-32-
[https://i.imgur.com/LoYByv0.png]
Hailey’s parting comment left my mind reeling. I began to wonder if the chaotic magicks were actually altering my mental state as much as physically.
My introspection was short lived though, as a hand slapped my shoulder. Our lively new companion seemed eager to get to business.
“Well my new ᚳᚩᚻᚪᛁ, wanna learn some new things now or did you need to get back to managing your humans?”
“For starters, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t refer to the people here as if they were my belongings.”
“Why? You’re a daughter of Virgo, are you not? Then these creations of hers are basically your inheritance. You may look like them in outer appearance, but the differences are quite distinct on the inside.”
Daughter of Virgo? Am I part of a commune now? I don’t need any more mothers. I’d like to have my earthly one returned safe and sound…
“That may be true, however I see these people as compatriots in arms. We’ve fought together and still have many battles to face. Therefore, if you wish to participate, I’ll consider it on a trial basis. So long as you get along with the people here, we’ll accept you with no qualms.”
Ikuye’s expression furled to a rough grimace.
“Hmmm~” She mused with a melancholy pitch.
“I understand. Deal. I’ll do my best to fit in.”
I reached for her outstretched hand to confirm her entry to our warband, albeit with a slight apprehension after seeing her initial response.
As her fingers curled around mine in a firm grasp my head began to feel light and I began to tilt over in dizziness.
My vision started to blur and blacken—the last thing I heard was Ikuye frantically calling my name.
----------------------------------------
A series of bright lights in the distance flared over the horizon, drawing my attention.
I was conscious again, but had no clue where I was.
The landscape around me was entirely foreign.
Mountainous chunks of earth and rock were suspended in the space all around. It looked as if the world had been cleaved apart and the broken sky was used as a net to maintain the barest of order.
There were islands in the sky all around me ablaze with the roar of battle—and in that moment I realized there was no ground below me.
I did my best to muffle an internal scream. A disturbing feeling along my back that had been gnawing at my senses became clear. I was hovering in the air thanks to a set of wings.
Ah. One of these awkward moments again.
It dawned on me quickly what was going on. I was having another one of the so called ‘psychometric episodes’ my runic interface system seemed so eager to tell me about after they occurred.
Judging by the wings and who I had just been in contact with before awakening into whatever this craziness was, I determined I must be reliving some event from Ikuye’s past.
A streak of fire soared through the sky directly at me. A young looking girl with wings of flaming feathers and golden hair came into view. She wielded a sword of the same raging orange flames with her left hand, and clutching a large tome tightly in her right.
“ᚻᚪᛁᛚ ᚳᚩᛘᚪᚾᛞᛖᚱ!” The angel approached Ikuye and saluted.
“ᚻᚪᛁᛚ, ᚹᚻᚪᛏ ᛞᚩ ᛁᚩᚢ ᚻᚪᚠᛖ ᛏᚩ ᚱᛖᛈᚩᚱᛏ?”
Ikuye responded back sternly, and I scratched figuratively at my mind.
Now would be a great time for some auto translation skill to manifest itself…
After many minutes of incomprehensible chatter between the two, I admitted defeat and gave up hope on the Goddess’ magick coming to my rescue.
Though I couldn’t understand the words themselves, I was able to get the general feel from the connection with Ikuye.
A few words continuously sprang up during the conversation: “Lethos”, “Gabriel”, “Libra” and “Gemini”. Notably, the last two were only uttered under cautious breaths.
What the names of two of the Celestial Gods had to do with the fields of war nearby, only the angels truly knew.
I’ll have to try to bring it up with Ikuye later if I can.
Before long the golden hair girl, whose name I gathered was Aurielle, delivered the last of her report and saluted Ikuye once more.
Aurielle started to depart, but the sound of a great explosion nearby stole our attention.
A hush fell over the battlefield and I felt a sort of static charge settle in. A rush of concern came over me and I knew the emotion was being relayed through the shared state with Ikuye.
A terrible pain flooded every fiber of my being.
Not a physical one—but one that wrenches at your heart.
One that rends your composure in two, exposing you as vulnerable and weak.
One that accompanies the loss of someone dear.
It was that kind of pain.
My gaze drifted down as Ikuye tilted her head to the greatsword in her right hand. A faint glimmer of silvery liquid dripped down the blade, plummeting down into the abyssal sky below us.
I felt an immense pressure activate around us, and Ikuye rocketed through the sky towards a large floating island which had been the source of the explosion.
Her blood-lust was overwhelming at this point, making it difficult to keep my wits as I watched in dread at what happened next.
As we approached, many figures came into view. Hundreds—if not thousands—of winged warriors were clashing against each other.
A thundering crash echoed through the open plain as she slammed into the ground, cleaving the body of one of those warriors in two.
