The plant stalk shimred and ca apart at the molecular level, its structure unraveled as the space it occupied rejected its existence. Within two seconds, it had completely dissolved into nothing, leaving not even ash behind.
Finn watched with rapt attention.
Osmund lowered his hand and gestured for Finn to examine where the plant had been. Finn stepped forward, crouched down, and studied the spot. The ground was undisturbed. The surrounding grass was also untouched. Only the single plant stalk had been dissolved into nothing, precisely and cleanly, as if it had never existed.
"That," Osmund said, "was a spell. An actualization of a specific effect I’ve practiced hundreds of tis and refined until speaking those words triggers the exact result I want with minimal conscious effort."
He raised his hand again, this ti pointing at a small cluster of three plants.
[Space Edict: Dissolve]
The effect was different this ti. All three plants wavered and began to break apart, but the dissolution spread unevenly.
One plant vanished completely in a second, another took three seconds, and the third only partially dissolved before the effect faded, leaving behind a withered stump.
"That was an Edict," Osmund continued. "It uses fewer words but has a broader effect and a less specific outco. It’s best used to affect multiple targets or sothing that has multiple paraters. But it requires more ntal control to direct. The power is there, but your precision will suffer if your focus wavers..."
He was breathing slightly harder now, Finn noticed.
Then Osmund raised his hand one final ti, and his entire body tensed. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the soft breeze blowing through the clearing.
And with a voice that was thick with weight and presence, he spoke:
"In this space, matter cannot maintain cohesion."
The air above his palm imdiately warped into a spherical distortion perhaps six inches in diater, where reality itself seed to bend according to Osmund’s words.
A leaf fell from a tree branch overhead, drifting down. The mont it touched the edge of that sphere, it simply... ceased. It hit the boundary and stopped existing, as if that space had declared the leaf incompatible with reality.
But the effect was limited. The sphere was very small — barely larger than an apple. And Finn could see the obvious strain on Osmund’s face and the way his hand trembled with the effort of maintaining it.
After five seconds, Osmund gasped and closed his fist. The distortion vanished instantly, and he staggered slightly.
"...That," he said, breathing hard, "...was a Declaration. A spatial law imposed on reality itself, within a limited area," he panted. "I just defined what space can and cannot allow within that boundary..."
Finn stared at the spot where the sphere had been with a burning gaze, thinking of how his own fragnt could actualize its own effects in such a manner.
"The difference between them," Osmund continued once he’d caught his breath, "cos down to control over the concept. And that control is directly tied to the grade of fragnt you possess."
He held up three fingers.
"There are three grades of fragnts. Lesser fragnts," he folded down one finger, "grant basic access to a concept. Enough to learn spells with practice, and maybe a simple Edict if you have talent. This is the most common level of fragnt bearers you will find..."
He folded down a second finger.
"Greater fragnts provide deeper connection to the concept. Edicts beco natural. Declarations beco possible, though extrely difficult. The two other fragnt bearers on this island and I — we all possess Greater Fragnts of Space."
He folded down the final finger, forming a fist.
"Core fragnts are the complete embodint of a concept. Those who possess them can issue Declarations as easily as breathing. They don’t just manipulate their concept, they themselves are the concept made manifest."
Osmund’s expression darkened.
"The being you encountered in that temple — Egon Callahan. He’s the possessor of the Core Fragnt of Space. His Declarations can reshape entire regions. What I just showed you, that tiny sphere requiring all my concentration? He could blanket a city with the sa effect without even straining."
Finn didn’t need to be told. He could clearly rember the deleted space that had nearly devoured him and his colleagues back on Aethelos.
"So it’s just a ga of what grade of fragnt you have?" Finn asked. "Whoever has the higher grade wins?"
"Between fragnt bearers of different grades?" Osmund nodded grimly. "Yes. Absolutely. A bearer of a Greater fragnt might have superior comprehension, decades more experience, incredible creativity in applying their concept... but against a Core fragnt bearer, they die. That’s all there is to it."
He leveled a gaze at Finn.
"If you ever et soone with a core fragnt, all you can do is run. Don’t fight. Don’t try to be clever. Just run, and hope they don’t consider you worth chasing." He warned before continuing in a more asured tone:
"Within the sa grade, that’s where comprehension matters. Where creativity and personal understanding of your concept make the difference. Two bearers of Greater fragnts might have vastly different capabilities based on how deeply they understand their concept and how cleverly they apply it."
Osmund gestured around the clearing.
"The only reason the three of us fragnt bearers on this island maintain our territorial status quo is because we’re all of similar grade. Greater fragnts, all of us. If one of us had a Core fragnt..." He shook his head, leaving the rest unsaid.
Finn absorbed this, fitting it into what he already knew about fragnts and Transcendents. Then a question occurred to him.
"Wait, then how do you advance to a higher grade?"
Osmund’s expression beca solemn for a mont, then his eyes beca hard and he shrugged.
"You devour another bearer of the sa concept path."
"Beat them into submission while they’re still alive," Osmund continued, not softening the explanation at all. "Then absorb their fragnt directly from their soul. It must be done while they’re living, while their soul is still structured and their fragnt still bound to them. Because if they die first..."
He gestured vaguely.
"The fragnt reverts to its chaotic mass state. But unlike normal chaotic soul masses, it disperses and spreads like a cloud, actively seeking a new host. And it instinctively won’t choose another fragnt bearer."
"It’s how new fragnt bearers are born," Osmund said. "A fragnt’s previous holder dies, it disperses across sotis vast distances, and eventually finds soone compatible. Soone who doesn’t already possess a fragnt."
He t Finn’s eyes directly.
"This is why fragnt bearers who want to advance hunt others of their sa concept. It’s why territories are viciously defended. Why eting another bearer of your own path almost always ans one of you will die."
He explained as if it was the general plight of fragnt holders. Even if they weren’t looking for death, death could co find them so long as a fragnt bearer of the sa path was in close proximity.
"Now," Osmund said, refocusing on the main matter. "Let explain how you actually use your fragnt."
He began pacing as he spoke, his earlier exhaustion fading.
"Your fragnt will want to lead. Just like soul masses have their own desires, fragnts have their nature, the fundantal expression of their concept. Your instinct will be to let it guide you, especially at first when everything is new."
Osmund stopped and turned to face Finn.
"Don’t. You must be the one directing its power."
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