Charlie felt like he was frozen in place, unable to breathe. The Serpents gaze felt almost enthralling, penetrating and judgemental. Almost as if Charlie was being evaluated by the Serpent hidden in the boiling clouds.
And for what exactly, Charlie could only guess.
The two have never had a strong relationship, and after Charlie subdued it's will with his own, the Serpent had not budged from its throne atop the clouds. Charlie wasn't even sure if it could - or if it was even real in the first place.
Yet, when Charlie returned the Serpents gaze, it was hard to deny the flood of unrestrained vitriol pouring out of the cold green eyes. There was no room left to deny that it had a mind of its own - and it hated Charlie.
The shadow Serpent broke its petrifying gaze with Charlie, and began to weave between the boiling clouds seemingly no longer bothering with his arrival.
It had been a long time since Charlie had seen the Serpents full length - the size of its body was unfathomable.
The shadowed inhabitants body seemed to extend forever, circling the infinite field of ash without issue. Yet, Charlie never got the chance to lay his eyes on its actual flesh, unable to see its scales or skin - just the vast shadow cast down by an unknown light.
Maybe, behind those tumultuous clouds, there was a bright and vibrant sun, filling this world with light. The field of ash could be hiding beautiful wonders beneath it's impenetrable expanse, too. Charlie's Soul could be stunningly beautiful, if any of that were true.
Maybe, behind those tumultuous clouds, there was a shattered sky filled with untold horrors, and the field of ash held the remains of nightmares.
Whatever the case may be, the Serpent balanced between the two worlds, and was the only thing that could know what truly lay within its kingdom in the sky. If only Charlie could find a way to communicate, to bridge the gap and begin to understand some of its secrets.
Without the Serpent keeping direct eye contact, Charlie felt the pressure evaporate and was finally allowed to enter deeper into his own Soul.
Charlie wasn't certain if he should be upset or relieved and whether or not it had a reason to confront him like so. On one hand, Charlie could be potentially stealing control away from the original owner, the Serpent, which would of course illicit unbridled rage, and on the other - the guy was nothing more than a prick.
Upon arrival to the cloud containing the mystic text, Charlie could feel a smile creeping up on to his face.
This was the moment where he would see if what he had felt, and heard, while awake was nothing more than some unknown shenanigans by the System - or if he had truly succeeded.
Charlie finally looked up, and a flood of incredible knowledge wormed its way into Charlies mind - guided by the ethereal whispers of the System.
Level: 4 / 75%
Mana: 38/80
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 4
Vitality: 5
Eso: 4
{Evolution}
[A limitless journey awaits, but you are naked and bare, still seeking purpose.]
{The Challenge}
[Cursed and blessed at the same time, your journey is one of Hunger. Your power is to Devour that which is precious, steal the sacred and become more than your Creator.]
{Powers}
[Devour:
Level: 1 / 98.5%
Mana: 50
A wretched power, manifested from bottomless hunger.]
[Worm of Envy:
Level: 0 / 75%
Mana: 10/Level
Curiosity, wonder, desire, Envy.]
{Epitaphs}
[No Strings On Me]
[Hollow Fang:
Level: 2 / 16%
Mana: 4
The venomous bite of this Serpent is deadlier than it looks.]
[Mana Sense:
Level: 0 / 3%
Mana: 1/hour
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Envious of the hidden world, the Serpent unveiled secrets unseen. To peer beyond the mortal is to touch upon the Weave.]
[Desecrated Thief]
[An Unknown power manifested in secrecy, hidden away from the eyes of envy and jealousy.]
[The Sklite were the first to know of such a loss, forever marking the Thief as their mortal enemy.]
[Nirina, The Worm of Envy, birthed of an unholy union between Sorcery and the Arcane, suffered at the hands of her creators for millennia. In the depths of True Darkness, the Thief ended her torment.]
There were so many changes to the mystic text that Charlie felt momentarily uncertain on what to focus on first.
Mana, not only was it real, but now Charlie could actually see how much he had, and how much remained. It finally clicked into place for Charlie as to why he would be only able to cast his abilities so many times.
Each ability that Charlie had been able to cast had a requirement of Mana associated with it. Some were obvious, such as [Hollow Fang] only requiring 3 Mana to cast, but what did 10/Level mean for [Worm of Envy]? Does the cost go up every time it Levels up, or his own Level? Did it mean per Level of the creature Charlie wanted to find out about using [Worm of Envy]?
