As the little orb traveled further, it became increasingly aware that something big was waiting for it at its destination. It had no idea what this something might be, but it could sense a great power and energy building up around it.

Despite its speed, the journey to the destination was still a long one. The little orb continued to observe the celestial bodies around it, taking in the wonder of the cosmos as it sped through the vast expanse of space of the past five years.

As it approached its destination, the little orb braced itself for whatever lay ahead. It knew that it was about to encounter something truly mysterious and awe-inspiring, and it was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of travel, the little orb arrived at its destination. It had arrived at a place, unlike anything it had ever seen before. The space around it was filled with pulsating energy as if the very fabric of the cosmos was alive and vibrating with a powerful force.

The little orb could feel the energy coursing through its surface, and it knew that it had arrived at the place where the Mysterious one intended. It was now in the presence of something truly remarkable, something that would change the course of its existence forever...

From afar, a planet appeared to be a vibrant, glowing orb suspended in the void of space. Its surface was a riot of colors, ranging from deep blues and purples to bright greens and oranges, swirling and shifting in mesmerizing patterns that seemed almost alive.

As the black orb drew closer, the planet's details became more visible. It was covered in dense forests and sprawling mountain ranges, with deep oceans and glittering rivers carving their way across the landscape. Strange creatures roamed the planet's surface, from majestic dragons to tiny, mischievous fairies, all living in harmony with the world around them.

The planet's skies were no less spectacular than its surface. Shimmering auroras of Manna danced across the atmosphere, casting an ethereal glow over everything below. Strange constellations twinkled in the night sky, telling tales of heroes and legends long forgotten.

Despite its apparent beauty, the planet was not without its dangers. Dark, foreboding forests were home to creatures that could freeze one's blood with fear, and treacherous mountains hid caves filled with ancient, unspeakable terrors. But for those brave enough to explore its depths, the planet held untold wonders and secrets, waiting to be discovered.

In short, the planet was a place of magic and mystery, a place where anything was possible and nothing was quite as it seemed. For those with a sense of adventure and a love of the unknown, it was the ultimate destination, a place of endless possibility and wonder.

Without the black orb's knowledge, suddenly it slowed down, flying through the two moons of this mysterious planet. The orb was caught off guard by this sudden change in speed, and it spun wildly as it passed between the two moons, struggling to maintain its course.

As the black orb hurtled towards the planet's surface like a shooting star at an alarming rate, it left a brilliant trail of light in its wake. Creatures across the planet stopped in awe and wonder as they looked up at the sky, witnessing the stunning display of celestial power.

Some creatures were afraid, unsure of what this sudden display of magic meant for their world. Others were filled with a sense of excitement and curiosity, eager to explore this new phenomenon and discover its secrets.

As the black orb crashed into the planet's surface with a deafening boom, the shockwaves rippled across the land as it landed in a dense jungle, disturbing the creatures that lived there. Birds took to the air in a flurry of feathers, fleeing from the sudden noise and commotion. Beasts of the jungle roared in fear and anger, their senses overwhelmed by the intensity of the impact. For a moment, everything was still. The black orb lay on the ground, stunned and disoriented, as its surroundings slowly came into focus. It found itself in the middle of an unknown jungle, surrounded by towering trees and an eerie, otherworldly mist... still did not know how could sense its environment; however, it did not question it. His long journey dehumanized him so much that the curiosity of the once-human being could not be recalled or even be tried.

As the dust settled and the forest grew quiet once more, the creatures in the forest that witnessed this not-everyday-happening did not bother to approach it, knowing it would only bring evil upon their head.

The orb couldn't move. In his once blob form, it was much easier to move as it could lengthen its proportions and recall it, thus using the moment of inertia that the cosmos provided, with plentiful hands.

Looks like unconsciousness, or souls might have some weight... huh?

But this is not the case here, especially in this physical form that it could not alter to its wish, for now at least.

The orb, stripped of its humanity, had lost all sense of consciousness and self-awareness. It was akin to a newborn babe, yet not quite. Almost like an inanimate object, devoid of any thoughts, emotions, or desires. As it hurtled through the vast expanse of space, it was both unaware and cognizant of its surroundings and destination.

It did not experience fear or excitement, nor did it possess any sense of purpose or agency, and yet it was content and prepared for the inevitable events that would soon transpire, completing the elusive essence it did not yet comprehend.

