After taking a moment to wrap his wounds using the tall grass that was near the river, he moved on towards the forest. Despite his battle with the Dragon Pike, he’d gotten much closer using the river and it only took him another thirty minutes to close on the forest’s edge.
Like before, he could hear a buzz of whispers in his mind as he gazed upon the forest. It hadn’t gotten any louder necessarily, but there was an urgency in those whispers that wanted him to enter. Part of him felt some aversion to those whispers, but despite that, they seemed to pierce him easily like a biting wind whipping through his house because he’d simply left the door open. He stopped right at the entrance to the forest. The shadows inside seemed resistant to sunlight as though that which blocked the sun was bigger than the simple seeming trees inside.
His resistance to the pull of the forest wasn't enough to drag him fully away. The longer he hesitated at the treeline, the more enticing the words became. They chipped away at what meager defenses he had, stomping down on any desire to block them out. What would it hurt to simply listen? He’d needed more information, right? The voices grew more and more coherent, nothing truly spoken, but images started to appear in flashes of understanding. His mind flexed from the scope of truth that these images held, but he was unable to stop himself from drinking deeper into the fountain of truth that was laid before him.
The whispers exploded into visions of a vast cosmos of which he was but a child. Each sparking star, a story of trillions of souls from the planets that surrounded them. Shadows drifted across each spark as beings even greater than these wandered across universes leaving the undeniable truths behind them that the whispers could only hint at. Planets left in these beings wake were engulfed in fire and chaos as such simple beings could never be ready for the wisdom of eternity.
Gi was ready though. The whispers knew that so he knew it too. What were Dragon Pikes and orcs against such overwhelming power? Why would he settle to be the boss of just Poe when he could command everyone? All sentients could worship at his feet. All of them would.
He took one step into the trees, the shadows reaching to embrace him like a lost son, but a strange flicker of a dark haired woman tried to interrupt the majesty of his vision. Who was that dark haired woman? She seemed so familiar... The whispers rose up in his mind, drowning out any semblance of concern. She didn't matter. What could some mere person be against the great beings of the cosmos?
Now resolved, Gi walked fully into the trees and the whispers purred. The sunlight merely a few steps away seemed dim compared to the radiance of the shadows within. Dark tendrils danced over his skin, leaving pleasure and an incomprehensible script behind. Violet arcs of power exploded out of the script and seared itself into his body. The wounds burst and healed instantly forming deep scars across his entire person. The pain was nothing for him. Another flicker of the dark haired woman was quickly snuffed out by the sheer feeling of power that engulfed him.
[Beyond the Veil] activated. Patron - [?]
Strength, Agility, and Vitality increased by one rank.
Temporary Title - [Supplicant of the Old Ones] gained.
New Task: Kill other supplicants 0/100 to upgrade your temporary title to a permanent one. Gain a Body Orb on completion.
Gi’s eyes gleamed as he moved further into the forest. With the power of his patron pouring through him, his feet practically danced over roots as his Agility soared to its rightful rank. The whispers urged him forward, leading him towards the other supplicants to hunt. A goblin only had time to spin at his approach before he had already shot past it, his tail wrapping around the creature’s throat. Its neck snapped instantly, but Gi had moved on to his next victim before even confirming its death.
[Corrupted] Treasure Goblin defeated!
1 Soul Orb received. Current Soul Orbs 3 of 30.
Gi was a wraith, moving through the forest. Blood painted his dark fur from each of the kills from the other supplicants. None of them able to hold up to his undeniable power. Each slash of his claw meant another monster downed by the power instilled in him. The puff of each soul leaving these pathetic supplicants started to form a greater picture of what the whispers had been telling him. His own path to the cosmos.
[Corrupted] Dusk Bugbear defeated!
1 Soul Orb received. Current Soul Orbs 4 of 30.
[Corrupted] Shivering Golem defeated!
1 Soul Orbs received. Current Soul Orbs 5 of 30.
[Corrupted] Lone Wolf defeated!
1 Soul Orb received. Current Soul Orbs 6 of 30.
****
Poe drifted upward into the sky towards the impossible ocean that loomed above him. Following his [Empath] connection, he looked down to see that his Boss had already dove into the river and was taking its winding path towards the forest. Poe tried not to look at the forest as it gave him a very ominous feeling. Surely, his Boss would be fine though. The Boss was super strong. He took a moment to watch his Boss's sleek form shoot like a missile through the water, rolling playfully around both rocks and reeds. Yes, Poe had nothing to worry about. Working with the Boss as a slime had been the best move. Poe flew off towards the hills.
"Scouting for Boss. Scouting for Boss. Doo doo doodoo. Scouting for Boss." It didn't take Poe too long before a small town came into view just like the Orc lady had said. The closer he got, the stranger the buildings seemed to him. Some part of him thought that buildings should be made of stone or wood. These all appeared to be made of a combination of stone and metal. Some of them spit a white smoke into the air that Poe had simply thought was clouds from a distance. Somehow, that smoke was absorbed by the sky-ocean before spreading out anywhere.
