A Gift of Pain

A Journey of Revelation

Disclaimer: This is a commission for LeadDeamons, who owns the character of Wesker, as well as the setting and all associated names and concepts.

***

I froze, looking around at the black rocks with shock, and instinctively cringing slightly from the sharpened tips that reminded me unpleasantly of the surgical implements that had been used on me back at the complex.

We detect a spike in adrenaline, the Tesseract noted within my skull. What is the source of your anxiety?

I blinked, looking around again slowly before coughing and shaking my head. "Just... Just c-caught off gu-guard, is all. I... understand what it means to hop-p between universes, but it's... different to actually do it."

This is consistent. As noted previously, you lack proper field training. We will need to perform more jumps to decrease your lack of familiarity- but first, we will use this place as a practice range, to increase your familiarity with the symbols.

I blinked, and straightened. My trepidation wasn't gone, by any means, but excitement now crept in to temper it.

One side of the Tesseract suddenly lit up, and I jumped as it swiveled to face me. It was glowing with a shape that looked somewhat like an eye. I thought back to my reading in the archives. "The B-Base Symbol of Sight?" I guessed.

Correct. Reach out and grasp it, please.

I gulped. My excitement outweighed my nervousness- but the nervousness was very much still there. Still, I obeyed, grasping the glowing face of the cube and squeezing it.

Immediately, the world around me changed. The black rocks lightened slightly to a more dark gray color- then some began to glow white, while all around them, the rest turned crimson.

I twitched, caught off guard and in awe of the spectacle.

Keep a firm grip upon us, and utilize the Sight Symbol to navigate, the Tesseract instructed.

I gulped again, taking a breath, then started forward, stepping carefully on the glowing white rocks. I encountered no issues- well, save for the roughness of the ground, which scraped against the soles of my feet and made me wince. It was nothing like the smooth, sterile floors of the complex, nor those of the archive, and certainly not like the grass of I-38-DF- the surface of the stones was rough and irregular, covered in bumps. Recalling some of my studies, I found myself wishing I had shoes.

Still, the discomfort wasn't unbearable, and I kept moving along the glowing pathway, marveling. Experimentally, I relaxed my grip on the Tesseract- and instantly, the red and white disappeared, leaving me again standing amidst black stones. I renewed my grip, and the pathway was once more illuminated. I shook my head in wonder, before continuing on.

As I did, though, the white path began to grow increasingly narrow, before twisting and swiveling in different directions. My heartbeat sped up, and I started to grow a bit nervous, particularly when the white patches of ground started to be spaced further apart, and the rock formations around me began to glow instead. I stopped at that point, gulping. "I... I don't know if-" I began- and then blinked as my vision rippled.

Suddenly the glowing colored rocks were accompanied by numbers and words next to each one. After looking them over for a moment, I realized they were probabilities- the Sight Symbol was showing me the likelihood of my grip failing if I grabbed certain ones, or which ones were likely to crumble if I disturbed them. I started trembling slightly, very leery- none of the probabilities were certain- but I'd trusted the Tesseract so far, and now wasn't a great time for doubts. So, carefully, I started to grip the glowing rocks around me, meticulously making my way through-