Finishing off the slime, he removed the second wooden platform from the wall and continued on. That ledge beyond the top of the dirt staircase hadn't contained anything of particular interest, as it was more a nook than a continuation of the passage like he'd initially thought. There was a bit of stone up there however, and he collected enough to ensure he could build the oven when he went back to his cave. After that he collected the wood used to get himself up there he continued downward instead, pulling a torch out as he moved to the edge of the light from his last torch.

  Before going too far he came across another open cavern, with water at the far end and a path that looped back heading further down. This looks familiar, he thought to himself. But then, all these tunnels did. Moving over to the edge of the water, he noticed two pots sitting in water that would only come up to his calf, and decided it was worth it to wade over to them. Both of them only contained coins, and between them there were 2 silver and 24 bronze coins. Further back, there was an odd reflection from the wall where it met the water.

Trying to make out what it was, he could tell that it wasn't the same metal he'd been collecting... and as that's what he needed at the moment, he decided not to jump into the deeper water for a closer look. Wading back out of the water, he set a torch into the wall at the intersection and continued his way down. By moving quickly he was sure he'd have enough time to find everything he needed before it was too late, and shaking his legs as he walked he couldn't help but appreciate the fact that with his clothing as ruined as it was, it didn't hold as much water as it otherwise would have.

  Following the tunnel down, he came into yet another cavern with a much deeper pool of water in it, and no passage heading  further on. Crisscrossing the roof above the water was a large number of cobwebs. Of course. Reaching into his pouches, he checked how many dirt chunks he had as an idea came to him. If he was going to have to start learning things on his own, he'd have to experiment... and one of the things he wanted to know, was how far his ability to fasten things without having to touch them went.

  Remembering back to when he was building the first structure, he recalled throwing blocks up to place them just out of reach... but in climbing he'd just fastened both torches and platforms beyond his reach. There was no reason to think he couldn't do that with everything. On top of that, he could carry these materials in bundles, could he place them as a group? Holding the bundle of dirt in his hand, he attempted to set a large portion of it down, covering the top of the water, at once.

  It didn't work the way he thought it would... but it 'was' working... sort of. As he attempted to set the dirt down beginning at the edge of the pool it didn't all drop at once, but he was able to rapidly fasten dirt into place without actually placing it down with his hands. In fact, just standing there at the edge of the water he was able to set dirt in a radius around him, one after the other but very rapidly, and a few paces out. Standing there, he was able to feel the range he could set things out from, as beyond that point he could not fasten dirt.

  Walking slowly out onto the dirt he'd set on top of the water, he tested his range, and after a few moments, had a good idea of how far out he could set things without touching them. He was feeling something different... this was certainly strange but he wasn't afraid. In fact, a part of him felt... powerful. I can build things just by thinking about it... He wasn't sure what else he was capable of, but this... this was... awesome.

  Experimenting further he realized that within his radius, which seemed to be a globe surrounding him, he was able to fasten a chunk of dirt wherever he wanted, so long as it was attached to something else. He'd tried a few times to fasten dirt to the air, as he'd seen the floating island, but had no luck with that. Whatever made it float was beyond his ability to reproduce. Unfortunately he couldn't remove dirt just by thinking about it, he still had to use the pickaxe, but even what he 'was' capable of encouraged his sudden feeling of power.

I can build with a thought. In a world that has done nothing but attempt to destroy me since I woke up here, I have the power to create things, and build up structures just by thinking about it... it was a staggering realization, and he found that he was less wary of the unknown than he'd been even moments before. What else could he do... He was suddenly eager to learn, eager to continue experimenting with his abilities, for that's what he realized they were.

  He'd spent so much time bemoaning the situation he'd found himself in, and had somehow not acknowledged the power he had to control his fate. An impulse hit him. When he struck something with his pickaxe, he could tell how much further the material behind it went. But he vaguely recalled simply touching a stack of iron and knowing the same thing. Now he tried just feeling the material, within his radius... and it worked.

  Just reaching out with his mind, in a way that he could not have possibly described had he not just spent the time fastening things without touching them, but in somewhat the same way, he could feel how thick a wall was, and with this, he could tell that the walls around him were all incredibly thick. There was something else though... feeling the walls this way, he could tell what kind of material the wall contained, even if he couldn't see it, all within his radius.

