"You… forgot?" Mayeia asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Aperio did not reply, closing her eyes and focusing on Caethya's right hand that gently moved across her back. She let her senses wander. Anything that could distract her for a moment was welcome. The city below was bustling with activity, and held more armoured mortals than before — presumably in preparation for the various armies she had previously spotted.

Their preparations were, perhaps, unneeded. The slavers were coming because she had killed their Gods, and Aperio had every intention to help the city defend itself. She would offer the invaders the same choice she had to the last army: change their ways and free their slaves, or die by her hand. Or magic, really.

While physically dispatching of them did please the part of her that wanted to fight, it would not be the best way to ensure the safety of Ebenlowe itself. If I even let them get that far… She did consider removing them all before she left for Procul, as it would not take long, but she had a small hope that another mortal might be able to convince them to change their ways. Being told that you were wrong by the same Goddess that had killed your Gods was less likely to yield results. At least, Aperio thought so. Not that they know who I am…

"Does your forgetting have something to do with the millennia you were gone?" Mayeia asked, breaking the silence. "Was it you that prevented the Elder Gods from coming to Verenier?"

"Yes," Aperio replied, directing her gaze back towards the Goddess. "Though most of that time was spent…asleep, in a way." While 'sleep' might not be the best way to describe what had happened to her, she did wake up in the Void after she had carved her own heart out. The time she had actually spent there while awake could have easily been another few millennia; what had felt like a few minutes of relaxation in the makeshift soul-river bath house had been a week, after all.

"What happened?" the Goddess asked, leaning forwards in her chair.

Aperio tensed at the question, a few arcs of mana dancing across her skin. She had anticipated the question, but her reaction to it had still not been as… reasonable as she had hoped. Caethya took hold of the All-Mother's left hand, giving it a squeeze that would have likely broken any mortal's bones. A few words of reassurance also made their way to Aperio in the form of a quiet prayer, causing her to relax a little. Why do I react like that?

Mayeia sat straighter in her chair, already starting to apologise when the All-Mother waved her off. "What happened does not concern you. And I would appreciate it if you did not try to gather information from my followers either. If you show that I can trust you, I might tell you."

"Of course," Mayeia replied. "I should not have asked."

"Perhaps not," Aperio agreed, letting her back fully rest against Roots as she closed her eyes. The projection of the System she had made had lost its time dilation effect during her momentary lapse, a mistake that was quickly rectified. She lifted her free hand, gesturing towards the model. "I believe you had more questions about the System?"

The other Goddess did not reply immediately, perhaps unsure if her questions could even be answered by Aperio. "What do you want to do in this world?" she finally asked, fixing her eyes onto the All-Mother. "Besides ridding it of undesirables."

"I just want to have a life," Aperio replied. Her goals were not really a secret. "Go where I please, and do what I want. But, in order to do that I first have to fix the System. And to do that I have to remember, which requires me to confront various Gods and Goddesses who have seemingly decided that abusing mortals is a fine thing to do." The breeze that so lazily blew through the ocean of flowers picked up at her words, causing Aperio to sigh. "And if I do not have perfect control of my emotions, the world will react to them." Or I will react to the world again…

That part she kept to herself. Nobody needed to know that the collective thoughts of a world influenced her. Perhaps that will stop once I have retrieved more memories.

"Of course your creations react to you," Caethya said, gently pushing against Aperio's wing and causing her to remove the feathered limb. Her voice was quiet, the Elf not fully awake yet. "I'm certain Mayeia can feel the shift in your emotions, too. Perhaps not like I do, but she should notice something."

"I do," the Goddess confirmed. "It is almost like what I sense from some of my more devout followers; a suggestion of what you might be feeling."

"I know why it happens," Aperio said. "That does not make it any less annoying or inconvenient, however. I do not want to be an emotionless wall." I have already had a lifetime of that. Showing emotion as a slave had usually made her treatment worse, a fact that had led Aperio to simply not display what she felt. It had not worked as often as she had hoped it would — there was only so much pain she could withstand before crying out.

Mayeia rubbed the back of her neck, leaning back in her chair slightly. "I don't think there is much to be done about it. You are probably the most magical being that exists and your relationship with mana is so close, I am almost willing to say that you are mana. Or something like it, at least."

The All-Mother simply sighed, the projection of her System vanishing. While she did not truly know what she was, Aperio had a very good idea. She was not the mana that flowed through her creation — that was only a part of what she was.

Her earliest memories were of herself. Nothing else, just her. Everything that existed only came to be through an expression of her will. The view of the universe exploding to life around her was still in her mind, so clear that she could feel the heat that was over her body.

Aperio shuddered slightly. In her memory she did not have a body, and the feeling of the heat brushing through her form was very weird when translated to physicality. The closest thing was, weirdly enough, the retrieved mana burning its way through her. Just a bit more… pleasant?

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Mana is part of me, yes," the All-Mother eventually replied. "But it is not all that I am."

She could feel that she was close to figuring that particular conundrum out, not that it was one she had actively been trying to solve. What she was did not really matter for what she wanted to do. Perhaps it will help me, though.

"Is everything a part of you?" Caethya asked hesitantly, pulling slightly away from Aperio.

