Laelia gritted her teeth as she felt the white-hot mana of her Goddess flow through her. She could feel her bones breaking and her muscles tearing, but she could also feel a comforting warmth spread through her as Aperio did something to her soul.
It was almost the exact opposite of the induction ceremony she had partaken in to become a true paladin of Vigil. That one had only been filled with pain. Not from her body or mind as she felt now, but from the unseen part of her that held her mana. She could feel her reserves deepening, more and more mana becoming available to her. Laelia could also feel the comforting touch of warmth starting to soothe her from without as well as within. It slowly spread from her mana reserves to encompass her entire being, pushing away the pain of her changing form.
By now, she was certain that whatever her Goddess was doing had gone far beyond an inspection. But what is she doing? Aperio had been apologetic after she had stripped Vigil's blessing and replaced it with her own. That the winged Goddess also always seemed to emphasize that Laelia was free to choose had led her to believe that she would not do anything too drastic without warning.
And yet, here she was, feeling every part of her body being broken and reforged; feeling her well of mana deepen to levels she had not thought possible. What was most confusing for Laelia, however, was the feeling of wholeness the changes brought. In the beginning it had felt strange. Foreign, as though someone had been trying to graft parts of someone else onto her person. Now, all she could conclude was that when she had been inducted into Vigil's order, they had taken something from her. Taken something that she had never known she had.
A small, familiar pull on her mind caught Laelia's attention. The pain she had felt in the beginning had, without her notice, already dwindled to nothingness. Replacing it was a feeling of serenity, one which allowed her mind to focus with a sharpness she had never previously known.
You have been awarded the [Demigod] title!
[Demigod]
You had already taken the first steps on your path to divinity. Now, with the help of the All-Mother herself, you have shed your mortal flesh and purged the last vestiges of a fallen God from your soul.
Your title [Sovereignty of the Mind] has been changed to [Sovereignty of the Self]!
[Sovereignty of the Self]
Not only has your mind been freed from foreign influence, but your very soul. Such violations of the self will no longer be permitted.
Demigod? Already took the first steps? She had not taken any conscious steps towards divinity; she had simply found a new Goddess. One far more worthy of her devotion. The last part of the title's description made a lot more sense to her. The pain she had gone through had to have been the ‘shedding of her mortal flesh’, as the System had put it.
Despite the claims it made, Laelia herself did not feel any more like a Goddess than she had before. Aperio's presence was still as overwhelming as it had ever been. The only difference Laelia could notice was the strange web. Where before there had been nothing to see in the spaces between people and things, now there were tiny threads present, crisscrossing through everything. The more she observed these things, the more she realized that they were made of mana, and they connected everything and everyone to her Goddess. The fact that she could see the world around her while her eyes were closed took a moment longer to sink in.
Like every other paladin, Laelia had learned to use every skill at her disposal. This included an active development of her awareness, until she had learned how to sense the world around her through her aura alone. Actually being able to see with her aura, though, was a feat she had thought reserved for accomplished mages. Or Gods.
Her mind was ripped from her reverie as a new wave of pain and warmth spread through her. The conflicting feelings caused Laelia to open her eyes, searching for something to keep her mind distracted as she was unable — and unwilling — to stop the change.
Aperio's hand brushing over her cheek and the pained expression on her face brought the distraction Laelia had desired, even if they did that in a way she would rather not see. Her Goddess did not need to speak for Laelia to know the reason for her sadness. Aperio had made it quite clear that she did not like to force her will on people. Something she had just done.
"I am sorry, Laelia," the winged Goddess said, her eyes darting around as if they were looking for something only she could see. "I could not leave the mark on your soul; it had to be purged."
Laelia wanted to reply but found herself unable to as her body convulsed, bending in ways she would have thought impossible. Her sudden motion caused Aperio to quickly retract her hand, a gentle warmth spreading around her instead. It only took the Human a moment to recognise the gentle touch of her Goddess' magic as it held her aloft and slowly eased the pain.
