Akamori fumbled in the weightless sensation, trying to find a grip on reality. Any hand hold at all. Only to find he lacked a body of any substance. Was he simply an awareness alone? One minute he’d crushed the talisman and had Amara speed up the spell. What happened after was hazy for him. He remembered the ground splitting apart, and an exploding mountain. Maybe the debris had struck and killed him? A quick laugh slipped from his mind. He knew that since he knew he lacked a body here. How amusing was it to make it all this way just to die because a mountain blew up on his head?
“No, little one. You are not dead. You exist within the shade of my mind.”
Who was talking to him?
“I am but a tiny spark left over from a massive flame. But you, are like looking at blazing wildfire seen through but a keyhole.”
What? “Uh, yeah. I get that a lot.”
He really didn’t.
“You bear the flame of Bahumet. The eldest wyrm, and son of Midgardsormr."
He felt something cool shift deep in his soul pulsing acknowledgement and he shivered uncomfortably. Which only unsettled him further, since how the hell do you shiver without a body? Is this because he visited that dark wellspring?
“Your discomfort is understandable. Many hands are actively guiding your destiny. Yet you rage within, desiring to be the only one in control.”
“Huh. Somehow that actually feels like it makes sense.”
“The life you’ve been living is, but a mere muted reflection of your soul life. You are nearing a key point in your soul cycle. A Convergence of many cycles is coming to pass. A new pantheon will rise. But the web of fate remains uncertain whether creation will survive or fall for it. That is why you are here, little one. Or should I say grandfather?”
“Hold on, what?”
A deep rumbling laughter purred from all around him, resonating through him like rippling waves of sound.
“Listen. Think. Feel. Recall the convergences of your past self and your current self. You have been many things. Many beings. But your role is always the same. To save creation and to change it.”
He had so many questions. Before he could ask anything, though, he experienced flash blindness. Suddenly there was light around him, and he stood in the center of a large circle. It was golden and familiar. There was an array of crystals around him, with a large one in the center. The exterior crystals sat at equidistant intervals. He drifted closer to inspect them. The crystals on the outside matched the different magical aspects. The one in the center, the large one, he felt something pulse resonantly from within it. Like a life or, more accurately, a soul?
“What am I saving creation from? The Sauridius can’t be that bad, right?”
“Sauridius is among the eldest gods in creation. But he is but one of many threats you’ll face.”
Awareness awakened within him once more. He had a body here again. He looked at his hand, then reached out to touch the large crystal, and it thrummed under his touch. It felt familiar. Like a part of him.
“What other threats? And what is this?”
“Focus for now on the issue you face most directly. Any deviation of attention threatens all. This is a map of sorts. Most might view it and think of it as a seal or ward. A shackle in your soul. But they would only be partially right. The soul you possess is vastly powerful. Far too much for the fledgling body you posses. So she placed safeguards on you to prevent you from burning up. In time, as you gain strength, the seal will weaken. When the time is right, you’ll merge with your true self, and become whole again in the eye of total darkness.”
“Wait, what? I have so many questions!”
“Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time to address them all. Our time together is limited. So you must listen and focus. Your destiny is key to what will come to pass.”
He looked around and noticed that the air crystal and the void crystal were both glowing. The rest floated in a muted dullness.
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“So I have to grow stronger.”
“Yes. Or creation, as you know, it will fall.”
He felt a powerful longing to flee, to be anywhere but here. With any other problems than this. Why was it always him? Someone putting his needs second to everyone else around him? When did he finally get to live his life for himself first?
He sighed. This sounded exactly like the speech his father or the captain might give him. Finally, he shrugged, looking up with resignation in his features.
“Sure, why not? I’ll play along. Doesn’t sound like I have a lot of choice in the matter. So why all the games? Why all the nonsense with the seal and stuff? Seems like a lot of extra hoops to jump through if I’m supposed to stop something big. Wouldn’t it just be easier to give me the big stick I need and put me where I’m supposed to be to whack whatever needs whacking?”
A soft purring laughter rumbled around him.
“Because everything that is happening is following a plan laid out eons ago by wiser minds than mine. If the plan succeeds, then all of creation, not just Hidros may have a chance at survival. If it does not? Then we are doomed to darkness.”
