[Skill Leveled Up: Call for Help (24) -> (53)]

For a while, Dei comforted the Embodiment of the Flow as it cried silently. Early on, Clever felt excluded so Dei quickly went to get him too, carrying him to Fendrascora’s main body so he, too, could comfort her.

Over time though, a nagging feeling started to ache in his chest. Initially, he ignored it, but after twenty minutes, it grew painful.

Searching inwards, he realized it was his Soul affinity beginning to decay. It happened slowly, because he didn’t distrust Fendrascora, but he still didn’t trust her yet, and the clause of his Soul Contract stated that he had to trust anyone he socialized with, or his connection to the affinity would take damage.

He didn’t want to rush her, but he was now on a very short clock, so he communicated this with her. They’d been silent since he began comforting her, so she startled slightly when he spoke.

“Hey, I don't want you to think I intend to leave you or anything, but I’m attuned to the Soul affinity, so I start taking damage when socializing for longer periods of time. I need to leave soon, but I will come back to free you, and we need to start planning that before I go.”

“You can’t stay? Even if we stop socializing, can’t you just sit around the corner, just outside the door?” She pleaded with him. Truly, his heart was breaking at the entire situation, but he would need to return to his body eventually.

“I don’t know if that would help with my attunement, but I’ll need to get back to my physical body. It would likely be able to help you out of this cell. My physical body can dig through stone very quickly, and it can use a powerful version of Darkvision to banish Darkness and Shadow mana. If I can get here, I can begin dismantling your prison, but I need to get back to my body first.”

She wanted to argue, but she also wanted to escape, and she knew it would not be so easy as him immediately breaking down all the walls to release her.

“We must consider how to get me out too… I cannot rejoin the Great River. My Crippled adjective means that I cannot leave this container, or the natural rivers will destroy me. I must rebuild my strength to leave, or find something specially made to hold me in order to move.”

“Yes, but none of that can be done with my Projection. It is too weak, too limited in its tools. Once I’m here, we can start experimenting, trying different ways to either move you or strengthen you. How are we going to strengthen you though? Do you need experience? Do we need to bring monsters to you to kill?” Dei asked

“No, nothing like that. Embodiments of the Flow can gain strength from new experiences. While its true killing things would heal me, it would be far more dangerous than simply having a change of scenery. My meeting with you has already healed me greatly” she told him, causing him to quickly glance at his Identify.

[Corrupted Damaged Crippled Embodiment of the Flow - Level 17]

“Experiences alone aren’t enough to heal me fully though,” she said quietly, clearly uncomfortable. “I need energy too, Spirit mana. You gave me a lot of that. Even though yours is technically Soul mana, it’s imbued in such a way that makes it very closely resemble Spirit mana. I was able to absorb it and transform it all the way into Spirit mana easily enough, without losing too much in the conversion. I… don't necessarily need any right away, but if you have any more to spare, it would help me a lot.”

She didn’t want to take from him, but it was clear that she also didn’t have a better idea for where to get Spirit mana from. Dei knew that there was a sort of “conversion” rate between Spirit and Soul mana, as one could turn into the other, so he was the only consistent source of Spirit mana around.

“Hmm. give me a moment to try something” he said, and began using Sectioning to enclose Soul mana. He realized it would take a few minutes though, and his Soul affinity was starting to hurt badly.

“Ill stay around a bit longer, but let me sit around the corner. My affinity is really making some noise.” he told her, then took Clever and flew through the door, just out of view of her.

He could see, using his Spirit Sense, as she slumped a bit.

Without her in sight, his connection to Soul stopped degrading, but he felt that it would continue where it left off if he went back now, decaying at the same rate it was before rather than starting from the beginning at a very slow pace. It would need some time to heal if he wanted more time socializing without hurting himself.

It worked for now though. He hadn’t even lost a single percentage, and he was willing to lose a few to help Fendrascora.

Once he had his ten Soul mana in a mini-box, he popped back into Fendrascora’s room, saying “Okay, can you consume this just as well as you did my other Soul mana?” and sent it the spare mana forward.

