I had a second shower before I took Farrah’s Crystal wash. I had almost taken a third, but I could hear a loudish discussion going on out there, and it had been over an hour anyway. That Crystal Wash was fantastic stuff. I will get some as soon as I can afford it. I have to afford a summons first.

I got dressed and went out to see them.

Gary saw me first and said, “ When you said the essence of the Reaper, you meant the essence of Reaping, right? Like Harvesting.”

I stopped and felt for my sensation of the essence, “No, I don’t think so. It is more like the one who does the reaping, not the action but the person.” I nodded, “Definitely the Essence of the Reaper.”

Everybody started to ask me questions at the same time till Rufus got up and yelled, “Quiet!” He turned to me and said, “Theo, do you know who the Reaper is?”

I shook my head, “No. I think the High Priestess mentioned it?”

“That is right,” Rufus said. “ The goddess of Death collects the souls of the dead and makes sure they get safety to the Great Astral Being called the Reaper, whose job it is to look after them from there.”

“What is a Great Astral Being?” I asked.

“We are not actually sure, but they are greater than this world’s gods. They live in the Astral space and span universes rather than a world. We only know of a few of them, The Reaper, The Builder…”

“He builds universes,” interjected Gary.

“... The Celestial Book, and the World Phoenix are the most well-known,” continued Rufus, ignoring Gary.

“What has this got to do with me?” I asked.

“We don’t know,” Farrah said, “but I have spent the last hour looking through every relevant book I have, and that is here in this Magic Society, and there is no record of anyone having the essence of a Great Astral Being. Ever.”

Nia spoke up, “I think that is why my Goddess has taken an interest in you.”

“It is too much of a coincidence to be otherwise,” Rufus said, and Farrah nodded in agreement.

“But what do I do?” I said.

Rufus turned to me and said, “Nothing. You go on as normal and live how you want to. The affairs of Astral beings are above even Diamond Rankers. The essence is yours and has now been adapted for you and bonded to you.”

“Astral beings interfere in mortals even less than gods,” Farrah said. “Much less than gods. If there is something that it wants, you will do it as you normally go about your life, so you ignore this and carry on however you like. However, I would like to record your essences, if you please.”

“But won’t that mean powerful people will want to study me, and I won’t be able to say no?” I said.

“I will keep your name secret and not pass it to the Magic Society for years if you want, but this needs to be recorded.”

Nia spoke up, “Theo, the Goddess of Death, is looking out for you, and if you are willing, then Farrah could agree not to release any information until the goddess says she can.”

Farrah nodded, “That is OK with me.”

“Ok, then,” I said.

“Right,” Farrah said, “What Skill did you get?”

I felt out the skill, as I didn’t want to get this wrong. “The Aura of the Reaper.”

Everyone just looked at me in silence.

Then Farrah sort of shook herself and said, “That's great. You needed an aura skill, and I can train you on the basics of using your aura. Auras have an effect when they are extended. What effect does yours have?”

I was weary of saying something wrong again. Not wrong as such, but I seem to shock them without knowing why.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“The effect is that allies in the aura have their Spirit Attribute strengthened. It increases perception and judgement and helps with a calm mind.”

There was a short silence, and then Rufus said, “You are getting a lot of skills that deal with the Spirit. Your Racial Evolution also boosted your Spirit Attribute.”

I just nodded.

“It is the Spirit attribute that also powers the aura,” Farrah said. “It is a function of the Soul.”

Rufus just nodded.

I felt we needed to move on with something else, so I said, “Did you find anything about the Blood Root Vine?”

“No,” Farrah said, “I got distracted, but it won’t be difficult. I have a book here.” She went over to her already open chest and moved the loose books lying on top and soon found what she was looking for. She spent some time flicking through the pages. “Here it is, Blood Root Vine, Summons. Iron Rank. It uses vines to entrap its prey and pierce it with thorns, causing the Bleeding effect. It feeds on blood to heal itself. It can move through the ground at about a walking pace but not through stone or other hard materials. When merged with its summoner, it resides in the skin and can produce spikes from the skin to cause bleeding and absorb the blood of enemies that heal you.”

