“Greetings.” Puppy said in human tongue. “This is a little bit more awkward than I've ever hoped, expected, and desired. Is it how the Fate works? Surprising, shocking, and kind of... stupid-looking. I feel terrible too for expecting a world without seeing it first. But the choice is not mine, I suppose. Not anymore.” Puppy whimpered in seeming trouble of comprehending what was even before it.
It had a hunch. Its intent was strong since it survived for a long time here, so it felt the glorious power that Murai depicted, even if it was outside of this world.
Murai almost laughed after meeting this puppy, but then, he remembered the most likely scenario of what this was about. “Eh... I suspect you are the Intent left behind the creator of the Heavenly Shaping? Am I inside of it? Seems... empty and barren.” Murai said, sounding like thunder speaking, which this puppy took even worse.
It shook its form made of dense cluttering energy that looked like light in the appearance of a puppy.
“Pipe your breath... I am the Will of Pillage Emperor!” Pillage said proudly, but he looked lacking in comparison to Murai's Will.
“Oh...” Murai said, unimpressed, as he wouldn't expect anything less. He realized the book Lisa got him was more than met an eye. But what was extraordinary to others might be a norm for him.
A lot of beings in some worlds used many methods to create legacies. This one was the first of its quality that he had seen in this world. Well, that was wrong. Rudolf left out something nice for him too, even if it was long gone from his feathers.
Pillage took his indifference not that lightly, flaring his paws and jumping forward. “How rude! This manual of mine is my legacy! A technique that has met with various challenges and values. You are speaking to someone who laid the foundation for beastly powers that Ravine took for something incredibly funny at first, but it slowly crept to a complete lunacy. How many Gods it angered, I can't even count.” Pillage laughed in pride, feeling that he was the one who did it all, even if this puppy was just a part of his Will and wasn't all that full on its own.
But he talked well for what he was in this state. Perhaps too well, by Murai's creeping suspicions.
“Impressive. Impressive.” Murai tossed whatever this puppy said behind his Will, and went straight to the point. “What is the Heavenly Shaping then? I own your Tome, but calling it a Manual is more fitting, considering what this is about, I guess. Cracking it aside was... hard.”
“Hard?” Puppy calmed at last, ignoring the fact that it got ignored. “Your Bloodline Imprint of an Ender Bloodline is taken for granted, huh? You have no idea what you are taking into your mind if you act so clueless about meeting such a person as me. But it is enough merit to open me and this up, so... It is still weird. Who are you exactly? I've got that you are weakling chirping fledging little duckling. And with a Will that thunders mine, huh? Weird...”
“How about you talk first? I can't be bothered in this... place?” Murai looked around, but because his shininess was only a few meters around him, he was only looking at the shiny airy floor and puppy below him. There was nothing else. He was floating in the middle of nowhere, but he felt he was somewhere.
Pillage seemed to get this point across his Will, so he bowed slightly. “Well, whatever you or I may be, my Intent is acting for its purpose. You are here, so we are here. Pillage is what I am in some form. Right as the End came, I let my Will in strands. The majority is here, others somewhere else, while the rest went away.”
“Afterlife?”
“Most likely. Can't say I know what goes with that part of me.” Pillage said dejectedly. “Anyway, I am still the Intent and Will of the great me! A legacy that is the technique of my creation. It is called Heavenly Shaping Manual! A part of a pair, acting as my Ancestral Tome left to shine. This is... how was it... half? You got lucky, I suppose. This one consists of starting points to the Lawful touches above Level 70. Rest takes care of laws of Extremes, Gates, and what can come later.”
“Oh, I am listening. Tell! Tell me more.” Murai sat down in the middle of nowhere, willing to listen to Pillage since he had time.
Pillage seemed interested in talking anyway, so he talked. “My form is a puppy for the time being, as the current output you left corresponds to your Imprint and the amount of mana that the manual took. This place can't survive on its own, you see. You are its fuel and you aren't very far in your Path either.”
“None given, I am just an Anatidea. Or.. what it is called like.”
“Ana...” Pillage stumbled in his words, Will, and the puppy itself fell to its back. “Anatidae! On Ravine, this savagery hasn't been clear to me in a long time! Nice. Nice.” He cheered. “What ducks have to offer anyway, well... I am a ferocious part of the Felidemons, so whatever it may be, crash it at my Will.”
