This chapter didn’t feel right being split up. It’s like 3x as long as a normal chapter though, so be warned. I would also suggest comparing this to chapter 30 for Leigh’s system unlock to get an idea for what is or isn’t normal.
P.S There’s a reason people know what the gods look like well enough to build statues and make murals.
The last few days, even the last few hours, before my system unlock seem to limp along at a crawl. With nothing left but anticipation, I decide to work off some of my stress by heading to the edge of the village to get some practice in with Kite. My new minion and I don’t have the same connection as I have with Cain or even Sigil. I have yet to be able to view his status page, and likely can’t do so until I have full system access.
It won’t be long now, so the roadblock is far less frustrating than it would be otherwise. I’ve never really considered just how ubiquitous system aid can really be. Trying to do relatively simple tasks, like tap into a sensory relay, when you’ve never done such a thing fully manual before is more than a little complicated. In fact, it reminds me of my attempts to unlock the [Mana Crafting] skill by manipulating mana currents manually.
The progress is relatively slow, and the day before my birthday I finally manage a momentary glimpse through Kite’s eyes. The entire village spills out in a single mass, reminding me on the eve of my celebration just how small my world has been until this point. I’m almost as excited to be leaving this place as I am to have system access. The wretched little town has stifled my growth for far too long. Though I’ll have to make sure to come back and visit Mom and Dad.
That being said, the day passes idly, and I struggle to find fitful sleep before finally resigning myself to another [Sleep] spell just to make the morning come quicker. When I awake the next morning to find my system unlock time counting down in only a handful of hours, my excitement immediately bursts. I rush from my bedroom into the kitchen to find Mom and Dad waiting for me with bright smiles.
Now that Leigh has repaired most of her family home and forge, she doesn’t stay with us much at all anymore so I’ve been able to reclaim my bedroom. Though I do still occasionally sleep in the cellar with Cain, Sigil, and most recently Kite.
“Good morning!” Neia calls out as I enter the room, giving a broad gesture to the table she’s set with all manner of celebratory foods. Oat porridge and fresh honey, sliced fruits Dad must have gotten from Alberack, even little baked pastries and tarts I haven’t seen Mom make before. Sugar is a rare delicacy this far from any major city, so having more natural sweets is our replacement.
The anxious energy humming through my veins has me quite hungry this morning, so I dig in without waiting. Dad clears his throat to get my attention and begins explaining the daily agenda while I shovel down food.
“Your system should unlock today right around noon, so most of the party is planned in the morning. Once you’re done eating get dressed and cleaned up, and we’ll head into town.” He commands, and I nod silently between bites, too happy to finally be released from my torment to care much about parties and events.
I finish eating my fill as quickly as I can manage, and wash up enough to satisfy mom and dad before getting dressed to leave. My outfit for the ‘big day’ isn’t really all that special. I pull on some clean clothes and my most comfortable boots as usual, but make sure to swing Mom’s cape around my shoulder as well.
Once fully dressed, I stride out of my room and follow mom and dad out of the house towards the village center. Just like when Leigh had her system unlock, a small platform stage has been constructed in the middle of town, and to my surprise most of the village is already milling about. I hadn’t expected as many people to come, but maybe I underestimated how big of an event system unlocks can be in small villages. Or maybe all these fools know to ingratiate themselves after all.
The next several hours are spent mingling with various villagers, talking about my expectations and hopes for the system unlock. Eventually I run out of ways to tell people I want to be a mage and that I’m planning on leaving the village, so with dad’s help I settled on ‘adventurer’. It seems to be a catch all term for mercenaries and travelers. In Teraq guilds had long since been replaced by government bureaus, and the draft to fight the dragons dominated all high level combat classers.
There isn’t nearly as much of a feast for lunch as mother had prepared for breakfast this morning, but the entire village has brought forth snacks and games. The entire occasion is just an excuse to party apparently. It doesn’t bother me though, I’m finally going to be able to put all this weakness behind me.
Soon my system unlock timer ticks down far enough to be counted in minutes rather than hours. I quietly make my way over to Mom and Dad, and let them both know. Word quickly spreads throughout the village, and the crowd starts to move for the stage. When I finally notice a countdown in singular minutes, I ascend the stage myself, telling dad the exact time as I walk past.
I crest the top of the stairs to an uproar of applause. The entire village cheered loudly, and much like they did with Leigh’s system unlock, once given a signal everyone started counting down the seconds until I could finally level up.
The chanting reaches zero and my vision fades. I don’t remember much about system unlock the first time around, I was too young I guess. All sound and sight falls away, and I fall with it. The feeling of vertigo is intense, and a sudden chill washes over me. I can’t move, can’t speak, can’t even draw a breath, for that moment I feel the clutch of death for a second time.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
A whisper, distant and soft, cuts through the silence. There is no echo to the voice, hardly any timbre at all actually. It sounds more like a memory of speech than actual words.
“I have established the connection, mortal, but I do not speak to you willingly.” the voice spits out, each word dripping in disdain. When they finish speaking to me, the void drops away, and I am staring death himself in the face. Specifically, Ydros the god of death, his skeletal form clad in a tattered robe invokes a feeling of existential dread I have never seen before. I stand in what is no doubt his divine realm but being unable to move I can’t turn my head to search the shadows that surround me.
