The void was louder this time. As if all the other times Teyva had visited the sound had been switched off and it was only now that she could hear it all clearly. Storms rumbled around her, clouds swirling and crackling with purple lightning. Flashes of violet light erupting beneath the surface in rhythmic pulses. Here the universe sang a song of rage and confusion. An endless sea of chaos that stretched out far beyond what the mind was willing to comprehend. Here, Teyva hung in the space between life and death and was more aware than she ever had been.
“Finally.”
The voice came so suddenly that Teyva felt her entire body jerk in surprise. Her mind whirled as she cast her gaze about looking for the source. A whisper of mana caught her nose and she turned around in the vastness of the void, stopping short when she caught sight of a woman drifting through the open space with her.
She was beauty incarnate. White as snow, with that perfect-yet-healthy hourglass frame that kept her away from plastic and photoshop. Her eyes were a blazing hot pink, an unearthly glow that struck right through Teyva’s chest. She was tall, her willowy white hair fluttering about in an unseen breeze. Her thin lips stretched just a little too far on each side of her face and her smile was razor-sharp. She had a more simple, human-like appearance compared to Teyva whose body had gone through numerous monstrous transitions. Even so, Teyva knew exactly who she was dealing with. She could feel it in the depths of her soul. Her expression dropped from awe to a deadpan glower.
“Teyva Rani.”
“At least she’s observant,” The long-dead queen of the Labyrinthians crooned, “Hello dearie, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Our little talk has been long overdue.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” Teyva Akura hissed, “Get lost, I need to wake up.”
“Not until I am done, young lady,” Teyva Rani shot back; “And are sure you have nothing to say to me? You should be thanking me!”
Akura’s eyes bulged; “Thanking you? You’ve been playing with my head since the moment I read that damn mural! I barely know what thoughts are mine anymore! I’m pretty sure I’m going crazy and it’s all your doing so excuse me if I think I’d rather you buzz off to whatever version of hell you happen to believe in on Orum!” She snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Rani.
Rani laughed; “I suppose you could look at it that way. But how else do you think you survived? Sure it took a little while to settle in as your co-pilot, a fantastic world you come from by the way, and get your subconscious on board. But after that, you only needed little nudges in the right direction and you were over your fear of battle in no time at all!”
“You had no right doing that!”
“You run around in my body, take my name, and wear the trappings of my ancestors and you say I don’t have the right to some input? Pardon me but I think I have every right, dearie!” Rani barked, “It is you who doesn’t have a right to argue with me. I am a true Labyrinthian, not some cosmic mock-up like yourself.”
Akura fell silent, she had nothing to say to this witch. Besides, everything she said just showed more of her true colors. As far as she was concerned she’d hear her out and then be done with it. She crossed her arms and frowned; “Out with it then, what do you have to say?”
“Was that so hard?” Rani quipped, crossing her arms behind her back, “All I want is to extend an olive branch. I have no interest in running ram shod through your mind, but I am as stuck with you as you are stuck with me. I say we take advantage of our situation. After all, I certainly didn’t plan for you to read the mural or to open the secret compartment. It could have been anyone, but here we are.” She held out her arms for emphasis, spinning around to gesture to the cosmos around them.
“You going to explain what all that means in practical terms?” Akura demanded.
“Simple enough, I want time on the surface. I want to ride along and commentate, not just watch. I want to advise you, that’s all, to push you in the right direction instead of tricking you which has done nothing more than turn you away from anything I’d be aiming to do.”
“See the light have you?”
“Cute, listen to me. You could truly revive the Labyrinthian people! You could become the next great queen of the world! With my wisdom at your disposal, you’d be unstoppable, I could teach you any magic you so desire and simplify the magic of this more modern time as well. It is all simply derivative of the magic that we Labyrinthians developed. I could give you so much knowledge, all you’d have to do is let me in.”
Teyva paused, looking around, she needed a moment to think. She wasn’t considering it by any means but she needed to figure out a way out of this conversation. She had to at least make it look like she was tempted. “Where are we anyway?”
“We are in your soul, the deepest layer of your subconscious cast out into the void of the cosmos until you return to your body,” Rani said; “See? Just like that, you learn more from me.”
“This place is my soul? It’s a part of me? Could I, like, do whatever I wanted here?” Akura asked, genuinely curious. She’d read about things like this back in her past life, the perfect lucid dream, a paradise within one’s mind. She’d spent hours looking for some manner of escapism from the endless toil of retail. Until this very moment, she hadn’t realized she’d gotten her wish.
Rani on the other hand smelled blood in the water, and her eyes became hungry; “You could make this place into anything you want. It could be your paradise. Perhaps if we trade places now and then you could even experience it for a while, wouldn’t that be something?”
