-/|/- Do you remember the first thing you said to her when you first took on the mantle of Herald? -\|\-

Ma’Z woke with a start.

His eyes quickly darted around the room, but the only thing he could see was Heaven sleeping soundly beside him.

There was an iridescent beam of moonlight shining through their window. Ma’Z took a moment to admire the shifting colors and the suspended dust particles floating in the air.

After a moment, he reached over to sweep a lock of hair from his fiancé’s face only to notice she wasn’t breathing.

Panicked, he went to push her, hoping it was just a case of obstructive sleep apnea or something.

->> It’s ok, Ma’Hiz. Your dear lover is fine. You’re just asleep. <<-

“What the hell? Who’s there?” Ma’Z said.

Silence was his only response. Reaching for the lamp on the bedside nightstand, Ma’Z flipped the switch only to find nothing happened. When that didn’t work, he tried to reach for a flashlight from his StoCar, only to find it wasn’t responding either.

In fact, it was only then that he realized that his Vision wasn’t working either. He was seeing everything purely by his own eyesight.

Stripped of all of his defenses, Ma’Z fought down his mounting panic and said, “Look, I’m not in the mood for these stupid games. So, either show yourself or get the fuck out of my room.”

Even though the voice had spoken in a somewhat whimsical tone, Ma’Z had felt a sense of authority upon him. Like he was speaking to an absolute concept that couldn’t be stopped even if he wanted to.

When it spoke next, its tone had shifted, much of the whimsy gone, adding a new sense of gravity that hadn’t been there a moment before.

->> Ma’Hiz, if circumstances didn’t call for it I wouldn’t be here, but it is fated that you are a part of this. So, I had to come. <<-

“What circumstances?” Ma’Z said, still searching the room. “What fate? Who the hell are you?”

->> Why, I’m your patron, of course. <<-

“Seriously? Man, why the games?”

->> But that’s why you’re here isn’t it? To play? Maybe try thinking of me as a piece of your conscious. I can tell you, sure. But then, the only reason I don’t answer is because you already know. <<-

“Know what? Even if this were a dream, how do you expect to invade someone’s mind with some cryptic bullshit and expect them to just conjure up answers out of the æther when they haven’t even wrapped their heads around their situation or why they’re even bothering to answer the question in the first place?”

->> Because you have the ability to do exactly that? I wouldn’t have asked otherwise. But, if all you require is a bit of mental prodding, then here’s your hint: it’s related to your elemental nature. <<-

“My… nature?”

With a thought, Ma’Z quickly opened his character sheet to see what the voice was talking about.

Ma’Hiz Vi’Olorun

I’Lu – Stratos Savant (Void Lord)

“Hmm. Guess my Vision works after all,” he mused. “Stratos. Void. That’s not exactly saying much unless…”

Ma’Z looked at the two elements, letting his brain focus on the clue given to him and who was associated with those elements.

Elements.

The name came to him in a flash. The Elements were beings that once held a physical form and served as the original stewards of the planet. But during the last calamity, they were killed. But thinking of that, he realized that didn’t make any sense. The Cams all bore their names as tribute because they were, in fact, dead.

“No. Alhond? How? You’re supposed to be dead.”

->> See? I knew you could do it. But you’re only partially correct. My body is indeed dead, but I am also very much alive. <<-

“This because of your Authority as rule of Wind? But then what about me being a void lord too? You can’t be both of them.”

->> And you would be correct again. The Keeper, as it turns out, is your actual patron, in fact. But the Keeper is old school, and by old, I mean kind of dumb and doesn’t talk to anyone directly. So, as his adjutant, you can say that I’m here in his stead. <<-

Throughout their conversation, Ma’Z had never stopped searching the room, trying to see if he could make out a distortion or see anything out of place that shouldn’t have been, but try as he might, it was just his room and the shifting glow of the moon’s light.

After another minute, he let out an exasperated sigh as he realized that depending on which moon was in the sky, it either shown a pale blue or a soft orange, and what he had been transfixed by this entire time was neither.

He had been staring at the light of a false moon.

“So is this supposed to be my burning bush moment?” he asked.