  As he moved across the surface of the water, fastening dirt to cover the rest of it as he did, he noticed something strange. As he moved further from the light, he could no longer feel the thickness of the walls, and in fact, was only able to discern as much as he could visually. Pulling a torch out, he was able to discern the thickness of the walls once more... somehow, this ability was tied to the light. Analyzing the logic of his ability to see without seeing when the light was less present was beyond his interest at the moment. And he just accepted it. Even that little change, where he could see something strange, and just accept it... was beautiful in a way he couldn't describe.

  After he finished covering the water, for no other reason than because he could, he decided to try out the extent of his new found ability. Building up from the dirt he'd just set in place he fastened together a platform of dirt at about chest level, held up by a single column of dirt. Walking around it, he was strangely uncomfortable with the amount of dirt supported by the single column. With an irrational excitement laced with discomfort, he decided to try climbing onto the platform, and crouched there on the dirt he'd just set in place, heart racing, he felt like he was on top of the world.

  Standing on his platform, that by all means should not have been able to support him, he decided to take it a step further. Building out from his platform, and then up to chest level again, still using no more than a single column of dirt, he built another platform, and the amount of dirt in the air over that first column was now just ridiculous, but the whole thing held. He might not have been able to set dirt in the air... Looking at the platform before him... he decided to try something.

  Taking his pickaxe out, he removed the chunk of dirt connecting his platform the the platform he'd just built and braced for the assumed collapse... that never came. His heart racing at what he was doing, he continued removing dirt along the column until he was left with a platform suspended in the air at chest level. Recklessly curious, he pushed against the platform, expecting it to possibly sway... or bob... or something... but it didn't move. It was as firmly fastened in the air, as if it had been attached to something. As firm as the floating land mass from before.

  Hell, why not... he thought, as he climbed up onto it. It held, and he was now high enough up that he was able to use his sword to remove the cobwebs from the ceiling. Twelve individual pieces of cobweb later, and he carefully climbed down from the platforms, removing them as he did, as why leave behind this dirt when he could do such amazing things with it. Standing on the dirt he'd covered the water with, he really tried to consider what he'd just done.

"Probably not the best place for contemplation," a low voice he didn't recognize said from somewhere behind him.

Turning quickly, pulling his sword out as he did, he looked around for the source, and found nobody.

"Put that stupid thing away. If I'd wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. I've been watching you for some time now, and you're not particularly careful of your surroundings," the voice informed him. Doing nothing to calm his alarm, and suddenly racing heart. Powerful... HA! There's still so much I don't know... Like where the heck is... "Show yourself then!" he tried shouting above the pounding in his chest.

"I think not," was the reply, once more behind him, "People tend to react badly when I show myself, so you're just going to have to listen to me for now," it finished, moving behind him as he turned frantically trying to find the source. There weren't enough shadows for a person to hide in here... where was he, and how was he staying behind him?!

"Normally I'd be more careful, take my time, work subtly from the shadows... but I don't know how much time I've got, and there's no telling what changes are coming," the voice that no matter where he looked he could not find rattled on, "well... that's not entirely true. I was able to glean a little from the Preview... but it was short lived, and there's no telling how much I've misviewed."

"Who are you?" he tried, shaking, all the power he'd just felt seeping out of him faster than it had come. What good was building dirt platforms against someone he couldn't even see. Hell... what good was building dirt platforms in defending himself at all. He'd been foolish to let himself think anything had changed.

"Doesn't matter," the voice informed him.

"What do you want?" he asked instead.

"For starters, stop asking questions. I'm not going to answer them, and you're not going anywhere until you've finished hearing me out, so the less you talk, the sooner you can leave," the voice answered.

  He wasn't sure how to respond, or even if he should... but he wasn't given a lot of time to worry over it.

"First thing's first, stop being stupid," the voice instructed him.

  Great... now I'm being insulted by a mysterious voice, he thought to himself. He was still afraid... but under that, and slowly burning, was anger. Enough that he snapped out, "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is, your refusal to accommodate the bringing of others into the world is both futile, and ignorant. Do you really think you're powerful enough to pull and bind someone to this reality against their will? I'm not that powerful, and I'm a fair sight more skilled than you are. The world will have it's way, no matter what you choose to do. It is better to work with it, than against it... trust me on that..." the voice decided to answer his question, fading off a little at the end.