He vaguely felt as it was pulled from the air, and she said “I can absorb it, but much of it is lost. Before, I kept around ninety percent of it. With this new Soul mana though, I keep only twenty. It is much further away from Spirit mana.”

Dei thought on the issue. He needed to use [Astral Projection] mana to keep it as a reasonable conversion, but to do that he would need to project from his projection, and that wasn't possible.

Was it?

He’d never tried, but hey, no time like the present?

He sectioned off four hundred and fifty Soul mana, as well as barely enough mental power to keep this thing alive, then began casting projection.

To his absolute shock, a duplicate was created. It looked almost like him, except it was a bit… blurry.

Fuzzy around the edges, it stood silently in front of him.

He Identified it

[Spiritual Human Echo Echo - Level 72]

His eyebrows raised at that. He’d never Identified his own projection, but he recognized the Echo adjective. When he ran into that Accipere, a sub-body of the full one, it was called an “Accipere Echo.”

Dei now realized that it indicated the creature was a smaller part of a whole. If his current projection was Identified, it would most likely indicate that he was a “Spiritual Human Echo.”

Not thinking about it any longer, he contemplated what to do now. This mindless projection was filled with four hundred and fifty Soul mana, so he got to work, poking a hole in the palm of its hand.

He wouldn’t let it die, as he thought that might lead to soul damage, but Soul mana that filled it was now imbued with the intent that caused it to nearly cross into Spirit mana territory.

Fendrascora indicated that this new Soul mana was much easier to digest, and gratefully drank all that he allowed her to. Once the “Echo” reached around fifty Soul Strength, Dei reabsorbed it into himself.

Along with the grating pain of reintroducing the small section of his Identity, he felt his form strengthen as the spare mana was used to help create a barrier around him that would block damage, just as he’d previously learned from the Spirit mana.

Fendrascora’s form glowed much brighter in his vision. His mana was highly concentrated, but he learned that hers was too, just not as much as him. Her mana was around two times more concentrated then regular mana, so where he gave her four hundred Soul mana, she received ninety percent of it, then broke that mana down into three mana each for herself.

It was complicated, but he basically gave her one thousand eight hundred Spirit mana to work with.

“Thank you, Dei.” She said genuinely “I’ve been sapped of my Spirit mana over time as I was unable to get more, but a Spirit cannot quite starve. Instead, we remain incredibly weak and fragile, unless we give up and dissipate ourselves. I, in particular, was rapidly drained of my Spirit mana as my flow affinity started to decay. This will hold me over for a long time, but please. Please return as soon as you can. The darkness and silence, it is almost too much to bear.”

“I will, and next time I’m here, I’ll start working to break down your cell. You won't have to deal with it for much longer” he told her genuinely. While it was true that she couldn’t leave the cell just yet, there were things Dei could do to improve her quality of life. Still, it all started with getting himself here.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

After months of hiding, Dei realized it was finally time.

It was time for him to move out of the Garden.

* * *

After they got a distance away from Fendrascora’s cave, Clever started up a conversation with him, asking why he hadn’t offered to let Clever stay behind. He didn’t want to bring it up in front of Fendrascora because he “Figured Dei had a reason, and didn’t want to counter it.”

“I appreciate you not going against what I said. Honestly, I had two reasons for not letting you stay. The first is that, while I dont think she would hurt you, I don't want to risk it. I don't trust her enough to leave you alone with her, especially seeing as she just spent over a year in isolation, and might be slightly unstable. The second reason is that I need your help to get my real body here. I’m now strong enough to at least put up a fight against most things but I’m still terribly scared when moving about without any way to hide myself. Your fire blast would help ensure I don't get ripped apart if a stronger enemy comes to kill me.”

Clever thought about what Dei said, and deemed that it was reasonable. Valuing his life over Fendrascora’s comfort was a smart decision, especially seeing that she needed Dei’s real body to actually improve her situation, as Clever wouldn’t be able to do it alone.

Clevers curiosity sated, they fell back into silence, and Dei continued to think about how everything would play out. He truly did not like the Garden, its claustrophobic walls both giving him protection and cutting off his senses, isolating him from everything else. By moving in with Fendrascora, he could have a protector of his body when he decided to use [Astral Projection], but not be so confined.

