Matthias witnessed every movement in the rain, felt every touch of the wind, smelled the richness of the earth, heard the crackle of electricity and tasted ozone on his tongue.

  But most of all, he felt the lance of agony impaling his chest. His muscles locked, his scream frozen as his throat and lungs spasmed.

  Pain redoubled as the lightning plunged deeper into his body, driving through skin, flesh and bone, striking at his core. His soul flashed before his eyes, but all he could do was watch as the lightning pierced its ‘chest’.

  As his soul tore, he felt his mind explode, memories twisting and shaking. His very being was being torn apart, as though someone was scrubbing the existence of ‘Matthias Stonebreaker’ from the history of the world.

  The lightning bolt drove into him, rupturing a hole in his soul; its light flickered, the shadow fused with it writhed like an eel cast into flame. His body would have collapsed, but his muscles were locked so tightly he could not move; fingers clenched the holy books of Lykosion and Enheduanna so hard, their leather covers began to warp.

  Hair strands stood on end, and when the lightning at last passed through his body and soul, blood trickled from his nostrils, mouth, ears and eyes.

  “Now!” Altaizar roared over the storm. “Master your body and soul! Breathe with both, Matthias! Repair your spirit, awaken to Divine Breath!”

  Matthias’ body was still locked tight; he could feel his back teeth straining, on the verge of cracking.

  Panic seized him.

  He felt he was dying.

  With every ounce of willpower he possessed, Matthias focused on his body.

  It trembled, and—gradually—movement returned. His heartbeat was erratic as he forced his fingers to move. Then his arms. Then shoulders.

  Finally…

  He screamed; it tore from his throat. Blood sprayed through the air as he spit it out, taking a deep breath that was like fire in his chest.

  His body was working.

  Now it was time for his soul.

  Matthias pushed his consciousness back down through his shadow until he entered the void. His soul floated before him, flickering, warping, deforming in shape.

  The hole in his soul’s chest was growing, consuming its fading light.

  Matthias could feel his mind fracturing.

  Memories evaporating.

  What was his brother’s name?

  He couldn’t remember his mother’s face.

  Or his sister’s voice.

  He even began to forget himself.

  There was not much time.

  Desperately—through a growing fog in his mind—he focused on feeling his soul’s pain, and reached beyond it

  “Breathe!” he screamed through the void. “Breathe!”

  His soul shuddered as he felt himself taking control, like a sure hand gripping the hilt of a blade. His spirit began to billow, causing the hole to expand.

  He shrieked in his mind.

  More memories vanished.

  ‘Way of stone,’ he called on his mantra. ‘I must keep going. Keep going!’

  He forced his soul to expand, inflating like a lung; specks of light slowly floated from the void, drifting toward his soul.

  The particles had changed.

  No longer were they interchangeable specks of power. Now, he could see differences in each one.

  Some slid through the void with the sound of a blade scraping along metal. Others released the scent of flowering trees, fruit and honey. One even trailed illusionary images of books and libraries following behind it like in the wake of a ship. Some particles were barely visible to the naked eye, while others were large and blazed brightly.

  ‘Yes!’ he thought. ‘Come to me! Come on! Come to me!”

  The specks drifted closer, swarming around his collapsing spirit, abruptly stopping, then hovering there, almost reluctantly. He looked for specks that would represent Lykosion and Enheduanna, he found two of the largest particles: one was shrouded in shadow, while the other looked like a prismatic array of weapons, collapsing into a single glowing light.

  ‘That must be them!’ Matthias called. ‘Come to me!’

  He directed his full attention at them, breathing harder with his physical lungs and soul.

  Slowly, but surely, Lykosion’s and Enheduanna’s Divine Breath floated toward his soul, hovering before the widening hole in its ‘chest’.

  Elation surged through him.

  This was it!

  The particles shot toward the hole, poised to fill it…

  …but stopped dead.

  ‘What?’ he wondered.

  The spark of Lykosion’s Divine Breath paused, moving nearer to the shadow wrapped around Matthias’ soul.

  ‘It’s the same as you!’ he called. ‘Join i—’

  The god of shadow’s Divine Breath shot away as though repelled, disappearing into the void.

  ‘No!’ Matthias’ mind screamed.

  Next was Enheduanna’s Divine Breath; fleeing as though repulsed as well. It followed Lykosion’s into the void.

  ‘No, no, no!’ he pleaded, desperately making his soul inhale again, though that action had sent a wave of dizziness through his mind. The remaining particles of Divine Breath continued to hover near, though none closed in on his soul.

  ‘Come on!’ he shouted. ‘Am I so unworthy that none of you will touch me? I didn’t almost die just to fail now! Come on! You came into my soul when it was whole, now you avoid it when I need you? Damn all the gods!’

  Pieces of his spirit began to break off.

  More memories vanished.

  His dizziness grew.

  He could feel himself on the verge of fading away.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  ‘No!’ his mind roared. ‘I will not allow this!’