That was all Akura needed to hear. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The clouds around them rumbled as she put every ounce of thought into visualization. She fumbled with the mental image for a moment, but it wasn’t like she had disbelief to hold her back. She’d spent days now experiencing horrors and wonders, unlike anything she could have ever experienced back home. There was nothing now that could make her believe this wouldn’t work. More importantly, everything she had been put through had hardened her willpower like a tempered blade. She still had a long way to go, but she felt strong here.
She was not going to give it up to some ghost.
Rani blinked, glancing around herself before her own eyes went wide with horror. In an instant, the beautiful visage of the ancient queen vanished and she bore her razorblade teeth, snarling while she leaped across the vastness, claw-like nails ready to gouge Akura’s eyes out. Yet when Akura opened her eyes, Rani was suspended before her in what had to be the largest bird cage Akura had ever seen. The Labyrinthian queen snarled, lunging at the bars and grabbing them, she yanked and twisted and jerked. Akura snorted, it was a good look for her.
“This changes nothing! You quiet me now but what’s done is done! You can’t undo how I have influenced you. You are my creation! Mine! Just like all the races belong to the Labyrinthians! The seniors couldn’t understand that, they didn’t get it, senile old- let me out of here or I will rip your mind to pieces!”
Akura’s expression went dark; “Good to finally meet the real Queen Rani,” Akura said.
Rani spat and pulled away from the bars.
“Here’s the deal, Queenie, You get to come out when I say you can, you-”
Rani burst into laughter, “You idiot child! Do you honestly think this little mental cage can hold me forever? I am subdued for now, but I will not be forever. When I free myself I will not hesitate to rip and tear my way to the surface, I promise you that.”
“Then I’ll just have to find a way to get rid of you.”
“Good luck with that, little girl,” Rani snorted, “As insipid as the rest. No wonder our kind died out.”
“I bet you the king of the Azar might have an idea as to how to get rid of you,” Akura pointed out.
The Queen’s expression went hard, “Don’t you dare mention the Azar in front of me, brat. Begone! Go struggle and fail! Because the next time you die and come here, I will be ready to fight you for control. I will rip your mind to shreds and feast on the remains of your sanity. Enjoy your privacy while it lasts.”
Akura didn’t have to be told twice. She scowled and queried the space around her for a respawn.
You have one (1) respawn remaining.
Would you like to use it?
Yes / No
Akura glanced one last time in the Queen’s direction before nodding to the prompt.
Respawning at your target respawn point: Underfield.
5… 4… 3…
----------------------------------------
Teyva woke with a ragged intake of air, the scent of ozone burning against her nostrils. She felt her legs touch the ground beneath her and realized she was sitting on something soft. Her chest rose to its maximum and she could feel her spine creaking under the force of her reawakening. Her eyes blurred and she staggered forward onto her knees. Cold ground met her palms and face as the ragged gasps continued to leave her paralyzed. She curled into a ball as a strange sound battered her brain from the outside, a voice, muffled and confused. She winced, pulling her hands to her ears and curling up tighter as her body suffered from the agony of resurrection.
“Mother! Mother! You’re alive! Mother! I must get Lady Azrael! Lady Azrael!” Nephrals voice, she heard the flapping of small wings and raised her head, squinting at the blurry images around her. A phantom pain shot up the back of her head and she reached back to touch a spot just below the skull. She winced, shuddering, the memory coming back of the single acute moment of agony that precluded her demise. There were no tutorial protections this time, the pain felt so utterly real. She gagged, rolling back up into a ball and trying to breathe.
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“Holy shit, dying hurts.”
An elated cacophony of thoughts assailed her next, thirty-seven little voices screaming for their mother in worry, delight, and grief. The noisy hum that followed drew a pained chuckle out of Teyva and she rolled onto her back just in time to be pelted by a swarm of concerned coins. Their tiny legs crawled all over Teyva, inspecting, making sure everything was in the right place. Though as simple as they were they barely understood what the right place was so they spent most of the time just wandering about on her person. The largest of them crawled again onto her hand and she raised it to her eyes. Her swimming vision finally coming into focus.
“Hello there darlings, mommy’s here, mommy’s here,” She cooed, “See, I’m fine…”
She sat up just in time for a small creature to crash into her chest and send her back to the floor again. Teyva gasped, looking down to see Nephral burying his furry face into her chest. His wings flapped with a desperate effort to get in closer to her, regardless of how futile it was. She sat up again as the sound of footsteps drew in from nearby, stroking Nephral’s head. She looked up and saw four figures approach from the entrance to the Underfield tomb. First was Azrael who dove to her knees and slid to a stop, wrapping her arms around Teyva’s neck. Nephral squirmed in protest beneath her embrace while the Mockeries scattered, chittering in confusion.
