I feel comfortable. So much so that I am unsure of where my body ends and where the warm light enveloping me begins.
It suddenly dissipates, and I find myself staring down an idyllic countryside from the top of a hill. Little farms, with cattle roaming free between them. Butterflies flying over beds of wild flowers. There is a fat sheep sleeping beside me, and my hand digs into its snow white wool almost by itself. Even the goddamn clouds seem custom made to enhance the cozy atmosphere of peace and serenity I let myself indulge in. I notice the architecture of a quaint little church in the distance and nod in recognition. I’m on Ulti alright.
Superimposed on my normal vision, floating ethereal threads of all colors. Some brighter, some thicker, some pulsing with energy, and many barely visible. Threads of fate.
A bee flies from one nearby flower to another, its meandering path perfectly following one of the lines of light.
I take a note of how short the ability’s range is - a few meters - and how I only seem able to perceive the simplest ones, but do not let it affect my mood. I’ll figure out the details in a second.
"Above the Earth and Under the Heaven," I say with a young voice that is not my own, yet feels familiar, “I alone am the honored one."
I smile with satisfaction. I had always wanted to say those words without sounding like a complete asshole.
Part curious, part apprehensive, I bring out my status sheet with only an effort of will. I’ve done it countless times before, picturing myself as an system administrator playing with permissions. This time though, I’m a humble user and will have to manage with whatever I was given to play with. Like everyone else.
* Congratulations!
* You have received the unique title [Fate bearer].
[Fate bearer] - Title - Unique
* You are the nexus of all fates, the central knot of the Tapestry.
* Any foreign interaction with your fate will cause backlash from the fabric.
* Congratulations!
* You have received the unique title [Heart of Creation].
[Heart of Creation] - Title - Unique
* You are who you are.
* You can sympathize with the fabric.
* Congratulations!
* You have received the title [Honored One].
[Honored One] - Title - Mythical
* You are a unique existence loved by the fabric of reality itself.
* Your fate-ERROR
[Honored One] - Title - Mythical
* You are a unique existence loved by the fabric of reality itself.
* All Charisma bonuses are increased by 100% of their values.
Status
Attributes
-
Orishan Cultivator
Heart of ULMITA (Zeroth Circle)
Scriptures
-
Soul Skills
[Fate-bearer](1-1) +2 CHA/Lvl
[Heart Sight](1-1) +2 CHA/Lvl
General Skills
[Modern Man] (1-1)
[Soul Domain] (1-1)
Blessings
[Celestial physique]
Titles
[Fate Bearer](Unique) - [Heart of Creation](Unique) - [Honored One](Mythical)
Well, maybe not like everyone else.
I still mutter under my breath as I summon the specifics of the other entries, annoyed that I’m actually not the only honored one under the heavens.
[Celestial Physique] - Blessing - Legendary
* Your body is magical in nature, and will break down nourishment into mana. This feat was achieved through the interference of a higher entity.
* Magical bodies are more sensitive to disruptive magic, but are much less penalized by physical trauma as they lack critical organs similar to those vital to mortal life.
* As you are an orishan cultivator, you have a greater resistance to malice.
[Soul Domain] (Tier 1 - Level 1) - General Skill - Legendary
* Highly sought after by those attempting to reach the highest peaks of power, the ability to assert the authority of your soul in the physical realm and polish its strengths.
* Boost all soul skills, Faith based skills, and Charisma based skills.
[Modern Man] (Tier 1 - Level 1) - General Skill – Uncommon
* You are from an advanced civilization, with education, manners, sensibilities, and vast knowledge base to match.
* You have an easier time performing and perfecting any non-combat actions.
[Heart Sight] - Soul Skill – Unique
* The ability to establish an empathic connection with matter, and extract information directly from the Fabric as long as you have line of sight.
* The amount of extracted information depends on your absolute and relative soul strength.
[Fate-Bearer] - Soul Skill – Unique
* You are the nexus of all fates, allowing you unique access to the Tapestry of Fate.
* Duration, complexity, and intensity of access depends on soul strength.
... Interesting.
Compared to an omnipresent entity warping reality on whims, this was obviously quite the downgrade. From a more grounded perspective it could be said that I had been given outrageous seeds with the potential to eventually lift me to those very same heights - especially when combined with my knowledge - but regardless of how impressive my status might seem for any new celestial, in reality it is as bare-bone as it can possibly be without breaking the world’s logic, knowing who I actually am. The skill [Modern Man] in particular is an obviously convenient alternative to granting me a lifetime’s worth of skills such as [Advanced Mathematics], [Multitasking], [Artistry], or even -I don’t know -, [Writing].
The message was clear. I’d have to work for whatever power I’d get. Fine by me.
My favorite way to play with fate and causality has been rolled into [Fate Bearer], a soul skill I will have to level up for it to be useful in any way, which explains why the fate threads fade away past a certain range, and why even the smallest ones feel so conceptually “heavy”.