Silver drops splattered across the landscape and Ikuye gave no pause before bringing her sword to bear. Angelic beings, one after another, fell under the weight of the blade.
In such a brief moment hundreds lay slain, their argent blood pooling in the heavily cratered ground.
The remaining winged soldiers snapped to attention as Ikuye charged past them to a single collapsed body which lay beyond. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed down on her knees.
Gently lifting the body in her arms, both Ikuye and I gazed down at a coral-haired girl. Her body was battered and bruised—seemingly to have been on the receiving end of the massive explosive spell from a moment ago.
I felt streaks of cold run from my eyes, and tears began to stain the wounded woman’s face.
Ikuye screamed a blood-curdling cry at the sky. Then her body’s tension dropped and she wrapped herself around the girl.
A pool of silver blood had gathered below her.
Ikuye’s piercing stare glared back at me in the reflection and my breath caught, my entire soul felt frozen in place.
Extreme malice that I felt behind that twisted expression bore directly into my heart and I began to fade to black once again.
The last thing I saw was a sinister face, a terror far beyond anything I’d ever experienced took hold over me, and the anguish of a million souls cried out in fear.
----------------------------------------
Air rushed into my lungs as I gasped wildly out of control. I was laying on the dirt, clutching at my chest, heaving.
I looked around in my state of panic, my eyes catching once I’d spotted Ikuye sitting atop a retaining wall that ran the length of the training grounds. Her wings were wrapped around her body in a tight embrace—a harrowing glitter ran down her cheeks betraying her otherwise stoic expression.
Immense feelings of grief clawed at me, paired with the residual terror I’d experienced in the last moments of our mental linking.
I struggled to fight back the urge to retch.
Ikuye leered down at me with an icy gaze.
“Not really a favorite of mine.”
I collected myself enough to utter a response, though my voice was a little shaky.
“W-what isn’t? That memory, or the e-experience of this d-damnable psycho-garbage?”
“Both, I guess. Some things are better left buried, never to be dredged up under any circumstance.”
I braced myself with both my hands behind me and leaned back, letting out a deep breath to center myself. My gaze crept back up to Ikuye.
She was already looking right at me, and our eyes locked.
“I didn’t mean for t-that to happen.” I stammered. “Not that it’s any consolation. I can’t control when that happens, nor do I really know why it does. It’s the first time anyone else has experienced it with me though…”
“Yeah. I know, sister.” Her expression softened a little, hiding the pain behind her eyes. “That wasn’t my first time. Guess that should remedy any doubts either of us has about you having mama’s divine blood.”
“Her divine blood?”
“Mother, and apparently those with a pure lineage to her, are highly in tune with all kinds of magick. What you experienced is probably due to a sensitivity to some certain wavelength.”
“I guess that makes sense—No, wait. I started to have these episodes before even binding with Capricorn.”
“You’re still the daughter of Virgo and from what I can sense, were born under the sign of mother. You’re closer to the Goddesses than most beings. It shouldn’t be too hard to believe you’d be blessed with a good affinity for all kinds of magicks.”
I recalled the cumbersome list of magick-based affinities listed on my personal status.
Can’t argue against that conclusion.
She hopped down from the wall and her wings folded back along her shoulders, eventually fading away as if they were just a trick of the eye to begin with.
“Well,” she started,” can’t wallow in pity all day, can we? I promised to teach ya’ something new so let’s get to it.”
Ikuye sat on the ground close by, aiming for a spot with soft grass rather than the hard dirt I was still splayed out on.
I shimmied over and found a new seat next to her.
“I take it that whatever you’re considering showing me isn’t something physical? I’m hoping so at least, I dunno if I could take on anything that needed me to move around right now.”
My STAMINA had increased slightly from the few training sessions with Julius during our stay in Umbraedomis, but it was far from the realm of an angelic combat veteran.
The strain of our duel combined with having my mental fortitude drained thanks to another psycho—invasion of privacy—metric episode left me in a state of extreme exhaustion.
“Don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything physical—this time at least.”
“You make it sound so foreboding, throwing it out so casually.”
“It’s nothing so terrible!” Ikuye laughed to herself, “I’m just thinking of how to raise you up closer to my level the quickest way.”
“Ikki, I don’t think humans are meant to do what you can do. Just look at how most of the people around us fared after you unleashed that aura of yours. If I had that same power, I’d never be able to fight on the battlefield with my forces again.”
Ikuye paused, seeming to consider what I’d said.
After a few moments, which I’d spent unbuckling the straps on my wristguards and leggings to relax my strained muscles, she spoke up.
Her head bobbed eagerly, agreeing with herself in advance, “Then we’ll just have to train up your troops at the same time. Mhmm! I’ll begin operation power-leveling first thing tomorrow.”
“Let’s focus on one thing at a time. First off we’ll need to get you introduced to everyone. I have quite the number of folks to square away. With the new addition of a few thousand elves, the conspirators aligned with Bashir…”
Not to mention one little girl with suspiciously demonic features that will cause a big commotion, I’m sure.