“Woah there! Hey!” Teyva stammered in surprise.
“You idiot, you said it was instant,” Azrael growled, squeezing harder.
Teyva’s heart went cold; “How long was I out?” She asked, looking up at Elat who was accompanied by his father Yol as well as Deshan in the guise of a smaller wolf than his massive true shape. The Orcish elder puffed out a breath and glanced at Elat who shook his head.
“Your body came back three days ago.”
“Three days?” Teyva murmured, looking down at Azrael who clung to her as if she was going to disappear again.
“If you hadn’t had a heartbeat we would have believed you were well and truly dead, young lady,” Yol pointed out, “Gave us all quite a scare when you didn’t wake up right away.”
Deshan remained silent, his eyes on Teyva with a strange intensity. Azrael pulled away and punched Teyva in the shoulder. “What kept you?”
Teyva’s expression became hard; “Teyva Rani.”
“The Queen of the Labyrinthians?” Azrael asked.
Elat, Deshan, and Yol looked at one another in confusion. Teyva sighed and patted Azrael on the back; “Mind if we get comfortable if I’m going to explain this to them? We’re kinda still on the ground here,” She pointed out.
Azrael blanched and got to her feet while Nephral slipped off Teyva’s waist. Teyva stood up, the swarm of mockeries floating around her in a glittering gold swarm. She turned to the stool that had marked the center of the chamber and frowned at it. “I was sitting here?”
“Yes, for three days, we couldn’t even move you,” Elat said.
“Got it,” Teyva said, holding out a hand and using [Create Wall] on the black marble beneath their feet. She created five small walls in quick succession. The first one was tall while the other four sprouted out of it at varying heights to form a chair with armrests. She made sure to form it directly over the cushion that had been left behind, her expression going sour at the thought of sitting where Teyva Rani had sat. That thought alone should have sent a backlash of anger through her spine but instead, blissfully, she felt nothing. Teyva Rani was indeed contained, at least for now.
She turned and sat down, groaning, slumping into the throne-like chair without a care in the world. The others looked at one another while Teyva rubbed her face. “Alright, so obviously I’m not from around here…”
She explained everything just as she had done it for Azrael on the walk to the settlement, retelling her experiences in the tomb and how she had taken on the form of a Labyrinthian. What Labyrinthians were and their relationship to the other races. She explained how she could come back to life and how eventually she’d have more shots though right now she was effectively mortal. Finally, she explained her post-death experience and her encounter with Teyva Rani, and what she’d done to keep her in check.
“It won’t last forever, she made that clear, so I’ve got to figure something else out. That’s my goal, for now, I guess. The first place I figure I’ll check is with the Magi where Azrael comes from.”
It was as she was wrapping up that she noticed she had a few prompts waiting for her. She scratched her head and pulled them up.
Quest Complete!
[No Easy Solution]
You gave your life to not only save Azrael from the Justicar but the entire orcish settlement owes you a debt they can never truly repay. Well done.
Reward: 375 (500 at 75% growth) Experience
Tremendous Reputation Increase with Azrael
Reputation Increase with Elat
Reputation Increase with the Balthin Settlers
Reputation Increase with the Balthin Wolves
Your Reputation with Azrael Unabi has increased from Loyal to Unshakable
Your Reputation with Elat has increased from Friendly to Honored
Your reputation with the Balthin Settlers has increased from Honored to Revered
Your reputation with the Balthin Wolves has increased from Friendly to Honored
Teyva tore her eyes away from the series of prompts just in time to find Azrael kneeling just a few paces away from where Teyva sat. The warden hung her head low. Behind her, Nephral, Elat, Yol, and Deshan looked on thoughtfully but said nothing. Teyva was the only one who seemed confused.
“Hey, Az, what are you doing?”
“Shut up and let me do this,” Azrael shot back.
“But what-”
“I said, shut up!” Azrael demanded, looking Teyva in the eyes; “Ever since I met you it has been one mad dash into danger after another. I’ve thrown myself at monsters I never even imagined could exist and I learned more about the world in these few days than I ever cared to. Most importantly, I made a friend and found someone I could respect despite how maddeningly awful you can be at times, you git.”
Teyva wanted to look away, a lump forming in her throat, but she grit her teeth and kept her eyes on Azrael.