->> I guess one could interpret it that way. <<-

Though annoyed at the statement, Ma’Z was caught up in the shifting colors more than ever. It was simply mesmerizing, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt like he could just reach out and touch it.

But even with that being the case, he was ruminating on Alhond’s words. It was so blatantly ominous, he might as well have just told him an apocalypse event was coming.

With his eyes fixed on the myriad lights, he said, “So, I guess, out with it, then. What is it that my patron wants me to know so bad”

->> Well, then to put it bluntly, a Destroyer is coming. <<-

For a long moment Ma’Z didn’t move or react to the statement. He knew what a destroyer was. And he knew he should feel some type of way about it too, but he didn’t. He wondered if maybe it was because he knew he was still dreaming.

He had always been a lucid dreamer, and odd dreams came as natural as breathing. Except he had always been able to control his dreams and try as he might to shift something in the room or produce his old trusty companions of a gun and a sword, it wasn’t working.

After several failed attempts, he started to chalk it up to being inside of a game and not at home, so he just let it drop.

“How long?” he said.

->> Approximately seven months at its current pace. If it’s any consolation, the Destroyer is actually something you’re quite familiar with, in truth. <<-

“Dude, I don’t even know how I got here, and now you’re telling me that I’m supposed to know what this thing is?”

->> I am, actually. And fortunately the memory blocks should be coming down in due time. <<-

“Memory blocks? So, you did this to me?”

->> Incorrect. It was actually you who did this to you. <<-

“Bullshit. Why in the hell would I do something like that?”

->> Sorry friend. It’s kind of pointless to answer when you’re just going to forget most of this conversation by the time you wake. <<-

“Then why am I having this conversation at all then? You basically just said I hacked the game.”

->> Because like most waking dreams, you’ll retain some information, like one Destroyer, for example. And since you’ll gain the rest of your memories soon, even this conversation will come back to you in full. So, you see, it’s not exactly pointless. It’s just not relevant to the here and now. <<-

Ma’Z felt a surge of anger and apprehension rising within him. He had hoped to get some questions answered about how he got here in the state that he did, but instead he only received more questions.

“This is-”

->> Bullshit? Precisely. This predicament put a huge strain on the Hymn and threatens the Balance to such a degree that we can’t afford to let it be. <<-

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“And what does any of that have to do with me?”

->> That, you’ll understand once you regain your memories. But what we can say is that your fate isn’t just centered on you alone. And I apologize now for being vague, but Heaven is a part of that fate. And in the future, you’ll have the option to accept it or reject it. But no matter the decision, it is imperative you protect her at all costs. <<-

“What the- I would’ve done that anyway! Why even say something like that?”

->> Because the Future isn’t our domain. Only the Goddess has absolute authority over Time, and even then, there’s only so much that we can interpret through her Hymn. <<-

“And this is supposed to help me how?”

->> Even now, we are bound to our duty. We protect the Balance of Nature and cultivate the Tears to become the proper stewards they were always meant to be. <<-

“I’m not a Tear though.”

->> Ha. Now that’s actually funny. You’re probably one of the better stewards among your kind that’s ever existed. It’s part of why the Keeper chose you as his Aspect. <<-

Ma’Z was starting to become frustrated again. This was getting him nowhere. So much being dumped on him, and the only response he had was to wait until he regained his memories. What memories? And why would he seal them off? What was so important that he felt the need to seal them off in the first place?

The uncertainty, however, wasn’t really what bothered him, but his powerlessness to do anything about it. A destroyer, protecting Heaven, upholding some Balance…

It was clear his life was being set upon a path, and that rankled his sense of autonomy to its foundation. Especially in a game where freedom to do what you wanted was kind of its biggest selling point.

Was this how the game handled quest events? Everything about this world seemed as real as it could be, so it wasn’t exactly out of the realm of possibility. In the past day and a half, he hadn’t interacted with many NPC’s, but the few that he did all spoke and behaved indistinguishably from what he deemed to be true sentience.

Which now brought him to Alhond. As the Element of Wind, lore-wise, he predated the newer elemental system, but as the embodiment of air, his Authority was absolute.