Poe glanced towards the mountains in the distance and there was smoke there as well, but it was the more traditional grey and black though it also seemed camouflaged against the mountain there. The Playground was a strange place. With a thought, Poe pulled up his system messages from when he first arrived here.
Successfully spawned in Playground (Instance F for D-AZ53, G-TR56, U-S222, SS-LP98, Planet - Pangaea, Region - Kingdom of Shadow and Flames)
Child stage begun. Stage 2 of 9.
Goal: Rise and Fall Together
Tasks: Assist The Boss with completing his Child Stage tasks.
From what Poe could see, there were three major areas in the Playground: the town that the Orc Lady came from, the smoky mountain, and the creepy forest. An accidental glance towards the forest made him shiver, dropping a bit of altitude in the air. The nagging sensation of worry wouldn't leave though and he wondered if that was regular anxiety or something from his [Empath] trait. He looked for The Boss, but he'd lost sight of him.
Shaking the nerves off like a dog shaking off water, Poe resumed his examination of the town. In between the metal buildings, he could see a host of monsters. There were a few more beastlike or undead types, but most of them were some type of humanoid with even the majority of those being goblins. They were all slightly different though. Some of the goblins were blue or yellow or had an extra spike or enlarged hands. Poe didn't think they were all from the same family, but he honestly didn't know how that worked either.
He was about to fly off back to find the Boss when he noticed one monster that stuck out. This one was a humanoid like all the rest, but their entire body seemed to be made of metal. Even from this distance, Poe could tell that places like the knees and elbows were made of intricate gears of some kind. Their eyes were two orbs like simple flashlights and something about it made Poe feel like they were kindly. His [Empath] trait again?
What stuck out the most though was that the Orc Lady had arrived back at the town and was speaking subserviently to the kindly golem. That cinched it for Poe. As an underling himself, he knew how to recognize another boss and that kindly golem was it. He had to let the Boss know. Poe zipped around to start flying towards the forest when a sudden sense of loss sent him spiraling towards the ground.
He barely managed to catch himself, but his shock still sent him drifting to the ground. His [Empath] trait wasn't giving him any sense of his Boss. He was just... gone.
****
[Corrupted] Fire Ferret defeated!
Can not receive additional Soul Orbs. Current Soul Orbs 30 of 30.
[Corrupted] Sword Mantis defeated!
Can not receive additional Soul Orbs. Current Soul Orbs 30 of 30.
The blade-like forearms of the Sword Mantis shattered around Gi. His upgraded strength enough to simply beat his way through its pathetic guard. Such a supplicant would have been useless to the Old Ones. He heaved a deep breath, having to stop his rampage to catch his breath. He’d been murdering supplicants for hours and even his upgraded Vitality was struggling to keep up with his path of destruction.
With every kill though, the whispers had become like steel in his mind, unbending and unable to be denied, and they demanded he continue. His progress on his task floated in his mind.
Supplicants killed 93/100.
He stumbled forward into the forest towards his next victim. Once he completed his Task, rest would never be needed again. As exhaustion washed over him, another flash of the dark haired woman appeared.
“Stop!” she yelled, but her voice was far away and whatever else she said was drowned out by the voices once again. Their steel couldn’t be denied.
He continued onward. The scripts carved in his flesh ached even as his muscles still craved to be used like a candle reaching the end of its wick. Only a few more. His own thought reassured him, for once finding a place in his mind. He trudged into a clearing in the dark forest.
The light had left the Playground at some point or perhaps he’d simply moved that deeply into the forest. Time felt flimsy to him so he wasn't sure. Despite that, there was just enough visibility in the forest itself. Dark shadows played about the trees that lined this clearing in nearly a perfect circle. Vines hung down from their branches like nooses waiting for him to walk into them. The grass had been burned away in the center of the clearing leaving only ash and a single beast.
It rested on its haunches, looking like an emaciated bear that had been shaved and scaled. Its head was clearly draconic with a long neck and snout with smoke listing from its nostrils. It was the size that surprised Gi though. Most monsters he’d seen had been near enough him in size. This one? Even on all fours it was taller than him and it was twice as wide. Along its side, he could see wings, but they appeared vestigial or perhaps this monster had been injured in some way. Its yellow catlike eyes fell on him and a growl erupted from its throat.
In a more lucid frame of mind, Gi might have hesitated at the large beast or perhaps even come up with a strategy, but what were tactics against sheer power? Gi grinned, the scripts along his body flaring as he dug for more strength. The violet energy shot outward and enraged the beast in front of him. On heavy claws, it sprinted towards him and leapt. Gi rolled to the side, his fur protecting him from the sticks and rocks that littered the forest floor. Gi shot back to his feet, spinning to attack the out of position monster, but his eyes fell on claws approaching him. The beast had leapt off the tree behind him, angling itself down towards Gi.
