Aperio furrowed her brows as she guided more of her mana into the unreasonably large expanse hidden inside the rather small stone. She had always known it would be able to hold quite a lot, but she had not expected the inside of it to contain a puzzle of sorts. Why would she have put that there? To play tricks on her future self?
No, she thought to herself, her eyes wandering to the armlet that still adorned her right bicep. More like that… The piece of jewellery contained an entire previous universe's worth of mana, and though it was always eager to supply it to her because she had made it, the opposite effect was also true. Just like the stone.
The All-Mother shifted her gaze back to the object in question, her left hand turning her armlet ever-so-slightly as a thought crossed her mind. One she already knew was true but had not truly considered before. Chances were that the stone was exactly the same as her armlet; only older and empty of the universe's mana from which it was made. That only left the question of why — and when — she had put it here.
Maybe the universe I used to make this thing was full of Fae? It would explain why she had used it to build something new for the Fae, and also why she had looked like one while doing it.
The puzzle she was contemplating wasn't hard by any means — at least for the All-Mother — but it was quite annoying. She could probably circumvent it somehow, but a part of her was quite certain that solving the puzzle would get her what she wanted faster. It also did not involve the risk of accidentally tapping into a bit too much of her powers, and thereby learning of things she would rather leave buried in her subconsciousness.
Aperio gently pushed her mana into the runes that lined the inside of the stone. Unlike the ones that were placed around the actual room, these ones reacted to even the tiniest drop of her mana. The way the magic in them strained against the mystical restraints made her certain that if she placed such runes in the real world, reality would find them most disagreeable.
It made sense, in a way. As far as she could tell, the runes her past self had used here were as fundamental as a script could be. They bent and twisted the very fabric of her creation, shaping to fit whatever meaning she had imbued into the lines and curves of the runes. Perhaps the weirdest part about all of that was that she could not only understand what all these runes said, but that she also simply knew how they worked. Probably shouldn't be surprised by that.
Another twist and turn of her magic caused the inside of the stone to light up. The change in scenery also brought with it a new set of runes and a small projection of a galaxy in the centre of it all.
The All-Mother tilted her head at the appearance of the galaxy, focusing on it a bit more to make sure she had not accidentally created a new reality that was contained in a stone. Much to her relief, it turned out to be a simple projection conjured by a few of the newly-spawned runes.
Aperio started to quietly hum to herself as she worked on the next set of runes, the wing-framed stone resting in her hands pulsing with her mana every once in a while as she got closer to what she assumed was the solution to the puzzle.
It took her two more steps of the puzzle to be sure that she had made this for herself. Not only did her understanding of how the stone worked grow more quickly than it should, but at times the obstacles that barred the proverbial way forward required her to use more mana in an instant than any mortal could ever summon. In other instances, solving the riddle within her hands required her to reach out and twist the way reality itself worked, temporarily changing it before letting it settle back to the way it was. The power and knowledge required for either of these actions — and the actual finesse to execute it all — lay far beyond mortal abilities. Even the most skilled ones she had seen so far were not even close to being able to do any of this. Even Caethya lacked the mana reserves and control to accomplish the task. And I just think a bit harder, and solve the issue.
The difference between herself and everyone else was always a little obvious — at least to herself — but she did wish that it was not. The average mortal on Earth was, sadly, far too weak to let her blend in seamlessly. She consoled herself with the fact that that would likely change within a few years' time. Verenier, in fact, should have already gotten to such a point. All she had left to do was to sit back and let the mortals dwell more deeply in their delusion that she was not, like so many seemed to believe, the All-Mother. Weirdly — or perhaps not, considering what they did — it was always the people she had to get rid of that questioned her.
Woe is me, Aperio mused to herself, doing her best to let the thought sound as sarcastic as she could while pulling the projection of the galaxy apart to place a few runes of her own in its place. Just like an actual galaxy, the act of placing symbols laden with her own magic helped create an equilibrium. One that the puzzle required in order to progress.
Not only did the runes affect the various celestial objects within the galaxy, but they also affected one another. Perhaps it was a simple matter of the strength of her mana, but Aperio was not quite convinced that magic alone produced any sort of gravitational effects. Mana itself did not have mass like everything else, after all. Not in the way that mortals knew it, at least. Maybe I should start writing down how the universe actually works? Aperio cocked her head to the side as she watched the runes inside the stone slowly start spinning around one another, peeling themselves from the walls and forming a ward that she did not quite recognise. I'd have to invent a new language first… Mortal words are so… limiting.
The runes she used here and for the System were really the most optimal way of expressing the concepts that made up reality. They were precise; so precise in fact that the very act of writing them already influenced her creation. There was a chance that that only happened because she was placing them, but Aperio doubted that. She could quite clearly remember mortals carving them into stone and achieving a similar effect. One that was much more subdued, of course, but she chalked that up to the fact that she forced a perfectionist’s rendition of the rune onto her creation while they used crude tools and mortal senses.
With an inaudible click, the last rune fell into place and formed a ward the All-Mother only now recognised. It had long since disappeared from the System itself, so perhaps now she could finally learn what it meant. That she had seen all the components that flowed into it was certainly a big help.
"Now I just need to figure out what they formed," she mumbled to herself as her hand reached into the stone. For some reason, she knew that it was the last puzzle piece she had left for herself. "All this to teach myself something I did not even know I could forget." She snorted. "Maybe I was not all that bad in the past?"
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Aperio shook her head at the thought and ran her fingers over the surprisingly solid surface of the ward. It would still shatter should she apply even a bit of actual force, but Aperio had not expected it to have any physical component to it at all. She pulled back, a few arcs of mana jumping back and forth between her fingers and the runes as the ward tried its level best to keep her hand attached to it.
