Noone and Raelith continued talking for a few minutes. Raelith explained some of the unique magics in the world and the forms they took and Noone explained a bit of his own ability. From what she could tell, it seemed Noone’s sight was well above others in scale and quality.
Noone wasn’t sure how to respond to this.
“Do you know why my divine sense is limited within the temple?” Noone asked. He had his own theories of course, but it seemed he could rely on Rae to provide him with insights. There were so many things he didn’t understand, he didn't trust himself to come to the perfect conclusion.
“Hmm. Most likely it is because of the blessing this temple has of our gods. Like a less focused version of the distortions that occur when I channel a prayer.”
Noone nodded. This was about what he expected. He stared at her hand which remained shrouded in mist under his sense. Surrounding the mist Noone could see threads of universal energy jumping sporadically in and out of existence. It seemed that the disturbance caused some kind of shift in the fabric of space, disrupting the energy.
Having his interest piqued, Noone couldn’t help but want to experiment with it.
“Rae, do you mind if I try something?” Noone looked her in the eyes, he was unsure what would happen if he tried to pierce through the shroud with his divine sense, but he wanted to find out.
Raelith smiled at him, her own thoughts circling her mind. She lightly nodded, curious to see what Noone would do.
Noone closed his eyes and withdrew his senses from the space surrounding him. It no longer extended in a sphere around his being, but instead became a ball in front of him only a foot in diameter.
His breath evened out and he began to circulate his energy, focusing his divine sense further. Like compressing air, his sight shrunk into a half foot sphere in front of him.
On the outside Raelith could not sense anything, but she could tell how concentrated he was. She watched on curiously, continuing to channel a prayer through the bracelet.
After a few breaths Noone shrunk his sight down to the size of a fingernail. Although it was extremely small, he could see everything within that space as though it were being transmitted directly into his mind. All of the divine sense was compressed to the point that it had multiplied in strength.
Noone focused the small point on Raelith’s hand.
His thinking was simple. Whatever the fog was, it worked by disassembling his divine sense when they connected. Noone already knew that his energy and strength could increase through training. However, usually he utilized it by extending the sense a greater distance, making him more aware of his surroundings.
Noone had decided early on to test other uses. For example, he could compress it if he so wished. Every night when he meditated, focusing on pulling threads of universe energy within his body, he would have to condense this divine sense around these threads to keep them from disappearing.
Now, Noone wanted to test the limits, and he had a perfect specimen to do it on.
Like a bullet, his sense pierced through the fog. Noone immediately felt it begin to crumble, a pain like a knife cut through him. The mist around Rae's hand began to disintegrate the layers of his divine sense.
Raelith saw Noone suddenly break out into a sweat, his eyebrows furrowing. She hesitated for a moment but said nothing. Noone maintained his breathing and otherwise stopped reacting.
After a few seconds passed Noone’s divine sense was on the verge of total collapse. He couldn’t wait any longer.
Now!
Like a balloon, the divine sense encapsulated Rae’s hand and expanded, encompassing her wrist as well as the bracelet she wore.
The mist which had occupied the space was forced to stretch and began to disperse once the bracelet was covered in his divine sense.
Noone could see now that the fog had disappeared. He was clearly able to sense her hand holding up two fingers. Finally, he let out a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking at Rae.
Raelith’s heart shook as soon as she felt the power disperse. The bracelet was a useful catalyst for creating communication between her and her gods, there should be no way Noone could cancel that out... Raelith looked at her hand, clenching it and opening it. There was a vague numbness in her fingertips.
She looked back at Noone, obvious shock in her eyes. Somehow Noone had managed to completely isolate her, keeping her prayer from reaching her god by collapsing the energy she used to connect her prayer.
For the first time… Rae felt a small amount of fear at the being in front of her.
Noone was unaware of Raelith’s feelings and was covered in a cool sweat at the feeling of his divine sense nearly collapsing. It was the first time he had experienced the feeling of anything fighting his sight. Despite the discomfort though, Noone was unable to keep from smiling at his achievement. He couldn’t help but feel he had discovered a new ability. I will need to test this later…
“Noone… how did you-” Suddenly, the door opened. Sarah stepped out of the office, in her hand was a small book Jakobson had given her.
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“Sorry to keep you waiting Noone, oh. Hey Rae.” Her voice was gentle but there was a firmness to it that Noone and Rae couldn’t help but notice. Her eyes were still slightly moist, but they no longer looked as lost as she had felt before.
Raelith didn’t continue her question. The less people who knew about Noone’s power, the better. Even Sarah.
“Hey Sarah.” Rae said, smiling at her as she hopped to her feet. “I was just chatting with Noone, don’t mind me.” Both Noone and Sarah watched as she walked off down the hall, her usual pep seemed oddly absent.
Sarah looked at Noone and was going to ask, but instead she said nothing. Noone sighed and stood, extending his divine sense in the normal sphere he was used to.
Using his sight, he was able to see a symbol on the cover of book she held which he was unfamiliar with. There were two faces, looking away from each-other connected at the skull. One was etched with inconsolable grief, and the other with uncontainable rage. Noone’s eyes widened slightly at the immaculate detail of the design.
