Chapter 5

Mercy gasped, her head breaking the surface of the ocean. Wild waves thrashed her about. A sharp cold penetrated her body, chilling her to the bone. Her arms and legs flailed in a losing battle trying to keep her afloat. She couldn't swim, and knew that sooner than later the ocean depths would claim her.

Mercy was dreaming. She was certain of that fact. Though rather than a dream, it would be more accurate to call it a nightmare. In either case it wasn't real. Mercy had never been to the ocean before, much less a lake. No, it was all in her mind. Still, that fact alone did little to assuage her anxiety in that moment. Especially not as she felt something grab her foot and pull her down.

It pulled her deep down at unfathomable speeds. She tried to hold her breath, but after a certain depth she just couldn't any longer. It burned and left her with no choice but to inhale. Water rushed into her lungs, and she began to flail and panic even more. Then something, the same thing that grabbed her foot, reached out and wrapped around her wrists, and other foot. They pulled at her limbs nearly to the point where she felt they might be torn off. She wanted to scream but was too busy drowning. Before the darkness crept in and consumed her she saw a glow in the depths. Bleary eyed, she couldn't exactly make out what she was seeing, but it felt as if something were staring back at her.

Mercy gasped. She launched her self up into a sitting position. She sucked in breath after breath, coughing and hacking when she took in more than her body could handle. Taking a minute she panted, and began looking around wildly. She noticed she was in a room, which was a nice change from the middle of nowhere. Yet, as she didn't know where she was exactly it was little comfort, especially as she seemed to be naked, save for some bandaging.

Nudity was not generally an issue for Mercy. It was one of those quirks that someone raised amongst literal sex fiends tends to get over at a young age. Still that wasn't to say waking up naked in someone else's bed wasn't something to be concerned about.

Mercy swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stood slowly her body full of aches and pains. There was an awkwardness to her movements that had her feeling off. Taking a single step she nearly fell over, and just managed to catch herself by grabbing the nightstand. Taking another breath and steadying herself she tried again with more success. One foot in front of the other she walked, slowly to a near by desk, and chair, that had what looked to be a robe hanging over the top.

Mercy had just managed to pull it on and tie the front when the door to the room opened. A young beast woman, a tiger-kin entered carrying a bowl of water and a wash cloth. She wore a sleeveless training gi that had the symbol of her martial school on the chest. She froze upon seeing Mercy up and about, though quickly fixed her expression. Mercy herself had to blink as for just a second she felt a touch dizzy.

"Oh, you're up. That's good. Wasn't expecting that." she said with a certain twang to her voice. "You were in a bad way when old man Graham picked you up."

"Um, how bad?" Mercy asked.

"The we thought you were dead kind of bad." the woman said with a chuckle. Seeing Mercy's face, she tried to course correct. "Though seeing as you clearly aren't there isn't anything to be worried about. I'm Anna-Claire Marie, but most just call me Ann."

"Um, Mercy."

"Mercy? Whatever for?" Ann asked.

Mercy rolled her eyes. "No, my name, it's Mercy. Mercy Phillips." she said. "Um, where exactly am I?"

"Well, Mercy, you're in Variel." Ann replied with a smile.

"Variel, home of the beast folk." Mercy said, her legs suddenly turning to jelly. She plopped down on to the edge of the bed. "Ok, that's not too bad. It's practically next door to Arcvale. Could have been worse, at least it's not Dovercourt."

"Yes, small mercies for that. To be specific we're at the Tiger clan compound." Ann said chuckling at her own joke, to which Mercy once again rolled her eyes. "Now, then let me take a look at you."

Walking over, Ann took one of Mercy's hands into her own. From there Mercy felt a tingle of energy. It radiated up from her wrist through her veins and then out across the rest of her body. A good deal of the aches and pains she felt vanished, while some were stubborn and dug in. Those ones, Mercy knew would have to heal on their own, assuming of course they ever did.

"Alright, everything's in order, and about as well as it's gonna be from what I can do with my skills. I'm not a dedicated healer. I like punching things too much for that, but I'm quite the dab hand at first aid." Ann said.

"Thanks." Mercy said mulling over somethings, before one particular thought pressed to the front of her mind. "Hey, um any chance of getting my clothes back?"

The answer to that question was a resounding no. For one, when she'd been found, most of her clothes had just about been destroyed, torn to shred, leaving little to salvage. Even the stuff that could, had gotten cut off of her in order to treat her. The only exception was her hat, which had somehow managed to survive the ordeal in near perfect condition. In light of that, Mercy wound up wearing a gi of her own. It was a generic white, and lacking the school emblem. It was the sort of thing given to visitors, and those who had yet to prove themselves enough to admitted as one of the disciples.

