For almost thirty minutes after the union finished, I still tingled with the potency of the energies I experienced in the joining of Mantles. It was more than potency, it was also a depth and purity of energy my senses couldn’t conceptualize. While Nightshade and Sage moved away to go about their own business, I simply sat outside the temple and tried to rationalize the amount of power the Kamis had unveiled.
Being associated with deities, even minor ones, is a matter of faith. I felt slightly bitter at the prospect. Not faith as in the belief that they exist, but faith that one day they won’t decide the Chimera Core experiment is at an end. On a whim… couldn’t it just decide to eradicate us in a wave of purifying power?
Tsk, fantasy worlds are such bullshit-
“Ah, good, you linger,” To and Fro the River Wanders stepped outside the temple and glanced at me. The left head sniffed and raised its beak, but the right head continued to speak. “The baptism has occurred, yet threads of the bear’s old existence remain. For one such as you… even if you’ve… ahem, sidestepped the tragedy lurking in your core, observing our corrective surgery will be valuable.”
“Tragedy of my core?” I asked.
But already the Kami had turned away and walked back into the temple. I threw my squirrel hands up in the air, wishing I had refrained from passing the Mantle until this foolish duck had given me some genuine answers about this world’s systems. But I couldn’t deny I was curious about what I would be able to sense from this process.
And for today… my only other activity is absorbing the emerald essence… My eyes glittered. Already, I felt a great deal of expectation; today seemed like a day when I would take great leaps forward in power. In knowledge and in body parts, I would progress.
Ohoho, one small step for a Mana Core… one giant leap past my siblings in power? Hehe, let’s not get too excited…
Hehe…
I stepped back into the temple floating on cloud-nine. The teddy bear former-Kami remained sitting on the ground, so the relatively smaller duck could stand before it and raise its wing to touch its forehead. Attempting to remain quiet, I moved closer to observe. My snake eyes bulged as I settled into my natural energy sonar. Both entities still burned with power in my vision, although I could see some of the luster around Old Oak fading, while the duck only became a blinding lantern.
I had to shuffle to the side, to take the map and its two Mantles out of my field of view. Otherwise, that fixture left me completely blind. Two mantles had experienced a qualitative change in energy when joining.
The central head opened its mouth. “Upon formation, the Plasm imprints upon the surrounding population. The process is complex; the Mantle is the presence of the Kami and the Seed inevitably binds the Mantle to the land. However, the land is obviously a medium; through the land, Kamis can provide life and purpose to the organisms living there. So although Plasm is the last to form, it can be considered the most integral… and vulnerable. Because it is the one direct point of contact between divine and mundane, no matter if that touch is as light as a silhouette and as isolated as a beacon in the distance.”
Belatedly, I realized it was talking to me. Wait, are you actually providing explanations?!
Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+23).
Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+24).
The sarcastic double Skill increase from the peanut gallery… I wonder, does the System have a ‘Level Up Notification’ Skill that it has improved lately?
…tsk, that joke would have killed on Earth…
“Your… conjectures in regards to the relative purposes of the parts of the Kami are not without merit,” The central head continued. Again, belatedly, I realized this meant that yes, the Kami must be able to read my thoughts almost constantly and was providing context. “Plasm, Mantle, and Seed. However, your conclusions-”
“Foolish and misguided,” The left head snapped.
“-were based on a flawed premise.” The Central head continued. “To a Kami, these parts are not as important as the Land. We, in every way that matters, are the land. Or pieces orbiting around the central anchor of the land. From this perspective, the Seed is the body of the Land, the energy flowing through it. The Mantle is the origin of action, the connective tissue, it is the mind. And finally… the Plasm… is the soul.
“Which means today…” Something dark and flinty flashed in the eyes of all three heads. “We dissect a powerful soul. Keh. Little one, do not say we have not learned from your desperate flailings.”
Your Skill (Temp) Inferior Adrenaline Rush has grown to Level 25(+1).
An Interesting Achievement: for raising a (Temp) Skill to (+1), you have been given an opportunity! Would you like to spend a Notable Achievement in order to reveal the reward?
I actually twitched. First, from being so caught up in the drama of the Kami’s speech that Adrenaline Rush naturally triggered. Then for earning an Interesting Achievement… but now it wanted a Notable Achievement to empower the results?
