Dissonance 3 – Cultivation

Avari bought them breakfast at the sole acceptable bakery in the district, then arranged the delivery of a fridge for the future. “I got enough money saved up to keep us afloat for a couple of months, if I have to, but if you make me spend all of that, it’s going to cost you in other ways!” the gremlin had warned.

At least he was going to repay her in another opportunity.

The New Foundations’ Cultivation facility was a halfway hidden location at the edge of the Low-Ore district and the adjacent area simply known as ‘downtown’. There were dozens of downtowns across Iridescia, hundreds even, thousands, perhaps. It was the catch-all term for districts that had nothing special about them. The filler between portals and enormous chunks of granite. Concrete jungles where the regulars of the City of the Interstice lived and worked amongst themselves.

Eldred gazed at the near apartment blocks with a mixture of emotions he could not quite parse. He had been one of those regulars until very recently. Technically speaking, he still was until he managed to form his first Core.

Should he feel sorry for them? Should he feel a connection at all? What comradery did he really have with his fellow crabs in the bucket?

With a shrug, Eldred excised such questions from his mind. He would revisit them when he had the power to change more than himself. Instead, he focused on the building ahead of them. It was a circular building, fashioned from smooth plates, concrete, glass, and just barely enough metal ornaments to make it aesthetically acceptable. The New Foundations’ architecture had that borderline brutalist modernism to it that Eldred had never been able to like.

The building did not advertise its purpose. It was surrounded by nothing, so no one without a reason would approach it. Heavy security surrounded the perimeter. There were few things more valuable than Echo.

“I’m discovering one drawback to having a shortstack lover,” Eldred remarked, as they headed for the main gate.

“Uhhh, you need to get your brain checked then.” The gremlin gestured at herself. She had changed out of the sexy secretary outfit into a casual combination of a yellow top and black pants. The voluptuous curves of her body made even those clothes sinful. “’Cause shortstacks are perfect. Example A…” The tip of her tail gave her ass a light swat. “…and example B.” She lifted one of her huge tits, then let it jiggle back into place. The accursed bra reduced the duration of that magnificence.

“Yeah, but all of that is out of reach,” Eldred complained.

Her head was at the level of his crotch. He couldn’t even cop a feel of her tits without tilting.

“Teaches you patience,” Avari returned.

“You don’t have to be patient with me, Eldred,” Nyx cooed into his right ear. His banshee was firmly attached to his right side. Arm around her waist, Eldred simply pulled her along. Since she was hovering, she was at a steady position. Really, the ghost lady was the perfect arm candy.

Eldred pressed a kiss on her pale cheek, coaxing a melodic giggle from her. Avari grumbled something jealous, squeezing his hand. Though feeling her up was out, he would not be without contact as he walked.

“Name and reason for visit?” A neutral, female voice asked them, once they stood before the glass entrance.

“Eldred, usage of the facilities.”

“Eldred… there you are. We hope we can help you lay New Foundations.”

“Cheesy ass line,” Avari mumbled as the glass doors glided to the side.

The foyer was surprisingly small. It was just a transit area, used to shepherd people to where they were supposed to go. They stepped up to a glass cabin. A female worker slipped a card through a small gap. It sported a magnetic strip and an identification number. “Your balance of Echo is stored on that card. Use it at any dispensary point to withdraw as much as you want. The instruction you desired will begin in ten minutes in room 104.”

“Wonderful,” Eldred said, took the card, then looked around. “104 is… that way?” he asked, pointing in a random direction.

“You have guessed right, sir,” the woman responded with a friendly smile.

They were off immediately. 10 minutes was not a lot of time. They had been in luck that a lesson was held right the next day, sparing them the need to spend money on private tutoring. Avari knew the basics of how Cultivation functioned, but she did not have any actual experience in it. An expert’s opinion was going to be helpful for all of them.

The crowd in front of the classroom was twenty people big. It felt like a large number to Eldred in the first second, then tiny when he thought about it. The number of people that called Iridescia their home was unknown. No central government meant no census. Estimates that Eldred had been told about ranged from hundreds of millions to several billions.

With that in mind, 20 new people in a local area in any new cycle of Cultivators was tremendously low.

Ignoring the other Cultivators-to-be, the trio stuck to themselves. Disinterest was not mirrored. The other people’s eyes, especially the men’s, were all over them. Eldred smirked knowingly. He had the two hottest women around by his side and he was basking in that fact.

The teacher arrived soon. He was a man, which immediately made Eldred disinterested in studying him in more than his basic details. Fate willing, he would only get this lesson and then never see the guy again.

A tap of his keycard opened the door to the room for the teacher. “I am sure you’re all eager, so let’s make this quick!” he said and gestured for everyone to follow him inside.

The room was a square frame surrounding a two-layered circle. A broad, outer one surrounded a much smaller centre. Decoration was minimal, as was the lighting. A singular, directed beam shone down on that middle position, leaving the rest of the windowless room in a dim shade.

“Take a seat,” the teacher told them.

Eldred, Nyx and Avari sat down on the outer circle, as did the rest of the students. Taking the centre spot, the teacher was the only one to remain standing. He turned around, focusing on everyone’s faces once, before beginning the lesson.

“What is ‘Cultivation’?” he began with a rhetorical question. “The answer to that is surprisingly simple. It is the means by which residents of Iridescia can grow their supernatural power. How does it work? Now that is a more difficult thing to answer. To spare you lengthy theorems on magical research, I will break it down to the bare minimum. Cultivation functions by using the residue of collapsed portals, called Echo, to attune yourself to the potent mana of this interstice we call home. Through this connection, you can manifest Cores within your soul that allow you great feats of elemental strength.

