Chapter 190 - Forgotten Friend
Argus carefully examined the girl that had appeared in front of him. From her legs and horns she appeared to be a goat-type demi-human. These half-beast humans were unheard of in the southern continent which contained the two main provinces of NianXing and Fuha, but north across the Altic sea they were not uncommon.
Of course demi-human was not the correct term to describe the person in front of him.
Based on her abilities and spiritual aura, this youthful, mischievous half-beast girl was undoubtedly a demigod.
A light, youthful giggle pierced the air as the demigod twirled happily in the air under the solar eclipse. Her ragged dress jingled with dozens of tiny black bells that shook with her fluid movements.
“How very like you, interfering with the affairs of Gods!” Her high pitched voice chided him, “It’s like you never learned your lesson.”
“You speak as if you know me well…” Argus frowned. It bothered him that he didn’t have any recollection of any ‘lessons’ he might have learned about interfering with the Gods.
“Are you sure you don’t know me?” The voice sounded hurt, “Surely, you must at least know my name.”
She had a carefree attitude, often twirling or erupting in small dances as she spoke with him. Her cute face always expressing some extreme emotion, but there was a constant undertone of mischief that made it hard to believe anything she said.
”Tell me my name.” She grinned, the bottom of her eyes curving up into half moons.
… Ascetic Philosopher. Li Ru. The Messenger. Harbinger of War. Hu Dao …
Up to this point, Argus hadn’t been able to hear any of the demigod’s thoughts like he did with other people. But suddenly her surface thoughts came to the surface. A sudden rush of names and titles filled his mind, many of them which Argus recognized, but there were even more that he had never heard of.
Her thoughts blasted into his brain at such high frequency and intensity that Argus couldn’t keep track of them. His head started to pound as he felt his mind start to crumble under the pressure. Unable to turn off the barrage of thoughts, it took all his concentration to stop himself from screaming with madness.
A self-satisfied smirk curled up the edges of the demigod’s eyes as she bared her incisors in a wicked grin. The pupils of her eyes lit into flames as her aura suddenly turned aggressive and hostile.
… Lord of the Crypt. Avon. Blazing Dawn. Jagrash’s Bane …
The world around Argus dimmed as if a veil had been pulled across his eyes. The sky, the mountains in the distance and the plains around him disappeared as he was engulfed in pitch black darkness. A malicious, glee-filled cackle boomed around him as he looked up and saw two fiery orbs above him.
The orbs looked down at him as he realized that Pix had turned into a giant. The flickering blue light from his lantern lit her face from below as she looked down at him and licked her lips. The light only touched her face and the upper portion of her neck, making it appear like Argus was suspended on a platform in front of the giant-ified demigod.
“What’s wrong, Argus?” Her voice boomed around him, “Have you forgotten who I am?”
The word “forgotten” drilled painfully into Argus’ mind. Trickles of sweat poured down Argus’ face as he fought against the demigod’s immense spiritual aura. His entire body felt heavy as he struggled to even form a coherent thought.
“A pity.”
Pix’s mouth opened wide, revealing two rows of sharp teeth as she craned her neck forward. The ridged roof of the inside her mouth glistened above Argus as it soared past him. The dark tunnel of her throat rushed toward Argus as she was about to swallow Argus whole.
… Ruined King. Trickster. Kismet. Born-Again Outcast. Chiron’s Kin. Skell. Wandering Prince. Pix. Godslayer …
In the midst of this stream of consciousness, a particular title and name shone out to his spiritual intuition, triggering his latent powers as a Keeper. He instinctively knew that out of all the noise gushing out of the demigod’s head, those two were key, secret pieces of knowledge.
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“Pix the Trickster!” Argus shouted. A third name suddenly came from within his memory, which he called out as well, “Angel of Chaos!”
“Ehh? You found out!”
Argus abruptly found himself standing on the ash-covered planes in the red light of the demonic solar eclipse. The half-human, half-goat girl was once again in floating in front of him, just as she was moments before.
The hostile, oppressive aura around Argus also vanished instantly as a pleasantly surprised look appeared on the demigod Pix’s face, “You know it’s rude to yell out a girl’s title like that, even if we’re friends!”
Argus winced as the loud, high-pitched voice resounded clearly in his ears. The aggressive, intrusive thoughts stopped pounding into his brain as he finally was able to think again.
