Uriel Ascension [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMvlbvgsweh6Cs8VT6RIl5RpgZLvXGKol6ILnS4oI_5Y_VTbtAlEPhkvfDWH4wMHpVFu9ehlP_qlyMcuDPQN8QxrU3YRB_u7vOSlk6gzUWETWMpD8YKpTUYdq5wvVJGMrBDT3hSVMEZp1ueoFrULAAq=w661-h992-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Uriel thought the pain of regrowing his arm was actually worse than getting it bitten off in the first place.
As the flames of ascension licked at his wounds, tears fell freely, and he was fairly certain he was screaming. The only thing keeping his mind grounded was seeing the Destroyer patiently watching him and surprisingly whispering words of comfort. “It will be alright, Uriel Karislian. This is nothing compared to what your Dazien went through. You were born from fire, and it will never be what hurts you. It is a part of your being and one day will be so ingrained in your soul that you will realize how much good you can accomplish with it.”
It was a strange kind of dissonance to hear a god known as the strongest of the evil Voidsworn speak of him accomplishing good. What exactly did this god want him to do if not destroy things? Did Destroyer not want him to destroy? That didn’t seem right at all. Perhaps there was just something specific he was meant to annihilate?
“I hope you don’t see your new strength as a curse, my Chosen,” the god said in a tone that made Uriel refocus on his face. He looked sad. That wasn’t good, right? “It may seem difficult at first, but I believe you will be able to overcome it.”
That was when Uriel finally was able to feel through the pain in his arm to sense what abilities his Passives had grown into. Those were something that he got without the need of Spirit Gems, but it also meant he couldn’t influence them in a different direction. They would grow based on his current capabilities and needs. They would only respond to the aspects of his soul.
As he felt the prickly sensation spread across his skin, his heart sank, and he almost wanted to sob at the voice in his mind that screamed at him.
YOU DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH!
He had said the phrase to himself often enough that it looked like his own power wanted to prove him right. His skin was annihilating the ground it touched. He could feel it shredding his clothing and he quickly tossed his dimensional bag away from him.
“W-what’s wrong? Uriel?” Camilla finally questioned as the sapphire flames began to die down around him.
“My ability. Can your notebook analyze it like Phoenix’s book?” he managed to ask while trying to remove his outer layers and not damage them further. Tossing his cloak next to the bag.
“Um, n-no, it only works on items… b-but I can do a ritual that temporarily imprints your soul onto an item, l-like a stone, then my notebook can read it.”
“Okay then. While I can feel what my Passives are doing, I still want to make sure I’m interpreting it correctly. I can pay back the material cost later,” Uriel said. He shoved his boots off and added, “Do you know a ritual that can reinforce clothing to not get destroyed by Void damage?”
“V-v-void?” Camilla stuttered out nervously as she took a step back from him. “N-no. I d-don’t have anything like that.”
He’d be walking into Serenydi naked by this point. However, if what Dazien had told him about the place was accurate, that might not be as big a scandal as it would have been in Tulimeir. He had heard about Serenydi long ago from his partner, who had hoped to visit it someday, along with a dozen other places all over the world that Dazien had learned about during his studies.
Uriel knew the information he had was rather basic and shallow and that Dazien had planned to teach them more in-depth things about the nation before they arrived. Now, he had to hope what he already knew wasn’t terribly out of date or missing anything critical.
Unfortunately, he would already have the problem of trying to hide his Soul Mark since the Shanther ate his bracer along with his bracelet. He was only glad the shadowy cat hadn’t tried eating his sword as well.
As Camilla finished drawing the ritual diagram she needed, she placed a fist-size rock in one of the outer circles connected to the bigger one she directed him to stand in the center of. Bits of fabric were falling off him like ash, and he hoped his ability wouldn’t somehow disrupt the ritual diagram itself.
After the circle was activated and glowed with brilliant blue light for a moment, Camilla picked the rock up and placed it into her notebook, the rock vanishing entirely as it melted into the cover. Then she quickly flipped it open and read. She lightly gasped before turning it to show him the results of his new Passives.
