The sun finally set as the shadows of Calden’s group faded from view in the dark streets below. I sighed, and lowered my hand and slumped onto my butt, back to the chimney I was hiding behind, legs folded all criss cross applesauce and stuff. I mumbled. “I need to get some grasp on myself. That’s the obvious first step. After all, how am I to help others if I don’t even know the first thing about me or what I’m capable of? I mean, it’s gotten so bad I’ve got people mistaking me for an apostle, or even God himself!”
And while I’m sure there are a lot of people who’d love that or at least the opportunities it creates, I can’t say I’m one of them.
“Because that’s a lot of responsibility, and I’m nowhere near omniscient, omnipotent, or omnipresent enough to take on the task.”
I shut my trap and pressed my lips into a thin line. Alright Uriel. Do your thing. What am I?
I felt the ability’s usual buzz rattle its way up my spine and scatter like a wave breaking upon the shore across my brain as my status screen opened before my eyes.
Status:
-Name: Anon Amos
Race: H?man?
Age: ???
Height: 5’ 9”?
Weight: 143lbs?
Titles: Soul Survivor; ??? Wanderer; Excavation Emperor; ???; ???; Dreamer; Awakened; Biggest Hypocrite in the World; The Way Forward; Enemy of Evil; Patience
Status: Health: Healthy; Mana: Full; Endurance: Full; Strength: Able; Agility: Able; Speed: Able; Toughness: Able; Spirit: Maximum
Status Conditions: None
Abilities: Beginner Mind Magic; Beginner Body Magic; Beginner Spirit Magic; Beginner Essence Magic; Divine Unearther lv: 100; ??? lv: 19->15; ??? lv: 16->17; ??? lv: 15->11; ??? lv: 40; Insanity Immunity lv: 100; Understanding lv: 38->40; Comprehension lv: 38-> 40; Nostrian and Almassarin Language; Intimidation lv: 17->32; Craftsman: Adept lv: 1; Double Standards lv: 22-> 24; Mana Sense lv: 49-> 78; Mana Control lv: 50->72; Denial lv: 13->26; Way of One lv: 18->21; One with self lv: 52; Smite lv: 1; ??? Protection lv: 1->2; Focus lv: 1->12; V!&(^3 lv: 1->4; Detection lv:1->22; Awareness lv:1->27; Mental Map lv:1; Expansive Mind lv:1->9; Performance lv: 16; ??? Intervention lv:-1->2
Disciplines:
Mind over Nature Magic lv: 1
Mind over Mind Magic lv: 1
Mind over Matter Magic lv: 23
Mind over Body Magic lv: 14 Disciplines:
Body Transformation Magic lv:1
Body Sensory Magic lv: 16
Body Fortification Magic lv: 1
Body Empowerment Magic lv: 34
Body Recovery Magic lv: 27 Disciplines:
Spirit Summoning/Bonding Magic lv: 1
Spirit Communion/Trapping Magic lv:1
Spirit Healing/Harming Magic lv:1 Disciplines:
Essence of Fire Magic lv: 45
Essence of Earth Magic lv:1
Essence of Water Magic lv: 1
Essence of Air Magic lv: 1
Essence of Light Magic lv: 74
Essence of Dark Magic lv: 35
Essence of Lightning Magic lv: 92 Essence of Ice Magic lv: 1
Essence of Space Magic lv: 1
Essence of Time Magic lv: 1
Adept Essence of Order Magic lv:7
Essence of Chaos Magic lv: 1
I poured over what was written in hopes of finding some hint or clue but in the end I only wound up with more questions. “I have more abilities now but have the rates of the levels rising slowed? Is that due to experience being spread? Needing more to reach higher levels? Some side effect of deriving abilities from ??? and ??? both of which dropped in level? Or did I just not do as much as before? Additionally and most importantly, why the heck did I lose a letter in human?! Are you suggesting that I’m something else?”
Naturally, the system didn’t deign to offer an answer so I took a deep breath, cleared my consternation, and tried to focus on my other questions.
I mean life’s been pretty chill since I left Kormath, save for a few incidents this has been the most strenuous activity I’ve engaged in and even then I only used a few abilities. Heck! I didn’t even check the assassin’s statuses! By contrast Larissa was way more difficult.
I stared up at the stars and the ever present anomaly that only I could see overlapped with the moon. I watched it, and it naturally watched me too.
“I wonder if you know anything about all this? That must be a pretty great vantage point to behold all that transpires, so you must know something, right? Like who am I? What am I supposed to do? What are all these abilities for? And how do I uncover all the secrets locked in my status?”
I asked aloud, fully prepared to not receive any answer, but when I, the tireless wanderer, suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to sleep, I couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Finally! Someone with answers!
#
My vision settled upon a twilight void. Both the floor upon which I stood and the sky above reflected what little light issued from the space in between along with my form and shadow.
I was all too aware I was dreaming, but if I had any doubts they would’ve been dispelled by the massive form of the black white and gray anomaly that spanned the distance between ground and sky.
As ever, I knew I was fixed in its attention like a fly upon a web. But instead of my usual discomfort I felt a mix of something else. Longing? Joy? Hope? Fear?
This is the thing that stole the old world and my people from me, right? The thing that left me to languish in a dead world, unable to rest or even die, right? So then why do I feel like a naughty kid? Eager yet afraid to hear their parent’s first words after playing in their workroom?
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Absolute silence reigned, so after a time I dared to break it. “Do you know me? Can you tell me who I am?”
My voice almost resonated within this place, and caused the reflective surfaces to ripple outward until they vanished into the horizon.
Another moment passed, and a series of ripples returned.
No, in comparison, they were waves.
Tidal waves!
