《Forgotten》


 Sacrifice – Chapter 1: The Truest Form of Freedom

    GamingWolf


    Don''t want to read it yourself? Thanks to Tome Raider, you can now listen to this chapter. Just click here.


    Aperio hummed happily as she placed another leather-bound tome on an old shelf. She glared at it as the ageing wood creaked slightly under the weight of the book, daring it to break. A few lashes for destroying Imperial property wouldn''t be so bad, she thought, but a sigh escaped her as the wood held firm. Giving the shelf one last glance she went further down the aisle to retrieve a scroll for one of her ¡®esteemed noble masters¡¯.


    It didn¡¯t take her long to find what she was looking for. Standing in front of the neatly stacked pile of scrolls, Aperio briefly considered swapping the requested scroll with something else. As soon as she extended her arm to grab one that would definitely not fulfil the desired purpose, a sharp pain in her head, followed by a soft yellow glow from the collar around her neck, announced the interference of the Empire''s ¡®greatest¡¯ invention.


    Cursing the people who invented the contraption that had been with her for as long as she can remember, she watched helplessly as her body acted on its own accord, picking up the desired object before quickly turning around and heading for the reception desk. The only relief she could find in all of this was that being tasked with running errands in the library was definitely better than being chained to a table, getting stabbed with who knows what for hours ¨C sometimes days ¨C on end.


    Once she reached the desk, a woman clad in an overly-gaudy dress turned to face her with barely concealed disgust flaring in her eyes before snatching the scroll from Aperio¡¯s hands. ¡°Give that to me before you dirty it any further, Elf.¡± She spat before walking away.


    Oh yes, the dirty Elves! They don''t enslave others! So dirty! I wish I could voice my opinion, but as usual, my body just isn''t my own right now. Even if I could voice my thoughts, they wouldn''t change much. She might have gone as far as hitting me. I would shiver in fright if I could! ...Ridiculous, anything she could do wouldn¡¯t be comparable to what a true imperial torturer can do.


    Aperio stood rooted in place for several minutes, only regaining control over her own body when she could no longer hear the woman¡¯s shoes clacking on the tiled marble floor. Even though she could move on her own again, she had learned years ago that there was no point in walking away if she was liable to get a headache and be forced to walk right back. She stayed where she was.


    A small smile formed on her lips nonetheless as she recalled what the guards had told her that morning: she was to be sacrificed tonight. One might think that being told that you only had a day left to live would be sad news, but for her, it was the best thing she had heard in years. It ranked right up there with the death of the Emperor¡¯s second son.


    Stabbed in the back by his own wife! That had truly been a magnificent day for her.


    Aperio had almost died too, but it was not to be. She had never learned why the royal guard had prevented that lovely little irate widow from carrying out her right of vengeance. After all, the bastard son had used the Elven slave as a companion for the night. Not that she wanted to indulge the man, but you no longer had the option of choice once that contraption was around your neck.


    Her smile widened as she heard the telltale clanking of the guard¡¯s mithril armour. A quick glance through the glass dome looming above her confirmed that the sun was beginning to set. It was time for her to leave this wretched place.


    Finally! How long I have waited for this day!


    The lead guard gave the smiling Elf a confused glare before he brought his gloved hand to his chest where it touched a small yellow glowing pendant. ¡°Your duties here have ended, follow me. Do not speak unless spoken to. Understood?¡± After the words had left his mouth, her collar flared briefly and she felt the orders at the back of her mind change, no longer forcing her to stay but to follow.


    Another ¨C more forceful ¨C glow from the collar forced her to bow, and manipulated her vocal cords to answer with a quiet "Yes." The guards formed up around her as if to ensure she couldn¡¯t escape. Useless, she thought. It¡¯s not like I can run away with this stupid thing on. Soon they had left the library and were moving down a brightly lit, stone-walled corridor. One of the guards gave her a surprised look as she practically glided down the hall.


    The inherent lightness of her steps had come at the price of bleeding and burned feet after being forced to walk on crystal shards and hot coals for months on end, and as much as she hated to admit it, she actually enjoyed being able to move in such a manner.


    A few of the passing servants ¨C mostly slaves like herself ¨C stopped to give Aperio a pitying look before hurriedly moving on. The Elf herself didn¡¯t care about the others. To her, it made little difference if they hated or pitied her. It wouldn¡¯t change anything about her life, past or present.


    There was one person she had cared about: an elderly woman that had been more of a mother to her then the actual one could ever have been. While that may not be a hard bar to pass ¨C you really only had to not sell your daughter into slavery at the age of three so you could afford more alcohol ¨C it still meant something to her.


    She had taught Aperio many things ¨C even the language of her people, though she never got to use it as she was ordered not to speak it ever again. A wave of sadness overcame her as she remembered the day her only friend had died, forced to fight in the Arena against a knight from the Emperor¡¯s personal guard. Not a fair fight by any stretch but good entertainment for the ¡®noble¡¯ guests.


    In the end, she had been forced to sit and smile as she watched her friend getting torn limb from limb by a laughing knight clad in shining gold plated armour. The only relief, small as it may have been, was the knowledge that her friend had moved on to a better place.


    Maybe I will meet her soon? Who knows what happens when you die.


    Aperio mentally shook off the weight of her memories as she was given a new task. After being led to a small room containing a shallow pool, she was told to clean herself. Under the watchful eyes of everyone around her she approached the water, hesitating briefly as she caught sight of her reflection.


    Ugh.


    Her clipped ears were ¨C despite being one of the less painful ¡®treatments¡¯ ¨C by far the thing she hated the most about what she saw. She wasn¡¯t the only one they had done it to either. Every Elven slave they had would have their ears cut to be ¡®closer to perfection¡¯, as the Emperor put it.


    Once she had been deemed clean enough by her guards she was lead to a massive engraved door. With a wave of their hand, one of her captors signalled the two slaves at either side of the door who quickly went to complete their only task. With a low groan it slowly slid open revealing a great many people ¨C both mages in fancy robes and guards in heavy mail ¨C arranged in neat formations covering the entirety of a truly enormous hall.


    Inside, the guard that had spoken to her previously lead her to a circle that was ringed with runes in the centre of the hall, handed her an unnaturally sharp but featureless dagger, and with an unpleasant tone to his voice that Aperio found all too familiar told her to kneel and disrobe.


    Under the openly lecherous gaze of her guard, she did as she was told, long past the point of being able to care about such situations. When she had removed the last piece of clothing from her person, the guard took one last long glance over her naked body, picked up the discarded dress and told her to wait until told otherwise.


    With nothing left to do, she turned her attention to the runes around her. Though she had been forced to help in various rites and rituals, she couldn¡¯t seem to recall any runes that looked like the ones here. Not even the crueller experiments ¨C where, after receiving her orders, she watched helplessly as her own hands carved runes onto the living body of the sacrifice ¨C had used anything similar. Neither did the ones she had learned from books she shouldn¡¯t have read remind her of these. In the end, it mattered little to her. She would die today and finally be free.


    A few minutes passed and a man by the door cleared his throat before yelling, ¡°His Imperial Highness! Emperor Jenario Xenthis!¡± Following the announcement a man in his late fifties, wearing a gaudy crown and holding a golden sceptre, confidently strode into the hall. It didn¡¯t take him long to reach the empty rune-framed square opposite of Aperio, and once there he banged his sceptre against the floor. After the last hushed voices quieted down he began to speak.


    ¡°We have strived for this moment for years! Trying and failing to find a way to ascend and rid ourselves of the lower races. Tonight our torment ends, and we only need to sacrifice this lowly Elf! A small price to pay for my ascension to godhood! A truly glorious day for the entire Inaru Empire! Now let us start a new era: an era of righteous conquest!¡±


    With his speech at an end, he spread his arms wide and twirled the sceptre around once before slamming it into the floor, prompting the mages to begin their chant. In response to their discordant voices, the formation on the floor started to emit a white light that soon burst into a flame that snaked its way across the entire hall, inching ever closer to the centre.


    The runes around Aperio briefly flashed blue as the white flames drew near, only to flare angrily one more time before submitting to the fire. Only once the entire formation was set ablaze did the Emperor lift his sceptre, point at Aperio and command her:


    ¡°Take the dagger and carve out your heart; offer it in sacrifice so your betters may ascend.¡±


    Aperio shivered with anticipation as she lifted the dagger and slowly traced the edge of the blade with her finger, earning her a small cut. A small smile crept onto her face as she looked at the little droplets of blood falling onto the perfectly white floor; her smile only grew wider with each drop. Ever so slowly did she move the dagger towards her chest until the blade sunk itself into her. With full knowledge of what she was doing, she manoeuvred the sharp edge of the blade within her body, effortlessly cutting skin and bone while circling around her heart.


    There was no pain as she had expected, and neither could she feel the compulsion of the collar; she was in full control. A small laugh escaped her lips, something was off but she didn¡¯t care, what she was doing felt right. Letting the dagger fall to the floor she looked up and gave the Emperor her best smile; this one genuine and not an imitation like the rest.


    Lifting her arm she buried it up to her wrist in her chest where she had previously cut herself open. A little river of blood flowed from the newly-formed cavity and pooled under her as she wrenched her own heart free.


    For a moment she stared at the unbeating heart, her unbeating heart.


    After letting out a final breath she slumped forwards, falling into the white flames as whatever had kept the pain away simply vanished. The last thing she felt was a gentle warmth emanating from the fire where it touched her scarred skin.


    The flames that tried to consume the fresh Elven corpse shimmered where they made contact, changing from white to blue. The body itself faded, slowly dissolving into a cloud of silvery dust that drifted towards the ceiling where it gathered into a loose, seemingly incorporeal, sphere. It lingered there, pulsing softly with blue light.


    The triumphant smile on the Emperors face faded as the blue flames seemed to turn on its former masters, quickly taking over the formation and latching onto the chanting mages. It didn''t take long for the ones attacked by the flame to run and scream, ceasing their chants in their desperate attempts to escape the burning. In the chaos, the fire was able to make the leap over to the guards as well.


    In mere minutes the entire hall was on fire, burning each and every person alive. With each soul that died in the blue hell, the gathering of silver dust hovering just under the ceiling shone brighter and more solid, slowly shedding its ethereal qualities.


    Soon everyone but Emperor Xenthis himself had been burned away, and he had to shield his eyes from the bright light that floated high above him. Through his fingers he kept watch of the thing, trusting in the safety of the runic formation he stood in. His trust, however, was sadly misplaced. A burning sensation reached his feet and quickly spread over his entire body; he screamed in agony and dropped to the floor desperately trying to extinguish the flames.


    But it was for nought. After a minute of excruciating pain his body crumbled and the now very solid-looking silver sphere pulsed once, breaking through the ceiling and sending the flames below through the windows into the open darkness beyond.


    The fire spread horrifically fast over the continent ruled by the Inaru Empire, their ruthlessness lasting only a few hours. Not a single living thing was spared, neither the wildlife nor the other empires and kingdoms ¨C not even those that had allied themselves against the Empire and its mad Emperor.


    The only things showing that civilization had once prospered here were the empty cities, burned clean of all traces of life. What a great many creatures once called home was now nothing more than a barren wasteland illuminated by a false sun.


    Soon that sun vanished as well, disappearing into thin thin air and leaving nothing behind that might have hinted as to what had happened.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 2: Adrift in the Void

    When Aperio came to she was greeted with darkness. Straining her eyes to look further, she could make out a faint band of light that shimmered like water in the afternoon sun.


    Directing her gaze downwards, she noted the lack of blood. Not quite believing her eyes, she let her hand glide over the spot where the wound should have been. Her fingers grazed over old scars but could not find a hint at what she had done to herself just moments before.


    While she absent-mindedly touched where the wound should have been, questions filled her head. Is this truly the afterlife? Why is no one else around? What are those lights? Her musings were interrupted as the darkness around her started to come alive. Countless orbs made of blue light faded into existence and slowly started to float towards her.


    Her long-dormant self-preservation instinct flared up then, telling her to run away from the lights, but she dismissed the thought quickly. There was no point in running if you were already dead. Instead, she reached out and tried to touch one of the closer orbs. When her fingers brushed against the surface a warm sensation spread throughout her before the orb of light disappeared in a bright flash.


    As if her touch was the sign the lights had been waiting, for they started rushing towards her. One after another, they flew into her, each one winking out in a brief flash. Every time a light was extinguished, the warmth within her grew, steadily rising past the point of comfort until it turned into a searing heat that seemed to burn her alive. She needed to scream, desperately so, but no sound came out.


    After a while the burning sensation was overpowered by a sharp pain she knew all too well: that of her bones breaking and her muscles tearing apart. Before she could even think to voice a protest she felt her body mend itself, and somehow she knew she was slightly stronger than before. Then she was broken apart again. And again. Not only could she feel the changes taking place within her; she could see her flesh squirming beneath her skin.


    Despite the agony she was in, Aperio watched on in amazement as her muscles became more defined and her scars from years of torture slowly faded into nothing, leaving unblemished pale skin. Unbidden, her hands reached for her ears. She didn''t expect them to be in perfect condition as the rest of her now was ¨C the universe surely would not be so kind. Her fingertips, however, found long pointed ears instead of the usual scarred mess. They¡¯re back!


    Her heart soared at the restoration of her once-prized physical features. Take that, stupid Empire!


    She didn¡¯t know how much time had passed before she was able to reign in her emotions, and even though her physical self was now the healthiest she had ever seen it, the tiny lights showed no signs of stopping. They continued to sink into her very being, tiny blue flicker after tiny blue flicker offering themselves up to her for reasons she did not understand.


    The incessant rhythm of their dance pulled at Aperio''s mind, and she lost track of time until she felt something else brewing deep within her. It pulsed and stretched in her upper torso, growing in size as it seemed to struggle to find its proper location inside her body. Suddenly, without warning, her entire back felt as if someone was trying to separate the flesh from her bones. Her current situation overlapped with horrific memories, and with their resurgence, everything except the pain left her world. She had to give voice to it, but though she tried, no sound escaped her lips.


    She writhed in agony, her body twisting in all possible ways in a futile attempt to soothe what felt like flames scorching into her shoulder blades. After what seemed like days to her, the pain finally subsided and she could feel something gently brushing against her back. The weirdest part was that she could feel the tickling but, at the same time, knew that whatever was causing it was also part of her.


    She tried to concentrate on this new part of herself, to move it to where she might catch a glimpse, and something unexpected swung into view. Something dark with blue edges. Something... feathered? Barely registering that the tickling on her posterior had ceased, she reached out to make sure that what she was seeing wasn''t an illusion and her fingertips grazed over the feathers; they were undoubtedly the smoothest thing she had ever felt in her life.


    Wings! I have wings!


    Soundlessly laughing with delight she swung them out of her face, extending them to their full length ¨C something she guessed to be easily twice that of her own height ¨C and marvelled at her wingspan. With a surprising amount of ease, her new limbs obeyed Aperio''s every whim as though they had always been a part of her. She knew, instinctively, that if she were to be in a place that permitted proper flying her wings would carry her.


    Aperio took a few moments to run the gamut of wing poses, familiarizing herself with the way that they moved and the way that she had to move with them in order to counterbalance their weight. After coaxing her new limbs into various shapes and configurations, she tried to fold them behind her in an effort to keep them out of her way and they vanished completely.


    They were replaced with a sharp pain under her shoulder-blades and the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something was missing; that she was now less complete than before. Displeased with feeling less than whole, she thought of bringing her wings back and was delighted to have her whims obeyed. A few more tests proved that she was, in fact, completely in control of whether or not her new limbs were on display.


    She didn¡¯t know how much time had passed ¨C days, weeks, maybe even years ¨C but the steady stream of lights continued floating into her, changing her. She inspected her physical differences, but after having gained a pair of wings it was somewhat underwhelming to notice a more toned body and longer silver hair.


    At least, this is what she could see on the outside. Within her something was struggling to break free. Intrigued, she tried to find the cause of this foreign feeling only to come up empty-handed.


    After she turned the matter over in her mind for a while, on a wild hunch she attempted to do something that she had not been allowed to do for well over a decade. Reaching for her mana pool, she found to her astonishment that there was an endless ocean there instead of the small puddle she had once known. Not that it would make much of a difference at the moment. She knew very little about the usage of mana, as the only spells she had been allowed to learn were all of the chanted variety ¨C the kind that bent the ambient mana to the caster''s will in accordance to the incantation. It didn¡¯t matter how much you had at your disposal, a chanted spell would never use more than absolutely necessary.


    Reaching out, Aperio tried to draw a tiny drop from the ocean ¨C just to see what it would feel like.


    To her surprise, it obeyed immediately.


    Drawing on what very little she knew about mana, she tried to move the droplet around her body, but to her dismay some sort of invisible dam broke within her. Instead of a drop, a raging torrent coursed through her, flowing seemingly of its own volition.


    She yelped soundlessly, but her initial panic faded quickly as no harm seemed to be coming to her as the result of her actions.


    It wasn''t long before the torrent started to slow down to a more calm state, bringing with it a sense of tranquillity that she had not known before. In this state of mind, Aperio imagined a candle flame hovering over her hand, and with a push from mental muscles she had never before known to exist she commanded it to be. It worked better than she could ever have thought, as the tiny fire began dancing over her palm, carrying with it no sign of the pain that usually arose from a broken or faulty invocation.


    Magic! I can finally use magic! Death seriously is the best thing ever! Some pain in exchange for all of this? How can this not be the best thing ever?!


    With a maniacal grin on her face she tossed the small flame between her hands. It burned brighter, grew in size or simply danced across the void; all at her slightest whim. She was in control and it was not, and she revelled in it. A few minutes passed and she returned most of her attention to inspecting her new body. She was not willing to let go of her newfound toy and was pleasantly surprised that it took no effort at all to keep the flame alive and well.


    When she focused her attention to her surroundings she noticed that what she first only saw a band of light in the distance were, in fact, full balls of light that would fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. Curiously, these lights came in all manner of colours ¨C all except blue, like that of the lights that were still floating into her. They made no attempt to come to her, instead, they seemed to be wary and take a big swing around just to avoid being near her.


    Once the last of the lights that willingly offered itself to her disappeared and the rush of feelings that came with her ever-changing body ended, she asked herself a question.


    Did they fuck up and make me into a god?! The ritual was supposed to ascend the Emperor to godhood and I feel pretty good right now. That would be nice!


    With a light giggle that went unheard in the airless void, Aperio tried to move through the dark nothing. Despite the obvious lack of air she felt no discomfort and found that she could even use her wings.


    Flight turned out to be something that became second nature to Aperio shockingly fast. She had no idea about the why, or how. All she knew was that, much like walking, she just wanted to move somewhere and it worked. Her flight might not yet be graceful but it certainly got the job done. Sadly, it also turned out that the pretty little balls of light were farther away than she thought; much farther than she thought that one should be able to see, anyway.


    Given that the colourful spheres in the distance were the only things of interest to be seen, she set off towards them. Aperio flew silently through the featureless void and found that her situation had finally calmed down enough for her to take stock of what was going on.


    Being sacrificed, brought to a dark void with weird lights floating into me, changing me in ways I didn''t think possible ...by all rights, I should be creeped out. And now I¡¯m even rambling about this to myself... okay, that wouldn¡¯t be the first time. But despite all of this, this place makes me feel at peace. Like I belong here. Why? And if I leave, can I ever come back?


    A few other concerns also surfaced from the depths of her mind, like where she would even emerge if she managed to figure out where the exit was. And where could she get new clothes once outside? While Aperio didn¡¯t mind her current state, she was fairly certain that it would be a good idea to get something to wear if you wanted to talk to people.


    Talking to people. That was another thing she wasn¡¯t so sure about. The only people who had ever just talked with her had been other slaves, and she had doubts about her ability to carry her own side of a regular conversation.


    All of this would require her to be able to get out in the first place and, maybe more importantly, hinged on the hope that she would return somewhere where the people would not try to enslave her again.


    But, despite all of this, she still wanted to to go back.


    The feeling of belonging somewhere was nice ¨C even if she didn¡¯t quite understand why she felt this way ¨C but spending the rest of her life alone was not appealing. Another point for leaving this place was the obvious lack of food, and while neither hunger nor thirst had been a problem thus far, it wasn¡¯t impossible for them to show up uninvited and ruin everything.


    She didn¡¯t know how long she flew while arguing with herself about her feelings, but it came to an end as she reached a veritable river of lights that slowly flowed past her. As she looked down the river she had to revise one of her previous thoughts; the lights didn¡¯t deliberately avoid her. Unlike the blue ones that so freely offered themselves, these ones all seemed to be trapped by some unseen current.


    Slowly Aperio stretched out her hand, dipping it into what she thought of as an invisible waterway in an effort to touch one of the passing lights. To her pleasant surprise, they were solid to the touch; instead of simply passing through the glow her fingers brushed against a smooth surface. Intent on discovering more about these weird orbs she grabbed one as it passed her and lifted it to get a better view.


    It briefly shone brightly before settling down, leaving a perfectly round, lightly glowing orb in her hand. Looking closely she noticed something wisping about inside it. Intrigued, she tapped against the surface, causing a ripple to spread over the orb. Only once the disturbance had passed over the entirety of the glowing sphere did she notice that the mist inside seemed to be agitated, almost as if her tap had awoken it from a deep slumber.


    Delighted that she could finally affect the world around her, she carefully placed the now seemingly unhappy orb back into the stream of other lights, only for it to disappear in a brilliant white rift in space that opened below it.


    What was that?! A way out? And why does the little light go there? And why was that one so lively after I tapped it? Maybe they can feel? ¡­ They? Are those things even alive?


    Doesn¡¯t matter, I need to figure out how to get out.


    Deciding to postpone the questions that were bubbling up within her, Aperio grabbed another sphere out of the river and tapped it. The same ripple spread over the surface and the mist, again, flared angrily after being awoken from its apparent slumber. Bringing it close to her eyes she scrutinized the sphere for the tiniest detail. Even after what felt like a small eternity, she couldn¡¯t find anything besides the perfectly smooth surface that confined the unruly mist inside.


    Slowly she brought it closer to the other lights, trying to anticipate the rift. As she was about to give up and let go it appeared, and with it came a surprisingly strong pull on the orb in her hand.


    While holding onto it a little more firmly, just in case, she reached out with her free hand and touched the rift. Much to her surprise, it widened a little to better accommodate her hand and arm. As her fingertips neared the point where they would pass through the bright gap, she noticed they came in contact with a slight resistance. After briefly considering the feeling, the best analogy Aperio could come up with was dipping your hand in fresh snow; cold and soft, with a little give.


    As the cold feeling did not disappear Aperio worriedly withdrew her hand. She wriggled her fingers and inspected them closely for changes, but when she could not find anything wrong she stopped with a silent, relieved sigh.


    Taking an airless breath without spending a moment contemplating the impossibility of that action, she bent herself over and propelled herself forwards, sticking her head through the rift.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 3: A Memorable Return

    The sudden presence of light after having spent what felt like a lifetime in the darkness of the Void left Aperio blinking. She found herself looking into a small but plain stone room. The overly ornate iron reinforced door, lack of windows and otherwise bleak appearance reminded her all too much of the Empire¡¯s cells, a place where she had come to feel distressingly familiar with over the years. She shuddered and shook off the rising tension of memories that threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn¡¯t ¨C wouldn¡¯t ¨C allow herself to be drowned in these unpleasant emotions, especially when she didn¡¯t even know where she was.


    A faint glimmer caught her attention, and the memories fell away in the face of curiosity. Shifting to face the source of the disruption, she spotted a crystal almost as big as her head. It pulsed rhythmically ¨C almost like a beating heart ¨C bathing the smooth metallic surface of the pedestal it called home in dim, red light. With each pulse, its jagged edges briefly twinkled with a red lustre of something that Aperio did not know but still felt unnervingly familiar.


    Done with her preliminary inspection of the world beyond the rift, she pulled her head back into the Void. Her next actions would need some careful consideration, but none of the options were all that pleasing to her. She could either be trapped in the Void, try her luck in the cell-esque room or try and open a new rift.


    In the end, staying in the Void was the first idea to be discarded. Even if she enjoyed the sense of belonging that it gave her, she simply didn¡¯t know if she would starve to death. While she wasn¡¯t afraid to die again, she did want to take the opportunity the universe had so graciously given her and at least try to live a little.


    Taking the chance to open another rift was also something she was not too keen on; the first two times had worked but there was no guarantee it would do so again. The obviously man-made room also implied that people lived nearby, or at least had at some point. Another rift could potentially dump her in the middle of an ocean or in a desert, far from any and all civilization.


    Having made up her mind Aperio threw the sphere she still held in her hand as far as she could in the opposite direction, fearing that the portal would close once the ball passed through ¨C like the last one. Wasting no time to see where it would end up, she instead turned and dove towards the rift. Unsure if it would widen enough to accommodate her wings ¨C or if the room was even big enough for their size ¨C she folded them as close to her body as she could before passing through the opening.


    After a brief moment of vertigo, gravity reasserted its control over her and Aperio crashed rather ungracefully. Much to her surprise, she was unharmed. Quite unlike the stone floor she collided with, which now sported a sizeable web of cracks that spread all around her. With a sigh she gave in to gravity and lay there, enjoying the softness of her feathers against her back while she stared at the ceiling.


    Whatever happened to her was not something she had expected; death was always supposed to be the end, freedom from her torment. Peace. Instead, here she was freshly escaped from a black abyss of lights and nothing. An odd combination. The small memory of the little orbs brought another thought to the forefront of her mind.


    Where is the light here coming from? Maybe the crystal?


    Sitting back up she twisted around but couldn¡¯t find anything that would hint at being the source of illumination. Memories surfaced of restless nights spent in the Empire''s cells, where there was no visible source of light and yet bright enough to make sleep elusive. She quickly discarded the theory of the glowing crystal; with its red light it was clearly not the source. Taking yet another look around the room, just to make sure that nothing had changed while she was distracted, her suspicions about where she was only grew.


    This one seems more real than the others. It wouldn¡¯t be the first cell with a broken floor she had to live in, or the first time she was used as a test subject for some very vivid illusion magic. Her hand slid across her neck in search for her dreadful ¡®companion¡¯, but she couldn¡¯t find any trace of the metal collar. A look at her arms revealed them to be free of scars, just like they had been in the Void. Her hand moved on its own volition and, sure enough, her beloved eartips were present. Everything was as she remembered, even the feeling of boundless energy inside her.


    So it wasn¡¯t a dream?


    With a small wave of her hand and a quietly muttered incantation, Aperio used one of the very few spells that she had been permitted to learn. One of the mages had called it [Reality Check], a very fitting name. All it did was perform a check to see if the target was under the influence of any illusion magic, and the only reason she had been allowed to learn this spell was a certain incident with some ''undesirables'' and their disguised weapons. From that point on, someone had to make sure to check the new arrivals for anything out of the ordinary, and who better to do dangerous gruntwork than a slave? Better them than a prestigious mage.


    A small smile graced her features as a faint green glow surrounded her, letting her know that no illusion was active on her. None that the spell could detect anyway. Standing up to better dust off her behind and surreptitiously check for her wings she caught sight of the rift and knew then for certain that her experiences had been no dream.


    In contrast to the white tear she had seen from the Void, looking back through showed her countless lights dancing across a black nothing; a river of light in an endless darkness. The sight was short-lived as reality seemed to knit itself back together around the rift. A few seconds later all traces of its existence had vanished into thin air.


    After a moment of silence, she tore her eyes from the now-empty space and took another look around the room. It had not changed since she had peeked through the rift; the door still looked as solid as ever and the crystal still glittered on its pedestal, undisturbed by her rather violent entry.


    Crystal or door? Standing on the cracked floor her gaze shifted from one option to the other, then back again. The odd feeling of familiarity the crystal¡¯s twinkling gave her was something that, in her mind, bore investigation. It was not something she had observed before ¨C of that she was certain ¨C and yet it felt so familiar; almost as if whatever it was had always been a part of her and was now just waiting to be reunited.


    If the door was anything like the ones the Empire had used then breaking out would be nigh impossible, but she felt that regardless of the difficulty she had to try. The real question was what would be behind the door, should she get it open, and if whatever waited there would let her examine the crystal. Nodding to herself Aperio ignored the door and slowly moved towards the crystal, careful not to step on the already broken parts of the floor. Each step she took towards the pedestal caused the pulse to quicken, each glimmer growing more intense than the last.


    If she didn''t know any better she might think that the crystal was excited to see her.


    But that wasn¡¯t possible. She had seen many crystals doing their work ¨C most of them used on her for some experiment she would never understand ¨C but they all followed the same pattern. Either they served as a focus or a reservoir of mana for a mage.


    Once she was within arm¡¯s reach of the crystal the rhythmic pulsing gave way to a constant, red glow. The edges no longer sparkled; they, like the rest of the crystal, shone consistently, albeit a bit duller. Taking another step forwards and leaning to get a better view of it revealed a thin mist inside the edges that struggled to break free from its crystalline prison.


    That looks an awful lot like what¡¯s inside the little lights. Maybe that''s why it feels so familiar?


    Intrigued by her newest discovery, and disregarding the innate sense of caution around anything even remotely magical that had engrained itself within her over years of difficult and often painful experiences, Aperio stretched her arm and brushed her fingers over the smooth surface of the crystal.


    A welcoming warmth spread from the crystal to her fingers, inviting her to hold on just a little longer. It didn¡¯t take long, however, before an insistent nagging in the back of her mind made itself known. One that tried to force her to hold on, to never let go; to acknowledge her new master.


    One that made the flesh crawl at her neck where she had previously been bound.


    ¡°No!¡±


    The voice that spread throughout the chamber was not what she remembered. It was hoarse, as though she had not uttered a single word in years, but despite this, it carried with power and filled every corner of the room. Aperio wasted no time with idle contemplation. She tore her hands off the crystal, stumbling a few steps backwards in the process, and gave her inanimate assailant a glare that would have given her old guards pause.


    The faint presence in her mind had disappeared as soon as she had let go of the wretched thing; the disgust she felt, however, remained and did its best to remain at the forefront of her thoughts. Disgust soon turned into rage as the former slave was in no way willing to surrender her newly found freedom to some twinkling excuse for a crystal.


    She unconsciously spread her wings as arcs of an intangible blue light, somehow perceived with a sense other than her own eyes, danced across her skin. They left glistening silver trails wherever they made contact with anything other than her own body, and Aperio unconsciously smiled a little as the stone beneath her feet cracked further. The air grew heavier as the blue arcs lashed out with erratic violence, throwing themselves against all that was within reach. There was nothing holding her back from showing how she felt about being toyed with.


    ¡°I will not bow to anyone!¡±


    With a cry of pure, unadulterated rage the mad Elf kicked off of the battered floor and charged at the offending evil. Once she had moved close enough to see a vague outline of her own reflection she threw a punch that ¨C while it wouldn¡¯t win any awards for form ¨C had enough force to fracture the crystal. The smooth surface broke apart as the crack snaked its way across, letting the trapped mist escape into the open. Soon all that remained on the pedestal were transparent shards that reflected the red light of the escaped cloud above. No longer imprisoned, the red mist quickly made its way to the only other source of magic it could find.


    Not wanting to come into contact with anything that came from the crystalline remains, she did the only thing she thought she could do: burn it until it only her memories of the encounter remained. With the same mental push she had used in the Void a small flame formed over her palm, but instead of making it dance she willed it to become a fire that would cleanse the world of her enemies. The errant discharges no longer lashed out against the immediate surroundings; instead, they all focused on the flame on her hand.


    Spurred on by the sudden influx of energy it rapidly expanded and shifted its colour from gentle orange to a bright blue that illuminated the entirety of the stone chamber. After the last stray arc had joined with the rest, Aperio drew her arm back and threw the flaming mess right at the mist. It soared through the air leaving a trail of tiny sparks before it vanished into the red cloud.


    The resulting explosion was not what she had expected. A deafening roar assaulted her ears and, reacting purely on instinct, she covered them with her hands while using her wings to ward off the fire and debris that came hurling her way. Fighting against the blast she dug her feet into the floor, further breaking it in the process.


    The roar was short-lived and after a few agonizing seconds, the only thing that remained was the heat she felt as half-molten rubble bounced off of her wings. As the force pressing her back lessened, an almost unnatural feeling of calmness settled over her mind and an assortment of smells began to make themselves known. Dust was dominant, but beneath that nose-tickling fragrance was something else. Something she couldn''t quite put her finger on, but that reminded her of the chamber of the Empire''s head alchemist. If she hadn¡¯t spent countless hours cleaning that place she was sure that the contents of her stomach, however empty it might be, would join the rubble on the floor. Just like they had the first few times she had been sent to that disgusting place.


    Once she was sure the worst was over she peeked through a small gap in her wings and was greeted with chaos. A part of the roof had caved in, revealing loose earth and a few stones with various runes etched on them, some of which had fallen on the broken floor. What remained of said floor was a collection of battered bricks that had spread themselves all over the chamber. Her violent outburst was, as far as she could tell, successful ¨C she couldn¡¯t find a single thing that resembled the crystal or the cloud of red mist.


    Looking towards the door, hoping that her accidental onslaught opened the way, she was saddened to see a perfectly intact wall and door. The only difference was a set of runes that were now clearly visible on it. She recognized them as something she had glared at for her entire life. The [Ward of Confinement] was something she loathed with every fibre of her being, and its presence here just cemented her belief that she had indeed emerged back into the world in one of the Empire''s cells.


    Stay positive. Maybe I can kill a few of them before they get to me, she mentally reprimanded herself. Now how do I get that thing open? Fire doesn¡¯t seem to work.


    Carefully navigating through the rubble and holes that now made up most of the floor she slowly walked towards the door. The closer she got to the ward the more confused she became. The stone and wood groaned as the runes glowed brighter, their outlines became more defined and the usually barely visible lines connecting the formation crackled dangerously. Once she had crossed over the carnage her outburst had created she gave the unstable ward a glare and sat down.


    Aperio was at a loss; she knew the chant to activate the thing ¨C some of the less able guards had needed to use it over the years ¨C but she had never even heard the tiniest bit of the one you needed to turn it off. Brute force was probably still an option. The problem was that she didn¡¯t know how many attempts would be needed and if there would still be a room to stand in once she was done.


    I guess I expected too much. Stupid universe.


    Thoroughly annoyed with the situation at hand, old habits asserted themselves and Aperio kicked the ward. She knew, from the symbols used, that no harm would come to those who were imprisoned. A previous iteration had lacked this feature ¨C it tended to zap people instead ¨C and though many prisoners and slaves had managed to escape through death Aperio''s own attempt had been cut short by the annoyingly timely appearance of the guards.


    Once her foot crossed the threshold of the [Ward of Confinement] all she heard was the sound of breaking stone. What? Eyes wide with surprise she shifted her gaze between her foot and the now broken wall, not quite believing what had just transpired.


    To make sure what had just happened was not an illusion that escaped her previous check she stepped closer to the door and repeated what she had done before. A light tap later and her foot went through the ward and door effortlessly.


    This makes absolutely no sense.


    Deciding to postpone the discussion about what made sense and what did not to when she was actually free, she used her newfound skill in kicking wards to force the door out of its hinges and stepped through.


    On the other side, a most peculiar scene was playing out right in front of her. A group of four people ¨C humans if she had to guess ¨C were fighting a large two-headed dog. She had seen one-headed versions of these beasts before, though they were usually accompanied by a handler of some sort. Why this one was guarding cells by itself and attacking a group of humans was something she didn¡¯t know.


    The fight raged on, the participants still oblivious to Aperio''s presence despite the noise her mist-removal must have made. Watching them, she concluded that if she had to fight, it would clearly be better to do so against just one of the groups. Not both at once. Despite her newfound ability to explode strange clouds of mist, as well as being able to kick wards into non-functionality, she was fairly certain that she would lose any actual fight. Her only experience came from watching the horribly one-sided matches the ''nobles'' put on -- guards against unarmed slaves -- and those couldn''t possibly prepare anyone for the real thing. Aperio contented herself to watch quietly, attempting to pick up some much needed, if she trusted her feelings, combat knowledge while awaiting the winner of the current battle.


    It took a good while but the presumed humans had emerged victorious, if a little worse for wear. One of them, a man wearing a plain grey robe, was sitting against the wall pressing his hand against his stomach while a giant in blood-stained metal armour was frantically looking through a bag held by a slender woman wearing leather armour. The fourth member was inspecting the monster¡¯s corpse and, after prying something out of its chest and dirtying his dark blue robe, stood back up to join his compatriots.


    He froze when he spotted Aperio at the back of the room looking directly at him with a slightly tilted head. After a moment of hesitation, he shouted something in a language that she did not understand and the rest of his party, including the grey-robed man who gave a pained groan as he sat upright, turned their heads to look at her.


    The giant quickly bent down, grabbing a big, heavy-looking sword from the floor and rushing to stand between Aperio and the other three. Inching closer the armoured giant said something, but just like the previous yell of the fourth member, she did not understand.


    Tilting her head to the other side, and drawing upon the reflex borne out of the countless times she had to deal with drunken guests, she responded.


    ¡°I am sorry, but I do not understand what you are saying.¡±

 Sacrifice – Chapter 4: All the Wrong Choices

    The party ¨C presumably all Human ¨C just stared at her. It could be that her voice, still sounding odd and carrying a vague feeling of power, had caught their attention. Or it might be the utterly destroyed wall and door that she had created during her previous escape. Then again, it might simply be because she was naked, because she had wings, or because she was not the same race as they were.


    The numerous reasons for their silence congregated in her mind, but Aperio found that she did not care. Destroying the crystal ¨C clearly property of the Empire ¨C had certainly been the best thing for soothing nerves. Ever since that moment, she had felt oddly calm.


    She did not know the reason why the party before her had slain the giant two-headed dog, but nonetheless it made the group seem friendlier. Killing anything that served the Empire was a big plus in her book. Even if the ones doing it were Human.


    The blue-robed man was the first to regain his bearings, gesturing to his sitting colleague and asking something in their strange language. Some of the words they used vaguely reminded her of the Common she knew, but that might be mere coincidence. It certainly hadn''t helped with communication thus far. At least they weren¡¯t attacking. Yet. That was a lot better than her usual interactions with armed Humans. Either you got a beating for speaking out of line or they used that abominable collar to shut you up.


    Her attention was drawn back to the present by a small book the injured Human pulled from the insides of his robe. He hastily flicked through the pages looking for something. Maybe he is a mage? She had seen some mages keep a book with more complex runes and rituals with them, and the man slumped against the wall certainly fit the image of a mage.


    Not a high-ranking one, if the sparse nature of his attire was anything to go on. Either that or these people had vastly different standards, but that was doubtful. Even the guests from other nations that she had been forced to serve had followed the same style of dress.


    The better you were at what you did the higher your rank, and the higher your rank the more extravagant your clothing became. It was a custom Aperio never quite understood. Why would you need to use gold and fancy patterns around your enchantments? Then again, Aperio had only ever worn discarded rags or very simple dresses. The plainest of clothing, without even the faintest remnants of magic or gold trimming. Perhaps the difference would reveal itself if she were ever to wear such an outfit. Something she would have to try, now that she was free to choose.


    It only took a few moments before the man ripped a page out of his book and handed it to the other robe-wearing man, who held it tightly in his fist. A moment later a faint green light came from his closed hand, and when he opened it again he held a shiny silver necklace.


    Aperio took a few steps back, eyeing the man and his potentially evil accessory warily. She really didn''t like metal things that went on the neck. Said man laughed when he noticed her slow retreat but stopped after the leather-clad woman said something to him that he did not like, if his expression was anything to go by.


    Not understanding what they were saying was vexing, but there was not much she could do about it. She didn¡¯t know a spell that could translate, she didn¡¯t know if such a thing even existed in the first place.


    Why don¡¯t they speak Common though? Everyone in the Empire does. She paused for a moment, cocking her head to the other side again. I¡¯m not in the Empire then? There wasn''t much Aperio could do to test her theory, especially when only Humans were present. She could, however, attempt to speak in the only other language she knew ¨C even if it was unlikely they would understand. Should they fail, all they would know is that she spoke two languages they didn¡¯t know.


    Repeating her previous statement in her people¡¯s tongue yielded the same results; confused looks and some hushed whispers spoken in that infuriatingly incomprehensible language. At a loss for other options she tried one last thing. Another brief muttering of the [Reality Check] incantation, accompanied by the customary wave of the hand, resulted in four green glows and a look of surprise from the injured man.


    The others didn¡¯t seem to like what she had done as the armour-clad giant took a few heavy steps forward and somehow managed to glare at her even though its face was covered by a helmet. She wasn¡¯t sure if the thing was even alive; it could be a magical construct. The Empire had always tried to make them but had never managed to actually do it, at least as far as she knew.


    This could have been the first one they had made, and if so, it seemed that it had promptly decided to start a rebellion. That would be funny. With a mental chuckle, she discarded the thought. It was increasingly unlikely that she was still inside the borders of her most hated country.


    While she was contemplating things, the two men had fallen into a discussion of sorts. She couldn¡¯t tell what they were talking about but she was very sure it involved her as they pointed in her direction multiple times. The injured one didn¡¯t seem to like what the other was saying as his face shifted between pain and annoyance.


    While the two men seemed to have forgotten their previous semblance of caution, the same couldn¡¯t be said about the armoured giant and the leather-wearing woman. They both looked ready to spring into action at a moment''s notice, and the woman seemed especially wary. She was currently inspecting her daggers. One by one she removed them from their sheaths, checked their sharpness, and inspected the engraved runes before putting them back into place. It reminded the Elf of the idle nonchalance the royal guards displayed. The more relaxed and uncaring they looked the closer they were actually paying attention to something, which was usually her.


    Aperio observed with interest; she had seen such weapons before. Most of them had just been enchanted to be a bit sharper and more durable, but these ones looked to be more complex. While she couldn¡¯t be quite sure, she thought she saw the runes for wind and lightning on the blades. It was times like these that she was especially thankful the guard who put her on library duty tended to forget to forbid her from reading and learning.


    An angry shout focused everyone''s attention on the squabbling men. By the looks of it, the discussion had come to an end. A rather violent one. Why the man in blue decided to set fire to the hem of the grey ones robes was not something she understood, but better that guy than her. At least it solidified the thought that they were mages. Just like those fools and their teachers.


    The fire was put out in short order and the man in his now blackened robes glared at his assailant. The woman had her daggers out and looked ready to attack but was stopped by a rumble coming from the armour. She said something that did not give the impression of happiness and forgiveness; it sounded rather contemptful and mocking. Aperio didn''t need to understand the words being used in order to know that, despite being displeased, the one who carried daggers was not going to start a fight with her teammate. After all, the ex-slave had responded in a similar manner every time she had gotten an order.


    Though, technically it wasn¡¯t talking; she just thought about saying mean things about her captors. Maybe she is a slave? It wouldn¡¯t be too far-fetched for it to be true. Slavery was a widespread practice and people didn¡¯t shy away from enslaving their own.


    Another few words from the mage caused the woman to take out a scroll from her satchel and activate it. A moment later the air surrounding the woman grew hazy, reducing her to just a vague outline. Aperio tilted her head to the side as she followed the shadowy outline of a person move in a wide arc, trying to get behind her. While it wasn¡¯t clear what the group was trying to achieve, she had observed them always keeping their eyes on the beast and each other, so every time the shadow would leave her field of vision Aperio would take a few steps back and shift so she could still see the three remaining people and the sneaky member of their group.


    This dance continued for a while before the shadow¡¯s step faltered and she made her way back to the rest of the group. Once there the hazy aura surrounding her ceased to be and she said something to the slightly burned men, whose expression grew more fearful the longer the woman talked. Aperio took a quick glance behind herself but didn¡¯t find anything that would warrant fear in the room.


    The inability to talk to, or at least understand, these people was starting to vex her, but try as she might, there was nothing she could do about it. So, in lieu of other options, she chose to do what she had done the entire time since meeting the group of Humans. She waited for them to do something.


    Her patience, however, was not rewarded as the group continued to hide behind the armoured giant and talk about things in the language she did not understand. The calm she had gained after destroying the crystal and the mist it contained was starting to wane. This group of people was truly getting on her nerves now. They made no effort to try and talk or otherwise communicate with her. They just continued to yell foreign words when it was clear that she could not understand, set their own compatriots on fire or tried to sneak around to achieve Gods know what.


    Idiots. All of them.


    Deciding that waiting was getting her nowhere she started to walk towards the only other door she could see. After she had crossed half the room, the blue mage shouted something yet again. He was either too stupid or too arrogant to realise that Aperio was unable to understand what he was shouting and, seeing that she was going to ignore him, rushed to block her way.


    Finding her path freshly obstructed by the increasingly annoying mage who still held onto that shiny silver necklace, she stopped and glared at him. She didn¡¯t like being near that thing, especially now that it was giving off an eerie glow. Having accomplished his goal he started talking, again. Letting out a sigh she gave the man a look of exasperation. It had been honed to convey her absolute displeasure by the hours she had spent being a plaything for spoiled brats. The man ¨C unfazed by her annoyed expression ¨C slowly approached, taking great care to not appear threatening.


    Normal people would be calmed by the cautious approach; he obviously meant no harm. But Aperio was not a normal person and the shiny metal accessory he held in his hand was more than enough reason for her to be on guard. Once he was within arm''s reach, he stopped and looked her over. Though his gaze lingered on certain areas more than others, they included the entire visible length of her wings. He was clearly curious, but respectful.


    Done with his inspection he presented her with the necklace, obviously meaning for her to take it. She just shook her head, a gesture she hoped was still understood by these people, and took a step back. She did not want to touch anything that reminded her of her old life; she had gotten a second chance and she would be damned if she spent it as a slave as well.


    Displeased that she did not accept his dubious offering, he slowly stepped forwards. Then, he started to lunge at her with his arms outstretched, necklace in hand. He was trying to force this thing onto her! His attempt was cut short by delicate fingers closing around his wrist like a vice. This insolence had to be punished.


    The man¡¯s eyes trailed up the arm that held him in place until they met the Elf¡¯s cold gaze. He paled and tried to free himself but only let out a pained yelp as Aperio¡¯s free hand closed around his throat and he found himself hoisted up. Before the rest of his group had shaken off their surprise, the blue-robed mage was sent crashing head first into a wall as she threw him as hard as she could.


    He struck the wall, his screaming cut suddenly short. Amidst the sound of breaking rock a very distinct wet crack echoed around the room, followed by the soft thud of limbs and cloth descending to the floor. What remained on the wall stayed there for a few brief heartbeats before sliding down, giving the broken stones a fresh paint of blood, brain, and innards.


    Before she could contemplate the absurdity of her actions the other robed man of the group ¨C whose shock was finally giving way to action ¨C rushed to stand between her and the remains of the one that had dared to try to force his will on her, one hand still pressed on his injured stomach.


    ¡°Move aside,¡± she growled, not caring that he wouldn''t understand. ¡°I have no quarrel with you.¡±


    The mage barring her way did not respond. Instead he lifted his free hand and produced a ball of fire, which he promptly threw at Aperio. To her eyes the flames flying her way seemed to be moving awfully slow; slower than she remembered these kinds of spells to move. Taking a step to the side she watched as the ball of fire sailed past her, barely missing the leather-clad woman, and splashed against the floor.


    Not wasting any more time she kicked off the ground towards the offending mage, earning her a satisfying crack as the stone floor broke under the force of her step. A fraction of a moment later she was in front of the man and threw a punch. A sickening crunch resounded through the room as her fist tore its way straight through his chest. Gore in shades of pink and brown viscera painted the floor behind him, with chips of shattered bone like sprinkles in the muck.


    The room was silent, save for the wet splat of the corpse as it slid off of Aperio¡¯s lowered arm and dropped onto the floor. Her eyes wandered between her blood-stained arm and the corpse on the ground, not quite believing what she was seeing. How did I do that?! In the past she had trouble carrying a few bigger tomes at once; throwing someone across the room, or straight up punching through someone, was not something she should be able to do.


    The only people she knew of that could do these things were the royal knights, and they trained for their entire lives to accomplish these feats. She had merely died in some overly complex ritual. It might have been intended to ascend the Emperor to Godhood but something had clearly gone wrong and, while she felt better then she ever had ¨C even after getting blood and innards all over her arm ¨C she doubted she was a God or anything else related to the divines.


    Gods were supposed to be beings of absolute power; able to do as they pleased, able to force people low with their mere presence


    Given her experiences over the past few minutes, she was clearly none of that. Gods had also not answered any prayers for over a thousand years. Unless something had seriously changed in the world, the Gods were gone and this was fact.


    The plausibility of her own divinity had to be postponed as the telltale clanking of armour announced the approach of her next possible adversary. Turning to get a better view of the walking hunk of metal she caught sight of the sneaky woman. She stood next to the discarded book of her now dead ally, daggers in hand and a look of absolute hatred on her face.


    Ignoring the slow charge of the giant ¨C it would be a moment or two until it arrived ¨C  Aperio looked at her a bit longer. She could understand her feelings; she had just lost someone dear to her in a very one-sided slaughter. But there would be no apologies, no begging for forgiveness. Someone tried to take her freedom and that was something she would not allow. Never again.


    The hunk of metal recaptured her attention once it was close enough to fight and was preparing to swing its sword. For a brief moment she considered trying to stop the blade with her hands but decided against it. Even if she somehow felt that she could, it just wasn¡¯t worth the risk.


    Instead she unfurled her wings, taking flight briefly to gain some distance. Her opponent stopped to look at her before saying something to the angry woman who quickly produced a very ornate looking scroll from her satchel.


    It had a plethora of gold and silver markings and no obvious runes that would hint at its function; Aperio hadn¡¯t seen one like this before. Before she had time to think about her next course of action the room was bathed in a bright, golden light. As soon as the light touched her a tingling sensation spread throughout her body. She feared it would end in pain like unknown magic usually did, but the pleasant tingle stayed until the last bits of golden light had faded.


    Though the light surrounding her had faded, a certain element of the glow had not. Glancing down, Aperio saw that her skin itself seemed to be emitting the golden glow. She quickly dismissed that notion. Skin didn''t glow; the light she currently held on the surface of her body was likely a side effect of whatever spell they had used. She felt a faint wistfulness for the spells the Imperial doctors had used. Though they had admittedly been harsh to administer, they were effective, and at least one of them would let her know if anything had changed about her that she couldn''t perceive.


    Looking back at her potential enemies she saw that the woman had collapsed, having exhausted all her mana to activate the scroll. The armoured giant was already making its way back to its fallen comrade. Every few steps it would look back to see if the Elf was doing something, but she just waited. If the giant wanted to go away and not fight that was fine with her. Even if she could throw a man around like a doll or beat one to death, she still doubted that she could just punch through that armour.


    As the giant reached its fallen teammate, it removed a fist-sized crystal from a hidden pocket. Picking up the unconscious woman, it started to chant an incantation. As the seconds ticked by, the voice of the giant didn''t cease. Clearly, it was a more long-winded incantation, and the giant was gambling on Aperio not taking action until it was over. His hopes held true as the Elf was patient, and did not move to interrupt.


    As the chant wound to a close and the duo before her disappeared, Aperio stood rooted in place; not in shock, but in surprise. She had finally heard a word she was sure she knew.


    Vigil. The [Righteous One]. The [God of Light].

 Sacrifice – Chapter 5: Scattered Pieces

    Even though the two survivors had long since disappeared, Aperio still stood rooted in place. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what she should feel. Remorse for killing the two mages? Relief that they were gone? Happiness that she finally understood something? Or hate because they tried to force their will on her?


    Shaking her head in an effort to clear her mind, her eyes landed on the necklace. Lying discarded on the ground it looked so innocent; nobody would have guessed that it was the reason the two Humans had died. Inching closer to get a better view of it she noticed tiny runes etched into its shiny surface and, like the ward previously, they seemed to dislike her presence as they glowed a bit brighter the closer she got towards the discarded accessory. While most of the runes meant nothing to her, she did recognize two that had been present on her old collar.


    [Master] and [Disciple].


    Seeing her suspicions confirmed she took great care not to get too close to this new version of the collar. Who knows what that thing can do now. She shivered, and decided to simply ignore the potentially dangerous tool for now. Instead she directed her attention to the two mages. Or, rather, what was left of them. One was an unrecognizable mess of cloth and flesh while the other sported a new fist-sized hole.


    How she had achieved this was not something she knew. It obviously had something to do with the changes that happened in the Void, but Aperio never expected them to be this drastic. If she was completely honest with herself she still didn''t really expect them to be real in the first place, but this encounter was definitive proof she had changed. Throwing an adult Human hard enough into a wall to reduce him to mush was definitely not normal nor something she should be able to do.


    A look at her own blood-splattered arm showed nothing out of the ordinary, besides perhaps the healthy fullness of her flesh. She balled her hand into a fist a few times, just to make sure that it was indeed her own and not someone else''s, but even when she saw, and felt, how the muscled shifted beneath her skin it just didn¡¯t seem real. A lifetime¡¯s worth of wounds simply erased after being killed just didn¡¯t make much sense.


    But then again, not much of what had happened recently made sense. Turning her head and seeing the destroyed door and wall brought a small smile to her face. It doesn''t have to make sense for me to enjoy my new self.


    The destruction she had caused brought another question to the front of her thoughts. Why did the ward break? She just gave it a light kick, something she had done countless times before. She, nor anyone else she had ever heard of, had ever been able to break a ward with such ease. The few times she had been able to observe someone actually breaking one had always caused great strain on the one doing it or required them to use some very specialized tools.


    The potential slave collar, too, had reacted to her presence, and with reluctance she shifted her attention back towards it. Taking a step in its direction caused the runes engraved on it to glow fiercely, seemingly trying to burn themselves deeper into the metal that hosted them.


    Another step and the fine lines connecting the individual parts of the enchantment flared to life with the same intangible blue light that she had observed during her previous outburst. A final step brought her close enough to bend down and touch the necklace but, while a part of her wanted to see what would happen to the runes, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to actually do it.


    No matter how small or innocent it looked, to her it would always be a reminder of her past. Forced to spend her entire life shackled; forced to watch her body perform without her consent. No matter how much the Void had changed her, this was not something she could simply forget. Something else would be needed to conduct the test with; this contraption had to be removed from this world.


    A thought later something within her stirred. The feeling that accompanied was eerily similar to what she had felt during some of the experiments that she had been forced to participate in, but the pain and the unshakeable feeling of being torn apart that usually followed soon after were absent. Instead a pleasant warmth flowed through her body towards her hand. Once the last bit of warmth had reached its target, she uncurled her fingers and a small flickering blue flame came to life in her palm.


    While the flame looked like the one she had summoned in the Void, the process to do so felt vastly different. What she had felt had to have been the mana flowing through her, rushing to her bidding. That had not happened in that black nothing; there she willed it to exist and it simply did. Neither did she feel anything similar when she had rid the world of that slaving crystal and its misty ally.


    Maybe I was too angry to notice before? It is said that anger clouded the mind, but such a thing had never happened to her before. Come to think of it, had she ever really had the proper amount of anger in regards to her situation? Frustration, yes, and displeasure, but outright fury? Was the collar always meddling in my emotions?


    A surge of anger caused the fire in her palm to grow in size and flicker almost uncontrollably. The thought was deeply unpleasant, especially now that she stood right next to one of these things again. Taking a deep breath to calm herself caused the flame to simmer down. She would have to remind herself that she was free now. Nothing would dictate what she wanted to do.


    Resolved to remove this stain from the world she willed the flame to grow bigger and hotter, to become the flame that would cleanse the world of this filth. Soon the warm rush of the mana within her was drowned out by the heat coming off of the blue ball of fire in her hand.


    Once it was too hot for her to hold, she simply threw it on the shiny necklace.


    Die.


    Dropping a ball of fire right at your feet might be considered a stupid idea by most, especially if the last one you had made had exploded rather violently, but that thought didn¡¯t cross Aperio¡¯s mind; she simply ....knew that it wouldn¡¯t harm her. Just another thing that didn¡¯t make sense to add to her ever-growing list. Eventually, she was sure, she''d manage to solve all of these mysteries that kept piling up.


    Once the flame made contact with its target it flared briefly before winking out of existence, taking the necklace with it. What? Aperio tilted her head to the side. This was not what she expected to happen; the metal should have melted, or otherwise just become unusable. It should not simply cease to exist. The fire, too, seemed to be determined to not adhere to common sense as it did not leave a mark of any sort on the floor. Instead it had simply touched the thing and disappeared without a trace.


    She wasn¡¯t sure how she should feel about all of this. On the one hand, being able to defend herself was a very welcome change. She would even go as far as to say that it felt good, but on the other hand, not knowing what you were capable of doing was scary. More so when something deep within you simply knew, with absolute certainty, that no harm would come to you from your own actions. She had had a similar feeling when she thought about stopping the sword of the armoured giant with her hand, but back then a more rational part of her mind had prevailed.


    She would have to make sure to listen to that part of herself more often; doing things simply because they felt right seemed to be stepping towards eventual disaster.


    The armour-clad giant presented another conundrum. It had used the name of a God that no longer existed, or at least one that no longer cared about this world. Aperio herself had prayed to both Vigil and Inanis for salvation a great many times in her younger years. Neither of them had responded, but that was to be expected. Nobody ever got a sign from any God. So why would someone or something ¨C she still wasn¡¯t sure if it was a Human or not ¨C use a God in their chant? Maybe the giant was a particularly devout believer. Or maybe, unlikely as the thought was, the Gods had somehow returned while she was away.


    How long was I gone for anyway? The elapsed time since the Empire''s ritual felt quite brief, and yet it also carried the weight of what seemed like multiple lifetimes ¡­Why does nothing make sense?  Heaving a sigh and slumping her shoulders she returned her attention to the spot her two adversaries had last occupied.


    It would have been nice if she could have questioned the walking hunk of metal, but that would have required overcoming the hurdle of learning an entire language. Upon further reflection, Aperio didn''t think that either of them would have tried too hard at that. It made a certain amount of sense; she too would have had no desire to learn to talk to someone who had just killed her own friends. In addition to that, their friend did try to force that wretched thing around her neck, so she didn''t feel wholeheartedly inclined to talk with them either. Death would be the only thing for them should they cross paths again.


    The more she thought about the attack the more questions she had, a theme Aperio did not like whatsoever. Why was the armoured giant so slow? She had watched the Royal Guard fight in full plate armour and they were faster than she could see. Something else that had changed. Was it the world, or was it herself? She found herself settling on the answer that had at first seemed the least likely: Whatever had happened in the Void had irrevocably changed her. The alterations to her person were so far-reaching that she had trouble telling where the old her ended and the new one began.


    She took the yawning worry that began to grow within her and set it aside for the moment. There were other, more important things, to be concerned about. Most couldn''t be addressed at this time, but there was one thing that she could most certainly do. A few steps brought her to the corpse of the grey-robed mage; his robe was definitely in a better condition than the other. The jewelry and other trinkets that he had carried were of little interest to her, much like the fleshy mound that once was the blue mage, and the recollection that jewelry could have runes on it had her opting to ignore and avoid them outright.


    Stripping the body of its robe was harder than she had originally thought it would be but, after a short struggle, she managed to wrangle it free from its previous owner while adding only a few more tears. Sadly, the robe was the only usable piece of clothing; the man¡¯s shoes were simply too big for her and she definitely did not want to reuse his undergarments.


    As she tried to put the robe on another problem came to light, one she should have seen coming. Wings and clothes did not go well together. Sliding her arm back out of the fabric, she held it in front of her and examined the problem. Getting the robe to properly fit would require some creative use of force. A bit of tearing later, the previously very modest one-piece robe looked a lot more like a backless dress.


    Coaxing her newest assets through the hole she made was not easy nor comfortable, but the small moment of discomfort was an acceptable tradeoff for something to wear. Being naked was fine, but not something she wanted to be for the rest of her life. Sadly, her newly acquired clothes were little better than the ones she used to wear. All things considered, they were probably worse. They might have been nothing more than rags meant for slaves, but at least they were blood-free. The times she had gotten blood or other filth on them, she was always encouraged to get herself a clean rag to wear. Nobody wanted a dirty slave walking around. But, having acquired this modified robe by herself, she found herself liking it a lot more.


    Enjoying the soft, albeit wet, warmth of cloth on her skin, Aperio set her sights on the book the blue-robed mage had used and a few quick steps brought her to the now ownerless ledger. It looked fairly ordinary when compared to tomes she used to tend to. A lot lighter as well, though she was fairly certain that had little to do with the actual object.


    Leafing through the pages revealed a great many intricate drawings of various wards and rituals. She did recognise a few of the more commonly used ones, though most of what was written remained a mystery. The notes the deceased owner had scribbled in the margins were written in a script that did bear resemblance to the Common she was familiar with but was just different enough that she could not glean any meaning from it. She could take a guess as to what was written, but guesswork and other people¡¯s magic usually lead to disaster.


    Putting her rightfully plundered treasure in one of the still intact pockets of her robe, she made her way to the only other door in the room. This time there was nobody that could interrupt her.


    This door and its surrounding walls ¨C much like the last one Aperio was confronted with ¨C had a ward engraved on it. Quite unlike the previous one, this ward was meant to keep things outside; much like the ones on the Imperial mages quarters. As she approached, the runes began to glow. Clearly, the purpose of the ward had very little to do with the way it reacted to her presence.


    Stretching out her arm to touch the door caused the runes to shine brightly and seemingly etch themselves even deeper into the wood and stone. Once her fingers touched the wall she was surprised to feel nothing other than the rough surface against her skin. Applying a little bit of pressure caused the stone to groan as if it was under some great strain.


    So are wards weak against me? That could be troublesome.


    Entering any city would usually require you to pass by their protective wards. If they all reacted like this she would be hard pressed to get inside. Without drawing unwanted attention, at least.


    With that thought, she approached a stretch of wall that showed no signs of runes or other magic tempering. Pressing her hand against the stone wall and pushing a bit did result in a gnashing sound, albeit much quieter than what she had gotten from the ward-bearing wall. Having confirmed that wards did indeed, for reasons unknown, make things weaker to her she had one thing left to test.


    Drawing her arm back and balling her hand into a fist, she punched the wall as hard as she could. Some might say that this was a stupid idea, and they would be right, but in this moment Aperio chose to trust the newly found instinct that told her with absolute certainty that nothing bad would happen.


    As soon as her fist made contact with the wall a sound almost as loud as the explosion she had caused not long ago filled the room and, a moment later, her arm was buried elbow deep in the stone. A wide grin spread across her face. This was fun.


    I might not be a divine, but I am very sure I¡¯m not a normal Elf anymore.


    Not giving in to the urge to think about what she might have become, she simply extracted her arm from the wall and made a beeline for the door. She only slowed down briefly to give it a vigorous kick, causing the wood to burst into a multitude of tiny fragments that spread themselves in the dimly-lit hallway that it had concealed.


    Equipped with a new sense of confidence Aperio set out to leave. She had a life to live. Perhaps she''d meet some people she could actually talk to. Or, maybe, some that were in dire need of violence.

 Side Story – Guides 1: A Village on the Edge of Peril

    ¡°Ira! Wake up, old man!¡± The yell was accompanied by rapid knocking against the door. Despite all the noise the man just turned in his bed and continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of the world around him.


    The knocking ceased and someone mumbled something that Ira would never hear on his side of the door, even if he were awake. Shortly afterwards the voice yelled again; this time it carried with it a dangerous intent of violence.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t open this door I will!¡±


    As no response came from the room beyond, the person that had so valiantly tried to wake the man by normal means sighed before giving the door a vigorous kick. The door obligingly detached from its hinges and fell to the ground with a loud thump. In the doorway was a woman in armour who, after blowing a few errant strands of blonde hair out of her face, directed her vermillion eyes to the man that still slept peacefully on his bed.


    How he was able to sleep through all of this was beyond her, but it also mattered little at the moment; she needed him awake. Reaching out, she grabbed the blanket covering the man''s body and, with more force than necessary, pulled it off him. Ira, who was wearing his traditional magician''s robe, tossed and turned, trying to find where his beloved covering had disappeared to. His fruitless search took a while, but before long he opened his eyes only to spot a rather annoyed looking woman glaring at him.


    ¡°How can you sleep through all of this?!¡± she demanded. Ira just yawned. He knew it was pointless to argue with her once she got agitated, he was too old for that. Besides, he had been asleep! He had no idea what he had missed. Though, knowing that Laelia didn''t usually get this upset over small matters, and also knowing that she understood how much sleep meant to him, whatever it was had to be highly important.


    Ira braced himself for a prolonged lecture, but to his relief Laelia did not speak any more. Instead, she simply glared angrily at him. He heaved a sigh before responding. ¡°And what, pray tell, have I...¡± His voice trailed off as his skin started to itch and his stomach started to churn, hellbent on emptying itself right then and there. Someone had done something seriously big or really ¨C really ¨C wrong. ¡°Missed,¡± he finished weakly.


    It had been a long time since he last felt something like this, and back then it had ended with a lot of people dead. The only hope he had was that this something different. He could do without another war against a self-proclaimed ¡®Demon Lord¡¯. Dealing with those ¨C or the Heroes ¨C was, and would always be, a pain.


    ¡°Oh, so now you notice it!¡± She was about to continue but a raised hand from the nauseous mage stopped her.


    ¡°Do we know what caused this?¡± While his insides were in turmoil, he would not waste his time with tending to mere physicality. There were more important matters to consider; something on this scale was bound to impact the monsters that called the nearby forest home.


    ¡°Not really, no,¡± Laelia responded, shaking her head. ¡°All we know is that it came from the ruins.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Ira¡¯s directed his eyes to the floor as he thought, trying to recall what the [Grandmaster] had told him about these ruins. As his memory was failing him and he was not inclined to waste more time he only had one option left. A wave of his hand, and a small expenditure of mana, produced a small rift. He reached in, and a few heartbeats later he pulled out a leather-bound tome.


    A few years ¨C or decades if he was honest with himself ¨C ago, he wouldn¡¯t have had to use this book, but living for one and a half centuries did take its toll. Moreso when you were not of a naturally long-lived race. Magic could do a great many things. If you ignored the constant danger you needed to put yourself in to keep the title, becoming a [Guide] was beneficial to your health. But, in the end, long life or no, you were still mortal.


    Opening the book revealed a mess of papers that had been haphazardly pinned to the various pages. Laelia just shook her head upon seeing the chaos. ¡°How does this thing even help you remember anything?¡± The old mage chose to ignore the woman in favour of turning the pages of his book. About halfway through the chaotic pages, he paused to read a note that had been written in an excessively cursive script.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he repeated, his shoulders slumping.


    ¡°That bad?¡± the armoured woman inquired, shifting her weight to the other leg. In response, Ira just nodded; if his guess was right this could be disastrous.


    The ruins housed one of the oldest known [Catharat Crystals] and those tended to attract monsters, especially the older ones. Not just any monsters, as well ¨C no common murderous bunnies or bigger wolves ¨C but fresh, unknown beasts. Whether they were created in some manner or summoned from elsewhere, nobody quite knew, but the results were the same: the sudden appearance of undocumented evil monsters that were leagues stronger than the natural flocks.


    Multi-headed hellhounds, living trees that wanted to eat you or, especially bad, those stabbing horses someone had dubbed ''unicorns''. Of course, there were many more creatures that would be attracted to these crystals. The abrupt rise in the ambient mana could only mean that the gem had summoned something quite dangerous indeed. Either that, or the crystal had actually been destroyed. The latter option was unlikely, as nobody would be stupid enough to actually brave their way through the ruins to get to the thing.


    Ira¡¯s eyes opened wide as he recalled a very important bit of information. He turned to Laelia who was having a hard time standing still. ¡°Didn¡¯t Inerlius take that Vinmaier brat and his mentor into the ruins a week ago?¡±


    She stopped, seemingly frozen in place as the significance of the matter dawned on her. Ira understood her feelings all too well. Should anything happen to that snobby noble, there was no telling what sort of retaliation would happen once his family found out.


    But he had been accompanied by Inerlius and his friend, hadn''t he? Together they should be able to survive most things that called the ruins their home. Should they find themselves in a bind, Inerlius was capable of getting them out.


    Or, at least, that was the idea. The teleport did have a lengthy chant and, should Vigil deem the one trying to cast it unworthy, it could fail. Not that he would deny the ever-pious paladin; for that to occur something extraordinary would have to happen.


    ¡°You think they caused this?¡±


    The ageing mage stroked his beard in thought for a moment before replying. ¡°Not knowingly, I believe. Maybe they got too close to the crystal causing it to feel threatened.¡± He paused for a moment, grabbing the simple wooden staff that leaned against the side of his bed. ¡°But that is only a guess. Despite the effort the church and the other [Guides] have put into research, we still don¡¯t really understand how the crystals work.¡±


    Leaning on the staff, he pushed himself off of the bed. ¡°Though I believe you didn¡¯t wake me just to hear me talk about things you already know.¡±


    Laelia turned towards the door as she spoke. ¡°You are right. As much as I¡¯d like to hear about the thing that makes this place as dangerous as it is, I need you to check the wards.¡±


    Ira only gave a grunt in reply; he had spoken enough for today. Should other people hear him idly chattering away, they would leap on the chance to ask for stories or other nonsense. Better to appear as an unsociable and perpetually grumpy old man. The only people he talked to were his fellow [Guides] and the paladins from the church; those people knew that the time he had left was valuable. Though, conversely, these people were the ones he actually enjoyed talking to.


    As they made their way to the walls, they got the usual nods and waves from the people that called the small village their home. Most of them were completely oblivious to the change that had transpired, only a few of the more experienced individuals gave Laelia and him a questioning look.


    To some this might seem weird. Why would a bunch of people who couldn¡¯t fend for themselves choose to live right next to a forest with very deadly monsters? There were many reasons, chief among them the presence of the [Guides]. The individuals that laid claim to that title often brought their families with them, knowing that both of the major faiths would send people for their protection. It also helped that the [Guides] themselves were more than capable of dealing with the few monsters that actually left the forest, and this knowledge allowed the common townsfolk to feel more at ease.


    Ira waved their concerns away for now; better not to cause a panic. He was not quite sure if his gut feeling was right yet, he would have to wait a little while longer. Most of the time it was right, but he wanted to be certain before saying anything. You could not take back what was said, after all.


    That was something every [Guide] knew well: nothing is ever truly forgotten.


    Some people would use everything they could for their own gain, lies and misinformation being only a few of the more tame methods at their disposal.He himself would not fill the world with lies. He had sworn a binding oath to it. Like his fellow colleagues, he would do his duty to the world and record what had really happened.


    Their mission was to find and preserve the truth, whatever it might be, just as the [Grandmaster] had for centuries. The Book of Legends would not accept lies.


    The view of the slightly cracked stones that formed the wall of this small village signalled the end of their short journey. It was time to perform his promised duty. While the stones might have been showing their age, the wards that were meticulously engraved into them did not. Each and every one of them was in pristine condition, ready to fulfil their purpose at any time.


    Ira directed his focus inward, drawing a strand of his own mana from the well within his soul. The tiny string of magic flowed along his bones, dancing its way over his outstretched arm and into the staff he held firmly in his hand. Once the mana had reached its target, the small cracks that were omnipresent on the aged wood glowed briefly before fading again and a dimly glowing set of circles formed in front of him. The tingling sensation that followed used to bring so much joy, but now it was quickly overturned by the fatigue that so relentlessly chased after it.


    With a slight wave of his staff, the circles began to merge, forming an ever more complex formation that seemed to have a mind of its own. The old man¡¯s magic twisted and turned before coming to rest as a construct that didn¡¯t quite want to belong in this universe. Parts of it turned in on itself in ways that should not be possible and would give some of the more inexperienced folk a headache they would remember for the rest of their lives. Other sections only existed if you did not look at them directly, almost as if the magic itself felt ashamed for breaking the laws of this world.


    Ira stuck his free hand into the centre of the magic he had just brought forth, long accustomed to the mind-bending nature of it. With a twist of his wrist, the entire thing came undone. It dissolved into myriads of tiny strands that were gently blown towards the numerous engraved runes on the old wall. Upon contact, they melted into the stone, leaving the runes faintly glowing.


    Nodding to himself he drew on his mana again, this time directing it to his eyes. His view shifted as the mana altered his perception of the world. The colours he knew were replaced by ones he could never describe or comprehend, but he still knew exactly what they meant. A look at the wall revealed the ordered chaos that was the [Ward of Fortification], something he was intimately familiar with. He did invent it, after all.


    Seeing that the ward he had set up all those years ago was still as ready as the day he had made it, Ira looked into the forest. What he saw caused him to tighten his hold on his old wooden companion.


    Unable to hold the spell any longer he let the remaining mana out of his body. He grunted, shifting more of his weight onto staff as a fine trail of mist flowed from his eyes. The after effects of this specific magic were not something he enjoyed.


    Laelia shifted her gaze between Ira and the wall, concern in her eyes. ¡°You should really teach someone else to do this.¡±


    He just shook his head. ¡°Nobody wants to learn how to make wards anymore. Divine protection can do the same and is a lot easier to use.¡±


    ¡°If you say so,¡± she replied. Turning her attention to the wall, she gestured vaguely at the fading runes. ¡°Is everything fine with it?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Ira gave a dismissive wave. ¡°But it will not be enough.¡±


    ¡°Not enough?¡±


    Ira sucked in a breath as he stared into the forest again. What the [Grandmaster] had told him was true and, while he knew the woman was rarely wrong, he had still hoped that she would be mistaken with this prophecy.


    This would be his last truth to record, his last contribution to this world.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°Nothing will be.¡±

 Lore – Legends 1: The Gods and the Dark Age

    Vigil and Inanis, the Righteous and the Unprincipled. Light and Dark.


    They are often depicted as enemies, on a never-ending chase for the other, just waiting for an opportunity to strike them down. Locked in an eternal war for supremacy over the heavens. Using mortals as nothing more than pawns in a game between the Gods.


    Personally, I find this idea to be laughable. Yes they are opposites, but they have to be. Balance must be preserved. One cannot exist without the other; there are no shadows without light and no day without a night. They are a duality that the world needs to function.


    In the past our peoples have warred over these Gods, trying with ferocity and righteous belief to remove any trace of Gods other than their own. Only the ''true'' deity was destined to be above others.


    We now know that this belief is false and even heretical. But the wars lie in the past, a relic of different times.


    We have some records that date back to the Dark Age. Fragmented and brittle, their pages speak of a time where prayers went unanswered and the unjust ruled with an iron fist. To think such heinous acts would befall the world just because our Gods ¨C our creators ¨C were silent.


    I believe it is best to leave that thought alone, the Dark Age is over and our prayers no longer fall on deaf ears. But that begs the question: Why are they back? We ask again and again but the gods never grace us with an answer to this query. We will possibly never know. Even the ever knowledgeable Roots-Beneath-All remains silent on this topic, and while people might argue that it simply never bothers with mortal affairs, I beg to differ.


    It has always helped in times of need. It is true that it only ever answered the questions of people it liked but for those people, it answered everything they asked. Everything, except the reason why the Gods left.


    I have personally sought an audience with Vigil himself a great many times ¨C he always has time for one of his Priests ¨C but whenever I inquired about their disappearance he remained quiet. Sister Vehnerfell reported similar findings; just like Vigil, Inanis was unwilling to answer.


    There are some clues we can follow, however. We know that what- or whoever forced the Gods into silence was on Vetus during the Night of the Second Sun. Many assume that the continent was cleansed by the combined efforts of the Gods, an effort to return to their children. Others say it was the deed of Ferio, who summoned the second sun to purge heretics where its first could not.


    I believe that those assumptions are false. There shouldn¡¯t be a need to hide heroic deeds from your believers. That means that it''s possible that, instead of the gods, the common people found a way to banish whatever had come to the world. Either that, or it left of its own volition.


    But these are just the ramblings of an old man who cannot begin to understand the world as our Gods do. However, I still see it as a duty of sorts, an obligation for the devoted to find answers on their own if the Gods do not provide.


    I firmly believe that they know what transpired. Do they want us to learn, I wonder, or to forget lest we repeat our mistakes?


    ¨C Excerpt from the Book of Legends ¨C


    Written by


    Volynoph Endera, [High Priest of Vigil]

 Sacrifice – Chapter 6: Intrepid Adventures

    Stepping over the bits and pieces that once were a door, Aperio once again found herself wondering where exactly she was. Just like the room she had crashed into upon her return to this world, this corridor had all the hallmarks of Empire construction. It was barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and what little light the intermittently placed torches provided only served to underline the dreadfulness of the place. It even featured the fake window slits the Empire had in their cells. There was no sky to see behind them, only more stone.


    At least this was a mystery she could solve by simply leaving. If she was indeed in the Empire ¨C something she had seriously doubted after her encounter with the Human party ¨C it would be obvious as soon as she left the dungeon. Now she would just have to find a way out or, should that fail, try her hand at a very literal breakout.


    With a goal in mind, Aperio walked past numerous empty cells, briefly stopping whenever something caught her eye. More often than not it turned out to be a dead beast of some kind, though most of those looked like one-headed miniature versions of the dog-beast that had been killed by the Humans. Much like their bigger brother, these were probably killed by them as well. Not that she would complain; it did make the entire journey easier for her.


    When it wasn¡¯t a beast, it was something that would have been described as ¡®priceless treasure¡¯ by most people. A collection of sparkling accessories that would definitely not be out of place at even the fanciest of parties lay out in full view. There were also weapons to be found, mostly in the form of swords that looked far too ornate to be of any actual use, and she had once even spotted a full suit of armour that, while impressive-looking, could only serve as decoration. Nobody could fight in armour with shoulder pads bigger than their head.


    All of these things were made out of a greenish-golden metal that she had definitely seen before, but couldn¡¯t recall the name of. They were also completely useless for her. She had no use for jewellery that would probably try to bend your mind, and she also didn¡¯t know how to fight with a sword. Putting on the armour? The thought of having her wings squished by the metal sent a shiver down her spine. There was no way she would ever wear something like that.


    After walking past a few more discarded items and maimed beast corpses, she stopped. The blue mage took something out of the bigger beast, didn¡¯t he? With that thought, she picked up one of the dead bodies for inspection. It was mostly intact, the only visible damage coming from a deep cut at its neck. She turned the body to look at the chest, the place she saw the blue-robed man pull something out, but couldn¡¯t find anything that would warrant such an action.


    As there was no hole in the chest of the beast, she concluded that the party had either ignored these little ones or that they did not have what they wanted. That was an easy thing for her to check. Without a second thought, she buried her hand in the dead beast¡¯s chest. If she could do that to a human, and a wall, this small dog shouldn''t be an issue, right?


    On the inside, her fingers quickly found something that should not belong inside a living being. Something with sharp edges and smooth surfaces, sitting where the heart should normally be. After closing her hand around the foreign object she pulled her arm out and let the body drop. She had found what she was looking for.


    What she grasped in her blood-covered hand seemed to be a stone of some sort. It was dirty red in hue, and it had a certain warmth to it that seemed familiar. After a moment''s reflection, she decided that it rather resembled the evil, mist-containing crystal, but without the same strength or forcefulness. She puzzled over the shiny stone as she turned it over to examine it from other angles.


    They wanted something to warm their hands? That can''t be it. There must be something more to these things. Maybe I should go back and get the one from the bigger beast?


    Shaking her head, she quickly discarded that thought. She had no desire to search through a pile of Human flesh for something she would not understand, or already had should it be similar to the one she just picked up. Instead, she pocketed the small stone and continued her walk down the bleak corridor in search of a way out.


    The further she got from the cell in which she had reappeared into the world, the more she felt like she was walking right back into the hands of her captors. Everything she saw looked like something the Empire would have built; the only thing missing was their weird insignia. She never quite understood why they plastered that thing on everything they owned, except the slaves. If she ever got the opportunity to ask she would do so, and then maybe brand the Imperial idiot that crossed her path with that stupid symbol.


    Or maybe she wouldn¡¯t; she had no real idea how strong she was now. Sure, beating that small group had made her feel pretty confident, but they might have been some weak idiots with more coin than sense. She would have to wait until she had met ¨C and fought ¨C more people, or monsters. The latter was more likely if the corpses that littered the ground were any indication.


    If she was fortunate enough ¨C or, rather, unfortunate enough ¨C she might encounter some of these single-headed dog-beasts in their living state. Then she would know if they were push-overs like the two mages had been. But, should they turn out to be more formidable than her previous adversaries, she might be in a bit of trouble. It was entirely possible that they could seriously harm, maybe even kill her. Not something she had on her to-do list just yet, she did just return from being dead after all.


    No need to head back into the void so soon.


    It only took a couple more minutes of walking through the twists and turns of this desolate place before Aperio spotted a stairwell, one that looked entirely too well maintained for this place. None of the stairs had even the slightest cracks.


    Why do even stairs not make sense anymore? She stopped and looked around, seeing everywhere else in a distinctly sad state of disrepair. ...Is this really not a dream?


    A loud clap echoed through the desolate hallway as she slapped herself and an all-too-familiar warmth spread across her cheek. The pain that followed was more intense than it had any right to be, but also served its intended purpose. This and the results of her previous [Reality Check] were the most conclusive evidence she would get: she was not in some weird dream land. Someone had simply decided that these stairs should be built strong enough to survive even the end times. Or dragons, but those two probably went hand in hand.


    Or maybe, even, it was built to survive her arrival?


    When she had measured up the solidity of her limbs against the solidity of a wall, she had emerged victorious. Twice. But who would have known she would be here? And how would they even know she was still alive in the first place? It was frustrating her to no end, but there was nothing she could do about it now. It was just another thing that had to be solved later. After giving the first step an extra light tap, just to be extra sure it was really there, Aperio began her ascent.


    On the next floor, she was greeted by a very familiar scene. A dark and deserted hallway, at the end of which another door barred her way. Said door was promptly removed from its hinges as a fairly annoyed Elf gave a good kick; if this continued she would earn a title for destroying them all.


    The room that was now accessible looked a lot more like a throne room and less like something you would expect to come before a dungeon, complete with expensive-looking marble flooring and weird sculptures of something she couldn¡¯t identify that held up the ceiling.  It had once even featured an actual throne. Or at least a very fancy chair; she couldn¡¯t really tell as it had been smashed to pieces.


    Normally Kings and Emperors didn¡¯t want to see the people they threw into their cells, with perhaps the exception of watching their ¡®favourite¡¯ slaves suffer. But, even then, having potentially hundreds of them walking through your throne room every day? Aperio just shook her head. Not many things had made sense since her return so why should the layout of this place be the exception?


    On the other side of the chamber she spotted yet another closed door, which just brought another question to mind. Why are all the doors intact? They weren¡¯t in pristine condition, but at least there were still in one piece. Something the rest of these ruins could not claim. She seriously doubted that the Humans that came through here before her would take care not to break them. They obviously wanted to get to that big dog ¨C or the crystal.


    Keeping in trend with the other doors, this one also featured a ward. In fact, it was the exact same as the one she had previously destroyed. To her, it was clear that someone had made this entire structure to keep that crystal contained: if she had to guess it was probably because the thing tried to enslave everyone that touched it. At least, she assumed it would try that with other people as well.


    Her pace slowed as something dawned on her. Maybe those Humans tried to destroy the crystal? She shook her head. They probably tried to harvest it. To make more of those wretched things. Her features twisted into a frown as a more unpleasant possibility made itself known. Could they have been under the thrall of the thing? She had destroyed the crystal and the mist inside of it, but sadly that rarely broke the magic. Once cast, most spells of this kind could sustain themselves forever; even if the one that had invoked them was killed. But they would also always leave a mark of some kind ¨C she probably should have taken her time to inspect the body of the mage after she repurposed his robe. At least that way she would have known for certain.


    That would mean that the crystal had been alive. But that was something she could accept, easier than some other things that had happened since she had left the Void. When did I become so pensive? She quickened her pace as she pushed the thoughts from her mind. It was less successful than she had hoped; the nagging feeling that the Humans didn¡¯t choose to attack her just wouldn¡¯t go away.


    ¡°Talking would¡¯ve been nice,¡± she mumbled to herself as she walked over the cracked marble floor towards the next piece of wood that required an audience with her foot. The meeting ended quickly as the door failed to make proper introductions and simply transformed itself into a myriad of tiny splinters.


    Truly magical.


    The one thing that differentiated this floor from the last, besides its much grander appearance, was the absence of corpses. Or monsters. No matter where she looked she couldn¡¯t find anything, living or dead. What she did find were signs of battle. Some blackened stone, and some marks on the walls that could have resulted from either angry claws or a very sharp sword


    Aperio didn¡¯t know how long she wandered around before finding the next stairwell leading upwards. Without the sun to help her tell how much time had passed, she could only guess. She wished she had one of those fancy watches the nobles seemed so fond of. That way she could have some sort of indicator as to how much time had passed. She''d never learned how to read them, of course, but still, counting circuits of big and small hands would be far better than nothing at all.


    Luck, however, was not on her side. She had looked through many of the more opulent-looking rooms in hopes of finding a watch, or even something else that might have been useful, but could only different kinds of jewellery. There was no reason to touch any of those. Especially the necklaces, all of which seemed to be made of the same silvery metal as the one the blue mage had offered.


    There was always the option of going back down, but something told her that she wouldn¡¯t find what she was looking for there either. It would probably be for the best if she simply continued her journey upwards; maybe she would get lucky and find something that could help with the timekeeping.


    Another remarkably pristine flight of stairs, a brief walk down a dark hallway and a fourth broken door later she was staring at a markedly different setting: there were no corpses and random trinkets strewn over the floor. Everything looked neat and tidy ¨C if you ignored the obvious cracked and sometimes outright missing pieces of the walls.


    A few tentative steps into the new floor brought no new insights. Only after she had wandered further into its depths did she find something. Rooms full of things, dead things. They reminded her of worms, but they were simply too large and looked a lot fluffier.


    Curious.


    Wanting to get a better view of this new beastie, Aperio grabbed one of the more intact looking ones and hoisted it up. Her previous assumption seemed a decent enough guess: it did look like some kind of big, weirdly fluffy worm. But there was another thing she wanted to see. A wet crunch, some digging and a bit more blood later, she extracted another one of those stones from the maybe-worm¡¯s now-mutilated carcass.


    Unlike the previous stone she had procured, this one came in a mottled blue and felt cool to the touch. Intrigued by their difference, she fetched the warm-stone from her pocket and held it next to her newest acquisition. Having them side by side revealed another small detail that could be meaningless, but still caught the Elf¡¯s eye. The red one was ever so slightly bigger, and if she recalled correctly, the one the now deceased mage had taken from the large two-headed monster was bigger still.


    She pocketed both of the stones while pondering the implications of this discovery. Bigger stone means stronger monster? It would make sense if she simply went with how the monsters looked; a giant dog monster should be stronger than an oversized fluffy worm. But you never knew, it was entirely possible that these maybe-worms could use magic while the dog could not. She was decently certain that it could not, otherwise, it would¡¯ve done so in its fight against the Humans.


    But, like so many things lately, this would require further investigation that she simply couldn¡¯t do right now. It would, most likely, also require asking a person that actually knew about these things. To do that, she would have to find such a person (and hope they spoke the same language), and to do that she would have to manage to leave this place.


    The more floors she went through, the more bizarre the entire thing seemed. Every single one of them featured a different theme with different monsters. Even if said monsters were all dead. Why someone would build a place like this was beyond her, but at least she got more evidence that a stronger monster would result in a bigger one of those stones. Every time she would arrive on a new floor, she would look for one of the deceased inhabitants and remove the weird stone from its chest.


    Some of them looked and felt like the ones she already had, just a bit smaller, while others were completely new. She even found one that gave her a very similar feeling to the Void: it simply felt right to hold it.


    There were a few other things that gave Aperio pause however. She had no idea how long she had been ascending through these ruins now, but it had to have been days and yet she didn¡¯t feel the need to sleep, eat or drink. Was that a magic of this place or was it her new self? Whatever it was, she was quite thankful for it. Eating partially rotten corpses was not something she wanted to do again.


    She had stopped counting floors a while ago, as there were simply too many, but as she reached the top of yet another staircase something wonderful caught her eye. Bouncing off of the polished marble of the next staircase was a light that could only come from the sun. The thought of finally leaving this place gave her great feelings of joy ¨C almost as great as the joy she had felt after being told she was to be sacrificed.


    She was finally free.


    GamingWolf

 Sacrifice – Chapter 7: Winging It

    Aperio''s first steps into the sunlight were accompanied by a wooden groan. The tiny bits of greenery that peeked through minuscule cracks and gaps in the wooden flooring tickled her bare feet, a welcome change from the hard stone and marble that had been so prevalent in that forsaken place.


    A look around revealed that she had emerged in a big hall; some kind of ball room if she had to guess. While all the floors she had traversed were broken to some degree, none were as ravaged as this place. The light that had brought such joy to her poured in through a part of the roof that had caved in; the walls that supported it had been undermined by the roots of a tree that stood proudly just outside the building.


    The rest of the floor had long since been reclaimed by nature and now sported full stretches of grass that served as a home for a handful of tiny, colourful flowers that basked in the sun¡¯s warm light. Even the door ¨C the thing she had half expected to still stand ¨C had been forced open by thick vines that now framed the crumbling doorway, making it look almost like a painting. A painting of an abandoned town.


    A small noise caught her attention and, while at first she couldn¡¯t quite make out what it was, it soon revealed itself to be a flock of chirping birds that flew over the broken building she stood in. While the birds¡¯ happy melody belied the corpse-filled place that lurked beneath her feet, it did help to brighten her mood.


    Her times in the Imperial Gardens had been few and far between, but they were always nice. Even if her old masters did whatever they saw fit, it had never failed to calm the dejected Elf. The smell of flowers in full bloom, the dirt pressing against her feet and the happy song of a few birds. It was all so familiar that, for a moment, she considered if it was part of the collar¡¯s magic, but as her hand brushed against nothing but her own skin she dismissed that thought.


    She was free now.


    That was something she would never give up, even if that meant she had to reduce more accessorising mages to piles of flesh and bone. The thought of another fight stirred something within her, some part that craved it. To show everyone that she was weak no more; to take whatever she saw fit, kill all that stood in her way. Make the world quiver in fear.


    Aperio closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself. Was this how she would¡¯ve been all the time if not for the years she had spent with the collar? Or was it because the malevolent thing had kept her in check all those years?


    Unclenching her fists, she opened her eyes again. The scenery remained mostly the same, save for the circle of withered plants that stretched a few steps in every direction from where she was standing. Tilting her head to the side she bent down and plucked one of the dead flowers from the earth. That was me? She hadn¡¯t felt the warmth that accompanied the use of magic.


    The wilted flower crumbled between her fingers, having lost every last bit of life that had once sustained it. Finding someone who knew what had happened to her was going to be important, but that would also mean visiting a place with other people, all of whom might be hostile to her. It was not an issue she had to confront right now however. First she would have to find out where she actually was.


    It didn''t seem to be inside the Empire''s borders. If she was anywhere near the capital where she had spent the majority of her life, the Humans would have understood her. Given that the architecture was so familiar, though, there was another possibility that seemed increasingly likely. More likely than Aperio wanted to admit. It could very well be that she was still inside the Empire, but her stay in the Void was vastly longer than she had first assumed.


    Elves lived longer than many species ¨C a few centuries, if what she had once read was correct ¨C but, like all others, they too would succumb to the ravages of time. Aperio herself had never seen a truly old Elf, but she had always assumed that they would carry the skin creases of age as older Humans did. If this was indeed a building that had once belonged to the Empire, its state indicated that she had been in the Void for a long time. Long enough to develop wrinkles of her own, but what she had seen of herself only showed that she looked even healthier than she had been before being sacrificed.


    Leaving the small circle of death she had caused, Aperio made her way out of the crumbling building. Once she had stepped past the vine-covered doorway, she had to shield her eyes from the bright light. Compared to the dim torch-light of indoors, the sun was full of blinding majesty. Luckily it only took a few breaths for her eyes to adjust and she could properly see the space she had walked into.


    The center was dominated by a huge ¨C but empty ¨C fountain. The sight suddenly brought to her attention the dried blood that still clung pervasively to her arm, and she felt saddened by the lack of water. Being clean would be simply wonderful, as would the ability to see her own face, healthy and scarless, for the first time.


    Sadly, the statues that should have been dispensing the life-giving liquid had been reduced to chunks of broken stone and the runes that would normally be found on any proper fountain were also absent. Surrounding the open plaza were a few cobblestone roads that lead into what she could only assume was a town. Surmising from the multitude of chairs and tables she could spot through destroyed windows, Aperio concluded that the particular building she gazed upon had once been a tavern. She could see other tavern-like entities scattered around the plaza, which made a certain amount of sense. The rest were designs she had not seen before, but were close enough to ones she did remember to guess that most of them had either served as private quarters or had once housed one of the numerous guilds.


    Walking closer to the cluster of presumed ex-guild buildings Aperio¡¯s shoulders slumped a little. She had hoped to find something that would at least provide a bit of information. Maybe a library or Scribe¡¯s guild if she was really lucky, but all she could see through the windows, or a hole in the wall, was trashed furniture and a variety of plantlife. No books, notes or anything that could provide a clue.


    A look down one of the roads only revealed more of the same, nature reclaiming the broken houses where it could. Maybe I should have tried for another of those rifts, she thought. This place is certainly not where I wanted to be. Annoyed, she gave a small rock a light kick, sending it spiraling through the air.


    Her eyes followed the stone¡¯s path until it hit one of the more intact windows and vanished inside the building. A part of her hoped that something would happen if she did that, no matter how stupid that idea might be. Sadly, the universe was not so kind and all she could hear was the shattering of glass followed by the shards hitting the floor.


    Since the answers did not want to present themselves she had would have to look for them herself. As she could, at best, guess what used to be inside any of the structures, she simply choose the one closest to her.


    The door groaned loudly as it swung open half-way before falling to the ground, the rusted nails and old, rotten wood simply giving up in their attempts to be functional and unbroken. Waving away the dust that had been kicked up, Aperio stepped into the crumbling house. She paused as the wooden floor creaked deeply beneath her feet, fearing that it would break and send her back down to that forsaken place. Her worries were unfounded as, despite their rather vocal protest, the planks held firm.


    One careful step at a time, she made her way through the desolate room. The broken chairs and tables were the only signs that anyone had ever been here, though that had been a long time ago if the amount of dust that had settled on everything was any indication. The rest of the house was much the same: a thick layer of dust, broken furniture; nothing that would actually be of use.


    By the time she had searched the rest of the buildings that surrounded the fountain, the sun had already begun to set and all she had to show for it was a light coating of dust and a frown that had engraved itself on her face. She could scour the rest of the ruined town, but she seriously doubted that she would find anything useful. Most of it was in an even sadder state than the already pretty beat up buildings she had previously searched.


    There was nothing for it but to look elsewhere, and as she came to that conclusion she found herself beginning to smile. Finally, an opportunity to try the very thing she had wanted to do since returning from the Void.


    With a slight rustle she extended her wings to their full length, easily dwarfing the width of the fountain. While having them folded behind her was not uncomfortable, being able to stretch them out simply felt better. Aperio hesitated for a moment. She knew she could fly ¨C she knew how to do it ¨C but a tiny bit of herself doubted that knowledge. With a shake of her head, she banished the small sliver of uncertainty and kicked off of the ground, leaving behind a web of cracks on the ground.


    Nothing she had done previously could compare. With every push of her wings she felt the air being forced away, propelling her to even greater heights. A pleasantly warm updraft caught her, created below by the darker color of the surface of the plaza. She spiraled upwards, reveling in the effortless lift. It was like being wrapped in the essence of a summer''s evening, and it was glorious.


    A sudden gust of wind shifted her off of her updraft, but before she could even begin to mind the disturbance she found herself relaxing into a friendly air current, high above the abandoned town.


    Enjoying the caressing feeling of the wind, Aperio flew higher and higher until she disappeared into a cloud. In stark contrast to the dark blankness of the Void, she was surrounded by a fluffy whiteness, one that proclaimed its presence on her skin by tiny droplets of almost frozen water.


    Emerging from the other side she shook her head to clear the damp strands of hair from her face and, after moving away from the fuzzy looking cloud, took a moment to admire the world beneath her. Below the spotty blanket of clouds was a giant forest, bathed in the gentle light of the setting sun. In the middle of it stood the ruins she had just left and, from her new vantage point, she could see just how big it actually was.


    Should she have chosen to look through all of it, she would have been there for weeks, if not months. What she could not see, however, was a palace or other grand structure that could have helped her figure out where she was. The remains looked like they were built by the Empire, but that did not really mean much. She had never visited other countries; for all she knew this could have been built by any one kingdom or empire.


    As she was unable to divine any more clues from the ruins, she directed her attention to the surrounding forest. The treetops formed a thick blanket that defied all her attempts to see what was underneath, the only visible part being a well-traveled dirt road that lead away from the city remnants. Unwilling to return to the earth to see what was hidden below the trees, she opted to follow the road. It has to lead somewhere, right?


    She had only flown for a little while before the path below connected with a broader, paved road. In one direction it looked like a river of stone that flowed through an endless green towards the setting sun, the other soon left the forest and lead towards a small village. What really piqued her interest though was not simply that there was a village that looked to be more than just a ruin. No, it was the veil of haziness that surrounded it.


    Every time she looked just slightly past the small encampment, it would drift from her sight and look like just another patch of trees. Intrigued by this weird phenomenon, she circled overhead, coming closer with every round. The haziness became less pronounced as she approached, and she found it easier to make out the details of the houses. She could even spot the tiny forms of people hurrying about.


    Aperio paused her approach, simply maintaining her position in the air as she inspected the inhabitants. While most of them were Human she did spot a Beastkin mixed in between, one of which bore a striking resemblance to what was once her closest friend. She had the same mottled brown fur, the same crooked ear that flopped up and down as she walked slowly in between the rows and rows of houses.


    But it wasn¡¯t her; couldn¡¯t be her.


    Her friend had died long before Aperio herself. But I came back, maybe she could too? No matter how unlikely it was, she would not know unless she went and talked to the person in question. The only problem was how to get inside a village that had such obvious magical defences without triggering ¨C or breaking ¨C them. Nodding to herself, Aperio moved to land a little ways away from the village, just to be safe. The wards in the underground ruins might have only reacted when she was close, but she would not make a fool of herself and assume that was the case for them all.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 8: Friend or Foe?

    Gliding over the treetops in search for a suitable spot to land, Aperio mulled over her course of action. She needed to figure out how to get inside the village without drawing attention, something she did not think she could do. She could hide her wings, even if it was rather painful, but that would probably not help with the wards. Nor would it hide her rather tattered clothes, or the fact that she was an Elf. That alone would probably draw a good bit of attention to her as she had not seen a single one of her kin during her admittedly short observation.


    There was also the ever-present issue of communication. Maybe write something? Perhaps that plan was worth a try, but it had the potential of being just as unsuccessful as talking had been. It was so infuriating to be unable to talk, reduced to just standing there and staring at people who could, potentially, answer her questions. Writing is worth a try. But with what? Drawing in the dirt? The attempt, however, would require that they refrain from attacking her like the previous group had.


    Her thoughts were interrupted when something hit one of her wings, throwing her off balance. Before she had time to stabilize herself, she had already dipped into the crown of a tree, and her other wing caught on a particularly sturdy branch. The two-pronged attack was too difficult to recover from in mid-air, and she crashed ungracefully into the green sea below.


    Her vision was filled with greens and browns as she ploughed through the woods, leaving behind a path of devastation. The assorted bits of tree colliding with her certainly hurt, but she could not hear ¨C or feel ¨C any bones breaking. Not that it should have happened ¨C if a stone wall could not break her, how could a bit of wood? There was no time to question why the branches hurt while the stone did not, as she hit the ground hard and her forward momentum finally ceased.


    Aperio groaned as she sat back up. What was that?! Looking around, she couldn¡¯t find what had knocked her out of the air, only seeing the path of devastation her involuntary landing had caused. A quick check caused her to freeze; a few of her feathers had were missing.


    Though she had experienced a bit of pain on her trip through the thick of the trees, none of it had been on her wings. In fact, there still wasn¡¯t any pain, instead she felt a tingling run up her spine that spread into her newest appendages. Before her eyes, the broken parts mended themselves, and what was beyond repair got pushed away by a new feather that grew underneath. Not quite believing her eyes, she brushed her hand over the newly formed feathers. They felt just as smooth as they did when she had first gained her wings in the Void.


    What happens if I lose an arm? Will I get that back as well? Filing away the idea to test that theory until ''never'', she looked over the rest of her body. Luckily she could not find any more damage; either it had already healed like her wings or there was none to begin with.


    Her clothes had, admittedly, been in a poor state before, but now they were nothing more than tattered rags that barely fulfilled their purpose. None of that would, however, tell her what had actually hit her. Something had knocked her out of the air, made her feel pain ¨C even if it was only a little. That was something she would not stand for; not when she could do something about it.


    Unable to spot the thing that had brought her down she strained her ears, trying to focus on even the smallest sounds. She could hear the rustling of the leaves, the faint buzzing of insects and the chirping of birds. There was even something that sounded a lot like screaming or shrieking ¨C she wasn''t quite sure which label fit the noise better.


    As soon as she found someone that could teach her, she would have to invest the time to learn [Sense Presence] or something similar. That is, if she could learn it. Though magic was most certainly something she could do now, it didn¡¯t mean that she was able to practice all its different forms. Even if she was unable to, the effort of trying would likely be helpful in the long run; she simply didn''t know what to focus on when using nothing but her bare senses.


    She was about to give up when she felt something coming closer. It wasn¡¯t something she saw or heard; it was a subtle feeling, almost instinctual feeling. Turning around, she saw a eight-legged creature that shifted between being nothing more than a foggy shadow and a pulsing, fleshy thing.


    It was as if nature had tried to cross a bear with a spider, but had given up halfway in disgust at its own creation. Little hairs protruded from the seven-jointed limbs that held the big, furred body. Some parts were bare, revealing a mess of flesh that pulsed rhythmically and instead of a head it just seemed to have a cluster of eyes with no mouth ¨C or nose ¨C that she could see. As if all of that wasn¡¯t bad enough, the thing was bigger than any creature she had previously seen, except maybe the two-headed dog on the bottom floor of the ruins. That one had been truly massive.


    Her inspection came to an end as the bear-spider-thing let out a piercing wail and charged at her. How it was able to produce sound was something she would have to figure out later; for now she had to fight. Flying away might have been an option, but if something had taken her down before it could probably do so again.


    Not wanting to face the monster head on, Aperio took a chance and flapped her wings, remaining low to the ground but out of reach. Her opponent was clearly less than pleased at her retreat, as it shrieked shrilly before shooting tendrils of foggy darkness at her direction. This, like her previous encounter with [Fireball], seemed to swim slowly through the air. Darkness spells had been outlawed in the Empire though; even the more unscrupulous mages didn¡¯t dare to use it. For all she knew this might be the normal speed of the bear-spider''s attack.


    It was a trivial matter to dodge an attack that approached at a snail''s pace, and a casual flap of her wings brought her out of harm''s way. The tendrils bent and stretched, reaching for her new position, but soon she was simply too far away for the beast''s shadowy appendages to follow her. The fleshy spider, clearly dismayed that its prey had escaped its grasp, let out another high-pitched screech before it rushed in a flurry of footwork after the flying Elf.


    It bounded from tree to tree, using the flexible wooden trunks as a sort of springboard to propel it forwards more swiftly than using muscle alone, but Aperio always managed to stay out of reach. She considered using her own magic against the creature but quickly discarded the idea. She had no real idea how to wield such powers, her knowledge limited to barely-understood texts and the rare use of a simple skill-based spell like [Reality Check]. Since coming out from the Void she had only been successful in a single attempt of magic use. Though her latest unconscious use of magic had literally sicked the life out of her surroundings, she had no idea how to consciously use such an ability. Not to mention that she hardly knew her own strength anymore. How far would her determination spread the circle of death? All the way to the village? She didn''t want to accidentally turn potential allies to enemies. Or corpses.


    The next time the monster leaped in her direction, she reached out to grab one of its legs. With a spin in place, and a release, she helped it fly on its own. To Aperio''s surprise, the tendrils it had previously used to attack her pulled closer to the thing''s main body, forming big bat-like wings, and for a moment she experienced the terror of watching a flying bear-spider. That thought, however, turned to amusement, as despite the frantic way it flapped it wings it didn''t so much fly as plummet.


    The creature followed the arc in which she had thrown it, its shrieking growing ever more distant as it fell out of the sky. A higher squeak of distress and a cloud of dust indicated when it landed again, and out of curiosity Aperio swooped over and set down next to the fallen beast. Her own landing wasn''t anything close to graceful, as she simply stopped beating her wings when she was close to the ground and let gravity take over the rest. Unmindful of the dirt her own landing had thrown into the air, she examined her foe.


    The beast lay in complete disarray, and if it hadn¡¯t attacked her she might have felt bad for it. Half of its legs had been crushed under its considerable bulk, and the other half flopped wearily in whatever direction they had happened to land. Even its high-pitched screeching had been reduced to nothing more than quiet snarls, ones that seemed to be as close to a whimper as the creature could manage to make.


    She still had no idea if this thing was considered strong or not, but if her ¡®fight¡¯ with it was any indication... Probably something you send new adventurers to kill, she thought while nodding to herself. Maybe learn that not all evil-looking monsters are strong? Though if they were to have a thorough education they would also have to point out the monsters that live inside gilded halls.


    But even if it was something weak, she still did not know how to actually kill it. It would probably die if she left it as is, but she wanted to be sure it was dead. Anything that attacked her would die. Preferably by her own hand.


    Even lying on its side battered and broken, it was still larger than most living things. While its size might be intimidating at first glance, with every step she took the beast shuddered and tried to scuttle away. It seemed to be more scared of her than she was of it. Unfortunately, its remaining legs weren''t strong enough to allow escape.


    Aperio took little note of the monster¡¯s antics, she had found something far more interesting. Something called to her from within what she would guess to be the beast''s chest. Whatever it was felt similar to both the crystal she had destroyed and the little stone-things she had collected. It fell somewhere in between the two, not quite feeling as familiar as the crystal but definitely more so than the stones.


    Once she stood directly in front of the thing¡¯s presumed chest, she ran her hand over the spot behind which she felt the strange presence. Without a shred of hesitation she plunged her hand inside the beast ¨C a bit more blood wouldn¡¯t really change anything ¨C feeling around for the thing that had piqued her interest.


    Soon her hand closed around something round and smooth. Extracting it from the beast¡¯s chest revealed a small orb, one that looked strikingly similar to the little lights she had seen in the Void. The same spotless surface and the same unruly mist were contained within. Just when she wanted to get a better look at it, the little marble cracked open. Not wanting to be touched by mist that flowed from it, she dropped it on the dirt and took a few hurried steps back.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the mist took the form of a small bear cub that briefly looked at Aperio as if to confirm something before inclining its head. Is it ...bowing? She had no idea why a bear spirit had emerged, nor how she was able to see it in the first place, neither did she know why it was bowing to her. Both parties remained in their respective positions until the mist that formed the bear started to drift towards the sky, fading from view.


    What was that? A ghost?


    The corpse shifted, and Apero''s eyes snapped towards the motion. As black mist ¨C the same substance that had previously formed tendrils of attack, and useless wings ¨C seeped from every wound on the bear-spider, the corpse moved again. It dragged itself towards her, and Aperio couldn''t help but take an involuntary step backwards from the unnatural thing.


    The harder it struggled to move forwards, the more fog would flow from its body. After a few paces the mist ceased flowing, as did the corpse''s movement. The body deflated, finally lifeless, until it looked like an empty waterskin. A hairy, disgusting waterskin.


    Not quite convinced that the thing had died, Aperio gave it tap with her foot. The corpse skittered across the earth until it collided with a tree, sending tiny splinters of wood flying every which way. Clearly, she still didn''t have a firm grasp of the extent of her own strength. A tap was still not light enough, and she vowed to keep this in mind when interacting with new, potentially friendly, people.


    As she had survived her, arguably rather one-sided, fight and the corpse did not so much as twitch any more, she returned to her original intent. Finding a way into the village without being discovered.


    Though that might already be a moot point; her crash was not exactly subtle and neither was the monster screeching. Or the ensuing fight, even if it was fairly short. She also did not know where she ended up as she had not exactly paid attention to where she had thrown the monster. The haze that had she had spotted from up high was nowhere to be found, maybe she went to far away from the village to see it. Or, perhaps, it was hiding behind the impossibly thick greenery right in front of her.


    She was about to take flight again when something flew past her and embedded itself in the corpse and the earth behind it. Aperio spun around, wings flared, and glared in the direction the projectile came from. What she saw was a suit of armour not unlike the hunk of metal she had seen before, though this one was a head shorter and a little thinner.


    Behind the armoured figure stood an old man that leaned heavily on a wooden staff. Before Aperio had a chance to speak the man opened his mouth.


    ¡°Calm, we mean you no harm.¡±


    GamingWolf


    Look! it''s people!


    From this point onward there will be more talking and actual interactions. Hopefully. Writing dialogue is definitely not my strong suit.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 9: Encounter

    It took a moment for the words to register in Aperio¡¯s mind. The old man had spoken the Common she knew! Slightly accented, sure, but it was still understandable. The words he had spoken, however, seemed a little disingenuous to the Elf. His armoured friend had just thrown a spear in her direction and, even if it wasn¡¯t meant to hit her, that was not something she considered to be very peaceful.


    Seeing no change from the Elf the old man took a step forward. ¡°We truly mean you no harm. If my friend would have not done what she did¡± ¨C he gestured towards the corpse ¨C ¡°the beast would¡¯ve come back given enough time.¡±


    She? Aperio looked over the armoured figure. It didn¡¯t look like a woman, or even a Human for that matter. That was probably the goal of whoever had designed the armour. The only difference between the one currently in front of her and the one she had faced in the ruins was their size, which wasn¡¯t much. The woman ¨C a knight, then? ¨C was quite a bit taller and definitely much broader than the Elf.


    The old man on the other hand looked like any old Human she had seen before. His face was filled with wrinkles, his back had a slight hunch to it and his hair was transitioning from grey to white. Only his staff marked him as something more than an ordinary old geezer. Though most would think of it as a simple walking aid, she knew better. That was a magician''s staff. A simple one, yes, but one nonetheless.


    A knight and a mage. Friends of the other group maybe? It was certainly possible, especially since both of the presumed knights wore similar looking armour.


    Not trusting the pair, she took a step back to avoid any potential other weaponry the armour-clad figure might decide to throw at the corpse before taking a glance at the monster in question. It still looked the same, but it was now shrouded in an ethereal, golden glow. More importantly, it looked ¨C and felt ¨C a lot like the scroll the previous Human and metal-man duo had used.


    Even the tingling sensation that spread over her body was the same. And a look at her exposed skin confirmed that just like before, her skin glowed with a faint, golden light. What kind of magic is this? She looked back at the pair of ¨C thus far ¨C friendly Humans. The old man seemed content to wait and see, unlike his armored companion who was constantly shifting her weight, hand firmly closed around the grip of her sword.


    Aperio fixed her gaze on the fidgeting woman. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    Her question was not graced with an answer. Instead, she saw how the last bit of colour drained from the old man¡¯s face and the knight took a step back to steady herself. Huh? Surprised at the pair¡¯s reaction Aperio turned to look behind her, but just like in the ruins there was nothing that would warrant such a reaction.


    Then...it''s me? But I only talked!


    She was about to ask a second question but the man held up his hand, signaling her to wait. While a part of her did not want to follow someone else¡¯s order, it was obvious that being cooperative would more likely lead to some answers.