  He didn't trust it. But he also realized that standing there jumping every time the voice spoke up wasn't accomplishing anything, so he 'did' put his sword up, and then stood with his back to the wall. The voice still sounded like it was behind him.

"Second thing, stop dying. I mean... I know tonight you're probably toast, but if you hope to keep yourself from being completely corrupted, it would help if you kept yourself alive."

"Wait," he interrupted, pulling his sword back out, "what do you mean tonight... What's going to happen tonight?" he asked, his heart racing, stomach souring as he spoke.

"It's a Blood Moon tonight, and while you may be capable of defending yourself from the walking dead, when I turn... well... let's just say I don't favor your chances against me. I'd love to just head out to the other side of the world and hope I don't find you... but I figure coming to talk to you was more important than keeping you alive tonight," the voice answered him again.

"What do you mean when you turn?" he shouted, considering his options. He could run for it, but if this guy was as powerful as he claimed...

"That's not important... not right now at any rate. The last thing I need to tell you is this," the voice responded, going on as if it hadn't just threatened his life, "The magic of this world may be working through you, but just as by dying you give in to the corruption, you can give in more to the world by finding Life Crystals."

"Life Crystals?" he stammered out, he should just run... at least then he'd have a chance... even if it was futile... he didn't want to die.

  A flash of purple light caused him to jump, and when it dissipated, there was a deep red stone shape sitting in the middle of the dirt where the water had been. Afraid to move towards it, for fear that it may be a trap, he instead asked, "What is that?" as he slowly stepped sideways towards the tunnel leading up.

"That, is a Crystal Heart. Within it is a Life Crystal, which will allow you to accept more of the lands power. This will enable to you stay out longer before you need rest, and should keep you from falling as quickly as you currently do. And stop moving towards the exit," the voice said as something hit him in an explosion of purple light from behind, throwing him forward towards the 'heart' and causing him intense pain in the process.

"Graaahhhhh!" he articulated his enjoyment of the assault.

  Grabbing onto the red stone shape to balance himself, he was shocked by warmth pulsing from it. In the moment his hands settled on the surface, a ring of light shot up from the base of the shape, within the red stone, and caused the entire thing to shimmer with a soft light. He could feel every pulse reverberate through him, and for a few moments, he was lost in the sensation.

  With each ring of light, he felt as if he could see something more, something beyond himself. It was as if by touching this stone, he was connected to... Everything. The stone and dirt around him, the water beneath, trees, slimes, even the walking dead... he could feel it all... and for a moment, he was in danger of losing himself in the vastness of it all.

  Beneath everything though, there was a... sickness. Something that 'should not have been' but was. Something corrupt in the oneness of the land. And even just seeing it, however it was that he was doing this, made him ill. It was as if he could feel the wrongness eroding away at him, at everything. And the more he could feel it, the more it seemed to wear away at him, and for a fleeting moment, he could feel something else...

  Another burst of purple light and he was thrown back from the stone, severing his connection to the land and saving him from the wave of wrongness that had begun to build up and head his way. Lying in the dirt, it took his mind a few minutes to reconcile his meek and inconsequential body.

"The barrier is too thin..." the voice informed him, "that should not have happened, not yet in any event. Not ever if you're lucky."

"What..." he tried out his voice, managing little more than a low murmur, the inadequacy of his whole being crushing his psyche.

"The change is here..." the voice answered, having heard him after all, "You are in luck, it seems that you aren't to die tonight after all. I can already feel it taking shape..."

  He couldn't muster up the energy to care, let alone move. He was nothing...

"Take your hammer to the Crystal Heart," the voice instructed him.

"It doesn't matter," he tried informing the voice. How could he have believed that any of it mattered? That wrongness... it was so vast. It would consume everything, and nothing he did would change that. He was little more than an insect in its path, and it would consume him without ever knowing that he was even there.

"Get up!" the voice yelled at him, "Take your hammer to the Crystal Heart, you don't have a lot of time, and you need to stabilize yourself before the change."

  He lifted his head, still lying on his back and looked down towards the red stone... heart? Sure, it could be. The ring of light pulsed steadily from its base, and up through it. It 'did' seem to pulse with a life of its own... almost like a heart... But it still didn't matter.

