The next day was strange. Rieren wasn’t sure if it was just her, or if she was truly noticing that other people were noticing her more too. Maybe it was her paranoia coming out again, this time in an evolved form that she could no longer simply stuff into some distant corner of her mind and consider dealt with.

Of course, the children had displayed no small amount of whispers and pointy fingers. Rieren had borne it as best as she could. But it looked like they had spread their tall tales all over the Sect, and now, everyone here was trying to eye her when she wasn’t looking.

Rieren would have preferred a secluded space and a mirror. She could have slapped herself and told her paranoia to die in some ditch.

Unfortunately, they’d already begun their journey to the meteor’s crash site.

Then there was the other unforeseen emotional aspect Rieren had to deal with. She had thought advancing through the Exalted realm would only require her to get the people of the Shatterlands to know about her more. That letting her fame grow would be enough.

It had worked out that way in the last timeline. She’d allowed her infamy to grow to the point where advancing through the Exalted realm had taken very little time, comparatively speaking, of course.

But while that might be the case this time too, just her physical presence in other areas of the region was adding a dimension she hadn’t foreseen or experienced. Dependency.

There was some talk of how greater power brought forth greater responsibility. In Rieren’s experience, that was only true in cases where social power was involved, where one’s greatness was reflected in the eyes of those one was beheld by. Where such things as obligation and duty and even responsibility actually held meaning and weight.

Rieren shouldn’t have felt that way in the slightest. She was supposed to rush through her advancement and get ready for the inevitable confrontation with the imperial clan.

She should be getting ready to face the gods, distant though the prospect still appeared.

Instead, for some reason, she felt the need to do things for the Shatterlands instead of just herself. There was a constant push in the back of her mind that placed many of her actions in the context of this land that she had saved.

Monkey’s balls, she was starting to care.

Rieren bit down on her tongue to prevent a curse from slipping out. Wouldn’t do to let the others know she was troubled. Not when they needed her to focus. When they all needed to do so, truth be told.

“We’re close, aren’t we?” Amalyse asked.

Oromin didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The growing oppressive feeling ascertained that Amalyse was right.

They had reached the thicker part of the forest where they were frequently forced to cut through the thicket of branches and leaves to find their way forward. The Sect Leader had reported that the Aetherian’s meteor had crashed down somewhere nearby.

One of the reasons everything was trying to block them was because of the crash itself. The meteor’s impact had destroyed a great deal of the forest. It had also blasted away scores upon scores of broken trees and collapsed many others besides. This had turned much of the northern section of the forest into a discombobulated mess of broken branches and crisscrossed trunks.

Amalyse’s question was eventually answered when they finally broke through the thicket and arrived at the edge of the crater. They all stopped to take in the sight.

Where the meteor had crashed down, a large, crumbling spire towered up into the sky. It looked like it was made of golden salt. Pieces of it kept falling off and turning to powder even as they watched.

“Is that our Aetherian?” Rollo asked. “Doesn’t look… uh, doesn’t look much like a living thing at all, to be honest.”

He was right. A spear of jutting crystal wasn’t exactly something that made one think of life.

“Let us approach with caution,” Oromin said.

He was already bringing forth his power. Silvery mist sparkled around, light twisting and reflecting this and way that to partially obscure his form. The real strength of that technique was its ability to safeguard the user from other techniques and skills.

The rest of them ranged out behind him. Amalyse brought out a red crystal, crushing it to form a shield, while Rollo summoned a spear of light.

Rieren tried to draw upon her experiences with Aetherians in the previous timeline. She had seen something similar to this before, though she hadn’t associated any notion of danger with those incidents. She didn’t feel as though there was something to be worried about.

“Monster, are you there?” Oromin asked.

It was a wholly awkward question, but what did one ask to a potential otherworldly enemy who may or may not be present? Rieren didn’t have the faintest clue. In fact, in Oromin’s place, she would probably have bashed the tall pillar’s side with her sword to see if it reacted in any way.

Fortunately for them, the Aetherian—who apparently was present—decided to answer back.

“Speech.” The voice was clearly emanating from the crystalline structure. The entire pillar glimmered, pieces of it continuing to slough off. “Unexpected. Language, easy. Location, still futile.”

Oromin had frozen. “What?”

“Confusion, expected. Beings lacking in knowledge are ever seeking to amend their ignorance, albeit, often resorting to said ignorance as a weapon.”