Passive Ability: Home’s Hearth
Type: Utility (construct, elemental, fire)
Crystal Effect: Construct a hearth that produces light and heat for a low mana cost. Allies near the hearth slowly gain instances of [Hearth’s Warmth].
Sapphire Effect: You can construct a [Hearthstone] that allows you to anchor your sense of direction to it. Constructs and Spells have increased effects when in range of your hearthstone.
* Hearth’s Warmth (boon, cleanse, elemental, fire, stacking): Increased health regeneration and periodically cleanses Elemental Banes.
Passive Ability: Fortress of Solitude
Type: Utility (construct, elemental, magical, ice, dimension)
Crystal Effect: Construct a fortress of ice nearby that serves as a shelter and dimensional storage, increasing the mana regeneration and ability cultivation rate of the inhabitants.
Sapphire Effect: You can better customize the configuration. While inside, this fortress grants increased effects when cooking or eating food with magical ingredients.
Passive Ability: Scent in the Air
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Type: Perception
Crystal Effect: You have an extremely heightened and more controlled sense of smell.
Sapphire Effect: You can smell magic.
Passive Ability: Battlemage
Type: Aura
Crystal Effect: Allies within your aura deal increased damage with Spells and Spells that affect an area have increased range.
Sapphire Effect: Allies within your aura have decreased mana costs and abilities that Drain are more effective.
Passive Ability: Apotheosis of Annihilation
Type: Transfiguration (divine, void)
Crystal Effect: Permanently enhances your aura with annihilating power that periodically deals small amounts of ongoing Void damage to everything within it.
Sapphire Effect: Permanently enhances your body with annihilating power that deals ongoing Void damage to physical objects or beings it comes in contact with.
Uriel couldn’t stop the choking sob that tried to escape as he read that last line.
He couldn’t touch anything.
He would never be able to hold his sword or wear Mundane clothes without some kind of magical reinforcement, which would be another financial stress for them.
He would never get to hold Dazien again…
Uriel didn’t even realize he had slid onto his knees until Camilla made a louder gasp, and the Destroyer placed a slightly glowing hand on his shoulder. “It is not—”
“How is this not a curse?!” he yelled at the god kneeling beside him. “I can’t touch anything or anyone!”
“You are strong, my Chosen. You will adapt, as you always do.”
“I— Um, I m-may have a r-ritual…” Camilla said in the tiniest voice he had heard from her yet. “It, um… it c-constructs armor. It’s n-not physical, but it only l-lasts for an hour, s-so I’d have to keep, um, keep recasting it,” she explained, nervously twisting her own clothing in her hands.
He could only nod in response as he tried to stop his mind from spiraling further. If Dazien were here, he would be reminding him to focus on solutions rather than the problem’s cause… even if the cause was his own soul trying to annihilate everything he loved.
The divine hand squeezed his shoulder, causing him to look back at the god that he blamed for so much of his pain, but he realized that the Destroyer hadn’t caused this. It wasn’t really even the god who had made his Passive that way in the first place. It had been his own hatred and anger towards his captors. Now, it was his own fear manifesting in it.
“I understand what you’re feeling right now, my Chosen.”
“How?” Uriel’s voice sounded broken as his heart threatened to match.
Destroyer gave a pained smile. “Because I often destroy the things I love, too. I am cursed and hated for it, but it is my purpose nonetheless. The one I love most is also the one that hates me most.”
“You love someone?” he asked incredulously, not sure if he truly believed the deity.
“I have loved her since the day she became conscious in this world millennia ago,” the god quietly admitted. “Without her, I cannot fulfill my purpose.”
That had Uriel’s mind reeling as he slowly narrowed down who the god could possibly be referring to. Someone as old as one of the first gods? Then it clicked, and he asked, “You’re in love with the Cultivator?”