“Only those that live in Iridescia have the privilege of accessing this magic system – and it is a privilege. Nowhere else in the known universe can power simply be achieved through money and discipline. It is the specific interplay of Echo and the saturation of all elements in the air because of the portals in the interstice that allows Cultivation to function. Though magic systems found across the other worlds can create individuals that can challenge Cultivators, to date there has been no force that has invaded Iridescia and come out the victor. As a whole, Cultivators are the strongest beings in the known cosmos. The CEOs of the Great Ones can fight even gods and titans on equal footing.”

Excitement quickened Eldred’s pulse at the mere idea. From a loser in a charity apartment to a breaker of gods, that would be a tale worth living. The manic glint in his eye had Nyx approvingly scratch his chin.

“Now for the questions you are all here for. How does one become a Cultivator? What are Cores and how do I get one?” A tap of his heel had the ground before the teacher open up. A podium rose up, carrying a rock at its tip. It was of a deep blue colour, faintly reflective, and all around unimpressive to behold. “This is Echo.”

‘Really?’ Eldred thought. ‘That boring rock is the great source of power?’

“Now, you are probably thinking how disappointing this looks – and you are right. This isn’t just Echo, this is Tarnished Echo.” The Cultivator turned the rock in his hand. “It’s what originally remains once a portal collapses, mixed with trace amounts of various elements, mostly flash-melted soil, that came through the portal as the space it occupied was suddenly compressed into the size of a needle tip. If it weren’t for Echo and Stardust binding those forces, Iridescia would experience catastrophic waves of fire every time a portal collapses.”

The teacher closed his eyes, now holding the rock with both hands.

“Higher level Cultivation requires more Echo, which in turn means that you will want higher purities. For beginners, Tarnished Echo is not just fine, but appropriate. Try to skip too many steps and you will suffer backlash from the mana too powerful for your body. Now, to Cultivate, it is fundamentally as simple as concentrating on the Echo in your hands and meditating on the feeling.”

The unremarkable rock began to vibrate, creating a subtle humming sound. Ethereal water appeared on the surface of the rock, disappearing into the air as soon as the droplets split off. Demonstration made, the teacher placed the rock back on the pedestal, which then disappeared back into the floor.

“When you are properly in tune, you will hear that sound and a supernatural phenomenon aligned with your expanding Ki will occur. As I am currently manifesting a Water Core, you saw droplets of water, it is intuitive to that end.

“Now, what actually is a Core? A Core is the manifestation of a Cultivated element within your soul. Cores possess one of the 6 Fundamental Properties, being Energy, Liquid, Solid, Gaseous, Absence and Light. To the sapient mind, while these are the technically accurate terms, individual Cores are better described by simple elements. Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Shadow and Light, that’s what you Cultivate on a per-Core basis. As you achieve more cores, you combine their power within you into more elaborate and potentially even unique structures. You begin with a Water Core, giving you access to the magic of water, then add a Fire Core to achieve boiling hot water and then Air to get to steam magic.”

The teacher paused for a moment to give them all a solemn smile.

“Though I wouldn’t plan to get beyond two Cores. Time and money investment becomes quite great. You would have to be important to someone in the Great Ones or a CEO of your own successful company to have the resources to get three and beyond.”

“A question,” Eldred spoke up without thinking about it. The teacher nodded at him, permitting him to continue. “Assuming one had the resources, is growth virtually infinite?”

“Time is money and money is power,” the teacher responded. “In theory, as long as you have the time and money, your power growth has no ceiling. As you Cultivate, you will find that you have more time in the broad sense, as Cultivation empowers not just your soul but also your body. In the roughest sense, it can be said that each Core you achieve doubles your expected lifespan – this works exponentially. Longer lived races benefit less from this, however.”

‘Interestiiiiiiiiiiiiing,’ Eldred drawled in his mind.

“Now, how do you get a Core? Well, through Cultivation, as established, but how does that work exactly? Each cycle of Core Cultivation moves through 6 stages. Right now, you are all in the Mortal Realm. That means you are stable, your soul ready to begin the process of Cultivation. Once you begin your meditation, you enter Echo Cultivation. At the beginning of each Cultivation cycle, you form the outer shell of your future Core. Once you have imagined that into reality, you are in the state of the Nascent Soul. This is where you must make your choice of which element you are Cultivating in this cycle.

“Past this is the Spirit Ascension stage. This is the bulk of each Cultivation cycle. You draw power out of the Echo and integrate it into the shell of your new Core. It requires patience and diligence. You don’t want to take long breaks between meditation sessions here, as your nascent Core is a bit porous and will leak out energy if not nourished frequently. You’d be burning money by just existing.”

Avari shuddered intensely enough that Eldred could feel it just sitting next to her.

“Finally, when your Spirit Ascension has completed, you are in the Core Formation stage. Now, all of that power you have Cultivated consolidates into the Core proper. At the end of this, the Core is stable, but you are not quite back to the Mortal Realm. The last stage is the Elemental Mastery. Done with the meditation, you now must learn to properly use your new Core, to make it more than a ball of powerful Ki hovering inside your soul.”

The teacher clapped his hands, causing a holographic diagram of what he had just said to appear. “Mortal Realm, Echo Cultivation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Ascension, Core Formation and Elemental Mastery. Six steps, at the end of which your Mortal Realm opens again to allow you to begin Cultivation anew. Each repetition requires more and more Echo, but each Core also resonates with the Cores you already have inside you. Someone with two Cores must have tremendous luck or skill to defeat someone with three and beating someone with four would be borderline impossible. This only gets truer with more Cores. Any immediate questions?”

There were none.

“Then all of you that have any Echo ready should withdraw it now. I’ll guide you during this first session. If you can make the Echo hum by the end of today, that’s a success.”

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