"This is my favourite flower. In Draconian, we call it liva, the flower that reflects the sun. I like it because of how contradictory it is," a small dragonkin with thin blue scales said, holding an egg in her talons. She was lying on top of a nest made entirely of liva flowers. "In the dark, these flowers are poisonous to most mortals, but in the sun, they shine bright and emit life energy that rejuvenates the stamina of mortals. Isn't that fascinating?"
The egg shook, and she smiled, knowing that he could hear her, but then her smile disappeared when it started again. The essence connecting her to the egg flared up, and abruptly, karma was drained from her body, nourishing the egg. It wouldn't be too long now, she knew. The karma-attenuance was near, and her child would be born. She could feel it, from the millions of karma she used to have, she was now only left with a few thousand. She bit her lip and cradled the egg close to her chest, even as it continued to drain her karma.
"I wonder what kind of person you will become, my son. Will you take after me, or your father? Honestly, I don't think that's good on either side," Zindiphaveskka said with a pained chuckle. "When I looked into your future, I saw that your destiny was obscured by impenetrable darkness. I saw that, like all demigods, your cursed karma would be your greatest weakness. But I also saw in my vision that you may be able to overcome it, and find your way to the apex of transcendence unharmed if you choose to stand by the sun."
She had an idea what her vision meant, and she could not help the tears that plagued her weak body as she held that egg. She was frail and dying, a fate that she had been made to choose, giving up all her power for her son. "My master... please go to him, he will take care of you, I know it. Even though he hates your father, I know Master will." More tears escaped her as she thought of her master, how she missed the constant presence of his essence within her, but-
"He cannot hear you," a voice boomed all over the domain, and she trembled.
She could feel the essence of The Demon Reaper overflowing. He was finally here, which meant that it was almost time. "Aapep, let me say goodbye to him, please. Just one last time, I need to apologise to my master," she begged.
The wrath in The Demon Reaper's essence nearly choked her as it filled the entire domain. "Even after all this time, Zindiphaveskka?" he asked. "You still won't choose me? I gave you everything you wanted. I turned my domain into a nest so you could be comfortable! I am here, always by your side!"
Zindiphaveskka cradled the egg in her hands. This was a conversation the two of them had over a thousand times, and she did not want to fight over The Sun God again. Aapep didn't understand the bond between a Visage and her god. "Please, Aapep, I'm begging you. I don't want him to resent the child because of you. I-"
"No!" The Demon Reaper's voice was filled with power. "No one is allowed to look inside my domain today. Only I am here. Only I will see your last moments, and only I will bear witness to the birth of my son."
He approached her in the form of a demonkin, and sat down next to her. Gently, he lifted her head and placed it on his lap. His hand cradled the scales on her neck, soothing her. She closed her eyes, grateful that she was not alone right now, although she would never admit it. Pouring out her feelings for him was useless, she was dying after all.
More karma drained from Zindiphaveskka's body and she clutched the egg even tighter. She no longer had the energy to cry. "Can I at least name him?" she asked, looking up at him.
"He will be raised by your mother among the dragonkin, so she may choose a different name for him. But I will let her know of your wish," he said, voice gentle, with a hint of excitement. She could feel that he had let go of his anger and was only being so agreeable because he was happy that he was having his first trueborn son in a thousand years. Would he even miss her when she was gone?
"Livaeskka," she said. "The flower that reflects the sun and exudes darkness." The egg shook again, pleased with the name. "Livaeskka, you must always stand by the sun, you must, so you can live a long life. That is all that your mother wants for you."
The egg shook once more and began to drain the last of his mother's karma.
----------------------------------------
[Date: 11/04/12 (MDCCLXXIII) DW.T.T]
Liv reached the capital city of Tishiba's Peak and walked towards the grand temples of the Deiwos Clan. He checked the time on his comcer interface. He had about an hour until the deities could offer Sponsorship Challenges to him.
