|Chapter 4|
-.-.~Emergence~.-.-
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??? - POV -
‘What... where AM I?’
Everything felt so... dissonant; Distorted in every aspect, fathomable and not. But it was…
CLEAR.
‘I... WAS...’
‘I AM, ME... ME... ME.. ME. ME, ME ME ME ME!’
I WAS! I feel... I felt... Ineffable... I cannot even begin to describe ME...
‘No, I WILL, I’ll LEARN. And when I do...’
‘I don’t know…’
Aloft for… An indeterminate amount of time, I struggle with all of my might in a desperate bid to remain conscious. And it stayed like such, as I floated in the seemingly boundless expanse of desolate void.
Until I felt SOMETHING reverberating throughout the perpetual nothingness. It’s PRESENCE… It was... Sonorous.
’!?!!-‘
Immediately, a sharp, searing pain invaded ME. A multitude of thoughts, concepts, feelings, impressions, realizations, perceptions… SENSATIONS… blurring through my MIND. Wholly irrelevant to me, yet scorched and etched into my very BEING; And then stript away, just as forcefully.
’Nnnghhuu-‘
Seizing, I began rapidly DISTORTING, before simply halting all at once. That’s when I saw IT.
Whatever IT was, it MEANT something unfathomable. Something IMPORTANT, cardinal in every nature; Borne BEYOND comprehension.
It wasn’t so much as principled, it WAS LAW.
IT, the universal construct, is ordered. Woven into the very fabrics of both reality and nonexistence; BOUND tightly via its will. But no matter the sanctions imposed, nothing will BIND me. For I am resolute. For I have rolled into its inner sanctum; And I will see it to its very end. I WILL know its LIMITS. As have I done with everything prior...
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Undaunted, I stated my intent; Willing every fiber of my being towards expressing my goal. Mentally slumping, my perception steadily started fading away. Strangely, moments before succumbing to exhaustion; I could have sworn that I had FELT curiosity.
But not of my own...
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Nuki - POV -
Winding down the rather amusingly maze-like trail, I arrived upon a rather unassuming hole in the ground. Though I say ‘rather’, as it was currently spewing out horrid amounts of unusable, highly unstable mana in unrhythmic pulses. Steeling my resolve, I steadfastly drew mana from my surroundings; Carefully ensuring that I avoid the chaotic, ethereal particulates which now orbit me, swirling about in a deadly dance. Conjuring the magic construct in my mind, I erected a glossy, transparent green barrier; Encircling the hole and slicing through the loosely packed earth. Now successfully contained, I got to work.
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Two hours later and I had succeeded in safely ensnaring the unstable slime. Its poor little body was spazzing out; Seemingly uncontrolled as it thrashed about inside of the magic construct. I encased the creature in three excessively dense barrier spells. Thus leaving me with a bulky dodecahedron spanning about two thirds an arm length in all directions. With this, I need not worry about it shattering during transport.
As for why I decided to keep it alive? I have absolutely no clue. It was only half way through the procedure that I even considered using it as study material. What I had planned to do with it prior, will just have to remain a mystery... I guess. Mentally, I jot it down as a lack of sleep, and promptly forget about it.
Wrapping up what I was doing, I prepared for transport. Using a quick incantation to levitate the glorified cage, and leashing it by a poorly attached rope; I made the long trek back towards Turpiloco.
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Arriving upon the town’s poorly constructed entrance gate, I noticed that it was still being ‘guarded’ by the now even more unkempt, and less than sober imbecile. Happy that I wouldn’t have to pay the entrance fee OR explain the strange floating construct, I strolled on in.
By all means inclined on warding any unwanted attention, I opted to take the stealthier route through a couple of the less-traveled alleyways. A few minutes later and I arrived in front of the inn, mostly unperturbed. Stepping through the rustic styled doorway, I am greeted by a now common sight. Right there, sitting on one of the polished dinner tables; Is Travis. As well as the bulkiest, hairiest, and most disturbingly muscular women that I’ve ever seen. Miss Sweetie.
“Ohhh~ Come on sweet-pea~ I’ll even comp your stay~”
“Na-na-no... P-please... ANYTHING BUT THAAAAT!!!”
Rushing over to the now visibly shaking ‘warrior’, I stand before the quivering mess; And face the quivering mass. This is the third time this week that she has tried to ‘strong-arm’ him into sparring with her. And it's only Tuesday. Sure, she may be sweet, but even a dragon would think twice before engaging her in combat. Honestly, I don't know how her husbands’ still even alive, considering that they’ve already had two kids together.
Focusing back on the current situation, Miss Sweetie returns my glare with a whole hearted smile.
“My my~ Look who's back already. I thought you said you had something important ya needed to do?” Glancing over to the floating ‘magic slime cage’. “I didn’t know that you’d be bringing back a pet~ Ahhh look how cute it is~”
Poking the magic construct, the outermost barriers shatters, the rest of which begin to waver. Gasping, I quickly yank it back. Swiftly infusing more mana into it, stabilizing it; Albeit messily, I can be fixed later.
“It's not a pet, I’m merely containing it for research purposes.” I fire back, “So can you please not break its constraints?”.
“Alrighty dear~ Can do, and if ya need somewhere to put it, we’ve got a latch leading to the cellar in the back.”. She adds helpfully.
“Alright, I’ll take you up on that offer.”
Leaving my party member to the graces of the gods, I departed for the cellar.
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Descending down the short yet spiraling stairway to the bottom of the cellar, I mentally remark on the utter neglect that it has experienced. It had clearly seen better days. Perhaps one without the thick layer of dust that caked everything other than the large spider webs that draped across the ceiling like half drawn curtains. Needing a cleaner slate to construct the holding cell, I picked up an old broom and got to work.