“Must be nice... but you are dead, so pipe your hopes. Killed bunch of your brethren myself already, or... whatever those dogs were.” Murai reckoned, willing to talk to him face to face and on equal terms.
It seemed Pillage was an interesting figure who had certain standards, knowledge, and history behind him. Murai liked this kind of folks the most, as long as they weren't antagonizing to his life. And he knew about Anatidaes! That was great! Excellent and unexpected harvest, that Murai hoped to reach in these Islands. Unexpectedly, it came in a different way than he hoped.
“What are Anatidaes?” he asked.
“Ducks,” Pillage said simply. “Rather insane one, but let's not talk about them. You are in a unique place that has been created by me. First, let me introduce what this shall be about as you are a new student of this Ancestral Manual. It is what this place does best. Teach and gift.” Pillage swayed his paw around, but mostly at himself.
“Student? No thanks, but keep going.” Murai hoped for something else, but knowing about the Heavenly Shaping was fine too.
“Heavenly Shaping is my middle finger to the heavens.” Pillage started. “It puts truths of what beasts are about, how we came about, and how we will end up about. Whatever that means something, means more. That is what the truths of the universe are like.”
“Like a neverending cycle,” Murai said.
“Exactly that. I wonder how you know it.” Pilage said and talked further right away, leaving Murai sighing. “Heavenly Shaping acts in Beast Core at its core and only for Beasts alone, or so... I would say, but let's not get too far. At least by its rules, of course, I worked with Beast Core, so it is a pity to have it. I've tried teaching that to many races. Failure! That's what it ended up like. It's a bit wild to consider, so why is it the case?”
“You tell me.”
“Our core, that is. Bodies and souls too. Learning or our foundation is a different cause that bears its effects. Everything prevails from the time we all came to be, in the time when demons spread their influence as sole rulers of the skies. How many cycles ago was that isn't even calculable. No one knows that for certain.”
Murai would disagree, but he kept Pillage talking for the sake of the Heavenly Shaping and more information alone.
“There are many concepts that I've created to work with. It is our magic. My magic! There is a certain wilderness and chaos that seeps into our cores, or is it vice versa? No one should be certain about the way of nature or the universe. You are no different in this regard, as a beast that my tome accepted.”
“Because of mana alone, huh? Interesting key concept.”
“Of course it is. It is how this puppy of mine works, and how I've created it. Do you think this Tome works by itself? Your mana was required for a reason, as it fuels it, giving rise to my current... lacking form. I don't like it! A puppy talking to a duckling. Laughable! Almsot poetic too. But... yours is rather substantial. We can work well over this current stage of yours, even if you are a Child.”
“It is what it is.” Murai reckoned. “What are the examples of this technique of yours? Shaping has many forms that I know, but the concept of wild mana and chaos seems... normal. I do work with my mana for a long time of this life, albeit with various successes and squeezes.”
“Define a long time?” Pillage asked a good question.
“Well... months?” Murai wasn't sure how long, but it felt like that.
“Months?!” Pillage wished to laugh. “I spent a millennia learning all about it.”
“Want a pat on your back?” Murai shot his pride down. “I am young... That is why. Less than a year old by the way, so don't give me this crap. This duck and everything... It defies the me that is deep like an Abyss.”
“Oh, I know that, don't worry. The moment your mana came through this tome, your Will was seized by mine, turning everything about you to my perception. It is... not a Path? What is deeper than... your soul?” Pillage looked in the distance, as if in wonder and curiosity. Then, his mouth widened, and his eyes turned as open as they could. “What the fuck are you? WHO?!”
“Me? I don't care much but to see what this tome is about. That is all. If it's disappointing, I will just toss it away. Simple.”
Pillage's Intent seemed to take a different turn for the better because Murai was... something he hadn't seen or expected in the slightest. At least in his residual Intent, this meeting... or should he say, mess, wasn't what was within his calculation, awareness, or learning. He had never seen something like this, which should poise as something interesting for his residual Will and mostly intact knowledge.
It wasn't entirely about his Heavenly Shaping, but... it was mostly about it.
But his purposefully and well-crafted Ancestral Tomes were well known for their formats. It can act alongside Murai's mighty form as well. Probably...
He was still a Child. It should still work.