The way she could feel her flesh writhing beneath her skin, how she was able to perceive the threads of her Goddess' magic wash over her caused Laelia to shiver involuntarily. She had not known — or would have believed — that she was able to notice such things. How had she been so blind all her life? Mana had always surrounded her, how could she never have noticed it before?
Laelia took a deep breath as her muscles relaxed. Whatever Aperio had done was finished, that she knew. Taking mental stock of herself and her new state, she was surprised to find that she didn't feel all that different. The only thing that was immediately obvious was the frankly ridiculous amount of mana she now had access to.
She was about to draw from her well to cast a simple spell when another notification surfaced at the edge of her mind.
You have been awarded the [Scion of the All-Mother] title!
[Scion of the All-Mother]
The All-Mother has given you a fraction of her might; beyond what others of your kind may carry. Beware your power.
The System's message was accompanied by yet another wave of mana. While this one did not cause pain, it still managed to elicit a yelp from the Human woman as the world around her suddenly took on a sharpness that caused her to squint her eyes. What?
She blinked a few times, and the sharpness of the world seemed to resolve into something she could tolerate looking at. Everything seemed so much more detailed than before, but some details in particular seemed odd enough for prolonged pondering. Tiny imperfections in Aperio's dress were now visible to her, scattered about the fabric in what seemed to be a random fashion. The bulk of her Goddess' attire was made from something other than cloth — mana woven by Aperio herself, if the Human had to guess.
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A second, and more perplexing detail than just the strange inconsistencies of the fabric of her Goddess' dress was the presence of tiny strands of mana reaching out from the Goddess herself. They were not always visible, darting in and out of her enhanced vision in a way that made her truly curious about what they were. They were not the same as the countless strands that moved toward her Goddess, connecting everything to her, but something else. While Laelia could not quite grasp what they were, she instinctively knew that they were important, and that messing with them would be a very good way to head to an early grave.
Aperio watched with bemusement as Laelia spun in circles. Her Paladin's eyes darted around, sometimes lingering for a suspicious fraction of a second on the threads that bound reality together. Can she see them?
The winged Goddess lightly shook her head, dismissing the notification that Laelia had ascended to become a Demigod. It was not what she had intended, but with how much mana she had used, it would have been strange for nothing to happen. She had been expecting something as a result of her actions.
What surprised Aperio more was that Laelia had not gotten the [Touched by the All-Mother] title, but a different one. Why Scion? She wasn't training a replacement for herself. In fact, Aperio was very sure she could not — could never — be replaced.
Vigil and Inanis had killed her, but she had still came back. It just took a while. Her absence also did not appear to have been beneficial to the world. The System was broken, and some of the Gods had seen it fit to use the mortals as pawns for their pleasure. What happened on the other worlds?
The likely answer was that what happened on Verenier was not the exception, but the rule. That begged the question of how many worlds — Or Realms? — there were. How many deities she had made.
With a shake of her head, Aperio pushed the line of thought from her mind. She had something much more important to deal with. "Laelia."
The mention of her name caused the Human to stop her turning and focus on the winged Goddess. Healing her soul and dumping more mana than was in any way reasonable into her paladin had brought changes that Aperio was fairly sure anyone would notice.
Despite physically not having changed much, Laelia now seemed to demand more attention. She had not grown taller or gained more definition as Aperio herself had, rather she seemed to have acquired a certain something that made others take heed of her presence. How does that work? ...Do I do this to people? It would certainly explain why people always reacted rather decisively to her.
"You are free to leave if you so choose," Aperio said, "but I had to remove the mark on your soul, even if I had not been given your consent to do so. There is not a world in which I would let someone's soul be marred with runes that strip their will. Even if it requires me to force the matter." How am I supposed to know if they don't want my help? Whoever made the mark could just command them to deny it.
Laelia hesitated for a moment, her brows fluttering in what Aperio guessed was confusion. "Runes on my soul?"
"Yes. Servitude, Obedience, the same as you would find on a slave collar."
