‘This brat has seen the Chosen!’ Verum thought to himself, ‘Oh God’s, this is beyond me!’
“I. Don’t.” Seraphine struggled to whisper between breaths, holding the arm of his skeleton that was friendly to her a moment ago.
She was running out of air quickly and about to die again. The one thing she doesn’t want to happen.
Fortunately, Verum immediately commanded his undead to let go of her.
Any bystander would think he overreacted, but those who know the significance of The Chosen would be more than willing to kill her for secrecy or malice.
Seraphine immediately scrunched up on the floor in agony. Verum, without much thought casted [heal] to help her.
After a few minutes of recollection, she asked him “The. Chosen?”
“Yes, he is a very, very important person” Verum exclaimed, then faked a cough, “My apologies for the aggression but it seems you must have met him before you lost your memories.”
Seraphine continued lying on the floor, and then looked to the air that floated above the circuit. There lay the system panel that described her abilities. One of them is called [Mark of the Chosen], an ability that apparently gave her dominion over Miracles. She doesn’t know what it means, but Verum seemed to hold great significance to it. The only clue she could possibly find was the related text right next to it, more specifically the one that reads “Will you always be my sister?” on the Triggered events section.
She did not concentrate on the words itself when she first saw the panel, but now that he brought attention to it, something was awfully familiar about the sentence, as if it held more meaning than just words.
Upon concentrating hard on reading the quote, she felt sadness and fear, a memory appeared on her head, one that happened a long time ago.
There she was, yelling, screaming a name on a dense green forest. She noticed the weather turning dark, a sign of a storm, yet she continued calling the name, someone who she still cannot remember.
Eventually, when dusk settled on the horizon, the first drops of water fell on her head, and another, and more until a downpour of thunder and the harsh whiplash of wind driven rain smashed on her face. Yet she paid it no heed.
Eventually, she found herself right next to a large ravine overrun by a strong flow of river, but between the surface and water is a cave just big enough to fit a small person, yet shallow enough to see inside without the rain getting through.
There, she met a boy with wet golden hair that still shone with radiance, his face blurry from her memories, he seems to be crying, huddled up and trembling on the corner of the cave, hiding from the storm and from Seraphine.
She remembered going down to the cave, taking the risk of falling just to get to him.
She also remembers that their mother, on a fit of rage blurted out a secret he was not supposed to know.
Her mother once told Seraphine that they were once special nobles who were banished because she gave birth to another heir, which their kingdom already had. She was told to keep it a secret, since it might upset her brother.
But it became unnecessary when their parents had an argument and both of them overheard her talking about it. She even remembered their mother wished he was never born.
Naturally, he ran away, and Seraphine followed when she found out, leaving their parents clueless and finding him here now.
She crawled next to him, hugging tightly to keep him warm, away from the wind and the occasional raindrops that find their way in.
“It will be okay” she comforts him, she knew that no matter how much she covers it in lies, he wouldn’t believe her, so Seraphine decided to tell the truth, “I’m here for you. No matter what, you can rely on your sis.”
He did not answer, but she knew he understood her, so she decided to keep silent, to let him decide on what to do from here on out.
As both of them listen to the sound of gale and cracking of thunder, the boy, or rather, her brother spoke.
“Will you…..always be my sister?” he asked.
Seraphine, with a smile that looked as if he said something silly, told him the truest answer she could muster from the bottom of her heart.
“Always”
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“Brother” she muttered so calmly in a stone cold manner that it made Verum think that what happened a few seconds ago was all a lie. Though the truth is that she was smiling inside from finding out she had a sibling.
“What?” he asked and took note of her odd behavior.
“Quote” She said standing up and pointed to the Triggered event of the [Mark of the Chosen].
Verum looked at the writing she drew and considered her guess. The Triggered Events are essentially the catalyst on how abilities was acquired. He doesn't know the specifics but it's basically how the soul arranges itself In a specific manner using the quote as the "main ingredient" for creating that ability, though that is only because most people change based on how they were treated by their environment, and what could be a better source than what people, or you yourself say? Words have power after all.
Sometimes it’s from the user itself, or it could be from what someone said that influenced her. Despite that, it’s merely a clue.
“Are you sure it’s a boy?” he asked “ You could be the one that said it. It could even be someone else and you just happen to be there to hear it.”
She nodded “Familiar.”
Verum sighed, ‘She really needed to expand her vocabulary, or at least form a sentence. Either way, I can only take her words at face value.’
He collected his thoughts.
‘If we assume she is The Chosen’s sister, then the position she holds towards him is invaluable. Making her stronger would now be a necessity than a desire. As for the [Mark of the Devourer], I’m guessing the slime brought me here to help her considering that her first ability, the [Death Mark], is something that would often be around the law of death.’
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Verum started planning in his head of what to do to make her into his new apprentice, his one and only successor.
‘I guess I should ask her motivations first.’ He thought.
“Do you want to be stronger?” he said.
“Why?” Seraphine asked and tilted her head to the right, which he thought looked creepy since she still showed no expression.
Verum thought for a second, and asked the most simple yet important question for his plans to work.
“What is your dream?”
“???”
After a few seconds of waiting, he clarified.
“What is your motivation to live?”
“Kill Kaito” she responded
“And?”
“….”
“….”
“Are you telling me you'd live meaninglessly after killing him?” He challenged.
“….no”
“Let me ask again, what is your dream?”
Seraphine paused, searching for an answer, only to shake her head, “Just. Kill Kaito.”