Ikuye’s hand zipped to my face and before I could react, a solid thud resonated off my forehead as she flicked it.
“Owww?”
“You worry too much. Introductions will sort themselves out soon enough. By the time you and I finish up, I’m sure half of the city will have heard about how their princess went toe-to-toe with a messenger of the Gods.”
“You… make a good point.”
“I know I do. Now!” she clapped her hands, “Time for you to unlock your Iteria.”
“My what now?”
“Iteria. We all have one—of course, by ‘we’ I mean daughters of Capricorn and, by extension, you as well. I suppose there may be other creature that may have something similar. I haven’t seen one who did out of the many lesser races I’ve met, though.”
Ikuye let silence hang, looking lost in thought for a moment. She soon continued on, “Hmmm, The best way to explain the basics of mama’s magick is that our will of self can manifest in the world, and make changes as we see fit. It’s kinda like rewriting a story to fit a preferred narrative, not everyone will agree with it—but if they don’t have the know-how to counter or make their own changes, then our new version is the correct version.”
“I never quite thought about it like that. Wait! What happens if two people practicing chaos magick fight each other?”
“The one with the strongest will wins. Well, in theory anyway. It would depend on all sorts of things like skill level, battle experience, affinities. That kind of stuff.”
“Skill level? Like with the magick itself?”
Ikuye nodded with a grin, “Exactly. If your strongest spells are around Combat or Operation Class but I’m using Tactical or above Class magick, it doesn’t really matter if your soul has a stronger tie to mama’s magick.”
The image of a certain snobbish fox declaring me as nothing more than a third-rate paladin came to mind.
I sighed, “Got it.”
Ikuye patted me on the head and I felt as if I’d shrunken down and become a child.
“Sooo, if the magick is a manifestation of the will of one’s own self—their soul. Then that self must exist somewhere, right?”
“Of course the soul exists somewhere. I’ve felt it a few times before, like casting the resurrection spell or when Capricorn performed her soul binding on me.”
“Right! Now tell me, when you interacted on those levels, with your own soul, did it feel like you were communing with your own self, or did it feel like a foreign entity.”
I was taken aback by her question and paused. It was my soul, right? Surely it was my own self…
Right?
Come on, Airis, think back on the resurrection. I felt a power from deep within. Like where the font of power from Capricorn is, but not quite the same place. As if two places existed in the same spot but separate?
Agh! I don’t know how to explain this even to myself.
I tried to answer her question as best I could, “If I had to describe it, it feels like I’m drawing power from within my own self, but not from myself. Does that make sense?”
“Perfectly. That feeling is a dissonance between you and your Iteria.”
“And there’s that word again.”
“I’m getting to it, don’t be a brat!” Ikuye playfully pushed my shoulder, “If chaos magick is a way for your conscious wants or desires to manifest, then your Iteria is where the seeds of those wills come from. You could call it your subconscious, superego, ethos, whatever floats your fancy.”
I felt the figurative gears in my mind grind to a halt and stared blankly at the girl.
She responded with a smile, “You seem confused.”
“I am confused. You’re talking about the inner workings of the human mind. The greatest scholars over centuries have struggled to understand this kind of stuff.”
“We’re not talking about the mind. I don’t care about the primitive subconscious thoughts from there. This is something more than an urge to sleep, eat, and procreate. I’m talking about urges from your soul! The path you’re supposed to follow as directed by our Gods, specifically whichever one watches over you.”
Ikuye had a fiendish smile as she spoke, going on about the finer workings of the Celestials when they created souls.
She explained that her mother created each of her siblings to be completely unique in almost every way, and whether that was a good or bad thing was a heated circle of debate amongst them. Each of the Alaetüs was an Avatar of something.
Ikuye was the Avatar of Annihilation. Vita was the Avatar of Life. Mors, the Avatar of Death. The list went on as Ikuye rambled dozens of names before catching herself and moving on.
Their uniqueness was factored in many ways, from their personality, skill proficiency, affinity, et cetera.
Those differences were made plainly clear once the siblings began to unlock their Iteria, which Ikuye described as a field of interconnected stars deep within one’s soul.
Each of these stars could be energized to become active and would grant some sort of power. The Alaetüs noticed that some of them had similar powers but in different places, and others had no related powers at all.
Many even had powers that seemed broken. Distorted stars that were warped beyond comprehension, with no way to power them.
This caused a stir within their ranks, but over time some of those with these, so-called, broken stars had managed to fix them. As time passed and they began to understand themselves, those stars changed in state.
I scratched my head trying to wrap my thoughts around what Ikuye had explained.
It felt like she glossed over quite a few key bits about her other siblings. Like missing the part where they were killing each other…
I won’t push it right now, it hardly seems appropriate.
