"Any advice?" Aqueous asked, his azure glow flickering with uncertainty as he hovered just outside the door.
"Don't half-ass it." Ember replied without hesitation, her amber light steady and sharp.
"Got it." Aqueous said, the words carrying a quiet acknowledgment.
The exchange was brief, almost curt even, but it landed exactly where it needed to.
Aqueous had never pushed himself fully in anything he did, except when competing against Ember. Ambition had always felt distant to him, as if it were optional. Ember's blunt reminder just now wasn't scolding, but rather permission to care. She was telling him to try, to actually matter.
He drifted forward and passed through the spiraling door.
Inside, the endless white void stretched in every direction. Cubix waited at the precise center of it, his facets calm and expectant.
"Now then," Cubix said, his voice even and inviting, "tell me about yourself. Your object. Your abilities. How they came to be. Speak as comfortably as you like."
"Yes, Your Eminence."
Aqueous' light dimmed slightly as he began.
"Truthfully, I had no idea what I wanted to create as an object. I had no vision, nor did I have any drive for it at all. Nothing really came to mind because…"
Aqueous paused, letting the memory settle.
I wasn't trying to make anything meaningful.
To me, it didn't fell like a task or a mission that needed to be done. For some reason, it felt more like a chore, just like everything felt for me back then.
I simply just wanted to finish the task and move on to other things afterwards. Ironically, there wasn't even anything else I was doing, or wanted to do at the time.
Meaning there was no reason for me to hurry up and finish making the object. And yet, I still did. I just... couldn't be bothered. It made me wonder if something was wrong with me, but like always, I wasn't going to dig deep on the matter.
After my short self reflection, I went ahead with my decision. For my object, I shaped whatever idea surfaced on my mind first, without any further thinking or consideration. It happened on impulse, as if my mind refused to think about it.
The process felt hazy, and I could barely remember some of it. It was like I skipped a few steps when making the object.
I gathered the necessary energy, absorbed it within myself, and began channeling it to make the object. However, as I began to do that, my kind went blank, and I could no longer tell what was happening.
I could sense the energy being manipulated, being formed into whatever new shape, but I couldn't tell what or how. I didn't even know why this was happening.
I tried to stop it, to regain control of it, but my pointless rebellion only lasted a few seconds at best.
I thought to myself, Since the object is being created anyways, it's probably better to just let whatever force is making it, handle the rest of it.
Since that was the case, then all I needed to do was wait until the object was finished, and the task would be completed. For me, someone who didn't have any passion for making an object in the first place, this was a saving grace.
Once the object was finally finished, I could tell it was because the energy no longer moved or shifted around me. Not only that, but I could feel as though my control over it had come back. I could even see the object that was made.
Still, I didn't know how it was made, or why I was overcome with such an unknown force in the first place.
Of course, I chose not focus on that, and instead be grateful to whatever that force was. If not for it, then I would've had to make the object manually.
And given who I am, I'm sure that it would've not only taken a long time, but there would've also been a chance that the object would've been basic, if not defective somehow.
Pushing all of those thoughts aside, I focused once more on the object in front of me. Even naming it was an afterthought to me. In fact, I didn't even realize I'd gained an ability until much later.
[Aqua] allows me to gather ambient energy from my surroundings and harness it primarily for defensive purposes, as it does not possess much offensive power.
I can create and manipulate liquid to shield myself, or even alter my own form from solid to that of liquid.
"I understand. I would like to see that ability in action." Cubix said.
"Yes, Your Eminence." Aqueous complied.
"Photon Ray."
A golden lance of light streaked toward Aqueous.
"Liquify."
In an instant, Aqueous' form dissolved into shimmering fluid, a liquid sphere collapsing and reforming around the point of impact. He simply looked like a faint tear drop.
The ray sliced through harmlessly, but not entirely harmlessly. A faint sting lingered on Aqueous, sharp and unexpected. Not to mention the heat bubbles forming around the point of contact, due to the extreme heat produced by Cubix's attack.
Tsk. Aqueous clicked his nonexistent tongue in frustration.
Even in a liquid state, Cubix's attack had grazed something essential, and Aqueous felt the burn of it.
The attack was hotter than anything he had ever experienced before. It was a heat of a higher leven than that of his rival.
This only furthered to reaffirmed just who Aqueous' opponent was, and how seriously he should take this evaluation.
Focus. This isn't a game, or training. The others have probably passed their trials. I can't be the only one to disappoint boss, or them. I can't waste everything she invested in training me.
He steadied himself, resolve hardening his glow.
"Clones."
Aqueous expanded his energy and fractured it. His form split into dozens of smaller versions of himself, most the size of normal Entities, as well as one so tiny it was nearly microscopic.
The clones shared his will completely as they were simply all extensions of himself, puppets, or vessels. If his primary body failed, then any fragment could become the new center.
Now go. Aqueous commanded telepathically.
The minuscule clone darted away, weaving erratically to mask its path.
"Photon Threads." Cubix's voice was soft, almost regretful as he spoke.
