In the face of his words, Ivaran said only what a child would, “That really is no fun.”
Erus agreed, “Yes, I suppose that really isn’t fun at all.”
He said, “I too was disappointed, I thought that Azemar might’ve been able to repel the orc invasion but when a certain someone made her entrance, she made sure that would never happen.”
He stared at End meaningfully before closing the book, sighing, “Perhaps it was my fault, however, with the benefit of hindsight, I should have redirected End’s fall with the usage of Absolute Mirror.”
He shook his head sadly.
“Truly, such a shame that I was unable to think of such a solution, although back then, I was indeed severely weakened by creating the seed and preparing for End’s prison.”
Upon hearing End’s name, Ivaran asked, “So mommy made the boring ending happen?”
Erus nodded and Ivaran looked at his mother, a peeved expression on his face.
Giving a quick glare at Erus, End tried to placate her son, “Mommy didn’t mean to, I was just so excited to see my brother after such a long time.”
Ivaran turned his back on her, tilting his chin up, his eyes closed, and crossed his arms.
Ieros smiled at this, finally taking pity on End and saying, “It wasn’t your mother’s fault Ivaran, who she was back then is different than who she is now.”
Ivaran was still childishly stubborn, turning his back on Ieros too who looked at End helplessly.
Erus then spoke, “It is unfair to blame people unjustly. What I stated, was but a fact, she did indeed stop Azemar from going on to do great things. But I do not hold her in discontent for doing so, it is,” seeing the look Ieros gave him, “was her nature. Indeed, she was not the loving mother you know now but a being who could-”
End interrupted, “Please brother, I’ve put that behind me.”
Erus then heard her voice in his head, I don’t want them to know.
Erus nodded.
“Well, the point is, your mother would never do such a thing, don’t bear a grudge against her so unjustly.”
Ivaran, stubborn but on the edge, asked, “Really?”
Erus nodded, “Really.”
Ivaran then slowly turned his head to his mother, his head down as he mumbled, “Sorry mom.”
End hugged him, smiling.
“It’s okay Iva.”
As the two hugged, Erus finally spoke about his true desire, “Ieros, End, could we speak outside? I have a rather serious matter to discuss.”
Worried and nervous, the two stood up and exited the house after assuring the kids that they would be right back. The three continued to walk out some ways into the wood where Erus turned to face them.
“I would like to test the capabilities of your children.”
Holding up a hand to keep them quiet, Erus continued, “Before you object, allow me to explain. You see, these kids possess power, a power that perhaps should not be theirs. And it is a power that has likely never been seen, at least on Agleon, a union of magic and the power of End. I would like to study them and their powers and in doing so, teach them to harness their abilities.”
End refused vehemently, “Absolute not! That could destroy them, I won’t allow it!”
Erus refuted her points, “It won’t, I will watch over them, whatever wounds they incur I will be able to prevent or heal.”
End shook her head, “You don’t understand my power, it-”
Erus sighed, “You underestimate me too much. I do understand it, it brings an end to all things absolutely, such as lifespan, physical integrity, even its own existence. It is the very idea of Destruction. In fact, Destruction himself is a fragment of the true End, your true brother in a sense. At least he is more tame, however, although that may be due to mortals and their search for destructive power, he does not need to be restrained as much.”
Seeing the looks that Ieros and End were giving him, he apologized, “Sorry for getting off track. The point is that I am at a level of power in which even if End was in her previous state of strength, I will now be able to seal her within moments, perhaps even erase her from existence if necessary. If it is the impure and undoubtedly weaker power of your children, I’m absolutely certain that I will be able to ensure their safety.”
End hesitated, finally saying, “I... I just don’t want them to be hurt.”
Erus assured, “They won’t be, unless they do not listen to my direction. If that happens, I am not responsible for what occurs next. And even then, I will do my best to heal them and if necessary, erase what traumatic memories they may suffer. It would be such a shame to lose such fascinating subjects.”
It was his last words that served as a cold reminder that despite what he has displayed in front of their family, Erus was just a persona in the end. Beneath was the cold, calculating mind of the Surveyor, one who just existed to gain more knowledge.
End laughed bitterly, “Yeah, it was foolish of me to think that you changed, to think that you began to care.”
Ieros put a hand on her shoulder, doing his best to comfort her. As she turned away from Erus, Ieros then looked at Erus, saying,
“How can we be sure, because you view them as nothing more than subjects, you could just be curious to see how their bodies would deteriorate with the usage of their power.”
Erus said, “There are only three of them, each who are unique. If I let them be destroyed here, that prevents me from learning more about them in the future. I just need a gauge of their powers so that I can create copies of them, from which I will be able to conduct more experiments. I just need reference material, which your children will be. They will not be in harm.”