“Undeath itself is not a crime, yet you still flaunt everything I work for. The order of the world, the transition of death. You are not undead, yet neither are you truly living. You disgust me.” The god speaks, admonishing my very existence. When he finishes, another voice booms through the darkness, and half the space is suddenly alight with color and raw mana. From the swirling colors steps a mage of pure magnificent presence. His eyes are deep swirling starlight, his hands hold raw novas of power.
“My elder brother is correct. You have meddled in things beyond your knowledge, and had it not been for sheer stupid luck, your souls would have been ripped apart.” Caais the god of magic explains as his own divine realm crashes into the realm of the dead. My mind is racing with excuses and explanation, and for the first time in many years I feel surprisingly clear headed. My train of thought grinds to a halt, however, when he says souls. Plural.
“Neither of us has any particular inclination to speak with you, and truthfully we are far too busy trying to repair the damage you’ve done to waste much more time here. We do a kindness for our children, not for you.” Lord Caais speaks with finality, and with a wave of his hand my body returns to my control.
I collapse against the sudden change in pressure, momentarily experiencing a strange double vision, and both of the elder gods step away. As they turn their backs though, from each of their shadows step two other figures.
Lord Ydros leaves, and from behind him steps a well dressed nobleman, long since dead and decayed. As a necromancer myself I immediately recognize him through the exposed bones and rotting flesh. Xytros, god of undeath. To his side, stepping into the space from Lord Caais’ side is an ancient crone, sneering and haggard. While less familiar to me, I pride myself on knowledge of the magical arts, she must be Ketune the goddess of curses and dark magic.
“Ugh, this should be good if the big shots got involved,” a voice laughs from beside me. Not just any voice though, my voice. My old voice. With a shaking gaze, I turn my head to the side to see him sitting on the ground beside me. Myself. Andras Telmire Gregori. He slowly returns my gaze with a similar note of confusion, and as our eyes meet I am wracked with immense head splitting pain. Andras doubles over, no doubt experiencing the same.
“Uh uh uh, that won’t do” Lady Ketune laughs, waving a hand and separating us by several feet. “It’s best if you don’t look at each other and don’t talk to each other if you still want to be sane at the end of this” the crone cackles in delight.
“Let us do the talking, and we will answer your questions as best we can” Xytros interjects, a mild look of amusement across his own, somewhat rotting, face.
“Let me just start by saying, thank you for taking my bargain. I’ve been itching to unleash the curse of pain for a while now and getting to use it on a Teraqi no less. Ha!” Ketune continues to screech in her grating voice.
“You’ve developed a new form of undeath, or something very close to it, and pioneered incredibly potent reactive soul magic. To say you’ve gotten our interest is an understatement.” Xytros slowly explains, occasionally having to pop his jaw back into place when it dislocates.
“There’s a ‘but’ coming isn’t there.” I call out, or I guess Andras calls out. The me across the room in the adult body.
“But you royally fucked half the system code and nearly tore your own soul in half!” Ketune shouts, finding the entire concept entertaining enough to elicit another cackle.
“So why am I, or rather, why are we two separate entities now?” I ask reverently to the two gods, slowly shifting into a deferential kneel. Andras starts to speak, but the gods both glare at him immediately and his voice becomes a muffled echo from across the room. I feel very out of breath for a moment, and when Andras quiets down we take a sharp inhale simultaneously.
Did the gods shut his mouth literally?
“If Andras Gregori hadn’t sent himself back in time, or technically before he sent his soul back in time, Vincent Stesk already existed. Already lived and died centuries before Andras. Then he goes back, finds a body with high compatibility, and tries to take over.” Lord Xytros starts explaining my own past to me, and my confusion is slowly growing into fear. Souls. Plural.
“Then his soul arrives to little baby Vincent Stesk, and half his shit gets fucked in a millisecond. Two souls, one body, and no system buffer to fix the errors. Your memories get all jumbled up, you get two halves of a personality instead of one, and enough mana for a small army of apprentice magi” Ketune takes over the explanation, and the room seems to whither as her humor is replaced with a stern tone.
“Vincent” Xytros turns to me, tilting his head in pity. “You’ve done nothing wrong, but you’re also not you anymore. Neither of you are. Your souls aren’t whole, they’re both cracked and fractured, and slowly merging into one to compensate for all the missing parts.”
“FUCKING TAINT OF THE ARCHMAGE. CIRUNES BLESSED BEARD-” Andras starts to scream obscenities, and rather than muffle him again, the gods merely wave a hand and he stops, fully. No moving, no speaking, no breathing. He can only watch and listen.
“There’s nothing else we can do for you, we’ve tried to help where we can out of sheer curiosity, but our influence only goes so far. Everything else from this point on is up to you.” The gods speak simultaneously, putting an end cap on the conversation and dismissing us. Dismissing me.
They clap their hands together and in a rush of pain and power, I fall back to the material world. Met by the cheering of the village, and a soft Ding!. The feeling of my two souls colliding and merging with one another is excruciating, though the blood pumping in my ears keeps me from knowing if I scream audibly or not. The air is knocked from my lungs and I fall to my knees.