“Oh! One more super important thing.” She held up a hand with a single finger raised directly at my face.
“All of that wasn’t the super important part?”
“Of course it was, but there’s one more thing you should know about how to gain more powers. It’s the most important, probably.”
I waited for her to continue but, she must have been waiting for me because I had to prod her to continue, “What is it?”
“You’ll need to grow your soul’s strength by defeating others more powerful than you!”
----------------------------------------
The two of us departed the training grounds, though not before checking in on the rattled soldiers and confirming nobody has any lasting damages.
Ikuye had suggested we find a place where we wouldn’t be disturbed. As she claimed the process for accessing one’s Iteria required a clear mind.
We entered the Citadel proper and headed towards the Commander’s Quarters, which had now been turned into the new High Command.
I had expected to find just Luke or Hanna inside, instead an abrupt shouting to call the room to attention startled me as a dozen officers scrambled up from their desks and stood in salute.
“At ease,” I commanded in a low voice, “I’ll be occupying the meeting room for some time and do not wish to be interrupted unless it’s an emergency. Continue as you were.”
Ikuye and I shuffled quickly to the room beyond amidst the clamor of everyone returning to work.
The door closed behind us and Ikuye fiddled with the lock. After a small flash of light, she turned toward me with a satisfied grin, “I’ve secured and sound-proofed the door. If someone tries to open it I’ll be alerted by the spell. Nothing can disturb us here, so you can enter your Iteria with no worries.”
I took a seat at the farthest point from the door and glanced around the room before settling my gaze on Ikuye.
I really got swept up in whatever she wanted me to do…
With a heavy sigh I closed my eyes and started to focus inward, like I’ve done so many times before to reach that connection with Capricorn. This time, however, I purposefully ignored the font of magick that enshrouded my own power.
At first, the pressure from the font diminished until all that was left was an unsettling emptiness. I continued prodding until I felt a slight disturbance, like a light spark that tickled my senses.
I grasped at the spark and it intensified. A familiar feeling of raw power rushing through me had my heart racing—but instead of the intoxicating sense Capricorn’s magick was usually accompanied with, this power felt comforting.
Initially the sensation was warm, as if I’d been napping near the hearth in a cold winter. But it soon swelled into something more; the perfectly balanced temperature of a freshly drawn saltwater bath, the first warm breeze of spring, the loving embrace of a parent.
For the briefest of moments I saw the smiling face of my own mother and my eyes exploded open.
Instead of the drab meeting room, all I could see were the shimmer of brilliant gems floating amongst an endless sea of stars.
“Ahh! It’s beautiful…” I croaked dryly.
My voice scratched at my throat, hinting that I’d been grasping at this connection for quite awhile now.
“I knew you’d get it quickly, sister.”
The stars faded and my vision slowly returned, revealing that the once barren table was now set with a number of large plates that contained various servings of fruits, meats, and desserts.
Ikuye poured me a glass of water from a gilded pitcher and slid it towards me.
I eyed the heaps of food and drink suspiciously, “How long was I out of it?”
“Uhm, I’m not too sure how you all track time on this plane… But I’d reckon it’s been almost a day cycle.”
If Luke or Hanna had returned to Command, they would’ve be informed I was holed up in here. Neither of those two would let us go without catering dinner no matter what I was up to.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
A smile spread across my face at the thought of having such good companions, before my attention was taken away by a pulsing golden glow along my wrist.
» YOU HAVE GAINED IN KNOWLEDGE, NEW AFFINITIES HAVE BEEN UNLOCKED: ITERIA
» YOUR ITERIA LEVEL HAS INCREASED TO 8
I gulped down three full glasses of water to quench my thirst and refocused on the now fully manifested pathway to my Iteria.
“I’ll be taking a closer look now. If anyone comes by let them know I’ll be available soon, probably.”
Within the blackness, the sea of stars and gems sprung to life once more. The gemstone-like points had three varying sizes and as I focused on them, a familiar interface display gave their details, much like inspecting a spell effect or item property.
[https://i.imgur.com/RjxvZEn.png]
They seemed to be described by the interface in three categories; KEYSTONES, NODES, and NODULES. Large, medium, and small, respectively.
Looking at the orientation of the gemstones as if it were a clock, I began inspecting the keystone at the three-o’clock position as it drew my attention since it immediately connected to one of the broken pathways Ikuye had mentioned before.
Moreover, I was curious to dig deeper within this path which implied I didn’t know or understand something about myself.
ITERIA KEYSTONE
DESCRIPTION
RAVENOUS
All statistics under the STRENGTH affinity are increased by 50% if you have killed and devoured a humanoid target recently.
Negative alignment.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
No way in the Aether am I taking something so obviously evil.