  The shadows flexed around his soul, their coils tightening, holding it together a bit longer. With a howl of defiance, he forced his spirit to take in the deepest inhalation he’d taken so far.

  Sparks of Divine Breath shuddered around his soul, resisting his attempts to pull them in. He did not stop, no longer caring which deity he cultivated; any of them would become his lifeline and weapon. Holding his soul together with only the shadows and his will, Matthias’ mind screamed into the void…screaming until he saw light floating toward his spirit.

  Two objects.

  Two tiny particles.

  He’d missed them until now—even the most miniscule of sparks dwarfed these—their light was dim, as though they barely existed. Yet, there was something comforting about them, almost protective.

  A string of light connected the two sparks.

  The other particles of Divine Breath floated away, giving them space, as though standing aside.

  Something about them felt right.

  All his life—despite his physical size—he had been forgotten and unwanted by many. These particles of Divine Breath felt similar; unknown and unknowable. They were kin, in many ways.

  And he wanted them.

  His soul continued to flake away, but he forced another great inhalation of breath.

  The two sparks of Divine Breath floated toward his spirit, separating as the string of light lengthened between them. One speck moved to the shadow coiled around his soul.

  It hovered there for a time, and he feared it might flee like Lykosion’s Divine Breath had.

  The spark flared, plunging into the darkness, sinking in with a single ripple.

  The other particle moved directly toward the hole, fusing with it from the side.

  The void shuddered, and all other particles of Divine Breath fled.

  Brain fog lifted from Matthias’ mind; lost memories rapidly returning. His spirit began throbbing like a heart, swelling and contracting as he felt the divine energy take hold. The hole in his soul shrank, closing, his spirit flared, burning like all the stars in the sky.

  ‘Yes!’ his mind shouted. ‘Yes! Yes! Yeeeeeees!’

  The hole in his soul healed, leaving a core of light and dark chasing one another.

  All went still.

  Suddenly, the void exploded in song and light. Matthias’ mind was catapulted upward, rising until it crashed into his physical form.

  He was back on the cliff edge, wind whipping, lightning smiting the skies.

  “Hey!” Altaizar shielded his face against the storm. “Hey, are you dea—”

  Matthias Stonebreaker’s roar shattered the air.

  His shadow boiled.

  Light blazed from every pore of his body, beams lancing from limbs, mouth and eyes. He rose, floating off the ground—hair rising, rain steaming away around him—while bolts of lightning struck his form in a rhythm, like a blacksmith’s hammer shaping steel.

  Each bolt liquified impurities, driving them from his body, bleeding them off into the night.

  Each bolt poured strength into his bones, hardening them.

  Each one steeled his muscles and empowered his organs.

  As the lightning sparked in his brain, Matthias’ mind felt strong, as though he could hold the entire world inside his consciousness. Creation was singing its song to him—and though he could not yet understand its words—it filled him with hope and power.

  After an eternity condensed in a single moment, Matthias floated back down to the ground, his boots touching the earth as the lightning at last bled away. His body shook, Matthias gasped as though he were an infant taking its first breath—a gasp taken with his lungs and soul—and molten power circulated through his form.

  Lightning danced through the sky, thunder growing distant.

  In the light of Altaizar’s fires, Matthias’ eyes fell on the mage, who stared back at him with eyes wide and mouth agape.

  The young man smiled. “I didn’t die.”

  “No…” Altaizar stepped forward. “No, you did not.” His grey eyes were still wide. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I’m awake for the very first time,” Matthias said.

  Everything was clearer.

  The night was brighter, his breath louder, and scents in the air were stronger.

  “Many cultivators and practitioners of Life Enforcement say the same,” Altaizar said.

  The mage looked down at the dream-glass lens in his hand.

  Without warning, he threw it at Matthias.

  “What the—” the young man startled; his words trailed off.

  Why was the glass coming at him so slowly?

  No, it was the world that was moving slower.

  Matthias was able to reach out and easily snatch the lens between two fingers.

  The world sped back up.

  “Well, well, I don’t think you were able to do that before, were you?” Altaizar watched the lens, intrigued.

  “No. I definitely couldn’t.” Matthias handed the dream-glass back to the mage.

  “Now, what would—” Altaizar started to say.

  Matthias turned to the cliff edge and shouted.

  His fists punched the air, his hair whipping about as he jumped up and down. “Yeeeeeaaaah! I did it! I did it!”

  His drawn-out cries echoed through the landscape.

  Altaizar looked ready to say something, then just smiled, letting his young student celebrate.

  This was a moment to cheer.

  And Altaizar would not take that away from him.

  “I can’t believe this.” Matthias murmured as he trudged through the mud.

  He looked up at a tree, his legs twitching.

  With a single bound, he jumped in the air, catching a branch and pulling himself up with one hand. He giggled—drunk on triumph—as he tried to flip onto the branch with one hand.

