CHAPTER THIRTEEN: O’CUNNING WITCH

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“Are you sure you've got all the procedures down?” Ruhira asked her emerald eyes, gazing unblinking, her coral painted lips pinched into a line.

“I've definitely got it.” Chronifer assured for the umpteenth time, rolling his eyes.

He Packed his pale golden hair into a man bun, and proceeded to scratch at his neck it itched fiercely, Just the first day and I'm already dying. Chronifer wondered what will become of his completion.

“Okay then, here goes nothing.” He said, pushing past his fear of losing his clear skin.

Chronifer lowered his oily hands clasped around the quill to the Architect's Ledger and… Nothing happened, except from a giggle escaping Shully. It sounded like she had been trying to suppress it, then like a dam it burst out of her in spurts.

Chronifer turned to her, her silence through most of Ruhira's more detailed explanation over their snack break on how to use the Ledger now seemed suspicious.What had we been missing?

“You… you guys looked so serious.” She said pushed out between fits of laughter. “Ahh, tell me how did you guys expect to use the Ledger without essence?” Shully asked with a teasing smile that promised a joke of whoever answered it.

How could I have forgotten about that? Chronifer thought embarrassed at his total and utter folly, he slowly looked away from the girl and faced the Ledger.

“Oh, he really hasn't unlocked his essence yet… and besides that…” Ruhira began with a sheepish smile. “He won't be able to work on my branches without channeling essence through it.”

Shully burst into another fit of laughter. “Your look of realization is just amazing.” Looking at her friend Ruhira seemed to find the whole situation funny and burst into laughter as well, both laughter grew as they seemed to feed off each other's manic laughter until only coughs seemed left of the joy.

Chronifer unfortunately did not find the situation funny, he had just wanted the moment to pass quickly, instead the opposite.

He knew Essence would only be available to him when he reached sixteen and also the ability to unlock his branches but his mind seemed to have skipped that fact.

“Ahh, that was fun,” Shully entoned in a fulfilled voice. “The child lord here, probably still has the restricted system, and is far from having his soul tree accept essence. And like you mentioned, Ruhira, you have to channel the essence, even if he had the essence to make the Ledger work, since it's with your branches you need to channel the essence through his hand.” She took in a small inhale and smiled smugly.

“Aww, thank you, you're the absolute best.” Rubira praised her friend, who seemed to glow under the praise.

“It's nothing, I'm just built like a sage.” Shully agreed, nodding with an accepting smile.

“Okay then, let's do this.” Chronifer exclaimed once more. Silence. Then the two girls burst into laughter again for another long agonising minutes.

God, is this the crime of mistakes.

When they finally stopped, Shully seemed to have gotten her fill of laughter and actually gave them instructions, Ruhira placed her hand over Chronifers. Her soft pale palms covered him entirely and he could only curse his body as to how small it was.

“Are you ready?” She asked, standing at the side of the desk. He didn't answer immediately, he turned to the window and saw that the Pale sunlight still shone beyond the window, it seemed they were in the late afternoon, he took in a breath and then nodded slowly.

“Yes, you know the branch already.” He answered. Dropping his hand, this time with less fanfare and reverence.

The vertigo slammed into him like a barrage, he felt like he had been spun around for hours and was let loose violently, his eyes saw countless colours of lights, his ears heard a shirking whistling noise that seemed to unleash spikes of pain straight into his brain, his heart sounded like a chaotic engine pump sparking embers into flames.

Like a rising tidal wave the feelings mounted, climbing like a unending storm leaving disasters and wreaking havoc and then… utter and pure quiet, like he had been tossed into the eye of the storm and he found peace, and then before him like Rubira had tried to described he saw an endless constellation of stars, only it was so much more than her words could capture, Chronifer froze awestruck.

This… this is beautiful.

Before him the Constellation of stars blazed like multiple suns, their colours varying, like a kaleidoscope of colours, and every single one of them not just sounded but slammed meaning into his mind.

There was no explanation befitting the impartment of knowledge but there before him, one thundered its meaning like a burst artery spurting blood like a steam pot, it echoed of endless bleeding and suffering, the loss of vitality, it was the aspect of blood loss.

Chronifer had found himself before the cosmic interpretations of a Law, one of Ruhira’s branches: Scarlet.

If Chronifer had knees he would have fallen, there was no word he knew that could describe his emotions, his awe at Ruhira talk about the power of the Caj'malarie, his respect at his parents and clan might, His clouded fear of the might as well. They all seemed so far away from him, the ability to have his name among the rank of those he feared and respected, but here as if painted on the universe laid his path to that level. Maybe even above.

Ruhira had told him the name of this place. The Constellation of Laws she'd called it. A place where all of the multiverse Laws are broken down into smaller parts know as aspects, these laws are of everything, known and unknown and it is from this place that the races come to forge a leaf to harness the powers of their branches, their affinities and link to these multiversal laws.

And Chronifer was here to do just that.

He felt a bubbling joy fill him up like a bottle about to burst open.

Before him he looked at a billion, trillion, no, countless amounts of aspects to the scarlet law, that stretched endlessly in all directions.

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He tried moving his hands… nothing, and the rest of his body ended at the same result, only his eyes seemed to function. Yet he didn't panic and it was definitely not because Shully had thankfully pointed the fact out to him.

Okay, first think of the aspects you feel lay at the foundation of your idea. Chronifer recited Ruhira’s quick lesson. Aspects he knew was a partial explanation to the law

He thought of his idea and found a few aspects, first was solar energy, how do I…

The Constellation seemed to spin like a globe before him or was it him who was lurched around? He had no idea, and didn't care one bit, he just had a feeling he couldn’t explain, it overcame him.

