To be frank, the trio of "pranksters" nearly got me. Not in the way they had planned, but still. When Bushe George, disheveled and seemingly slightly beaten, jumped out at me on the forest trail, screaming that urgent help was needed, I immediately thought that one of their cruel pranks had gone a bit too far. Consequently, someone actually needed help because this trio had overdone it with their jokes.
Nevertheless, having been taught by my encounter with Scully, I remained vigilant. It was this alertness, save for the fact that I was initially biased against these people because of the "memories of the past" about them, that allowed me to react in time to the attack. Essentially, only this vigilance saved me from death that day. In open combat, even all three attacking me at once would have had no chance, but Molly Moon managed to surprise me. And what a surprise it was! The last thing I expected from any human was the use of the "Metal Destruction" spell. It's generally believed that humans can't cast it. They are simply incapable of this magic due to the structure of the Core. I didn't even have time to consider that the spell was "borrowed," meaning it was executed with the aid of a Sidhe artifact.
A cloud of the densest Darkness enveloped me entirely unexpectedly. Luckily, the "past me," having fought the Sidhe, knew how to counter this magic. Moreover, this spell didn't take effect immediately. It needed time to "soak" into the metal and start destroying it. Just a little time, slightly less than a second. But it was enough for me. Likely due to fear and adrenaline, I called upon my Affinity, infused the tip of my spear with Light, and immediately protected the dagger with a slightly modified "Discharge." True, these actions didn't save the chainmail from destruction, but at the moment, that wasn't as important. What was more critical was that my weapons retained their combat properties, which came for Bushe George and Pyotr Grotter as a very unpleasant surprise. I'd even call it fatal. The Darkness from Molly Moon's magic hadn't yet dissipated when these two fools were already dropping to the grass with pierced hearts. They didn't even see my strikes. Partly because of the darkness surrounding me and partly because of the speed with which these attacks were delivered. The difference between Bronze and Wootz is colossal, including in terms of speed. Additionally, due to my Perfect Core, my Auras operated only slightly weaker than those of Opal warriors. One could say that Bushe and Pyotr were in some ways lucky; they died quickly and almost painlessly, not in the way they deserved for what they had already managed to pull off during their short stay in Ain.
In contrast to the two guys, dealing with Molly Moon took a bit longer. Although the fight was brief, this girl genuinely could have killed me; she had a very real chance. Her spells were unconventional; the magic that could turn my blood into tree sap with lethal consequences was just one example. At Bronze, Molly Moon was a troublesome opponent even for someone at Wootz, especially for those who had never encountered the magic of the Hidden Forests. That's virtually anyone on the Metal Coil. Unfortunately for Molly, I was not a typical warrior or mage and knew far more than a simple tunneller. These insights, coupled with my Perception Aura enhanced by the orcish belt, allowed me to react timely to the surges of magic in this mad creature's aura.
Orcs came to the world of Ain third, after the Sidhe and dwarves, long before humans, and true to their nature, immediately started a war against everyone. A universal war shook Ain for three centuries, resulting in the complete annihilation of the orcs. Nevertheless, their artifacts, so to speak, were "tuned" against the Sidhe and dwarves. Since Molly Moon used Sidhe magic, the orcish belt read it far better than human spells. Thanks to the trophy obtained from Gnur, I could sense Molly's magic use a quarter of a second before she activated her spells. For someone at Wootz, especially when the enemy is just ten meters away, that's an eternity.
After breaking Molly Moon's spine and severing the tendons in her arms so that all she could do was breathe, blink, and speak, I started inspecting the ambush site to play on her nerves, hoping to force the girl to reveal the Sidhe artifact more clearly. I believed she possessed it by accident, having likely found it somewhere nearby, enabling her to use the Hidden Forest's magic.
To my disappointment, even on the brink of death, Molly Moon did not reveal the artifact but attempted to beguile me, posing as an innocent victim of misunderstanding. She even had the audacity to call me a killer. She said it with such sincerity, with a certain internal conviction, that I almost believed her. Had I not known, thanks to the "memory of the future," what a deceitful creature this seemingly charming girl was, I might have been fooled. Although, even without this memory, I wouldn't have believed her, considering my encounters with Reygyana and Scully.