  “Uwah!” he cried, the movement much easier than he’d expected, and he accidentally overshot, launching himself right over the branch, soaring through the air, and crashing down in a heap, sliding into the mud.

  Altaizar—who’d been floating at his side—burst out laughing, pointing at the sheepish Matthias as the young man quickly scrambled to his feet, wiping the mud from his clothes. “Careful there, my young friend! Divine Breath has a much stronger kick than Life Enforcement! Your body is going to feel quite different: you’ll need some time to train it and get used to it and begin reinforcing your foundation.”

  “Got it,” Matthias said, turning red in the face. “I can’t...by the deities, I can’t wait to see what I can do.”

  “Now, hold on, hold on,” Altaizar raised a hand, his grey eyes burning. “We will need to do a thorough examination of you—both spiritually and physically before—we get too excited. You won’t be able to leave my tower much today, I’m afraid. Gah! I should have brought more tools and notebooks with me.”

  “How come you didn’t?” Matthias asked.

  Altaizar shot him a look. “Well, to be quite frank, I didn’t think you would survive; these have been an enjoyable last two weeks but the chances of you living through the ritual were still very low. I didn’t want to waste the time.”

  For some reason, that made Matthias feel a little smug. “I guess you wasted time not bringing them, then.”

  Altaizar snorted. “I can’t argue with that. Ah well, we'll be back at the tower soon…or I could fly us there. It’ll draw attention, but—to be blunt—I don’t care much if it does at this point. I’m too excited, far too excited!”

  The mage raised his hands.

  “Ah, wait!” Matthias shook his head. “Before we go back to your tower, I want to visit Bregindoure. I told him I’d be back right away if things worked. I want to tell Dagma too.”

  The mage shook his head. “I could understand telling Bregindoure, but I can’t believe your younger sister kept your secret so well. Children are chatty things. Anyway, I won’t deny you the chance to tell your siblings. I’ll head back home, then you can join me later.”

  “Thank you, Master Altaizar!” Matthias lowered his head. “I owe you for this.”

  Altaizar waved a hand. “Think nothing of it. I’ve never seen an Awakening quite as spectacular as yours: it will make for great study. Ah, but if you think you do owe me, then you can do me a quick favour! Could you tell me which deities you ended up cultivating? Was it Lykosion and Enheduanna after all?”

  Matthias shook his head. “Their Divine Breath wouldn’t touch me.” He frowned, some of his cheer fading. “To be honest, Master Altaizar, I have no idea which deities’ Divine Breath came to me. Their sparks were tiny, connected by a single string. Have you heard of anything like that before?”

  Altaizar frowned. “Can’t say that I have…but Divine Breath can come from many different demigods and other smaller divine powers. The Pantheon of the Ascended are the most common but are not an exhaustive list of the deities you can cultivate. There’s one way to check, though. Would you mind visiting your Tower for me? Check your power stone and the name of your Tower.”

  Excitement surged through Matthias. “I’d love to! It’ll only be at the Foundation Layer now, right? I’d visit it by going down to my soul?”

  Altaizar laughed. “Well, aren’t you eager! Yes, and yes to all your questions. Come on, I’d love to know.”

  Eagerly, Matthias focused on his shadow, his mind falling into himself and drifting down to his soul. He appeared in the void again, floating in front of his soul; it burned brighter than before—and the shadow coiled around it had grown thicker—while in the ‘chest’ was that core of light and dark chasing each other.

  ‘That’s where my Tower is supposed to be,’ Matthias thought. ‘I can’t wait to see it.’

  His mind dived into his core.

  A feeling came over him, like he was passing through a doorway…

  …to find himself in what appeared to be another world. Unlike when he was in the void, he now had a body, one composed entirely of spiritual essence that matched his physical form.

  He’d expected this: the manuals on Divine Breath had said that the Tower would appear in its own realm constructed of soul essence, and that he would have a ‘physical’ form in that realm. Matthias’ realm appeared to be simple enough: a vast clearing in a towering forest beneath skies filled with mist and shadow.

  He looked around for a moment—taking in the sight in wonder—before turning and walking toward the centre of the clearing, eagerly searching for the foundation of his Tower.

  “What deity will it be?” he wondered. “A small deity or a demigod like Master Altaizar suggested? Or one of the Pantheon of the Ascended? It was two sparks of Divine Breath, so the Tower will be crafted of two deities’ energies…”

  His words trailed off.

  He stopped walking, staring at what waited in the centre of the clearing.

  He thought he’d been ready for anything, but he was not prepared for what he was seeing.

  ‘...you can only ever have one Tower in your soul, but that Tower can be formed from either one or two deities’ Divine Breath,’ Altaizar’s words echoed in his mind.

  Everything he had read had stated: that all cultivators only had one Tower.

  Except, when Matthias Stonebreaker reached the centre of the clearing, he did not find the foundation of his Tower waiting for him.

  He found two.