Ieros, slightly confused, asked, “What do you mean by reference material?”
Erus answered, “It is quite simple, I just need to understand what they are capable of, to see the limits of their power so that I can emulate it, thus allowing me to control the experiment perfectly rather than using the inefficient method of asking them to demonstrate a certain percentage of their abilities. Of course, while I am conducting these experiments of mine in a different dimension, I will also be teaching your children how to best control their powers. In addition, with the manipulation of time I should be able to devise a stratagem in which to most effectively give them control over their abilities within a short time of me witnessing their abilities. You may think of me as heartless but do not think of me as cruel, although I can be should the situation necessitate it.”
Ieros, upon hearing his words, asked one more time, “So, my children will not be harmed?”
Erus nodded, “Of course. You can come to watch if you want to. But, you must not interfere, this is to prevent the children from getting distracted as that is a far more dangerous outcome.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Ieros nodded while End continued to ignore Erus, standing still in the forest as Erus began to head towards the cabin. He entered the house once more and found the three children sitting at the table, pretending that they have always been there. But he was aware that they, as all children are, were curious about the conversation that he was having with their parents. But that didn’t bother the Surveyor unduly, they needed to know anyway.
Not one to waste time, he created a gate which would lead them to a testing dimension, saying, “Please step through.”
Ivaran was about to march through but Silren held him back, asking, “Where does that lead? The Library?”
Erus shook his head, “The destination is different, I shall explain there. For now, step through, I believe that your parents will follow us shortly.”
As Silren was trying to figure this out, her grip on Ivaran loosened and he bolted through the door, much to Silren’s dismay. She cried out but was too late, he had already gone through. Without much of a choice, she stepped through and after a few moments of hesitation, Imra followed. Before entering himself, Erus turned to look at Ieros and End, deciding that he will keep the gate open until they stepped through. He disappeared and only the black gate remained within the house, waiting for Ieros and End to step through.
Within the gate was a dimension whose appearance was not unlike Agleon, possessing rolling plains, great mountains, and endless seas. However, one thing was missing in this world, life. There weren’t even plants, just barren desserts which were only broken by large areas of stone. It was a bleak world and one that happened to be perfect for testing. As the three test subjects looked at their new surroundings, Erus suddenly began to explain why they were here,
“I’m sure that you already know this but each of you possess a power that is unique. A power that has been rightfully sealed away. But I wish to break this seal and I would like for you to use the power that resides within you, so that I may teach you how to control it. I have your parents’ permission if you are hesitant and if you still are, I will guarantee your absolute safety. Now, which of you would like to begin?”
Ivaran was about to volunteer but Silren put herself before her two siblings, clearly nervous and afraid but also excited.
“I-I volunteer.”
Erus nodded and gestured that she come closer, casting Absolute Barrier around Imra and Ivaran. Not forgetting about Silren, he placed a sliver of himself within her, ready to act as a barrier between her flesh and the power of End. Then came the moment of releasing the seal, beforehand, Erus asked Silren for direct access to her mind. Without knowing much else, she did as he asked and instantly, she found herself dwarfed by the great mind of the Surveyor, even though this was a very simplified form, one which wouldn’t overload Silren’s senses.
Within her mind, it began to give directions and guided Silren on how to follow those directions, it didn’t want to make any mistakes and wanted to help Silren to at least get an understanding of how to use her power.
You must open a channel for the power, otherwise, it will likely destroy you upon the opening of the seal. I will be guiding you this time but I would like for you to learn how to do it yourself. Can you do that?
Silren, unable to communicate as well with her mind, merely sent a mental affirmation. After replying thus, she did her best to try and understand just what Erus was guiding her to do, trying to memorize the feeling of opening a channel. Once the channel was set in place, Erus sent a warning.
I will be releasing the seals, be prepared, do not be afraid.
Nervous, Silren once more sent a mental affirmation and with that, the seals were released. Silren suddenly felt hot, very hot, her skin beginning to prickle and itch. She was panicking but Erus’s voice suppressed the panic.
Remember the channel.
Knowing that this was her only chance to remain alive, she began to focus on the channel, opening it up to allow the energy to pour through. It began to rush into the channel and suddenly burst from her right hand, shooting out a messy ray of destructive energy. It began to destroy everything in front of her, continuing to pour out of her until there was nothing left. She fell to her knees, drained but alive. As she lay there, panting, she caught something move in front of her, Erus had extended a hand. She took it weakly and was pulled up, soon finding that energy was pouring from Erus’s hand into hers.
At first, she was afraid, afraid that it was the same destructive energy but whereas that was hot, this was cool and refreshing. It spread throughout her body as if she had entered a cool spring in the middle of a hot summer day. She sighed with relief and thanked Erus.
She asked, “Is that all?”