“You mentioned that, my true self, this Bahumet? That he was some kind of dragon of change. What did you mean by that?”
“After the cycle was created and before humanity was walking upright, great titans managed creation. Supremely powerful beings that embodied single magical aspects who anchored creation and seeded creation with magic. In time though, their plans crossed each other. They brought conflict to reality. But they soon tired of their battles and created lesser divine beings to conduct their squabbles through. As time wore on, Most of the titans lights extinguished. The realm diminished, darkened. Conflict persisted across the ages, spurred on by Sauridius and his peers. And then, they were felled. Peace flourished. For a time” Hidros’ voice grew wistful as he finished his sentence.
“But Sauridius struck back from beyond death, working through his enslaved children. They corrupted some gods, working through them. This angered Bahumet, and anytime a Titan or God threatened creation, he would rage. You are that rage. The ultimate deterrent to the destruction of the cycle.”
“Wait, destruction of the cycle?”
“Yes. There are powers at play that if unchecked could threaten to unravel everything. Many are aware of them but have taken less than ideal means of opposing them. You are one of many forms of opposition. A cycle contingency, created to bring about the safest insurance of survival.”
His brows furrowed. “What did they create? And how come it has to be me?”
“The cycle of creation. Aether transitions through three planes of existence. The material realm belongs to the living, to Light, or the Astral. As a being lives, their physical shell exists here. When they die, their body breaks down. The constituent aether returns to the soul plane. Here, a soul breaks down. It’s memories shed. All its joy and all its grief and memories are unburdened, to prepare it for life anew. Once a soul is cleansed of its previous life, it transitions to the plane of possibility. It is known by many names. Some refer to it as the dream plane, or the imagination plane, or even the realm of the Mind. Regardless of how one references it, this is where a new soul ideates itself. To begin fresh and new. Once it is ready, it returns to the material plane, and takes form once again.”
“What about the void?”
“The void is the Umbral plane. Where all aether and energy go to die. It is also rumored to serve another, more insidious function, but such speculations were beyond me. Life. Soul. Mind. Void. This cycle has maintained the basic construction of creation. Servicing the energy that facilitates all life. And you serve as one of its prime guardians. Because you chose this path in the beginning. No other champion could take the mantle of responsibility you bear. It must be you.”
“Ok, and my soul-self? That I’ll merge with to stop the darkness?”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t privy to that information. After the Pantheon tore out the Dread Wyrm’s soul from his body, his body went into a blind rage. Since they could not destroy it, they imprisoned it in the strongest prison the gods could create.” Hidros' soul shade said.
“Doesn’t help a lot.”
“You will know where to find your soul-self when the time comes. I know that is little help, but for now our time together draws closer to its end. I'd like to give you a gift as we part. The mark of my magic. It will help strengthen your body, enabling it to handle your soul.”
System Info: Magic Infusion! You have gained magic from the dead god Hidros. Your magic rating is now 3. You may now cast spells with a magnitude rating of 3. You have gained water magic. You gain 3 AP.
System Info: Item gained. Water Cystal. It’s cool to the touch, but not frigid like the void. This crystal pulses with the soothing azure of water magic. Rejuvenating and patient. And it is yours. You now possess three magical aspect aether crystals. 3/8 collected.
Blue cool energy flowed into his body in rolling waves. It wasn’t like the frosty feeling of the dark aether; the blue was a comforting cool. Calming and mellow. Like resting in a cool stream on a blistering hot Honshu afternoon. He opened his eyes to see the blue aether stone floating above the golden seal glowing. Now he had access to three kinds of magic.
His mind reeled from everything he'd just learned. On top of the heady high of ingesting more magic. He'd grown in power. He had access to new spells now. More strength to level against his enemies. With the water crystal he could feel the gold seal weaken ever so slightly. Like cracking open a door enough that the interior light could spill out into a dark hallway. Deep within his chest he could feel the new magic pooling around his soul. There was the air, and void. And now next to it water.
In the distance he thought he could feel a faint melodic hum. The gentle notes of a woman's voice singing a soft tune. He relaxed, easing into the tune, just as he might drifting off to sleep as a child while his mother hummed. The spell connecting him to Hidros' mind drew near its end.