It felt strange for him to be walking freely, unchained, through a safe zone filled with mortals. For most of his life, he observed the mortals, what was considered normal for them, how they interacted, how they fought, and how easy it was for them to get along and trust each other, and Liv learned.
So, when he found himself free for the first time in his life during the tutorial, he put those lessons to good use and pretended to be a normal, stand-up guy. He even managed to make a friend! He’d hidden it well, during the tutorial, but Liv had never had one of those before. In fact, after the incident, he had not been allowed anywhere near mortals except for his grandmother, his den-brother and The Living Wing’s dragonkin priestess.
The person he chose to be in the tutorial was the person he was working towards becoming. His ideal. Pretender that he was, he hoped that if he faked it long enough, he would become a dependable friend and trusted leader. No matter how hard he tried, though, sometimes Liv could feel the demon inside him bubbling to the surface, struggling to stay chained up.
Finally, Liv reached his destination. The thirteen temples of The Deiwos Clan were all majestic in both appearance and karma, but only one had Liv’s attention. If he was going to contact The Sun God, then it made sense for him to do so from the temple of a god of fire or light.
As the Tower Administrators, only the Deiwos Clan were allowed to have temples in The Deiwos Tower, all other deities could have shrines to them, but no temples. The thirteen temples graced nearly every single Floor, and if a player wished to visit the domain of their non-Deiwos-Clan deity, then they had to do it from one of the temples of the Deiwos Clan, and their deity would pay karma to the clan.
Since the Challenge Embargo was ending today, there were a lot of people at the temples, but Liv still stood out effortlessly. Wherever he went, people stared at him with awe, recognising him from his high renown. They pointed at him and whispered with admiration in their eyes.
Liv gave two owlkin women a gracious smile and waved at them. One of them trembled, and the other stumbled. He covered the distance in one stride, catching her before she fell. "Are you alright?" he asked gently, helping her straighten up. Unable to form a coherent sentence, she only nodded. The people watching swooned, whispering about what a gentleman Liv was.
Even though he wanted to leave her on the ground and snap at her for slowing him down, Liv made sure she was steady before continuing on his way. If he denied the dark thoughts, perhaps they would slowly disappear from his mind. He felt a derisive snort within his karma, no doubt his father was mocking him for not being true to himself.
He ignored it, and continued on his way, attracting more stares. Being the centre of attention was not new to Liv. Every month, since he was a child, his grandmother had paraded him across all the enclaves of the lesser demonkin serving her mighty dragonkin nest. She had touted him as the spawn of the devil, the root of all their misfortune.
Granted, back then, their gazes were not filled with admiration but hatred. His grandmother always found a way to make his life worse, as if it were not bad enough that she gave him a name that mocked the one his mother had wanted for him, and marked him as an outsider among the dragonkin. Not that a Veskka name would have made him feel like he belonged with them, seeing as he grew up locked away.
A sun elf priest in red robes greeted Liv outside the entrance to the temple of The Red Flaming Blade of Menika, people stepping out of his way as he approached him. "May the Blessing of Picciari be with you," the priest said with a bow.
Liv wanted to tell him to get out of his way because he did not need assistance and knew what he wanted, but he did not say that. Instead, Liv clasped his hands together and spoke. "Thank you for your Blessing, priest. I would like to perform the Cantadicio Trial. Please lead me to the ritual altar," he said without wasting time.
A stunned silence filled the entire area outside the temple, shock visible on the faces of everyone who heard him. Immediately, Liv's vision was obscured by messages from multiple deities expressing their surprise and shock at his boldness. He felt even more eyes start to watch him, deities from other Towers had no doubt sensed what he was trying to do and were here to observe.
Liv nearly stumbled but kept steady when an angry voice roared inside his head.
<
Liv ignored his father and followed the flustered priest into the temple and a wave of heat washed over him. It wasn't overpowering, but welcoming. The walls of the temple were decorated with beautiful mosaics, depicting epic battles fought by The Flaming Blade, and in them, her blue feathers seemed to dance with the flames in her red hair. The ceiling above the temple was a sky ablaze with symbols of orange and gold.
