The road that leads to the end is often where we take our first steps. When your marriage falls apart. When you're laid off from a job you gave your life to. A cancer diagnosis. An ambush on a desert road...
Compared to what you've been through, how could anything possibly compare?
However, life always has a few surprises left in store for you.
When Reiss saw the figure waiting for him inside the Primal Node, he cleared his throat.
"Excuse the intrusion."
Sitting cross-legged toward the back of the sparse sphere, was an enlightened form. Their skin was pearly, almost metallic. Long white hair fell plainly across their shoulders, over the tendrils sprouting from their back, down past their knees to sprawl across the floor like a welcome mat. Reiss sidestepped the strands of hair and examined the woman before him.
Her throat produced no sounds, instead, her voice rang through the strange nodules attached to her back and vibrated off the walls. It was... familiar.
"Teacher. I've waited for you."
Stopping in his tracks, Reiss squinted his eyes. The features of this Elden were as if set in stone. Their hair was long and white, but there was no mistaking those high cheekbones.
"...Weyn."
Weyn Sostro, The First Elder, opened her eyes. Enlightenment glowed from within her white sclera.
"I watched you die. Before each death was my own, yet here I am. And here you are. At last."
Weyn breathed out as if an immense weight had finally been lifted.
To Reiss, the reason for this otherwordly encounter quickly came to him.
Time Travel. By all accounts it was the only explanation. A leads to B and B leads to C and C leads back to A.
Scenario A: In the 365th iteration, Reiss arrives in time to save Elden and encounter Weyn.
Scenario B: Reiss eventually takes a liking to Weyn and accepts her as a student.
Scenario C: Somehow, Weyn travels back in time, is recognized as the First Elder, and waits for the day to meet her master again, Reiss, in his 365th iteration.
Reiss stared down at his soon-to-be... or was it already present... student. The teardrops streaming down that porcelain face were picturesque. He gathered the water before it fell and dispelled it with a thought. He then asked the question she'd been waiting for all this time.
"Did you ever find out the answer to my riddle?"
Her eyes swirled with barely contained emotion.
Her travels with Reiss across Elden, Aurelia, and beyond were only the beginning. Then there were the centuries, nay, the millennia of waiting she went through. Dying. Over and over again. Hundreds of times across multiple timelines. Breaking, being rewoven into the fabric of reality with a glimpse of release just so slightly out of reach.
"The most valuable currency..."
Weyn's voice broke.
Stolen story; please report.
"...is sanity."
Reiss smiled and patted Weyn's head.
She bawled like a child.
=
Time inside the sphere was suspended. Reiss and Weyn spent a good amount of time conversing. Reiss got to know many personal aspects of his apprentice that he hadn't known. They both knew talking about a future he hadn't experienced yet would cause ripples throughout time. Even if they followed their exact past selves, there was no guarantee it would lead to a concurrent timeline.
Time was not calculable in that way. Best not to mess with it. So instead, they talked of pleasantries and of things Reiss did in previous iterations. According to Weyn, she'd watched it all through some sort of metaphysical connection. He was glad to have someone to reminisce with other than Iluzy.
He had almost forgotten what this feeling was.
"Before you go, there are three things you've allowed me to tell your current self."
Reiss contemplated his future self and sat cross-legged, listening to his student with a kind smile.
"The first piece of advice is to try not to be too angry. The future won't be pleasant, but you should endeavor to trust your friends and former friends."
"I find that vague and mildly disconcerting, but okay."
Weyn smiled. Her master always played coy.
"This."
She conjured a miniature realm in the palm of her hand. A piece of green land was situated on a river dotted with small stilted huts. There were tiny humanoids, animals, and creatures roaming the copse of trees nearby, clouds passing over the tiny paradise. Reiss knew that it was no illusion. It was a literal world in the palm of Weyn's hand.
"Mortals such as us strive to grow in power. As we gain more and reach a level of omnipotence, we become what many call Demi-Gods. I am one as of now. You are closer than most. The Mad God is one, and so is your old friend with the cold shoulder."
Weyn intervened in her realm, stirring up storm clouds and spreading fresh rains across the horizon. She washed away a plague before it could come.
"However, once I ascend to Godhood, the road to power changes. Instead of Ominpotence, Gods strive for Omiscience. The main method for Gods to gain shards of knowledge is to use divine energy produced by their followers. My glimpses of godhood tell me there is an exchange rate for such things. Lesser Gods only have so much to spend, but they also have fewer limitations to how they use it. They hold more power to interact in the worlds they've created."
Demigods like the Mad God could act almost unabated, but if he crossed a line and gathered worshippers, he'd no longer have the ability to do so. It would explain many of the Mad God's actions. You can't worship something you cannot comprehend.
"As Gods grow more knowledgable, the laws of creation prevent them from interfering in the lives of mortals. Soon. Their existence changes, and they become something akin to an all-knowing passerby. Destined to know-all yet unable to do anything. It is inevitable."
Weyn sighed, lamenting that the small world she created would one day be out of her reach.
"Gods will either grow in Omiscience through the faith of their followers or fade into obscurity and disappear."
Reiss was wondering about the God governing Aurelia and the System they had created. Was it running on auto-pilot? How long since that nameless god faded from memory? Would he ever find out?
Weyn's eyes drooped as she whisked away her little world. Placing her hands back on her knees, she spoke her third and final warning.
"You vanquished a God to get to Elden. You stripped Gorax of his Divinity using the baby tooth you received from the Mad God as a catalyst. Beware his older brother who is not afraid of the Laws of Creation. He will come for you the next time you cross a portal with your mind intact."
Reiss remained silent, searching for something in his disciple's eyes.
"I've said all I can. My time to ascend has come. Take the copy. I'm sure you'll know what to do with it when the time comes."
"Yeah. I will. It... It was nice to see you. First Elder."
Reiss scratched his face. Weyn chuckled.
"I'll be seeing you soon, teacher."
=
Weyn Sostro watched the Primal Node hanging in the air ascend to heaven, leaving behind its twin. Her teacher, no... the human named Reiss, stood in the air and watched it go. He turned his attention to the replica and used some unknown magic to shrink it to the size of a marble before tucking it in his pocket.
He slowly descended from the sky, exchanging pleasantries with two cursing Queens. They pushed him around. Chewed him out. He gave them snark. Their big grins showed they weren't that mad.
Weyn looked to her feet. On the boundary, she was wondering what could be the answer if not Power. Was it Fame? Status? Motivation? Perhaps if she could find the answer, her teacher would change his mind and accept her.
"Disciple Sostro."
Weyn's wide eyes left her feet and stared at Reiss' back. He half turned to address her.
"Hurry up and join us."
Weyn's eyes swirled.
"Yes, teacher!
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Volume 1 END