That's right, it's futile, lie here and the change will come as it is meant to come... he thought, or was that him, he was having a hard time concentrating, and everything around him seemed to reverberate as if the very land was overlapping itself. A low thrumming was beginning to build in the air. It was not unlike the feeling of standing near the workbench, but on a much larger scale.

  A pair of hands pulled him to his feet, hands that belonged to a body he could not see. These same hands unceremoniously shoved him towards the 'heart' as a voice he could hardly hear seemed to yell from an impossible distance, almost fully drowned out by the thrumming, "....b..re..a..k.. th...e.. h...e...ar...t..."

  Standing on dirt, no... stone... was there water at his feet... where had all that ice come from.... he pulled his pickaxe from his pouches... no, it was his hammer... what was he doing again... Looking up, he saw the heart, the only thing not doubled in his vision, beating a slow pulse in tune with... something... everything... and like a drowning man grasping desperately for something that would float... anything, he reached out for it, and knew what he had to do.

  He could feel his hammer as if it was an extension of himself. It wasn't just a tool... it was him, he was the tool, and though a small voice tried to convince him that he was wasting his time, a stronger sense told him to do this. He reached out towards the heart, with his hammer, with himself... and he could feel the life within. Arm raised, he brought the hammer down, and as the wood came in contact with the heart, the entire world fell apart around him. 

The sun was incredibly hot. He knew this wasn't news to anyone... but it was all he had to observe at the moment. There wasn't a lot to look at in the desert. They'd been walking for most of the day, and as Tam and Perinque had been understandably distracted the last time they'd crossed it, there was no telling how much further they had to go. Just over the next hill... it's got to be... he tried encouraging himself. It didn't work.

  Even out here in the direct sunlight, Perinque's shadows seemed to move just a moment after she did. And with that cloth covering her entire body, it was hard to make out hear features due to that. It was almost like there was a 'Shadow Version' of her that was ever so slightly slower than she was. He'd given up trying to talk to her about it, but in this barren waste, he couldn't keep himself from pondering it once more.

"We're almost there!" Tam said as soon as he reappeared, excitement clear in his voice. He'd been scouting ahead, teleporting to the top, of the hills whenever they came upon a larger one, and the confirmation of his idle hope was enough to stir his flagging spirits. Change is coming, the voice informed him, just in case he'd forgotten since the last time it had said as much.

"Did you look to see if anyone else was around?" Perinque asked.

"Yes and No," Tam responded.

"Wait... yes you looked, and no there isn't anyone there? Or you only sort of looked?" she followed up.

"Once more, Yes and No," he smirked as he answered.

  Lunging towards Tam, Perinque found herself grasping at the air as he stood laughing a little ways up the hill. He was getting better at teleporting with short notice.

"There's nobody there, at least, nobody outside," he answered through his laughter.

"Well, shall we go check it out then?" he tried talking over the voice that was once more informing him, Change is Coming.

Giving Tam a look that warned of a retort later, Perinque started up the hill, leaving the two of them to catch up.

"Hey, Tam," he said before his friend magicked himself away.

Turning to look back at him, Tam responded, "What's up?"

  He'd been thinking about how to broach this in a way that didn't call his sanity into question, so he attempted, "Have you ever come across anything that you couldn't see, but that you could still hear while you've been working on your magic?"

"Like something invisible?" Tam asked, suddenly seeming a little defensive... which was a bit strange.

"No..." he was suddenly a little reluctant to continue, "or maybe... I was more thinking like..." he really didn't want to start this conversation, but he'd already begun, "like... voices," he ended, knowing how it sounded.

  His friend gave him a strange look, as if he were thinking something, but not ready to discuss it. He knew how it sounded, he should have never asked, maybe he could change the topic...

"When?" Tam asked him, clearly wary now, "When are you talking about?"

"No time in particular," he stammered out, "I was just wondering, you know, hot, tired, maybe dehydrated, I should probably have another glowing mushroom..." he tried deflecting, lamely even to himself.

"You two coming?!" Perinque shouted down.

Tam gave him a searching look, before teleporting up beyond Perinque, "Just waiting on you!" he answered her with a laugh.

Change is coming. The voice told him as he started up towards his friends... He knew, and he didn't like it.

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