Fall of Autumn, Week 4, Day 4

The end of the trial came at the sixty-five-minute mark.

I had been able to [Inspect] another thirty-five items, but I was unable to pass through the Third Ray. Whatever it meant to break through the limits of such a thing was still lost on me, but I thought it related to my final score, much like for [SIlent as a Shadow]’s trial.

I found myself staring at a table full with more and more plates of Grag delicacies –plates that I had grown tired of inspecting by the time I’d gotten to the crisped skin segments seasoned with ground thistle coral. They had been cut into diamonds and looked a remarkably vivid shade of teal.

Sixty seconds of being unable to pass to the Third Ray left me with a shining green notice.

[Congratulations! You have completed a Twilight Trial! Now ranking your performance!]

[Unique items Inspected: 70]

[Time taken: 65 minutes]

[Rays Passed: 2]

[Total Attempts Made: 158]

[Rating: C]

[Experience modifier applied based on Divinity.]

[Congratulations! Your Skill [Inspect] has received a 60% Advancement to the next level.]

[Notice: Use of Twilight for [Inspect] and [Silent as a Shadow] will remain locked until all other Skills have been tested in Twilight. Please Advance all Skills to unlock [Inspect] and [Silent as a Shadow] again.]

As I willed the notice away, my vision was filled with two more.

[Congraulations! Inspect is now Level 10! New features unlocked.]

[Congratulations! For ranking C or higher in a Twilight Trial, you have received an additional reward! Additional reward: 6 minutes in the trial area.]

I re-read the final notice.

“But why?” I said, looking from the notice to the banquet of Grag dishes splayed out in front of me, which were distinctly not disappearing.

“I think it wants you to feast, Nora,” Noir said, not a subtle amount of amusement lacing his voice.

“No,” I hissed, aghast. “Surely not.”

“Surely so,” Noir snickered.

“Can't I just… not do that?” I whispered in horror to the knit bunny sticking its head out of my bag.

His iridescent eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief, but I was pretty sure that was just me projecting. Noir tilted his head but remained silent. Staring at me.

I heaved a sigh, “Fine. The blasted place setting even mentions serving a Child of the Dawn. I’ll put it to good use for the next five minutes.”

I went to the table, tracing the lines the ripples made when they were flash-frozen, trying to muster the confidence to eat a bite of a still-beating heart. Or jumping finger bones. Or soup made up of Grag brain matter. Or salad topped with dehydrated and grated Grag liver.

I’m not even hungry, I bemoaned to myself.

“Is every part of this stupid thing edible?” I groaned aloud for the benefit of Noir, taking a bite of what the System labeled [Grag Rinds] but was effectively skin that had been flayed and dehydrated before being fried.

The Grag Rinds crunched between my teeth, collapsing immediately and filling my mouth with a thick, meaty flavor that was unexpected. I chewed for another second before swallowing and looking down at Noir.

“That wasn’t so bad,” I half-smiled to myself, forcing cheer into my voice. “Let’s just have a bite of everything and call it a day.”

I eyed the heart, then shook my head and resigned myself to being unable to take a bite, “A bite of almost everything.”

----------------------------------------

I slipped out of Twilight none the worse for wear.

No Eve to fuel my rage. No Raph to irritate me. No Theo to make me question myself.

I was under no illusions that these connections were inevitable. We were four, sharing a single space. The only reason we hadn’t overlapped more was likely due to luck. The only stat I had that I’d never thought much on. The stat that seemed to be working overtime to keep me moving forward.

Between my Luck of 45 and [Otherworldly] pushing me to destined encounters, I really had to wonder. Destined for who?

As I ascended the [Descent of Astrala], I bit my cheek.

I’ve neglected you. I spoke to my Skill. I am afraid to use you. There is no other excuse. I am simply scared. What will you bring me? What does it mean to be so known by the world around me? Will I survive it?

Before I crossed the illusory wall, I felt the ice of my mana well up, and I made a decision.

No more would fear hold me back.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“[Otherworldly]”

I gasped as my veins froze, as I felt the ice seep out of them and into the world around me. The air chilled —and then it moved. Not physically, not really. More like the mana in the air shifted and swirled and directed me forward. As if it was saying ‘Quick, quick, before you miss it.’ I stepped through the wall that hid the entrance to Twilight, following the whispers of mana.

No sooner did my heel hit the floor than the Skill began to take from me without my intent. More ice flooded my veins, and the flurries of mana in the air brushed my face, leaving ice crystals across my eyelashes. They egged me on.

‘It is for you,’ they said.

‘It’s your destiny,’ they all but screamed.

Warmth flooded my stomach, then, without really thinking much about it, I was following the mana. It led me through the hall, to the main entry, around the bend, through the side entrance. I was out of the manor before I’d even checked back in to anything besides the mana. Even when I did start paying closer attention to my surroundings, it was solely so I didn’t run into anything.

What does it mean? That before, I hated the idea of fate and destiny so thoroughly that I chose Chaos at every move, but now I am following my Skill without question? Perhaps I am different than whoever arrived here. Perhaps Morloch has guided me enough that now I feel comfortable entertaining Destiny.