    The old mage took a few deep breaths before he spoke again. ¡°I apologise, but your words carry a weight I haven''t borne in quite some time.¡± Words? Weight? Not giving her time to interrupt he continued, ¡°I also have to apologise for my friend, it is her first time meeting one of your kind.¡±


    My kind? The Empire had enslaved a great many of her kin, most of them sold by their only family, much like Aperio herself. Even if the Empire was gone or she was simply outside its borders, there should have been at least a few Elves walking around. Maybe she never left this village?


    ¡°An Elf?¡± she asked.


    The aged mage hesitated for a brief moment, his eyes fixed on her wings. ¡°Ah, yes. An Elf.¡± His voice trailed off, and he shifted more of his weight onto his staff. Aperio tilted her head at his answer. What else am I supposed to be? I might have gained wings, but that doesn''t change what I am. Or...maybe it does?


    She certainly felt different, but she chalked most of that up to simply being more than flesh and bones now. While punching holes in people and walls might be more than she had expected, it wasn¡¯t the first time she had seen people perform such feats. The Royal Knights were able to do similar things and there had been hundreds of them. She had just skipped through the training thanks to the little lights. Or, maybe, she was always like this and the collar had simply suppressed it somehow.


    Probably not.


    All of this, however, did not answer her initial question. So, looking back at the armoured figure, she asked again. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    The knight turned her helmeted head towards the aging mage and quietly said something in the same language the other Human party had used. The two exchanged a few hushed words that Aperio wouldn¡¯t have understood even if they had yelled at each other. She was about to cut their unintelligible gibberish short when the knight turned to face her.


    ¡°Purification, holy magic. Only way to kill demon.¡± Her voice sounded tinny and a bit strained. It was also clear that her grasp of the common tongue was not quite there, but still good enough to get her point across.


    ¡°She truly meant you no harm,¡± the old man quickly added.


    A few things the pair had said piqued Aperio¡¯s interest. The first caused her gaze to wander over her arm which still glowed ever so faintly. Harm? It most certainly did not feel like an attack; if anything it was similar to what she had experienced when her wings had repaired themselves. Or the few times she had been given a potion after an especially hard day of ¡®work¡¯ to please one of her ¡®most esteemed¡¯ masters.


    The second was the mention of holy magic. She had heard about light magic ¨C the Imperial mages failed time and time again in their efforts to figure out how to use it. From what she knew of the elusive branch of magic, it was supposed to be able to heal wounds and banish evil, just like what the presumed knight had done to the demon.


    If you took into consideration that if something was truly ''holy'' it would obviously not work when no Gods were around to facilitate the casting, all in all it would make a certain amount of sense that light magic and holy magic were one and the same.


    The last one was the word ¡®demon¡¯, one that often came up together with light magicas it was used to banish the demons to The Other Side. What this ¡®Other Side¡¯ was she knew not, but it couldn¡¯t be good if all the demons were sent there. Sadly the books she had been able to read did not provide many descriptions. The only things she knew for certain was that demons were despised by the Gods, and that they were hostile to living things. It made sense that the Gods hated them, they did create life after all. If she had done such a thing herself, she''d be very upset if, say, a weird spider-bear came around wanting to kill all the things she had just made.


    This was also the second time the Gods had come up, even if it was only indirectly this time. For something that should no longer be around they sure had a lot of influence, decidedly more than she remembered at least. And they use supposedly impossible magic now.


    The knight in front of her was likely a follower of Vigil, if she went by the look of the armour at least. It did look a lot like the other one had worn, and that one was definitely a follower of that specific God.


    Although this time, she wouldn¡¯t have to guess; a person with answers was standing right in front of her, just waiting to answer her. No sane person would ever openly admit to following a God; that had always been a fast way to lose your head. Based on what she had seen since she had returned, however, it wasn''t very likely that this was still the case.


    ¡°A follower of Vigil?¡± Aperio asked, earning her a curt nod from the knight. Even though these people talked, she wasn¡¯t sure what to think of them. Were they here to kill the supposed demon? Or did she know that she was coming, and wanted to be present when she arrived?


    Sure, she could ask them directly, but that might paint her as confused or helpless, and she really didn''t want to do that. It felt wrong to be viewed as such. Much like most of her recent feelings she didn¡¯t know the why or how, only that this one was an almost overwhelming need. She also found herself enjoying the way the old man needed to steady himself every time she spoke. Maybe it was her general dislike of mages, or, perhaps, this had always been part of her and she had merely been restrained all of her life.


    With a shake of her head she returned her attention to the waiting pair. She would get her answers. First things first. ¡°Your names?¡±


    The man looked surprisingly happy as he placed a hand over his chest and bowed ever so slightly. ¡°I am Ira, a chronicler of the [Guides] and this¡± ¨C he gestured towards the armoured form next to him ¨C ¡°is Laelia, a paladin in service of Vigil.¡± After straightening himself he continued, ¡°May we know your name?¡±


    Aperio hesitated for a moment. I don¡¯t have a fancy title. Should I make one up? As the thought crossed her mind, a little tingle at the back of her mind tugged at her consciousness. But as soon as it came, it went again. Just her name would have to be enough for them.


    ¡°Aperio.¡±


    The pair looked at her for a moment, almost as if they expected more. She tilted her head and stared back. That was her name. Maybe I should¡¯ve made up a title? Or maybe I have one now?


    A title would certainly explain some things. They could change a lot. One of the more lenient mages ¨C Veternosa, if she recalled correctly ¨C had had a title that allowed her to create skills. It had helped her climb the ranks in the Empire faster than most, but it had also led to her dying faster than most. Probably. Aperio did not know for sure that she had died, but when someone disappeared shortly after they claimed to be working on something big ...it usually meant that they got disposed of. Wasn¡¯t the first time and most certainly was not the last.


    Her musings were interrupted by a light cough from the old man, Ira. ¡°Would you, perhaps, be willing to accompany us into the village? Talking out here can be dangerous.¡±


    Dangerous? Certainly the bear-spider demon hurt her, but not that much; all the damage had healed in a matter of minutes after all. Definitely not enough for her to classify it as truly dangerous.


    Disgusting? Yes. Dangerous? No.


    Not knowing where she fell in the current balance of the world was truly starting to vex her. What she knew for certain, at the moment, was that she was definitely stronger than two mages of undetermined strength, and a demon ¨C if it really was one ¨C of some kind. And doors, apparently.


    Following the two could, potentially, lead to much more harm than staying in the woods, but it was also the best ¨C the only way she currently had into the village. These two humans also hadn¡¯t tried anything too weird, besides throwing a spear past her, thus far. No magics and no mind-bending equipment. None that was directed at her, anyway.


    Thinking of the village brought to mind the person that she had seen, one that might be a friend of hers. Possibly returned from the dead, just as she had. Should I ask them to bring her here, or follow them? She shelved the notion for the moment. The chances of them bringing out a random villager because a stranger in tattered robes asked them to do so were slim at best.


    She gave a small nod to the aging mage who smiled broadly before he turned around and started to slowly walk away, leaning heavily on his staff every other step. The knight, Laelia, on the other hand did not move. She just stood there and looked at the Elf, waiting for her to move. The small standoff was resolved when Ira said something in their own language that caused the knight to stiffen for moment before she turned to follow the mage. Aperio herself waited a moment longer before she too followed them.


    Ira was a happy man. The Grandmaster was wrong! Kind of. Though it also meant his initial guess was also wrong. While what he had been told would happen had not happened, something else had. Something the Grandmaster had told him not to get his hopes up for. It dealt with an old prophecy that had not been fulfilled for centuries, but should this one come true it would be just as unstoppable ¨C if not even more so ¨C as the thing they feared would come to pass.


    He would always take the return of someone powerful over the very literal end of the world.


    So here he was, leading a person that very much fit the description the prophecy had provided. At least the physical one, as her personality was not quite as it was described. But, as with all forms of divination, these things were never quite as accurate as one wanted. While a general outlook was often possible, the details were never quite right. The Grandmaster was better than most at this, but even she couldn¡¯t tell give an exact prediction, especially when said prediction was still far into the future.


    A look at his guard put a little dampener on his mood. It was very unlikely that she would see her fellow paladin again. She had come to the same conclusion he had fairly quickly. The ¡®Elf¡¯ ¨C he did not quite believe that she was actually one ¨C probably had a less than fortunate encounter with the party led by Inerlius. It would explain the torn clothes and the blood on her, though how much of that was hers was another question.


    Probably none, he thought to himself. That hunch was also why he had stopped Laelia from fighting her, and the fact that the [Grandmaster] had very specifically stated that should any [Guide] find a person that fit the description of the prophecy they should not attack them. It had led to some unfavourable situations in the past, but her word was law for the [Guides].


    ¡°Why should I care what your [Grandmaster] has to say?¡± The voice of the irritated paladin broke the silence. Ira was fairly certain that Aperio, if that was indeed her real name, could not understand them. So far she had only spoken a truly ancient version of the Common most people knew; why Elves liked that specific version was beyond him. If she could speak something else she probably wasn¡¯t going to tell them. It was surprising that she had even followed them in the first place.


    Ira sighed. He understood how Laelia felt but now was not the time for emotions. ¡°Because your [High Priest] decreed that you have to obey the rules of the [Guides]. One of the rules is to obey the words of the [Grandmaster]. And more importantly, I value you as a friend and would hate to see you throw your life away.¡±


    ¡°I could fight her!¡±


    Ira looked at the armoured form next to him before shaking his head. ¡°Yes, you could fight her, but you wouldn¡¯t win.¡± If you went merely by looks, the taller and broader paladin should win, but stature had little to do with actual strength.


    ¡°Why not?¡± she scoffed. ¡°Because some dead guy wrote it on a piece of paper?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Partly, yes. But mainly because she is here and Inerlius is not. Think about it. If she really fought the entire party and lived, don¡¯t you think she would have little trouble disposing of you?¡±


    ¡°She could¡¯ve surprised them! Or murdered them after they had dealt with a monster!¡± The paladin was practically yelling at this point, an action that seemed to displease their thus far quiet guest. Or maybe it was the contents of their discussion? Ira couldn¡¯t be quite sure. All he knew was that an inexplicable feeling of dread was making itself known in his mind and the air felt a bit colder. A glance over his shoulder confirmed his suspicion. Her eyes were narrowed and the ground beneath her feet had actually frosted over a little.


    Something like this usually happened when a mage wanted to make a point or, more rarely, when they didn¡¯t bother to control their own mana and their feelings were free to express themselves. This was also the reason why nearly everyone who could become a mage was taught from a very young age; an uncontrolled outburst could wipe out a small village should the offending mage be strong enough. Luckily most mages that could do something like that had decades of training, and the few that did not had masters that knew what to do.


    The change in atmosphere did not go unnoticed by Laelia as she tightened the grip on her sword. Before she could do much more than that, the voice of their guest sounded from behind.


    ¡°Why is she yelling?¡±


    Ira grit his teeth as the wave of mana that accompanied the words washed over him. He already disliked talking to the [Grandmaster] because she did something similar, but this was worse. Quite unlike the leader of the [Guides], he was sure the Elf could choose not to imbue her voice with mana. Why she was still doing it was a mystery and not something he really wanted to ask. Not offending someone that can disrupt your magic with their voice was always a good idea.


    Once he was free from the lingering pressure of her words, he turned to answer her. ¡°She is quite concerned with the absence of one of her fellow paladins.¡± He cleared his throat before continuing. ¡°You wouldn''t happen to have seen someone wearing a similar armour on your way here would you?¡±


    Aperio tilted her head at his question, either honestly trying to remember something or, more likely, weighing her options. She looked over Laelia once before she gave a shallow nod. ¡°I have.¡±


    Before Ira had a chance to respond, his armoured friend had spun around, but not yet drawing her sword.


    ¡°What did you do to them?¡± In her rage she forgot to use the correct language, but it was not needed for Aperio to understand that the person in front of her was less than pleased with what she had said.


    Contrary to Ira¡¯s belief, the Elf did not strike at her potential enemy. She took a couple of steps back and looked ready to defend herself, yes, but she looked confused more than anything.


    ¡°Answer me!¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t understand, Laelia.¡± Ira¡¯s voice was measured, calm. It was not the first time that she had been thrown into a rage. He would blame it on a Beastkin ancestry, but that was impossible. ¡°You have to calm down. I know this expedition means a lot to you but you won¡¯t get answers this way.¡±


    He breathed a small sigh of relief as Laelia relaxed a little and their guest seemed content to let him deal with the issue.


    ¡°If I ask her what she did to them and she refuses to answer, would you accept that?¡± A mumbled ¡°Yes¡± was all he got in reply. It seemed like the paladin was regretting her outburst.


    Ira cleared his throat once again before he asked his question. ¡°Did you fight the person who wore the same armour as she¡± ¨C he gestured towards the paladin ¨C ¡°does?¡±


    The Elf shook her head. ¡°He fled.¡±


    The words caused caused Laelia to loosen her grip on her sword, not enough to make her let go, but enough to stop her from starting a fight she wouldn¡¯t win.


    Ira wanted to ask about the rest of the group but he would postpone that until later. He already dreaded that talk, somehow knowing that the Vinmaier brat was dead. That boy never knew what was good for him.


    ¡°Please, if we could continue. It is not much longer.¡±


    Just like the first time they had started their small journey, it took a little while before he could hear the footsteps of the Elf behind them. Though this time they were just a little further away.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 10: Destination and Discovery

    True to the old mage¡¯s word, Aperio soon saw the walls she had previously spotted from above. Small as it was, the wall now had guards of some kind on it. Some wore the armour she now knew belonged to an order of Vigil; most of these were clustered around the gate that led into the village proper.


    The remaining people on the wall wore mismatched pieces that weren¡¯t part of any obvious uniform. Drafted villagers? She had heard that it was normal for the local guard, whatever form that might take, to draft able villagers in times of need. More often than not the ¡®villagers¡¯ turned out to be slaves though. Why risk your own life if you can have a slave do it?


    What was of more interest to her than the guards were the numerous tiny runes that were etched into the stone. The greater part of them meant nothing to her, but a few did resemble ones she knew. Most of those were some kind of reinforcement for the wall, something any town had. No matter how small. The Empire made sure everyone knew just how well protected their assets were.


    While she had no idea what the rest of the runes were for ¨C or what wards they formed ¨C she was not very worried that they would harm her. If her journey through that forsaken ruin was any indication, wards would do precious little to her. It, however, also presented a problem. Those wards would probably break if she got too close to them.


    She stopped once she came as close as she dared to the village walls, the wards already reacting to her presence. Ira, the old man, noticed her hesitation and turned to look for what was causing her to stop. His eyes paused on the slightly glowing runes that now seemed to etch themselves even deeper into the stones before him.


    The man''s gaze shifted thoughtfully between the Elf and the wall a few times before a quiet mumble left his lips. He cleared his throat before he addressed her directly. ¡°Does this always happen?¡±


    Should I lie? It was a reasonable idea, after all she did not know who he really was and his friend made it perfectly clear that she disliked her. On the one hand, telling them the truth could be the wrong move, but on the other hand what did she have to lose? She did not know how to not break runes by simply being near them; it was never an issue before.


    She gave a brief nod. ¡°Yes, it does.¡±


    Apparently her voice was enough to upset the runes as they flared up with each word she spoke. Aperio tilted her head and squinted at the markings. Could they just ...not do that? How am I supposed to go anywhere if all the wards just scream at my presence? Maybe I should have stayed in the void.


    ¡°Would I be right that you do not frequent cities or other settlements often?¡±


    She gave another nod to answer Ira¡¯s question. Currently she did not frequent anything; she had just returned to the world after all. Not that she would tell them that. She seemed to have a certain level of presence ¨C of status ¨C with these people. Admitting a lack of knowledge felt weak... revolting.


    They didn''t need to know of her confusion.


    The old mage hesitated before continuing, seemingly unsure how to word his next question. ¡°Would you be so kind as to restrain yourself? Just a little as to not break the wards.¡±


    Aperio looked at the man, head still ever so slightly tilted to the side. Restrain? I am not doing anything! ...should I be doing something?


    Ira¡¯s face paled a bit when he got no response. Why he did Aperio knew not nor did she question it; she was too busy trying to figure out how to restrain something that she wasn¡¯t even aware of. That she was different from before was obvious, the problem was that she didn¡¯t feel any different; she felt normal, as if it had always been this way.


    She was taken from her thoughts by a yell coming from the walls. Aperio turned her head to look at the source of the voice and, while she couldn¡¯t understand what it said, she could tell that the man it belonged to was not happy. He was looking down on them with a scowl on his face, his eyes fixed on the Elf.


    An annoyed huff from Ira caused her to look back. The mage was mumbling something; something she could understand. Not that it was particularly useful. At least she now knew that the man on the wall was an idiot according to the older mage. Why he had chosen to insult the man in an apparently not so common language was a mystery to her.


    Ira suddenly did a motion with his hand, causing a black rift to appear. What is that? Aperio took a step back and glared at the rift. A way to the Void? ...no. Doesn''t feel right.


    Her question was soon answered as the mage inserted his hand into the rift and pulled out what looked like a card. It glinted in the torch light, appearing to be made of the same silvery metal as the necklace a certain now-dead mage had tried to put on her. A single rune was engraved on it, made out of a myriad of lines and dots, completely unlike any rune she had seen before. Yet it felt familiar. Another weird thing was that this rune did not react to her presence, or at least not in a way she could see. Before her rational mind could stop her, she had plucked the card from the mage¡¯s hand.


    Aperio turned the card every which way, ignoring the unintelligible yells from the man on the wall. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn¡¯t figure why this rune looked so familiar nor why it behaved differently from the others. Turning to the old man she asked him, ¡°What is this?¡±


    "This" ¨C he pointed at the card ¨C "is proof that I am a [Guide]. Only those who have been approved by the [Grandmaster] have one. May I have it back?¡±


    The Elf obliged and handed back the shiny card. Once he held it in his hand he closed his eyes and a moment later the rune engraved on the card gave off a yellow glow. The action seemed to placate the man on the wall as he stopped his yelling and instead turned to someone out of view.


    A moment later the gate slowly opened and revealed more armoured guards on the inside. Ira motioned Aperio to follow him, having either forgotten or accepted that the Elf would do nothing to save the wards on the walls.


    Once she had stepped through the threshold of the gate a few of the runes shone brightly for a brief moment before breaking the stone they had been engraved into. A few more steps brought her through the gate and into the village proper.


    While the wall that protected the small village was like any other she had seen, the same could not be said about the inside. There were no grand palaces, no magician''s towers, no buildings on a grander scale than ''humble''. In fact, most of the houses that lined the small, winding streets were made from nothing but wood. Though if her ¡®landing¡¯ was anything to go by, the wood from this forest was a lot more durable than stone. Or maybe I am weak to wood?


    Laelia still had her hand on the hilt of her sword and seemed unwilling to let the Elf out of sight for even a moment. Understandable. I did just break a few wards. It wasn''t like she knew of anything she could do about it, though. Even if she did push past her discomfort in showing weakness to explain her situation, she doubted it would matter to the paladin. She seemed ready to fight at any time, the only thing stopping her being what the mage had said in the forest. Whatever that was.


    Another thing that felt abnormal was the lack of people. The Elf couldn¡¯t see, or hear, anyone else. Aside from the two people in front of her and the ¨C admittedly numerous ¨C guards on the wall, there weren¡¯t any people around. Even a town this small should have someone going about their business; a few children playing in the streets. Was everything she had seen an illusion? A setup to lure her inside?


    As if the old mage could read her thoughts, he answered her unspoken question. ¡°The villagers have gathered in the town hall. We had feared a larger attack and having them in one place makes it easier to protect them. Or evacuate, should we need it.¡±


    ¡°Attack?¡± She tilted her head. ¡°From what?¡±


    After a pause that seemed to have become obligatory for the old man he responded. ¡°Demons, like the one you fought.¡±


    The guards, and even what she presumed to be drafted villagers, looked competent enough. If you coupled that with the rather excessive amounts of wards on the walls she had a hard time believing that one of those ¡®demons¡¯ would be able to get through. It would probably survive a few dozens. ...unless they break wards like I do? Was that why the other paladin tried to use that scroll?


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the wards stop them?¡± She did not want to ask directly if the demons broke wards like she did ¨C not being lumped together with those things seemed like a good idea.


    ¡°For a time yes, but only few people can truly defeat a demon and we only have so many paladins here.¡± The man stopped and turned to face Aperio. ¡°Not everyone here can hold their own in a fight. Especially against a monster or demon. That might not be the case where you are from, but it is here.¡±


    He seemed to want to ask something but hesitated for some reason. Aperio gave him an expectant look. So far the old mage had been helpful and while she did not trust him farther than she could throw him ¨C an expression she would probably have to rethink now ¨C she was inclined to indulge the man, if not only for her own gain.


    ¡°Would you be willing to use an [Appraisers Stone]?¡±


    The last time she remembered using one of these was when a foreign dignitary was interested in purchasing her from the Empire. She had never seen the result, but shortly after she had used it she was suddenly selected for a larger amount of experiments, and only a few years later she was sacrificed.


    Wanting answers for herself she gave Ira a nod before adding, ¡°But only you will be present for it.¡± The old mage was the only person she had a tiny bit of trust in.


    Laelia wanted to say something but Ira waved her off. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Please follow me.¡±


    He took a turn into a smaller alleyway and Aperio followed. It didn¡¯t take long before the paladin was speaking to the old man in a rather agitated voice, ignoring all his attempts to stop her. The one-sided conversation only ended once they had reached a large stone building that had a wooden plaque depicting crossed spears in front of a shield above its door. The symbol reminded her of the one the mercenary guild had used, or at least the one they had boldly emblazoned upon their pamphlets. Certainly not something that inspired confidence. That specific guild was full of people the various knightly orders or city guards did not want.


    The paladin¡¯s eyes followed the Elf¡¯s gaze and landed on the plaque. ¡°Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡± Her voice carried the same tone of disgust that the guards at the Imperial Palace had when speaking about mercenaries.


    A light cough from the old man drew her attention away from the plaque. ¡°Yes, this building used to belong to the Adventurer''s Guild. Now it''s mostly the local branch for [Guides].¡± Ira pushed the door open and stepped inside before continuing. ¡°It is also the only place where we can perform an appraisal.¡±


    The inside was rather spacious, and featured a row of counters. Though there was no activity at the moment, Aperio could readily imagine the way a Mercenary would select a help request from the far wall and bring it to a staff member behind the counter. Glancing at the board she found that most of them were for the subjugation of various monsters and ¨C maybe more importantly ¨C were written in multiple languages; one of which she could read.


    Maybe more people can understand me? The thought was exciting; she would love to interact with more than an old man and an aggressive paladin. Sadly, finding a request written in a language she could read did not mean that many people actually spoke that language.


    The bar that the guild had so prominently displayed on their pamphlet had been replaced by a series of tables that were stacked high with books and scrolls. One of the chairs was occupied by a young looking man that was absorbed in the book on the table in front of him.


    The young man¡¯s attention was only diverted from his book when Aperio stepped into the building and caused the wooden floor to give off a loud groan. Evidently he had not been expecting guests as the irritation is his voice was quite clear when he asked the old man something.


    The two exchanged a few more words before the young man scurried off and Ira offered her a seat. Aperio eyed the seat and choose to simply stay where she was. She had no desire to squish her wings. Draping them over the backrest might have been an option but she was in no rush to figure out how to properly sit. The groaning of the floor boards both here and in the ruins gave her the impression that the rather flimsy-looking chair would probably not support her.


    Soon the other man returned, carrying a slab of black stone which he deposited on one of the tables with a grunt. A few more words were exchanged before Ira sent both Laelia and the young man out, the paladin giving a few more protesting sounding words but eventually departing, leaving the old mage alone with Aperio.


    ¡°You know how to use this?¡±


    The question earned him an enthusiastic nod from the Elf. Finally something she actually knew how to do! And knew how she knew what to do.


    She walked over to the table with the black stone on it, stepping as lightly as she could on the wooden floor. Once in front of the [Appraisers Stone] she picked it up and inspected it from all sides. It looked exactly like the one she had used Gods-know-how-long ago, the tiny runes forming mesmerizing patterns that seemed to move on their own when you did not look directly at them. Interestingly these runes also did not react to her presence, much like the [Guides] card. Something to keep in mind.


    Satisfied that it was as she remembered, she put her hand on the cold surface and quickly mumbled the chant used to activate its function. As soon as the last word had left her mouth a semi-transparent blue window appeared in front of her and, unlike the last time she had used one of the stones, she was able to read what was written on it.


    The only problem was that it made absolutely no sense.


    GamingWolf

 Sacrifice – Chapter 11: A Matter of [Status]

    Aperio looked at the projection hovering in front of her. What is any of this even supposed to mean? It certainly did not look like what she thought it would. She had always assumed it would show things that one could understand ¨C at least when not under the influence of some concoction ¨C but apparently that was not the case.


    Stat???s


    Name


    A?pe?r???i?o??


    Race


    P????r??????????????????m???????????d?????????????m??


    Level


    ?41??6a?!??c?b??4??8???d???


    Mana


    ???3???5???6?d???e??e???10???a???!?3??  / ?????????7?8?d??f?!?9?c???1?f??f?


    Strength


    ?g?2??$??e1???2?4??4??7??%


    Dexterity


    $?b??0?b??8??b??9???!???3?7?


    Intelligence


    ??7?29??b??$??!??c?$?$??!


    Vitality


    ??%2??$???g?%???$??9??g??c??!?


    Tit?les?


    F??????????¨À????????t???n??


    D????i???????m???????????????d??????


    Is it broken? It would be fitting; besides the one on Ira¡¯s card, all other runes had broken when she got close. Why would this one be different? She removed her hand from the stone and, after the screen had disappeared, repeated the process to activate it. Just as before she was presented with garbled mess. Glancing behind her she saw a confused looking Ira whose eyes were darting from the mess that dared to call itself a [Status] to the person it belonged to.


    Besides only showing a senseless heap of things, this [Status] was missing a third column that she knew should be there. At least, she remembered there to be another part of the status screen. While she wasn¡¯t able to read what was displayed the last time she had seen it, the section had been there nonetheless.


    Despite not being able to glean much information from the obviously broken screen, one of her suspicions had been confirmed. She had a title now, or titles as it was. Sadly, the stone neither allowed itself to be read nor was it willing to provide any other information. Though if she was honest with herself, any description of either title the stone could have given would likely be just as scrambled as the rest was.


    But maybe all of this is just showing up because it is broken, she thought. Probably because I touched it. But how are you supposed to use the thing without touching it?


    She turned to face the mage behind her, pointing at the stone. "I think this is broken."


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the stone is the problem here,¡± Ira said, shaking his head.


    Aperio fixed her gaze on the old man. Being called a ¡®problem¡¯, even in oblique fashion, was definitely not something she enjoyed. Much like the last time she hadn''t responded to his question, the man grew paler the longer she looked at him.


    ¡°So I am the problem?¡± she asked in a low voice.


    ¡°I mean... I can¡¯t be sure. I just thought it would be the most logical conclusion,¡± Ira stammered.


    Averting her eyes, she stepped away from the [Appraisers Stone] and gestured for the old man to move. ¡°Then you try.¡±


    Ira gave the faintest of nods, swallowing lightly before moving to stand next to the Elf. Once there, he inspected the black stone slate, even going so far as to pick it up with a heavy grunt to inspect the other side.


    Having found nothing of note, he placed his hand on the black stone and recited the incantation. Just like the times she had done it a blue window appeared, but this time its contents actually meant something.


    Status


    Name


    Ira Heremal


    Race


    Human


    Level


    84


    Mana


    3564 / 3583


    Strength


    95


    Dexterity


    70


    Intelligence


    183


    Vitality


    104


    Tiltes


    Guide


    Favourite of the Roots


    Blessing of Edisicio


    Ward Smith


    Seeing the mage¡¯s result, Aperio had to agree the stone definitely seemed to be working, at least in a partial sense. The elusive third column had still not revealed itself. At least I didn¡¯t break it. That would¡¯ve been¡­ awkward.


    Another thing that caught her eye was one of Ira¡¯s titles: [Blessing of Edisicio]. A blessing from the God of Knowledge and Love was definite proof that they had returned. Or that the system that governed the world had broken which, considering the state of her own status, was definitely a possibility.


    While it was possible that the world had broken, it was highly unlikely. At least, she assumed so as the old mage seemed calm. Sure, he was surprised upon seeing the mess that was her [Status], but he was not losing his mind.


    ¡°So it is only broken for me? Why?¡±


    Ira remained silent for a moment, eyes fixed on the stone. ¡°I think that your aura is simply too much for it to bear, even if you held it back.¡± He paused, seeming to want to add something more, but his continued silence suggested that he had decided against it. What that was Aperio did not know, nor did she particularly care what the man thought of her. As long as he did not try to force his will on her, she would be fine. Should he try to¡­  Well, he did not look any stronger than the other two mages she had dealt with previously. And while looks can be deceiving, she doubted it in this case. If her voice could make the man stumble there was little worry that her fist would not.


    Aperio was taken from her thoughts as Ira continued speaking. ¡°Sadly this is the only kind of [Appraisers Stone] we have here. The more advanced ones are held by the [Grandmaster] in Ebenlowe.¡±


    Ebenlowe? The name did not ring a bell; Aperio knew of neither a city nor a country that bore that name. Though, if her guess about the amount of time she had spent in the Void was correct, that was to be expected. Even more so if she considered the ruins she had returned to.


    Neither had she heard of this [Grandmaster] the man kept referring to. Whoever it was seemed to either be in charge of or held great sway with the [Guides]. What exactly that group did was yet another thing she did not know, but she was fairly certain that they fulfilled a similar role to Scribes.


    The sound of Ira¡¯s voice interrupted her thoughts yet again. ¡°I would like to ask you to accompany us to Ebenlowe.¡±


    He spoke so quietly, as if he did not want to hear her answer. Perhaps he feared it, or at least feared her response should she be less than pleased with his words. She simply tilted her head and looked at the man. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I believe it to be in your best interest.¡±


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at the man. She definitely did not like what he had said. ¡°How would you know what is in my best interest?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. I just thought you wanted answers,¡± he replied, holding up his hands. ¡°And you are wearing the robe of a Vinmaier mage,¡± ¨C he pointed at her chest ¨C ¡°something you shouldn¡¯t be able to get.¡± He let his hand drop to his side before mumbling something in that unintelligible other tongue.


    Aperio looked down at what Ira had so generously described as a robe. The only thing that would differentiate it from any other grey robe was a red double stripe that had been sewn in over her right breast where the man had pointed. She had thought it blood like all the other brown-red splotches that spread over the remaining parts of her garment.


    ¡°Vinmaier?¡± It was not a name she knew of, but if they had their own uniform they had to be either an order of some kind or a noble house.


    ¡°Nobles. You likely know their type: hated by many but rich enough to not care,¡± Ira scoffed. ¡°The only logical way for you to have gotten that robe is from the brat and his mentor and you said you had encountered Inerlius¨C¡±


    ¡°Inerlius?¡±


    ¡°The paladin you met in the ruins, the one you said that fled. He and a ...friend of his accompanied the other two; the Vinmaier brat, and his mentor, and I know the man would never willingly give up his clothing.¡± He cleared his throat before continuing in a softer voice, ¡°So the only conclusion I have been able to see is that you killed him and took his belongings. Possibly those of his student as well.¡±


    Before he could speak again, Aperio took a step towards the old man, no longer caring about the fragile floor she stepped on. The wood cracked under her feet with each step she took in her approach. Ira himself was frozen, unable to move.


    Not that she cared.


    ¡°They wanted to put a collar on me!¡± she hissed through clenched teeth, every word driving the colour from the mans face. ¡°Enslave me!¡±


    Another step brought her within arm¡¯s reach and she lifted the man up by his collar. ¡°I will never let that happen again.¡± Having made her point clear, she let the man drop. It did not feel right to kill him, and she felt that she had to make her point crystal clear.


    As Ira¡¯s rear hit the ground, the door flew from its hinges quickly followed by an angry looking helmet-less paladin that had her sword drawn and ready. Right on her heels was the young man that had brought the [Appraisers Stone]. He hid behind the armoured form of Laelia and looked anxiously between the man on the ground and the broken floor behind the Elf.


    Aperio turned to face the paladin, wings slightly unfurling behind her; ready to take flight if necessary, roof be damned. The attack of the woman in front of her never came however, she just slowly positioned herself between the old man and Aperio. She never let the Elf out of her sight, even as she asked the downed mage something in their meaningless language.


    The young man rushed to help the old man up as soon as Laelia covered both of them. His voice sounded agitated as he talked to Ira who, contrary to Aperio¡¯s thoughts, looked sad rather than hurt or vengeful.


    It took a couple more moments for him to stand back up, but once he did, he placed his hand on the paladin¡¯s shoulder and whispered something in her ear, causing her face to twist into an ugly frown.


    ¡°I am truly sorry for what has happened. I did not mean to imply anything,¡± he said, bowing slightly. ¡°My offer still stands; you are free to accompany us to Ebenlowe. I must, however, warn you. I will have to report the death of Kereman Vinmaier and his mentor to the [Grandmaster]. If you have told the truth you have nothing to fear, should you have lied you will pay with your head.¡±


    ¡°I did not lie!¡± Aperio spat.


    ¡°I believe you, but it is my duty to inform you of the proceedings.¡± He turned to the young man, sending him off into the dimly-lit hallway behind the counters to presumably fetch something. ¡°Thaddeus will prepare a room and a new robe for you. You have my word as a [Guide] and the bearer of the [Blessing of Edisicio] that no harm will come to you in this building.¡± As soon as the words left his mouth a rune ¨C a circle split by two lines ¨C appeared in the air above Ira''s head. Its simplicity belied its true nature. The man had just given her a binding Oath. Should any harm come to her, he would have to bear dire consequences. She knew all too well how much it hurt to break an Oath; even ones that had been forced on you resulted in pure agony.


    ¡°I await your answer tomorrow. I cannot claim to know what you seek, but I believe the [Grandmaster] does.¡± As if on queue, the young man ¨C Thaddeus apparently ¨C came back carrying a folded bundle of cloth in his arms. He quivered slightly as Aperio focused her gaze on him, but as soon as he had garnered her attention he had lost it. The voice of Ira directed her eyes back to the old man.


    ¡°If you would please follow me.¡±


    Aperio hesitated for a moment. Why is he helping me? ...I just attacked him! She wanted to deny the request, to just leave and fly away, but the little feeling in the back of her mind told her she had nothing to fear from these people, even if they decided to fight her.


    She did not want to trust that feeling, not knowing where it came from, but so far it had not led her astray and the offer for answers was so tempting...


    Maybe the man was right. Maybe it was in her best interest to go to Ebenlowe. She could always simply fly away if she should find the journey to be a waste of time. The thought of flying brought with it a feeling of joy she had rarely felt in her life. Simply gliding through the sky unbound by earthly rule was something that just felt right.


    Another thing that felt right, in this moment, was wanting to be clean again. The lure of sleep was also appealing. Or, at least, she''d attempt it. She had not felt tired, hungry, or even thirsty since she had returned. As handy as it was to not be bothered by such things, it was still unnerving. Covered by the old man''s Oath, she was as safe as she could reasonably be, and if ever there was a time to attempt to reconnect with her physical needs (if they even still existed) it was now.


    Having made up her mind she gave Ira a nod and gestured him to lead. Laelia eyed the Elf, waiting for her to move but she did not. Only after Ira had spoken something and the paladin turned to follow the pair of men did Aperio go after them.


    GamingWolf

 Sacrifice – Chapter 12: Reflection

    The room Aperio had been lead to was not what she had expected. A small desk with a few papers, a quill and ink sat under a window that showed the star filled sky outside. The wooden flooring looked neat and properly cleaned and, while it still groaned beneath her every step, it seemed a lot sturdier. In a corner of the room was a bed big enough to comfortably hold two fully grown adults. Behind the bed, built half into the wall, was big closet. One of its doors was open, revealing a collection of what looked to be robes or dresses.


    What really caught her attention, however, was a door on the other side of the room. It wasn¡¯t closed, and through the frame she could see a bathtub. One that was big enough for her to fully submerge herself. Or at least, it would if she didn''t factor in her wings. She''d need a lake or pool in order to bathe while extending those.


    ¡°I hope this room is to your liking,¡± Ira said, motioning for the young man ¨C who was still trying his best to remain invisible behind the armoured form of Laelia ¨C to step forward. ¡°Thaddeus here has prepared some clothes for you that should fit. He has also prepared everything needed for a bath, should you wish to clean yourself.¡±


    As if suddenly remembering something, Thaddeus approached timidly and offered the folded cloth in his arms to the Elf. Aperio accepted the bundle with a slightly confused expression; she still hadn¡¯t figured out why the man was helping her. But asking why feels so ...wrong. Why does it feel wrong? Much like the feeling she got when thinking about a potential fight with the people in front of her, this one told her that asking for clarification would be wrong. An affront to the universe. But why?


    While this was no doubt something important, she had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. Like finally getting rid of all the blood on her. And figuring out how to proceed with Ira¡¯s offer; she still had to find a way to see what could be her friend. She wouldn''t leave without knowing for sure.


    Aperio gave a slight nod to Ira as she stepped past the group and into the room proper. ¡°This is fine, but I would like some time alone to take care of things,¡± she said, staring pointedly at the doorway to the bath.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Ira said before briefly switching to the annoying language she couldn¡¯t understand, saying something to the other two and causing them to leave. Before departing himself, he added, ¡°Should you need anything please ask Thaddeus, he will either be in the main hall or in the room opposite yours.¡± After she gave him a sign of understanding he closed the door, presumably to call it a night himself.


    As soon as the door had fully closed itself Aperio locked it. She doubted the wood would stop the paladin should she want to come inside her room but it still made her feel a little safer. Having satisfied her mind¡¯s need for security, she made a beeline to the bath; but not to clean herself just yet.


    No, she wanted something else.


    Stepping into the room she deposited the bundle of cloth she still held on nearby cabinet before looking around, hoping to spot what had been such a rarity in her days as a slave. It didn¡¯t take her long to find the object of her desire on the wall above the sink.


    Staring back from the mirror was the face she remembered. Almost. This one was unmarred by scars, carrying an almost youthful glow. Even her eyes had improved, no longer carrying their milky-white sheen she had grown accustomed to. Instead, pure silvery grey eyes stared back at her from the reflective surface. Her ears, too, were hale and whole, peeking through her hair in all their pointy glory.


    Aperio had known this was what she would see, just as she knew everything had been healed to perfection. But, despite all of this, there had always been a bit of doubt in her mind and, as the saying went, seeing is believing.


    She stared at her reflection for a little while longer ¨C trying to etch the image into her mind so she would never forget ¨C before the lure of a bath pulled her away and she stepped towards the tub. Running her fingers over the rim confirmed that it was made of some sort of stone, similar to the ones her old masters had used but yet not quite the same. Much like the ones she remembered this one featured two faucets, for hot and cold water if the markings hadn¡¯t changed, and a drain to easily dispose of the used water.


    The process of preparing the bath was almost automatic for Aperio. Selecting a temperature that was just shy of too hot, opting for the proper combinations of oils and salts that brought about such delightful smells in the damp rising heat of the water, the added ingredients swirling around in the churning water before properly dissolving and becoming part of the whole; it all brought a certain amount of comfort, just repeating a routine she had done countless times. She only snapped out of her trance-like state as she lit a candle with a flame that she had absent-mindedly summoned.


    The tiny fire danced happily on the tip of her finger, undisturbed by the look she gave it. Where did that come from? Just like the last time, she had felt nothing that would indicate she had done anything. Maybe I was too ...distracted?


    Aperio put the now lit candle on a nearby cabinet, keeping her eyes on the little flame that still vigorously flickered on her finger. The fire felt like an extension of herself, just waiting to obey her will. She just couldn¡¯t figure out when she conjured it, nor why the warmth of the mana flowing through her had been absent again.


    Maybe that was a one time thing? It could be possible. She knew little of mana and magic, and what she knew was probably outdated or otherwise inaccurate. She would have to find a way to get her hands on more up-to-date information. First, however, she would need to clean them.


    Extinguishing the fire on her fingertip and slipping out of the tattered robe was easier than getting into the clothes. Stepping free of the dirty cloth on the ground, she dipped her toes into the water of the bath. It was almost scalding ¨C certainly too hot for the people she used to prepare it for, but for her? It was just right. She stretched, luxuriating in the relative vastness of the bathtub, then leaned back to relax. It was immediately obvious that the hard surface of the tub was not a pleasant thing to be leaning against. While it was not painful it wasn¡¯t comfortable either, having her wings pressed against the stone felt constricting, almost oppressive.


    Aperio liked her new limbs, but currently they were only in the way. Despite this, she still didn''t feel the urge to hide them, knowing from her experience in the Void that it would bring about feelings of pain and incompleteness. She would far rather just bear with the unpleasant, and frankly awkward, feeling for something as trivial as cleaning herself.


    Sadly, ridding herself of the blood was not as easy as taking off her clothes; it stuck to her limbs like hardened sap. An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as the grime did not want to leave her body. It only deigned to come loose once she had used more soap in this one instance than she had over her entire lifetime as a slave. She was also fairly sure that she was using enough force to break bones ¨C normal ones anyway ¨C and she concluded that the blood of mages was strikingly resilient once it was outside the body.


    Satisfied that her usual four limbs were clean, she turned to tend to her newest addition. If she did not want to hide them, she would have to clean them. It required a bit stretching and some rather unsightly poses, but soon her wings were free of even the last bits of dirt and greenery.


    After disposing of the dirty water and drying herself, Aperio made her way to the closet to choose some new attire. Once she was in front of it she stared at the variety of choices displayed before her. The choice of undergarments was easy as there was only the basic options, which she promptly put on. The choice of actual clothes was harder but her eyes were drawn to one particular piece.


    She stretched out her hand to grab the lovely blue and black fabric that had caught her eye but her hand froze just above its surface. Do I have to give it back if I don¡¯t accompany them? She shook her head and simply grabbed the garment.


    The silky fabric flowed off of the hook, almost piling eagerly into her hands, and she had to hold it up at arm''s length to get a proper look at it. It was a dress, she saw; one that had plenty of room in the skirt to allow for freedom of leg movement, and no sleeves in order to afford the same luxury to the arms. It looked right, appealing. Turning it around, she saw that, like her self modified robe, this dress also had a back line that plunged down to allow room for her wings. Had they cut the clothes for her? Probably not. It was more likely that it was just the style of this particular piece of clothing. Putting on her new outfit was still a struggle, but after a bit of twisting and turning she emerged victorious and dressed.


    Having taken care of her immediate concerns Aperio let her eyes wander across the room. They stopped on a tray that somebody had put on the little desk. What¡¯s the point of a lock if they also have the keys? For a brief moment she wondered what else they might have pried in on, but she shook her head. There was no point in thinking about it, she would soon leave this place one way or another after all. Directing her attention back to the tray she inspected what it held.


    On it were a fork and knife as well as a few slices of bread and something she assumed to be a fruit. Despite the presence of food, her stomach made no complaints or requests to be fed, not that she expected it to. She had not eaten anything since she had returned, and still did not feel the need to do so now.


    Should I try some? It didn¡¯t look or smell dangerous, and after Ira gave an Oath for her safety she doubted it would be poisoned. Maybe I''ll realize my hunger as I eat? Curiosity won and a few steps brought her to the tray where she grabbed a slice of bread. Quite unlike the loaves she had eaten in the Empire, this one looked almost like a fluffy cloud. Just like its look implied, it also felt very soft and Aperio excitedly took a piece of it and stuck it in her mouth.


    Almost as fast as the excitement came it went; it tasted just as bland as any other bread she had ever eaten. Miffed at the lack of flavour she tossed the remainder back onto the tray, instead picking up the thing she had never seen before.


    It was a small white and brown fruit that smelled almost too sweet. The bite she took confirmed that yes, it was indeed too sweet. It also became obvious why these two items would be served together. A quick stabbing of the fruit later, she laid each piece on its own slice of bread. Bland balanced out extreme sweetness, and she found it to be a decent meal that tasted better than most things she had tried before. However, it still didn''t seem to serve any physical purpose for her. No amount of hunger rose up to meet the offering of food.


    Next, she considered the bed. Picking up the blanket, she found that it was warm, soft, and seemed to be comfortable. It also brought about no feelings of sleepiness whatsoever, causing Aperio to let out a sigh. It was nice to be clean and fed, even if it didn''t seem to accomplish much, but it did not help to answer her questions. Trying to sleep would wait until after she had found some answers.


    Everyone associated with the [Guides] had thus far spoken her language. They also possessed a lot of books and scrolls. Perhaps she could get her hands on a few of their things. They wouldn''t be against me wanting to read about history, right?


    Nodding to herself, Aperio left her room in search for Thaddeus.


    GamingWolf


    I feel a bit bad for not getting you answers, but this did have to happen sometime. At least now she is off to look for a terrified shy Thaddeus.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 13: Insight

    The hallway outside her room was deserted, the only thing indicating that someone lived in the building were the fake torches that hung in neat intervals along the wall. The presence of the crystal-tipped lamps reminded her of the stones she had procured from the ruins. She still did not know what they were, but as she was going to look for answers she might as well bring them with her.


    A brief moment later Aperio was back in her room, rummaging through the discarded robe that still lay on the floor of her bathroom for the two stones she had taken with her. It wasn¡¯t long before her fingers brushed against smooth surfaces; one warm and the other cold that reminded her of the bath she just used. Maybe that¡¯s what they¡¯re for?


    A look at the bath did not reveal anything that looked similar to the stones she held; even looking up the faucets revealed nothing of interest. With a sigh Aperio turned away and made her way back out of her room.


    As knocking on the door opposite hers garnered no response, she made her way to what Ira had called the main hall. The groaning of the floor once again roused the attention of the young man, Thaddeus, sitting at one of the tables. His face shifted through a slew of emotions before it settled on something one could describe as fearful resignation.


    Aperio smiled at the man, more out of habit than anything else, but it only caused him to flinch and hurriedly turn back to the scroll he was reading. The smile vanished from her face. Am I that scary? She considered the situation honestly. Being covered in blood, breaking wards, having a...disagreement with what she assumed to be his mentor; all were things that likely did not rate highly on the list of things you wished to see in someone else. Her first impression had probably not been the best with the man, or anyone she had met thus far.


    She suppressed the sigh that wanted to escape her lips and instead walked towards the table that held the biggest collection of books. Most of them were the big leather bound tomes with fancy lettering on the front she knew. A few, however, were bound in what looked to be a thick, sturdier version of paper. Curious. Once she had reached the table she lightly cleared her throat, trying to get the attention of Thaddeus.


    The man turned towards the source of the sound and gave her a questioning look.


    ¡°May I?¡± Aperio asked softly, gesturing towards the neatly stacked books. She hoped that speaking a bit quieter would not cause the other party to almost fall over.


    It seemed to work as he only hesitated for a moment before pointing at a table to her left. After she had walked to the other table he gave her a nod and turned back to his scroll. Aperio¡¯s eyes lingered on his form for a moment longer; she wasn¡¯t sure if she should try to disperse some of the fear or if she should use it to get some answers. Maybe later, she thought, shaking her head. The wrongness of the task was still something that she had to overcome, but for now the books would hopefully provide some answers.


    She directed her attention to the books in front of her; there was no guarantee that she would be able to read any of these, but trying couldn¡¯t hurt. It wasn¡¯t like the attempt would suddenly drain the life out of her surroundings like her magic did. To be comfortable with trying her hand with that again she would need a place far away from civilization. Maybe back in the ruins?


    It was worth trying once she had answered a few of her more immediate questions.


    She placed the two stones on the table. The resonant click attracted the attention of Thaddeus, who glanced over in her direction. His eyes went wide as they landed on the stone, but instead of stopping to stare he hurriedly returned his gaze to the scroll in front of him. Aperio tilted her head as she looked at the objects of his interest ¨C it seemed like a few questions, either asked or received, would be inevitable. For now though she would try her hand at the books.


    Picking up the first one her eyes landed on filled her with relief that she could read what was written on the cover. Was that why he pointed me here? Probably.  ¡®The History of Wine in Vetus¡¯. Not what she was looking for, but at least she could read it should nothing else be of use. Laying it to the side, she picked up the next one. Then the next.


    Aperio did not know how long she had spent shifting through the books in front of her, but she now had two piles. One for things she had next to no use for, like the histories of various foods and drinks or fictitious tales that might be fun to get lost in but sadly were too far removed from anything she needed and wouldn¡¯t help her find answers.


    The other was filled ones that should help her in one way or another, be it a guide to magic or the history of the various races and continents. After finding a chair that looked suitably stable ¨C and did not have a backrest ¨C she chose the book called ¡®The Rise and Fall of the Inaru Empire¡¯ to start her search for answers. How that specific Empire had come to dominate most of the continent she knew; they had taken every opportunity they got to remind everyone of it after all. How it had fallen on the other hand was still a mystery to her.


    After the ritual she was in the Void and who knows where that was. It certainly did not tell her what had happened after she had been commanded to take her own life. Skipping over most of the ¡®rise¡¯ part of the book she was saddened to find that the fall of the Empire only had a handful of pages dedicated to it.


    What was written on those pages was also not very helpful; nobody really knew what happened. It only referred to something called the ¡®Night of the Second Sun¡¯ in which Ferio ¨C Goddess of the sun, apparently ¨C cleansed the heretics to let the Gods return. There were no dates written down but given where the ''rise'' portion of the book had left off, but Aperio was fairly certain that this ¡®Night of the Second Sun¡¯ was a direct consequence of the ritual the Empire held.


    So they didn¡¯t manage to make a God but brought one back? She looked down at herself. Maybe I took a part of that God''s power? It would certainly explain why she was healed and where that seemingly endless ocean of mana came from, but it was also something that she had trouble believing. She did not feel like a God.


    Gods had Domains ¨C something they held absolute control over ¨C and she assumed that any God would know their Domain. It would be weird if they didn¡¯t. But neither had she tried to find the full extent of her power nor was she particularly inclined to do so anywhere close to a city. The only thing she knew was that she was deeply confused, and she doubted a ¡®Goddess of Confusion¡¯ was something that existed.


    Still, even if it did not answer the question of what had happened to her, it did put her on a track she could follow. Finding out if the Goddess of the Sun was still alive and well should be an easy task, she only had to find the right book or find a temple dedicated to that specific Goddess once she was in a bigger city. She closed the book and put it on an empty space of the table, starting a third pile; this one for books she was done with.


    Rifling through her stack of unread but potentially useful books, she was disappointed to find that there was no book that specifically talked about Ferio. A search of the pile of useless ones only produced a collection of fairy tales about the entire pantheon of Gods. Better than nothing I suppose.


    Grabbing the book she flicked through the pages. Most of the tales were much like the ones she knew; the Gods appeared, created the world, and all lived on it before disappearing for no reason in particular. Only after she had been through more than half of the collection did she find something different.


    The tale was helpfully titled ''The Return'', and followed a boy on a quest to save his mother. The continent of Vetus was in a period of turmoil, with tragedy and death around every corner ¨C something that sounded very much like the ''fall'' she had just read about ¨C and amidst it all, mother and son were fleeing from every danger imaginable. The son was one of the few in that time who dared to believe in the power of the Gods, and he prayed every day; begging them to save the life of his mother, who had fallen victim to a strike from a new and terrible beast. The boy''s belief was unwavering despite the obstacles, and like in many fairy tales, his prayers were answered with much fanfare and an appearance of Vigil himself to heal the mother of her ailments.


    Skimming over the rest of the stories only awarded her with one mention of Ferio, and in that one she was smiting evil-doers left and right; no sign of being weakened or otherwise encumbered. Maybe I got only a tiny fraction?


    With a sigh, Aperio placed the book with the other finished one and grabbed a new one from the useful pile. It would be a long night ¨C at least mentally ¨C but it would be worth it. Hopefully.


    Her next choice was a ¡®A Comprehensive History of Verenier¡¯. Something that spoke about the history of the entire world should definitely provide some answers, one of which would hopefully be an idea of how long she had spent in the Void.


    Much to her surprise, she discovered that Ferio¡¯s ¡®cleansing¡¯ was much more thorough than she had thought. Apparently the Goddess, or the calamity that was attributed to her, had removed all life from the continent. It was only centuries later that it was rediscovered and people settled back on it. The book also spoke of hordes of monsters that roamed the land and things called [Catharat Crystals] which apparently either created or summoned them.


    The image of the mist-filled crystal surfaced in her mind. Did it summon me? She shook her head; she wasn¡¯t summoned by it. She had just taken the portal that was made for the small orb. So those orbs are ...monsters? Their essence? A soul? She lowered the book to rest on her lap.


    If those orbs of light really were souls or whatever else gave life to things, then what were the blue ones that had so willingly offered themselves to her? Aperio had a sneaking suspicion that the ritual the Empire had so eagerly performed was responsible for the death of everything on Vetus. And if those orbs really were souls, or at least a physical representation of something like it, she had taken countless of them.


    What does that make me?  While it would explain her wings ¨C they were certainly things an Elf shouldn¡¯t have ¨C the thought of being like one of those things she had seen in the ruins was not pleasant whatsoever. Disgusting even. She wasn¡¯t some mindless beast; she was Aperio! The¡­ What? She grabbed her head, her mind reeling as it tried to finish the thought but failed to find the words that had been so close just moments before.


    What was that?! There was a part of her that told her she knew what she was, but as soon as she tried to focus on that thought she only found a void of nothing that gave her a piercing headache. Almost as if a part of her was missing. Erased. Who is messing with my mind?


    She had no collar on her, nor anything else that looked like a magical device. Was it the crystal? It had tried to work some form of magic on her, and incomplete magic had effects of its own.


    Maybe Ira was right and her best bet to figuring that out was with the [Grandmaster] in Ebenlowe. Or he is the one messing with my mind? A small, involuntary laugh escaped her and she shook her head. She doubted he had done it. His over-eager paladin on the other hand... Well, she had used magic in Aperio''s presence, but that had felt good and quite unlike the rather obvious attempt from the crystal.


    Ebenlow seemed like her best ¨C possibly only ¨C way to find answers. A city where she would undoubtedly be chased by the family of that stupid mage, and if their child had tried to enslave her, she doubted the rest of themwould be any better.


    Maybe I should do everyone a favour and kill them? The thought¡­ excited her. Simply thinking about eradicating some slaving bastards filled her with joyous anticipation. She didn¡¯t know if she could even fight them, but she knew she wanted to. The memory of the circle of death reappeared in her mind and, startled, she turned to look for the young man at the other table, dropping the book on her lap in the process.


    Thaddeus was still there and judging from the slow rise and fall of his chest he was also still alive, but apparently asleep. How he had managed to nod off was beyond her; he had been positively terrified of her. Or at least she had thought so, always hiding behind the paladin certainly made it seem that way.


    Maybe I can use that? If he was scared of her, maybe he would answer some questions. Or, maybe, he would run away as soon as she got close. Either was possible, but if he chose to run she was fairly sure she could keep him where he was.


    Asking questions would require her to ignore the feeling of wrongness that accompanied such thoughts. While it was harder to do than not listening to the part of her that was fine with stopping a sword with her hand, it was something she would have to do sooner rather than later. She wouldn¡¯t be able to just stoically look at people and expect them to do what she wanted. It was a small miracle that had worked so far.


    After picking up the book she had dropped and placing it on the table, she grabbed the stones and slowly made her way over to the sleeping form of Thaddeus. Each step she took was measured, trying to make as little noise as possible. She did not want to wake the man before she was within arm¡¯s reach.


    Once she was close enough, Aperio took a deep breath, steeling herself for the inevitable feeling of wrongness that would surely make itself known in just a moment. Extending her arm she gave the sleeping man a gentle push. Or she tried to at least. Instead Thaddeus fell from his chair with a startled yelp. I really have to work on that.


    Trying her best to repress the creeping sensation of the frankly illogical feeling of wrong, she leaned over the man and said, ¡°I have questions.¡±


    GamingWolf

 Sacrifice – Chapter 14: Questionable Decisions

    GamingWolf


    I am sorry for the delay.


    It has been a pretty busy week, but now the chapter is here and you can feast your eyes upon the words. Or don''t. I''m just a note, not a cop.


    Thaddeus was lying on the floor, holding his side as he gasped for breath. Why the Elf ¨C if, indeed, she was an Elf ¨C had deemed it necessary to shove him off his chair he didn¡¯t know, but as he looked up into her earnest face all thoughts of asking drained out of him. Any back-talk, he was certain, would be met with punishment. He could do without that just fine. No need to hurt more than he already did.


    He should¡¯ve gone to bed when the first signs of tiredness had made themselves known, but he had wanted to finish the scroll he was working on. Now he was here, with the presumed to be Elven woman looming over him. The prospect of getting questioned by her was far from pleasant. He had a sneaking suspicion that, like back-talking, wrong answers would be ...painful.


    ¡°What do you know about these?¡± Her face briefly twisted in disgust as she asked the question. Did she not like him? Was that why she had shoved him out of his chair? At least the pressure from her voice was less than before. Probably because she was practically whispering.


    He wanted to ask what she was talking about but the words died in his throat as he saw the two crystals in her hand. They were the crystallized essence of monsters, fairly strong ones judging by the mana that was emanating from them. Thaddeus had been surprised back when she had first placed them on the table but had quickly turned his attention back to his own work. Ira had made it very clear that he should do all he could to not upset their guest; for Thaddeus that meant minimizing interaction. Something he would very gladly do.


    Not having to deal with people that arrived covered in blood was always good in his mind.


    As she still did not get a response, the woman leaned closer and waved her hand across his face. Thaddeus instinctively moved his head away from the approaching extremity which caused the woman to tilt her head ever so slightly to the side.


    ¡°Do you not want to answer?¡± Her words sounded polite, but her face had again briefly twisted in disgust.


    Thaddeus wanted to answer but he still couldn¡¯t get the words to leave his mouth; all he managed was a rather pathetic whimper. He truly wanted to answer her question, if only so he could leave and hide in his bed until the morning sun would hopefully scare away this monster.


    Still not having received a reply, and getting visibly annoyed at the continued absence of answers, the Elf crouched down and prodded his chest. That¡¯s what it looked like at least; it felt more like the punches he took from Laelia during his training


    Why? The thought raced through his mind as her finger jabbed at his chest again. Was his existence so disgusting to her that she just had to hurt him? Thaddeus started to crawl backwards as fast as he could, away from the monster that was attacking him. Before he managed to get any meaningful distance between himself and the woman, she had closed her hand around his collar and hoisted him up.


    Thaddeus desperately struggled for breath as he tried to pry open the hand that was holding him, but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn¡¯t budge. His attempts were interrupted as the Elf used her free hand to force him to look at her.


    ¡°I know you can understand me. Why do you refuse to speak?¡± Her voice was no longer a whisper, and Thaddeus felt the pendant he always wore grow hotter with each word she spoke as it tried its best to protect him.


    ¡°Answer me!¡±


    The sound of something clattering onto the wooden floor and the absence of the hot sensation on his chest signaled the demise of his trusty pendant. For the first time since he had been knocked to the ground, Thaddeus felt true fear. Much to his surprise, his assailant loosened her grip and looked at the fallen accessory. He tried to use this chance to break free but was met with failure; he still wasn¡¯t able to pry open the hand holding him. He did, however, manage to get the attention of the maybe-Elf again.


    Aperio was about to ask the stupid boy another question ¨C not that it would have gotten her any answers ¨C but the sounds of hurried steps caught her attention. Looking past the annoying Human she was holding, she saw what she could only assume to be Laelia in a gambeson, running towards her with her sword in hand. A good distance behind her Aperio could see another Human shape coming in her direction, though a lot slower than the sprinting paladin. Probably Ira.


    Looking downwards she glared at the oddly-shaped piece of metal that had fallen from Thaddeus. Did it call them? In hindsight, it was probably good that they came. The young man was clearly incapable of speaking, but she knew the other two could.


    She had made the decision; she would ask questions and get answers. No matter how disgusting it felt or how hard it would be to get them.


    Not wanting to hold onto Thaddeus while having to deal with the most likely aggressive paladin, she dropped the man. He scurried backwards as fast as he could, but Aperio paid him no mind; she was focused on the sprinting figure. The closer Laelia came, the more Aperio found herself wanting to fight her. Probably best to ignore that as well. She tilted her head at the eager feeling. Or maybe not?


    The decision was made for her as the paladin dragged Thaddeus further back before shoving him behind her. Oh right, the oath.


    Laelia glared at her, barely restrained fury in her eyes. ¡°What you doing?¡±


    ¡°Asking questions,¡± Aperio said, eyeing the man behind the paladin. ¡°But he seems to be incapable of speech.¡±


    ¡°Questions don¡¯t need magic!¡±


    But I didn¡¯t use any? ¡°I am just speaking?¡±


    Before Laelia could reply, the calm voice of Ira echoed through the room. ¡°For some that is one and the same.¡±


    The man was a conundrum to Aperio. He seemed to be scared of her, and yet he always remained calm and tried his best to not let it show. Is he like me? She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came; if anyone was like her it would have to be the villager she had glimpsed ¨C the one that looked like her friend.


    She focused on the old man, ignoring the enraged paladin and the mute Human hiding behind her. It was exceedingly unlikely that they would  ¨C or could in the case of Thaddeus ¨C do anything. Aperio was not impressed with the man. A gentle push sent him sprawling onto the floor and a bit of light poking sent him crawling away as fast as he could. Maybe he is scared of Elves? Or Everyone? ...or just me?


    None of that mattered at the moment.  First she had to figure out what Ira meant when he said her voice was ¡®magic¡¯. It was true that most things of a magical nature tended to show a reaction to her in one way or another. The runes on the wall, for instance, reacted to her voice. But why? Perhaps it had something in common with what Ira had asked her to do before they entered the village. Restrain...but what? How?


    The sound of Ira clearing his throat brought her attention back to the man. ¡°May I know why you attacked my apprentice?¡± His voice was shaky, almost as if he was dreading her response.


    Aperio tilted her head quizzically. ¡°Attack?¡±


    ¡°His protective charm broke, that only happens after an attack.¡±


    ¡°This?¡± Aperio asked, picking up the deformed piece of metal from the floor.


    Ira gave a pale-faced nod as he saw what was left of the pendant in her hand. ¡°What happened to it?¡±


    ¡°It broke when I talked to him.¡± When the thing had fallen from the man she wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it, but now she knew it was just like the clothes of the Imperial mages she had known. Just a lot smaller and weaker. Or my ability to break things is stronger than I thought.


    Ira eyes flicked between her face and the leftovers of the charm. ¡°Did you talk or did you talk?¡± The last word that left his mouth carried with it a wave of something Aperio couldn¡¯t quite place. She fixed her eyes on the man, trying to spot anything that would tell her what it was, but the only difference she could see was the look of exhaustion on his face.


    At least she could sympathise with that; her patience had been exhausted as well. Not taking her eyes off the man, she responded. ¡°I just talked.¡± Why is that so hard to understand?


    Much to her surprise the remains of the pendant in her hand cracked, falling to the floor with a metallic clatter. She glared at the small pieces in front of her feet, willing them to put themselves back together. Sadly, the pieces ignored her stare and stayed in their broken state, seemingly unwilling to mend themselves. Can things just stop breaking already?


    ¡°This might be rude of me to ask, but¡±¨C Ira coughed lightly ¨C¡±are you aware of your own presence?¡±


    Presence? Aperio wasn¡¯t even sure what that was supposed to be, let alone if she even had one. Judging by the man¡¯s words, however, it was fairly clear that she did. Is that what¡¯s breaking the wards?


    She would have to admit her lack of knowledge to get answers, the feeling of plain and simple wrong only growing more pronounced the more she thought about it. But it wouldn¡¯t win. She needed answers and that damn thing would not stop her from getting them. She had ignored it before and she could do it again. Even if it was a lot stronger than before.


    Steeling herself for the inevitable intense feeling of wrong, she focused her eyes on Ira.


    ¡°No.¡±


    She had almost expected to feel pain as she said the words, but that was not the case. Instead, her skin crawled and she felt the need to take a bath. Or ten. Never in her life had she felt this disgusting; cleaning the Arena every night for a week would still leave her in a better state then this.


    A mirthless laugh from Laelia caused the mentally dirtied Elf to look in her direction. She spoke to Ira in their unintelligible gibberish, her voice a mix of annoyance and hopelessness. The man sighed before giving her a response. What they talked about Aperio did not know, but she assumed it to be her lack of knowledge. A thought that was not exactly comfortable, but one she could live with. She had followed that illogical feeling long enough. she had already disregarded the one that thought stopping swords with your hand was perfectly acceptable, after all. But a wall was certainly easy. Maybe it is acceptable? But the wood hurt, though. She sighed. Why does nothing make any sense?


    Aperio spoke up before either of them had a chance to continue their meaningless blabber. She no longer wanted to be left in the dark. "Explain."


    After his seemingly customary pause, Ira responded. ¡°How much of your mana do you keep in your body at any time?¡±


    Keep? She didn¡¯t have to keep it there, it stayed on its own. There was more mana flowing through her since she had been in the Void than her total capacity had been before, but now that was just a drop in the ocean. Probably less than a drop. She didn¡¯t know how much she had; it simply felt like a bottomless well.


    ¡°Almost nothing?¡± She wasn¡¯t sure how else to say it. There simply wasn¡¯t much when compared to the rest.


    Ira¡¯s eyes widened at her reply. She had guessed that it wouldn¡¯t be normal but his surprised expression confirmed it. He quickly schooled his expression and cleared his throat. ¡°If you would indulge an old man, how old are you?¡±


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at the man. She did not know how old she was. She barely had an inkling about it when she was still a slave. And now, well, who knows how long she was in the Void? "Why does that matter?"


    ¡°It would help me understand,¡± he replied. ¡°But if you don¡¯t want to answer that, I understand. I do, however, have another question.¡±


    She waved her hand, letting him know he could ask his question.


    ¡°Would I be right to assume that you have spent a significant amount of time in¡±¨C he paused briefly, looking for the right word ¨C¡± ...seclusion, and only recently returned?¡±


    That¡¯s one way to put it. The Void was certainly a ¡®secluded¡¯ location and going by the ruins she had wandered through, a ¨C as the man had said ¨C significant amount of time had to have passed. Ruins didn''t just appear overnight.


    She gave the man a curt nod. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, I would guess that most of the people you were acquainted with before were more like yourself.¡±


    The Royal Guard was certainly able to do a lot of what she could do now. Though the more she used her new-found powers, the more she thought that the Royal Guard was not quite a match. The thought of bestowing onto a guard the same fate they had given the slave brought a smile to her face. Not that she could do it.  Aperio doubted that any of them were still around.


    Her smile seemed to have calmed Ira a bit, probably thinking that she was simply reminiscing in the memory of her friends. He waited patiently for her to confirm his statement and, once she had, continued speaking.


    ¡°Most people are not as dedicated to the pursuit of power as your people seem to be. So I would like to ask you to be a bit more considerate of the people here.¡± He seemed anxious after he had finished speaking.


    Aperio, while thinking that his last comment was not really necessary, let out a huff of understanding. Sure, she might have handled Thaddeus a bit rougher than needed, but how was she supposed to know that he was the Human equivalent of a twig. She also doubted that everyone was as weak as the young man, but she would make sure to be extra careful around everyone else she¡¯d meet. And find somewhere to test how strong she truly was.


    For now, though, she wanted to know what those stones were. She still had them in her hand and simply presented them to Ira. ¡°Why is he so interested in these,¡± she said, glancing over at the young man that tried his best to disappear behind Laelia.


    Phrasing the question in a way that did not imply a lack of knowledge on her side seemed to keep the illogical feeling at bay. Something to keep in mind.


    The man gave the stones a quick look before turning to his apprentice and asking him something she did not understand. Another thing to ask him about, then. Knowing how far she would get with simple Common was something she would want to know.


    After their brief exchange Ira turned back to face the Elf. ¡°He simply has not seen the essence of a stronger beast before, he meant no offence.¡±


    Apeiro looked at the man who seemed to shrink under her gaze with a quirked eyebrow. ¡°None taken, but he could have simply answered the question in the first place.¡±


    ¡°You are¡­ ¡± He trailed off, apparently unable to find the right words.


    ¡°Intimidating.¡±


    Aperio perked up at the voice of the paladin. Intimidating? Thinking back on her actions around the Humans she could see why the warrior would say that. She certainly hadn¡¯t made a good first impression, but neither did she want to. She had little reason to trust or like any Humans; the first she had met after returning did try to enslave her, and even a paladin of the supposedly righteous Vigil had done nothing to stop them.


    She was also certain that she wasn¡¯t the only one that was as strong as her current self; she had seen others perform feats similar to what she could do now after all. But, with what Ira had said, it would seem that there were a lot less than she had previously thought.


    In the end, she simply shrugged, a gesture that was exaggerated by the movement of her wings. ¡°I have another question. How likely is it that I will need to learn ...whatever you are speaking?¡± It seemed her hunch was right, the feeling of wrong was just a tiny echo in the back of her mind. Sadly it didn¡¯t answer where it came from in the first place. Probably the same place my knowledge of flight comes from, or the silly idea to catch swords.


    It also begged the question where the gap in her memory came from. Though, memory was not the best term to use. She could remember her life just fine ¨C more detailed than before if anything ¨C but the new knowledge that had appeared after her stay in the Void seemed ...fragmented. She also couldn¡¯t figure out why that knowledge felt so familiar. It was almost like it was always supposed to have been there.


    ¡°In Ebenlowe you will not encounter many problems. There are a great many people there and the Elves did their best to establish the Ancient Common as the main language,¡± Ira said. ¡°There are some who refuse to use it out of pride or other misguided reasons.¡± He briefly paused. ¡°But, does this mean that you accept my offer?¡±


    Slightly shaking her head she thought about what Ira had said. Going to that city would mean that she would have to deal with a lot more Humans, most of whom would probably react to her as Thaddeus did. There was also the matter of that noble family. A small smile crept onto Aperio¡¯s face as she thought about them. She was certain they would try something, and the thought of fighting them was just as joyous as the last time.


    There was one thing she still needed to do before she would agree to leave this place.


    ¡°Before I decide, there is someone I need to meet.¡±


    GamingWolf

 Sacrifice – Chapter 15: Disillusions and Decisions

    GamingWolf


    ¡°Meet? Who?¡± Ira was visibly confused. He likely knew everyone who called this village home, and judging by his expression he considered the chances of someone knowing Aperio to be slim at best.


    ¡°A Beastkin with a crooked ear and mottled brown fur. She should be called Moria.¡± Her voice was filled with excitement, the prospect of maybe seeing her closest friend again filling the Elf with a joy that she hadn¡¯t known before.


    The old mage remained quiet for a while, his brows knitted together in thought. ¡°I don¡¯t know someone with the name Moria, but I know who would fit your description.¡±


    ¡°Where is she?¡±


    ¡°I will have someone go talk to her. She should come of her own free will. If she refuses to meet I will not force her, and I would also ask you to not seek her out. I do recognize, however, that should you wish to see her regardless of that, I have no way of stopping you.¡±


    Aperio gave him a brief nod, even if she wasn¡¯t sure if she would follow the man¡¯s request. In response he turned to Laelia and the still cowering Thaddeus, telling them something she couldn¡¯t understand. Not knowing what people were talking about was making the Elf quite uncomfortable. Even if I don¡¯t have to, I will learn that language.


    Laelia quickly left the building, the Human twig in tow. Through the open door the sound of people walking and talked reached Aperio¡¯s ears. It seemed that the danger they had prepared had been a false alarm. Or was I the danger? They wouldn¡¯t let me in then, would they?


    The longer she stayed with the Humans the more she thought that it might not be them being especially weak, but her being a lot stronger than she had originally assumed. Finding a place to figure that out was rapidly rising in her list of priorities.


    ¡°May I know why you want to meet Neria?¡±


    ¡°Neria? Is that her name now?¡± Aperio wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she had changed it; she was living a new life after all. Maybe I should also change my name? She shook her head at the thought. She did like her name and it wasn¡¯t like the people of the Empire had used it. For them she had been just another slave.


    Ira gave her another confused look but didn¡¯t respond. Having nothing more to say for the moment, Aperio too fell silent. Time seemed to slip by in a strange way, comfortable but yet uneasy, and by the time the door opened again she couldn''t have really said how she had waited. A guard stepped into the room, followed by a bewildered-looking Beastkin. The new woman¡¯s eyes lingered on Ira who gave her a nod in greeting before stopping on Aperio.


    Laying her eyes on the newcomer, Aperio was certain that it was her friend. She looked exactly as a younger version of Moira should, with fewer grey hairs and an absence of hairless patches. The Beastkin woman was still a full head shorter than the Aperio herself, something Moria had mentioned was not the case when she was younger. The memory quickly vanished from her mind as her eyes landed on the scarlike mark that stretched over her right eye. There was only one person Aperio knew who had a mark like that.


    Before anyone could react, there was a loud crack and the Elf had disappeared, leaving a splintered floor behind. The occupants of the room quickly figured out where Aperio had ended up as a startled yelp from the Beastkin echoed through the space. The noise was quickly followed by a gasp for air and the sound of something being pressed tighter than it should.


    Suddenly aware of potentially hurting her assumed friend, Aperio quickly set her back down and checked that she had not accidentally squished the source of her joy. Much to her relief the woman appeared to be fine, if a bit out of breath.


    ¡°Moria?¡± Aperio asked with a shaky voice.


    The woman flinched at her words and Aperio¡¯s smile wavered as she only saw confusion and fear on the Beastkin¡¯s face. As no response came her shoulders slumped. Turning around, she made her way to the stool she had used when reading just a couple hours before, her wings dragging behind her on the floor.


    Aperio had hoped ¨C had believed ¨C that the woman was her friend, but the dim glimmerings of initial doubt had been right. It simply couldn''t be her. She had died long before Aperio herself and also not in a grand ritual. Even if it was only logical that she would know nobody here, the thought of being truly alone was highly unpleasant.


    She was lost, without a plan or direction.


    Sitting down, she stared at the floor, ignoring the hushed voices of the other people in the room. Even though she could understand their words just fine, they simply passed through her mind. Heaving a sigh, she dragged her foot across the wooden floor, ignoring the web of cracks that followed and the splinters that tried and failed to pierce her skin.


    It all felt like one big horrible mistake. Her previous joy and crushing hug came back to haunt her as she remembered how weak people seemed to be here. She had thought the Beastkin to be a friend, and she had possibly hurt the woman in her mistaken enthusiasm. Her altercation with Ira''s apprentice certainly did her no favors either. Add all that to the way she seemed to naturally break things by simply existing, and it was obvious that she was rather unwelcome. Maybe I should just leave?


    They''d likely ask for her to go soon anyway. Ira would probably rescind his invitation to travel with them as well. She doubted that they could force her, but she did not want to fight them either. Her rash actions with the last group of humans had already set things in motion that she did not like.


    But even with all of that, she could manage to take care of herself. Even if she did not know how strong her past opponents had been, it seemed reasonable to assume that most things would not win a fight against her. Sleep, food and drink also weren¡¯t a problem as her body seemed to be content without them.


    She started wondering what it was that she would do when she left. Images from the evening''s readings came unbidden to her mind, and she found herself considering a visit to another continent. There was one supposedly solely inhabited by dragons. Meeting one of those would certainly be an experience. A deadly one, perhaps. The thought of a fight brought a faint glimmer of anticipation. Or maybe I would be welcomed in my kind''s homeland?


    Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming her way. Looking up she saw that Neria was only a few paces from her, hesitating to take her next step.


    ¡°What?¡± Aperio asked. Her voice was harsh, harsher than necessary but she wanted her friend and not some look-alike.


    The woman trembled, her voice shaking. ¡°How do you know the name Moira?¡±


    Aperio was sure the woman in front of her was about to break down, not that she knew why. Nonetheless she replied. ¡°She was a friend.¡±


    Neria looked puzzled. ¡°A friend?¡±


    Ira looked like he had finally remembered something and quickly produced a book from the same black rift he had gotten his card from. Aperio chose to ignore the man and his book for now. She would ask him about it later; if at all. First she would deal with the fake friend.


    ¡°Yes. Anything wrong with that?¡±


    The hostility in her voice caused Neria to quickly take a step back and the guard at the door had his hand hovering above the handle of his sword. The room was quiet for a few breaths, but seeing the Elf hadn¡¯t moved, the guard relaxed a little.


    The Beastkin shook her head. ¡°No, I just didn¡¯t think I would find a friend of my mother.¡±


    ¡°Your mother?¡± Aperio tilted her head at the statement. ¡°How old are you?¡±


    Neria''s brow furrowed, creasing the mark over her right eye. For a time, she simply stood there, opening and closing her mouth, without managing any words. Before she could piece together enough presence of mind to express her thoughts, their exchange was interrupted by Ira clearing his throat. Once he had the attention of the two women, he began to speak. ¡°If what is written here is correct, as I believe it to be, then she is speaking of your mother¡¯s namesake.¡±


    ¡°Her namesake?¡± Neria''s voice suddenly blurted, her skepticism overriding the fear that had tainted her earlier words. ¡°That would make her over a thousand years old! Nobody lives that long.¡±


    Ira shook his head. ¡°We have records of multiple people who are older. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time it happened. The [Grandmaster] too is approaching her millenia.¡±


    Aperio shifted her eyes between the two; she certainly did not feel like a thousand. Or a hundred for that matter, but she also did not know how long she was in the Void. Nor did she know how old she was before her sacrifice. At least she now had a vague idea of how much time had passed.


    ¡°What are you reading?¡± The Elf¡¯s question seemed to catch the old mage off guard. Or he was still struggling with her voice. I really need to figure that out.


    ¡°The history of the Lycan Tribe. Before Vetus was cleansed, it was home to a large empire that collected slaves from all over the world. The higher the status of the slave, the better. One of their raiding parties attacked a procession and took with them some guards and a Matriarch of the tribe. Her name was Moria. Couple that with this¡± ¨C Ira briefly paused, taking another book out of the black rift ¨C¡°prophecy: Finally unshackled from slavery, the winged one seeks her place. Mistakes will guide you.¡±


    Aperio stared at the man. She was finally free from slavery, most certainly had wings and did make mistakes. A lot of them, apparently. It was also true that she was trying to find somewhere to belong, somewhere that was not the Void. But she was also trying to figure out what she actually was; something that wasn¡¯t mentioned in the prophecy. Maybe it was meant for someone else, then?


    ¡°Does it say anything else?¡±


    Ira considered the book he was reading from, a thoughtful expression on his face. He stayed like that for a moment longer before he shook his head. ¡°No. Nothing.¡±


    His words did not sound sure, but Aperio couldn¡¯t tell if he was lying or if he had truly found nothing more. In the end it mattered little to her if that prophecy was true. It merely stated that someone was looking for their place in the world. Nothing wrong with that.


    Getting up from her chair attracted the attention of everyone in the room. Now they all seemed to be even more wary of her. Aperio just sighed. Her chance at appearing like a normal friendly Elf had, at least with these people, long since disappeared. She couldn¡¯t complain though, it really was her own fault. Mostly. She wouldn¡¯t take responsibility for breaking wards by just standing near them.


    Walking towards the door, she stopped as Ira spoke up. ¡°Does this mean you will not be joining us?¡±


    That he still wanted her to come was not something she had expected, but she also wasn¡¯t sure if she even wanted to go with them. It likely was her best bet for getting answers, and might earn her a fight with slaving nobles. But in the end those were unknowns. She didn¡¯t even know anything about the city itself. Ebenlowe could be a city filled with people as strong as herself or, going by what she had learned, it was more likely a city full of twigs.


    Answers were something she needed, almost desperately so. Offending a few stuck-up nobles was an acceptable price, and if the city was indeed filled with people as weak as Thaddeus it would be a good opportunity to train restraint. After she had figured out how ¨C and more importantly what ¨C to restrain.


    Having made up her mind she turned around and asked the man, ¡°How long will the journey be?¡±


    The man seemed surprised by her reply for the briefest of moments before his usual demeanor returned. ¡°A week by carriage.¡±


    A week? How far away is this Ebenlowe? ¡°Are there no faster methods?¡± The absence of the feeling of disgust was a welcome change. Has it given up?


    Ira shook his head. ¡°Some might be faster on foot, but most aren¡¯t.¡±


    She had hoped that the man would have suggested flying, but it seemed that it was not common. Not that it was a bad thing, as it meant that fewer people could follow her should she decide to leave.


    ¡°How long until you set out?¡± Aperio inquired.


    ¡°Tonight,¡± Ira replied. ¡°Do you need more time to prepare?¡±


    ¡°I need some time to think. Just point me in the direction you are going to leave in, I can catch up,¡± she said, spreading her wings ever so slightly. I bet I am faster than any carriage they have.


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± He nodded and pointed through a window, towards the rising sun. ¡°We will be following the main road eastwards. I do hope you decide to join us.¡±


    Having said all she needed Aperio stepped past the guard. Once the door had closed behind her, she heard a quiet argument break out. Not caring for their squabbles, she extended her wings to their full length and took flight.


    GamingWolf


    Thinking here also means smashing a few things.


    Do leave a comment if you enjoy the story!


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 Sacrifice – Chapter 16: Sticks and Stones

    GamingWolf


    The air brushing against Aperio¡¯s face brought with it a measure of calm her troubled mind had sorely needed. She hadn¡¯t been lying when she said that she wanted time to think, but that wasn¡¯t all that she needed. Testing her strength was something she should have done as soon as she had returned, but the thought of herself being anything but weak was a strange one that had not quite settled in yet.


    Then there was also the fragmented new-but-old knowledge. She did not know where it came from or why it was even there. It felt like it was always part of her, but she wasn¡¯t willing to trust that feeling. At least not yet. The memory of a life as a spectator in her own body was still fresh and brought with it a healthy distrust of anything magical. Curiosity had already gotten the better of her on a few occasions. Another thing to work on.


    Being wary of oneself was a weird thing, but Aperio wasn¡¯t sure who she was supposed to be. Her life thus far had been as a tool, used as her masters had seen fit. Her duties had, admittedly, been better than most on average, but the outliers were still highly unpleasant memories. Being used as a test subject for new spells and potions wasn''t pleasant at all, and pain was something she had simply learned to live with. Being collared and forced to obey, they had never seen the need to truly break her like they did for the collarless. But why waste time and resources on that when an accessory and a simple command turned an unwilling slave into a willing one?


    It had turned most of Aperio''s life into a blur, not caring what her body was forced to do and not wanting her mind to remember what was done. It hadn¡¯t worked as well as she had wished ¨C some part of her would always care. The voices of the guards mocking her for being sold into slavery by her own mother was one such echo of caring that lingered, even though Aperio herself wasn''t quite sure why she felt so strongly about it. She couldn¡¯t claim to know her actual mother. Moria had filled that role as best she could and Aperio saw no reason to change that. The only reason she had not taken to calling the Beastkin mother was Moria¡¯s express wish to not be addressed as such.


    Aperio did not know why she refused the title. She only knew that ¨C according to Moria ¨C she had failed her duty as a mother and would not sully the dignity of others by claiming to be something she no longer was.


    Thinking about her old friend brought back the very recent memory of the look-alike, Neria. She might have been a bit harsher than needed, but having her hope of reunion crushed had cut deeper than she wanted to admit. Moria was the only person she had ever truly cared about and the prospect of seeing her again had cast away any thoughts of doubt or rationality.


    Reality, however, wasn¡¯t so nice. It had given her someone who maybe, just maybe, was a descendant of some sort. What she was supposed to do with the woman was something she would have to figure out later. If she even met her again.


    Aperio put such thoughts aside as she glided along. For now, she would do the things she was able to accomplish. The most pressing was her test of strength, though she doubted she would be able to figure out much more than she already knew. Breaking stones would only tell you so much.


    The ruins that marked her return to the world were below, still just as broken as they were before, though she thought she could see more greenery atop the various ruined buildings. Probably just my imagination, she thought.


    Flying closer to the ground, she simply stopped beating her wings and let gravity assist her on the last bit down, the stone cracking beneath her feet as soon as her full weight was upon them.


    Another weird thing. She knew she was a lot heavier than before, but not really why or how. What''s changed about me, really? My wings? But they can''t possibly weigh that much. ...my mana? Does that weigh anything? Just one more thing to figure out; if this kept up she would die of old age before she found all the answers she was looking for. Hah, but I already should be dead! Carving one''s heart out was usually a pretty certain journey to the afterlife. But here she was, alive and well.


    A visit to the capital of the Inaru Empire was also placed on her list. Though the Empire had fallen over a thousand years ago, the only hope she had of finding information on the ritual she had participated in would be the place they performed it. If anything is even left.


    Shaking her head, she focused on the task at hand: figuring out how strong she was and what her magic could do.


    A couple of steps brought her to a collapsed house. Bending down she picked up a fairly intact looking stone that was bigger than her head.. The simple act of lifting the piece of rock one handed brought joy to Aperio. If she ever needed to place old tomes somewhere she was sure that she wouldn¡¯t have to struggle. Or she could engage in some belated catharsis and break the shelves herself.


    Closing her hand, she found that the stone offered no resistance and simply crumbled between her fingers. The pieces fell to the ground, but did not break further upon impact. She picked up one of the smaller pieces and held it with two fingers. A little squeeze and the stone broke apart further. Seeing the pieces of rock on the floor, Aperio felt a pang of guilt. She might have to apologise to Thaddeus. The thought of doing that brought with it an even greater wave of disgust and wrong.


    With a sigh, she turned her attention to a nearby tree. Her crash had hurt her more than punching a wall did, leading her to believe that something about this forest was special. The nearest tree was only a couple of paces away, and it seemed as good of a target as any.


    Brushing her hand against the wood felt no different than she remembered. Applying a little pressure resulted in a loud crack and her hand being pushed further into the tree. Her hunch appeared to be correct; somehow, the tree offered more resistance than the stone. Maybe I should take some with me? Breaking off a thicker, low-hanging branch, Aperio moved to pocket it.


    A sigh left her lips as she remembered that her dress, as pretty and comfortable as it might be, had no pockets. She would need to acquire one that had pockets. Or learn whatever it was that Ira did. Maybe I can get back to the Void and use that? Something to try out later. For now the branch could serve another use.


    Extending her left wing, she rammed the improvised spear into it. Just like her crash, there was no pain. The same tingling sensation ran up her spine and into her wings. The feathers that had only been slightly damaged or twisted mended themselves and the few she had actually broken were pushed away by new ones that took their place.


    While it might have looked creepy to an outsider, Aperio was utterly fascinated by her new ability. She repeated her experiment a few more times, always ending with the same result. After the fourth time she tried to focus on the source of the tingle that always danced up her spine. It seemed to appear out of nowhere before it began to flow to the damaged parts, repairing once it reached them.


    The closest thing she had felt to it was her deliberate use of magic as she destroyed the presumed slave collar. It made sense, you needed something to fix the damage and essentially create more of herself. She was, however, unable to tell how much of her mana it used. The lazy river that flowed through her body went by undisturbed and the bottomless well that was her reserve did not change at all. Or at least not on a level she could perceive. Maybe it fills back up too quickly?


    The thought brought another question to the forefront of her mind. How do I make the stuff, anyway? Aperio had never read anything about the origin of mana, nothing definitive at least. The closest she got was a story about how the Gods created the world and everything in it; including mana. It never said what mana actually was though.


    A look within showed what she had seen in the Void. A veritable river that lazily flowed through the entirety of her being and a bottomless well that held a calm and undisturbed ocean of mana. No matter how hard she tried, the source of her power seemed to reach endlessly into the deep.


    Willing a small candle flame into existence had neither a notable impact on the mana in her body nor the mana in the well. Where is that anyway? My soul? Some mana realm? Increasing the size of the flame and letting it dance around her hand also brought no changes. Only after she started to get frustrated and annoyed did she sense something.


    A small tremor sent waves through her well, causing a greater quantity of mana to surge through her body. If she hadn¡¯t been paying attention she would not have noticed. A glance downward revealed some cracks in the stone surrounding her. Almost like the flowers. The stone was just already dead.


    Shaking her head, she shelved the question of what mana was for a later date. People who were a whole lot smarter than her had probably figured it out already, she would just need to find where they had written it down. For now she had more things to test.


    Opening her hand, Aperio tried to pierce her palm with the branch. Instead of the pain and blood she had prepared herself for, the wood simply snapped upon impact. It had hurt a little, but certainly less than her past impalements. Maybe wood is not the best thing to try this with. Looking around, she tried to find a piece of metal she could use but found none. Probably should¡¯ve taken one of those swords with me.


    There was not much she could do about that. Going down again to get one was out of the question as she was sure that it had taken her more than a couple days to escape from there. Why does that thing have over a hundred floors anyway? No dungeon of the Empire she had known had more than two. ...but they also killed most of the prisoners quickly.


    Wandering through the ruins she tried to injure herself with a few other things, but neither glass nor any of the stones she had tried managed to pierce her skin. It seemed safe to conclude that she had very hardy skin. She would still try to cut herself with a sword on her own before she would listen to that tiny voice that said catching them was fine, though.


    She attempted to cut herself one last time. Balling her hand, her fingernails dug in her flesh until she felt the all too familiar sensation of blood flowing from her palm. As soon as she opened her hand again, the warm tingle spread into it and the wound closed before her eyes, leaving nothing behind but some impossibly shiny silvery-red blood. Am I a Silver-Elf now? Does that even exist?


    Being immune to most forms of cutting and piercing was nice, but not knowing what besides herself could cut her made Aperio uneasy. She simply felt like most anything would be fine but she wasn''t yet ready to blindly trust these unknown instincts.


    Having tested her physical durability as best she could at the moment, Aperio directed her attention inwards. It was time to test her magic.


    While she was fairly certain that there was nobody running around in the ruins, she took the time to check most of the buildings. Definitely to make sure she wouldn¡¯t harm someone and not because she wanted to see how fast she could move.


    Dashing between the ruined structures brought a smile to her face. She was right when she had thought that she was faster than a carriage. And that was only running on the ground, her flight was much faster still.


    Having made sure she was alone, Aperio came to a stop in front of the empty fountain. She knew how to summon fire, a mere thought being enough to produce a flame that would bend to her will.


    Much like with the fire she had produced previously, she simply imagined a ball of water hovering above her hand. The by now familiar warmth spread through her, moving to her hand. As quickly as she had thought, a ball of water sprang into existence above her hand. Should¡¯ve tried that sooner.


    Lowering her hand, she found the sphere of water simply stayed where she wanted it to be, not where her hand had moved. A thought later and the ball had grown enough for her to put both of her hands inside. The blood clinging to her palm came off easily enough, not having hardened for Gods know how long.


    Having cleaned her hand, Aperio walked closer to the empty fountain, the small mass of water floating behind her. It felt like the water was an extension of herself in a way, the knowledge of how much there was and where it was coming to her mind just as easily as knowing where her hands were. At the same time, the liquid was its own entity, and she felt it yearning to obey her wishes.


    Depositing the water she had summoned into the fountain, she set to work filling the entire thing. The small puddle she had created before seemed to boil before more water poured out of it, rapidly filling the fountain. Water that makes more water. I love magic. Quite pleased with the result, she stopped her thoughts and the water, too, stopped its rise.


    Forming a rock from nothing and seeing it cut by air was a weirdly amusing sight to Aperio. Another idea came to mind and soon after tiny bubbles of air rose to the surface of the fountain. I should do that in a bath, she thought with a giggle.


    Next on her list to try was the elusive light magic. She had seen it work twice now, though both times from someone devoted to a God. She was wary of trying it herself, as she was not inclined to offer thoughts and prayers to something that had for all intents and purposes abandoned her.


    Aperio wasn¡¯t sure how to even summon a bit of light. She knew the four core elements well enough to imagine how they looked and felt. But light was not something she could connect to an image in her head nor did she have a wound to try and heal. Can¡¯t make one either. Her, apparently natural, regeneration was simply too fast on its own, leaving no time to try and heal it with a conscious effort.


    There was, however, another thing she could try.


    Entering one of the buildings that surrounded the fountain, she grabbed a broken chair and liberated one of its legs. Walking back outside, Aperio took what she assumed to be an appropriate stance to throw her makeshift spear.


    The wood sailed through the air before shattering on the stone wall she had aimed for. She went back and acquired more unorthodox spears before trying again, this time attempting to infuse her throw with light. No matter what she tried to do, the golden glow that the two paladins had managed was absent. Maybe it does need a God? She would have to look into that once she had reached Ebenlowe. Deciding which God to follow was another question entirely. The mere idea of being beneath someone was something her entire being resented. She didn¡¯t want somebody to tell her what to do! If that meant she wouldn¡¯t get some fancy golden magic, then so be it.


    Looking into the sky, she saw the sun had already passed its apex. She had spent more time than she had thought here; running around, testing things. To her the time wasn¡¯t wasted, she had learned that she was sturdier than she had assumed, but still didn''t have a clear idea of exactly how sturdy. Magic seemed to be only limited by what she could imagine and the annoying need for a God.


    Before she would leave to join Ira and the others, she had a couple more things she wanted to try. One of which was mentally ticked of her list as a nearby stone floated towards her. It was soon joined by more of the rubble that surrounded her. Aperio was surprised at the ease with which she could manipulate mana to her whims; before her sacrifice she had only ever used magic of the chanted variety. Not that she would complain of her newfound powers.


    Dropping the sticks and stones she had floated towards herself, Aperio set her sights on one of the more intact buildings. If she went to Ebenlowe she would likely have to fight and while her fists had made short work of the two mages and the demon, magic from afar seemed like the better solution.


    Just like the time she wanted to rid the world of the mage¡¯s collar, she willed a flame into existence. The warmth that accompanied a conscious use of magic was like a welcome friend. Her days as a slave had not always been the most comfortable, temperature-wise, and the idea of being able to chase away the cold appealed to her. Not that I have felt too hot or too cold since I came back.


    Pushing her musings aside, she threw the fist-sized flame at the building in front of her, willing it to expand and swallow it whole. A smile spread across her face as the remains of the house were engulfed by fire. A mental push and the flame grew hotter until the hem of her dress caught on fire, causing Aperio to quickly extinguish it.


    The heat from the burning building had felt like nothing more than a warm summer breeze, but her singed dress told a different story. Her attention was drawn back to the building as what had survived her assault collapsed in on itself. While it wasn''t a living target she was fairly certain that her magic would work just as well on flesh and bone, should it come to it. And if not, then she could always resort to the tried and true: punching.


    I need more clothes, she thought as she touched the burned part of her dress. But I need money for that. What do they even use for currency? I doubt it¡¯s the same coins the Empire had. Yet another thing to ask Ira about once she had caught up.


    There was one more thing she wanted ¨C needed ¨C to test before she left. Steeling her nerves and closing her eyes, Aperio tried to paint the Void in her mind. She wasn''t sure if it would work, but if her other attempts had worked with her imagination alone, then this had a chance. It took time, but eventually the familiar warmth spread through her body, and the feeling of the world around her shifted. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by a black rift filled with countless orbs of light.


    So I can return here. But can I go back...


    The twinkling of the lights around her seemed to call out, begging her to stay and join them in the Void. But she wouldn''t do that yet. As comfortable as she felt here in the black nothingness, Apero wanted to experience the world. She closed her eyes again and sank back into her imagination, willing the world to reappear around her.


    The radiating warmth of sunshine reappeared on her skin, and she knew she had succeeded.


    Following up on an earlier notion, Aperio picked up a piece of singed wood from the ground and returned to the Void. As soon as she saw the river of lights, she felt the wood in her hand crumble. Taking a look at the stick showed it to be dissolving into a silver mist that faded into nothingness once it hovered outside her reach. So I can¡¯t use it as storage.


    Ignoring the call of the lights, Aperio willed the world to return yet again.


    Looking at the setting sun, she kicked off the ground and flew as fast as she could towards where she knew the road would be. There might have been more things she could have tested, but she felt she had accrued enough knowledge to be able to be around people. She found herself wanting to spend more time with them. Talking to them. She paused before correcting herself. Learn how to not make them wince when I talk. Maybe try to learn their language?


    She had much to do and all the time she needed, nobody willing or able to tell her what to do.


    GamingWolf


    If you enjoy the story leave a comment, a rating or simply nod at your screen.


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 Sacrifice – Chapter 17: A Treacherous Road

    GamingWolf


    Friday is chapter day! If you want advanced chapters join the Discord!


    Twirling through the air with a smile on her face, Aperio flew eastwards. It did not take her long to find the road Ira and the others would be travelling on, the cobblestone parting the sea of green easy to spot. She flew higher this time, up past the lower puffy clouds and into the higher layers of white that blanketed the world. Dipping joyously in and out of the upper edges of the clouds, she gave no thought to the droplets of water that clung to her form. The air was thin this high up, but Aperio did not find herself struggling for breath. The sense of joy that flying brought almost allowed her to forget her questions and the inevitable confrontation with the nobles in Ebenlowe. Not that she feared them.


    She was not completely certain that she would be able to beat them in a fight, but everything she had seen thus far led her to believe that she would do fine. Maybe I should ask Laelia to fight me? The woman did want to fight her and a friendly bout would probably not be something she would reject. That would, however, require Aperio to actually ask. Ignoring the disgust and simple sensation of wrong when asking questions was a lot harder to overcome than the one that told her catching swords and breaking walls was fine, completely normal. For her, at least.


    The sound of hooves clattering against stone directed her attention downwards. Below her she was able to spot a carriage moving at a steady pace along the road, and sitting on the drivers seat were Ira and Laelia. Just Thaddeus inside then? It did not really matter who drove and who was inside, Aperio had simply not expected the old man to be the one actually doing it.


    The mere fact that she could see them from her position just below the clouds brought her back to her time awakening in the Void; there she could also see the tiny orbs Gods-know how far away. I have wings, magic and can break walls with my fist now. Why not have eyes that don''t care about distance? While the changes did make her question if she was actually still herself, they were remained welcome. Anything that ensured her freedom would be.


    Not quite wanting to fly down just yet, she followed the carriage until the sun was rising once again. Aperio simply did not know what to do when she joined them. Asking them more questions seemed like the best thing but, judging by who sat where, the only one she could reasonably sit and talk to was Thaddeus. Last time she had tried that, it had not turned out so well. There was also the fact that she might have injured the man, which she didn''t quite know how to process. On the one hand, she did not feel anything for the man. No pity. No remorse. Nothing.


    She did not really care about them, not past the fact that they could provide information for her, anyway. Most of her interactions with their kind were ...less than pleasant. Viewing these Humans as people who did not want to cause her harm was harder than she thought. On the other hand, she did want their help and wanted to avoid appearing as cold-hearted. Though I probably am. That her voice caused them discomfort or even pain was certainly not helping her image. They probably think I do it on purpose as well.


    With a sigh she swooped down. For now they were her only source of information.


    She was closeing in on the carriage when she noticed the tell-tale shimmer of blade in the thick of the woods. She stopped her descent to take a closer look. Hidden behind the trees she could see a few Humans in various armours, mostly leather and chain mail. Members of their party?  While Aperio did want more contact with people ¨C hopefully her own kind as well ¨C she most certainly did not trust any random one she would meet. For all she knew the ones hiding could have been planted by Ira to attack her when she joined them. Not that he would know when I would do that. She decided to observe first; the way the two groups of Humans interacted would hopefully give her enough information.


    Once the carriage had passed a few of the hidden Humans, one of the ones wearing chain mail stepped out onto the road. Aperio could already see Laelia standing up and putting on her helmet. Not their friends then? Aperio considered going down to intervene. None of the Humans looked stronger than the mages ¨C not that that meant much ¨C but she decided to see how the paladin would fare. Maybe if she loses hard? They did help me after all. Having them die at the hands of what she now assumed to be bandits after they had helped her felt almost as wrong as asking questions. What is up with that?


    While she could see them in more detail than she had ever thought possible, Aperio could not hear a single word they said. Not that she needed to, the way the hidden Humans moved were enough of a hint to proove her assumption. Laelia grabbing a spear from somewhere on the carriage and jumping down just confirmed it.


    The speed of the paladin surprised Aperio, but so did her ability to follow the movement. Not that it should, she was able see the world perfectly fine when dashing around at ludicrous speeds after all. The bandit on the other hand seemed to be surprised as he was quickly dispatched by the charging paladin with a stab to his heart. So his armour was useless? She made a mental note to try to get her hand on that spear later if she could. Maybe it would be capable of cutting her skin.


    Another bandit was dispatched when Laelia threw her spear into the forest, nailing him to a tree. Only after two of their men had already died did the others spring into action. A burning arrow was shot at the carriage but harmlessly impacted a shimmering blue barrier that had formed around it. Taking a quick look at the driver''s seat confirmed Aperio''s suspicion; Ira stood there staff in hand, eyes closed, mumbling something. It didn''t look complicated, but neither had light magic. I wonder if I can do that. Then again, do I even need to learn it?


    Her attention went back to the paladin as she engaged two of the leather-clad bandits. The way the woman took a half-step to the side or simply leaned one way or another to dodge her two assailants was mesmerising. Aperio knew their movements to be fast, she could see the others moving at a more normal pace after all, but they still seemed slow to her. Almost sluggish. The same had happened when the mage had thrown a fireball at her, almost like time had slowed down just so she could step aside. She knew now that it wasn''t time slowing down but rather her going faster than anyone should be able to.


    A smile graced Aperio''s face as she saw Laelia swatting an arrow out of the air before taking care of the last bandit attacking her. Before the corpse hit the ground the paladin was already on her way to the archer that had dared to shoot at her. The woman dropped her bow and stumbled backwards as Laelia''s armoured form appeared before her. If Aperio had not seen her actually move, she would have thought the woman to have teleported.


    Instead of killing the archer, Laelia dragged her back to the carriage where Ira had, to her surprise, bound the other two bandits. The fight of the paladin had been too entertaining and thus she had missed how he had captured them. I really should ask her for a fight. Though losing to the woman would be ...disgusting, she did not feel like that would happen. If anything I will misjudge my strength and injure her. Though, that would offer the opportunity to try and heal someone.


    Shaking her head she started to descend again; if the opportunity arose she would gladly take it. For now Aperio was very interested as to why these people would want to attack their own.


    The two friendly Humans were already questioning the surviving bandits when she let herself fall to the ground again. Sadly, she still couldn''t understand a word of what they said. Her rather violent landing did, however, attract the attention of everyone around. A flicker of hope shot through the eyes of the tied up bandits, but that was quickly crushed when Aperio approached Ira.


    "Why did they attack you?" Her voice was barely audible, an attempt to make it more bearable for the people in front of her.


    A snort from Laelia caused Aperio to tilt her head. Was that a stupid question? She hadn''t felt the sense of wrong when asking this one, but it seemed that she should really not trust that feeling.


    Ira made a gesture Aperio did not quite understand, but caused the paladin to continue her questioning before he turned his attention to the Elf. "I cannot claim to know what your experience with banditry is, but here it is quite common for people of the same race to attack one another." He hesitated for a moment before he continued. "Most of the time all they want is money, but sometimes they are hired to remove ...unwanted people."


    Aperio did not answer his implied question, as she had no experience with bandits. All she knew about them was what some of the guards had talked about while she was around and they rarely mentioned what race they belonged to. What she did know was that most of the caught bandits would end up as slaves, though not in the palace.


    "What will happen to them now?"


    This time Laelia spoke before the old man had the chance. "Take to city, judged by [Judicator]."


    "Is that the same one Ira will report the death of the slaver to?" Aperio''s voice had turned cold and one of the bandits looked at her with fear in his eyes. Does he understand me? Focusing her gaze on the man caused him to shiver, trying to make himself as small as he could.


    Apparently recovered from her vocal assault, Ira responded. "No, the [Grandmaster] will be the one I report to. A [Judicator] from the guard or one of the churches will take care of these people. We just have to take them there."


    "That does not tell me what will happen to them."


    Ira paled, gripping his staff tighter. "It will depend on the crimes they have committed in the past. They might be imprisoned, or executed."


    He looked at her apprehensively, almost like he expected her to be angry at his reply. Aperio''s head tilted as she considered his reply. She had no reason to be angry. Human affairs were not hers to meddle in, as long as they did not try to limit her freedom that is. She just wanted to know what would happen to criminals. The Empire simply killed or threw a collar on people they deemed to have broken the law.


    "Will you take them the entire way to Ebenlowe?" Won''t they need another six days to reach it? To her pleasant surprise the feeling of wrong had not made an appearance after her question. Did it learn that it is useless?


    "No," Ira said shaking his head. "Laelia will take them back to the Village and they will take care of it."


    At the mention of her name, the paladin turned around, immediately asking the old mage something in their annoying gibberish. I really need to learn that. Their unintelligible conversation grew in intensity, Laelia seeming to take an unwavering stance that Ira was trying to placate, until Aperio could stand it no longer. Taking a step forward caught the attention of the two arguing Humans. "What is her problem?"


    At her question, the two turned to face her. Much like the time she had met the two, Laelia seemed instantly prepared for battle. Aperio cocked her head to the side. "Does she want to fight?"


    Ira seemed unable to find words for his answer, paling as the two woman continued to stare at one another. Aperio wouldn''t say no to a fight with the paladin. Having seen her take care of the bandits had made the idea of a skirmish all the more appealing. It was awfully close to what she had felt when she imagined taking on the house of the noble that had dared to try and enslave her. Why does the thought of a fight seem so exciting?


    "Please, she means no ill will. Do not kill her." The old man''s voice was shaky, his knuckles white from the strong grip he had on his staff.


    Kill her? She wanted to fight the paladin. To know how strong she was, not to kill her. The deaths of the two mages may have been quite intentional, but the way she had achieved those goals was not. Accidentally having something similar happen to the feisty paladin was not something she wanted. The more Aperio considered the woman, the more she seemed to intrigue her. It was strangely interesting that she was always ready to fight, even when it was clear that she feared her opponent. At least, she assumed the quickened breathing of the paladin to be fear. It could be anticipation as well.


    Laelia shifted her weight, taking what Aperio assumed to be a stance to better engage her. Aperio looked back at the old mage. "I do not want to kill her." The man was visibly relieved, but tensed right back up when Aperio continued. "I would like to fight her, but I want to talk to your [Grandmaster] first." And not accidentally kill her.


    Ira said something to Laelia in their language, his voice still shaky. The woman loosened her grip on her sword and turned to the bound Humans. Once all of them were back on their feet, the paladin started to walk away from the carriage. I don''t understand her. When Aperio turned her attention back towards Ira, she saw him holding his breath. The old mage seemed almost desperate, ready to drop to his knees in order to beg her forgiveness. Am I that scary?


    Aperio heaved a sigh. She thought she had handled this well, but that was apparently not the case. "Can we continue?"


    The question seemed to rip Ira out of his stupor as he hastily bowed and opened the door to the carriage. "Yes, of course."


    Stepping inside, Aperio laid her eyes on a very pale Thaddeus. The old man¡¯s apprentice stared at her, seeming almost too afraid to even blink. She did her best to ignore the young man''s shaky breathing, as well as the groan of the seat as she sat down rigidly straight to avoid squashing her wings. Her attention slowly sank to her hand as she unconsciously began to slowly open and close it.


    That scary?


    GamingWolf


    Finally on the road towards salvation Ebenlowe!

 Sacrifice – Chapter 18: Underway

    Laelia ignored the groaning and muffled complaints of the bandits she was dragging behind her. It had been their choice to attack. Not that her triumph over the bandits mattered much ¨C that Elf could probably kill her without moving a finger. Doesn''t even tell me what level I reached, she thought as she dismissed the tiny blue window that told her she had levelled up. 220? Or 221? Maybe I should check before I leave again? She shook her head at the thought; the less time that Elf was alone with Thaddeus and Ira, the better.


    The way the newcomer behaved was, to put it mildly, odd. On one hand, she seemed aloof, holding knowledge that was far beyond their reach. But on the other, she seemed to not quite grasp the world around her, as if it was somehow foreign to her. Ira had said that she had been in a lengthy seclusion in order to train, and while that made a certain amount of sense, she couldn''t see how the Elf needed it. If anything, Aperio could do with less power. She had bruised Thaddeus through a minor bout of annoyance, and had broken his charm with the simple application of mana infusion. Well, maybe not so simple. After all, I still can''t do it. The thought didn''t make her too sad, as she had other skills to her name. Holy Magic had a greater utility to it than a magical voice. Unless mana practically rolls off of you, it seems.


    What annoyed her most about their guest, however, was the way she seemed to bring out the worst in her own behaviour. Laelia had reacted before she could think on multiple occasions, and most of them ended just shy of a fight. When she had first met Aperio she had been sure she could take her. Just another Elven mage, this one wearing nothing more than rags. How wrong she had been.


    In a sense she was glad that Ira had stopped her pitiful attempt, having seen what that woman did to the wards of the village just by standing near them had put a lid on her will to fight. And now she wants to fight me. Laelia shuddered at the thought. The difference between herself and that Elf was likely the same as the difference between the bandits and herself.


    For a brief moment Laelia wondered how exactly she had become that strong. Unbidden, pictures of blood sacrifices flashed through her mind, followed by memories of savage battles to take the powered-up maniacs down. She had killed enough of them to know how terrifyingly much one could gain from that vile magic. And Aperio first meeting them while covered in blood did not help that mental image any. Not that I could take her down.


    Shaking her head, she increased her speed. The sooner she got back to Ira, the better. No matter how she tried, she simply didn''t trust this Aperio. While she might not be able to fight the Elf, she could at least delay her while Ira and Thaddeus escaped. Not that it would matter much. She can fly. Or use some ridiculous spell nobody has heard about.


    A few of the words mumbled by one of the bandits caught her attention. What? No. He can''t really think she would come to help them, can he? When the mumbling did not cease, she decided to put a stop to it. "The Elf was more likely to kill you than to offer help. You are quite lucky that she doesn''t speak Common. Now be quiet."


    The man fell silent, but his mumbles were replaced by the timid voice of the archer. "M-Miss Paladin?"


    Laelia turned her head to look at the woman while she continued to walk. "Yes ¡®miss¡¯ bandit?"


    The archer shuddered a little but soon found her voice again, shaky as it was. "W-Why would you think that?"


    "Why indeed," the paladin said with a dry laugh. "The last time she heard someone mention slavery and her in the same sentence, she went ballistic." Why am I speaking as if I have known her for years? She shook her head. "No more questions."


    The Festival of Life! She''s been in seclusion for who knows how long, and the festival only happens every three years... is that why she behaves the way she does? Laelia couldn''t claim to know what Elves actually went through during that time. All she knew was that they made quite the fuss about the whole thing. Can''t imagine the core of it being much different from what I have to deal with every month. Maybe they have more pain? Laelia knew little of Elf biology as a whole. She did, however, know that the festival was one of the few chances they had to make children. These days, most people just used the festival as an excuse to have fun, Elves included. Is she a traditionalist, maybe?


    The thought of that Elf meeting some of the more stuck-up nobles was a fun one, but also something she could do without. Laelia lived in Ebenlowe, and would like there to continue to be an Ebenlowe for her to live in. Until I find them, at least. The memory of years past caused her to quicken her pace yet again; she would get this done as fast as she could.


    Should I just carry the carriage to the city? It would certainly make the journey quicker. But what of the horses? The animals had done nothing to upset her, besides being slower than she liked, and having them dangle in the air seemed wrong; so did leaving them.


    Aperio, staring at her hand, heaved a sigh. So boring.


    A look at Thaddeus showed that he was still as scared as ever, trying to be as small as possible in the opposite corner of the carriage. As soon as she laid her eyes on the man, he redoubled his efforts to appear invisible. She understood why he was scared, on an intellectual level at least. For him the ordeal was likely an attack of sorts and, while she was thoroughly annoyed, she should have kept her new strength in mind. Though I already held back a lot. She also found that she did not particularly want to hold back; now that she finally had magic, and was strong, she wanted to use it.