His eyes were drawn to the large number of paintings and statues all over the grand hall. Carved from precious incidium, the statues stood tall and proud, their eyes following Liv's every move. Even in here, he could feel the soft whispers of the deities watching him, wondering if he was worthy of the trial he wanted to take, especially his father's indignant gaze.
The light of countless candles cast shadows upon the temple's marble floor, leading Liv's gaze towards the magnificent altar at the heart of the temple. The priest bowed and stepped back to allow him to climb the stairs towards the altar.
The offering vessel sat on top of the wings of the goddess' statue as Liv approached it. Normally, only priests Blessed by The Flaming Blade were allowed to perform rituals on her altar, but the Cantadicio Trial required that the one to be tested perform the ritual.
From his inventory, Liv brought out three items: the mana core from an Elite Level 13 Flame Salamander corrupted boss monster that he had slain yesterday, the precious sap from a sun-kissed river tree, and the most important item, the most precious thing he owned, a liva flower from his mother's garden. He had received it as a reward when he had helped his father win his divine war a few years ago. While carrying him, his mother had lived in The Demon Reaper's domain, and there she had planted a garden of her favourite flowers to pass the time.
Liv's hand shook as he hesitated, his heart sinking. This was the only flower from his mother's garden he had, so it meant everything to him. He could only hope that was enough of a sacrifice to get The Sun God's attention. The flower had been preserved inside his inventory, and he had not been able to access his inventory during the tutorial as The Unrivalled regulated how much a player could bring into the tutorial.
He received a new prompt from the system.
[The Deiwos Clan has lifted the Challenge Embargo on all the players of tutorial batch #4 for all the deities operating in the Deiwos Tower.]
[Congratulations! You have (298) Sponsorship Challenge Offers from (131) gods!]
[Congratulations! You have (7685) Sponsorship Challenge Offers from (3836) constellations!]
[System Note:
You can only view a maximum of (9) Sponsorship Challenges from (3) different deities.
You can only choose to accept (1) Sponsorship Challenge at a time.
You have (13) minutes to accept or reject a Sponsorship Challenge.
If you fail to complete the Sponsorship Challenge in the allotted time, you will be banned from accepting any new Challenges for (26) days.
Good Luck, Player. Choose Wisely.]
[Acheivement! Congratulations! You have received the most Sponsorship Offers of all the players from Tutorial Batch #4. You are automatically added to the Most Sponsorship Challenge Offers Leaderboard for Tutorial Batch #4.
+510Karma]
[Acheivement! Congratulations! You have received the (4th) most Sponsorship Offers of all the players from The 1773rd Deiwos Tower. You are automatically added to the overall Most Sponsorship Challenge Offers Leaderboard for The 1773rd Deiwos Tower.
+752 Karma]
Liv took a deep breath and dismissed the notification. He poured the sap onto the offering vessel and then dropped the mana core on top of it. Once that was done, Liv lifted the golden flower and dropped it into the mixture as well. The smoke from the incense burning all over the temple swirled above him as he placed his hand into the mixture as well. It felt like magiscril on his skin, and no scales could save him from the pain. It ate away the blood from his veins, mixing it with the offering, but pain was something that Liv had lived with his entire life, so he did not flinch.
"My name is Liv'Kungsadu, the only son of Zindiphaveskka, and I open my heart to you. Neutriarch of Fire, allow me to pass through the Gate, and take your Sponsorship Challenge!" he prayed. There was silence for a moment, and Liv wondered if his plea had been heard. To gods like that, sincerity was the most important thing, and what could be more sincere than sacrificing the only thing he had of his mother? The ritual stopped sucking blood from Liv's hand and the liquid inside the vessel transformed into letters.
[What is it that you desire?]
"Power and control," Liv declared with confidence. That was all he had ever wanted in his whole life, the essence of his conviction.