I came to a slow stop as the mana flurries dispersed into the air of the dormant garden. Everything was brown and lifeless, yet still beautiful in the way the world was silent. Leaves crunched underfoot and I turned my head to the side where the sound was coming from.

“I’m telling you, Hans.” A girl with pale blonde hair was lecturing a boy several inches shorter than her, “If you switch to the inner house, the work is far less dangerous!”

“You work in the most dangerous, June,” the boy, Hans, sighed irritably, “Stop trying to get me to switch.”

“But the pay is hardly any different! And your mom–” The girl, who had to be Juniper based on her age, was cut off.

“Then you switch to being a maid! The butler doesn’t even like me!” Hans snapped before Juniper could get off another word.

They hadn’t seen me yet. I was only a few dozen feet away, and they were turning a corner. Hans was holding a bundle of sticks, and Juniper was leisurely following behind him. She hardly looked perturbed at his outburst. I hadn’t been silently walking, and even now, I was standing in the middle of the walkway. But Hans’ eyes were locked onto the cobblestone and Juniper was looking at the back of Hans’ head.

So, as they got closer, they kept up their conversation. None the wiser that I was there. But I didn’t want to just appear. I didn’t want to trick them into talking around me.

Instead, I did something unfathomable before departing the Dawn Estate.

I spoke.

“Excuse me,” I called, waving my hand.

The two kids slowed and looked my way. Unfortunately, recognition flitted in their eyes all too fast, and they were both bowing. Or, rather, Hans was bowing, and Juniper was curtsying. Both were clumsy at it, but I would have been just as uncomfortable if they were immaculately showing their respect.

“My Lady, excuse us, we weren’t paying attention,” Juniper spoke softly, a sharp turnaround from the loud way she had argued with Hans. “Please excuse anything you may have heard as idle chatter.”

I waved my hand as if dismissing the thought, “Easy. But, more importantly, I’m Nora. And you are?”

“Yes, of course, Lady Nora. I am Juniper, a provisional member of the kitchen staff.” Juniper had naturally risen from her curtsy as she spoke. Hans, however, was practically shaking as he remained bowed.

I cleared my throat after a beat had passed, “And you?”

I asked pointedly of the boy, who jolted up from his bow to answer me, “I, um. I’m Hans, Lady Dawn.”

My nose wrinkled at the address, “Please, call me Nora.”

“Y-yes, Lady Nora, terribly sorry!” Hans croaked out immediately. He was all but sweating his face had gone so pale.

I sighed, “It’s fine. Can you point me back to the manor? It seems I’ve gotten turned around.”

Juniper perked up, “Of course, Lady Nora. I’m headed back to the kitchen now if it pleases you to walk together.”

I felt a smile curl up.

She’s just like the other maids described her. An opportunist. I like it.

‘That sounds perfect.” I turned on my heel, pausing before completing a full turn. I’m supposed to be lost. “What’s the wood for?”

Juniper had simply leveled Hans with a sharp gaze, or as sharp as an eight-year-old could muster, and caused Hans to stammer as he spoke. Eventually, he got out, “It’s for smoking meat.”

I hummed in response, “Neat.”

The walk back was a slow thing, and I found myself wondering why [Otherworldly] had brought me here. Was it truly just to meet these two kids? Or had I missed something? Had I bungled a destined encounter? Was it Juniper or Hans I was supposed to meet? Or both together?

I held back a sigh, worried I would concern Hans even more than he was already concerned.

Abstract Skills are so confusing, I complained internally.

Outwardly, I asked, “When we get back, would one of you be able to show me to the library?”

“Of course, my Lady!” Juniper hurriedly replied, a smile blossoming on her face. She had not once rubbed her hands across her brilliant white apron or gripped her purple uniform. Instead, she was the picture of confidence –with her shoulders thrown back and her head held high.

She was what I pretended to be, clearly. Sure, my back was straight and my voice was even now. But it wasn’t so long ago that little Eunora’s anxiety had overwhelmed me. That I had been unable to speak. In a way, wasn’t I simply faking it until I made it?

I asked small things as we walked.

How long have you been working at the manor? Barely more than a season.

Oh? How do you like it so far? It’s brilliant, my Lady, we’re thrilled.

Really? Really.

Juniper answered every question and made sure to stand between me and Hans. I was pretty sure this was both a mark of defense and an attempt to use an opportunity. She spoke clearly, and if I leaned forward to speak to Hans, his stuttered reply was cut off by her strong rebuff.

I quite liked her, despite the way she both perceived me as a ticket to greener pastures and a threat to Hans. She reminded me, well, not of me. Not even me in elsewhere –because my personality had been undeniably twisted in my time in Maeve. But there was a woman I had known. A friend. Her name eluded me, her face but a fuzzy memory of a brunette head of hair, but the fondness I felt for the ghost of a memory was real. It was real.

And the way Juniper was so fierce was a warm addition to her otherwise materialistic disposition.

Of course, I thought to myself, I would be more materialistic if I wasn’t a Dawn. If I had to struggle for every scrap. Fight for every opportunity.