Gold drifted away from the cluster of waiting spheres, passing Aloe in the soft glow of the antechamber.
"Good luck in there." Aloe said with light pulsing once in quiet encouragement.
"Thanks." Gold replied, his golden radiance flaring briefly with determination.
He passed through the spiraling door. The moment it sealed behind him, the vast white emptiness reappeared. Cubix was waiting at its heart, steady and unyielding, his six faces catching the light in calm, prismatic reflections.
"Now then," Cubix said, his voice even and kind. "tell me about yourself. Your object. Your abilities. How they came to be. Do not force anything, be as comfortable as you like."
"Yes, Your Eminence." Gold answered, his glow steadying.
"When we were tasked with creating our own objects, I knew right away what I wanted. Something different. Something that would make everyone notice me, make me stand out from the rest. But… I didn't have the imagination for it."
His light dimmed slightly at the memory.
I gathered the energy I needed to make it, and absorbed it inside myself. After doing that, I used it it make my object. That's when I realized it...
No matter how hard I tried to imagine something new, no matter how hard I tried to make it look different from myself, I failed.
Nothing came to me.
And in the end, I made the same thing as the others. A perfect copy of myself. Nothing more.
When I saw it finished, I hated it. Not only that, but I hated myself for lacking the imagination needed to create what I truly wanted to make.
I couldn't show it to anyone, not looking the way it did. So I decided to destroy it and start over again. To make something that I could actually be proud of.
Gold paused.
"But I couldn't break it." he admitted.
The object was a golden sphere, much like myself. That said, when I tried to destroy it, I noticed something that was strange.
I don't know why, but the object was not entirely solid. It was more like a fluid. At least, that's what the Prism told me after hearing my description of it.
I tore at it, pulled it, and even tried to crush it, but in the end, nothing worked. It was too hard to break apart. Actually, the object simply bent and deformed every time I tried to destroy it.
I kept trying again and again to break it, until I was frantic… and then, by accident, it changed shape while I was struggling with it. As if all my previous attempts at destroying it only gave it its true form.
Because of that, I gave up fighting it. And instead, I chose to just… let it happen.
"It sounds pathetic, doesn't it?" Gold asked, his voice small and light dimmed.
"Not at all." Cubix replied with genuine warmth. "The method may have been different, but the result was the same. That is precisely what my master values most, growth born from persistence, not perfection from the start."
Gold's glow brightened instantly, the heaviness he felt in this moment lifting.
"You humble me, Your Eminence." he spoke with sincerity.
"Please, continue." Cubix urged in a calm tone.
"I named it [Barrier]."
The moment I gave the object a name, the ability arrived soon afterwards.
It allows me to create shields of many shapes and sizes. Simple ones at first, then more complex ones if I focus hard enough.
Anything that touches the shields gets absorbed almost immediately. The energy is used to strengthen the shield, making it harder, thicker, and more unbreakable the longer it's attacked.
"Would you care to demonstrate?" Cubix asked, pulsing expectedly.
"Yes, Your Eminence." Gold complied.
Gold had already felt the heavy pressure rolling off Cubix. It was dense layers of ambient energy pressing on him from every direction.
That said, creating a shield should be simple and straightforward for Gold. Simply just let the pressure feed the barrier instead of crushing him.
And so, he focused inward.
A translucent golden shell materialized around him, close but not touching his surface. Instantly, it began drinking in the surrounding energy, thickening and shimmering brighter with every pulse it absorbed.
"Photon Bomb."
A small orb of light detached from Cubix and drifted toward Gold. It moved in a slow, almost leisurely pace, with no visible surge of power from it.
If this is it, then this is good for me. Gold thought confidently. My shield can handle something this small.
The orb touched the barrier.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, light flaring white-hot across the chamber.
Gold's glow flickered in surprise. What was that?! he thought, trying to regain his balance.
When the glare cleared, his shield remained intact. Not only was it unscarred, but it was even stronger than it was initially.
"Well done." Cubix said.
"Thank you, Your Eminence." Gold replied after calming his nerves. That caught me way off guard.
I wonder, how much he can truly withstand? Cubix thought with subtle pulses of anticipation.