Once again, the liquid transformed and this time, it formed the image of a door that kept growing in size on top of the altar until it was big enough for him to pass through. A prompt from the system covered his vision in the next moment.
Deity Challenge Level Challenge Reward Time Limit Amun-Ra: The Sun God Hell
Walk along the straight path to power.
(Solo Challenge)
Sponsorship Contract
???
???
[Accept Sponsorship Challenge
Yes/No?]
His prayer had been heard and The Sun God had spared him a glance and was offering him the path to power.
<
"Yes," Liv responded to the prompt at once, and the door in front of him became corporeal. "Sorry, Father. I am my mother's son after all."
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
He walked towards the door and opened it, ignoring the anger in his father's essence, and then he stepped into a brand new realm. The scent of sulphur clung to the air and the ground rumbled beneath his feet. Bubbling volcanic mountains surrounded him, their fiery lava flowing like rivers alongside a rocky path in the centre.
This was the path, he knew, that led to power, and he was going to walk it no matter the challenges that lay ahead. Liv placed a foot on top of the rocky path, and he felt the heat beneath his feet rising. He could not see what was up ahead except for volcanic mountains, but the trial only required him to walk straight ahead.
The intense heat in the air pressed against his body as if he were not wearing armour, but he paid it no mind, his endurance forged through years of torment. Even without that, Liv’s physical body and stamina were already high thanks to the natural strength of a dragonkin and the limitless aptitude of a demigod.
Step by step, Liv walked the rocky path, his feet steady despite the fear of stepping on top of the scorching lava. The rocks beneath his feet were burning away his boots, the leather melting into his skin, but even that pain did not stop him from walking. For a long time, he continued down that path.
His feet were now bare, and in direct contact with the blistering rocks. The skin began to sizzle and he grimaced, looking back. He had no idea how long he had been walking, but it felt like hours. He activated this Dragon Scale Armour skill and the scales wrapped around his feet, but he knew he would not be able to keep the skill up forever.
Liv pressed forward, the passage of time blurring in his exhausted mind. Had he been walking for a full day? Just as his feet adjusted to the constant burning pain and the journey became a little easier, suddenly, bursts of lava erupted from the mountain ahead of him, raining droplets of liquid fire down on him. He activated the dragon scales all over his body, but even with his high stamina, he lost health every time a single droplet dropped on him.
Hours turned into what felt like days, his steps growing slower, his breath becoming ragged. Hunger and thirst gnawed at him, the lack of sustenance taking its toll on his weakening body. If only he could rest for a little while before continuing his journey, but there was nowhere to lay down his head on this path.
Alone, as he had always been, Liv's throat grew parched.
"Are you tired and thirsty, Liv?" a voice asked, startling him, and he looked up to find that he had reached a fork in the rocky path, a choice between continuing on the straight path or taking a left turn. Standing on the left turn, wings folded behind his back and red scales covering his entire body, was his den-brother, Maipsatenkka. A warm smile graced his face, as it was the first time he had come to visit Liv’s prison cell when they were children.
"Brother..." Liv said, looking up at him in disbelief, his face weary. Was this real?
Maipsatenkka held out his hand and offered him a waterskin, tempting Liv to quench his thirst. “Come to me, fravhn, drink. Rest for a while, you do not need to suffer like this.”
As if by strange magic, on his den-brother's path, a river of cool water flowed, and trees were alive with shade. It would give him the relief he needed from the burning pain. Every part of Liv's body screamed for rest, every blister begged for the coolness of the river, and his heart yearned to go to the first person who had ever cared for him. But Liv knew that there was no way this was real, it had to be an illusion, a cruel trick of the trial to lull him into complacency, because after the incident, the fondness on Maipsatenkka's face disappeared, and he began to look at him with anger, hatred, and disgust. Maipsatenkka now treated him like the demon he was.
Liv ignored the illusion of the one person who had shown him that there was more to the multiverse than the uncontrollable karma, more than the awful musty cell deprived of mana, more than the relentless dark influence from his father's voice, and allowed Liv to open his heart.