Destroyer didn’t give a definitive answer, but his sorrowful smile and words were enough to confirm it. “She hates me most of all for benefiting from the destruction of her creations. She creates such wonderful things and watches them grow to become even more beautiful… Until the day that I ruin it. I am a thief who causes her nothing but pain. Without her, though, I am nothing.”
The deity squeezed his shoulder once more and reiterated, “So I understand how you feel, my Chosen. That is why I know you will survive this curse. Because you are a Shield that will always protect what he loves, even if you hate yourself for how you must do it.”
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Phoenix may have been put off by the lack of layers the people didn’t wear here, but that was quickly put to the back of her mind as she was led through the much more overtly magical city of Serenydi. The zone was normally low Emerald Caste and could support much more powerful and sophisticated enchantments than Tulimeir could before the World Tree appeared.
She couldn’t wait to return and see how different the city might be if it could replicate some of the things she saw. Illusion magic was heavily used for providing the shifting directional signs as well as announcing what treasures awaited within the shops they passed.
The ceiling that she knew was above her was also illusioned to look like the sky outside, but it also had its own messages to display. “Best boots in all of Serenydi at Larry’s Leathers!” she read off one of the sky banners that appeared like a wyrmling flying through it. It appeared she had finally reached the land of magical advertisements.
Everything looked expensive to her, made from beautiful polished woods with glistening metal embellishments. The glass wasn’t tinted here like it was in Tulimeir, but many of the stores had large displays set behind them with illusioned text on the glass that could be touched for more information about the items being shown.
Despite it being midday, the streets actually didn’t seem that busy compared to what she remembered in Tulimeir, and she asked her temporary guide, “How many people live in the city? It seemed busy at the pier, but it’s pretty empty here right now.”
Zevan gave her a smirk, “Most people are still sleeping. The city is ruled by Night Elves, and most of them are nocturnal. But it’s also when this city really comes alive, and the people come out to play. Many will likely start waking soon, but you’ll see a lot more leaving their homes once the sun sets.”
“Is the magic of the city what makes it so warm here despite being on an island in the Arctic?”
“Yeah, there are plenty of enchantments built right into the streets to keep the climate cozy and dry. Cleaning enchantments keep it pretty, and there are even some security features built in to protect the people from harm.”
“Like from a monster spawning?”
“We don’t get many spawns in the city. I’d wager it’s almost impossible with so many enchantments utilizing the ambient magic that would normally collect to cause a spawn.”
“Then what’s the security for?”
Zevan paused and looked back at her with a raised brow, “Are you actually nineteen soon? Have you never left home before?”
Phoenix rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure why people kept thinking that, but she clarified, “I just didn’t know magic could differentiate a criminal person from a non-criminal one. How would it possibly be able to tell?”
She snorted a laugh. “It can’t tell if a person is a criminal, but it can tell if someone is being assaulted or is fleeing from something. There are not many guards in Serenydi like there are in some other cities, but the enchantments here are powerful deterrents that help the few guards there are with reacting to any threat. Plus, it alerts people nearby who could intervene. Most people here love it enough to want to make sure it stays a beautiful and welcoming place.”
Phoenix nodded along to the explanation, feeling more at ease, knowing she probably wouldn’t get attacked by a random stranger. She paused at one of the displays that caught her eye. It was showing off a sparkly purple dress that actually went around the neck and completely covered the chest in a sort of upside-down V shape. The midriff showed on it, but it was still lightly covered by a sheer iridescent fabric that connected to a more solid purple that flared out like a fluffy Lolita skirt. It only went to just above the knees, but she thought it looked cute and covered more than most things she had seen.
“You thinking that might work for you?” Zevan asked, apparently having turned back to look at what had made her stop.
“I think I can make it work… What kind of jewelry works for covering wrists? Or is gloves an option here? I, um, I kinda have this scar I don’t—”
Phoenix’s voice cut off as a sense that had been lost to her for almost a month tingled from her wrist. Her bracelet was letting her know that Saiya and Rayna were back in the direction of the port.