    She fixed her eyes on the young mage as she thought. Should I ...apologise? The idea left a foul taste in her mouth, enough to make her retch if she hadn''t been used to more vile things. A part of her wanted to simply listen to her new instincts, but a bigger part rebelled against the thought of bowing to it.


    Her eyes wandered back to her hand, slowly balling it into a fist before opening it again. She was her own master, not forced to obey some feeling! Unbound! Free from the silly rules of¡­ What? Aperio blinked, rubbing her head to ease the headache, her brows knitted together in confused frustration. What am I supposed to remember? She could recall her life! Every tiny, agonising moment. In more detail than she had any right to. And yet there was something missing. But how do I know it is missing when it wasn''t there before?


    A muffled whimper brought her attention back to Thaddeus. What she saw caused her to tilt her head; the young man was shivering and covered in a thin layer of frost. Breathing out, she noticed her breath forming a tiny cloud that quickly rose to the ceiling. Oh. Her mind no longer focusing on the absence of knowledge she did not know she should possess, the carriage began to heat back up. How does it do that? She shook her head at the thought. It doesn''t matter.


    "I¡­" Her voice caused Thaddeus to tremble and her to hesitate for a moment. After a moment she pressed on. She wouldn''t give in to that stupid feeling. "I would like to apologise."


    The man still winced at her words, but gave her a look of confusion nonetheless. If I talk any quieter nobody would understand me. I need to figure out how to restrain my¡­ What did he call it? Presence?


    Having no idea how she could even tell what her presence was like, she opted to continue with the hushed voice for now. ¡°I did not expect you to be so... ¡± She hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right word while fighting the feeling bile rising in her throat. ¡°Frail.¡±


    Of course there was no actual bile, the food she had consumed had long since disappeared to Gods-know where. Definitely not where it should end up though. A matter for a different time.


    Thaddeus still did not respond, but at least he had stopped shivering. Aperio simply looked at him, head cocked slightly to the side. He had talked before¡­ is he just that scared? She had been through worse and could still talk to those who did it. Though the words were never what I wanted to say.


    Maybe it was just me? She quickly dismissed the notion; she had not been special in any way. Maybe now I am. Or am I like this now because I was different before? The thought was shelved for later; Aperio wouldn¡¯t find answers here. Thaddeus was too frightened to talk to her and Ira had to drive. And Laelia just wants to fight? What the paladin really wanted was still a mystery to her.


    She acted like she did not care what Aperio thought, but every time she got annoyed or irritated the paladin would prepare for combat, almost as if she expected Aperio to lash out at any moment.


    She briefly considered asking Thaddeus about Laelia. Very briefly. He seemed unable or unwilling to talk to her, even after she had apologized ¨C if one could call it that. Stuck in the carriage, her options seemed limited, and boredom began rising once more. In an effort to do something, anything, Aperio decided to try to figure out the mystery of what Ira had called her presence. He had asked her about the mana in her body, which was a tiny amount compared to the vast amounts she could draw on. That tiny amount, however, seemed to be much larger than the norm. But all it does is flow around.


    If she focused on the mana coursing through her body, she could feel every bit of it, follow it, see where it went. Just not where it came from. Closing her eyes in order to better pay attention, Aperio''s seated self settled into calmness. Her mana seeped gently through her flesh and bones, again and again like waves upon the shore.


    While she was paying such close attention, her view seemed to magnify and she was finally able to observe how the mana changed her. With every pass, she could perceive herself growing stronger, her muscles feeling firmer, her skin becoming sturdier. It was only a minuscule amount of change with each wave, but nonetheless it left her physical self improved every time. Is that normal? The mana that brought these changes seemed to fuse with her body, every drop that vanished instantly replaced.


    Did this also happen while I was in the Void for¡­ Millennia?


    It would certainly explain her strength. Previously, Aperio had assumed it to be a purely magical boost, rather like the way the Royal Guard had used their own mana to strengthen themselves. She had seen them pass out during their training, and sometimes had even been tasked with delivering (and administering) mana potions to help them recover more quickly. She knew those guards used mana as a temporary boost to strengthen themselves ¨C Or they were very good actors.


    While it was a pleasant discovery, it did not tell her what exactly her presence was nor why this was happening. An idea crept into her mind as she was observing the inner workings of her body with such proximity. Would she be able to find out if any of the vast amounts of mana flooding her body was leaving her in any way? Aperio did not know if the notion was stupid or not, but neither did she care. A lot of things that did not make a whole lot of sense were happening to her, so her notions of impossibility were shifting on the daily.


    She did not know how much time had passed, but after looking again and again, Aperio found something. There was indeed mana leaving her, flowing into the surroundings. If she focused on it, she could actually spot tiny arcs of silvery-blue almost playfully streaking through the air and a constant hazy fog that surrounded her. As soon as she blinked the world looked normal again, and Aperio had to start finding those escaping tendrils all over again. Is that my ...presence? Looks more like an aura to me.


    Aperio wanted to immediately try and manipulate the mist and the playful arcs, but she feared that she might further injure the man sitting across from her. He seemed to be very easily affected by the mana that surrounded her. Is that why he doesn''t speak? She was about to ask when a noise from the outside and the slowing of the carriage took her attention.


    Once they had come to a stop, Aperio opened the door, briefly noting that the sun had started to rise again. How long was I figuring things out? Turning towards the front of the carriage, she saw Ira speaking with a group consisting of two Humans, a Beastkin and an Elf. The Beastkin wore a full plate, had a sword strapped to his hip and a shield on his back. One of the Humans and the Elf wore robes that denoted them as magicians of some kind, at least to her, though the robed Human also had a bow strung across his back. The last member of their party wore leather armour that reminded her of the bandits, but seemed to be of a much higher quality. Much like the leather-wearing Human she had seen in the ruins, this one too had a pair of daggers at their side.


    Maybe it was the noise of the door or the mana that clung to her that drew their attention, but the Elf, as well as the robed Human, turned to face her. Ira hesitated briefly as the Human seemed to ask him something, but then he nodded and gave a response.


    Aperio heard the Human whisper a ''be careful'' to the Elf before they came her way. She simply cocked her head at their approach. Are they Adventurers or simple Mercenaries? Is there even a difference?


    GamingWolf


    One of the biggest complaints I''ve received is the slow schedule and I am happy to say that things look up in that regard. I am currently building a backlog and am working my way to a 1 chapter every 4 days schedule. At the current pace the new schedule will likely start sometime in November. Unless work and/or Uni suddenly decide to swamp me.


    I have also made a Patreon where you can read a few chapters ahead, you can currently read chapter 19 and 20 on there. How many chapters in advance I will offer is still subject to change but it will probably be between 1-5. If you have any comments or questions regarding this feel free to ask.


    As always if you want to chat, feel free to join the Discord.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 19: Actualisation

    GamingWolf


    The party of two approached her, the robed Elf stopping briefly to chant a spell under his breath. When he continued on his way a faint blue hugged his form. With the thin barrier surrounding him, his steps seemed to have more confidence. For Aperio, it was just a reminder that she had to work on her aura.


    What was of interest to her, however, was that the Human seemed completely unconcerned. It likely didn''t mean much, as neither Ira nor Laelia had shown much of a reaction to her until she had first spoken, but it was intriguing nonetheless.


    As the pair continued their approach, Aperio stepped out of the carriage, closing the door behind her. Her wings seemed to be the center of attention yet again as both of their eyes lingered on them. "What do you want?"


    The question drew their attention away from her feathered limbs and caused the Elf to bow slightly. Both Aperio and the robed Human gave the man a look of confusion. Before either of them managed to ask, the bowing Elf righted himself and spoke. "It is an honour to meet an Elder of the Moons."


    The fact that he had spoken not in Common but the language of their kind only managed to gain a passing interest from her. The title he had used was much more intriguing. Even Ira had turned away from the rest of the Adventurers, either able to understand what the Elf had said or ¨C more likely ¨C recognising the title.


    Elder, to her, meant a leader or teacher, and she was neither of those. Her pale skin and taller than average stature, however, would be enough for anyone who knew at least a little about Elves to draw a particular conclusion. She was a Moon Elf, though looks did not always align with origins. Shaking her head, she replied, "I am not an Elder."


    The man looked at her for a moment, confusion in his eyes, before he quickly nodded. "Not here for politics, then. I apologise."


    He doesn''t believe me, does he? "That does not tell me why you are here."


    "Ah yes. We were supposed to investigate what had happened near the ruins, but the old man has already given us the information we need." He laughed as he glanced at Ira before he quietly continued. "Three days of travel for nothing. At least we still get paid."


    That she likely wasn''t supposed to have heard him was pointedly ignored, as what he had said was quite unsettling. Three days? I spent almost four days figuring out this aura stuff? I can¡¯t even control it yet! Not having to sleep or eat was certainly nice, but it seemed to mess with her perception of time. Aperio had thought that she had just spent the night trying to figure it out. Is it because of the changes that time seems so¡­ irrelevant?


    She had been unconcerned with it when she had made her way out of the ruins, dismissing it as an unimportant circumstance of her surroundings. But if she wanted to live with others, disappearing for days on end was probably not the best idea. Maybe there are other people who don''t need to sleep? It was yet another thing she would, hopefully, find the answers to in Ebenlowe. For now, there was something else on her mind.


    "Why does your friend keep staring at me?" The robed Human had been fixated on her during their talk. Yes, she had wings, but otherwise she looked like a normal Elf. Maybe he has a thing for Elves? Should that be the case, he would be saddened to find out that Aperio held no interest in those matters. At least, not now, and most definitely not with him. She was in no rush to be reminded of the times she had been ordered to share a bed with the men and women that called themselves her masters.


    As she was contemplating the periphery of the subject, a thought occurred to her. Given her current physical state, would any partner she hypothetically chose even survive the encounter? She could pick up a stick or a stone without breaking them, or even put on her fragile dress without ripping it, but as soon as she tried to gently nudge a person they''d go and fall to the ground. Maybe it was an unconscious assumption on her part that a living being should be able to withstand more than a stick. Or, more likely, it was pent-up frustration from her life as a slave.


    Control was something she sorely needed to work on, both physical and magical. She could not reasonably expect everyone she met to have a barrier handy, nor could she expect people to simply accept that their wards would break when she came by. Not that they could do much to stop it. A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought of a group of guards trying to apprehend her for damaging their wards. Why do I want them to try?


    "Pay him no mind, he is just taken by your aura," he said with a small laugh, pulling her out of her thoughts. "His goal in life is to seek out and fight people he deems powerful. Those are his words, not mine."


    Aperio turned to look at the Human. A fight? He did not strike her as powerful, but neither had she thought of herself as such. Having a willing participant to fight caused something within to her fall into place and the feeling of excitement she had felt at the mere thought of a fight was back in force. She did not know why, but she wanted to fight. If not this man, then something else. Power flowed through her body, not the calm mana she had investigated during the ride but something more. Something pure. The introspective lazy river of mana could not compare to what flooded her being.


    A part of her she never knew should be there was suddenly back, and with it came an undeniable urge to assert herself as stronger.


    As better.


    It felt so right.


    Whatever it was that flowed through her brought with it parts of the knowledge she had tried to remember before. Knowledge that was hers but somehow had not found its way back. The Void, a place unbound by the laws of mortals. Her home. Her Domain. Hers to do with as she pleased.


    She had thought herself weak for most her life, unable to fight against her masters or the collar. Her only solace was that she did not go mad, as some of her peers did. Aperio had always remained lucid. For better or for worse. She had tried to remain strong, to somehow fight what was happening to her, but it had never worked. In the end, she had given up. Resigned herself to be an observer trapped in her own body, eagerly awaiting her end. Now she was here, back from the dead; stronger than she would have ever thought possible.


    It would seem that the Empire had managed to create a God; just not the one they had desired.


    She wanted to let the world know who she was; impose her will on all of creation.


    In the corner of her eye she saw silver-blue arcs streaking through the air around her. She heard a faint snapping and someone yelling, but she did not care. Her attention was focused on the robed Human in front of her. She took a heavy step towards him, leaving cracked stone behind. Another step and she was directly in front of him. She could hear his ragged breathing, struggling against what she now knew to be her aura. Tilting her head to the side she asked. "You want to fight me?" A challenge had been issued and she would take it.


    The Human in front of her meant nothing. Just an adventurer that had come here to challenge her. His life was as good as any for a test of her strength.


    A trickle of blood running from his nose ripped Aperio out of her trance. Before she was able to ask the man any more questions, he toppled over. She caught him before he hit the ground, and felt surprise at how light he was. Like a feather. It was difficult to gauge how much strength she should use, but she took extra care to cause no more harm. After laying the man on the ground as carefully as she could, Aperio took a deep breath to steady her thoughts.


    Is that why the Void feels like I belong there? Because it is my¡­ Domain? She wanted to question her thoughts, argue that she was not what they claimed to be, but she knew it was right. Not like the feeling of wrong she got when she wanted to ask a question or the vague sense that it was fine to catch a sword with her hand. No, this knowledge was absolute. Shaking her head she turned to look at her surroundings; if the Human in front of her had been injured others might have been as well.


    The carriage seemed fine, but the same could not be said about Ira and the other adventurers. The armour-clad Beastkin had sword and shield in hand, ready for battle, but he also seemed to be ready to collapse at any moment. Ira and the Elf leaned against the carriage itself, seemingly spent. The adventurer in leathers appeared to be largely unaffected and tending to a Thaddeus that was so pale Aperio could swear he had no more blood left in his body.


    All of this because I got excited? ...Because a Goddess got excited? She had been brushing aside the title ever since she had returned from the Void, as she didn''t really feel like a Goddess. However, given her recent experiences she found she had to reconsider the thought.


    She had not previously known how to fly, but now she knew how to. And it worked. This knowledge that had appeared from thin air also had that same tinge of knowing. Of truth.


    Thinking of herself as a Goddess felt right, but only almost. It was as though there was something still missing. Maybe because I don''t know what my Domain is supposed to be? She knew the Void to be hers, but Goddess of the Void was not right. Yes, it was hers to rule, but she felt more like the Queen of the Void with the tiny orbs of lights as her subjects. Maybe it is only the lights?


    The image of the little lights brought another memory to the forefront of her mind. Souls! She had entertained the notion that they were souls before, but now the word alone felt like the truth. Why I am so sure about that now? Thinking about it further, Goddess of Souls also felt off, as did Death, and most other things she could think of pertaining to the afterlife.


    Looking within herself, she could still feel whatever had been set free coursing through her, waiting for her to command it. It felt like a purer form of mana, more potent. Right. Like something she should have used all along. A closer look revealed that it was merging with the rest of her mana, both in her body and in what she had come to call the Well. While she was curious to know if this new mana changed the way her body was being enhanced, she first wanted to try her hand at healing. And maybe stop the rest from trying to attack her.


    As she took off the hood of the Human, she noticed the blood coming from both his nose and ears. Why it came from there she did not know, but it wouldn¡¯t keep her from trying to heal the damage. If it went wrong, he only had himself to blame. Mortal against a Goddess. She almost snorted at the thought. Even if she had not truly known what she was before, she had known it to be an unfair fight. But he had managed to reveal things to her. Maybe I should thank him? The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly discarded it. He likely had not known what she was and had simply looked for a fight as the Elf had said.


    Now, how do I heal?


    Very carefully placing her hand on his chest, Aperio tried to imagine the Human as she had seen him before. Conscious, no blood running from his nose and ears. She waited, but the warmth of magic did not come. Opening her eyes showed that the man was still just as injured as before. Do I need to know what exactly is wrong with him? ...How would I even do that?


    On a hunch she tried to push her mana into the man. It always felt eager to obey her every whim, so why not try to use it to figure out what was wrong? Aperio felt surprisingly little resistance when she eased her mana in the Human. What came next, however, was not what she had expected. She could feel ¨C see ¨C the man''s mana rushing through his body, trying to mend his wounds only to fizzle out when it reached them; sucked into an abyss that screamed death to her. Did I do that? ...With my voice?


    It only took a couple of seconds before he had more of her mana in him than his own, and his body seemed to try and fight against the invasion of foreign mana at first. As soon as Aperio directed it to aid the man''s own efforts to heal, it stopped resisting. She watched in fascination as, with the help of her mana, the broken parts stitched themselves together, stronger than before; just like it had with her. That''s not light magic, is it.


    It did not take long before she couldn''t feel any more wrong with the man, not that it meant much. Aperio knew precious little on how Humans worked, she had simply let the man''s mana lead the way. It seemed to know what he needed.


    She quickly pulled her hand away as she felt his chest try and fail to rise below her hand. The man flew into a coughing fit as he attempted to sit up. Once he had his breathing under control he muttered a quiet "What?" and looked at Aperio with an expression she could not place.


    Aperio simply cocked her head to the side. "I think I won."


    GamingWolf


    Some of you had already figured out she was some kind of God, and you were right. But nobody has figured out what her Domain is yet!


    Sneaky links to Discord and Patreon.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 20: Aura

    GamingWolf


    Aperio looked between the man she had just healed and the others in front of the carriage. The silence was only broken by the clattering of armour as the Beastkin finally gave in to his exhaustion and let himself fall. Should I try to heal him as well? She set aside the thought for now, as she did not even know if her first attempt had succeeded. Just because her patient seemed fine did not mean that he actually was.


    Turning her attention back to the man she had, presumably, healed, she found him still staring at her. "Something wrong?" Aperio''s voice was back to a whisper, not wanting to knock the man out again. Adding a feeling of power to her voice was easy, almost second nature; doing the opposite was not something she had figured out quite yet. The best she could manage was lowering her voice to what she thought was a barely audible level. So far they managed to understand her just fine, and only flinched slightly.


    ¡°Yes-No¡­ I just¡­¡± His voice trailed off as he simply stared at Aperio again. She still could not place the expression he had. Her best guess would be fear, and possibly something akin to reverence? Or is he just not able to process that someone is stronger than him? It did not matter for now. She would give him some time to gather his thoughts. And my own.


    Realising she was a Goddess was a lot more anticlimactic then she had assumed it would be. There was no grand display of power ¨C at least from Aperio¡¯s perspective ¨C and no enlightenment.


    Standing up, Aperio moved towards the group by the carriage. The Beastkin tried and failed to stand up to her approach while Ira and the robed Elf did not even lift a finger to try and stop her. Stepping past the three, she came to a stop behind the leather-clad adventurer.


    She was intrigued as to what had happened to Thaddeus. Besides being deathly pale and unconscious, the young mage did not appear to be injured in anyway. Her approach had not stopped the Human, who was doing... Aperio had no idea what he was doing. The Human poked at a few places with needles, then having seemed to find at least a partial answer he reached out and gave Thaddeus some form of potion before returning to his needles and continuing to explore the unconscious man''s skin with them.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The man winced at her words; she had forgotten to speak in a whisper and it showed. While it might be a hindrance to living a normal life, Aperio actually found herself enjoying the feeling of power in her voice, and the almost ethereal quality of it. Now that it wasn¡¯t hoarse from not having spoken for actual millennia any more, she actually liked to hear her own words. Though, the fact that she got to choose what she said might be another factor for her enjoyment.


    ¡°I am trying to ease his pain,¡± he replied in a gruff voice without turning away from his task. He did not give her any more attention as he engrossed himself in his work, seemingly unimpressed by her previous show of force. The question of how sticking needles in someone was supposed to help was quickly replaced with another thought as she stared at his back. Maybe he is a better test subject?


    She shook her head in an effort to clear her mind of the itch to fight, but only managing to force it to a silent corner of her mind. There was a more immediate concern, a question she wanted answered. If this man could lessen Thaddeus¡¯s pain, he might also know why he reacted the way he did to her presence; to her aura.


    ¡°Why is he even in pain? I know some people find it...¡± Her voice trailed off. She did not want to admit what she knew to be true, it felt disgusting to do. But she had no choice if she wanted answers. I had always thought a Goddess was supposed to just know things. With an inaudible sigh, she steeled herself and tried again. ¡°Some find it... unpleasant to stand near me or hear me talk, but none of them show the reaction he does.¡±


    Her statement caused the man to finally turn and face her. His face did not match the voice Aperio had heard. She had expected an old man like Ira. Experienced. Weathered. One that could lead the group of adventurers. Instead she saw a face whose age she could not place. It wasn''t due to the presence of beauty or timelessness that she was unable to guess, but simply because Aperio was unable to determine someone''s age without an obvious indicator. Like grey hair, or wrinkles, or youthful exuberance.


    "I know you Elves don''t deal with this stuff often, but show some restraint! The man did not choose his ability to feel every bit of mana in the air. He was trying his best to keep his composure and ignore the pain, while you continue to walk around shining with mana like the Gods-damned midday sun."


    After the man had fallen silent Aperio could feel the eyes of everyone present on her, waiting for her response with bated breath. She could hear the Beastkin''s sword move in its sheath, the wood of Ira''s staff groaning slightly under his strained grip, and an almost inaudible rustle of a robe.


    The thought that she should punish this foolish mortal for his words, rip him limb from limb and post his head on a pike so nobody else would dare to disrespect her, briefly flashed through her mind.Then, she gently discarded the notion. She actually kind of enjoyed his bluntness, even if a part of her wanted ¨C demanded ¨C his death.


    Restraint was something she sorely needed, but had no idea how to do. She knew that her aura was a tangible thing, as she could see it if she concentrated. But it is my mana, isn''t it? Shouldn''t I be able to control it? The process of seeing her aura was surprisingly easy once she knew what she had to do.


    The hazy-fog she had seen in the carriage hung in the air around her, stretching as far as she could see. Does it look¡­ denser? It did appear to be heavier, a proper fog. Thick enough that it should reduce her vision to an arm''s length, and yet, it didn''t seem to be there at all. Because of the purer mana? Or will it just become denser the longer I live? She was sure she could touch it at this point, but Aperio did not want to try that now on the off-chance she could not. Appearing as anything but regal and in control still felt disgusting to her. Do all Gods feel this way?


    While she would not try to physically move the fog, she would most certainly try to move it with her mind. So far the mana had done what she wished, even when it was no longer in her body or Well. With nothing more than a thought, the fires she had started extinguished themselves as easily as she had made them. So why wouldn''t it work on her aura.


    Focusing on controlling ¨C touching ¨C the fog sent her mind spinning. Small insects scurrying through the underbrush, a worm burrowing itself deeper into the ground, the trees gently swaying in the wind ¨C she felt everything around her. If the sheer amount of information flooding her mind wasn''t so overwhelming she would have been in awe, but as it was she wanted it to stop. She didn''t want to know that thousands of ants were currently running around their burrow or that a bird was building a nest in a tree to her left.


    Before she was drowned in the sensation of knowing every tiny detail around her, Aperio let her control over the fog drop. As suddenly as it had appeared, the influx of information slowed to a trickle, the connection still present but subdued. It stays? She could still feel the presence of the world around her, in places she both could and could not see, but it was now muted. Like the view from a foggy window, it was lacking in detail, and ever-so-slightly distorted.


    All of this just because I¡­ I don''t know? Accepted that I might be a Goddess? Aperio could not quite wrap her head around the concept. Why is this happening now? The only thing that had changed was that she no longer outright dismissed the notion of being something divine. But, it''s not like many things make sense at the moment. Maybe the world is indeed broken.


    It was an amusing yet frightening idea. But, when she considered what was happening to her and how the stone had only produced garbled mess it was not so easily dismissed. Maybe the world wasn¡¯t meant to have another Goddess? Or I am not supposed to be here, but in the Void?


    Directing her attention back to the people surrounding her revealed no change. Either they had not noticed, or her lapse had happened a lot more quickly than it had seemed. Not that time has felt very consistent lately.


    This time prepared for the mental assault, Aperio tried to increase her control over her aura. At first she tried to sense the leather-clad man that had gone back to poking needles into Thaddeus. The information was there; not nearly as detailed as it was the first time, but no longer distorted. She knew where he was and what he did without looking at him, almost like she knew where the debris was that she had floated behind her. How it worked, she did not know, but neither did she care. She already had enough questions and simply taking it as something all the Gods could do was probably for the best. At least for now.


    Trying to glean more from her aura, she felt a slight resistance as she directed more of her attention on the leather-clad man. A thin barrier, just like the one the Elf had used, was doing its best to block her. It seemed so fragile to her, a tiny poke and it would be gone. But she did not break it to sate her curiosity. This was supposed to be an exercise in restraint, after all.


    If her will dictated how much of her mana drifted where, she could surely just retract it, put it back in her body.


    Her attempt was met with failure.


    The mana refused to enter, and simply clung to her like a second skin. She stopped her attempt fairly quickly, as there was simply too much to reasonably keep close to her. That would probably only make the problem worse. The concentration of her mana was already denser near her, increasing that range would probably mean that she would break wards from even further away.


    Her next experiment also accomplished little. Trying to push the fog of mana away from her resulted in more mana simply taking its place. She did not even feel it leave her Well or body. It was either too little to notice, got replaced too fast or came from somewhere else.


    There was one last thing she could think of to try. It wasn''t really showing restraint but it should have the same effect. Creating a bubble of nothing in her aura was the most strenuous use of magic she had done so far. Guiding the mana away and stopping the rest from filling its place took more effort than she had thought it would, but once it had formed, it seemed to stay, obediently informing her where it was like any other magic she had used. Even moving it was easy when she compared it with the initial effort of creation. Or is it removal?


    Whenever the bubble of nothing got within arm''s reach of Aperio, it seemed to falter. The mana right next to her was, perhaps, too dense for it to cope with, and so it tended to nudge around the outer edges of the denseness, taking the path of least resistance. Why did it take me so long to sense this, and yet manipulating it is so easy? ...Almost like flight. Where her knowledge came from was rapidly moving up on her list of things to learn.


    Letting her test bubble collapse, she formed a new one around Thaddeus and the adventurer. The man stopped his needle-poking and looked at her with what she would call a relived expression. Was he scared I would hurt him after what he said? There was still an urge to do just that, but she had already declared such feelings to be advisers at best.


    The man merely gave her a nod of thanks before he continued tending to Thaddeus. He did not ask what she did, seemingly content that she did something. Maybe it''s good that he didn''t ask? I can''t really explain what I did after all.


    Moving a short distance away, she sat down. None of the others seemed ready to talk or do anything aside from looking exhausted. Even the man she had healed still only shifted his gaze between Aperio and something only he could see. For Aperio it was a good opportunity to better learn how to use her aura. And come up with a better name for it.


    GamingWolf


    It might not be what people thought would happen when they asked her to restrain herself, but it sure does work!


    Obligatory Patreon and Discord plug.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 21: Roadside Revelations

    GamingWolf


    The blue-tinted window still hung in the air in front of Arden. The woman responsible for it was sitting on the ground with her eyes closed, seemingly uncaring for her surroundings while Roland was still fussing over the old [Guide]''s apprentice. He shifted his attention back to the notification, still not quite believing what it said. Or understanding what it said for that matter.


    You have received a blessing from A??p?e??r??i?????o???,? ??? ??s????????a???k??????i??????????? ???n???j????????u??????????m????????n???? ????d???????????i????


    Do not disappoint.


    The blessing part was easy to figure out; from who it came was harder. The only readable part of it was ''Aperio''. Not that it meant much to him, as he knew of no God or Goddess with that name. Whose name is it, then? Hers? Maybe she is a priestess of some kind.


    But why does it say ''Do not disappoint''?


    He glanced back at the woman who was still sitting on the ground, ignoring what was happening around her. Arden tried to recall what had happened but could only remember approaching her together with Merius, and them talking in what he assumed to be some Elven language. Then, the woman had turned to him, and...his mind went blank. The last thing he knew before he woke back up was that the air around her seemed to be alive in some way.


    Arden was taken from his thoughts by Perian. "You okay? Got some blood on your face." Despite the heavy breaths he took between the words, the Beastkin''s rumbling voice sounded calm. In control. After he had received a nod from Arden he continued, "What did Merius say to make her do that?"


    "I don''t know. They spoke in some language ¨C something Elven, maybe ¨C and once she turned to face me I¡­ I passed out?"


    "You did." Perian said, nodding. "She asked if you wanted to fight her, but I think she might have overestimated your strength as well as ours. I didn''t know it was possible for a person to do something like this with only their voice."


    "Yeah, I don''t think I can fight her. Jayren would probably try though, if she really did do that with just her voice."


    Perian only gave a grunt in response, as for some reason he did not approve of the other mage of their group. Arden wanted to tell him about the blessing but was stopped when the hairs on his neck stood up and an inexplicable feeling of dread washed over him. When he tried to find the source he only found the Elven woman looking at him with narrowed eyes. She held his gaze for a second longer before going back to what Arden assumed to be a kind of meditation.


    Do not disappoint. The message echoed through his mind. Arden did not know what was meant by that, but he was very sure that if he should somehow disappoint the God behind the blessing, the Elf would make short work of him. A thought surfaced on the fringes of his mind, almost lost in the swirl of contradictions it brought with it. What if she gave the blessing?


    With a firm shake of his head, Arden dismissed the idea and the window that still hung in the air in front of him. "I need to talk to Roland."


    "Something you want to tell me?" Perian asked.


    "Once I know what it is, I will tell you."


    The Beastkin simply grunted at that and moved back to Merius and the old [Guide], making sure they had what they needed. Arden was happy they had brought him on ¨C the knight had saved them more than once already, and his calm and caring personality was something they needed. Too bad Enrya and Jayren aren''t here. The surprisingly knowledgeable thief and enigmatic mage would be a nice reassurance should that Elf ¨C Is she even one? ¨C decide to do more than violently dispense blessings.


    Wiping the bit of blood off of his face, Arden stood up. His legs did not feel shaky and neither did his head swim like it usually would after getting knocked out. Maybe getting a blessing heals you? Now I just have to figure out what else it does, if anything. A few quick steps brought him past the exhausted looking mages and behind Roland. The monk was sticking his needles into the young man that lay unconscious on the ground. Roland had once explained what the needles did, but Arden had already forgotten. Something about allowing mana to flow better?


    "Roland, you have a minute?"


    "Yes. As the Lady has decided to no longer drown the poor boy in mana, I can spare a moment." The man''s voice was just loud enough that the woman in question had to have heard it. The Elf showed no reaction, still sitting on the ground, not a thought spared to the rather expensive-looking dress she wore.


    Arden lowered his voice to a whisper he was sure none could hear, and also hoped that the sitting Elf could not speak Common. "You, uh, know a lot about the Gods right?"


    "That I do my friend!" A delighted smile spread on the monk¡¯s face as he answered. "What can I help you with?" The volume of his reply attracted the attention of everyone around, though only the [Guide] looked like he had an understanding of what was said.


    "Please! Quiet!" he urged the man in a raised whisper.


    "Something personal then?"


    Arden nodded to the monk¡¯s thankfully quiet question. "When I woke up, I got a notification that said I received a blessing, but it was all messed up and I could only make out a bit of the name."


    The rhythm of needle-sticking abruptly ceased as Roland turned to face him more fully. "Messed up? How? And what could you make out?"


    He scratched the back of his head. "Scattered and messy. Like it tried to layer lots of different texts on top of each other," he finally said, unable to come up with a better explanation. "As for the name¡­ the only part I could read properly seemed to spell ''Aperio'', but I have never heard of a God or Goddess with that name. Can it be that the name of the priest that officiated the blessing shows up?"


    Roland shook his head. "No. The System always shows the name of the God that gave the blessing. As for the messed up part... I cannot tell you much about it. I know that some [Appraisers Stones] can produce a garbled screen if they can''t deal with the power of the person using them, but I have never heard of the System itself breaking in that way."


    Arden turned to look at the woman he now assumed to be Aperio. "I''m certain it came from her. What is she? A Goddess that chose to come out of hiding?"


    Roland followed his gaze and remained silent for a few breaths. "I don''t know for sure, but I don''t think that is the case. Word was given to all churches from their respective Gods the last time the pantheon grew. Even Roots had announced it. It would also not explain why the notification broke."


    "Can you at least tell me what the blessing does?"


    All he got in response to his question was a short laugh. "You''d have to ask her."


    While it was nowhere near perfect, Aperio''s control over her aura got better by the minute. At first she had always tried to think of a logical way to make things work, but it turned out that all she needed was to will the mana to do what she wanted. A simple flex of her mental muscles and it obeyed. No complicated formulas needed; to an extent, at least. She could not make it disappear, only move it, and neither could she figure out where it came from. Another thing of note was that, much like how the mana consistently changed her body, her aura was expanding ever so slowly with her as some kind of beacon at its centre.


    The Human she had healed had caught her attention a couple of times. He had talked to the Beastkin, mentioning someone named Jayren that would potentially want to fight her. Please do. Her attention had been drawn again by her own mana, which was buzzing around the Human like a swarm of angry insects. She had tried to figure out the cause of such a reaction, but had come up short for the moment.


    Then, when he had spoken to the needle-man, the delighted outburst was impossible to ignore. He was rather loud when expressing his eagerness. Better hearing is not always a blessing it seems. Not that it had hurt, but it was annoying nonetheless.


    She tried to listen to their conversation, but they had switched back to the incomprehensible gibberish they called their language and the only thing she could understand was her own name. How does he know my name? Did I miss Ira telling him that? She had not been the best at paying attention recently, so it was a plausible enough answer for her liking. Who knows how long they talked before I noticed we had stopped.


    Focusing back on her aura, she tried something she should have already done in the ruins. At the time she had not thought of it as she had thought herself limited to creating magic in close proximity to her own self, but with her new knowledge of her ever-expanding aura it was something she simply had to try. A small flame came into existence further down the road, out of sight of any living being that would care to notice. It wasn''t as effortless as the times she had summoned one near her, but still easy enough that it required nothing more than a thought. Aperio had the urge to try something bigger, but the last time she had set something on fire she had not felt a thing while her clothes smouldered away. Probably not the best idea.


    Snuffing out the small fire, Aperio returned her attention to the people surrounding her. Observing them through the aura and not her eyes was a fun exercise, though whenever she tried to focus on a person they would tense up and look around, as though they were trying to find something. Maybe they can feel it but don''t know what it is? She had assumed the mage-looking people would be able to figure it out, but only the Human she had healed had looked directly at her.


    Though, admittedly, at that time she was not personally focused on him. It was her mana that had tingled around the man like an alert of some sort, almost as if it was not pleased with whatever he had done. Is it alive? Aperio hoped that was not the case, as she had no desire to become what she had hated for her entire life. She nudged her mana closer to him in an effort to figure out what had caused it to behave like that before.


    The man himself showed no reaction to her attempts and, instead of the wild buzzing she had observed before, she saw no change in the mana itself. What she did feel was a faint itch, located at the back of her mind. It clearly wanted to be grasped, to be understood, but it lingered out of reach, her mind only managing to brush past it without gleaning any information from the encounter. Aperio tried again and again, but did not manage to hold onto it.


    With a sigh, she eased her mental grasp of her aura, letting the connection dim until it would only alert her if someone came too close. Coming to grips with all the information at her disposal was more mentally exhausting than she expected, and for now she needed a break. Even in this subdued state, the amount and detail of information coming her way was still something she needed to adjust to.


    Aperio directed her attention inwards instead, trying to see how the purer mana enhanced her. Feeling her own body, even in a way she had not known to be possible in her days before the sacrifice, did not require anything close to the mental effort the aura needed. She instinctively understood what was going on. What was changing. What the outcome would be.


    Not only was her body changing faster than before, but it was also more pronounced. If this continues for as long as I live, won''t I break everything by simply touching it? Her concerns were allayed when she realized that the Pantheon was always on the watch. Why would the world make something that would break their creation?


    Instead of worrying about the potential harm of her mere existence, she tried to focus on something else, and landed on the river that flowed as calmly as ever through her body. It was, indeed, a soothing thing to concentrate on, and as she observed the movements of her own mana something occurred to her. Is there more than before? She felt like there was, though apparently the increase had not affected her aura much. At least things did not look any worse than before. Is that why I could control it so easily?


    Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt something enter her aura, farther away than she thought she would have noticed with the little control she had kept over it. It was rapidly approaching their group, pushing her mana aside as it moved. The displacement did not hurt, nor was it annoying; it simply told her that something was moving through it. Almost like the bubble.


    Reasserting her control, she tried to figure out what it was. Laelia? No, wrong direction. Whatever it was, it was difficult to perceive clearly. Throwing her previous caution about her aura to the wind, Aperio focused, giving the approaching form her undivided attention.


    She could feel stones breaking with every step they took. Their mana flowed through their body, reinforcing it as much as it could. Possibly due to her own inspection, she sensed the being slowing down for a moment before continuing on with newfound vigour. Aperio could not see much more, unable to detect anything past whatever the approaching person wore. It was not a matter of a lack of power ¨C she was sure she could force her way in ¨C but she did not know what the person''s intent was. For all she knew, they could be a high-speed delivery service. Not that she saw any letters or parcels.


    Standing up, she very lightly brushed a bit of dirt from her dress before turning to face in the direction of the newcomer. Ira was about to speak when he was cut off by Aperio''s voice. "Someone is coming."


    GamingWolf


    Mystery blessings for everyone!


    Obligatory Patreon and Discord plug.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 22: Rimose

    GamingWolf


    Surprise! A chapter approaches to fight your eyes!


    Trial run for the new schedule! If it works out, you will get one chapter every 4 days. That means you can expect the next chapter on Saturday, November 23rd at 5:15pm CET.


    The figure came into view and headed towards Aperio as soon as it caught sight of her. The Elf for her part simply stayed where she was, feeling confident that whoever was approaching would not crash into her. Or be able to seriously harm her if they did. There was also her newfound instinct that told her it would be fine, but all that did was make her question the choice. If it seems too dangerous I can still dodge. I am faster than them. Probably.


    Even though she was able to see the approaching person, Aperio was unable to tell what they were. They wore a brown overcoat that only managed to hide part of the gleaming armour underneath; the greenish-gold metal it was made from was familiar, something she had seen both in the ruins and her previous life. What was it called again? Maybe I can ask them. Her hope to find answers was quickly dashed as she saw the figure draw a big two-handed sword from its back. How did that fit under the coat?


    With a fight seemingly unavoidable the excitement was back, eliciting a small, involuntary twitch from her wings. She still had not figured out why she wanted to fight, besides the joy of testing her own power that is. A commotion behind her caused her to briefly flick her attention back towards the group. It might be that Thaddeus was waking up ¨C she could not perceive what was happening inside of the hole she had created in her aura, after all.


    What she saw surprised her. The slowness of their actions was something she had almost gotten used to by now, but she found she still marveled at it to an extent. Being able to perceive the world in this way was something she would never grow tired of. Her aura, however, was something that felt quite foreign to her in this moment. It flared out in full force, likely because she was anticipating the upcoming fight. Aperio noted with mild amusement that the bubble of nothing in her aura seemed to be unaffected by her emotional state. Because I am conscious of it?


    The group she was with were sluggishly doing their best to prepare for combat. Probably. Ira was leaning on the carriage, looking as if he would like nothing more than to slide down again and continue his rest. The adventurers looked better prepared, both Beastkin and Elf seeming ready to fight while the needle-poking Human was putting tiny stone plates around the unconscious form of Thaddeus. What are those?


    Most interesting, though, was the Human she had healed. He seemed to be largely unaffected by her mana that hung in the air, taking a moment longer to react than the others. Taking the bow from his back, he slowly moved behind the carriage. Aperio would have liked to spend some time investigating how he intended to shoot without arrows, but the newcomer was drawing closer ¨C fast.


    Having knowledge of what was happening behind her was nice, but it distracted her from the foe she wanted to fight. Hopefully it will be a fitting opponent. Her last bouts had all been resolved in disappointingly short order, and her excitement gained had been minimal at best.


    As soon as she focused on more than just the mana that was near the figure, the voices behind her ceased and the mana-fog that was her aura returned to its normal calm. I hope there are books on aura control in Ebenlowe. Or maybe it will become easier the more I practice?


    The rapid approach of the sword-wielding figure brought Aperio out of her reverie and back to the present. Judging by how they always adjusted to stay focused on her, and the way they angled their sword, they seemed to want to skewer her. Should I let them?


    The feeling in the back of her mind assured her it was fine; no harm would come to her. She was inclined to believe it; if she really was a Goddess ¨C Probably ¨C how could a puny mortal harm her? The more rational part of her mind cried out, telling her that it would end her life. Rob her of her newfound freedom. What if that is a God? For now she would not let herself get stabbed, as she could always test her presumed sword immunity later.


    It only took a few more breaths before the figure was close enough to prove that her hunch was right. A step to the side removed the possibility of being sword-skewered and, with a strong punch to the back, she sent her attacker into the ground. So I am not the only one who is sturdier than stone. The fact that she had just used her bare fist to punch an armoured person and felt no pain only managed to briefly take hold in her mind before it was replaced with the image of a sword that aimed for her neck.


    Leaning back, letting the sword pass over her, Aperio was surprised by her ability to perform such a movement and the speed at which she had done it. She had known she was a lot faster than someone should be and had assumed she would be able to dodge, but actually doing it made the action seem a bit absurd.


    Aperio was not the only one confused as her attacker hesitated after their first two misses. Whoever it was did not seem to be used to others dodging their attacks so effortlessly. How do I even know how to move like this? She had never thought about where she should move to in order to avoid the weapon; she just did. Her life as a slave had taught her how to behave in a court setting, how to be a proper servant ¨C absolutely no training in swordsmanship. And yet, here she was, uninjured in a fight against a foe who could have killed her in an instant before she had been sacrificed.


    Their dance continued, Aperio dodging the sword as it tried to cut her. Her attempts weren''t graceful and efficient, they were clumsy at best and only worked because of her raw speed. She was constantly alert for the potential of her foe to switch to a magical attack, but they were either unable to use mana or simply did not know the right use for this particular fight.


    Aperio found herself enjoying the encounter, even though it was not a fight as she had hoped. Whoever was attacking her was a skilled swordsman to her eye ¨C not that that meant much ¨C but they were simply outclassed in terms of speed and strength. If it wasn''t for them trying to kill her she would commend them for their efforts. Maybe I can get Laelia to fight this one? It would be a good opportunity to learn, but also required her to resolve this peacefully, something she doubted she could manage.


    The sword came at her again, but this time it seemed to shift mid-swing and suddenly veer towards her stomach. Instead of taking her usual dodging option to avoid the strike, Aperio took a daring step forwards and grabbed hold of her attacker''s arm. The metal of their armor groaned and bent as she tightened her grip, and as blood started to flow from a wound somewhere on her opponent''s limb the sword slipped from their grip and fell ungracefully to the ground. First blood!


    Her attacker did not scream or yell in pain, but instead used their free hand to punch her abdomen. Aperio tilted her head at her foe ¨C she felt little of the onslaught. How is that possible? She could feel the silky smooth fabric of her dress brushing against her skin just fine, but the punches of an armoured fist barely registered in her mind.


    What did register was the dagger that had replaced the fist. For all her speed, Aperio had let herself get lost in thought and had to pay the price as her attacker thrust the blade towards her.


    The unmistakable sound of something breaking caused Aperio to look down. Her dress was ruined, no longer offering much in terms of modesty, but that was of no concern to her. Not when she saw a hilt with a broken blade in the hand of her attacker and pieces of metal on the floor. She could also see a tiny cut on her abs, the wound already closing and leaving only a thin line of fresh blood on her skin.


    She looked at what remained of the dagger. It was made from the same greenish-golden metal as the armour and sword. So it can cut me, but not much. A smile spread across her face as she looked at the featureless helm that stared back without emotion. Aperio wanted to punch her foe with rage and abandon like they had done with her, but the image of her fist piercing through the mage flashing through her mind stopped her. They would not be able to answer questions if they were dead.


    With her free hand she grabbed hold of the helmet of her attacker, the metal shrieking as it deformed under her fingers. The figure tried to free themselves from her grip, but only managed to cut their arm with the jagged pieces of their broken armour.


    Taking off the helmet required more effort than she had anticipated, though that was mainly because Aperio was more concerned with not killing the person underneath than being quick. It''s not like they can go anywhere.


    Holding her enemy by the throat and carefully prying yielded better results. Once she had successfully removed the helmet from her foe, she found a youth staring at her with black hair, eyes gleaming with unconcealed hatred. Is she young, or does she just look young? How are you supposed to tell?


    "Why did you attack me?" Her question caused the woman ¨C girl? ¨C to clench her teeth, much to Aperio''s delight. She liked the ethereal quality of her voice and what it did to others. Am I becoming a narcissist? The pain the woman found herself in, if it was not an act, was her own fault; Aperio would not lose any sleep over it. Literally.


    "You are an abomination! You do not belong!" Her voice was strained, the effort she put in to talk clear. She can barely speak, why did she think she can kill me? ...did she know she would lose?


    "Belong? Where?" Aperio chose to ignore the insult for now; punishment would be handed out once she had her answers. Was I right that I was never supposed to have left the Void?


    "I will not answer your questions, beast! Die like Natio has decreed!"


    Beast? I am an Elf with wings, not a Beastkin. And who is Natio? Are they related to the mage, maybe? "And why did they do that?"


    Instead of answering, the attacker-turned-captive redoubled her efforts to free herself, trying to punch Aperio again. Nothing had changed from the first time she had tried. Are all youths brats now? A light jab to the chest caused the woman to cough up blood. "Answer the question." Should I just kill her?


    Something in the woman''s demeanor seemed to have broken. She began to laugh, and to cough up more blood. "You dare question a God?!" she declared, face stretching into a manic grin. "You are an abomination!" She dissolved into wet, coughing laughter again, bloody spittle hitting Aperio in the face. Before a rational response could even begin to be formed, the Elf reacted.


    A blue flame spread from Aperio''s hand. For the first time since their encounter, the woman screamed as it rapidly engulfed her like a wildfire. The thoughts came unbidden to her mind. She will burn for her sins. I will cleanse this world of her rotten self, rip her very soul from her body and squash it. How dare she defile me! She can''t even begin to comprehend what I am! Judgement is mine to pass, not some random God who up and decided that it was their job!


    She let the limp body fall to the floor as the the moment ended as abruptly as it had started, returning her mind to its usual state and leaving her thoughtful. What was that? It had felt right, in some way, and she found herself dwelling on the fact. Is that what I''m supposed to do? Judge people? ...Judging people... She rolled the potential title over her tongue, speaking it silently. Goddess of Judgement. No, that''s still not right. While she still wasn''t sure of what exactly her Domain encompassed, she felt that she was on the right track. But what of the Void? It needs to be included somehow, but how exactly does it fit in?


    As the last of the corpse''s limbs found gravity''s stopping point, a particular warmth she had not felt since she had first arrived in the Void flowed through her. She took a blink''s worth of time to focus inward on herself. Instead of the slow waves of inexorable change she had become accustomed to, her body was suddenly back in a state of repeatedly being broken and reforged. This time, thankfully, there was no pain. Only the pleasant warmth. Did I¡­ take her strength? Were all those lights...people? Sinners? She shook her head in disgust at herself ¨C it wasn''t like her to lose her temper because of a little bit of blood splatter on her person. Why am I so appalled by this? I have been through worse.


    Aperio could not find any remorse about her actions. The woman had been out to kill her. Neither could she find herself caring about the countless others that had died, if all of those tiny blue lights had indeed been people. The people she had cared about had died long before the ritual was carried out.


    With another shake of her head she turned to face the people behind her, ignoring the looks she got from them. Instead, she headed straight for Ira. Aperio had finally had enough of stumbling about in the dark. She looked at him pointedly. "I want answers."


    GamingWolf


    The plot thickens! Also murder.


    Sneaky links to Discord and Patreon.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 23: Fruitful Conversation

    GamingWolf


    Finally getting some answers!


    A tense silence filled the air as nobody responded to Aperio''s statement. The Elf took another step towards the frail-looking mage, causing him to finally give in to gravity''s embrace and slide down the side of the carriage until he sat on the floor. She wanted to be mad at them all for their insolence ¨C punish them ¨C but, could she really fault them? Besides their rather uncourtly behaviour, they had been nothing but helpful. Mostly. Thaddeus had been a nuisance at best, though if she could trust the words of the needle-poking Human, it was through no fault of his own. Feel every bit of mana¡­ Aren''t I doing the same? Maybe it hurts if it is foreign mana?


    Even though she let her thoughts wander, Aperio held her gaze fixed on the old man. He was her best bet for answers. For reasons unknown to her, he had known that she would come. Or, at least, that someone would appear. The Prophecy he had mentioned had not contained anything in terms of location. If is even about me. Maybe he has others? Then, he had given her an Oath just so she would feel safer staying with them. Is this all some elaborate trap, and now he can''t handle that I killed the one that was supposed to end me? But why?


    Her one-sided staring contest was interrupted as the Human who had looked after Thaddeus spoke up. "Lady Aperio, I think he is in no state to answer questions."


    Aperio focused her gaze on the man, the fanatic¡¯s blood on her face already forgotten, causing him to shudder slightly. Why does everyone know my name? "How do you know my name?"


    The man''s expression switched between confusion and fright, seemingly unsure what he should feel. It took a couple of seconds, but he finally swallowed his fears and answered her. "The blessing you have given to Arden. Your title was undecipherable but your name was clear enough for him to decipher."


    Blessing? ...But I just healed him? She directed her attention to the Human stepping out from behind the carriage ¨C Arden apparently. Even though she had not tried to inspect the man further, the itch was back. That faint feeling in the back of her mind that always remained just out of reach. Is that the blessing? She still could not grab hold of the feeling, but she had an idea on how she might. It was probably stupid, but definitely worth a try.


    A loud crack resounded, louder than stone breaking had any right to be, and Aperio appeared behind Arden, very gently placing her hand on his shoulder. If she had indeed given him a blessing, it was surely connected to the mana she had practically filled the man with.


    As soon as she reached out for her mana that still remained in his body the itch disappeared, replaced by the knowledge of what she had given him. She had made him stronger, but that was information Aperio already knew, having observed how her mana had changed him. What was more surprising to her was that she simply knew he would be able to recover from most wounds. How do I know that?


    There was something else; a third part to her blessing. What it did was beyond her, but the essence of it felt right. What could it be? If the theme of her mana doing what she wanted continued, then it would probably help him remain unbound. She had only meant to heal him; everything else the blessing did were things she wanted for herself. Not like it will change much. She had recovered the mana she had apparently used to bless the man as soon a she had used it. Maybe I could''ve made a better one? It was something to try later, when she encountered a sufficiently trustworthy person.


    Removing her hand from Arden''s shoulder, she could see him let out a heavy breath only to tense up again when he noticed she was still looking at him. Did he think I would take back the blessing? ...How would I do that, anyway? Giving one seems easy enough; maybe it''s the opposite, take all my mana out of him?


    Aperio wanted to try, but something told her it would be painful for him. She had the impression that her mana had somehow gotten...attached to its new placement. It was changing him like it did with her and in the process seemed to further intertwine itself with his person. I just hope he does not turn into a thrall of some kind.


    Having people do as she wished certainly felt good, but so far they had done so out of what she assumed to be fear. Or maybe respect? If she turned someone into a mindless thrall¡­ she did not know what she would do.


    Having found what she was looking for she went back to the flabbergasted Human she was previously conversing with, this time managing to not break any more of the road with her movement. ¡°What is your name?"


    The words echoed through the open road, causing some of the people to look around. Aperio did not know or care if they just did it to hide their discomfort or if they really tried to figure something out, she finally felt good about herself and would not let some random strangers take that from her. Though it also seemed that the surer she was about herself and her capabilities, the heavier her mere presence weighed on the people around her.


    "R-Roland, miss." The words sounded weak, a long shot from the snarky attitude he had had before. Maybe because he now knows I am a Goddess? Aperio felt a pang of guilt. She had liked the rather unbiased exchange. At least Laelia won''t change. Probably. When will she be back, anyway? I still want to have a fight. After her encounter with the fanatic ¨C Lunatic? ¨C Aperio wanted to know how Laelia would hold up in comparison.


    They looked to be a similar class, the only difference being that Laelia favoured a spear and a one-handed sword. Or would that make them something completely different? Questions for the paladin when she returned; for now she wanted to figure out who this ''Natio'' was and why they thought she should die.


    "Roland"¨Cthe man winced as Aperio spoke his name¨C"do you have any idea why Natio would want to kill me?" She could have asked who the person in question was first, but she knew that they were a God and it would seem awfully weird if a Goddess did not know of the others. I can always ask later, anyway.


    He seemed to have gotten some of his confidence back as he straightened himself and answered. "I cannot claim to know what the Gods think, but maybe he thinks you are encroaching on his Domain? While it has only happened once before, some Gods don''t seem to like the idea of sharing their Domain."


    "His Domain," Aperio mumbled to herself. The thoughts that had overcome her as she had killed her attacker had given her the impression that it was the other way around. But that does not make any sense. I have been a Goddess for¡­ Aperio found that she did not know for how long. She might have only returned to the world recently, but she was fairly sure she already counted as a Goddess when she was still in the Void. Is that why I got so mad? Because he claimed part of my Domain?


    "When did he join the pantheon?" Aperio did not know if he had appeared later than her, but she had a suspicion that he did. If the ritual marked the return of the Gods and her ascension, she would assume that she had acquired a Domain before he did. If, of course, they did not keep their specialties from before they disappeared. And if he was even a God before. She also felt like this Natio knew more about herself than she did. Maybe I should pay him a visit? As the idea settled in her mind it brought about more excited anticipation than any she had had before, and it required her to immediately focus on her aura to keep it from flaring up yet again. If my previous excitement was uncomfortable I don''t want to know what this would do.


    Roland looked thoughtful for a moment. Perhaps he did not know and was trying to come up with something that sounded plausible, or he might be earnestly trying to remember how long ago it was. The seconds that ticked by felt like an eternity to Aperio, but when the man finally spoke he sounded sure of his words. "Around a thousand years ago Natio and Mayeia joined the pantheon. But, I beg your pardon, I had thought all the Gods would have been informed of this? Every church and even Roots itself made an announcement."


    Aperio cocked her head at his statement. A thousand years ago¡­ I was in the Void then. Was I even awake? Did that happen while the little lights flooded into me or did I just hang around the Void in a state of unconsciousness, and it happened during that time? "I was otherwise occupied at the time." They did not need to know that she had no idea when anything had happened. And who is Roots?


    She was fairly sure she had heard that before. No, not heard. Seen. Ira had a title with the name in it, did he not? Another God then? Does it also want to kill me? Aperio was excited, something even she herself found odd. She had just learned that an actual bona fide God wanted to kill her and somehow she was looking forward to his attempts instead of being scared like she probably should be. Maybe he is a weak God? What determines how strong one is anyway? Can''t be followers; I have none. She briefly looked to the Human she had blessed. Maybe one.


    "Is there a temple of Natio in Ebenlowe?" Her question seemed to catch the man off guard.


    "Of course. Ever¨C nearly every God or Goddess has one there."


    Aperio still had no idea what it meant to be a Goddess. Do I need a temple? Was she required to do anything? Not that she had felt the urge to do anything specific lately. Except fight, I want to fight. But why? That was something she probably had to figure out on her own. She also had to rethink her image of Gods in general.


    When she had emerged from the Void, what little she had known of Gods and Goddesses had led her to imagine that their mere presence would somehow force people to their knees. While she was certainly capable of doing just that, it seemed that the people found it commonplace to have a Goddess simply standing around talking with them. Or maybe they think I would kill them if they fall to their knees?


    I don''t understand people.


    For the first time since she had returned, Aperio felt tired. Not physically, as her body still seemed perfectly fine, but mentally. It was draining, not to mention annoying, to ignore her strange instinctual urge to not ask questions. A Goddess should know, right? With a sigh she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Maybe I should go back to the Void for a while. The calm she felt when she was there was something she wanted at the moment, but simply disappearing in front of everyone did not seem right. Bring them with me maybe? ...No.


    "What are we supposed to do with the body?" The abrupt shift of topics seemed to release some tension of the group, as the mundanity of death ¨C something they all had had to deal with at some point ¨C likely made them feel more comfortable.


    A deep, calm voice drew her attention. "You acted in self-defence, the kill is yours to do with as you please." The Beastkin seemed to want to add something, but decided against it.


    Walking over to the corpse with the same almost floating gait she had learned during her time as a slave garnered a few confused looks. She could not really blame them. So far she had acted with speed, using more power than necessary for the simple joy in it, but she knew full well that she would not be able to continue with such actions in the city. Not without upsetting most of it, anyway. There was also the fact that she simply wanted to know if she could still move with silent grace. The answer was yes, she could. Even better than before if she was honest with herself, but she assumed most of that was due to her increased strength which allowed her to avoid toppling over, as well as the presence of her wings for counterbalance.


    Picking up the corpse she ripped off its armour ¨C she had no need for that. What she wanted were the clothes underneath, at least a shirt. She would ask Ira for a proper replacement once he had collected himself. Much to Aperio''s disappointment, the woman wore no shirt underneath her armour. Instead she wore a gambeson that had been tailored to fit her perfectly. Not something I can use.


    At least the corpse presented another opportunity to try and store things in her Void. Last time she had not really known it was hers to do with as she pleased, nor had she spent a thought on the fact that her dress stayed with her.


    With a wave of her hand, she opened a rift to her Void and threw the corpse inside. It drifted away from the opening she had created, but though she took an extra moment or two to observe, it did not dissolve as the stick had. Neat. A simple thought caused the limp body to halt in the nothingness and another sent it tumbling around. Mine to do with as I want. Pleased with the results she willed the rift to close and picked up the sword that was lying on the ground.


    It was light ¨C too light for its size ¨C but she chalked that up to her strength rather than the actual weight of the blade. Certainly not a two handed weapon for me then. Not that I know how to fight with it. Looks nice though. While the sword had little use to her as a weapon she could probably use it to pass as some form of warrior. If I manage to avoid suppressing everyone with my aura, that is. Knowing how far her aura stretched, that was likely not possible. Maybe I should give everyone that is close a Thaddeus-bubble? At the very least it would be good training in aura manipulation.


    A shift in her aura got Aperio''s attention. Something was brushing it aside much like the fanatic had, but this time it appeared in the direction they had come from. A smile spread across her lips as she inspected the travelling form. She knew who that was. She turned to Ira as she directed her attention back to the sword she now owned. "Your friend is coming."


    GamingWolf


    Feisty paladin is back from running errands!


    Sneaky links to Discord and Patreon.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 24: Prelude to Conflict

    Aperio choose to ignore the approaching form of Laelia. Trying to use her aura to observe the paladin closely would likely just upset them, and she would prefer to be able to ask some questions before their potential fight takes place. Or maybe fight her and then ask questions? Maybe that way is easier?


    So far, her mana had been more helpful than anything else in telling her what was going on. As she put her musing on hold and started to attempt to nudge her mana into the blade she now held, she hoped that the helpful trend would continue. Trying to guide her magic through something that was not alive turned out to be more difficult than Aperio had first assumed. The information she gleaned from the act was also rather meager when compared to what she had received while healing Arden. Perhaps my mana interacts with the mana of others? It would explain why it doesn''t work with the sword.


    As her attempts at mana aided inspection did not bear fruit, she returned to using her eyes. She gave the blade her undivided attention ¨C truly focusing on it. The effort revealed numerous tiny imperfections all over the surface. Aperio blinked in surprise. She had known her eyes were better than before, but she had not expected to see tiny fissures in forged metal. There was another observation to be made though: every time she tried to focus on something, the world seemed to obey her will and provide her with a lot of tiny details she never knew existed.


    She could see her mana hang in the air should she want to, or she could now spot the tiniest of cracks in a sword. Aperio ran her finger across the blade but felt none of the imperfections she knew to be there. So touch is not enhanced? Or do I just not know how to do that? Bending the world to her will was nice, but she did not know how she did it. When she used magic, Aperio had at least an idea of why it happened. Her mana was sacrificed to impose her will on the world. That was not the case when she simply looked at something. Or is the amount consumed simply too small to notice?


    The thought of her mana usage brought another question to her mind. So far she had used only minuscule amounts of what she could draw on ¨C even setting the building on fire was a mere drop in the ocean. Or Well, as it were. What would happen if I used more? What spell would even need more? It was something she wanted to try, but with an almost certainty that warded her away as surely as it drew her in, she knew that the attempt would end with a lot of destruction. Could I speed up the enhancement of my body instead? That idea involved a lot less potential disaster and was something she could try immediately. It should not affect anyone but herself ¨C Probably ¨C and she had not much else to do.


    She could try to get more answers from Roland or the other adventurers, but being in the middle of questioning them would just lead to Laelia misinterpreting the situation when she arrived. With her decision made, she directed her attention inwards. Now, how can I speed this up? Drawing a small sliver of mana from her Well, she guided it through her body. Matching the patterns that her mana took when it flowed without her guidance was an easy task, weaving it into her being on the other hand was not.


    Whenever she tried to fuse it into her muscles or bones, it did as it was told but only for as long as she actively held it there. A temporary boost like this was what she had previously known to be possible and, while it was nice to know she could achieve such effects, it was not what she was trying to do. She tried it again and again, but nothing stuck. With a mental sigh, Aperio brought her attention back to her surroundings. She would continue her attempts to speed up the enhancement later. Do I even need to? Probably not.


    She was a Goddess now, free from the ravages of time. Simply waiting was an option but, she assumed, another God could still end her. And I know of at least one that definitely wants to. Aperio did have a problem that the simple application of patience didn''t immediately solve, though. She already had a difficult time controlling her own strength and, if she continued to get stronger, it did not bode well for her ability to live life as she pleased.


    There was a small voice in the back of her mind that told her she would just need time to learn how to control herself. A reasonable thought; she had only been back in the land of the living for a short amount of time. A month? Maybe? But there was also another part of her mind that told her that she would reach a point where living with mortals would not be an option. She squashed the thought as soon as it appeared. She would live where she pleased! If she had to give every single person a blessing so they would not perish in her presence, then she would.


    The universe had dealt her a shitty hand before and now that she was free to pursue her dreams, it tried to limit her with the very thing that granted her freedom? Aperio would have none of that.


    She took a deep breath to calm herself, an action that got the attention of almost everyone around. It took a moment, but soon Aperio remembered the state of her dress and the fact that her action had only furthered its demise. While she did not particularly care, the others seemed to mind and being properly dressed seemed like the correct choice. Unless my Domain is not what I thought? She silently went through a few of the possible titles in her mind and found that none of them felt even close to being right. If I know how close I am, why don¡¯t I know what my Domain actually is?


    With a slight shake of her head, Aperio moved to the back of the carriage. Ira was still not looking any better but she did not want to wait any longer to get new clothes. Opening one of the chests at the back revealed an assortment of books: not what she was looking for. The next one she opened held dresses she could wear, but sadly no bindings for her to use.


    Picking another open-backed dress that closely matched what she was wearing now, Aperio moved to the side of the carriage without prying eyes in order to change. While she did not have a problem with being seen naked, she would choose the option that kept her modesty intact. What remains of it, anyway.


    Putting on the dress was still an act that required a lot of wiggling and bending in ways she would not have been able to do before. This time, however, it only took a fraction of the length of her previous attempt. And also no ripping of the dress? Why can I handle that without breaking it, but not a person?


    Was she so spiteful that she wanted to subconsciously hurt people that had nothing to do with the suffering she had to live through? Or was it something completely unrelated? She would have to ask someone about that, someone she could trust. Not that I have met such a person yet. The closet she could get was Ira who, while he had been very helpful, was still not someone she would consider trustworthy. She had only known him for a couple of days and whether he was secretly trying to get her killed or not remained to be seen. Good luck with that. I already died once.


    A quick check revealed that Laelia was still a little ways away and while she was travelling fast, the fanatic that had attacked Aperio had been significantly faster. But they also really wanted me dead. Maybe she is just taking her time. If the paladin was weaker than the fanatic the whole idea of having a bout was kind of useless. Though I can still learn how to actually fight. ...If she is willing to teach. The thought of asking to be taught how to fight felt overwhelmingly disgusting, worse than most hypothetical questions she had thought so far.


    Stepping out behind the carriage in her new dress, she noted that Thaddeus was awake and visibly confused. He was talking to Roland in their Human tongue, something she should have been able to hear while she was changing but had not. I really need to pay more attention. It was barely an effort to strain her ears to hear their conversation in perfect clarity. Not that it helped her understand them. It''s the same as with my eyes, is it not?


    Her reemergence got the attention of the young mage, causing him to seize up. Is he still scared? she thought, tilting her head slightly. I already apologised, you aren''t getting another.


    Why do I even care what any of them think?


    The reality of her new life was something she had still not quite comprehended. She knew she was above the people she was surrounded with. Not in terms of morality or intelligence, but simple strength. Aperio would like to think of herself as just, but she knew that she held biases that she would have to work hard to overcome. Life as a slave did not make one like the race of their masters. Especially so when they had done what they pleased with her. How have I not gone mad?


    At the time, she had never questioned why she had remained mostly sane even after rape and torture; she had just assumed it was another part of the collar¡¯s magic. Now, she was not so sure.


    There had to be a reason why they had chosen her specifically for the sacrifice. She had known, even then, that it was somehow bound to her [Status] that she had never personally seen. The happy news of her selection for the sacrifice had come only a couple of years after her own appraisal, after all. And I doubt that is coincidence. Now, I just need to figure out what it says. Hopefully the [Grandmaster], whoever she is, can help.


    Her musings were interrupted by a new voice; one she knew. How did I miss when she got here? Did I just stand here staring at nothing? Aperio shifted her focus onto the newly arrived paladin who was already looking on edge. She heard her name in their conversation again; talk about the blessing if she had to guess. There wasn¡¯t really another reason for Arden to say her name otherwise. I really need to learn how to not get distracted.


    She had her aura, one of the ¨C if not the ¨C best methods to perceive her surroundings. At least, as far as she knew. It always provided her with information. Now, all she had to learn was to not get lost in thought every time she considered something marginally interesting.


    The group of Humans soon noticed that they had attracted the attention of their resident Goddess, something Thaddeus seemed even less comfortable with. Maybe he does have something against Elves? She noted that he was still inside the bubble of nothing that she had made. Somehow that stayed created, even when she was not paying attention. I don''t even know how my own abilities work.


    Aperio noticed with slight amusement that Laelia seemed to be unsure about what to do. She had probably just been told that Aperio was a Goddess and had disposed of some over-eager zealot that had tried to kill her. She no longer wants to fight? It did make sense; who in their right mind would want to fight a Goddess?


    As none of them seemed to want to break the silence that had descended onto the group, Aperio took the opportunity to let them know that she did not like being talked about behind her back. "If you have something to say about me, say it to my face."


    Unsurprisingly, Arden was the first to recover. The blessing also seemed to make her voice more bearable for him, even when she only held back a little. Speaking in a whisper might have been the nice choice, but Aperio did not want to hold back any more than she already did.


    "We just told her what happened! None of us would dare to insult you." He was frantic, seemingly single-minded in his goal to smooth over any perceived anger. But I didn¡¯t even mean that as a threat? She just wanted to let them know that she did not appreciate being talked about without knowing what was said. Trying to dictate what others should think was definitely not what she wanted. Though, I guess my image is not the best at the moment.


    In an attempt to shift attention away from the unintended threat, Aperio asked something that had bothered her for a while. "Why do you speak the Common I know but the other paladin did not?"


    The confusion was visible on Laelia''s face and for a few breaths Aperio feared that she had somehow broken the woman. Her fears were unfounded as, only a moment later, the paladin answered with a question of her own. "Inerlius?"


    A brief nod from the Elf confirmed that they were indeed talking about the same person. "He from Kejeran, almost exclusively Human," she said before pausing to consider her next words. "Also not good with languages." So, he had never had a need to learn, and when the need arose he simply failed?


    "How did he get to be a paladin here, then?" In Aperio''s mind it made little sense to send someone to a place where they could barely communicate. The same would go for her, I guess. But at least she can speak the language.


    "Request from nobles. The one you..." Her voice trailed off, unwilling to speak further.


    "The one I killed?" The anger she felt at the mere thought of the encounter was enough to cause more power than intended to slip into her words. "And why would a God that claims to be just and righteous lend one of his paladins to slavers?"


    Whether it was her voice or the simple fact that she appeared to be angry, Aperio did not know. Whatever the cause was, the people around her took a step back. Even Ira managed to move himself a little further from her with the help of the Elven mage. The only one who stayed where they were was Laelia. The paladin took a few breaths to answer, seemingly not as immune to the vocal assault as she had first appeared.


    "The church is not above politics." Her voice sounded small, almost ashamed to admit that reality.


    Aperio raised an eyebrow at her reply. "What kind of God needs to give in to the demands of mortals?" As far as she could tell, there was no need for followers. She ¨C at best ¨C had one and was able to handle a fully armed and armoured enemy without any weapons of her own. Are the other Gods just weak, or have I only found weak people?


    Laelia hesitated for a moment before her face took on an expression of resigned resolve and she took the spear from her back. She said something that Aperio did not understand before charging. The only thing that came to Aperio''s mind as the spear flew towards her was excited confusion. Why did she attack now?


    GamingWolf


    It would appear that the paladin has some beef with Aperio.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Sacrifice – Chapter 25: Fight for What Is Right

    Aperio did not move to dodge the spear, simply letting it hit her square in the chest. She knew the greenish-golden metal would only deal minimal damage, and as much as she might like her dresses she didn''t really need to care for them either. Ira has enough of them. Even though the spear managed to cut deeper than the sword, it still only barely managed to penetrate her skin. The muscles underneath were too hard and the spear, for all the force it had been thrown with, simply fell to the ground. What little damage it had done had long been healed by the time Laelia arrived with her sword in hand.


    The back of Aperio''s hand easily diverted the blade from its path, but despite this the paladin continued her attack. She embraced the turn her body had been forced into, spinning around and hitting the Elf with her fist. The armoured gauntlet smashed into Aperio''s unmoving side. What is she trying to accomplish?


    Aperio did not know if Laelia was simply letting out her anger at a target she knew she could not really hurt, or if she was honestly trying to kill her. She let the paladin hit her again, but this time she returned the gesture.


    She could feel the metal bending under her fist, something breaking underneath it. Her blow was by no means weak, but she had held back quite a bit. Despite the rather unjustified attack, and the little voice that excitedly screamed for the death of the one who dared to try and harm her, Aperio did not want to kill the paladin.


    Laelia stumbled back from the hit, but still raised her sword for the next attack. She carefully circled around the Elf, ignoring the calls from the other Humans. Aperio did not know what they said, but they sounded worried. Do they think I will kill her?


    Any further thoughts on what the others might have been saying were chased from her mind as the paladin swung her sword higher, aiming to cut Aperio''s chest. The Elf moved to the side in an attempt to dodge the blade, only to move straight into the path of Laelia''s armoured fist.


    The impact of the gauntlet barely registered in Aperio''s mind; something that, while quite welcome, would require some getting used to. Despite her attacks having little to no effect, the paladin did not let up. Another attempt to injure the Goddess ended with another disappointing result. While the blade had managed to technically pierce Aperio''s arm, instead of cutting deeply as it would have to a normal person''s flesh and bone it only managed to form the tiniest of wounds.


    A few flecks of the greenish metal fell to the ground as Laelia took a step back. Aperio could see that the paladin knew as surely as she did that if things continued unchanged, the sword would fail long before the Goddess would. The only thing she had lost thus far during their fight was a bit more dignity as her dress was yet again in tatters. Maybe I should get some armour.


    Taking the moment of respite, Aperio chose to ask the Human a question. "Why do you fight?" It was an honest question. She was aware that what she had said previously might have been taken as an insult to her God, but the level of the paladin''s response seemed entirely out of proportion. Why would she throw her life away because of that? Aperio knew of one possible answer, but she dearly hoped that was not the case.


    For an answer Laelia spoke a few quiet words, wrapping her sword in a golden light. Then she attacked, swinging her sword in an arc and a wave of light came rushing at Aperio. For once she chose to trust her instincts, to not dodge and let the light hit her. It had been right when it came to swords or most anything relating to her newfound capabilities.


    The gleaming crescent crashed into the Elf. It didn''t hurt, but neither was it pleasant as the previous uses of holy magic had been. Aperio did not know what the attack was supposed to do, but she had come out unscathed. Mostly. Her clothes were now more of a two-piece than an actual dress.


    More of the arcs of light came her way and, not wanting to lose the rest of her clothing, Aperio opted to try her hand at magic. With a flex of her mental muscles, she willed a barrier into existence in front of her. Her attempt manifested into a thin silver-blue wall, and if she didn''t know better she would have thought she had summoned a pane of glass. What she had actually brought into existence was not made from any of the mundane elements but, instead, from her very own mana. She did not know what could stop holy magic, but if it failed to harm her the same might be true for her mana.


    With a crack, the first wave of the paladin''s magic slammed into the wall of silver-blue. Her barrier held and after a couple more impacts, the onslaught of light ceased. The entire fight had seemed off to Aperio from the start. To attack someone right after you were told that they were a Goddess, well, that just seemed stupid. A quick glance behind her showed that the rest of their group was cowering in fear ¨C the paladin of a supposedly righteous and just God was endangering innocents in a reckless fight. If I had chosen to dodge those arcs...I am not sure they could have blocked them. Would she have had the presence of mind to stop them herself?


    Aperio kicked up off the ground, spreading her wings to fly low. She headed straight for Laelia who she grabbed by the throat after briefly slowing down. With the paladin held firmly in hand, she took to the skies. While she still might not trust any of them, she did not want the others to come to harm. And, if her suspicions about the paladin¡¯s behaviour were correct, she was not sure what her own reaction would be. Nothing good, though.


    The paladin struggled against her grip, trying to free herself by clawing at her fingers and punching her stomach. Each successive punch only served to further break the gauntlets, and soon she began to paint Aperio''s abs with Human blood. The longer the fight ¨C You can''t call this a fight, right? ¨C went on, the surer Aperio became that something was off. Laelia seemed more like the fanatic then the person she had been before. I really hope I am wrong.


    She stopped her ascent, simply hanging in the air. The onslaught of punches had ceased and Aperio lifted the Human higher to get a better look at her face. What she saw was a very exhausted-looking woman who was struggling to breathe.


    Aperio immediately loosened her grip just a fraction, and Laelia took a deep breath and immediately renewed her struggles. A question from the Elf put an end to the pointless attempts. "Do you want to die?"


    No answer came, the woman only looking on with a blank expression. Is she just waiting for me to execute her? "Why did you attack me? Just because I might have insulted your God?"


    The seconds ticked by in silence as neither of them spoke. As the willingness to fight had seemingly left Laelia, Aperio shifted her grip to hold the paladin up by her armour instead of the throat. Maybe she¡¯ll speak when she doesn''t think I will kill her for her answer?


    "No." Her voice was barely audible ¨C even to Aperio''s ears.


    "No? Then why?"


    "I fight for what is right," the paladin replied.


    Aperio narrowed her eyes in irritation. "What is that supposed to mean?"


    "A saying. Held dear by many of my kind." Her kind?


    "Humans?"


    Laelia shook her head. "Others of order. I do not know word."


    "But"¨C she brought the Human a little closer to her face ¨C"that does not tell me what it means. What is ''right''?" Why can nobody just tell me what they mean? Why do they have to speak in meaningless riddles?


    "Words of Vigil are right. Actions for the good of others are right."


    "Attacking me is for the good of others?" Aperio snorted. "You do not make sense."


    "You are dangerous."


    The statement caused Aperio to scrunch her brows in confusion. Yes, she was dangerous, but so were the adventurers, or even the paladin herself. What kind of reason is that? There was something else that was off besides the paladin¡¯s behaviour; she had shown little to no reaction to the power of her voice. Was that just an act?


    "Who are you?"


    Her question caused the woman to look at her; actually pay attention. Somehow, still dangling in the air from Aperio''s grasp, the Human managed to hang straighter as if held up by invisible strings.


    "Laelia Whytegaard. Paladin of Vigil; Bringer of Order." Her voice was monotone, almost as if she had been trained to respond this way.


    The person she had first met had not behaved like this. She had had a hunch that the woman was not quite herself, but the recklessness that had endangered the others had removed almost any doubt. In the short time she had known Laelia, it had become obvious that she protected those she held dear. She had been ready to fight her when she had had the altercation with Thaddeus, and while she killed some of the bandits that had attacked the carriage, she had spared the rest so they might receive proper judgement. Though Aperio might not be the best judge of character, Laelia attacking without considering what might happen to those not involved really did not seem to fit.


    With her free hand, Aperio touched Laelia''s forehead. Something is definitely not right.


    Sending a tiny sliver of her mana into the paladin caused her to resume her struggles. Violently. Aperio ignored the attempts, instead focusing on her mana as it wandered through the woman. At first she felt only Laelia''s mana, but then something else flared into her awareness. It was bright, almost blinding her senses, and shifted between colours Aperio could not begin to describe. What she did know was that it felt closer to the purity of the mana she herself now used. A middle ground between what seemed to be common and what Aperio considered divine.


    The foreign mana had mixed itself with that of the paladin, twisting it into more of its own. The sight almost made her retch, but she had spent more than enough time figuring out how to suppress that urge. Besides the disgusting feeling it brought, it also caused an anger that she had not felt before to well up inside her. She didn''t know why, but she knew she would punish the one who did this. Righteous my ass!


    Aperio did not care if she had to launch a crusade against a God. Nobody should be forced to live like this. She was about to try and untangle the merged mess of mana in front of her when a small voice in the back of her mind brought to light the idea that maybe, just maybe the paladin had chosen to become like this. Would it still be right for me to remove it?


    Is what blessings do? ...Will mine do this as well?


    Steeling herself, Aperio directed her magic to split the mana in the woman''s body apart. Her want to grant freedom to someone who helped was stronger than the ideal of not imposing her will on others. If she hates me, she can do that. At least she will be free.


    The idea that removing a blessing would be painful was confirmed when Laelia let out a deafening scream. The noise tore at Aperio, hurting her more than any physical attack the paladin had previously made, but the discomfort did not manage to stop her actions. Little by little she removed the other God''s blessing, all the while questioning if she was doing the right thing. She wasn''t even sure if it really was a blessing from another God. Their mana should be more like mine, shouldn''t it? Maybe this is something else. Whatever the origins of the foul magic were, they mattered little now.


    By the time Aperio had removed the last bits of the foreign mana from Laelia''s body, the sun had already set. She had succeeded. Whatever had been trying to usurp the body of the paladin had been removed. Sadly, the only way she could find to free the woman from the previous blessing was to allow her own mana to take its place. As she knew the paladin would not be able to recover without it, Aperio did not want to remove her own influence. She could only hope that her own blessings did not twist themselves as this one had.


    Shifting, she carried the armoured Human with both hands. Aperio wanted to apologise for what she did, but the woman had fallen unconscious during the ordeal. Better that way. Freeing her from that influence had been the right choice in Aperio''s mind, even if she still doubted herself a little.


    What am I? The Goddess of Freedom? She shook her. The scope of that title felt¡­small. Constricting. It wasn''t right. Something more?


    Lost in thought, Aperio continued her slow descent. She made no attempt to hurry. The others would undoubtedly have questions, and she needed a bit more time alone.


    GamingWolf


    It''s time for plot?.


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 Sacrifice – Chapter 26: Blessed Truth

    GamingWolf


    Aperio continued her slow descent, questions still forming in her mind. Are the other Gods just weak? Or do they bless people with lesser stuff on purpose? She could not see a reason why they would use anything but the best, but then, she had only been a Goddess for a short while. Maybe blessing more people gets exponentially harder? The accidental blessing she had given Arden and the replacement she made for Laelia required such small amounts that she would not even notice if she did not look, and even then it required a decent amount of scrutiny. Just another thing she would have to figure out.


    She was also still not sure how she should feel about imposing her will on others. Being helpless, nothing more than a passenger in her own body, was something she had hated for as long as she could remember. Doing that to someone else was something she could not bear to do, and yet, she had had potentially set two unsuspecting Humans on such a path. The only thing keeping her from flying into a rage against the universe and herself was the fact that ¨C thus far ¨C her mana had never done something she did not want. And the thing she wanted most was to be free.


    I hope it stays that way.


    Setting down as lightly as she could, still holding the unconscious form of Laelia in her arms, Aperio pushed the apprehensions from her mind. They would only be in the way for what was to come. The others had been busy while she had cleansed the paladin ¨C Is she still one? ¨C of what she considered to be corruption. Thaddeus had disappeared, likely inside the carriage again, while the Beastkin was looking after the horses who seemed to have simply ignored most of the commotion. Are those really horses?


    Aperio never got to further question just what kind of animal was drawing the carriage, as a still rather pale-looking Ira approached her. He gripped his staff a little tighter as he saw Laelia''s limp body in her arms.


    "I-Is she..." He was unable to finish the question, either dreading her reply or simply unable to find the right words.


    "Dead? No, just unconscious." Aperio chose not to tell him about the corrupted blessing for now; she wanted to talk about that with Laelia herself first. Ira seemed to relax at her words, but was only able to do that to a small extent as she had chosen to not hold back her voice. There has to be a way to get rid of that without having to whisper.


    Moving past the old man Aperio ignored the hushed voices behind her, instead grabbing hold of the carriage¡¯s door with her magic and swinging it open. She had always wanted to use magic, but it had never been available to her before and once she had been reborn with the ablility to use it, she had feared she would not be able to control it. Now, she knew that it was just like another limb for her to use. A hand to shape the world as she saw fit.


    Ignoring the wide-eyed Thaddeus inside, she very gently placed the unconscious Laelia on on the other bench inside the carriage. Before leaving, Aperio briefly checked on her replacement blessing. So far it only seemed to do what her mana always did, running around the paladin¡¯s body and making it better. But, having seen what a blessing could do, Aperio was not sure if she was just perceiving her own blessing as something good for Laelia while it was acting the same way as Vigil''s had without her knowledge.


    Stepping back outside, she found herself surrounded by Ira and the adventurers. They seemed to be on edge, but that was understandable ¨C she was as well. Not for the same reasons, but that mattered little. Aperio would prepare herself for the worst. The possibility that they would try to kill her was there. Not that they could.


    She shifted her weight and tilted her head, simply looking at them. If they had questions, they could ask them. She would not start the conversation. The only one Aperio herself wanted to talk to was currently unconscious.


    Her movement caused some of the adventurers to squirm. She was not sure if it was because they were nervous or because she had stopped caring about preserving her dignity. Not that that matters. If they got any ideas she would put them in their place.


    The one to speak was the Elven mage. Do they expect some form of kinship? "We ask for your forgiveness. We did not know¨C"


    Aperio waved him off. "Her actions were neither yours nor those of your companions."


    She had no quarrel with them. If anything, them asking for her forgiveness annoyed her. Do they really think I would kill them if they did not apologise? There was a part of her that abhorred the fact that mere mortals were in her presence and demanded their deaths, but it was easily ignored. The joy of being able to actually talk to people was far greater; even if said joy was quite small to begin with.


    "Is there anything else or can we be on our way?" Suddenly Aperio felt something: a light tug on her mind. It felt much like the blessing she had given to Arden, but this was something she could mentally grasp hold of. There was only one other person who she had blessed, and the fact that she could feel it now lead her to believe that the ex-paladin was beginning to wake up.


    The group seemed surprised by her quick dismissal and rather abrupt question. Ira was the first to get his bearings again, daring to ask a question in return. "You¡­ still want to travel with us?"


    Aperio cocked her head and directed her gaze on him. "Should I not?"


    "No. I-I"¨C He was struggling for words, either not knowing which ones to use or simply unable to give voice to his thoughts. Or did he just think I would leave?


    "I still want to meet your [Grandmaster]." Ira shrunk at her words. Does he no longer want me to meet them? Maybe they also have a blessing? While she was not particularly inclined to visit another person who would potentially try to murder her, she had an inkling that it was something else that caused the old man''s reaction.


    "That won''t be an issue. It''s just the nature of your¡­ existence, will cause quite a stir."


    "Then why not simply tell people I am an Elf and not a Goddess? Should garner less attention, no?"


    At her words the others just stared at her in disbelief, something Aperio did not understand. Was it not logical to not announce her as a Goddess if she wanted to enter quietly? Or try to, at least. It seemed like the right choice to her.


    "Yes, but you are a Goddess. Wouldn''t that break a sacred rule of your kind, to go unannounced?" The Elven mage sounded more composed than he looked. "The last time the pantheon grew, it was heavily implied that all Gods and Goddesses had to be announced."


    And who would force the Gods to do that? She chose to keep the thought to herself, their views on the Divine obviously already faltering. Maybe a Goddess walking among the people is not that normal?


    "I do not know of any such rules," Aperio said while she shifted her weight to the other leg and slightly stretched her wings. The motion put the group of adventurers on edge yet again, some of them even going for their weapons. Why are they so jumpy? "I do not intend to punish or otherwise hurt you, so you can stop reaching for your weapons." Not like they would be able to do much even if they used them.


    While the others seemed to relax again, Aperio took the moment to briefly check on Laelia''s blessing. Being able to do that without touching her was nice, but it also made her more anxious. The amount of mana she had put into the other''s body had exceeded both that of the blessing she had removed and of the healing and blessing she had given to Arden. So far she could spot nothing out of the ordinary, as her mana was still diligently improving the Human¡¯s body and repairing the last bits of damage the corruption had left behind.


    Maybe it was a curse? Can a curse overcome a blessing? She knew nothing about curses or how they worked. She had always assumed the collar''s magic worked with one though, but she couldn''t be sure.


    A movement inside the carriage, perceived through her aura, caught at her attention; Laelia was, without a doubt, waking. Turning around Aperio ignored the people behind her; their stammered questions could wait. She had to talk to the ex-paladin of Vigil.


    Opening the door, she looked at Thaddeus. Words were not needed for the man to understand that he was not welcome for the coming talk and he hastily left through the opposite door. Stepping inside Aperio sat down on a free bench, watching the woman in front of her stir awake.


    j???????u???????????? ????????h????????????v???? ????b???i???????????????n????? ??????????f?????????r???????i??????????????????d????? ???f????????r??????????m???? ?????????e?????? ??p??????????r??????????????????t???????????????n???d?????????????!?????????


    m???e??????????????? ???e???????????????? ?????????????????b???????l?????????????s????????????????????? ??????????????v????? ??????e??????i??????? ???????????????????????l??????????-?????????????m?????????????????e???????????? ?????g????a????????????d??? ????????j?????????????????? ?????????????f???????j????????u??????????????????????????? ????????p???????¨»???????????????e??????z???????.??


    Before she even opened her eyes, Laelia saw the notification in front of her. What it said she did not know; she could only see a garbled mess. She did not question the absurdity of something breaking the System, instead trying to figure out why she had fallen unconscious and felt like she had broken every bone and torn every muscle in her body.


    Luckily, pain was not everything she was feeling. A soothing warmth spread through her, and while not taking all of it away, it did lessen the pain significantly. It felt different from any magic she knew. A potion, maybe? But who...


    The events that had lead to her current situation flooded her mind. The pitiful attack of the bandits, the delivery of them to the village, and the boring journey back. After that the memories were fuzzy. She had talked to some adventurers, and they had told her something about a follower of Natio attacking what apparently was a Goddess.


    Laelia opened her eyes and was greeted by a pair of unblinking silver-grey eyes that seemed to bore into her very soul. The woman in question tilted her head, causing her silvery-blue hair to slide over her sharp features and pointed ears, making it immediately obvious that she was an Elf. With a preternatural grace that belied the strength she knew the woman had, she brushed aside the hair. The paladin wanted to look away, but her eyes were drawn next to the newly-torn patch of the dress. Upon toned abs lay what seemed to be freshly shed blood ¨C none of it belonging to the Elf. Of that, she was sure.


    Laelia knew who this was.


    Aperio, the Elven woman that had wandered into their village in a stolen, blood-covered robe. No, not an Elf. She was supposedly a Goddess of some kind. And I fought her? ...why? After her talk with the adventurers, the Elf had approached her to ask some questions, but Laelia could not recall what she said. She only knew that she felt an overwhelming need to kill her. Or die trying.


    Looking at her now she felt no such urge; only a small amount of embarrassment at the state of her clothes. Decency was apparently not something the woman cared about. Not that she has to. Laelia knew first hand that she would have little trouble dealing with anyone who got any bright ideas.


    She shifted her eyes to look at her feet, not knowing where else to look. She wanted to apologise, but did not know how to start. It wasn''t the first time she had lost control and it probably would not be the last. Her blessing was supposed to help with that, but she did not feel its presence.


    A second passed before she realised what that meant. "I¡­ failed."


    The rustling of feathers and cloth caused her to look back up. The Elven-Goddess had tilted her head at her words, something she seemed to do quite often. Does she really only speak that old-ass Common all Elves use? Laelia knew that at least Vigil spoke all the mortal tongues and she would''ve expected other Gods to be able to as well. But it was clear that the woman in front of her had no clue what she said.


    With a sigh, Laelia willed the System notification away; she could not read it anyway. It was replaced by another ¨C equally unreadable ¨C one which she dismissed after giving it a brief glance.


    j????u?????????? ?????h?????v????? ????g???e????n???d??? ????e?????????????? ??????????????????b????l???????????????s??????????????? ????????v????? ????A????p??????????e???????r????????i???????o????,???? ????????? ??????s??????????a??????k?????????i?????????????????? ?????????n?????????j??????????????????????u???????????????m??????????n?????? ?????d?????????????i??????


    d?????u?????????? ??????n???????????????t??? ??????????????d?????????????????s??????????????????????p??????????????????????n?????t?????.?????


    She waited for the woman in front of her to speak, or deliver her punishment, but nothing happened. Aperio simply looked at her, shifting on her bench occasionally in an obvious attempt to make herself more comfortable. Something that did not quite work thanks to her wings. Every time she moved, Laelia feared the wood would give. She had no idea how much the Goddess weighed, but it had to be a lot more than one would assume by looking at her. Definitely won''t ask her about that, though.


    A couple more seconds ticked by, but soon the Goddess grew tired of waiting. "How do you feel?" The words she spoke still held the same power they had before, but for reasons Laelia did not understand it now felt more pleasant than harmful. Something within her danced in harmony with the words of Aperio. The soothing warmth that she had previously felt spread further with every word she spoke; spurred on by the Goddess.


    Realisation dawned on Laelia. "Did you heal me?" Why else would the magic inside her react that way?


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "But I also stripped you of your blessing. It tried to take you over, forced you take a fight you knew you could not win."


    Laelia shook her head. "That can''t be true! The blessing supposed to help me. Stop The Rage."


    The Elven-Goddess cocked her head at the mention of The Rage. Laelia clamped her mouth shut ¨C she had been warned to never speak of it in front of others. She was lucky the priest had found her when they did, so she was able to get a blessing from Vigil to save her soul from eternal damnation.


    "I removed what had tried to wrest control from you." She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "Can you still feel your blessing?"


    She couldn''t.


    It was one of the first observations she had made after waking up. She thought she had disappointed Vigil, causing him to temporarily withdraw his grace.


    "No..." The words were a mere whisper, but Aperio seemed to understand her just fine.


    "I gave you one in exchange." Her voice sounded small, as much as that was possible when every word would still shake a normal person¡¯s being.


    Laelia blinked at that. She did not feel a new blessing. Or is that warmth it? She directed her attention inward and was shocked to find her body flooded with divine mana. It was healing her wounds; mending things the healers had declared incurable. She was unable to truly grasp the godly energy, but it still followed her intent. Were the notifications about that? But why were they scrambled? ...Could the Gods always do that?


    "Thank you?" Laelia was unsure what to say. The Goddess had stripped her her blessing, something that only Vigil himself should be able to do according to the priests. But she knew it was gone just as sure as she knew her name to be Laelia Whytegaard. A Goddess that could remove the blessings of others surely had to be known far and wide.


    How have I not heard of her before? It was a simple fact that the Gods and Goddesses gained power from their followers. Everyone knew that. Is that a lie? No. Maybe her followers are secretive? Not everyone openly advertised who they pledged their loyalty to, after all. Some even claimed to not believe in the Gods, a silly notion when you could pray to one and get an answer.


    The Goddess left Laelia to her thoughts, leaving the carriage before returning with Thaddeus. A short while later, they were joined by one the adventurers who seated himself next to Aperio, obviously uncomfortable. With a slight shake, the carriage resumed its journey towards Ebenlowe. As they were rocked back and forth by the uneven road, Laelia let her eyes rest on the Elven-Goddess. If the old blessing really tried to control me, will hers do the same?


    GamingWolf


    Soon we will reach the city. I promise.


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 Sacrifice – Chapter 27: Onwards, to Ebenlowe

    GamingWolf


    Aperio wasn''t sure if she should be annoyed that more questions had popped up, or happy that she had gotten some answers and seemingly done the right thing. At least she did not seem to be angry. Just confused.


    The woman in question was still sitting in front of her, looking at her briefly from time to time. Should''ve probably changed into something that has not been torn to shreds. She would do that once they got closer to the city, but for now she was fine as is. While a part of her was very unhappy about being anything but proper, a bigger part enjoyed the ability to do as she pleased.


    Laelia had mentioned something she had called the Rage. What that was, she did not know. Apparently her blessing was supposed to help with it, but Aperio had been unable to find anything else wrong with the Human. Even if she did not know how a Human was supposed to work, she had grown more confident in her instincts, and they told her that the woman in front of her was fine. Physically at least. Using her mana to probe someone''s mind was not something she would try to do. Aperio assumed that it was possible, for how else could something like the collar work? Or that crystal.


    Not wanting to ask more questions, she tried to grasp the blessing of Arden with just her mind. She knew now that it was possible, for it had worked with Laelia, but probably only because she had used a much greater amount of mana. That was not something she wanted to repeat, not until she knew her blessings would not try to bend the will of their bearers.


    Arden''s blessing was more akin to a wet bar of soap during a bath than anything else. No matter how hard she tried to grasp it; it would simply slip from her again. Reaching out to touch the man caused him to jerk to the side, a motion she easily prevented by holding onto his shoulder. With the added ease from physical contact, the information at last entered her mind. She knew what her blessing had done since the last time she checked in, like a diligent worker reporting to their boss. Or a slave to their master. But she knew the mana was a part of her; not something she took and commanded, but an actual extension of her being.


    The knowledge was comforting, but the behaviour of her mana itself was unsettling. It was not something Aperio particularly wanted to inflict upon others, but then she remembered Vigil''s twisted thing ¨C she could not call it a blessing ¨C and what had happened when she stripped it away from Laelia. Removing her mana from the two Humans, it seemed, was not an option either.


    That thought only brought more questions with it. What should she do if one of them decided to abuse their new strength? What would her blessing even do to them? Aperio knew Arden would be slightly stronger and be able to heal from most wounds. She got the same feeling from Laelia, but the woman had received a good deal more and Aperio had seen how her mana improved the Human. If it is anywhere close to what it does to me¡­


    Blessing people was something she would put on hold for now. Not that I wanted to do it.


    Letting go of Arden, and ignoring the fact that he shuffled as far away from her as he could, Aperio returned her attention to her aura. Furthering her control over it could only be beneficial, especially once they reached Ebenlowe.


    The blank spot in her aura around Thaddeus was still there. It had stayed intact, unaffected by anything she had done. A closer inspection revealed that her mana was still there, just spread so thinly that she barely noticed. She supposed that calling the area a blank spot, or bubble of nothing, was not entirely correct, but neither could she think of a better term at the moment. Nonetheless, it seemed like removing her aura completely was not possible, but at least she knew she could designate an area where it would not harm people. But can I cover an entire city?


    Aperio doubted that she could.


    Her attempt to widen the bubble around Thaddeus was met with failure. It was seemingly as big as it would ever be. Maybe I will have to bless everyone , after all? The thought was both pleasant and revolting. First I will have to know if it tries to control them.


    A quick check of Laelia''s blessing showed a small change. Her mana was still doing its best to improve the Human, but a tiny part of it wandered aimlessly around her body. Aperio tilted her head at the tiny drops of her mana that seemed to have forgotten their purpose. She knew it was still hers, but she could not tell why it moved the way it did.


    The droplets immediately followed her will as she directed them back to join the rest in their effort to strengthen Laelia. A startled yelp caused Aperio look at the ex-paladin. Laelia was staring at her with wide eyes. For a moment Aperio thought she could see the fear in her expression, but that was quickly dismissed as she felt a few drops of her mana start to move aimlessly inside the Human''s body again.


    She is doing that deliberately? Can I move hers as well? Though Aperio wanted to try, and felt that she could accomplish such a feat, she quickly decided against it. Trying to control the mana of Laelia would be exactly what the blessing of Vigil had tried to do. Definitely not what she wanted. Having Laelia control the mana that made up her blessing was a good sign in Aperio''s book. If the person herself could control it, the likelihood of the blessing trying to overcome its bearer wasn''t high. At least, I hope so.


    Leaving the ex-paladin to what she would now describe as training, Aperio returned to her own. Her aura would undoubtedly be a problem and she would like to minimise that as much as she could. Shifting her mana around in an attempt to find a way to make it less oppressive for those around her had still not gotten any easier. The only reliable method was the one she used on Thaddeus; not something that could be applied to an entire city.


    Once she had tried all the options she could possibly think of ¨C all of which were failures ¨C Aperio grew frustrated with her lack of progress and shelved her training for later. Looking around she saw Laelia sitting with her back straight and eyes closed, likely still trying to figure out how to better control the mana of her blessing. Thaddeus and Arden were silently eating something Aperio could not identify. Where they had gotten food, she did not know, but she doubted they had stopped to hunt while she was trying to figure her aura out again. But then, it didn¡¯t feel like days last time either.


    A glance outside showed that it was still dark, something she hoped meant that she had not spent days doing nothing but trying to figure out how to exist near others without making any progress. Pushing the thoughts of her own perceived inadequacy down, she shifted her gaze onto the thing the Humans were eating.


    Aperio did not know what it was, and as a byproduct of her previous service to the ''nobles'' she had seen a lot of food variety. Though, this was certainly not something they would have wanted. It looked like a mixture of bread and meat, pressed into a block. Smells good, though. "What is that?"


    Arden looked momentarily confused while Thaddeus winced at her words. Soon the newly-blessed Human made the connection between the food in his hand and the fact that the Goddess had probably not had seen something so mundane. "I actually don''t know what it''s called. It''s just something adventurers take with them on the road. Doesn''t go bad that quickly and tastes decent," he said.


    "May I?" Her question seemingly caught him off guard, the man not expecting the Goddess to ask for what amounted to glorified field rations. Despite this, he offered her a piece he had broken off of the other side. Aperio very carefully took it from his hand, turning it every which way before putting in her mouth.


    It tasted like nothing.


    Her face twisted into a frown. She had expected something from it, but it was actually devoid of any taste. Didn¡¯t he say it tastes decent? Aperio knew she could still eat things, and the weird fruit and bread she had tried in the village had taste. Or is it because I hadn''t truly accepted what I was before? But¡­how would that even work? Miffed by the persistent lack of answers, Aperio took to training her aura again. That Arden had laughed at her reaction had been pointedly ignored. It was a lot better than him being frightened of her, at least for now.


    Another attempt at trying to lessen the impact of her aura was met with failure and Aperio decided to shelve the idea yet again. Once they had reached the city she could find a library, or someone who knew more about auras. There was only a small bit of doubt in her mind, a tiny voice saying that said that a Goddess would likely not be able to employ mortal techniques. Still going to try.


    Instead of trying to restrain her aura, Aperio tried her hand at aiding the constant enhancement of her body again. While ripping out someone else''s blessing was not a very pleasant experience, it did show her how to weave mana into a living person. Whether the same technique worked on herself was still in question, but at the moment she had nothing else to occupy her time.


    Guiding a sliver of mana to her legs, she let it seep into her muscles and bones before she willed it to fuse itself with her flesh. Instead of the brute force method she had tried last time, Aperio moved her mana along pathways she had deemed irrelevant before. They certainly were not irrelevant, for as her mana filled them a sharp but subdued pain spread in her legs in response to her actions. Further inspection revealed that her mana was indeed doing what she wanted, just that it was doing it a lot faster than she had thought it would. Does it slow down after a while? It has to, right?


    A knock on the door caught her attention and she opened it. She was greeted by the Elven mage who bowed slightly upon seeing her. "We will be reaching Ebenlowe tomorrow. We thought it best to allow you some time to fix your attire."


    Hearing his words, Aperio thought that he had been replaced for a moment. Is that how people usually talk to a Goddess? If she was honest with herself, she was pretty tired of the formal speak, even if she herself tended towards such language. Shaking her head, she stepped out of the carriage and moved towards the chest of garments in the back.


    Picking a black back-free dress with silver and blue accents, she disappeared into the trees. A bit of wiggling and unreasonable stretching later, she reemerged in proper and unbroken attire. Aperio also finally understood why the nobles of the Empire had such expensive clothes. The silky smooth fabric brushing against her skin simply felt nice; divine even if she compared it to the rags she had worn for most of her remembered life.


    Stepping back inside the carriage, Aperio chose to spend the rest of the journey speeding along the strengthening of her body. Can''t hurt to be stronger. Probably. There was also the fact that it felt like the right thing to do, that her current self was not as good as it could be. Guiding her mana to further strengthen herself, Aperio fell into a trance. She did not know how much time had passed, but her body ached from her magical exercise. Why does this hurt more than being punched by an armoured fist?


    A chance to further question the nature of her being was taken from her as she noticed an ever increasing number of people inside her aura. Most of them did not seem to notice or mind its presence but a few of them did something that caused her aura to momentarily recede. But it was just that, a momentary reprieve. Her mana was too plentiful to be kept at bay. The few that had tried to remain outside her influence soon gave up their attempts, instead seemingly just accepting that they wouldn¡¯t be able to push against her.


    Shortly after she had been able to sense them with her aura, Aperio could hear them. Countless conversations, creating a cacophony of noise that only grew louder as they approached. Nobody needed to tell her; she knew that they had reached Ebenlowe.


    GamingWolf


    Not much happened, but we reached Ebenlowe!


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


    Sneaky links to Discord and Patreon.

 Sacrifice – Chapter 28: Into The City

    GamingWolf


    Stepping out of the carriage, Aperio was assaulted by the noise of hundreds of people talking to each other and the guards at the gate. Ira immediately went to talk to a guard himself while the rest of their group stretched their limbs from the long journey. Switching into a new and intact dress had been the correct choice; the amount of people around was not really what she had expected. The capital of the Empire had been fairly exclusive and it never had such a flood of people trying to enter. She wanted to ask why so many were attempting to basically storm the city, but a big, ornate banner hanging over the gate answered that question for her.


    Festival of Life? ...A harvest fest, maybe?


    The only festivities the Empire had had were centred around the royal family or their various conquests, nothing as trivial as a harvest. Her concentration was shattered by a burst of noise coming from somewhere nearby. Gritting her teeth, she tried repeatedly to resume her trip down memory lane, but each time she almost began to make headway the noise seemed to grow bigger. It felt like it was taunting her, staying one step ahead and remaining larger than what she was capable of handling at the moment. Finding the reason for the commotion, though, was as easy as looking at the world through her aura. Two people were circling each other, obviously intending to fight. Aperio could not care less about what they did as long as they did it silently, but that did not seem to be possible.


    The noise levels of the crowd, despite her mental pleas, continued to rise and now their sounds were so vast that they were physically hurting her, buffeting her brain and body with each cheer, each taunt, each cry. When what felt like the entirety of the nearby crowd began to roaringly chant in unison in response to the two people beginning to clash, Aperio''s frayed patience snapped. She could no longer bear the sound''s grating of her very soul.


    "Silence!"


    Aperio''s aura flared with her voice as it echoed across the gathered masses and sound ceased in its wake. An eerie quiet settled and those who remained standing slowly turned their attention to the angry looking Elf. The two that had been fighting shrunk under her gaze, unwilling to further anger the woman. The group she had travelled with fared better than most, probably having anticipated her reaction or already accustomed to her liberal use of mana. Laelia and Arden had shown almost no reaction to her outburst, the former just giving her a weary look.


    "What are you doing?" Aperio toned down the force of her voice, as she hadn''t really thought about her initial outburst. She had simply wanted ¨C needed ¨C the noise to stop. Her wish had been granted, and despite the amount of power her words had carried no-one had been harmed. None seriously, at least. A good number of people were forced to take a seat on the ground. Maybe it had been the wrong choice to act, but she simply could not have borne the noise any longer. So much for not attracting attention.


    The two did not answer, either unwilling to or simply too scared to do so. But neither did they have to; a group of guards was already making their way through the silent masses. The one that was still talking to Ira ¨C who looked like he would keel over any minute now ¨C seemed to be amused more than anything. Aperio simply eyed the approaching guards and did nothing else. Her past experiences with their likes had never ended well and at least appearing to respect them probably was for the best. Not that they could force me to comply. But they probably know that already.


    Not having to be scared felt nice, certainly something she could get used to. Probably shouldn''t, though. With a bona-fide God out to kill her, assuming she was some invincible force was probably not smart. Just because her encounters thus far had been laughably easy did not mean it would stay that way. But then, she had this itch to fight someone who could challenge her; where she could let loose.


    As the guards approached the still-frozen rabble-rousers, one split from his colleagues and came her way, cutting her reverie short. His steps were unsure and he looked like he would prefer to be anywhere but here. Aperio couldn''t fault him, as if she were in his shoes she would not be comfortable either. So why not let the guard Ira is talking to handle this? He seems to be fine.


    The guard came to a stop in front of her and bowed rather stiffly before speaking. "While we appreciate your intervention, we have to ask you refrain from doing so again and let us do our job."


    While he might have appeared to be scared, or at least uncomfortable, he spoke with confidence. Aperio just squinted at the man. "Then keep them quiet."


    The man looked confused but nodded nonetheless before joining his colleagues again. Aperio soon noticed the source of his confusion; the guard that had been talking to Ira was coming over after all. His boss, maybe? To her the guard did not look different from the others. He wore the same armour, the same sword, and looked just as unremarkable as the rest. No, not quite. A closer look revealed that he had slightly pointed ears, hinting at some Elven heritage further down his line.


    Once he was closer, she turned to face him more fully which caused him to slightly bow as well. Is this a thing now? What did Ira tell him? "Yes?"


    "Captain Lerendil," he said while straightening himself again. "We did not expect someone of your stature to arrive today, Lady Aperio."


    Would be weird if you did. More interesting than his statement was the fact that he showed no reaction to her voice or presence. Not that he should. Only Thaddeus had problems with the aura. And those stupid wards. The thought of the runic defences caused her to glance at the wall, but she was unable to spot anything that would hint at wards being employed in them. Hidden maybe?


    "I am here to see the [Grandmaster]. I did not know it was required to announce my arrival."


    "It is by no means required, just a courtesy we appreciate to prevent incidents "¨C he gestured towards the two men being led away by his subordinates. ¨C" like this. Will you be participating in the festivities once you have concluded your business?"


    Aperio raised an eyebrow at his question. "Does that matter?"


    "Dignitaries are entitled to a personal guard provided by the city."


    What did Ira tell him I was? "I can take care of myself."


    He looked at her for a second before sighing. "Undoubtedly. But I would like there to be a city left at the end of the week."


    "And what will you do should I refuse?" Aperio asked. She did not like the idea of being watched by guards all day, as she already had a lifetime of that behind her. Neither did she have any desire to participate in the festival''s goings-on. She had no idea what it was about, and ¨C perhaps more importantly ¨C she had no coin with which to buy anything on offer.


    "Nothing." He sounded exhausted, probably having to deal with a lot of people that did not want to be stalked by guards.


    "Then I will decline your offer. I think there are enough people following me around already." Ira, Laelia and the adventurers were more than enough for her.


    At her words the guard captain looked at her entourage and shook his head. His behaviour was not like that of the guards she remembered, but those had been vastly different circumstances. Offending a noble or even a guest would often end with an execution, after all. Aperio hoped that was not the case anymore.


    Rubbing his temples he motioned for her to follow him. "I have been given to understand that this is your first time visiting Ebenlowe and that you lack proper identification?"


    "Yes." Aperio had nothing that could prove who she was. Or who Ira claimed I am.


    Passing the old man, and trying her best to ignore the noise that was rising again, Aperio followed Captain Lerendil into a small house that had been built next to the gate. Once inside the man pulled an [Appraiser''s Stone] from the lone shelf, only to put it back after looking at her again.


    "I assume those won''t work on you?"


    All he got in response was a curt nod. The last time she had used one, all it had produced was a garbled mess. Nothing useful. It felt nice to be strong enough to break one of the stones, but she still wanted to know what titles she had received. The exact values of her other stats were not something she desperately wanted to know ¨C a curiosity at best ¨C but she had a feeling that she wouldn''t see those anytime soon. If ever.


    The man mumbled something about hating paperwork before he seated himself behind a desk and prepared a sheet of paper. Aperio found that she liked his attitude the most, as he didn''t seem to be intimidated by her or try to treat her like some high and mighty noble. To him she was just a nuisance that created more paperwork. A small part of her was screaming and kicking for his head again, but she continued to ignore that. Does every Divine feel like they have to kill mortals for any perceived disrespect?


    Aperio saw him scribble her name onto the first line before he faced her to ask a question. "Surname and age?"


    She tilted her head at the question; she did not have a surname nor did she know how old she was. "None and I do not know."


    He just rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Can you at least take a guess?"


    "Over a thousand." Probably. That''s what Ira and that imposter said at least.


    The captain dropped his pencil when he heard her reply. Leaning back he stared at the ceiling whispering a quiet, "Why me?"


    Aperio wanted to reply, but she was very sure she was not meant to hear his whisper. She would at least attempt to not make his day any worse. Not through more of my actions, at least.


    After writing down her age he paused at the next blank space on the paper. He then skipped over it, as well as another few lines. They were all likely things he assumed she wouldn''t know, or wasn''t willing to answer, or they simply weren''t all that important to begin with. For all the time Aperio had spent catering to nobles, she had had little experience with bureaucracy. It was simply not required in the Empire. At least not for the lowest of the low like she had been.


    "One last thing," he said, turning the paper around so she could read it and pointing at a dotted line. "Sign here."


    Taking the offered pen, Aperio signed her name in the excessively cursive script she had learned. Satisfied with her signature, captain Lerendil held it face down against a stone. There was a brief flash of blue light, and a tiny card replaced the piece of paper in his hand.


    "This"¨C he pointed to the small card ¨C"will serve as your identification until the [Grandmaster] or other official makes a permanent one, but given that you are here to visit her I would assume she has made one already."


    Does he think I am friend of the [Grandmaster]? It certainly seemed that way. Instead of correcting the false assumption, she very carefully took the card off of the stone and safely stored it in her Void. For a moment she considered asking him about Natio and the fanatic that had attacked her, but she quickly dismissed that idea. Better ask the [Grandmaster], unless¡­ she is also part of it?


    Following him outside again, she saw that the crowd was lively once more but a lot quieter than before. They had been quiet enough that she had not heard them inside the house, a fact she was pretty sure had something to do with the building itself. But it did not have any wards, those would''ve broken for sure.


    A few people in the crowd looked in her direction, their expressions ranging from what she assumed to be awe to undisguised disgust. She knew how to deal with the latter, the former was something quite foreign but still pleasant.


    It was only a short walk back to her group, and as soon as they arrived the captain informed Ira that they were free to enter the city. He also told him to make sure keep Aperio out of trouble, a statement that caused both the woman in question and Laelia to stifle a laugh.


    Once the guard had departed Ira approached, obviously very uncomfortable with the entire situation. "I hope he did not bother you too much, but it is the only way to get you into the city without attracting even more attention."


    She had almost expected him to be mad at her for her earlier outburst, but it seemed he was still quite intimidated by her. "It was quite refreshing. I wish everyone was a bit more relaxed."