"Strange," Maipsatenkka's voice lost its gentleness. "You will not accept something so small from me, yet you took everything from me."
Liv did not look back. "I'm sorry, fravhn," he said, walking forward. Yes, the person who patiently taught him how to say brother in Balaeden, the language of the demonkin, was gone, and all that was left was the Dragonslayer. Even though his heart ached for him, Liv ignored his den-brother and continued on the torturous straight path.
The atmosphere in this volcanic mountain region did not change, so there was no way to count the days, but Liv started to feel like he had been walking without food or resting in the constant heat for what felt like weeks. His armour had long since melted into his skin from the heat the longer he walked, and hunger pressed against Liv's stomach.
He constantly had to remind himself that he would endure this Trial as he had endured countless others. Giving up was not in his nature. The darkness was not unfamiliar to him; he had spent his days as a child surrounded by its oppressive embrace. The true torment lay in the loneliness of his existence after he had lost the companionship of his den-brother. Abandoned, he suffered back then, like he did now.
After some time, he reached a second fork in the rocky path to power. A demonkin appeared on that path, holding a platter of freshly cooked venison. He stood on top of fresh, dewy grass, and the smell of roasted meat tortured Liv's nose. There was a bed and a blanket as well, next to the demonkin. But Liv recognised that this was no ordinary demonkin, and it was no illusion.
"You are hungry, my son. Come to me, and I will give you a meal and rest," the demonkin said, gesturing to the food.
This appearance of his father was real, and he was truly trying to convince Liv to break away from The Sun God's path and into his. Of course, Liv knew better than to accept anything from his father; nothing from him came without a price. He forced his feet to continue moving, disregarding the temptation.
"Why do you keep rejecting me? I will protect you and give you power," The Demon Reaper said, his voice echoing throughout the entire area.
Liv stopped walking, and spoke bitterly, "Is that what you promised my mother too?"
"I cared for Zindiphaveskka. You blame me for everything, but she chose to have you, despite knowing what it would do to her. She followed her Obsession to the end. I never lied to her, or made any promises that I could not keep," he said, an emotion Liv could not decipher in his voice.
Liv shook his head in disbelief. How could The Demon Reaper make such a claim when his one choice had destroyed Liv's entire childhood?
"You broke the deal you made with the Veskka Nest. My grandmother took out your betrayal on me! The demonkin who worshipped and prayed to you took out their anger with you on me! I bore the consequences of your actions!" Liv screamed. "Don't you dare stand there and lie to my face. I will never follow your path! I will always stand by the sun like my mother wanted!"
The Demon Reaper's form flickered in and out of existence. "If you choose him over me like she did, I will make sure that you suffer for it. Do not think that just because you are my son, I will not be willing to punish you."
"Do your worst, Father," Liv said, turning back to the straight path.
"What changed?" his father asked him. "You came to me once before, and I gave you purpose and strength. Why do you reject me now?"
Liv didn't turn back. At that time, he had lost control of his power and wanted comfort in his father's arms, but now he knew that was something he would never get from him. No, back then Liv had no choice but to go to him since his mind was in disarray after the incident, because he had needed his father's anchoring to control his aura and prevent the karma inside him from imploding. Once he got what he wanted, Liv rejected being his father's Chosen One, and sacrificed his levels and stats to be reset by the system so that he could take part in the tutorial and enter the Tower naturally.
"I was just using you the same way you used my mother. Now you know how it feels," he said, not stopping walking.
"Liv'Kungsadu! Come back here!"
Liv ignored The Demon Reaper's anger and continued walking, determined to never turn back. Yet, exhaustion took its toll. Liv stumbled and fell, his body succumbing to the searing pain of lava seeping into his skin. He screamed, but nothing came out of his mouth.
"I refuse to fall here," he whispered to himself, his mind taking control of his weakened body. He desired power, control, and a life of glory and significance. If he wanted to stand above those who looked down on him, if he wanted to trample his grandmother's kingdom again, even if it seemed impossible, he had to keep going.