But as Ma’Z replayed their conversation in his mind, he got stuck on the idea of the Elements again and remembered that his was that of Stratos.

Not Wind.

That meant there should’ve been a third element involved. Where was the Element of Fire?

“Where… Why isn’t Hellstand here as well?”

When Alhond didn’t respond, he knew he had guessed correctly.

The shimmer in the moonlight cycled through the colors of the rainbow.

Throughout their entire conversation, aside from a few glances at Heaven, Ma’Z had never stopped looking into the ever-changing light.

Without thinking about it, Ma’Z put his arm up to it, letting the shimmering luminescence dance across the pattern in his arm.

At first nothing seemed to be happening, but after a few seconds turning his arm this way and that, he saw it.

The pattern in his arm began to react to the moonlight. The colors started to seep into the pattern in his arm, and along with it came a familiar sensation.

It was æther. It was pure, undiluted magic.

The moment he made the connection, the magic began to circulate throughout his body, before all of it began to surge towards the middle of his head.

The jewel of his third eye activated.

And then… he saw it.

Or rather he saw them. Standing in the moonlight, as if behind a multi-colored curtain, Alhond stood cockily under the light, his cyan hair flowing freely in the frozen tableau that made up his bedroom.

He was roguishly handsome, and about as lithe as one would expect from the Element of Wind. He wore a loose pair of jeans with a dark blue half button-down cotton shirt. One pant leg was rolled up along with his sleeves. Almost mockingly, he also had a jeweled third eye, except his was a brilliant sky-blue sapphire.

And there, standing just off to the side of him was Hellstand.

He had the appearance of a bodybuilder with ashen black skin and lava red hair. He wore a breastplate, gauntlet, and greaves over a regal-looking sleeveless robe that seemed to make it a point to show off the boulder-sized granite muscles that served as his arms.

In contrast to the smug grin from Alhond, Hellstand’s expression was the picture of a self-assured king who keenly aware of his Authority and didn’t care who knew it.

The moment Ma’Z’s mismatched eyes met the burning embers of Hellstand’s, the ruler of Fire put an arm in front of him and bowed.

-(O)- Impressive, young master. Caught on faster than I anticipated. -(O)-

“Fire and Wind. I knew there had to be more to it. I was hoping for a quest or something, but instead I get a freaky late-night visit and premonitions of nothing but doom. Hope there’s a lot of treasure for this.”

-(O)- Oh, I can assure you the rewards will be substantial. But what’s important is what you do to prepare for it. -(O)-

“Then I take it you’re not just here for a house call.”

-(O)- No, I’m not just here for a house call. -(O)-

“Oh, don’t you go and start being cryptic too.”

-(O)- Haha, my apologies. I didn’t mean to offend. But like my brother here, I’ve come to deliver something for you as well. -(O)-

Ma’Z’s eyes were drawn above the duo as his character sheet opened up and a tab appeared on the side that read: Elemental Transmutation.

-(O)- Courtesy of the Keeper, himself. -(O)-

“Elemental. Transmutation,” Ma’Z read aloud. “What is this exactly?”

-(O)- It’s a modification to your system. Think of it as future prepping. -(O)-

“I don’t follow.”

-(O)- Well, then have a look? -(O)-

Ma’Z mentally clicked on the new tab, but instead of opening a new window like he had expected, he instead learned that it was an independent ability that acted outside of his other abilities.

Elemental Transmutation: Your abilities have been void touched. As a Void Lord, you have the ability to imbue elementally aspected æther into Abilities to not only augment, but to vastly change the very nature of how the ability behaves.

Ma’Z frowned as he read the description. This seemed to go above and beyond what he should’ve been able to do.

“Yo, this is basically a hack,” he said. “I’m going to get booted from the game!”

-(O)- Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. All the other Riders who’ve gained relic tier Frames have gotten similar perks. -(O)-

“Wait. So… this is actually part of the game?”

->> Oh, you haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what you can do, Ma’Hiz. <<-

-(O)- You’re really going to flip after you wake up. -(O)-

“Didn’t you say I was going to forget all of this when I wake?”