I only have three… I looked at my achievements. Plus, using them now will give me fewer options when I evolve… and that wonderful orange color…
Meanwhile, the Kami continued its solemn monologue. “Brace for pain, Old Oak. Severing the impressions you have made upon your people… will not be gentle.”
The feathers along the duck’s wing began to glitter as power gathered. Knowing that I couldn’t afford to hesitate, I just bit the bullet and spent one of my Notable Achievements.
You have anchored your (Temp) Skill on the two [Redacted], present in Armored Spine of the Insomniac Wetland Armadillo Bruiser and Bitter Heart of the (*) Bog Heron! The (Temp) designation has evolved into (Earned). Skill (Earned) Inferior Adrenaline Rush Level 25(+1) has evolved into (Earned) Unnatural Adrenaline Rush Lvl 1. Please note, if either of the [Redacted] is lost, the anchoring will cease and the (Earned) Skill will weaken immensely.
An Interesting Achievement: For Anchoring before the Second Growth Threshold, +10 Health and Skill Levels will be easier to earn before the Second Growth Threshold.
A Temp Skill can become Earned? By utilizing whatever hides behind the Redacted… I felt a surge of pleasure. Well, even if its just an improved Adrenaline Rush Skill, it was probably worth it, but to make other Skill Levels easier before I evolve again-
My small time to celebrate had passed, because the Kami’s wing cut downward. My senses sharpened.
Your Skill (Earned) Unnatural Adrenaline Rush has grown to Level 2.
I watched the wing slice through the outer layer of energy wrapping around the teddy bear, even as the bear’s face warped into an expression of pain. Yet the process-
Ah, I thought as both the cutting wing and the twisting expression slowed to a crawl. This Skill… activates a bit differently than the original.
For a split second, the entire world seemed to freeze as the ‘unnatural’ portion of my new Skill demonstrated its usefulness. I sat in a perfectly suspended world, my body thrumming with my full awareness. I had difficulty moving in this state, because it was my perception that was so sharpened, but it wasn’t impossible.
Holy shit, this is bullet time. I just unlocked Bullet Time. I blinked.
And the blinking shattered the moment. Time hurtled forward even as a pounding headache drilled into my consciousness. Adrenaline gave and then adrenaline took away.
The duck wing cut. The first layer of energy parted, revealing a dazzling array of nodes and connections within the ‘Plasm’ of the former Kami. If anything, staring at all the different lines and geometric shapes only worsened my headache. I swayed slightly, resisting the near-overwhelming urge to collapse, as often happened when I looked too closely at my own animating array.
Your Skill (Earned) Mana Sensitivity has grown to Level 25(+15).
Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+9).
While it showed a worrying inclination toward self-mutilation, I drove my bloodsoaked fang through the soft flesh of my fleshy mid-section. The pain briefly shoved back the encroaching darkness; for a little while longer, I didn’t pass out. I watched.
Your Skill (Earned) Mana Sensitivity has grown to Level 25(+16).
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Your Skill (Earned) Mutinous Grit has grown to Level 18.
“Tsk, the blight-spawn has maintained consciousness,” The left head clicked its tongue.
“As I informed you. You underestimate its tenacity. The shape of fate would not have been altered, otherwise,” The right head said.
The Central head continued its blithe energy butchering, swinging its wing back and severing connections. “Although the interior energy environment of Old Oak is unnecessarily complex, due to the delicate balance of the Kami, most of these are superfluous lines. They can be removed, although it is better for our purposes to maintain the whole of the tether while we disconnect them; maintaining their substance will preserve this being’s power.”
A distant corner of my awareness saw beads of sweat forming on the face of the teddy bear.
“The shapes are different, but the pieces are the same: Plasm, Seed, and Mantle. Look, here-” The Kami waved a wing and shredded a dense cluster of Mana nodes and connections, generating what looked, to my vision, to be the climactic conclusion of a fireworks show. My vision buzzed as I desperately resisted the urge to collapse.
Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+10).