Why? The thought filtered into his head. Why was he subjecting himself to this trial? Was power truly worth the suffering and torment he endured? Could this Obsession with power, as it had for countless dragonkin before him, ultimately be his undoing?
Was seeking revenge against his father worth all this suffering?
He pressed on, and the scorching heat of the volcanoes mercilessly burned his skin as his sense of self dwindled further. Thirsty, exhausted, and sweltering in this unforgiving heat, he wondered when respite would come. His scales were burning out as his stamina became too low to sustain the skill. If not for his high fire resistance and high physical body resistance, he would have died days ago.
He had lived with pain and torture since he was a child, he knew it well, but perhaps it was time to surrender and release himself from this perpetual agony. Although he could not feel anything beyond the heat of the volcanoes, the echoes of his victims' screams replayed in his mind. The corpses he had left in the wake of that incident haunted his every step. He could see the look of horror on their faces when he had taken their lives, the woman who had guided him in the Duat Tower, the demonkin who begged him for mercy, his den-brother's lover whose life he had callously extinguished—each life he took was evidence of his insatiable hunger for power.
Was this how they felt when he took their lives? Weak and alone?
Liv staggered again, nearly falling as his thoughts bled together. He had been walking for what felt like a year, and exhaustion overtook him. Power? Why should he suffer for something like that? He was hungry, and his body was falling apart, so why did he have to keep walking?
All he longed for now was an end to this trial; he wanted an escape from the torment that bound his very essence. He needed to get out of here. He wanted someone to save him, anyone but his father. He was still in the Deiwos Tower and many gods wanted to sponsor him. It didn't have to be The Sun God. The Deiwos Clan could pull him out of this trial.
Liv closed his eyes, reaching out to the Deiwos Clan, he prayed for them to save him from the trial, and immediately as he opened his eyes, another path opened to his right.
On the right path stood two beings, a phoenix with blue wings and flaming red hair, with the face of a woman, and a thunderbird with black wings and a man's face. Instinctively, he knew these were the forms of the two leaders of the Deiwos clan, The Flaming Blade and The Lackadaisical Herald.
"The road is not long now, child. You can still make it,” the Flaming Blade said, her voice gentle.
“Please save me. I can’t do this anymore,” Liv croaked out. He was willing to bow down to them if that was what it took.
“You can come to our path if that is truly what you want, we will give you shelter and comfort,” The Flaming Blade promised, holding out her hand.
Liv dragged his feet towards her, but The Lackadaisical Herald stood in the middle of the road blocking his path. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.
Liv stumbled, but The Lackadaisical Herald caught him. "You have seen his Spiritual Paths, so remember, if you give up now, he will be disappointed in you."
"Disappointed? Who?" Liv did not think there was anyone in the multiverse who cared enough about him to be disappointed with his failures.
"Do you honestly think that he will agree to stand by your right hand if you can't even complete a trial as simple as this?" The Lackadaisical Herald asked once more. "Langa will not follow an ineffectual weakling who cannot live up to his convictions; I will not allow it."
Langa.
His friend. His only friend. Liv's eyes snapped awake, and his mind started to clear. He had Chosen Langa to be his anchor, but how could he expect his friend to fight with and for him if he wasn't willing to burn his own life for power? He had to be incredibly powerful for someone as strong as Langa was destined to become according to his Spiritual Paths, to agree to stand with him. Liv straightened up and turned away from the real illusions of the two gods.
He would continue walking the path to power until the end.
*
When Liv continued walking on the straight path, he did not hear the conversation between the essences of the two gods he had left behind.
"Why did you encourage him to go on?" Picciari asked, staring at the young demigod staggering away. "If one of us sponsored him, we might have been able to gain the upper hand against The Demon Reaper."
“Come on, Picciari, you and I combined couldn't give him a fraction of the power he would get from The Sun God,” Adtonifulmin said, shaking his head. “Besides, if he completes the trial and becomes bound to The Sun God, that will be excellent for our clan. I’m sure we'll get an amazing reward for a Neutriarch being active in our Tower.”
