He was fuming.
She had brought him here: to her magical realm where the impossible seemed possible, with things he could never possibly imagine, belonging to someone who, for lack of a better term, is a god amongst gods... just to tell him he was weak?!
Like he said: fucking fuming.
"Fear not," But whether she noticed it or not, it didn't show on her face, "It's a simple matter to rectify,"
Fate waited for him to calm down before continuing, "Many warriors have tried and failed to control the Book of Fate via the soul,"
She stopped to point at him, her voice gradually rising in excitement, "Yet you. You're special! By all accounts, that ant should've pierced you. But you survived! And you used your sjal flawlessly!"
By the end of it, she was practically a giddy mess, and for a second, Connor honestly believed she was going to faint.
Eventually, she was able to recompose herself, "...In light of this: it would be a skill fitting to cultivate, no?"
He nodded uneasily, still confused as to what this 'sjal' is. After a few moments of deliberation, he finally bit the bullet and questioned what it was.
This was her answer, "The sjal is to the soul what the nucleus is to its cell. It is essentially what makes you... you. Everyone has one, but for a very select few, their sjal can be used to affect the world around them,"
He nodded and allowed her to continue, musing to himself about the new piece of information he was given.
She clapped her hands(as opposed to snapping her fingers, she wanted some variety this time), and a brown scroll the size of her forearm shimmered into existence before him. Without needing any prompting, he quickly took hold of and unfurled the scroll.
He frowned at what he saw.
On the scroll was a large wall of text, and though he could tell it was writing, it was in a mysterious language he didn't know. Connor looked up from the scroll to stare at Fate, a questioning look on his face.
She smiled and answered him, "That scroll will teach you to better optimise the sjal. However, to understand it, you must read it with your soul; that's where the sjal resides after all,"
His eyes lit up in comprehension before quickly refocusing on the scroll, fully intent on learning the extent of its secrets, 'I can't wait!'
"Well then, good luck to you—"
"Mn," He nodded dismissively, too engrossed with the scroll to hear the latter part of her mutterings, "...My lovely lovely toy,"
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"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!"
---------------------------------------CLAAAAAANG!----------------------------------------
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Connor felt weird.
Not just because he was taken away from his body by an all-powerful god(though that was also a major contributing factor), but because he was experiencing a strange sense of deja vu when he felt the impact between his sword and Hikma's staff...
"Hooo..."
"..."
Furthermore, he didn't get it. How had he experienced this same exact fight in his head when he knew nothing of how Hikma even fought?
Whatever...
"Hup!" Seeing the same opening from before, he took it and knocked the old man off-balance. Like following a script, he rushed his opponent.
"You're decades too young if you think you can best me in a— urk!?" Unfortunately, that was where the similarities ended...
Hikma staggered, coughing out copious amounts of blood as he looked on incredulously at the tendril of sand piercing his right lung, "You... how did you?!"
As Connor retrieved his outstretched hand, he gave the old man a small smile, "You're right; I could never beat you in a fair duel," The smile slowly widened into a cheeky grin at the sight of his confusion, "Too bad I cheated, huh?"
There was a tense few seconds where everyone— including Hikma, just stared at him, slack-jawed and perfectly open to sneak attacks(and although he really wanted to kill him then and there, rule #1 of doing awesome one-liners is you must never initiate battle after!).
It was Hikma's festering wounds that forced everyone out of their stupor, as his coughing and wheezing signalled to his companions that: yes, he needed immediate attention and yes, it would be nice if they weren't just standing around twiddling their thumbs...
Dahlia was next to him in a flash, her hands a fiery red as they hovered over his injury, removing any sand, blood or other debris that may have gotten stuck there while simultaneously healing his wounds. Wissen, on the other hand, did something much more terrifying:
"Y'know, I'm impressed," He started, taking Connor's concentration away from Hikma. Almost immediately, he noticed the Wissen standing over Mariya, his hand around her nape, "I wonder why you didn't use that move earlier,"
'Earlier?! Wait... does that mean?' His eyes narrowed into slits, his attention now fully trained on the man, "So you were the one behind that illusion?"
Wissen tilted his head sideways, looking both surprised and... resigned?
He sighed, "I suppose she's started talking to you now, huh?" His words quiet— but not quite enough to stop everyone from being able to listen in.
He shook his head soon after, pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke, "It doesn't matter; we can still sway him to our side..."
He looked back at Connor, and for the first time since they've met, he had on a face of solemnity, "Constantine Callaway, on behalf of lord Razum, God of Knowledge, I invite you to join our cause to overthrow Fate, to free everyone from her insidious clutches,"
"..." Connor didn't know how to respond. On the one hand, he seemed sincere with his invitation. On the other, he was holding Mariya by her neck, able to snap it should they try anything. So he chose the third option: he said nothing.
Seemingly expecting this, Wissen took a deep breath before he spoke, "I understand your hesitation, especially given the circumstances of our first meeting, so I genuinely hope you'll forgive me for this,"
He put one hand behind Mariya's head, the tip of his fingers touching her smooth black hair.
'No—!!' His instincts tore at the seams of his mind, screaming at him to stop whatever Wissen was planning. Like the last time, he extended his hand, and a spear of sand shot out in conjunction.
"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," He barely flinched at the sand coming at him at speeds even the fastest horses could never hope to match, calmly raising Mariya in front of him, effectively making her into a human shield.
Her eyes widened in fear, and so did his. Connor didn't even have to think before he moved to stop it.
"Shit." He swore under his breath and clenched his hand into a fist, clearly meant to stop the sand. It worked. The sand, as if colliding into an unbreakable wall, stopping mere millimetres away from her trembling face.
Both of them heaved a sigh of relief, and after a moment's hesitation, Connor dropped his hand, deforming the sand as well.
"Thank you," Connor almost forgot in his relief, Mariya was still held hostage.
"Don't. Touch. Her," He glared daggers at Wissen, but it did nothing to deter him.
Despite wanting to try murdering the bastard one more time, he willed himself not to, fearing for her safety.
After seemingly an eternity, he released Mariya, pushing her into the arms of Connor. He swiftly checked for any visible injuries, and only when he was sure she was relatively unharmed did he return his glare at Wissen and his posse.
A stream of blue light had appeared behind them, and both Dahlia and Hikma already walked in, with Wissen in the process of going in himself.
Still, he seemed to notice Connor staring holes through the back of his head and turned around to address him, "I've placed a spell in her brain; it's set to go off after half a year, where her skull will explode, and she'll instantly die,"
He bared his teeth, almost growling at the man when he heard this, "Why the fuck are you telling me this?"
Wissen smiled, "I only want you to consider our offer fully, and decided an incentive would be imperative," He spared a glance at Mariya, "Don't worry, I swear on my honour nothing will happen to her,"
With that, he turned back around and disappeared into the blue light, leaving the last words, "I'm stationed at Shangri-la, you know where to find me,"