Multicolored filaments erupted from him, dozens of them, each seeking a different clone.
They moved with impossible precision, straight lines, sudden curves, as well as abrupt U-turns. Every clone was targeted simultaneously.
Aqueous regenerated the destroyed ones instantly, pouring energy into their reconstruction. The tiny clone remained untouched, at least for now.
Wait, something's wrong. Aqueous thought, realizing that something was indeed off.
The movement of the threads was strange to say the least. Some of them grazed the clones rather than striking them cleanly.
Aqueous hadn't noticed this at first, and was only able to detect the strangeness after realizing the inconsistencies with the amount of energy he was using to regenerate his clones.
Some clones required a greater amount of energy to regenerate, while a few of them required next to none at all. This didn't feel right to Aqueous, as it meant that some of the clones weren't destroyed by the threads.
The threads weren't missing by accident, not in the least. After all, Cubix didn't miss, not like this. There had to be a very specific reason to the threads moving in the way in which they were.
But what was it?
Why were the threads moving like that?
That question lingered in his mind, causing him to doubt his every move. It was that doubt that made him start to hesitate.
It's deliberate. he concluded to himself. But why? What could he be trying to accomplish? I need to figure it out, and fast.
And, as if he had heard Aqueous' internal struggle, Cubix spoke. "You are too late." he announced.
Those words confirmed all of Aqueous' thoughts.
"No, not yet." Aqueous countered, already shifting his energy.
"Photon Web."
The threads twisted, braided, and spiraled across the white void.
They wove themselves into an intricate, glowing lattice that spanned the chamber. Every clone, large and small, was caught in its strands.
Aqueous floated at the exact center, pinned in place. The web allowed no movement, and in addition, it absorbed the energy of whatever was caught in it.
The clones that had low energy reserves were absorbed entirely, leaving nothing where they were trapped. The ones that had greater energy reserves were simply waiting for the same fate.
In short, there was no escape. The outcome was inevitable.
"Now, to end this." Cubix said. His tone carried a quiet disappointment, not in Aqueous, but in how the evaluation had conclusion.
"Unfortunately, Your Eminence, I have no intentions of letting things end like this." Aqueous replied, matching the same calm coldness.
"Is that so?" Cubix asked rhetorically, "Then, let me see your resolve. Photon Implosion."
The web began collapsing inward, its edges dissolving toward the center. The released energy surged violently, vaporizing the remaining clones in sequence. All that power converged on the core, to Aqueous.
And then...
Silence.
There was no light.
There was no sound.
Nor was there a trace.
The implosion consumed everything, including Aqueous.
—In the observation room—
"These fights keep getting more and more interesting." Milady said cheerfully, her multicolored surface shimmering with delight. "I love how each of fights highlight a specific Entity's strength, but also expose a weakness that they must overcome."
"I'm truly grateful that my subordinates can entertain you this much, Milady." Prism replied. "Even I'm impressed by how much they've grown."
"Mm, mm. That said, what do you think of this battle?" Milady asked, her tone suddenly unreadable.
Prism tensed. Is this a test? If so, then what is the right response? What is it that Miladywants to hear? What should I say?
She overthought for half a heartbeat before deciding to answer carefully.
Milady's light shifted in an amused, and approving pulses. "There is no right or wrong answer. At least, not to me. I just simply wish to know your honest opinion, that's all."
"I understand." Prism admitted after letting out a quiet sigh of relief. She galnced towards the monitor, and spoke. "This battle… is far from over."
"Damn right it isn't." Milady said, her attention returning back to the monitor.
—Back in the evaluation chamber—
"Quite impressive." Cubix said, regarding the spot where Aqueous had been.
"Thank you, Your Eminence."
A new azure sphere grew steadily larger, reforming from seemingly nothing.
In the final instant before implosion, Aqueous had transferred his consciousness to the tiny clone he had sent drifting earlier.
The miniature vessel had survived outside the web's collapse, due to it's size being too small for Cubix's threads to catch it.
Cubix, who had initially thought that the miniature clone would simply be disintegrated upon making contact with his threads, was left astonished when the clone simply slid off the thread like a raindrop on a wire fence.
Not only that, but the clone wasn't harmed in the slightest. Indeed, someway, somehow, Cubix's thread had failed its attempt in piercing the little guy.
"I was curious about the purpose of that miniature clone." Cubix said. "It seems as though now I know."
"Indeed. As long as even a fragment of me remains intact, I can reform myself endlessly. Furthermore, if a focus hard enough, and use enough energy, I can even make a clone invulnerable to certain phenomenon such as light, heat, or even both. "
Of course, since he rarely ever made any effort to begin with, this wasn't something Aqueous did often. At least, not until meeting a certain prismatic colored Entity.
"Is that so?" Cubix mused, his tone carrying a quiet challenge. "Then allow me to test that claim."
"Please, be my guest." Aqueous accepted, not in a disrespectful tone, but a calm and composed one.
"Then, can you survive this?" Cubix started.
And then...
POOF.
A Photon Bullet, one that was compressed into a needle point, struck the reformed Aqueous and detonated with the full force of a Photon Bomb, without the sound.