    "That¡­ is easier said than done," Ira replied. "You don''t a¨C"


    "I get it. All I ask is that you try; I am not here to deliver punishment to everyone who mildly upsets me."


    She got a small, hesitant nod in response. "Then please, follow me. The [Grandmaster] will be expecting us."


    Following Ira''s words, the small procession moved through a small gate into the city proper.


    GamingWolf


    Soon?.


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 Sacrifice – Chapter 29: Meeting of Consequence

    GamingWolf


    Taking her first step through the gate, Aperio was surprised to hear no change in the people surrounding her. No signs of panic, nor signs of confusion. Neither did she notice any indication that the wards in the wall were doing their customary overloading due to her presence. Intrigued, she slowly let the full information her aura provided enter her mind. It became immediately obvious that the walls protecting this city were free of wards. Instead, what she found was a different kind of magic, one that wrapped itself around the entirety of the city like a protective cover.


    There was no beginning or end to it, just a dome of magic that blanketed the whole of the city. Who made this? As if to answer her question, a small sliver of mana fell from the construct. It drew a silvery-blue line through the sky as it raced towards a building that stood alone on a small island in the middle of the city. Following the drop brought with it another realisation; the city was built on numerous islands that dotted the surface of a giant lake. Each of them interconnected with a network of bridges and floating foot-paths that defied the waves that crashed against them.


    Every island sported its own small city, each filled with people living their lives, unconcerned with her mana bearing down on them. Are they just used to that? She could not find anything that would resemble an aura, one like hers at least. She did not have much experience with auras, but it still struck her as somewhat odd. She was using hers without bothering to slip by unnoticed, but despite that there were only a scant few people who stopped what they were doing and looked around when her aura brushed past them. And for those particular people, Aperio wasn''t even sure if they were actually looking for her.


    Aperio would have gladly spent hours marvelling at the city and its people, but the symbol engraved upon the highest tower on the central isle caught her attention. It was the same rune Ira had on his card, the one he said identified him as a [Guide], and even as she pondered this the falling drop of mana finally reached its destination, entering straight into the selfsame rune. Is that where the [Grandmaster] lives? Does she sustain the shield? What does it even do? Her mana was able to pass through it just fine, and it did not seem to be influenced by it or react to anything else either. An idea sprang up only a moment after the question had passed her mind. Is it masking my aura? She dismissed the notion; if it did that, it would have certainly reacted to her presence in some other way.


    Further thoughts had to be shelved when the group emerged on the other side of the wall and Aperio saw her first true glimpse of the city. Observation through her aura was a nice tool, but it could not compare to what she saw when simply looking at the world with her own eyes. A few people glanced in their direction as they emerged, but most quickly turned back to their previous tasks once their eyes landed on Aperio. Are they scared? ...Or is it the wings?


    She had not yet seen another person that had a pair of their own, but she still did not want to hide them. Feeling anything less than whole was not something she desired. In fact, she wanted to do the opposite, stretch her new limbs and take flight; explore the city. But, the prospect of getting answers far outweighed the joy she would gain from flying around the city. And I can always do that later.


    They had now entered something akin to a market place, with various stalls dotted around the stone-pathed square. She could hear the calls of merchants advertising their wares, most everything a special for the festival. The noise their shouts made and the constant chatter of the crowd was loud. Too loud for Aperio''s liking, but leagues quieter than the chanting for the fight had been outside. Being able to hear every conversation on the square in perfect clarity was something she would have thought to be amazing, but having to listen to them all at the same time proved to be more of a burden than anything else.


    At least she got fewer looks the further into the crowd they went, the people seemingly more used to Elves. She did notice a few people trying to figure out the originator of the magic they felt, but it was far less than she would have supposed.


    A rustling of clothes and subdued shouting caught her attention. Looking in the direction of the commotion, Aperio saw a woman dressed like a maid chasing after a girl no older than twelve. Why is she running away? She couldn''t understand what they were saying as they spoke in the Human tongue, something she really needed to fix.


    Aperio stopped, quite interested in how the chase would play out. Nobody in her group said anything about their unscheduled stop, either also interested in what would happen or still too scared to ask why she wanted to observe.


    It wasn''t long before the maid-looking woman had caught the girl. She was scolding her, that much was clear without Aperio having to understand the words. The girl protested, struggling against the maid¡¯s grip. She was looking around frantically, as if she had lost something that she just had to find again. Her eyes landed on Aperio and she froze for a moment before renewing her struggles with newfound vigour.


    The girl said something to the maid which caused her to look at Aperio as well. The Elf just tilted her head at their attention. Did they mistake me for someone else? Her thought seemed to be correct as the maid set the girl down, firmly holding onto her hand as the two of them started to walk in Aperio''s direction.


    They worked their way through the masses; most of the crowd did not even spare them a glance, not having noticed or cared about the commotion they had caused. It only took a few moments before the two had reached their group and the little girl was looking at Aperio with sparkling eyes.


    "Yes?" The sound of her voice caused the maid to try and shift her charge behind her, but the girl stayed where she was.


    "I apologize for the inconvenience, but the young miss is adamant that she knows you." The fluency with which the maid spoke surprised Aperio; not something she had expected from a simple servant.


    "Oh? But this is my first time in Ebenlowe." She did not know how that would be possible, she had only left her Void recently after all.


    The maid said something to the girl that Aperio interpreted to be along the lines of ''I told you you were wrong.'' The young miss would have none of that. She violently shook her head and pulled a folded piece of paper from a pocket on her dress. With still-sparkling eyes she extended it towards the Elven woman.


    Very gently, Aperio bent down and took the paper from her hand. As she carefully unfolded it, it was to her surprise that she saw painted upon it a scene she knew. Countless tiny orbs flowed by in a river shape, coupled with a perfectly white rift, and above it all was a very accurate drawing of herself. While the body was cloaked in shadows, the face and wings were unmistakably hers. It was all viewed from above, as though the person who saw this was flying through the air. Aperio just blinked and looked at the girl.


    "Where did you see this?"


    "In a dream!" the girl exclaimed.


    Aperio knelt down and motioned for the girl to come closer. She happily obliged, and practically bounced towards her. Once she was close, she went to hug the Elf, but the sound of the maid clearing her throat put an end to the motion. Instead the girl excitedly whispered, "That''s you, isn''t it?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied as gently as she could. Her voice now sounded more like an ethereal whisper of a ghost than that of a person. The longer she simply existed, the more pronounced the effect seemed to become.


    "What is your name, little one?" The time she had spent as a plaything for the children of nobles at least had an upside, she knew how the mothers talked to their children and those of others. She did not know if it was proper, but it was better than nothing.


    "Maria!"


    "Maria. Since when did you dream of that place?" Aperio could only think of one possible answer, one that made her question the nature of her existence.


    "Always!" Maria did not seem to find it weird that she dreamed of a woman with wings flying above a sea of what Aperio was very sure were souls. Why does Goddess of Souls feel wrong then?


    "Is that the only scene you dream of?"


    "Yes," the girl said, nodding. She fidgeted, her hands pressing together in ways that made little sense as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "Are you a Goddess, miss?"


    Aperio leaned in closer before she replied. "Yes, but that is a secret. Understood?"


    For some reason she knew the girl would not tell anyone, just as she knew how her blessing was changing Laelia. Maria nodded with great enthusiasm and Aperio extended her hand. The girl took it for a handshake, but frowned, unable to shift it until Aperio herself moved her arm as carefully as she could.


    Aperio could not feel any of her mana inside the girl, but there was still a connection that supplied her with information at her request. The only explanation she had for that was that she had somehow marked the soul when she had picked it up and awoken it in the Void. At the time she thought them to be little more than tiny lights and had used it as a key for her escape. Apparently the one she had thrown away in order to keep the rift open found its way to the girl in front of her and would be forever bound to her.


    "I''m sorry."


    Maria looked confused. "Sorry?"


    Aperio shook her head. "Nothing." She considered standing up, but the crinkle of paper in her hand gave her pause. "I have to go now, Maria, but may I keep the drawing?"


    The girl looked a bit sad at the prospect of having to leave, but was delighted at her request. "Yes!"


    Aperio let the paper vanish into her Void for safekeeping, half-smiling at the sense of wonder that sparkled, renewed, in Maria''s eyes at the sight. It was only then that she finally stood up, turning to the maid. "I would like to pay you and Maria a visit later. Where can I find the two of you?"


    "The Terenyk estate," the woman replied hesitantly. "It is on the Feranir isle, you can ask the guards there for further directions."


    "Thank you." Aperio smiled at the woman. The gesture seemingly appeared more intimidating than friendly as she hurried to get Maria and herself away from the group.


    "What was that about?" Laelia asked as Aperio stepped back to rejoin the others.


    "I do not know yet," Aperio replied. "Can we continue?"


    The group obliged, setting off again on their way to meet the [Grandmaster]. Aperio spared little thought to talk of the people around her or the city itself. The encounter with the girl had brought some answers while bringing forth more questions.


    By now she was certain that her Void was filled with souls waiting their turn for rebirth. She knew the Void was hers alone, and that no other God or Goddess would be able to enter it. She also now had first hand evidence that she could manipulate a soul by simply touching it. The mere fact that she could do such a thing disgusted her, and a shiver went down her spine as the realization truly sank in.


    One of the questions she could not answer was why the Domain of Souls felt wrong and inadequate when she so obviously called what most would describe as the afterlife her home. It doesn''t get more dead than being nothing but a soul, does it?


    And yet, it still didn¡¯t feel right. Maybe it is only a part of it? But what is the rest? Something with fighting, maybe. She mulled over the idea again and again, but could not find anything that felt right. Any single title, or combination thereof, that she tried just felt wrong or constricting; unfit for her grandeur.


    What am I?


    As Ira came to a halt in front of a giant door that bore the emblem of the [Guides], she knew that further thoughts about the nature of her existence would have to wait. The man took out his card, holding it high above his head so that it was as close to the emblem as possible. A brief moment passed, and then the giant doors silently slid open to reveal a hall filled with seats and tables that were stacked high with scrolls and books.


    Following Ira inside, their footsteps echoed through the collosal hall. It felt weird to be the only source of noise in the otherwise quiet building and Aperio could not help but notice that every single person they passed stopped their work and respectfully bowed in their direction. If this would have happened just a few days ¨C or weeks ¨C earlier, she would have assumed that Ira had a pretty high standing within the organization, one that demanded respect. But now she was pretty sure those bows and and looks of admiration were directed at her.


    They stopped in front of a door at the other side of the hall, Ira turning around to address them. "The [Grandmaster] is expecting you, Lady Aperio." With those words he opened the door and gestured for her to step inside.


    Stepping through, she was greeted to the sight of a clean and organized office. She could hear the click as the passage behind her closed, but her attention was caught by the other person in the room. A tall, Human woman with leafy-green hair stood up from her chair and walked around the table, causing the big white and green robe she wore to drag behind her on the floor.


    Having reached Aperio''s side, she bowed deeply and took her time before speaking. "It is an honour to meet you, Lady Aperio. I am O''lymni Videns, [Grandmaster] of the [Guides]; at your service."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes and looked at the woman in front of her. "I was told you can answer my questions."


    O''lymni was unphased by her voice, instead she simply nodded. "I will try my best to answer any questions you have, but I believe a meeting with Roots-Beneath-All and its guest will offer more insight."


    Its guest? Aperio knew from her extended senses that there was a large room behind the [Grandmaster''s] office, and that there was a person pacing in front of a giant pillar. Further inspection was interrupted by the voice of O¡¯lymni.


    "I also have this for you. Roots indicated that it might help you understand, though I am doubtful of that." With those words she held out a small metal card, not unlike the one Ira had. On it was a rune even more complex than the one the [Guides] used, and a name.


    It read ''Aperio, Sacr? Numen Ea''. What got Aperio''s attention was not the fact that it was her name on it ¨C that she expected ¨C but that the rune and the scribbles after her name felt so right. She had no idea what it meant, but whatever it was, she knew it to be the indisputable truth.


    She took the card from O''lymni''s hand. "What does it mean?"


    "I do not know. It was made by Roots in an effort to help you."


    Aperio tilted her head at the statement. "Why are you so eager to help me?"


    "Because doing anything else would spread more lies. The [Grandmaster] cannot spread lies."


    Aperio took a deep breath. It wasn''t that she trusted this woman fully, but her statement about not spreading lies rang effortlessly true. With this in mind, she brought up one of her most important questions, once again brushing aside the revulsion of appearing less than powerful. "Do you know what I am?"


    The woman contemplated her words for a moment before answering. ¡°I know you are a Goddess that even Roots itself reveres, but that only tells me that you are something beyond my ability to comprehend.¡±


    Aperio tilted her head at the statement. Beyond her ability to comprehend? That was a lot less helpful of an answer than she had expected. Why would another God revere me? I spent most of the time since I became a Goddess in the Void, and I know it was only me¡­ and countless souls. It had to have something to do with her in general, and not the fact that she was a Goddess. Of that she was sure.


    Aperio had never dwelt much on the fact that throughout her entire life, despite being a slave, she had never broken or become numb to the world. She had assumed that it was a twisted element to the collar''s magic ¨C a cruel trick to make sure its wearers could truly suffer ¨C but it was becoming more and more obvious that her enduring sanity had had something to do with her, and not the collar. If the [Grandmaster] did not know what she was, maybe she knew something about the cause for her current situation.


    ¡°What do you know about the Inaru Empire and the ritual that ended them?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, the Night of the Second Sun.¡± O¡¯lymni replied. ¡°Sadly we do not know much, just that it was not Ferio who burned Vetus clean ¨C she was very adamant about that. Still, many people attribute it to her.


    ¡°All we know for certain is that the ritual itself caused the events of that night. The [Guides] are currently trying to decipher the formation they used, but whatever really happened then removed most of the markings. Should you wish to read the reports yourself, I can have them prepared for you. Or you could ask Roots, as it did ask to meet you once you have no more questions for me.¡±


    Maybe I should. ¡°And where would I find this Roots?¡±


    In response, O¡¯lymni pointed to the door on the other side of the room. ¡°Roots-Beneath-All and its guest are waiting there.¡±


    Aperio could still only see one person, and that one was still pacing back and forth. Stepping past the [Grandmaster], she walked through the doorway behind her. She had known the room to be bigger than one would assume from the constant trickling information stream of her aura, and she had also assumed that the pacing person was in front of a pillar of some kind. It was not a pillar ¨C or any kind of decoration for that matter ¨C but a giant tree that covered the entirety of the back wall and stretched all the way up to the way-too-high ceiling. What made her sure that it was not a mere piece of decoration was the fact that its branches had started to move as soon as she entered the room. They were shaking in what Aperio would call anticipation, but she could not be sure as she did not speak tree.


    The person that had never stopped pacing back and forth in front of the tree during her talk with the [Grandmaster] had finally come to a halt, simply staring at Aperio. The Elf could only stare back at disbelief at the person in front of her. She lacked the definition and wings Aperio had gained after her stay in the Void, and she did not have the pointed ears of an Elf. The other''s hair shimmered in shades of red and yellow that almost made Aperio think that it was afire.


    But in all other respects, the two of them looked eerily similar.


    Before Aperio could think of a question, the woman began to move in her direction with a speed that could not be compared to any of the previous opponents she had faced. The thought of dodging did not even enter her mind, still unable to process the situation. How could it be that there existed someone that looked like a Human version of herself?


    The woman crashed into Aperio, moving the unprepared Elf a step back, before hugging her with enough strength to crush any mortal''s bones. Extracting her face from Aperio''s chest, the woman whispered words that only caused Aperio''s confusion to grow.


    "You''re back!"


    GamingWolf


    We are very close to the end of the first arc. If you can call it that.


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 Sacrifice – Chapter 30: Epiphany

    GamingWolf


    Returning to her senses, Aperio pried the other woman off of herself and kept her an arm''s length away. There was a brief struggle, but the other woman was either significantly weaker than Aperio had assumed or unwilling to fight. Probably the latter. She had a suspicion that there was a lot more to the person in front of her than her initial action implied.


    Before either of the women could speak, a deep voice that reverberated through the hall. Somehow, it reminded Aperio of a knife scraping over the bark of a tree. ¡°Her return was never in question; only a matter of time before she blooms again. Her highness is beyond the whims of wither and rot.¡±


    "Her highness?" Aperio tilted her head at the words, mumbling them herself. The fact that a tree had just spoken was quickly brushed aside by what it had said. The [Grandmaster] did say Roots revered me, but...why? The thought ran through her head, quickly followed by That is Roots, right? Shaking her head, she focused on the woman that looked so eerily similar to herself.


    "Who are you?"


    The woman seemed lost for words at her question, her expression shifting from disbelief to something Aperio would describe as crestfallen. Should I know her? She did look a lot like herself, but Aperio was very sure she had no siblings, especially not ones of another species. Or are Gods and Goddesses their own race? But, if this woman was a sister or someone else related to her, where had she been when Aperio had to live the life of a slave? Had this woman joined her masters in their lavish banquets and nights of pleasure while she had to scrub the distasteful leftovers of failed experiments from the walls?


    With a shake of her head, Aperio banished those thoughts. The woman in front of her was something more, not just a mere mortal. But that just brought her back to her first question. Who is she? It was obvious that she thought Aperio should recognise her, and that they had to be at least somewhat close, otherwise Aperio could not explain why she would go for a hug that would have probably killed a normal person.


    "You¡­ don''t remember?" Her voice was shaky and quiet, nothing more than a faint whisper. "You don''t remember your own daughter?"


    "Daughter?" The words came unbidden from her mouth, unable to keep the last of her calm. Aperio knew she had never had a child, as those who had taken her for their pleasure had made sure that would not happen. "How? When?"


    "Does her highness truly not remember?" The rumbling bark-scraping voice of Roots echoed through the halls, not quite managing to mask the shaky breathing of Aperio''s supposed daughter. "The joy you felt after her creation? Watching her blossom into her Domain?"


    Upon hearing his words, the other woman sagged, and Apero let go of her. She sank to her knees, staring at the floor and mumbling something Aperio did not hear as her mind was occupied with trying to parse what the tree had just said. There was not a single memory in her possession that was able to shed light on what the woman or Roots had said. Every word they uttered just caused more confusion. How could she have a daughter, and how could the woman be a Goddess?


    What am I?


    It was obvious that what Aperio thought she knew was wrong. Lacking. She had assumed to be a Goddess, new to the world and trying to find her place in it. Her reason to be. But there had always been a tiny speck of doubt that existed, endlessly brushed aside but now coming to the forefront with the irrefutable knowledge that what she knew was wrong. The moments when she had lost control, and the things she should not know that came readily to her mind; they were not merely the byproducts of her Divine being trying to keep her on the right track.


    No. There had to be more.


    Why else would it hurt when she tried to recall that same knowledge on her own? Something had to be there that she was missing, and the only thing Aperio could think of, unsettling as it was, was that her sacrifice was not the first time she had died.


    "Who am I?"


    Her mumbling caused the tree to lower its branches, almost as if her words had caused sadness. Aperio did not know how a tree could appear to be sad, but neither did she know how it talked. A fact that carried with it a familiar feeling that told her that she should know, but did not tell her why that would be the case.


    "You are Aperio, the Sacred Goddess, Arbiter of the Beginning and the End; creator of Ferio and myself."


    The words were true, Aperio knew them to be. A simple fact. "But why can''t I remember?"


    "They couldn''t bear the thought of someone being above, able to interfere in their petty games." It was not the tree, but the person that claimed to be her daughter ¨C Creation? ¨C that spoke. "We don''t know how, but they¡±¨C she paused, looking for the right words ¨C¡±sealed parts of you. Used your essence to bring monsters to the realms."


    "The Dungeons, as the mortals call them, sprout new and unseen beasts. Stronger, more durable than what should exist on a world of this level," Roots helpfully supplied.


    Aperio could only stare at them, unable to make sense of what they had just said. "They? How?"


    "Vigil and Inanis," Ferio spat. "They could not be content with what they had."


    While now she had knowledge of who had done it, she still did not know why. Nor did this new revelation explain why a follower of Natio had tried to kill her. Or even why the two had not come to end her themselves. Something did spring to mind, however.


    "Is that why a paladin of Vigil attacked me, once she had confirmation that I was a Goddess?"


    A vine extended towards Aperio from the tree. Once it was almost within arm''s reach a familiar blue-tinted window came into existence above it.


    Laelia Whytegaard has been ordered to attack ?????n???????e???????b?l?? ????t?????u?????? ?????????k??l???????s????????f??a??????? ??????????????n???t??????t????i??? by Vigil, the Righteous


    Laelia Whytegaard has lost the Blessing of Vigil


    Laelia Whytegaard has gained the Blessing of A????p??e?????r???i???o????,?? ??? ???s???????????a?k???????i????????? ????n???j????????u???????m?????????n???? ???d????i??????? ??? ???


    Aperio tilted her head upon reading the System notification; she had never seen one outside of the ones the [Appraiser''s Stone] made. "Why is that also broken?"


    The vine that seemingly held the projection lowered a bit at her words. "I am truly sorry, but I am still unable to process the full extent of your power. The artefacts will remain until you sprout a new system; one that does not depend on yourself."


    ...Sprout a System? "Did I¡­ make this one? And it needs me to function?"


    "Yes."


    "Is that why it doesn''t work for me?"


    "Yes."


    "Why do the others Gods and Goddesses use it then?" It did not make a whole lot of sense to her. Why would they use something that they could not control? Or can they?


    "Because they can''t make one themselves," Ferio replied. "Which is why I don''t understand how they managed to win against you."


    Aperio cocked her head at the words, for though they made sense they brought with them a question. If she really, truly was what the two believed her to be, how could she have lost against the two Gods? "Maybe I did not fight?"


    It was the only logical conclusion she could draw at the moment. But why? Why would I do that? Am I even who they think I am? She possessed the same name as the Goddess they believed her to be, and Ferio could easily pass as her daughter. She knew, though, that the words Roots had used implied certain things, among them the fact that Ferio seemingly did not come into existence by traditional means. I can¡¯t make a person, can I?


    Her mind jumped back to the encounter with Maria, the little girl who, despite having been touched by Aperio but once, could easily recognize her from what she saw in her dreams. Maybe I can. The thought was not one she appreciated. The ability to decide someone¡¯s fate with a simple whim was something she felt nobody should have the power of doing.


    She was taken from her thoughts by red and silver eyes that stared into her own. Aperio had not noticed Ferio getting up, lost in her own thoughts yet again.


    ¡°You? Not fight?¡± A sad smile accompanied her words. ¡°You never said no to a fight; always trying to find someone who could actually keep up.¡±


    Is that why I want to fight? Because it¡¯s fun? She had certainly enjoyed even the smaller skirmishes she had had with the fanatic and Laelia, but that could not be the only reason, could it? ¡°What did I do, then? How can you even be sure that I am the one you think I am?¡±


    Her words seemed to hurt the other Goddess, as she directed her gaze to the floor and mumbled her words. ¡°I just do.¡±


    Roots had more conclusive evidence for their claim, simply producing a new screen that showed more garbled mess Aperio assumed to be information about herself. ¡°I do not know anyone else who would break the System like this.¡±


    Aperio needed no more proof to convince her of the validity of their claims. Even if she did not have the innate knowledge of the truth of their words, the tinge of sadness and guilt whenever she looked at Ferio''s face was proof enough. She wasn¡¯t completely sure, but it felt like what she thought a mother should feel when their child was sad.


    ¡°If they wanted me dead, why did they not try to kill me again?¡± Aperio asked, tilting her head. ¡°Seriously, at least. I know I am not as strong as I could be.¡± It was a simple fact. If she could still get stronger by simply existing, she could not be at the peak of her strength. Unless there is no limit? Her previous belief that the other Gods and Goddesses or the world itself would somehow limit her did not seem quite as plausible now.


    ¡°They can''t descend. They know I would kill them as soon as they do,¡± Ferio replied. ¡°Not that it means much; they could just try again after a while. But they have deemed the mana expense too high. They are also afraid of you.¡±


    Aperio scrunched her face in confusion at the statement. She could see how they would be afraid, the more she learned about herself the more frightening her very existence became. The other part made less sense to her. Up until this point, nothing magic-related that she had tried had used more than tiny infinitesimal fractions of her vast supply of mana. ¡°Descend? How much mana does that use?¡±


    Her question caused Ferio ¨C and Roots, if she read it right ¨C to look confused. ¡°How did you leave your Dominion if you did not descend?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± With a simple thought Aperio opened a portal to the Void, big enough for her to walk through. ¡°Do you mean this?¡±


    Her daughter carefully approached the rift in space, inspecting it from all sides. Just before she stuck her head inside, Ferio paused, looking at her mother instead. ¡°May I?¡±


    Aperio just raised an eyebrow at her question. Do the others not let people visit their Dominion? ¡°Sure.¡±


    As soon as the other Goddess had crossed the threshold of the rift, Aperio felt something change. It did not feel wrong or disgusting, but there was a distinct feeling that something was off. Maybe that is why?


    A motion from Ferio caused Aperio to flare her wings and lower herself, ready to charge at the woman. The reaction was instinctual; the other Goddess had used magic to manipulate something inside her Dominion and before she could even think about the action a more primal part of her had reacted.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Her voice carried with it enough power to startle the other Goddess for a brief moment before she turned around. She looked sorry, but Aperio was never quite sure she read other people right.


    ¡°I found a body in there, I just wanted to take a closer look. I am sorry, mother.¡± She looked at her feet. ¡°I forgot how much you hate that.¡±


    Being addressed in such a manner was not what Aperio had expected, but was probably something she would have to get used to. Just because she forgot who she had been did not mean Ferio had, and it was clear she did not want to treat Aperio as someone else. Even if she was no longer the same person.


    Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Aperio straightened herself. ¡°Do not do that again.¡±


    A wave of her hand caused the body of the fanatic to appear before herself and the rift to close. ¡°This one also tried to kill me. She said that Natio has decreed it.¡± With those words Aperio directed her gaze onto the tree. ¡°Who is Natio?¡±


    Roots¡¯ branches shook at the mention of the God. ¡°A sapling, unaware of what it means to be a God. He lays claim to the Domain of Birth and the Souls of the Dead.¡±


    ¡°But the Void is mine?¡± Aperio asked.


    ¡°Yes, but he does not know who or what you are. The roots of every God and Goddess reach back to you, sharing in a bit of your Domain. Most of them do nothing against your perceived intrusion into their Domains,¡± Roots replied. ¡°Some as a thanks for providing the System, others believing that you would smite them if they did.¡±


    ¡°What is my Domain, then?¡±


    ¡°You never blessed me with that knowledge, your highness.¡± Its voice was subdued, almost sad. ¡°I have always guessed Creation, but you yourself have said that that is only a part.¡±


    ¡°I remember the day I figured out mine, you were so happy, ¡° Ferio chimed in, the talk about Domains bringing out a fondness in her voice Aperio could not quite place. ¡°Life and Light were fitting for my sunny disposition, you said.


    ¡°But I also remember that despite the happiness you felt for my achievement, you were still sad. I never asked because I knew you did not like to share what burdened you, but now I think what it was.¡±


    Aperio focused on the woman. If she truly was her daughter, she might know. The question that had plagued her ever since she had accepted what she might finally be answered.


    ¡°I think you never had one.¡±


    ¡°Never had one?¡± Aperio could not quite believe her ears. Every God or Goddess had a Domain, otherwise they would not be any different from a mortal. ¡°But the Void is part of my Domain. I know it.¡±


    ¡°Your daughter might be right, your highness,¡± Roots said. ¡°If you do not truly know everything your Domain encompasses, you technically do not have one.¡±


    ¡°Then how am I a Goddess?¡±


    ¡°The term was invented by mortals to describe beings like Ferio and yourself. Whatever rules and stipulations they attached to it are things they have come up with,¡± Roots explained with a rustling of its leaves. ¡°Nobody, not even those mortals like Natio and Mayeia who ascended to Godhood themselves, deemed it necessary to correct their assumptions.¡±


    ¡°How do I figure out what my Domain is then? I know parts of it already, but any one of them feels so restrictive.¡±


    "A good place to start would be to find out why ¨C and how ¨C Vigil and Inanis managed to seal parts of you away." Ferio''s voice held barely restrained hatred at the mention of the two Gods who had dared to do the unthinkable. "One of the crystals that houses a part of what used to be you lies below this city. Why not start there?"


    GamingWolf


    Also have a nice holiday season.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Interlude – Maria 1: A Dream Come True

    GamingWolf


    Maria lounged on her bed, unable and unwilling to wipe the persistent grin off of her face. She had finally managed to meet the person that she had seen in her dreams for her entire life. Admittedly, to be able to do that she had to sneak out, running away from her estate and evading her ever-present maid, and there might be repercussions later. But it was worth it!


    Maria knew full well that Amelia only wanted to protect her, but she couldn''t just sit around when a Goddess ¨C her Goddess! ¨C walked into the city. She couldn''t properly explain how she knew what she knew, and had never been able to convince anyone of the truth of it.


    Speaking of truth, it had to be said that when she had run off she had not been one hundred percent certain of the Goddess status of the woman, but what other being could pick up a soul and throw it, literally, into the mortal realms? And she had been proven right all along.


    The winged Elf had stood out in the milling crowd like a sore thumb. That the people seemed to naturally part and flow around her, some without even looking her way, just proved the point in Maria''s mind. Who else but a Goddess would prompt someone to step aside without them even thinking about it?


    The smile on her face grew wider as she relished her memory of being able to actually talk with the woman. After convincing Amelia, of course. The maid was her personal guard for a reason and, despite having run away to meet the dream-woman, Maria knew that Amelia had a good eye for assessing potential danger.


    When the Goddess had spoken, Amelia had seemed startled, and wanted nothing more than to shield her and leave. Maria could not figure out why she should be shielded from a voice that filled her with a pleasant warmth, one that felt soft and embracing, almost like...like the few times her father would hug her. She had wanted to stay forever, but, sadly, the world had had other plans. Now she was back at the mansion. Stuck in my room for the rest of the day.


    All day, every day. Hiding away in my room. Ever since her [Status] had first been revealed, her family had thought her to be cursed. At the tender age of six, how else could someone possibly acquire a title? The sheer illegibility of it did not help matters, and telling her father of the dream that kept coming back only resulted in her being trotted around to what felt like every doctor possible, and an assortment of priests just for good measure.


    The doctors had found nothing wrong, but the priest of Vigil had said that it was indeed a curse. When a priest of Inanis had come up with the same result, it was confirmed in stone for her father.


    Maria knew that both priests had asked to speak with her father in private. She did not know what was discussed, but afterwards he had been less than pleased, banishing them from the estate. Since then, no follower of either of those Gods had been allowed back on the property.


    Small hope came from the visiting priest of Ediscio, who had told them that despite serving the God of Knowledge, he had no knowledge of what her [Status] was. He had advised them to seek an audience with Roots-Beneath-All, saying that the tree was more familiar with the ins and outs of the System.


    Maria didn''t want to talk to a tree. She wanted to pray. Pray to her Goddess, in fact, but as she began she came up woefully short. In her excitement in finally meeting the woman, she had not even asked for her name. Maybe...maybe she doesn''t like to listen to prayers? Maria considered, trying to soothe herself into a calmer state. She did not even know why the woman had come to the mortal world in the first place, but if a Goddess of what she assumed to be death had come to the city, something important was clearly going on.


    But¡­ a thought crossed her mind. Doesn¡¯t Natio claim to be the God of the Underworld? Climbing out of bed, Maria shuffled over to the wide set of shelves on the wall. Since she wasn''t allowed outside her room that often, she had asked her father for books with which to pass the time, and over the years she had accumulated quite a number of them.


    Picking one of the many scriptures about religion, she leafed through the pages until she came upon the section about the new Gods. She snorted. If the two Gods had arrived a thousand years ago, could they really still be considered new? How long until the newness of a God wore off and they were merely a regular God? Still, they were the most recent addition to the pantheon. The official one, that is. Maybe they''re just the newest Gods?


    Maria was certain that the Goddess she had just met was not part of the pantheon in any official manner; otherwise, with all these priests that had come and gone to check on her [Status], she would have heard of her outside of her dreams. Seen a drawing, at least, or read the vaguest description that matched. Maybe even learned her name.


    But there was something, some ungraspable part of her, that told Maria her Goddess was more than a simple guardian of the dead. Something about her felt ancient in a way completely separate from the older pantheon. It was a thing to be puzzled over later, perhaps. Right now the question in Maria''s head was why. Why did she come here? In no world would Maria assume that her Goddess had come here for her specifically; she knew she wasn''t important enough for that.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock and the subsequent opening of the door. The intruder turned out to be her personal maid Amelia who held a tray with her dinner on it. She silently placed her meal on the sole table in the room before addressing her charge.


    "Your dinner, Maria."


    After placing the book back in its spot on the shelf, Maria made her way towards the table. She could tell Amelia was still mad at her, justifiably so. But she simply had had to go; her need to see her Goddess had been so vast as to fill her completely, unable to be ignored.


    "Thank you," mumbled the girl as she sat down.


    Dinner itself was the usual silent affair, punctuated only by the noise of cutlery scraping against the porcelain plate. Only after Maria had finished did Amelia speak again.


    "Your father wants to see you."


    Wordlessly, Maria stood up. She had known that this would happen. Sneaking out usually only resulted in a reprimand from her maid, but this time she had done so during the Festival of Life. It was still unknown to her why exactly her father did not want her to leave the estate. Neither did she know why he had specifically told her not to leave during the Festival. Ebenlowe was a city with a good guard, they would protect her. It was their job after all. But now she had invited an unknown woman into their home, something she knew her father would not like. He vetted every person that came to their part of the small isle. Maria had seen ¨C and read some of ¨C the large pile of notes he had compiled on everyone that passed through.


    Following Amelia out of her room they made their way through the sparsely decorated halls, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. Maria was anxious, and did not know what her father would do now, but she did not regret her actions. When her Goddess came to visit, she would be able to prove that she was not cursed. Maybe then I won''t have to sneak outside anymore?


    They passed a few of the other servants during the long walk to the office of Maria''s father, and most of them bowed slightly before going back to their tasks. Some looked uncomfortable at their passing, but a sharp look from Maria caused them to quickly turn back to what they had been doing before. Maria herself knew none of the servants they had passed personally. The only people that spent any significant amount of time with her were her father, Amelia, and her brother Jace.


    When will he come back? Her brother had left to study at an academy in Kejeran a few months ago as part of his education. He needed every advantage he could get, as he would take over the house one day. She missed the little lessons he had given her, teaching her about the world and helping her when she got stuck with her language studies.


    "Don''t fall behind."


    Upon hearing Amelia''s words, Maria sped up again. She had not noticed that she had slowed down, preoccupied with her thoughts. The rest of the way to her father''s office she spent looking at her feet. It wasn''t long before before she heard the sound of knuckles rapping on wood and the voice of her father calling them inside.


    His office was ¨C as always ¨C filled with notes and papers, the man himself looking tired. Ragged even. Stepping past Amelia to face her punishment, as was proper, Maria did her best not to break form and run to give her poor father a hug. She knew he did not like it, always saying that it was improper, but that did little to stop her from wanting to do it.


    "Stay, Amelia." Her father''s words cause the maid to halt her movement and close the door instead.


    "Of course, Lord Terenyk," she replied with a slight bow.


    Looking down to properly face his daughter, lord Terenyk gestured to a rather plush-looking chair in front of his desk. "Please sit, Maria."


    Once the girl had done as she was told, her father spoke again. "I have been informed that you ran away. Again."


    "I did," Maria replied, fidgeting in her seat. "But I had to meet her!"


    "Meet who?" her father asked. "Some woman you see in a dream?"


    "She is real! I found her!" Maria protested. "Amelia saw her too!"


    Her father just rubbed his temples at her reply. "Yes, she told me that you found someone that matches her description. Even the wings. But, she also said that she is likely strong enough to influence how people see her. What you saw might have just been an illusion fuelled by your own imagination."


    Maria wanted to tell him that she was a Goddess, not some random mage that made a habit of abducting or manipulating children. But the woman had said it was a secret and Maria was not about to interfere in a divine plan she had no hope of understanding. "She wants to visit us! Then you can find out on your own. If she''s just an imposter, daddy, you''ll find out!"


    Lord Terenyk just gave a dry laugh at his daughter''s attempt to diffuse the situation. He had to admit, however, that she was right. If the being was an impostor, he would find out. But in reality, he just wanted this day to be a dream. Whenever the woman of his daughter''s dreams came to visit, he would either have to subdue someone beyond his level or have what he feared to be some kind of Goddess come into his house.


    "Why can''t you just stay here until daddy figures out what''s wrong with your [Status]?"


    "But nothing is wrong with me!"


    "Nothing we found so far, yes," her father replied. "But maybe we can''t detect what it does, or whatever messed with your [Status] only manifests later on. I am just worried about you and want to know you are safe."


    Maria perked up at his words. "I have Amelia for that!"


    "She can''t protect you if you just run away without telling anyone!"


    The girl sunk further into her chair at his outburst. "But if I told anyone, I wouldn''t be able to go," she mumbled.


    "You aren''t supposed to go," Lord Terenyk said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Here you are safe, but as soon as you leave, I cannot guarantee that." He looked at her, and she could see the weight of years in his eyes. "I''ve already lost your mother. Don''t make me lose you too."


    Maria hung her head in shame. Her father did not bring up her mother much, but whenever he did, it was because she had done something potentially dangerous. And yet, she felt that she had made the right choice. Something told her that she shouldn''t be holed up in her room all day, but be free instead.


    It had to be connected to the woman she had finally been able to meet. Maria knew she would have more answers for her. The why and how of where that knowledge came from was easily dismissed from her mind, as the prospect of knowing what was supposedly wrong with her simply outweighed such silly things as reason and logic. But right now, she had made her father sad. Something she did not like doing.


    Looking back up at her father, Maria asked a question to which the answer held more importance than either her father or Amelia could fathom. ¡°Can I still meet her when she comes?¡±


    ¡°If¡±¨C her father stressed the word ¨C¡°she comes here, I will meet her first and then decide. That you invited her here is bad enough. We know nothing about who or what she might actually be.


    ¡°Go back to your room. Until I say otherwise, Amelia will stay with you to make sure you don¡¯t run away again.¡± His words were final, the conversation over.


    Getting out of the chair, Maria made her way out of the room. She knew that her father just wanted her to be safe, but she could not understand why that required her to stay in her room most of the time. She wasn¡¯t some fragile flower. She could run away from Amelia, and the maid was pretty fast. Quicker than any of the other servants at least.


    The walk back to her room was quiet, and seemed to feel much shorter than the plodding journey to see her father had been. Once back in the room that was her own, Maria did not bother to change her clothes, instead heading straight to bed. The day had been exciting, revealing, terrible and sad all at once. It was exhausting, she realized with a yawn, and as she was drifting off to sleep she heard a quiet "Sleep well, Maria," from the maid that had assumed her position at the door.


    Maria dreamed, and the scene that presented itself to her was much the same. An infinite abyss of black nothing filled with rivers that held countless souls. Maria herself was, yet again, nothing more than a tiny glowing orb that drifted on the currents of the afterlife. That was, until a slender hand plucked her out of the stream and the face of her Goddess appeared in her vision.


    The woman turned her spherical self every which way before gently tapping against her. A pleasant warmth spread from the point she touched, causing Maria to stir in an effort to more fully embrace what she thought of as a ghostly hug.


    As always, it was not to be. She was tossed away, the scene she had painted a dozen times by now unfolding in front of her. Then, all the lights in the black abyss melted together, forming a tunnel of colours she could never hope to describe. Soon she would awake, fully rested even though she had gone to bed only an hour ago.


    The cold sensation that usually heralded the end of her dream came and went, but instead of opening her eyes and staring at the ceiling of her room, Maria was looking a different scene.


    She saw her Goddess flying in the air, holding another woman clad in the armour of Vigil¡¯s paladins. Neither of the two seemed to even know she was there, but neither could Maria call out to her Goddess. A moment later the thought of interrupting her was flushed from her mind as she saw a golden-white version of the paladin slowly come out of her real body.


    The process seemed to be painful as the woman screamed in silent agony, but Maria knew that her Goddess was doing her best to save the poor woman from something much worse. Just as Maria was about to question how she knew things she had never been told, there was an ear-splitting noise ¨C something shattering ¨C and Maria''s real eyes shot open.


    Before the dream could start to fade from her mind, Maria scrambled out of bed and began to paint the scene.


    GamingWolf


    Regularly scheduled and Aperio-Certified content will resume after this.


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 Advent – Chapter 31: Foretold

    GamingWolf


    A chapter seeks shelter from the cold outside. Happy Holidays.


    It is ''Advent - Chapter 31'' and not ''Advent - Chapter 1'' as the second arc is still part of the first ''Book''.


    Ira slowly stepped through the open doorway and into the [Grandmaster''s] office. The woman distractedly gestured for him to take a seat, still staring at the door in the back of her office. So she is meeting Roots? Ira thought to himself. That''s good. I hope. The Goddess he had encountered fit the description of a prophecy the [Grandmaster] had given him to a tee. Even the name was the same.


    "She is not what I expected," O''lymni said, turning to face the now-seated Ira. "Roots had always presented her as beyond anything one could imagine. Unfathomable. She seemed pretty normal to me, friendly even. For a Goddess, that is."


    "But is she the one you sought? The one from the prophecy?" Ira asked.


    "Undoubtedly, everything fits. She just does not behave like I thought someone of that stature would. But then, the prophecy never said she would act in a certain way."


    Ira shifted in his seat. Just over a week ago, he had been happy that the prophecy he had been worrying about was not going to come to pass, and now the [Grandmaster] was telling him that the opposite was true. The idea was not one that he enjoyed. He had started to doubt his initial assumption when what he at the time assumed to be an Elf decided to, rather violently, bless a member of the adventurer party. That she was attacked by a follower of Natio and one of Vigil only furthered his doubt.


    The end of the world he knew was definitely not what he had hoped for.


    "Lady Videns¨C"


    Before Ira could continue, O''lymni waved him off and sat down behind her desk. "I told you before, just O''lymni is fine."


    "O''lymni." Addressing the [Grandmaster] without any titles was not something Ira would ever get used to, but one did not easily refuse such a simple request. "How can you remain so calm? If she is the one¡­ doesn''t that mean¨C"


    "That the world will end?" O''lymni asked, interrupting Ira yet again. "The prophecy never said that it would, just that persons of importance will perish. Everyone, me included, just assumes that it means the Gods. And if we take into account what Natio and Vigil had their followers do, I think that is a safe assumption."


    Ira was not surprised by the fact that the [Grandmaster] already knew what had transpired on their way to Ebenlowe; she always did. How she got the information was not something he knew, but he assumed Roots had something to do with it. Roots had been here long before the [Guides] came into existence ¨C most [Guides] still thought of it as a normal tree ¨C and nobody apart from O''lymni knew why it helped them in their quest to document the truth. Personally, he had a few ideas ¨C a few more, now that there was a Goddess that Roots itself apparently revered.


    Letting out a sigh, Ira shifted his thoughts away from things he would likely never know. Instead, he spoke up. "I assume that you already know what has happened to the Vinmaier child and his mentor?"


    "Yes. Killed by Aperio. That will also be your next assignment," she replied, taking out a sealed envelope from one of the drawers on her desk. "This letter will inform Lord Vinmaier that his son offended a Goddess and paid with his life. The city guard forbids him from acting against any resident or visitor to the city, and will not pursue the matter themselves."


    Ira took the surprisingly heavy letter, staring for a moment at the intricate runic seal that held it shut before safely storing it inside his [Personal Storage]. The tiny black rift reminded him of the star-filled one the Goddess had used to store the corpse, an action that made him question the origin of the skill. Not many people openly questioned the origins of the System, they just accepted it as part of the world. Not that asking gets you answers.


    On the rare occasions that the question was actually openly posed, the Gods either directed the one who asked to Roots, or said that they made it themselves for the benefit of the mortals. All he knew was that no variant of the [Personal Storage] skill allowed one to deposit a body inside; not a fresh one at least. The length of time required varied, of course, but eventually you''d be able to store a body. Even one of a person.


    He was taken from his thoughts and any potential questions as the [Grandmaster] abruptly stood up, smoothed over her robe and faced the door at the back of her office. It only took a moment for Ira to guess what would happen next and follow suit, moving a couple of steps to the side as to not obstruct the path from the door to the seat or the other exit.


    It wasn''t long before the door opened and Aperio walked into the room, her brows scrunched together in thought. What got Ira''s attention however was not the winged Goddess, but the woman that walked in behind her. He had seen Ferio before, but he had not made the connection between the two. Now that they both stood in the same room, he could not help but think that they had to be related somehow. Do Gods have families?


    Aperio''s head was still spinning from the new information she had gotten as she stepped back inside the office of the [Grandmaster]. Her daughter was following close behind her, still looking a bit saddened at the fact that she did not remember her. At least, Aperio assumed that to be the cause of her downcast expression. It still pained her to see Ferio like that, but she had no idea what she should do. She could not just suddenly remember; she wasn''t even sure if she actually wanted to.


    That, however, was a question that could be put off in answering until after she had visited Maria. She had made a promise, after all, and she intended to keep said promise. In the process of learning of the little girl''s life, Aperio also hoped to learn more about herself and her abilities. There was the distinct possibility that knowing more about Maria''s life might be less than enjoyable, bringing about disgust and hate at what she as a Goddess could accomplish. In the end, though, it was all still her choice. Just because she could do something with her abilities did not mean that she had to.


    But, what can the System do? Apparently, she had made the thing. Did that mean that she was responsible, indirectly at least, for everything that had been done with it? And, if it really needed her in some way, shouldn''t she be able to control it? Aperio had asked Roots how it used the system, but for it, it was just like using any other magic. The simple action of willing the blue-tinted window with information on it to appear, unsurprisingly, did nothing.


    Further testing would have to wait as both Humans ¨C at least, she assumed O''lymni to be one ¨C seemed to be stuck in a bow. Aperio furrowed her brow. She understood why they would pay respects to a Goddess, but to her it was more annoying than anything else. It was far removed from the normality she seeked in her new life. Not that I will get much of that.


    The time she spent around others only showed her that she was anything but normal. Even among the Gods. With a sigh, she motioned for them to rise. "Could you not bow every time you see me? It is annoying."


    "I will try my best," the [Grandmaster] said, straightening herself and brushing away any potential imperfections in her robe. "May I know what you intend to do now that you have returned?"


    The question caused Ferio to stiffen, either because she herself anticipated Aperio''s answer or, maybe, because she took affront to a mortal being so direct. The woman to whom the question was directed just tilted her head a tiny bit to the side, as she still had not decided what she wanted to do after visiting Maria. Maybe show Natio that he should not annoy me any further? The idea of fighting another God was exciting, but it was something she should probably only do once she knew if she could beat him. Maybe have a bout with Ferio?


    "You wouldn''t happen to have an arena or something like it that I could use?"


    Aperio''s words caused O''lymni to lose composure for the first time since she had encountered the woman. It only took a moment for her to regain her calm demeanour, but she still looked a bit puzzled at her request. "I doubt we have any that could withstand even a fraction of your power. But, may I know why you would need one?"


    She had a point Aperio realised; she broke stone walls with a simple punch. Why would an arena fare any better? "I was just curious."


    Any friendly fight between herself and her daughter would have to take place somewhere else. The Void? No, that would be unfair, wouldn''t it? She would have to ask Ferio about potential places that were suitable for a godly bout, but that would wait until after she had visited Maria. "I am going to visit someone."


    "A follower of yours?" O''lymni said, surprise evident in her voice. "I am sure they will be delighted to meet their Goddess. Do you require a [Guide] for the city?"


    Before Aperio could reply, the voice of Ferio sounded from behind her. "I will guide mother."


    There was no room for questions, a notion easily understood by the [Grandmaster] and the lone [Guide]. Ferio calling their newest guest ''mother'' did cause the two of them to briefly adopt a visage of confusion. Aperio chose to not speak on the matter, as she only had the word of Ferio, a tree, and the ethereal knowledge of it being true to go on. If they wanted to know more they could always ask, and she would reply to the best of her ability. Learning to trust her instinct was something that would take time, but she would have enough of that now.


    "She is your... mother, lady Ferio?" The [Grandmaster''s] voice sounded uncertain, clearly not quite believing her ears but also unwilling to potentially offend a Goddess.


    "In a way, yes," the Goddess of Life replied. "It is the closest analogy you would understand. The relationship is much the same."


    "I apologise, I did not know this was the case," O''lymni said with a slight bow. "May I add it to the Record?"


    "The Record?" The question loosened itself from Aperio''s lips on its own, not that she regretted it. She would like to know what this ''Record'' was.


    With a now familiar motion, O''lymni took a big, heavy-looking tome from a black rift that had appeared before her. Presenting the book to Aperio, the [Grandmaster] explained. "The Book of Legends; also known as the Record or the Book of Truths. It is the duty of the [Guides] to go out and record history."


    Aperio just shrugged and gestured towards Ferio. "I do not care, it is her decision."


    Her daughter simply gave a brief nod at which the [Grandmaster] started to write on a blank page. Once she had finished, golden lines snaked across the page, framing the words she had written. Once her record had been completely encased, O¡¯lymni¡¯s name and title appeared below it, together with what Aperio assumed to be the current year. 1742 A.R.? What does that stand for? It was obvious that this was the current year and whatever they called the current era, but ''A.R.'' meant nothing to her.


    Pushing past the feeling of disgust, Aperio faced O''lymni and asked her question. "A.R.?"


    "After Return," the woman replied without missing a beat. "It was decided to start a new calendar when the Gods returned."


    Makes sense. Kind of. She could see why people would see the return of the pantheon as the start of a new era, but she had assumed the masses to be outraged that they had been abandoned. She herself certainly had been. Though, now that she thought about it a little, should she be mad at herself? Was she a Goddess still, while she had been a slave? Was it her death that returned her powers to her, or was it the ritual?


    The questions crowded around her mind, and none of them seemed readily answerable. Pushing them down, Aperio turned to leave. She had to stay focused. One thing at a time. Talk to Maria first. "Thank you for your hospitality."


    The [Grandmaster] was starting to bow again before she caught herself and, instead, simply nodded towards the two Goddesses. Ferio actually smiled as Aperio started to walk towards the exit, quickly catching up to her. "Where do you want to go?"


    "The Terenyk estate."


    "A noble house? Why?" Ferio seemed saddened, seemingly having assumed that she would get to spend time with her long-lost mother.


    "I promised Maria I would visit her." That she was a soul she had done something with, was not something she would share just now. While Aperio felt like she could trust Ferio, she was not quite ready to rely on her instincts that much. One step at a time. "Afterwards I would like to talk to you in private."


    Her daughter seemed content with the arrangement as she held out her hand for Aperio to take. Once she did, Ferio led her outside the building.


    GamingWolf


    Arc 2 is go.


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 Advent – Chapter 32: A Little Bit of Faith

    GamingWolf


    Outside the headquarters of the [Guides], Aperio and her daughter were greeted by the sight of Laelia and the group of adventurers simply standing around in an awkward silence. The ex-paladin¡¯s eyes went wide as soon as she spotted Ferio leading the winged Goddess outside, holding her hand. She was, however, the only one with that reaction. The rest of the group certainly looked surprised when they saw Aperio being lead outside, but they lacked that twinkle of recognition in their eyes.


    "Ferio?" Laelia asked, her voice barely a whisper.


    The fiery-haired Goddess narrowed her eyes at the mention of her name. "Is that the one that tried to kill you?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied. She had a feeling that Ferio would not take kindly to meeting someone who had attempted to murder her mother, however unlikely their chance at success might have been. She held her daughter''s hand a little tighter, and her assumption proved to be correct as Ferio abruptly tried to move in the ex-paladin''s direction. The stone cracked under her feet as she tried to take a step forward but found herself unable to advance.


    Aperio stood unmoved by her daughter''s attempt. She had not used much effort to hold the arm, but then, Aperio had almost no grasp on how much strength she used at any given time. Her grip did not seem to hurt Ferio, but neither of them had used anything close to their full capabilities. At least I think so. Her friendly bout with Ferio would hopefully give her a better idea of how strong she had become. If she accepts the offer.


    As her struggle brought her nowhere, Ferio turned to face her mother. She looked at the hand holding her before shrinking a little. "I am sorry mother, but the thought of someone trying to harm you is¡­ maddening. I don''t want to lose you again" Her last words were barely a whisper, quiet enough that even Aperio had almost missed it.


    Ferio''s words brought with them a warm feeling that she could not quite place but liked nonetheless. Brushing a few errant strands of hair out of her daughter¡¯s face, Aperio spoke. "It is all right. Her actions were not her own, she did not mean to. I will not leave again."


    It felt right to say the words, to soothe the only person she had felt close to since Moria had died. Even if she could not remember her daughter, Aperio wanted to trust the feeling she had. She wanted to believe that Ferio was her daughter. Was¡­ family. If the universe saw it fit to bless her with one after she had spent a lifetime without, she would take it. Now, she just needed time to¨C


    Her thoughts were interrupted by the shaky voice of Laelia, who seemed to be in dire need of a chair. "Ferio ¨C the Goddess of the Sun ¨C is your daughter?"


    Aperio tilted her head at the question. Isn''t that obvious from the talk we just had? "Yes."


    Laelia gave in to gravity and sunk to her knees while the rest of the group processed the implications of what had just been said. The first to react was Arden, who threw his head back and laughed. Is he going insane? Letting go of Ferio''s hand, as she felt certain that her daughter would no longer try to strike out against Laelia, Aperio moved behind the laughing Human. That the stones had broken under her step were pointedly ignored, as was the way Arden went stock still as she touched a hand to his shoulder. First and foremost, Aperio had to check on the blessing. Much to her relief, it was still diligently improving the Human''s body. No sign of it trying to take over. A quick mental check on Laelia''s blessing revealed the same.


    "Why are you laughing?" Her irritation was clear as her voice carried a touch more power than it usually did, enough to make Arden flinch slightly. Or is that because he thinks I will punish him?


    "I just thought it was hilarious that we stumbled across the mother of one of the stronger Goddesses. I meant no offence." While he did not stutter or sound like he feared for his life, it was clear that he regretted his actions. Aperio simply lifted her hand off of his shoulder and looked towards her daughter. She was smiling at her, seemingly happy to be known for her strength. The potential duel with Ferio looked to be more and more informative.


    "I assume everyone has heard of my daughter?" Aperio''s query was directed at the rest of the adventurers. She got a round of slow nods and questioning gazes as reply. "No reason to act so surprised then. Just treat us as you would anyone else."


    While Aperio knew they had enough reasons to be surprised, she wanted them to stop their annoyingly fearful behaviour. She wanted to at least have a somewhat normal life. Even if the chance of it actually happening was astronomically low, it was still a chance, and therefore she would still make the effort to try. After she got a few more nods from the party, she took a few steps towards Laelia who was still on the ground holding her head. Offering her hand she asked, "Are you okay?"


    Aperio''s words caused her to look up with an expression on her face that the winged Goddess could only interpret as fear. Being looked at like that hurt more than Aperio had ever imagined. Disgust, hatred ¨C she knew from experience how to deal with those. The affection her daughter sought, though unfamiliar to her, was at the very least something she understood on a base level. What she did not know how to handle was the way the colour drained from Laelia''s face. The way the Human ever so slowly tried to distance herself from her. The way she looked up at her offered hand ¨C not disgust; not hatred; but pure, true fear.


    "Why is everyone so scared?" Aperio whispered to her herself as she lowered her hand again. She knew that her voice and aura carried with it a weight that the mortals seemed to struggle with, but Laelia had never seemed particularly bothered by it. Even less so after Aperio had replaced her blessing. But now, she was looking at her as if she was death incarnate; here to reap her soul for good. The few times Aperio had lost her temper had been mostly ignored by everyone, so why was the person who had acted the least intimidated so scared now? She wanted to be respected, yes, but not feared.


    A hand brushing past and under her wings caused Aperio to twitch slightly. She relaxed when she realized it was Ferio trying to comfort her. It could be no other, for everyone else was unwilling to even get close to the winged Elf. A casual, reassuring touch from them was simply unfathomable. Aperio turned and looked into Ferio''s face, finding there the same expression she had seen when her lack of memory of her own daughter was revealed. At least I am getting better at reading people. It was a small consolation, one she would gladly trade back.


    "It''s okay. They don''t know you, whatever they think is true is something made up." Her voice was soothing, but the full meaning of the words did not manage to reach Aperio. Her mind felt overburdened as she tried to figure out why, even after she had become a Goddess, life was still unwilling to let her find even the smallest crumb of happiness. Her thoughts went around in circles, trying to find a solution, an exit, a path away from her current state, but ultimately went nowhere. The air around her grew cold and heavy, seeming to hold her just as captive as her mind.


    Was she wrong to free Laelia? Should she just do nothing? Let the world run its course? Was the joy she felt whenever she used her newfound strength just a loan for future grief and sadness?


    Aperio noted a shimmer of magic not her own at the edge of her consciousness. A warm, golden glow that gingerly tried to surround and soothe her swirling mind. It felt similar to the way her magic had appeared in the Void, just warmer. A gentle embrace. She felt she knew who it belonged to, and a small inspection revealed that it was, indeed, the magic of her daughter.


    With a thought, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought herself and Ferio into her Void.


    Whatever form of magic filled her dominion, it did more to stop her mind''s rampaging circles than anything else. Aperio took a deep breath, and it calmed her despite the airlessness of the Void. Her daughter''s arms wrapped around her, and for a moment she wasn''t sure what to do. She still could not remember anything! Not reliably, at least.


    Ferio''s arms gave her a squeeze, and a small flash of understanding came over Aperio. Even if she could not recall anything now, and even if she might never remember at all, she knew that Ferio was her family. She hugged her daughter tightly, mind blazing against the indignity of the universe. How dare it wish to have her wallow in sadness for the rest of her eternal life! She rejected that concept, there and then. She would not be subject to such emotional indignity. She would find a way, a way to live the way she wanted to.


    If she couldn''t do it now, she would strive to improve. To get better.


    Something fell into place.


    A part of what she had so long wanted to figure out revealed itself to her, ready to be grasped. Strive? It felt right, but not the whole. The unending desire to improve, to be the best possible version of herself. The feeling of disgust when she asked a question, her desire to fight and even the restless search for her own Domain. All because that is a part of my domain?


    Aperio took another breath of the nothingness that filled her Void. The swirling mass of grief and self doubt cleared away, the gentle touch of her daughter¡¯s magic nudging the last wisps of it aside. Opening her eyes, Aperio gently stroked the back of Ferio''s head. "Thank you," she whispered.


    That her voice carried more presence, more power in a whisper than it had when she had shouted before was ignored. The Void was her dominion, even the tiniest whisper would carry a weight unbearable by mortals. Unless, of course, she did not want them to shoulder the burden. Her Void, her rules.


    Separating herself from her daughter, Aperio took a moment to take in her dominion. Figuring out a part of her Domain ¨C Or one of multiple? ¨C had changed the Void. The river of souls shone with more. More colours, Aperio knew, and she suspected that the soul orbs themselves were more numerous than before as well. Where they came from, she could not tell. Were they stuck somewhere else?


    Focusing on the Void in the same manner as she did with the blessings flooded her mind with information. It took her a moment to start sorting it out, but her task was made simple by the fact that the greater part of the messages received were incomprehensible tugs of some sort. They felt as if they wanted her to decide, pulling her back and forth on something she could not quite grasp. The rest of the information was more of a list, eerily similar in style to the System. It came not in the form of a window, but simply as information that she inherently knew.


    "What happened?" Ferio asked, pulling Aperio out of her thoughts.


    The Elf blinked at the question. She did not truly know why her thoughts had roamed where they did. "I do not know. I was¡­ just sad."


    "I understood that when it happened." Ferio smiled, and her magic brushed the outskirts of Aperio''s. "I meant your aura. It''s...calmer? But also stronger."


    "Because we are in my Void?"


    Ferio shook her head. "No, it¡¯s not that."


    Aperio looked within herself, wanting to know what, if anything, had changed. A small thought, and a ball of her own mana formed in her hand. It felt good, she knew at once. Even easier to control. Closer to what it should be. Its colour had also changed, as the sphere in her hand now looked more silvery. Before, her mana had been more blue, with only tiny streaks of silver in it, but now silver was far and away the most dominant colour. Is that why it feels easier to use? Will this happen every time I get closer to my true Domain?


    "I figured out a Domain. Or part of it at least?"


    In shock, Ferio pulled away from the hug, looking over her mother from head to toe as though trying to spot some sort of physical change. "You did what?"


    "I thought about how I would strive to become better, to be able to achieve my goals," Aperio said, tilting her head to the side. "Then something fell into place and it felt right. Strive also feels right. Not whole, but right."


    Ferio looked thoughtful at her words. "You did always strive to improve yourself but, as you said yourself, there has to be more to it. Do you remember anything now?"


    "No," Aperio replied quietly, glancing away so she wouldn''t have to see her daughter''s face fall in disappointment. "I do not."


    "It¡¯s okay,¡± Ferio said, gently tilting her mother''s head back towards her. ¡°We will just start with the Crystals. They seem to be the only way."


    Finding herself at a lack of anything more to say, Aperio held out her hand. Her intention was clear; return to the mortal realm. Her daughter''s hand slid into hers, and with another flex of her mental muscles the two Goddesses reappeared exactly where they had been.


    GamingWolf


    Emotions are hard to write. See you in 2020.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 33: Of Lies and Prophecies

    GamingWolf


    The warmth of the sun on Aperio''s skin, while nice, could not come close to the comfort the Void provided. That Laelia was looking even more terrified now certainly did not help. Neither did it help that she did not know why she was suddenly terrified. Aperio didn''t think she had done anything differently. Is it because of Ferio? Her daughter had, admittedly, wanted to punish the woman for the arguably futile attempt on her life, but upon brief reflection the conclusion was obvious: Ferio was not the source of Laelia''s fear.


    Taking a careful step towards the sitting Human, she tried to push the sadness she felt whenever she saw Laelia''s fearful expression as far down as she could. With a small and hopefully reassuring smile, Aperio crouched down in front Laelia. Her wings spread slightly to better accommodate her movement, a motion that also obscured the two from the prying eyes of the group behind her. She could feel her daughter''s magic move with her, still trying its best to bring calm to all those it touched, but now there was a certain edge to it.


    A small twitch of her mental muscles brought her own mana to bear. Aperio tried her best to imagine the feeling of calm and belonging she felt in the Void and convey it with her magic. As carefully as she could, Aperio tilted Laelia¡¯s head to face her, just as Ferio had done with her shortly before.


    The ex-paladin went stiff upon her touch, her eyes clenching shut in an apparent effort to not see the source of her fears. Aperio could feel the woman''s terror through the magic she was using in an attempt to calm her. It was a bizarre experience, feeling what another person felt. The emotions never quite reached her, always remaining a distant echo that brushed along the edge of her perception.


    "I have no desire to hurt you. There is no reason for fear." Her words were slow and deliberate, as gentle as she could make them. More like what one would use when talking to a child than a grown woman. In doing so, she became aware of an inner struggle she had been having all along. The sheer effort she put in to avoid having her inner sadness seep into her voice and magic was more costly to her than most other things she had tried. Whether the struggle was new to her since her return to Godhood, or whether it had merely been repressed by the collar, was something she likely would never know.


    "P-Please d-don''t kill me," the Human stammered in reply, trying to move further away from the winged Goddess.


    Aperio tilted her head at the words. Did I not just say I wouldn''t harm her? "Why would I do such a thing? You were not yourself when you attacked me. You were unable to make your own will known. Used as a tool. Relegated to being a passenger in your own body." Her words lost the gentle tone she had tried to keep, instead filling with disgust at her own memories of the collar that had imprisoned her. She tried her best to dismiss the thoughts and pulled back her hand that had, unbeknown to her, started to trace Laelia''s neck where a collar would sit.


    Aperio herself knew that the gesture likely looked threatening without context, and the shivering of the Human in front of her only underlined that fact. She was at a loss for what to do. She did not know how to comfort someone, even less so if she herself was the reason for their distress. Lowering her wing slightly, she turned towards her daughter, the uncertainty easily visible on her face. Trying to find out what had turned the once feisty paladin into the scared child she was now felt important to Aperio ¨C Laelia was one of the first people she had met after her return and, thus far, she had treated her like anyone else. A bit fixated on a fight early on, but Aperio could not fault her for that; she had that itch to fight too, after all.


    Ferio just sighed and shook her head. A moment later the soothing magic of her daughter joined her thus far fruitless attempt to calm Laelia. Aperio wasn''t sure if she should even try her hand further at this kind of magic; influencing people that way did not sit right with her. But, there was no disgust when her daughter used it, no need to cleanse away vileness.


    Instead it felt more like a magical version of a hug, a metaphor that made the Elf smile a little. There was an underlying element that somehow conveyed the intent of the one who used it, something that words alone would never be able to replicate. She simply knew that her daughter was trying to calm the Human.


    It wasn''t long before Laelia did relax a little. She still looked fearful, and was somewhat tense, but at least she stopped trying to scoot away. Again, speaking as gently as she could, Aperio asked the woman in front of her, "Why are you so scared?"


    "Mother of the sun, the tyrant of old will return to bring ruin to the land."


    Her words lacked the usual choppiness her lack of vocabulary brought with it. Instead, they sounded more like something she had learned to recite by heart. Almost like a prophecy. She gave her daughter another questioning look, but received only a slight shrug ¨C Ferio didn''t know what the ex-paladin had meant, either.


    "I am often referred to as the Goddess of the Sun, they probably mean me," Ferio said.


    "But why tyrant?" Aperio asked, turning her attention back to Laelia. She had a suspicion who might have an interest in vilifying her. "Is this something Vigil and Inanis fabricated?"


    "The Scripture," was the mumbled reply.


    The winged Goddess could not help but frown at the Human¡¯s reply. "Your God forced you into a fight you could not possibly win. I have no intention to bring ''ruin to the land'', as you put it. Perhaps you should not believe everything that they say."


    A coughing sound behind her caused Aperio to rise and turn around. The needle-poking Human looked like he had almost choked on the water he just drank. Once he had his breathing back under control, he looked at the winged Goddess with a complicated expression on his face. He took a few more breaths before he finally asked a question.


    "May I speak?"


    Aperio just gave him an annoyed look and motioned for him to continue. She hoped the undue respect ¨C Or fear? ¨C would soon go away. Just because she was a Goddess did not mean she deserved their respect or admiration, even if a part of her revelled in it. Neither did she wish to be feared because of what she was, but it looked like she only had that effect on Laelia.


    "I do not mean to be rude but, did you just say that Vigil and Inanis prophesied that you would return and...destroy the world?" He frowned, and his fingers shifted as he thought about what that meant. "How is that supposed to work? You do not strike me as the deliberately destroying type." His knee twitched, as though he were repressing the urge to pace about while his thoughts raced around. "But, if you aren''t, then that would label anything written in the holy books as a potential lie..." His voice trailed off as he lost himself entirely to his thoughts, his final spoken question directed more to himself than to Aperio.


    There was only a slight shaking to his voice, which was refreshing; he had not been that intimidated by her annoyance.


    "Or she is lying," Arden supplied. A glare from Ferio sent him scrambling a step back, before Aperio gave both of them a disapproving look. Am I surrounded by children? ...better this than have them grovel every time though.


    The sound of footsteps and the unmistakable noise of a door opening caught Aperio''s attention. Turning around she spotted the [Grandmaster] walking out of the building. In one hand she held a strange-looking scroll. A closer look revealed it to be surrounded in a haze; a fog almost like Aperio''s own aura, albeit less refined and far less powerful.


    "Maybe I can help," the [Grandmaster] said. "One of Vigil''s prophecies is indeed the one she speaks of. When it was first spoken, Inanis swiftly endorsed his words, and some more minor Gods followed suit. As for the truth of the statement...we don''t know. What we know for certain, however, is that both Vigil and Inanis do not like Aperio."


    Unfurling the scroll she held, O''lymni handed it to Ferio who, after a moment of confusion, read through it. Aperio caught a glimpse of the words written on the parchment, but to her they were just meaningless squiggles.


    The more her daughter read of the scroll the angrier she seemed to become. Aperio felt her magic shift away from calming touch to something forceful that seemed to weigh on the people surrounding her. It did not affect the winged Goddess, but she could easily tell that the situation could turn dire should Ferio continue to react in this manner.


    Just as Aperio wanted to intervene, the force that had pressed against the mortals vanished and instead, Ferio faced the [Grandmaster]. "When did you get this?"


    "Just now," O''lymni replied. "I brought it to you as soon as I could."


    "What is going on?" Aperio asked. She did not like being left in the dark, especially if whatever was happening made her daughter that angry.


    "They excommunicated your ex-paladin friend for failing her divine mission. They also declared Ebenlowe a ''dangerous territory''," Ferio replied.


    "They?"


    Ferio gave the needle-poking Human a long, hard glare before she replied. "The church of that ungrateful fuck who has the gall to call himself righteous."


    Silence reigned after her outburst. Seeing a Goddess call another God an ''ungrateful fuck'' was not an everday occurence. But, that mattered little to Aperio right now. What did matter was that, despite being used as a tool, Laelia was looking as if she was ready to break down.


    Aperio did the only thing she could think of and sat down next to the shaking Human. She wrapped her arm and wing around her quivering form as gently as she could before she started to slowly stroke the woman''s arm in what she hoped was a soothing motion.


    This was her fault.


    She had forced her will on someone. Even if she only had had the best intentions in mind, it had led to Laelia losing something that seemed to be of great importance to her. Aperio might not have been able to truly understand why the Human would still want to be part of an institution that had tried to send her to a sure death, but she respected the will of the other. What was the obvious choice for the winged Goddess might not be for the ex-paladin.


    It wasn''t long before she felt Laelia leaning against her, no longer shaking but now sobbing with every other breath. Her previous fear of the Elf had seemingly been forgotten, the shock of the arguably inevitable news still too great.


    Aperio wanted to say something but couldn''t find words besides the "I am sorry," she mumbled. She cared for the Human in a way she did not quite understand. It was not as strong a feeling as her affections for her daughter, but it was certainly more than was immediately reasonable for someone she had met not that long ago.


    Is it because I gave her a blessing? ...No, I don''t care about Arden that much. Maybe it''s because he just has a tiny blessing and she has a proper one? ...What even is a proper blessing?


    The thoughts were interrupted by incoherent mumbles from the ex-paladin that was now fully leaning on the Goddess for support. In response, Aperio wrapped her wing a bit tighter around the woman. The others did not need to see her like this. Or should I not do anything? She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. She was responsible for Laelia''s current state and, even if she could not understand her reaction, she would at least try to make it more bearable for her.


    The others had begun to ask questions, ones that Aperio ignored as she yet again inspected the blessing she had given. She had not expected it to change but was relieved to find that it was still doing its best to improve the Human, not that it was of much use at the moment. For now, all Aperio could ¨C and wanted to ¨C do was to wait until Laelia calmed down again. At least enough for her to tell why this had shaken her that much.


    It only took a couple of minutes before Aperio could feel Laelia tense up again, seemingly having noticed who exactly she was leaning on for support. She did not struggle or try to escape, but it was obvious she did not want to be where she was right now. The Elf complied with her unspoken wish and retracted her arm, the wing she left loosely draped over the Human to at least preserve some privacy.


    "I am sorry," repeated Aperio in a whisper. The act of apologising still felt wrong, even now when she was clearly the cause for Laelia''s suffering. "It is my fault this happened, but I could not let that twisted thing try to control you. If you want to leave you are free to do so. Just know that I will help should you want it."


    On the edge of her consciousness, Aperio felt the touch of her daughter''s magic. It felt like a query, likely a wordless attempt to ask if she had meant what she had just spoken aloud. The reply was done with a thought of confirmation, and more force than necessary if the reaction of Ferio was any indication. The rest of the group did not seem to have heard Aperio''s apology, or knew not to comment on it.


    Laelia looked unsure at her words but, after a moment of hesitation, reached into a pocket and produced a picture which she handed to the Goddess. Depicted on it were a group of Humans, all smiling and happy. The ex-paladin tapped her finger on two identical looking boys who could be no older than Maria.


    With newfound determination, Laelia looked into the Goddess''s eyes. "Heal them," she said. "Please."


    "Heal?" They looked perfectly fine to her. "What is wrong with them?"


    "The Rage. No mortal can heal. Vigil cured me. I work, he saves them. Now¡­" Her words trailed off with a quaver, but it was clear what she meant.


    Aperio could not quite believe what she heard. "Why not simply ask another one?" she asked, glancing at Ferio. "I am sure my daughter would have helped if asked."


    "Her Domain is Life. The Rage is much life. Too much." Laelia just shook her head. "But you healed wounds Vigil could not."


    "Too much¡­ life?" It did not make sense to her, but there was a certainty to Laelia''s voice that made her not question the notion. The fear the woman had felt seemed to be mostly gone; Aperio could only feel a sliver of it. What had replaced it was what she would describe as a desire to protect. It was similar to what she had felt herself when she had seen the grieving Laelia, yet not quite the same. "Where are they?"


    The Human tried to stand, only to find herself unable to as the wing covering her did not yield at her push. Standing up herself, Aperio folded her feathered appendages behind her and watched. Laelia rose, trying to hide the slightly red eyes from tears the Elf had not seen her shed. With an unsteady gait, the woman began to walk towards the bridge leading into the city.


    GamingWolf


    The Rage is not a lie as some people thought it was. Or maybe it is?


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 34: Dreadful Affliction

    GamingWolf


    Laelia had stopped on her way to the bridge, waiting for Aperio to follow. The winged Goddess instead turned towards the [Grandmaster] and motioned for her to approach. The woman complied immediately, and only as she was already walking towards Aperio did the Elf realise what she had done. In her old life, she would have always been the one to be waved over, but now she had not even thought about her switch in hierarchy. Moreover, O''lymni did not seem to mind that she had been summoned despite her arguably high status. Do they just assume they would be killed if they don''t comply with the wishes of a Goddess?


    "Could you send someone to the Terenyk estate and tell them that I will not be able to visit Maria today?" The sun had already begun to set and Aperio doubted she would be able to visit Maria at a reasonable time.


    "Of course," the woman replied with a bow that she stopped as soon as she caught sight of Aperio''s narrowed eyes. "Do you wish us to prepare a room for your entourage?"


    The Elf inspected the group of adventurers, both with her eyes and her aura. Most of them seemed to be unsure about what they should do and Aperio could not answer that question for them.


    "They are free to do as they please. I do not know who hired them, but they should probably inform them of their mission''s outcome." Aperio paused for a moment, considering her next words. "Just remember that I am just a normal Elf here to visit the city." That she also wanted to see Arden again to check on his blessing she kept to herself.


    Her words seemed to sound more threatening than she had intended, but the meaning had been conveyed well enough. All but the needle-poking Human looked to be relieved at the idea of not having to accompany two Goddesses and a disgraced paladin on a quest that would likely attract the wrong sort of attention from yet another God. It would seem that most mortals did not want to be part of any perceived divine machinations.


    Having said all that she felt was needed, Aperio used her magic to give her daughter a small mental nudge to follow. This time she paid more attention to the amount of mana used and had managed to not startle Ferio as much as before. Still need to work on that. ...Also need to stop commanding people around.


    She never really stopped to think about what she did, as most of it just felt like the right thing to do in the moment. But the longer she dwelled on her own actions, the more Aperio felt a rising disgust at herself. She did not want to be like her former masters; always commanding, and assuming that the orders would be obeyed without question. But why does it feel right? Just because I am a Goddess?


    Figuring out why nobody objected was easy. They could not resist her should she wish to force them. Maybe Ferio could, but I doubt she wants to. Her daughter, it seemed, was more likely to forcibly make someone do as she wished than to object to Aperio doing the same. I am really not the person she remembered, am I?


    Offering a tiny wave, Aperio turned to follow Laelia. None of the adventurers seemed to have any parting words to say, and O''lymni was already scribbling something on a piece of parchment, presumably the message Aperio had asked her to convey.


    The winged Goddess trailed behind Laelia, her daughter in tow. The ex-paladin''s gait was still unsteady and, for a brief moment, Aperio considered helping her. There was nothing wrong with her body ¨C if anything, it should work better than it ever did ¨C and Aperio found herself unsure about whether physical support was what the woman truly needed.


    Instead, she tried to work her magic to soothe Laelia, trying to remember the gentle form of her daughter''s magic in order to guide her actions. Her efforts didn''t amount to much. Either she was still unable to properly wield this form of her magic, or there was only so much ethereal reassurance could do to calm a troubled mind.


    After they had crossed half of the bridge, the sounds of the city slowly rose again, quickly reaching a volume that was uncomfortable for the Goddess. The other two women did not seem to mind the noise, either already used to it or not affected by it. Aperio tried her best to suppress the noises assaulting her ears. Her attempts were largely unsuccessful and it wasn''t long before her daughter noticed her rising distress.


    The soothing touch of Ferio''s magic did make things more bearable, but it was unable to combat the source of the issue.


    "Are you okay, mother?" her daughter asked, quickening her pace a little to walk alongside Aperio.


    Laelia also slowed down and turned around, either because of Ferio''s words or because she felt the change in Aperio''s magic. Whatever it was, it caused what Aperio would classify as concern to briefly flicker across her eyes.


    "Is it always this noisy here?" Aperio asked, still trying to ignore the sounds around her. They had not reached the deafening levels the crowd outside the city gates had managed, but she did not doubt for a moment that they were unable to.


    "Noisy? This is just a little louder than usual, once the Festival of Life fully starts it''s really going to be quite the ruckus." Ferio looked confused for a moment, then abruptly her eyes widened a little. "I forgot. This must be almost unbearable for you."


    "It is not as bad as the people outside the gate were. Not yet, at least."


    Ferio directed her eyes downwards as she replied. "I was so happy you are back I forgot that you dislike large cities." Her words were accompanied by a mental nudge of apology, making it clear that she knew of no way to fix the issue. With a sigh and a very faint touch of her magic to show her thanks, Aperio motioned for Laelia to continue. She would have to find a way to deal with the noise on her own.


    In an attempt to distract herself from the chaotic interweaving of countless conversations, Aperio chose to inspect the city around her. If it was not for the levels of noise it was generating, she would have found the city itself quite nice. Most of the buildings were in good repair, made from sturdy looking stone and featuring wood-framed glass windows. The people too looked healthy, even if they gave her a few sidelong glances. It was also clean, and lacked any sort of scent of death or decay. With so many people in one area, the surrounding odours may not have been all that pleasant, but it was a far cry from the olfactory terrors Aperio knew were possible.


    The occasional whiff of baked goods, or other tantalizing smells, would come in their direction. As their frequency increased, she became intrigued, and let the information provided by her aura more fully enter her mind. The dribble soon turned into a stream that fed her all the information on her surroundings, the most prominent of which was her daughter.


    Ferio was like a fountain of mana in an otherwise calm sea; the largest presence of anyone Aperio had encountered thus far. What surprised her though was the fact that it still did not feel as strong as she would have expected from a Goddess. Maybe she knows how to hide it? ...Or am I that far beyond what is normal? Roots certainly seemed to think she was a cut above the rest. Aperio would ask her daughter as soon as she was done healing whatever this ''Rage'' was. If I can even do that.


    Shaking off the train of thought that would, for the moment, lead nowhere, she turned her attention back to the world around her. More specifically, Aperio was wholeheartedly seeking the source of the enticing smells that made their way to her nose. It was not long before she realized that they came from the very same square that she and the group of adventurers had passed through on their way into the city. How had she not noticed the smells before? Aperio didn''t know for certain, but there was a good likelihood that she had been preoccupied with Maria, and the many resulting questions ¨C some of which still remained unanswered ¨C that had swirled through her mind. Now, though, she filed the food vendors away in her mind as a potential future option for something to do. After she had taken care of the more important things, of course.


    The people milling about the stone-paved pathways paid little mind to her magical inspection, just like the first time she had come. Once people caught sight of her, however, they did pay attention. It seemed that a woman in a gambeson with a sword at her hip followed by others in expensive-looking dresses was not a sight people were used to. The wings probably don''t help either. Still, she did not hide her feathered appendages ¨C their stares were nothing more than curiosity after all. The ones she caught openly ogling with more primal thoughts got a glare in response that turned the air around them cold and heavy. Most of them averted their eyes after that, recognising that the group was not something they wanted to mess with.


    Aperio heard a few insults being directed at both her and her daughter. Some of them she did not understand as they were spoken in the Human tongue, but the intention of the words was still painfully clear. Others were ones she had heard plenty of times before: ''Bastard'', ''Half-Cast'', and the one she had the most knowledge of caused her to lose her temper.


    ''Slave-born'' was something Aperio had heard a great many times. If it had been directed at her personally, she might have been able to bear it through sheer rote and memory, but instead it was directed at her daughter. Both Laelia and Ferio did not seem to mind ¨C or hear in the case of the ex-paladin ¨C the insults. What they did notice was Aperio balling her fists, the stone cracking under her feet as she stepped harder on the road, and the almost boiling rage that had replaced the soothing touch in her magic.


    The Human who had muttered the words to her friends noticed the winged Elf staring in her direction. Her friends quickly stepped aside as the Goddess lifted her arm to aim it at the woman, and as arcs of silver trailed in the wake of the movement, the colour drained from the unfortunate target''s face. With a deafening crack that silenced the surroundings one of the arcs lashed out, disintegrating a tree that had stood just behind the Human.


    "Never say that again."


    It had taken Aperio more than her fair share of mental effort to not kill the woman where she stood. If she did, she would be no better than the people who had used that insult in the past. Her warning was clear as the now extremely pale-faced Human nodded profusely, muttering something the winged Goddess did not understand but sounded a lot like an apology punctuated by sobs.


    A hand gently taking hers caused Aperio to relax a little, the arcs dancing around her disappearing. A quick inspection revealed Laelia and her daughter to be unharmed despite having stood right next to her. Aperio knew the arcs of mana tended to be wild, and contained more than enough power to kill the ex-paladin. The blessing? Or does it only hurt what I want it to? She settled on the latter; her mana had thus far always done exactly what she wanted. Even if she herself could not articulate the thought.


    "Let us continue," Ferio whispered.


    After giving the Human one more glare, Aperio gave her daughter''s hand a squeeze and nodded towards Laelia who continued onwards. She hoped that the display hadn''t made Laelia more fearful of her, but an inquisitive brush of her magic revealed no trace of any feelings of that sort. If anything, there was an element of admiration from the woman which, given Aperio''s out-of-proportion reaction, seemed a little off.


    She wanted to question why Ferio did not respond to the comments, but she shelved that for the talk she would have with her daughter later. Having a discussion in the open when she did not know most anything about her own daughter seemed like a bad idea. Besides the knowledge that Ferio was actually her daughter and a vague sense of truth to most of her words, she really had little to go on. For now she would accept her daughter''s indifference. Perhaps that was the right choice.


    As they walked through the streets that grew progressively tighter and more winding, and crossed the occasional bridge, Aperio could not help but notice the glances in their direction. Mothers quickly turned to shield their children and more than a few of the people present reflexively moved their hands to the grip of their weapon. It took a moment for the Goddess to realise that they were reacting to her aura, scared by the oppressive mana bearing down on them.


    Once aware she did her best to wrap those she perceived to be the weakest in a small bubble of nothing. The amount of tiny holes in her aura sky rocketed quickly and keeping track of them all was turning into an impossible task faster and faster. Looking at her free hand, she balled it into a fist; the muscles shifting under her skin only the smallest indication of the strength she had. Strength that was causing her more and more trouble, was making it harder to achieve what she wanted. Some people in her place might have wished to trade, sacrificing ultimate power to be able to live the life they wanted.


    Aperio was not one of them.


    She would not trade the thing that could guarantee her freedom for what could never be more than a mere chance at the life she wanted. A chance she already had, as she only needed to figure out how to transcend the bounds she currently knew. A challenge she would gladly accept. Nobody would force her to do something she did not want to. Not anymore.


    Aperio thoughts were interrupted as something started to¡­ fight against her aura. It was the best analogue she could come up with. Someone was trying to stop her mana from seeping into a building, one the winged Goddess quickly realised they were heading towards. A closer inspection revealed it to be not someone, but a group of people trying their best to keep her mana at bay.


    They were sitting around an intricate-looking rune, holding their hands. She could feel ¨C see ¨C their mana flowing in the rune, and pushing against her own. Despite the eight of them trying their best, it was a futile attempt. Their efforts had barely slowed the passive spread of her aura, not to mention her more active inspection. An action she stopped when she noticed the sweat dripping from each member of the group.


    Her curiosity had potentially hurt someone again, but it had also given her an idea. One she should have had much earlier. All it required was a small thought and the ever-present mana that formed her aura obeyed. Instead of simply existing without a purpose beyond giving her information, Aperio directed it to help the group. Not in the way she had done with Arden; blessing everyone present was not her intention. She willed her mana to bring calm, help them regain their strength, and, if possible, carry the intent of her action to them.


    If her plan would work the way she hoped it would, Aperio did not know. But, through realizing ¨C truly accepting ¨C that her magic was a part of her, and that it would obey her every whi, her initial fears of wielding the powers of her mana had steadily faded. Using it and actually seeing it do what she wished was even better. Her biggest fear now was that she would accidentally use too much strength. She had done so when first replying to Ferio, and if it had gotten a reaction from a Goddess it would probably mean death to mortals.


    Aperio directed her mana as carefully as she could, making sure to closely observe for anything that would indicate any one of the group was in danger. She furrowed her brow as one of them tried to take a bit of her mana into himself. The action he took felt almost as wrong as Ferio using magic in her Void and, in response, Aperio cut the man out of her aura. She could not see his reaction anymore, but if the others were any indication he was very surprised.


    It did not take long for the group to stop their attempt to keep her out, either having realised it was futile or being able to figure out the intent behind her actions. Either way, Aperio was able to focus more on the people again, this time without fear of hurting them. Having a clearer picture of those that had tried to keep her out was quite the shocking revelation, as most of them looked to be young. Younger than Thaddeus at least. Aperio was not good at guessing the age of people, but almost none of them could be older than Laelia. The only exception might be the man that had tried to take in her mana, but she would not let her aura near him again until she could see him with her own eyes. As she continued her approach, she could tell that they were indeed all wearing similar clothing: a blue robe with silver embroidery, and a small patch on their shoulder. She was unable to see what the badge depicted as it was radiating its own magic that obscured her sight.


    There was little doubt that she could force the foreign magic away to look at what laid underneath, but she was certain that it would destroy whatever enchantment the tiny badge held. Probably not a good idea. Instead of futilely inspecting the group through her aura, Aperio took that notion of helpful intent and calm and tried to apply it to the rest of her aura.


    Both Ferio and Laelia noticed the change in her aura as the former sent her a questioning mental nudge while the latter briefly stopped to glance at the winged Goddess before continuing on. Aperio gave Ferio a smile, a genuine one. Even if her aura was still weighing on the people around her, she could at least make it more bearable. Especially those close to her. That it had taken her so long to figure out how to do it was sad, but it did little to dampen her happiness.


    It did not take long for them to reach their destination, and it was indeed the one that Aperio had expected. The people inside seemed to know who the source of the aura they had felt was, as the eight that had tried to stop her all came rushing out of the building. They froze once they spotted Laelia leading the two Goddesses, asking her something that ¨C quite annoyingly ¨C Aperio still did not understand.


    The man that had tried to take some of her mana seemed to know Laelia quite well, embracing her in a long hug after they had exchanged a few more words. How old he was, Aperio could not begin to guess, but she assumed it to be around Laelia''s age. Whatever that is. How old someone or something was had really lost its meaning after she had spent millennia in the Void. Her sense of time was nonexistent as of now, the entire journey from her return up until now was nothing but the blink of an eye even though she knew it had to be months ¨C maybe even a year now.


    Laelia gestured towards her and Ferio, but only mentioning her name. Not introducing us as Goddesses. Good. She gave the group of Humans a small smile as they looked her way, an action that caused some of them to look at her in shock. Is smiling forbidden here?


    "Is smiling at people a taboo now?" Aperio asked in a whisper, turning her head slightly to face her daughter.


    "She introduced you as an Elder of the Moons, in service to yourself no less. While they might not directly know who you are, being named as my mother remedies that to a great extent. They don''t expect someone of that stature to treat them as anything more than vermin. Especially here in the Human part of town," Ferio replied with a raised brow. She paused for a moment as she studied her mother''s face. "Do you not speak their language? I assumed you just used this one because it has always been a favourite of yours."


    Aperio shook her head in reply. "I can only speak Common and Dryadalis." Admitting that still felt wrong, but less than it had when she spoke to anyone else.


    An expression that Aperio could not quite place flashed over her daughter''s features before she brushed her hand over one her wings and spoke. "Then I will just have to teach you as you taught me."


    The winged Goddess could only give a nod in reply as Laelia was approaching them with the attempted mana-thief in tow. He tried to bow as soon as they had come to a halt in front of her, only to be stopped by the ex-paladin with a light tap to his head and quiet string of words. Whatever she had said did not seem to make a whole lot of sense as he was visibly confused.


    "Bowing is not necessary. I am here because Laelia requested it," Aperio said. Her voice still caused the man to wince slightly, but less than she had feared. The trick she had used to make her aura more bearable did not work with her voice. She put no effort into it, felt no mana being used when she spoke. The ethereal echo came on its own and brought with it a level of strength that would probably make most people she would meet uncomfortable.


    "We thank you for your time. My name is Kario Penbrooks, the administrator of this refuge," the man replied. "But I fear your undoubtedly valuable time will be wasted here. Vigil is the only one that can cure the Rage."


    "He is not." Her words left no room for argument, something that Kario did not look like he wanted to do anyway.


    "Then please, this way." He turned around and started to walk back to the house. Laelia looked like she wanted to say something, but kept whatever it was to herself.


    Walking past the other Humans that had tried to fend her off resulted in a few bows and some looks of what she guessed was admiration. Inside she was greeted by the familiar groaning of wood under her feet and a narrow hallway that was lined with doors. Aperio knew instinctively what was in the rooms behind ¨C privacy was not something easily provided within the reach of her aura. Most of the rooms had a few people in them, obviously sick, but none of them felt close to death. How do I even know that?


    The thought was not continued any further as she spotted two¡­ anomalies. They were undoubtedly the two boys Laelia had asked her to cure. Focusing on one of them revealed a rolling mess of something rampaging inside the boy.


    As Aperio stepped through the door at the end of the hallway, she got her first true look at the patients. Both were covered in bruises, undoubtedly from the restraints that held them firmly to the bed as they thrashed around. Whatever it was that had taken refuge in their bodies was obviously the cause ¨C every time the mass inside shifted, their bodies would automatically lash out, unable to prevent the damage to their person.


    Aperio needed no prompt to approach the beds they had been confined to. Laying a hand as lightly as she could on the head of one of the boys caused him to try and bite her. It was, of course, a useless endeavour. For Aperio it was harder to not accidentally injure the child than to restrain him.


    Now that she was here though, she had no real idea what she should do. She knew with certainty that what was going on inside the Humans was wrong, and her instincts screamed at her to remove the squirming thing. To remove it, but not to kill it. To free it. ...Too much life. Laelia''s words echoed through her head and with them came a wild idea. Uncaring for her cover, Aperio transferred herself and the two boys to her Void.


    The only thing that had come to mind when she remembered the words ''too much life'' were souls. As they were not a part of Ferio''s Domain, Laelia was right that she would not have been able to help. Aperio knew her daughter could not influence souls. But how does Vigil do it then? A question she would ask the God personally one day. Directing her attention back to the two boys, Aperio went to work.


    She followed her instinct, slowly easing her mana into their bodies then slightly more forcefully snaking it inside the tangled, angry mass of what she assumed to be souls. What she was discovering within these two boys felt so wrong and disgusting that she physically recoiled, though her magic held firm and fast. Whoever was responsible for this atrocity would pay with more than their life. Of that she would make sure.


    Using her mana, she carefully pried and coerced, teasing the interwoven mass back into the all-too-familiar orbs of light. As soon as each individual orb managed to break free from the tangle, it slowly drifted out of the body and towards the river filled with their kin. Aperio did not spare the wandering orbs any thought as she focused every last bit of her attention on the act of splitting apart the rest. The unweaving of the soul bundle was by far the hardest thing she had ever done. How so many souls had wound up in a single body she did not know, but what they tried to do once there was more than clear.


    They fought. They strove for dominance, all trying to inhabit the body they found themselves in. In the end, only one belonged. She knew that only one could truly belong.


    As she grew closer to the center of the knot of souls, one in each child seemed slightly different than the rest. It was just a little brighter, just a touch more firmly placed, and Aperio knew she had found each body''s true orb inhabitant. Working as gently as she could, she removed the remaining surplus from the two boys, then got to the task of mending the wounds they had left behind.


    Trusting her instincts had proven to be the right choice again and again, so when she got the feeling that she needed to heal them she would not go against it. Not this time at least. She''d worry about what to trust and what to ignore later. Giving the two children a last check, she returned them and herself to their room, and to a scene she had not expected.


    Ferio was crouching down in front of a girl who had her head firmly pressed against the wooden floor. Noticing that Aperio had returned, her daughter said something to the girl and gestured towards Aperio and the two boys that now lay unrestrained on their beds, fast asleep. The girl looked up from her position on the floor, spotted Aperio and took off at a sprint.


    Laelia yelled something, probably for her to stop, but the girl did not listen. She continued her approach until she reached the winged Goddess and wrapped her arms around her lower body in the best hug she could muster. Aperio looked at the girl, but the child was unafraid of her. She radiated thankfulness for the treatment of her friends, and even that was quickly overtaken by sheer innocent intrigue about the Elf''s big and soft-feathered wings.


    Aperio gave a small laugh as she crouched down, spreading her feathered limbs slightly. She plucked a feather from one of them and handed it to the girl who took it with sparkling eyes. "Your friends are safe now."


    GamingWolf


    Things and stuff!


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 Advent – Chapter 35: Miracle Worker

    GamingWolf


    After the little girl had taken the feather from Aperio, she turned back towards Laelia. With excitement evident in her voice she asked the woman a question ¨C one that was not answered by the disgraced paladin but instead by Ferio. Whatever her daughter had said caused the girl to whip back around to stare at Aperio before pressing the feather tightly to her chest and bowing quite stiffly.


    Aperio couldn''t help but stifle a laugh at the actions. Though others might have done the same out of a sense of obligation, propriety, or worry that she might take offense, the little girl was entirely sincere with her gesture of thankfulness. It was not annoying at all, and the fact that her movements were clumsy and clearly not practised brought a fondness to the Goddess¡¯ mind that she did not quite understand.


    Her eyes wandered to her daughter on their own accord. A memory, perhaps? It felt like something she should know, but it was another thing she could not recall. Further thoughts in that direction brought with it the signs of the headache she had felt the last time she had tried to remember something that was not there.


    Giving the two boys one final look through her aura, Aperio stood up. The rustling of her feathers and dress caused the girl to cease her bow and look at her again, eyes briefly lingering on the blue tips of her lowest set of feathers. She hesitantly looked between the winged Elf and the beds the other children were laying in.


    Words were not needed for Aperio to understand what the girl wanted and she stepped aside, giving her enough space to approach her friends. Still clutching the black feather, the girl scurried past Aperio and started to alternately tap the boys. Of course, the two did not react. They were still fast asleep, their minds recovering from the trauma they had gone through while they had been affected by the Rage.


    Taking a few steps, Aperio closed the distance between herself and her daughter. Through her aura she saw the girl glance in her direction as the wood groaned under her steps, a puzzled look on her face.


    "What did you tell her?" Aperio asked. Even though she had lowered her voice as much as she could, it still had its ethereal quality and carried with it more power than she intended. Will I ever be able to speak normally to people?


    "Just that your wings are of divine origin," Ferio replied with a small smile on her face.


    Aperio just raised a brow at the statement. It was certainly true that she was a Goddess, and that in turn made her wings something of divine origin, but the implicated conclusions that the statement lead to were false. Not that it matters. Everything they know about me is wrong. She did not necessarily like the idea of hiding what she was, but if the people already reacted to what they thought was a high-ranking noblewoman in the service of a Goddess¡­ Announcing her as an actual Goddess would certainly make things even harder. I guess it is not normal for a Goddess to walk among the masses.


    The other people in the room then caught her attention. More had clearly joined while she was treating the children in her Void, and the use of it seemed to have caused a bit of a stir. Though, upon reflection, it was less than she might have supposed.


    "Did you tell them where I went?" she asked her daughter, still as quietly as she could.


    Ferio did not respond with words; instead Aperio felt the by-now familiar touch of her daughter¡¯s magic brush against the edges of her mind. With the touch came knowledge. It was similar to what she received from her aura, but this time the mana that provided the information belonged to her daughter.


    She wanted to say they were memories, but that would be wrong. What she got was a vague sense of what Ferio had said, nothing as detailed as an actual memory. That Aperio had pleaded with herself for entry into her own Dominion to heal the children. It was again true, if not totally correct, but still probably the best possible solution for the current situation.


    While Aperio might have been fine with not disclosing her status as a Goddess, Laelia seemed highly uncomfortable with the entire situation. Or does she simply not like the amount of people? Whatever the woman felt, Aperio knew it was time to leave. She had done what she came for and while she did find the little girl''s behaviour to be oddly endearing, there was nothing left for her to accomplish here.


    "If there is nothing more, we will take our leave." Aperio''s voice cut through the last bits of chatter that flew between the members of the group.


    Kario opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, seemingly unable or unwilling to voice his thoughts.


    "You have something to say, mister Penbrooks?"


    The Goddess¡¯ question seemed to convince the man to finally speak. "Would you be willing to heal others? There are people here who we cannot cure. They might not die, but they cannot live their life either."


    Ferio was about to speak, but Aperio sent her a mental nudge to keep silent. Her daughter followed the request, albeit begrudgingly. Her response made it clear that she did not believe Aperio should heal the mortals present, a notion the winged Goddess did not quite support. Healing them was not a great effort, not when she now knew how to do it. At least without blessing them.


    Closing her eyes, Aperio focused on her aura, trying to feel out every person in the building. While the people present might think of her as a benevolent healer, she also took this as an opportunity to further her control over her own mana. If the truth were known, the others might view such an action as selfish, but in the end it would still help the injured ones. A satisfying result for all.


    Her perceptions widened. She could feel the presence of every person. Every injury. Every single tiny imperfection. Many people within her aura''s scope started looking around their rooms, trying to spot who was working their magic. The group right in front of her was no exception, also noticing what she was doing. Some seemed to stiffen in shock, eyes wide with the amount of power on casual display. Others smiled, eyes glistening with delight, clearly reveling in the rare, rather magical moment.


    One by one Aperio eased her mana into the bedridden Humans. She commanded her magic to mend any and all wounds it found, but not to linger. There would be no accidental blessings today. Just a little help for their own bodies to correct the wrongs they had.


    In some people, the injuries were more concerning. It took the form of strange knots of mana, ones that seemed to disrupt the natural flow of it around their bodies. Breaking these knots apart felt distressingly similar to untangling the messy wrongness caused by the Rage, but she knew that it was not the same issue.


    There was a brief moment in which she considered bringing all the difficult cases into her Void for easier treatment, but having everyone conscious and looking around was not something she wanted. It might have potentially made the process quicker, but all in all, time was not something she lacked at the moment. One by one, the strange mana-disrupting knots were untied, and when she was done Aperio opened her eyes to a rather flabbergasted-looking group of Humans.


    "I have done all I can," Aperio said. "Unless you have anything else you wish to ask of me, we will take our leave."


    "I-I.." Kario¡¯s voice trailed off as he looked to the rest of his group for help. Laelia took the chance to make her way to the two Goddesses, and the little girl that had been busy poking at the boys used the opportunity to ''sneak up¡¯ on Aperio and try to get under her wings. The Elf had seen her slow approach and gently lifted one of her feathered appendages so the girl could take refuge from Laelia under the soft feathers.


    The ex-paladin, however, was not coming to scold the girl for her actions. Instead, she stopped in front of Aperio and took a knee despite knowing the Goddess was not fond of formalities. Ferio seemed to know what she was doing and covered the smile that had sneaked its way onto her face with her hand.


    Aperio could only tilt her head at Laelia''s action. She only knew of a couple of things that would cause someone to assume the position the Human had taken. One was a marriage proposal, something she ruled out as it did just not make much sense. The others were all related to receiving a title of nobility or offering their fealty to someone. Does she want to become a priestess or something?


    "Yes?"


    "I offer my thanks," Laelia said before looking her in the eyes. "And my fealty. I not know reasons why you do what you did; why chose to return now. But, despite things that happened to me, I believe you represent my beliefs best. So I¨C" She looked helpless as she struggled to find the right word, looking to Ferio for help.


    "Beseech," her daughter said, answering the wordless plea.


    "¨Cbeseech you to accept me as follower. Paladin in service of you, Lady Aperio."


    That she was not supposed to reveal her as a Goddess seemed to be forgotten by whatever had moved Laelia to do what she did. I just healed a few people, that should not be a big deal. ...Or is it? The rustling of her own dress caused her to look downwards and spot a small head poking out from under her wings. Lifting the feathered limb a little to let the girl out she noted with some amusement that she seemingly could not care less for any form of noble behaviour. A welcome interruption from the arguably very formal display happening in front of her.


    The words of Laelia also caused the gathered people to cease their own conversation. Some even went as far as to also lower themselves to their knees, assuming what Aperio guessed was a position for prayer. To whom they were praying she had no idea; it was not her, at least. Or is it, and I just don''t know how to listen to prayers? Another topic for her talk with Ferio.


    "If that is what you want," Aperio replied, turning her attention back to Laelia. "However, the next time that I ask you not to openly reveal who I am, I hope you will remember to do so."


    The freshly redeemed paladin''s eyes went wide and she was about to bow hard enough to smash her head into the floor when Aperio waved her off.


    "I am not mad. I do not mind people knowing what I am, I just find it vexing if everyone always bows and apologises for the tiniest perceived slight towards me." Having said her part to Laelia, she directed her gaze back towards the girl peeking out from behind her. "Do you know her?"


    Laelia nodded at her question. "Adopted her and the two you healed."


    Giving the girl the lightest nudge Aperio could, she pushed her towards the still-kneeling paladin. "I think your daughter wants to know what you just did."


    There was a moment of silence broken only by the tiny voice of the little girl speaking to her foster mother. She was also rubbing her ears, a motion that would not mean much to most but only served as a stark reminder for Aperio. Causing pain with her voice was not something she liked, but never speaking again was out of the question. There has to be another way.


    As Laelia talked to her adoptive daughter, Aperio turned to her own. Ferio''s face sported a slight pout, almost as if she had expected her mother to be embarrassed by the actions of the paladin. Or maybe she thought Laelia was actually going to propose? "Do I need a temple now? So she has somewhere to live?"


    Aperio did not want to keep Laelia in her Void like some pet. She did not want most people to get into her Dominion for that matter; it felt off to take people there. The two boys were an exception, not a rule.


    "If you want to, but I would say the [Guides] building is already a temple to you," Ferio replied.


    "Oh?"


    "It houses Roots, that should be enough. But I don''t think that is a discussion for now."


    A look over to the group of Humans revealed her words to be true. They looked lost, seemingly unable to process the fact that a Goddess was walking around in their home as if that was the most normal thing to do. Aperio did not know of anything she could say to prove that she truly meant what she said; all she had was her word. That would have to be enough.


    "Mister Penbrooks, is there anything else you need of me?"


    The man just slowly shook his head, unable to find proper words for a reply. Like the others he seemed to struggle to comprehend what was happening, an action that elicited a sigh from the winged Goddess.


    "Will this always happen?" With those words she took a step towards the door before turning back to face Laelia, her first real follower. "I assume you wish to stay with your family for a while longer?"


    "If I may," the paladin replied.


    Aperio gave her a nod, smiling at the girl hugging her foster mother. Once she noticed the winged Goddess was moving to leave, she lifted her hand with the feather still in it and happily waved in her direction. With a small wave of her own, Aperio made her way out of the room with Ferio in tow. Walking as lightly as she could over the still-groaning wood floor, she opened the door and stepped into the surprisingly quiet night.


    GamingWolf


    Follower: GET.


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 Advent – Chapter 36: Pieces of Truth

    GamingWolf


    Aperio took a deep breath of the cold, calming air. Being with the Humans had been more stressful than she had realised, and only now that she was alone with her daughter did the events truly sink in.


    What she had done had probably not been compatible with continued anonymity, but at the heart of the matter Aperio could not care less if people knew what she was. The only thing she wanted from them was to be treated like any other person, something that was proving to be rather difficult to do for most of them.


    "How long do you think it will take before the entire city knows who I am?" Aperio would not believe for a second that the people in the hospital ¨C Orphanage? ¨C would keep quiet about what they saw. In fact, she could already spot two people, ones that had earlier tried to keep her out, leaving the building through a back door. Where they were going, she knew not.


    "Before the night is over," her daughter replied. "And soon they will realise that the pretenders are not as almighty as they portray themselves to be."


    "How strong are those two anyway? You said they are scared to descend because you would kill them, but you feel¡­" Aperio''s voice trailed off uncertainly. She did not want to call her daughter weak, not after she had taken such pride in being called strong.


    "Weak?" Ferio asked with a small laugh. "Compared to you, everyone is weak."


    The words caused Aperio to absentmindedly touch her arm, feeling the soft skin and hard muscles underneath. Did the girl think she hugged a piece of armour? "Is that why they did not come to kill me as soon as I returned?"


    Ferio gave her a hesitant nod, seemingly not quite as comfortable about talking about her mother''s potential death as the woman herself was.


    "Why would they not do what they had done before? It obviously worked."


    "We also don''t know what they did in the first place. Maybe it only worked once."


    The line of conversation was obviously making Ferio uncomfortable, understandably so. Now that she had her mother back, Aperio knew that talk about the possible ways that she could lose her again would land all the more heavily on her daughter''s heart. "Are the nights always this quiet?"


    Her daughter pounced on the change of topic like a cat on unsuspecting prey. "On the outer isles, yes. Once you get to the richer ones, the night life will be in full swing. Still not as loud as during the day, though."


    Looking at the night sky, Aperio could not help but notice the twin moons lazily floating above. She squinted at them, trying to spot any clue about the Gods whose name they shared. Despite her improved eyesight she was unable to spot anything that would bring enlightenment, and so she directed her gaze back towards her daughter.


    "Do you know where the Feranir isle is?" She could probably find Maria using her aura, but asking her daughter for help seemed like the right thing to do. She would have to learn to trust others at some point, and the knowledge at the back of her mind that told her Ferio was someone she could depend on certainly made the decision easier. Maybe Laelia too?


    "No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "But one of my followers should."


    After she had spoken, Aperio could feel a tiny sliver of mana splitting off of her daughter and racing towards one of the neighbouring isles. The winged Goddess tilted her head at the tiny droplet, keeping it in focus with her aura. It darted through the sky before descending into what she could only describe as a cathedral.


    "What did you do?" Aperio asked.


    "I asked a priestess where the isle is. Now, I can guide you there."


    It had been what she had expected, and Aperio filed the information under the growing category of things to try later. When Laelia is not busy with her family. She glanced at the two bright spheres in the dark sky again, trying to decide what to do next. It was not the moons that prompted her next decision, however, but the state of the sky itself. "They are likely all asleep at the moment, and in the meanwhile I would like to explore the city."


    Ferio lifted a brow at her statement before she smiled. "I would be delighted to show you around."


    "Can we start with your cathedral? I would like to know what my daughter uses as residence." The building, seen through her aura, seemed too smooth to be forged by mortal hands. Had her daughter made it by herself? Or a very good mage, maybe?


    "Of course!" The smile on Ferio''s face grew even wider, seemingly very happy with showing her mother what she had accomplished. Her words were accompanied by another sliver of mana racing towards her temple. With a graceful motion she leaped far off of the ground. Once in the air, wings made of burning feathers sprouted from her back. Though they seemed to be lacking in corporeal distinctiveness, they still reminded Aperio a lot of her own.


    Joining her daughter in the star-filled sky, Aperio revelled in the feeling of joy she felt whenever she flew. Being physically removed from the ground was freeing in ways she never thought possible before gaining her wings.


    The two darted across the sky, Aperio twirling playfully around her daughter. She had to remind herself to slow down more than once; going too fast would disturb the mortals below. She did not know exactly what she would call it, but once she went fast enough there was a kind of boom that would most certainly shatter windows and wake those below. They need their sleep. I know I did. Restraining herself was hard. The wind brushing against her skin, the small giggles from her daughter; it all brought joy to the winged Goddess. Joy that spurred her on, made her want to do more. Aperio abandoned herself to the acrobatic delights that only wings could bring. Her woes of not knowing herself and worries of fitting in despite her strength were cast aside for the moment, swept away in the wind that caressed past her skin.


    A mental nudge from Ferio caused Aperio to cease her airborne acrobatics and focus on her daughter. She was pointing below them and Aperio knew without looking that they had reached their destination. With a slight sigh, she folded her wings behind her back and let gravity assist her downwards. Just before she hit the stone below, she spread her feathered limbs once more and, with a strong beat, slowed enough to not damage the pavement too much. A few of the stones still cracked slightly, and it brought an idea to her mind.


    Extending her senses to the cracks she had made, Aperio willed her mana to fill them and then to repair. The broken parts were soon mended, leaving behind stones that actually looked newer than the ones surrounding them. A smile crept onto Aperio''s face; using her magic always felt good. Even for menial tasks.


    "Some things never change, it seems," Ferio said as she lightly set down next to her mother. Her fiery wings vanished as soon as she touched the ground.


    "Hmm?" Aperio only gave an absentminded reply, busy repairing hairline fractures in the stone surrounding them.


    "Your love for flying. Your itch to fight. Getting lost in your magic, even when it''s nothing but a tiny issue that could be solved in an instant by other means."


    The winged Goddess stopped her magic and looked at her daughter. "I am sorry, it is just very enjoyable."


    "No need to apologise, mother. If it brings you joy, that is good. We can even have a little fight if you want." She was quiet for a short moment before she continued in a mumble. "Few other things make you happy, after all."


    Closing the short distance that separated the two of them in a few steps, Aperio wrapped her arms around the rather dejected-looking Ferio. She embraced her tightly, using her wings as extra arms to hold her daughter. It felt like the right thing to do, that it would make her daughter be a bit happier.


    "There is no need for you to do anything you do not want to," Aperio said as she gently stroked the back of Ferio''s head. That her daughter''s hair felt warm to the touch was noted just as quickly as the notion was set aside for more important things. "It is true that I would like to have a bout with you, but I will not force it."


    "Thank you," whispered Ferio in reply. "I just want to spend time with you, now that you are finally back."


    She would have lingered longer, but the sound of approaching footsteps caused Aperio to end the embrace and turn to face the intruder. It was a bronze-skinned Elven woman in a tight, heavily decorated red dress. It looked like a more formal version of what Ferio herself was wearing, and the sun-shaped medallion that hung around the woman''s neck left little doubt that she was a priestess of Aperio''s daughter. Or maybe people really like that style?


    She came to a stop a few steps in front of the two Goddesses, lightly bowing her head before she started to speak to Ferio. "My Goddess, we are delighted to have you visit our home." After her initial words, she turned to face Aperio, looking her over before she became a little stiff and began to speak again. "You have truly brought your mother, Lady Ferio? I must apologise, but we have not yet prepared her room."


    "That is fine," Ferio said, waving the presumed priestess off. "She just wanted to see where I stay."


    The woman bowed again at the words of her Goddess, gesturing towards the cathedral. "Lady Diana has prepared the information you requested, if you would please follow."


