Chapter 21 – Freefall_[Enchantress] Eternal

The Dao Seed may start your path, but,

Fear not merging those seeds that grant your Dao life,

Fear not mutating those seeds that challenge your vision,

Fear not discarding those seeds unfit to accompany your struggle.

May your path be watered by your tears and the blood of your enemies.

Tend your Dao with care. And die by your path.

– Alvar Twice, thirdborn of the first Twice tyrant, Book of Twice

Chapter 21 – Freefall

"Feathers, you need to wake up. We’ll have to move again soon," Toki murmured, a sigh escaping her lips. Her voice was a whisper out of fear of somehow drawing the attention of the bounty hunters. And Three.

Toki sat hunched over the prostrate form of Edgar, her slender fingers tracing the contour of his fevered brow. The manafever no doubt from the backlash of losing a projection. Such a wonderous skill must have a downside. Edgar had been unconscious for over an hour and Toki was beginning to get worried. A cursory scouting of their surroundings indicated that they were safe for now, but she expected Three to be smart enough to at least follow up on a lead, if not, set up a more intricate trap for her to fall into.

Edgar, you brave, timid, fool. Why have you been facing all the danger?

In the quiet, Toki's mind wandered, unbidden, to a memory—a rite of passage known well among the avian kin.

Edgar and Toki stood on the precipice of The Crag at Last Fall, proverbially known as the Bird’s Calf, where the wind howled like an ancient spirit and toyed with their hair in wild abandon. Where avians metaphorically discarded their legs and found their wings. Below, the clouds beckoned like some beast, its maw wide and unfathomable, a test of mettle for all avian children petulant enough to conquer the skies.

"Come on!" Toki cajoled, her tone a blend of mockery and encouragement, "The winds are perfect. You were born for this." Her gaze had held steadfast to his, willing him to believe in himself.

Edgar's talon-like feet had shuffled at the edge, his brilliant feathers fluttering nervously. A mosaic of blues and reds danced in the early light, yet they seemed to lose their luster in Edgar’s own fear.

"Toki, I—I don't think—we can do this next week. I—I really shouldn’t hold up the line. There’ll be another storm." Edgar had stammered, the words catching in his throat as he peered into the yawning chasm.

With a wry smile that belied her own thrumming heart, Toki had feigned impatience, stepping closer. This was the storm of the year, perhaps decade. The conditions were perfect for a first flight. "Maybe you need a little push?" she teased, her hand hovering behind him in mock threat.

Edgar had balked, the humor not enough to quell the fear lurking within his wide eyes.

Toki knew, even then, that Edgar's courage lay not in the defiance of heights, but in the tenacity of his heart—a heart that beat fiercely, loyally, for those he cherished.

"Please, Edgar. Open your eyes," she yelled into the oppressive winds, her hair whipping wildly.

“No, Toki, you want to fly so badly—you go do it! I’m fine right here on the ground. Even if I never touch the edge of the sky, I’ll still be happy.”

“Then make sure to catch me!” Toki's laughter tumbled over the edge of the cliff as she leapt into the abyss. Her body arced gracefully through the air as she parted through the clouds. Below her, the world opened up. Above she saw the gas giant, Amithus—living in the Summer Continent of the tidal-locked Aris, the skies forever held its image above. Below she could see emerald woods and sapphire lakes surrounding the city of Alabaster Ring. She could even see a few flying ships in the distance, making their way to the city.

She turned to look back upwards in anticipation. Edgar’s wings had unfurled, catching the currents like sails to the wind. He was already diving, and his talons soon secured around Toki's backpack. “What the heck Toki! You mad girl! You could’ve died!”

“Edgar, we’re flying!” Together, they glided at the edge of the sky. "Feathers!" Toki crowed, her eyes alight with mischief. Toki couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was beaming.

Even as the ground beckoned with an inevitable embrace, Toki couldn’t hide her smile, "You've done it!"

"Toki! You—you reckless idiot!" Edgar chastised, his words flaring as brilliantly as his plumage. "What if I hadn't—"

"Caught me?" Toki interjected, her grin wide and unabashed. "Oh, Edgar, you didn't think I'd risk my neck without a net?" She pulled out a small rocket and shot it into the distance, its secret revealed—a bouncy house miraculously expanding from the explosion.

“And if that broke?”

“You can’t believe that your doting father wasn’t waiting below. Anyways… I knew you wouldn’t let me fall to my death," she affirmed, the sincerity in her voice softening the edges of her usual brashness. "I trust you, more than anyone."

As the memory waned, Toki's gaze settled once again upon Edgar's listless form. The caged chillbird took up her thoughts. The chillbird might have found solace within its cage, an illusion of security, perhaps. Could it be that some chillbirds, like Edgar, yearned for the cage because it promised a proximity to the people they orbited?

"Maybe," Toki mused, her breath fogging in the cold air, "sometimes the cage isn’t made of bars, but of things we aren’t ready to face."

Toki shook her head to clear the thoughts. Toki pulled up the system and navigated to the new Elite shop from her status. Edgar needs to recover first. Maybe the new shop can help. The Elite shop was a marketplace only accessible to those deemed worthy or lucky enough to have become an [Elite]. The shop was a trove of curiosities displayed in neat rows in the interface. Toki's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the limited selection available to her. Her rank—mortal—bound her to the lowest tier of the Spearbreaker shop's offerings. She sifted through the wares. Unfortunately, the catalogue was exclusively priced in Luck.