Erus nodded, “For now, you may go and rest.”
He sent her back behind the Absolute Barrier and had to slow down Ivaran who had excitedly run out to volunteer. As he prepared Ivaran as he had prepared Silren, in a different dimension where time flowed differently than in the testing dimension, a fragment of the Surveyor was simulating Silren’s powers. As he observed Ivaran’s and Imra’s powers, two other fragments of the Surveyor would begin to simulate their respective powers.
This was only possible because of the testing dimension, the testing dimension wasn’t just normal earth and air, these were like the body of the Surveyor itself. It could measure exactly the amount of force and destructiveness the children possessed, able to track the destruction and disturbance of the very atoms. Because of this, it was a simple matter to deduce the strength of their power, like how scientists use water displacement to measure the volume of an irregularly shaped object.
And as he had witnessed the nature of the power while unlocking the seal, he was able to emulate the nature of their power and the strength at which they were able to exert it. And although it took it two years to fully understand their abilities and estimate the rough growth they would achieve. And with this estimation, he devised a way for them to learn how to control their power, the three fragments relaying this knowledge to Erus. With hardly any time having passed in the testing dimension, Erus was able to immediately begin teaching the moment he had finished observing Imra’s power.
With this done, he began to instruct Silren, “Now, I have formulated a way for you to commence your training. I suggest you follow my instructions to the letter, otherwise, you may die.”
Silren nodded and he continued, “Now, as the nature of your power is closest to your mother, my teachings will be influenced most by your mother’s actions. So first, try and let this power flow throughout your body. This may be painful but as your body isn’t entirely human, you should be able to survive.”
End, who had entered sometime later, tried to intervene, saying, “I thought you would ensure their safety!”
Erus said, “She is safe, I am prepared to intervene should it be necessary. Now please be quiet, your disturbance may disrupt your daughter’s concentration and cause more damage than she may normally experience.”
End wanted to continue speaking but when she heard the danger she could present to her child, she stopped.
Erus returned his attention to Silren.
“Now, I would like for you to begin, remember how I guided you to open the channel, now do that throughout your entire body. Imagine that your very skin is the other opening of the channel for your power to radiate out of.”
Silren began to do as he said, turning her body into one giant channel. She then hesitantly began to release the power she held within, a small amount trickly out before it soon became a raging river. She lost control but she found that she wasn’t being hurt other than feeling really hot. The area in a two feet radius around her began to be affected by the Aura of Destruction, destroying the ground and air around her. As she couldn’t fly, she soon found herself digging deep into the earth, much to her shock and fear. But before she could call out for help, the rush of power she felt began to fade, returning to a small trickle which eventually disappeared as well. She collapsed to her knees, drained by the whole experience. Erus levitated her out of the hole she made and undid the damage she had done.
Replenishing her energy, Erus continued, “Now, try to do what you just did but only on your right hand, create an aura of destructive energy.”
Silren complied and although she was only able to control it up to her arm, she managed to keep the aura contained.
Noticing that she hadn’t followed his instructions, Erus repeated, “Only the hand, Silren. Try imagining that the channel you made is becoming shorter and shorter, slowly restrict it until it is only encompassing your hand.”
Silren did as instructed, finally resulting in a hand not too dissimilar from End’s left hand before it was sealed. Suddenly, a wall of steel appeared before her and under Erus’s direction, she hesitantly placed her hand on the wall, amazed to see her hand push straight through as if there was nothing there. When she withdrew her hand, there was a rough but distinct hand-shaped hole within the steel wall. She looked at her hand in amazement, not quite believing that she possessed this power.
But as her excitement grew, her control over her power lessened and she nearly lost her life right then and there if it wasn’t for Erus who quickly grabbed her hand, absorbing Silren’s destructive energy. She watched in horror as his clothes, his flesh, even his bones began to corrode because of her power, because of her. With tears in her eyes, she begged him to stop but he did not, keeping a tight hold on her hand as he sacrificed his body to keep her safe. Finally, when just about the entirety of his left side was gone, leaving nothing but slowly corroding bones, he let go, Silren’s powers having returned to manageable levels.
As she fell to the floor, sobbing and repeating sorry, Erus calmly, almost casually, regenerated his flesh and recreated his clothing. It was unnoticeable at first, the bones were fixed first and once that was done, hundreds of thin red strings—moving as if alive—coalesced into muscle, the muscle soon bonding with the bone via the tendons. Then a thin layer of fat coated the entire thing, the varying layers of the skin soon following. Upon noticing this, Silren watched in horrified fascination as his flesh reclaimed what her power had taken, Erus soon seeming fine, as if nothing had happened. With that done, Erus held out his hand, the same hand which her power had just destroyed.
“Come on now, sitting on the ground won’t teach you how to control your power.”