like the perfect running shoes that supported, flexed and gripped practically any surface without any treads.
They both moved over to the second raised dais to see a large, clear gemstone the size of Cage’s head. It seemed to be giving off an inner light, but Cage couldn’t tell with the massive ball of light overhead. Ceembura pointed to the object to say “I’ve placed many spells onto this crystal and it has safeguarded this island from any and all intruders, keeping them far away from my legacy. It must be destroyed by hand. I designed it so that only the gauntlets could bring you here, you break the waterfall barrier with magic and this by hand. It is a three step trap of intricate proportions. There is no other way to have reached this place. The only way to stop all its properties is to physically smash it. Do not even try to use magic or it’ll retaliate and probably kill you.” Cage swallowed dryly at the implications. “By smashing the crystal it’ll reveal a narrow passage on the eastern side of the island. It will not take you long to find. There will be two protruding rocks and between them will be your route to the safety of the mainland. You will know the passage quite easily when you see it for the rocks will be marked by skulls carved into the surface. You hadn’t noticed them for this crystal has cloaked them while churning the water a
s it does all over the island.”
Cage grinned. “Have a fascination with skulls much?”
The odd wording didn’t take Ceembura long to understand as he returned the smile. “Indeed I do. The skull is both eerie and fascinating to look at.”
“Looks like we agree, they are cool.”
“I must go before you destroy the crystal…” Ceembura stopped as Cage extended a hand.
“Ceembura, I want to say thank you. Because of you and these things I have been made whole. You’ve given me a new life and one I’ll always cherish. Words cannot describe how truly thankful I am to you. Please just know that if you need anything done I’ll do it.”
The spectral sorcerer shook his head. “I am satisfied for truly the first time. You’ve gotten my creations and I couldn’t be more pleased. We spirits don’t need anything really. We simply watch and learn. You are not in my debt for we are even.” He reached forward and laughed at Cage’s reaction when the arm dissipated like mist.
Nothing tangible or cold could be felt at all.
“Farewell, Lord Death and may you live long.” With that Cage watched as Ceembura’s form pulled apart without sound, wind or any natural factors he understood.
When the ghost’s body disappeared Cage looked around the room one last time to remember it before reaching forward to lift the heavy crystal in both hands. With a mighty slam the solid piece shattered into hundreds of tiny shards, some bouncing up and cutting his cheek, three places on his chest and one on the thigh. The wounds barely drew blood.
Then the light overhead winked out, plunging the cavern in total darkness. He gave out a small yelp and said “That bastard knew the lights would go out, very funny…” Very quietly Cage thought he heard a deep belly laugh from a faraway place.
Cage made a dim orb of his own again and it took a few minutes to adjust before leaving, but it looked weird to have pure black arms compared to the original tan. He decided it didn’t matter and headed out.