“-see? This is the Anchoring point.” The Kami’s wing tip tapped a certain… space at the core of the other Kami’s animating array. I could feel an orb of energy hovering there, filling the space and bridging the gap between several overlapping arrays. “You see these ephemeral connections? That is a unique facet of a Kami, specifically the Plasm. Through these, the shadow can be cast on the lifeforms of the chosen land. We need to remove these-”
Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 16.
Suddenly, I knew that the light and energy released by this severing would be worse than anything that came before. I decisively shut my eyes and tried to mute my energy sonar, but still felt the brutal cuttings burn against my awareness. After a few seconds, the brightness passed and I opened back up my senses.
“...ultimately different physiology, but you should be able to deduce the rest. Absent those connections, this energy orb serves as the Plasm. In ancient times it was referred to as the Stiching.” The Kami used its wing to indicate the energy orb, now much diminished and surrounded by the severed remnants of the connections. The Kami’s glowing wing moved to point at the brightest Mana array pressing against the energy orb. My mind spun, barely able to follow this rapid slew of information. “This, then is the Seed: the animating shape, to allow the flow of power. Which, obviously, means that the flesh body is the Mantle. It is not a perfect analog, but keep these aspects in mind when you are remaking your companions.”
“...what?” Even through the haze of exhaustion and over-stimulation from pulsing nodes of Mana, that got my attention.
“If you manage to survive,” The left head said, rather unhelpfully.
The right head considered me. “You are aware, are you not? The dangerous method you used to escape the corruption of consciousness… I doubt either of Sage or Nightshade would have been able to persist. If not for the deviation in Blessing-”
“Gaze upon the shackles of the Chimera Core form, when you regain consciousness.” The central head interrupted. “At yourself first. Then… consider your companions. You will see naturally what we mean. And I will tell you this; it is only due to your particular Status as an Experimental Chimera Core that has allowed you to incorporate foreign powers. Even I must admit I am impressed by your ingenuity, turning the volatility of your core array into such an advantage.”
Eh? Me, ingenious? Uwah, even the Kami engages in misunderstandings. Is that just a trope from fantasy worlds?
-wait, when you say incorporation of foreign powers, do you mean-
“Now observe, for as long as you can persist.” The central head… smiled. Not at me, but at the pained expression of the Old Oak. “This one… will be remade.”
It raised its second wing and both began to move. Mana glittered and spat as it severed connections almost faster than I could follow. After which the second wing curved through, guiding the spurting wound to reestablish a connection within the same animating array-
Your Skill (Earned) Mana Sensitivity has grown to Level 25(+17).
Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+11).
Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 17.
Ah. It suddenly seemed obvious, as Mana exploded in front of me, smashing apart my careful observations. I’m not going to be able to last very long, am I?
Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+12).
Your Skill (Earned) Mutinous Grit has grown to Level 19.
I collapsed.
I considered it a small victory that, this time, I noticed the unconscious as it overwhelmed me.
When I awoke, the sun sat directly overhead. Heat remained a distant concern, but I could feel the weight of the sun on my Interstitial Flesh. I sat up. It appeared I had been rather unceremoniously tossed outside the temple zone and onto a nearby mud beach.
I wondered if Chimera Cores could tan and the ridiculousness of that thought helped push the rest of the sleepiness to the side. Using my little squirrel hands, I pushed myself up after a few seconds of struggle; it was actually quite difficult to move because I had been lying on my back.
“An armored spine is all well and good… but why does it feel so much like a turtle shell,” I grumbled. When I righted myself, I looked around and froze.
A crayfish considered me, clicking its claws in typical crustacean swagger. Then, the fucking thing smirked and turned away. Almost instinctively, I took a step toward it and raised my bloodsoaked fang-- it hopped away and off the edge of a nearby mud quarry.
All my fury drained out of me as it slid down a slide of mud into the mud pit. When it splashed wildly at the bottom, a group of about seven crayfish raised their claws and clicked in wild applause at its dashing descent.
For a second, I couldn’t understand why I ended up here, next to the frolicking zone of the crayfish. But then I remembered the left head’s superior looks and knew it had done this just to fuck with me. More crayfish skittered closer, excited to throw their exoskeletons down the slide. I just happened to be right next to the start.
For now, I turned away. After the dizzying amount of revelations I received, partially from the transformation of the teddy bear and partially from the duck’s explanations, I simply couldn’t deal with this.