I was about to directly ask about the Sidhe artifact and use force if necessary when I noticed the girl's eyes frequently darting towards a stone. At first glance, it was a regular, albeit large, river pebble, its only merit being pure malachite.
I was on the edge, teetering on a very thin line. Correctly identifying that the stone was unusual, I assumed it to be a simple transformation artifact, allowing a human to wield the magic of the Sidhe. How lucky I was… Rising to my feet, I noticed that this stone lay at the center of a pattern made of twigs and grass, a peculiar picture resembling a human heart - not the stylized version found on greeting cards but something anatomically similar. At that moment, I understood both who Molly Moon had become and what stone lay by my feet. No matter how much I strained my Auras or tried to perceive something due to my "Understanding of the Hidden" achievement, I saw nothing unusual in this piece of malachite. Just a stone, without a trace of magic or spells. Yet, after spotting the carefully arranged twigs around it, its almost perfect camouflage couldn't deceive me anymore.
For an average person on the Metal Coil, no matter how experienced or strong-willed, touching such a stone entails the most dire consequences. Even if the stone doesn't break their will, it will kill them - there are no alternatives, for this Stone has only one purpose - to kill as many humans as possible.
A Mental mage of the Precious Coil of the Spiral, if found such an Altar Shard, could withstand the Unawakened will of the Stone. But this piece of malachite was Awakened, meaning it could break the will of an Opal mage and probably even a Sapphire one. Moreover, not only was the Shard Alive, but it was also fed, meaning it had been moistened with human blood more than once, and quite recently at that. I realized this as soon as the light of my palm touched the Stone's surface.
As I bent down towards the Stone, I noticed the greedy yet triumphant gleam in Molly Moon's eyes. The girl was so foolish that she couldn't put two and two together. After all, I had defended my spear from the "Metal Destruction" spell with Light right in front of her. And wielding the magic of Light at the Metallic Coil is quite difficult without Affinity with this Primordial Power. Though, she might not have been aware of such a nuance.
Turning to the Light for protection, I reached for the Stone. I bent down slowly and carefully. And only after receiving a response from the Affinity, assuring me it would protect me, did I lift the fragment of Da'Nnan's True Altar from the ground.
Molly Moon's laughter, as I touched the stone, reminded me of poor actors incapable of laughing genuinely before an audience; it was so forced and malicious.
Had I found a whole Altar of Darkness, I would have immediately killed Molly and run towards the nearest city to summon the priests. But this Stone wasn't a complete altar; it was only a fragment. Besides, the sun was almost at its zenith, so I took the risk to destroy the Stone myself – or more precisely, through invoking the Echo of Antares. A double strike of Light, two rays, one emanating from my soul and the other from the sky, turned the Shard of the True Altar of Da'Nnan into harmless dust. Of course, a full-fledged Altar wouldn't be so easily destroyed. But for a small, albeit Alive fragment, this was enough.
The "past me" had never encountered an object like this Stone, even when fighting against the Sidhe. Neither did I know anyone who had faced something similar. But I'd heard various stories about such peculiar traps scattered by the forest folk along their borders. These Stones subjugated human will, compelling them to kill other humans. Yet, more horrifying was when the one who picked up the Altar Shard voluntarily agreed to become a priest of Da'Nnan. In such a case, the Stone did not dominate but bestowed knowledge and skills, allowing the person a semblance of free will.
Every local living near the Hidden Forests knew from the tales heard since infancy that if you were unlucky enough to pick up such a Stone and couldn't resist its pressure, the only way out was to kill yourself before your will was broken by the Shard of the True Altar. Otherwise, you'd return home to your family and kill your parents, siblings, children, neighbors… A terrifying tale rooted in grim reality. However, such Stones are currently a massive rarity, as not many of them remain. According to legends, only two damaged Altars of Da'Nnan were shattered into small parts by the Sidhe and scattered along their borders.