“Fine. Fine.” Pillage sighed as if comforting something in his mind. “I was just making sure this is right, but you aren't. You are an insane one, but it matters not to this Intent of mine. I can work with anything! Anyone. My technique directly helps with Shaping at its core, which encompasses a bunch of layers across many techniques. Beasts can learn the shaping techniques of all sorts of races, but what if beasts have their own legacy or aspects of their own? It is still all about mana. Mana is infinite. Set in stone. It has its rules, and so do we. My technique is one of the best of its kind for you, I bet.”
“Prove it,” Murai argued.
“Don't run in that direction. Everything needs steadiness.” Pillage argued back but seemed to hesitate about where to start. “Heavenly Shaping examples? Alright. Let's get to the points of its rules.”
“Like a middle finger, right?” Murai joked.
“No... but not quite wrong either. Beasts have a tougher and wilder approach to the mana. It is how this universe births us. Affects us. Mana Flow does that, as it runs through our veins, blood, and flesh. Everything that comes to the mana space, conjurating, and following up spells, shaping, or fleshly powers. Mana influences everything.”
“As it should.”
“But beast have it wild.” Pillage reminded. “So I came up with methods to let this aspect turn better, by working through its methods, turning it into a fine weapon instead. It is about the input and output while maintaining the wilderness in no check. It is a tool. A weapon that needs a proper touch. There are stages to this Heavenly Shaping, as it is progressive according to the Sub-Species. Yours is a Panacea, the kind that is within the perception of magic. Correct?”
“Sure as my Will.” Murai agreed. “But my mana is workable thus far, just so you know. I just need to squeeze it tight, like leashing a dog. It works well even with my cores.”
“Squeeze? That is a good term, but cores?” Pillage wondered. “That is a good joke. Beasts can't have two cores. That goes against the principles of wilderness. It would literarily explode what is known.”
“Can't see the reason why that is important right now, old dog, but what about the rest? Shaping? Conjuring? How does it all work, or can it even help me?” Murai continued, understanding that Pillage couldn't see everything about him. His Core Defying Fusion technique should be steady and unnoticeable, thanks to him, not using it in the slightest.
Or the answers were clearer: Pillage had no clue about it whatsoever, or he did but lacked context. Again, the means of dual cores weren't an unfathomable idea. Murai had no doubts there were some techniques in this world that were the same. He briefly asked Lisa about it, but she shrugged without talking much about it.
Pillage chuckled, figuring it was time to get his desire across. “That is why I shall be your teacher!”
“I refuse.”
“Wait... What? What choice do you even have if you got my Manual?”
“Many. One is forgetting I have your manual. As for you? Just give me a single reason to listen like a dog to you. I don't need this chance per se. It is just interesting enough to listen to and I have a lot in mind and body. If it's terrible...” Murai said without finishing a sentence.
“Alright. Not a student then. Fine. I had many lofty assholes to talk to me before they bent a knee and call me a master.” Pillage awkwardly laughed. “Then let's get my points straight at you. Heavenly Shaping Manual works in a willful matter. It requires mana to operate its various inner training, stages, and respective aspect phases. It can simulate teachings, learnings, expertise, and various exercises all under my guidance. Time works differently here. 10-fold slower flow is subject to its internal structure, the input of your mana, and the amount of stress in this place. Oh, and we are inside the Manual. It is a separate dimension that I've created out of some otherwordly treasures not worth mentioning. It acts for learning and comprehending the aspects of what I will further give away, but it doesn't directly influence reality. That shall happen by the student's touches and rules of reality, where the student shall take everything into account from this place. Got it? it is practical.”
“Didn't hear the further reason why it is impressive, but that time flow sounds promising. Keep going.”
Pillage went straight to the juicy stuff, fearing that Murai would truly leave him behind as his cold suggestions sounded. He couldn't pass this choice! Before him was an insane Child of an Anatidae, and even if he had the lowest stage possible for Heavenly Shaping and still held an Initialization Core, it didn't matter.
Pillage made his technique around everything in mind. But Murai's quality, quantity, and might of his mana space were wild and weird. The roots of his talent were incredible, causing Pillage to doubt why he was still at his most basic Beast Core. Wildnerness or chaos shouldn't drop the growth to null. And with the amount of mana that went to this place, he uncovered Murai's mana and control was incredible and way out of the norm.
Which was weird.
Pillage wasn't seeing the reality of his Artificial Core, nor the effects of the Core Defying Fusion Technique. These powers were so outside of this world, that they weren't object to its history.
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Pillage knew he couldn't influence reality like a book. He could only consider it by speaking through what he got out of Murai and his own WIll, while students could do anything they wanted afterward.