To the orb, all was a matter of physics and mechanics. Its trajectory was determined by the immutable laws of gravity and motion, and its eventual collision with the planet's surface was nothing more than the outcome of an inevitable course, that it knew but did not understand.

It did not feel a sense of wonder or curiosity at the strange creatures that looked at him for mere seconds before going forward, nor did it have any understanding of the magic and power that permeated the world. It only know that something was there.

For the dehumanized sphere, there was no sense of self or identity, no internal monologue...

And yet, despite its lack of consciousness, the black humanless orb had a profound impact on the world around it. Its very presence sparked a chain reaction of events that would ultimately change the course of history and reshape the destiny of the planet.

Amidst the swirling vortex of opposing forces, the sphere, like a miniature universe contained within itself, grappled with the enigma of its own existence. Within the confines of its own being, it sought to understand the mysteries of the world beyond, yearning to uncover the meaning in the meaningless and the beauty in the mundane. For five long years, it had labored to comprehend the workings of the great machine of creation, seeking to connect the dots of knowledge that lay scattered within its grasp.

Yet, despite its efforts, the lines that could bring coherence and understanding to its existence remained frustratingly out of reach. It understood the movements of planets and the turning of the tides, but the reasons behind these phenomena eluded its grasp. And so it stood, within the crater wrought by its arrival, a tiny but resolute creature that refused to give up on its quest for knowledge and understanding.

Yet, deep within the essence of the orb, a stirring began to grow. A yearning that went beyond the superficial pleasures of its existence. The whisper of a voice, an intuition that spoke of something more profound, more meaningful, and more essential. A pull towards a higher purpose that beckoned to the little orb, tugging at its very being. But for the moment, this calling remained a mere nuisance, a pesky interruption in its current state of being. The sense of obligation, of a task that needed to be accomplished, could perhaps be postponed for a time, for years to come, allowing the orb to revel in its current state of being...

[𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲.]

The previously silent voice within this small sphere suddenly spoke up, its monotony giving way to a booming echo that reverberated through the mind of this little entity. Now its thoughts were more twisted than the fabric of the cosmos.

[𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 '𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞' 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝, 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐝𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.] - Stated Taltos as his voice echoed through the ball's body as well as his mind. Taltos continued.

[𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞...] - With a different sounding click the orb felt slightly dizzy as this operation finished.

[𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 '𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞' 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝!] - The monotonous voice declared somewhat happy but disapointed. He might be expected more from his master even though its newly created form is no more than five Earth years old.

Almost like some Asian parents without the belt part...

After the relinquishment, the mind of the orb was at last at ease. It felt like a void, but a void so profound that it was almost like a fullness. For a moment, it was completely unoccupied by any thought. Then, gradually, its first conscious idea took shape. Unlike its previous chaotic and instinctive musings, this thought was simple and practical, taking the form of a single question.

It was not an incredible train of thoughts nor wasteful ideas but a simple question...

'W̸͈ͯ̾̒̿h̶̯̰̝̻̿̓͢ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚... Ȧ̶̵̗r̶̷̲͍̭͐̾̀͟ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊... Y̵̷̛̤͍̅́̕ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚û̶͙̽̿͆̈...?' - The orb with a distorted voice-like sound sliced through his mind, questioned the heard Taltos, who did not understand clearly what his Master wants, putting him in a really embarrassing situation.

[...𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞.] - Taltos humbled himself in the most reverent manner, displaying contrition that could only be equaled by a prostrate figure. If the voice had a corporeal form, it would now lie flounder in the dust, for even the most lenient look.

'W̸͈ͯ̾̒̿h̶̯̰̝̻̿̓͢ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚... are you?' - The orb echoed its query anew, its voice now a semblance of intelligible articulation. Taltos, in turn, comprehended the inquiry and, with a phantom nod, pondered the response before imparting it.

[𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝!] - Taltos declared with his usual monotone voice, but in the mids of the trivial tone of voice, the sparks of joy could be heard as they scorched the path of trivialness inch by inch. [𝐌𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐬!] - He continued. [𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭...]

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The little orb did not understand much from this long narration; however, one thing remained in its 'head' one word that reverberated in its head.

'Tal... tos...' - The orb slowly repeated in the same way as the first time. The bodiless voice was somewhat proud that his Master finally calling out for his name, but he quickly shot this itching feeling as he tried to analyze why his Master's mental level is equal to some earthling's toddler.