Mercy followed Ann through the halls of the shool, as they headed toward the man in charge. As they walked, Mercy took the oportunity to look around. The school had a rather distinct feel to it, and there seemed to be some impressive figures out in the training yard. She'd heard of the place before. A good deal of more martially inclined relatives, including her mother, had mentioned the place. While none of them had been a disciple, as far as she knew, the Tiger school was none the less famous. There were some people that would kill to see what she was seeing.

Ann led them to a pavilion set beneath a ring of trees with pale blue leaves. Set there was a table and chairs, two of which happened to be occupied. One of them by a man she didn't recognize and the other by she did. Upon seeing her grandfather, Mercy did not immediately run over in joy. As a child she might have, but she was no longer a child. As they approached he looked up and caught sight of her, his mouth cresting into a smile.

"Ah, there she is." Arthur Phillips said. "A bit rough for wear, but otherwise in good health considering. You know, when I said go wild, playing around with old Grim isn't what I meant. Still, good to see you in one piece, more or less."

"Hello grandpa." Mercy said. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, visiting an old friend, picking up my wayward granddaughter that almost died. The usual." he said with a smirk, that just about faultered for half a second. He looked to the other old man sitting next to him narrowing his gaze somewhat. "So, kid, how you feeling, and none of that fine nonesense you women like doing. Seriously, two centuries and an apocalypse, and we're still dealing with that shit."

Mercy spotted the man next to her grandfather dip his head a touch.

"Ok, I feel like shit rolled over." Mercy said.

"Sounds about right." the other man said. "Have you checked your status yet?"

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Mercy hadn't. She had yet to check any of the messages waiting for her. It was an action, or rather a lack of action born out of fear. She could sense already that she wouldn't enjoy what the System had to say, and thus had been holding off. Yet, she also sensed that in bringing up the subject, she wouldn't be getting out of it, especially not with her grandfather there. As if to confirm that, Arthur pointed her to one of the chairs next to him. With some heavy reluctance, Mercy walked over and sat down, and once she had pulled up the messages. She started with the one she last noticed before passing out.

[Congratulation! You have successfully bonded with an Primordial Symbian.

* Please select on the following traits:

- Living Armor

- Natural Regeneration

- Unity

* Please note that the Symbian can not be removed.]

Staring at the words, Mercy had to dig through her memories on what was an [Abyssal Symbian]. As best as she could recall, [Symbians] in general were some sort of parasite. Most were benign, or even helpful, assuming it matched the [Symbian] and host were compatible. Otherwise there was a very non-zero chance of death, or worse, turning into one of the [Sinspawn]. As such most people avoided them when possible. Seeing as she apparently successfully bonded with one it seemed she dodged a bullet.

Only to immediately get hit by a train. Going one message back, Mercy felt all the colour drain from her face. She nearly fainted as she read the words on the floating red screen. Not blue but red. Nothing good came from red screens.

[Attention! Due to an abundance of contamination and corruption to the user's mind, body and soul from exposure to certain energies above their tolerance, several aspects have been sundered and/or reset to base values.

* The following aspects have been sundered:

- Class

- Class skills

- Class Spells

- General skills

- Certain racial traits

- Titles

* The following have been reset to base values (1):

- Proficiancies

- Level

- All stats

- Accummilated EXP

* All soul bound items have been consumed to bolster soul to minimal sustainable levels. (Some aspects of the items have been incorporated into the user's being.)]

Mercy took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. It didn't help with anything other than keeping her from screaming out in frustration. Apart of her wanted to cry, but that wouldn't do in front of strangers much less her grandfather. She wouldn't have that getting back to her mother.

"That bad?" Arthur asked.

"It could be better. Could certainly be worse. At least I'm not a Sinspawn." She said. "But, I liked that class, and the stats, and the skills."

Mercy opened her eyes, she looked at her hand. For the first time she noticed the tacky piece of jewelry was gone. It was gone, broken down by the System, she assumed, to bolster her existence, what with it being legendary grade. Reaching into herself she found the same was true for her Grimoire, the Luxuria archive. She felt its absence despite having only had it for a day and change.

"Well, now you have the opportunity to get a new class, stats and skills." Her grandfather said unhelpfully. She cut a glare, to which he merely smiled.

She sighed. "Mom is gonna put through the ringer isn't she?"

"Of course she is kiddo. Of course she is." Arthur said. "Assuming of course you manage to make it home."

Mercy looked up at her grandfather confused.

"Why wouldn't I make it home?" Mercy asked.

"Mercy, sweetheart, where do you think you are right now?" He asked rather than answer.

"Um, Variel? At that fancy fighting school mom loves harping on about." Mercy replied suddenly uncertain. She saw something flicker out of the corner of her eye. "Am I not?"

"You are not." Arthur said. "This is a projection, some place your mind can settle without turning into pudding."

Mercy tilted her head. "What's pudding?" She asked.