At the top, she found materials. They ranged from the uncommon ones, like adamant, to the extremely precious materials like strawberry snake leather, one of the strongest accessible leathers in existence. Though, I’m sure more exotic species have a greater stopping power. She also found different catalysts, herbs, and binding agents in the material section. In a pinch, this shop could be useful, but why waste Luck when I can use mana crystals?

She looked further and found all sorts of consumables. She quickly looked for a solution to Edgar’s backlash and found one priced at 15 luck. She immediately purchased it. No additional skills were worth her friend's life.

[Minor Manabreak Phoenix Tincture (15 Luck) – Mortal quality – From the ashes, shall you be born anew. Repair what was once broken]

A spatial tear opened next to her and a small vial flew out. Toki grabbed it and immediately fed it to Edgar, leaving no room for hesitation or doubt. She waited earnestly for several minutes, before turning away, disappointed in the lack of any visual cues or changes. She couldn’t tell if it was improving his condition or not, so she returned to the shop.

What a scam. Such a grand claim… and nothing's happening.

Toki found a few other interesting salves and tinctures. More standard potions and equipment were also present in the shop, but they weren’t worth using her limited Luck on them: a potion of night vision, standard unenchanted plate-mail, tinctures for healing. None of these caught her fancy and Edgar wouldn't be healed by simple healing potions.

Towards the bottom of the list, Toki found many items, skills and even attributes locked behind a condition.

[Available at level 50]

Huh. I can buy attributes back from the system? 2x Luck for each attribute? Seriously? How does that make sense?

Toki looked at her status to check her current Luck to come up with a plan.

----------------------------------------

Condensed Status

Name

Tokyo Twice

Class

Mortal Human (Level 44/50)

Bloodline

Twice

Base attributes

Strength

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(+2)

Vitality

(+2)

Vigor

(+2)

Dexterity

(+2)

Intelligence

(+2)

Wisdom

(+2)

Luck

255

(+2)

Title Additions

Challenger of Dao Dao-Tailored Master Support Skill

Mortal Sage

Dharma Token

Skill Additions

Advanced Mana Control 50 LUK

Lessons, Dearly Departed

(50 LUK Equivalent)

Chronicle Cascade

(100 LUK Equivalent)

Full Status: Attributes, Titles, Skills

Name

Tokyo Twice

Class

Mortal Human (Level 44/50)

Bloodline

Twice

Attributes

STR

VIT

VIG

DEX

INT

WIS

LUK

Base attributes

(+2)

255

(+2)

Flat impact

Percent impact

110%

117%

Total attributes

107

310

(195)

Titles

Name

STR

VIT

VIG

DEX

INT

WIS

LUK

Non Attribute

Challenger of Dao

Dao-Tailored Master Support Skill

Mortal Sage

Dharma Token

Flat impact

Bigshot

Mortality

Noncombat

Wastrel

Talented labor

Total

Percent impact

Mortal combat

10%

Challenger of luck

Total

10%

17%

Support Skills

Telekinesis (50 LUK); Charge Sphere; Create Contract; Advanced Mana Control (50 LUK); Lessons, Dearly Departed (50 LUK eqv); Chronicle Cascade (100 LUK eqv)

Dao Bound

Skills

----------------------------------------

195 luck left. I can buy additional attributes for another 7% improvement in one of my attributes. Is another challenger title worth it? Intelligence was a possible choice, now that she could use [Lessons] as a shield and as a weapon. I’ll have to think this through. I might also want to buy the support skill that Golgheim suggested. Or maybe the obscured support skills in the Elite shop when I hit 50.

As Toki went to look into the [Dharma Token] from the [Mortal Sage] title, she was taken aback by the heat radiating from Edgar. His feathers, a mix of blue and red, now flushed a sickly yellow. Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead like morning dew. Toki pressed the back of her hand against his brow, her suspicions confirmed by the deathly heat. Oh no. It made him worse!

"Feathers," she whispered, dread knotting in her stomach. "Hold on. I'll look for something else."

In the throes of delirium, Edgar stirred, his lips parting as if to speak. "Susie... don't tell Toki," he mumbled, his voice a ghost of its usual vibrancy.

“It’s Toki. You can tell me anything.”

His breath hitched, a symphony of longing and fear played out in shallow gasps. The words came out as a babble, and Toki couldn’t decipher anything.

“Easy, Edgar.” Toki's thoughts stilled, her gaze locked onto Edgar's face.

An ominous noise clawed at the silence, wrenching Toki's attention. Without a moment's hesitation, her hand darted towards the hammer resting beside her.

She ignited her fire and began to cast [Lessons] all with a single thought. The claws soon writhed from the new shadows at her feet, ready to defend against whatever dared to encroach upon their haven.

"It’s my turn to defend you, buddy," Toki vowed, steel lacing her tone. “No matter what.”

The stillness fractured as a cacophony of more stealthy sounds encroached upon their refuge—an ominous scratching here, a muted thud there. Toki's instincts screamed an urgent warning. They had been found.

"Over here, everyone."

That voice. Toki peaked over the window at the approaching figure, a solitary figure obscured by the dark. She scanned for a glimpse of any additional adversaries, but found none. She knew they were there. She would have to whittle them down. There was no other way. I need to take out as many as I can while I still have some surprise.

She leapt over the window frame and jumped on to the approaching stranger, knocking him off his feet. As she was about to bring the hammer down on his chest, she stopped.

“Partridge?”

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Chapter 21 – Freefall

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