With his increased speed, he turned the potentially lethal blow into only a vicious slash against his arm. Shocking pain ran up through his shoulder as its claws bit deeply into his bicep. As it cut through the scripts on his arm, the power within flared to life before burrowing into his flesh. The skin on his arm cracked and it fell limp against his side. The pain of the claws was nothing compared to the sudden searing of his insides. His very life force burned up against the charred flesh of his arm. He cried out, flopping against the ground as he fell backwards.
Thankfully, only his arm had been destroyed by the rampant eldritch energy. The scars from his transition with [Beyond the Veil] formed little rivers for the blood to leak down into the forest floor.
Gi limped backwards holding his arm with one hand. That one blow had shaken the confidence in his abilities as well as whatever patron he'd found. Wasn't he supposed to rule everyone? Wasn't he the one chosen? The whispers still twisted around his mind, trying to assure him of his power. The monster stalked forward, claws crashing down into the ground and leaving deep rivets behind. Gi stumbled more than dodged the blows and only its slow pace kept him alive. The monster itself huffed deeply and Gi even saw a handful of wounds along its flank though none so serious as his own. They'd both fought dozens of other supplicants before ending up here.
With a growl, it gave another leap. This time, Gi dove underneath its flight, spinning as he did so, and brought his larger feet around to slam into its stomach at the apex of its arc. As Gi was also in the air, the blow pushed him away and into the ground, knocking the breath from his lungs and sending another wave of pain coursing through his arm. That pain opened the path for another vision.
"Stop letting him get inside your head!" Danna shouted at her idiotic follower. He sat on a stool at an island in a kitchen while she leaned heavily against the counter across from him. "Your Father's a douchebag. He doesn't care what's best for you. All he cares about is what he thinks is best for you."
"But is he wrong though? He's successful and rich. Everyone who meets him loves him and thinks he's so great. And me? I've had this job for three months and I haven't even made a single sale. You can't keep a sales job with no sales. I'm a fuck up."
Danna rounded the island and grabbed him by shoulders. "Not being able to sell a shitty software means you've got morals, not that you're a fuck up. Just because you're in a bad place right now, doesn't mean you're a bad person. It's not like you have nothing else good in your life. We've still got each other, right?"
As the follower listened, his eyes misted over. "But why would you even want me? What can I offer you?"
Danna pulled him into an embrace. "I know you you're struggling right now, but you're enough. You're worthy of love and respect. If you can't trust yourself, just trust me until you can. Borrow my strength."
Gi returned back to the present, his own eyes misted over. The whispers had retreated further into his mind and were being held at bay by that single phrase from Danna. Borrow my Strength. It resonated inside him, shoving out the false promises of uncaring entities. Whatever his patron had been, Gi hadn't even been important enough to be in its periphery. He was just another mindless supplicant used to hone those it would raise up, but Danna was different. He'd been trying to understand the visions that had been shoved into his brain, but now, he knew.
He was the hopeless follower in a way. That understanding that he could be more if only through her coursed through him. It spread a warm sensation throughout his entire body like laying in a sunbeam to ward off a breezy chill. The visions had been a blessing. She'd showed him that just like the hopeless follower, he could be greater still.
[Borrow My Strength]
His realization had only taken moments, but the beast had already approached to end him with another strike of its powerful claw. That inevitability was not fated to be. The warm light that had pooled inside him burst outward in a dazzling light. It pushed back the clinging shadows and forced the beast to stumble away from its brilliance. Gi climbed to his feet, feeling the warmth that spread through him. This wasn't some faraway mysterious being. This was power through the love of one's family. Through the strength of bonds forged. He understood all of that from the divine essence inside him. His wounds didn't completely heal, but blood stopped pouring out of them and even whisked his fur clean.
Hidden requirements met! [Beyond the Veil] has been transformed into [Borrow My Strength]!
Removes bonus to Strength, Agility, and Vitality.
Wisdom increases by one rank.
Provides a Divine Seed.
Focus "Strength Through Danna" has been realized. Will you accept this Focus?
Gi let the majesty of Danna wash over him as the Divine Seed settled into the core of his very being. He could feel Danna there, lending her strength to his. He'd wondered what his purpose was. He'd wondered what place he had in this changing world, but now... he'd found it. "Yes."
Symbolism Task complete!
Rewarded Trait [Rally] incorporated.
Gi's eyes fell onto the beast that had recovered as the blinding light faded. Despite its absence, the whispers and shadows could no longer touch him with the Divine Seed in his soul. His returned lucidity and newfound strength had provided him a means of victory. One that he would definitely take.