The issue with not trusting her would only take time. Right now, talking to her damaged his connection to Soul, but it would go away. He already knew, consciously, that she wouldn’t harm him, but he’d yet to actually internalize that fact. It was much easier to accept something tiny and cute, like Clever, wouldn’t hurt him. A water Kraken after sitting in darkness for a year? He’d have to mull on it.

There was a long road ahead of him, and it wasn’t going to be easy, but he looked at Clever.

Clever was a lower level than him, smaller than him, and far weaker (with the exception of a one-time blast); at the same time, he showed unbelievable fearlessness to the situation around him. He didn’t avoid going anywhere because he was afraid of being hurt, but he didn’t throw himself into danger either. Clever was always exactly where he wanted to be, taking it all in stride.

Dei wanted to be a bit more like that. No more hiding, he needed to face a bit of danger. He needed to fight with his body, especially since he already intended to one day merge his projection with himself. He wouldn’t be able to sit back and kill things from a distance forever.

He felt nervous at the decision to expose himself more personally to the world, but that was okay. He let himself be nervous, knowing it was a natural response to such a massive life change. He acknowledged that he was fraying his nerves unnecessarily, and told himself to live more in the moment, like Clever.

Looking around, he started appreciating some of the natural beauty of the environment, distracting him for a moment from the heavy decisions ahead.

* * *

The walk back was just as uneventful as the journey to Fendrascora. It was shocking to Dei how little happened when he wasn’t searching for trouble. True, his Spiritual form was also much more difficult to track as it released less heat, sound, and vibrations with every step, but it wasn’t impossible.

He expected more pushback when he was physically present, but until then, Dei continued to enjoy his quiet.

* * *

[Since the Fall: 9/17/809 - 18:25:50]

[Skill Leveled Up: Meditation (66) -> (67)]

[+1 Physical]

At long last, he was back at his Garden. Nearly five days later, Dei returned with two add-ons: Clever, and the remnants of a broken red blade.

Looking at the sword, he wondered what would happen when it came into contact with the hidden barrier. It was true it might be that nothing would happen, but he wouldn’t know until he’d brought it in. Looking at the crack in the wall, he messaged Clever that they were going to his haven through a hidden entrance, and to not panic, before squeezing through through the walls.

Again, he was reminded how much tighter the walls were around him. He still had a good foot or two before he wasn’t able to fit anymore, but the time would come when he was locked out of his Garden.

Pushing through the hidden barrier, he finally saw the bright light of his abode, seeing his cross-legged body staring back at him. Physical Dei was meditating, but stopped when he sensed Spiritual Dei finally closing in.

Spiritual Dei set down Clever and the sword, reached out, and re-merged into Dei.

He put his hands against temples as a splitting migraine overtook him, releasing a grunt as the first-person memories were fully shared between the two Identities. Two streams of thought, both Dei, coexisting with one another before rejoining.

Without the extra Soul mana to make that transition easier, it was painful and took a few seconds for him to get his bearings enough to speak again.

“Hey, Clever. Nice to finally meet you face to face” he sent to his little lizard buddy.

Clever sent back feelings of awe that Dei was a real, living person, and that he liked how Dei wasn’t cold anymore.

Dei held his hand out, and Clever again crawled onto it, up his arm, and onto his shoulder. Dei was happy he could finally pet Clever and get feedback from doing so, feeling how rough his skin was now.

It was incredible, watching Clever change over time. The pseudo-scales and small rough hands changed and refined themselves. The scales became more defined and organized, making Clever a full-on lizard at this point. Clevers hands, formerly rather dull, had sharpened into sharp claws that he had to be careful about, for fear of cutting Dei on them. His body was still very warm to the touch, but the glow was much dimmer as he adjusted to pulling as much heat as he could into himself. Before Dei’s very eyes, Clever evolved to better suit the environment.