"Is that why I feel… whole now?" Laelia asked, and Aperio noted with mild surprise that the choppiness of the woman's speech was gone. Did she learn the language from my mana, or was the mark on her soul somehow stopping her from using her full linguistic abilities?
That her paladin did not seem concerned with her blatant violation of everything she wanted to stand for did irk the All-Mother. Does it not matter to her? Or does she think she cannot question me?
"Perhaps," Aperio replied. "But, do you not mind that I tampered with your soul? Though you might not have been able to stop me, it does not mean that you should simply accept the matter. You are allowed to be angry at me."
Laelia did not reply, simply staring at Aperio. The winged Goddess tilted her head at the lack of an answer. She does hate me, doesn't she? It was what she had expected; what was supposed to happen.
"I am angry, but not at you," her paladin said, briefly pausing at her own words. "Why do I know how to speak this language now? I could never remember the right words, no matter how hard I tried."
Perhaps it was the mark, then. Why? It did not really make sense to Aperio. Preventing someone from learning a language did not accomplish much, especially if they were still able to speak it anyway. Broken as it may have been.
The runes that had been carved into Laelia's soul were still fresh in Aperio's mind but, despite being able to recall all of them perfectly, she did not actually know if any one of them pertained to the use of language.
"Perhaps Vigil had not wished for you to speak another language properly. Why he would do such a thing I would not know." Admitting her lack of knowledge had been surprisingly easy, the usual feeling of disgust nowhere to be seen.
Laelia simply shook her head, likely dismissing the rather magical acquisition of a language for later thought. "I am not angry at you. Not because I fear you might kill me, but because I trust your judgement to do what is best. Yes, the change hurt, but it was worth it in my mind. Though, declaring me as a Scion of yours might be a burden I am not ready to carry."
"Do you want me to rescind the title?" Once I figure out how.
"No!" Laelia exclaimed, taking a step towards the winged Goddess. "I will give it my all, I just ask that you are patient as I adjust. Perceiving the world as I do now is something I was not prepared for."
"What do you perceive now?"
"Details I have never known existed. I can feel your mana brush over my skin, can feel every part of my body with a clarity I had not thought possible. And I can sometimes see tiny strands of mana that run through everything."
So she can see them. "Do not touch the threads. They are not something one should play with."
"I did not intend to, nor do I think I can," Laelia quickly said. "They feel… important, in a way. Beyond my reach."
Aperio nodded at that. It was good her paladin understood their importance. "Are you certain that you are fine as you are? That what I did to you was the right thing?" It stung a little to ask such questions; a minor annoyance Aperio would gladly bear to be sure her paladin, her Scion, was indeed all right.
Laelia looked at her hands at the question, balling them into fists as if to test them. "I feel better — stronger — than ever. I can finally speak the language I spent over a decade learning, and all of that for less pain than the induction as a paladin of Vigil. I think I am fine."
She hesitated for a moment, taking a step to what Aperio assumed would be a respectful distance before she continued speaking. "You care for those that follow you, acting in ways most would think unbecoming of the All-Mother. All because you want to make sure a random mortal will be free again, even if that requires a brief subversion of their will.
"I have not known you for long, but I trust you more than anyone else I know. You saved my children and asked for nothing. You saved me from Vigil, healed my soul, and the first thing you did was ask for forgiveness for not asking my permission first. I cannot think of anything that would make a Goddess more worthy of my devotion."
She took a knee in a graceful movement, holding her hands palm up towards Aperio. "I, Laelia Whytegaard, daughter of nobody, pledge my life and fealty to Aperio, the All-Mother; creator of all there is. I swear that I will be true and faithful, that I will be your sword and shield to bring your word and values to the world below so that they may live free from the reins of tyrants."
Her words were accompanied by a wave of mana, the universe itself seemingly welcoming the impromptu pledge Laelia had made. Aperio looked at her paladin's upturned but empty hands and summoned the bow she had retrieved from Inanis.
Just as she had seen the Emperor do countless times, she gently laid the weapon in the grasp of her paladin and spoke: "Rise, my Scion."