“No worries Sarah. How did it go with Jakobson?” Noone was curious about the book, and her sudden change in temperament. It wasn’t rare to find strength in turmoil, but it seemed she got a bit more out of her conversation than simple guidance.
Sarah merely grunted in assurance as if to say, ‘It went as well as could be expected, I suppose.’
“Alright, let me show you to your quarters. It is right next to mine so if you need anything you can just ask me.” Sarah began walking ahead as she spoke. Noone could sense an eagerness in her demeanor. Although they talked on the way, Sarah was noticeably distracted. She held the book tightly in her hand, as though fearful she might lose hold of it.
Noone was curious but chose to say nothing. Everyone had their secrets. He felt it wasn't his place to pry.
That night Noone sat on the floor against the wall in his own room. He received a change of clothes and sat relaxed on the carpeted floor. This was the first time Noone had been in a room all his own in years. Part of him yearned to lay in the bed and go to sleep, remembering the old days of Tapestry.
However, he had more important things to do right now.
There’s not enough time to waste…
Noone’s breathing grew steady and his eyes were closed. His divine sense was spread to its limit as he began plucking threads of energy from the air.
Similar to fish rushing down a surging river, every thread he caught within his divine sense was pulled through his mind and body, before being processed by the multicolored flame in his dantian.
Like a machine, Noone worked without rest. The increased density of energy allowed him to make great progress. However, as the night continued a frown developed on his face.
“I had three breakthroughs because of my circumstances. Each one consolidated more strength within my body. Since then though… six months have passed.” Noone thought about everything that occurred.
“It wasn’t until I resonated with the will of the galaxy tree that I learned how to cultivate the energy within me. So that can be excused.
During my fight with the tribesmen…” Noone thought back to that moment in time. Ever since breaking through into qi condensation, Noone’s mind was strengthened and he was able to recall moments he had experienced clearly. Even after the passage of time he could recall almost every second of that fight.
“My body… or mind eased into the fight instinctually. I wasn’t tense, or anxious. Why?” Noone frowned as he continued to collect energy.
“It must have something to do with the heritage of the ancestor. Whatever this power is… it seems to be developed for battle? Or if not… it certainly doesn’t harm battle prowess.” He couldn’t help but think of Tapestry. “If it is something that requires combat to advance in strength… then Tapestry was doomed from the start to never advance.” He frowned. That couldn’t be accurate… could it?
“No… fighting the tribesmen did not do anything to help me consolidate my power. It only provided me the opportunity to use every ounce of what I already had.” Internally, Noone pushed down the thoughts of his home. He recalled the feeling of calm that flooded his mind when he was engaging the tribesmen.
Ultimately Noone couldn’t help but feel he had too little information. His heart was anxious with the desire to get stronger, but how was he supposed to always take the right steps for an extinct cultivation system?
Noone continued to burn threads of energy in his core, vaporizing the universal energy into gas which pulsed through him. The reinforced walls of his meridians allowed the power to freely flow through his body.
Noone watched the process absentmindedly. He could see the root-like texture of the various systems which coursed through him. He thought back to his first death.
The flower pod had absorbed his body to use him as a core for a seed. It fed power into him, and remade his body, spreading roots through his atrophied meridians. If it weren’t for that, Noone would have never been able to sense the elemental energy of the world, let alone absorb the common heritage of the ancestor.
Then there was the ancestor herself. From the ancestral memories of the plant he inherited, he had seen a vision of her.
A beautiful woman. Noone did not realize it back then, but most definitely human – like those of the surface. She had long raven-black hair and a pure white robe which was etched with gold.
And she was powerful.
If Noone could reach that same level of power, he refused to believe that he wouldn’t be able to avenge the death of his home.
Suddenly Noone’s eyes opened. He stopped gathering threads of energy and focused his sight onto the room on the other side of the wall from him.
The reason he was sitting against this wall was because Sarah’s room was directly on the other side. Ever since entering her room, she had spent the last few hours burning anxious energy. She paced. She knelt to pray. She paced some more. And over the past hours she did not let go of the book once. Noone had grown exceedingly curious about it.
Finally, Sarah sat down at a desk, which just so happened to be on the other side of the wall from Noone – within his sight – and set down the book.
“Oath of Vengeance.” Noone silently read the words etched into the cover. Something about the book caused a cold feeling to rise up within his chest. It only lasted for a moment before he pushed it down.
He watched as Sarah’s pale hand opened up the front cover creating a stark contrast between white and black.
The pages within the book were as dark as night.
Inside the front cover, Noone was barely able to read the passages which were written in some old cursive font.
The words were carved into the page. Despite the dim lighting in her room, they seemed to glow red.
Noone’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by the words he was reading. Sarah on the other hand, felt her heart grow cold as the words seemed to be written just for her.
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The Oath of Vengeance is a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grievous sin.
When evil forces slaughter helpless villagers, when an entire people turn against the will of the gods, when a thieves' guild grows too violent and powerful, when a dragon rampages through the countryside – at times like these, paladins arise and swear an Oath of Vengeance to set right that which has gone wrong.
To these paladins – sometimes called avengers or dark knights – their own purity is not as important as delivering justice.”
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Sarah couldn't help but swallow nervously, the words rang through her like the first morning bell in a chapel's steeple.