When I picked up the Stone, thanks to my Affinity, I understood a lot about it. First, that it was Alive. Second, that it had already been steeped in human blood. This could only mean one thing: one of the trio of earthling "jokers" had become its true priest. Meaning, someone had voluntarily decided to serve Da'Nnan! To bring into the world the will of the most fearsome killer of humans, second only to demons. In my view, it was an act of unspeakable stupidity, only conceivable by a true maniac or the most despicable coward. However, it seemed Molly Moon possessed both these "qualities," being both a coward and an unprincipled psychopath.
How she began to howl as soon as the Light of Antares touched the surface of the Stone. No, it wasn't a loud scream, but it was so soul-wrenching and prolonged that my blood ran cold. She continued wailing even as the blade cut through her heart, maintaining a semblance of pseudo-life for another minute. I even thought she would rise as a zombie or lich, but I was lucky. After a minute, she simply died. Died as one who betrays their kind deserves to.
I felt no guilt or remorse after killing that trio. Not the slightest pang of conscience, for I had not killed humans but extremely dangerous, rabid animals. That's what they had become the moment they submitted to the Stone.
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Before seeking help from Antares, I hesitated, to my shame, if only for a moment. I knew my plea would be heard, and the Echo of the God of Light would focus its intense attention on me. This attention would penetrate the darkest corners of my soul and instantly recount the offense I had committed against the Light during the awarding in Tries.
Nevertheless, understanding the danger the undestroyed fragment of Da'Nnan's True Altar posed, I cast aside the fear of punishment and all doubts, reaching out to the sky with my entire soul. As the incredibly bright and intense sunbeam, piercing even the dense forest foliage, touched my palm, I briefly felt the manifestation of the Echo of Antares' Will. No, it was not a conversation with the deity in the way we humans understand it. It was different. It was as if I could hear the Echo's thoughts or, more precisely, what it chose not to hide from me.
First, by offering the dark shard to the sun, I had earned forgiveness. Secondly, and most importantly, I realized that Antares was deeply indifferent to almost any antics of Seguna. The Light regarded the Shadow as a younger sister. Yes, perhaps a disobedient and not very loved one, but still a sister. As a result, Antares perceived all the Night Mistress's antics with a light degree of indulgence. As the Elder, He was ready to forgive the younger one much. Because there can be no Shadow without Light.
The Echo posed something like a question to me: "Am I ready to promise not to turn the powers of the Shadow to Evil?" A positive answer would have granted me not only forgiveness but also opened up incredible opportunities and a new way of development, leading me to the Path of Paladin of Light.
But…
I refused.
I refused because I understood that if my main strategy didn't bear the needed fruits, I would have to perform "dirty deeds" to give humans at least a hint of a chance in the confrontation with demons.
Answering "no," I was ready for the manifestation of divine Wrath. But this Wrath didn't come. On the contrary... The Light touching my palm didn't disappear immediately, as soon as the last remnants of the Stone were scattered by the wind. For a moment, it peered into my soul, penetrated the Core, and somehow connected my two Affinities.
Previously, Light and Shadow, as if intentionally, constantly resided in opposite parts of my Core. After this intervention, their behavior changed. Like two planets, both Affinities came closer and formed a permanent "gravitational pair" revolving around one point. Meanwhile, the Affinity with Light weakened slightly, as it seemed to me, but the Affinity with Shadow, on the contrary, received a slight enhancement.
This was Antares's Gift for annihilating the Dark Altar Shard, His minor Sacrifice. In light of this gift, the Reardane Achievement for destroying the Stone itself seemed trivial. It was insignificant indeed, only granting heightened sensitivity to the manifestations of Darkness. Had I accepted the Path of Paladin, this would have been a good bonus, but in my current state, it was almost useless. However, perhaps this Achievement might prove useful someday.