Shaping was a vast term and magical expertise as old as those wielding mana in many names and forms. The core of Heavenly Shaping held almost no spells in sight, which made it an in-depth foundation technique. It had no spells or other techniques in mind because it focused on what made mages potent.
Handling mana didn't come by itself. Like cycling mantras or other techniques, it was one of the few principles of magic.
So in a sense, it was more important than any spells. Laying the foundation and increasing the quality and possibilities was all about proper Shaping. Murai could've started some shaping mantras, control techniques, or cycling methods from many worlds, but because of the unending issues of his mana, he never started them.
He got one already. Mana Rejuvenation kept cycling between reality and his mana space, acting as a semi-closed cycling technique. It was a bit rough, and he shouldn't complain about it even a little bit because he didn't have to work with it and the potential troubles of some unfamiliarity. Shaping or Conjuring his mana ended up troublesome ever since he got his core, so he couldn't imagine what a foreign element out of this world would give him.
He hoped to get some ideas about his own body from Pillage, who seemed to know more about it, unlike Lisa and anyone he had ever met.
Thus, Heavenly Shaping should be much more useful than he initially thought. All because Pillage was a good speaker and not hesitant to give it to him at all.
“You are a Child, ehm.. what is your name again?” Pillage asked.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes!”
“Murai...”
“Murai, then. As a Child Anatidae Panacea with Initialization Core, your current Shaping shall be tested for further testaments and context. Begin the introductory Trial.” Pillage said loftily, turning on the spot, and changing the surroundings in a breath of mana that all came out of his body. His paw swiped the surroundings and everything changed.
In a blink, Murai found the location almost identical, but a bunch of combat dolls were before him, appearing like floating ghosts.
“Kill them,” Pillage ordered.
“How?”
“This place allows for normalcy like dreams. Your Will can simply shape and seize mana that is stored here, so let's skip some sorry tactics and useless chatter. You sound old and collected to speak to me like this. Normally, anyone with heads straight would speak to me with politeness! Or... do you even know my name?” Pillage realized that he might be wrong and unknown. He didn't know how many ages passed, or what the outside world looked like. He rather didn't want to know.
“I heard of you from someone. Beast Sect and everything. Impressive but normal. Now, continue.”
Murai didn't question it further, so he wondered how to act without flesh or core. So he did the usual stuff, but with an imagination that moved this world by clutching the mana that Pillage reserved. It was his, in a sense, so it should be fine, even though it had its finite limits like anything in this place.
Mana swirled around, coming into the touch of his Will. It acted similarly to Shaping which was no different from the reality, but it wasn't feeling normal either. As Pillage said. It felt like a dream. His mana felt alive but slowed down, and kind of numb.
This was possible because of Pillage or this place itself, which bent certain rules between mana and soul spaces.
“Oh! This is interesting. It acts so smooth.” Murai said, half impressed, and half playing with the Shaping of his own mana. It worked well enough like a fake mana source that bent to his Will, creating Shaping that was not far from the real deal.
“Stop wasting time,” Pillage grunted, knowing that time is essential, while he liked to act like a tough teacher. It wasn't fitting right now, even if he wished it was.
“Sure.” Murai surprisingly complied. “How does the learning this Heavenly Shaping work? What are the fundamentals?” He asked the rightful question he had in his mind for a long time.
“Hm.” Pillage nodded. “There are 3 principles under the Child Stage of Initialization Core and my technique. Other ones are there after that, but that requires further evolution, or a Revolving Core of great quality to overcome the differences of wilderness and Shaping. These principles go forth too, acting as a basis that is further mastered later. A Child with a Revolving Core is rare, and you are far from that too. Still at Small Success? Tsch. How improper.” he scoffed in disappointment.
But Murai didn't care. “Your point? What are the fundamentals?” He demanded.
“Right. Right. I am the insane one anyway.” Pillage conceded. “Speed, form, and flow. Those are the principles.”
“Speed of Shaping, Form of Shaping, and Flow? It is basically what describes the Shaping methods in general, but what about the start of it? What about Conjuring?”
“Good question. That is part of my secrets, but... this place is rather poor in imitating that, as letting the core come into play is an aspect of beasts in reality. All I can give is the concept and an idea and imitation, while the student should conclude my teachings outside. And trust me, the terms of my training and demands are high. My concepts take immense practice!”