I sent a mental pulse to the spiderlings. Please… come and deal with the consequences of your mud harvesting…
The spiderlings responded with a powerful affirmative; they would handle it. Also, they sent me a little bit more specific information. They had successfully trooped into the forest and retrieved the four saplings from the Old Oaks Domain. They were still in transit, as it took a while for the tiny spiderlings to transport them, but Nightshade had discovered their convoy and now thrashed any monster in their path. They would arrive tonight and wanted to know where they should be planted.
That thought gave me pause. “I suppose… just next to the stump?”
Anyway, with that little detail handled, I proceeded with my first order of business for today; filling my body up with Anima. The buzzing pillar of flies above the swamp remained completely blithe as I gulped dozens of them down.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +1.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +1.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +1.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +1.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +1.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +1.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +1.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +2.
Your Skill (Species) Absorb Anima has grown to Level 39.
“That…. Was definitely a two, right?” I hopped to my feet and waved my bloodsoaked fang. “Aha! Universe! I knew I wasn’t just imagining it. Heh, to think the flies are becoming this chubby…”
Humming happily to myself I settled down near the stump. First, I retrieved the suspended emerald crystal and examined it with the System.
Isolated Essence of Emerald Venom Mana: Mixed with Blessed Oils, the Mana has been crystalized into an isolated form. It seems possible to extract the Mana from within with the associated Skill. All potency will drain from the item within the next 2 days, 4 hours, 5 minutes.
Please Note: You have acquired enough Mana to support two colored aspects at once! Would you like to incorporate the Second Essence? Y/N
Not quite yet, I thought. I set the crystalized Mana down and looked at my own animating array. After observing the remaking of Old Oak, I realized I had generally made a mistake, doing this in the past; I had simply shoved my awareness down into the depths and been overwhelmed. This time I approached slowly, examining the edges of me and then narrowing my focus from there.
I felt the energy I released and was somewhat pleased that while I didn’t have the burning presence of even Old Oak in his weakened form, I possessed more potency than any other monster I had seen.
“In terms of Mana… am I the Chosen one?” I smirked for a second, but then the actualities made me grit my teeth. “If only my Blessings weren’t so…! Tsk, I suppose my First Blessing lets me create these isolated Essences and my Second gives me projectiles, but compared to the Fae Squirrel champion-”
Tallum! You know this! Comparison is the deadly foe of leisure! Take it easy. Aren’t you developing nicely? We are cruising forward on a smooth road. Why make trouble when there is none?
Almost immediately I shivered. I had been spending too much time with Nightshade. With the cavalier confidence of a minor villain, I had just planted an enormous flag. Combined with the ominous implications of the Kami’s words…
Afraid of what I would find there, I looked at my animating array. Instead of focusing on the minutia and brutalizing my consciousness into oblivion, I approached gently. And after the primer given by the Kami, I could observe and actually understand what I was seeing.
Your Skill (Earned) Detection has grown to Level 25(+13).
I saw the different aspects. I recognized my body and the animating array. But when I looked for the Plasm, the Stitchings, that should be present, binding me together-
There was nothing. No orb of power was present to connect the layers of arrays. I had a cavity in the middle of my animating array, where the orb should sit, but it was hollow.
Your Skill (Earned) Mana Sensitivity has grown to Level 25(+18).
On a metaphysical Level, I looked at my animating arrays and noticed… they were listing. One side of the Mana structure lifted, as though it would pull away from my body and tear soon. Yet what made my heart really sink was, when I looked at the portion of my animating array that wasn’t drifting from me, the dominant presence was-
A spike of azure energy, hammered between my array and my body to keep them together.
A Notable Achievement: for using relatively insignificant Skills to self-diagnose the faults in your Species, +10 to Health, +10 to Mana, +2 to all non-(Temp) Stats!
Please Note: You have determined the condition of your Experimental Chimera Core. There is a margin of instability that is required, to maintain the balance between Mana Core and animating arrays, however increasing the amount of Mana you possess without providing another Colored Aspect will result in your disintegration.
Please Note: As long as you do not pass 299 Mana, you can maintain your current form for quite a bit of time.
Ah… it’s not that I can incorporate these Aspects… I thought in a daze. I need to. Or else I’ll rip myself to pieces.