As soon as the howl emanating from Molly Moon's already dead body ceased, just to be sure, I decapitated the psychopath with a swing of my spear. After some thought, I also severed her arms and hacked off her feet. My recent days in Ain had taught me to be cautious, even if it seemed excessive.
I observed the corpses for almost five more minutes but noticed no unnatural movements. I knew that the priests of Da'Nnan don't rise as the undead after death, unlike the servants of Nulgle, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. Ideally, I should have lit a massive fire and burned the bodies to ashes, but that would have taken at least half of the day, and I didn't want to waste so much time. So, I repeated what I had done to Molly Moon to the bodies of her accomplices and rested my case.
Having finished this dirty but seemingly necessary work, I sat on the nearest stump, exhausted. I started to shiver noticeably. Delayed fear, as well as the full realization that I could have died today, made themselves known, causing my fingers to tremble slightly. To compose myself, I raised my palm and visualized the Sign of Affinity with Shadow above it and immediately noticed a change. It was not just an orb of dense shadow, but the same orb outlined by a thin line of light. And this Light made the Shadow in the center much more intense and tangible.
"Shadow, Blessed by Light" – even the "past me" had never heard of such a thing.
A full-fledged connection of two manifestations of Affinity. Such a connection can occur in a person who simultaneously has, for example, an affinity with Earth and Metal. Since Metal is a subdivision of Earth magic, Affinity with Metal can be strengthened through its connection with Earth. Just as the same Affinity with Earth can be amplified through Affinity with Nature, as it stands a step higher. I knew this because, in the Last Cycle, Arien, having received all Elemental Affinities, later strengthened them through the connection with her Affinity with Nature. But that Light could amplify Shadow, "I" had never even considered. Although, if you discard emotions, such a connection is quite logical, and if it works with Nature and the Elements, why shouldn't it work with Light and Shadow? But, as they say on Earth, "It's good to be as smart now as my wife becomes afterward." Implying that when something happens afterward, it's very easy to explain in hindsight.
Aside from the Reardane one, I received three more Achievements during this brief battle. Two of them were "junk" ones - for killing two Bronze-ranked enemies. However, the third one, earned for destroying the priest of Da'Nnan, was a full-fledged Wootz, even though Molly Moon, like her accomplices, was on the Bronze Step of the Spiral of Elevation. After reviewing these Achievements, I visualized the Sign of Affinity with Shadow and began to scrutinize it.
How little I know about the gods of Ain! Even with the "memory of the future," my knowledge is still lacking.
I knew that Seguna hates her husband's killer, but how Antares relates to the Night Sister's hatred was a revelation for me. It turns out Light harbors no resentment towards Shadow at all. You could say He understands Her. And as a consequence, He is ready to forgive a lot to the Twilight Mistress. For Antares, all of Seguna's antics are like the tantrums of an offended child, which should not be taken seriously. However, this does not grant any indulgence to the followers of Shadow. While Antares is ready to forgive Seguna herself, His forgiveness does not extend to the adepts of Shadow at all. For instance, if I had touched the True Altar of Light and offered a prayer before destroying the Stone, the Echo of Antares would instantly have read the offense to Light from my memory, and I would have been punished on the spot. Most likely, it wouldn't have resulted in my death, but I would easily have received a very unpleasant and painful debuff. Luckily, I'm now forgiven for that trick, and the Wrath of Light no longer threatens me. However, this doesn't grant me indulgence for future offenses to Light, and I shouldn't forget this detail.
Having dealt with the Achievements and calmed my nerves by contemplating the Sign of Affinity, I got to my feet and once again carefully examined the forest clearing. The dead bodies and their parts hadn't moved a millimeter during this time. This suggested that I would likely avoid dealing with resurrected corpses today.
Huh! How did this trio track me down? After all, it was only at the last moment that I decided to take a shortcut and walk about ten kilometers through the forest, rather than making a detour of nearly fifty miles on the usual roads. Even for me, the decision to turn into the forest was spontaneous. And yet, Molly Moon and her accomplices were waiting for me specifically. How did they figure it out? This place was clearly prepared for a sacrifice in advance, at least two hours ago.
