Children of The Stellar Severance

I immediately dropped into a low crouch, my sword trailing behind me in a swift, calculated motion. The blade connected with the upper chest of the nearest dummy, and for a brief moment, its wooden form glowed red as the aetheric energy surged through it. The dummy flickered, destabilizing before it deactivated and left the training area.

Now, only six remained.

Two dummies immediately attacked, one swinging a sword from my left while the other, wielding a massive hammer, charged from my right. 

I pivoted to my left, dodging the sword swipe and stepping into the swing of the hammer. In an instant, I dematerialized my sword—its size would only hinder me at this close range. Instead, I used the dummy's own momentum, gripping its arm and shoulder-tossing it into the ground with a resounding crash.

Before I could catch my breath, the dummy with the sword lunged forward. But I was already in motion—sliding beneath its arc, and rematerializing my blade in the same breath. With a sharp upward slash, my sword cut across its torso. The dummy flickered briefly before its energy destabilized, and it deactivated.

Only five left.

Without breaking stride, I rushed past the dummy I had shoulder-tossed, dragging my blade across its chest in a fluid motion. The runes on its body flared red for a moment before it collapsed, deactivating.

Four left.

I drove my shoulder into another shield-bearing dummy, the impact reverberating through my entire arm. Pain shot up my nerves, sharp and unforgiving as if I had just slammed into solid granite. My left arm throbbed, protesting the reckless move, but I gritted my teeth and pushed forward. 

It didn't matter, though. Within that one reckless move, I had opened its guard, creating just enough space. Sliding past its defenses, I delivered a decisive blow to the training dummy.

The last three training dummies surrounded me. Two wielded spears, their tips glowing faintly with aetheric energy, while the third remained at a distance, a bow in its grasp, already nocking an arrow.

Without hesitation, I charged at the two spear-wielding dummies. Their strikes came in rapid succession, one thrusting forward while the other swept low, aiming for my legs. I deflected the first strike with my sword as the clash of aetheric energy resonated throughout the air. At the same time, I jumped to avoid the sweeping motion, narrowly evading the second spear as it swiped beneath me.

Though I dodged the spear, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of an arrow streaking toward me. It was fired by the third training dummy, which was retreating to create more distance. 

I pushed more aetheric energy through my body, flooding my eyes with time aether. Time felt the most instinctive of my three affinities, as though it resonated deeply with a part of me—specifically my eyes. Thinking back to life before the aetheric trial, I recalled how I always needed something to shield my eyes from aetheric energy. But now, I couldn't help but wonder—what if my eyes had been acting as a conduit for my time affinity all along? What if they were uniquely attuned to harnessing the flow of time?

My vision expanded, stretching beyond the boundaries of the present moment. It was as if I were peering into the endless threads of time itself. Once again, I saw countless versions of myself scattered across infinite timelines—each one living, deciding, and existing. Or at least, that's what it felt like—a cascade of possibilities unfurling before me, untethered and infinite.

I saw visions of myself dodging the arrow, but they dissipated as quickly as they appeared. One by one, the visions unravelled, fading into nothing as they slipped beyond the realm of possibility. My time affinity wasn't strong enough to enact drastic changes—not yet. Time seemed to slow, the countless finite versions of myself collapsing inward, folding back into the present. Finally, I reached out and seized a single possibility—one within the limits of my power, one I could bend to my will. It felt as though I was imposing my will upon another version of myself, forcing it to manifest into reality. 

Suddenly, it felt as if my body shifted slightly, aligning with the position of another version of myself from a different timeline. I didn't completely avoid the arrow; instead, it struck my shoulder, narrowly sparing me from a hit to center mass. The sharp sting of the wound was nothing compared to the throbbing ache coursing through my eyes - the ability to distort time and bend the realms of infinite impossibilities came at a cost that I could feel with each passing breath.

My eyes throbbed with an unbearable ache, but I pushed forward, forcing myself to endure. With each step, I slashed through the two remaining spear-wielding training dummies, their wooden frames glowing under the weight of my strikes. Ignoring the pain radiating from my shoulder, I pressed onward, my focus locked on the archer dummy as it retreated, its bowstring taut with another arrow.

Only the bow training dummy remained, its glowing arrow aimed at my chest. I locked eyes with its blank, rune-marked face, my breathing steady as I prepared for its move. With a swift release, the arrow shot forward, but I sidestepped effortlessly, the aetheric projectile whizzing past me as if it were moving in slow motion.

I closed the remaining distance in mere moments, my movements a blur. With a swift, downward slash of my blade, I cut cleanly through the aetheric-formed bow, shattering it into dissipating energy. The strike continued, carving into the training dummy's chest. Its runes flickered violently before the dummy deactivated, signalling the end of the fight.

After the fight, I closed my eyes, taking a deep, steadying breath as I began to process everything—the flow of the battle, the instincts I'd relied on, and the power I had wielded. 

Turning my focus inward, I gazed into the depths of my soul, where faint new runes began to form, born from the insights I had gained. The ethereal Nexus illuminated their meaning, guiding my understanding of their purpose. They pulsed softly, each one a fragment of knowledge tied to the manipulation of time aether.

Name: Samuel Solis

Pathway: Eternal Dreamer

Order: Awakened 

Affinity: Spacetime, Dream

Pathway Abilities (1/7): Cosmic Reverie 

Soul Abilities: Dream blade, Eye of the Eternal Weave

Acquired Abilities: N/A

I focused on my new Soul Ability, feeling the weight of its potential settle within me.