“You threw your life away for me. It may be one of many, but a life is a life. You died, Teyva! For me, and for that settlement. None of us will forget that. That is why,” She drew her weapon and turned it, blade pointed to her heart and handle pointed up toward Teyva. “I want to be your knight, Lady Akura. If you would have my loyalty as your companion.”
Alert!
Azrael Unabi has requested to become your permanent companion! Once this decision is made it may not be revisited. Azrael Unabi will gain the following benefits:
Access to a set of [Outsiders Tools]
The Ability to Level Up
Access to the Party Feature
Ability to absorb Aspect Shards
You will gain access to the following benefits:
Access to the Party Feature
Do you accept her request?
Yes / No
Teyva stared at the prompt and then at Azrael; “What about your father? Going home? I made a promise to take you home.”
“I want to see him, yes, but he will understand once I explain everything to him,” Azrael said, “My place is at your side, My Lady.”
Teyva pressed her lips together and got to her feet. She looked over at Nephral who normally would have something cross to say about her relationship with Azrael. Instead, the feline looked decidedly firm in his expression. She glanced over at Elat who only had eyes for Azrael in that moment. Teyva’s expression softened and she looked down at her friend, “On one condition.”
Azrael looked up from where she knelt, yellow eyes gleaming back at Teyva’s own. “What would that be?”
“I’m just Teyva.”
Azrael smiled; “Right, Teyva.”
Teyva reached out and took the sword from Azrael’s hand. Azrael stiffened and cleared her throat; “Take the blade and turn it around the way I did facing me,” She whispered.
Teyva blinked and nodded hurriedly, turning the weapon around so that the point faced her own heart and held out the handle to Azrael. Azrael took it and got to her feet, sheathing the weapon; she bowed once to Teyva before wiping something from one of her eyes. Teyva was about to ask when she got a warning fringer from her friend and cracked a grin instead. She glanced over at the others present, clearing her throat.
“We’re heading to Osan, what will you all do?”
“Elat is going with you,” Yol said, whacking his son on the back of the leg with his cane.
Elat stumbled forward and turned back to the old man, eyes wide; “B-but the gates! Patrols! I have to-”
“We have wolves, boy!” Elat snapped at him, “Deshan here has been kind enough to offer his services to the settlement. You’re a bit… redundant now.”
Deshan huffed and gave the old man a resigned look before turning an apologetic one on Elat. Elat looked at Teyva and Azrael before clearing his throat; “If, you’ll have me then?”
“He is a good shot from what I understand, respectable and his musculature is admirable as well,” Nephral pointed out, “A good addition to your forces, mother. May his arrows pierce your enemies and leave them cold and bloodied on the-”
“Nephral?” Teyva asked sweetly.
“Yes, mother?”
“Hush,” She warned, before scratching her neck. “Well, I’m happy to have you on, Elat. Azrael here is about to jump out of her britches over it thou- ow!” A well-placed punch to the arm came from Azrael. Teyva rubbed her arm and shot her knight a shit-eating grin.
Her knight.
She didn’t have time to reflect on it though; Yol clearing his throat.
“If you are going to make any sort of good time you should leave soon, the lot of you. The wildlands on this side of the forest are notorious for their storms and winds, especially later in the year. Given how far I imagine you will be going, you don’t want to be leaving any later than tomorrow. That means preparations need to be made and you all need to get your rest!”
Teyva whistled; “Not a lot of time for goodbyes. Last chance Elat, you sure you want to come along?”
She eyed the big orc who instead spent a few heartbeats looking at Azrael. The two stared at one another before he turned to look at Teyva; “I’m in. I’ll pack my things and say my goodbyes tonight.”
“Then it’s settled!” Yol chortled, “A journey to Azrael’s homeland to find a cure for Teyva’s possession! How exciting!”
The prompt that appeared drew a laugh from Teyva and a startled gasp from Azrael. She turned to see Azrael waving her hands in the air at something she couldn’t see and Teyva shook her head; grinning to herself. This was going to take a while to explain, but at least she had plenty of time to do it on the way to Osan, the next step of her journey.
Quest Update!
[The Long Road Home]
You have promised the Azar Warden, Azrael Unabi, to help her return home to her people and convince the King that her mission’s failure was no fault of her own. Travel west with Azrael and meet with the King of the Azar; Thrake. In addition, the fate of your own mind might lie in the hands of the wise Magi that serve the King of the Azar. However, Teyva Rani has warned you that should you die again you may lose control of yourself forever.
Arrive at the Homeland of the Azar.
Convince the Azar King.
Find a cure for yourself.
You must survive.
Azrael Unabi must survive.
Reward: Experience, Multiple Unknown Rewards
This has become a Major Quest!
Teyva licked her lips and accepted the quest.