Moving on with a hurry, I inspected all eight of the medium-sized nodes that made up the inner circle. Some were a sort of attribute increases for the main affinity-bound attributes, like STRENGTH, AGILITY, VITALITY, et cetera.
I dismissed those for the time being and pressed forward, looking into the deeper nodes in a clock-wise direction from the RAVENOUS keystone.
The inspection windows revealed their names as; NECROTIC, DESECRATION, and BLIGHTED.
I glanced over the descriptions for these nodes and swiped away the windows almost instantly as I saw the negative alignment tag.
I wanted nothing to do with any evil, or evil-adjacent, powers.
Chaos magick makes me seem monstrous enough, thank you very much.
Next!
Along the six-o’clock pathway was the first big power, a major keystone with an absurd effect in the description field.
ITERIA KEYSTONE
DESCRIPTION
VERSATILITY
Increases your damage done and reduces damage taken by a percentage of your main attribute affinities: STRENGTH, VITALITY, AGILITY, DEXTERITY, and AETHER.
Neutral alignment.
The four medium-sized nodes that were available showed as PATHFINDING, STEADY AIM, MARKSMANSHIP, and HAWK-EYED. The smaller nodules along the way had all assortments of bonuses to ranged damage or stealth-based skills.
This path seems to be oriented towards ranged weapon wielding and scouting specializations despite the initial keystone being more rounded. I wonder if this tree is as deep as it is since my DEXTERITY stat values are fairly developed?
A big keystone node to the bottom-right solidified that thought of mine, being entirely focused on hit-chance—a concern more for ranged specializations.
ITERIA KEYSTONE
DESCRIPTION
UNRELENTING
When one of your attacks misses, is parried, or dodged; your next attack will have a significantly higher chance to hit.
Neutral alignment.
Near the seven- or eight-o’clock position was an elemental-type spell caster keystone called ELEMENTAL ATTUNEMENT that empowered different spell schools so long as the environment you were around matched that school.
I quickly dismissed the window and moved up to the next set of gemstones.
ITERIA NODE
DESCRIPTION
HALLOWED
Permanent increases to your attributes now also affect your authority as a Ruler. Any faction members under your domain of influence gain 10% of your main affinity attributes while you remain in your domain.
Positive alignment.
ITERIA NODE
DESCRIPTION
SOVEREIGN
Your position as a Ruler is solidified. You can now gain followers, and will gain a portion of power based on how many devout followers you garner behind your banner.
Positive alignment.
ITERIA KEYSTONE
DESCRIPTION
EMPYREAN HEART
Your connection to the Divine deepens.
Neutral alignment.
Divine.
Rather nondescript, but Ikuye made it seem like furthering my ties to the Divine would improve my attunement with Capricorn’s magicks.
So far the three in this path; EMPYREAN HEART, HALLOWED, and SOVEREIGN drew me in as the most interesting—but there were a few more powers I hadn’t inspected yet so I held off on committing to anything and looked at the top-left powers.
The inspection window listed them as ENLIGHTENMENT, INNER FOCUS, and CONCENTRATION. Giving magicka percentage increase, cost reduction, and regeneration increase respectively.
Though powerful caster-oriented powers, I wasn’t too interested and hurriedly inspected the keystone at the twelve-o’clock spot.
ITERIA KEYSTONE
DESCRIPTION
VINDICATION
All damage against targets who view you as an enemy is doubled. The extra damage is dealt as a combination of Holy and Fire which bypasses all physical reductions.
Positive alignment.
This single keystone could double my potential power and limit the increase only against enemies, preventing me from accidentally injuring my allies in combat.
The added magickal damage could also be used to smoke out traitors in my ranks. A small prick of someone's finger wouldn’t be that much of a bother, but if the wound burns with righteous fire—then that would prove they view me as an enemy.
My feelings on this power grew conflicted, as it could start a witch hunt within the people living in Tolin. I set those emotions aside and got back to reviewing, as there was a single node left to investigate.
The final powers in the top-right were a neutral aligned node called PRESENCE, and various physical ability based nodules. This node made one more likely to be targeted in combat and seen outside of combat.
Maybe something great for Julius or the boys, but not for me. I’d like to avoid being the target in a fight.
Pass.
I spent a little time looking back on all the powers available and weighing their benefits over each other.
After a hard-fought battle against my own will, I made a final decision for the eight powers I would take first.
While VERSATILITY would make a solid choice in terms of both defense and offense, I wanted the safety buffer and utility that VINDICATION provided on the offensive side of things—plus, the two linked nodes I would have to take to get it were more in-tune with my preferred style compared to the DEXTERITY focused ones in the bottom paths of my Iteria.
ITERIA NODE
DESCRIPTION
DIVINE STRENGTH
When under the effects of a positive aura, all statistics under the STRENGTH affinity are increased by 20%.
Positive alignment.
