Rose’s heart was thumping. For the first time in her life, she felt truly awake. Lika her past life had been viewed from behind a veil, which was finally lifting. Thump. Thump. She could feel the thundering of her heart and the roar of her blood like never before.
She realized she was laughing, arms raised to the sky. Joy or madness? She couldn’t tell. The young acolyte had finally done it—she had spat in the face of her order. No more would she listen to their hypocrisy, their lies.
And I’m not even human!
Thump, thump, went her heart, and she found the idea only excited her more. Made her laugh harder. Rose had seen her status. Species: ???
It didn’t know what she was either! And that was fine. A newfound power was waking up in her, and it felt right. Blood was dripping from her hands, but with a thought, the droplets turned into petals and floated away in the wind. She spun a circle, releasing a flurry of flowers.
Oh, it was good to be alive.
Thump. Thump.
Rose gradually stopped laughing—grew calmer. That thumping was… getting loud. Was she okay? Should my heart be doing this?
Thump. Thump.
No, that wasn’t her heart. It wasn’t coming from her. With shock, Rose looked to the ground right by her, and saw the effigy to the shadow God she had dropped. It was on the ground, vibrating rhythmically. Thump. Thump. Rose finally noticed the notifications flooding into her vision.
Blessing of Var blocked.
Blessing of Var blocked.
Blessing of Var blocked.
Thump. Thump
Blessing of Var block—
“No!” Rose shouted, jumping for the effigy.
This was bad. Really really bad. The effigy was supposed to have granted her freedom, but something else had been there first. Panicking, Rose got the effigy into her hands and began fumbling around with it. How do I—?
It didn’t react no matter what she did, and the thumping was getting faster. How had she blocked the blessings? Is it something inside me? The young woman tried to think, tried to reach inside her mind for something, anything.
There were all sorts of new sensations. Sensations of something flowing, of something… full of life. But that wasn’t it, it wasn’t what she needed. Closing out unfamiliar senses, Rose reached further inside—deeper and deeper until she could feel something.
Thump. Thump. Something inside her was resonating with the effigy. There! There! Rose screamed internally. Is it a… barrier? What if I—
The thumping stopped. Rose felt chills run down her back, stiffening her body from fear. Some wea instinct of hers was screaming that she had just done the exact wrong thing.
An unassuming voice spoke right behind her back. “Young lady, don’t you know it is considered exceptionally rude—”
Rose spun around, backing away and blinking her eyes wildly, but there was nothing behind her—only tranquil forest.
“—to send constant calls, while blocking off all replies?” The voice continued, again from behind her.
Cold sweat ran down Rose’s brow. She had a good feeling she knew who this was. “Apologies, I meant no offense,” She carefully said, staying very still and offering a bow to the empty forest ahead. Was it her imagination, or were the shadows around her deepening?
There was a presence behind her. Footsteps pacing, as if examining her, until they finally stopped. “Apology accepted.” The voice replied cheerfully. “After all, I arranged this meeting.”
Rose wasn’t surprised. It was rather suspicious that a grimoire full of heretic teachings had found its way into the monastery’s library—just as she had been cleaning cobwebs from the higher shelves. There’s no way it could have been sitting there long.
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“You know who I am?” The voice asked.
“Vars, God of Shadows,” Rose replied quietly, “—and lord of betrayals.”
“Hah! A fine selection of my many titles!” Vars said, once more beginning to pace. “Ah, betrayals. You know, half the time I’m the one who gets betrayed? They always forget that detail. Not that many remember these days, anyway.”
His voice had a strange quality, it was like… it didn’t disturb the world around it at all. Birds were flitting about over Rose’s head, the wind was rustling branches about and she could hear insects buzzing, but Var’s words seemed to slip in between it all—tranquil.
The pacing stopped. “Don’t be so tense. I’m not here to make demands. At this point, anyone not following the two fools is an ally.”
Rose did not relax. “…then what are you here for?” She carefully asked.