The All-Mother looked at her hand and wiggled her fingers before she balled them into a fist. She just had a potentially very dumb idea to solve this puzzle. One that she — and her past self — would very much enjoy.
She balled her hand into a fist, her arm elbow deep in the stone, and punched the ward. Reality bent from the impact, unravelling the sigil's runes and sending the mana they had once held back into the All-Mother. The influx was accompanied with more visions of what her Faen self had done. A tiny drop of silver mana now hung weightless in the middle of the stone, waiting for her to set it free so it could perform its intended function. There were other memories however, ones of herself placing various pieces of the System into place and letting a lone Soul interact with it.
Aperio blinked and pulled her hand back, the stone looking exactly the same despite the fact she had put her arm inside of it. She took a deep breath, pulling more mana from her well at the same time, before she let go of the stone and a thought set the tiny drop of pure mana within free.
After a moment of perilous silence, a wave of mana rippled outwards from the stone, quickly reaching past the realm of the Fae and spreading into every single variation of Earth. Aperio let her perception follow it, an idle thought here and there fixing what was, to her senses, the crude weave that the stone's work left behind in her creation.
Seeing how her creation knitted all the reflections together caused Aperio to let out a slow sigh. It was such a simple solution, one she should have thought of before coming here. And yet, she was glad she did. She would need a little time to go over all the memories the shattering of the ward had given her, but it was most certainly worth it.
But, for now, there was a tiny version of her multiverse to make. And a Demigoddess to hug…
///
Caethya drank the rest of the beer that William had gotten her. It tasted good enough, but the desired effect she sought from alcohol was simply not there. A fact she should probably have anticipated, as her body had changed quite a lot since the last time she had indulged and it had already been quite the feat to get drunk. Perhaps I can ask Aperio to make something…
A slight buzz would have been quite welcome right now. The fact that her love had been quite correct in her assumption that she could simply look at someone and end their life had shaken her. The act did require some effort, but the fact she was able to do it at all was frightening enough. The Dropbear she had tried it on had also been quite a bit stronger than most of the mortals she had met on Earth so far.
Her thoughts were interrupted not only by the arrival of William with a few more mortals in tow, but also a rather noticeable ripple that ran through reality itself. Caethya did her best to not show a reaction, instead observing if the Humans had felt it as well. As they continued to chat with one another as they sat themselves down, she assumed they had not.
Before she even reached out to her love to ask what had happened, the Demigoddess could feel the attention of the very world settle on her. It would have been cause for worry, had it not been accompanied by the unmistakable warmth of the All-Mother. Though, it felt a little different than before; more powerful.
Caethya smiled as Aperio's voice gently echoed through her mind, informing her that she had apparently left herself a small puzzle in the realm of the Fae. The attempt to share the concept of said puzzle sat strangely in her mind, but the basic idea of it was easy enough to understand. Trying to more precisely determine what her love had been doing before her time as a mortal felt like a foolish endeavour all around. Aperio had been a vastly… different person then. Fully aware and accepting of what she was — a trait that she wished her love would regain at some point — but also selfish and very much uncaring for anyone but herself.
The change she had felt was apparently something the All-Mother had done herself, and not some accident or worse. Good news, at least. The excited notes in her love's voice were also excellent news. So far, she had not really seen Aperio get excited for anything not relating to a fight or the Demigoddess herself. Caethya smiled slightly at the image of her love shuffling through the countless copies of Earth she had made, trying to find one where more people had gotten themselves wings. It would certainly make her happy, and that was always good. A happy Aperio meant a more happy universe. At least for the two of us.
"I see you are enjoying your stay," one of the women accompanying William said as she sat herself down next to Caethya. She cradled her own beverage. "Quite the show you put on."
"I do try," Caethya replied, offering a smile. Her eyes wandered towards another of the Humans that had joined them. "It is nice that you have an [Identify] skill, but I consider it quite rude to use it on someone without asking."
The mortal wouldn't be able to see her actual level, or even titles, but it was still very much an annoyance. The least you could do was ask. Caethya understood quite well that she was intimidating to the mortals present, but it was a fact she had thought would garner a bit of respect. Apparently she had been mistaken about that. Is this how Aperio always feels?
"It didn't tell me much anyway," the mortal replied, then sat himself down next to William. "Just your name, but we already knew that."
"I think it's a matter of principle for her," William said and waved at the singular waiter in the bar to call him over. "One I would agree with."
"Sorry," the other man said, though not without giving William a side glance. "I won't do it again."
Caethya only gave him a nod, her eyes moving towards the door behind which she could already feel her love. A moment later, the pleasant chime of the doorbell filled the room as Aperio ducked into the bar. She looked around for a moment before her eyes settled on the Demigoddess and the group of mortals.
"Greetings," she said, her voice easily reaching them despite the fact that she had not spoken any louder than usual.
Her love moved through the small bar with a grace that belied her looks. A look that had changed slightly, if Caethya's eyes did not deceive her. Aperio's skin glowed just a little bit more than usual, and she stood fractionally taller than she remembered. Looks like she put some of the mana that came through to good use.
The Demigoddess moved to the side, making just enough space for the All-Mother to sit down next to her. "I assume everything worked out well?" she asked as she leaned forward to let her love's wing swoop around her.
"It did," Aperio replied, lifting her hand to stop William from giving her one of the drink menus that lay on the table. "I will not partake."
Caethya sat back, relaxing against her love. She would enjoy this moment as best she could. There were bound to be some hectic times ahead, as the outpouring of mana from what the Demigoddess assumed was the solving of the puzzle had contributed quite a bit to the making of Aperio's multiverse. The excitement and happiness she could feel from her love was proof of that.