ITERIA NODE
DESCRIPTION
BLESSED RECOVERY
You gain scaling health regeneration based on your ENDURANCE. Recovery rate is increased by 5% every 10 DIVINITY points.
Positive alignment.
Even without the defensive increase VERSATILITY could provide, the regenerative effects of BLESSED RECOVERY would offset any dangerous wounds I received.
I planned to spend the five remaining points after empowering the top section on the pathways needed to open up EMPYREAN HEART. Which, along with its two nodes, had drew my attention more than any other.
In order to get to those three, I’d need to grab the inner circle nodes as well.
ITERIA NODE
DESCRIPTION
GALLANT SPIRIT
Grants complete immunity to Fear effects, and reduces the duration of Charm or Daze effects by half.
Positive alignment.
ITERIA NODE
DESCRIPTION
AETHERIAL STABILITY
Your mana circuits now harmonize with the Aether around you. You will no longer experience magicka feedback if interrupted while casting OPERATION class spells or below.
Positive alignment.
I confirmed all the powers I wanted, and on an instinctive level began to imbue power into those I’d selected.
» YOU HAVE GAINED NEW AFFINITIES:
» DIVINE STRENGTH
» BLESSED RECOVERY
» GALLANT SPIRIT
» AETHERIAL STABILITY
» HALLOWED
» SOVEREIGN
» YOU HAVE UNLOCKED NEW ITERIA KEYSTONES:
» VINDICATION
» EMPYREAN HEART
The nodes and keystones I’d confirmed as my selections began to brighten and an eerie pressure trickled over my body. A shudder ran down my spine all the way to my toes—in a way that made my body react instinctively, as if Aethermist was gathering nearby.
I leapt to my feet, grasping at the hilt of my weapon, to the eruptive laughter of Ikuye.
“Haha, that never gets old!”
“A warning would’ve been nice.”
“Awh, and ruin the sight of my dear sister panicking over her own power manifesting? No way!”
I relaxed my grip and brought my other hand down on Ikuye’s forehead.
“Waah!?”
Ikuye squirmed, rubbing her head over-dramatically.
I swiped my wrist-bound rune and brought up my status to check for the new affinities.
Sure enough, there they are.
Listed in line with the rest of the affinities that had appeared after improving my OVERSIGHT ability, were eight new over-powered effects.
What Hailey said may have some merit. If I heard of another person with traits like these I’d think they’d be a demon too…
“Now now, my little Harbinger, did you forget that you aren’t burdened by the restraints of basic humans?”
A melodic voice echoed through the room, and the space around Ikuye and I was flooded with a light fog—or rather, smoke-like mist—and fluttering of wings nearby caught my attention. My head jerked upwards at the noise, and I found the source of both noise and smoke.
A pure snow-white raven descended upon us, landing gracefully on the meeting room’s large table. Jewel-like eyes of amethyst locked on to mine, and I felt a coldness set in around me.
Something about coming face-to-face with the Goddess who created me felt starkly different than interacting with Capricorn.
“Long time no see, auntie!”
“…”
And just like that, the tension was cleared away by the strangely upbeat angelic girl next to me.
“Ah, my sister’s number one problem child. Normally I would be adamant you leave my precious Altaerians alone. But it seems it’s thanks to you this one here has learned something incredibly important to her purpose.”
“Eh-hehe,” Ikuye smirked and raised a hand to her chin, “I wasn’t sure if she could do it, but with mama’s magick running through her anything could’ve been possible.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’re very happy with yourself. Truly, it worked out well this time. But I warn you, proceed with caution in any further experimentation of my Harbinger. Know that if her course deviates, I’ll not hesitate to banish you to the depths of Tartarus.”
Ikuye jumped up with a salute, “ᚪᛋ ᛁᚩᚢ ᚳᚩᛘᚪᚾᛞ!” shouting something I couldn’t understand once again, then turned to me, speaking in a hushed tone, “I’ll catch you later. I’m sure auntie has some important stuff to chat about.”
Before I could respond Ikuye had already ran out the room.
Okay, bye?
The rustle of feathers followed by an ominous purple glow closing in on my periphery startled me, causing me to nearly fall out of my chair.
“I doubt you have even a notion of how far you’ve surpassed my expectations in such a short time. Let me tell you this, little Harbinger, a minute change in your physiology occurred the moment your soul was infused with one of those keystone affinities.”
I grasped at my chest, recalling the uneasy sensation that had rushed through my body after I’d committed my selections.
“Based off what you said a moment ago I’m guessing it’s a good thing since it aligns with why my lineage was created. Any chance you’re willing to divulge the details on said purpose?”
The raven-goddess turned her head, seemingly staring absentmindedly at the bland stone walls. After a moment, the sound of what could only be a very human-like tongue click was followed by a splash of reddish liquid filling my view and a stinging pain racing up my arm.
Virgo’s ivory talons were stained in a shiny crimson hue—my blood dripping onto the floor.