Then he attacked once more.
"Photon Bombardment."
This time Cubix unleashed a steady stream of identical orbs that were dozens of them, arcing from different angles, all aiming to slip past the single frontal shield by striking from the sides and rear.
"Barrier!" Gold shouted the command. No good, I can't let myself relax for even a moment. I got lucky last time, I need to be more careful from now on. he removed himself.
A second golden layer snapped into place in response to his command. This one wasn't floating inches away like the first, but was instead overlapping his very surface, hugging every curve of his spherical form like a second skin.
The impacts landed, and once again, a thunderous explosion erupted.
Argh! Gold groaned, his lights flaring with visible discomfort.
Each explosion sent shockwaves rippling inward. Because the barrier lay flush against him, those shockwaves transmitted directly into his core.
The outer shield absorbed and grew stronger from the energy, but the internal jolts still hurt. It was a testament to how much destructive power the orbs contained, regardless of their small size.
Indeed, underestimating them would prove to be a fatal mistake. Well, maybe not for Gold. But still, that wasn't enough of a reason to take them lightly.
Damn it. Gold thought, frustrated at himself and his current situation.
He began dodging, weaving between the incoming bombs while desperately maintaining the barrier around and on him.
For Gold, who had the highest defensive abilities, evading meant that the barrier alone wasn't enough anymore. He felt exposed, weak, and most of all, angry at himself.
After all, his lack of efficiency was the reason he had to flee in the first place. In that sense, then no one could blame him for how he felt at himself.
Had he have a full understanding of his own abilities on how, and when to use them, then Gold could just simply float in the same place and wouldn't receive damage from any incoming attacks.
For him to flee instead, was him basically admitting that all the training that Prism had given him was all useless. Maybe not entirely useless, given how he has improved a bit since meeting Prism.
But still, if this was all his training with Prism amounted to, and he still can't fully utilize his abilities, that would only mean that Prism wasted her time training him. At least, that's how Gold feels.
However, this was a fact that Gold refused to accept. Yet, it was one that he couldn't fully dismissed either. At least, not the way he was now.
The solution to his current predicament was simple, in a sense.
Gold simply needed to prove that Prism's guidance was indeed useful, and that his boss hadn't waste her time on him.
The question now was...
How? Gold thought to himself, impatience coloring his glow.
"Do not overthink it." Cubix said quietly, the words directed specifically at Gold and his current situation. "You need to trust in what you are good at."
Gold froze for half a heartbeat after hearing his words.
Cubix was right.
Thinking too hard had always tripped him up. Gold had rarely planned, but instead reacted, endured, and adapted to the current situation.
That was his strength.
And that's the approach that Gold needed to take.
"I understand. Thank you, Your Eminence." With that sincere thanks, he stopped dodging completely. "Multi Shield Barrier!"
He pulled in every scrap of ambient energy that he could hold.
Golden shells bloomed outward in concentric layers consisting of three, four, five, each one feeding on the last.
Meanwhile, the innermost barrier still remained fused to his surface. It was a fortress of overlapping defenses that surrounded him completely.
—Observation room—
"His creativity is… decent." Milady observed, her multicolored light shifting thoughtfully.
"He's not the brightest," Prism admitted with a fond pulse, "but he's very quick to adapting to any situation presented to him. He accepts failure, learns from it, and tries again anew."
To her, watching Gold adapt the way he did felt like seeing a young Entity finally spread its metaphorical wings, clumsy at first, then learns, and is finally able to fly.
"Watching your subordinates has been quite entertaining so far." Milady said, pulsing with excitement.
"I'm grateful you feel that way, Milady. I am honored by your words." Prism said sincerely.
"I can't wait to see more." Milady added, her tone carrying a playful lilt, edged with genuine curiosity.
That tone just now… Prism thought. It felt almost… eager.
—Evaluation chamber—
"Good." Cubix said, amusement warming his voice. "Now, this should be truly entertaining."
They regarded one another in silence for several long seconds.
Both charging, both waiting.
Gold spoke first. "I'm ready." he announced.
"Here it comes," Cubix answered. "Photon Singularity."