“OK, wow.”

“There is information here on the bronze form, but nothing beyond that. When it gets to bronze rank, you have to resummon it. Do you realise that?”

I nodded.

“OK, at bronze, it is bigger and faster. It can float on water, and it adds a toxin to the thorn attack to slow down and subdue its prey. When the summoner absorbs it, it can perform grappling attacks with its vines like it was manifested. That is all the information here.”

“Thanks.” I said, “I think we should summon the vine, and then I can see how many coins I have left for other awakening stones.”

“That is sensible,” Rufus said.

“I do have the divine awakening stone here,” Nia said.

“Let's do that right after the summons,” I said.

“Right you are,” Farrah said. “I will go and buy the quintessence, and you will write down all your skills to date.” She handed me some paper and ink. Then she said, “And the racial evolutions, please.” She exited the room.

“Wait,” Gary said, “You got a dimensional space. Let's try it and see how many kegs it will fit.”

I also wanted to see it, so I concentrated, and the knowledge was just like the skills. I needed some wood, but any wood would do. I went to the wooden wall and ran my finger in a large circle, and it seemed to open a gap in whatever the space was. I put the paper in it and then closed it again. I moved to another part of the wall, made a small oval with my finger, and plucked the paper out of the wall.

“That is handy,” Rufus said, “You can make larger or smaller entrances depending on the size of the shape you make. You will find the storage very convenient. I know Farrah does.”

“Wait,” Gary said, “you haven't eaten as a true iron ranker yet here,” he handed me an iron-ranked coin.

I looked at the coin, then placed it on my tongue, and it dissolved with a tingly and slightly unpleasant iron taste. I screwed up my nose.

Gary laughed, “Unpleasant, right? You can live on that, but there are much nicer things to eat.”

“Normal food is also cheaper,” Rufus said, then amended his statement to “cheaper for us. With the amount Gary eats, he might be better off eating spirit coins, even at the bronze rank coins we need.”

Farrah soon returned with the quintessence. “You have to do this ritual yourself,” she said. Lucky for you, that diagram over there is the one you need. Put the quintessence in the correct spaces, and you should have a summoning phrase or something.”

I nodded and placed the quintessence.

“This will take all your mana so you will need to eat a spirit coin to replenish it afterwards,” she added.

I stood in the right place and said,

“From darkness deep, arise, entwine,

Thorny vine, with blood, align.

Entangle prey, draw forth the flood,

In shadows' grasp, let crimson bud.”

The piles of quintessence merged together and flowed to the centre of the diagram as a vine poked out and started to grow, and then another and more until there was a thick tangle of vines. The vines were a dark wood colour with dark green leaves, and there was the occasional crimson flower.

“Wow,” I said, and I leaned closer to see. I felt connected to this vine, like it was a part of me. I touched it, and I could see roots underneath it. It felt like a vine, and its thorns were sharp. “Come on,” I said to it. A vine swung toward my hand, and a thorn penetrated my flesh, and it seemed to melt into my skin. I could feel it there, residing under my fur. I lifted my hand, and a thorn about ten centimetres long poked out from the back of my hand. Then, it was absorbed back into my skin.

Everybody was watching me. I ignored them because this was amazing—not the summoning and what the vine could do, but the fact that I was no longer alone. I had a companion now—a companion for life. The vine couldn’t talk, but I could feel it in my soul. I had been worried about the cost of the materials for the summing, but this was worth everything. I didn’t care if I didn’t get another stone. I had a companion.

“Ardisia,” I said.

“What?” Rufus said.

“My vine. Its name is Ardisia.”

“Ok!” said Gary loudly, “That’s great, now let's see this Divine stone of Peace!”