Having pondered this oddity for a bit, I eventually concluded that since Da'Nnan was the best hunter of people in the history of Ain, his priest could somehow predict the movement of a future victim. I found no other explanations for the fact of an ambush prepared in advance. At least, after carefully examining myself and my belongings, I found no tracking marks.
Taking a heavy sigh, I gathered my strength and moved towards the dead bodies. As unpleasant as it was, leaving them unstripped of valuables and not claiming the trophies I deserved for victory would be entirely wrong. The first quick inspection revealed that this trio of "jokers" was much richer than their appearance suggested. My purse was now heavier by two hundred and ten gold coins and an equivalent of thirty in silver. A very substantial sum for earthlings who've only been on Ain for a month and a half, especially recalling that they were fond of drinking and feasting.
As for the considerable stash of potions and other alchemy that I found in their bags and pouches, I didn't touch them. I didn't know if Molly Moon had altered them using the power of the Stone. It was regrettable to leave such loot untouched, but the potential risk wasn't worth it.
Regarding armor, all three succumbed to the Darkness fools didn't even wear chainmail, settling for leather armor, much like Scully. However, unlike the Australian, they bothered themselves with wearing quite dense, albeit single-layered gambesons underneath. Nonetheless, their armor didn't fit me at all, which was disappointing since the "Metal Destruction" spell had deprived me of my chainmail again. And not only did I lose it, but now I was forced to walk around in this!
By "this," I meant my gambeson. The Da'Nnan's jealous guy not only dyed my underarmor dark blue, which I didn't particularly mind, but also adorned it further. And he did so with soul and creativity. Now my entire gambeson was covered with images of brightly orange butts with wings, soaring with fart propulsion. A pretty dirty move on Gianni Armani's part. Though, undeniably, he was a talented artist. Each butt painted on the gambeson had its unique individuality and was done in the early Disney style. Nonetheless, his talent in no way excused him. How was I to appear before people dressed like this? It was alright when the chainmail was "alive," covering all this indecency, but now? Now, it was a real problem. Although, as the "memory of the future" suggested, locals took such displays of physiological "attributes" much more calmly than earthlings.
For example, on one royal coat of arms, a warrior is depicted felling a monster by striking it on the forehead with his erect "manhood," which is portrayed hyperbolically and resembles a two-handed mace. So, most likely, the local population would be indulgent towards the buttocks on my gambeson. But I felt somewhat uncomfortable walking around like that. However, the cloak thrown over my shoulders partially "covered" this problem.
I also didn't touch a couple of artifacts found on Molly Moon's body, just like the potions earlier, not knowing what they did and whether they were corrupted by Darkness.
Regarding the earthlings' weapons, I first wanted to take them and sell them in the nearest city. But after noticing a very high-quality and obviously expensive sword, I changed my mind. The blade bore a personal stamp, and most likely, the trio of "jokers" hadn't bought it but had seized it by killing someone. And not just anyone but possibly a noble. Not the kind of noble who had reached the Precious Coil, of course, but one who was simply born in an aristocratic family. Carrying around, let alone selling, such a blade was akin to hanging a "look, a murderer!" sign around one's neck. This discovery made me rethink my plans and leave all the weapons in the clearing. Who knows from whom they took it and whether someone might recognize something familiar in them? Of course, thanks to the Affinity with Light, I could evade any threats and law enforcement pursuits, but these investigations could undoubtedly drag on, threatening an unwarranted loss of time. And considering that apart from the finely crafted sword, the rest of the weapons weren't worth decent money, being cheap knock-offs, I left it in the clearing.
Before resuming my journey, I tidied the place a bit, erasing all traces that could point to my identity. I also poured all the potions into the ashes of the fire, holding my breath to avoid inhaling the fumes. Then, to divert attention, I formed the symbol of the "Kamo's Retribution" guild with the trophy weapons. This guild, as I "remembered," hunted criminals in the vicinity of the Patanga swamps. After that, I left the forest clearing with a light heart.