“Well, we’ve definitely found our Aetherian,” Amalyse muttered.

“Assumption of other’s biological capabilities, noted. One specimen assumes auditory abilities does not exceed its own.”

Oromin turned around to look at the rest of them. “I’m not certain what this is or what it wants, but it doesn’t appear to be immediately dangerous. But don’t let your guard down. There’s no way to predict what it might do next, or even what it’s actually capabilities might be.”

“But we can surmise,” Rieren said. “We can reasonably assume either that crystal is the Aetherian, or that it is within it.”

“So is it some sort of cocoon, then?” Amalyse asked.

“It depends on the kind of Aetherian this is, which I am unsure of. But suffice it to say that it is not benevolent.”

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Rollo summoned a spear of light. “Then it’s best we destroy it before it decides to get out.”

Oromin looked marginally conflicted as Rollo stepped past him. He must have been against Rollo taking the lead, what with the younger man being the scion of an Archnoble clan that the Shatterlands would desperately wish to protect.

On the other hand, Oromin’s abilities weren’t externally focused. As far as Rieren had seen, the techniques used by a lot of the Tarciel clan—which Gorint Malloh’s skills had a surprising similarity with—were reflective. Adaptive. They moulded whatever powers were flung at them, or when someone interacted with the summoned medium to some degree.

In the case of Gorint Malloh, they actually needed the opponent to attack first to work effectively. Otherwise, Malloh was forced to depend on his own physical prowess.

This was likely the case for Oromin as well. It made him a fearsome foe for most cultivators. After all, when everyone was focused on attacking, Oromin could simply focus on turning their attacks back upon them.

But with a completely sedentary target, his true powers wouldn’t be much use.

“Do you have any idea what it’s saying?” he asked. The question was clearly meant for Rieren even though he was concentrating on Rollo and the large Aetherian.

Rieren was tempted to shake her head but then, all she needed to do was think about what exactly the monster had said. What it was continuing to say now and then while they kept talking among themselves.

“Frightful nature, documented,” it was saying. “Proclivity for pre-emptive measures, noted. Tis the will of all creatures seeking survival to act thus, I presume. Disregard of all beyond immediate circle of concern. Selfishness detected. A strange power that—”

And on and on it went. Rieren pressed her lips together for a moment. “It is… documenting us. For some reason.”

Oromin looked up at the strange, crystalline pillar again. “You can understand it?”

Rieren blinked. She looked around at their blank faces, at the complete lack of recognition regarding the monster’s speech. Her eyes went wide. All this time, she had been the only one who could decipher the creature’s words. But how?

“Rieren.” Amalyse looked somewhere between awed and troubled. “How can you tell what it’s saying?”

“None of you could understand it all this time?” Rieren asked.

Oromin shook his head. “I certainly cannot. Its words are on the cusp of comprehension, as though I am missing some sort of… internal key, is the only way I can describe it.”

Amalyse agreed with his statement. Rollo didn’t even look back or comment, which suggested he agreed too.

Rieren swallowed. There were all too many possibilities of why she might be the only one who could translate what this strange creature was saying into legible words. Or rather, why her mind could translate them automatically.

It could have been her experiences in the Aether. But no, everyone cultivating and advancing nowadays would visit the Aether spiritually. She wasn’t that unique in that regard. Perhaps it was her trip to the Abyss that allowed it, instead. Perhaps, when she had been forced to become a monster, she had retained a part of it that could allow her to understand all monsters.

“Lord Karlosyne,” Oromin said. “Please, wait. We need to discuss something important.”

Rollo halted. He looked back, annoyed, though that might have been more at the term of address than at the call to wait.

Oromin turned back to Rieren. “Rieren. What exactly is it saying? Is there anything we can learn from it? Can you talk back to it?”

“Nothing overly enlightening,” Rieren said. “All I have learned so far is that it possibly landed where it didn’t intend to.”

Amalyse nodded. “That makes sense. There’s been no other meteor sightings in this area. Why would any of them want to come here all of a sudden?”

“Everything else has been commenting on us and our behaviour so far, from what I could tell. It talks very strangely, but that is to be expected. I will see if I can converse with it.”

Rieren headed off with the others at her back. Rollo let his spear of light disappear as she stepped past him.

“Aetherian.” Rieren looked up. It felt a little stupid to be talking to a giant column of crystal golden salt, but then, they all felt the presence. The heavy regard of the Aetherian, of the Divine Essence concentrating around them. “Can you understand me?”