“Oh, tell me. What kind?” Murai took his challenge head-on, still swirling the mana without any form around his duckling body.
“Cores are simple in their premise. They store the mana and its force, while mana space adheres to the rest. Shaping has its feelings since Heavenly Shaping has 3 truths that I should've mentioned earlier, but whatever. Efficiency is first. The next one is fusing the Shaping and Conjuring. Last is increasing the input and output that correspond to the spells and everything added together. I call it Surge. It is the what truths add together in spells, while Insta Cast moved the Conjuring of simple things and Shaping, creating a core concept of Heavenly Shaping that bents some ideas of many things.”
“Alright. These are neat truths, but what use does it all have? Give me examples of your training.”
“Shape your Blade at them first.” Pillage pointed with his paw to the ghosty dolls.
“Blade?”
“It seems to be your highest potential according to your Sharpness and spells. Not soul, or... I can't talk to your fleshly correctness. They are way out of my rules or familiarity like your beak. It touches on Shaping ideas that go against my principles, as it is an effect of your bloodline, rather they what Mana Flow is about.”
“Can't touch my beak or body, huh?”
“Can't. And there is nothing wrong with that. The body and Bloodline have their instinctual properties that work differently from Shaping. It will be up to you to discover what my Heavenly Shaping does to your body spells, or how I call them. It is about your species. I can't touch that, as I can't even fathom an idea of a magical duck.”
“Agreed...”
Both animals sighed and shook their heads before Murai went straight to action.
He did his usual thing. Shaping the Blade before hitting the doll, cleaving it in half.
“Terrible.” Pillage scoffed at that vision.
“It is how I do things.” Murai acknowledged that it was how it was, and although he succeeded in increasing his efficiency numerous times, it was very difficult to make some substantial changes to his current Proper Mana Blade. His body and core weren't that happy to work together and act alongside his soul, and this place felt much better without his body in sight. This Blade was near perfect in its current form, cutting quickly and with notable sharpness.
“This is a prime example of how beasts take the mana without anything good in sight. I bet you work many times more brutish in reality, but that is what I can fix!” Pillage said proudly.
“Never heard of many fixes...” Murai argued, understanding that this was the regular Shaping that anyone could see, learn, and handle just fine. He used it since his core came to his body, even though it might not be the best way to do it. It was how he handled it before being a duck, so he squeezed its workings tight and worked with it like a stubborn duck. It was like riding the wrong vehicle, so it gave him a headache.
Pillage laughed. “And that is what creates a fine line between a proper beast and my kind of beast. I created a way to clear the time and methods between the Shaping, Conjuring, and mana space itself. How? Just because of the wilderness and chaos beasts have? It is true, helpful, and incredible, but issues are also there. I acknowledge that. Comprehending the quality of mana and working it all into the specific and great influence of my teachings takes time. It takes a lot of things, including guts. Why, you wonder?”
“Easy. Because beasts are diverse in talent, visions, cores, and Bloodlines. You mentioned it yourself. Every one of them holds many concepts differently, while the wilderness and this chaos you speak of could add problems that might be unique to one another. You haven't changed the world but looked for a way to fix something hardly fixable. I think it goes against the norm of the mana, but... a middle finger, huh?” Murai wondered about Pillage's technique. It sounded good. Too good.
He doubted how reasonable it could be.
Pillage smiled, hoped to argue, but couldn't when Murai was completely right and found the truth without trying. Pillage created something important for any beast regardless of the Bloodline issues, but there were still hidden problems that both of them recognized.
Heavenly Shaping and workings with beast' mana in general required a clever mind, which was something that many beasts lacked in their most basic principles.
Heavenly Shaping was thus, for the privileged beasts mostly, handling powerful instincts, Bloodlines, or souls. How many of them across countless species can even come close to his rather highly advanced Shaping methods?
Pillage knew exactly how many when he was alive, but he wasn't interested in knowing the current timeline or acts of his legacy. It would depress him for sure, so he opted to do what he was good at: teaching. He strictly adhered to his beliefs, so he made examples for Murai, as he wanted.
Mana around his current Intent in a vision of a puppy surged. In a moment, it went around him like a whip, flaring in midair, and acting like a blade itself, but quicker, as if nothing about it was Conjuring or Shaping itself.
In a flash, mana cut one of the remaining dolls apart with what Murai would describe as a crescent moon blade while remaining in half-shaped properties and the sharp nature of a Blade. It was basically as sharp as any proper Blade, while significantly more efficient.