If the ability took into account the creatures Level, then the massive drain on his Mana made sense, but at the same time didn't. Charlie was only Level four, and the Liger seemed to be a much higher level than he was, so surely it would have cost more than his entire Mana pool to cast [Worm of Envy].
Charlie had also used [Worm of Envy] on two other creatures, and one of them had been Level two. If the other creature would have been Level four, then the idea worked out. More research was required though, as Charlie was not willing to commit to the theorem just yet.
Moving down the text, Charlie felt overjoyed at the sight of [Mana Sense]. It meant that not only did he succeed in creating his very own {Epitaph}, but that it was possible to do so without the System. The more he could do on his own, the better Charlie would feel about his future.
He couldn't rely on the System giving him free {Epitaphs} or {Powers}, and the only peace of mind he would receive is if he could create them himself. The hard work required to even figure out the very basics of an {Epitaph} also made Charlie feel like he had truly worked for it, and was handsomely rewarded.
The first part of the description felt apt, as Charlie truly was Envious of the Magical world beyond his reach. He knew it existed, he knew it was there, but he simply could not reach it - until now.
Though, the second part of the description puzzled Charlie. The System was annoyingly quiet when he read it, and provided no information on what the Weave could have been.
If he broke it down literally, then peering beyond the mortal simply meant being able to perceive the unnatural - Mana. Though how did that incorporate into touching something called a Weave, well that mystery was not going to be solved right this moment, it seemed.
Unable to progress with the hidden meanings of the new {Epitaph}, Charlie decided to check out his Soul. Even from here, he could see a noticeable difference in his Mana pool and was excited for a moment to indulge in some much needed respite within the loving embrace of his Soul.
A sudden tremor permeated the world of ash and cloud.
It sounded like a thunderbolt shot through the boiling clouds, the floor of unending ash turned still and a strange glow permeated from all directions - Yet, it was his soul that truly grabbed his attention.
The beauty and grace of his soul was wreathed in an inky black-green flame, never touching the delicate frills with its corroding fire. Instead, it seemed to be nurturing the soul, giving it power and even more life than it already had. Charlies soul looked to grow, taking up a touch more of space, providing an inch more of it's loving radiance - and pushed back even more of the furious world that surrounded it.
As quickly and suddenly as it all happened, it just as quickly stopped. The inky flame evaporated into his soul, and Charlie felt noticeably better. Charlie quickly returned to the Mystic text in the clouds and couldn't believe his own eyes - or whatever it was he used to see in his own Soul.
Level: 5 / 0%
Mana: 38/100
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 4
Vitality: 6
Eso: 5
[Devour:
Level: 2 / 0%
Reap: 50 Mana
Sever: 10% Mana/Level
A wretched power, manifested from bottomless hunger - Unchained.]
There were only a few changes, but they felt monumental.
Charlie had Leveled up, his Mana had increased, and [Devour] underwent a tremendous change. Not only did its description change, but now there were two new entries.
Reap and Sever.
Charlie could piece together that Reap was probably the ability it already came with, especially since it had the same requirement for Mana as it did before. Whereas with Sever - that was entirely new.
The System provided some of its mystical guidance, and allowed Charlie to glean a touch of foundational knowledge on Sever - tying in with the new word, Unchained, added to the description.
It felt like it was meant to destroy, to unbind and remove. What exactly? That was still a mystery. The Systems had been kind enough to provide some understanding, but not enough to crack the new tool added to his repertoire and allow Charlie to find its true purpose.
Well, it just adds to the growing pile of mysteries anyway.
Charlie could try and figure it out, but there was some hope in it behaving much like Reap did - where it's almost sentient presence would make itself known at the right time.
So instead, Charlie decided that it was the perfect time to wake up and go out to not only try out his new tools, but to make some serious headway towards the human cave. There was only so much time he could waste out here on the surface. The gap between Levels was too wide, and Leveling up would certainly take far too long if he had to scour out suitable targets.
Instead, the cave would provide plenty of creatures to choose from, and armed with the [Worm of Envy], he would be more lethal than ever before. Now, he would no longer have to gamble with his life on whether or not the creature was beyond his capabilities.
A devilish smile wanted to creep up on Charlies face, but he quickly wiped it off and steadied himself. Yet, a quiet excitement still grew in his heart.
It's truly beginning now, huh?