“I’m sure this term means nothing to you, as there are plenty of things that are shielded from the attention of shapers in the Configuring Stage. Honestly, I doubt most shapers in the next sta- I mean higher tiers would know anything about this either.” The pale being paused for a moment and shook his finger, silently telling Seth not to ask.
“What I can tell you is that under normal circumstances, this is not an item you would be able to use for quite a while. I’m talking a few centuries at the very least, and even then, I would say it still wouldn’t be a good idea.” He claimed while folding his hands over each other and leaning back.
“But…” Seth probed excitedly.
“But what? I just said you couldn’t use it.” Folly rebuffed.
“You just said I couldn’t use it under normal circumstances. So, I thought you were hinting at a way that I actually could use it under special conditions?” He questioned incredulously, annoyed at the obvious ignorance of the Umbra.
“I suppose I did say that didn’t I?” He stated blandly.
Seth once again waiting for him to elaborate, but after a few seconds of silence, it was clear the pale man was not going to offer any more information on the subject. The young man was about to start complaining about his Umbra’s lacking efforts, but then a slight tremor in the table shushed him. Looking down, he noticed that the table was once again showing signs of distress. The cracking was slower this time, but it was clear that whatever balance it had found before was failing.
Finally, a hypothesis sprung about in Seth’s brain, and he turned his attention back to the Umbra who was now strangely erect in his seat and not showing any signs of life. It was almost like Folly had turned to a statue as not even a twitch marred his features for over a minute, making Seth connect the dots as to why Folly had yet to continue. He was clearly attempting to restrain himself, but Seth could tell that doing so was worsening the condition of the table, or should he say, Folly’s control.
If he had to guess, it seemed that whatever state Folly was in now, aka his fully sane and business casual appearance, was no more than a temporary farse that was being used to actually negotiate with Seth for once. The earlier slip up was proof enough for his hypothesis. As it seemed like holding himself in such a state was taxing to some amount, hence the trickle of blood that was now dried up on his chin. Furthermore, perhaps the laws over Umbras they had just discussed also had a role to play in his unresponsiveness over the current topic. He still didn’t fully understand why the Umbra couldn’t act so normally every time they conversed, though. In the end, it didn’t really matter that much to him, as he just needed his Umbra to stay reasonable for a little while longer to answer his questions.
Now, back to the issue at hand: Why are the circumstances at hand not ‘normal’.
Seth sat in silence as he mulled over all the tumultuous variables that surrounded his presence in Folly’s domain. Minutes passed, and Seth could only think of a very short list of reasons as to why Folly believed there was a loophole for Seth to use the Umbral Heritage.
It has to be something related to those odd notifications I got at the end of the fight with Rulik… Wait, maybe it’s because I somehow made him surrender himself to me!
But as soon as that thought entered Seth’s mind, he noticed an audible crunch as a wave of new cracks ran over the surface of the table. He glanced back up to Folly, but didn’t notice anything different.
“Well, I know it’s not because Rulik surrendered to me.” He wondered aloud. Almost immediately, his bait seemed to work, as the cracks receded a few inches but didn’t vanish altogether.
Ahah! So I’m going to have to hot and cold this a bit. He affirmed with a new sense of confidence.
“It must be because I’m more compatible with the Umbral Heritage than normal.”
Crack.
“Maybe it’s because I don’t have an Umbral Blessing yet, so the Umbral Heritage would fit in that slot.”
Crack.
“Nah, it probably has nothing to do with the Umbra.”
Seth sat for a moment in silence as no new crack appeared. Think I’m getting warmer. Though he did note with a level of concern at the fact that half of the table was now fractured.
“Perhaps it has something to do with my race.”
Crack.
“Actually, it’s probably because it doesn’t have to do with what tier I am.”
Crack.
Seth stopped for a moment as he noticed this time the crack was a lot smaller than the previous ones.
A little bit of right and wrong then? He wondered.
He asked a couple more questions unrelated to his tier, but all of them received cracks in response. Now, nearly three-fourths of the table was shattered. He had a bad feeling about what would happen if the whole table broke, so instead of offering more theories, Seth took a break to think further about what the heritage would have to do with his tier.
Folly said that I wouldn’t be able to use it for a long time under normal conditions. I’m guessing he is referring to me being a higher tier by then. Hmm… that would also matchup as to why he let it slip that I shouldn’t even know about them until way down the line. So, am I supposed to have some reason as to why I could use it now rather than at a higher tier? He pondered, still lost.
Finally, after almost half an hour of deliberation, a thought occurred to him.
“It’s because I have a title that might let me use the Umbral Heritage.” He stated with certainty.