The lantern in Argus’ hand rattled with his trembling arms as even the billowing fog came out in uneven spurts as he somewhat sarcastically muttered, “I don’t recall being friends…”
“You know my name, therefore we must be friends.” Pix said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
This mercurial demigod was clearly not about to let Argus go as she ‘hopped’ on the air and floated over to him.
That wasn’t an illusion… Argus thought to himself. His skin pale and wet with perspiration as she stared at him intensely. She really was about to devour me…
The ashes on the plains around him were still undisturbed. There was no evidence that Pix had turned into a towering giant, but for Argus who was deeply in tune with reality and could easily discern all things false or illusory, he was certain that what he’d experienced was not a trick.
For an Angel, the highest rank of Exalted below true godliness, such a terrifying act was not out of the realm of possibility.
The Trickster… Argus searched his memory for the title. A troublesome maker spirit that appears in the annals of kings and poets across history. There are numerous paintings, statues and stories that speak of her mischief. Whenever she shows up, incredible fortune or cataclysmic disaster is sure to follow… The catch is that no one knows which fate her presence forebodes…
Shortly after the last time she appeared, Okuron God of Knowledge perished and the Five Kings War came to an end…
“Then-“ Argus replied carefully, “Since we’re friends, are you here to ask me for a favour?”
“Me, ask a favour of you?” Pix giggled, swooping around him in a carefree manner, “I don’t think there’s anything you can possibly do for me in your condition.”
Argus’ eyes narrowed as he caught the emphasis on her words. The bottom lids of her eyes once again turned up as a wide knowing grin appeared on her face.
Argus stared at her intensely as he asked, “And what condition would that be?”
“Oh, you know…” The demigod acted coy for a moment, leaning close to Argus’ face with a mocking grin as she replied casually, “The one where your soul is all chopped up into pieces.”
The blue light of the lantern flared to life as Argus instantly struck out at Pix with his free hand, grabbing her arm. She didn’t have a chance to react as her eyes opened wide in shock. Argus’ pupils glimmered as two spiraling galaxies swirled rapidly inside them.
As soon as he touched Pix’s skin he activated his Keeper’s powers and focused all his willpower on accessing the knowledge that she had about him. He felt a massive rush of information burst through his mind as he searched for the answers to his questions.
Such an action would definitely not be taken lightly by the Angel, but he didn’t care what happened to him. The opportunity to answer the burning questions in his soul was right in front of him. As long as he found out the answers to them, he could even accept death!
What happened to my soul? Where are all the pieces? Who did this to me?
He was filled with elation as he felt so close to finding the answers. However, his spiritual intuition triggered as he realized something was terribly wrong.
He glanced up at Pix to see her shocked expression switch to a wickedly amused grin.
Images of Okuron’s Great Library rushed through his mind. Memories of trekking down the stack into the darkness and heading into a dome shaped room. He saw himself disintegrate into thousands of rune-covered papers. He heard the voice of a certain white haired maiden as she saved him and helped him merge with his soul.
This isn’t right. These aren’t Pix’s memories, these are mine. Elation quickly turned to confusion as he realized that his powers had been reversed on him. Instead of reading the contents of her mind, she was taking his!
Just as he came to this realization Pix kicked him in the stomach with a hoofed foot and sent him sprawling across the plains. Puffs of ashes flew into the air as he rolled to a stop.
Pix looked down at her arm. Argus had left a frost-covered handprint where he’d grabbed her. The handprint quickly disappeared as the frostbitten skin healed.
“So that’s where you’ve been all this time, Argus!” Pix laughed as she somersaulted backward in a lazy arc, “Hiding in a basement. How dreadful. The least He could have done was set you up comfortably.”
“You know who did this to me.” Argus stated, “Can you tell me who it is?”
“What fun would that be?” Pix giggled, her eyes glancing upward as she seemed to be sorting through Argus’ stolen memories, “I’m sure you’ll find out the answers for yourself soon enough. Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.”
“Oh, and you’ll probably need this at some point.” There was a flash of gold as she pulled out Argus’ polished astrolabe from behind her back.
Argus frowned, “Are you going to make me play a game to get it back to you?”
“No, nothing of the sort!” Pix flashed a look of mock shock, before she vanished from sight. Two bony hands gripped Argus’ shoulders from behind as the demigod appeared directly behind him and whispered in his ear.
“But I’m rather interested in hearing more about your new friend… Why don’t you tell me about Yuzu?”