She sent out her thoughts as well as her spoken words. Back in the Aether, she hadn’t spoken with Demargo the friendly Aetherian so much as exchanged thoughts with him. He had even said that their communication had happened at such an integral level, Rieren couldn’t have lied even if she’d wished to do so. It could be the same here.

“Strange,” the Aetherian said. “A specimen stands before me, speaking. Capability of reversing original decision, noted. Vocabulary, competent. Projection of thoughts, concise and controlled, though tightly so and verging on dissolution. Querying… querying…”

At first, Rieren had thought that the monster couldn’t tell what she was trying to say. But then its answer burst into her mind.

“Hail, as-yet-mortal,” it said.

This time, its thoughts were bouncing straight into her mind. She wasn’t hearing it as she had done so far. Something told her only Rieren was communicating with it at the moment. The others wouldn’t be able to tell what was going on. She had to end this quickly.

Rieren nodded and answered the creature in kind. “Hail. Who are you, Aetherian, and what do you seek here?”

“What a presumptuous question. Do you think one reveals all about oneself at a simple query like that?”

“My companions wish to kill you in case things go awry. We can prevent that.”

“Blunt, I see. If only I had time for more observations. But what makes you think you can kill me?”

“We may both be underestimating each other. For all either of us know, the other party is significantly stronger than appearances suggest, so either one of us could be eradicated with little effort and at a moment’s notice. Are you willing to take that chance, Aetherian?”

“Clearly, you are experienced in these matters. I see no hesitation from you. You have a practiced blueprint of how you conduct—”

“Answer my question, Aetherian. My companions will not be patient forever. Who are you and what do you intend to do here?”

The monster was silent for a moment. Rieren wondered if it was preparing to act out, but just as her hand began creeping towards her sword, its thoughts came into her mind again.

“I am a Greater Aetherian,” it said. “I was coming to chronicle a great event in the not-so-distant future. Unfortunately, I believe I was misled about the nature of said event and arrived here by mistake.”

“A great event?” For a second, Rieren wondered if it meant the event where all its fellow Aetherians had fallen upon the Dreadflood. But no, it had said future. An event that was yet to happen. Her spine tingled. “What is the nature of this event?”

“I cannot truly say. But it was known among the Greater of us to have been in the planning for some time now.”

“Fine. Where is it supposed to be happening? In the Shatter—somewhere in this region?”

“Sadly, my knowledge of your lands is limited. All I know is that by distant, I meant both in terms of time and space.”

“Rieren, what is going on?” Oromin asked from behind.

She pulled her concentration away from the creature for a moment. The revelation was troubling. Some big event in the near future somewhere in the Elderlands? It could be so many things, yet the only possibility that an Aetherian could be interested wouldn’t be good for the empire’s regular inhabitants in the slightest.

That is, if they took the monster’s words to be true.

“One moment,” Rieren said to Oromin, before turning back to the crystal pillar. “Why are you stuck inside this crystalline construct?”

“Surprising that you are able to tell this isn’t my true form,” the Aetherian said. “I commend you. Unfortunately, I am still pupating and am in need of resources to grow into my true being. Can you spare any?”

“What sort of resources?”

“Natural energy of the universe, of course. Unfortunately, the typical consistency of it in the Mortal Realm seems to be rather thin. Diluted. I would need to pull in a great deal from the tangible surroundings from a wide range to get what I properly need. It will take some time.”

“I see. Farewell, then.”

“Do you deign to leave me by returning nothing of the favour I lent you?”

For a moment, Rieren considered that. It was indeed wrong to not provide something in return for the knowledge they had gained from this strange Aetherian. However, they already had provided something in return.

This monster had been observing and learning about them for quite some time now. That was good enough.

“Farewell,” Rieren said again before stepping back. She nodded at Rollo. “Go ahead.”

The corner of Rollo’s mouth turned up as he summoned his spear of light again.

It took only a moment to end whatever threat the Aetherian might have been. Even when Rollo struck down the crystalline pillar, nothing came from it. It was almost like the monster had no instinct to survive, didn’t care one bit about whether it lived or died.

Rieren grimaced. That just suggested they weren’t really killing the creature here in the first place.

“What did you learn?” Oromin asked when the whole pillar had crumbled to powder, all sensation about there being a powerful monster nearby now gone.

Rieren stopped to consider her answer for a second. “Troubling news. I will try to explain along the way. Let us go.”