Silence was the only thing that met his claim, affirming his theory. Folly still hadn’t moved yet though, so he assumed that there was still something else he needed to confirm.
“My newly evolved Goliath Hunter title might let me use the heritage.”
Then, as if time itself rewound, the table’s cracks receded to about a third of the surface, and Folly twitched back into action.
“That seems like a novel idea, you must truly be a prodigy of the ages to have come up with such an interesting theory.” Folly congratulated with faux astonishment as he slid the disk across the table.
“It must have just been some sort of epiphany of mine.” Seth stated flatly as he reached for the tablet.
I guess I was right, it must have been against the rules to tell me anything more than that. But damn, isn’t signaling with the table cheating?
He swiftly examined the imprinted disk, using Identify for the first time on the item.
-?????
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Figures. He inwardly sighed.
“I wonder if my theory should be tested now or later?” He wondered aloud.
“Well, as a humble bystander, I would say this experiment of yours would be better suited for a setting where your next tier is imminent.” Folly sagely added.
Nodding with understanding, Seth smoothly deposited the tablet back into his cache where it would most likely wait until the end of The Incubator when he would have the ability to enter the fifth tier. He still wasn’t totally sure how that would work just yet but based on what he had been told by Drake and the others, The Incubator had a way of holding off your progress to the fifth tier until the duration of the event expired.
Also, if he abstained from using the heritage until then, he might be able to evolve his title once again, increasing his chance of success, though he still didn’t even know his odds as of now because of the hidden description the Foundation provided upon inspection of the tablet. If he had to guess, they were probably abysmal.
“Well then, let’s move on to more pressing matters.” The suited man said after watching Seth put away the item.
Fiddling with the items on the table once more, the albino hands of the Umbra sorted three piles out and placed them in front of the Seth. With a snap of his fingers, familiar purple fire enveloped the various items, and Seth was left with three new screens hovering in front of him.
“I can only provide one more item for you before my actions are counted as excessive. Choose one of these and be on your way, but remember what I told you about your concept, lest I be a bit firmer with my instructions in the future.” The Umbra said with no spark of humor.
Seth temporarily ignored the screens, as he could tell that upon choosing one of them, he would be sent back to reality. This was not something he wanted just yet, as even though all the information and stuff Folly gave him so far would be incredibly helpful, (especially his hand), Seth had only completed half of his objective for coming here.
“I still have things I wanted to talk to you about.” He stated firmly, as he knew this was the part of the meeting that would be the hardest to navigate.
Folly slumped back into his chair with a loud sigh followed by a muffled giggle as he regarded Seth.
“I give you so much and yet you always want more! Tell me little one, does that sound fair at all? I’ll have you know that this isn’t easy for me. Don’t you remember when I told you about my captors? Do you truly wish for me to be battered and bruised due to your greed?” He groused with a hint of annoyance.
Seth was quiet for a moment as he focused his thoughts. Folly clearly didn’t care for the oncoming flurry of questions, but just the fact he didn’t deny him outright was enough for Seth.
“What is a Fiend?” He asked.
“Seriously? That’s what you want to know? Null’s sake you baby shapers are so oblivious! I don’t understand why it matters, but a Fiend is a race purely derived from mortals, it has no true origin.” The suited man answered with a bored tone.
Seth thought about Folly’s response for a moment. I guess that aligns somewhat with the explanation of that commander-what’s-his-name.
“You say it comes directly from mortals, right? What makes someone turn into a Fiend?” He questioned further.
“It can be a variety of things. Generally, it’s anything that caused a significant change to one’s soul. Now that doesn’t mean everyone who experiences soul trauma will become a Fiend. It takes some specific criteria of events that surrounded the soul trauma to happen in order for a Fiend to be born. Also, even if one has the specific criteria and soul trauma, there is a chance that they will not become a Fiend either. The only thing that this event does is provide the option to evolve into a Fiend, so even if you have the Fiend race marker, you could still go your entire existence without becoming one.” He drawled on.
“But what is the specific criteria that causes someone to become a Fiend? And what makes someone evolve into one after they attain the marker?” Seth investigated with exasperation. It almost felt like the Umbra was purposefully edging around the important details to piss him off.
“Eh, it’s impossible to say, it could be a number of things, no two cases are the same. For example, one person could murder their entire bloodline and not attain the marker, but another could do the same with only a few relatives and they still somehow become a Fiend. I know another shaper like yourself that became a Fiend after sacrificing their best friend’s newborn. Like I said, it’s impossible to say. If I had to give a loose theory, I would say it stems from a soul trauma where the person destroys the thing most im- ARGH!!!” Folly suddenly stopped his explanation as a loud crack shook the black room.