    "Are all your followers prone to bowing?" Aperio asked with a slight frown on her face.


    "No," her daughter replied. "I do not dictate how to behave around me. Most are rather formal for the first few years before they realise that a Goddess is also just a person. Candrial here is a bit of an exception though ¨C she believes it is required to be polite to someone who is stronger than yourself."


    "I assume telling her I dislike it will not change much?"


    Ferio gave a small laugh at that. "It wouldn''t. For someone who says she respects the will of those above her, she sure doesn''t budge on this issue."


    That her daughter did not force those that followed her to do as she pleased brought more joy to Aperio than she would have thought. It should have been expected, as she was her daughter after all. But then, I don''t know how similar I am to what she remembers.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden noise that came from within the cathedral. Intrigued, Aperio lets her senses wander inside. What she spotted, though surprising, was something she felt she should have expected nonetheless. There were hundreds of people in the building, standing with their faces towards the entrance. All of them, without exception, wore decorated red clothing, and somewhere on their person they sported an emblem of a sun. Most had the same style necklace Candrial wore, though some of the other options included earrings, finger rings, or in the case of the woman standing in front of the big marble altar at the end of the hall, a tiara.


    Is this normal? Unwilling to voice her question, Aperio gave her daughter a questioning magical nudge. What she got back could only be described as a good-natured laugh which was followed shortly by the rather definite answer that this was a small procession.


    The few bits of chatter that had been thrown around inside the cathedral died down as soon as they entered. It was replaced by the regal-sounding voice of the woman next to the altar. "We welcome Lady Ferio and the All-Mother Aperio. May their blessings guide our future paths."


    Aperio remained silent on their way to what she presumed was the local head priestess of Ferio. The stone floor of the cathedral did not groan under her every step, giving her floating gait the dignity it should have always had. As her old self from before the sacrifice, she never would have been able to move as she did now. Even despite the slave''s training she had experienced, she could never have dreamed of matching such grace of movement. Aperio could not help but smile.


    Some people might view it as vain behaviour, but she could not care less. She would enjoy herself.


    Once they reached the dais that held the altar, Aperio watched with interest as Ferio weaved some of her magic into the marble. Strands of mana dove into the stone, spreading throughout the entire building. Soon a pleasant warmth filled the hall and the people began to disperse after clasping their hands together and uttering a small prayer.


    Once the majority of the people had left, presumably going back to bed, the woman next to the altar produced a folded paper that she offered Ferio. "The map you requested, my Lady."


    "Thank you Diana," Ferio said as she took the map. "You may leave, I have no more tasks for you."


    Diana nodded but did not leave. "I would like to accompany you when you show your mother around."


    Ferio glanced at her mother, obviously looking for approval. Aperio just shrugged, a motion that more and more turned into a slight twitch of her wings. "I do not mind."


    The words caused Diana to narrow her eyes slightly, either merely mistrusting of strangers or unhappy that Aperio answered the wordless question of her daughter. Aperio just tilted her head questioningly at the woman. "Does she have a problem with me?"


    "Diana is a bit distrusting of strangers, yes," Ferio replied. "Even if she is wrong in this case, she has every right to. It is her job to ensure the safety of my followers here after all."


    "I will accept any punishment you deem fit, my Lady." Diana had still not taken her eyes off Aperio, an action that made the winged Goddess quite irritated. She did not know why the sceptical look of the woman garnered such a response from her, but she definitely did not like it.


    "Can we start?" Aperio asked, shifting her gaze towards her daughter.


    Ferio gave her a smile and a nod, starting to walk towards a door that led deeper into the cathedral. Aperio gave the distrusting priestess one last look before turning to follow her daughter. She had felt a tiny pinprick of mana leak from her, something Aperio had almost wanted to classify as an attack, but the amount was so minuscule it could never do much. Neither had it felt particularly threatening.


    Stepping out of the main prayer hall and into the corridor, Aperio was greeted with colourful depictions of her daughter adorning the walls. Some showed a radiantly-glowing Ferio giving things to the people below her. Others depicted her burning demons, or battling other monsters.


    The longer Aperio looked at the mosaic, the more certain she became that that it moved and, sure enough, a more focused look revealed tiny strands of mana running through it all. What surprised her was that it looked ¨C and felt ¨C very much like the mana of her daughter. "Do you animate the decorations on purpose?"


    "No, it just reacts to my aura. A small indicator that I am currently here."


    There was another thing on Aperio''s mind, one she did not quite know how to ask. Every other God or Goddess besides her had a decent amount of followers, but what for? Unless strength was directly related to the amount of followers one had, Aperio could not see why she should bother with it. Having to care for people she would probably never see or meet properly was not very appealing and if what Ferio said was right ¡ª which she was becoming increasingly certain about ¡ª she would have no need for a power boost.


    "Why do you even do all of this?" Aperio asked, gesturing at their surroundings. "I have a single follower and, according to you, am stronger than the other Gods. Why bother with people who only want to use you for their own gain?"


    The balled fists of her daughter and the subtle movement of Diana behind her made it obvious that the question was not liked, but after taking a breath Ferio appeared to relax again. "I might not depend on them like Natio or the other newer Gods, but their belief in me still brings benefits. However, any potential plus that followers might give is probably dwarfed by your natural progression, something I have still not understood."


    "Natural progression? You mean the way I become stronger by simply existing?"


    "Yes," Ferio replied with a nod. "I can feel the change in your aura and body. But despite all my years of curiosity, I have never been able to tell where you take all that mana from. It took me centuries, both through training and the help of every one of my followers, to get where I am now.


    "Granted, you are older than this world, but the amount of mana that I have observed you use to strengthen your body since we met again has been, frankly, ridiculous. Come to think of it, that''s likely another reason neither Vigil nor Inanis have come personally to try to fight you. Your strengthening technique is not something you did before they..."


    "I am not doing anything," Aperio said, choosing to ignore any talk about her death and her apparent age. "It happens on its own; the amount of mana used is almost too small to notice or, if it is not, it is replaced too fast."


    Ferio almost fell when she heard the reply, only saved by Aperio quickly placing a stabilizing hand under her daughter''s elbow. The action was far swifter than that of Diana, who had only gotten as far as beginning to reach out. The mortal glared angrily at Aperio, and the Goddess ignored it in favour of giving attention to her daughter. "Are you okay?"


    Straightening herself, Ferio gave her mother a hesitant nod. Her face had adopted an expression Aperio could not quite place, but still saddened her. There was a tiny bit of what she would name fear, or apprehension, shining back at her through her daughter''s gaze, and Aperio found she wanted to let go as soon as the other had regained her balance.


    "Is there something wrong with what I do?"


    "No, it''s just¡­ a bit much, even for you," Ferio replied.


    Aperio could only give her daughter a helpless look. "But I do not actually do anything. It is simply happening. A part of me."


    "May I try something with you, mother?"


    Aperio gave her daughter a slightly confused nod, after which Ferio took her by the hand and led her further into the building. She barely took notice of the increasing complexity of the paintings on the walls and the mortals hastily stepping aside as Ferio sped along to wherever it was she was going. Diana, too, seemed to be surprised by the sun Goddess¡¯ rather sudden eagerness. She hesitated, subtly holding her breath as if she wanted to speak before breathing out again and following the two Goddesses silently.


    It wasn''t long before they had reached their destination; Ferio''s private room, if Aperio had to guess. It featured a large bed that looked like it had never been used and a multitude of closets that Aperio knew were filled with dresses and other apparel. Too red for me, though. With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Aperio took her attention off of the clothing that waited inside their wooden prisons. Not what I am here for. Probably.


    Ferio motioned for her mother to wait and for Diana to leave before she walked into an adjacent room, coming back shortly after with a chest full of crystal shards that looked all too familiar to Aperio. It had undoubtedly once been part of what she now knew to be a dungeon core. "Why do you have that?"


    "We studied them, once. Tried to figure out how they can summon monsters, or how they are able to restore themselves after their seeming destruction."


    "Did you succeed?"


    "No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "But you gave me an idea." She extended a piece of crystal towards her mother, who grabbed hold of it. "These things came into existence after you¡­ vanished. They obviously played a part in what happened, and now I have an idea as to what they did. Or are still doing."


    That the tinge of fear Aperio thought to have spotted in her daughter''s eyes had vanished was nice, but the fervor with which she was now piling various crystal pieces onto a table in front of Aperio was making her worry again. "And what do you want to try?"


    "I want to see if they were used to trap your mana! If I am right, it would explain where it is coming from and why there is so much more of it now. Think about it. They sat around, collecting mana for thousands of years, but in the end they had to be made with your mana¡¯s template. So whatever they have gathered and not used over the millennia goes back to its original source. You."


    Aperio tilted her head at her daughter''s words. "And how do you want to test that with these broken pieces?"


    "Just try to put some of your mana into the shard I gave you. I will do the rest."


    Creating the tiniest sliver of her mana she could manage, Aperio guided it into the jagged crystal she held in her hands. There was a slight resistance but, once she had passed that, her mana flowed freely into it. A moment later, she could feel Ferio''s magic taking hold of the tiny sliver and guiding it in ways she did not quite understand. Whatever her daughter was doing seemed to work as Aperio could feel something oddly similar to her well of mana being linked to the bit of mana she had inserted into the crystal.


    Once the connection between the shard and whatever actually was at the other side had been fully formed, Aperio could control the mana that lay there as though it were her own. With it came a sense of calm she had felt once before, after destroying the crystal she had found upon her return. Willing the mass of mana to join the rest of her reservoir caused the shard she held to break.


    "Did you try to pull the mana back?" Ferio asked.


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "But you were right. The mana that I felt was mine; at least I think so."


    The next hours were spent in confusion as they tried to find a way for Aperio to successfully pull her mana away from the crystals. No matter how little she pulled, or how gently and slowly she tried to guide her magic, the representative shard they had before them would always shatter. It soon became apparent that the only way for Aperio to get full control of her mana would be for her to do what Ferio had suggested back when they had first met. She would have to go to each main crystal personally, and destroy them in much the same manner as the first she had encountered.


    A few errant rays of sunlight crept into the room, and upon noticing them Aperio put an end to their experiments. She wanted to keep the promise she had made to Maria and that, for her, meant that they needed to begin their journey towards the Terenyk estate.


    It was difficult to leave the cathedral, Aperio noticed, as she seemed to need to briefly be greeted by everyone they passed on their way out. Just before they left through the main doors, Diana reappeared, looking slightly put out that she had not been called for, and silently joined their group.


    As the morning was only just dawning, Aperio took her time, stopping to admire a particularly interesting building or view if it should strike her fancy to do so. The more she observed, the more it seemed that many of the islands were like their own tiny fiefdoms; almost as if Ebenlowe had been built to be a country the size of a city.


    As they crossed over yet another bridge, Aperio saw a decorated sign that read ''Feranir'' and knew that it was the last crossing that needed to be made. It was the name Maria''s companion had mentioned housed the Terenyk estate. Now that she was looking for it, she could see a few servants out on the streets, preparing for the undoubtedly busy day to come. A select few of them seemed to notice their presence, though when Aperio looked back in their direction they all hurriedly averted their gazes. Others tried to shield themselves from her aura, which was now more prominently displayed than ever before. Undoubtedly the more sensitive of them had noticed it as soon as she had entered the city, but the strength of her mana seemed to be proximity based. The closer someone was to her, the stronger the perception of her aura would be. Aperio made note of those who looked to be in pain like Thaddeus had been, and wrapped them in the protective cover of exclusion bubbles, a task that had become almost second nature during the short time in which she had known it to be possible.


    "We are almost there," Ferio said, looking over her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to visit them in their home?"


    Aperio tilted her head at the question. "Yes? Where else would I meet them?"


    The words caused Ferio to pause briefly, falling back into step beside her mother. "I don''t know," she said, her voice a whisper filled with frustration Aperio herself had not noticed before. "But it just doesn''t feel right. Your appearance at someone''s home merely because they asked it of you is wrong."


    "I may have invited myself," Aperio said. "But even if they asked me to come there, I do not see why that would be wrong. I have nothing to prove."


    "I guess you don''t," Ferio replied with a sigh. "It''s just¡­ you used to only meet someone after they formally requested an audience, and even then most of them got denied." She fell silent for a moment, looking first at her mother''s face and then at her feet. "I just keep forgetting that you are not the same as I remember."


    There was uncertainty in her daughter''s words; uncertainty that Aperio shared. She would, in all likelihood, never again be the same person Ferio remembered with such fondness. Unable to find words to soothe the troubled mind of her daughter, Aperio reached out to grab her hand, and unfurled one of wings to wrap Ferio in a soft-feathered hug.


    A few of the people around them gave them a curious glance at her actions, but neither mother nor daughter cared. Some gazes were not so easily brushed aside, and one of those was coming from Diana. The priestess was staring at her back, seemingly trying to will her to disappear so her Goddess would no longer be troubled by what she perceived as an imposter. Words were never spoken, as both Aperio and Diana knew that that would end badly for the mortal.


    Aperio wanted to comfort the only person she felt she could truly trust, and her daughter did not seem to mind the attempt. She did not know the sort of relationship she had had with Ferio before, but she did not think her heart was yet ready to know the truth for certain.


    The thought was pushed down as Aperio caught sight of a maid she had seen before. With her hands clasped behind her back, the woman that had previously accompanied Maria was standing in front of a closed gate. Ending her wing-assisted hug, Aperio gave Ferio''s hand a last, reassuring squeeze before letting go.


    It only took a few more steps for the maid to notice their approach, causing her to stand just a little straighter. Words were not needed for her to open the gate and gesture the two Goddesses inside.


    "Please follow me," she said. "Lord Terenyk is expecting you."


    GamingWolf


    Time to talk. Been awful lot of that lately.


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 Advent – Chapter 37: Proper Introductions

    GamingWolf


    The servant gave Diana a weary look but let her pass regardless, as she was obviously another companion of their guest. Aperio had to hide her surprise ¨C she did not recall telling Terenyks that she would be bringing anyone else along, and yet the three of them were cordially being invited in. Considering the clarity with which she was now able to remember her life, she was very certain she would not have forgotten something like that.


    Maybe they are not as strict as the Empire with their visitation rules? Or did the [Grandmaster] tell them when I asked her to inform them about the delay? It was the most likely answer. She had not specified what to tell them and, like almost everyone else she had met, she probably had not hidden the fact that she was a Goddess.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a smell wafting through the air. The Terenyks seemed to enjoy freshly baked goods in the morning. Or is it something they are preparing for us? While she did not have to eat, Aperio would most certainly try whatever they had to offer.


    With a few quick steps the maid was in front of them again, leading the way. She did not seem to be too fond of them, particularly Diana, but remained polite. Aperio could feel a similar but more agitated annoyance radiating off of Diana ¨C the priestess was obviously not happy that her Goddess was being treated like any other mortal. She was about to say something when the gentle, reassuring touch of her daughter''s magic brushed past her and started to dance around Diana.


    The magic calmed the priestess, but she still seemed rather unhappy with the proceedings. Not that you would know that by looking at her. Diana was awfully good at keeping her face expressionless, a talent Aperio would have appreciated if she could not sense the mood the woman was in through her aura. It required a little bit of focus, but just as she was distrusting of the winged Goddess, Aperio did not trust her either. Not that she trusted anyone aside from Ferio at the moment. Roots and Laelia too, perhaps.


    After opening the metal-framed double door, the maid stood aside and invited them in with a wave of her hand and a slight bow. Aperio chose not to ask the woman to refrain from formalities as she did not know what kind of person Lord Terenyk was. If he turned out to be anything like the nobles she remembered, there would be a rather messy changeover of the Terenyk head of house by the end of the day.


    The thick carpet that covered the floor felt nice under Aperio''s still bare feet. Nobody had asked her to wear shoes yet. Perhaps none had known footwear that would pair well with the dress she wore and still be able to support her mighty corporeal self. Or they did not want to offend me. In the end, it did not matter. She liked going barefoot, letting the sensations of dirt and stone and gravel inform her steps. Knowing that most things would not be able to cut her certainly helped her feel comfortable walking around the city without any shoes.


    Unable to hold back her curiosity, Aperio let her senses wander around the mansion. It did not take her long to find Maria. She was in what Aperio assumed to be her room, and she was painting. The scene the girl was drawing was not the one she had shown her when they had first met, but the fight she had had with Laelia. It was not the first time Maria had drawn this scene as all around the room the winged Goddess was able to spot various paintings of the fight, every one of which seeming to have been drawn from some point in mid-air.


    Each and every painting featured a ghostly version of Laelia being pulled out, which was most certainly not something Aperio remembered doing. Or is that how it looked for other people? Asking the adventurers how it had appeared ¨C should she even meet most of them again ¨C was not really an option. She had been too high up for them to see. Probably. That everyone had her ridiculous eyesight was not something she believed.


    Further inspection of Maria''s paintings caused the girl to stop her work and look around the room. It was obvious that she knew something was going on but was not able to pin down what exactly it was. Brushing a small amount of mana past Maria in an attempt to help the girl identify the phenomenon she seemed to be perceiving caused her to freeze.


    For a moment Aperio thought she had injured her by being careless, but the connection she shared to Maria''s soul told her that the girl was fine. A moment later, Maria waved at nothing in particular and went back to her painting with renewed vigour. The antics of the little girl brought a smile to the Goddess'' face, one that was quickly replaced with an expression Aperio hoped conveyed sufficient regality for the upcoming meeting.


    The reason for her quick change of expression was a man ¨C A butler? ¨C in a precisely cut suit who opened the door they had been approaching. Beyond lay what Aperio knew to be a dining room, the table filled with various foods and drinks, removing any doubt one could have. The only person she did not classify as a servant was standing at the head of the long table, next to what Aperio assumed to be his chair.


    Standing in small alcoves between the windows were maids, valets and other footmen. Maybe they expected more than just three. If etiquette had not changed much in her absence, the Terenyks had enough staff on hand to serve six people and still fulfill the two servants per noble requirement that Aperio herself had never really understood.


    The man tensed up a little as he laid eyes on Aperio, likely making the connection between the winged Goddess and the person his daughter painted. The maid that had led them was about announce her, but Aperio waved her off. "Such formalities are not needed."


    Her words caused a few of the servants to falter, sinking to their knees. How am I supposed to hold back even more? I am already barely speaking loud enough for them to hear.


    "If they cannot bear to hear me talk, they may leave." She was not the Lady of the house, but it was clear that Lord Terenyk was trying his best to not offend her. Allowing the servants that were simply too weak to be able to properly deal with her liberal use of mana to leave seemed like the right decision to her.


    Still, the servants that still stood only started to help their fallen colleagues after Lord Terenyk had given a slight, almost imperceptible nod. There was a slight rage that wanted to make itself known, the fact that the servants had not heeded her call as soon as she had spoken somehow an offence to an unconscious part of her mind. Aperio shoved that feeling down again; even if she could make people do what she wanted it did not give her the right to do so or be upset if they did not. Annoying. Will that ever stop?


    While most of his employees were doing their best to remove themselves from the premise with at least a little dignity remaining, Lord Terenyk gestured towards the table.


    "Please, take a seat." His voice was ever so slightly unsteady, something that undoubtedly had to do with the fact that he was scared. Aperio could see the sweat form on his brow, feel his distress through her aura, and, if she really focused on him, could hear the frantic beat of his heart.


    "Why is everyone always so frightened?" she asked. "I am not here to bring righteous fury down upon any who simply give me strange glances."


    "You underestimate the weight of your presence, mother." Unlike Aperio, her daughter seemed to find a bit of enjoyment in watching the mortals squirm a little. A behaviour the winged Goddess would find distressing if it would ever be more than amusement at her own ineptitude to judge her strength.


    With a sigh, Aperio took the chair that had been offered to her and turned it slightly before sitting down. Having to sit on her wings and have the rest pressed against the back of the chair was something she could do without. The wood groaned slightly under her, but held firm. Curiosity reared its head yet again, but she filed the question of her current weight away for pondering at a future time.


    "I have come to visit Maria, but I assume you want to ¡­vet me." The fact that she was unable to find the proper words annoyed the winged Goddess more than she thought it would, but she continued on nonetheless. "I am willing to answer your questions if you return the favor."


    Having to listen to years worth of nobles exchanging pleasantries and actually doing business was paying off, even if she was never really able to recall their conversations in as much detail as she could now. A perk of being a Goddess? She had avoided giving him her name or title, a trait she had once observed in the upper rankings of the social hierarchy. Aperio had not really thought about her words, just choosing what felt right. But, now that she had had taken a moment to think about what she had said, Aperio could not help but mentally reprimand herself.


    "Welcome to our humble home, Lady Aperio," Lord Terenyk said after a brief moment of continued hesitation. "I am Geshton Terenyk, head of the house and Lord of this estate. The [Grandmaster] informed me that you would be coming to visit my daughter, but not why."


    He sounded a lot surer of himself than Aperio knew him to be. It was undoubtedly a product of countless meetings and other social gatherings in which he had to pretend to be someone else. Her daughter''s priestess did not seem to like his straightforward approach, despite Aperio having asked for it. She was glaring at the man as if he had committed one of the greatest sins possible. A rather forceful nudge of Ferio''s mana caused Diana to lower her head, seemingly ashamed of her own actions.


    "I want to learn more about the life Maria has lived so far," Aperio said. "There are a number of things I need to know."


    Geshton gave her a long, hard look before he replied. "Do you know of her¡­ affliction?"


    The winged Goddess cocked her head ever so slightly to the side at his question. Maria was in perfect health. She did not know for certain what he meant, but there was something that she thought could be a possibility. "Does her [Status], perchance, have a bit that is unreadable? Just a mess of letters and symbols you cannot understand?"


    "...Yes."


    Will Laelia and Arden also have a garbled text for their blessings? Or is it only Maria''s because I touched her soul? "That is nothing concerning. It merely means that the blessing she has cannot be measured by the tool you used."


    "I was told it is a curse from a fallen Goddess."


    The sound of something breaking caused Aperio to face her daughter; she had crushed the armrests of her chair at his words. After Ferio took a deep breath to calm herself, Aperio saw the magic of her daughter begin to mend the broken wood. The few servants that had remained tried to ever-so-subtly distance themselves from the angered Goddess.


    "Who said that?" There was a slight, angry shake to Ferio''s voice.


    "Priests of Vigil, Inanis and a few other deities," Lord Terenyk replied. The veneer of surety he had had was gone, replaced with a worried uncertainty that Aperio did not like but could understand.


    "Did the [Grandmaster] tell you who I am?" Aperio asked.


    The man gulped nervously before giving a shallow nod. "Yes."


    She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Then you know what I am, no?"


    Another uneasy nod was the reply to her question.


    "Have you thought that, perhaps, they might have lied to you?"


    "Yes, but¡­" His voice grew quieter as he sunk into thought. "They were quite persuasive, and insistent. But they wanted me to kill Maria - kill my own daughter! - and I could not bear to do so. Instead, I banned from our grounds all followers of those deities, and kept Maria here for her own safety." He shivered slightly. "They claimed that the curse would twist her into a Demon, but the longer she lives the more I refuse to believe such claims. All that Maria does are normal things for a child. Except for the painting, perhaps, but even then I cannot see anything demonic in her actions." His brow furrowed in thought as he sat heavily back into his chair. "But, the information came to us from people in service of a God! Why would they lie about such a thing?"


    "Why does anyone lie about anything?" Aperio''s wings twitched slightly, the motion was easily understood as a shrug even if it garnered a slightly confused look from Diana. "I have my own goals and dreams, just like anyone else would. Why would a God not lie?" I thought this was obvious.


    The man let out a defeated sigh. "I just believed your kind would be above such things." As soon as the words had left his mouth, he tensed up again. "I meant no offence."


    "I told you before, I do not mind," she replied, waving him off. "As for Maria''s blessing; it will not harm her. And neither will any other God or Goddess." Her words carried with it a finality that made it clear that she meant what she had said.


    Geshton seemed to stare at nothing for a moment, something Aperio figured was a System notification. What did I do now?


    A moment later the ambient mana surrounding the man changed. It rapidly gained the same coloration and feel that Aperio''s own had, before it started to weave itself into Geshton. She narrowed her eyes as she followed the tiny strands of magic dancing inside the man''s body. Unlike the blessings she had previously given, there was no change within the man. The new mana simply followed the flow of what he already naturally possessed. Once every bit of it had successfully been absorbed, Aperio felt a small tingle in the back of her mind.


    While it was a new sensation, it also felt familiar and a thought was all she needed to grab hold of this timeless feeling. Aperio had expected an ethereal flow of information akin to that she received from her aura and the blessings. Instead, there was a feeling of wholeness that only came second to the Void in the comfort it gave the winged Goddess. Closing her eyes, Aperio revelled in the feeling before another change occurred.


    She had thought her aura provided her with too much information, but what had returned to her now dwarfed what it could provide. Chaotic aggregations of names, strange clusters of symbols, and weaves of mana that made no sense despite knowing that it had to be hers nonetheless. Aperio knew of only one thing that she could have connected with that was hers and would drown her in information. Is that how the System looks?


    Once she opened her eyes again, Aperio was greeted by a blue-tinted window she had thought only an [Appraiser''s Stone] could produce.


    Revoked access from custodian entities.


    Custodian entity ''Roots-Beneath-All'' retains access by the will of the Creator.


    Custodian access granted to entity ''Ferio'' by the will of the Creator.


    Creator reinstated.


    System functionality restored.

 Advent – Chapter 38: Framework

    GamingWolf


    Aperio stared at the window that hovered in front of her eyes. Why now? As if to answer her unspoken question the window shifted, displaying a new bit of text.


    Upon reinstitution of the Creator, Custodians with the designations ''Vigil'', ''Inanis'', ''Lor''kem'', ''Natio'', ''Heshtar'', and ''Epemirial'' attempted to access higher privileged functions.


    The action was found to be outside of Custodian privileges as designated by the Creator.


    Access has been revoked for all Custodians who have not been directly assigned by the Creator.


    The winged Goddess tilted her head at the new information. It did not answer the question she had. Why can I only use this now, and not after Roots explained its method of access? Taking her eyes off the window, she looked at the people surrounding her only to find that all of them ¨C even her daughter ¨C were seemingly staring at a System notification. What did I do?!


    If she hadn''t had to learn how to keep up appearances, the shock she currently felt would have been visible to all. Sadly, looking regal as ever did little to clarify things. Returning her attention to the window, she glared at it, daring it to continue to withhold the answers she sought. And why was Ferio not a Custodian before?


    That question was answered immediately in the form of information trickling into her mind. Apparently providing a window she could see was something the System had deemed inefficient for what she had requested. Instead, she now knew that Ferio had been removed from the Custodians ¨C Whatever that is ¨C by popular vote. Though they had attempted to do the same to Roots, the System''s information also told her that Roots could not be removed as the tree was supposed to be an impartial overseer of the entire System itself. Clearly favours me, though. It took a moment for her to remember that she supposedly made the thing, so her ability to wield the System as she wished made any favour Roots gave her rather superfluous. But how? Asking it to do anything doesn''t seem to work every time. And feels wrong.


    Her thoughts on how she should be able to manipulate her apparent creation was interrupted as the blue-tinted window faded from her view. It was replaced by one that looked very similar but had a silver edge. Is everything I make silver? She liked the colour, yes, but that did not explain why her mana turned silver nor why the System window now had a similarly coloured border.


    The text that faded into view a moment later answered that question to an extent.


    Additional functionality restored.


    [Status] view has been enabled for residents of Verenier.


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at the words. So I don''t need that stupid stone to see my [Status]? ...But how do I view that? Without truly expecting any sort of result, she tried what she had attempted many times before: simply willing the window into existence. Much to her surprise, something did actually happen. Contrary to expectations, there was no new window that showed her strength in neat numbers. Instead, she felt a shift in her own mana.


    Furrowing her brow, Aperio''s attention turned inwards. Ignoring the fact that the amount of mana flowing around her body had increased in both quantity and purity yet again, she looked at the tiny bit of it that had started to act on its own. She could still feel it just fine, still knew that it would heed her call if she wanted it, but Aperio let it do what it had set out to accomplish.


    The tiny strand of mana darted around her body again and again before it turned and rejoined the bottomless well within her, an action that left Aperio slightly confused. A moment later she felt something was amiss. Instead of the overwhelming feeling of disgust of wrong she felt when thinking about the collars, it was a bit of information that let her know that something was not working as it should. Figuring out what was wrong was easy; she had wanted to see her [Status] and the System went to work to fulfil her wish, only to encounter the same problem the [Appraiser''s Stones] did.


    Nonetheless, a silver-framed window appeared before her.


    Titles


    Forgotten


    Demiurge


    Focusing on the words caused more information about the titles to enter her mind. ''Forgotten'' was one she could have figured out on her own. She had been gone for a long time and others had actively removed any mention of her over the millennia. The ''Demiurge'' title on the other hand gave her pause. It implied something she was not sure she was comfortable with. Do I have that because I made the System, or did I actually make an entire universe?


    No ethereal knowledge entered her mind when she asked herself the question, not even a hint if she could or not. How would I make a universe anyway? It has to be the System. She knew she was strong, but what that would imply seemed simply too much. With a slight shake of her head, she willed the window out of existence and shelved the fact that she might be able to create an entire universe probably forever.


    Much to her surprise a new window formed before her eyes, one that held more information she was not quite sure how to process.


    Race


    Primordial (Elf)


    Primordial? Are all deities that, or just me? She had never before heard of a race with that name. Was it ''Primordial Elf''? Or was it that she was a Primordial who happened to look like an Elf?


    Focusing on the name of her apparent race brought with it information, much like what had previously happened with her title. Sadly, it was a lot less than she had hoped for, and only furthered the implication of her Demiurge title. Aperio certainly didn''t feel like she was a being that had existed since time began, and wasn''t about to readily believe the claims of the System''s windows quite yet.


    Before she could further explore the nature of the System, she heard distant shouting that steadily grew louder. A smile tugged at her lips as she recognised the voice as Maria''s. Directing her attention to the little girl, Aperio saw her running towards the dining hall followed by exhausted-looking maids that could not keep up with the child despite their longer strides.


    "Maria will be joining us shortly," she stated.


    Perhaps it was the fact that she sounded unconcerned with the events that had just transpired, or the fact that she somehow knew the daughter of the Lord would be arriving at any moment, but her words seemed to call the people around her back to the world of the living. There was a questioning magical nudge from her daughter that she answered with one of her own, promising explanations later. At least she hoped she had managed to convey that, as her daughter still looked quite confused.


    The first to speak actual words was the Lord of the house, and the confusion was evident in his voice. "What?"


    It brought a question to Aperio''s mind that she had not asked herself yet. What did they see? As an answer to her question, a pair of windows formed before her eyes. One just said that the System had been restored and that they were now able to view their [Status]. The other was one Aperio was very sure had appeared before Ferio and the rest of the pantheon. It informed them about the change of status and that she had been reinstated. Why that had not happened when she returned but only now was sadly still not answered.


    Not wanting to appear as confused as the mortals, Aperio just pointed towards the door after mentally dismissing the windows. "Your daughter. She seems very eager to join us."


    A moment later the door opened and Maria skidded to a stop only to start running again as soon as she spotted Aperio. The girl did not seem to care for any etiquette the winged Goddess was certain she had had to learn, simply running towards Aperio with the same joyful abandon as one might see in reuniting with family after a long journey.


    The maid that had guided them all here managed to shake off whatever seemed to still hold all the mortals in place and moved to stop the girl. Maria stopped her rapid approach once she caught sight of the maid moving her way. She spoke a few words of protest that Aperio did not understand, but the maid continued on.


    "I do not mind if she stays," Aperio said, turning her head to face Geshton. "Unless you do not want her to?"


    The man looked between her and his child, unsure how to answer the winged Goddess. Aperio wasn''t sure if it was because he thought her words were a threat or if he was still confused as to what had just happened. He came to a decision fairly quickly nonetheless, giving Aperio a nod and gesturing for Maria to take a seat beside him. She slowed down as she walked past Aperio, only to be gently pushed forward by the stern-faced maid. The winged Goddess gave her what she hoped was a kind smile as she passed.


    Aperio still felt a bit guilty at the happiness Maria was practically radiating. The girl might be happy to see her, but for Aperio it was just a reminder that she had to pay more attention to what she did. A bit of curiosity on her part might have ruined the life of a person. It did not matter if Maria liked the life she had. She had never known a different one. But maybe that is for the best. Aperio had only known the life of a slave for the longest time, and she had hated every bit of it. In the end, it did not matter what she thought was best; she could not change the past.


    Once Maria had seated herself, Lord Terenyk cleared his throat and looked back at Aperio. "Lady"¨C he cleared his throat ¨C"Lady Aperio, do you know what just happened?"


    The truth of the matter was that she did not. But that was something she could not bring herself to admit, the thought of it so revolting that her regal facade briefly cracked. Lord Terenyk seemed to interpret the brief flash of disgust on her face to be directed at him and was already starting to bow when Aperio spoke.


    "You could call it housekeeping. A few things that I did not know were broken needed to be fixed, so I did."


    It was the most blatant lie she had spoken since she had returned, and even if it made her feel disgusted with herself, it was not nearly as bad as admitting that she did not truly know. Annoying. There was a part of her that wanted to rebel against the feeling, to not bow to what was perceived as control. She knew that there were no external forces controlling her, but only her own self. The clashing of different emotions was something new for her, something that had to have been previously suppressed by the collar.


    The man slowly sunk back into his seat at her words, seemingly not quite able to comprehend what she had said. Diana, too, seemed to have trouble fully making sense of her words, as she was looking back and forth between her Goddess and Aperio.


    Maria was happy. Not as happy as she could be, but fairly close. She had still not dismissed the window that floated at the edge of her vision, as it served as a reminder that her Goddess had truly returned. It was also proof that she was not what Maria had expected. She had thought her a Goddess of death of some form or another, but there had always been this feeling that she was more. Something ancient; beyond the other Gods.


    [Status] view enabled by the grace of the Creator.


    The System notification proved that much, at least to her.


    Looking at her father she gave him a smile and whispered, "See! She is real!"


    Her Goddess seemed to have heard her quiet exclamation as she looked at her, tilting her head slightly. There was no time for Maria to question why the winged Goddess was confused with what she had said as her father motioned her to be quiet. The action caused a scowl to briefly flicker over the Elven-looking woman''s face which in turn made her father shrink slightly.


    Maria was not quite sure what was happening, but she did not like the fact that her Goddess and her father were not getting along. She wanted to speak, but her father had made it clear that she was to observe etiquette and that meant she could not voice her thoughts without breaking the age-old rules. Her internal struggle was solved by the voice of her Goddess.


    "If she has something to say, I would love to hear it."


    She looked at her father for permission ¨C as was proper ¨C which she received in the form of a nod after a moment of hesitation. Maria sat as straight as she could, trying to remember what she had learned in her etiquette lessons. It took her a moment to find the right words for what she wanted to say, and yet another to find them again in the rather ancient form of Common used among certain races ¨C and, now, by her Goddess. Another reason to get good at it!


    While Maria was trying to think of a way to properly convey her thoughts a tense silence settled over the gathered people, something she knew should be avoided when dealing with people of higher status. She started to wring her hands as her mind raced, still unable to properly chain the words she found to make a proper sentence, the attention she had on her simply too much to bear. A tear started to form in her eye as Maria began to look around the gathered people for someone to help her. She had been able to speak to her Goddess before; why could she not do so now?


    Her racing mind ceased its fruitless search as she heard something crack and felt a heavy hand rest on her shoulder. Looking up, she could see that her Goddess was now standing behind her, looking very displeased. She managed to stammer out a few incoherent words as the tears started to flow. She had wanted to help them get to know each other, but instead, she had seemingly confirmed what had angered her Goddess before.


    She could feel the rage flowing from the woman. The air surrounding her turned colder with every passing breath, gaining a weight that it should never have. She could hear the rustling of feathers as the wings of her Goddess spread ever so slightly, could see cracks form under the hand that rested on the back of her chair.


    "What did you do to her?"


    The words caused her father to pale and his breathing to quicken. Amelia had drawn the dagger she always carried with her, the action causing the other two women that accompanied her Goddess to rise from their seats. For a second Maria thought she recognised the fiery-haired woman, but the words that came next only confused her.


    "Calm, mother," the woman said. "This is just a misunderstanding. She probably got scared when she had everyone''s attention."


    Maria felt her Goddess shift behind her at the words, probably to better look at the fiery-haired woman, before she squatted down next to her.


    "Is that true Maria? If he did anything despicable, you can tell me. Okay?" The tone of voice reminded Maria of what little she remembered of her own mother. Her father had never told her what happened to her, only that her mother was no longer alive. Maybe she can bring mommy back?


    "Did he do anything?" her Goddess asked again.


    Maria shook her head, still unable to speak; the words simply stuck in her throat. She tried to get out of her chair, an action that was stopped by the hand on her shoulder. Once her Goddess realised what she wanted to do, the weight came off of her shoulder as her hand was instead offered to Maria to hold so she could more easily get out of the chair.


    Once she was standing on her own two feet again, Maria approached her father. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, to be able to speak. The silence settled, threatening to drown out her words yet again, but this time Maria prevailed.


    "I''m sorry," she mumbled. "I didn''t want to make it worse, but...but..." She started to fidget as she struggled to find the words she needed. "I don''t want you to fight. I wanted to help, to¡­ to show that my blessing is not a curse."


    Geshton unsteadily rose from his chair. He faltered slightly as he approached, but pushed on until he could wrap his daughter in one of the rare displays of affection they shared. "Lady Aperio told me that it is not a curse," he said. "But¡­ she also said that the Gods are free to lie, so how can I trust her word?"


    Maria perked up at the mention of the name. Finally she knew what her Goddess was called. Sadly, she could think of no way to prove to her father that her blessing was not a curse in disguise. The System notification at the edge of her vision still told her that the [Status] view had been enabled, but she had no idea how that was supposed to work nor if she could show it to her father.


    She was about to ask Aperio for help when the blue-tinted window that had previously changed her life appeared before her.


    Status


    Name


    Maria Terenyk


    Race


    Human


    Level


    25


    Mana


    125 / 125


    Strength


    25


    Dexterity


    65


    Intelligence


    120


    Vitality


    20


    Titles


    Touched by the All-Mother


    GamingWolf


    We have reached peak tables. At least for now.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 39: Mistakes

    Aperio tilted her head as she felt a change in the mana that resided inside her well. It had coincided with an action Maria took, and upon further inspection showed that it was not just her that had done something. She had a theory as to why it was happening, but it didn''t explain the influx of mana into her well.


    Focusing on a slight condensation of mana that Aperio felt hovering in front of Maria revealed it to be the [Status] of the girl. Touched by the All-Mother? That''s what happens when I touch a soul?


    You have touched this soul, granting it a fraction of your magic.


    The silver-framed System notification that had appeared in her vision as she had asked herself the question answered it. Not perfectly, as she still did not know how touching the orb had granted it a bit of her magic, but at least it told her that that was indeed why Maria had the title.


    Dismissing the notification, Aperio turned to face the Lord of the house. He had said something that was very true; he could not trust her. The other Gods lied, why wouldn''t she? She could try to explain what Maria''s title did, but that was futile as she herself did not truly know.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a happy giggle from Maria that caused her to look down. The girl tugged at her father''s arm to get his attention, and once she had acquired it did a grabbing motion with her hand that turned the System window to face Geshton. The man looked confused for a brief moment before his eyes went wide, probably able to see the window himself now.


    His eyes flicked between his daughter and Aperio, the connection between the title and the winged Goddess obvious. Probably. He seemed to want to speak but failed to find the right words yet again, something that was happening more and more. Aperio gave him a questioning look, but that only served to further his indecision. What do I need to do to not scare people? It seemed like she only needed to lift her hand to cause people to fear her.


    As Geshton did not seem to be able to start the conversation, Aperio chose to take that burden off of him. "Yes?"


    The man somehow managed to look even paler at her words and even took a step back, an action that caused Maria to look to Aperio for help. She seemed confused, unable to understand why her father would distance himself. The winged Goddess placed her hand atop the girl¡¯s head as gently as she could. She had seen it done before to soothe troubled children and hoped it would help, even if she did not know why. She was not Maria''s mother, or even family ¨C only the fact that she had been careless with her soul bonded them. It was something that she would rather not take advantage of, but unfortunately it seemed necessary now.


    "Is there something wrong, Lord Terenyk?" He winced at the mention of his title, the displeasure in her voice apparent. He was not the only one to have a reaction to Aperio''s increased irritation, as the few servants that remained had all distanced themselves from the winged Goddess. All but the maid that had initially¡­ accompanied Maria. She seemed determined to protect the girl from any threat that might appear ¨C even if that threat was a Goddess.


    The only thing keeping her from rushing to Maria''s aid was that Ferio had moved to position herself between the maid and the girl. Diana too seemed ready for a fight, mana swirling around her in a display of power that Aperio was certain only she and Ferio could actually see. Maybe the others can feel it? For Aperio the display was not really noteworthy as her aura alone already dwarfed what the woman commanded to dance around her.


    "I¡­I don''t know what to think." His voice was shaking almost as much as his hands as he spoke. "This, this ...blessing has taken Maria''s childhood, and my wife. I want to be angry, want to tell you to leave my family alone." The words caused Ferio to ball her hand into a fist, but she did not move as she saw how her mother showed no sign of wanting to stop the man. "But how could I as a mere mortal ever do something against a Goddess? What right do I have?"


    Aperio lowered her head at his words. He had every right to be angry. If she had not been so curious, none of this would have happened. If she had just stopped for a second to think about her situation ¨C had not been scared of her new powers ¨C she could have prevented this. She had never intended to be a source of grief and sadness. She did not want to kill innocents. And yet, here she was, back in the world of the living and already responsible for at least three deaths and the ruined life of a child. She shook her head. Maybe, if she had taken the time to think, she might have been able to find a way to avoid killing the two mages in the ruins. Maybe, she thought again, but then the image of the collar they had tried to put on her flashed through her mind. It was quickly followed by a tiny voice, asking if it would even work on her now. I hope I never have to find out.


    "You have every right to be angry," Aperio replied, her facing twisting in disgust at her own words. "Being powerful does not mean you have the right to do as you wish." She paused, looking at the man who seemed to not quite believe what he was hearing. For a brief moment she considered the possibility of being able to bring back his wife, but only shook her head at the idea of continued interference. "I did just that and I cannot undo what has been done."


    Ferio looked confused at her words, either not used to her mother giving what amounted to an apology or not quite believing that she could not undo what she had done. Aperio herself was not certain if she was truly incapable of altering what she had set in motion, but neither was she willing to try. Her curiosity was the reason she was in this predicament in the first place. Before further testing of her powers, she would not touch the souls in her Void again. I also have to find the first one I inspected. But how?


    If Maria was twelve years old, or at least around that age, the other would have to be almost an adult by now. Not that I know how time works in the Void. When I healed the children, time did not seem to have passed any faster.


    A quiet sniffle caught at Aperio''s attention and caused her to direct her gaze downwards. Maria was looking up at her with tears in her eyes, slowly extending her hand to grab the hem of Aperio''s dress. The winged Goddess did nothing to stop the child, instead lowering herself, her wings fanning out behind her to accommodate the change in posture to be on eye level with the girl.


    "Yes?" she asked as softly as she could, her voice still carrying its usual note of power despite the quiet tone.


    The answering question came, quiet and unsteady, punctuated by the occasional sniffle. "You can''t bring mommy back?" Maria grabbed the fabric of Aperio''s dress more firmly, seemingly needing to hold onto something, before her teary-eyed gaze lifted once more towards the Goddess.


    Aperio did not know if she could, but neither did she want to admit that. The course of action should have been clear: tell Maria the truth. There should be no harm in admitting that she did not know something, but Aperio could not bring herself to. She just looked into the eyes of the little girl, unable to turn away as she watched the last bit of hope the child had visibly diminish into nothing.


    "Even if she could still find her soul, your mother would''ve forgotten her previous life already." The voice of Ferio caused both the child and the winged Goddess to look at her. Maria turned her head back to face Aperio and gripped the fabric of the dress tighter as she started to comprehend the words.


    Knowing what Maria felt was an odd experience. The girl did not want to believe what Ferio had said, wanted her Goddess to perform a miracle and make her family whole once more. Tell her that the fiery-haired woman was lying. The bond she shared with Maria was the obvious source, one that just reminded Aperio of her mistake.


    For all that she could do now, Aperio felt helpless. She wanted to hide in her Void, be alone with her thoughts; absolved from the consequences of her actions. But that was not an option she would take. Her need to be better than those that had ruled her life outweighed her desire to hide.


    Instead, she took part in an action that was certainly unbecoming of a Goddess, and caused feelings of disgust and wrongness to rear their ugly heads once more. Ignoring it as best as she could, Aperio picked Maria up, embracing the girl in a hug with both her arms and her wings, doing her best to comfort the child whose life she had utterly ruined.


    She took a deep breath and stroked the back of Maria''s head as gently as she could, trying her best to not accidentally harm the girl any more. The action coupled with the soothing touch of her magic would, she hoped, calm the child. Aperio firmly believed that the girl would come to hate her for what she had done. Even if she had not killed Maria''s mother herself, she was the cause of her death. If Geshton did not lie.


    It was indeed a slim possibility, but given his reaction to the presence of Goddesses she doubted he would manage to do that. Even if he did, Aperio already confessed that the death of the girl''s mother was her fault. The least she could do now was to attempt to bring justice to a family that had been wronged. She had an inkling who might have been directly behind the death, for after all there were two deities that hated her more than the others, but in the end the ripple effects that had been set in motion were all stemming from herself.


    Aperio gently turned Maria''s head so one ear would be pressed against her chest before covering the other with her hand. "Who killed her mother?"


    The words snapped Lord Terenyk out of his frozen state. "I don''t know," he said, and shook his head woefully. "Despite all my searching, I still don''t know. She was poisoned while attending the wedding of her brother in Kejeran." He hesitated for a moment, biding time with which to maintain his composure before speaking again. "I wasn''t with her. Maria, the estate ¨C they needed to be looked after. I stayed behind. I should have been there. Should have been at her side. But...I wasn''t." There came another pause, during which Lord Terenyk breathed deeply, and despite the way he continued to sit straight and look at her directly, Aperio could see the threat of tears shining in his eyes. "Through my attempts to find who did it, however, I am certain it was someone acting on behalf of one of two big churches. Either Inanis, or Vigil."


    Aperio felt the magic of her own daughter flare up at the mention of the two deities. She was not the only one to notice, as nearly everyone present turned to face the Goddess of Life and Light. Even Maria picked up on the shifting of mana in the room, her head attempting to adjust its position beneath Aperio''s immovable hand before the Goddess holding her moved it aside. The first to truly react, however, was Diana. She moved to stand between Geshton and her angered Goddess, seemingly wanting to protect the man from her wrath. The chain of events caused Aperio to questioningly cock her head. She had not expected the priestess, who so far had appeared to be absolutely devoted to her Goddess, to stand between her and a potential target.


    It only took a moment longer for Ferio to calm herself, the mana surrounding her regaining its calming touch. After she took another deep breath, she spoke. "Those two ...traitors only manage to make me hate them more. Why couldn''t they be happy with what they had?"


    Her words caused a few confused murmurs to spread around the room and Aperio to tilt her head ever so slightly to the other side. She did not know what the official relations between her and the rest of the pantheon was, but considering her daughter had been voted out of the Custodians it could not be too good. She resolved to have that talk with Ferio sooner rather than later ¨C there was simply too much she needed to know before she could go on.


    Turning to face Lord Terenyk more fully, Aperio chose to break the silence that had settled over the room after her daughter¡¯s small outburst. "You do not know the identity of the one who carried out the act?"


    It took a few breaths for Geshton to get his bearings and shake his head in reply. Aperio readjusted her hold of Maria as she thought. The girl had calmed down, seemingly not hating her as Aperio had assumed she would. Instead of pulling away in anger, she had wrapped her arms as far as she could around the Goddess, holding on surprisingly tightly for a child. Aperio had been fully prepared to find a way to rescind her blessing, leaving the Terenyk family alone for all eternity, and so did not understand Maria''s actions at all. If the child herself wanted to give the opportunity for potential redemption, however, Aperio would gladly take it. The knowledge that that chance might have been offered because of the blessing she had given would still gnaw at her, but it was better than being hated.


    After carefully, gently, separating herself from Maria, she crouched down and used a tiny wisp of her mana to remove the tears from the girl''s face. The use of magic temporarily distracted the child, her face widening in joyful awe as she watched her tears fly away and slowly dissolve into nothingness.


    ¡°I might not be able to bring your mother back, but I can punish those that hurt her.¡±


    As response Aperio received nothing but an uncharacteristically determined nod. Standing up, she approached Geshton and slightly bowed her head. ¡°I am truly sorry for what has happened to your family. I will do my best to fix what has happened in my absence.¡± Without a single word more, Aperio turned towards the exit and slowly started walking, feeling that she had more than overstayed her welcome with the family whose lives she had so badly mangled.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± He sounded unsure of his words, possibly still not quite able to understand what had just happened. Nonetheless he motioned for a servant to come closer. ¡°If our guests wish to leave, please show them out.¡±


    Aperio nodded her assent, but stayed otherwise silent.


    The servant bowed nervously but did his duty nonetheless, walking towards the door. Before Aperio turned to follow, she gave Maria a slight wave.


    The trek back was filled with awkward silence, punctuated with the occasional nervous glance from a passing servant. Aperio''s agitation grew with each minute until, at last, they passed out of the borders of the Terenyk estate and bid adieu to the servant who had accompanied them.


    Finally feeling a little more at ease now that she was further away from the Terenyk family and the reminder of the clumsy manner of her rebirth, Aperio addressed her daughter. ¡°Can Diana find the way back on her own? I would like to talk to you in private.¡±


    Diana clearly wanted to say something, likely a protest at being left behind, but she was silenced by a wave of Ferio''s hand. ¡°Of course, mother.¡±


    Without a word, Diana simply bowed once to Ferio, then set off. The fiery-haired Goddess turned to her mother and held out her hand. Aperio did not have to say where the discussion would take place, as it was obvious that there was only one option that she would regard as private.


    Taking her daughter¡¯s hand, Aperio twisted the fabric of reality apart and brought them into her Void.


    GamingWolf


    Actions have consequences.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 40: Fragile Reality

    The feeling of home that surrounded her as she entered the Void was something that Aperio sorely needed after what she had learned. Taking a deep breath of the nothingness to further calm herself, she looked at the distant river of lights ¨C it had gotten more lively yet again ¨C and shuddered. Just touching them ruins their lives.


    "Mother?" Ferio asked, her voice hesitant.


    Aperio did not immediately answer or react to her daughter¡¯s voice. She was focused on the lights that drifted unperturbed in the invisible river, trying to figure out why they would react to her in the way they did. They were souls, but that was not her Domain. Nothing of the afterlife is. And yet, this was her Void. Here, everything obeyed her very thought. So why are the souls in here?


    It made no sense to her.


    The more she turned the question over in her mind, the less certain of finding an answer at this current time she became. The thought brought, unbidden, the recent discovery of her title to her mind''s surface. Despite her efforts to shove its meaning to the deepest reaches of her psyche, here it was again. Taunting her with its implications. That it was even a possibility was unnerving for her, drawing her attention even as she tried to turn away from its reality.


    The souls in the void, present as they were in her field of vision, proved to be sufficient enough fodder for a forcible change of thought. Why were they there? Maybe I just put them here to keep them safe? But why? How?


    A hand touching her shoulder brought a stop to Aperio''s rampant thoughts and caused her to look at her daughter. Ferio''s eyes darted around, trying to find anything that could tell her why her mother was just starting silently into the Void. Aperio let out a soundless sigh as she turned to more fully face her daughter.


    Ferio waited briefly, but when the silence showed no sign of breaking, she took the initiative. "Why are you so concerned with the lives of mortals now, mother?" she asked, taking a couple of steps back. "You have never cared for most of them before; even the ones you did bless you then sent on their way to do as they wished. The only mortals you cared about were ones that you thought had potential to become strong." She paused, her uncertainty clear in the hesitation. "But with their dependence on the System¡­ I don''t know if they are even still alive. I stayed in my Dominion, waiting, until Roots informed me of your whereabouts. Then I remained near Verenier, biding my time until you returned.¡±


    Ferio''s words seemed to echo in Aperio''s thoughts. Her pulse quickened, the dull thump throbbing in her ears as she became fixated on a single fact that was now clear. Her eyes narrowed at her daughter''s words, and her hands balled into fists that were uncaring of the way her unnaturally strong nails stabbed into the flesh of her palms. "You just waited?"


    The words caused the Void surrounding them to grow darker, chasing away the meager bit of light that emanated from the river of souls. Ferio tried to take a step backwards but found herself unable to move, an invisible force holding her in place as Aperio slowly approached.


    "You did nothing but wait while I was a slave? While I was torn asunder by their vile tools? Used as a test case for whatever abhorrent shit the Imperials could dream up?"


    Aperio took a step forwards, the blackness rippling beneath her feet. "You."


    Another step caused a tremor to race through the invisible floor upon which she tread. "Just."


    With a last step that sent quakes to the very fabric of the Void, Aperio came to a halt in front of her daughter. "Waited?"


    Arcs of silver started to dance around the enraged Goddess as her wings unfurled to their full length and she lifted Ferio by the collar of her dress. "You waited while your own mother was raped again and again because some Human thought it was amusing?!"


    The Void around them twisted, shifting in unnatural angles with every word she spoke, turning in on itself in an attempt to obey the anger of its mistress. Ferio winced as Aperio''s hand tightened and the arcs of silver mana touched her skin, singeing it. The look of confusion that had slowly but firmly settled onto Ferio''s face caused Aperio to release her. The rage was still roiling within her, but there was also the vaguest glimmer of doubt beginning to take root as well. Did she truly know?


    Her daughter rubbed her neck as she righted herself, the pained and confused expression still on her face. "We could not see what happened on Verenier. Only Roots knew with any certainty that you were still here but it, too, was unable to fully enter the world. Only a small portion of its abilities was allowed in, enough to manage the most basic of system functions.


    "If we had known what was happening to you..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, emotions evident in her posture, her gaze, her clenched fists. "The cleansing you did would have happened a lot sooner." She turned her eyes towards her mother. "But why did you not do it before? Unless..."


    "I couldn''t," she whispered. The darkness formed by her earlier outburst shifted closer to Aperio, and that which once merely blocked off the light from the river of souls now obscured the Goddess entirely. Aperio felt hesitant as the anger that had fueled her drained rapidly away, replaced by remorse for what she had done. Sadness and disgust at her own failure ¨C that she had acted before thinking yet again, let herself be controlled by emotion.


    "But why?" Ferio asked. That her mother had not chosen to partake in what she had described was painfully obvious.


    "I was just a normal Elf. A slave of the Empire, collared like most. I had no say in what I had to do."


    Ferio said nothing, but her face began twisting with an assortment of emotions Aperio could not place. Her daughter''s mana leaked out, manifesting in the blackness of the Void in the form of white-hot flames. While it took but a thought to banish the small fires from her Dominion, it provided no answers for Ferio''s actions. It did not feel like an attack. The foreign mana was an irritation, yes, but to Aperio it seemed more like a coping mechanism of sorts ¨C her daughter''s way of trying to control her own mana.


    "Those insolent fucks! I''ll...I''ll kill them!"


    The words of Ferio were followed by an explosion of flame that briefly brought light back to the shadow-filled section Aperio had created in her Void. Her daughter''s hair no longer simply looked like it burned but was truly on fire, radiating a heat that Aperio could actually feel.


    "Don''t you see what they wanted to do, mother?" Ferio asked through clenched teeth, her voice barely restrained. "They wanted to put you in a mortal body so they could kill you!"


    Aperio''s brows scrunched together at the words, the shadows surrounding her retreating a little. "I did die," she said. "I was sacrificed so that the Emperor could ascend to godhood. But instead of his becoming a God, I returned to this place, together with countless tiny lights." She still wanted to call them souls, but upon further reflection that didn''t quite seem accurate enough. The only thing they had shared with the tiny orbs of life was their shape and the fact that they glowed. None of the souls she had seen were the same blue coloration that those lights had been.


    "You did not cleanse the continent on purpose? Or lift whatever blocked the pantheon from coming to the world?"


    Aperio lowered her head slightly at the question. "No." The single syllable of a word barely fell from her teeth and tongue as the darkness around her drew tighter again. "I was just happy that I could finally die. Be free."


    Her daughter heard her nonetheless and very slowly closed the distance separating them. Despite what Aperio had done just moments before, Ferio unhesitatingly wrapped her arms around her mother, giving an affectionate squeeze. "It''s okay, mother," she said softly. "You are free now."


    Aperio remained silent at her daughter''s words. The longer she simply existed, the harder it would be for her to actually live the life she wanted. And yet, she did not want to trade places with anyone else.


    "I am sorry," she finally said, gingerly returning her daughter''s embrace. "I do not know what I should do. I just want to live a normal life."


    Ferio gave her a squeeze, then separated herself from Aperio''s arms, brushing a few strands of errant silver hair out of her mother''s face before she spoke again. "Normal? That won''t be possible as long as those traitors are alive. I would gladly kill them for you, but I neither know where their Dominions are nor can I permanently kill them."


    Aperio blinked, catching on to something left unsaid. "But I can?"


    "Yes, Roots said you have done so before. Every God and Goddess draws power from something that is connected to you. For most it is the System, though in the case of Roots and I, it is your mana directly that gives us our power. I do not know what exactly connects you to the rest of the pantheon but I do know that they all somehow get a portion of their power from you.


    "It is always a fundamental part upon which they build the rest of their strength, but you never told me what exactly it is." She directed her gaze to her feet, either ashamed that she did not know or sad that Aperio had never shared the information. "I had thought it a part of your Domain, but now that you have said that it seems to include the concept of strive¡­ I am sorry mother, but despite all the time I spent searching for answers while I...waited... I still have nothing that could help you."


    The darkness that had surrounded Aperio receded slightly as she tilted her head at her daughter''s words. She did not quite understand. She had asked nothing of her Ferio, and yet the other Goddess seemed to regard her lack of knowledge as such a big failure. Or maybe she does that because I would do the same? The lack of understanding about her own nature was again showing, and no ethereal feeling of right or wrong came to point her in the direction of progress.


    Focusing on her daughter, Aperio pushed the creeping thoughts of her own inadequacy, and thereby the last bits of unnatural darkness that still surrounded her, away. If she wanted to live her life her way, she would have to stop lamenting about her lack of understanding and actually try to find out what she could do and what that made her.


    "You have done more to help me than anyone else." The words were true. Despite her fondness for her long dead friend, Moria had not provided as much help and support as Ferio. Though, she also had little choice in what she did. "Even if I do not remember what was before and can not see what will come ¨C I know you are my daughter. Family.


    "There are no words to properly describe how I know. Something like a memory, perhaps, though despite my efforts I cannot remember anything else," she said, steeling herself for the disgust that she was sure would arrive shortly. "Without you I would not know what I have to do. I would have been lost in a world I no longer know filled with people I cannot trust."


    Ferio remained quiet at her words, causing Aperio to shift her weight to her other leg - the nothingness holding steady beneath her feet - and twitch her wings slightly. Her daughter gave no immediate answer, but there was a certain comfort to be found in the fact that the unpleasant feeling that always came around when she admitted a weakness ¨C physical or psychological ¨C seemed to also be staying silent.


    Finally, Ferio spoke. Her voice came quietly and unsteadily, though whether from fear of the meaning of her own words or from fear of her mother''s reaction, Aperio could not have guessed." The more time I spend with you, the clearer it becomes that we both no longer know who you are now. I will do my best to help you with whatever you need, but I do not know how much use I can be when you decide to face Vigil and Inanis. I tried to kill them once before, when they emerged to personally influence the world, but as soon as they caught wind of my approach they simply fled back to their Dominions. I do not know how to find them. Even if I could, a fight in their Dominions ¨C on their turf, with their rules at play ¨C would only end with my capture. Or my death."


    ¡°I am glad that you did not throw your life away,¡± Aperio replied. ¡°But, how do we know that I can overcome the rules of their Dominion?¡±


    ¡°...I don''t know for certain. If we tried it in my own, though, we would have an answer.¡±


    Aperio was about to answer when a tug at her mind caught her attention. The winged Goddess creased her face into a frown as she grabbed hold of the minuscule strand of mana. If it had not made itself obvious it would have been too tiny for her to notice. Ferio, too, seemed to be aware of the interrupting magic, though she remained quiet, looking at her mother with a twinkle in her eyes that Aperio could not place.


    How did this even get here? It was not her own mana, not really at least. It felt distant, ready to obey but only after she had sent it a letter in triplicate. Further inspection revealed a familiar feeling, one she could immediately name. Laelia? The act of recognition caused Aperio to accidentally squash the tiny strand of mana in surprise. As it mixed fully with her own, and joined the ocean in her well, a distant and echoing voice sounded within her mind.


    "My Goddess, I must humbly request your aid in a time of need," Laelia''s disembodied voice said, the usual choppiness of her speech gone. "Knights of Vigil and Natio march on the house of healing to reap those you have healed. I fear my strength will be found wanting."


    Aperio needed no further prompt, simply holding out her hand for her daughter to take. With an angry thought reality screamed as it was torn asunder, powerless against the seething Goddess. Any thought of further talk was cleared from her mind, replaced with a rage that could not compare to what she had felt previously.


    Vigil and Natio appeared to be in dire need of a lesson.


    GamingWolf


    Do not anger Aperio.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 41: Burning Anger

    GamingWolf


    Laelia stared at the tip of her spear. The fact that the being that was now her Goddess had shrugged her attempted attack off with nothing but a tiny scratch to show for it, while the spear itself was now slightly bent and chipped from the effort, still gave her pause. She knew that the Gods were far beyond what a normal mortal could achieve but had never quite believed it until she saw it. How can she even move if her skin is harder than my armour?


    The idle thought was quickly pushed from her mind, and she adjusted her stance as she squinted in the direction of the approaching knights. The armour of Vigils¡¯ followers still managed to gleam despite the relative dark the high-storied buildings surrounding the street created. In contrast, the almost-black of Natio¡¯s knights seemed to let them melt into the shadows, letting their forms slip from her view whenever she did not pay close attention.


    The grey-furred Beastkin ¨C Joref ¨C had not told the rest of the staff of their approach, which had started when Aperio had arrived to heal Em and Kaam. When asked why he kept silent, Joref merely smiled, giving a line about the world not tolerating such attempts.


    As quiet as Joref was, he was without a doubt one of the best scryers she knew. Why the man was working with no pay for the tiny house of healing she did not know, but neither did she care. He had been there when she was welcomed into their care, and he would likely still be there when she was no more. The grey-furred Beastkin had a strange timeless quality to him that made Laelia believe there was definitely more to him that met the eye.


    With a sigh, Laelia closed her eyes and prepared to send another prayer to her Goddess. She was unsure if Aperio would even be able to understand the ones she sent her, as she seemingly did not speak Common. Did thoughts have a language associated with them? There was a tiny thought that told her that maybe, just maybe, her new Goddess liked to annoy people, but she squashed that as soon as it appeared. Such thoughts were most unbecoming of a paladin.


    Before she found the correct words for her next prayer, the air in front of her distorted and a heavy but familiar presence settled on the world. A moment later her Goddess, and her daughter, appeared where the distortion had been, looking very displeased. For a moment Laelia thought the anger she saw in Aperio''s silvery eyes was directed at her, but that was quickly proven wrong as she turned to face the approaching knights.


    Aperio regarded the group for a moment, slightly tilting her head at something only she could see. Laelia felt a wave of mana spread out from her Goddess and wash over the knights, causing them to briefly stagger but still continue their march.


    In the next moment she was gone, the ground where she had stood riddled with fissures. A fraction of a second later the world was filled with shards of glass and an ear-splitting noise that caused the knights to stop in their tracks.


    "Leave. Now."


    A few of them did turn to leave but were stopped by an angry shout ¨C one of Vigil''s knights. She did not know the man personally, but she had seen him in the church before. That they had sent the leader of the local detachment of holy-knights had given Laelia pause, but now that she was within the oddly reassuring touch of Aperio''s magic she no longer felt that twist in her gut that told her she would not survive.


    The leader did not try to argue or even ask Aperio to move aside, he simply motioned for a footman to give him his spear. The action caused a small smile to tug at the paladin''s lips; it was the same make of spear she had. An orichalcum core with an adamantite edge that had been enchanted to be armour-piercing, more durable, and possibly also poisoned.


    That spear would end up more damaged than hers. Laelia did not know exactly what was happening to Aperio, but every time she saw the Goddess her movements had gotten a tiny bit smoother, the mana surrounding her a bit richer, and the definition of her muscles a bit more pronounced.


    With a practiced motion the knight threw the spear, sending it racing through the air towards its intended target. Laelia had assumed that her Goddess would just let the projectile hit her like she had done in her fight but, instead, Aperio simply plucked it out of the air. The motion did not look practiced, but was still executed with an unnatural grace that made Laelia question her own abilities before she remembered that the woman was a Goddess. I should expect things like this.


    Aperio twirled the weapon in her hand before ramming the butt of it into the stone. "Leave!" she yelled again.


    This time a few of the knights turned and ran, not stopped by the shouts of their superiors. Laelia could not blame them. The air surrounding the knights had grown heavier, and for her own part a familiar heat rose in her chest. Her Goddess was angry, and she felt her own blessing being strengthened by the wild mana streaming off of Aperio. Every bit of it that she took in brought with it a hint of seething rage that almost caused Laelia to pity the other Gods¡¯ followers.


    Seeing that the rest would not follow her instructions, Aperio pulled the spear free and, with one swift motion, threw it at the man that had tried to skewer her with it. The spear darted through the air, leaving a trail of silver behind. It slammed into the knight with a jarring crash, with a speed that left him no time with which to react to the projectile. His armour proved useless against the weapon as it simply passed through him, as well as a number of knights who were standing behind the man.


    It continued flying, long past the point of finding further targets to skewer, but much to Laelia''s surprise the spear stopped before it hit the building at the end of the street. Instead, it briefly hung in the air before it returned to the waiting hand of her Goddess. Aperio did not throw it again; she simply let it vanish from her hand before she dashed into the frozen group. Only after she had punched another knight, leaving a fist-sized hole in their torso, did the others react. They tried to regain a semblance of order by creating a circle around the angry Goddess, but she fully spread her wings. The action caught some of the knights unaware, causing them to be thrown back by the feathered limbs. With a sweep and a rush of air, she leapt skywards.


    A few of the knights were toppled over as they did not anticipate the Goddess to fly, let alone displace enough air to move them. The ones that remained standing were not granted a reprieve as a circle of silver-blue flames came to life around them. They tightened around the knights, forcing them to regroup closer together. One of them, in an attempt to part the wall of fire, stabbed at the flames with his sword.


    Much to Laelia''s surprise and his shock, the flame latched onto the metal and quickly spread over his entire form. What followed was one of the most agonising screams Laelia had ever heard.


    The rest of the knights took nervous steps back from the burning man, their actions made all the more difficult to maneuver as the ring of fire tightened once more. In only a few more seconds, the screams finally ceased and the lifeless body of what was once a knight fell onto the ground. For a brief moment Laelia thought she saw a small light hover above his corpse, but a blink later it had disappeared.


    Aperio watched the soul vanish shortly after she had burned it out of the man''s body. She knew it would return to her Void, to wait its turn at rebirth. The fact that the source of all life resided within her Dominion was still not something she found very pleasing, but it also gave her an idea on how she would be able to actually kill Vigil and Inanis, as well as anyone else who had thought it a great idea to turn mortals into their playthings.


    Currently, though, she wanted nothing more than to kill the scum below her. They weren''t being controlled like Laelia had been. No ¨C they came here to murder children of their own free will. They all could have refused the orders they had received. None of them were truly forced to be here.


    A few of them had run when she told them to, but the rest would die here as, in the end, was their choice. Why did Natio and Vigil tell them to go and kill children in the first place? Just so nobody can claim that the Rage is curable? She looked back at the knights below. Once I am done here, I will remove their Gods from this city.


    She did not like imposing her will on others, but this issue forced her hand. And while senseless killing brought her little joy, she would not back away and let those who had attempted to murder her go free to force their twisted view on the world. But then, aren''t I also just imposing my will on the world? One I might have made.


    An arc of golden light that impacted one of her wings caused Aperio to refocus on the people below. The attack had not hurt or damaged any of her feathers in the slightest. A mild annoyance at best. How were those trees able to damage me, then? Maybe I was not as ...durable? She shelved the thought as for now she had to deal with the followers of a self-righteous fuck, not to mention a new God that seemed to have missed the memo that souls were not to be toyed with. Aperio had no desire to find out what someone could make if they actually did more than simply touch a soul.


    A thought later and the fire washed over the remaining knights, forcing their souls back to the river. May they live a better life next time. Fighting them normally, like she had with the first few, might have been more enjoyable, but she had little time. Vigil and Natio needed to be evicted at the earliest opportunity. For a moment she thought about forcing out all the ones that had appeared on the System notification, but decided against it. Merely trying to access something was vastly different to having one''s followers kill defenseless people. And only Natio and Vigil tried to have me killed.


    With a heavy thud, Aperio set down next to the corpses and let them vanish into her Void. Far away from their souls. She had no idea how large her Dominion actually was, but wanting to deposit the bodies somewhere unreachable for the tiny orbs should be possible. At least, her instincts seemed to indicate that it was feasible, and thus far her feelings on these matters had been pretty spot on.


    "What are you going to do now, mother?" Ferio asked, unmoved by what her mother had just done. Aperio thought it slightly strange, but as she considered the people around her more, it seemed that none who had watched the spectacle of burning knights seemed to be giving off any sign of disgust with her actions. Curious. Are they just scared or is this something that happens regularly?


    But then, the people who were outside all looked like they had seen their fair share of death. The younger ones that had tried to keep her aura at bay when she had first visited the house of healing might be the exception, but even they seemed to have only minimal pity for the knights.


    "Where is Natio''s temple?" Aperio did not bother to hide the hostility in her voice. She wanted the two Gods gone and she would no longer postpone the inevitable confrontation. She doubted either of them would show up personally anyway. Ferio had said that both Vigil and Inanis were scared to descend because of her, and Aperio had a feeling that a God that was much younger, would also be a lot weaker.


    Much to her surprise it was not Ferio that replied, but a new voice coming from behind the Goddess of Light and Life. "I can guide you, my Lady."


    She had seen the grey-furred Beastkin approach through her aura, but had dismissed him as a simple bystander. It would seem that she had been wrong. "Who are you?"


    The man did not answer. Instead he took a step back and shrunk under her gaze, obviously not prepared to have the attention of Aperio on him despite having spoken up. She narrowed her eyes as he remained silent, his ears twitching slightly.


    For a brief moment the thought of killing the man where he stood flickered across her mind, something within her demanding she smite the insolent mortal that would dare to not answer her question. The thought was quickly squashed.


    "Joref," he heaved in reply, his voice strained under the burden of her attention. "Joref Dryggis of the tribes. I was send here on behalf of the chiefs, to help those in need and aid the lost Goddess should she return."


    "Lost Goddess?" Aperio tilted her head at his words. "I assume you mean me?"


    He gave a small nod in reply. "Your name might have been forgotten by most, but a few still remember. It is not widespread outside of Lerenal, the people having long abandoned the belief in a Goddess that does not answer despite the claims of some that she exists." He gave a long look at Ferio with his last words, seemingly recognising her.


    Aperio had an inkling as to why she had been forgotten, and why, when someone of repute gave their word that she was alive, the general response would be disbelief. "What happens to those who still express their belief in me?"


    "They disappear," Ferio said. "Most did not believe me when I told them, anyway. Even my own followers. So I stopped."


    Aperio was not sure if it was shame or anger she heard in the voice of her daughter. Perhaps both. The knowledge that people did not know of her bothered something deep within her, but also gave her a bit of hope. If nobody truly knew of her, once she had dealt with those that wanted her gone she could make an attempt to live the more normal life she had always wanted.


    "While regrettable, there are more pressing concerns. You may enlighten me about what people think of me while you guide me to Natio''s house of worship." While she would love to know what exactly people thought she was, dealing with Natio and Vigil took precedence. Afterwards, maybe.


    "Ferio, please stay with Laelia and deal with anyone that thinks they can bring harm to those I healed." While Aperio did not expect Natio to actually come to fight her, she did not want to risk her daughter''s life. Not when she did not know if she could bring her back.


    Only after Aperio had answered the questioning magical nudge of her daughter with a reassuring one of her own did Ferio physically nod and moved towards the building. It was obvious that she did not want to leave her mother after she had only just been reunited with her, but neither did she want to hinder her plans.


    The Beastkin seemed to pick up on her intention to leave and gestured towards a small cobblestone road. "This way, my Lady."


    Aperio just shook her head and quickly closed the distance between the two. "You will only show me where it is, not walk me there."


    He was about to speak when she picked him up and took to the air. Joref went stiff at the rapid acceleration but otherwise remained strangely calm. Once they were high enough to see every island, the Beastkin started to look around, rapidly scanning each small landmass.


    "Do you see that big, grey building over there?" he asked, pointing towards a small isle that somehow appeared to be darker than the others.


    "That is Natio''s temple?"


    "Yes, it is," he replied, hesitating briefly before continuing. "It is known that Natio himself sometimes resides there."


    He wanted her to be careful, something that she should appreciate, but the words only managed to irritate something within her. Wordlessly, Aperio descended and carefully set the man down.


    Once Joref had joined the others inside the house of healing, Aperio took to the skies again. She few as fast as she could, pushing past the small resistance in the air she felt and ignoring the sound it made. At such speeds, it only took a moment for her to reach her destination. Briefly, she considered simply crashing into the building as a way of stopping her flight, but ultimately she decided against it. She was after whoever had given the order against the children at the house of healing, not potential innocents who remained unknowing of what their God had done.


    With a mighty beat of her wings, Aperio slowed herself enough to only crack the street slightly. Her rather violent landing attracted the attention of two Humans in dark grey robes, both of them warily approaching her before they simply halted in their tracks and turned back. A moment later a silver-framed window appeared in front of Aperio.


    Entity designated ''Natio'' has attempted to transport the Creator. Action converted to transportation request due to insufficient permissions.


    Would the Creator like to accept the transportation request and enter area designated ''Natio''s Dominion''?


    GamingWolf


    Does Natio even know what he is doing?


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really, really like it; please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 42: Harsh Lessons

    Aperio hesitated, not quite sure if she really wanted to enter Natio''s Dominion. If the System could classify it, she should have authority over it, shouldn''t she? But what if I don''t? ...How do I accept it, anyway? Her question was answered when a warm sensation enveloped her and another silver-framed window faded into existence.


    Creator has accepted the transportation request. Preparing area for Creator.


    What needs to be prepared? She thought to herself as she squinted at the System notification. Does it make sure that Natio won''t be able to harm me or what?


    Aperio looked down at herself and then back to the tiny window before tilting her head slightly. What? Will it break if I go there? Just get me inside! She did not quite understand how a Dominion could break with just her presence. Her Void seemed pretty unbreakable to her, but that was probably because it belonged to her. If it is my Dominion it has to be able to house me, after all.


    Her thoughts were interrupted as a silver-blue glow surrounded her, one that she had come to associate with her own magic. It was accompanied by a foreign pull on the mana in her well, something that gave her the impression that it should feel wrong but, against all odds, it did not. Roots did say that the System depends on me. Did he mean this? That it needs my mana?


    Before she could further follow that line of thought, her surroundings faded away only to be replaced by a dimly-lit stone chamber. The fact that she found herself in something that could only be described as a torture chamber only managed to gain a passing interest. Aperio had seen enough of them in her time before the sacrifice to know that this one was paltry at best in its offerings. Why does a God need one, anyway? What did get her attention were the flames flickering in the braziers in the corners of the room. More specifically their colour. Why green?


    Welcome to ''Natio''s Dominion''! The owner of this area has been informed of your arrival.


    Aperio squinted at the notification before she dismissed it and glanced around the room once more, looking for an exit. The Dominion seemed to react to her behaviour as a door appeared in front of her. Not wanting to immediately leave and possibly run into a trap, Aperio first tried to alter the colour of the flames. Just to make sure.


    It required more than the mere thought she needed within her Void, but with a slight flex of her mental muscles the fire obeyed. Another small exertion caused the entire wall opposite the door to disappear, revealing a swirling abyss of black and green. I like my Void better.


    Satisfied that she would not be defenceless against the owner of this Dominion, Aperio turned around and opened the door. It swung open with a creak she had thought reserved for dramatic plays and revealed a narrow passageway lit by equally theatrical green torches.


    Taking her first steps into the hallway caused the flames to flicker and change to a more normal yellow. Why does he like green so much? At least the stones did not break beneath her every step.


    A shift in her aura caught her attention, causing her to stop and focus on the affected area. Someone was there; a tall, broad figure that moved its hands through the air in front of it as if tapping on things. The room he resided in had naked stone walls, lit by sickly green flames ¨C almost the exact same as the one she had first appeared in. Is he really a God? Why would he want to spend his time in a place like this?


    Aperio could only tilt her head at the strange behaviour and resume her journey towards the individual. It took her a couple more steps before she realised something that should have been obvious, especially after she had used her Void to teleport herself and Ferio to a different place in the mortal realm.


    Closing her eyes, Aperio attempted to grasp the space behind the figure with her mind. Once she felt her mana take hold, she gave it a twist she was sure broke many laws of the universe. My laws?


    With a tearing noise she had come to associate with the ripping of her clothes, Aperio found herself behind the hooded man she had seen through her aura. He whipped around to face the intruder, staring at her with glowing green orbs that hovered in an otherwise black abyss inside his hood.


    Something told Aperio that the man ¨C Natio, she had to assume ¨C was attempting to be imposing and frightening with his dark grey robe and glowing eyes, but to her he felt surprisingly weak. He did not even manage to make half the impact in her aura that Ferio had. And he wants to kill me?


    The tilting of her head seemed enough of a motion to break the tense silence that had settled inside stone chamber. "So, the ''The Sacred Goddess'' thinks she can claim my Domain," Natio said, taking a step closer. "Awfully pretentious title for a new Goddess, is it not?"


    Aperio did not answer his question, simply tilting her head to the other side. He did not strike her as particularly evil or godly. More like a pampered noble that thought the world belonged to him. Is that what my title means? Wait. He knows that, but not that I made the system? What did Vigil and Inanis tell him?


    "The silent type? No matter, you won''t leave here for a while." He took a few steps to the side to get a better view of Aperio, his gaze feeling distressingly similar to the calculated assessment of a slave owner. "Maybe after I break you I can give you to Vigil so I can get my Custodian access back. He does have a fable for deities of Moon Elven descent."


    The statement caused her anger to rapidly rise to the forefront of her mind again and her aura to flare up a little, enough to make Natio take a step back. Her wondering about the nature of Dominions and their interaction with the System had been a good distraction from the rage that had fuelled her mad dash to get here, but now that the man had openly admitted to wanting to enslave her to get something back Vigil could not give him, it was back in force. "Why did you send your knights to kill innocents? Children?"


    Natio raised an eyebrow at her question, seemingly unconcerned with the steadily rising pressure from her aura. "Vigil told me that you were interfering with his plans. And, since you already lay claim to my Domain, I saw no reason to deny his request. I also want my Custodian access back; not that you would know what that is."


    "Do their lives mean nothing to you?!"


    Her outburst was accompanied by a wave of mana that caused the braziers in the room to burst into bright silver-blue flames and Natio to take another step back.


    "Do you think you are better just because you are strong?"


    "I will not be attacked in my Dominion!" he yelled, pointing his hand at Aperio and yanking it down in a sharp motion. "Kneel before your betters!"


    His words were accompanied by a subtle pressure at the back of her mind ¨C one she knew all too well. One that made her disregard the last bits of calm that had settled on her mind since she had burned the knights.


    With steps that sent cracks racing through the stone floor, Aperio moved towards her target. Unperturbed by the pressure building around her and the yells of the God that had come to realise his Dominion was no longer his own, the winged Goddess slowly lifted her hand. Then, with a sharp motion, she grabbed something only she could see and pulled it towards her.


    A moment later Natio found himself sailing through the air, only to be stopped by a fist that impacted into his stomach far harder than mere flesh and bone had any right to. He crumpled at her feet, gasping for air that he did not even need. His reprieve was cut short as he was lifted to face the Goddess he had assumed to be new and powerless.


    "You do not deserve to be a God."


    As soon as the words finished passing through her lips, something cold and sharp pierced her abdomen and caused her to drop Natio in surprise. She had not seen when the other God had summoned a sword, nor had she expected any blade to be able to hurt her. With a grunt, she pulled the weapon free and threw it to the side, the wound already closed by the time the blade hit the wall.


    The disgraced God had taken the time to distance himself from the now very angry Goddess, using the opportunity to also summon a wicked-looking scythe. Despite the fact that his sword had been able to hurt her, Aperio could not help but pause confusedly at the sight of the farming implement as his next choice of weapon.


    With a wave of his hand, numerous sickly green orbs sprang to life around him. Their appearance was accompanied by a wave of disgust that was only rivalled by her memories of her dreaded collar. Whatever those spheres of green were, Natio would need to be punished. For using them, certainly, but also possibly for having created them as well.


    Natio seemed to interpret her surprised pause as fearful hesitation as his lips twisted into a vile smile. "Not so big on words now, are we? Now tell me what you did to my Dominion."


    "Nothing."


    He only laughed at her answer, obviously not believing what she had said. "Are you Vigil''s new plaything already? Did he mess with my Dominion?"


    The spheres danced around him, flaring slightly at his words and lingering for just a moment longer before they darted towards the winged Goddess. Aperio was ready to strike them down with magic of her own, a blue flame already in her hand, but paused when the orbs slowed their approach. The closer they got, the dimmer the green glow they emitted grew. Once they had reached Aperio''s side, they had turned into the multitude of colours she had seen before in her Void.


    Souls?


    She stopped her hand just shy of one of the orbs, remembering what her touch had done to Maria. Instead, she slashed her hand downwards, opening a rift to her Void. It required more effort than it usually did, but as soon as it was open the soul orbs rapidly flew into the opening and, for a brief moment, Aperio thought that she could detect something akin to gratefulness from those who were escaping.


    "I am nobody''s plaything," Aperio spat, closing the rift again. "Vigil will be dealt with after I am done with you."


    Again, he only laughed, as if her statement was the funniest thing he has heard. This time, however, there was a nervous edge to it. A slight, unsteady shift in pitch that she would have never noticed before. No longer wanting to talk to the obviously deranged God, Aperio closed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye. Natio tried to cut her with his scythe, but now that she was aware of the rather unwieldy weapon it was easy to deflect it.


    He took a few steps back, just enough to be outside her reach and summoned a green flame which he hurled at Aperio. She ducked low, not wanting to get hit by magic she did not know, letting the fire sail over her and harmlessly splash against the wall behind her. The flames had not felt particularly threatening, but after Natio had managed to embed a sword in her stomach, she was not as inclined to let herself get hit again as she was before.


    Natio did not let up, summoning a wave of sickly green fire that swept her way, only for it to be parted by a thin silver barrier. Simply using her mana directly was proving to be the way to go for Aperio, at least as far as blocking the attacks of others went. Dealing damage herself was best left to her own blue fire; burning the soul out of a body was a sure-fire way to defeat your enemy.


    Seeing that his magic showed no effect, Natio closed the distance with a dash that Aperio was quite sure was only possible because they were in his Dominion. Not that it gives him an advantage. If he had tried to use whatever authority a Dominion usually had, she had not noticed it.


    The blade of the scythe struck at her neck, only to be deflected by a raised wing. The defence cost her a few feathers and a slight nick in the bones of her feathery appendages. His next strike was cut short as Aperio grabbed hold of the weapon with one hand and ripped it free from his grip, causing him to stumble forward only to be sent flying by a punch delivered from her free fist.


    He crashed into the wall of his Dominion apocrypha, but did not break it. A silver-blue film of mana had spread over every surface of the room, stopping the self-proclaimed God of Death from breaking through its walls.


    Before his feet reached the ground, Aperio was already next to him. She delivered another punch that sent him into the floor with a wet crack. A spark of joy flashed through Aperio''s mind as she flung the now bleeding body of Natio across the room into the other wall. Letting out her frustrations on someone who more than deserved every bit of pain she gave him felt good ¡ª almost disgustingly so ¡ª but she did not want to stop.


    She would continue her onslaught until he was broken, until he was dead, until he was...


    A glimmer of doubt surfaced in her mind and Aperio, seeing what it was, embraced it. It was true that killing Natio here and now was what she wanted to do, but if she went through with it, it would only mean that she was more like him than she would be able to accept. It would be an act of doing what she wanted merely because nobody could stop her. No. No, there had to be another way. With a shake of her head, she grabbed the limp body of Natio and hoisted him up.


    His head hung to the side, the man clearly no longer conscious. The vicious part of her psyche flared up again, gleefully pointing out that killing him ¨C as he so rightly deserved ¨C would be so simple. Just grab his head, and pull. Just that one simple task, and people would thank her for ridding the world of a vile evil. A good portion of her wanted to do exactly that, crying out for the death of this foolish God who had dared to question her ¨C dare to see her as anything less than perfect.


    Another part rebelled against that notion, not because she wanted to spare the man, but because she did not want to give in to the feelings of superiority. No matter how good and right they felt, Aperio wanted to reject them. She wasn''t perfect. The fact that she was struggling to find the right choice right now and the cut in her dress where Natio had stabbed her showed as much. And yet, it felt so right to think of herself that way.


    She shrugged the thoughts away as, suddenly, she had another idea. One that might be crueller than simply death, but also fairer.


    Slowly she pushed her mana into him, trying to find the foundation that Ferio had described. If that was indeed the key to his Godhood, she would take it from him. Force him to live the life of a mortal and be judged by those he wronged. If they decided he should die, he would. If they wanted him to endure what he had inflicted onto them ¨C he would.


    It was not long before she found something within the mana of Natio that felt familiar. Not in the way of the blessing she had given to Laelia or the bond she shared with Maria, but more of the foreign feeling that she had felt when the System had transported her here. Aperio grabbed hold of the seed of mana, a tiny fraction of what coursed through the man''s body, and ripped it out.


    A moment later Natio''s eyes shot wide open and he let out an agonising scream that would have caused Aperio rush to his aid had she not known what he had planned for the children and herself. Serves you right.


    She could feel the mana rushing out of his body, the System-given seed seemingly the only thing that had allowed the man to amass that much in the first place. The fact that the System had given something like this to such a person gave Aperio pause. Who else might have the ability to become a God like this? She considered trying to do something about it, but realized that changing anything in the System was not within her ability''s scope at the moment. She simply didn''t know enough about it. Vague feelings of wrong and right were not sufficient for her to tamper with something that this world ¨C and possibly others ¨C depended on.


    A new window that appeared in her vision diverted her attention from the screaming man she held and the possibility of more Natios running around in the world. The notification had turned fully silver, somehow managing to look official even though it was just a tiny window hanging in the air.


    Natio, God of the Underworld, has fallen from grace.


    Any blessings or curses given by this deity will lose their effect.


    Aperio squinted at the window for a moment. Did only I see that, or...? A new window did fade into existence, but her unspoken question did not receive an answer.


    The owner of this area has lost all rights of Dominion ownership. This space will be discarded once all residents and guests have left.


    As there was no longer any reason to remain where she was, Aperio tried to move back to the mortal realm in the same manner as she did from her Void. It seemed that Natio''s removal from godhood had also removed whatever had imposed the higher effort of her magic within the Dominion, as now it only required a thought to twist reality apart and form a rift back to the house of healing.


    She threw the still limp body of the fallen God through first before she stepped through herself. On the other side she was greeted by an unnaturally happy Ferio, who had immediately bound Natio in flaming ropes that seared his flesh. Next to draw her attention was the weary, quiet presence of Laelia, followed by the assortment of people who had watched her kill the knights.


    A mere glance at any one of them was sufficient to answer the question she had had earlier. Without a doubt, they had seen the silver notification.

 Advent – Chapter 43: Divine Punishment

    Aperio regarded the crowd for a moment longer before she closed the small distance that separated her from the unconscious heap of a man that was Natio. A small wave of her hand righted the bound man and caused him to float just above the ground. The ropes that restrained him had lost a bit of their heat, probably so Natio would not be cooked alive. Not the he doesn''t deserve it.


    "This is Natio," Aperio said. "Advocate for murder and enslavement of innocents. For his transgressions he has been stripped of his status as a God and awaits judgement by you. Whatever you decide his sentence will be, I will carry out."


    The gathered people in front of her gave each other confused glances, seemingly not that comfortable with judging an ex-god. It took a while longer before they started to talk amongst themselves, low murmurs that, while audible, were not understood by Aperio.


    What she did understand, however, was the touch of her daughter''s magic brushing past the edges of her mind. The slightly bloodied cut in her dress had not gone unnoticed and, while Ferio did not look overly concerned, there was an urgency to her magic that belied her outward appearance.


    It was clear that she did not like her mother getting injured, likely fearing a repeat of what had made her disappear in the first place. Aperio could understand the worry, appreciate it even, but in this case it was not warranted. Something told her that getting stabbed ¨C even in the heart ¨C would not be as lethal as it was supposed to be.


    Once she had reassured her daughter that she was indeed fine, there came another question. Apparently that her dress was still ripped was weird. Aperio could only tilt her head at the comment. Am I supposed to fix it now? I don''t have what I need to sew with me. Aperio pushed the thoughts from her mind; she would deal with her clothing situation after the people present decided on what should happen to Natio.


    That was until she remembered that she no longer needed such trivial tools to fix things. Simply willing her dress to be whole again did, sadly, not work. Going through the motions of sewing it back together in her mind, the string replaced with a thin thread of mana, however, did. Her magically conjured fabric blended seamlessly into the dress, leaving no trace that there was ever even the tiniest tear in it. Maybe I should make a whole dress like this.


    Or maybe not? The people were still staring at the bound and floating form, only the occasional murmur breaking the silence. Do they want him to go free? ...Or are they scared he will punish them?


    "Do you not wish him to answer for what he has done?" Aperio grabbed the man by the throat after her words; if they did not want to deliver a punishment, she would do it herself. "Then I will judge him."


    Her action caused Kario to step forwards with head slightly lowered. "How are we supposed to punish a God? He will just kill us once you are gone."


    Aperio tilted her head at the question. "Did you not see the notification?"


    He gave a hesitant nod in reply, seemingly not quite understanding why it was of importance.


    "Then you should know that Natio is no longer a God. He is a normal mortal now." She poked at him with her magic, trying to get a feeling for his strength. After she had removed the seed of the System, the man seemed to have almost no mana anymore. "He is likely weaker than Laelia''s child now." The girl had not even flinched after she had ran into Aperio, something the winged Goddess was fairly sure would hurt without some form of magical aid. Only my voice hurt her, visibly at least. I should have really asked Ferio for help with that.


    Her answer brought an eerie silence to the onlookers and caused their eyes to wander to the man she still held by the throat. The amount of attention it required to not accidentally squash the man was quite unnerving for Aperio, but ignoring it was not an option in this case. Only once they have made up their minds. Or leave it to me.


    Kario obviously wanted to say something, as his mouth continued to open and close, but despite his efforts no sound managed to emerge from his lips. Then, the silver-furred Beastkin put his hand to the man''s shoulder, and Aperio perked up. She felt a bit of mana flow from the Beastkin into the nervous Human, and in order to spare the proper amount of mental attention to the phenomenon she let go of Natio, allowing his unconscious form to resume hovering.


    The intent of the magic was much like what Ferio had done with Laelia and herself once before. A calming presence, soothing to the troubled mind. Seeing it done by a mortal would normally not have made the Elven Goddess worry too much, but the concerning part was the corresponding pull of the System on her mana.


    If someone used this magic to soothe the mind of another, what would stop them from using it to influence people in other ways? That the Gods and Goddesses of the world could do it was bad enough already, but at least with them she now knew for certain she could do something. But should I?


    Further thoughts were interrupted as Natio started to wake in his bonds. He strained against the ropes for a moment before he noticed the people watching him and stopped. She felt the little mana he had left struggle to move through his body, trying to follow what he wanted to do. It was obvious that, whatever it was that he was attempting, it was too much for what remained of his power. His eyes widened as he, too, realised that fact.


    Aperio could feel how his breathing quickened, how his muscles tensed whenever someone moved or even looked at him. She also felt him freeze up when she stepped next to him, and wince when she addressed the crowd. "What will his punishment be?"


    Natio renewed his struggles against the ropes that held him, only for them to ignite again, eliciting a pained hiss from the fallen God. Aperio felt a spark of joy at the man¡¯s pain that deeply unnerved her. She did not want to enjoy it but something within her saw things differently. The struggle between two parts of her mind ¨C between what she felt, and what she wanted ¨C was familiar, and in a rush it brought with it memories she had never wanted to remember.


    The smell of iron and rust and dusty mold as the guards took her from her cell. The uncomfortable enjoyment of being able to lie on an actual bed, with a mattress and sheets that, though dirty, were vastly superior to anything else she might have had, before the joy was taken away from her with the bite of the rope that bound her. The way her own body moved of its own accord, forced to pleasure them all. Repeatedly. And the disgust, the nausea at the realization that, on some level, something within her was enjoying it. How her entire being shuddered with pleasure ¨C one that she did not know was genuine or collar-dictated ¨C at the act. Her mind screamed for it to stop, but her mouth only spurred them on in their vile acts.


    And now, she recalled everything. Every detail shone with more clarity than it ever had before. The tiny voice that had asked how she had been able to stay sane during an entire lifetime as a slave was suddenly drowned out in a deluge of unwanted images and sensations, all of which were as real to her as the moment in which she had lived them.


    There was something in her that took pleasure in the pain of others. It was something she did not want ¨C even if the other might potentially deserve it. Upon recognizing it, she wholeheartedly rejected the feeling, shoving it deep down within her where it would remain unacted upon. Unfelt. Where it belonged. She had recently begun to trust her newfound instincts a little more, but she would have to seriously reevaluate that notion now.


    The touch of a hand on her shoulder ripped Aperio from her thoughts and caused her to turn her head. Ferio was standing next to her, eyes full of what Aperio could guess was concern. Instead of speaking, she sent a questioning magical nudge. The form of communication conveyed more feelings of worry than mere words ever could. Aperio tried her best to dissuade her daughter''s worries, trying to tell her that it was just a bad memory.


    The mention of her past had been the wrong decision.


    Aperio could feel the heat rising around Ferio, could see the hands of her daughter quiver with barely constrained rage. It only lasted for a moment, however. Ferio released a heavy breath that briefly heated the immediate area enough to make Natio release a pained growl.


    "We will need to have another talk, mother," Ferio said quietly.


    Aperio simply nodded in reply; she, too, still had some questions. The people in front of them had distanced themselves a bit from Ferio, but otherwise did not seem to mind the rather ungodly exchange very much at all. Or they think that they will get punished if they do something despite me having asked? But, they don''t look particularly scared.


    As silence still reigned, Aperio chose to direct the attention back to the topic at hand: What to do with Natio. "If you do not want to decide his sentence, I could bring him before one of your [Judicators]. Or deliver a punishment that I see fit."


    "I not think we be of much help," Laelia said. "What right we have to judge actions of a God?"


    Aperio had to pause at the question. In her mind they had every right to judge what a God was doing, but actually doing so had probably gotten people killed in the past. So if I start punishing other Gods, they will get even more scared of me, won''t they? ...Is that why Vigil and Inanis tried to kill me? Because I did something that could not go unpunished?


    She shook off the memories of the past with a twitch of her head. "You have every right to judge someone for doing wrong. No matter if they are a God, Goddess or something else."


    Laelia seemed hesitant, wanting to ask something, which she only did after Aperio gestured for her to continue. "Even you?"


    "Yes? Why would I be the exception?"


    The eyes of her paladin slowly alternated from the very silent form of Natio back to Aperio. "Because you just stripped a God of his might as if it was nothing?"


    Aperio wanted to object. That it was not nothing, she had been stabbed after all. But that only happened because I did not know what I should do. Because I was hesitant. In truth, stripping Natio''s godhood had been easy, disgustingly so. But that was because it came from the System. Not all deities depend on that, right?


    A quick, almost panicked, magically aided question to her daughter got her an answer. No, not every God or Goddess depends on the System, but a significant number do. Then can I also just make someone a God? The thought was pushed down again very quickly. She did not trust herself enough to start making Gods and Goddesses. Or did I already? Laelia''s blessing was far greater in its scope than what Vigil had given her and Aperio herself still did not understand how any of it worked. I might have.


    "If I do something you find objectionable, I expect you to inform me," Aperio replied. "But now, what should happen to Natio?"


    The man stiffened at the mention of his name. Maybe he had hoped that they would somehow forget about him while they talked about Aperio''s rather simple philosophy. The rest of the people had also remained quiet, almost suspiciously so, but now they were again quietly talking amongst themselves. Despite the length of time in which they had to deliberate, none of them had as yet dared to address Aperio''s question. The lack of input from the people that Natio had wanted to kill started to get on her nerves, something she knew should not happen so easily.


    It was Joref that eventually stepped forward to voice his opinion. "We could always use more hands around the house. He would not be allowed near the residents, but cleaning is still important."


    The suggestion gave Aperio pause. She had expected them to ask for his death, or his torture. To ask for vengeance. She had thought that their reluctance to ask for such a thing was the reason for their continued silence. "You want the man that ordered his knights to kill the people under your care to clean as recompense for his actions?"


    "Yes," Joref replied. The people behind him also began to slowly nod their assent at his suggestion.


    "Not what you expected, mother?" Ferio asked.


    Aperio just gave a slight shake of her head as reply. It was most definitely not what she had expected. "I expected them to want him dead."


    "This is a house of healing. They take care of anyone that comes; you won''t find people that cry for blood here."


    "I guess not," the winged Goddess said in a quiet voice. "But if it is what they want, then so be it. Laelia." The mention of her name caused the paladin to turn away from the child that peeked out behind her legs. "I wish for you to remain here and keep watch over Natio. If he does anything out of line, do what you deem necessary. If you need anything of me, pray. I will come."


    "Yes, my Goddess!" The words were delivered with a conviction that Aperio herself found rather startling. She had certainly had a great impact on Laelia''s life in the short time they had known each other, but she did not believe it would result in such reverence.


    "Ferio, I believe we have more to discuss," Aperio said, holding out her hand to her daughter.


    "Yes, mother," Ferio replied, taking the offered hand. A thought later, they were back in homely embrace of Aperio''s Void.


    GamingWolf


    Natio, God Mortal of Cleaning.


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 Advent – Chapter 44: Atelophobia

    As soon as the pair had appeared in the Void, Aperio spread her wings and let herself fall backwards onto the soft nothing ¨C simply hanging in the inky blackness was more comfortable than any bed she had been on before. And it doesn''t squish my wings.


    "Exhausted?"


    The words caused Aperio to sit up and direct her eyes towards her daughter and give her a slight nod; she was exhausted. Mentally, at least. Her physical self, in comparison, felt as good as it had since she had been sacrificed, and the disparity between body and mind ¨C one still ready and willing to do any activity, the other at the end of its ability and wanting to do nothing more than rest ¨C was not something Aperio had ever expected to feel.


    "I noticed the cut in your dress," Ferio said as her eyes wandered to the spot where it once had been. "Those don''t just appear out of nowhere. Are you sure you are fine?"


    Aperio''s hand went to the now repaired patch of her dress on its own volition. She did not feel like anything was wrong, and the wound had healed immediately. The only thing that had still been damaged after her return to the mortal world was her dress and that, too, had been fixed.


    "I think so, yes. It was only a small cut that was already healed when I pulled the sword out. It did not even hurt."


    A brief expression of concern flickered across her daughter''s face before she spoke again. "Do you have the blade with you? Or do you at least know what kind of sword it was?"


    "I do not know what it was, nor do I have it. The System told me that Natio''s Dominion would be removed after I left it, so I doubt the weapon still exists."


    "Can''t you just make the System recreate the sword?"


    The words caused Aperio to pause. Could I? She knew the sword, to an extent: how it looked, how it felt, how much it weighed. Would that be enough? Even if it was, it did not immediately solve the problem, for she still did not truly know how to wield her own power, and by extent, the powers of the System. Thus far, she had but to merely want something to happen and through inexplicable, inscrutable magics it would come to be.


    Is there a menu I can use? Natio was tapping on something before he fought me, maybe that was a System menu for his Dominion? Closing her eyes, Aperio tried to recall how the System''s pull on the mana in her well had felt and, after pushing past a small barrier, her mind was again flooded with strange lists. Meaningless names and symbols floated past her attention''s focus, as well as bizarre weaves of mana that drifted by, their shapes nothing but nonsense to her.


    Yet, despite its mind-bending nature, looking at the System filled her with a sense of calm and, to a lesser degree, pride. As no easy to understand window appeared before her, Aperio tried to read the symbols and names in hope of gleaming some form of knowledge.


    Much to her surprise, she was able to understand a good number of the symbols ¨C runes, as she now had to notice. The first time she had looked within the System she had been too overwhelmed by the mess of mana and glyphs to properly attempt to read any of it, and had disregarded the whole as something she could not hope to understand. It was a mistake on her part, as it turned out.


    The runes weren''t like the ones the Empire or the village had used. These were vastly more complex, twisting in on themselves in ways that would make them impossible to carve on stone, or any other surface in the mortal world.


    Most of them had simple meanings despite their complex shapes, simply comparing things and then directing them onward to even more complex sets of runes. What caught her interest, though, and what likely held the answers she sought, was a lone set of very intricate runes. Aperio understood them to mean ''assistance'', something she was in dire need of at the moment.


    Feeding the ''assistance'' rune a tiny bit of her mana caused Aperio to open her eyes as a shudder ran through her. Before her eyes a window stitched itself together, much slower than the ones she had seen previously. When it eventually did appear, it was a lot less helpful than she had initially thought it would be.


    Unable to process request: Cannot scan Creator.


    Well, that was useless. What is it supposed to assist with anyway if it has to scan me?


    Purpose: Assist users with System-provided skills by providing knowledge of usage and application.


    Aperio squinted at the window; that was exactly what she wanted the System to do for her. But, as she was the origin of the System itself, she likely did not possess any skills that came from the System. More like all its functions come from me.


    With a sigh, she willed the window to disappear. At least she got some form of knowledge from the endeavour. She knew that she could, in fact, understand a few things about the System. Not enough to try and tinker with it to any degree, but she now knew where to look for more information.


    "I do not know," Aperio finally said, steeling herself for the abhorrent feelings she was sure would come with her next few words. "I barely understand what most of the runes even mean. Sometimes it does what I want with barely a thought and other times it does not. I do not know why."


    "Maybe it needs more time to turn back on? It did take quite a while to even recognise you as its creator after all."


    Aperio let herself fall back onto the soft nothing of her Void before she replied. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it broke while I was gone." And I can''t fix it.


    "So we are back to the issue of regaining your memories. But before we start with that, there are a few things we need to talk about." Her daughter''s voice had gained an unsteady quality, something Aperio could not quite place. Concern? Or is she angry?


    "I think we need to talk about your past, even if it is uncomfortable for you," Ferio said. "The way you just lock up and stare into the distance can''t be healthy, even for you. What would happen if you remember something violent and someone comes to see what is wrong, only for you to kill them by accident? You made it quite clear that you don''t want to hurt people without good reason. I might not agree with ¨C or even understand ¨C some of your new beliefs; but you are still my mother and I want to try my best to help you."


    Aperio remained silent. She did not want to talk about her previous life ¨C she wanted to forget it even happened. There was, she believed, nothing of value to be gained by talking about it. In fact, given her new mental abilities, she would only relieve the horrors of it, in greater detail than she had previously thought possible.


    The Void thickened, blanketing the winged Goddess with darkness as it reacted to her desire to be alone. Aperio embraced it, taking comfort in her obscured form. Through the use of her aura she could see Ferio rubbing the bridge of her nose, obviously not pleased with her mother''s reaction.


    "I am just trying to help you, mother. Talking about these things helps, trust me. I... I have been through something similar, when you disappeared. And, I have helped countless mortals who have lived a life not too far removed from what you are describing. But I cannot help if you don''t want to be helped." Ferio paused, letting out a heavy sigh before she continued in a quiet voice. "I don''t want to lose you again."


    The whispered words caused Aperio to right herself and step out of the shadows that had appeared around her. What her daughter had said did not quite make sense to her. "Though I do not wish to talk about it, it does not mean I would leave you. I do not plan to go anywhere."


    "If you continue to separate yourself from everyone else, mother, and avoid trusting anyone? You might as well have left." Ferio breathed deeply, for reasons Aperio couldn''t place, then her daughter spoke again. "I know that it pains you to admit your faults, but believe me when I say that it is now more important than ever to admit that you cannot do it alone. That, in this respect, you are not perfect."


    A part of her instantly awoke, rebelling against the notion of being anything less than perfect, wanting to strike down Ferio to show her where she belonged. Aperio froze in shock at her own thoughts. Why would I ever do that? The mere idea that even the tiniest part of her would even consider hurting her own daughter disgusted her more than anything else. A sinking feeling of doubt snaked its way through her mind, causing her to question whether she should ever consider finding out the sort of person she had been before.


    Ferio spoke again, breaking the silence. "You helped me before, when I needed it. Please... Let me help you."


    Aperio rejected the rebelling part of her brain then and there. She would not hurt her family.


    Ever.


    If she could, she would rip that part out of herself. It was irritating at the best of times, and right now it was starting to terrify her. What kind of person had she been? Was this the way her previous self had felt? Aperio shuddered, but knew that in the end, in order to find answers, she would have to mentally go where she did not wish to.


    Despite her not listening to the feeling, she still could not bring herself to actually recount what had happened to her. She wanted to forget, but the change that had returned her strength had also made it impossible to do that. Aperio knew, deep down, that she would never truly forget. That she would carry the weight of her previous life forwards with her, potentially into eternity. Maybe it was the universe getting back at her for dying the first time ¨C causing her to live a life that never quite managed to break her while she lived it, but now that she thought she had escaped its clutches the sheer force of its memory would tear her mind apart. A last parting gift from the world before it could no longer impose its will on its creator.


    On me.


    Pushing the memories down and focusing on the here and now was sadly not as easy as simply willing the thoughts away. There was a persistent nagging idea that she had done something that caused the other Gods to betray her, that it actually was her fault and not a coup as Ferio had implied.


    "I need time," Aperio finally replied as the darkness drew closer again. "I am not yet ready. But you are right ¨C I do need to talk at some point. ...Thank you."


    Aperio closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the soothing nothing of her Void. Letting it wash over every fiber of her being in an attempt to wash off the haunting feeling of ghostly needles piercing her skin and eager hands exploring places that they had no right to. Another breath, to try to silence the echo of the arrogant voice of the Emperor''s son ¨C his orders, his forcing her to do things. Things she did not ever want to remember. Things that, given her perfect memory, she was forced to witness for the second time.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by arms wrapping around her and a serene warmth spreading throughout her entire being. The magic of her daughter did wonders to calm her mind. Simply letting herself drift in the comforting nothing of her Void in the embrace of family managed to do what her previous attempt had not. It pushed the memories of her past from her mind, allowing some of Aperio''s worries to fade.


    "Thank you," she whispered, returning the embrace with shaking arms and wings.


    Ferio did not reply immediately, instead holding tighter onto her mother. "Please let me help you," she said after a few more moments. "You never gave me the chance to before you disappeared, and now I fear you will do so again even when you need it more than ever."


    At Aperio''s continued silence, Ferio held the hug for a brief moment longer before she separated herself from her mother. "When you decide you are ready, I will be there for you."


    "Thank you," the winged Goddess said again. The next words felt sour on her tongue, but she pushed them out into the open anyhow. "I think, before I can do that, I need to remember who I was before." Doubt and fear swirled in her mind at the inevitability of confronting the shadow of her past self, but she squashed them down as she allowed herself a change of topic. "I would also like to take care of Vigil now, but I doubt he will do as Natio did and simply invite me into his Dominion. I also do not know how to strip him of his godhood without seeing him."


    The shift in the nature of their discussion caused Ferio to briefly pause as she considered it. "So you will go into the Ebenlowe dungeon first?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied with a small nod, further convincing the unpleasant feelings within her to stay squashed. "Will you join me?"


    "Of course!"


    The ecstatic reply was not what Aperio had anticipated, but it brought with it a pleasant warmth in her chest that she could not quite describe. As soon as Ferio had taken her mother''s offered hand, Aperio parted the fabric of reality and brought them back to the house of healing. She did want to check up on Laelia before she left.


    GamingWolf


    The Fear of Imperfection.


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 Advent – Chapter 45: House Call

    The door to the house of healing shook as Aperio knocked lightly on the wood. Fearing it would break, she ceased the movement and hoped that her barrage had been enough. She was about to ask Ferio to knock for her when the door was opened from the inside.


    The man opened his mouth to greet the two Goddesses when Aperio heard rapid steps that were quickly followed by a shout she could not understand. A moment later, she saw Laelia''s daughter fly down the hallway towards her, followed shortly thereafter by her foster mother.


    Before the paladin had time to catch up, the girl had launched herself at the winged Goddess. Aperio caught the girl, taking a step back and lowering her arms along the girl¡¯s path to soften the impact. The child immediately wrapped her arms around the Goddess as best she could and started to babble words that had no meaning to Aperio.


    "I am sorry, my Goddess." Laelia said. "She not know how to behave. Very thankful that you saved her..." Her voice trailed off as she scrunched her brows, looking for the correct word.


    "Brothers?" Aperio guessed. She spoke as softly as she could, trying to not cause any undue pain to the girl clinging to her. "And you need not be sorry. This is preferable to the usual pretentious behaviour."


    Her paladin gave a nod despite the confused expression that had settled on her features. The woman seemingly still did not understand that Aperio did not like the formalities that being a Goddess entailed. Maybe it''s the language barrier?


    Learning a few more languages ¨C especially the ones the Humans used ¨C would certainly be helpful. Or will that be something I could recall after taking out a few of the crystals? Aperio had no great desire to sit down and learn a language like she had done with Moria, though with her drastically improved memory it should be a lot easier. Is there a limit to how much I can know?


    She pushed the rather weird line of thought back down and instead returned her focus on the people present. The girl in her arms had stopped her stream of words once she realised the Goddess was not listening; instead, she had waited until both Aperio and Laelia had settled into silence to wiggle herself around and ask her foster mother something.


    Whatever it was caused Ferio to stifle a laugh and answer before the Human had a chance. The girl seemed excited at the words as her eyes began to sparkle and she immediately asked the fiery-haired Goddess another question. This time, the girl froze at the answer and very slowly turned to look the winged Goddess in the eyes. Aperio could only give her daughter a confused look that was accompanied by a questioning magical nudge.


    "She wanted to know why the ''pretty Elf¡¯s words are so loud when she barely speaks''," Ferio said. "So I told her that you are a Goddess and that her mother serves under you, which caused her to ask what you are the Goddess of. I thought ''everything'' is pretty accurate."


    Aperio blinked at her daughter. If her title was to be believed, then Ferio''s claim was certainly true, but she really did not want that to be the case. The idea of being able to just make a universe ¨C or, at the very least, the creation of a System that was able to influence every form of life that lived in it, including the sapient species ¨C simply did not sit right with her. It also seemed so outlandish! How would anyone ever be capable of something like that? That line of thinking brought her mind back to the crystals and the knowledge she hoped they would hold. Only one way to find out.


    "I hope it did not scare her," Aperio said, looking at the still-frozen child in her arms. "I am not scary, am I?"