"No," she replied confidently, retracting her arm and wing. "While everything is connected to me in one way or another, it is not a part of me. You are nothing but yourself, and Mayeia is nothing but herself. Unlike Ferio, you are not my children."

Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose, quite sure that she would have a headache by now if it were possible for her to have one. "I assume you do not really want to learn about the System anymore?"

"I still want to know more about it," Mayeia replied, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "But, if you can no longer remember how it works, I am not sure it is best to ask you questions you might not know how to answer. I'd much rather try and help you fix it — I did spend most of my life researching it, after all."

"If you wish to do that, you are free to. Though, I do not know how you intend to help me. You said yourself that what I showed you is already beyond you, and that was only the part that governs Classes. There are parts of the System that are far more complex than this." And for some I know what they do despite never having seen them before.

"And," Aperio continued, "you do not have access to the System proper, nor am I certain you would survive it if you did." The area of space that housed the System was filled with mana that was purer than that which resided in her body and, while not as pure as the mana that had pushed her into her true form, Aperio had no doubts that it would end poorly for anyone but herself.

"That might be true, but the research I did could still prove helpful." A book appeared in Mayeia's hands at her words, her seal embossed on its front. She offered it to Aperio, the All-Mother slightly cocking her head as a touch of her magic brought the book into her hand. "All my theories on the System are in this book. I hope you find it to be helpful."

"I hope so too," Aperio mumbled, carefully opening the book and flipping through its pages before looking back at the Goddess. "Thank you, Mayeia."

"I am happy to help," she replied. "I am also still willing to teach Caethya, if she wishes. A break from trying to understand the System and finding you is probably in order."

"I would be most grateful," Caethya said, sitting a little straighter. "But I also have people of my own to teach; Maria and Adam are both in dire need of some lessons. There is also the matter of me having agreed to living in the Terenyk estate… Perhaps it would be best to inform Lord Terenyk of your temple?"

Aperio paused at her disciple's words, turning her head to better look at the woman. During the time she had spent with Caethya she had not thought about the agreement with Lord Terenyk, too preoccupied with her own problems. How very mortal of me…

"That is indeed a good idea," Aperio said, a small flex of her mental muscles creating a piece of paper with a message written in the excessively elaborate cursive she had grown unreasonably fond of. It simply informed the man of her temple floating above Ebenlowe, and Caethya's — and her own — wish for it to be the location of both her disciple’s residence and the lessons of Maria.

The man tensed up as the letter appeared before his eyes, the maid that usually guarded Maria appearing in his study only moments later. She was the one who plucked the piece of paper out of the air, her eyes widening as she quickly began reading it to her lord.

"It is done," Aperio said, directing most of her attention back towards Mayeia and Caethya. "Lord Terenyk has been informed."

"Caethya was right," Mayeia said with a small smile. "You are not subtle."

Aperio raised an eyebrow. "I merely made a piece of paper with a message on it."

"A piece of paper woven from the mana of the All-Mother," Caethya said with a small laugh. "Probably more durable than some armours."

Really? Aperio thought to herself, directing her gaze towards her dress. How durable is this, then? The paper had been made because she wanted to convey a message. Her dress, on the other hand, had been created with the intention of protecting her and being comfortable. Not that I’ve felt uncomfortable since I returned.

Her new body seemed to be unable to produce that particular feeling. Ever since she had visited that village, Aperio had worn a binding around her chest. It was something that had gotten uncomfortable quickly before, and it had not yet bothered her in the least. Probably don't even need that… Her dress would offer support enough.

"Your dress is probably the best armour in this world," Caethya said, following Aperio's gaze. "Aside from the actual bits of armour you wore over it before."

"I think her skin is tougher than any armour," Mayeia chimed in. "It also already stops me from looking within, which does not happen often — even with other Gods. Though, knowing what she is doing, I don't think I would want to know."

"And I would appreciate it if you respected my privacy," Aperio said sharply, glaring at the Goddess and causing her to shrink ever-so-slightly. "I am not going around inspecting everyone within my aura's reach either."

"My apologies. I’m simply eager to learn more. Even if you cannot explain how you use your magic, just observing it is very insightful. You are doing things that should by all means be impossible, and you don't even seem to notice."

Aperio was about to ask when Caethya did it for her, the Elf seemingly as unaware as her Goddess. "Like what?"

"I wasn't sure at first," Mayeia began, "and I am still not one hundred percent certain yet, but I believe Aperio is purifying the mana in anything that is close to her. Unlike most things she does, this is very subtle, but definitely noticeable if you look.

"My own mana," she continued, a small, light blue orb appearing above her hand, "has gotten more powerful since I've left my Dominion. Not by much, but it still happened. At first I thought it was the temple's doing, that some of the enchantments had done this, but a quick check revealed that it is happening to the mortals below as well."

Aperio tilted her head at the words. She had only looked for such a change in the people she had blessed. That her mere existence was affecting all mortals was...  She did not know. On the one hand, it was not exactly bad for them; they would have access to purer mana, perhaps live a little longer. On the other, however, the fact that this had happened at all hinted at something being more broken than she had originally assumed. At least, the All-Mother thought so.

"My mere existence makes mortals stronger?" Why?