“Yeowch!” I cried out in pain, “By the Goddess—by your own self!—what in the Aether was that for?”
“Just look. It would’ve been tedious to explain. Watch the blood.”
At the Goddess’ command I sat back in my seat and followed her gaze. My blood which had been splashed all around us was acting oddly.
The droplets that dripped towards the floor from the talons which inflicted the very wound, slowly came to a stop midair and made their way impossibly back to my arm.
I lifted my hand, uncovering the deep gash in my arm, and let out a sharp cry of surprise.
As if someone had cast a healing spell on the wound, the tissues were knitting back together—but what really surprised me was that the blood was making its way back to the wound. Even the liquid that already stained my clothes and the room’s furnishings, was slowly seeping back towards my arm.
“W-what in the…” My voice, small and trembling, trailed off.
A rapid blinking in the corner of my vision caught my attention—alerting me that I had been afflicted with a bleed condition—since I was already well aware, I dismissed the status notification. However the blinking remained, a new droplet-shaped symbol was flashing near the same area.
I focused on it and new window was projected in front of me in the mist.
» DAMAGED TISSUES DETECTED
» REGENERATING WOUND – [■■■□□□□□□□]
» REGENERATING WOUND – [■■■■□□□□□□]
“You’ve made your first steps into the realm of the Divine. Though still many leagues away from us Celestials, with some effort you’d be able to fight toe-to-toe with the majority of the Alaetüs.”
“If that’s the case, I did manage to beat back Ikuye’s blade and cause her to use some barrier magick.”
“Yes, I had the chance to watch that little sideshow. I also had the chance to see you boost your physical strength by relying heavily on my sister’s power and almost go berserk.”
I grimaced.
Moving on then!
“Uhm, it hasn’t been that long since our last meeting, but I didn’t get a chance to ask a few things that seemed important. Seeing as you had time to peep on me, does that mean you have time to answer some questions for me?”
Virgo fluttered across the table to a plate of assorted meats and began tearing pieces apart with her sharp beak.
“Ask about whatever paltry concerns you have. I’m happy enough with your progress that I’ll give you a bit of my time.”
“Thanks. I’ve really been winging this whole, reform the empire, thing and I was worried that—Ah, nevermind that! Psychometric episodes. That’s what I need details on. What in the Aether are they and why are they happening to me!?”
“Psychometric what?”
“Episodes, I guess? That’s what the notification details say from this rune system call them.”
I lifted my left arm up and presented the tattooed rune towards the Goddess.
“Yes yes. I’ve seen the primitive runic magick my children leverage to attempt to interact with the world, so put your arm down already. Explain what these so-called episodes are so I can know what you’re talking about.”
I fidgeted in my seat at her scolding. “It’s like I’m dreaming, but they aren’t my dreams. And from what I can tell, I’m reliving experiences of others from their point of view but I still have my own sense of self.”
“When did this begin to occur?”
The raven-goddess turned her meat-stained face to me, having now completely devoured the plate.
“The first time was after I’d gone to sleep. Months ago, when I was traveling with only Julius away from Axio. The second time was after returning to Tolin—after I’d met you and Capricorn—and happened some time while recovering from casting the resurrection magick. And most recently after Ikuye and I had our duel. Ikuye thinks it has something to do with my affinities for magick—or a tie to divine blood.”
“While I would love nothing more to dismiss anything that child said as derivative babble. She has it mostly right. Your high affinity to the Aether itself is the cause. More accurately, it’s that affinity itself manifesting within you that is the actual cause.”
Staring blankly at Virgo, I grabbed a pitcher of water and calmly poured myself a drink into the glass I’d used previously.
I sipped slowly while trying to digest the nonsensical explanation she had given me. But no matter how much time I tried to buy nothing would change the fact I was completely lost, with no clue what she was talking about.
“I don’t understand.” I stated in a lifeless monotone.
Divine fury befitting of the Goddess flashed through her raven-eyes, and I felt an intense pressure as if a blade was pressed against my neck.
“Why attend an academy devoted to teaching nobles about magick if you weren’t even going to learn the basics!”
The Goddess’ condescending tone pierced my mind.
“Nevermind. Things were better when I had a few dozen Altaerians in charge of things. I can’t fault you when those who remained to support you and your father were dullards. Aether makes up everything. It’s the building blocks of all the things you can touch physically, as well as in the space between those things. The only thing that isn’t made up of Aether, would be the souls of mortal creatures that make up Terae.”
“If our souls aren’t made up of Aether, then how is my high affinity causing my to experience these past events?”
“By invoking Aether magicks, you could interact with anything in this world. An elemental mage might draw waves from a still lake, or create a breeze in a windless space. An aethermage however, could force all the water from the lake, or push all the air from a room. A soul exists within a physical body made up of Aether. It can seep through crevices and sometimes extend into space outside of the aetherial body, especially when it pertains to strong emotions or memories. But a soul can never truly be exposed outside of its aetherial body, unless the body has failed, or died as you would call it.”