    "Sometimes you scary," Laelia admitted. "But Brenia not scared. Probably asking herself many question and try to find right ones to ask you."


    "I am afraid I will not have time to answer questions. I merely came by to make sure Natio was not making any trouble, and to let you know that I will be seeking out the dungeon in this city."


    Laelia stood a bit straighter at the mention of the dungeon. "Wish me to join?"


    "No," Aperio replied with a slight shake of her head. "I would like you to keep watch over the people here. Perhaps spend a bit more time with your family. Speaking of which, may I see your sons before I leave?" While she could see them perfectly fine through her aura, Aperio felt like actually going to visit them was the right thing to do.


    Her paladin seemed confused by her question, remaining silent for a moment with her brows slightly scrunched together. The prolonged silence caused the part of herself Aperio was seriously starting to hate to call for the head of the insolent wench that would not answer the question of her Goddess. Luckily, she was getting better at ignoring the feeling, simply pushing it into the deepest abyss of her conscience where it belonged.


    "Of course," Laelia finally said with a small rise in pitch that spoke of her uncertainty.


    Aperio suddenly had an unpleasant inkling as to why the paladin seemed uncertain and hesitant. "Are you not used to being shown basic decency by the one you serve?"


    "I used to receiving orders," she replied. "Hidden as request or statement. What I want not matter."


    "It does matter to me. If you are not fine with something I do or ask of you, please, tell me." After she had received a small nod from Laelia, Aperio continued. "Then, may I see your sons?"


    This time the Human only had the briefest of pauses before she nodded and motioned for the two Goddesses to follow. During their exchange Brenia had kept quiet, returning to hugging the winged Goddess. She had either not fully understood what Ferio had said or ¨C what Aperio dearly hoped was true ¨C did not care.


    As they walked down the halls, the people they passed glanced their way out of simple common curiosity. However, as what they saw happened to be someone they knew to be a Goddess, being hugged by the child she carried, the simple glances turned quickly into prolonged stares. Clearly, they were seeing something that was far beyond what they considered to be normal.


    Aperio did her best to ignore them, a task that should have been easy if it weren''t for her aura providing her with information about every little detail in her surroundings. Relegating the influx from her aura to the back of her mind helped a little, but did not stop it. Slowing it to a trickle, like she could when she had just figured out that she could use it, did not really work anymore. At least it does not seem to bother the people as much anymore.


    She did not know if they had simply gotten used to her rather overbearing mana or if the System recognising her as its creator again had brought the change, but she would not complain. If it helped her stand out a little less, it was welcome. Now I just to have to find more people with wings so that won''t attract undue attention. Hiding her feathered appendages was something she would rather not do, even if she was technically capable of doing so.


    Stepping through one last door, the group entered the room that held the two boys who were still asleep in their beds. At least, that is how things appeared. Aperio, however, knew better. Both boys had reacted to their mother entering the room, and when Aperio had stepped through as well they had both tensed up, trying their best to pretend to sleep. The winged Goddess gently lowered Brenia, much to the girl¡¯s dismay, before stepping nearer to the beds.


    Only now did she allow herself to closer inspect the two children through her aura, trying to find any damage she might have missed the first time. Much to her relief, she was unable to see anything wrong.


    "How long have they pretended to be asleep now?"


    "A few hours," Laelia replied. "I thought best to let rest."


    "It probably is. Physically they are fine; they likely need time to process what has happened to them." Maybe they can forget it ever did. Aperio briefly tried to imagine what it would be like to have multiple souls within her, each vying for supremacy. She shuddered, and hoped that the boys would manage to forget. "If you need my help, just ask."


    Her paladin hesitated again before she nodded, a motion that made Aperio fairly certain she would not ask when she should. "I mean it, Laelia; ask if you need help."


    "I will," she said, her voice still carrying a note of uncertainty that brought a tinge of sadness and anger to Aperio''s mind. She also felt the magic of her daughter brush past the edges of her mind, telling her that she should take her own advice.


    Ferio was correct, of course. She should listen to her own advice. Take the offer her daughter had made. But, she could not bring herself to do so. The act of asking for help felt disgusting. The need to remember her life as a slave? Even more disgusting. But, at the same time, completely avoiding talking about it also felt utterly wrong.


    Admitting to herself that she was not perfect should be easy. It was true after all; nobody is perfect. But a sizable portion of her psyche outright rejected the notion of being seen as anything but utter perfection.


    With a mental sigh, Aperio turned to leave, but not before giving Brenia a very gentle pat on the head. The way the child did not care about what she was and what she could do was refreshing. I hope it stays that way.


    "Now, what are you having the newest member of staff do?" She had already found where Natio was, but he currently resided in a place she would not give any more attention than necessary to. What he was doing there was answered by Laelia''s next words.


    "Latrine duty."


    Aperio had to do her best to not laugh at the statement. Yesterday he was a God, and now he cleans toilets. It was an amusing thought, but it was also one that reminded her of what she was capable of and how little a literal God was able to do to stop her. "I do not think I have to go and check on him myself, then." I have seen enough of that to last me a good few centuries.


    "Probably for the best," Ferio agreed. Laelia for her part just gave a small nod and started to lead them outside again.


    As soon as the door had closed behind them, Aperio could not help but smile. The boys had stopped their act and were flooding Brenia with what the winged Goddess assumed to be questions that the girl eagerly answered. She was also quick to fetch Aperio''s feather from a nearby drawer to present to her brothers.


    The way back out was much like the way in: people stopped what they were doing to look and bow. Every step caused the wooden floor to slightly groan under her weight and the people who had not noticed her passing before to turn to look as well. While she did not mind the attention she got, Aperio still found the fact that she was someone others would come to revere simply because of her nature to be rather unnerving.


    "You sure you not want me to follow you?" Laelia asked as they reached the front door.


    "If you really want to, you may accompany us. I simply thought you would like to spend a bit more time with your family and your friends." She did not know if the people here were her friends, but she doubted the paladin would let her children alone with people she did not trust.


    Laelia remained quiet for a while, staring at her feet. Did I do something wrong? Aperio was about to ask when her paladin looked at her with an expression that she could not place and spoke.


    "Thank you."


    The winged Goddess tilted her head ever so slightly at the words. She did not quite understand why Laelia sounded so thankful for something so simple. And a bit selfish, maybe. Aperio wanted her paladin to spend time with her family, yes, but she also wanted to spend more time with her own daughter. Whether a dungeon excursion was the right activity for an extended family reunion or not wasn''t something she knew, but she doubted they would have much trouble.


    After giving Laelia a nod, the woman turned and went back inside, only closing the door after she got another gesture from the winged Goddess, motioning for her to go. Does she think I don''t like her? With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused her attention on her daughter.


    "Before we go, may I ask you something?"


    "Of course, mother," Ferio replied.


    "How do you speak normally?" Aperio asked, bracing herself for the wave of disgust that would soon wash over her. "No matter what I try, there is always this note of power to my voice."


    "I am sorry, but I can''t help you with that. You have always talked like this. If I want to lace my words with mana, I have to consciously do so. At least if I want enough that people notice it in the same way they do with yours."


    "Oh." Aperio hesitated for a moment as an idea came to her. It might work, or conversely it might kill the people she tried it on. "Do you think I could talk to people like we do? It is almost like telepathy, after all. It would also solve the language barrier. I could understand Laelia''s prayer just fine and it was most certainly not in a language I know."


    "You already give me a headache when you reply to my questions that way, I think a mortal would die if you try that," Ferio said, wincing briefly. "Now that I think about it, however, the monsters in the dungeon are mostly mindless, but they should still react to a mental query. Should you wish, you could try to train your abilities that way."


    Apparently you can be too strong. Aperio could not help but sigh at the answer. Simply more things to master. "Then please, lead the way."


    Ferio gave her a nod before leaping into the sky with a graceful motion, her fiery wings materialising behind her. Aperio followed suit, kicking off of the ground and unfurling her own feathered limbs. The air caressing her form took the edge off her mind, a soothing touch that she had not known she needed.


    Flying over Ebenlowe during midday was vastly different than during the crack of dawn as they had previously. At this time, they weren''t the only ones using the sky as a quick way to cross the many islands that formed the city. None of them have wings like mine, though. There were varying sorts of people in the air with them, but Aperio spotted repeated clusters carrying spears and bows as long as their bodies. A better look revealed them to be wearing the same armour the guards had when she had first entered the city.


    A group of three of them, noticing their ascent, started to move towards the pair of Goddesses, but they were quickly waved off by another man ¨C one with red cloth stitched to his shoulder.


    Aperio squinted, both physically and with her aura, to get a better look at the man, but she did not recognize him. Trying to listen to what they were saying was also fruitless, for despite her ability to hear their voices she still could not understand a word of what they were saying. In a way, she was glad that their speech remained incomprehensible. That I can even hear them is crazy enough, I really don''t want to have to listen to an entire city talk. She found herself thankful for the fact that her distance hearing was selective in nature. It required her to actually focus to hear the faraway voices.


    With a shake of her head, Aperio banished the thoughts from her mind and followed her daughter. Looking at her brought a question to her mind that she had not asked before but thought important nonetheless.


    "Ferio?" she asked, only continuing once her daughter had settled in beside her. "Is it normal that the mortals do not know the appearance of their Goddess? Many people seem to know of you but fail to recognise you when they actually see you."


    "I usually don''t walk among the mortals," she replied with a shrug. "Most of my followers are also on Spicor, not here on Vetus. That is also where I used to spend most of my time, talking to Roots and trying to figure out what had happened to you. I also don''t really care if they know how I look or not; it doesn''t really matter as long as they show some respect once they know."


    "I guess it does not," Aperio said more to herself than her daughter. It should not matter, but now that she was more than skin and bones she found that she wanted to be recognised. Though, she was not sure if she wanted people to notice how she looked or if she simply wanted them to recognise her as a ¨C the ¨C Goddess. But if they know what I am, I can''t really just live my life, can I?


    She shook her head and pushed the thought away. It was something she would deal with after the current mess with the other Gods and her lacking memory had been solved. "How big is the dungeon here?"


    "I have never been inside myself, so I only know what some of my followers have told me. It is rumored to be a bit over a hundred floors, but few adventurers are capable of making it past the sixtieth. However, I doubt that will be a problem for you. Your strength continues to grow by leaps and bounds ¨C even if you cannot remember any proper way of fighting, I have no qualms about your abilities."


    Despite the disgust the statement would bring with it, Aperio voiced another inadequacy of hers aloud. "I would still like to learn how to fight properly. It seems like a fun thing to do," she continued, trying to soften the blow to her psyche. "I also have this." With those words, she summoned from her Void the blade the follower of Natio had used to try and bring about her demise. She grasped the hilt of it, then paused. It felt disturbingly light in her hand, and she had the impression that it might break if she gripped it too tightly.


    Ferio gave the weapon a curious look before speaking. "I can try to teach you how to fight with that weapon, but I''d like to try something first. Though you may have lost your memory, and have become quite different in some ways, the way you talk and move, mother, has remained largely unchanged. I''d like to see what your instincts are with the sword. Perhaps, if you try, you can still figure out how to wield it." She gave a half-smile. "Though now that I think about it, your magic ¨C or even your bare hands ¨C will likely be deadlier than any weapon you have not forged yourself."


    Before Aperio could answer, Ferio slowed down, pointing to a large stone building below them. A closer look revealed that it sported a large plaque depicting crossed spears in front of a shield ¨C the emblem of the Adventurer''s Guild. Below the plaque she could make out the words ''Ebenlowe Dungeon - Entrance'' written in the slightly newer version of the Common she knew.


    It was clearly their destination.


    GamingWolf


    Dungeon time soon?.


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 Advent – Chapter 46: The Dungeon’s Entrance

    Their landing caused less of a stir than Aperio had expected as the people nearby simply took their presence in stride, making the small detour to walk around the two Goddesses. Maybe if I still had the sword out they would''ve have noticed. It only took her a moment to figure out why the people were paying less attention than one would think to a winged Elf that broke the stone upon which she landed. Many of the passersby were talking to each other; low murmurs about the System message they had all received.


    Aperio herself did not know how much it really mattered. Some people were talking about how it would topple some kingdoms who did not allow people to view their [Status], others just brushed it off as a gift from the Gods for their continued belief, and some were talking about a war amongst the Gods that was sure to come. Natio had already been cast down, after all.


    All in all, the change seemed to have little impact on the people of the world. The festivities were still ongoing, though not as loud as when she had first entered the city. Maybe I got used to it? Now that she had reminded herself of the noise, it was starting to grate her ears again. Louder than it had been before. Why did I have to do this to myself?


    After a slight shake of her head, Aperio gave a nod to her daughter who turned around and started to walk towards the entrance of the building. As they made their way through the crowd, Aperio could not help but notice that the people always stepped out of their path ¨C her path. Whenever someone was in her way, they would move aside without seeming to realise it themselves. How does that work? Is it my aura? She shook her head again at the thought. No, that usually attracts the attention of everyone.


    Asking Ferio through a very light magical touch only resulted in a mental shrug: she did not know why it happened, only that it did. There was also a tinge of amusement in the reply, as apparently her daughter found her confusion to be a source of entertainment. Weirdly enough, the knowledge elicited no feeling of disgust or wrong, and also failed to agitate the murderous part of her mind. Because she is my daughter? ...No.


    She could only heave a mental sigh at her own reactions; or lack thereof. It would be too easy if I just knew why some things are disgusting and others need to be eradicated, wouldn''t it?


    Further thoughts were stopped as Ferio slowed down to walk beside her mother. "I would ask you to let me do the talking? I assume you do not want to stand out, and your voice would alert pretty much everyone here," she said, briefly pausing before continuing. "Unless of course you want to be swarmed by mortals who want to use your strength to delve deeper than they could alone."


    For a brief moment she considered it, just to see what would happen. But the idea of using someone in such a way ¨C using someone simply for her own amusement, even though it might benefit them as well ¨C sat poorly with her, and in the end Aperio decided against it. She would rather explore the dungeon with her daughter alone, their reason for coming too personal to share with just anyone. The winged Goddess gave a sharp nod and a small mental acknowledgement. There was, however, another question that came to her mind. Won''t they question why we want to explore a dungeon without supplies or even armour?


    She relayed her thought to Ferio who simply waved her off. A moment later Aperio wanted to smack herself for forgetting about the existence of storage magic. Her Void might be special, but as far as storing things was concerned it should not be too different from what the mortals used. It even looks similar, at least to what Ira used. With her question answered, the pair continued to move through the sea of people that parted in front of them.


    It wasn''t long before they reached the door that lead inside the building. Flanking it were two guards who managed to look bored despite being fully covered in armour. One of them fixed their gaze onto the winged Goddess as she passed, only returning to watching the masses outside after they had been given a nudge by their colleague. Aperio herself was not certain if their actions were due to the presence of her wings, or due to the nudging guard having recognized her aura as the one blanketing the entire city with mana. Or perhaps people already know how I look and they recognised me as a Goddess? Whatever the reason for the prolonged stare was did not matter, as the guard made no move to follow them or otherwise impede their progress.


    The interior of the building was not what Aperio had expected. She thought it would be like the one Ira had led her to in the village, with a notice board and a place to the side where people could accept the quests they picked. And, perhaps, a bar.


    That, however, was not the case here. The floor was clean and made from what Aperio had to guess was some form of marble. Large, evenly spaced pillars made of glowing material both held the roof aloft and lit up the regions of the hall the massive ceiling windows could not reach. Overall, it reminded the winged Goddess more of the Emperor''s palace than a guild branch.


    Some features did stop the memories from charging to the forefront of her mind. There was a notice board, though calling it a notice wall would be more apt as the entire left side of the room they had entered was filled with various pieces of paper and parchment. Some of them she could not read, but most of them were written in a slightly different version of the Common she knew. It took a bit of effort to read the script, but in the end, it was an easy enough task.


    The other side, the one they were currently walking towards, held a large row of counters that each had a person in a white and blue uniform sitting behind them and a long line of people waiting to be serviced in front. How long will we have to wait?


    Her question was answered when Ferio simply ignored the lines and waved down another person in the blue-white uniform. Before the staff member could ask what she needed, Ferio produced a small red and gold coin with the marking of the [Guides] on it that she handed over. The person''s eyes went wide for a second before he quickly nodded and said: "Please, follow me!"


    Aperio could not help but raise an eyebrow at the exchange. Do we just get to go in? The man lead them into a small room behind the row of counters. There, they found a Dwarfen man in a slightly fancier version of the guild uniform, sitting behind a rather ornate-looking desk. The small sign reading ''Guild Master Diveon'' that sat upon the table answered the question of who he was and what he did. Wordlessly, the staff member placed the coin Ferio had given him in front of the guild master after which he gave a bow and left the room, closing the door behind him.


    "It is not everyday someone hands out a boon from the [Guides]," the Dwarf said, briefly inspecting the piece of metal before placing it in a drawer of his desk. "What can the guild do for you?"


    "Core removal."


    The man raised an eyebrow at her words. "Another try so soon? I won''t complain; if you find a way to remove this cursed thing, I would be a happy man." His gaze shifted to Aperio, looking her up and down with an expression that caused Aperio to slightly tilt her head.


    She felt a pull on the mana in her well, more pronounced than the tiny ones that had not stopped ever since she had unwittingly re-enabled the System. Following the tug would have been an easy task for her, but one she did not need in this case. She knew the Dwarf was responsible. Not knowing what he had tried, Aperio squinted at him and tried to replicate the feeling that the pull had brought.


    In response to her attempt, a small window came into existence above the man''s head.


    Andre Diveon | [Guild Master] | Level: 274


    Aperio tilted her head at the text. What did he see? She had a feeling that he saw nothing, but she did not know for sure. Something to ask Ferio about once we are alone.


    "I assume you do not need the guild to provide guards or supplies?" he continued, focusing back on Ferio and showing no surprise at what he may or may not have seen.


    Ferio lightly shook her head at his question. "The only thing we require is a token."


    "Ah, yes, that won''t be a problem," he said, eyeing the two Goddesses again. "I doubt we have anyone on staff that would be capable of stopping either of you anyway."


    The statement did not make sense to Aperio. Why would they need to stop us? She wanted to ask her daughter but shelved the thought when the Dwarf pulled out two metal cards that he placed on his desk.


    "Should any member of the guild try to deny entry to the next floor, show them these. And please, remember that they are simply doing their job."


    The winged Goddess tilted her head ever so slightly at his words. Does he expect us to just kill them? Why does everyone always assume that?


    "Of course," Ferio replied, taking the tokens from his desk. "We will be on our way, then."


    The meeting hadn''t made much sense to Aperio, even if she understood its general purpose, and the entire experience had left her more confused. They apparently needed the tokens to get inside the dungeon and proceed further down. But didn''t Ferio say that most people don''t make it past the sixtieth floor? Her confusion was apparently evident as she felt the familiar touch of her daughter''s magic, telling her that it was simply something she did to skip the hours of waiting in line.


    Aperio just shook her head and took the token offered by her daughter. The small metal card felt light and flimsy in her hand, ready to break should she accidentally grasp it a bit too hard. I suppose most things will feel like this, won''t they? With a wave of her hand she deposited the token in her Void; should someone want to see it, she could just take it back out.


    Outside the guild master¡¯s office they were greeted by the man that had first led them there. He offered another bow, before he motioned them to follow. Some people turned to look at them but quickly turned back to their previous tasks. A visit to the guild master¡¯s office was apparently not something that out of the ordinary. As they made their way towards a big staircase ¨C one that led downwards, with a sign reading ''Dungeon Entrance'' above it ¨C Aperio also couldn''t help but notice that they were not the only ones heading in that direction wearing casual clothing.


    The stairs were long, almost unnaturally so, and straight. Their steps echoed despite Aperio¡¯s lack of footwear. Much like the stairwells in the dungeon she had first emerged into, the stones here were made from something that gave her a more solid impression that most anything she had seen thus far. I think I can break them now, though. As soon as they reached the bottom, Aperio felt a change in the atmosphere surrounding them.


    The feeling caused her to breathe in deeply, letting the air fill her lungs. It felt alive somehow, bringing something to her being that she had been missing before. A sense of calm, reminiscent of the Void while not quite being the same. It only took her a moment to figure out what she felt.


    The air inside the dungeon was laced with mana ¨C her mana.


    It reacted to her presence, leaning towards her as though it were eager to rejoin its mistress, but in a manner reminiscent of a dog straining at the end of its leash something was holding it back. Almost like something was trying to keep it away from her. She wanted to grasp the thing that was fighting her but, much like the times she tried to pull her mana through a shard of a dungeon core, every time she thought she might have it the connection suddenly slipped out of her mental grasp.


    With each breath she took, Aperio seemed to find more and more subtle reasons to agree with the part of herself that she tried to keep buried. The part that called for her to destroy whatever it was that dared to keep her from what was her own. The notion was only reinforced when something she could only describe as a feeling of hostility settled over them.


    Ferio, too, seemed to notice the change, giving her mother a questioning look before she seemed to realise what was causing it. The mortal that was guiding them showed no reaction to the change, either not noticing it or thinking it to be a natural occurrence. He led them the last few steps towards an open archway, bowed once again and wished them good luck on their journey, then swiftly left.


    Aperio, in her current state, could not help but glare at the hallway that lead further into the dungeon. On a certain level, one she did not one hundred percent understand, she knew that the way it was trying to claim her mana as its own was wrong. She also knew that, however it was accomplishing this feat, it was something that could not be allowed to continue.


    With the thought of reclaiming what was rightfully hers, she summoned the fanatic''s sword from her Void and took her first steps into the dungeon of Ebenlowe.


    GamingWolf


    I can''t think of a good comment. Praise Potato!


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 Advent – Chapter 47: Beginning the Delve

    GamingWolf


    The darkness that filled the hallway she was walking through posed no trouble for Aperio''s improved eyes, a fact that only managed to briefly stay in her mind before it was discarded as useless. She could see, that was all that mattered.


    The first inhabitant of the first floor she laid her eyes on was a large, slimy-looking worm that started to writhe and spasm as she got closer. When a silvery flash of light appeared above the worm, Aperio paused. It was, clearly, the now-familiar sight of a soul departing a body and heading to her Void to join the others, and it perplexed her. Why did it die?


    Lifting the corpse with a touch of magic to get a better view of it revealed nothing out of the ordinary. A closer inspection with her aura also brought no new insights; despite showing no sign of injury, the monster had seemingly just died due to her proximity. Even the crystal that, to all appearances, replaced the heart of every dungeon-born beast was still intact.


    "Do you know why it died?" Aperio asked her daughter. She was mildly apprehensive of the answer she would receive. If it turned out that, eventually, normal people would start dying simply from being near to her, she would have a real problem.


    "Perhaps being close to you disrupted its connection to the dungeon," Ferio replied. "We have tried removing monsters before, over a century ago, and the lower the floor the monster came from the greater the chance was that they would die once we crossed the dungeon''s threshold."


    "So it was simply too weak?"


    After she received a nod from her daughter, Aperio ceased her magic, letting the monster corpse drop to the floor. With her aura she searched for another of the worms. She wanted to know if it was simply coincidence or if her physical proximity was really the cause. It probably is. The dungeon did try to keep its mana away from her, after all. No mana, no life?


    It did not take her long to find another of the slimy creatures, for one was hidden from sight behind a corner only a few strides away. Aperio slowly made her way towards the monster, taking one step at a time to get an idea of when the creature would perish. How do I have to be so close if my aura spans the entire city¡­ At least the entire city. She suspected that it might be greater than that, but she had not attempted to feel the true extent of her aura''s reach in some time. Neither did she want to try, as the possible outcome was not something she felt ready to deal with just yet.


    The answer to when the creature died was when she was within a couple of steps from its body. Seeking out another one, this time trying to keep the monster inside a bubble of nothing within her own aura, resulted in the same outcome. It died when she got close. Aperio poked at the corpse with her sword, the need to conquer the dungeon she had felt just moments prior already wavering. "Will everything just die when I get close? Does the dungeon not actually want to keep me away?"


    "I wouldn''t know," Ferio said. "Despite the centuries I spent trying to make sense of these places, I am no closer to understanding them. Not truly, at least. Some seem to be nothing more than a tool, infinitely spawning new monsters, while others show a degree of intelligence that is sometimes frightening. This dungeon, for example, creates treasures for intrepid adventurers to find and use. It even goes so far as to reward people who conquer it. Or, at least, it did the last time someone managed to do so, but to be frank that was more than two hundred years ago.


    "I could ask Candrial to bring what their group received, but I am not sure if she was the one to keep it. And if she did not, whether the other members of her group have it or are even still alive..." Ferio''s voice grew quiet towards the end, almost as if she was ashamed that she did not have whatever the dungeon had made on hand.


    "That will not be needed, we will go there ourselves after all¡­ Perhaps I¡¯ll even get to see if I can still use a sword." The words were accompanied with an experimental twirl of the blade. Aperio was certain that her previous self would have ended with torn muscle and possibly broken bones if she had even attempted to swing the blade, but now, she had to be careful not to break it, even when she was just doing something that was not even remotely close to fighting.


    "Perhaps," her daughter echoed before falling into a silent trot behind her mother who had started to walk deeper into the dungeon once more.


    Aperio ignored the worms that died at her passing, instead focusing on the group of three mortals she had spotted through her aura. They were fighting a vaguely Human-looking figure whose body was made of what appeared to be a black, viscous liquid. Oil? It was conjuring the worms and throwing them, as well as occasionally setting a part of its oily self on fire before throwing that at one of the mortals. As far as she could determine, the ones it was battling were two Humans, and an Elf.


    Is that the monster that guards the entrance to the next floor? It had to be; she could not find another flight of stairs elsewhere on the floor. The presence of a little booth with the guild plaque and a Beastkin in the tell-tale blue and white uniform only reinforced the belief. Is that why we got the tokens? With a slight shake of her head, Aperio quickened her pace towards the centre of the floor. Maybe that oil-monster can fight me.


    Before she got halfway towards the oil-monster, Aperio found a new beast that piqued her interest, one that did not simply keel over and die at her approach. The small green-skinned thing was poking at one of the deceased worms with its wooden club, seemingly not quite understanding that it had died. It screeched at the thing in what Aperio could only guess was anger.


    As soon as she had rounded the corner, the green-skinned beast''s head snapped in her direction. It let out another screech and began to charge in their direction. After a few steps, Aperio began to pity the creature. It stumbled their way at a speed only slightly faster than a normal walk, dragging its club behind it, and was not intimidating in the slightest.


    Aperio made no move to intercept the club swung at her; she wanted to see what would happen. Much to the surprise of nobody but the monster itself, the club cracked and broke as soon as it made contact with her leg.The monster, however, quickly regained its resolve and moved to start punching the winged Goddess.


    It never got the chance as Aperio simply thrust the blade she held through its skull. The ease with which she executed the movement was quite unnerving for Aperio. She had never fought with a sword before, or at least she could not remember a time, but there was a certain something that seemed to guide her hand. It did not do it fully ¨C her movement, while executed with unnatural ease, had still felt clumsy to her. Much like my punching when I fought the fanatic.


    With a wet thud, the small monster fell to the floor as Aperio pulled the sword out of its head. A touch of magic erased the blood that clung to the blade, returning the metal to its usual shiny golden-green again. "I think we have to go deeper before anything actually worth fighting appears."


    Ferio only gave a small laugh at her words, seemingly finding her mother¡¯s antics to be quite amusing. Aperio herself just lightly shook her head, and as she continued towards the centre arena she started to doubt the oil monster''s ability to provide a decent bout. Though, the mortals seem to struggle with it.


    The three had not been able to injure the beast, at least as far as Aperio could tell through her aura. Most of the time they spent killing the worms the creature continued to throw and dodging the puddles of burning oil it created. Aperio herself did not quite understand why it was a challenge as the monster moved quite slow and, even if the worms did not die due to her presence, they really did not demand the amount of attention the group gave them.


    Their continued struggle brought an idea to the Goddess'' mind. She once again pulled on her mana, trying to replicate the feeling she had gotten when the guild master had tried to inspect her. A moment later the System window appeared over their heads.


    Joshua Rivens | [Bonded Twin] | Level: 54


    Heria Rivens | [Bonded Twin] | Level: 52


    Lorkan Jestens | Level: 49


    Much to her surprise, the monster too had received one.


    Incarnation of Oil | [First Layer Guardian] | Level: 73


    Is that why they struggle so much, because it is higher leveled? Curiosity got the better of her and she inspected the guild staff that still sat in their booth with a rather bored expression.


    Angela Kellegrehn | [Devoted of Mayeia] | Level: 246


    Mayeia? Isn''t that the Goddess that ascended at the same time as Natio? Aperio would be careful around the woman; she did not know what her Goddess thought of her yet and while she could probably dispose of her as she did with Natio, she did not really want to. The pantheon has to exist for a reason after all.


    With a slight shake of her head, she resumed the journey.


    Lorkan breathed heavily as he ducked below yet another flying mass of burning oil. We should have trained more before coming here, he thought. The floor guardian was over level seventy, something none of their group could claim. Why did I agree to this? After everyone had received the message that they could now freely view their [Status], the Rivens'' twins immediately did so.


    Their parents had forbidden them from using the stones and had never told them what they saw when they were first appraised. Now Lorkan understood why. The [Bonded Twin] title they both held was simply too enticing to not use. Apparently any System-given reward would get doubled if they faced ''challenging enemies''. That included experience gained. Life''s never fair, is it?


    Another stab of his dagger ended the life of yet another of the slimy worms. How many are there?


    "Heria! Sword!"


    Upon her brother''s call, Heria immediately threw the sword in his direction and took the bow from her back to replace the weapon she just lost. Lorkan himself still did not know how the two managed to throw their weapons to each other in a fight and not get hurt, but he could not question its effectiveness.


    Joshua caught the flying blade with practiced ease and slashed at the floor guardian. Much like his previous attempts, the attack left no mark. How are we supposed to kill it without magic?


    Heria could infuse her arrows with a bit of wind magic, but they had already tried that to less than desirable results. The attack had only managed to splatter nearly every surface in the room with burning oil. Lorkan''s own magic was also useless against the monster as it had no blood he could use. The best he could do now was to uphold the enhancement he had on their group. Their self-proclaimed leader, Joshua, had no real magic himself. All he could do was make his sword glow a bit, nothing useful.


    Lorkan was about to ask his friends to stop and collect their things, to retreat and try again at a later date, when an oppressive presence settled over the room. For a moment he thought that they had angered the dungeon, that it had grown tired of their dance with its weakest boss, but that thought was quickly banished as he saw the monster itself pause.


    A moment later he heard knocking on the door that sealed the boss room from the rest of the floor. Joshua motioned for them to group up, something Lorkan was very much in favour of. If something gave a floor guardian pause, it couldn''t be good. That it could disregard their group so completely was, however, very disheartening.


    There was a moment of silence before another, more forceful knock followed. He wasn''t quite sure what whoever was knocking was trying to accomplish. Once closed, the doors would not open until the guardian was defeated or the group perished. Not that that happens with the Overseer here.


    For a moment Lorkan thought he heard someone speaking behind the door, the voice somehow managing to carry through the thick, dungeon-enchanted stone. He could not make out the words, but something about the voice felt unsettling to him, like he should not be close to the one who spoke.


    Further thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash that sent the supposedly impenetrable door flying from its hinges, barely missing the oily floor guardian. Stepping through the now-empty frame were two woman, one a Human and one an Elf that either had a feathered cape or actual wings. Neither of them wore armour, or had weapons aside from the longsword the Elven woman casually held in one hand. Does she intend to use that one-handed? And¡­ Is that adamantite? Lorkan was by no means an expert on metals, but he was fairly sure the greenish-gold sword was at least partially made out of the ludicrously expensive material.


    "I told you kicking down the door would attract attention," the Human woman said.


    "It is just a door." The Elf waved her off, before turning to face their group. "You may continue with your fight, we will wait until you are done. ...Unless you require aid?"


    None of them wanted to admit that they needed help, but neither did any of them want to ask. Something about the two newcomers was unnerving, and it wasn''t just their lack of armour, or their single weapon that was not properly wielded. The Overseer, too, was looking at the pair and even the monster seemed stunned at the unfolding situation as it simply stared at the Elven woman.


    It was then that Lorkan realised something he should have noticed earlier. "The worms are dead," he said.


    The twins looked at each other and then the slimy corpses that dotted the room before their eyes settled on the newcomers. "When did they die?" he heard Heria whisper. Joshua just gave a shallow shrug in reply; much like Lorkan himself, he did not know.


    Any further thoughts to why and how things had died were cut short by an ear-splitting scream coming from the floor guardian. Lorkan and his group took a few steps back as the monster grew taller and its liquid skin started to condense into a hard-looking, black surface.


    A moment later the arena was lit up as the guardian set itself ablaze. The heat coming off of the monster was not something that could be compared to the bit of burning oil it had thrown before and caused Lorkan''s group to quickly seek shelter behind the Overseer''s booth.


    Both newcomers seemed unconcerned with the proceedings. The Human simply took a step back and the Elf raised her sword slightly. With another inhuman scream, the monster charged at the sword-wielding Elf with a speed that Lorkan found almost impossible to follow.


    The newcomer seemed unimpressed as she simply stayed where she was, letting the monster crash into her. Lorkan had expected her to be thrown back from the collision, repelled with enough force to exit the arena entirely. Shockingly, she stayed where she was and the force of the impact did not cause her to move one bit. A moment later, his astonishment grew as he saw that her sword had exited the back of the monster. Further incredulity ensued in his mind as he spotted something sparkling at the end of the blade: the crystal heart, found in every dungeon-born monster, was impaled upon the tip.


    A breath later the heat vanished and, with a wet thud, the monster fell to the floor where it started to slowly dissolve into a puddle of liquid. The Elven woman just lowered her sword and sighed. A few patches of her dress had been burned, but even as Lorkan noticed them they were already shifting, stitching themselves back together. For a brief moment he asked himself why a fighter would learn a tailor''s magic before he disregarded the thought. It was obviously useful.


    The newcomers simply stepped around the puddle that was the former floor guardian and approached the Overseer''s booth, both of them placing a small metal card in front of the rather shocked Beastkin. She took a moment to compose herself before looking at the tokens they had presented. Wordlessly, the minder of the booth handed them back to the pair and waved them through to the next portion of the dungeon.


    As the two passed, Lorkan couldn¡¯t help but stare at what he was now certain were wings. The Elven woman''s eyes focused on him in reply, briefly lingering and sending a shiver down his spine. At the moment, he wanted to be anywhere other than where he was.


    GamingWolf


    Doors are the true evil of this world.


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 Advent – Chapter 48: New Layer, New Discovery

    GamingWolf


    You have defeated ''Incarnation of Oil Level: 280 (72)''


    Experience could not be awarded: Cannot distribute from source to source.


    Aperio squinted at the window she had brought back in front of her. So it gained levels when it got angry? Did not really make it more of a challenge, though. She mentally dismissed the window and returned her focus to the stairs leading downwards. Before she got to test their durability against her current self, another tug at her mind caught her attention.


    Grabbing hold of the feeling resulted in another System notification appearing in front of her.


    Feature restored.


    Enable feature ''Combat Summary''?


    The winged Goddess tilted her head at the words. Did she want to do that? It seemed like a good idea; people would get to see what they killed and what they received as a reward. There was just this tiny bit of doubt in her mind that this would lead to other things she was not quite ready for. Can I turn it on without letting everyone know?


    ''Combat Summary'' enabled. Notification suppressed.


    I want a manual. It was true that she did want to turn it on without sending a notification to everyone on Verenier ¨C Perhaps even on other worlds ¨C but she would have liked the System to provide a bit more feedback; maybe tell her a bit more about the feature she was about to restore. However that works.


    A most peculiar shift in the mana in her well interrupted her thoughts and caused Aperio to stop and slightly tilt her head. A closer inspection revealed her mana to flow through some unseen passage towards the runes that made up the System. How exactly her well and the space that held the System were connected was not something she knew. The knowledge was absent from her mind, without even a hint of an answer to be found.


    The runes shifted and changed, forming new connections that only furthered its complexity. Maybe I should not enable more ''features'' until I better understand how the System works. Perhaps regaining a bit of her memory would help. If their plan even worked, which was something she wasn''t entirely certain about.


    "Something wrong, mother?" Ferio asked.


    "Not exactly," Aperio replied. "Another part of the System restored itself and watching it come into effect¡­ It was a most peculiar experience."


    "No notification this time?"


    The winged Goddess lightly shook her head in reply. "No, I thought it best not to announce it to everyone when I do not know how the information might be used by Vigil or Inanis. From what I picked up outside the dungeon, they seem to have no problem letting the people believe they restored the System."


    "Most people think they made it or are at least in charge of it, anyway," her daughter replied with a shrug. "I gave up trying to correct the masses long ago. When enough other deities tell them that I am wrong, the people don''t exactly go out of their way to accept a truth that, in the end, has no impact on their life.


    "No matter who runs the System, it works for everyone. For some it is something that bears investigation, but for most the knowledge that it will work is enough. Even my own followers are hesitant to believe there is someone above the pantheon that made all of this." Her last words were accompanied by a sweeping gesture that seemed to indicate everything that surrounded them.


    "So am I," Aperio said quietly, as she began to make her way deeper into the dungeon once more.


    She could sense her daughter''s shoulders slump at her words, the need for her to say something so clear on her face that she had no trouble seeing it. But, in the end, Ferio remained quiet, giving her mother the space and time she had said she would need.


    Once the pair had reached the bottom of the stairs, Aperio turned and did what she had wanted to do before the System had interrupted her. As she had expected, the previously unbreakable marble surface of the stairs showed cracks after she had given it a light kick. Her bare feet on the other hand showed no signs of damage. Didn''t even hurt.


    How she was able to feel more than she had ever before by touch and at the same time not experience pain was not something she understood or could even begin to make sense of for that matter. Not that the why is all that important.


    "You have a dislike for doors and stairs now, mother?" Ferio asked with a barely hidden smile on her face.


    "In the dungeon I returned to there were similar stairs. Pristine. No cracks or other imperfections. Even back then, the stone broke readily when I added force to my blows, but the stairs did not seem to react. I wanted to see if they were still as solid to my feet."


    "I would say the answer is a resounding no. It didn''t look like you even put much force behind the kick."


    "I did not, but then, I also only have the barest of grasps on my own strength. Breaking things is easier than not." She had expected to feel at least a little disgust at her words, but admitting that she was too strong was apparently an acceptable thing to do. Why does nothing make sense?


    "Sadly, I do not know a way to help you there," Ferio said. "I don''t really think about how much strength is required for any one action. We can only hope that regaining your memories will help with this too."


    Aperio only gave a subdued sigh and returned her attention to the floor they had just entered. It only took her a moment to find the next flight of stairs further down, guarded by yet another member of the guild in their white and blue uniform. What she did not find was anyone currently fighting the floor guardian or even anyone getting close to it.


    The monsters on the second floor were seemingly just an iteration of what she found on the first. There were slightly bigger versions of green-skinned monsters that also had a wider variety of weapons, with some even holding what was unmistakably a mages'' staff. A quick identification revealed them to be Goblins, around level fifty ¨C a monster she thought she knew. Weren''t they grey before? She pushed the thought from her mind; what colour they were mattered little when they still wanted to kill and rape everything they saw.


    Not that they can now.


    That she could defend herself was still welcome, even if it meant she had to pay the utmost attention when interacting with anything ¨C or anyone ¨C she did not wish to break. The line of thought did bring a question to her mind, one that she could answer herself but would rather hear it from the person it pertained to. There was only one problem Aperio faced; she did not know how to ask. She knew her daughter to be weaker than her own self, that much was clear. But asking exactly how strong she was? It did not sit right with her. Neither did an unprompted inspection, even if she was certain that Ferio would not mind the query much, if at all. I should probably not inspect every person I see either.


    As she lacked the words to properly voice her thoughts, Aperio tried to convey them with a touch of magic, a gesture that was rapidly becoming second nature. Despite attempting to be as gentle as she could, the winged Goddess still saw her daughter wince ever so slightly at her request. Another, almost nonexistent, question confirmed that it was not the content but the delivery of her first request caused the reaction.


    Ferio answered her nonetheless, a small reply that gave her permission to perform her inspection and an inquiry about what exactly that was. The question gave Aperio pause as she had assumed her daughter would know what it was if a mortal could do it.


    She relayed her intent with great care as she pulled on the Systems'' functions to perform the task she herself knew not how to. She did not expect the ease with which she could focus on both tasks simultaneously, but it was welcomed nonetheless. It was a confirmation of sorts of her intuition which claimed that she could do both at once.


    Ferio | [Goddess of Life] | Level: System entity outside of feature¡¯s scope


    Aperio could only tilt her head at the window, as it was most certainly not what she had expected. Shouldn''t she have more than one title? Her daughter''s reply was a bit more insightful; she knew what the Dwarven guild master had done, but according to her it was not the inspection Aperio knew but a skill called [Threat Perception]. Apparently using it on her only resulted in a blank reply which the Dwarf had seemingly interpreted as non-threatening.


    Not entirely wrong. She had indeed had no intention of hurting the man, but the idea of herself not being a threat was very wrong. Something she wanted to prove, but the group of Goblins that rounded the corner in front of the pair of Goddesses was not exactly what Aperio would consider a challenge. One immediately lost its head to the rapid swing of her sword while the other two were simultaneously engulfed in a blue flame.


    Ferio raised an eyebrow at the charred corpses while Aperio herself could not help but frown. She had wanted to see how much she could do with a sword, but instead she had resorted to a magic she already knew she could use. The reaction had been instinctual, had happened before she could consciously think.


    She disliked that she had lost control.


    That was what had happened. She had lost control, something that brought a feeling of disgust only second to admitting that she did not know something she somehow felt she should. Before she descended into an endless spiral of being angered at her loss of control which in and of itself would also be a loss of control, Aperio gave a tiny flex of her mental muscles to remove the bits of gore from her blade and continued on her way deeper into the dungeon.


    Aperio made no real effort to seek out monsters on her way towards the next guardian; they did not give her enough of a challenge to actually see how much she could still do with a sword. The ones that did cross their way proved her assumption to be correct ¡ª a single swing was all that she needed.


    After she had disposed of a few more groups of the green-skinned Goblins, something changed and they started to avoid her. They were clearly choosing paths that lead away from her, even turning around just before they would come around a corner to meet her. Did they always know where I was? It has to be the dungeon doing that, right?


    Her interest piqued, she tried to ask the monster a question in the same manner as she did with Ferio. It was the only way she could think that the dungeon itself would use to communicate with ¡ª and control ¡ª its monsters.


    A thought later, a robed Goblin staggered briefly before falling to the floor, dead. Aperio could see blood leaking from its ears, nose, and even eyes through her aura. The fact that she had just killed something by essentially thinking in its direction was quite unnerving to her. What would have happened if I had tried to answer Laelia''s prayer in this way? She was fairly certain that she did not want to know the answer to that particular question.


    Ferio had been right: a normal mortal would probably die if she tried this with them. That is, if levels between monsters and people are the same. She was pretty sure there wasn''t much of a distinction between the two anyway, as people could, with astonishing alacrity, become monsters themselves. The tiny feeling at the back of her mind hinting at the System''s indifference only furthered that thought. But then, does a higher level make one''s brain¡­ tougher?


    A higher level usually meant higher strength, but that was just their overall power. At least Aperio assumed so, anything else would make little sense. So maybe a mortal could survive, if they somehow trained their mind¡­ However one would do that. A mage, perhaps?


    For her, magic was a mental exercise, though one that did not really bring improvement when she compared to the changes she underwent by simply existing. But, perhaps, for a mortal it was a good way to train their mind. She relayed her line of thought to her daughter, this time trying to miss the glowing beacon that she knew to be her daughter''s mind just a little. Maybe that will help?


    The reply she received was a little disheartening. Apparently a mage could train their mental fortitude, but most chose to simply focus on more physical means of defense and even those that tried to gain proficiency in the art of mental defense would not be able to offer much resistance to her intrusion. That was another thing she had to figure out how to avoid.


    According to her daughter, she was not offering a bit of magic that could be read. No, what Aperio was seemingly doing was implanting her reply directly into the mind of the one she wanted to talk to. The realisation almost caused her to abandon any ideas of ever trying any form of mental communication again. If this is how she conveyed her thoughts it was only a little bit further before she accidentally willed someone to do something they did not want.


    The only thing keeping her from actually doing so was the last bit of Ferio''s reply that told her how she now sounded a bit more distant and the reply did not just appear in her mind. It still forced its way in, but less so then before; closer to what she actually wanted.


    With a sigh, Aperio turned her attention back towards the guardian of the second floor. It was a Goblin, but a two-headed version, one that was slightly taller and a bit more muscular than its brethren, wielding a club made from a dark metal she could not identify. Item appraisal would be nice. Armour was not something the Goblins seemed to have figured out, as even the strongest one on the floor wore little more than thin cloth. But, despite its intimidating weapon and rather nice attire, she doubted it would pose more of a challenge than the Incarnation of Oil had. Its name is fancy though.


    Will of the Gobs | [Second Layer Guardian] | Level 113


    After only a couple more minutes, the pair of mother and daughter stepped through the door into the arena of the guardian. For a moment Aperio considered removing this door as well, just to make her point, but quickly decided against it. It''s just a door. If Ferio wants to think it''s special, she can.


    Much like the first guardian she saw, this one too started to scream as soon as it laid eyes on her and began to change. Its skin turned a bright red as its muscles bulged, ripping the thin fabric it wore apart. A third head sprouted between the two old ones, quickly followed by two additional arms, one of which pulled another club out of thin air. The Human that guarded the entry to the next floor raised an eyebrow at the Goblin¡¯s transformation, but otherwise remained impassive.


    Will of the Gobs | [Second Layer Guardian] | Level 445 (113)


    The Goblin guardian swung its club with reckless abandon as soon as Aperio stepped closer. She simply swatted it aside, sending it flying out of the monster¡¯s hand which broke with a wet crack, before she grabbed the hand that held the reaming club and squeezed. Her strategy caused the guild member to lightly shake his head, probably thinking her to be another muscle-head.


    Instead of using her sword to simply pierce the crystal she could sense in its chest, Aperio tried to touch the creature''s mind. She felt something break as soon as her magic had reached its target. Curiously, it was not the mind of the monster that broke ¡ª If I could even feel that ¡ª but the crystal in its chest. The Human''s expression changed to what Aperio would interpret as fear when the guardian fell to the ground, and a quickly-growing puddle of blood formed under its head.


    So even a monster above level four hundred dies immediately. How am I supposed to ever use this with a regular person? She already used as little power as she could, only the tiniest fraction of her mana ever leaving to deliver the message she wanted to send.


    A touch of magic was all she needed to clean off the blood that had splattered on her clothes and face. This is so much easier than scrubbing it off. Stepping around the corpse, she retrieved her token from her Void and placed it in front of the guild staff quickly followed by Ferio doing the same.


    The Human briefly looked at the two metal cards before nodding and returning them. Aperio was about to ask if he was fine, as she did not think a Human should be this pale, but when she felt a tiny nudge from her daughter''s magic telling her not to scare the poor man anymore, she decided against asking.


    With another silent sigh, she stepped past the booth and headed down towards the next, probably equally disappointing, layer.


    GamingWolf


    Dungeon is a push-over.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 49: Delving Deep

    GamingWolf


    Beep bep, Shill-bot here. I have made some changes to the Patreon so it actually makes some sense.


    $2 now gets you five chapters ahead and $5 gets you everything for the main story as soon as its ready (That''s usually around 10 chapters). There is also a $10 for Side Stories (While they are exclusive to patreon, they are not exclusive to the $10 tier. They just get early access to what they financed.)


    That''s all! Enjoy the chapter.


    The monsters on the third floor had only increased in strength by a few levels, proving Aperio''s assumption to be correct: it was just as boring here as it was on the two floors above. The tiny boost to her ''enemies'' was nowhere near sufficient to offer a change to their abilities, nor was it able to let them survive a single swing from her sword or the most tentative of mental queries.


    Out of her lack of enthusiasm came different methods of testing her opponents: she allowed them to attack her unopposed, to see what they would do. Their greatest threat seemed to be to her dress, as the most they ever managed to do was to make a few tears. This, however, lead to an unexpected discovery. The areas of her clothing that she had personally mended seemed to be less prone to tearing, seemingly sturdier than the normal cloth that comprised her outfit. Thinking on it, it made a certain amount of sense to her. She had essentially willed the dress back together with the intent of it not breaking again, so she should have expected this sort of result. The only thing stopping her from making herself an entire battle-ready outfit on the spot was a lack of knowledge on exactly how she had made the cloth sturdier. Is it only because it''s my mana?


    The thought led naturally to experiments she wanted to try and, for a brief moment, she considered toying with some magical sewing techniques. Then she discarded the notion. She had an important goal in sight right now, and she would not allow her boredom to get in the way of that. Not that that helps things get any more interesting along the way.


    There was nothing between them and the next guardian but monsters that posed no challenge whatsoever. As they approached the door that barred their way into the area, Aperio sensed a duo of adventurers battling the monster within, as well as the by-now expected guild staff calmly stationed behind their booth.


    A light kick sent the door flying off of its hinges and right into the unprepared monster, sending both flying into the wall and painting it in various shades of red. Taking what might have been a good fight from the two adventurers did not sit quite right with her, but Aperio did not want to wait until they had killed it on their own. That would have taken an eternity.


    The pair, an Elf and a Human, took a step back as she went past, seemingly not wanting to confront her even though she had prematurely ended their fight. Instead, they turned to follow the pair in front of them with a respectful distance. Aperio could hear their whispers, the Elven woman seemingly recognising Ferio ¡ª or at least her attire ¡ª and telling her companion to leave them alone. It was just a door. The crucial detail missed by the adventurer, however, was that neither Aperio nor Ferio herself were warriors in the service of the Goddess of Life and Light, but the actual Goddess herself and her mother.


    Aperio saw no reason to correct their assumption and simply presented the token to the slightly shocked guild official. Maybe I should not kick the doors? Like their colleagues before, they quickly checked the metal card before allowing them to go further inside.


    She started to descend the stairs, ignoring the frantic discussion that had started between the guild official and the two adventurers. Another boring layer awaits, she mentally grumbled as she observed the floor below through her aura. Then, she spotted the entry to the next layer and gave up on the stairs. She brute-forced her way in the direction of the next guardian fight, walls be damned.


    Ferio gave an amused laugh as her mother simply waltzed through the enchanted stone, completely ignoring the monsters and other adventurers they found with increasing frequency. Aperio herself used the time to try and convey her thoughts to the monsters and her daughter in a way that would not cause undue pain. Or kill people. Her attempts were less than fruitful, however. Another floor down and the monster still died at her attempts at communication.


    I can''t use less mana than this, she thought. It was true, the amount of mana she used to send her mental message was already so small that she barely registered it. A quick query directed at her daughter revealed that the amount was not even the problem, as it was already far lower than what Ferio herself used to convey her thoughts. Mortal creatures ¡ª And deities ¡ª seemingly could not handle the intense purity of her mana.


    Soon, Aperio fell into a monotonous rhythm of half-hearted sword swings and intermittent attempt at mental communication with the resident monsters. The feeling of hostility the dungeon still projected her way had long been relegated to the back of her mind, the monsters it possessed not even worth the thought it took to kill them. Why is everything so weak?


    The answer to that was as simple as looking at one of her titles, a thing she loathed to do. Aperio did not want to believe what the System told her the [Demiurge] title meant ¡ª even if a part of her knew it to be true. How could anything that draws its power from me be stronger than myself? She pushed the thought from her mind as she pierced the crystal heart of yet another floor guardian. The kill notifications had long stopped coming, the System itself seemingly not wanting to bother its creator with meaningless messages. Or it somehow figured out I did not want them.


    Only the presence of her daughter and her comments on her apparently still rather proper sword technique stopped Aperio from simply trying to burn the dungeon in its entirety. It would be effortless to simply let her flames devour the crystal and its abominations, but a part of her loathed the idea of using the easy solution, a part she agreed with. Her primary goal for coming here might be the potential retrieval of her memories ¡ª Or a part of them at least ¡ª but along the way she also wanted to test her skill with the sword. Something the liberal use of magic would make impossible. Not that the monsters pose much of a challenge anyway.


    Aperio stopped as she saw a small sign in front of the next flight of stairs leading down towards the next floor. It proclaimed the end of guild-run safety measures past this point and informed her that the next resupply point would be on the fiftieth floor. So they post people on the first, what, five or six floors and then stop?


    The only reason she could see for that was that the guardians from here on out would be too strong for a staff member to handle on their own. That was at least what Aperio assumed the primary purpose of those people to be. A quick mental query to Ferio confirmed her assumption, they were indeed there to provide aid to the people fighting the floor guardian should they need it.


    In the end it mattered little to the pair of Goddesses, for they would have no need for that specific service. Perhaps the upcoming monsters will actually require more than mindless sword-waving, then. The lack of guild-run booths did raise another question in Aperio''s mind. What is the point of the token then? Did we just need them for the first couple of floors?


    Sadly, Ferio had no answer for her question as she herself had not delved into this dungeon before, only having personally visited the one near the city that held her main temple. She simply knew what she had been told, and one of the bits of information that had been passed on was the requirement of the tokens. Maybe we need it for whatever is on the fiftieth floor. The thought of the apparently special layer did bring another question to the forefront of her mind.


    Which one are we on right now?


    Aperio had not kept track, simply heading straight through towards the next arena, quickly disposing of its guardian, and then heading down. A quick skim through her remarkably sharp memory revealed them to be on the twelfth floor, a lot further down than she had anticipated. Breaking through the walls really makes it quite fast. She had considered simply burrowing her way through the floors, but the dungeon did not go straight down and she also did not want to leave a hole that lead to floors with monsters that people could not reasonably be expected to kill on their own. Do the monsters even leave their own layer, though?


    So far the individual monsters seemed to stick to the floor they originated on, though most of them being some form of Goblin muddied the waters a little. I hope the dungeon has something else besides these things¡­ And something else besides endless stone halls. Aperio had, perhaps foolishly, assumed that a dungeon would produce more fantastical interiors. Where the idea had come from was something she did not know, as the only dungeon she had been in had been entirely compromised of small stone hallways and a very prison-like appearance.


    With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and continued downwards. Her hopes of the monsters being significantly stronger on the next layer were quickly dashed as she dispatched a very familiar looking dog-like creature. At least they have more than Goblins now¡­ but why is that the same kind of beast I encountered in the first dungeon? ...Do dungeons talk to each other?


    It only took her a moment to relay her thought to her daughter, sadly still not completely painlessly. The answer she received was not the one she had hoped for but should have expected. Ferio did not know. She would not put it outside the scope of possibility ¡ª the dungeons could, after all, control their monsters over a vast distance, so why would communications between them be such a stretch? Could a dungeon take over another dungeon? How smart is a dungeon?


    The one that tried to enslave her had not seemed intelligent, but then, she had also made short work of it. This one had adapted an air of hostility as soon as she had entered and the guardians seemed to be possessed by something else whenever she came close. Does it do that as a kind of reflex because it instinctively knows that I can take back my mana? The thought of the dungeon using her own mana against her made Aperio unconsciously quicken her pace and flare her wings ever so slightly. Just thinking about the fact felt all kinds of wrong.


    Like an affront to all of creation.


    Perhaps it is? Sooner or later she would have to come to terms with what she was. One thing at a time. With those thoughts she removed another door barring her way from its hinges and dispatched the overgrown Goblin that was about to squash a lone adventurer with its club. The man started a flood of thank you''s and other words of praise, but Aperio simply waved him off and continued down the next flight of stairs, the thought about her very nature still swirling in her mind like an unruly storm.


    The monotonous nature of their journey through the dungeon did not help take her mind off of things. In fact, the opposite was true. The further down they went the more practiced Aperio became with the sword, dispatching the monsters with even less effort. It would seem that Ferio had been right and a part of her still knew how to fight with a sword. Aperio herself did not truly know if any of the moves were right or wrong, simply letting instinct guide her hand. The only conscious effort she put into the act was controlling the strength she put into her grip; a few times already she had forgotten what she could do and deformed the hilt of the weapon. At least it''s not broken yet.


    Another thought surfaced in her mind after they had wandered through even more of the unchanging stone halls. Why do they not drop anything? Didn''t Ferio say the dungeon produced things people could take with them? She disposed of yet another monster, but this time she stayed and watched. She saw the by now familiar sight of a soul returning to her Void, as the monster''s corpse slowly dissolved into nothingness. But that was it; here was nothing else. Does it use the soul to make the reward?


    She turned to walk in the direction of the next guardian but focused her attention towards her daughter and asked her a simple question. She felt awkward posing yet another question wordlessly, as all of her mana-based communication was surely taking its toll, but words were insufficient to convey what she wanted to ask. To describe how a soul felt was a task she felt no verbal language could accomplish.


    All she wanted to know was if Ferio had felt something similar from the item that her priestess'' group had obtained. Sadly, her daughter could not say for certain. All she knew was that the item was of magical nature; she had not spared it much thought in favour of investigating the splinters of the dungeon core. I will have to look at it myself then, should destroying the crystal not give us anything.


    With a shake of her head, Aperio stepped through the doorway to face yet another weak guardian. She did not raise her sword, instead sending the monster a simple hello via a touch of magic. Just like all the other monsters she had tried it on, this one too died the moment her magic took hold. Over level one thousand and it still dies instantly¡­ Perhaps the dungeon is killing them because it thinks I will take control?


    Due to boredom and monotony, she had no mental energy left for anything more than a disappointed sigh as she stepped over the corpse. As she started to descend the next flight of stairs, something suddenly shifted in her aura. What? Her mind suddenly wide awake with curiosity, she quickened her pace, eager to see what had brought about this change.


    She was forcefully slowed, however, by the presence of a thin veil at the bottom of the stairs. She could not tell if it was physical as well as magical, but it billowed and rippled as it kept her aura from proceeding past its barrier. Aperio, in consideration of the presence of adventurers on the lower levels, had not wanted to push past the obstacle without seeing it in person. Now that she fully knew what it was, she ripped the veil apart with a thought and let the information of her aura flood her mind.


    Beyond the veil lay an expanse of green. Gusts of wind sent waves rolling through the tall grass, and gently shook the leaves on the trees dotting the open field. It was vastly different to anything they had seen previously, and if this was the next floor to travel through, then it would perhaps pose at least a little bit of a challenge. The notion was quickly discarded, however. Aperio could not spot a single monster in the lush and verdant area; the only thing of note was a flight of stairs dead center in her field of view.


    She took a deep, calming breath of the fresh air that now flowed through the broken veil. So this is where you are supposed to resupply? Reaching out a little further, she could sense a small collection of stone houses out of view, near to the stairs, shrouded by some sort of magic in the same way that the village near the first dungeon had been. Much to her surprise, a person there ¡ª a Human in the guild uniform ¡ª stiffened, rapidly turning to face towards them. He had, clearly, noticed her unsubtle use of magic, and quickly scribbled down a note that he then pointed at.


    Aperio tilted her head at the action before realisation dawned on her and she focused on the piece of paper. Before she started to read what the man had written, an idea formed in her mind. With a flex of her mental muscles, Aperio willed the space in front of her and her daughter to twist itself apart. A second thought did the same to the fabric of reality a few steps away from the man who turned in shock and started to yell.


    The winged Goddess paid no mind to his words and stepped through her newly created portal.


    GamingWolf


    Aperio is speedrunning dungeons.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead? Check out the Patreon.

 Advent – Chapter 50: A Chance Meeting

    The man took another step back as reality stitched itself together behind Aperio and Ferio; her portal idea had worked better than expected. Could I teleport without going into my Void? It was an idea that she would have to investigate at a later date, as for now she had to deal with a rather scared Human and an approaching group of armed adventurers.


    With a flick of her wrist, the paper the man had written flew into her hand. The motion was not needed, but it had felt like the right thing to do. It also turned out to be a useless action, as the message simply informed them about the way they would need to take to get to the small village ¡ª something her little portal trick had taken care of ¡ª and that they would need proper identification to continue further on. Why did he have to tell us that with a piece of paper? Couldn''t he just wait until we reach the village?


    With a thought, she exchanged the note in her hand with the token she had received from the guild master. Once she had turned it over so that the man could see the rune embossed on the metal card, he visibly relaxed. It lasted only a moment, however, as once Aperio took a step closer his muscles tensed once again and his breathing became irregular. Did he find her threatening?


    Perhaps the portal was not the best idea? A quick mental query to her daughter did confirm that the magic she had employed was usually reserved for bigger rituals or permanent installations. Seeing someone conjure such a thing out of thin air with seemingly little effort would certainly scare some people. Not that anyone else got scared when I moved between my Void and this ¡­realm. Aperio knew not if there was a proper name for the plane of existence in which the world resided. Calling it a realm felt right, even if she could not point exactly as to why. Though at the time they also knew what I was.


    With a shake of her head, she handed her token over to Ferio. The chances of her daughter handling the situation without it devolving into violence were astronomically higher than if she attempted to do so herself. The feeling of disgust that wanted to make itself known at this action was quickly pressed down again. What''s wrong with letting someone else do something they are better at? She knew the answer to that, of course. If she was as perfect as a part of her so adamantly believed, there would be no-one better than her.


    Ferio took the metal card from her mother''s hand, her expression briefly flickering with what Aperio could only guess was worry before she donned a smile and turned towards the armed group that had stopped a few paces away from them. Much like the Human that had first spotted her, this group seemed not quite ready to actually approach the two Goddesses. Unlike the man, however, they did not step back as Ferio closed the distance between them.


    Wordlessly, she presented the tokens they had received from the guild master to the person leading the group. The armoured form took the metal cards from her hand and inspected them closely before signing something to their compatriots that caused them to visibly relax, all except a robed and hooded woman in the back of their ''formation''.


    Aperio could only tilt her head at the mana she felt around the woman. It wasn''t exactly threatening, at least not to her, but the winged Goddess couldn''t shake the feeling that the robed woman did not have the best intentions in mind. She squinted at the distant form, trying to glean any information she could. There were tiny imperfections in her skin, of course, and little bits of dirt that clung to her clothes ¡ª the usual things to notice on any individual ¡ª but aside from those Aperio could not see anything of note. That is, until she tried to peek behind the odd veil of darkness that filled the figure''s hood, where she was met with a slight resistance. While it was likely easy to break, she would leave it intact for now. She did not want to fully trust the fuzzy feeling about the woman''s intentions, but neither did she want to simply brush it aside. Not that she could hurt me. Of that, she was sure.


    "Do you require any supplies before you continue?" the armoured figure asked, handing the tokens back to Ferio. "Perhaps a room to rest? I can''t imagine the journey has become any more pleasant since we did it."


    "It was a most numbing journey, yes," Aperio said. "But we will not require any supplies or a place to rest. We should continue onwards as soon as we can."


    Her voice caused the man that had initially spotted her to take another step back and the robed woman to tighten the swirling mass of mana that surrounded her. The rest of the group showed no reaction she could discern. Most of them seem¡­ surprised? Did they expect me to be a mute?


    "Mother is correct, the sooner we finish this the better."


    Being addressed as Ferio''s mother got more of a reaction out of the adventurers than her ethereal and oddly echo-y voice. There was a simple answer for their surprise, but Aperio would rather believe the people in front of her would not behave like the one woman they had encountered who was overly glib with her insults. Just thinking about the altercation was enough to make her blood boil again.


    Her agitation did not go unnoticed as the armoured figure raised its hands in what Aperio assumed to be a placating gesture. "It is rare for family to form parties, even less so for them to undertake dangerous missions such as this one."


    Aperio could only raise an eyebrow at the statement. Dangerously boring, yes. The only thing that would be a danger to her here was perhaps the core itself, as the first one of its kind she had found had tried to take her over. Not that it had much success. She was very certain that her rather violent outburst had killed the thing for good.


    Perhaps I should go and check, just to make sure. Maybe Ferio can get some information out of whatever is left of it? It would not take long either; a quick hop into her Void and then back to the place she had initially returned to. Or I could try to teleport without using my Void?


    Further musings were cut short as Ferio handed her back her token, which she promptly deposited back into her Void, and sent a small mental nudge to follow. For a moment Aperio questioned how her daughter would know where to go, before she came to the rather obvious realisation that the other Goddess likely had her own aura senses. A tentative mental query gave her the answer she expected but also informed her that her aura was rather overbearing and made the use of Ferio''s own a bit more difficult.


    The information caused Aperio to shift her attention back to the robed woman. Perhaps she is like Thaddeus? Excluding the woman from her aura only required a thought and caused her to shift her stance ever so slightly. The bit of hostility Aperio felt from her, however, still remained. How does that even work? She wanted to inspect the woman to perhaps find out a bit more but, after her rather liberal initial use of the skill, she was hesitant to invade the privacy of others like that again. Not that they have much anyway. Her aura would always give her more information than she would want about the people in front of her, after all.


    Suppressing a sigh, Aperio turned to the only option left that would not further her dive into hypocrisy. "Is there anything you want to say, miss?" she asked, turning to face the robed woman.


    There was no reply to her question, something that irked Aperio more than it probably should. She could sense the other adventurers tense up as she took a step towards the individual. "Stop glaring and speak. You have a mouth, do you not?"


    The woman still did not reply, instead tightening the swirling mass of mana that still danced around in what Aperio assumed was an attempt to hide herself. Can someone hide from me? If they used something that the System enabled them to do, wouldn''t she be able to sense them anyway? As the woman was seemingly unable to speak to her, it was with a mental sigh that Aperio identified the woman anyway.


    Caethya Martinek | [Touched by the All-Mother] | Level: 389


    Oh.


    Though Aperio had not expected to so quickly find the other soul she had touched, it did thoroughly explain why she could feel the woman''s hostility. So it does ruin their lives? It was the only reason she could think of for the woman''s less than pleasant reception. It was an understandable reaction of course, but not something she could change. Or know how to, at least. Somehow she doubted that there was nothing she could do, even if it didn''t involve turning back time.


    That fact the robed woman was the highest level mortal she had seen thus far was relegated to the back of Aperio''s mind as she tried to find a way to deal with the situation at hand. Conversation was not an option, as the woman was apparently unwilling to talk to her. For a brief moment Aperio wanted to take the direct route, sending a mental query as she did with her daughter, but what Ferio had said about the likely outcome coupled with her disastrous experience with the monsters thus far caused her to dismiss the idea. For now.


    What else can I try? Well, the people I blessed seemed to not mind my mana at all... It was worth a shot, as nothing else seemed to be working. What she could certainly do was stop her aura''s exclusion of the woman. As she was already Touched by her own hand, her mana would do nothing, aside from perhaps enhancing whatever she had already received from the blessing. Soothing the woman through her aura, as she had once done with Laelia, came to mind next, and it was an idea that gave her pause.


    The act of using her mana to convey feelings was very similar to the way she shared her thoughts with her daughter. In fact, the only difference she could find was the intent behind it. One was supposed to calm while the other was meant to transport information. Why is it, then, that I can soothe the emotions of others, but the monsters simply die when I attempt to speak with them?


    With a shake of her head, Aperio reached out with her mind and tried to grab hold of the magic she had imparted on the soul of the woman in front of her. She had no idea if it would even work; unlike the blessings, there was no vague feeling in the back of her mind to guide her actions. It was merely a hunch she had, one that felt vastly different than the ethereal feelings that had steered her thus far.


    Is this, then, something that has never happened to me before? It was the only explanation she could come up with. All her vague feelings and nudges she experienced when she encountered things she had not known in her life as a slave were the distant echoes of her existence before that time. Letting her know that she had once known how to do things, but not how to do them, or why. But if I am as old as¡­ the universe, how can it be that I never touched a soul?


    It only took a moment for her to find what she was looking for and as soon as her magic took hold, the woman visibly tensed up and the mana she had drawn so tightly around her exploded outwards. A brief touch of Aperio''s own magic caused the wild mana to cease its unruly outburst and return to a calm, more natural state. How she knew that the state it was in now was normal was something she chalked up to having apparently made everything, something she seemingly had to accept sooner rather than later.


    There was a small resistance, a barrier of sorts, that prevented Aperio from pushing deeper and truly grasping what laid beyond. Though she knew it would only take a thought on her part to push past the blockage, she also knew that it would not be pleasant or healthy for the woman that carried it.


    At a loss for other options, the winged Goddess tried to ever so gently convey her thoughts to the by now frightened woman. Knowing how another person felt to such a degree was something Aperio would probably never get used to, but she had begun to learn to live with it nonetheless. These particular feelings were especially distressing for her to note. She had touched this woman''s soul, however innocently she had meant it at the time, and whatever weird experiences had stemmed from that action were all entirely her fault. At least my connection is useful in this instance. As soon as she felt anything amiss with Caethya, she would be able to stop.


    Confusion permeated the bond she shared with Caethya, which Aperio took as an indication that her attempt was working. Then, a moment later, there was what Aperio could only describe as frightened understanding as she saw Caethya fall to her knees. Fearing what might come next, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought Caethya, Ferio, and herself to her Void before the woman had the chance to say anything.


    If the woman truly knew, truly understood who Aperio was? It was infinitely preferable to explain teleportation and spontaneous abduction rather than openly proclaim her status as the literal creator of everything they knew.


    GamingWolf


    Now you are thinking with portals.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 51: The Second Soul

    Caethya breathed heavily as she stared into the endless dark below her. Her lungs filled with nothing, her hands and knees somehow found purchase on ground that did not exist, and her mind struggled to comprehend what her eyes saw and her aura sensed. Despite not being able to truly understand what surrounded her, Caethya was intimately familiar with it. Every night, in her dreams, she had had visions of this place.


    At first she had thought it was the dungeon trying to trick her yet again. It had never ceased in its attempts to try to take her, turn her into one of the soulless puppets that would obey whatever twisted thing the dungeon desired. Once the woman''s attention had fully settled on her, however, that quickly changed. There was an incomprehensibly vast and yet familiar presence looming just outside her mind, one that she had been searching for all her life.


    The Elven-looking woman did not appear to be doing much ¡ª she wasn¡¯t even carrying her sword anymore ¡ª and yet she was threatening to overwhelm Caethya by simply existing. Her mind still echoed with thoughts not her own, forced inside by something against which she could never hope to properly defend herself. And yet, they only spoke of apology and sadness, asking for her forgiveness for what had been done to her.


    Caethya did not quite understand why the All-Mother would be sorry for anything. She should be lauded, thanked, and indeed Caetha herself had fallen to her knees to offer her gratitude for her blessing, almost even daring to ask why she, of all beings, had been blessed. The title she had been given was the reason for her rise to power, after all. Only twenty-five years of age, and she was already close to level four hundred; a feat few could ever claim to accomplish, not even other Elves like herself.


    Her kind might have the initial advantage of time, but for some reason not many chose to use it to better themselves. But then, the same could be said for all the races. The pursuit of power was not something many took part in, most saying it was too dangerous.


    For Caethya it had always been clear what she would do when she was old enough. She would travel, searching for the being that had given her this blessing. It might have been unreadable by the stones and only recently had she actually known what the title actually meant, but its effects had always been clear regardless.


    Every reward the System gave was increased for her. She was able to gain levels faster than others, accrued more attributes per level, and had a control over her own mana that made some of the masters she had trained under grow pale. The amount of mana she could draw on had also already dwarfed that of her parents when she had been first appraised at sixteen.


    There had been some confusion at the time over the garbled mess that was her title, but it was quickly dismissed as fault of the stone simply not being able to properly handle the amount of mana she held. Now that she knew for certain what the title meant, she was glad it had not been revealed at her first appraisal. Caethya had heard of the legendary being that was somehow above the other deities, but had never taken an active part in those discussions. It was a good way to get yourself on the bad side of some of the bigger churches. At least Mayeia doesn''t think that way.


    Quite the opposite in fact; the Goddess of Magic had been eager to meet Caethya. She had met the Goddess in person ¨C a rare honor ¨C three years ago, and it was then that she had gotten the cryptic hint that she should, perhaps, visit the Ebenlowe dungeon and head for the core. Did she know I would meet her here?


    She shook her head and took another deep breath of the nothing that filled the black abyss surrounding her. It was weirdly soothing, filling her with a sense of calm that she had not known before. It seemed similar, in a way, to the sensations she now knew stemmed from the woman that had given her the blessing. Is this her Dominion, then?


    She stiffened at the thought, slowly raising her head to look at the winged Goddess. Caethya could not claim to know much about the workings of the Gods, but being brought to what was essentially their home was most certainly not something common.


    "Are you hurt, Caethya?"


    The voice of the All-Mother echoed through the nothingness, filling the kneeling Elf with a new wave of comfortable warmth. Her first instinct was to resist the mana that rolled off the winged Goddess, to reject the foreign intrusion. Any attempt to do so would be futile of course; Caethya had little doubt that the being in front of her could erase her from existence with but a passing thought.


    She took a deep breath and, for a brief moment, wondered how the winged Goddess knew her name, before she remembered just who the being in front of her was. After another breath, she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Physically she was fine, despite the lack of air or anything one would usually expect to find in a world made for the living. "I-I am fine," she managed to stammer out after another moment of silence.


    "...May I see your face?" There was a bit of apprehension in her voice, as well as a small pressure against the veil her hood cast over her face. Most people assumed she hid her appearance because she had somehow been disfigured, like most other adventures that made use of such enchantments.


    She did not have such concerns, as any wound she had received during her adventures had healed perfectly given enough time. Even the time she had lost her hand had, eventually, left no scars or other signs of the injury. For Caethya the hood was just a means to hide her identity; it made the use of identification magic rather useless. Not that many people have such skills anyway.


    Before the [Status] view had been enabled, skills like [Identify] were the only means to get a quick view of someone''s level and their most prominent title, should the person have one and the user of the skill have it at a high enough level.


    Caethya pushed herself off of the solid nothing below her, settling in a proper kneeling position and pulled her hood back, revealing her black and silver hair and the pointed ears of her Elven heritage. Why the Goddess had not simply looked past the veil was not something Caethya knew, but neither would she question the All-Mother.


    The winged Goddess took a step closer, the movement somehow enough to close the not insignificant distance and bring her directly in front of the now kneeling Elf. She lowered herself and very slowly stretched out her hand to brush an errant strand of hair out of Caethya''s face.


    "I hope your life has not been marred by undue hardships," the All-Mother said, her eyes darting around, trying to find something that did not reveal itself to Caethya. Did I do something wrong? She unconsciously balled her fists at the thought, a motion that did not go unnoticed by the winged Goddess as she quickly withdrew her hand and took a step back.


    She was so close to getting answers. The only person who could give them was in front of her, and yet Caethya could not find the proper words to voice her questions. It should have been a simple thing, just open her mouth and ask: ''Why me?''. Was there a reason for her to gain this blessing? Did she somehow miss a hint as to what she was meant to do? Or, perhaps, this all came to be because the All-Mother was bored and wanted entertainment? But why would she ask for forgiveness, then?


    Her swirling thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the fiery-haired woman that not only looked very similar to the All-Mother, but was also familiar to Caethya despite her inability to place where she might have seen the woman before.


    "I believe she needs a bit more time to calm down, mother. Meeting you and then being transported here is undoubtedly quite shocking to any mortal."


    "Perhaps," the All-Mother murmured quietly, not taking her eyes off of the kneeling Elf. There was obviously something more she wanted to say but kept to herself. Caethya had no reason to believe that the being in front of her was in any way disappointed with what she had done, but her mind still defaulted to that line of thinking.


    That the All-Mother, the one she knew had made everything that surrounded them ¡ª or at least played a significant role in its initial creation ¡ª had asked for her forgiveness was simply ignored. What had she done that would require the forgiveness of a mere mortal? Why would she even ask that?


    Aperio did not take her eyes off the kneeling Elf. The woman had told her that she was fine, only to then react with what the winged Goddess interpreted as rage at her touch. Perhaps she was a slave as well?


    Not many people besides her own daughter had made attempts at touching her. There was a good reason for that, too, as the first one that had tried was no longer among the living. That death had been one of the reasons why she had come to Ebenlowe, but now it seemed that it had been largely forgotten. Or the [Grandmaster] made it quite clear that they should not mess with me.


    She pushed those thoughts from her mind and refocused on the woman in front of her. Caethya. Aperio had not heard the name before, of course, but she still felt something familiar from the woman. Probably my mana inside her. She still wasn''t sure if by ''granting them a fraction of your magic'' the System meant that they had access to mana of higher purity or simply possessed innate skills that closer resembled what she did with magic.


    The Elf slowly straightened herself, but remained kneeling. She eyed Aperio for a moment longer before finally deciding to speak. "Why do you ask for forgiveness?"


    It was not what Aperio had expected. She sounded genuinely confused, clearly not understanding why she had asked to be forgiven on their first meeting. It also implied that her life might not have been ruined like Maria''s or, what Aperio considered more likely, that her magic was messing with their minds.


    For ruining your life? Touching your very soul without permission? Forgetting what I have become and giving in to curiosity? There were many things she could choose from which would require forgiveness, and yet she could not bring herself to say any of them without knowing what kind of life the Elf in front of her had lived.


    "For setting you on a path before you were even born and bringing you here," Aperio finally said. It was not a lie, per se, but neither was it the whole truth. In the end, it was simply the best answer she could come up with at the time that did not require her to endure more absurd feelings of disgust and wrong.


    Caethya''s brows drew closer as she lowered her head in thought. It only lasted for a moment, however, as she quickly lifted her head again and met the eyes of the winged Goddess.


    "I will not forgive, but thank you for blessing me with this gift," she said. "I do not know why you chose me, but I am grateful that you did. Your touch has allowed me to reach heights that few can even dream of, survive wounds that would claim any normal person''s life."


    Aperio knew not where the woman had suddenly found the conviction to talk like she did. It was a welcome change, however, as it revealed that her blessing ¡ª Does it count as one? ¡ª actually did some good. Now she only needed to figure out if it was her mana influencing the person in front of her to make them more agreeable or if they were simply frightened that she would will them out of existence should they not say what she wished to hear. There was, however, something she wanted to know.


    "Your family did not shun you for having a title they could not understand?"


    "Why would they?" Caethya asked, raising an eyebrow at the question. "They follow Mayeia and she does not care for what the System says, only what you do."


    And the title made you stronger so in their eyes it''s more than fine. Aperio wasn''t sure if she really liked that approach either, but it was undoubtedly better than what Vigil, Inanis, and the rest of what Ferio had so liberally branded as traitors did. The fact that a Goddess did not care what the System said somehow unsettled Aperio however, especially when it was one that supposedly ascended around the same time as Natio.


    Maybe she wants to hide the fact that the System can ascend someone to Godhood? It was a plausible answer, as the existing deities did not seem to like competition. Perhaps they will have to deal with Laelia one day though¡­ Probably Caethya and Maria too. All of them had received a rather sizable chunk of very potent mana from her after all. Maybe even Arden, though he has less than the other three.


    Saying that she was not interested in seeing the people she had accidentally blessed ascend to godhood would be a lie, but Aperio would still not inform them of the possibility. At least not now. If they proved to be sane enough, it would be an option. But isn''t that messing with their lives even more? Telling them or not, both would influence them to follow certain paths, something she had wanted to avoid doing.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a slight mental nudge from her daughter, asking if she was alright. Aperio waved her concerns off, simply shifting the thoughts she had about three potential Goddesses to her daughter.


    A slight giggle from Ferio got the attention of Caethya who opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when the Goddess of Light and Life herself spoke up. "Nothing you have to concern yourself with, sister."


    The words of her daughter gave Aperio pause. ...Sister? Caethya? Why her, but not Maria? Or is it just sister-in-faith, and I''m overthinking things? Something told her that Ferio was thinking more along the lines of an actual sister rather than just a fellow woman who happened to believe in the same Goddess.


    A gentle touch of her mana conveyed her question to her daughter who, after a brief moment of silence, replied with what Aperio had apparently told her about how she came to be.


    It wasn''t that different to what had happened to Maria or Caethya. Instead of touching a soul that was floating in the river waiting for its next turn at life, Aperio had created one. The fact did not sit entirely well with her, as it only further solidified things she did not like but already knew. But, it did indeed answer why her daughter thought of the kneeling Elf as a sister.


    Should Caethya ascend to godhood ¡ª something Ferio apparently assumed was just a matter of time ¡ª there would virtually be no difference between the two of them. Just that I did not raise her myself. Which, while not that common, was not unheard of in the world of royalty and high nobility. There was another thing that made them more equal, something that that hurt far more greatly than many things had thus far.


    I also cannot remember raising Ferio.


    "Sister?" The confused voice of Caethya returned Aperio''s attention to the present.


    "Perhaps one day," the winged Goddess said, foregoing an explanation. "Before we return, I have one favour I would like to ask of you." After she had received a hesitant nod from kneeling woman, Aperio continued. "I would appreciate it if you did not tell the others who I am. I would like to enjoy the few days of privacy I have left before word spreads down here."


    "Of course, I will do as you ask," Caethya said, then hesitated briefly. "May I know why you are here?"


    "To destroy the dungeon," Ferio replied. "For good."


    The Elf''s eyes widened at the answer, her head quickly swivelling between Aperio and her daughter.


    "Would you like to join us?" Aperio had not really thought about what this might entail, but the shock and frantic expression that had settled on the young woman''s features lead her to believe that destroying the core before she had a chance to get there would not be good.


    "I would¡­ but what about the rest of my party?"


    "The offer is only for you; the reason I am here is not something I wish to share with complete strangers." This might be the first time she had met Caethya, but the bond she shared with her made trusting the woman that much easier. Any lie would easily be seen through. "You can confer with them once we return. We shall wait until you have come to a decision."


    With those words, Aperio waved her hand at an empty patch of space. A small flex of her mental muscles was all that was required for reality to turn in on itself and a portal to the fiftieth floor of the Ebenlowe dungeon to form.


    Taking a step closer to the still kneeling Elf, Aperio held out her hand. "Come now."


    GamingWolf


    All poked souls accounted for!


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 Advent – Chapter 52: The Village in the Dungeon

    As soon as Aperio stepped through the portal, she was greeted by a sword pointed at her face. The only reaction the blade managed to get out of the winged Goddess was a slight tilt of her head. "That blade will do you no good."


    While she might not yet have had the silvery-blue metal used against her, Aperio chose to trust the feeling at the back of her mind that told her that the weapon would do nothing. Only a God has managed to hurt me thus far¡­ And some trees. I should test if they can still hurt me now.


    With those thoughts, she pushed the weapon aside with the back of her hand and stepped to the side to allow Caethya and her daughter to pass through the portal. Ferio only raised an eyebrow at the agitated adventurer who had, yet again, pointed his sword at Aperio.


    "What did you do to Caethya?" the armoured figure asked in a tone Aperio assumed was supposed to be threatening. "She never takes off her hood."


    The Elf in question quickly rectified the mistake she had made and slipped the hood back on, the black veil forming a moment later. Aperio simply fixed her gaze on the armoured form and narrowed her eyes slightly. "I wished to speak in private. What we discussed is of no concern to you."


    "I''m fine, Kermal," Caethya said, stepping past the winged Goddess. "It was something I had wanted for a long time."


    Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the statement. She had never really thought about time, but thinking of anything below a few millena as long somehow seemed weird to her. But a few decades is long, she thought, shaking her head lightly. The change really shifted how I think about time, didn''t it?


    "While you discuss what you must with your group, my daughter and I will have a look around this¡­ quaint little village." The eclectic collection of buildings had piqued her interest, if only because some of them appeared to be made from the same material as the dungeon itself. If they use it to build, then they can harvest it in some way. It is breakable. Why, then, do they get confused when I merely destroy some doors?


    Caethya turned around at her words. "How am I supposed to find you?"


    Aperio only cocked her head a little to the side and then tapped at her temple. With the movement, she conveyed her name and the instruction to pray when she was ready as gently as she could towards the Elf. Her attempt appeared to be largely successful as Caethya nodded, but Aperio was dismayed to see that the action had also caused her to stagger back a little. She only survives it because of my mana residing inside her, doesn''t she?


    The thought of her mana did spawn an idea in her mind, one that would require a bit more understanding of the System but could potentially solve her communication problems. The System itself obviously understood everyone, even monsters who spoke no language whatsoever, so why shouldn''t it be able to act as an interpreter for her? Even if it just gives them a notification to read through, it would be vastly preferable to them dropping dead when I think in their direction.


    While any use of magic was just an expression of her will, killing something with a literal thought was on an extreme level of oddity that Aperio would happily do without. Turning away from the group, she tried to ignore the whispered debate that the armoured figure ¡ª Kermal, apparently ¡ª had started. Still, she couldn''t help but smile as she was being introduced as Caethya''s old teacher, one that she had tried to track down for years. So I am an Elder of the Moons, a normal noblewoman, a priestess in service to myself and now also a teacher. ...I should probably figure out a single thing I can tell people.


    Of course, that would only work for a short while until word about her true nature spread. Something she did not expect would take much longer. Also, there''s not many winged Elves I could get confused with. It would appear that hiding her beloved wings would become a necessity for incognito travel in the future.


    With a mental sigh, Aperio focused on the information her aura provided. The mismatched buildings that comprised the village were indeed of interest to her, but so was the number of people that actually walked its street. She had expected a small inn, perhaps, or a similar equivalent in which the mortals could rest and have a proper meal. Instead, this seemed to be a thriving village, one that rivaled the one she had found shortly after her return.


    The building that truly got her attention, however, was a small, single story tavern with the Adventurers Guild plaque hanging proudly over its door. She wasn''t interested in trying the food and drinks they undoubtedly had to offer, but the rather large open area behind the building where she could see a decent number of people sparring against one another.


    After informing her daughter of her intent with a brief mental nudge, Ferio chose to follow as Aperio took to the skies and quickly closed the distance that separated her from her destination. Caethya''s group did not react much to her departure, only furthering their questions for the Elven woman. The fact that flight was not that extraordinary but having wings was not normal still seemed weird to Aperio. It can''t be just me, can it?


    The thought was shelved for later deliberation as she very carefully opened the wooden door of the guild-run tavern. A few heads turned at their entrance, but they quickly turned back to what they had been doing. Aperio couldn''t help but frown at the smell that practically assaulted her nose. So far she had never truly focused on what she could smell, her senses often already overwhelmed by the noise that surrounded her. The shouting and clanging of blades outside coupled with the animated conversations of the patrons inside was already threatening to do just that.


    She could not place the smell. It was not something as simple as the combination of blood, shit, and alcohol ¨C something she was, sadly, very familiar with through experience ¨C but rather a mixture of something sickly sweet and, at the same time, something as rancid as a rotting corpse. What are they making in here?


    With a shake of her head she pushed onwards, walking past the filled tables and dodging various servers holding way too many plates. Once she stepped outside again, her nose was treated to the much more familiar smell of blood and she could see, with her own eyes, the source of the shouting. It was the reason she had come here after all.


    "Do you intend to spar with them, mother?" Ferio asked. "I doubt they would be much of a challenge."


    "I simply wanted to watch them fight." That she did so in the hopes of potentially learning something was left unsaid.


    Neither the crowd nor the fighters themselves seemed to care much for the two approaching Goddesses, too focused on the fight itself. While Aperio herself knew little of actual fighting outside of the instincts she still had from her apparent previous life, she could tell that the two who were currently sparring knew what they were doing.


    They moved efficiently; everything they did was done to achieve victory. It reminded her of the bits of training she had seen the Royal Guards perform, they too only moved as much as necessary to deflect a strike or get close enough to deliver a blow of their own. The only difference here was that a seemingly disorganized blocked attack was simply a feint, a ruse to lure the other into false confidence so they could be struck at. Occasionally they would throw the odd bit of magic at each other as well, though most of what they used seemed extraordinarily weak to the winged Goddess. But is it really weak?


    And yet, despite their obvious prowess, Aperio could not help but frown at the fight. To her, they still seemed to move slowly. Even when one of them managed to land a blow that seemingly blindsided the other, Aperio had somehow known it would come. A slight twitch of the attacker¡¯s arm, the subtle step back they took was apparently all she needed to figure out what they intended to do. But, how?


    She could not explain to herself how this was possible; it went past what instinct should be able to provide. The only thing that would give an explanation would be something bordering on precognition, an ability she would rather not have. Is there even a limit to what I can do? Her instinct was to say no. If she truly made everything there would be no reason to assume there would be any form of limit to what she could achieve. It did, however, give her an idea for speeding the rest of their journey to the core up. After they had walked through the first fifty floors, Aperio was not convinced completing the journey on foot would be worth it. I doubt anything in here will be a challenge.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a burst of even louder cheering; a winner had been decided. Aperio had expected gloating or mockery from the winning side, but instead they offered their hand to their fallen opponent.


    "Better luck next time," the winner said, removing their helmet and revealing a raven-haired, black-eyed Human youth that did not seem to match the deep voice he possessed. The loser did not respond, simply vanishing into the crowd. "Anyone else want to challenge me?"


    "Yeah, who wants to challenge my Kiro?" The voice belonged to a fox-eared Beastkin girl that wore something Aperio would not deem appropriate for anything outside of some very private endeavours. Well, I should not judge.


    Nobody responded to the challenge, most people trying to appear as small as possible as the eyes of the youth wandered over them. His gaze stopped on Aperio who, unlike the others, saw no reason to hide herself. He will probably see that as a challenge, won''t he? Her thoughts were proven to be correct by his next words.


    "Do you want to challenge me?"


    Aperio ignored the slight giggle of Ferio behind her, simply tilting her head at this question. "I did not plan to, no. Should you wish to challenge me, however, I would be inclined to humour you."


    Her voice had more of an impact on the youth than she had thought it would have, as his eyes widened slightly and he took a half-step back. His vocal fan-girl seemingly did not like Aperio''s choice of words as she started to mutter various insults under her breath that almost caused the winged Goddess to help the Beastkin into an early grave. The tiny voice in her head was screaming at her to kill the insolent mortal, and for once Aperio actually considered it, even if only briefly.


    "You should teach your friend some manners," Aperio said, indicating the Beastkin girl as the friend in question with one of her wings. "Not everyone is willing to forgive such insults." Like Ferio. She could sense her daughter''s anger at the comments, but she restrained herself as Aperio herself made no move to stop the flow of insults that came from the girl.


    "How about I teach you some manners after I¡¯ve won our duel?"


    The smile that accompanied his words caused Aperio to twist her face in disgust at the comment. Whatever he had in mind he could do without and far away from her. With an unneeded motion, she retrieved her sword from her Void and stepped forwards. "You need a lesson in humility."


    How he could not see the difference in their strength was beyond her. How can he think he can beat me if my voice makes him stagger? With a shake of her head, she lazily lifted her sword and pointed it at the Human youth. "You may start when you are ready."


    The gathered people seemed to like their disagreement as they started their incoherent shouting again. A few of them even started to bet on who would win. Much to Aperio''s surprise, most bet on the youth in front of her, seemingly not trusting a random winged Elf with a magical voice to be strong enough to beat the reigning champion. I guess they will lose some money, then.


    With a smooth motion, the Human youth put his helmet back on and settled into what Aperio assumed to be a stance; it definitely looked more competent than her lazily lifted sword. Still, the moment he kicked off of the ground in a dash to close the distance, Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the lack of speed in his movements. Much like her first encounter after she had returned, the world seemed to have slowed down. This time, though, it was markedly more extreme. To her it looked like Kiro was attempting to dash through a thick layer of syrup instead of air.


    She could have simply cut his attack short, appear next to him and introduce him to the ground, but Aperio chose to let him come to her. A few agonisingly long moments later, the youth had reached her and drew his sword back in what would appear to be an obvious attempt to attack. At least that is what it looked like and what she assumed he wanted for her to see. It would have worked if she could not feel the mana flow through him and slowly condense in his free hand.


    Aperio let her sword vanish back into her Void; it would not be needed here. And, if he loses against an unarmed opponent it would be more humiliating, no? With that thought, she grabbed the sword that was now being thrust in her direction and pulled.


    She had not used a lot of strength, but seemingly still too much. The sword came flying from Kiro''s hand, its blade bent and cracked where Aperio had gripped it. The winged Goddess dropped the useless weapon and directed her attention to the youth''s hand that was still gathering mana for what she assumed to be a bigger attack. At least for him.


    Her assumption was proven to be correct as a moment later a cone of mist filled with tiny shards of ice was released in her direction. Neither the cold nor the projectiles bothered her in the least. The only effect it had was that a very small part of her attention was focused on fixing the dress wherever the frozen blades cut it open.The patches she had previously fixed herself showed no sign of damage despite the continued attack. Soon I will have a dress made entirely from my mana. It''s probably going to be more effective than armour as well.


    A thought later and the barrage from the youth fizzled away into nothing, revealing a rather bored-looking Aperio. "Anything else you would like to try?"


    In response to her rather boorish taunt, Kiro removed his helmet and performed a weird set of motions with his hands that made no sense to the winged Goddess. Still, in response to his antics she could sense the mana in his body start to change. It began to flow differently, entering into a state of something that looked close to her passive improvement. Will the changes to my body ever stop? Even if they did, Aperio was not sure she wanted them to. The youths'' actions did give her an idea, however.


    Ira had said that the strength of her aura was determined by the amount of mana she held within her body. Aperio had never really tried to see how much mana she could draw from her well into her corporeal form, but now seemed like a good time to try. She did inform Ferio of her plan, telling her that, should it come to pass that it would be too much for the onlookers and she herself was, for whatever reason, unable to properly exclude them from her aura, it would be up to her daughter to shield them.


    With an unnecessary breath, Aperio began to draw as much mana from her well as she could. No matter how much she took, the amount in reserve did not seem to change. Neither did she feel any resistance to how much she could keep in her body. The only thing that she did notice was that all the mana she took out of her well immediately set out to improve her body as best it could. Last time I tried to speed up that process I had to do it consciously. Why does it happen on its own now?


    The way the colour was slowly draining from Kiro''s face brought an unexpected sense of joy to Aperio''s mind. Am I that vain of a person? She liked being strong, very much so, but she had not thought displaying that strength and showing superiority over others would bring her joy. Or does it simply feel good to use what I have? It was also an answer, one she would have to test once the ''fight'' was over.


    It only took a moment longer before Kiro fell to his hands and knees, the mana in his body returning to its normal flow. It was then that Aperio noticed an ethereal glow that was starting to emanate from her skin. Tiny wisps of blue and silver were dancing around her wings. She unfurled her feathered appendages and took a heavy step towards the downed Human. The floor broke under her feet, the cracks lighting up with a silvery-blue shine she knew came from her mana.


    With each passing moment, Kiro''s breathing became more laboured. Sweat started to drip from his form and his arms and legs started to shake under the strain of the unseen weight of her aura. A small echo in the back of her mind informed Aperio of her daughter''s call to restrain herself, that she would not be able to shield everyone present let alone the entire village should she continue as she did now.


    Aperio did not want to stop.


    Using more than a tiny fraction of her might felt good. Freeing. It also felt disturbingly good to punish a presumptuous mortal that had dared to challenge her. The one who gave them everything they had. Gave him the very power he so foolishly believed would be able to stand a chance against her.


    Aperio held out her hand, the wisps of mana dancing around her outstretched wings glowing even brighter. The ethereal light emanating from her skin had by this time also turned to tiny puffs of mana-smoke that now seeped out of her form to swirl around her.


    She would show this foolish mortal what true power was.


    GamingWolf


    Next time on Forgotten: Will the Isekai-Protagonist? be able to fight against the All-Mother?


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 53: Continuing the Journey

    GamingWolf


    Uh, time for a ''fight''.


    "You dare to challenge me?" Aperio asked. Her voice slamming into the Human like a physical force, causing him to crumple further into a frail and helpless heap. "You are weak."


    She brought her outstretched arm down in a sharp motion, reality itself seeming to split apart in its wake. A heartbeat later, reality shifted again. The ground reached for itself greedily, knitting itself back together. The air, too, seemed to imperceptibly rush into itself to once again become a coherent whole. Then, air and earth heaved, sliding spent blood and flesh back towards the fallen Human. With a grating slurp the two halves of the corpse stretched, accepting the offshoots of injury back within itself and molding back into a singular entity. As soon as the lungs reformed the screaming began anew, wordlessly proclaiming in no uncertain terms to all present that life, too, had returned to the Human.


    Aperio had not wanted to kill him ¡ª at least not yet. All she had wanted to do was inflict pain, something the universe itself was seemingly very willing to help her with. Shifting her attention away from the now crying Kiro, the winged Goddess drove her hand through the air in front of her, breaking reality like a glass window and revealing a vast expanse of white. She did not know how she had done what she did, but what she needed from here was clear.


    Her senses filled the white expanse, searching for what she knew to be present. In a fraction of a moment, what she sought appeared before her. The bladed staff hovered in the nothing, slowly spinning around its own axis. Waiting.


    A thought was all Aperio needed to wake the weapon from its slumber.


    Thin strands of silver came to life all along the black surface of the blade, a line of blue that seemed to slice through the very space it occupied forming on the cutting edge. Delicate cracks of blue appeared, pulsing rhythmically, and spread web-like across the silver haft. Once the progression of her mana throughout the weapon had stopped, Aperio willed it to return to her hand.


    The swordstaff felt comfortable to hold, the weight it carried vastly preferable to the feather-like feel of the sword she had used before. Another thing this weapon ¡ª her weapon ¡ª brought was the knowledge that it would not break should she grip it with a bit more force.


    Aperio spun the blade in her hand once before she pointed it at that cowering Human in front of her. A small flex of her newly empowered magical muscles brought the fanatic¡¯s sword out from her Void and embedded it in the floor in front of Kiro. "Go on. Fight me."


    Kiro''s only response was to curl up, clearly trying to make himself as small as possible. Aperio scoffed at the movement. "You proclaimed the challenge! Now stand and fight!"


    The Human youth, ever so slowly, stood up. His eyes were wide open in shock as his body obeyed Aperio''s will and not his own. She could feel his fear, taste it in the air. Smell it. A rapid movement behind her, sensed through her aura, caused Aperio to rapidly spin in place and point her bladed staff at the approaching figure.


    Aperio wanted to unleash the full brunt of her anger on the person who had dared to interrupt her, but at the sight of fiery red hair and the unmistakable touch of her daughter¡¯s magic a tiny sliver of shock interrupted her movements. She had sworn to herself that she would not, would never hurt family, and yet in the heady heat of impending battle she had almost done just that.


    She had almost brought the full force of her might against her own daughter..


    She let out a breath, a thin line of wispy mana-smoke leaving her mouth. As the arms of her daughter carefully wrapped around her and a whispered "Calm" entered her ears, Aperio ceased the flow of mana from her well. As good as it felt to let her mana flow through her, it was not worth the loss of control it brought with it.


    When she had felt power fill every fiber of her being, more than she had ever thought possible, she had wanted to use it to erase the insolent mortal who had challenged her from existence. And I almost did. Still, at least some good came of this. She had her own weapon again, one that would not break under the force of her wielding it, and she knew the frightful power of its abilities. What remained unrevealed to her was how she had known where it was. Or, for that matter, how she had gotten it back.


    The light emanating from her skin and the wisps of mana that danced around her wings were slowly starting to vanish as the excess she had pulled from her well was rapidly incorporated into her physical form. Using her feathered limbs, Aperio concealed the two of them from the prying eyes of the people that surrounded them.


    "Thank you," she whispered. That the note of power in her voice had yet again increased in strength was ignored; an obvious consequence of what she had done. She also tried not to listen to the murmurs of the onlookers, as what they had witnessed was obviously far outside the scope of what any of them knew.


    "I have never seen you like that before. Just you standing there in that state, doing nothing, would be enough to kill most mortals," Ferio said, separating herself from her mother in what seemed to be an attempt to examine her. "I also didn''t know you grew taller when angered."


    Aperio could only tilt her head at the statement. She had not noticed a change in height; the Human had always seemed small and weak to her. Does it really matter? For her, such a minor change in her physical form did not. What did matter, however, was that she had lost control yet again. That she had been intoxicated by her own might. All because a mortal challenged me. I should be above that.


    She let out a sigh, folding her wings behind her back again. Perhaps I just need to let loose once. Blow up a mountain or something. In the end, she would need to learn how to control the power she commanded one way or another. Hopefully regaining my memory helps with that.


    Turning back around, Aperio moved towards the cowering form of Kiro. He winced as she stepped closer, trying to scoot away from the winged Goddess but failing to do so. "Do not challenge someone you cannot beat,¡± she said before gesturing to the sword that was still firmly embedded in the floor. ¡°You may keep this as compensation for your broken one." And because I have a proper weapon now.


    The swordstaff she had retrieved felt good in her hand, a familiar weight that she had not known she missed. Her mana had run through the weapon, causing shining lines to permeate across the haft and blade as it had waited to be used. It was almost like it was anticipating her desire to impose her will on creation and offering itself up as a tool to help that come to pass. Such power and abilities were concepts that she would have found uncomfortable just a few moments ago, but now they seemed to feel oddly welcome.


    Peering into the vast expanse of nothing but white light had changed ¡ª Restored? ¡ª something. The amount of information she received from her aura had not altered, but the quality of it had increased. Everything seemed to feel more palpable to her. She could feel the beating hearts of the mortals surrounding her, how they drew in her magic with every breath they took.


    That was something else that had changed. She could see how things connected to each other and, in the end, to her. This new visual ability was fleeting, growing weaker with each passing moment as the mana was absorbed in her body''s constant quest for improvement. No use denying it anymore. The way in which all that she could see connected back to her made it quite clear that her [Demiurge] title had meant exactly what she thought it did.


    Still, she tried not to focus on the tiny threads that tied all of reality to her and instead brought a tiny bit of foreign mana to her attention. As she brought it closer she recognized the form of a prayer, its nature apparent by the quiet whispers that came from it. A quick inspection revealed it to be from Caethya. So she¡¯s made her choice. ...Or she wants to know what just happened here.


    A mental query to her daughter informed her that none outside of those directly present for her outburst should have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Ferio also asked that she please restrain herself in the future as the strain she had put on her daughter by merely existing had been greater than what she was comfortable with. Aperio could only grimace at the reply, another reminder that she had lost control. With a shake of her head, she focused on Caethya''s prayer again.


    "I wish to accompany you and your daughter to the core," the Elven woman''s disembodied voice said. "My former party does not want to believe my words and may try to stop us. I beg for your mercy on their behalf, they do not know who you are and would not believe me if I told them."


    It was understandable reaction of course; who would believe someone who was kidnapped when they claimed that the one that had taken them was the literal creator of the world?


    Luckily, the way Aperio intended to cover the last part of their journey would make tracking them rather difficult. If they try to stop us¡­ They simply would not be able to. Additionally, the tiny voice in the back of her mind that readily told her she did not have to fear mortal weaponry was also being quite vocal in its praise of the potential combat prowess of the one she had inadvertently blessed. She was fairly certain that, should a fight come to pass, Caethya alone could take on her group.


    After she had informed Caethya that she would be with her shortly, Aperio stored her freshly reacquired weapon in her Void. Then, she quickly checked on Kiro, something she should have probably done sooner. He winced at the touch of her mana, trying again to distance himself from the winged Goddess. Aperio couldn''t blame him, but neither would she feel sorry for him.


    The only injuries she could find were already healing, and there was no sign of any permanent form of damage. At least physically. If he would recover from whatever shock he carried from this encounter was out of her hands. He had challenged her, and he would have to deal with the consequences.


    Unwilling to give any form of explanation to the people that were still gathered around them, Aperio took to the sky. Ferio quickly followed her, a slight frown on her face as her mother had not told her she would be leaving. A mental apology later, the two set off to where Aperio could sense Caethya.


    The short journey was not enough to clear her head from what she had done just moments prior, the feeling of her mana freely flowing through her still fresh. She wanted to experience it again, almost desperately so, but would not give in to the feeling until she knew she would not lose control. And not until I can do it without impacting everyone around me.


    Their arrival did not go unnoticed, the group of adventurers immediately turning their attention to the pair of Goddesses. Aperio ignored the looks the others gave her and focused on Caethya. "Are you ready to leave?"


    After a brief moment of hesitation, the Elf nodded. "Yes."


    "Can you fly?"


    In response to her question, Caethya began to hover slightly above the ground.


    After a nod, Aperio kicked off of the ground and spread her wings again. She waited for both Ferio and Caethya to catch up before she moved towards the entrance of the next floor.


    "Why the hurry?" Ferio asked.


    Aperio could offer no proper answer to her daughter''s question, just a feeling of general discomfort she got from being here. Perhaps it was the shame she felt for her loss of control, or maybe it was that the dungeon itself was starting to do something in order to get her to leave. In the end, it did not matter much ¡ª their journey downwards would continue now.


    Much to her dismay, Aperio found Caethya''s speed to be rather slow, something that was luckily not that important as the entrance was close by. Or am I just too fast? It was possible, but then, Ferio had no trouble keeping up with her thus far. But she is also a Goddess, and I have not yet flown as fast as I can.


    Pushing the rather useless train of thought from her mind, Aperio focused on the entrance leading further down. Just like the ones in the upper floors, it had a booth staffed by a uniform-wearing member of the guild. The presence of the checkpoint did raise a question in her mind. Does Caethya have a token?


    She conveyed her question as gently as she could to the newest member of their group, slowing down slightly when Caethya tumbled a little as the thoughts reached her. Once she had regained her bearings, she produced a small card not too dissimilar from the ones Aperio and her daughter had received. Not a problem then.


    They set down just outside the small building that housed the stairway, getting a brief nod from one of the guards standing beside the open door. Caethya offered a small wave while Aperio and Ferio simply walked past the armoured figure.


    Much like before, they were quickly waved through after they had presented their tokens. The stairs leading down were similarly unremarkable, the dungeon seemingly using the same design every time. Is it even intelligent? It was a question she would hopefully be able to answer soon.


    "Uhm, Lady All-Mother. ...Did something happen?" Caethya asked. "I felt something in my blessing change. I don''t know what it was, but I felt angry and ...powerful? I don''t know how else to put it."


    So what I feel leaks over to those who carry my blessing? Or is it because she was close? "Someone needed to be taught a lesson. What you felt was a part of what I felt." Why Caethya had felt more powerful was not something she knew, but something told her that the more concentrated her mana became in one place, the stronger someone with her blessing would be. They do use my mana after all. "You may also call me Aperio. I am not too fond of formality."


    The statement got her an affirmative nod and a brief, confused look. "I hope whoever required a teaching from you has learned their lesson."


    "I think they did."


    The rest of the journey down was spent in silence, Aperio mentally preparing for what she had planned once they reached the next floor. She was relatively confident that it would work ¡ª or, at least, she saw no reason why it shouldn''t. Only one way to find out.


    GamingWolf


    Well, he couldn''t beat Aperio. (To nobody''s surprise.)


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 54: The Core

    Once they had reached the bottom of the stairs, Aperio motioned for her daughter and Caethya to stop. "I will take us the rest of the way."


    Ferio seemed to have an idea of what Aperio planned to do as she simply nodded in reply. Caethya on the other hand shifted her gaze between the Goddess and the vast expanse of green before them. She obviously wasn''t quite sure how Aperio intended to bring them fifty-odd floors down.


    The lack of confidence from a person she herself had blessed, even if she had never meant to, hurt. Caethya most certainly knew who ¡ª and more importantly what ¡ª she was. That she could get them where she wanted to go should have been obvious. But then, I am not even sure if it will actually work.


    There was no reason it shouldn''t. The small portal trick she had performed to get to the village had been an easy thing, after all. She only needed to be able to sense the place she wanted to move to, something that should be easily achievable with her ever-expanding aura. And if it isn''t, I can always draw a bit more mana from my well.


    It wasn''t something she necessarily wanted to do. She still felt herself longing for the feeling of power that came with being immersed in her own mana, and with that came the squeezing fear of losing control. If, in the end, it should be necessary to reach for her well in order to accomplish her task, then she was willing to try. Hopefully it won''t be needed, though.


    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, an action that felt increasingly unnecessary to her, and focused on her aura. The trickle of information slowly turned into a flood that detailed everything that surrounded her.


    The rhythmic beat of Caethya''s heart, the slight pulsing of her daughter''s magic, and the countless beasts that roamed the sea of green in front of her. All was visible through her aura; only a thought away. And yet, it was not enough, she wanted more.


    There was no need to push her mana further out, just for her to access what her aura already provided. Her senses swept over the floors below her, more monsters roaming ever more desolate looking fields and plains until jagged pieces of stone replaced the grass and trees.


    Further down, streams of molten rock replaced the water that filled the occasional river in the layers above. Their banks were not filled with sand or dirt but covered in shards of glass, some of which slowly melted, joining the river of liquid stone.


    The monsters, too, had changed. No longer did Aperio see Goblins or dog-like beasts. Now the layers were inhabited by overgrown lizards and bats that she would have never dared to approach before her sacrifice. So weak.


    It was not the only thought that crossed her mind as she inspected a few of the monsters more closely, however. The itch to fight was still there, but by now Aperio had almost given up hope that she would be able to find someone who could give her an interesting challenge. Perhaps that is for the best. If someone could beat her, then they could accomplish the unthinkable and force their will upon her.


    Pushing the thoughts aside, Aperio let her senses expand even deeper into the dungeon. The floors flew past, turning more and more into a hellish landscape of molten rock and jagged stone until she could finally see a large, cathedral-like building.


    Its walls were decorated with sharp edged protrusions of stones, carved into what Aperio could only assume were meant to be people in their last moments of life. Some seemed to be impaled upon swords or other sharp weaponry. Others were being torn apart in the wild feeding frenzy of monsters she had seen in the floors above. Still others seemed to be melting, or crumbling, in reaction to some sort of poisonous attack.


    Inside the building she knew to be the core, a thin barrier of its magic trying to keep her aura outside. It was, of course, a futile attempt, as Aperio did not even need to push against the obstacle for her aura to seep inside. She only gave the core a brief mental look before she willed the space in front of the core to connect to her current location.


    A moment later her eyes shot open at the sound of infinite stacks of porcelain shattering and ricocheting off of unseen walls. Before her, reality fell apart in jagged splinters, the view in front of her falling away in pieces to gradually reveal the dungeon core.


    The portal she had created did not look like the one she had made before. This one had no edges, no obvious sign of outside magic. The section of space in front of them had simply been replaced by the bit Aperio wanted to move to, almost like her mana had been used to seamlessly fill the holes in her dress.


    I can go anywhere I want, can''t I? With that thought, Aperio stepped through her newly created portal. Ferio followed shortly after, seemingly not surprised at what her mother had done. Caethya, on the other hand, didn''t move. She simply stared at the section of space that led elsewhere.


    After a moment''s pause she took a step to the side, looking at the magical passageway from a different angle. Aperio tilted her head at the actions of the young Elf, not quite knowing what she was trying to accomplish. A very light touch of her magic conveyed her confusion, and the winged Goddess winced slightly as she saw an expression of pain briefly flash over Caethya''s face. Nonetheless, after another brief moment of hesitation, the Elven woman stepped through the portal.


    "What is that?" Caethya asked, watching with wide eyes as reality repaired itself and the passage disappeared.


    Aperio lightly cocked her head at the question. She did not really have a name for what it was; she simply wanted a way to easily move herself and the rest of her group to their destination. Perhaps I should have tried to simply teleport us all. Unbidden, a grisly memory of one of the Empire''s failed teleportation experiments came to mind, and she quickly shelved her idea. I do not want either of them to end up inside a wall.


    She was fairly certain that she herself could survive such a thing, the reassuring feeling at the back of her mind not really finding the idea of appearing inside of a wall to be a threat. Perhaps Ferio would be able to survive as well, as a Goddess should be a lot more durable than a mortal. But Caethya, even with her blessing, would probably not fare too well and Aperio did not want to find out if she could actually regrow most of a person.