Nothing about it was simple at first glance, or later ones. Murai saw it all.
“Oh!” He was impressed. He wouldn't be able to do that in hundreds of tries. “That sounds complicated for beasts. True. You achieved it by...”
“Practise. It is what I've created and done the best. It is only managed by beasts who have high talent and minds because wilderness affects the mana. It forces mana out if you assess your reality. Don't you feel it sometimes? How your shaping go with spells onwards without much care or face? Wilderness pushes our potential close to Chaos, so why not squeeze it as you mentioned?”
“Sounds like a ton of wishful thinking.” Murai reckoned, deep in thought.
“It is our reality. Enough merit and tries will counter our mana, which is naturally unkept, flowing like Trial Wind. Tried teaching it to some humans. They couldn't even lift their spirits afterward. It was that complicated for them, or straight-up impossible since I could only imagine what their mana was like. It is much milder. But they have their benefits, and the beasts have their own stakes. Universe accommodates for it, creating talents for any life forms.”
“Can see why...” Murai said. “Your Fundamentals and Truths act like good baselines. Give me your full rundown of training methods, learning practices, or hints. I am down to learn it, and hopefully improving what you've done would provide something nice for myself.” Murai confidently said, speaking something so arrogant, that Pillage found himself lost in words.
“You... What did you just say?” He mumbled as if he heard his words wrong.
“You dead, old dog,” Murai stated the fact. “Do you want to know me? What I am? What does this mean to you? I will take your technique and improve it.”
“I mean... I see your Will. I don't want to make my guesses, but you said something unspeakable for any proper mage.”
“Taking something is part of the power,” Murai stated. “It is an undeniable truth. What you offer is a highly sophisticated technique. I bet no one reached very high stages within it.”
“Wrong! A lot of beasts did. Who do you even think I was? Emperor was my title and you are speaking to me as if I am giving you a box of apples.”
“How impressive apples they are,” Murai said coldly like a king of ducklings. “Do you want to refute my idea?”
”I am not refusing it.” Pillage grunted, still half pissed and half infuriated to hear someone think of his technique that was like a child to him in this manner. What Murai stated wasn't wrong, but his way of telling it was.
Who Pillage was to question his hope and integrity as a beast? “You wish to get my technique and improvise it accordingly to your species, or other things, right?”
“By interest alone. So?”
“Arrogant! Heavy. You are insane, but I like it. It is why I will be a good puppy, willing to give it some face.” Pillage said weakly, speaking in understanding that he was outmatched in terms of Will.
Will was experience and depicted further Intent and a powerful soul. Even if Pillage was far lower in that regard than Murai as a whole, he accepted it.
But in terms of beasts?
Murai had to acknowledge some differences. Pillage knew much more about how beasts worked with mana or magic, or even evolutions and other things. If Pillage would teach him, that meant yet another piece to his soul that could turn to another level. It was about learning. All of his lives allowed him to turn many things into new heights. If new pieces came together into something new, evolving and improvements would eventually come.
Murai believed that he could learn interesting things if what Pillage showed was even half as impressive as he stated.
“Do you know how many people and beasts prostrated themselves before me to become their teacher?” Pillage asked after second-guessing exactly what Murai said. He asked to be taught, but like an arrogant thieft that didn't think of it highly.
“A lot. True. Do you know how many of such fools I've met?” Murai offered his piece of mind. “More, puppy.”
“Uh!” Pillage didn't like it. “I am a puppy only because you are a Child! You scrutinous duck! You have no shame in your manners when I offer you something that I spent a lifetime improving.”
When Murai heard it like that, it indeed sounded like he was the villain.
So what if he did? Murai lost the concept of that word long ago. People were that all the time, and the spectrum of some morality was so grey and wide, it hardly made sense.
“Alright. I went overboard, but my willingness to learn isn't wrong. You can give me something valuable. That is a fact. It could be useful to not only me.”
“Bullshit lie. You are shameless in your demands.”
“A little. Sure. So? Do you have a choice to refuse it, or do you want something in return? Oh, wait... You aren't having many choices, do you, a ghost of a puppy?”
Pillage hesitated, knowing that his Intent hadn't met anyone in a long time. The exact number of years wasn't what he knew, but it was so long, he wasn't sure if it made sense.