The man beside Arthur turned his head slightly. "She doesn't know what pudding is? Is she a simpleton?" He said rather rudely.

"No, she isn't a simpleton. She's just never had pudding, or seen it before. It isn't as common as it use to be." Arthur said to his friend. Then he turned back to Mercy. "Kiddo, pudding is basically sweetened dessert goo."

Arthur nodded as he saw the lights turn on in her mind. Then he moved on. "As I was saying, this place is a projection. Somewhere you're only vaguely aware of so as to not spot the incongruities. Take for instance the plum blossoms. You've never seen one, so you never questioned why these ones are blue." He explained.

"So if I pictured myself at home, I would have spotted the differences and cracked up?"

"Right on the money." Arthur said with a pair of finger guns and a wink. "Honestly, the fact that you're even slightly coherent is a testament to how awesome my genes are."

The man beside her grandfather smirked. "Still so boastful." he said.

"Well why wouldn't I be, I'm awesome." Arthur shot back, nose in the air.

"Of course you are grandpa, but can we get back to the part about my mind turning into sweetened dessert goo?" Mercy asked.

"Ah, right that. Well, as it stands, you are currently playing host to a rather virulent parasite."

"The Primordial Symbian? The System said I successfully bonded with it."

"Yeah that's the thing, although it's actually called a, I imagine it did, but that ultimately doesn't mean a whole lot. You can stick gum in someone's hair, and it'll be successfully bonded. With these sorts of things, what you're looking for is symbiosis, or else it just becomes a case of one attempting to dominate the other, and unfortunately kiddo, it is much stronger than you are." Arthur explained.

"So, what do I do?" Mercy asked. "Do I have delve deep into myself and fight it? Do I boot I try and give the boot, because the system message say it can't be removed."

Arthur chuckled. "No, kiddo, you won't be doing either. As I said before you got to go with symbiosis, or it'll forever be one long pissing contest, and heads up, It's got the heavier stream. Had It started out weaker than you, you might have been able to beat it into submission. However, we got the reverse, and the only reason it hasn't simply consumed you entirely is due to it wanting to bond, and the innate stubbornness you inherited from your mother. Yet, it's only a matter of time before It realises that it can be it's own independent creature in a lovely Mercy skin suit."

Mercy's mind whirled, and stemmed on the verge of popping. Then she had a thought.

"Wait, so I am projecting you? Are you some sort of figment of my imagination, a defence mechanism against my mind imploding?"

The man next to her grandfather laughed.

"Good guess, but no. While I'm not here physically, none of us actually are. This is a projection of my spirit, as that is a projection of the 43$%@#$#@%$#@@."

"Wait, the what, I didn't catch that."

"That's because you're weaker than a new born kitten comparatively. Essentially, you're in the Abyss, where all sorts of crazy shit and scary lives. Luckily it was him who found you, or you would be caput." Arthur said pointing to the man next to him. "He refrained from eating you long enough for me to get here. As for why I'm here, well, every so often, one you brats winds up here, either by accident or intentionally, and usually long before you're strong enough to survive. As such I get an alert, I pop in and haul you girls out. I'd have already done the same here, but the energies of this place is the only thing keeping it from gnawing away at your melon."

Mercy didn't know how to respond to that. She clasped her hands in her lap, and looked down. She took a deep breath. She let it out slowly. Her gaze flicked to a particular screen. It had been flashing incessantly for a little bit now.

[Please choose a trait.]

Squaring her shoulders, she sat up straighter. She looked to her grandfather.

"This is gonna hurt isn't it?"

"Pain is just weakness leaving the body kiddo." Arthur said with a reaffirming chuckle.

[You have selected the trait, 'Unity']

The world around Mercy shattered. The idyllic Pavilion vanished leaving a world of darkness and twisting horrors. Her grandfather was still there, if slightly altered, however the man had been next to him, had changed. It was a creature that she couldn't even begin to describe. She screamed, her everything burning as though dosed with acid. She turned her gaze away from the living nightmare to her own form.

Her flesh seemed to melt, her skin flopping in a boneless mass only to be remade whole. Her vision twisted. It tossed and tumbled, as some thoughts disappeared, erased to make way for new ones. Two perspectives flashed before her eyes, becoming one. Things came to a standstill as a mirror appeared before her. A not quite right version of herself looked back. It reached out and she did the same. The two Mercys touched, creating a world of nothingness. It expanded and touch upon eternity, only to snap back to reality an instant later. A reality where a sun hung over head, beating down upon her naked body. With a groan she opened her eyes before she rolled over and pulled herself up. Looking around she spotted an unpleasant sight.

"Well, look at that boys, seem there is a god out there." A deep voice belonging to rather unpleasant looking man said. "Guess that old priest was right."

Mercy opened her mouth to say something only to get slammed in the face with the butt of a rifle, knocking her out.