From before him the meaning of the Constellation Flowed into his mind and like a peripheral noise the other meanings also sneaked into his ear but with focus he seemed to cut them off and focus on the Star, no. aspect. Before him.

It declared endless energy from the heavens, energy from the light, from the celestial kings. His amusement mounted, he heard no voice, saw no writing, yet he just knew.

Amidst his amazement his perspective shifted as if consumed by a vision, he saw a young boy, he kneeled in seeming exhaustion, around him laid a desolate, and ash covered Landscape offering no hope or solace of survival for only death lingered yet when the boy finally moved, he gazed not on the hopeless landscape but upon his blood covered hand and cast on it was the sun, its colour red, angry and majestic, the boy looked up, pressing his hands back against his gaping wound and smiled at the sun, like it has rekindled something deep within him he struggled to his feet once more and took one step forward and then another.

Yes. this is it! He exclaimed his emotions heavy, the vision had held a raw emotion that did not dwindle his amazement but instead seemed to kindle his dreams and drive, the vision had given him hope and fire.

Then from a distance as if a thought forgotten yet recognized has forgotten he felt his hand move and the wooden quill against his fingers.

Before him a mini star appeared burning brightly but like the giant aspects before him gave off zero heat, or cold.

Then he thought about another aspect. One he highly predicted most people had linked with Scarlet. Heat, unbearable heat.

Once again the myriad constellations of aspects rolled and Chronifer found himself facing an aspect.

The meaning came this time like many whispers, from all directions and non, it whispered of warmth, warmth so deep it reached the bones, Then came the vision, a hunting gore covered room dyed a deep scarlet hue, blood sprayed and poled everywhere, boiling and sizzling with a mix of flesh and chunks unrecognisable organs. The room boiled, the colour of its light changed due to the heat, it warped the air in a scarlet haze, it lurched away from Chronifers mind with his acceptance, before him slightly to his right side two aspects now lingered.

He paused for a moment, the vision having shocked him a bit. Had they exploded due to the heat? He shook the question away.

What next? He wondered. something focused, hmmm. He lingered for a fair amount of time, ah, yes.

He thought of a beam steady, focused and destructive. The spin was minimal this time and before him, like a laser the meaning shot through him, in a flash, force, focused light, heat unmatched. Its meaning came.

The vision came, vivid. In the sky flew a man of regal bearing. He was watched by a sole soldier who stood amongst a field of corpses, and he seemed not far from death as well. Behind the battlefield was a village of women and children. Not once did the soldier look at the corpse of his fallen comrades, not once did he look away from the enemy, not once did his sword shake. The lips of the floating man moved, still the soldier stood, a silent bulwark. Then without preamble a beam thicker than his forearm and even that of Dante shoot towards the man, Like a wrath of great vengeance and wrath the soldier parried and the skies seem to tear and rip. The vision shattered like a sword shattering.

Chronifer gasped, what in hell. The amount of resolve held by the man spoke to Chronifer, not for protecting people but what meant the most to him.

He didn't know for how long he stayed there overwhelmed by the scope of death he had seen but the third aspect before him soon called for his attention.

Oh. He thought, recovering from the scope of the Battle and then wondered if he needed any more aspects but he didn't. What now? He remembered Ruhiras lesson.

“Imagine your idea.” She had said.

Chronifer did just that.

He thought of a woman walking underneath the sun, her body absorbing the sun light and heat, then she pointed her finger and a beam of condensed light and heat blasted forth. Then she absorbed the sun's energy once more and manipulated the electrical energy absorbed, creating heat waves and dimming the light of the sun, absorbing the heat from her surroundings.

The thought was not vivid, but like it was a catalyst the aspects before him shimmered brighter and brighter and then Chronifer eyes opened and before him he saw golden light vanished and then two familiar percentage counters appeared in the middle of the Ledger.

Uniqueness (90.05%)

Potential (92.94%)

Chronifer exhaled and then he saw a system message appear before him, which he hadn't seen the past few times since he wasn’t in contact with the Ledger.

Leaf Blueprint Acquired

Leaf Name:

Solar leech

Leaf Description:

You are the mistress of the celestial king, the sun. You command its energies and make it bend to your whims. You are the heat of the sun and the world beneath your feet.

Whisper your words O’cunning witch.

Do you wish to acquire this Leaf?

Yes/No

Acquire to see effects

Chronifer read through the Leaf description and looked back at both girls, at his first try, Chronifer felt a quiver of excitement echo through him. The unknown emotion grew with his excitement.

He saw Ruhira’s face in shock and Shully wide eyed with a smirk, and then he smiled, the girls exploded with screams of disbelief and Chronifer smiled his heart set free of the future before him and he shouted a resounding and joy filled: “Yeah!”

When was the last time Chronifer had felt this way? He was happy, not just that he felt pure unadulterated joy, and deep within he finally felt the strange emotion. It was: wonder, a bountiful feeling of discovery and progress.

The reason for the emotion was as vivid as his smile as Ruhira and Shully ruffled his hair and showered him with praise, he had seen his father, mother, and Oniihino do multiple things beyond common sense things the multiverse promised, now he had touched upon that power that boggles the mind

In that moment Chronifer found another thing that spoke to him just as much as power and fame, it was simple yet it set into his mind like a pillar, it was adventure, Chronifer wanted to get out of walls and see the world beyond and worlds that the multiverse held and other mythical things he might not even know yet.

He looked at both girls not even knowing when he had been pulled to his feet and pumped his fist, “let's do this!”