    "It was just a means to an end, an easy way for us to skip the rest of the dungeon," Aperio said.


    There was a slight mental nudge from her daughter, letting Aperio know that she had seen through her rather obvious lie. Ferio knew that her mother had simply wanted to see if she could bend reality to her will, something her daughter apparently had had few doubts about. Well, now I know.


    With that, Aperio focused on the core. At least, on what she assumed to be the core. She had half expected it to fight her as soon as she appeared, something that had obviously not happened. Instead, the large purple and red crystal floated above a pedestal in the middle of the room, slowly rotating around its own axis. Aperio could feel her mana leak out of the crystalline structure, could see how it tried to connect to her only to be reined back in by something she could not identify.


    What she had no problem identifying, however, was the familiar twinkling light and the mist that hovered on the inside edges of the crystal, desperately trying to break free. As she now knew, the feeling was her mana that resided inside the crystal. One thing she still could not reliably identify was the mist that was trapped inside.


    It still reminded her of the souls that resided inside her Void, but the dungeon core did not give off the same feel as the tiny orbs. But then, neither does a living being.


    She stepped closer, summoning her swordstaff from her Void almost on reflex. With the comfortable weight of the weapon in her hand, she took another step towards the crystal, ready for it to attack her as the first one she had encountered had done. The weapon pulsed with her mana: eager for battle, impatient to be used again.


    One more step caused the mist to break free from its crystalline prison. It flowed to the ground, and remained there for a moment. Strangely, this dungeon core didn''t seem to want to attack, or even move in Aperio''s direction. Instead, the mist slowly rose from the ground, gradually coalescing into a mirror image of the winged Goddess.


    Staring at the mist-born imitation of herself caused a spark of anger to race through Aperio''s mind. How dare someone take her likeness? Assume her form without consent? She wanted to remove the fake-her from existence the moment it had finished forming, but restrained herself. At least for now.


    The fact that the core could see her, or at least knew how she looked, implied that it knew what was around it. Perhaps it was nothing more than a reaction it displayed for everyone that approached, but there was a chance that there was more to the crystal than met the eye.


    A deeper inspection with her aura caused the mist-Aperio to flicker, briefly returning to its cloud-like state. Sadly, it did not reveal more information for the winged Goddess. She could feel her mana residing inside the crystal; knew that all she needed to do was destroy the core to get it back. But, try as she might, Aperio could not figure out what exactly the mist was.


    Her attention was drawn away from the crystal and the figure of mist as she felt a shift in her aura just behind the door at the other side of the room. A moment later, a man in a well-tailored black suit opened the door and stepped through, followed shortly thereafter by a woman in a maid uniform.


    Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the approaching figures. Unlike the mist or the core itself they held no trace of her mana, but they had still used the core to arrive. She had sensed the crystal¡¯s use of her mana, after all. The nature of the two people was also of interest to her. The man looked like a Human until you factored in the black horns sprouting from his temples and the slight red tint of his skin. His black hair and red eyes were also something Aperio herself had not seen before, as both seemed to shift ever so slightly in colour with every breath he took.


    The woman, Aperio wanted to identify as a Beastkin, but that felt wrong. She had never heard of something like a Dragon-born Beastkin, or even a Dragon that had deigned to take on a different form. Not that that means anything. Still, seeing an Elf-like being with horns, scales reaching halfway up their limbs, and ¡ª most intriguingly ¡ª wings was something rather unexpected. Is she half-dragon and half-elf? ...How would they even make that work?


    A gesture of Aperio''s hand dispersed the mist-copy that had still been standing in front of her. If it had stayed much longer, the anger she had felt would have probably made itself known; something she did not want.


    Her action seemed to cause a small amount of confusion as the approaching pair briefly hesitated before they resumed their journey. Aperio cocked her head to the other side at their reaction. Are they connected to the core? She could no longer see the traces of mana that connected everything, but a closer inspection of the core and the approaching people revealed a little bit of mana darting back and forth between the three. So the dungeon does use mana to talk to its monsters? Why have I not seen it before, then?


    The only explanation she could think of at the moment was that she had not known what exactly to look for, something she only knew after she had used more than a fraction of her might. And peered into that white space, whatever that was.


    With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused back on the pair that had by now made their way to just behind the core. The winged Goddess sent a small mental nudge to her daughter, asking if she knew what these beings were, but only got a negative in reply. If she doesn''t know, then who does?


    Assuming that Ferio knew everything that happened in the world was probably foolish but, thus far, she had been able to answer most of Aperio''s questions. That she did not know of an entire species, or other hybrid crossings, seemed unlikely.


    With slightly narrowed eyes, Aperio observed the two. The maid stood two steps behind the man, clearly wearing the uniform for more than simple amusement, while the man himself was staring intently at the winged Goddess. After a few more moments of silence, Aperio felt her mana shift inside the core.


    She shifted the swordstaff in her hand in reply, the weapon leaving a trail of silver and blue in the air. While the man took an almost imperceptible step at her action and swallowed slightly, the maid flared her wings and produced a spear through what Aperio assumed to be a storage skill of some kind. The spear was not particularly threatening, being made from the same green metal that Aperio knew to be ineffective. Probably even more so now.


    "What do you seek, traveller?" the man asked, his voice filled with apprehension.


    Aperio took an unnecessary breath, drawing just enough mana from her well to prepare for every potentiality of the fight she knew was soon to come.


    "I have come to reclaim what is mine."


    GamingWolf


    Ah yes, the view is quite nice from the top of a cliff.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Advent – Chapter 55: Principle of Creation

    GamingWolf


    "Dungeons are known to create, not to take the belongings of others," the horned man said. His voice was still apprehensive, but it was clear he did not believe the dungeon would have anything that belonged to Aperio. His next words were mumbled more to himself than the winged Goddess. "What could a dungeon even take?"


    Aperio took another step forward and pointed her weapon at the core. ¡°It is made from my mana; taken without my consent. I will reclaim what is mine."


    The dragon-maid gripped her spear tighter at Aperio''s rather forceful declaration while the horned butler let his eyes wander, taking in the core, Aperio, and the rest of her group. He did not seem to understand what exactly she meant, asking the core what the winged Goddess was talking about. At least, Aperio assumed that was what the increased frequency of mana darting between the two meant.


    As the anger was still rising in her chest, Aperio directed her own thoughts at the core itself. At first she had refrained from doing so, foolishly fearing what might happen. Despite her rather timid acceptance of who ¡ª and what ¡ª she was, Aperio was still afraid of what she could do; even when she knew that her abilities would solve an issue or at least expedite the process.


    Her mind''s voice crashed into the crystalline structure, causing tiny cracks to form on its surface. The demand which she had conveyed went unanswered, however. The only reply was a frantic step forwards from the horned man as he moved to stand between the angered Goddess and the core. The dragon-maid, too, advanced a pace towards Aperio, slightly angling her spear to point at the winged Goddess.


    "Please, I''m sure we can find a way to resolve this without violence," the butler said.


    She wanted to destroy the core right this instant, wanted to call it an abomination; curse it for imprisoning a part of her mana and memories. For twisting her creation. But, she did not strike. Instead, she directed her gaze to the horned man. Within the scope of her aura she could feel Ferio and Caethya shifting to properly view the man, her daughter also taking on something Aperio presumed to be a fighting stance of some sort.


    "I will not let it continue to use what is mine to further its twisted goals." Her statement was final. No matter what resolution he sought, she would not leave without reclaiming what she had come for. "Stand aside or perish."


    Both the dragon-elf and the butler seemed to argue with the core, the bits of mana flying between the three increasing in both speed and frequency. A moment later the mist seeped out of its crystalline prison again, forming another imitation of Aperio.


    She glared at her mist-born copy, raising her hand to dismiss it like she had done before. Clearly reacting to her threat of removal, the mist morphed, losing its wings and changing its shape slightly. It still looked very similar to Aperio herself, but it was clear that it was trying to appease the winged Goddess.


    Does it even know who I am? In Aperio''s mind, it had to. It had obviously recognised her, empowering its guardians to keep at her at bay. As fruitless as it was. She shifted her weight to her other leg and adjusted the grip of her weapon ever so slightly. The motion caused the Dragon-Elf to grip her own weapon tighter, her scaled knuckles somehow managing to appear whiter than before.


    "Whoever made you has no more claim to the Mana of Origin than any other of my kind," the misty figure said, its voice echoing and overlapping as if multiple people were speaking at once. The language it used was not one Aperio knew, and yet she could understand it just fine.


    The implications of that were ignored as its words caused Aperio''s anger to flare, the weight of her aura increasing in response. She drew more mana from her well almost on reflex, an expression of her anger that caused the decorated windows of the cathedral-like building to shatter. She flared her wings, tiny arcs of her mana already dancing around them as she pointed her swordstaff at the core.


    "Made me?!" Her words caused the cracks of her mental assault to further spread across the core. Tiny wisps of smoke leaked out and dissolved into the air. She knew her next words to be true, she was the genesis of all that existed; had seen how it all connected back to her with her own two eyes. "I am the Origin of all Creation!"


    Saying it out loud felt right to a degree nothing had before; even her realisation of one of her Domains could not compare. She was the one who made this universe, created its laws and governed all that lived within. How dare a glorified piece of rock question her nature? How dare it presume her might came from anywhere but herself?


    The floor cracked beneath Aperio''s feet as she took a step towards the core, a slash of her swordstaff slicing through the core''s projection, causing it to dissolve. Both the dragon-maid and the horned butler quickly moved away, clearly not wanting to stand in the way of the being that had just proclaimed to be the creator of everything they knew. That both of them looked sickly pale was pointedly ignored, for they had come upon the beck and call of the thing that dared to withhold what had been stolen from her.


    Taking another step forward, Aperio drew more mana from her well, letting the power course through her veins. She could feel the world around her slow as her mind''s reach expanded; could see the tiny threads of her mana that held reality together. Her weapon thrummed as her mana surged through it, almost as if it was anticipating the violence that was to come.


    She ignored the mental call of her daughter to calm herself as she took another step towards the core and, with a swing of her arms that felt so blissfully natural, embedded her blade into it. A quivering shudder seemed to scuttle across the surface of reality. Everything shook violently ¡ª just once ¡ª and then the piercing sound of a thousand voices screaming in unison filled the chamber as the core broke apart and the weapon vanished into her Void.


    Aperio closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she felt the mana the core had kept from her surge through her body. She could feel the changes it brought. Much like her initial transformation in the Void, she could feel her bones breaking and muscles tearing only to be reforged anew, stronger than before. She turned around, facing her daughter and Caethya. They were so small; insignificant. Weak.


    She drew more mana from her well, aiding the still ongoing flood of mana from the destroyed crystal in its mission to bring the change she had never admitted she wanted. Aperio took another deep breath, ignoring the wispy smoke of mana she exhaled in the proces. What she was doing felt right, the scepticism to trust her instincts gone as she knew them to be true just as surely as she knew her name.


    Ferio''s assumption had been correct. Along with her mana returning to her, so did memories of a time she could not recall. There was nothing to speak of in the thoughts that she retrieved ¡ª nothing, in quite a literal sense. Images of herself hanging in a black abyss not unlike her Void flooded her mind.The only difference was that this place did not feel like home; not welcome. Just cold nothing.


    Then, with a thought, a surge of energy erupted from her figure to fill the nothingness that prevailed around her. She wanted to do the same now, let her might do what it was supposed to and form reality according to her will. But, despite the pleasure she knew it would bring, Aperio restrained herself, if only for the sake of her daughter and her blessed. The change and re-creation her body was undergoing would have to be enough for the moment.


    Returning her focus to the newly returned memory caused more of her anger to wash away. Seeing ¡ª remembering ¡ª the creation of the universe she lived in brought a measure of calm nothing else could compare to. The feeling of her mind brushing against all that she had made; her creations thrumming with joy at her presence.


    Seeing how the nothingness slowly shifted to a star-filled sky over what Aperio knew to be aeons caused a spark of delight to race through her. That she was older than anything else that existed did not matter to her when she could finally remember, actually see for herself what she could do.


    The mana flowing through her body reacted to the joy she felt at her memories, as the air around her took on a spring-like quality. A slight breeze swept through the eerily silent building, brushing against Aperio''s wings and letting her hair flow in a way she would have deemed impossible had she still been a mortal.


    More wisps of her mana danced around her, almost as if they enjoyed the remembrance of their mistress''. She took another breath, her nose picking up a faint scent that she could not place but that sparked a newly-returned memory of herself and young Ferio running over a vast plain of green. It was something she had not known she had missed. How could I have known? I didn''t remember any of it.


    She let out a breath of wispy, mana-filled air and opened her eyes. No longer did she stand on the cold floor of the core''s cathedral but on a field of grass and flowers. Looking up, Aperio saw tiny clouds floating just beneath the ceiling, lazily drifting in the breeze that still gently flowed through the room.


    The mana of her well and the dead dungeon was still coursing through her, doing its best to further her body¡¯s endless quest for perfection. Currently, however, it did not matter to Aperio. The world around her seemed more alive than before, more colourful, almost as if she had previously viewed it through a dirtied window that turned everything on the other side bleak and lifeless. The threads of her mana that tied reality together shone brighter than the time she had drawn on her well in anger, seemingly happy at her current calmness.


    Aperio folded her wings behind her back, smiling slightly at the silver and blue sheen her black feathers had taken on, and moved towards her daughter. Ferio had done her best to aid her mother ever since they had been reunited. But, despite her help there had always been a tiny voice of doubt in Aperio''s mind that claimed she was being used. That Ferio was using her for her own goals.


    She had never listened to the voice, and now she knew it to be wrong. Aperio stepped in front of her daughter, ignoring the fact that she now towered over her. Ferio had said that drawing on her well had affected her size the last time she had done so but, much like that time, Aperio herself had not noticed until it was unavoidably obvious.


    Lifting Ferio off the ground, Aperio wrapped her arms and wings around her. This time, there was no feeling of wrongness or anything of the like. Only joy that she could finally remember her daughter, and her previous life.


    How she had made her daughter''s soul, formed her likeness and raised her. The joy and sadness as Ferio discovered her Domains while she could not find her own, the anger when one of the Goddesses she had allowed to ascend tried to take her daughter, and the sadness she had felt but could never show after a disagreement with her Ferio. There was still a lot more that was missing, she knew that, but truly knowing felt better than just an ethereal feeling of right or wrong.


    She gave her daughter a gentle squeeze, not wanting to hurt her daughter with the new strength she knew her excessive influx of mana had brought. Ferio returned the gesture, wiping away a tear from her mother''s cheek with a content smile on her face.


    After Aperio set her daughter down again, she turned her attention to the one she had blessed. Caethya was looking at her with wide eyes, looking as if she was ready to fall over any minute. For a brief moment Aperio feared that her aura had become so oppressive that she had hurt her, but a look at the pair the core had summoned removed that doubt. They were looking just fine.


    Neither of them was deathly pale anymore, nor did they show any signs she had previously observed when people were negatively affected by her aura. What surprised her more was that she knew why they suffered no harm from her aura despite the fact that she was still drawing more and more mana from her well.


    Aperio had not anticipated answers. She had expected a vague feeling that perhaps would lead her to answers later, not solid knowledge that she could now easily recall. She had been fighting her nature, struggling with what she knew to be true. Of course the beings that were a product of her creations would feel the ever-shifting swirl of her emotions. That struggle was no more, her mana no longer lashing out at her surroundings in constant turmoil. Now it was weaving its way through the mana that had always filled the air, almost joyfully dancing with threads of reality.


    Her reverie was interrupted by a silver-framed System notification.


    Anomalous Entity removed.


    Temporary control over Entity¡¯s Soul-bound minions has been seized by the System.


    Terminate all Soul-bound minions?


    Aperio tilted her head at the notification. Did she want to fully destroy the dungeon? Can I have the System run it? It should be able to, right? Sadly, the memories she had retrieved did not bring more insights into the System itself. They did, however, grant her an understanding that she had not had before. She simply knew that it could perform the task she wanted it to; just not how. Annoying.


    She directed her thoughts towards the space the formation of runes that comprised the System resided in, trying to find something that would help her find a way to get it to do what she wanted. There was a small pull coming from a section of space that was filled with inactive rune formations. A part of her knew what she was looking for to be there, hidden amongst the masses of unused parts.


    For a brief moment Aperio considered turning them all on to see what would happen. She had more than enough mana to do so, after all. Still, she decided against it. Aperio still knew too little, and it would be unwise to activate everything without knowing the scope the consequences might take.


    Following the nudge from her instincts led her to a large diamond-shaped mass of runes. The connection between the previous core and the System¡¯s interpretation of it was obvious the moment she laid her eyes on it. Or did they take the shape of this? That was probably what had happened, the System had existed long before the dungeons after all.


    After she had eased a bit of her mana into the new part of the System, another notification appeared before her.


    Partial functionality restored: Combat Trials.


    New designation assigned by the will of the Creator: Dungeons.


    Aperio blinked at the notification. If it knows what I want to do, why can''t it just turn the things I want on by itself? Further thoughts were interrupted by another window.


    Area and entities suitable for ''Dungeon'' deployment found.


    Previously Soul-bound entities will be replaced.


    Please designate an Entity or Entities to oversee ''Dungeon'' designated ''Principle of Creation''.


    GamingWolf


    Remember.


    This is also the end of the second arc!


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 56: Decisions Overseen

    GamingWolf


    Aperio dismissed the notifications with a thought before she set her eyes upon Caethya. Her first choice for someone to look over the dungeon was either her or Laelia, but she somehow doubted either of them would want to do so. Perhaps they shouldn''t. She still liked the idea of watching them ascend to Godhood, something an appointment as Overseer for a dungeon would probably slow down.


    Nonetheless, she sent a small thought to the one she had blessed. Aperio had hoped that, perhaps, the most recent change would have lessened the pain Caethya would feel upon her mental query, but the slight stagger and twisted face spoke of the opposite. After taking a moment to get her bearings again, Caethya gently shook her head and denied the offer as Aperio had already expected.


    She had also briefly considered Maria for the position of Overseer, but that thought, too, had been quickly discarded. She is too young. And she has not reached out since I left their estate. The girl knew her name, could have prayed to Aperio to talk or make a request, but there had been only silence. Perhaps she is mad at me after all? She put visiting the Terenyk estate back on her mental to-do list. After I¡¯ve sorted this. If she couldn''t find a willing mortal, she could still simply assume the role herself. Now how to ask Laelia...


    With that thought, Aperio focused on her aura, letting her senses fly upwards through the dungeon. She briefly noted that the monsters all seemed to be frozen in place, something the adventurers she saw gleefully took advantage of. The village on the fiftieth floor was filled with a flurry of activity, people preparing for something that would never come. Their frantic actions made Aperio question how they had perceived the death of the dungeon. For her it was a like a shudder had run through reality itself, but something in the back of her mind told her that the mortals would not perceive it like she did. How could they? Her connection to the universe was vastly different from theirs, after all.


    She let her senses expand past the village and the rest of the dungeon, finding the [Grandmaster] in the office of the local guildmaster. Focusing on the pair caused her to hear their voices, a faint whisper that Aperio knew she could pull on to find out more. It was something she would have considered if the [Grandmaster] hadn''t whipped her head around and stared in her direction. There was a brief moment of confusion before she turned back to the guildmaster to continue their talk, seemingly unconcerned that Aperio could be listening in. Does she even know it was me?


    With a shake of her head, the winged Goddess directed her attention towards the house of healing her paladin resided in. She knew she could stretch her senses even further, that her aura''s reach was not limited to the town or even the continent, and yet she did not want to see all there was through her mana''s touch. She might have begun to truly accept what she was, but that did not mean she would immediately become Magistrate of all that there was. Aperio wanted to discover what she had made, see it with her own eyes. Perhaps find something that offers a challenge.


    Finding Laelia was a simple task. Her paladin was a proverbial beacon of mana when compared to those surrounding her. Aperio was certain that there was more mana than before in the Human''s body. Even if the increase wasn''t that much, it was still there. Very carefully, she nudged her mana towards the woman, trying to convey her thoughts as gently as she could.


    Laelia tensed up as soon as the mana touched her, reaching for the sword at her hip before she realised who was invading her mind. Instead of drawing her weapon, she lowered herself to her knees and directed her gaze towards the ceiling, a motion Aperio found highly amusing and wholly unnecessary. She told Laelia as much, the words of her Goddess causing the paladin to jump to her feet and start a flurry of mental apologies.


    Aperio dismissed her concern, instead offering her the position as Overseer over the newly re-created dungeon and, perhaps more importantly, asking why she was not showing any signs of pain. Laelia was quick to deny the offer, stating that she would rather follow her Goddess more closely, but only replied with the mental equivalent of a shrug to the question of feeling pain. According to Laelia, getting a headache was a small price to pay to talk to her Goddess, a mentality Aperio was not quite sure she shared.


    Having eliminated her paladin from the list of Overseer candidates, Aperio turned to face the two people the now-dead core had summoned. As no-one else was accepting the opportunity, she wanted to extend the offer to them. As a test, perhaps. Neither of them had behaved improperly, simply doing what they were asked ¡ª or possibly forced ¡ª to do.


    They shrunk under her gaze, seemingly intimidated by her imposing stature and the wisps of silver and blue that still floated around her. And probably because I killed the thing that summoned them. She felt no remorse for her actions, however; the core had withheld something it had no right to. It had also forced hapless Souls into its service, something that would change once she had appointed a replacement.


    Or, perhaps, they could feel the massive amounts of mana that she had drawn from her well and that still coursed through her body. She did not want to stop at the moment, the feeling of power flowing through her a sensation she had not really known she had missed. Neither did she need to, as Ferio was not asking her to cease her actions, nor was she drawing from her well in anger. Right now she did so simply because she enjoyed it, much like some people would perhaps enjoy a fine wine. Just that this is actually useful. Drinking wine would probably not make one stronger.


    She took a step towards the pair, the fissures that formed under her feet glowing and crackling with her mana. Both of them tried to make themselves even smaller at her approach, tried to hide from the being that had destroyed a dungeon core for good. Aperio stopped just out of arm''s reach of the scared duo. Not that I have to be close to reach anything.


    "I have an offer for you," Aperio said, her voice sounding more ethereal than ever. Soon it sounds like I will whisper directly into their brain¡­ Maybe they will stop wincing when I speak, then? Or will my voice go back to normal as soon as I stop drawing from my well? She doubted that would be the case. The changes brought by the mana she drew were permanent, after all.


    There was no reply, at least not a verbal one. The two of them just looked at her before quickly averting their gaze again. Do I look scary to them? Aperio did not think that would be the case, she wasn''t angry and the tiny wisps and arcs of mana that darted around her looked more otherworldly than scary. Or do they think they are not worthy to lay their eyes upon a Goddess?


    To her that was a silly notion but then, she also was a Goddess. The Goddess. With a shake of her head, she continued her one-sided conversation. "If you wish to oversee this dungeon, I am willing to offer you two a chance to prove that you are more than the mouthpiece of an abomination."


    Both of their heads turned ever so slowly in her direction, this time maintaining their gaze after a moment had passed. Neither of them seemed to really believe what she had said, their suspicion clear on their face as well as practically flowing off of them. Aperio tilted her head at the sensation. She did not share a bond with them like she did with Caethya or Maria and had not expected to gain the same insight into someone''s feelings. Is it because of the influx of mana, or because I retrieved some of my memories? With every moment that passed, what she had reclaimed from the core became clearer in her head, new ¡ª Old? ¡ª information surfacing in her mind. That some of those memories would influence her subconscious and her perception of the world and its people was only to be expected.


    "Y-You are offering us control over this dungeon?" the horned butler asked, seemingly not quite believing his ears.


    "Yes."


    "How?" Aperio had not expected the Dragon-Elf to speak, as she had not made any move to do so before. In response to her question, Aperio focused on the feeling at the back of her mind she knew to be the System. Its request for her to designate an Overseer for the dungeon was still there and, with a thought, Aperio directed it at the pair in front of her. She could see the notifications form in front of them, how the threads of reality changed ever so slightly.


    Both of them looked at the window that had appeared before them, reading through the rather extensive list that had presented itself. Aperio, too, took a look at it through her aura but quickly lost interest. It was simply a collection of the functions they would have access to if they accepted the title of ''Dungeon Master'', none of which was of much interest to the winged Goddess.


    She had no desire to create a new monster or change how the dungeon looked, neither did she care about what the reward for beating it would be. The only things of note to her were a pair of warnings. One informed them that they could still die and that whoever killed them could assume their role or destroy the dungeon, while the other stated that Aperio may change whatever she wished at any time. Why is that even in there? Isn''t that true for all that exists?


    There was no answer to her unspoken question, neither her memory or the System providing anything that would hint as to why this disclaimer was there. With a slight sigh, Aperio turned around and approached her daughter again, letting the Dragon-Elf and horned butler decide their future in peace.


    Ferio looked at her mother with a slight smile on her face, obviously happy that she had regained at least a part of her memories. Aperio herself was not quite sure what she actually wanted to do now. She still had to take care of the other deities that had dared to go against her but, right now, all the All-Mother wanted to do was spend time with her daughter. But, what should we do?


    Aperio couldn''t claim to know what families were supposed to do. The Emperor''s family spent most of their time scheming against one another, something she would hope Ferio would not do. The winged Goddess herself wanted to explore the world she had made and had spent most of her life on. Perhaps even other worlds. But she did not know if Ferio could so simply leave this plane of existence, or even if she had any desire to do so. Are the other worlds even on another plane?


    With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. For now she would have to find a way to deal with Vigil, Inanis, and whoever they had managed to turn against her. She had an idea where she might find an inspirational hint towards infiltrating the Dominions of Vigil and Inanis. It was perhaps a silly idea, but in Aperio''s mind there had to be a reason why the two deities were connected to the moons. To know if her initial idea was useless, all she needed was to pose a simple question.


    "Do you know where your Dominion is, Ferio?" The mention of her daughter''s name caused the maybe-overseers to jerk their heads away from the System-provided window to look at the pair of Goddesses. Aperio chose to ignore them, focusing on Ferio instead.


    Her daughter seemed surprised at the question, tilting her head slightly to the side. Did she get that from me? "I don''t really know? I never really thought about where it would be because I had always assumed it would be in another realm like your Void. Or are you telling me that that is not the case?"


    "I simply had an idea that would perhaps help with finding a way into Vigil''s Dominion," Aperio replied. "I had hoped you could provide a bit more insight, but it would appear I will have to go myself to see if it will work."


    "I''m sorry," Ferio mumbled, lowering her head slightly.


    "For what? You do not have to know everything." I have to.


    "I just want to be able to help you; be useful."


    Aperio cocked her head to the side at the statement. "You have already done more for me than anyone else, it is not your duty to solve my problems."


    The only reply the winged Goddess got was an incoherent mumble as Ferio continued to stare at her feet. Did I do something wrong? She stretched out her arm and gently brushed her hand over her daughter''s hair, a motion she hoped would soothe Ferio. Aperio did not know if it would, but it simply felt like the right thing to do.


    Through her aura she saw Caethya''s eyes darting between herself and Ferio and the two summoned people, a confused look on her face. It was clear that she wanted to say something, perhaps ask why Aperio was talking about rather private matters in front of strangers. Aperio chose to ignore her much like she did the other two in the room. Her attention''s current focus was on figuring out what exactly was wrong with her daughter.


    Ferio had not behaved like this since their reunion and neither could she find anything in her newly reacquired memory that would help. Then, a new notification materialized in front of her.


    A''ryein and Den''kelter have accepted the position of ''Overseer'' over the dungeon designated ''Principle of Creation''.


    In accordance with established rules as set forth by the Creator, the assigned Overseers will be elevated to match the current strongest monster residing in the designated area.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 57: Law of The First

    Aperio tilted her head. How strong is the strongest monster here? Then she dismissed the notification that lingered in front of her. That the System was following rules she had set possibly aeons ago did bother her, but not as much as she had thought it would. In the end, it was just a reminder that she did not understand her creation. With a silent sigh, she directed her attention at the two mortals who had accepted her offer.


    Both of them had fallen to the floor, twisting and turning as more and more mana entered their bodies. Aperio could see the tiny, System-created tears in the fabric of reality that had been made to facilitate the rapid advancement of the two mortals before her, could feel the mana drain from her well.


    What surprised her most ¡ª even though it should not have ¡ª was that despite the amounts that flowed from her well to both herself and now the two mortals, the amount residing within barely changed.


    The Dragon-maid let out a scream that Aperio could not solidly identify as pain or pleasure as the mana guided by the System¡¯s hand started to tear into every fibre of their being. It was a process Aperio was intimately familiar with. Not only had she felt it for what had seemed to be eons after her sacrifice, but just moments before she had gone through the same sensations as she destroyed the crystal core.


    A cracking sound caused Aperio to shift her attention to the horned butler. He had struck at the floor, hitting and breaking one of the few patches uncovered by the grass she had inadvertently created. Much like his Dragon-Elf companion, the mana ravaged through his body; tearing him apart to rebuild him anew.


    The seams that had come undone to allow the mana from her well into this realm closed silently, and the mortals slowly rolled onto their backs; ending the ordeal as suddenly as it had begun. Neither of them spoke a word, instead taking deep breaths to calm themselves.


    A''ryein | [Dungeon Master] | Level: 2389


    Den''kelter | [Dungeon Master] | Level: 2389


    I guess that is strong? It was the highest level she had seen on a mortal, but the monsters she had killed on her way down to the fiftieth floor had reached levels higher than that when they fought her. How does that even work?


    She shook her head, dismissing the thought as well as the tiny voice at the back of her mind that wanted her to challenge the newly elevated [Dungeon Masters]. Both of them were on their knees, panting in exhaustion; neither seemed ready to fight. Is levelling up that exhausting? Or is it because they jumped so many at once?


    The first to get her bearings again was the Dragon-Elf. She righted herself, grabbing her spear for support only for the metal haft of the weapon to break under her grip. Aperio couldn''t help but stifle a laugh at the rather astounded expression of the woman. For a brief moment she considered finding a way to make a suitable weapon to give as a gift, but decided against it. The dungeon should be able to make what they needed, after all. If the System did not lie¡­ Can it even lie? Aperio did not think it could, but then, she also did not know how to check.


    Despite not wanting to spoil what had to have been a rather important moment of their lives, Aperio felt that she had to issue them a warning. "Should I find that you are abusing what you have been given, there will be punishment." Replacing the core with two people that would just enslave people again was not what she wanted to do.


    Both of them turned to look at her and then each other, the glances seemingly a form of communication that only the two of them understood. Aperio had half expected them to attack her, drunk on the power she inadvertently had given them, but they did not. Instead, both clasped their hands together in front of their chest and bowed deeply.


    They did not speak a word. Do I have to tell them that they don''t have to bow? As the seconds ticked by, they simply remained in their bowed position, and Aperio decided that it was, once again, up to her to act. "Rise. You do not need to bow."


    While they did cease to bow, neither of them looked particularly happy at the idea of not paying their respects. Is that a cultural thing? It was a definite possibility, as neither she nor Ferio knew what species either of the two belonged to. Aperio also doubted that Caethya would know; according to the woman herself, she had spent most of her life searching for Aperio.


    "Do you feel obligated to bow?" Aperio asked. "If you have to pay respects to me, do so by not bowing."


    "I think you will have to get used to people paying their respects in some form, mother," Ferio said. "Once they truly know who you are, they will inevitably react with reverence."


    Everyone but Aperio herself seemed to agree with the statement as they nodded their assent. The winged Goddess'' gaze slid from her daughter to the tiny wisps of mana that still danced around her own body. Those probably don''t help¡­ Why is everything I enjoy bound to make my life harder? Her wings, her voice, even just her presence alone seemed to somehow inform people that she was more than one would assume. Towering over most people and having mana dancing around her physical form was certainly only going to compound the effects.


    And yet, Aperio did not want to hide what she was or what she could do. Complaining about this is also a bit weird, isn''t it? Most people would probably give everything they had to be in her position. She would too, and in a way, she already had. I did die for this. Twice, apparently.


    How exactly she ended up as a slave was still a mystery to her; the only God she had fought so far had been laughably weak. Her daughter had, in her own words, mentioned that she had been able to fight Vigil and Inanis herself. She had also said that Aperio was now beyond her in terms of raw power. So how did they do it? ...Or did I do it myself? She had looked forward to her death, but so far Aperio had always seen it as a way to escape a life of slavery. Why would I choose to die before, then?


    As it stood, she could not find a reason. She had no desire to leave Ferio alone with deities that despised her simply because they did not like her mother. Nor did she want to give up what she had finally gotten back, even if it filled her life with minor annoyances. With a sigh, she relegated the thoughts to the back of her mind.


    "Perhaps you are right. I will still endeavour to make them not do it as, in the end, I am just another person." Aperio paused and gestured around the grass-filled room. "I may have made all of this, but that does not mean I want people to stop living their lives to thank me for doing so. As long as I can have my peace, I am happy." Now I just have to figure out what I need to do to be at peace. Removing Vigil, Inanis, and the rest of the uppity deities was certainly a step in the right direction, but Aperio felt like there was most certainly more to it. Like finding something worth fighting.


    "Is it so wrong that we want to show our gratitude, Lady Aperio?" Caethya inquired, her voice a lot less steady than her appearance suggested.


    Aperio tilted her head at the question. "No, I simply wish to get rid of the notion that it is required." Is it that important to her?


    "We do not bow simply because you are stronger than we are, my Goddess," the horned butler ¡ª Den''kelter ¡ª said. "We bow because we want to show our sincere gratitude. It is the way our ancestors have done it for generations."


    "Where did you two come from, anyway?" Aperio asked, pressing the feeling of disgust deep down where it belonged. She had a suspicion, but did not want to say it aloud before they had made their own claim.


    "The Valley of Everlasting Fire," A''ryein replied. "We served under Fel''Erreyth. He is the strongest Dragon on Verenier. Or, was." Her last words were spoken with a sly smile on her face that caused Aperio to raise an eyebrow.


    "My deepest apologies, my Goddess. We have failed to make proper introductions." Den''kelter spoke a bit louder than necessary, an obvious attempt to detract attention from the Dragon-maid, who was quickly looking like she might devolve into giggles at any moment. "I am Den''kelter, formerly the head butler of his majesty Fel''Erreyth, [Regent of Procul]. Now I serve The First." His words were accompanied by a deep bow, a motion A''ryein quickly followed before speaking herself.


    "My name is A''ryein. I, too, have served his majesty Fel''Erreyth, first as a Lady in Waiting for one of his wives and later as his personal maid under Den''kelter. But now, under the Laws of The First, I serve you; my Lady."


    Laws of The First? Did someone make a set of laws around me? She narrowed her eyes at the thought. So people do remember me, or am I misunderstanding this? It also led to another question, one that she could potentially even get an answer to. "Why are you so ready to discard your old liege? And what does this ''Regent of Procul'' have to do with dungeons?" Since when does an entire continent have a Regent, anyway?


    The set of questions seemed to confuse everyone but Ferio. Instead of being surprised that her mother did not know everything, she too seemed eager for an answer. Well, she did not know what they were either. Are they Dragons that changed their form? Can they even do that? ...If not, what exactly would a Dragon need a butler or maid for? Scale polishing?


    "The Laws of The First, simply put, state that we are to follow The First. The Strongest. The one who, through the very might of their being, brought forth life from nothing. You have declared yourself the Origin of all Creation, and your very words resonated within my soul. I know, without a doubt, that they are true. Even if they were not, you bestowed upon us strength ¡ª strength that rivals even that of our old liege ¡ª in a gesture that seemed effortless. Like it was nothing. That, alone, makes you more deserving of our devotion." Den''kelter''s voice was bordering on reverent, and it was only now that he truly looked at Aperio. "I may not be a Dragon myself, and A''ryein may only carry a portion of her mother''s heritage, but we have, since time immemorial, followed the same laws as our ancestors."


    The notion that she might not have spoken the truth about her nature caused a bit of anger to boil up in the winged Goddess. She pushed it down of course, but it was still there at the back of her mind, demanding she punish the mortal in front of her. Annoying. "Following someone just because they are strong is not always a good idea. I am also not looking to found a new religion."


    "I am sorry, my Lady, but I don''t think even you could prevent that by simply asking," A''ryein said. "If you do not directly prohibit what people do, they will start to worship you. It is simply a matter of time."


    "She is right, mother," Ferio agreed. "And you have made it quite clear that you dislike anything that takes away the freedom of others."


    "Perhaps you are correct. However, that does not mean I have to like it." Aperio sighed, ignoring how the breeze flowing through the room had gotten colder at her exasperated gesture. ¡°That also does not answer why you have been summoned here, though.¡±


    ¡°Fel¡¯Erreyth rules from the Heart of Fire, a dungeon of his own,¡± A¡¯ryein said. ¡°Why or how it has chosen him, I do not know. Much like the The Laws of the First, it is a tradition that has been at the core of the culture of Procul. Though it was not always a dungeon that chose the next Regent, it was always something that has been touched by the mana of Origin. Touched by you, my Lady.¡±


    ¡°So, the dungeon called for help? Why?¡± How? She had not noticed anything akin to a call for help. Especially one to another continent. Perhaps I just don¡¯t know where to look?


    ¡°No, Fel¡¯Erreyth orded us to verify a claim made by the Heart of Fire. We were simply the closest reliable members of his court he could send. That we would meet The First was not something we anticipated.¡±


    ¡°It seems I will have to pay this Fel¡¯Erreyth a visit sometime soon,¡± Aperio said with a shake of her head. ¡°When I do so, I would be delighted to have you as my guides. For now, however, I have done what I came here to do. You may do with this dungeon what you wish as long as you abstain from slavery and other vile acts. I will not tolerate such abuse of my gifts." Even if I did not mean to give some of them.


    She had tried to give her voice a bit of finality, make it clear she would not accept her gifts being abused. Judging by how the two newly appointed [Dungeon Masters] bowed, she seemed to have made her point clear. Towering over them and being wreathed in my own mana probably helps, too.


    While Aperio had no mirror handy with which to take a look at herself, she had taken a moment to inspect the physical changes drawing on her well brought through her aura. Besides being taller and having wisps of her mana float around her, Aperio could not really see a difference. Perhaps a mortal sees it differently?


    With a shake of her head, she turned her attention towards Caethya and her daughter. For a moment she considered reaching out with her mind to convey her idea, but decided against it. Ferio might be able to take her continued barrage of thoughts, but she was not so sure about Caethya. She had been stronger than most anyone Aperio had seen thus far, but the reaction she had had to her few attempts at mental communication had not been promising.


    As a private talk via thoughts was out of the question for the moment, Aperio simply opened a portal to her Void with a wave of her hand. Den''kelter and A''ryein might have said they were devoted to her, but that did not mean she trusted them. Trust requires action, not words.


    Neither of her companions needed further encouragement to step into her Void, Caethya even looking eager to go back to her Goddess¡¯ Dominion. Aperio gave her two newest followers a last look before stepping through the portal as well.


    GamingWolf


    Das some old laws, my dudes.


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 Crusade – Chapter 58: Over the Moon

    GamingWolf


    Caethya bowed her head slightly as her Goddess entered the Void ¡ª a name she was not sure she had heard before or simply knew because of her connection to Aperio ¡ª and closed the portal behind her. There were a great many things she wanted to ask, but her voice was currently struggling to make itself known. Ever since Aperio had revealed what Caethya assumed to be something closer to her true form, she had felt oddly calm. However, it had also reminded her just who ¡ª and what ¡ª her Goddess actually was.


    Her presence alone demanded respect, something that made speaking all the harder for the young Elf. That she towered over everyone present and had wreathed herself in mana also did not help. Finally, being able to feel and see her Goddess growing stronger with each passing moment had removed the last bit of confidence she had with which to ask what was on her mind.


    Throughout all of this, the most surprising thing for Caethya ¡ª the thing that lingered most in her thoughts ¡ª was that her Goddess did not seem to care that her dress was no longer quite as modest as it once had been. Couldn''t she just make it fit perfectly again? She couldn''t claim to understand the mind of a Goddess, but in this case Caethya somehow doubted there was much to think about. Not if one wants to continue living, at least. She was certain that unprompted advances would not go over well with Aperio. How do I even know that?


    An ethereal sigh that somehow shook her very soul ripped Caethya out of her thoughts and caused her to look at her Goddess. She had summoned her weapon again, absentmindedly twirling it with one hand. As it whirled through the Void on its revolving path, the blade itself somehow cut through the nothingness that was equivalent to air in this place. The slices it left healed almost instantly, but in that fraction of a second the young Elf glimpsed something she did not understand, and which gave her a headache when she tried to focus on it further.


    "Are you certain that you do not know where your Dominion is, Ferio?" Aperio asked.


    "I am sorry mother, but I truly don''t know," Ferio replied. "...I could bring us there? Maybe that would help? But, why does it matter where exactly my Dominion is, anyway?"


    That the Goddess of Life and Light was the daughter of the All-Mother was not something Caethya had known. Neither had she known the physical appearance of the Goddess, despite having grown up on Spicor and having attended more than one service performed by her church. A statue really doesn''t properly convey her presence.


    "I wish to test a theory, one that ¡ª if proven successful ¡ª would make our search for Vigil much easier."


    "Test?" The word had slipped unbidden from Caethya''s lips. The idea that the All-Mother had to test anything seemed somehow wrong to her.


    In response to her question, Aperio''s eyes settled onto the young Elf. The way the gaze seemed to pierce straight to her core caused Caethya to shrink a little. The tiny wisps of mana that danced around the All-Mother seemed to shine a bit brighter, ready to burn anything they touched. A tiny voice in the back of her mind insisted that her life was now forfeit, to be snuffed out by her Goddess for doubting her abilities.


    "Yes...test," Aperio said slowly. "There are a few deities that have done something I cannot tolerate; now they are hiding and I do not know where. I have my suspicions, but I will not know for certain without testing it."


    Caethya tore her eyes from her Goddess and directed them at the nothing below her feet. Why did I ask? Having the attention of the All-Mother on her felt good in a way, but did things to her that she did not like. Under the Goddess'' gaze, she found she couldn''t manage to concentrate on any one thing, and even now that she wasn''t under such intense scrutiny there was still a strange feeling lingering within her stomach. It distracted her in ways she had never before experienced, pointing out the way muscles slid around under the skin of her Goddess with every move, or the subtle curves when she took on contrapposto poses. It all culminated in a very foreign feeling, one that brought a joy to her mind but still slipped past her understanding to cause confusion.


    Already the load on her mind was heavy, but adding to it was the way she also somehow knew her Goddess, knew the way she felt. It was affecting her emotions greatly, and she was about to try to grapple with its meaning again when a warm sensation spread across her cheek, ripping her out of her thoughts. Directly in front of her was her Goddess. With no weapon in sight, her gentle, warm hand pulled away from Caethya''s cheek to very carefully brush aside a few strands of her hair. The angle of the elbow, the bends in the nimble fingers, all augmented with mana that flowed to her from the Goddess at every touch; it caused shivers to run down her spine.


    Caethya stiffened as she met the eyes of the All-Mother. The pair of irises drew in her attention, seeming to be comprised of flecks of color that slowly danced and revolved around one another and refused to stay still. They were silver, and blue, and all possible shades between, and each time the Goddess blinked they seemed to resolve into a new, fascinating arrangement of color.


    "Is something wrong?"


    There was a softness to Aperio''s voice that Caethya had not heard before. With every word she spoke, a wave of calm spread through her entire being, something that had not happened before. There was also a note of concern present that she had not expected. Why would she care? Of course, she knew that the All-Mother wouldn''t just bless anyone, but neither did Caethya understand why she would be concerned for her. She had always assumed Aperio did not care for the lives of mortals, a belief she would have to rectify.


    "I-I''m fine," she managed to stammer out.


    The All-Mother removed her hand at the comment, causing the trickle of mana that flowed from her hand to cease. Caethya let out a small, shaky breath at the disappearance of the feeling that had raced down her spine. What was that?


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she stood up to her full height again; she had found nothing truly wrong with Caethya''s body. The mana that she knew came from her blessing had been calmer than before, more focused on its endless task of improvement. Still, she doubted that that was the reason for the Elf''s reaction. As soon as she had focused on Caethya the woman had locked up, and her cheeks had flushed in embarrassment after she had asked a rather innocent question.


    "Are you sure?" Aperio inquired, ignoring the light giggle from her daughter. "I do not think that is a normal reaction."


    "I think you underestimate the effect you have on people, mother. Especially in your current form."


    Aperio frowned and looked down at herself; she could still not see much of a difference besides having gained a bit of height. Perhaps it¡¯s the mana and the glow? A slight, almost imperceptible light did shine from her skin, but she doubted anyone aside from herself, and perhaps Ferio, would be able to even notice. It''s certainly not like what happened when I first drew on my well. Back then, the light had had a true radiance to it, looking almost otherworldly.


    With a slight rustling, her wings flared out slightly behind her back. They had gained a faint sheen ever since she started drawing on her well again, but not to an extent that Aperio thought would provoke a reaction outside of surprise at the fact that she even had wings to begin with. "What effect do I have on people?"


    "Caethya can probably explain that best herself," Ferio said, with what Aperio would describe as a soft tone of mischief in her voice.


    The Elven woman took a slight step back as a bit of redness spread to the tips of her ears. She is easily embarrassed, isn''t she? Luckily, Aperio herself had long gotten rid of her own feelings of embarrassment. Even if the reasons for that are not pleasant. While she had done so out of necessity before, now she saw no reason to hide herself or be embarrassed about any part of her. But then, not everyone will think like that, will they?


    She might have begun to accept what she was and how she would look for the rest of eternity, but the same was likely true for anyone else. I should know that the mind plays tricks on itself. She might have stayed sane through ordeals that would have broken other people, but that had only served to defer the pain that brought until later. Even if nothing in her past could ever occur again, she still had to come to terms with it like anyone else.


    "Do I scare you?" Aperio asked. "Or do you simply do not perform well under stress?"


    "No, my Goddess," Caethya said, vigorously shaking her head in reply. "I-it''s just that whenever I look at you, or you focus your attention on me, I can''t think straight. I¡­ I don''t know why. It''s not panic that hinders me, but a twisting feeling in my stomach. My thoughts run wild, trying to to predict outcomes I somehow know won''t happen. I can also feel what you feel, somehow. Right now, you are like a beacon in the dark that guides me to calm waters through the storming thoughts in my head."


    She paused and took a deep breath, seemingly steeling herself for what she was about to say. "I do not know where any of this comes from and yes, it scares me. I know it''s not something you do on purpose, and yet you are the cause. Your presence alone brings me joy. It also fills me with worries I know are not true but that I still cannot banish from my mind."


    Aperio cocked her head to the other side. She had not really experienced any emotion that was in any way similar to what her blessed had described. The only thing she could think of was the inexplicable joy she had felt when her memories of Ferio''s youth had returned. There was a feeling lingering at the back of her mind, however, one that told her she knew what this was and how she should respond, but it remained out of reach.


    With a sigh, she lowered her head. "You are free to leave if you believe it to be best for you. There is nothing you owe me and I will not force you to follow me." She did not like the idea of sending Caethya away, but neither did she want to be the source of her discomfort. Aperio had hoped she could find a friend in the Elf, someone of her kind. At least, what I used to be. And, perhaps, someone who would treat her like a person instead of worshipping her as the Creator of all they knew.


    "Her leaving won''t solve this problem," Ferio said, her mouth turning upwards in a smirk. "And no, I will not tell you what I think is causing it. That''s something you have to work out yourself."


    The outright refusal of answers accompanied by a smirk caused a wave of rage to sweep through Aperio, her Void cloaking everything in darkness for a breath in response. "Fine. The decision is yours Caethya, just know that you are welcome at my side should you choose to stay."


    "I don''t want to leave," Caethya mumbled.


    "Then you stay," Aperio said, startling the Elf. Did she think I did not hear her?


    "Yes, I will stay. I want to learn from you, grow stronger. Who could be a better teacher than the one who made everything?"


    Aperio gave a wry smile and a brief nod at Caethya''s response. I can think of a few. I hope she can figure out why my presence does that to her. The winged Goddess herself could only think of a handful of things that could be the cause, most of which she would rather not like to be true.


    "May we enter your Dominion then, Ferio? I still would like to see it before I waste my time on an experiment that is doomed to fail."


    "Of course!" Her daughter''s words were accompanied by a notification that invited her to Ferio''s Dominion. She promptly accepted. Once she had, she saw the same message she had gotten before entering Natio''s Dominion. Am I that far beyond the other Gods and Goddesses? The obvious answer was yes, a fact she knew to be true but still was not sure she fully liked.


    After a few more moments, Aperio heard Caethya gasp and found herself standing on a red carpet in a brightly lit plaza. What she noticed right after the unnatural softness of the carpet below her bare feet was the warm summer breeze that flowed through her daughter''s Dominion, and the fact that the sky was an ever-shifting mirage of yellow, orange, and red. Almost like the sun, she mused.


    It was what she had hoped would be the case. If her daughter''s Dominion was somehow bound to the place the mortals associated her with, Aperio had little doubt that she could find a way from that location into the Dominion. Never thought I would visit the moons.


    She felt no hesitation or trepidation at the thought of leaving the planet to fly to a celestial body, her instincts instead rejoicing at the idea. Perhaps what is beyond will be similar to my Void? Looking at the night''s sky certainly revealed a similar image.


    "Thank you, Ferio. This is most insightful."


    Ferio raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Already done? What were you looking to find anyway?"


    "I wanted to know if your Dominion is somehow bound to what the mortals associate you with," Aperio said, gesturing at the sky. "You are known to some as the Goddess of the Sun, are you not?"


    Ferio gave a light nod. "Yes; it is a source of light and life, both of my Domains." There was a moment of silence before her daughter''s eyes widened a little. "Are you sure my Dominion is somehow bound to this sun? I am known in more worlds than just one."


    "Perhaps not," Aperio admitted, ignoring the disgusting feeling rising up in her throat. "But to me it feels like the correct solution. Or at least an idea worth investigating."


    "You want to go to the moons?" Caethya asked. "I have heard that Vigil and Inanis built temples for their most devout followers there. I never believed those rumours, though."


    Aperio held out her hands to both Ferio and Caethya. "Why do we not go and see for ourselves?"


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 59: A Most Peculiar Journey

    Aperio knew where she wanted to go, and a thought was all she needed to bend reality to her will. She spread her wings as she felt Ferio''s Dominion shift around her, saw how her mana separated the threads that held reality together and wove them back together in new ways to bring her where she wanted.


    A moment later, she appeared above the ruined city she had first returned to. Neither her daughter nor Caethya fell, as both were being held aloft by a touch of Aperio''s magic. The young Elf averted her gaze before making use of her own flying skill while Ferio seemed content to rely on her mother''s magic.


    Aperio took a deep breath of the cold air, letting it fill her lungs. She knew that she did not need to breathe, but found the familiar sensation to be soothing to her mind. Visiting the moons was never something she thought she would do, much less on her own power. Perhaps it is an insane idea after all?


    There was a small bit of doubt in her mind, one that said she could not simply fly to her destination. She was certain that she could, however. The small part of her mind that claimed otherwise? Just a remnant that still did not accept what she had become. What do I have to fear from space? My Void is filled with nothing as well.


    She could feel what was beyond the clouds; a vast expanse of emptiness that was wholly devoid of air and warmth. Aperio tilted her head the sensation, not quite knowing what to make of it. That her aura''s reach encompassed the vast nothing that existed outside the world did not surprise her, a part of her having already known that it was without bounds.


    The countless lights that filled the night sky twinkled playfully, almost as if they were vying for Aperio''s attention; as if they were alive. They reminded her of the souls drifting through her void. Two sets of lights, linked. One was comprised of the seeds from which life could sprout; the other, the givers of warmth that would sustain them once they had.


    "Beautiful, is it not?" Ferio asked, ripping her mother out of her reverie.


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "It is." How did I make all of this? Besides the glimpses of the universe coming into existence and the feeling of her mana spreading through it all, Aperio did not know how she had done so. There was no planning she could see in her memories, just a rapid explosion of her mana that set in motion machination she could not remember. Only that it created all of this.


    "Caethya, can you traverse the nothingness beyond on your own, or do you require my aid?" Aperio could feel that the space beyond the planet was filled with a myriad of things that made no sense to her. Calling it a ''nothingness'' was technically wrong, but for most people it would undoubtedly appear as empty.


    The Elf directed her gaze at the sky, a sliver of her mana reaching out past the reaches of the planet''s atmosphere. "I could survive for a while, but not long enough to reach either of the moons. I fear that I will require your help if you wish me to accompany you."


    Aperio waved her off. "Helping you will not be a problem. Having you come against your will, however, would be. You do not have to come if you do not want to."


    Caethya focused on her feet at the words. "I want to come, but I also do not want to be a burden. I have spent my entire adult life searching for you. On my own terms, through my own strength. Despite all my years of effort, despite all that I have learned, this is something I cannot overcome on my own. Asking for help ¨C especially from you, my Goddess ¨C does not sit well with me."


    "I understand that asking for help can be hard," Aperio said, glancing at her daughter. "But know that you are not a burden to me. You wanted to learn from me, did you not?" After the winged Goddess had received a hesitant nod in reply she continued, ignoring the vile taste at the back of her throat. "Then see this as your first lesson. Asking for help is not a bad thing. If someone has offered to help you, they will not see you as a burden if you choose to accept."


    "Something you should take to heart yourself, mother," Ferio mumbled, looking at Aperio with what she assumed to be concern.


    "Yes, I should." The reply took more effort to push past her lips than most other things she had said since she had returned. Perhaps having a disciple will help with this?


    There was a spark of joy that surfaced whenever she thought about teaching Caethya, bringing her closer to godhood. It felt similar to what she now remembered from Ferio''s official ascension. Her daughter might have come into the world a Goddess, but neither the pantheon nor the System had recognised her as such until she had proven herself. It had been an event that had filled Aperio with a joy and happiness that she had only felt once before. At least that I can remember.


    Only the creation of everything there was had given her a similar feeling, the fact that she would no longer be alone a relief that she had not known before. For Aperio, the seeming similarity in the current situation simply meant that it was something important. She would do her damnedest to ensure that it would work.


    She took another breath of the cool night air and closed her eyes, focusing on the rhythmic beat of her wings that kept her aloft. A thought was all she needed to send her senses racing towards the bright white moon that hung above them. Aperio had no intention to teleport her group to their destination like she had done in the dungeon ¡ª something about the nothingness intrigued her, as though it were calling to her. She wanted to experience it for herself, as well as to slowly approach what the traitorous God had built to see it for herself.


    It did not take her long to spot the large dome of mana that separated lush green fields and flower beds from the grey and white rock of the moon. Pushing past the barrier caused Aperio to briefly pause, the mana comprising it feeling somehow familiar. She creased her brows as she extended her senses deeper into the sprawling complex Vigil had built.


    The people inside paid no attention to her mana brushing past them, most of them busy with other things. Some were on their knees in front of altars or statues, obviously praying to their God; while others were out in the open, sparring against one another. There were more people in a building to the side, but Aperio had no desire to see more than the passive trickle of information her aura had already provided.


    Ferio''s voice reached her ears, a most peculiar experience when Aperio felt like she was standing on the moon already. She ignored the words, however, as they were directed at Caethya and not herself. Instead, she focused her attention towards a collection of mana that floated in the centre of the complex.


    It was clear that it was the source of the barrier that allowed the mortals to live on the hostile moon. What intrigued Aperio was the fact that it felt familiar to her; not like the dungeon cores ¡ª this was not made from her mana ¡ª but still from something she felt she should know.


    It felt ¡­important.


    The finely-woven golden lattice that surrounded the cloud of mana only furthered her belief that it was important, as did the fact that everything in the complex pointed towards it. Underneath the cloud, a giant circle spread out which, in turn, was inside a star with sixteen points, each one pointing to a tower at the outside of the complex.


    Aperio could feel mana running along unseen lines from the cloud towards each tower, all clearly part of what kept the barrier alive. And yet, she knew that the mana was doing more than simply powering the protective dome. The familiarity she felt from it told her that there was so much more it could do.


    She opened her eyes and drew a bit more mana from her well. The action caused both Ferio and Caethya to quiet down, the latter also moving a little further away. It hurt a little to see her disciple retreat, but she probably saw the amount of mana she could so casually draw from her well as something extraordinary. Something to be feared.


    "Are both of you ready?" Aperio inquired, extending her hand to Caethya.


    Ferio responded with a nod as fiery wings sprouted from her back, propelling her towards the stars with a single beat. Caethya, on the other hand, very slowly took the offered hand, letting her own magic fade as Aperio''s mana spread around her. For a brief moment, Aperio considered the simpler solution of putting Caethya in her Void for the journey and retrieving her once she and Ferio had reached the moon. Then she discarded the thought, gently pulling Caethya closer in order to very carefully pick the young Elf up in her arms.


    She could have simply used a touch of her magic to have Caethya float behind her, but doing so felt wrong to Aperio. She is not a thing. Carrying her disciple like a groom would their bride might not be the most appropriate, but Caethya did not seem to mind. With a beat of her wings, Aperio shot upwards.


    A small stream of mana constantly flowed from Goddess to Elf, keeping her alive and healthy. For her comfort, Aperio also wrapped Caethya in a thin cocoon of mana which provided air for her to breathe. She had a feeling that her mana coursing through the Elf would, in itself, be sufficient to keep her alive, but felt that it might be distressing to suddenly lack the ability to breathe. The fact that she herself sometimes forgot to breathe since her return was relegated to the back of her mind. Most people don''t simply forget to do that, do they?


    Another beat of her wings sent her flying past Ferio and into the nothingness that surrounded Verenier. She soared through the inky black, not a sound reaching her ears. There was no resistance to her flight, nothing her wings should be able to find purchase on to propel her forwards ¡ª and yet, they did.


    It did not give her the same feeling of home as her Void did, but neither did it feel as cold and unwelcoming as she had imagined it to be. There was something beneath the endless expanse of nothing that thrummed with joy at her passing, the threads of reality shining ever so slightly brighter. Aperio could feel something move with her; not her daughter who was swaying from side to side as she flew behind her, but something else.


    It was like a shadow that hid itself in the dark spots between the bright stars that filled the nothing ¡ª somehow unfathomably big and yet inconsequential to her. A presence that felt no shame to show its joy at her presence but could not give voice to its desires.


    It played with the tiny wisps of her mana that danced around her being, cloaking them in shadows to try and hide them from her; chasing them as they drifted around her form.


    Aperio spoke, but not a sound left her lips. A giggle from her daughter entered her mind, telling her that there was no speaking in space, nothing to carry the sound. The winged Goddess only tilted her head and asked the question that floated in her mind. What is this thing?


    Sadly, Ferio could not supply an answer. She could not feel the liveliness around them, only the cold nothing of an empty void. The reply caused Aperio to crease her brows. What she felt was real. She knew it to be. What is it, then?


    She focused on her aura as she beat her wings again, trying to spot something her eyes could not see. The only thing she could perceive, however, was a weave of mana that seemed to flow through every bit of the nothingness. It was so minuscule in her aura that Aperio would have missed it had she not been looking so closely for anything out of the ordinary.


    It was easy for her to identify the weave of mana to be responsible for what she had felt, Aperio just failed to see who it belonged to. Or is it like the threads binding everything? It felt similar ¨C not a thin thread that held reality together, but a broader patch that had been sewn on to fix a hole. Is the universe¡­ happy?


    The notion felt weird to her. How could the universe itself feel emotions? It''s not alive, is it? What did I do? She shook her head as she beat her wings again, shooting towards the moon with even more speed and causing Caethya to wrap her arms tightly around her. It was something she would investigate once she had dealt with Vigil and his ilk. Once I have more time.


    There was another reason for her to discard the thought of investigation for now. She had felt something shift within the complex Vigil had supposedly built. She could not find any obvious changes, just a feeling at the back of her mind that something had been altered. With another strong beat of her wings, Aperio shot towards what she knew to be an inevitable confrontation.


    GamingWolf


    Space... the final frontier.


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 Crusade – Chapter 60: One Small Step

    Aperio slowed down as she got closer to the moon, the celestial rock far larger than she had thought it would be. She knew how big it was as she had observed it through her aura, but seeing it with her own eyes from up close gave her a better understanding of its true scale.


    She turned her head to glance at the planet behind her, but her wings obscured her vision with every beat. Stopping for a moment and letting Caethya down onto a small pane of mana she had created, Aperio fully turned around in order to properly appreciate the view. The young Elf shuffled herself closer to the Goddess, either seeking the warmth she gave off in their cold and unwelcoming surroundings or not fully trusting a thin sheet of mana to carry her despite its origin.


    Aperio did not give much mind to such matters as she, too, stepped onto the pane of mana, and extended the air-filled bubble to encompass her and Ferio as well. She draped a wing over both her disciple and her daughter. It was perhaps an unneeded motion, but Aperio felt it was the right thing to do, even if only to invoke the idea of a comfortable blanket offering up its warmth. Caethya briefly tensed up at the motion, as whenever the blue-black feathers brushed against her, the tiny wisps of mana darting around them seemed to melt into her skin. Her breath quickened with every bit of mana that joined her, the sensation undoubtedly foreign for the Elf. She let herself fall back, resting her back against her Goddess¡¯ wing as she took a couple of deliberate, deep breaths.


    "Beautiful, is it not?" Aperio said, and once her voice reached Caethya''s ears the Elf seemed to relax a little, carefully wrapping her arms around the Goddess¡¯ waist. Despite still feeling the shift in her aura on the moon''s surface, she would take this moment to revel in the sight of her apparent creation.


    The world that hung before them in the nothingness of space was unlike anything Aperio could remember seeing. Seas of blue and green stretched across its surface, intermittently parted by the yellow line of a desert or the grey and white of mountain tops.


    That she instinctively knew the names of each continent was relegated to the back of her mind. She had probably read them on a map somewhere during her time as a slave; a circumstance of her distressingly sharp memory. Not something I should complain about.


    "Yes," Caethya murmured, still holding on tightly to Aperio. Perhaps taking her with me was not the right choice? If space scared the young Elf, Aperio would not force her to stay there. That her disciple also physically clung to her was another reason to perhaps consider other modes of transportation. Is it frightening to get carried through space?


    While Aperio might not want to remove her right this instant, the prospect of having someone hug her every hour of the day was not one she enjoyed. Today is an exception. She had taken Caethya here, and whatever consequences that brought were hers to bear. The question of her suitability for such affection also flashed through her mind. If seemingly very sharp swords did nothing to her, and she could effortlessly punch through a wall, wouldn''t she be harder than both? Even my body doesn''t make sense anymore.


    As nobody else seemed to want to make a comment, Aperio lingered for another moment to look at the marble of life hanging in front of them, then lifted her wings from Ferio and Caethya and turned around; Caethya ending the hug with a start as soon as the Goddess started to move. Whatever was happening on the moon had started to fade again, the shifting of mana she felt in her aura more subdued.


    Neither of her two companions had even seemed to notice that something was happening, a fact that Aperio was unsure should make her happy or be a source for concern. If a Goddess doesn''t notice it, does that mean it''s not worthy of my attention? Or is it something that she could never feel anyway? That she shared a rather special relationship with all of existence was obvious, but how to interpret the things she felt from the universe around her? Not so much.


    "Are you ready to pay Vigil''s temple a visit?" Aperio asked, once again offering her hand to Caethya.


    Ferio gave a brief nod, her face unreadable to her mother. Is she concerned? Or does she not like how I treat Caethya? Aperio discarded the latter thought. Thus far, Ferio had approved of her conduct with her disciple; even if the way in which she had done so struck the winged Goddess as mischievous.


    The young Elf swallowed slightly before she nodded and took the offered hand. Aperio, again, picked up her disciple and beat her wings to carry her through the nothing. She knew that it was a useless motion, that she could simply push herself along with her mana, but Aperio enjoyed the feeling of her wings propelling her forward; liked going through the physical motions.


    Much like before, the nothingness around her reacted to her passing; tiny shadows chasing after the wisps of mana that danced around her form. Aperio took a breath of the nothing that surrounded her, finding it unable to calm the bubbling feeling of doubt that had started to surface in her mind.


    She wasn''t sure what she would do if she managed to get into Vigil''s Dominion. On the one hand, a part of her was already screaming for his death ¡ª wanting to kill him for his insolence, for his insubordination. On the other, however, Aperio wasn''t sure if she was even the same person anymore. She knew the memories she had retrieved from the Crystal were hers, but they felt more like distant echoes of childhood than a memory she had consciously taken part in.


    One thing she knew for certain was that she would remove Vigil from the pantheon. While she wasn''t quite sure why there was a cadre of Gods and Goddesses under her, she did not doubt that they existed for a reason. Having a group sow dissent was not something she wanted. That''s how empires fall. The Inaru Empire had used that tactic more than once.


    Split your opponent, have them battle each other, then promise to help one side to take over the other and simply take both. Aperio was sure there was more planning to it than that, but the general idea should be pretty close. Divide and conquer. It did not explain how she had died in the first place, but highlighted the possibility of outside influence. But who?


    She knew she had made all there is, that everything in some way got their strength from her. So who could turn people against me? The easiest answer was that there was no one, that either Vigil or Inanis had been fed up with the way she had presumably loomed over them, or done whatever she had done at the time, and one ¡ª or both ¡ª of them had decided a change of leadership was in order. Can they do it again?


    Not knowing how she had died in the first place was the main reason for the anxiety and doubt in her mind. What if they could do it again? Aperio did not want to die. She liked what she had become. Returned to be? She wanted to see the worlds she had made, wanted to spend time with her family.


    Wanted to have a life.


    Aperio closed her eyes as she descended towards the moon''s surface and drew more mana from her well. She felt Caethya shift in her arms in response, felt her breath quicken and her muscle tense up ever so slightly. Did I scare her again? She was fairly certain that drawing on more mana than most mortals could ever dream of commanding with every breath she took would be a frightening experience. It was, however, something she would have to get used to if she wanted to stay at Aperio''s side. Restraint was not something the winged Goddess was particularly fond of. Or good at. Admitting that, of course, brought with it a wave of disgust that she pointedly ignored.


    The coarse, almost sand-like dust that covered the moon''s surface scratched against Aperio''s bare feet as she set down. Before her was the barrier that kept Vigil''s followers alive and breathing, shimmering slightly as it reflected the light of the sun.


    Aperio stepped forward, pushing past the slight resistance the barrier offered. A ripple spread from her point of entry, shortly followed by another as her daughter passed behind her. None of the people inside seemed to have noticed their entry, as all of them still went about their business as usual, unperturbed by the presence of two Goddesses who were on less than amicable terms with their God.


    The lack of reaction was not unwelcome, however. Aperio had no desire to kill people simply because they followed another God. I don''t even want followers; I just want to live.


    Carefully, she set down Caethya, briefly letting her mana flow through her to see if her disciple had incurred any injuries from their move through space. Aperio was unable to find anything wrong besides the rather frantic beat of Caethya''s heart, but she chalked that up to being either excited or scared by the vast expanse of nothing. I wish they could see what I do.


    Having ensured that she was fine, Aperio set off towards the centre of the complex; the familiarity of what resided there having piqued her interest. There was also a tiny voice in the back of her mind that told her that whatever it was that sat there, it would be helpful in her goal of finding Vigil''s Dominion.


    "Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked quietly. "What exactly are we doing here?"


    "We are here to find a way into Vigil''s Dominion so that I may deliver his punishment."


    The reply caused the Elf to shift her eyes to Ferio, who simply shrugged in response. "I may be a Goddess, but I do not know how Dominions interact with this realm. Mother has never explained that to me."


    "I am quite certain that the words required for such an explanation do not exist." Or that I would know them if they do¡­ or could even explain how I know this.


    "Couldn''t you simply transfer the knowledge to someone''s mind like you did with me?" Caethya asked.


    Aperio tilted her head at the question. It should work, she knew as much, but a part of her mind was screaming at her to not do it. That it would end badly for the one she tried it on. "I could do that, yes. It would not end well for whoever received the knowledge, however."


    "Oh..." Caethya said, lowering her head slightly. "I am sorry for asking."


    "There is no need to be sorry," Aperio replied. "You wanted to learn, did you not? You just did. Knowing how the universe works is complex, and can be damaging to a mind of insufficient strength." Does that even make sense to her?


    Further conversation was cut short as Aperio felt another shift in her aura, causing her to raise her hand to postpone any potential discussion. The mana in the centre of complex was growing denser, drawing from somewhere she could not see but still recognized on instinct.


    Aperio''s next step was accompanied by the sound of shattering glass as reality broke in front of her, her stride never faltering as her foot landed on the floor of the central room that held the cloud of mana that had piqued her interest. Her daughter quickly followed, nudging a wide-eyed Caethya along as she did so.


    As soon as she was in the room, Aperio focused on the mass of mana. She could see the threads of mana that jutted outwards from it, slowly intertwining with the ones that stitched reality together. A wave of her hand caused the threads to unravel, an action she had done on instinct to investigate something she perceived as wrong.


    Behind the reality Aperio had known for most of her remembered life, she now saw an ever-changing swirl of colours and energies she instinctively knew but could never hope to name or describe. All the innumerable parts that kept reality alive seemed to pause at her inspection before slowly parting to show her the single thread that ran from the cloud of mana to a place previously unseen.


    The winged Goddess took a step towards the newest tear in her creation, tilting her head as she slowly extended her arm to grab the offending thread of mana. It did not belong here, she knew that. But why? What is that?


    It was the source of the shifts she had felt in her aura. An unsanctioned addition to her creation. Did Vigil do this? Not knowing what the traitor could do infuriated her, but it did not stop her from summoning her weapon to cut the out-of-place thread.


    As soon as her blade had severed the strand of mana, a shudder ran through the fabric of space, not unlike the one she had felt after she had destroyed the first core. There was no influx of mana or returning memories this time, however. Only a sense of wrongness that slowly faded away, the universe returning to what Aperio deemed natural. What was that?


    She let her senses expand, following the fading thread through the indescribable expanse of shifting colours and noises. Aperio ignored the happy hum that came from her surroundings, focused on following whatever had soiled her creation to its source.


    It wasn''t long before she could feel a presence coming closer, obviously the one who had woven the string. Aperio sent her senses racing ahead, so she could see who had dared to defile her creation.


    What she saw on the other end of the thread was not what she had expected.


    Before her aura''s sight, a vast hall expanded. White marble floor with gold inlays covered every bit of the ground and large, gold accented pillars held up a high roof that depicted a man in his prime wearing a tunic made from white and gold fabric as he pulled a world from the blade of a weapon.


    My weapon, Aperio realised a moment later. She spread her senses inside of what she was now sure was Vigil''s Dominion, trying to find the traitorous God. It only took her a moment to find the man that was depicted on the ceiling, leaning over a large atlas of what Aperio knew to be different worlds.


    His head snapped up, his eyes seemingly meeting hers despite the fact that she was not physically present. Aperio''s lips curled into a smile as she saw him stagger backwards, the colour draining from his face. He made a motion with his hand and Aperio felt something futilely push against her aura.


    Her smile spread further as she extended her hand and, with a grinding screech, tore reality apart like an discarded piece of paper. She took a deep breath of the warm air that flowed from Vigil''s Dominion, and drew more mana from her well.


    The weapon in her hand thrummed in anticipation as her mana flowed through it, the floor beneath her feet breaking as it struggled against her might. With slightly flared wings, Aperio stepped into the traitor¡¯s realm, ignoring the arcs of mana that danced across her feathers and skin.


    "The time for Judgement has come."


    GamingWolf


    A wild Vigil has apperead!


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 61: Judgement Day

    Aperio took a step towards the man she knew to be Vigil, noting in the back of her mind that neither Ferio nor Caethya had followed her into the traitor''s Dominion. It was perhaps for the best, as neither of them would be able to fight a God in their own realm. Aperio herself was not burdened by such frivolous limitations.


    She watched the traitorous God in front of her, her smile growing larger as she saw him stagger back a few more steps. A small flex of her mental muscles caused the man to freeze, held in place by the invisible hands of her mana.


    He paled further as he found himself unable to move, his feeble attempt at breaking free fruitless in the face of Aperio''s might. The winged Goddess took another step towards the downed man, a web of cracks spreading through the polished marble floor. With a wave of her hand she caused him to float in the air.


    "You have proven yourself a traitor," Aperio said, her voice echoing through his Dominion. "You have spread lies ¡ª tried to erase all memory of me. But, you failed."


    With a thought, she brought the man in front of her. "You sent me into a lifetime of slavery, expecting me to never return. You were wrong."


    "You have nobody but yourself to blame for that," Vigil said, his voice raspy. "If you hadn''t hidden yourself we would have reached our goal."


    "And what would that be?" Aperio asked, shifting her weapon in her hand to point square at his chest. A part of her wanted to end the man right now, kill him for what he had done to her. Get her revenge. But another part wanted to know what they had wanted to accomplish in the first place, why they would make the literal creator of everything they knew their enemy.


    "As if I would tell you that." His words were accompanied by a sliver of mana that tried to pierce the fabric of reality but failed to push past Aperio''s aura. Is he trying to call for help? For the briefest of moments she considered letting him do so, but quickly decided against it. She did not know how they had managed to kill her before, and was not eager to find out if they could do so again.


    "Then I have nothing left for you but your punishment." Though she was still curious about what had caused him to turn against her, she was not keen on the idea of torturing him for information. Neither did she truly want to kill him, though a part of her hungered for the act. Aperio did not want to simply execute what was likely the God of millions of people. Though, their God will die either way. Vigil won''t leave with his divinity intact. But why is he putting up less of a fight than Natio?


    The obvious answer would be that Vigil actually knew who she was and therefore knew that a fight would be useless, but that did not seem right to Aperio. They have killed me before, so they know it can be done.


    As if to answer her question, Aperio felt something shift in her aura that caused her to whip her head around. Coming out of a portal of her own was an Elven woman in a midnight blue dress that Aperio immediately knew to be Inanis.


    What was more interesting than the traitorous Goddess was the weapon she held. It was a bow, made from the same silver material as her swordstaff. It, too, had a web of lines running all over the main body of the weapon, but those on the bow held by Inanis were dormant and did not pulse with the wielder''s power.


    The same was true for the arrow she nocked; the blue edge of the black tip was there but lacking the sheen her swordstaff had. Aperio did not feel threatened by the weapon, the feeling in the back of her mind not classifying it as any more dangerous than the weapons people had already used against her. The distance between herself and Inanis was also adding to her calm. Should she fail to stop the arrow through other means she could always dodge, or simply return to her Void.


    There was a moment of hesitation as Inanis took aim, seemingly unsure of her actions. Aperio simply drew more mana from her well, using it to further increase the rate of her body''s improvement. Just because the tiny voice in her mind told her the weapon would be useless did not mean Aperio would not take precautions.


    "And again your hubris will be your downfall," Vigil managed to croak out.


    Aperio moved him closer in reply, physically grabbing him by the throat. His face paled further as the blood failed to push past her grip, the man''s eyes slowly starting to turn milky white. Why does a God even need blood?


    It was true that she had it too, but it did not seem to serve any purpose as her mana took care of everything that mattered. Aperio shook her head and focused on Inanis instead. Before the winged Goddess had a chance to address her, she let loose the arrow she had nocked.


    Aperio tried to stop the projectile with a touch of her magic but found it to be strangely slippery. She grappled with it like a wet bar of soap, and though she eventually managed to stop it the arrow still felt like it would fall from her mana''s grasp at any moment. How does it do that?


    She could not see or feel the traitorous Goddess use any magic, she had simply nocked the arrow and let it loose. That Aperio had managed to stop the projectile seemed to surprise her as her eyes widened and she quickly produced another black-tipped arrow.


    Much like before, it slipped past Aperio''s first few attempts before it simply stopped in the air, held aloft by her magic. When Inanis produced a third arrow Aperio had had enough. She let go of Vigil, causing him to float helplessly in the air again and bent reality so that the single step she took allowed her to appear in front of the other Goddess.


    As soon as they were face to face the woman tried to leave, an inky black portal starting to form behind her. Unlike the previous attempts to stop the arrows, only a single thought was needed to close the passage Inanis had tried to create.


    Aperio let go of her swordstaff, letting it float beside her as she reached out and ripped the bow from Inanis'' hands. The Goddess tried to hold on to the weapon, but failed to fight Aperio''s overwhelming strength.


    As soon as the bow was firmly in her grasp, the web of lines lit up in a familiar blue as her mana flowed through it. Much like her swordstaff, the bow seemingly hummed with joy as it rested in Aperio''s hand; eager to be used.


    There were no arrows to go with the weapon. Where the other Goddess had gotten hers from, Aperio did not know. Neither did it matter, however. She simply stored the bow in her Void for future inspection and grabbed her swordstaff once more.


    The same touch of her magic that she had used to hold Vigil in place now closed its invisible hand around Inanis, the Goddess'' face starting to show the first signs of fear as she realised her escape would not be forthcoming.


    Aperio could not help but smile. That the other traitor had chosen to show herself so soon was a nice turn of events. She had expected that her search for the other Goddess would have involved going to the other moon and searching for something similar to the thread of mana she had found here. How exactly a Dominion was bound to the mortal realm was something she would have to investigate ¡ª after she had taken care of the two traitors.


    An unnecessary wave of her hand caused Inanis to lift off of the floor and float next to Vigil. "Perhaps you can tell me what you two tried to achieve. Your compatriot was not very forthcoming."


    The Goddess simply glared at Aperio, struggling against her magic in a futile attempt to break free. Aperio could not help but sigh. She had no desire to torture them, but not knowing what they had tried to accomplish in the first place was starting to nag at her in ways she had not expected. Her desire to simply know was a lot more pronounced than she had ever thought possible. With another sigh, she flicked her wrist, letting Vigil float next to his accomplice.


    "And you call yourself Gods," she said, the disappointment evident in her voice. Why exactly she felt so disappointed was something she also did not know. Am I blaming myself for picking these two as God and Goddess? "Natio put up more of a fight than either of you."


    With an unneeded breath, Aperio focused on her aura. She followed the tiny bits of mana that flowed through Vigil''s body, trying to find something similar to the System''s seed she had taken from Natio.


    Aperio did not quite find what she was expecting. At the core of this traitorous God was not a seed made from the System''s mana, but one made from her own. She creased her brows as she reached out to grab hold of it, ignoring the hiss of pain that came through Vigil''s clenched teeth.


    As she pulled the tiny speck of her mana free from the man, he let out a piercing yell. Threads of mana which still connected him to his source of divinity were methodically severed, one by one. The pain he was experiencing as she removed what she had undoubtedly once given him was pointedly ignored. Not even when Vigil fell unconscious did Aperio''s mind stray from the task at hand. He had turned against her and any pain he would feel from her taking back the gifts he had enjoyed were his alone to bear.


    Inanis was muttering curses ¡ª some of which Aperio even understood ¡ª but none of them would change what she would do. With a flex of her mental muscles, the winged Goddess severed the final threads of mana that bound Vigil to his divinity.


    As soon as the tiny bit of her mana became unbound, it returned to her. That was what she had expected. What she had not expected was the veritable flood of memories that came with it. How she had given Vigil a blessing, setting him on the path of eventual godhood. How, after Inanis had saved Vigil when he was still a mortal, she had done the same for the woman.


    She could remember how they had chosen their new names; had built their fellowship. But she could now also recall how both Vigil and Inanis became more reserved around her, no longer talking with her. At the time, she had not minded. She had been busy with something else, she now remembered, but the specifics of that which had so occupied her still remained out of reach. Taunting her with their presence.


    Despite having regained a part of her lost memory, Apero felt nothing but rage bubbling up inside her. How dare they take her memories? How could they even do so? Her hand shifted, unbidden, pressing her weapon against Vigil''s neck until a sliver of blood began to trickle down. The System''s notification that undoubtedly wanted to inform her about the fall of Vigil was ignored as she turned to Inanis, scouring her for the tiny bit of her mana she was sure the Goddess had to have.


    Severing the seed of divinity from Inanis was as easy as it had been the first time. Another wave of long lost memories flooded her mind, tiny flashes of the life she did not remember. Most were simply a continuation of what she had gotten from Vigil. A few more bits and pieces on the ceremony that had actually made them into a God and Goddess.


    The mortals at the time were happy, bright laughs and smiles resounding through the halls as those invited celebrated the ascension of the people they knew. Aperio herself had been there, hidden from sight through means that did not want to reveal themselves to her now.


    Sucking in a breath, trying to hold back tears that wanted to burst forth for reasons unknown to Aperio''s conscious mind, she moved her hand sharply to the left, severing Vigil''s head from his body. In a smooth motion that came too easily to her, she shifted the course of her blade and, just as Inanis'' expression was starting to show shock and surprise at the decapitation of her partner she, too, was divested of her head.


    "No one steals my memories."


    With those words, Aperio turned to leave, dismissing the notification that informed her about the eradication of both Vigil''s and Inanis'' Dominions. They would never need them again. Now, she would destroy what the defiler had built on her moon. On her creation. Her memory.


    GamingWolf


    The Gods are dead. ?? ????


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 62: Unhinged

    Caethya took a step back as her Goddess emerged from the portal she had created to Vigil''s Dominion. The reflected anger she felt was no longer a tiny buzzing at the back of her mind but a palpable aura that seemed to emanate from Aperio. That her Goddess had executed two of what Caethya would have called major deities was already not a good sign, but feeling the seething anger was another thing entirely.


    "We are leaving," Aperio declared, a wave of mana following her words. "And so is everyone else."


    Her Goddess'' words caused Caethya to turn around, and only now did she notice the people that had entered the central hall. All of them looked confused, some as if they had woken up from some weird dream while others shifted their eyes from Aperio''s bloodied weapon to something only they could see.


    Caethya knew what they were looking at. The System notifications still lingered in her own vision, waiting to be read.


    Vigil, God of Justice and Light, has fallen from grace.


    All blessings and curses given by this deity will lose their effect.


    Inanis, Goddess of Freedom and Darkness, has fallen from grace.


    All blessings and curses given by this deity will lose their effect.


    Neither of the notifications came as a surprise to the young Elf. She had watched her Goddess execute the two other deities, after all. From a safe distance. She wanted to know what, after what was likely millennia of peaceful relations, had resulted in them deserving death, but this was nowhere near the right place to do so. Even if it was, she didn''t currently have the courage to ask Aperio in the first place. Will she send me away if I ask?


    She did not want to be forced to leave. There was so much she could still learn; about magic, about the nature of life, and even about herself. Caethya had started to have an inkling as to why she felt what she did in the presence of her Goddess, and if it was correct then revealing it would probably get her sent away rather quickly. If not executed.


    It was out of the question to talk to Aperio now about any of the things on Caethya''s mind as she had little doubt that, in her current state, the winged Goddess would not refrain from the use of excessive force. What made her this angry?


    Before any more questions could form in her mind, another wave of mana emanated from her Goddess. A moment later she saw the mass of people disappear, replaced by a faint blue mist that intermittently sparkled with a faint silver sheen that Caethya could not quite identify.


    What she had no trouble figuring out, however, was that her Goddess had just displaced over a hundred people in the blink of an eye. I should probably expect things like this, shouldn''t I? Aperio was the All-Mother after all; something like teleporting people was probably trivial for her. ...Or did she kill them? Caethya hoped Aperio wouldn''t do that, but she had just killed two Gods and was still radiating anger from the experience.


    A gentle nudge from Ferio ripped Caethya from her thoughts. The Goddess had offered her hand and, after a moment''s hesitation, the young Elf took it. A moment later Caethya found herself above the moon, floating in the black abyss of space next to Ferio. Much like Aperio had done before, her daughter had created a small bubble of air around them, something the Elf was infinitely thankful for. While she might be able to survive without air for a long time, she did not necessarily like it.


    "What is Aperio going to do?" Caethya asked quietly.


    Ferio sighed in response, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I honestly don''t know. I have not seen her this angry in a long time. She just told me to leave the moon, and to take you with me."


    Before Caethya could ask another question a wave of mana rolled over them, sending a shudder down Caethya''s spine. A moment later, she briefly saw a twinkle of blue on the moon''s surface before a blinding flash of silver caused her to avert her gaze.


    The luminous assault only lasted a moment, and once it was gone the Elf blinked to clear her eyes. Then she blinked a few more times, trying to understand what had just happened. A part of the moon had simply ceased to exist, a giant new crater taking its place. As if someone took a bite of it. Of course, she knew Aperio was responsible for it; why else would she send her daughter and disciple away?


    "Oh, mother," Ferio muttered. "Despite all the change, you still don''t do things quietly, do you?"


    "She has done something like this before?" Caethya asked, not quite believing the notion. So far, her Goddess had only gotten angry at things that the Elf would argue had been justified. A dungeon made from her mana that was taken against her will would make her angry as well, after all. Did Vigil and Inanis make the dungeons?


    She wasn''t sure about that. There was a bit of her mind that was certain she had heard the claim that the ex-deities had created them, but she was also quite sure that they had also explicitly said that they had not made them. I''ll have to ask her, won''t I?


    "Yes, she has done things like this before. Though last time someone made her this angry, she simply removed the entire world they called home." Before Caethya could properly react, Ferio smiled in a comforting manner. "You don''t have to worry, they lived alone on a moon. Despite what it might appear like at the moment, she does care about most people."


    Caethya wasn''t questioning that point; if her Goddess had no regard for the mortals that lived in her world, she would have probably killed a lot more people for not showing her the respect she deserves. Though, how people would even fail to pay their respects was not something she understood. Just being in her presence was a joy that few other things could match.


    "You should have really picked someone else to crush on, Caethya. Mother doesn''t really care for such things. At least, she never used to."


    The words of the Goddess of Life and Light caused Caethya to turn her head and stare at her. She had not really known what was the cause of her tumultuous emotions, but having it spelled out by Ferio caused the gears in the Elf''s head to slowly start turning.


    As realisation set in, Caethya felt her cheeks and ear-tips flush red in embarrassment. Why her? She had held no real interest in such things for the longest time. Anything more than a night of fun was just a hindrance to her, most people vying for her affection too weak to be a suitable partner. Is that it?


    She returned her attention to the newest crater on the moon, trying to make sense of the swirling thoughts that had surfaced in her mind. Whether or not she should pursue her feelings was a decision she would not make lightly.


    Aperio let out a breath, a faint bit of smoke flowing from her lips. Removing what Vigil had built had calmed her down, but it also raised a question. Did I overdo it? She had just removed a part of a moon. A feat that had been shockingly easy, all things considered.


    All she had done was focus on her aura and then, with a tiny nudge of her mind, commanded her mana to remove what had offended her. That was almost too easy. The absence of sound was perhaps a blessing, as something in the back of Aperio''s mind told her that what she had done would have been quite loud as well as blinding.


    A brief check through her aura confirmed that both Ferio and Caethya were fine, though the latter looked a bit red in the face. Did I hurt her? A thought was all Aperio needed to appear behind her disciple, gently laying her hand on her shoulder and letting some of her mana flow through her.


    Caethya stiffened at the touch but relaxed as soon as she noticed who it was that had appeared behind her. Teleporting without her Void as an intermediary was an oddly satisfying feeling, something she had also not expected. Testing her theory on unsuspecting followers of Vigil might not have been the best choice, but at the time she had not cared.


    She had informed Laelia that she would dump a few hundred people on her lap before immediately doing so. Aperio had little doubt that her paladin could deal with the group of confused followers of a dead God. Not that she will be alone with them for long.


    As she could find nothing wrong with Caethya, the winged Goddess removed her hand from her disciple''s shoulder. While she still felt there was something off, Aperio chose to not dig deeper. Already upset the lives of enough people today.


    "Feeling better?" Ferio asked. "Taking out a bit of moon has to lift your spirits, no?"


    While her daughter''s tone was not exactly to Aperio''s liking, she was correct. Letting loose a little had helped with her anger. That blowing up part of a celestial body only constituted ''a little'' did show, however, that she would have to find something else to actually help with relaxation. Perhaps making something?


    "Yes, it did," Aperio replied eventually. "What they did was unacceptable, however. Death might have been too lenient." The knowledge that their souls would eventually live a new life did not sit well with her, their crime feeling too big to be punished in only one lifetime. The only thing staying her hand from removing their souls completely was that they were, like every other soul, doomed to forget. They would not remember anything.


    "What could be worse than death?" Caethya mumbled quietly, more to herself than anyone else.


    "Killing them just sent their souls back to her Dominion," Ferio replied. "She could have annihilated their very soul, removing any trace of their existence. Or she could have tortured them for all eternity."


    Aperio face twisted into a grimace at the mention of torture: she did not the like that idea one bit. Neither did the complete annihilation of a soul sit right with her, the very idea upsetting something deep within her. Such measures are not to be taken lightly. The only thing that had managed to incite a bigger reaction from her was the discovery that both Vigil and Inanis had taken a part of her memory.


    For what purpose they had done so, Aperio had yet to find out, but she doubted it would be anything good. Perhaps it gave them more strength? She shook her head at the thought. Much like herself, the deities should be able to grow stronger by simply existing, or at least through proper training. There was no reason why they could not. Perhaps they got lazy?


    It was something she would have to investigate, now that the two biggest nuisances were removed. The others ¡ª the ones that had appeared on the System restoration notification ¡ª were still alive, of course, but none of them were deities she knew or particularly cared about at the moment.


    "I did what I thought adequate at the time," Aperio finally said. "What I think of that decision now matters little. Our stay here has also come to an end, as I would hate for the ex-followers of Vigil to be left alone much longer." Who knows what Laelia might do with them.


    Of course, Aperio knew full well, as she had been keeping a proverbial eye on her paladin through her aura. A feat that should, perhaps, garner more of a reaction from her than it did. But this is normal for me, isn''t it? Magic had become second nature to her. In some respects it had become even easier than remembering to breathe. Ridiculous.


    "Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked, turning around to face her Goddess. "What will happen to the people that lived here?"


    The winged Goddess shrugged in response, her wings mirroring the motion. "I have nothing planned for them. They are free to live their life how they see fit."


    "Don''t you fear that they will turn against you?"


    "Turn?" Aperio asked, tiling her head slightly to the side. "They served a God that wanted to kill me; I would say that they have always been against me. Even if they attempt to do something; what exactly are they supposed to achieve if their God has already failed?"


    Caethya did not reply, instead averting her gaze to look at her feet. Perhaps she thought that her question was a stupid one yet again. The embarrassment was, at least to Aperio, clear in her behavior.


    "I think it is time we find out," Aperio said, offering a hand each to Caethya and Ferio. She might not need to physically touch someone to teleport them, but it felt like the proper thing to do. Once her disciple and daughter had taken the offered hands, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought them to the house of healing where they had left Laelia.


    GamingWolf


    Blowing up a bit of moon is sure to calm one down, no?


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 Crusade – Chapter 63: Down the Rabbit Hole

    Aperio and her group appeared right outside the house of healing, in front of the group she had recently displaced from Vigil''s lunar hideaway. Laelia was rubbing the bridge of her nose, trying to keep the sizable group of people calm, as she noticed her Goddess'' arrival.


    The followers of the dead God also noticed, murmurs spreading as they eyed Aperio. Her attempt at venting had seemingly not gone unnoticed. She paid them no mind, however, instead focusing on her paladin.


    That Laelia now had to look up to meet her eyes was a strange but oddly pleasant experience. Sadly, she could not say the same for the slight step her paladin took as she laid her eyes upon Aperio. It would seem that being taller and wreathed in her own mana also intimidated what she would have thought of as a veteran. Still, Aperio would not stop her continuous draw on her well.


    While it might not calm her as much as being in her Void or blowing up part of a moon, it still did a good job of bringing a measure of tranquillity to her mind. That it also further enhanced her strength was just a nice bonus. The only bad thing is that I now practically scream Goddess at anyone who is looking at me.


    "I hope you did not have too much trouble dealing with them," Aperio said, pushing her thoughts away for the moment.


    Laelia hesitated for a moment before she spoke, seemingly unsure of what she should say. "Not really, most confused; not know where are or what year it is."


    "They do not know what year it is?" The statement seemed weird to Aperio. How would someone not know the current year? Unless, of course, they spent a few millennia in a Void like I have. She doubted that they did that, though.


    "Yes," her paladin replied with a nod. "They know their God fallen, however."


    "They have more than just fallen. Both Vigil and Inanis are dead."


    Aperio''s statement caused the surroundings to quiet down, the last murmurs of the group stopping. Did the System not inform them of their deaths? Upon further reflection, it made sense. Why would the System provide a notification to everyone when a normal mortal died?


    She clenched her fist as realisation set in. Aperio did not regret what she had done, as she still thought that death was perhaps too lenient for taking her memories, but the fact that she could cast down a God on her whim was not something she had truly considered before. That also means I could make one, no?


    That Laelia, Caethya, and Maria could become Goddesses in the future was without a doubt. But, Aperio was also fairly certain she could pick any mortal and make them into a deity in a matter of moments, if she so chose. But why even have them? The purpose of the pantheon was not something that had revealed itself to her just yet.


    "He is¡­ dead?" Laelia asked, seemingly not caring that Inanis had also perished. "Really?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied. Did she still believe in him? Or is she relieved? That her paladin questioned what she had said did anger her to an extent, but it was ignored. Quite easily so, if she considered the usual effort something like that took.


    "Thank you," Laelia mumbled, her eyes glassy as she started at nothing in particular. "...Thank you."


    Aperio ignored the chatter springing anew within the group in front of them, asking her daughter to take care of it with a small mental request as she stepped closer to her paladin. That a few people in familiar red clothing and wearing various sun-themed ornaments were already present furthered Aperio''s confidence in delegating the task.


    Laelia flinched as Aperio touched her, relaxing shortly afterwards as the mana of the Goddess spread through her. Aperio could not find anything wrong with the Human. Not that she expected to. Still, probing the mind of someone else was not something she wanted to try until it was absolutely necessary.


    "Are you well?" Aperio asked as gently as she could, lowering herself enough to meet the paladin''s eyes.


    The Human just nodded absentmindedly, still staring at nothing. Aperio retracted her hand from Laelia''s shoulder and tilted her head as she tried to find what Laelia was looking at.


    Unsurprisingly, the winged Goddess did not manage to find anything in the direction the Human was looking in. An idea surfaced in her mind and, with a small mental nudge, her aura flared briefly, drowning everyone in her mana.


    Aperio ignored the crowd''s reaction, and how her daughter''s followers tried to stem the rising tide of anger and renewed confusion, instead focusing on the trace of mana she found floating in front of Laelia. Then she found a similar one floating in front of multiple people in the crowd and some others spread around the city itself. She knew it to be mana from the System; from her.


    In front of Laelia hung what Aperio guessed was her [Status], though it only showed her titles. There was the one she knew of ¡ª was responsible for ¡ª but there was also one that she did not expect, one that seemed to be the reason for the Human''s stare.


    [Sovereignty of the Mind]


    The final shackles on your mind have been broken, set free from the influence of others; never to be conquered again.


    I did not remove all of Vigil''s blessings? How? Aperio was very sure she had purged all traces of the now-dead God¡¯s mana from Laelia. ...Unless. There was something she had not checked, but would explain why his influence would still remain even if his mana was removed.


    How she was supposed to check the soul of a living being without killing them was something she was not entirely sure about. A part of her wanted to simply act ¡ª go with her gut ¡ª but another part called for caution. While she had been willing to trust her instincts a lot more recently, she was not quite as ready to do so when it came to matters of the soul. If a simple touch can bring such change¡­ She had an idea on how she could observe what she wanted without causing undue harm ¡ª Or give her even more of my mana ¡ª but she would only do so with Laelia''s permission.


    "Laelia," Aperio said, gently laying her hand on the Humans cheek. A tiny spark of mana jumped over from the Goddess. "May I inspect your soul?"


    The tiny arc of mana and frankly weird request caused Laelia to wake from her stupor and set her eyes on the winged Goddess. "Inspect my ¡­soul?"


    "Yes, your newest title warrants my attention," Aperio said. "Should you not be comfortable with this, however, I will not force you."


    Very slowly, Laelia nodded. "Do I need do something?"


    "No, just stay calm."


    With those words, Aperio stood up to her full height again and closed her eyes. A moment later she felt the calming presence of her Void settle around the two of them. After taking an unnecessary but calming breath, she brought forth a tiny thread of mana in the palm of her hand. Ever so slowly, it began to drift towards Laelia; sinking into her skin as soon as it touched her.


    Aperio pushed aside the influx of information that wanted to tell her everything about the physical health of her paladin''s body and, instead, guided her mana towards Laelia''s heart to keep it beating, no matter what. A part of the tendril split with a thought, heading towards what Aperio could only describe as a passage of sorts. It was a small opening, carefully framed by the tiny threads of her mana that made up everything surrounding them.


    The winged Goddess knew that behind this wilful imperfection in the fabric of reality was Laelia''s well. She did not truly know if she would be able to find her soul there too, but it was the only place she could think of that would make sense. Or at least give me a clue.


    Guiding her mana through the tiny hole was harder than she was expecting, but, in the end, it only required a fraction more concentration than it had before. Once she passed the threshold, Aperio was presented with a tiny pool of mana that flowed out of a tiny red and white pearl. Nothing like my well¡­ She had no source of mana, just a bottomless bit of energy that begged for her to use it.


    ...I don''t have a soul?


    That''s what the pearl was: Laelia''s soul. Why don''t I have one? It was possible that, given the vastness of her well, she had simply not searched enough to find her own. Or, something Aperio considered more likely, she truly did not have one. Why would she? She did not belong to the normal cycle of life and death; she had created it herself. Still, despite knowing the likely answer ¡ª that a soul was something she had made so that others could live ¡ª she could not shake the cold dread that slowly spread through her mind.


    With a firm shake of her head, Aperio focused on Laelia''s soul again, ignoring the gasping breaths of the woman herself. How exactly the Human managed to be short of breath in a space that had no air whatsoever eluded even Aperio, but she didn''t take the time to question it. The most recent shocking revelations took much more precedence in her mind.


    As carefully as she could, Aperio guided her mana towards the lightly glowing pearl. Even now she could already sense the small cracks on its surface, and a closer inspection showed them to be tiny markings ¡ª Runes ¡ª that had been etched into Laelia''s very soul. It only took her a moment to recognize some of her most hated words. Servitude. Obedience. How could he do this? How could he do this?


    The anger she had felt on the moon was incomparable to the rage that was starting to form inside her. She wanted nothing more than to find Vigil''s soul and tear it apart; remove any trace of its existence. The mere fact that he had dared to mar a single soul was already reason enough, but from what little she had seen of the people that had resided in his temple, Aperio suspected that Laelia was not the only one whose soul the dead God had defiled.


    She took another breath of the calming nothing that filled her Void as she, very gently, wrapped the red and white pearl in her mana. Aperio no longer cared if Laelia would gain more of her mana in the process; she wanted to fix the damage done to her soul. Something that only happened because I was gone.


    She was under no illusion that her absence played no part in this ¡ª if she had been around, she was certain that neither Vigil nor Inanis would have done such a thing. Someone messing with the souls of mortals was something she knew to be wrong. And yet, I did it myself; I am doing it now.


    Much like the time she had healed Laelia''s foster children, Aperio let her magic follow the guidance the other provided. She did not truly know what she had to do to heal a soul, something the glowing orb luckily seemed to have an innate knowledge of. All she needed to do was to supply it with enough mana to carry out its repairs. How many people will I have to heal this way?


    Even if only Vigil had done this ¡ª something she heavily doubted ¡ª there could be millions of victims of soul tampering. Did he have followers on other worlds? ...How many worlds are there? The questions kept piling up in her mind as she watched the scars on her paladin''s soul slowly fade.


    Aperio could already feel, and see, the change in the Human''s soul her mana brought. The dance of red and white turned more and more to a dance of silver and red, the glow radiating from the orb growing stronger with each passing moment. Even the mana that endlessly poured from Laelia''s soul into her well took on a silver sheen, one Aperio was intimately familiar with.


    There was no longer a pool of mana for the Human to draw on but a sea, one that only continued to grow as Aperio provided more of her own to heal the damaged soul. In the back of her mind there was a tiny voice, asking if she was doing the right thing; if Laelia even wanted this. Aperio did not know if the Human desired any of this, but once the knowledge of the soul runes was acquired there was no way the Goddess could let Laelia''s soul remain as it was. Doing so would be an affront to everything she had ever done, ever created. That, she knew.


    If Laelia wanted to hate her for what she had done, she would live with it. But Aperio would not ¡ª could not ¡ª let her soul remain damaged like that; even if it meant breaking her rule of not forcing her will on people.


    With grim determination, Aperio urged more of her mana to aid in the soul¡¯s reconstruction, ignoring the ever-expanding ocean of mana residing in Laelia''s well. Ignoring how Laelia was grinding her teeth as her body broke and rebuilt itself over and over again to accommodate the strength Aperio forced on her.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 64: Forced Ascension

    GamingWolf


    Laelia gritted her teeth as she felt the white-hot mana of her Goddess flow through her. She could feel her bones breaking and her muscles tearing, but she could also feel a comforting warmth spread through her as Aperio did something to her soul.


    It was almost the exact opposite of the induction ceremony she had partaken in to become a true paladin of Vigil. That one had only been filled with pain. Not from her body or mind as she felt now, but from the unseen part of her that held her mana. She could feel her reserves deepening, more and more mana becoming available to her. Laelia could also feel the comforting touch of warmth starting to soothe her from without as well as within. It slowly spread from her mana reserves to encompass her entire being, pushing away the pain of her changing form.


    By now, she was certain that whatever her Goddess was doing had gone far beyond an inspection. But what is she doing? Aperio had been apologetic after she had stripped Vigil''s blessing and replaced it with her own. That the winged Goddess also always seemed to emphasize that Laelia was free to choose had led her to believe that she would not do anything too drastic without warning.


    And yet, here she was, feeling every part of her body being broken and reforged; feeling her well of mana deepen to levels she had not thought possible. What was most confusing for Laelia, however, was the feeling of wholeness the changes brought. In the beginning it had felt strange. Foreign, as though someone had been trying to graft parts of someone else onto her person. Now, all she could conclude was that when she had been inducted into Vigil''s order, they had taken something from her. Taken something that she had never known she had.


    A small, familiar pull on her mind caught Laelia''s attention. The pain she had felt in the beginning had, without her notice, already dwindled to nothingness. Replacing it was a feeling of serenity, one which allowed her mind to focus with a sharpness she had never previously known.


    You have been awarded the [Demigod] title!


    [Demigod]


    You had already taken the first steps on your path to divinity. Now, with the help of the All-Mother herself, you have shed your mortal flesh and purged the last vestiges of a fallen God from your soul.


    Your title [Sovereignty of the Mind] has been changed to [Sovereignty of the Self]!


    [Sovereignty of the Self]


    Not only has your mind been freed from foreign influence, but your very soul. Such violations of the self will no longer be permitted.


    Demigod? Already took the first steps? She had not taken any conscious steps towards divinity; she had simply found a new Goddess. One far more worthy of her devotion. The last part of the title''s description made a lot more sense to her. The pain she had gone through had to have been the ¡®shedding of her mortal flesh¡¯, as the System had put it.


    Despite the claims it made, Laelia herself did not feel any more like a Goddess than she had before. Aperio''s presence was still as overwhelming as it had ever been. The only difference Laelia could notice was the strange web. Where before there had been nothing to see in the spaces between people and things, now there were tiny threads present, crisscrossing through everything. The more she observed these things, the more she realized that they were made of mana, and they connected everything and everyone to her Goddess. The fact that she could see the world around her while her eyes were closed took a moment longer to sink in.


    Like every other paladin, Laelia had learned to use every skill at her disposal. This included an active development of her awareness, until she had learned how to sense the world around her through her aura alone. Actually being able to see with her aura, though, was a feat she had thought reserved for accomplished mages. Or Gods.


    Her mind was ripped from her reverie as a new wave of pain and warmth spread through her. The conflicting feelings caused Laelia to open her eyes, searching for something to keep her mind distracted as she was unable ¡ª and unwilling ¡ª to stop the change.


    Aperio''s hand brushing over her cheek and the pained expression on her face brought the distraction Laelia had desired, even if they did that in a way she would rather not see. Her Goddess did not need to speak for Laelia to know the reason for her sadness. Aperio had made it quite clear that she did not like to force her will on people. Something she had just done.


    "I am sorry, Laelia," the winged Goddess said, her eyes darting around as if they were looking for something only she could see. "I could not leave the mark on your soul; it had to be purged."


    Laelia wanted to reply but found herself unable to as her body convulsed, bending in ways she would have thought impossible. Her sudden motion caused Aperio to quickly retract her hand, a gentle warmth spreading around her instead. It only took the Human a moment to recognise the gentle touch of her Goddess'' magic as it held her aloft and slowly eased the pain.


    The way she could feel her flesh writhing beneath her skin, how she was able to perceive the threads of her Goddess'' magic wash over her caused Laelia to shiver involuntarily. She had not known ¡ª or would have believed ¡ª that she was able to notice such things. How had she been so blind all her life? Mana had always surrounded her, how could she never have noticed it before?


    Laelia took a deep breath as her muscles relaxed. Whatever Aperio had done was finished, that she knew. Taking mental stock of herself and her new state, she was surprised to find that she didn''t feel all that different. The only thing that was immediately obvious was the frankly ridiculous amount of mana she now had access to.


    She was about to draw from her well to cast a simple spell when another notification surfaced at the edge of her mind.


    You have been awarded the [Scion of the All-Mother] title!


    [Scion of the All-Mother]


    The All-Mother has given you a fraction of her might; beyond what others of your kind may carry. Beware your power.


    The System''s message was accompanied by yet another wave of mana. While this one did not cause pain, it still managed to elicit a yelp from the Human woman as the world around her suddenly took on a sharpness that caused her to squint her eyes. What?


    She blinked a few times, and the sharpness of the world seemed to resolve into something she could tolerate looking at. Everything seemed so much more detailed than before, but some details in particular seemed odd enough for prolonged pondering. Tiny imperfections in Aperio''s dress were now visible to her, scattered about the fabric in what seemed to be a random fashion. The bulk of her Goddess'' attire was made from something other than cloth ¡ª mana woven by Aperio herself, if the Human had to guess.


    A second, and more perplexing detail than just the strange inconsistencies of the fabric of her Goddess'' dress was the presence of tiny strands of mana reaching out from the Goddess herself. They were not always visible, darting in and out of her enhanced vision in a way that made her truly curious about what they were. They were not the same as the countless strands that moved toward her Goddess, connecting everything to her, but something else. While Laelia could not quite grasp what they were, she instinctively knew that they were important, and that messing with them would be a very good way to head to an early grave.


    Aperio watched with bemusement as Laelia spun in circles. Her Paladin''s eyes darted around, sometimes lingering for a suspicious fraction of a second on the threads that bound reality together. Can she see them?


    The winged Goddess lightly shook her head, dismissing the notification that Laelia had ascended to become a Demigod. It was not what she had intended, but with how much mana she had used, it would have been strange for nothing to happen. She had been expecting something as a result of her actions.


    What surprised Aperio more was that Laelia had not gotten the [Touched by the All-Mother] title, but a different one. Why Scion? She wasn''t training a replacement for herself. In fact, Aperio was very sure she could not ¡ª could never ¡ª be replaced.


    Vigil and Inanis had killed her, but she had still came back. It just took a while. Her absence also did not appear to have been beneficial to the world. The System was broken, and some of the Gods had seen it fit to use the mortals as pawns for their pleasure. What happened on the other worlds?


    The likely answer was that what happened on Verenier was not the exception, but the rule. That begged the question of how many worlds ¡ª Or Realms? ¡ª there were. How many deities she had made.


    With a shake of her head, Aperio pushed the line of thought from her mind. She had something much more important to deal with. "Laelia."


    The mention of her name caused the Human to stop her turning and focus on the winged Goddess. Healing her soul and dumping more mana than was in any way reasonable into her paladin had brought changes that Aperio was fairly sure anyone would notice.


    Despite physically not having changed much, Laelia now seemed to demand more attention. She had not grown taller or gained more definition as Aperio herself had, rather she seemed to have acquired a certain something that made others take heed of her presence. How does that work? ...Do I do this to people? It would certainly explain why people always reacted rather decisively to her.


    "You are free to leave if you so choose," Aperio said, "but I had to remove the mark on your soul, even if I had not been given your consent to do so. There is not a world in which I would let someone''s soul be marred with runes that strip their will. Even if it requires me to force the matter." How am I supposed to know if they don''t want my help? Whoever made the mark could just command them to deny it.


    Laelia hesitated for a moment, her brows fluttering in what Aperio guessed was confusion. "Runes on my soul?"


    "Yes. Servitude, Obedience, the same as you would find on a slave collar."


    "Is that why I feel¡­ whole now?" Laelia asked, and Aperio noted with mild surprise that the choppiness of the woman''s speech was gone. Did she learn the language from my mana, or was the mark on her soul somehow stopping her from using her full linguistic abilities?


    That her paladin did not seem concerned with her blatant violation of everything she wanted to stand for did irk the All-Mother. Does it not matter to her? Or does she think she cannot question me?


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied. "But, do you not mind that I tampered with your soul? Though you might not have been able to stop me, it does not mean that you should simply accept the matter. You are allowed to be angry at me."


    Laelia did not reply, simply staring at Aperio. The winged Goddess tilted her head at the lack of an answer. She does hate me, doesn''t she? It was what she had expected; what was supposed to happen.


    "I am angry, but not at you," her paladin said, briefly pausing at her own words. "Why do I know how to speak this language now? I could never remember the right words, no matter how hard I tried."


    Perhaps it was the mark, then. Why? It did not really make sense to Aperio. Preventing someone from learning a language did not accomplish much, especially if they were still able to speak it anyway. Broken as it may have been.


    The runes that had been carved into Laelia''s soul were still fresh in Aperio''s mind but, despite being able to recall all of them perfectly, she did not actually know if any one of them pertained to the use of language.


    "Perhaps Vigil had not wished for you to speak another language properly. Why he would do such a thing I would not know." Admitting her lack of knowledge had been surprisingly easy, the usual feeling of disgust nowhere to be seen.


    Laelia simply shook her head, likely dismissing the rather magical acquisition of a language for later thought. "I am not angry at you. Not because I fear you might kill me, but because I trust your judgement to do what is best. Yes, the change hurt, but it was worth it in my mind. Though, declaring me as a Scion of yours might be a burden I am not ready to carry."


    "Do you want me to rescind the title?" Once I figure out how.


    "No!" Laelia exclaimed, taking a step towards the winged Goddess. "I will give it my all, I just ask that you are patient as I adjust. Perceiving the world as I do now is something I was not prepared for."


    "What do you perceive now?"


    "Details I have never known existed. I can feel your mana brush over my skin, can feel every part of my body with a clarity I had not thought possible. And I can sometimes see tiny strands of mana that run through everything."


    So she can see them. "Do not touch the threads. They are not something one should play with."


    "I did not intend to, nor do I think I can," Laelia quickly said. "They feel¡­ important, in a way. Beyond my reach."


    Aperio nodded at that. It was good her paladin understood their importance. "Are you certain that you are fine as you are? That what I did to you was the right thing?" It stung a little to ask such questions; a minor annoyance Aperio would gladly bear to be sure her paladin, her Scion, was indeed all right.


    Laelia looked at her hands at the question, balling them into fists as if to test them. "I feel better ¡ª stronger ¡ª than ever. I can finally speak the language I spent over a decade learning, and all of that for less pain than the induction as a paladin of Vigil. I think I am fine."


    She hesitated for a moment, taking a step to what Aperio assumed would be a respectful distance before she continued speaking. "You care for those that follow you, acting in ways most would think unbecoming of the All-Mother. All because you want to make sure a random mortal will be free again, even if that requires a brief subversion of their will.