—In the observation room—
What?! How?! Prism's triangular form flared violently in pure shock.
As expected of my servant, Milady thought to herself. You never disappoint, always exceeding my expectations. Milady's nonexistent lips curved into a wide grin that conveyed how excited she was.
Both of them watched in silent awe as the impossible unfolded before their very metaphorical eyes.
—Back in the evaluation chamber—
Cubix had seen the singularity only once, briefly, before storing it in his dimensional vault. Yet, while simultaneously battling with Gold, Cubix had been analyzing it, until he had fully understood it.
Every property, every behavior, every underlying principle.
In the back of his mind, Cubix had formed hypotheses, tested them mentally, discarded failures, and refined the theories even more, until the concept finally crystallized to him.
Now, he simply applied it practically.
With this level of processing speed, and ability to understand concepts to the point of using them himself, it's no wonder that Cubix had surpassed every other Entity, especially in a short amount of time.
A black sphere appeared between the two of them. It was small at first, then swelled, its edges warping light into impossible angles.
Indeed, it was a true gravitational singularity. The first that Cubix had ever created himself, as well as the first one that Gold had ever seen.
What is that? Gold thought, transfixed on the phenomenon in from of him.
He simply couldn't comprehend it.
But he felt it.
An inexorable pull dragging at his core, robbing him of control, and drawing him forward inch by inexorable inch.
"What will you do now?" Cubix asked calmly. "Your defenses are meaningless against an attack such as this."
He's right. This isn't anything like his previous attacks. All it's doing now is pulling me in, but what will happen when it devours me? Gold struggled, his mind racing, then slowing.
Show me your worth. Cubix commanded.
I need to counter it somehow. But how do I–
And then, gold went still. It wasn't fear, nor was it panic.
It was realization.
"I think… I understand it now." he murmured to himself, his form pulsing with subtle excitement.
The singularity pulled harder.
Gold let it draw him closer and closer, until he was almost at its event horizon.
But instead of fighting the pull, he stopped resisting it entirely.
If I don't know what happens when I touch it… then I just have to make sure that it never touches me. "Absolute Protection." he said softly, almost reverently.
Excellent. Cubix thought, feeling the shift within the golden sphere.
Gold rarely whispered his abilities. Rather, he chose to shout them instead. This was his way of displaying himself to other Entities.
However, this time, he decided to calmy say the ability, rather than shout it aloud. This quiet delivery carried weight.
All his shields that consisted of the concentric shells, as well as the skin-tight barrier, suddenly flowed inward.
They did not vanish.
They merged together.
Fused with him.
They integrated into a single, seamless aegis that wrapped him so perfectly it looked as though he had dismissed every single one of his defenses entirely.
The singularity's pull ceased affecting him.
The black sphere still spun, still devoured light, still warped space, but Gold remained motionless.
Untouchable.
That word alone perfectly described Gold's current situation.
The gravitational gradient slid around him as though he existed in a separate frame of reference.
Absolute Protection did not merely block or absorb attacks. It went further beyond that.
As long as Gold perceived something as an attack or a threat, the ability redefined reality such that the attack simply… did not apply to him.
As he was now, in this current situation, Gold was the safest Entity in the entirety of the Void.
Gold had decided that movement would break the illusion, would signal vulnerability, thus the ability anchored him in place, rendering him immovable until he himself decided it was safe to move again.
Against this, any further assault from Cubix would be meaningless. In short, Gold had won the battle.
"You have done well." Cubix said, his voice rich with approval. The singularity collapsed inward and vanished at his silent command.
"You honor me with your praise." Gold replied, pride warming his golden light to a steady, radiant glow.
His evaluation was complete.
"You may leave now. Call the next one in."
"Thank you, Your Eminence."
The door spiraled open and Gold drifted through it with the quiet relief of someone who had just accomplished their goal.
Alone once more, Cubix felt a rare, bright surge of exhilaration course through his facets.
So this is what you wanted me to experience. he thought toward the unseen watcher. Thank you, Milady.
To serve a being who granted him not just purpose, but joy, countless new experiences, as well as moments of genuine play, was an honor beyond measure.
Cubix had never felt so alive.