Then again, soul skills are this setting’s version of sorcery, powers innate to one’s soul. Moderate usage merely causes physical exhaustion and they grant Charisma at each level up, naturally strengthening the soul through exertion, as the Charisma attribute is the one governing the intensity of one soul’s external influence.
So, in combination with [Soul Domain], I have no doubt that [Fate bearer] and [Heart Sight] will quickly improve.
Though speaking of [Heart Sight], with the corresponding title [Heart of Creation] they are the only entries in my status that I’m confused about, which is exciting.
I focus on [Heart Sight], then on the sheep who’s casually moved its head to my lap.
* This is an Orishan Sheep. It is feeling content.
I do not know what I expected.
It is worth noting that I can sense the sheep’s satisfaction. Still, I decide to activate [Soul Domain], and suddenly, my perception of myself expends, covering the sheep, every blade of grass swaying from the wind and and the surrounding space itself, though in an area even smaller what [Fate Bearer] can cover. Inside the expended domain, however, the fates are much more visible and numerous. The odd sensation is something I could have tried to imagine all day without being able to properly picture, as if I have spilled over from my own body and into the outside world.
Realizing I’m getting distracted, I focus once more on the sheep and [Heart Sight].
* This is an orishan sheep pretending to sleep. It is feeling content.
* 3 INT, 5 WIS, 10 CONS.
An amused smile breaks on my face. I make sure to keep scratching it.
Level up!
* [Heart Sight](1-1) -> [Heart Sight](1-2)
* +2 CHA
Nice. At the first tier, a soul skill leveling up should only grant me +1 CHAR but [Heart of Creation] is already hard at work.
In essence, I am not omniscient anymore, but [Heart Sight] is a more or less balanced substitution that still allowed to peer behind the curtains and get some useful inside info.
I deactivate [Soul Domain] and flinch at the feeling of being stuffed back inside myself, but I do not let myself get distracted again, just like have been suppressing the frustrating thought of not having a writing skill despite having written the Fabric into existence.
Instead, I think about how great of a class [Orishan Cultivator] is. It’s the kind that other classes evolve into when given the possibility, though this one can only be achieved one way. Study of the Book of Tales to achieve enlightenment.
Technically, the orishan celestials are priests, in that they channel the power of their god through their holy scripture to perform miracles, making their class Faith based.
In general, classes that borrow power from higher beings are pretty straightforward. They mainly improve the holder’s Faith attribute as they increase in level, and the greater their Faith attribute, the greater their connection to their god, which meant more powerful miracles. It’s not uncommon for the powerful ones to have the ability to turn themselves into temporary vessels.
One small detail about the Orishan religion, however... is that it’s about the one true Creator God of this reality. With enough believers, planning, and ambition, anyone could manage to become one planet’s puny god, or any other manner of "divine” being dwelling in the deep astral. But wether they are aware or not, admit it or not, they are only intermediaries.
It just so happens that ULMITA doesn’t care about proselytizing, or even if anyone believes in in her. She is everything, and everything is varying degrees of HER. There is no comparison to some parasite sucking on people’s faith to survive.
I also had given her quite a sense of humor, and I could picture her finding the whole thing hilarious, lazing around in some paradox.
The Orishan scriptures not only holds the powers of miracles, but also have a profound effect on reality, similar to transforming (school of magic like conjuration) regular mortals into magic entities.
The faith’s ultimate goal is to incarnate more of ULMITA. To return the individual to Totality. There are no levels, only stages designed by one’s current position in ULMITA’s legions, and the scriptures in the Book of Tales allow celestials to ascend as close to the First Circle as they can manage, growing stronger and evolving in various ways depending on the verses they chose to focus on.
Which is why the whole thing can be considered cultivation.
I never meant for this system to be the main one, so I cannot be blamed if it feels weird. In my story, the main character had a very intuitive and easy to understand path to power, without any numbers at all. Numbers and attribute were just for me to better visualize characters and compare them to each other.
Anyway, it seems that the time for introspection is over. I notice two threads of fates headed toward me become more corporeal. I discard the others and focus on them, allowing me to follow them to a greater range. Further in the distance, I can see a couple NPCs heading my way from what must be the local seat of power. Greenburg.
Level up!
* [Fate Bearer](1-1) -> [Fate Bearer](1-2)
* +2 CHA
I frown. The name Greenburg came naturally to me, though I’m pretty sure I didn’t know it. I search my memories, looking for further oddities or signs of tempering.
Oh. Well, that’s awkward.
I’m the sign of tempering.
It would appear that ULMITA hadn’t specifically prepared a host for me to inhabit, instead she had me effectively take over an NPC. There’s a whole short life in there.
No, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that Amet actually wasn’t an NPC but a playable character.