“I will teach you. Of course, I will. That is my purpose as I've died in a world not accommodating to me, figuring the truths and words matter little in the grand scheme of the universe.”
“At least you've learned that before dying. Many won't do that even after that.” Murai mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing. If it gives you some ideas, I am not a bad person. I will appreciate your words, technique, and Will, and act according to them like a fine student if you want. But my Will is mine. It is an opportunity that comes with any manual, even if this one is full of yourself.”
“I agree to teach you, but... it is my Ancestral Tome. Lifetime went for this.”
“And you've died to let it die too?”
“No!”
“Then teach me like you say without no consequences in sight. I can take it, so how good or bad it can be? I've never heard of your style of Shaping, but heard of countless others that try to put efficiency to another level. Wilderness is... new or unique, but it definitely sounds like something that someone thought of already even with you in the picture. Magic put screws to brains. Countless fools spend lifetimes engineering and managing their ideas. Yours sounds good but hardly breathtaking. It's not like coming up with something new is easy in the vastness of this universe, so have my bluntness but no apologies.”
Pillage got depression straight away, thinking that he wasted unnecessary time arguing for nothing. He would bend a knee anyway, while Murai had no clue how many beasts used to be under this historical figure. Probably a lot, if what Lisa said had some validity and truth, but Murai wasn't thinking that someone qualified to be his teacher.
He lied to him a little, hoping to calm the situation that he had caused. He wasn't finding it that harsh, however. It was his truth.
“I will teach you, even if you are a vicious duck against this Will of old me.” Pillage decided. “Time is weakening. I will give you everything within the starting lines. You Will shall take it, so don't grumble on me for this choice of yours.”
“Would never do that,” Murai said confidently.
“The basics are vast. There is some truth and power in sending my technique through the Will. Whenever you wish to get some points across, or if you wish to seek your progress outside of your reality, come here. Time is essential in this place, often good, and my input can help even someone like you. I believe that. Truthfully.”
Pillage sounded sincere, which touched a little bit of Murai's consciousness. But little. Only a little.
“Sorry for the harshness,” Murai said. “I take anything with magic for something interesting, and half already clear.”
“What I created is interesting!” Pillage suddenly cheered. “No wonder you did.” he laughed. “Listen, Murai. There is more to my technique. If you can learn something out of it and manage it, that is good. Suppose you won't, so find someone who you think will. That is the mission that anyone who will adhere to this manual does. Do you agree? It is not mandatory. Just a favor that acts as no binding law or an oath.”
“Sure.” Murai agreed without a problem. It sounded like a normal promise. However, Murai was confident he could manage this Heavenly Shaping just fine.
Pillage's body quivered, flaring in his memories, Intent, and technique, Then, a blinding light flooded into Murai's head.
Many Heavenly Shaping teachings came like a flash, flooding in statements, pictures, styles, and procedures. It all flashed from Pillage's Intent, so Murai recognized not everything was about Heavenly Shaping since some of these things were weird. What corresponded to his past magical principles clashed against what Pillage created in a special world and in a special time.
Though hundreds of magical techniques sounded great, there were millions of them across even more possibilities. Paths were countless, so it made sense some were heavenly and others trash. This Heavenly Shaping adhered to no Path in general. It was fairly universal in its structure, but its process wasn't.
It wasn't for beasts alone, Murai believed as he felt the flow of information. He took it like a sneeze, shocking Pillage who kept glaring at him in curiosity as he pushed much more to him than ever before.
Yet Murai took it like nothing. Pillage thought he should send something more, but before he knew it, all things about the starting stage of his technique went out of his head. Anything else would be beyond Murai's needs, as those touched on Laws, and without mastering the starting principles of Heavenly Shaping, they didn't matter.
Chaos and wilderness that Murai felt through his body and his current magic still functioned with mana. Bloodlines and bodies can change it, but mana was much more special than that. This shouldn't be so insane after all. Magic had to adhere to the rule. Murai often neglected such things for being dumb, but there was something pretty and neat in figuring Order in Chaos.
It was almost poetic, so Murai took this change to heart, deciding to think of this as a new learning experience. Beasts handling magic like humans was way outside of his normal experience, but it affected Anatidaes!
He can learn more about his body by following this technique in no time.
“See you soon, I hope,” Pillage said, wobbling in his form as he puffed to smoke after the stored mana reached its end. Murai's vision blinked, coming back to reality where Lisa waited in his line of vision, glaring at him and poking his head with her little fingers.