Seth stood up in fright as the table in front of him almost completely shattered right in the middle of Folly’s explanation. The Umbra himself was looking no better, as black and crimson blood began dribbling from not only his mouth, but also from the pores all along his body, staining his opal suit a dark shade of brown. Despite the horrific looking state of the Umbra, Folly didn’t seem very surprised and put on a joking frown as he shook his fist at the ceiling.
“Well fuck you too! Fine! I won’t talk about it anymore! Now go bother some orphan child or something since you like to kick those while they’re down you witless tyrant!” He roared in empty rage.
The blood-covered Umbra gave one last obscene gesture to the air before sitting back down and regarding Seth with a glint of annoyance in his smirk.
“Well, it looks like our meeting will be cut short. Thanks for stopping by, little one, but I find myself in dire need of some rest. Make your last choice quickly so I can send you back to the mortal realm.” He sighed with a tired wave of his six fingered hand.
Seth could only sputter in response as the three screens he had put aside beforehand now took up his entire vision. He still wanted Folly to finish what he was talking about earlier, and he also still had a handful of other questions that needed answered. Unfortunately, it looked like fate was not on his side yet again, and he was resigned to just examining the descriptions in front of him.
Catalyst for Amalgamation of Fears:
-Grants Amalgamation of Fears (Requirements: Aligned Ability (Insanity Eternal) )
Amalgamation of Fears:
-Let your victim’s mind be their own undoing. Allows the user to delve into the memories of their opponent to a small extent through physical contact.
Catalyst for Grim Encumbrance:
-Grants Grim Encumbrance (Requirements: Aligned Ability (Presence of Doom) )
Grim Encumbrance:
-Instill the inevitability of Doom into your enemies. Allows the user to inflict Terrify, Impending Doom, and Vitality Leech.
Catalyst for Opposing Force:
-Grants Opposing Force (Requirements: Aligned Ability (Eye of Opposition) )
Opposing Force
-Let no mongrel tread upon you. Massively increases the user’s resistance to suppression effects.
Despite Seth’s surprise in the face of the apparent divine punishment that reigned down on Folly from an unknown source, he was still able to rationally analyze the new options in front of him. It seemed all the items that were offered were ability items, though he wasn’t complaining. Also, it seemed that they were somewhat of lower quality than Anar or Fear Itself, as their descriptions were a lot clearer and didn’t boast any game breaking effects.
As he went through the three, he immediately ruled out Grim Encumbrance. Seth didn’t doubt that debuffs would be useful, but honestly he didn’t think it would fit his fighting style, especially since his abilities seemed to be all leaning toward melee strengths.
Secondly, after a few moments of thinking, he also ruled out Opposing Force. It would be nice to finally have another branch ability for Eye of Opposiition, but he didn’t think this one was the best fit. Also, he was fairly sure Folly’s words earlier were hinting at the possibility of him discovering his own branch ability for it anyway.
Opposing Force was a new kind of ability for him, but he also didn’t think he needed suppression resistance either, as he knew how Anima Influence felt, and he knew that anyone on his level wouldn’t be able to negatively affect him enough for it to be worth it. If someone of higher tier thought to pick a fight with him, Seth might be in trouble, but he also wasn’t looking for any fights with high tiered shapers in the first place.
Also, let’s be honest, Amalgamation of Fears sounded like the exact ability he needed to get everything out of his Fear Itself ability. To this day, Seth had only been using his illusion ability to create distractions and trickery, but that wasn’t even the main power of his ability. He had discovered during the group challenge that accosting his enemies with something they were afraid of was way more effective and even boosted his ability upon use. For example, when fighting the weird slug monster in a match, Seth had experimented with a fire illusion that ended up attaining a will of its own as it made the monster writhe in fear.
Seth hadn’t been able to replicate that effect on many monsters, much less any shapers. So with this new ability that offered him an avenue into his opponent’s mind, let’s just say Seth was more than excited to test it out. Finalizing his choice, the other two descriptions disappeared and a plain grey pearl was deposited directly into Seth’s cache, waiting for him to use it in the real world.
Pushing aside his anticipation for the catalyst item, Seth tried to hastily ask Folly one more question before he was kicked out of his domain. But with a single finger held up by his Umbra, Seth found himself unable to speak.
“I don’t have enough patience for any more of your questions, so I will leave you with a bit of advice you best take to heart. Number one: You are a Fiend due to your actions, not mine. And number two: I don’t care about other Umbras slighting shapers in their free time, that is not why I helped you.” Folly scraped away a smear of dried blood, revealing an unsettling frown that caused Seth’s whole body to shiver.
“Remember this, Seth Shrike.”
“I hate when others mess with my plans.”