Aperio stepped past Kenmo, a tiny flex of her mental muscle twisting reality just enough so she would end up in front of the black pearl. Why can't I sense it?
Though it looked like the essence of Chellien, albeit lacking the fog, she could clearly recall the feeling of the dead God's soul. This orb simply did not exist as far as her more magical senses were concerned.
A thought stopped the two golden-furred Beastkin that tried to intercept her before the [Keeper of Voices] told them that it was fine. Aperio would have inspected the pearl even without the consent of Kenmo, as its presence did not feel quite right to her. Something about it was… off. Corrupt.
As far as Aperio was concerned, nothing should be outside her perception, but she had to concede that she was limiting herself by inhabiting a body. A touch of her magic flowed around the sphere, lifting it off of its pedestal and letting it hover over her palm.
She ignored the conversation happening between Caethya, Mayeia, and the [Keeper of Voices], focusing entirely on the orb that floated above her hand. Now that she was close to it, Aperio could faintly sense the black pearl in her hand. It was a strange sensation, weak and distant, almost as though it was not even in the same space that she was.
The All-Mother tilted her head at the thought. Another flex of her mental muscles tore open reality and the kaleidoscope of colours beyond. If the orb was connected to something, it had to be beyond what she already knew; could already sense.
Aperio's face twisted into a frown of confusion at what she found beyond the basic foundations of reality. Out here, it was basically the same as her Void. Her mind latched onto the idea, and sent a part of itself off to search through the seemingly endless black abyss she had come to call home.
She searched, and searched, venturing far beyond where she had ever explored before. She could not have possibly told how long she had focusing on this task, but eventually there, at the far reaches of her Void and the space beyond reality, she found what she was looking for. Herself. Aperio was, from within her Void, looking at herself holding the black pearl; the space seemingly also encompassing physical reality. Could I use this to go to other worlds?
The All-Mother let the magic that had held it above her hand cease. As soon as the sphere touched her palm, she was sure that it was connected to her Void, and she grabbed hold of it with both hands. Past its glass-like surface, she could sense - feel - the cold comfort of the black abyss. But how can it possibly be hiding from me?
Her thoughts stopped as the orb's hue began to shift. A silvery-blue that looked very much like her mana started to billow out from the depths of the darkness within. Soon it spilled out into physical reality Aperio found herself in, bathing her surroundings in visible mana. The only problem was that she had put none of it into the pearl. As if to answer her unspoken question, the orb in her hand began to open; the surface peeling away bit by bit as if it was a flower starting to bloom.
The hole Aperio had ripped in reality slowly repaired itself as the All-Mother herself focused on what she could only describe as a seed inside the pearl. It shone with the same light that gleamed through her own skin whenever she drew a bit more on her well.
A hand brushing past her wings and resting against the small of her back caused Aperio to look away from the glowing seed, directing her eyes at the owner of the hand. Caethya was standing next to her, squinting at the seed and straining against an unseen force. It was only then that Aperio noticed the dome of mana that separated her from the rest of the room.
She only needed a glance to know it was the Goddess of Magic who had made it, but it also revealed that the barrier was already breaking down. A touch of Aperio's magic replaced Mayeia's barrier and also wrapped itself around Caethya, causing her to let out a shaky breath.
"What are you doing?" she asked, leaning a bit more heavily against the All-Mother as she took deep breaths. "If Mayeia hadn't contained the mana, you would have levelled the city. Even with your blessing I can barely stand against it."
"This is somehow connected to my Void," Aperio said, nodding towards the orb in her hand. "It resembles the seeds of divinity I took out of Vigil and Inanis, but it seems… tainted and drained. Almost as if someone tried to use it but did not know how."
The Demigoddess let out a sigh at the words. "Whatever you're examining, you can't just do it here. What happened to the Aperio that cares? Normally you are concerned how your mere presence affects people, but now here you are, ripping open something that could end countless lives at a whim."
Aperio froze at the words for a brief moment before she covered the seed with both hands and a barrier of her magic that was likely strong enough to withstand at least a few of her own attacks. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her head. "I do not know how I did not notice… I was so focused on finding out why I could not sense the orb; needed to know why."
The All-Mother had to consciously relax her hands, the barrier she had made around the seed drawing ever more mana as she crushed it between them. With an unneeded breath, Aperio directed the mana that had filled reality and compressed into a small, silver-blue ball no bigger than her hand. Another thought caused the sphere of condensed mana to melt into her being like the countless tiny orbs in her Void had once done.
Unlike that time, however, the mana she received from this orb was only noticeable because she tried to see what happened. Slowly, Aperio uncovered the seed in her hands, making sure any mana that it emitted simply flowed into her body. It might not have been the best choice, but her body still consumed ungodly amounts of mana to strengthen itself, so adding a little more was not the worst thing she could do.
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"I am sure you would have noticed if it had affected the others," Caethya said, lightly rubbing Aperio's back. "But please, be more careful. We aren't all as strong as you are."