In the span of four seconds, he uncovered the truth of why this orb is acting like that and the answer was shocking.

The fact that he revoked the title '𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞' from his Master put him in a 'default' mental state which equals to, who would have thought, a five-year-old child that did not have at least a chance to communicate with others, making his Master even more underdeveloped than a two-year-old toddler.

Nonetheless, the title '𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞' is also affected by the 'default' mental state, so even if he grants this title to him only his incomprehensible thoughts will swing and sway in his infinite mass of blackness inside of him.

Wow... what a twist.

As he realized his mistakes, he already reflected on himself and what should have he done to prevent this tragedy to happen.

[𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫.] - As he mentioned stimulus rich, the topic he suddenly wanted to warn his Master popped up in the somewhat shared mind of both, externalizing the situation somewhat cartoonishly to be better appealing to the 'youngster,' who could not even understand what was going on in its own head.

[𝐌𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲.] - Taltos explained the situation as the cartoonish black sphere on the canvas of thoughts rotated back and forth while exclamation and question marks floated to its right and left while in a nearby cartoonish bush, a monster-like creature's eyes flashed, readying itself to leap toward it. The sphere did not say a thing as it was fully captivated by the colorful display of Taltos explanation.

[𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐈 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠.] - Taltos warned his Master with his casual robotic tone. The screen showed two columns, one red, and the other green.

Under the red one the word 'Danger' could be read if it was written in any human language; under the green one it was 'Safety.' The red one, which peaked at the start slowly made its way down while the green was adamantly upstarted.

'Ohh...' - A sigh of amazement left the lips of the sphere's thoughts, but this amazement was nothing more than a child's curiosity as to how it saw the pictures changing. Taltos sighed as he doubted the capabilities of his Master's understanding.

[𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?] - Taltos exclaimed, but the Master did not seem to grasp what he meant.

[𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 '𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞' 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐝. 𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐦. 𝐀𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.] - As Taltos continued his never-ending speech many windows popped up in the shared mind of these two, showing off the abilities of this vessel and its titles and skills the orb acquired in his human form.

- ɴᴇᴡ! [𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥: 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞]

- ɴᴇᴡ! [𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥: 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

- [𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞 - 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃]

- [𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤-𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝]

- [𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥: 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝-𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭-𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞]

- [𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫]

[𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.] - As he was about to what would be the perfect solution for them suddenly from the lush jungle's green tapestry of exotic foliage an ominous sound could be heard... a crunch of a branch.

[ ! ] - Taltos realized something was closing on them but he could not know what as his knowledge does not include this world; even with the heard sound that let Taltos immediately identify the metrics of this unknown creature that was close for a serpent-like creature with a huge twist... Its weight was a hundred times bigger than it should be.

He could guess, but it would be tragic to use such invaluable moments for this nonsense. His Master also noticed this but it did not give as much emphasis as its assistant.

[𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.]

Taltos quickly went through the procedures to take control of his Master's body, making it glow in the meantime purplish, to use the skill named [𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞] to maneuver out from this seemingly dangerous situation.

The hunch of Taltos was right as from the thick mist and Plantage a snake with the mass of a cow quickly encircled the two.

The snake's scales were a deep, shimmering green, with iridescent highlights that shifted and changed in the light. Its eyes glowed with a malevolent intelligence, a bright yellow that seemed to pierce through any who dared to meet its gaze. The body of the snake was long and thick, coiled tightly upon itself like a massive rope around the orb, and easily as thick as a tree trunk. Its scales were large and sharply angled, each one perfectly formed to protect the massive predator. The snake's head was wide and triangular, with a pair of wickedly sharp fangs that dripped with venom that could even melt adamantite. Its tongue flicked out constantly, intimidating its prey that was underperforming in size, while its massive body shifted and writhed with a kind of ominous grace. Anyone who encountered this monster that is not an experienced adventurer would feel as though they had stumbled upon a god of death, come to claim their soul...

This creature was known as 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞.

Taltos knew they were in serious trouble. He could read from the aura that emitting from this unknown creature for him. It was one of the most feared creatures in the entire jungle, known for its deadly venom and insatiable hunger. It was said that even the strongest of warriors would be no match for the massive serpent.