I stood stunned at how suddenly they were upon me, and when I was consumed, smashed by the sheer wall of reflective, resonant, thought I heard what had to be the anomaly’s voice. “… shall … as … say. … all … done … accordance … your … .”
Unable to make everything out, my awareness was washed away.
#
The cold tiles of the roof were what I thought I’d awaken to, but instead all I got was the sensation of leaving them behind as I rolled off and headed toward the muddy ground below.
Which, I should note, was all too happy to greet me with a facefull of muck.
I pushed out of the sticky mess immediately, and wiped off my face. “Oof. Well, so much for th–att!”
Just then, Witness dutifully followed me from the rooftop, as I guess I’d let go of it at some point, and clonked me atop my head before plunking into the muddy street beside me with the same energy as some sort of innocently loyal dog that just tracked dirt all over the house.
I expanded my senses, but thankfully no one was around to witness my literal downfall since daybreak still looked a little ways off. And better yet, there was nothing left of mine still up there.
With that fear out of the way, I got up, brushed off the muck with relative ease likely due to my Emperor of Excavation, reclaimed my staff, and then tried to make sense of everything that I had just experienced.
“So it can speak.” I snapped my head up at the moon, and found the anomaly gazing back down at me. “You told me something, but I didn’t quite get it all. Can you please repeat it?”
I waited, but like the system, I got no response.
“That’s not entirely unexpected… but does this mean the two are related?”
Just then the system chimed in.
My jaw dropped. Holy crap! I got an answer and a totally clear one at that!
“Does that mean you know who I am?”
I could almost hear a sigh issue from the mechanical voice.
“Okay but what am I?”
I waited for the sentence to finish, but he didn’t speak back up.
I blinked. “Wait a minute. The system’s voice was feminine when I first woke up, I stopped paying attention after that so when and why did it change?”
And the wind was my only reply, gentle, like a consoling friend.
I huffed, and started to trudge back toward the tower. Well, I guess some progress is better than none at all. I don’t particularly like being idolized or compared to or thought of as God, but I guess I can’t do much about it if I don’t have any sort of foundation to refute that claim. So what do I do next? I can probably get a reward for my help yesterday, so should I request the Baronette teach me some spells? Or should I convene with Calden to figure out their next move? I doubt they’ll stick around here for much longer, so either way it’ll be good to be prepared.
#
Marquis Palaeshek was a large bespectacled and white bearded man who often wore warm deep red clothes and presented himself as a friend to the people. This had long earned him the friendship of the equally altruistic Dresdeth family, and he had long been using that to undermine them.
His house was something of an upstart family, only a few generations old, they established themselves by ousting a corrupt baron, and then rose through the ranks doing more of the same to more powerful houses. However, most of the disbanded houses weren’t corrupt and were simply framed to look that way so that the Palaesheck house could gain more land, wealth, and achievements faster.
And now it was the venerable Dresdeth’s turn.
An old house that had been faithfully protecting the empire since its inception, the Dresdeth family had deep roots, but they were already rotting. Too kind for their own good, they never changed with the times and refused to tolerate the poor treatment of non-humans that had become all too common in the country. Their power dwindled as old allies became enemies, trade deals were cut off, and finally with Marquis Dorian suffering from dismemberment, the house was poised to fall.
It should have been easy.
“So what’s this then? Why isn’t the heir dead?” He hammered his fist onto the top of his ornate cedar desk, his beady eyes fixed upon the lanky messenger who had brought him the second observation team's report.
The messenger let his eyes dart anywhere but at the Marquis. From the large flower pots in the corners of the wide office with their bright red blooms, to the massive window in the back that let in the sun and revealed the colossal castle below, before stopping dead at the landscape paintings on the left and right walls of Dresdeth territory; paintings that would later be subtly changed to the Marquis’ next target.
He gulped. “I– I cannot say milord. This situation is unprecedented, unforeseen, unpredictable. I–.”
Palaesheck hissed. “Enough excuses.”
The messenger grimaced and tugged at his collar. He was the third replacement for this position this week alone, and the week was only half over.
“You will get in contact with the church, you know which, and have them get ready. Though it’s regrettable, it looks like they’ll have to uphold their end of the bargain once again. Have them do to this terrestrial deity what they did to Lady Matweirden, and we’ll finish our end.”
The messenger bowed hastily, and backed out of the room lest he lose his head at the final moment for simply being rude.
Once the door was shut, the Marquis sat back, rested his meaty hands on his large belly, and closed his eyes. “Once the heir is dead I can make my move and take down the Maimed Marquis. After that, the title of Duke is all but mine. And then comes the real fun of breaking the royal dynasty!”
A sick smile spread across his otherwise saintly lips. “So run little Dresdeth. Run and hide! Fight to your last! I’ve got plenty more in store for you once your precious protector is properly pinned down!”
#
Ascendant Josephine Barla stared blankly at the barrier that barred her from claiming her rightful prize and power. She knew patience would be paramount in the current predicament, but her enthusiasm and anxiety forced her to check the unchanging situation several times each day.
She didn’t go in person, no, that’d draw unwanted attention, instead she simply spied upon the village of Kormath when no one was around, creating a small tear in space above the settlement that she could peer through.
However, due to the size and strength of the barrier, she was unable to get a good look at much of anything other than the ant-like people scurrying around from hut to hut to attend to their daily affairs.
And with the ability to change form, any one of them could be Anon.
She clenched her fist, and only just managed to refrain from breaking the arms off her chair. “How long must I wait? How long will you hide just out of my reach? Your purpose is so much grander than this quaint little village! You must raise me up! So if you don’t come out, I’ll have to find a way in.”
Little did she know that another ascendant would soon be alerted to Anon’s existence.