“Those strong emotions or memories, that’s what I’m interacting with? Is there a way I can prevent them from—”
I was interrupted by a knocking at the door.
Virgo and I both turned abruptly at the noise, and a soft voice came from the other side.
“Your Majesty, Paladin Vynn asked that I check in to see if you needed anything?”
I rose from my seat, stretching the soreness from my muscles, and answered the door to find two attendants waiting for me. Both of them flinched when a sudden beating of wings sounded from behind me and a blindingly-white raven perched atop my shoulder in a show of smoky mist.
“I don’t need anything else. In fact, I’ll be leaving so go ahead and clear the room.”
The attendants stepped aside and bowed, allowing me to pass by.
You’re tuned in to my thoughts, right? If possible, I’d prefer we converse like this so others don’t think I’m a crazy lady talking to a strange magickal beast. Capricorn caused a ruckus the last time she starting speaking in animal form with others around.
“I could listen in to all your thoughts if I chose to, but yes, I can hear you clearly if you will them at me directly.”
Great. So what I was asking before, is there a way to not interact with someone’s memories or emotions?
“Your biggest hurdle in that regard is that the ones oozing those emotions beyond themselves are unguarded against your presence. You could try telling your subordinates to be less willing to divulge their innermost feelings to you.”
Sure, I’ll let my inner circle know to keep a better rein on their subconscious.
I rolled my eyes and let out an indignant huff—only to be caught by Hanna as she rounded a hallway heading towards Command.
“Oh, Commander—err, Your Majesty, I apologize for sending someone and interrupting Your Majesty. It’s just been quite some time since Your Majesty had been locked away and…”
She looked uncomfortable, glancing back and forth between the raven perched on my shoulder and me.
“It’s fine, Hanna. And you don’t need to be so caught up in this whole royal etiquette thing. It makes me feel a bit awkward to be honest. I may have claimed the throne, but I’m far from an established ruler deserving of all the pomp.”
Hanna wore a skewed expression across her face, “Pardon me then, you appeared rather disturbed just now and I was worried I’d been the cause.”
“Ahh. I guess I should be the one to apologize then. I was just caught up in a rather annoying thought. I’ve let the attendants you sent go ahead and clear out the meeting room. You all can return to business as usual.”
“I’ve seen how you treat my sister with occasional scorn. However, now being on the receiving end of it, I find it rather displeasing.”
I excused myself from Hanna and briskly made my way out of the Citadel, dodging a high number of Divisional officers.
Once we’d made it past the gatehouse, Virgo pushed off from my shoulder and perched atop a pillar of a nearby wall.
“I’m short on time here and must return to my groves. In all seriousness, if you’re more mindful about the mingling of souls when emotions run high then you should be able to stop yourself from entering these so-called episodes. I meant to present these earlier, but your pestering about the higher workings of basic magick diverted my attention. Here, a reward for making such grand progress in a short amount of time.”
A small rift in space appeared between us and a medium-sized white cloth pouch tumbled to the ground with a soft plop.
The top was tightly drawn with a shiny and expensive looking silver corded-rope. Even the pouch itself seemed extravagant, with violet embroidering on runic patterns covering the exterior.
I drew the string back and reached inside, my hand extending further and impossibly, ever deeper into the pouch.
“What in the Aether is this thing?”
“A magick bag. Unlike my boorish sister who likes to drop miscellaneous stones in your palms, this keeps everything tidy and presentable.”
“I don’t know about it being tidy.” I remarked with a snide grin, brushing away the dust the bag had garnered after resting on the ground.
INSPECTION
ITEM
ATTRIBUTES
DETAILS
BAG OF HOLDING
Relic
A wondrous bag that contains an extra-dimensional space capable of storing considerably more than its exterior would seem.
Can hold up to 500 pounds, not exceeding a volume of 64 cubit feet.
» CLASS: ARTIFACT
» STATUS:
» FILLED TO 5% CAPACITY
“There is a trinket in there that will let you contact me just as easily as you can call on my sister, and a few spell tomes that I made—no, asked, Vita to put together for you. Quick warning, don’t hold the bag upside down with the drawstring open. If you do, anything you placed in there will come spilling out.”
“I’ll keep that in mind—annnd you’re gone already.”
I watched the trails of smoky essence dissipate away as Virgo blipped away through a small portal.
INSPECTION
ITEM
ATTRIBUTES
DETAILS
SHARD OF ASCENDANCE
Relic
A shard of marbled stone that radiates aetherial energy.
Bound.
» CLASS: MYTHICAL
Wait, if the rest of the five percent is books, just how many tomes did she leave me with? Ack! I don’t have time to read all these…