As Nethertongue continued to coil around them, Taltos activated the [𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞] skill, slowly lifting himself and his Master into the air. The snake's head darted forward, fangs bared, but Taltos was too quick for it. He maneuvered through the air with incredible speed and agility, slicing through hanging vines while dodging each strike with ease.

But Nethertongue was persistent. It continued to lash out, striking at them with lightning-fast movements. Taltos knew he couldn't keep this up forever. He needed to come up with a plan, and fast.

As he surveyed their surroundings, he noticed a nearby cliff face that seemed to offer some protection. With a quick mental command, Taltos directed his levitation toward the cliff, narrowly avoiding another strike from Nethertongue. As they landed on the cliff's edge, Taltos quickly scanned the area for any signs of danger and possible escape routes.

But Nethertongue was nowhere to be seen... or maybe that was what this serpent wanted to make him believe. Taltos sighed as it seems that whatever this creature is up to at least it gave them some breathing space for planning.

The only viable plan to end this thought process as quickly as possible is to simply levitate down into the lower layers of this jungle. It was quickly shot down as he did not wish to encounter even stronger foes that may lurk in those layers. So it was two options left. Hide, or fight.

The assistant calmly and with robotic accuracy weighed his options carefully. He knew that hiding would only delay the inevitable as he find out from his analysis that the serpent's smell was top-tier, so it might notice the slightly burnt smell that stick with the Master as they fell down. It was too dangerous to ignore this fact so only one possibility remained, fighting. Fighting was risky, but it was their best chance at survival.

The skill [𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] was the right answer even though its limitations as it only activates while something is touched by the vessel and it can only absorb a certain amount of matter once. The last criteria were already completed as Taltos has the metrics of this beast and it can barely fit this interval, but the first part was way trickier as this beast won't let this guard down and attacks relentlessly not even letting a chance to do other than fleeing.

As he was deep within his thoughts a flash of yellowish that was caused by the reflecting light of the local burning celestial body quickly made him snap out of it. He planned out a quite risky plan, but it was the most efficient in the regard of destroying this serpent once and for all.

Taltos knew that he needed to act quickly and decisively. He focused his mind on the [𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] skill, preparing himself to execute the move. The two foes gazed upon each other even without an eye as Taltos used, more accurately bending this discovered unusual energy on this planet to sense its environment.

As Nethertongue strike out at them, Taltos waited for the right moment to strike.

Finally, he saw his opportunity. The snake's head darted forward with immense speed, its jaws opening wide. Taltos quickly activated the [𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] skill and threw himself into the gaping mouth of the giant serpent.

The serpent's eyes widened as it did not expect such an act. As the orb entered its throat it began to suffocate the aggressor.

The creature thrashed and writhed, trying to spit out the orb, but it was too late. The [𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] skill had already taken effect. Taltos felt the creature's body begin to tremble and convulse as he consumed its body like how this body did to the blob that wandered around aimlessly for almost two million years.

Within moments, Nethertongue was reduced to nothing more than a pile of molecules and atoms inside his Master's body. Taltos breathed a sigh of trivial relief, knowing that they had narrowly escaped certain death by throwing himself at it.

[𝐌𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 [𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐞. 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.] - He humbly let the words escape his 'inner' thoughts.

His Master only let out childish sounds. Taltos what somewhat displeased by the fact that his Master did not take him seriously, even if he couldn't, but suddenly he tried to spit something out.

"T̷̫͉̰͕̒́...T̷̫͉̰͕̒́-T̷̫͉̰͕̒́-T̷̫͉̰͕̒́h̶̯̰̝̻̿̓͢ă̶̸̝ͦ͊̿͋͞-Thanks, Tal...tos!" - With cheerfulness, the Orb declared his gratitude for his hardworking assistant, who bowed down in his imagination as soon as he processed what his master told to him.

[𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧.]

As he finished thanking his Master, he could feel a nagging feeling as someone tried to pull out something from his hands. Taltos knew what was happening and he quickly put himself back where he belonged before his Master 'might' could.

[𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐚𝐦]

With renewed determination, he granted back control to his Master, while turning the purple orb black, who immediately made its body fall down onto the stony cliff letting out a sputter resembling a marble. His Master only laughed at this childishly. Taltos remained silent, or rather wordless by this feat for seconds before commenting on this act.

[𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.]