"No," Aperio mumbled, her shoulders slumping as she looked at the slowly pulsating seed in her hand. "Everyone else is fragile. Even with you I have to be careful to not accidentally hurt you when I hug you." And I just can't stop hurting people, it seems.
The Elf smiled at her, gently nudging away the All-Mother's arm that held the seed and wrapping her own around Aperio. "That just means I will stay with you to help you and, maybe one day, get strong enough that you don't have to worry about me.
"Did you at least figure out why you could not sense it?" Caethya continued after pulling away slightly to better look at her Goddess. "I can't see it either, but I am fairly certain you can sense everything, in a way."
Aperio shifted her gaze from the seed to Caethya. She couldn't help but see her as small and fragile — in need of her protection. The fact that the Demigoddess barely reached her chest did not help with that, but she had chosen her form because she did not want to be viewed in the way she saw most everyone else, and she liked her appearance.
"It is a part of my Void somehow," she said, a minuscule effort of her mind lifting it out of her hand and letting it float back to its pedestal. "It also feels like a seed of divinity, but not quite."
As soon as the seed arrived at its old resting place, the sphere that had opened to reveal it slowly closed and cast the room in a blue and silver light. Aperio no longer had to draw the excess mana it produced into herself as it flowed through the pedestal into a formation hidden beneath the floor. Countless runes came to life as soon as the magic flowed through them, their angled lines like the ones she had seen in the System and not what the mortals used. What.
Close to the pedestal’s base, Aperio could see a cluster of runes — the ones for 'Allow' and 'Forbid' far more prevalent than any other, but always followed by another rune. Does it need to spell out what can be used?
"What did you do?" Caethya asked, her eyes wandering over the now-glowing floor.
"I simply put it back," Aperio replied as she tried to figure out what the runes were supposed to do. "It probably was not working right because I was not there." Well, my mana wasn't there…
Aside from the many occurrences of 'Allow' and 'Forbid', Aperio could also see runes meant to measure something and create something according to the measurement. The only part about the entire contraption that gave Aperio pause was the fact that it was made with the same runes she had used to make the System. And they are too small to be made by mortal hands.
The runes were not visible to the naked eye; not even Aperio's own. At least not until she truly tried to see, that was. Being able to see every particle the world was made of was not something she usually saw much benefit in when her aura could provide her with much more — and actually usable — information.
"Done experimenting?" Mayeia asked, having dismissed the barrier she had summoned. She eyed the glowing runes for a moment, her aura sweeping the hall before she turned her attention back to Aperio. "You gave the mortals quite the scare."
"I apologise," the All-Mother replied, her wings twitching slightly as the eyes of a few mortals lingered on Caethya, who still had her arms wrapped around her waist. She gently ran her hand through the Demigoddess' hair, her eyes lingering on one of the guards that seemed to have more than a few problems with the display of affection. "Something about the seed felt… off."
"The seed?" Kenmo asked, his gaze flicking between Aperio and the object in question. "[Chellien's Pearl] used to power Foderys before it was stolen by the Imperium of Geshwen. We retrieved it, as you can see, but never managed to repair it."
Aperio directed her attention at the orb again, a mental message asking Caethya to let her go. The Elf obliged, running a hand along the wing the All-Mother draped over her instead.
"It needed my mana," she said after a moment. Kenmo's comment had led her to believe this was Chellien's soul, but another check showed that to not be the case. He is right, it is a thing…
While it was still obscured from her senses, there was something that she could only describe as lifeless about the orb. A soul had an inherent will to it — wanted to do something — and [Chellien's Pearl] lacked that. It should have been obvious to her, but Aperio had been preoccupied figuring out why she could not properly sense it. The answer to that particular question was rapidly becoming clear now.
Is it part of me? She tried to reach the pearl through her Void, finding it surprisingly easy to both spot and interact with now that it was no longer dormant. Aperio did not want to actually do anything with it as she had no idea what it was supposed to do, but knowing it was more connected to her — more so than everything else, at least — helped explain a few things. Don't feel my organs either, after all.
"Your mana?" Mayeia asked, walking past Aperio and looking at the now-glowing sphere. "Did you make this?"
The All-Mother squinted at the Goddess of Magic, but did not reply. She might be fine with her knowing that she forgot, but that was not true for the mortals in the room.
Seeing she would not receive an answer, Mayeia shifted her attention to the [Keeper of Voices]. "May I take a look as well?"
After she received a nod from Kenmo, the Goddess of Magic started to let her mana flow around the pearl and through the floor; undoubtedly trying to figure out what it was supposed to do.
Aperio merely shook her head, pulling her wing — and Caethya — closer to herself. Her disciple leaned into the feathered appendage, likely enjoying its unnatural softness. The All-Mother shifted her gaze onto the [Keeper of Voices], the man stiffening slightly in response.
"I apologise for the interruption, but I believe you wanted to show us something else."
"Yes," he said after a moment of hesitation. "Of course. Follow me, please."
Aperio could not help but narrow her eyes slightly at Kenmo as she moved to follow him. The man that had greeted them had seemingly vanished, replaced by one that exhibited the annoying signs of devotion Aperio did not like.