The sphere, formally known as Aqueous, disintegrated instantly.
"Yes, I can." a new voice answered from behind Cubix.
The new vessel had no fatigue and has its full reserves back. This is because the clones had a passive ability of absorbing ambient energy from the moment they are created.
And since some of them weren't made to attack, but only distract an opponent, then they could save their energy reserves.
Aand so, Aqueous stood whole again, fresh and unmarred.
Cubix fired again.
And again.
Each time the body vanished in a burst of light and force, and each time a clone survived, with his consciousness transferred inside it.
Aqueous had no attack power, in a sense. All he could do was abosorb energy and use it defensively to dodge, block, or reform his body when necessary.
The only time he was equal with another Entity, was against Ember, who's fire could be easily absorbed by Aqueous' clone.[1]
And so the cycle repeated on just like that.
Destroy, reform, destroy, reform, until the number of deaths and rebirths blurred into meaninglessness.
The more Cubix ravaged Aqueous, the more energy Aqueous absorbed, channeling it to reconstitute himself endlessly.
It was a pure battle of attrition. Aqueous only needed to endure, to outlast every single of of Cubix's assaults.
He felt the searing impact of each strike, yes, but the pain dissolved the instant he transferred into a new clone. At this point, it was obvious that direct attacks were futile against him.
Cubix's prismatic facets flashed with calculated intensity, as he shifted tactics for one final gambit.
"Photon Singularity."
A pinpoint of absolute darkness bloomed before Aqueous without warning, warping light and space in violent silence.
Aqueous shifted from passive absorption to urgent action.
How will you answer this? Cubix pulsed curiously, his cubic form hovering steady.
Aqueous's spherical body began to stretch and distort. The singularity's pull was merciless, solid or fluid, glowing or dim, it discriminated against nothing.
His luminous surface trembled as he was inexorably drawn toward the void. And his liquid surface stretched and bent toward the void, small droplets of his form leaking out and pulling away from him.
What is this? I can't even control my own movements. Aqueous vibrated in startled alarm, his inner light flickering with uncertainty.
Closer.
Closer.
The evaluation hung in the balance, if he vanished into that maw, defeat was all but certain. And like with the others that came before him, such an outcome was unacceptable.
If that's the case, then... After a swift analysis of the distortion rippling through the fabric around him, Aqueous reached his decision.
He expanded.
Violently.
In every direction at once.
His azure sphere swelled with explosive speed, growing larger, vaster, until the once-terrifying singularity appeared as nothing more than a faint, insignificant smudge against his radiant expanse.
Still, he grew.
It's not enough. More! I NEED TO GROW MORE!!!
The singularity strained, its gravitational hunger clawing at him, only to be overwhelmed. Instead of consuming Aqueous, it was swallowed whole, reduced to nothingness within his ever-expanding glow.
Impressive. Cubix admitted inwardly, his prismatic light dimming slightly in acknowledgment.
When Aqueous finally ceased his expansion, Cubix's cubic form was dwarfed beyond comprehension, reduced to something smaller than an atom beside the colossal, luminous sphere that now dominated the field.
Indeed, one couldn't even see the white void anymore. It was replaced the azure glow from an Entity so massive, that size as a concept failed to describe him.
—Observation room—
"He's big." Prism said.
"He's not just big, he's WAY big." Milady expressed. "Get it?"
"I'm sorry, but I do not." Prism confessed, her light dimming.
"I'm just teasing, don't stress over it. It's not something you'd know anyway. Heck, not even Cubix knows about it."
"I-I see. Thank you." Prism let out with relief.
—Evaluation chamber—
"It would seem as though I have finally run out of energy." Cubix said at last, his voice echoing across the entire space to reach Aqueous.
Relief flickered through Aqueous's light. His own reserves had nearly bottomed out as well. With a poof, his form returned back to normal instantly.
"The test is over." Cubix continued gently, though a subtle undercurrent of something else, respect, perhaps colored the words. "You may leave now."
"Thank you, Your Eminence."
The door spiraled open, and Aqueous passed through feeling proud.
—Waiting room—
The others no longer waited politely on the resting nodes anymore. They all clustered just outside the door, their lights pulsing in anticipation.
"Well?" Ember demanded the instant he appeared.
"Well what?" Aqueous teased, letting the moment stretch.
"How did it go?!" she pressed.
"Calm down, Ember." Cream said evenly. "Give him a moment to relax."
"Yes," Aloe added. "he must be exhausted."
"Actually…" Aqueous's glow brightened noticeably. "I feel fine. Better than fine."
The waiting room's mechanism had already taken effect.
Every scrap of dispersed energy from the evaluation chamber funneled here, redistributed among the Entities present. Fatigue melted away the moment they crossed the threshold.
"We should meet up with Prism first." Cream suggested.
Agreement rippled through the group in soft pulses of light. They drifted together toward the deeper chambers.
The trial of judgment was finally complete.
[1] Before he met and trained with Prism, Aqueous could only make one clone of himself.