“Just satisfying my curiosity. Your mother did provide me shade a few times, so perhaps I am somewhat favourably inclined. There is one thing I can help you with, but I do not give anything for free.”
“Mother?” Rose blurted out. My real mother knows a God? Was that where her Nascent Divinity had come from?
“Nothing for free, as I said. Do you want to know that instead? Let’s make it a choice. You will owe me one favor. In exchange, I can either tell you the identity of your mother, or I can place an illusion on you, to make it seem as if you have the blessing you are supposed to have.”
The young woman’s mind focused. That would be very useful… As Rose was, anyone would be able to tell that she did not have a Blessing of Agar, and she would instantly be known as a pariah. But if it looked like she did, many opportunities would arise. She knew many of her fellow acolytes well. I could infiltrate them—do things subtly.
Her curiosity was piqued by this mysterious true mother of hers, but in the end, it was just a name. She had discovered her power on her own, by following her instincts. Rose had a feeling that would work in the future too.
She licked her lips. “What would the favor entail?”
“A simple matter. One of my followers is among the participants of this trial. At some point, she would contact you, asking for help with some matter. Nothing beyond your abilities.”
It felt like the most information Rose would get. The “help” might not turn out to be so easy, but on the other hand, it would reveal someone to Rose who while not necessarily an ally, might not be an enemy either. It feels like a good deal. That type of disguise… I won’t get it anywhere else.
She nodded to the forest ahead of her. “I’ll take the illusion.”
“Then, the deal is done,” The presence behind her said—instantly vanishing.
Startled, Rose spun around, but there was nothing there. Just to be safe, she waited a few seconds for a voice to appear behind her back again, but it seemed to be gone. The effigy was still on the ground, but seemed to have gone inactive. Did he do it?
With a thought, Rose brought forth her information.
Name: Rose
Species: ???
Blessing: Divinity Aspect—Blood
Visible Blessing (illusion): Blessing of Agar
Soul Rank: Nascent Divinity
Blood: 1/100
Attributes:
Boons: Blooming Blood
Artifacts: N/A
Rose let out a deep breath, then slapped herself on the face with both hands. She had panicked with the effigy, accidentally disabling whatever had been blocking it. That was not like her. Usually she acted calmer, and would have realized it was the wrong method. She did not like it.
It’s this energy—feels like I should be jumping and sprinting around. She was used to being in control of her body, but all of a sudden it was bursting at the seams, new sensations flooding her perception. She could feel the corpse that was just a few meters away. More precisely, she could feel the lack of blood in it.
Forcing herself to calm down and focus, Rose began examining her new status screen. It had changed quite a bit from the first one she had had. First, she had gained a Boon. And not from a god, but… from herself? How exactly does that work?
Blooming Blood. Evidently, something to do with blood and flowers. Experimentally, Rose focused on her hand, and once more a sharp, crimson thorn emerged from her palm. It stung a bit coming out, but in almost a—pleasant way?
She shook her head, then dismissed the thorn, causing it to retreat back inside her hand. A bit of blood was left, so Rose decided to lick her hand clean. Yum.
Right, there was that other thing. Some sort of counter had come with the ability, replacing the devotion that was normally on the status. Blood: 1/100. That one seemed rather self-evident. Collect more blood.
But what would happen once it was filled? Rose really wanted to know.
And of course, there was that last thing. The most important of all, really. For a moment, Rose just stared.
Soul Rank: Nascent Divinity
Divinity. She had planned to make some deal with the Shadow God, who was said to be a lot laxer than the real Gods, but it still would have been placing herself under someone. Instead, she had bumped into this.
Divinity, real power, for herself.
Of course, it was just the beginning of it. Nascent. But that implied it had potential to grow.
Rose found herself smiling, the energy in her veins thrumming. For the first time, she eyed the forest around her as a participant of the trial, and not just someone passing through. Could I win this whole thing for myself? She was a faction of only one. How powerful would she get?
But first, she would have to gather her power. Slowly, then accelerating, Rose began running towards the forest.
First, she needed more blood.