Verum thought as much. “Then you’ll never never kill this man named Kaito. Even if you say that is your only dream, you will never achieve it.”
Verum could tell that she was confused, and hopefully shook, probably thinking deeply about his criticism.
Seraphine meanwhile thought about telling him of maybe finding her brother, but then she realized that it is not different than killing Kaito and he would most likely say she won’t achieve it either, so Instead, she should probably listen to what Verum is about to say next.
“How do I. do it?” She asked, looking up with the fresh perspective of recognizing the status of his wise friend.
Verum spread his hands, looked down at her, and declared, “Become my student, and I will teach you everything.”
He smiled inside ‘That should convince The Devourer that I’m willing to help, provided it is watching me at this moment.’
Seraphine did not give it much thought, She had no information, strength, or knowledge, she needed help, so she bowed and uttered in respect, “Student greets…..teacher.”
“Master” Verum corrected.
“Master” she echoed.
Verum felt satisfied by her answer, “Good, I shall give you this gift as a sign of trust.”
He placed his boney hands, still emitting with smoke, on top of her head as if he is really touching her. Most abilities can only be acquired by yourself, but sometimes, you could give someone an ability or let them borrow yours for a price. Verum did not like doing this, but it’s the best way to show that he is willing to fully cooperate.
Seraphine felt a cold chill run through her entire body, like a large wave crashing a boat onto the shore that miraculously did not give it a scratch.
Verum nodded as he let go. “What I just gave you was the [Mark of The Finality], it should have given you dominion over Life reviews, the brief moment where your life flashes before your eyes before death. The laws you have now is currently useless, but they would be incredibly precious in the far future. If there ever come a time when I’m not with you, remember to not abuse it for you are only using borrowed power.”
“Yes” Seraphine answered, whatever dominion thing he is talking about is probably going to be explained later. So far she has Miracles, Sustenance, and Life review. None seemed to correlate with each other.
Verum smiled and went back to his playful nature. Even as a godlike being, he never really wanted to feel superior. He does however hated it when his subordinates pull pranks on him for fun, especially when it’s so hard to prank them back with his death oriented abilities without harsh consequences.
He hoped she won’t be like that someday, although he really wouldn’t mind having a mischievous student. It is much better than handling an entire worlds worth of paperwork everyday.
He could treat this sort of like a vacation, so having fun is a must.
And what could be more fun than messing with your new underlings?
‘I should probably mess with her as much as I can before she gets any stronger and call it part of training.’ He thought, ‘Naming her Seraphine really brings back memories’
“Let us start with your first lesson then, follow me.” Verum declared as he rushed through the trees while Seraphine, with her 12 year old body, had to keep up on the dead of night.
The skeleton that had been standing by moved to follow Verum like a robot, knocking down anything in its way.
Seraphine knew she would be left behind and thought out the best case scenario in catching up. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much time to think, so she just hugged the behemoth, climbed all the way up, and hoped to God she won’t fall and die in the process.
‘Let’s see if you can- oh.’ Verum said disappointed as she saw her clinging at the neck of the skeleton he made. Fortunately, she still occasionally hit a branch or two which made him a bit satisfied and slightly chuckle when her frown went deeper after the fifth hit in the face.
Verum continued to move forward, getting closer to a target he found coincidentally , ‘I detected the law of Death a few hundred meters away, I could probably use the dying person for information and maybe as a combat training for her. If it's undead then that’s fine as well, a dying animal would also be acceptable, not to mention I still haven’t checked the ability and history of my reanimated skeleton yet.’ He thought while imaging every scenario they would encounter from here on out.
If Verum had a face, he would be seen smiling from ear to ear, ‘It had been so long since I actually had an adventure, this is so exciting!’
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Name: Jerald Grim Species: Undead Subspecies:
Armored Skeleton
(Skeleton + Unworthy)
Age: 343 Realm:
Star Perfection
(Core manipulation + Unworthy)
Abilities: Image of Evolution Charmers Greed Simple might Type: Innate Low Mid Triggered event: "I am one step closer to perfection." "We married not by love but through looks and wealth, and ended with neither." "I hope your future is brighter than ours, little Cassandra.” Effect: Has a higher chance at evolving abilities. Acquire looks that can swoon even a kingdom to its knees, as long as you pay the price in gold. All your creations, all of your skills, and all the damage to your foes will always be strong but never stronger.
“Anything familiar with him?” Verum asked, floating right next to Seraphine that is looking like she crashed into a pile of sticky green leaves while cycling through a storm.
She paid it no mind and instead concentrated on the abilities Verum wrote down on the ground from the giant skeleton. They mostly held no meaning for her, thought the name Cassandra did ring a bell, but she still had no clue why it’s familiar in the first place. She simply shook her head.
“I see” Verum considered, then decided not to dispose of the skeleton and make it useful somewhat. Being a soul without a body meant no energy replacement after all. Anything he used would permanently reduce his energy until he finds a host.
He turned his head to the right, looked passed the bushes and into the clearing where various tents were set up. In the middle there was a large campfire that seemed to only emit light on a certain radius before being cut off.
Around it is a group of men, humans celebrating over something he could only assume was illegal, considering that there are also various different humanlike creatures that is shackled inside a large cage, pulled by the two sleeping horses on the side like a carriage.
As someone who stood at the top, Verum considers killing without a solid reason as beneath him, so he rarely ends his enemies. However, teaching the new generation about when to kill and when not to is an entirely different matter.
Verum smiled inside as he faced Seraphine, “Now let us teach you our first lesson.”