Thinking of the clan’s status being elevated, Picciari nodded enthusiastically, her phoenix form flickering in and out of focus. Her essence was spreading out, looking at the other trials of The Neutriarchs, but all of the ones she could see were taking place across multiple Towers belonging to the higher-ranked pantheons. “If he succeeds, I should give him a mountain of karma.”
Adtonifulmin snorted, flapping his black wings, “I doubt The Unrivalled will allow you to bribe a mortal.”
Picciari’s form shrugged, knowing how strict the system could be about rewards, especially karma. But there were always ways to bend the rules. Then she frowned, fixing her eyes on the thunderbird next to her. “Since when are you concerned with the growth of the clan? Didn’t you say that it was 'boring hard work that only self-hating nekants like Tirio'Lakasa enjoy'?”
He looked away, choosing not to respond, but she could feel it in his essence, the real reason why he was concerned about this demigod’s strength. “Is it because he is tied to the fate of the child you're watching right now? The one currently completing your Sponsorship Challenge?”
“So what if he is?” Atonifulmin asked defiantly, eyes blazing with lightning as he fixed them on her. “I do not want my Visage to walk beside a mortal who cannot endure such insignificant torture.”
“Visage? Not even Avatar, at least?” Picciari was so exasperated that the magnitude of her essence, that was watching over a thousand different worlds, converged at this one point. She looked at the unstable form of her friend. “Come to your senses, Adtonifulmin. I keep telling you this, but because you have so few bonded mortals, you get too attached to your bonded! Hell, you sometimes get too attached to your constellations’ bonded! You cannot handle a Visage.“
“You know why I can’t have too many bonded mortals!” Adtonifulmin snapped.
Picciari, however, was undeterred, as her point still stood. “Yes I do, and despite that, you are willing to subject this child that you claim to care about to your master's influence?”
”He’s the only one from his batch that I Chose! I will not let him be consumed, I will protect him. If you think so little of me, then what was the point of our agreement?” Anger was being emitted in waves from the essence of Adtonifulmin.
“Calm yourself. I did not mean it maliciously. I worry about your existence because you’re not careful of who you tie it to,” Picciari explained. "You follow every one of your whims and that's dangerous. A Visage's actions reflect on you, and it's unclear where the Brand will lead this child's fate. You know full well that The Great Quartenity are waiting for you to step out of line just once, giving them the excuse they need to end your existence."
“My existence has always been dictated only by me. If those hypocrites could end it, they would have done so 90 000 years ago," Adtonifulmin said dismissively, as if this were a trivial matter. "Langa is a gifted child, I enjoy watching him and watching over him. He has so much potential, Picciari. I want to take his hand and guide him on the path he wants to walk. He will finish the Challenge soon. I can feel his determination to change and grow. Besides perhaps The Unrivalled, I am that child’s best choice when dealing with his brand, because I suffered through what is coming for him. Even with my master in my head, I was alone, so I will make sure that he isn't.”
“Adtonifulmin, you’re projecting," Picciari said as gently as she could. "I don’t think this is good for you. You need to let yourself heal and stop trying to push the pain away. Even if you treat your Visage the way you wish that your master had treated you, your power could break that child and-“
“My apologies, Picciari. Langa is praying to me. He is struggling with the Challenge and needs me to let him know that I am watching over him. Please excuse me,” Adtonifulmin said, and his form vanished.
"Adt-" Picciari sighed. She knew he could have easily watched over the child while they spoke. Adtonifulmin was just running away again, like he always did. He had lied too, if he wanted to, it would not be hard for him to bestow a player with power equal to or greater than that given by a Neutriarch.
Adtonifulmin made her uneasy sometimes, all that power, barely contained in such a broken and volatile vessel. She spread her essence once more, left a part of it to watch the demigod's trial, and returned to her domain. She was his friend, and would always protect him, even from himself.