After appreciating Clever, he started planning on what to take. The first thing to consider was weight. He still wasn’t strong enough to confidently carry all the rations, his moms pack, and all the plants that his mom came down with, so he would need to choose what to bring. The sword would, of course, come with him, but it would take up a full hand until further notice. He thought it would cut up the satchel if he just placed in in there, so he would have to actually carry it the entire way.

The main issue for this trip would be his exhaustion. He did not have endless endurance like his Projected form, so what should he do?

Dei resolved to take the pack itself, but leave most of the rations. The satchel wasn’t very heavy, but the rations were denser than bricks, and he still had about eight or nine of them. Instead, he would take one of the two vegetable rations, then get his meat from wild creatures. The vegetable ration would be his attempt at balancing his diet, and help stave him over until he secured a more stable food source.

The next thing he took was his moms tools that she left. Not only was there the knife he’d used, but also a small pickaxe, a metal cup, a tiny stone skillet, the watering skin, and an odd gray rock.

“Wait. was that rock flint this entire time?!” he wondered in his head, pulling it out suddenly.

Taking the broken sword, he made the two collide together, and an explosion of sparks flew outward, landing on the grass.

Chastising himself for his recklessness, he was relieved to see that none of the sparks caught, and was now positive that he’d had flint this entire time.

A while back, he’d needed a way to start a fire and cook a Lorpee, but thought he didn’t have a way to do so. Now, his [Homeostasis] Skill could make any fire he wanted, but he had a flint. It soured him that he only had the tools he needed after it was too late to use them.

Still, he packed the rock up in the bag. For those things he wasn’t taking, he wrapped them in the massive tarp his mom left with her bag. The bugs around the cave never ate the rations, so he didn’t need to worry about that, but he didn’t want to just let the rations sit on the ground.

Dei was most excited about the plants. His Floating Lilies began wilting a while back, and he knew he needed to get them to a body of water soon. What better to spruce up Fendrascora’s cell than some lilies in the water?

Not only that, but the grass and tree seeds would help make things a bit prettier.

Carefully, he packaged all the plants up. For the lilies, he found that if he lifted them up by the bulbs on top, the roots automatically retracted themselves. He washe all the mud off of the firmroot grass, and gently dug up the small tree sprouts that had began growing so long ago,

His mom liked to wrap each of her tools in individual coatings of leather, so he used this spare leather to keep the plants supported. Two glowfruit saplings, and two rubbergum saplings.

He did keep his moms knife wrapped up though. He didn’t want to let that poke a hole in anything else.

As for the flesh-traps, Dei decided to just plant them with the rest. He had a few left over that he hadn’t touched, along with the one he’d used against the Wraith, but they could go into the wild along with their family. He’d never actually taken them out of the bag, for fear that they would plant themselves by digging their roots while he wasn’t looking, so he just took one more look around the cave.

It was the same as always… a beautiful pocket oasis, his first safe haven, but something he never recognized as a home. It was the last place he saw his mom, and the only place he felt secure. He was walking headfirst into danger, but he’d grown enough to get his feet under him.

Without this little green paradise, Dei would have died long ago.

“Th-” he tried speaking, but started coughing after a few words. He hadn’t said anything verbally in months, speaking only telepathically. Clearing his throat, he tried again.

“Thank you. For giving me a place to live, and protecting me” he said aloud, speaking to that will he sensed behind the barrier.

“You’re welcome” he heard back in his mind, surprising him as it spoke in the language of Gem Dwellers. “I know I am not a replacement for your mother, but I am proud of how far I’ve seen you come, and I know you will go so much further. Live well, Dei. I did not, and I sometimes regret that. Protecting you, if only for a little bit, eased the burden on my mind. Thank you.”

Its words struck a chord in his heart. Through all his adventures, he only wanted someone to recognize his efforts. Even if it was silly, as the recognition from another wouldn’t change anything, he wiped tears from his face as his actions felt validated.

He would always push forward, always do what he could to survive, but having someone to understand the pain he went through… he didn’t know how to put it into words, but it overwhelmed him.

Turning around, he said quietly “I’ll come visit…” before walking out.

“I know, and I will be here for you. Always.” Was the last thing he heard before he crossed out of the concealment array, and readied himself for the dangers of the wider world.