-(O)- We did, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be excited for what’s waiting for you. -(O)-

“Point.”

->> Speaking of which, that’s our cue to leave. <<-

“Don’t suppose you have any more sage advice before I wake up, do you?”

-(O)- Not really. Just that we’re looking forward to when we meet again. -(O)-

->> Yeah! See you soon, Ma’Hiz. <<-

“Oh, you condescending little-”

Ma’Z woke to the sound of a bird feverishly pecking at the bedroom window. Blearily eyeing the bird, Ma’Z stared at the annoying little buzzard that woke him from his odd dream, wishing for all the world it would just stop pecking the damned window.

“I swear, I’d shoot the window right this second if I thought you were worth cooking,” he said.

With an unrestrained yawn, Ma’Z stretched and twisted himself in the bed, willing his muscles to unwind and pull himself out of his waking stupor.

He eventually managed to pull himself out of the bed, tapping his StoCar for a change of clothes. He set it aside, before heading to the shower and getting himself cleaned off from all of the activity from the night before.

Really should have done this before we went to bed, Ma’Z though to himself.

“Wonder if we have to worry about laundry at all,” he mused.

While in the shower, he saw a notification in his peripheral Vision from his fiancé. He assumed it had something to do with her meeting but decided to read it anyway.

Good morning honey!

When you get this, I’ll probably still be in my meeting. So, just like we discussed, you should probably go explore around town or whatever you wanted to do, and I’ll come meet you when I’m done.

That said, if you look over by the wall mirror, you’ll should see a little switch. It’s where we keep our shared inventory. Don’t worry about all of the crafting materials in there. I mean… that should be self-explanatory. But anyway, I left about 11,000 Cyn-E in there. We exceeded the contract requirements, so we got a handsome bonus on the take. That’s your half of the split! 😁

Now, don’t go spend it all in one place!

Kidding! You’re still a broke auhs, PEASANT 😈

Bwahahaha

Anyway, go have some fun lol. I’ll see you soon, ok?

I love you!

Ma’Z stared at the message, somewhat incredulous that he didn’t actually charge her for all of those cores.

She had another thing coming if she thought this slight wasn’t going to go unpunished, he thought.

Once he finished with his shower, he quickly got dressed and headed to the garage. The empty halls felt a bit eerie. Knowing all of their top members were in the meeting, the only other person that seemed to be around was the Helios girl at the front lobby.

She stood dutifully behind the front counter, smiling cheerfully as she waited for the arrival of any would be clients. Looking around the place, it looked practically empty, but Ma’Z thought it might be strange to just waltz up out of the blue and try to start a conversation.

Instead, he decided to continue towards his destination, but to not to be rude he waved at the girl and said, “Hello. Have a great day.”

“Hello, and thank you,” she said back cheerily.

Ma’Z waited patiently by the elevator hoping she didn’t want to engage in small talk.

She didn’t.

The elevator dinged, and he entered, quickly pressing the button for the garage floor. The door shut almost immediately and he was on his way.

Thinking of exploring the city in earnest was starting to make Ma’Z a little bit excited, like the training wheels were finally taken off, and he could move to his heart’s content.

Thinking like that, he felt kind of bad for reducing his fiancé to a babysitter, who was only trying to spend time with him, not trying to treat him like a child.

Even so, a part of him just wanted to move about on his own and see the world through his own eyes without the guided tour experience.

Soon, the elevator dinged, suspending his thoughts, which prompted him to get out. He made his way to his Erzalis, climbing in with practiced ease.

Putting his hands on the command rings, he waited patiently for the bootup sequence to finish, when he heard someone say, “Oh holy fuck, took you long enough. You can finally hear me now, can you, you little shit?”

Ma’Z instantly recoiled, taking his hands away from the command rings, looking down at the machine with fearful eyes.

“Did you… did this thing just talk to me?” he said.

“No, I just strung a few sentences together and directed them at the only fucking person in the whole garage. Of course I was talking to you, you dipshit,” it shot back.

“Uh, ok, I hear you little spark plug, but has anyone ever told you, you cuss a lot?”

“You motherf- Pot meet kettle, much!”