    "I have not known you for long, but I trust you more than anyone else I know. You saved my children and asked for nothing. You saved me from Vigil, healed my soul, and the first thing you did was ask for forgiveness for not asking my permission first. I cannot think of anything that would make a Goddess more worthy of my devotion."


    She took a knee in a graceful movement, holding her hands palm up towards Aperio. "I, Laelia Whytegaard, daughter of nobody, pledge my life and fealty to Aperio, the All-Mother; creator of all there is. I swear that I will be true and faithful, that I will be your sword and shield to bring your word and values to the world below so that they may live free from the reins of tyrants."


    Her words were accompanied by a wave of mana, the universe itself seemingly welcoming the impromptu pledge Laelia had made. Aperio looked at her paladin''s upturned but empty hands and summoned the bow she had retrieved from Inanis.


    Just as she had seen the Emperor do countless times, she gently laid the weapon in the grasp of her paladin and spoke: "Rise, my Scion."


    GamingWolf


    Now, if only she could put that powerup into a mushroom.


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 Crusade – Chapter 65: Souls and Solutions

    Aperio watched with interest as Laelia rose to her feet, testing the weight of the bow in her hands. As her Scion didn''t seem quite able to carry it with the same ease, it seemed that the weapon was heavier than expected. Or does she think it could break?


    She knew that the weapon could take a bit of punishment from herself, and Aperio was very certain her strength vastly eclipsed that of her Scion. "It will not break. Feel free to handle it as such."


    Laelia directed her eyes towards the winged Goddess, an awkward smile on her face. "I know it won''t break, it''s just a lot heavier than I thought a bow would ever be. I don''t think I will be able to use this anytime soon."


    Oh¡­ Can I make the weapon lighter? She probably could, she just did not know how. How did I make them, anyway? From observation, she knew that they were made of a material that could withstand her strength, to a degree. She was certain that, if she wanted to, she could break her weapon, but she would much prefer to keep it intact. Unlike any normal weapon, hers would allow her to fight properly.


    A thought was all that was required for Aperio''s swordstaff to appear in her hand ¡ª free of the traitor''s blood, of course. She spun the weapon, a motion that came frighteningly easy to her. Using a bit more force to grip the weapon did not bend it, just as she had thought. Still, she could feel that there was a limit to the material''s resilience, one that she knew she would hit far sooner than the limits of her own strength. If there even is a limit.


    That was something she wasn''t quite so sure about yet. There had to be one for her physical self, but whatever her body could not do on its own, a touch of her magic should solve. Do I even need a body? It was an interesting thought, but Aperio had no current desire to do any testing of the theory.


    "Are you ready to return?" Aperio asked, resting the butt of her staff on the invisible ground. That she could stand on the nothing in her Void still felt surreal, but considering that her home would reflect any change she wanted to, it was most likely not the most outlandish thing she could do here.


    "Yes," Laelia replied. She slung the bow over her, an action that garnered a raised eyebrow from the winged Goddess.


    "Do you not have a storage skill?"


    "I do, but I would rather carry the weapon with me. It feels wrong not to."


    She does that because I gave it to her, doesn''t she? "You do not have to treat it with reverence simply because it was me who gave it to you. It is a weapon; use it as such."


    "Then I shall keep it at the ready," Laelia said, a small smile gracing her features. "Just in case I need it."


    Aperio shook her head at the reply. Does she have a skill that lets her make arrows? The answer to that was most likely yes; making an arrow from mana should not be that much harder than making a fireball. They won''t be as good as what Inanis used, though. The now-dead Goddess had to have used arrows that Aperio herself had made once upon a time, seeing how they managed to evade even her grasp for a moment.


    With another thought, reality rearranged itself and the two of them reappeared just outside of the house of healing, where they had been just moments ago. The first to react was Laelia¡¯s adoptive daughter. Brenia ran towards her foster mother, hugging her as soon as she was able to. Aperio noted with mild amusement that the girl was wearing the feather she had given her, fastened to her head with a matching black strip of cloth.


    "It would seem your daughter missed you quite dearly," Aperio said, a warm smile on her face.


    "Yes," Laelia replied, shifting the girl in her arms to better hold her. "It would seem so."


    "I think congratulations are in order," Ferio said as she stepped closer to the newly minted Scion, interrupting further talk. "It has been quite a while since I saw someone with that title."


    Aperio tilted her head at the statement. I had Scions before? What happened to them? It was hopefully something she could find an answer to sooner rather than later. Then again, do I even want to know? What she had learned about her previous self did not exactly inspire confidence in what else she might uncover. I wasn''t really nice, was I?


    With a shake of her head, Aperio focused on the surroundings, leaving her daughter and her Scion alone for the moment. She still needed to deal with a mass of people that no longer had a place to call home. Or a purpose in life. She also had to check how many of them had been marred by Vigil. Aperio was certain that at least a few of his moon-based followers would bear similar runic soul scarring to that of Laelia. All his paladins have it, according to her.


    Taking a step towards the group caused a few of them to shuffle backwards, trying to keep their distance from the winged Goddess. Aperio tried her best to ignore them. That they were scared was to be expected. I did kill their God. It did not matter how easy the deed had been for her, it still resulted in a fundamental change in these people''s lives. And for some, perhaps, freedom.


    "Who here was a paladin of Vigil?" Her voice echoed through the street, easily reaching everyone in the crowd before her. And I did not even raise my voice.


    Nobody answered her question. In fact, most of the people cowered instead, some of them even attempting to hide behind her daughter''s followers. "I have not come to judge what you may have done; may have been forced to do. I merely wish to make sure that everyone here is free from the traitor''s influence."


    There was a moment of silence following her statement, but soon a man wearing a white robe with intricate gold ornaments stepped forward. "Who, exactly, are you?"


    Aperio tilted her head at the question. Natio''s fanatic knew who I was, but they don''t? Despite knowing that Vigil and Inanis had tried to erase all memory of her from existence, she had expected their followers to know how she looked. Perhaps not what I am, exactly, but at least a name and an image. Something that would at least imply that I am a danger so that they would know if I was found again.


    The lack of an immediate reply caused the robed man to take a step back, seemingly taking the silence as a threat. His actions had also caused the last stragglers of the group that had not paid attention to Aperio to cease their intermittent talks and focus on the winged Goddess.


    "Aperio," she finally said.


    The reveal of her name did not garner much of a reaction from the crowds ¡ª only a few sporadic murmurs and confused looks. They have no idea, do they? Shifting the swordstaff she still held in her hand got more of a reaction, most trying to further distance themselves.


    With a sigh, Aperio shook her head and let her weapon return to her Void. "This will only take a moment."


    A wave of mana followed her words, tearing innumerable tiny holes in the fabric of reality. She had no desire to bring the entire group into her Void, but bringing a fraction of her Dominion into the mortal realm? That she could do. It only requires a thought, after all.


    Aperio ignored the panicked yells of the people as they were cast in darkness, the homely feeling she got from even the tiny bit of her Void obviously not spreading to the mortals in front of her. The tendrils of mana that spread from her to each individual in the group garnered no reaction, the mortals either unable to see them or too concerned about the darkness of her Void to notice.


    Perhaps it was somewhat cruel on her part, but Aperio found she cared little for the people in front of her. She was certain most of these mortals were following Vigil of their own free will, and as such were undeserving of the level of care she had given in healing Laelia. She expected to only find the soul-marring marks on a few.


    Weaving the countless threads of her mana through tiny passageways to the soul of each mortal was a surprisingly easy task. It still required a far greater amount of her concentration than most anything so far had done, but concentration was something she had plenty of. All in all, it was still a surprisingly negligible strain on her abilities. What have I become?


    Knowing what she could do and actually taking advantage of her abilities were vastly different things. She knew she could check on every single one of them, but actually doing it ¡ª with what felt like too little effort ¡ª was something else. Aperio might not have cared much for them, but she still did not want to kill them. It would only take a slight mishap on her part for a mortal to perish. Shockingly easy.


    It only took a moment longer for Aperio to realise that, out of the group of over a hundred, only four other people had markings on their soul. Having found what she was looking for, she brought the four that had been marred to her Void, letting her Dominion fade from the mortal realm.


    While she most likely could have done what she needed to do while they were standing out in the open, Aperio felt a lot safer doing it in her Void. She tried to ignore the shaky breath and darting eyes of the four people she had brought with her, but could not.


    "Calm¡­ I brought you here so I can help you." No-one replied to her, all of them simply continuing to peer off into different regions of empty blackness, clearly trying to look for a way out of her Void.


    With a silent sigh, Aperio focused on the souls of the people in front of her. Each person seemed to have a different assortment of runes carved onto the core of their very being, most of which she could not yet decipher. The only ones present on every one of them were Servitude and Obedience. Disgusting.


    Even if she herself was currently acting against the will of the mortals, Aperio would not stop until their souls were whole again. But how do I do that without blessing them? It wasn''t like healing a body where she could just let her mana be guided by the person''s own. Their soul saw no reason to repair itself, seemingly thinking the runes engraved upon it were supposed to be there. There was only one thing she could think of that would heal a soul and not imbue it with her power.


    A thought later, Aperio and the four marred mortals were floating above the river of souls that flowed through her Dominion. Wanting to avoid another potential fiasco similar to the one she had set in motion when she had carelessly approached the river upon her first remembered arrival in the Void, she had chosen a section that had far fewer orbs flowing through it. Another small flex of her mental muscles provided a large bath house made of marble, into which a part of the soul river was diverted.


    As soon as the invisible flow touched the marble, a silvery liquid became visible. Its radiance coiled and shimmered beneath the surface as it quickly filled the bath Aperio had made. She knew that the river returned a soul to its original state; to how she had first made it. Now I just have to stop them from forgetting who they are.


    Aperio did not know exactly how she would do so, but a warm, reassuring feeling at the back of her mind spurred her onwards. "Please, step inside."


    The mortals simply stared at her, not moving a single step towards the silvery liquid. Seeing that her words would do little to persuade them, Aperio herself stepped into the shallow liquid. She spread her wings and gently let herself fall backwards, landing surprisingly softly on the soul-water.


    A tingle ran up her spine as she drifted on the surface, whatever it was that flowed through her Dominion clearly reacting to her. Why didn''t it do that when I touched the souls? She pushed the thought from her mind for the moment, righting herself and gesturing towards the mortals.


    Nothing happened for a long moment. Then, after exchanging glances with the others, an older man tentatively stepped forwards. First to try his luck, he very slowly stepped into the liquid, then stopped briefly to stare at his reflection. When nothing dire seemed to happen, he continued onwards, further immersing himself in the liquid that still contained surges and shimmers of silver. He stood there for a moment, staring at nothing in particular before he slowly lowered himself into the river¡¯s water and said something that Aperio did not understand. The other three people then reacted, moving to join the old man in the pool. Did they not understand a thing I said? ...They probably didn''t.


    Aperio still kept watch over their souls, waiting to see how the river''s water would heal them. It was not as obvious or fast as her more direct intervention, but she could see the marks on their souls fade. That was, however, the only change she could see. Nothing inside the soul changed, the lightly glowing and swirling mist within remained untouched by the river''s water. Does it only heal them because I want it to, or because they have a body?


    Watching their souls slowly heal brought a calm and happiness to Aperio''s mind that she had not expected. A large part of her felt she should not be happy that people who had worshipped the God that had killed her were getting healed. But, did they have a choice? It was a question she would likely never get an answer to, but neither did she truly care. Knowing that she could remove the filth Vigil had brought into the world was good enough for now.


    Time seemed to pass slowly. How long they floated in the silvery waters of the soul river, waiting for the last vestiges of the runes to vanish, Aperio did not know. At last, when all four of the people received the [Sovereignty of the Self] title, it was time for them to leave her Void. Aperio stood up, and the movement seemed to startle the mortals. Perhaps they had forgotten that she had been there, floating on the shimmering liquid next to them.


    Her dress was not wet, a fact that went ignored as she brought them back to the house of healing with a thought. Now I just have to find a way to do this without bringing people into my Void.


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 66: Family Talk

    Aperio raised an eyebrow at the empty street in front of her. The only sign that she had returned to the right place was the house of healing. It was still there, and Aperio could sense the people inside ¡ª including Laelia and Ferio ¡ª but the large crowd outside had disappeared. How long was I gone?


    Time might not truly matter for her, but the four mortals would have had to eat and sleep at some point. Unless my Void takes away that requirement? ...Or did bathing in that soul-water change them after all?


    A quick check on the mortals that currently accompanied her revealed nothing of note. They were just as normal and fragile as before. That she now saw a group of mortals that could have probably killed her in her previous life as something weak and fragile brought her an odd mixture of happiness and apprehension. I will have to be very careful with them, won''t I?


    She wasn''t going to get weaker anytime soon; quite the opposite in fact. If her encounter with the first dungeon core was any indication, her power increase would get a sharp uptick every time she retrieved a set of memories and mana held captive by a core. Permanently drawing on my well is also not helping, is it? ¡­Still not going to stop, though.


    With a slight shake of her head, Aperio sent a small mental nudge to her daughter, asking where everybody went. She did not receive a mental reply. Instead, her daughter appeared before her and hugged Aperio in a rather ungodly display of affection.


    "Don''t just disappear for a week!" Ferio''s muffled voice was easier to understand for Aperio than it should; the realisation also brought with it the noise of the city surrounding them, something Aperio could have done without. "At least warn me before you do."


    "A week?" the winged Goddess asked, lightly patting her daughter''s head. "It most certainly did not feel that long." What would happen if I went to my Void and started fiddling with the System? Would I just disappear for a millennia and not notice?


    Ferio simply sighed and separated herself from her mother, just in time to preserve her dignity as Caethya, Laelia and a few workers left the house of healing. "Your perception of time is off at the best of times, mother. Staying in your Void only makes it worse."


    But I like my Void¡­ Staying in the black nothing was something she would likely do a lot more once she had retrieved all her memories. How long will that take? Aperio also still felt uneasy about retrieving all the memories pertaining to her former self.


    The first set she had reclaimed had brought her untold happiness, as very little could compare to being able to actually remember raising her daughter. What she had gotten from Vigil and Inanis, however, was something she could have done without. It did answer some questions she had, but it also only underlined the betrayal of the two deities; a fact that did not need reminding. Now that she had the memories back, they would stay with her. Until the next set of Gods decide to kill me.


    That was something she would make sure would not happen again. But to do that, I need to remember. With a sigh, Aperio pushed the never-ending circle of thoughts down, focusing on the group that had stepped outside to join her and her daughter.


    Laelia still had the bow slung over her shoulder with no arrows in sight. She had, however, changed the rest of her attire. Besides no longer having her hair in a braid, she was now wearing a set of black and blue leather armour that, to Aperio, looked suspiciously similar to what a few of Ferio''s followers wore. Did she give her that to show her allegiance to me?


    The likely answer was yes as Caethya, too, now wore a dress that sported Aperio''s preferred colours of silver, blue, and black. All they need is an emblem¡­ Should I make one? She had not really intended on founding a new religion ¡ª Or is it reviving an old one? ¡ª but, like her daughter had said, one would form regardless unless she actively prevented it. I''d rather they know what I want instead of wildly interpreting anything I say.


    "Where did the others move to?" Aperio asked again, this time addressing everyone present. She could have gone and used her aura to search for everyone she had brought from the moon, but asking the people in front of her felt like the right thing to do. That the four people she had healed in her Void were frantically looking around was ignored; she had healed them, what they did now was their business. Why do I even want to know where the others went?


    She had been irritated that the people she had brought here had disappeared, but thinking about it for even a bit longer showed that she honestly did not care. That it had been a gut reaction to someone undoing what she had made. Like someone took my clothes. She had teleported them there and someone had had the audacity to take them away without asking for her permission.


    The idea of recognising people as a thing ¡ª something to be placed where she wanted and used for what she wanted ¡ª on an instinctual level was something she did not like. Is that really me? It had been her gut reaction, the first thing that had come to her mind without thinking. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Just another thing to overcome.


    It was a part of her, yes, but she could change. Already had changed. Much of what she knew of her old self was far outside of what she would consider proper or even reasonable. I wouldn''t have liked myself, would I?


    "Mother?" Ferio asked, lightly touching her Aperio''s shoulder. "Are you okay?"


    "I am fine," Aperio replied, not wanting to elaborate further. Her reply did not seem to convince either her daughter or the small group that had come outside. Ferio retracted her hand but lingered for a second longer in front of her mother before stepping aside, seemingly unsure if she should have said something more.


    "A few of them stayed here," Ferio said as she fell into step next to her mother. "We sent the rest to the [Guides]. O''lymni was more than happy to offer her help."


    That''s good, is it not? As far as Aperio knew, the [Guides] were devoted to the collection and distribution of knowledge, something she had nothing against. The fact that they were close to Roots, however, did unnerve her a little. It was rather fond of her, and Aperio was starting to believe that it may have led the [Guides] to view her in a more favourable light. But that was the old me, someone I am not even close to becoming. ...Or want to become.


    Her daughter did not seem to mind anything she had done in the past, never having voiced any critique of it. The reactions she had, what she felt when people did not follow her word exactly, was something that had led Aperio to believe she had not previously been much of a pleasant person. Did I just hide it from her? And what about Roots? She would soon have to ask Ferio about her former self.


    "Did anything else happen in my absence that you would like to inform me about?" Aperio asked, pointedly looking at Caethya and Laelia. She wanted to say that a dress was perhaps not the best working attire but, considering what she herself chose to wear, Aperio elected to keep that comment to herself. But then, I also don''t need armour.


    Unlike her Elven disciple, she would not get injured by anything less than the weapon of a God. Though, even that would need more testing now, Aperio thought as she looked at the tiny wisps of mana that were floating around her, melting into her skin whenever they touched it.


    "I got your two most prominent followers something more fitting to wear," her daughter replied. Her next words were whispered, accompanied a small ripple of mana that flowed around them as she leaned closer to her mother. "Are you sure you want her to have one of your weapons? The last time you gave one away, the mortals almost destroyed their world with it."


    Aperio stopped at the words. Her gaze, which had been slipping towards the cautiously approaching members of the house of healing, zipped back to the weapon she still held firmly in her hand. "How?"


    It''s a bow, how would she destroy a planet with that? She knew her weapons were powerful, but only in the sense that they enabled her to fight properly, not because they had inherent abilities of their own. Or do they?


    "Because of it, might have been a better way to put it. But, what matters is that it did not end well," Ferio said, slightly shaking her head. "At the time I had not paid it much mind ¡ª and I still wouldn''t now ¡ª but you seem to care for the mortals now and until you can remember on your own¡­ I feel like not telling you would be wrong."


    "Why would you not care for them?" Why did I not care for them? I made them.


    "You misunderstand, mother. I care for those who follow me, but not in what world they do so. You made more than enough for them to choose from, after all."


    "So anyone that does not follow is worthless to you?" The idea stung. That her own daughter thought that way hurt more than she would have expected, even if she should have seen it coming. She was never a mortal¡­ Why would she care? It also begged the question of why she herself should care. Nearly every mortal she had dealt with in her previous life had been detestable, and even her first encounter with them after returning had been less than stellar.


    Ferio did not reply immediately. She simply stared at her mother for a moment, then sighed. "It''s not that they are worthless, but that I don''t really care what happens to them. I take after you in that regard; the old you, at least. And, if I am being honest, I don''t understand why you would like them now. They enslaved you, treated you like their plaything."


    Her daughter was right, to a degree at least. There was no real reason for her to care about all of them. And she didn''t. Aperio only really cared about her daughter, and the few mortals that were close to her, but still she found the idea of simply letting millions die to be abhorrent. That she had apparently done that in the past was just another thing she wished she did not know.


    "Some mortals did that, yes," Aperio said after a brief pause. She was having trouble finding the right words to express her thoughts, something she usually had no problems with. "But they are long dead, and these ones have done nothing wrong yet. I would even go as far as to say that I enjoy their company." She took an extra moment to double-check her spoken statement, and the emotions in it rang true. Simply spending time with Caethya and Laelia, being in their presence and feeling comfortable, was something that brought a tiny bit of happiness to the winged Goddess. The brief time she had spent with Maria had been fun for her as well, even if she had severely misunderstood the little girl''s father. I should visit her again.


    Her mother''s words brought a small smile to Ferio''s face, something Aperio had not really expected. "So you care for the ones that follow you, just like I do about those that follow me. But, in the end, what I think of them doesn''t really matter.


    "I just wanted you to know the dangers of giving one of your weapons to a mortal. Anything given by a deity is polarising for them. And, considering you are the one that reigns above the rest of us, having a weapon that was made to work with your strength is something that appeals to more than just mortals," Ferio said. "I doubt your Scion would do anything stupid like giving it away, but at the moment she is far from capable of defending that bow. Vigil and Inanis weren''t the only ones that benefited from your absence."


    "No, they were not." The names of the other deities that had tried to usurp control of the System were still in Aperio¡¯s mind, the memory just as clear as when she had first seen it. "I do not intend to leave her alone, however. At least, not for a while yet."


    "Oh? What do you want to do now, mother?"


    "I want to find more dungeons; remember who I was," she replied. "But I also want to live. I have never had the freedom to do what I wanted, to go somewhere simply because I felt like it. Even now I do not have that luxury. Not really. I do not know how many more souls have been marred by Vigil; do not know if he was the only one doing it. Simply knowing that there might be others capable of such a thing is making me sick."


    Ferio directed her gaze downwards at the words. "I wish I could help you there, but souls are something I do not wish to tamper with."


    "Nor do I wish you to," Aperio said, gently lifting her daughter''s head. "You are already helping me enough." Just talking to her daughter was helping more than Aperio had expected, and all she could ask for. Now, if only the others could treat me like a normal person as well.


    With a slight shake of her head, she gave Ferio a brief hug before stepping through the thin veil of magic that had kept their conversation silent.


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 67: Piercing Truth

    Aperio noted with mild annoyance how everyone seemed to stand just a little bit straighter as she drew closer; as if they somehow expected her to perform an inspection. Or is it because of the weapon? Holding it felt natural to her, making it easy to forget that she was currently grasping something out of the ordinary in the eyes of the mortals in front of her. But then, Laelia also has a weapon I made and that doesn''t seem to influence them.


    Though, it had to be noted that the bow she had given her Scion lacked the blue lines that flowed along the haft of her swordstaff. It had been the same when Inanis had wielded it, as though the weapon itself was not wanting to be used by anyone but Aperio. They only really work for me, don''t they? Perhaps it would work for her Scion with enough time ¡ª the woman did carry a large amount of her mana, after all. But is it really still my mana?


    The obvious answer was yes. Everything was technically hers, even if only in a very literal sense. She had made the universe, but Aperio wouldn''t claim she was the creator of every piece of art or anything of the sort. To claim that the blessing given to Laelia still belonged to Aperio wasn''t quite right either. Yes, she could control the mana she had given away, but that was true for every bit of magic that existed. Probably.


    Even if she could wrest control of the mana away from the one who had used it before, Aperio no longer considered it hers. She did not receive information from it like she did with her aura, and neither did it call to her to be used like the mana residing in her well. For all intents and purposes it was not hers, something she was more than fine with. Not that I would ever need to draw mana from someone else. I have more than enough.


    She pushed the thoughts away as she arrived in front of the small group, letting go of her weapon and returning it to the Void. "Is there a reason everyone present is so¡­ tense?"


    The first to respond was Laelia who, after adjusting the bow slung across her shoulder, took a step forward. "You disappeared for a week, and answered neither Caethya''s prayers nor my own. We were worried, my Goddess."


    Aperio turned her head to face Ferio at the words, sending her a mental query with perhaps a bit too much force. Laelia''s choice of words had struck a chord of panic in Aperio''s mind. Did she tell them?


    Her daughter was quick to deny Aperio''s rather accusatory question, telling her mother that she had not revealed Aperio''s history. The answer caused Aperio''s wings to twitch in irritation. If they are unaware of my previous disappearance, why, then, did they worry? Do they think I am weak?


    As silly as the notion was, it still managed to cause a bit of anger to bubble up inside her. I am not weak. Nor would she let anyone else think she was. She was no longer a helpless slave.


    The voice of her daughter echoed through her mind, urging her to remain calm. Without Ferio''s prompting, Aperio would never have noticed how the wisps of mana floating around her had started to increase, or how tiny arcs of energy had started to jump between the feathers of her slightly flared wings.


    Aperio took a deep breath, the slightly sour smell of the city air not doing a great job of helping her maintain a grip on her sense of calm. They had been worried for her, not because she was weak and could not look out for herself, but because they cared. It was what she had wanted ¡ª that someone cared ¡ª and here she was completely ignoring that. She could blame it on the fact that nobody had cared before, but that felt like a cheap excuse; something she did not want.


    "Thank you," Aperio finally said, her voice a lot softer than usual. "But there was no reason to worry. Healing them merely took a bit of time."


    The hand of her daughter gently slipping past her wings and resting on her back caused Aperio to turn her head. Ferio''s eyes were cast slightly downwards, the smile that usually graced her features somehow looking sad.


    "Don''t always assume the worst, mother," Ferio said, her words barely audible. "You might not see it just yet, but there are people that care. About you, not just because you are the All-Mother and they want your favour."


    Laelia nodded at Ferio''s words, the motion so subtle that Aperio barely noticed it. She heard her? It shouldn''t have been a surprise; with the power her Scion had, she should be able to hear a few more things than a regular mortal. Probably could''ve done so before, too.


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied. Though what her daughter had said was likely true, she still had trouble fully accepting the idea of people caring about her person and not just wanting to use the favor of the All-Mother for their own gain. The only one she could fully trust at the moment was her daughter, which perhaps meant that Aperio should take the words to heart a little more. But why should they care?


    "What do you intend to do now, my Goddess?" Caethya asked, her gaze shifting rapidly between Aperio and the floor. Did I scare her?


    Given that her disciple seemed to have shrugged off the way her Goddess had disappeared for a week, Aperio was led to believe that it was her small outburst that had scared the young Elf. The question Caethya had asked did cause Aperio to think, however. She had told Ferio about the things she wanted to do, but most of them had been grander goals that would take a while to accomplish.


    What Aperio wanted to do right this moment was something she was still unsure about. She wanted to visit Maria, but the continued silence of the girl was a sign to the Goddess that her youngest follower did not want to see her. But what if something happened?


    "I wanted to visit Maria again," Aperio replied, having made up her mind. "She is much like you, Caethya."


    "Like me?"


    "She, too, had her soul touched by me," Aperio replied.


    Caethya remained silent for a brief moment, her eyes fixed on her feet, before she spoke again. "Are there more?"


    The winged Goddess lightly shook her head in reply. "Laelia carries a different blessing. Maria and you are the only ones whose soul I personally touched."


    "May I join you?" Caethya asked. "I would very much like to meet the other one you have blessed."


    "Of course you are free to join," Aperio said, a smile settling on her lips ¡ª a reaction far outside of her usual composed demeanour. "I would also like Laelia to join us. Introducing you three to one another is something I should have done sooner." Not that I could have done so before...


    It was something her followers did not need to know, however. They could think of her as the somewhat mysterious All-Mother for a little while longer. That she had no idea what she was doing half the time was something she would not tell them until she actually did know what she was doing.


    "Shouldn''t you address the world, my Goddess? Or, at least, this city?" Laelia asked. "You removed two of the most prominent Gods. The people still have questions."


    Aperio remained silent for a moment, thinking of an answer. She had hoped that she would not have to address anyone, that her accidental week-long disappearance would have been long enough to allow people to forget, or at least move on. That was a silly belief, wasn''t it?


    "And what do you expect me to tell them? That I killed their Gods for transgressions they would not understand?" Aperio sighed and shook her head. "I do not like taking an overly active role in the happenings of the worlds. I want to be left alone and not need to run after rebellious deities that think the rules do not apply to them.


    "So I think, unless it becomes absolutely necessary, that I will not address everyone. The people will figure out who it was that killed their Gods soon enough on their own, anyway." Who she was and what she could do was not exactly a secret in the city, it was simply a matter of the people not yet choosing to believe that she could do what the rumours said she could.


    Laelia offered a hesitant nod in reply. "I understand¡­ I think. You don''t want to orchestrate a public crusade against the deities that¡­ rebelled? I am not quite sure what they have done, just that you are supremely angry at their actions."


    Aperio''s eyes narrowed her Scion''s words and she took a step closer, the stone cracking beneath her feet. "Do you think what Vigil did to your soul was in any way acceptable?¡± Laelia blinked, startled, which brought further words to the Goddess'' reprimand. "Did you think he was alone in his actions? That he was the only one who could do it?"


    After she received a rather hesitant shake of the head from Laelia, Aperio continued. "He etched runes into your very soul. Servitude, Obedience and the like. I do not tolerate slavery in any form, and it would seem that some members of the pantheon need reminding.


    "That said, I have no interest in involving legions of mortals. Only a few of you would be strong enough to be of use, and it is not your fight to begin with." Nor do I know how I would even rally people to my cause¡­ Or if I would want to do that in the first place.


    Aperio was fine with having a grand total of three followers. She did not need them to gain power, nor did she want their undying loyalty because they thought she would give them something if they prayed hard enough. If I ever bless anyone again, it will be because I like them.


    It was perhaps a luxury the other deities did not have, but Aperio truly had no need for a legion to fight her battles. At least, I don''t think so. The excitement that swelled within her at the idea of fighting an entire army on her own, the self-surety of the certain victory to follow, only furthered her belief. And if I ever did need help, I can ask Ferio, or Laelia and Caethya.


    Maria was too young for a battle of any form, but her other two followers were stronger than most anyone she herself had seen. Though, how can Laelia only be level 230 and feel more powerful than Caethya? ...Is the level part of the System also broken? Once the question had been so clearly formed in her mind, a part of her instantly knew for certain that the levels were, indeed, not working as they should. As by now expected, this newfound knowledge did not come with an ability to fix the problem.


    "Oh mother," Ferio mumbled beside her, removing the hand that had rested on Aperio¡¯s back the entire time. "When will you learn to accept help?"


    "How exactly are they supposed to help me?" Aperio asked, the irritation apparent in her voice. "You yourself were unable to fight another God in their Dominion."


    Her daughter rubbed the bridge of her nose at Aperio''s words. "Yes, they can''t help you with the fight, but that is not the only thing they could do. Take Laelia here. She is a capable fighter, yes, but she also knows firsthand about Vigil''s church. How it functioned. What it expected. She would be the perfect choice to help those who lost their God. Let her tell them what he did.


    "You don''t want to involve yourself too much, and I understand why, but someone has to be involved at this juncture. If not you, then someone that could at least ask you for clarification on issues they themselves can''t answer."


    Aperio''s wings twitched slightly, a good part of her not liking that her daughter was giving her a lecture. She had no real reason to be angry of course, as what Ferio said was very much valid ¡ª good advice, even. It was just her inherent dislike of someone being better or knowing more than she did acting up again. Can''t I just cut that part out?


    "And what if something happens to her when she goes out and does something I told her to do? I am responsible for enough already, I do not want to be the one that sent someone on a trivial mission only for them to be killed by a vengeful lunatic."


    "I doubt anyone in this city ¡ª besides your two followers themselves ¡ª could injure them, much less kill them. They might appear weak and fragile to you, but so does everything else," Ferio said with a sigh. "I know you don''t want to depend on others, but haven''t you done enough already? If you continue to do everything on your own, it will just play out like before."


    A multitude of blue and silver arcs danced across Aperio''s skin and wings as she turned to face her daughter. The world surrounding the two had darkened, Aperio''s Void starting to leak into the mortal realm. "Nothing will be like before. I will not be a slave."


    Ferio took a slight step back as the arcs of mana lashed out at their surroundings. "Calm, mother. I never meant to imply that. It¡¯s just that you are starting to behave like you did before. You never let yourself be helped, would not even accept advice, even from me. I fear that if you do the same again, you will just turn three potential new Goddesses against you."


    "If they are against me, they will not ascend," Aperio spat, her voice causing Ferio to wince slightly. "I will not be bound to anyone; to anything."


    Ferio took another step back as the fury in her mother''s eyes did not relent. "And I did not say that. Accepting help or delegating tasks does not bind you to them. I understand that the life you lived as a mortal was not pleasant, but that is finished. You are free now."


    The winged Goddess remained unmoved, her eyes fixed on Ferio as the arcs of mana jumped between the feathers of her flared wings. The stone beneath her feet suddenly cracked as Aperio kicked off of it, rocketing into the sky.


    As soon as she had pierced the dome of darkness, her Void retreated from the mortal realm. Aperio did not look down as she darted through the sky, only stopping when she was high above the city. She took a deep breath of the cold air, closing her eyes as she felt the world itself resonate with the rage that still flowed through her.


    She did not know why, but the words of Laelia and Ferio had set something in motion, causing a looping chain of her most unpleasant memories to surface in her mind. How the nobles that had forced themselves on her had always told her how dependable she was, how they could not think of a world where they did not have such an obedient puppet.


    She had left before she could do anything that she might regret. She couldn''t help but recall the way she had felt her mana react to her emotional state, growing somehow sharper in the air. Recall how she could feel it spreading to Laelia, and to Caethya. They had told her before that they could feel her anger, but now that she had clearly witnessed it happening she could no longer shrug their concerns off. Why am I like this?


    Why did she make the world depend on her? Everything connected to her, in one way or another. And yet, it still worked when I was gone? She shook her head, trying to free her mind from the train of thought that had started to form. It was not important right now. First she would need to calm herself.


    Aperio flew upwards, soaring higher and farther until she reached the vast nothing beyond Verenier. Though she could have returned to her Void, and she sorely missed the calming effect it surely would have had, she did not want to become reliant on it. Running to her Dominion every time she got worked up about something didn''t seem like a good idea. Not that this is much better.


    She stopped beating her wings, simply spreading them out as she let herself drift through the nothing with a touch of magic. Her awareness of things other than herself opened up, and she noticed that the presence that had played with the wisps of her mana was back. This time it seemed more reserved, somehow managing to not approach her despite being woven into every bit of the inky black.


    With a silent sigh Aperio closed her eyes again. While her body might have forgotten how to get tired, the same could not be said for her mind. Making sense of what her old instincts were telling her and what she actually remembered took quite a toll on her.


    She had wanted to visit Maria, introduce the girl to the other two she had blessed so that they might be able to help one another should the need arise. But, instead, she had failed not only her daughter but the two followers she had.


    Aperio did not like failure.


    Despite the absence of sound, there was a silent whispering creeping up on the edges of her hearing. Immediately, Aperio opened her eyes and summoned her weapon. Against all logic, a formless shadow was taking shape in front of her. It was clearly the source of the whispering, as it grew louder as the entity coalesced.


    It only took a little while longer before the countless voices called out as one, addressing the only person in the black nothing. "Welcome, Mistress."


    GamingWolf


    Yes, there is a reason for why she got unresonably mad. It''s not just because.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead? Check out the Patreon.

 Crusade – Chapter 68: The Formless

    GamingWolf


    So, before this chapter starts I have a few things to address. Namely the translations of this story.


    I recently found out that someone regularly visits this story from what looks to be the Chinese version of gdocs. Could be many things, but my mind wanders to translation. So I asked an acquaintance if such a thing exists ¡ª it does ¡ª but was unable to find my work posted in such places.


    What I did find, however, was a russian translation (Technically two, but one of them only did two chapters). Not only did they not ask if it was okay to translate this story ¡ª it would have been, but you lost that chance Nimura. ¡ª but they also appear to charge people for it. (Also, the image of the Elf you have on there is not close to Aperio''s actual appearance.)


    Some might think that, as I run a Patreon, such a statement is hypocritical. I disagree. Aside from the fact that I''m the one who actually comes up with the story, in the end everyone gets to read the main story at no cost but the time they invest. The money I do make is used to pay my editor and (finally) get art done. Though I might only post that on the discord, and potentially only for those from Patreon, considering that it might end up stolen and used to promote even more theft of my work if I do so here.


    And the worst part is that I am not even against it. If it''s translated more people can read it, perhaps some will even enjoy it. But, just taking a story and translating it without asking the author for their approval is still theft and annoys me in all the wrong ways.


    So, if you happen to be the one that for some reason comes to this story from docs.qq.com, please contact me.


    I hope your day is going better than mine. Enjoy the chapter.


    "Two visits so shortly after millennia of silence," the ever-shifting cloud of shadows said. Its voices overlapped one another, never staying in the same cadence or pace. "Have I upset you, Mistress? Are you here to punish me?"


    "Punish?" Aperio did not even know what the being really was, nor why it spoke to her now when it did not do so before. "I came here to think; to clear my head."


    The darkness seemed to be happy at her words, a few of the mana wisps that floated around Aperio''s form disappearing as the shadows chased them. "Space is silent and uncaring; perfect to shield yourself from the annoying voices of the mortals."


    Annoying voices? She had to be honest with herself, she had gotten fairly irritated with them. Over nothing, too¡­ Why was I angry when they cared about me? Upon further reflection, the rage that had previously bubbled inside her had mostly subsided, with only a small portion still remaining. Perhaps space is more like my Void than I had previously thought?


    She laid down on the nothing that surrounded her, the shadows that inhabited it gently embracing her, and closed her eyes, allowing her weapon to vanish. Breathing in space was a weird sensation. No air filled her lungs, but neither did the motion bring comfort as it did in her Void. Somehow, there was even less¡­ nothing present here.


    Another thing Aperio noticed was the calm she felt now; not quite on the level of her Void, but close enough. So they are related. ...Or is it something else? She wasn''t quite willing to believe that her Dominion and plain old space had much in common, but that meant something else had to have helped her regain her calm. The shadow?


    "What are you?" she asked, more to herself than anyone else. Aperio sat up straight as she realised she had been able to hear her own voice. Does the shadow speak too, then? She had presumed it to be a mind-to-mind communication, just in a form she had not previously encountered. "How?"


    "You have never been bound by the same rules as the rest of us; why would you now?" the shadow asked, the chorus of voices laced with a few slight giggles. Then the timbre of the voice changed, and quiet sobs replaced the laughter. "But... You do not remember me, Mistress? I have dutifully kept watch over your creations, guiding the emergence of the new worlds, just like you had asked."


    Aperio tilted her head, trying to remember something about the formless darkness in front of her despite already knowing it would not work. The winged Goddess was only able to retrieve a mild headache, just as she had expected.


    "I do not know who, or even what you are¡­ I cannot remember much of anything," Aperio said, her last words a quiet murmur.


    She could feel the darkness flow away from her, the ever-shifting cloud gaining more shape and substance until it had coalesced into a shadowy form of an Elf. Aperio looked at the reflection of herself, and was reminded of the other imitation of herself the dungeon had created before she destroyed it.


    The lack of anger rising up at the sight of something that imitated her likeness caused no small amount of confusion. Aperio had long resigned herself to dealing with random bouts of anger, and was expecting to have to put up with it for an extended period of time. Until I get my memories back, at least.


    The lack of such emotions now, however, caused her to shift her gaze to the planet below. She could sense how the shadowy Elf took a seat on the nothing next to her, seemingly wanting to comfort her. It did not answer the question she had asked, something that did cause a good bit of angered irritation to stir inside Aperio, but the feeling was nothing compared to the seething rage she had felt at her followers¡¯ rather innocent questions.


    "Why?" Aperio mumbled to herself. It made no sense to her. She knew that her Void was one of a kind, that nothing could compare. Does Verenier make me¡­ angry? She doubted that the shadow was doing anything to calm her, as a quick glance revealed nothing traveling along the mana threads that connected them.


    But how does that work? It was obvious that the world reacted to her, and why wouldn''t it? She had made it. Do I... react to the world? But, it doesn''t feel; it''s a rock. Then again, I am an Elf with wings ¡ª the All-Mother ¡ª that can kill Gods like it''s nothing¡­ Perhaps a feeling piece of rock is not that far-fetched?


    "What is your name?" Aperio asked, not taking her eyes off the continent she knew to be Vetus. So small. Knowing that she only needed to use a tiny fraction of her might to remove it from existence was a frightening, yet intoxicating experience.


    "Diskrye," the shadow replied, not a trace of the playful note in its voices left. "That is the name you have given me."


    Hearing what the shadow was called had sadly not helped Aperio remember. Not that it should have. How could she recall something that wasn''t there? But¡­ something is there. She wasn''t sure if it was the memories she had retrieved from the Ebenlowe dungeon slowly integrating themselves, or if she was somehow starting to remember things on her own.


    Nor does it tell me if being on Verenier makes me angry. She could, of course, just go back down and see what happened, but as it stood, she had no desire to meet anyone. The only reason she had not asked Diskrye to leave her alone was because she knew that it couldn''t; it was the space that surrounded her. It had taken her longer than she wanted to admit to realise it, but now that she did, it was obvious. What else have I missed?


    Had she been blinded by the anger she had felt? Could she even live on a world that did this to her? Do all the worlds do that? ...Why do they do that? She knew that, to an extent at least, the world reacted to how she felt. It had especially been reactive since...


    Aperio shuddered, pulling her wings in around herself at the memory. She had forced herself upon Laelia when she had healed her, irrevocably changing who ¡ª what ¡ª the woman was. It had been a needed action, yes, but as she now was painfully aware, she could have done it much differently. Without forcing my way. Without going against all that I want to stand for. Remembering the scope of the impact she had on people was more difficult than she wanted to admit, and the lingering instincts of her mortal life as a slave did not help matters.


    "Mistress?"


    The echoing voice of Diskrye brought Aperio out of her trance, causing her to turn her head and face the shadowy figure. The title it had chosen for her was questionable at best, but Aperio could not find a reason to change it aside from her dislike for its connotations. "Yes?"


    "Do you intend to stay here?"


    Aperio did not reply immediately, instead shifting her gaze back to the world below. She didn''t want to just leave everything behind and become some sort of space-faring hermit. She liked the people she had met and, perhaps most importantly, she wanted to spend more time with her daughter. Though, after what I just did to them I should probably not expect the same level of goodwill they once had.


    Her reaction had by, all accounts, been irrational ¡ª almost hysterical, even. Definitely not something becoming of a Goddess, much less of the All-Mother.


    "No," she whispered, shifting her wings around herself to better hide from the world surrounding her. "I like the people I met and I promised Maria I would visit her again¡­ I just want a life."


    "It is weird, seeing you like this, Mistress. What happened?"


    Aperio wrapped her wings tighter around herself at the question, the soft warmth of her feathered appendages bringing her a comfort little else could. "A lot."


    She could feel the shifting in space as the shadow drew some mana to itself. If it was for an attack, Aperio did not know, and neither did she care, for the amount Diskrye was summoning up was insignificant to the winged Goddess.


    The bit of mana the presumed deity of space had sent against its maker faded before it even managed to touch its target. The only response the winged Goddess gave was the slight lowering of her wing to set her gaze on the shadowy being.


    Diskrye dissolved a little under Aperio''s stare, a gesture the winged Goddess assumed to mean embarrassment. "I did not mean to offend you. It is just that you are nothing like the Creator I remember.


    ¡°She wouldn''t cower like that, or willingly subject herself to the anger of a world. No, she would remove that world. Or simply go elsewhere. But despite all of this, you look like her, sound like her; feel like her."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at the shadow. "People change."


    Diskrye slithered closer, the motion somehow easily recognisable despite the formless nature of the being. "They do," it said, the echoes in its voice more pronounced than before. "But you can hardly compare yourself to them, now can you?


    "I can feel the vastness of your being hidden inside that shell. I can see how you are constantly reinforcing it so it may one day be able to hold the true extent of your might. That is not something people do."


    Aperio tilted her head, absentmindedly brushing her hand over the feathers of her wings as she pondered the words. It was, perhaps, meant as an insult, but she didn''t think that it was, nor did she perceive it as such. There was a kernel of truth in it, after all. She was no longer a normal mortal, something Aperio thought she had already accepted and internalised. Apparently not.


    Having it so bluntly pointed out to her that she was more than met the eye did drive the point home. That she could feel the anger of an entire world, and it could feel hers, was definitely something extraordinary; even for the other Gods and Goddesses. It''s like my aura, isn''t it? Just, bigger.


    If her aura caused pain because she had not accepted who she was on a personal level, why should the world ¡ª something that was still made from her mana ¡ª not react to her own less than complete self-acceptance. Or is it because I killed Vigil and Inanis?


    Aperio''s hand stopped brushing over her feathers as something clicked in her mind. It''s the mortals. It made much more sense than the world itself doing anything that she did not tell it to do. She knew that her mood affected the people around her; had seen how her mana brought her feelings to the ones she had blessed. It only made sense that a small portion of the mortals'' feelings would find their way back to her.


    And I''m connected to everything.


    Enough drops would cause even the largest barrel to overflow. And I killed three deities, two of which had a very large following. The number of people stricken with grief or thrown into a rage surely numbered in the millions. And it''s not just Verenier.


    If her daughter had followers on other worlds, Vigil and Inanis would have had some too. What have I done? She hadn''t stopped to think before she executed the two of them; the memory she had reclaimed underlined their betrayal with inescapable truth.


    A defeated sigh escaped Aperio''s lips as she stood up to her full height, the tiny wisps that floated around her glowing slightly brighter as she drew a bit more mana from her well. That really became second nature fast, didn''t it?


    She had not directly thought about drawing more from her well, having simply sighed and taken a breath of the nothing. Now, how do I calm millions of mortals that lost their God or Goddess? Aperio asked herself, ignoring that Diskrye had started to play with her mana wisps again. Reveal myself as the one true Goddess? No, that would be stupid. Once they figured things out, it would direct their anger more squarely at me.


    Why can''t I feel their emotions up here? Mana doesn''t care if it is in space or not. So many things did not make sense to her, things that seemed like contradictions to how she perceived the world to work. Aperio started to pace back and forth, her feet somehow finding purchase on the nothing of space even without a conscious use of her magic.


    An inspection revealed nothing to her. The threads that connected Verenier to her were devoid of any emotion, just a steady stream of mana that informed her about the world itself. Aperio, however, had no use for the information it provided. Why do I need to know how hot a specific spot is? The world gave off more information than anyone would ever need to know, but still somehow lacked the specific thing she was looking for.


    She could not exactly cut herself off from the world and simply ignore what came from it. Nor did she want to force anything on the mortals below; they were not responsible for what their Gods did and had every right to be upset. Aperio was also still angry with herself for what she had done to Laelia, even if the woman herself did not seem to mind it.


    So, the best I can do is to just ignore it? She did not like the idea, for it came too close to taking away her freedom to do as she pleased. But forcing the issue could make it worse¡­ Perhaps Ferio could help? Or one of the others? Aperio did think that at least one of them would know about shielding themselves from outside influence. But then, what they deal with is most likely very different.


    The only thing she could do to find out was go and ask them. The thought of doing that brought forth the feeling of disgust that had already become a companion to her. A rather annoying one. At least it''s getting better. She was no longer feeling like her nonexistent breakfast would leave her any time she wanted to ask a question.


    "Thank you," Aperio said to the formless shadow.


    The entity seemed cheery again, appearing to have forgotten their rather heavy talk from just moments ago. "I do hope you visit me again soon, Mistress. At least within the next century, yes?"


    A century is not soon by any stretch. While that might be true for most everyone, Aperio had to remind herself that she did spend a week floating in a bath of soul-water without even noticing the passage of time. Do I just turn off? She had not done much at the time, simply concentrating on healing the mortals.


    With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused on the planet below her. It was an easy task to find her little group of friends, all of them still in the house of healing. They seemed to be consoling a very distraught-looking Ferio, her daughter seemingly unable to deal with what had transpired much better than Aperio herself. I''m not a good mother, am I?


    "Farewell, Diskrye," Aperio said, offering a small wave at nothing in particular before she vanished.


    GamingWolf


    Hello? Yes, this is Space.


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 69: Regret

    Aperio cautiously appeared above Ebenlowe, her wings holding her aloft. She did not want to appear in front of her daughter and succumb to the anger the same way she had before. No, first she had to actually know how the world affected her. And after that, I have to apologise.


    Now that she was back in the reach of the planet and its inhabitants, she could already feel the anger rising within her. Since she now knew that the emotion wasn''t her own, she could tell that it had a distinct alien feeling to it. Looking at the countless network of mana threads that linked all of creation to herself, she could see the emotional qualities ¡ª which had been absent in space ¡ª interwoven within.


    That she had not noticed them before was not something that surprised Aperio. Every thread only carried a minuscule amount of what she would identify as emotion through the subtle differences in the mana that reached her. Each thread alone would not be much of a problem, barely noticeable and definitely not able to influence her. But, with millions of them feeding her the collective anger of the people, it became a tide that dragged her along and threatened to drown her in seething rage. How do I even know these bits are emotions?


    The answer was likely that, since she had created all that there was, her body simply remembered what everything meant on a base level. It was just that her mind had to ask the right question first. But, can I simply ignore this? Aperio was no longer angry like she had been before; the emotions she felt from the threads of reality were somehow distant, removed from the rest of her feelings.


    Only one way to find out, no? With those thoughts, Aperio vanished from the skies of Ebenlowe and appeared next to her daughter in the house of healing. For the briefest of moments the thought of using her teleport ability in a fight crossed her mind before she pushed it down and, instead, wrapped her wings around Ferio as she pulled her daughter into a hug.


    "I''m sorry," she whispered, gently stroking the back of Ferio''s head. Aperio had seen how distraught her daughter had been, how she had been on the verge of tears. Something that was very much unbecoming of a Goddess, especially so in front of mortals.


    Ferio did not say anything, simply holding onto her mother tightly. That Aperio could feel an ever-so-slight discomfort from her daughter''s hug spoke volumes about how much strength the Goddess of Light and Life was putting into it. And yet, I still have to be careful to not use too much. Her daughter''s embrace had also strained Aperio''s dress to the point of being pulled apart ¡ª nothing a little repairing wouldn''t fix.


    "It''s okay," she whispered as she felt tiny drops of wetness stain her shoulder. Aperio also spread more of her mana in the room, creating a small barrier that visually and physically separated Ferio and herself from others who were nearby. She enjoyed their company, and she still had to deliver an apology to them, but it felt wrong to let them freely witness Ferio in her current state.


    Her daughter mumbled something that Aperio did not understand as she gripped her mother a little tighter still. The All-Mother gently stroked her daughter''s back as she asked herself how her actions could have resulted in this.


    She had been angry, unreasonably so, but what Ferio displayed now was not only unbecoming of a Goddess but wildly out of proportion for what had transpired. ...Or was my previous self always so mercurial, and she fears that I will become so once more?


    Very carefully, Aperio separated herself from her daughter, setting her down on a chair made from her mana. "Did something happen after I left?" Aperio inquired, no longer so sure that the reaction of her daughter was entirely her fault.


    "No," Ferio said with a shaking voice, wiping away a few remaining tears. "It''s just too much. Trying to act all right and proper like you taught me to, only for you to still get angry and then disappear.


    "I know this is not ''befitting of a Goddess'' and surely not something someone my age should do," she said, "but I don''t care anymore. I had hoped I would finally have a family, that you had changed. Then you disappeared again, dashing my hopes. But now you are back, hugging me in front of mortals. Trying to comfort me. I understand you now even less than I did before."


    Aperio cast her gaze towards the floor at her daughter''s words; she was also confused with herself. Though she now knew the source of her anger, telling her daughter that the world itself was the reason felt like a cheap excuse. She could have done more to control herself. She was the All-Mother, older than everything ¨C surely she should have mastered her own emotions by now? Even as a slave I was able to control them better.


    "I do not understand myself either," Aperio said as softly as she could. "I do not know why I can feel the anger of the world, nor why it would influence me to such a degree. It is not an excuse for my actions ¡ª cannot be one ¨C but you deserve to know the reason for my current state. I did not mean to cause you distress, Ferio. I care about you." More than I ever thought I would.


    The only thing in her mortal life that had come vaguely close to the notion of family had been Moria, but that paled in comparison to what she was feeling now. Even before she had retrieved the memories of Ferio''s childhood she had known the Goddess was her daughter, something she could not say about the other Gods or Goddesses.


    Ferio sighed at her mother''s words. "This is what I mean. It''s like you are flipping between the old you and some new you, but can''t decide which one you truly are. I had hoped that, perhaps, I would have someone who cares now. Who doesn''t expect the impossible from me simply because I am your daughter. I am not you; nor will I ever be."


    I am not ''me'' either. The thought was kept to herself, her daughter having already pointed out the occasional dissonance of her actions and words. "I am doing my best," Aperio said with a sigh, pointedly ignoring the disgust that was already making itself known. "But I do not know how anything is supposed to work. I have to fight with myself to even say these words. The bits and pieces that I can recall are not of much help."


    "I understand that, but it still hurts when you get angry for no reason, when you don''t let me help you. I am not the only one, either. Laelia and Caethya want to help you too. For different reasons, perhaps, but nonetheless they do care."


    "Did you tell them what had happened to me? Why I disappeared?"


    "I did not, mother," Ferio said, lifting her gaze from the floor. "I wouldn''t reveal that unless you were gone for years again. But, you have to understand that you aren''t alone."


    Aperio looked over her shoulder at the words, seeing Laelia and Caethya kneeling in front of the barrier she had erected; her magic only blocking sight from their direction. With only a little focus necessary on the bond they shared, she could sense their emotions. She knew that they both were worried. Not the cause, but only that they were.


    I am not good at being a Goddess, am I? While she had never wanted to be one, Aperio still felt that she should, at the very least, bring her followers surety and comfort in the world. Causing them to fret certainly didn''t fall under either of those two categories.


    "Please mother," Ferio said, standing up from the chair Aperio had made. "I can''t bear the thought of you disappearing for ages at a time, or the idea of you becoming your old, cold and distant self. I don''t want to lose you again."


    Aperio found that something in her daughter''s statement didn''t quite make sense. "If you don''t want me to become who I was, why are you helping me to retrieve my memories?" Why, indeed, should her daughter help to retrieve what her mother had once been? Aperio doubted she would ever be the same as her old self, but the more she learned about her past, the less eager she became to track down the next piece of her history.


    "Because it would be wrong to deny you the knowledge of who you were," Ferio said after a moment''s hesitation. "And it wasn''t like I hated you. I simply wished you would have continued to care like you had in the beginning. But, perhaps, the novelty of having a child simply wore off for you."


    Aperio scrunched her brows at the words. If you decide to have a child, it''s not something you can just discard when they annoy you. ¡­Was I like my own mother? Did I, too, get bored of my child, and simply throw them away? She suppressed a shudder at the thought, turning her mind in a slightly different direction. There was also the question of whether her remembered mortal mother was actually her biological mother. Perhaps I simply appeared in the world and she found me?


    Considering what she was, Aperio somehow doubted that she had been a normal child. But then, at the time I had no powers, or anything of the like. I was just a normal Elf. She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts.


    "I do not think of you as a novelty. You are my daughter, and I care for you more than I am able to show," Aperio said, stepping in front of Ferio. "I am sorry for what I have done in the past; even if I cannot remember it. But, I am afraid that my best is currently not enough.


    "Admitting even my tiniest flaw fills me with disgust and I do not know why. Knowing your weaknesses should be the first step towards improvement, and yet I can seldom bring myself to say what I want aloud."


    She blinked. What she just said had revealed to her a new level of wrongness she could not quite believe existed. Aperio sunk to the floor with a sigh, uncaring of how the wood broke below her. Where are these feelings coming from? A glimmer of hope rose within her, and she began examining her connections with the world. No matter how hard she looked, she could not find a source for the fallacious feelings. Her heart sank further. So it does come from me.


    A hand brushed over Aperio''s cheek, stopping her thoughts. Ferio, face full of what looked to be concern, had knelt down in front of her. "Just... let yourself be helped, mother," her daughter said. "I do not expect that you tell Laelia and Caethya everything, but you should at least let them know that you are not as perfect as they think."


    Being portrayed as anything less than perfect was not something she enjoyed, but as both of them had pointed out, her behaviour did not make sense. "I will try."


    "Your aura is feeling a lot more serene, now. You are already feeling better than before, are you not?"


    Aperio tilted her head as she directed her senses inward. She could not find a change; everything looked as it had before. The anger still flowed to her on the threads of reality, the mana in her body was still dutifully improving her physical self, and the wisps that danced around her shone in their usual faint bluish-silver.


    She did, however, feel like some weight had been lifted off of her. But all I did was go against my instincts. The same instincts that had, thus far, always been right about her abilities. Not trusting those instincts did not last long, now did it?


    Aperio had been back in the world of the living for... well, she did not know how long it had been, exactly. A few months, at least. But in that stretch of time, she had undergone more changes than in her entire life as a slave. However long that life was.


    She had told herself that she would not trust instincts that weren''t her own, and yet she had done so. In matters of physicality it had been the right choice most of the time, as her body seemed to know more about what it could do than she herself did. But when it came to matters of the mind, her old instincts had continually been nothing but a hindrance.


    "I do feel better, yes," Aperio said. "But I do not think I am ready to tell Laelia and Caethya."


    "Then wait a little while longer. Just, try to accept their help when they offer it. You might be able to solve it on your own, but having others lend a hand is not a bad thing.


    "Please, promise me."


    "I promise," Aperio said, her words accompanied by a slight pulse of her mana as she dismissed the barrier she had created. Her two followers rose to their feet as they saw the magic of their Goddess vanish.


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 70: Forging Bonds

    As soon as the barrier Aperio had previously created had fully dissipated, Caethya stepped closer, the concern clear on her face. "Is everything alright?" she asked.


    Before she could continue, Laelia took a step forward and spoke. "We could feel your anger; your grief. It was not as pronounced as before, but your emotions are still quite strong."


    That''s my theme, is it not? Aperio thought. Too much strength. That her emotions still affected the ones she had blessed was not to her liking but, nonetheless, she had expected it. It isn''t as though realizing where the emotions come from would have changed much.


    "I apologise," Aperio said, the vile taste in her mouth an annoying reminder at her own inadequacy. "The discussion we had was required, however."


    Caethya looked at Aperio for a moment longer before she cast her gaze down. "I just hope you share more of yourself in the future."


    "Mother is not the most sociable of people," Ferio said, taking the surprisingly heavy burden of an answer off Aperio''s shoulders. "You will need to give her some time. It''s not like either of you will have a shortage of that."


    Laelia''s eyebrows scrunched as Ferio''s words washed over her. "What do you mean?"


    "Your age. Time''s clock no longer holds as strong a sway over you." Aperio knew that the mana she had given was more than enough to keep their bodies going for as long as they needed. They were functionally immortal, if they didn''t do anything foolhardy to get themselves killed by other causes. And if they manage to ascend, they wouldn''t age anymore either.


    As neither of the two replied, Ferio took a step towards them. "Don''t worry, you''ll get used to it. Besides, both of you would have lived a lot longer than normal, even without mother''s blessing."


    I don''t think I have gotten used to the idea of living forever yet. Aperio doubted her two followers would easily accept the reality either. Though, do normal people even think about death as much as I did? She had once spent a good part of her days simply trying to come up with ways to end her life, always knowing just how fragile she was but never quite able to actually end it.


    She somehow doubted that that was normal behaviour. Most mortals seemingly believed they were immortal anyway, something she had seen a few times in the dungeon below. They went into impossible fights thinking that they would win, and then struggled until she killed the monster for them. Why would they do that? They can''t possibly be that foolhardy. Do they, perhaps, have no other choice?


    Aperio couldn''t claim to know how life worked in the city. She did not know how much it would cost for a mortal to stay alive and healthy, not having needed to know such things in either of her lives. "If you want to talk, I will gladly listen," the winged Goddess said as the pair continued their silence. "Though I might not be the best to ask about such things." Perhaps I should try talking to Mayeia? She was once a mortal.


    Of course, she could also go and ask Natio ¡ª he was in the same building after all ¡ª but Aperio felt no need to ask for advice from someone who had not only tried to kill her but also insulted her while doing so. She was also fairly certain that the fallen God would not speak to her on his own accord, and to force the conversation would most likely result in him saying what he thought she wanted to hear, and not any actual truth.


    "Yes, you wouldn''t be a good source for any of this," Ferio agreed. "But neither would I."


    Despite having said it herself, Aperio still felt a bit of anger at her daughter''s words. It was easily dismissed, of course, but its continued appearance only annoyed her. Just focus on something else. Luckily for her, that was an easy task. All she had to do was to remind herself that she could hear everything that happened in the city at once which, while distracting, was probably not the best thing to allow her to regain a sense of calm. I will learn how to deal with this someday.


    She could simply live in ignorance, but that would only work if she somehow never focused on the act of hearing. How can I even ignore all of this? she thought as her ears twitched a little at a particular grinding sound. Someone, somewhere, had not taken proper care of their equipment. It wasn''t like the sound hurt her, but it was still uncomfortable to listen to. That the people around her now had even less privacy than before just added to the discomfort that spread through her. I understand why I did not like cities before.


    "I think we can manage on our own," Laelia said, glancing at Caethya who nodded her consent shortly afterwards.


    A small smile briefly settled on Aperio''s face at the words. Even if it was only a small matter, she liked that her two followers chose to deal with the situation themselves and not depend on her aid. Even if I would enjoy helping them. In fact, upon further reflection she was not quite sure which way she would prefer.


    On the one hand, she wanted to be useful in a way; show that she could do things besides break reality wherever she went. On the other, however, she wished for the people to not depend on the Gods, and specifically on her. Once the masses figured out who and what she was, Aperio had no doubts that they would seek her favour in order to use her might for their own goals.


    Her brows furrowed ever so slightly at the thought. What should I do when random people start seeking me out? The best choice was probably to ignore them, but she also had little doubts that some would simply claim to do things under her guidance; no matter how silly their claimed notion might be. What she would do with those she knew already.


    "Still, should you wish to talk, I am willing to listen. And, should I not be able to, find someone that can help you if necessary," Aperio replied, directing her thoughts away from potential mortal troublemakers.


    That she only got hesitant nods in reply hurt Aperio, but should not have been unexpected. I did just leave after becoming unreasonably angry, after all. It was still better than outright refusal or no answer at all. Though, perhaps they only did so because they were scared?


    With a slight sigh, Aperio moved towards the door. "I plan to visit Maria; you are free to accompany me."


    Just as she had expected, Ferio joined her immediately while Laelia and Caethya took a moment longer to follow her. Stepping out of the room required Aperio to duck slightly to avoid ramming her head into the wooden frame. Aside from the mild discomfort she might have potentially felt, she had little doubts that the wood would lose that encounter. Ridiculous.


    The hallway outside was devoid of people, all of them scattered throughout the building; either in conversational groups, or occupied with taking care of those that could not do so themselves. Aperio had to note that those she had healed the first time she had come here were mostly gone, replaced more injured and sick. Should I heal them too?


    Aperio did feel like she owed the people here something. She had left them with a rather large group of very confused people, after all. And they take care of Laelia''s children. A small flex of her mental muscles caused her aura to briefly flare, her mana quickly spreading into the sick and injured.


    Compared to what she could do now, her first attempt at healing a large group of people had been clumsy at best. Guiding her mana to aid in the healing of the bodies of the sick had become an easy task, something that required no more thought than breathing had before her sacrifice. The thought of having her aura simply heal everyone within its reach briefly crossed her mind, but was swiftly followed by the fact that, technically, her aura had no limit as it was comprised of the same threads that made up reality itself. Probably not the best idea.


    She also did not want to solve everyone''s problems simply because she could. As the people who actually ran this house of healing had previously helped her, and helped those she cared about, lending a hand to tend to the patients here was something Aperio felt no issues with. The same couldn''t be said about the rest of all creation. Most of them would probably welcome her as a one-stop solution to their problems, but that was decidedly not what she wanted to do.


    Can''t really hide myself either¡­ Not without losing what I like, at least. She could let her wings disappear and stop drawing on her well, but she would still be someone that could, quite literally, talk someone into the ground. Or break something by simply existing. She was still grateful that Ebenlowe made no use of wards. Whatever the [Guides] had set up was a much better solution.


    Before leaving, Aperio made a small detour, ducking into the room that appeared to be the home of Laelia''s children. Brenia was the only one to approach, running at the winged Goddess as soon as she caught sight of her. Aperio caught the girl as she jumped into her arms, using a touch of her magic to properly slow her. While she did not know if Brenia would have injured herself with her action, Aperio had no desire to find out.


    The girl bombarded her with questions, the rapid babbling in a language Aperio did not know. "She does not understand me, correct?" Aperio asked, gently stroking the girl¡¯s back.


    "You¡¯re right," Laelia replied with a small smile. "She does not speak anything besides Common. The new Common, I mean. But, can you understand her?"


    Aperio shook her head lightly, and her ears twitched at a particularly high-pitched noise outside. She tilted her head away from Brenia, who was now reaching for her ears with interest. "Don''t."


    It was, perhaps, a bit of an overreaction, as the mortal child would be unable to hurt her in any meaningful way. But, Aperio did not want anyone touching her ears when she had only just gotten them back. She had no need for a reminder of the scarred mess that the Empire had given her.


    "I cannot understand her, no," Aperio said once Brenia had stopped trying to go for her ears, having settled on simply watching the pointed tips move ever so slightly whenever Aperio heard something loud or grating. "I do not speak your new Common. Something I should, perhaps, fix sometime soon."


    "I can teach you," Caethya exclaimed, the enthusiasm apparent in her voice before it faltered a little as she continued, "if you even require any help with that."


    "Your help is appreciated," Aperio said, gently setting Brenia down. "I would like to acquire a book on the language first, however. And it will also have to wait until after we have visited Maria, which brings me to something else I wanted to ask." With those words she turned and settled her gaze on Laelia who, perhaps fearing a reprimand of some form, shrunk a little.


    "Maria has been isolated for most of her life," Aperio explained. "I thought that, perhaps, she could meet with your children. If you are fine with that, of course."


    "I don''t see a reason why not," Laelia replied after a moment, standing up straight again. "But, do you think her parents will agree to that? It sounds like there was a reason for her isolation."


    Aperio watched Brenia wander over to her disciple, carefully tugging at her dress to get her attention. "The reasons for her isolation are gone. I would also keep an eye on her, just in case someone seeks misguided retribution."


    Aperio paused briefly as she watched Caethya pick up the girl and tilt her head so Brenia might touch her ear, answering the question Brenia had asked at the same time. "I think your daughter is fascinated with Elves."


    "What did you expect, mother?" Ferio asked. "You are the first one she has actually met, at least as far as I can tell. That had led her to believe that all Elves are of divine origin. Something your disciple has just told her is not the case."


    "Oh." There will be a group of supremacist Elves that think they are better because I look like them, won''t there? She could only sigh at the thought. Even if she would not be the target of their hostilities, the last thing she desired was for another incarnation of the Inaru Empire to arise. It would be the opposite of what she wanted to stand for.


    "There is also another thing, mother. Why don''t you just bring all of us to the Terenyk estate? I doubt they would complain."


    Her daughter certainly had a point, but Aperio disliked the idea of popping in unannounced with a large entourage. Then again, even if I were to be the only one showing up, it would still cause a stir. "Perhaps you are correct."


    With those words, and a small flex of her mental muscles, Aperio twisted reality apart and formed a portal that led to the Terenyk estate. "Please, follow me."


    GamingWolf


    Thank you for choosing Aperio Teleportation Services.


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 Crusade – Chapter 71: Off On A Visit

    While Caethya and Ferio had no qualms of stepping through her portal, Aperio still had to wait on Laelia and her family. Brenia looked quite eager to step into the portal, but the same could not be said of the twins.


    Neither of them looked particularly happy at the prospect of leaving their home, saying something that caused Laelia to lower herself in front of the two to better talk to them.


    "They do not have to come if they do not want to," Aperio said, her voice easily crossing the threshold of her passageway. "And if you wish to stay with them, you are of course free to do so."


    Her Scion hesitated for a moment, asking the twins a question before she nodded slightly. A few more words caused Brenia to run through the portal and try to sneak under one of Aperio''s wings. She lifted the feathered limb slightly, smiling at the happy giggle the Human girl made.


    "I assume this means you will stay with your sons?" Aperio asked.


    "Yes," Laelia replied, as she properly sat herself down on the floor. "They need more time."


    How long did they live with that curse? Aperio thought, the smile vanishing from her face. She would not call the Rage a disease, as it really wasn''t. It was something much worse and its existence only told the All-Mother that something was definitely not working as intended. Another thing I have to look into. ¡­Once I figure out how.


    While she might know how to heal a soul, Aperio had no clue what might possibly cause multiple souls to try to inhabit a single body. She knew that each soul would get its chance at reincarnation in time. Where exactly they would go, she had not yet figured out, but there should be enough bodies for them to inhabit. Do the undead have souls?


    Aperio herself had never met an undead, but she had read about them once. The book had claimed that a Lich was only distinguishable from a normal person by its bony nature, something that did not really indicate if it had a soul or not. Perhaps I should seek one out?


    The undead, she had learned in that book, were usually hated by the living. Or at least, feared. She herself found the idea of a skeleton walking around to be somewhat unnerving. But, unlike the mess of souls the Rage created, she felt no overwhelming desire to remove them. So it''s not wrong, per se. Or my old instincts are spotty.


    With a light shake of her head she very carefully directed a small mental query towards her Scion, letting her know that she only needed to ask for her and she would come. Once she got a confirmation from Laelia, she closed the portal.


    The gate to the Terenyk estate now loomed before them, staffed by a guard who had, despite his shock, managed to grab hold of his weapon. By no means did he look like he wanted to fight, a notion Aperio understood.


    It had taken longer than it should have, but the effect she had on people had largely remained the same. Most still seemed scared of her ¡ª and why wouldn''t they? She towered over most of them, tiny wisps of her mana floating around in a casual display that probably eclipsed the power of many that would observe her. On top of that she also had wings, and that her mere presence seemed to command respect from most mortals was also something she had to consider. Do they, deep down, know what I am?


    She pushed the thoughts from her mind and focused on the guard behind the gate, causing him to take a step back and grab his sword a little tighter.


    "I have come to visit Maria," she said. "If you would be so kind and inform her that Aperio is here, I would be much obliged."


    The guard did not react, simply staring at her. Even when Aperio waved a hand and a wing in front of his face, he did not react. For a moment she considered simply teleporting herself and the others inside, but then she would be ignoring rules and conventions simply because she could, something she did not want to do. If this is the norm, I might have to reconsider that stance.


    "Did he not understand me?" Aperio asked, looking at her daughter. "Or is he simply scared?"


    "Of course he is scared," Ferio sighed. "You should really consider your impact on the mortals if you plan on living amongst them."


    "I know that my presence has an impact on them. But why do they react that way? Is it because of the wings? My general appearance? The mana?" The fact that my dress is a bit too tight now? ...I will need to fix that.


    While she had not previously been bothered by the way her dress had not adjusted to her new size, it did irk her now that she had noticed the issue. But, overall, it was not that important of a thing. I needed to make myself a proper dress at some point, anyhow.


    She had no doubt that anything she could purchase or otherwise acquire from mortals would not withstand even a fraction of her power. The only real option was to make something herself. Like I did with my weapons¡­ But how did I do that?


    Aperio knew how to sew, of course, but it couldn''t be as easy as simply replacing the thread with her mana, could it? While that approach had worked for her current dress, it did not mean it would for more. But why wouldn''t it? Aperio resolved herself to at least try, once she had dealt with the situation at hand.


    "Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked, only continuing once the winged Goddess had turned to face her. "Couldn''t you just ask Maria to let us in?"


    "I could, yes," Aperio replied. "But talking in that way caused you pain and Maria is a child, not an almost level four-hundred Adventurer." Not that the levels seem to mean much. I should really figure out how to fix that¡­


    The amount of things Aperio wanted to fix was growing larger faster and faster, the System alone having so many components that seemed to be broken that she could probably spend the next few millennia just trying to understand them. Why did I not make a manual?


    With a shake of her head, Aperio looked back at the guard. He still seemed to be frozen in place, his hand on his weapon. She waved at him again, but got no reaction.


    "Just go in, mother," Ferio said, the annoyance at her mother''s reluctance clear in her voice. "They wouldn''t exist without you; a bit of lenience for breaking their silly rules should be expected." That she would extract that lenience with force should it not be given was left unsaid.


    "Fine," Aperio sighed, lifting her wing slightly to not tip over Brenia as she stepped into the gate, reality rippling slightly before she reappeared before the closed front door. Her daughter had a point, one that many mortals would probably agree with even if Aperio herself did not really like it.


    Brenia was the first to follow, running through the portal the winged Goddess had created just in front of the closed gate. The girl either had no sense of danger or was supremely trusting. Or she just wants to stay under my wings, the Goddess thought as Brenia attempted to hide under her feathered limbs again.


    This time, however, the girl was out of luck. Aperio held her wings firmly, and when Brenia began to be confused at her inability to move them the Goddess bent down to pick the child up. "Why are you so fixated on my wings?"


    Brenia did not understand, of course, simply tilting her head at the words and looking for Caethya, probably so that she might translate. I really need to learn that language. How hard can it be? She was able to do a great many things with little to no effort; learning a language should not be much different. I hope.


    She had been able to learn the language of her own people fairly quickly. If she was able to do it in the past, she should definitely be able to do it now. Perhaps I should acquire a dictionary.


    She pushed the thoughts from her mind as she, very carefully, knocked on the door, not trusting the runes on the bell to withstand her touch. They were already glowing quite brightly, seemingly etching themselves deeper into the metal. Couldn''t they have stuck with the rest of the city and not use runes for things?


    Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and a maid looked out with confusion at their group. Much like the guard, she did not speak, simply staring at Aperio with unbelieving eyes. "I would be much obliged if you could inform Lord Terenyk that his daughter has guests," Aperio said, already annoyed at the mortal¡¯s reaction.


    Despite her reaction, the maid quickly nodded and scurried off, forgetting to invite them in as propriety stated she should. Or at least, what was proper. Aperio simply stepped inside, adjusting her hold on Brenia ever so slightly so as to not accidentally hurt the girl. Is this even comfortable for her? Aperio couldn¡¯t really believe that it was, even when Brenia seemed to be quite happy to be where she was.


    "Caethya," Aperio said. "Could you ask Brenia why she is so fixated on my wings?" Brenia had not yet asked the Elf to translate, and her disciple had seemingly not heard the question Aperio had asked the girl.


    Caethya hesitated for a moment, either not knowing the proper words or not wanting to ask the question. Or does she like them, too, and is embarrassed again? That seemed to be the trend with her disciple, after all. In the end, Caethya did ask the girl, exchanging a few more words that Aperio also did not understand but was sure were about her as well.


    "Because they are nice and soft," Caethya mumbled, her gaze directed at the floor. "And you make her feel safe."


    They are soft, yes. But, safe? Aperio looked over at the girl who had started to play with her hair. Perhaps that is because she doesn''t know what a Goddess can do yet? Or because Laelia is my follower? "I get the feeling she is the only one that feels safe in my presence."


    "That''s not true!" Caethya objected. "The others simply don''t know you. They only see a winged Goddess, wreathed in power, looking down at them. They don''t know that you can be gentle, that you do your best to tolerate the antics of us mortals."


    Aperio just gave an almost silent sigh in reply. Did she already forget that I lost it over nothing because I failed to control myself? "I believe she is simply innocent; lacks the knowledge. Of what I am. Of what I could do to everyone, should I so choose. ...But those living here have already seen me, and the last time I was here it became painfully obvious what I was."


    "I have told you numerous times that you will have an effect on people, mother," Ferio said. "You practically scream Goddess currently."


    "Ah, yes. The winged Goddess has come to claim their souls. Is that what they think?"


    With a shake of her head, Aperio started to walk further into the building. She knew where Maria was, and could not sense anyone approaching them. Do they just let everyone wait? She somehow doubted that was the case, as the last time she came to visit they had been expecting her and had promptly escorted them to the Lord of the house. Why are they so scared now?


    The only thing that had changed was that they now knew she was the All-Mother, but that revelation had not seemed to phase them at the moment it had happened. Telling them I fixed something in the System did nothing, but now coming here scares them half to death. Am I just not able to understand a normal person anymore?


    "Do you happen to have any books that could help me learn this new Common?" Aperio asked, turning her head slightly towards Caethya. She directed the same question at her daughter with a small mental nudge, but only got a shrug back. Ferio did not have any but should be able procure something if Caethya could not provide.


    "I have some," the Elf replied, sticking her hand into an inky black hole that formed in front of her. "But, do you really need them?"


    Aperio just gave a slight shrug with her wings. She did not know if she needed books to learn a language or if she could dig through the System to find something. Considering that the System was understood by all, it should know every language. It has to have a translation function. "It certainly would not do any harm, no?"


    "No, I guess not," Caethya said, offering the book to Aperio.


    The winged Goddess took the offered tome, turning it in her hand to see the title: A Comprehensive Guide to the New Common - 3rd Edition. The language it assumed you to know was already something that was obviously a newer version of what Aperio herself spoke, but still close enough for her to understand it without issue. "Thank you."


    Aperio let her senses wander. To her disappointment, the Lord of the house had not yet been informed of her arrival, nor had he even noticed their presence in his home. With a sigh, Aperio grabbed hold of a pen and paper in the man''s office with a touch of her magic. If his staff was unable to relay the information, she would do it herself.


    Humming quietly as she stroked the back of Brenia''s head, Aperio moved the pen across the page in front of a rather stunned-looking Lord Terenyk, informing him that she had come to speak to his daughter. Once that task had been completed, and the paper signed with a flourish, she placed the pen gently down atop the Lord''s desk and turned her attention to Maria, who was, unsurprisingly, in her room.


    The girl was trying her best to get past the maid ¨C Amelia? ¨C that always accompanied her, leading Aperio to believe that the girl somehow already knew of her presence. A smile spread across her lips as she walked a little faster towards her youngest disciple.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead? Check out the Patreon.

 Crusade – Chapter 72: An Overdue Visit (and Art)

    GamingWolf


    Surprise! I bet you did not expect a chapter so soon (though, it''s only a day early) and you may wonder why. The reason is simple, one year ago the first chapter of Forgotten was released. Coincidentally, this chapter also pushes the story past 200k words published on RR/SH and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. I did not expect anyone to be interested in the story I want to tell or be happy with the eon pace I do it at.


    There is also a little gift that has been taken from Maria''s art collection for you to see, just click the spoiler button. I hope this brings a bit of joy to you in these increasingly unstable times.


    Big Version


    Maria pouted at her unmoving maid, letting herself fall to the floor in manner definitely not befitting of the lady she would one day be. She could feel her Goddess; knew that she was close. Why won''t she let me see her?


    The girl could see no reason why she shouldn''t meet her Goddess. It made no sense. Aperio had removed both Vigil and Inanis, solving the problem of their existence. She had removed that particular obstacle. Perhaps it was because someone had bought one of the less-than-perfect paintings she had made? It was the only event in recent memory that stuck out in any way.


    Luckily, she would not have to wait much longer as she could feel her Goddess drawing closer; the veritable tidal wave of mana that emanated from the All-Mother at all times hard to miss. Maria could not quite put her finger on it, but something about Aperio''s presence had changed since the last time she had met her.


    It wasn''t anger, she knew that, but the memory of her unanswered prayers did resurface in her mind. She could understand that Aperio would not reply to prayers when fighting other Gods, but she had prayed a lot both before and after the notifications had appeared before her. Maria wanted to know why she had never gotten a reply and her maid was ¡ª for some reason ¡ª stopping her from making that happen sooner.


    A knock shook the door and caused Amelia to take a step away. One of her maid''s hands vanished beneath her apron, undoubtedly readying the weapon Maria knew she carried at all times. The girl doubted the weapon would do anything to her Goddess, but she did not want Amelia to die because of a false assumption of who lay beyond the door. Or does she not trust Aperio?


    Maria could not think of many other reasons for her maid¡¯s behaviour. It was highly unlikely to be an intruder, as they would have had to have made their way past multiple sets of guards, as well as other members of staff. And why would they knock?


    "Come in!" Maria called, ignoring the glare she received from Amelia. She knew the identity of the one who knocked, knew that it was her Goddess.


    A moment later the door swung open and Aperio stepped into the room, ducking slightly as she passed through the doorway. For a brief moment, Maria questioned the validity of her memories of her Goddess. She could not recall Aperio being of such intimidating stature, nor could she remember seeing countless wisps of mana floating around her.


    The girl she held up on one arm was also something Maria had not expected, quite unlike the fiery-haired woman and the Elf that entered the room following her Goddess. Those she had expected; a Goddess should have a following after all. Is she like me?


    "Are you sure you want to do that?" Aperio asked as she set the girl down. "I thought it was your duty to protect Maria? How can you do that if you do not recognise her Goddess? Or do you think I have come to end her?"


    Amelia stood straighter at the words, her hand no longer hidden under her apron. "My apologies." That was all she said, retreating to the corner of the room she always occupied if she had nothing else to do.


    Maria''s eyes lingered on her maid for a moment. The idea that, perhaps, her closest friend and her Goddess did not get along was not a pleasant one. She had hoped that her life would take a turn for the better now that the reason for her isolation had disappeared.


    Her father had finally told her what had happened to her family. How her mother had been killed because of the blessing she herself had received; how the priests of Vigil and Inanis had tried to convince Geshton to kill his own daughter. It had been a few weeks since that revelation, the pain mostly held at bay by new dreams of her Goddess. They weren''t answers to her prayers, but they at least showed her that Aperio had not fully abandoned her, even if the idea still managed to weasel its way into her head every now and then.


    "Maria." The voice of her Goddess caused the girl to raise her head, finding the All-Mother crouching down in front of her; her wings spread slightly behind her. "Why have you been quiet all this time? Did they not allow you to pray?"


    "I prayed," Maria mumbled. "But I never got an answer."


    Her Goddess hesitated at the words, lowering the hand she had begun to outstretch. Maria could feel the uncertainty in Aperio, an emotion she found did not really fit the woman. She did not quite know why she felt that way, but in her mind a Goddess was always in control. So far that had been true for Aperio. The All-Mother appeared to always know what to do; was always in control.


    The Elven woman that had accompanied her Goddess seemed surprised at the revelation as well, her eyes widening a bit as she tried to take a step forward. She did not get far, however, as the fiery-haired woman placed a hand on her shoulder that stopped her from moving.


    "Could you pray to me now?" Aperio asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.


    Maria nodded slowly, getting onto her knees and clasping her hands in front of her chest. She focused on the mana flowing through her body, drawing a tiny fraction of it away to imbue it with her intent and the message she wanted her Goddess to receive. The task required more effort than any other magic she could use. Even imbuing her paintings with the required magic to give them the proper quality and look was easier to accomplish.


    A final mental effort caused the tiny drop of mana to leave Maria and vanish to a place she could not begin to understand. She could only catch a glimpse of the world behind the reality she knew; the ever-changing nature of it giving her a headache whenever she even thought of it.


    Aperio watched the minuscule droplet of mana race along one of the threads of reality. Nothing about its behavior felt wrong, as it seemed to be doing what it was supposed to do. Following Maria''s mana was an easy task, the threads almost eagerly telling her where the speck of mana was at any given time. That was, until it entered her well and disappeared, joining the bottomless sea without leaving a trace. It was¡­ too weak?


    When Laelia or Caethya had prayed to her she could feel their mana in her well, the subtle variant in form calling, in a way, for her attention. Maria''s mana did not. It simply vanished into the infinite ocean of mana and, try as she might, Aperio was unable to locate the drop. Being the wellspring of what she by now guessed was all the mana in existence made that specific task rather impossible. Unless I figure out how to tell each drop of mana apart from the rest.


    Aperio doubted that she could do that any time soon. If that is even possible. With a sigh, she focused on the little girl again. She could see the apprehension in her eyes, the days in which she had been unable to even guess at the slightest hint of emotion gone. A small part of her wished for the blissful ignorance to return, but she knew that was neither possible nor desirable.


    How she was supposed to tell Maria that she was too weak was not something Aperio knew, however. She could be blunt, of course, but the girl already looked like she was on the verge of tears. She did not relish that idea.


    A small tug on the feathers of one of her wings caused Aperio to raise the limb and turn her head to properly face Brenia. The girl could not talk to her, nor would she have understood anything Aperio had said, so why would she interrupt now? Or does she just want to be close?


    Her question was answered when the girl gestured to herself and then to Maria, obviously asking Aperio''s permission to approach. The winged Goddess raised an eyebrow but let Brenia through regardless. Having the two meet was, after all, part of her reason for being here. It also allowed her to think about the issue at hand for a moment longer, an offer Aperio was not about to refuse.


    The winged Goddess sent a small mental nudge to her daughter as she watched Brenia carefully approach Maria. Sadly, Ferio was not able to offer any insight as to why the prayer of the girl would not reach Aperio. Maria had more than enough mana to make a simple prayer. In fact, Aperio was fairly certain that the girl could draw on more than many adults she had seen so far.


    It shouldn''t have been a surprise. Everything she did was excessive in some form, and her blessings were no exception. How is Arden doing now? She had not really spared the Adventurer much thought, his blessing an accident that was not as impactful as that of Caethya or Maria. At least, she assumed that that was the case. I should check up on him at some point.


    With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused her aura on Maria, trying to find some fault that would explain why the prayer just fizzled out and joined the mana in her well. Unable to detect anything wrong, Aperio steeled herself and, as Maria was distracted with Brenia, she started to very carefully examine the painter''s soul.


    It was free of runes ¡ª a relief to the Goddess ¡ª but was not undamaged. Aperio could sense tiny hairline fractures running all along the surface of the tiny orb, the mist contained within already starting to escape in a few places. It wasn''t much, but the fact that it was happening at all caused a panic to spread through Aperio that she had not experienced before.


    Whatever was happening here was definitely not supposed to be, but she could not determine the reason for the damage. What Aperio did know, however, was that she could fix it. The question just remained if she should. After what had happened to Laelia she was a bit more hesitant to simply go ahead and do what felt right. Leaving whatever was happening to Maria be, however, was also not an option. While Aperio might not be able to properly identify the manner of soul damage she was observing, or even how it had come to pass, she knew with certainty that it would not end well.


    "Maria," Aperio said, interrupting the conversation the girl was having with Brenia. "May I speak to you for a moment?"


    The girl gave a brief nod after she had said a few more words to Brenia, causing the girl to take a few steps away to give the Goddess and her new friend ¡ª hopefully ¡ª some space.


    "Are you feeling unwell, Maria?" Aperio asked, keeping watch over her young followers'' souls.


    "No?" the girl replied, seemingly not sure why her Goddess had even asked such a thing.


    Very carefully, Aperio opened a tear in reality and let a tiny bit of the soul-river water flow around Maria''s soul. As soon as the orb had been fully submerged, Maria let out a small yelp and pressed her hands against her chest.


    Aperio watched for a moment, observing how the cracks began to recede ¡ª a fraction of a hair''s worth. "Do you feel better now?"


    Maria did not reply with words, but with an almost imperceptible nod of her head. Her maid on the other hand was ready to draw her weapon again, only held at bay by an angry glare from Ferio. Aperio did not pay them much mind, instead focusing on the steady flow of the Void¡¯s water around Maria''s soul.


    The act of healing the tiny orbs of light was becoming distressingly familiar to Aperio, something she had never expected to happen. Not that any of this makes sense. Try as she might, Aperio could not figure out why Maria''s soul would be damaged in the way that it was. A mental query directed at her daughter did not reveal anything, Ferio not knowing much about souls to begin with.


    Aperio could only heave a silent sigh as she invited both Maria and Brenia under her wings, keeping the constant stream from her Void up in the hope that more direct intervention would not be required.


    A small flex of her mental muscles caused a pen from Lord Terenyk''s office to lift itself off the table and start to pen a message for the man. As soon as she was done, Aperio let the note appear before him, briefly interrupting his journey towards them. He quickly scanned the words on the paper, his eyes noticeably widening as he read the part about his daughter''s soul. As soon as he was done, he balled his hands into fists and resumed his journey, faster than before.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 73: Broken Magic

    Geshton quickened his pace yet again as his eyes flew over the most recent note his daughter''s Goddess had written. First she had told him that she would visit Maria and that he was welcome to join them in her room. He was fine with that; a Goddess was not really beholden to the same rules as they were. Making a high ranking priest wait would often already result in unpleasant scenarios, he had no desire to see what would happen if he did that to a Goddess.


    What he was not so fine with was the news the second note had brought. He was not sure how, but apparently the soul of his daughter had been damaged. While he may not know how such a thing was even possible, he was willing to trust the word of the winged Goddess. She did fix the System, after all¡­ And it identifies her as the All-Mother.


    Still, when it came to his daughter, he did not really care who he had to go against. If it was somehow the fault of the All-Mother¡­ Geshton did not know what he would do. He balled his fists, crumpling the piece of paper he still held in the process. Why does it never end?


    Life had begun to look a bit brighter again. Vigil and Inanis were gone for good, their goons no longer trying to get into their home as they tried to internalise the fact that their Gods were dead. He had already written a letter to Jace, letting his son know that his sister was finally able to start living a normal life. Now he would have to pen another, taking back the good news he had sent ¡ª Maria was still in danger. Perhaps even more than before.


    Geshton''s steps faltered a little as he saw the open door to his daughter''s room. The knowledge of what lay waiting inside splashed over him, quelling a good deal of the rage he was feeling. No matter how much he might want to blame Aperio for what had happened, she was not responsible for the actions of others. Even if she claims to be.


    He wasn''t exactly sure what her exact role in the pantheon was, but he assumed it was something above the rest. Given that the System identified her as the All-Mother, Geshton would guess she was some kind of adviser to, or progenitor of, the current deities. But she could have stopped this.


    Even if he was willing to actually blame the Goddess for what the churches of Vigil and Inanis had done, he wouldn''t be able to do anything. He couldn''t fight her. I probably can''t even injure her. He was, after all, a mortal. Not even particularly strong, as he had not yet reached level two hundred.


    Having to spend more and more time managing the estate and the companies the family owned, as well as taking care of Maria''s and Jace''s safety, had not left him with much free time. Adding to that was the fact that, even after all this time, he still had days on which he simply could not find a reason to leave his bed; days where he just wanted to do nothing but cry over what he had lost. Geshton simply had little opportunity and drive to go out and raise his level. Not that it actually means much.


    Maria might have a high level for her age, but her actual abilities were beyond what one would guess from looking at the number. But then, she was blessed by the All-Mother¡­


    Geshton tightened his fists further at the thought and took the last few steps to the doorway of his daughter''s room. The first thing he saw was Aperio sitting on the floor, seemingly uncaring for any propriety as she had the last time he saw her. Her wings were swept forwards, wrapping around Maria ¡ª and someone else, if the giggles were anything to go by.


    The sight of the Elf sitting on the floor, her long hair pooling messily on the ground, and the happy giggle of Maria caused Geshton to pause. For a brief moment the wisps of mana floating around the All-Mother disappeared from his vision, the woman herself replaced by his long-dead wife as she played with their daughter. She had spent most of her time here, taking care of their miraculous little girl that somehow could already access and use her mana.


    "Lord Terenyk," Aperio said, her words sending a shiver down his spine that ripped him out of his reverie. Despite the voice at the back of his back mind screaming at him to run, he stood firm; unwilling to abandon his daughter.


    The Goddess remained quiet, seemingly content to continue working whatever magic she had conjured. While Geshton could not figure out what she was doing, he had no trouble telling that she was doing something. Is she already healing Maria? Answering prayers? ...Repairing the moon?


    A part of it had disappeared in a blinding flash shortly after the fall of Vigil and Inanis, after all. Does it even need replacement? He pushed the thought from his mind as quickly as it came, quite unnerved at the unusual wandering of his mind. What''s happening to me?


    "There is no need to panic, Lord Terenyk. No-one here means you or your daughter any harm."


    Geshton did not reply immediately. The fact that she knew how he felt without even looking at him was not something he questioned. She is a Goddess, after all. An important one, if my guess is correct. Why she didn''t have her own church set up was beyond him, but he wouldn''t judge a deity for wanting some peace and quiet. But, why did she bless Maria?


    Instead of talking to her back, he slowly circled around the winged Goddess as she did not seem inclined to turn and face him. The reason became apparent as soon as he had made his way around: his daughter and another girl he did not recognise were sitting under her wings, playing with a more solid-looking wisp of the Goddess'' mana. Something that did not fit with the image he had had of the Goddess up until now.


    Aperio kept her eyes closed, her aura''s perception more than enough to sense the world. Lord Terenyk''s rapidly beating heart did not even require her to use her aura at all, her ears more than enough to pick it up. Focusing her senses on the man was preferable to hearing the city outside ramping up to midday busyness, even if she found herself slightly disgusted at all the subtle sounds a Human body made. My own body doesn''t sound so¡­ disgusting. Why are they like that?


    She had a heart, one that pumped blood through her veins, just like everyone else. It''s just that I don''t really need them, do I? Diskrye had described her body as a shell that was struggling to contain her; a statement that would at least start to explain why she continuously applied her mana to get stronger without even thinking about it. Doesn''t tell me why I wasn''t like this before, though.


    Ferio had said that her strength eclipsed that of her old self already, something that did not really make sense if she considered the fact that she was the creator of everything. Or did dying change something? It was just another thing she would have to figure out once she retrieved more of her memories.


    With a mental sigh, Aperio directed her attention back to the head of the house, waiting for him to speak up. She had informed him of Mara''s state and expected a torrent of questions and, perhaps, blame. None of it came as the man seemed to be too panicked to speak. Or is it fright? I told him that he has nothing to fear, though.


    That Maria wasn''t scared of her was to be expected, the girl did carry her blessing after all. The same could not be said for Brenia, but her mother was Aperio''s Scion and the girl herself seemed to lack any sense of danger. Though, the first thing she knew about me was that I had saved her brothers. ...And I gifted her one of my feathers.


    "Why is this happening to her?" Lord Terenyk finally asked.


    Aperio opened her eyes at the words, casting her gaze on the man. He seemed to shrink slightly under her attention, obviously uncomfortable. "I do not know yet, and I do not wish to share the thoughts I have without being certain."


    That her main theory resolved around the fact that she had thrown Maria''s soul with all she had to escape her Void was also a reason for why she did not want to reveal any possible cause just yet. There was another potential theory as to why Maria''s soul was damaged, one that ¡ª if true ¡ª would be much more problematic.


    The girl had access to a lot of mana, much more than someone her age should reasonably have and, as far as Aperio could tell, had had no training on how to control it. She was by no means an expert on magic, or even knowledgeable about what kind of training a mortal usually underwent, but the difference between everyone else''s mana and that of Maria was as clear as day to the All-Mother.


    It behaved much closer to her own, simply flowing along the body of its host in what she would consider a natural manner. When Maria laughed, the flow quickened, happily bubbling at the joy the girl felt. In a way, it was much like her relationship with the world itself, just that Maria''s mana did not seem to influence her as it did Aperio.


    The others present had an almost erratic flow of mana in their bodies ¡ª Caethya less so, but Aperio assumed that that was because she carried her blessing. The flow of her own daughter''s mana also resembled what Aperio would call natural ¡ª much more than those of Lord Terenyk and Amelia.


    Her growing fear was simple enough to state. Mortals, perhaps, could not withstand the normal flow of mana, and especially not the amounts Maria had access to. The source of it was the soul, after all, and the rate at which mana entered and exited it was much higher in everyone she had blessed. What if her soul can''t handle that yet?


    "Caethya." Her disciple stood a little straighter at the words, having seemingly not expected the attention of her Goddess. "What kind of education did you receive on magic as a child?"


    "Just the basics everyone should be taught, my Lady," she replied with a frown. "How to restrict your mana and not let your emotions influence it. After that I proceeded on my own, as what the tutors suggested did not work well for me."


    "And you, Maria?"


    The girl looked at her father briefly before casting her gaze downwards. "None¡­ Nothing the teachers tried worked. When I want to use magic, I just... do. Chants or Skills don''t work."


    "Could you cast a simple spell for me?"


    Maria nodded after looking to her father for confirmation. A moment later, Aperio could feel ¡ª see ¡ª the mana moving through the girl¡¯s body. One of the cracks in the girl''s soul deepened, and her mana slithered out from it. It slunk heavily down her arms, until it finally reached her hand and was able to leave her body. Above the girl''s palm a small ball flickered into existence, bathing the room in a surprisingly bright light.


    "That is enough, Maria," Aperio said, gently pushing the girl¡¯s hand down, thereby extinguishing the ball of light. "Thank you." She can''t use magic for a while.


    "And? Did you find anything?" Lord Terenyk asked, his worry for his daughter easily overshadowing the fear he had felt previously.


    "I did, yes. Maria should not use magic until I have healed her completely. It would be counterproductive."


    "Heal me?" Maria asked. "Is that why I feel so warm and¡­ light?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, even if she herself had no idea what being healed by her magic would actually feel like. "Something I did not expect has happened to you. I must fix it." Because it is my fault. There was no other possible way to understand it. A thrown soul was an unhealthy soul. And she had thrown this one as hard as she had been able to manage at the time...


    "But what is wrong with me? I don''t feel sick."


    The All-Mother took an unneeded breath at the question. She had not wanted Maria to ask, but it was obvious that she would once she had been told that something was wrong. Telling someone their soul was slowly breaking apart was not something she ever wanted to get used to.


    "Your soul. It is damaged."


    "How?"


    Aperio remained silent for a moment. Should I tell her the truth? The thought alone caused a mixture of pain and disgust to flow through her, despite her knowing that it was the right thing to do. With a sigh, the All-Mother lowered her head and spoke.


    "Because I was careless."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 74: Cruel Reminder

    GamingWolf


    "You were careless?!" Lord Terenyk barked, a small trail of mist following his balled fists as he took what Aperio would consider a fighting stance. "What did you do?!"


    Aperio did not reply immediately, instead telling her daughter to let the man be with a small mental nudge. Lord Terenyk had every right to be angry, after all. Throwing Maria''s soul had undoubtedly damaged what lay within, the blessing she received from that unthinking action only furthering the damage to her soul every time the girl used magic.


    "Caethya," Aperio said, gently lifting her wing and pushing Laelia''s daughter towards her disciple. "Please watch over Brenia for a moment."


    "What did you do to my daughter?!" Lord Terenyk demanded, the magic around him growing in intensity.


    The All-Mother tried her best to ignore the rising anger at the back of her mind, the words of the Human making it quite hard to retain her calm. There was no reason for her to feel this way, it was her fault that Maria''s soul had been damaged. Because I was scared of my Void¡­


    "I¡­" Aperio''s voice trailed off, her mind struggling to find the right words. "I expected her soul to be a bit sturdier than it was. I would like to claim that there was a grand plan for this, that I chose her to replace one of the fallen deities."


    Aperio paused again as she slowly ran her hand through Maria''s hair, gently guiding the flow of the soul-river''s water through the girl''s well. "But, that is not the case. Despite what everyone seems to think, I am not all-knowing."


    Admitting that was, of course, accompanied by a wave of disgust that had yet to find its equal; almost managing to make the winged Goddess regurgitate her last, non-existent, meal. But, it was the truth; she did not know everything ¡ª nor did she want to ¡ª and yet, some part of her still seemed to think that admitting that was wrong. "I was... curious. And careless. Now, I am fixing my mistake."


    Despite hearing Aperio''s words, Maria made no move to leave the lap of the Goddess. Nor could the All-Mother find a trace of anger or concern in her; the girl''s breathing was steady and so was the beat of her heart. As far as Aperio could tell, Maria did not seem to mind what she had done. Or she doesn''t understand what I am talking about.


    Lord Terenyk balled his fists tighter still, the mist that flowed from them growing more dense. Aperio wasn''t concerned about the magic ¡ª what the man was conjuring was pathetically weak ¡ª but it did put the extent of his anger on full display. Not that I can blame him for that.


    He glared at the winged Goddess, his eyes sometimes darting to his daughter, who had by now closed her eyes and leaned herself against the All-Mother. "What are you doing to her?"


    "Healing her," Aperio replied. "Like I said before. It will take a bit more time, but the damage is not irreparable. I would also advise you to not attack me. Whatever you are trying to conjure up will do you more harm than me."


    The Human continued to stare at Aperio, the magic still gathering in his hands despite her warning. She knew the look in his eyes all too well: the hatred, the disgust. Right now he wanted nothing more than to hurt her for what she had done; for endangering his daughter.


    She held his gaze, seeing from the corner of her eye as he raised his hand: a slight yellow glow intermixing with the trailing mist. The hand shimmered in her vision, becoming the blurred image of a bejeweled metal gauntlet. The gems shone in the vile yellow light she had come to despise over the course of her life, the magic it announced never pleasant for the mind.


    Unbidden, one of Aperio''s hands traced her neck, her fingers trying to find the collar that would undoubtedly force her to obey ¡ª enjoy ¡ª whatever he wanted to do. Her mind searched for the feeling at the back of her mind that had always been a constant companion; the silent call that would take control of her body, forcing her to be a helpless passenger, forced to watch as her owners did whatever vile acts they could think of.


    The voices sounding behind her turned choppy in her ears, breaking up and slowly turning into the mocking laughter she knew all too well. Some of them even spurred her master on to take her there and then. Force her to enjoy the act ¡ª praise him for his performance.


    She could feel them drawing closer ¡ª eager to observe her suffering. Revel in it. Aperio could see the bejeweled hand move towards her face, could already feel the cold metal on her chin; waited for him to force her to meet his eyes. Waited for him to take her.


    With every unneeded breath she took, Aperio could smell the sweat ¡ª feel it stick to her skin. The distant voices grew in veracity as the ghostly echo of his hands brushed against her chest, her legs, her, as his breath flowed past her ears. Aperio''s hand followed the non-existent breath, slowly rising up to the side of her face. Her fingers reached out, despite her dim recollections that they had healed a long while ago, and searched for the scarred remains she was sure to find.


    The All-Mother closed her eyes as her fingers followed the gentle curve of her ears. She wanted to forget ¡ª to be blind to her old life. She did not want to remember kneeling in front of her masters, being forced to meekly beg for mercy while her mind was afire with insults and spite.


    Aperio shuddered, putting in the effort to ignore the echoing voices that sounded out around her. Instead, she drew her wings closer, shielding herself and Maria from the world that surrounded them. A touch of her magic made sure no sound would reach them. The girl herself shifted in the Goddess'' lap, wrapping her arms around the woman as best she could.


    The presence of the Human child helped; her minuscule weight on her lap a beacon, a lifeline on which Aperio could force herself to return to the present and not dwell on her past. Why Maria had decided to remain with her despite knowing that she was responsible for the damage to her soul was a mystery for Aperio.


    Very carefully, Aperio returned Maria''s hug, a few errant tears dampening the girl''s hair. The All-Mother could not fathom why Maria did not hate her like her father did; how she could simply ignore what had been done


    Despite losing her focus, her healing had never stopped, her subconsciousness seemingly enough to keep the magic going; a fact she was most thankful for. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt the girl more because of the resurfacing of unsuppressable memories.


    Deep breaths, she thought to herself as her lungs filled with cold air. Just memories. She could feel herself tremble slightly, the disgust she expected to feel at her lack of control suspiciously absent.


    She took another deep breath, the smell of paint and parchment tickling her nose, slowly replacing the ghostly odours of salt and ammonia. All she yearned to do at the moment was to retreat to her Void and hide. To wash herself clean in the river of souls.


    To forget.


    Maria felt a tremble, and more tears dropped onto her head. She held onto Aperio a little tighter. She did not know why her Goddess was behaving like she was, but she knew she wanted it to stop. Whatever had caused it was obviously not good ¡ª a Goddess should not cry.


    She understood why her father was angry ¡ª she herself should probably be too ¡ª but Maria did not want to lose what she had. Despite what the Goddess had done, Maria still liked her. Perhaps it was her title of All-Mother, but the girl did feel like Aperio was perhaps the closest thing to a mother she had right now. While she could not replace Maria''s actual parent, the girl still wanted someone to fill the void the death of her mother had left.


    She couldn''t remember much; only fragments of a bedtime story or a bit of playtime. Nothing that would let her figure out what her mother was truly like. And yet, she felt like the two were much the same.


    "I''m sorry," Aperio said, her voice barely a whisper but still deafeningly loud.


    Maria did not know what to say, no words quite fitting to express what she wanted to say. Instead, she tried to hold on even tighter to Aperio. While she still wasn''t sure if the Goddess liked being hugged, Maria did so anyway. She did return it, after all.


    "I am sorry," her Goddess mumbled again, and her voice, for once, was almost silent. "I should not be like this."


    Maria pulled herself away at the words. "Why?" she asked. It did not make sense to her. While she thought that her Goddess should not cry, it wasn''t because it didn''t fit but because she did not want to see the one who gave life to all she knew be sad.


    Aperio chuckled mirthlessly at the words, the tears that had pooled under her eyes vanishing as she extended her hand to tug a few errant strands of hair behind Maria''s ear. "It is unbecoming of me, is it not? I can do most anything with but a thought, a feat many mortals would trade everything for. Why should I cry for anything?"


    "Isn''t telling me this also bad, then?" Maria asked, slightly tilting her head.


    "Perhaps," the Goddess replied, her eyes distant for a moment as another tear rolled down her cheek. "But it helps. Thank you."


    "Thank me?" Maria asked. "Why?" It didn''t make sense to her, all she had done was hug Aperio and listen to her. Neither of them she thought would deserve thanking. Or do Goddesses not hug, like I am not allowed to hug the servants? Maria very much wanted to ¡ª she did rather like most of them, after all ¡ª but her father had made it quite clear that it wasn''t allowed.


    "Sometimes just being there is enough. I am also thankful that, despite having every right to, you do not hate me for what I have done."


    "I just don''t want to lose another part of my family..."


    Aperio sighed at the words, the sound somehow managing to make the air feel a little colder. "But I am responsible for that too, am I not? Without my intervention, your mother would still be here."


    "But you did not kill her," Maria said, her voice stern in the face of her Goddess. "People from the churches of Vigil and Inanis did."


    "You might not blame me for what happened, but your father does. I will not stand between the two of you for longer than I already have," Aperio said, carefully picking up Maria as she stood up and folded her wings behind her back. "I thank you for your ear and your honesty, but I think it is time to talk to your father."


    Maria shifted slightly in her Goddess'' arms, not quite managing to find a comfortable position. How can her arms be so hard but her wings so soft? It wasn''t as though Aperio''s skin was made of metal, but just as during her hug, no matter what Maria tried, there was no give in the Goddess'' body. Maybe I am just too weak?


    That was the most likely answer. She was just starting to come into the power Aperio''s blessing had given her, after all. What she had gained from that, though, was mostly magical in nature. One of the benefits she had over others was her perception of magic, one that allowed her to feel the minute shift in their surroundings that heralded the return of sound from the outside world.


    Her father was fuming, yelling at Ferio who looked less than pleased, a few errant flames dancing across her already fiery-looking hair. The Elf that had accompanied her Goddess just stood silently by the door, talking to the girl Aperio had also brought with her.


    Maria liked Brenia; she did not care for noble titles or the like, simply wanting a friend. She also liked her Goddess, just another good thing in Maria''s book. Now though, she looked confused, probably not understanding the conversation that was happening in front of her. Not that she had to for much longer, as Geshton ceased his yelling and stared at Aperio.


    Maria knew the look. It was the same he had had after the priests of Vigil and Inanis had talked to him in his office. After they had told him to kill her. She did not want her father and Aperio to hate each other, but Geshton did not truly know what she did. He did not know how Aperio felt, the sadness and insecurity the Goddess hid behind a veneer of formality and superiority.


    She acted like everyone assumed the All-Mother would act; how Maria had thought she would act. The only times that facade had broken, as far as Maria knew, was when someone she cared about was in any form of danger. Or when she felt at ease with the people present. Aperio had gone against her father when she thought he had somehow abused her. She sat on the dirty floor with two children not her own, letting them play with her hair because she did care.


    Geshton was about to yell again when Maria cut him off, her voice trembling whisper. "Please¡­ don''t."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 75: A Test of Patience

    Lord Ternyk lowered his hands at his daughter''s words, the mist that had shrouded his form slowly dissipating. Aperio averted her eyes; the mist had not impaired her vision much, but now that it was fading away just looking at the man caused some of the memories in her mind to stir again.


    Calm, she thought to herself as she took an unneeded breath, tensing slightly as Ferio''s hand pushed past her wings to rest on her back. The minuscule weight of Maria in her arms and the touch of her daughter did a good job of grounding her mind to the present, allowing the All-Mother to look at Lord Terenyk again.


    Geshton Terenyk | [Protector of the Innocent (Hidden)] | Level: 194


    ...Hidden? He cannot see his own title? That a title could be invisible to its owner was news to her, not something she had expected after the System had announced that the [Status] function was available for everyone. It shouldn''t have been a surprise, however; the System was bound to have functions that were not accessible by anyone but her. How many things are hidden in there?


    With a slight shake of her head, Aperio pushed the thoughts away and focused on Geshton. While a part of her mind still equated the man to her old master, she would not let herself be held back by that. She could do without another breakdown ¡ª without having to remember the pain that was her old life.


    "Maria," Lord Terenyk said. As he looked at his daughter, the fury that burned in his eyes disappeared for a moment, only to return in full force when his gaze shifted onto the All-Mother. "Why are you still with her? Don''t you understand what her carelessness has done to you? To our family?"


    The girl shrunk a little at her father''s words, an action that caused Aperio to shift her to hold her a little closer; a little tighter. She would not allow more harm to come to Maria. I''ve already brought enough. Aperio did not want to see the last of the girl''s family fall apart, especially not so shortly after she had to relive some of the more cruel parts of her own. A life she only lived because she was betrayed, not only by the Gods she herself had made but also the mortals she had been born to.


    Until recently, family had been synonymous with betrayal. Only after she had met Ferio did she feel something akin to trust, a small seed that would take lifetimes to grow and could be burned by the smallest misstep. Being unable to trust anyone was not an experience she would want anyone to have, least of all the little girl she held in her arms.


    "What others did is not her fault," Maria whispered, her voice so quiet that Aperio doubted Geshton had even heard her. "You said yourself."


    Despite the quietness of Maria''s statement, her father had managed to hear her. At least Aperio assumed that was what the slight slump of his shoulders meant. A slight change in her aura caught Aperio''s attention, causing her to shift a bit of her focus on it.


    What she perceived did not quite make sense to her still-troubled mind, and her concentration shifted enough that she missed the next word Geshton spoke. There was something strange happening far outside the city, but besides the...anomaly, there was nothing of note to be found. Only a few errant plants and trees.. What is that?


    Something deep inside her was urging her to leave, to get there and investigate. But, she did not move. Leaving now would make the situation at hand worse and, perhaps more importantly, whatever was happening only felt weird ¡ª not wrong. That led her to believe it did not require her immediate attention.


    "Why are you so determined to blame my mother for this?" Ferio asked, her tone laced with such malice it ripped Aperio from her inspection and almost caused her to silence Ferio. "Your daughter has been given the chance to ascend and you are trying to take it away? What kind of father are you?"


    "One that cares," he replied, not backing down from what Aperio would consider a challenge.


    Before either of them could say another word, the All-Mother lightly cleared her throat. The quiet noise still somehow managed to fill every corner of the room, undoubtedly enhanced by her silent wish for the two of them to not fight.


    "I want to help Maria," Aperio said. "It is her choice to accept or deny my aid, not yours. You may loathe and hate me all you want, but if Maria wishes for my help ¡ª I will give it." She was not happy with her words. They conveyed what she wanted, yes, but they also served to drive the two apart; an outcome she had wanted to avoid.


    Nevertheless, it was the best she could come up with at the moment. The closest to how I feel. It was liberating to speak her mind in a way, the wave of disgust that usually accompanied such words still absent. Did I break or fix myself? Nothing about her that she could perceive had changed and a more thorough inspection would have to wait until the current situation was resolved. And after I''ve scouted out that... thing. She suppressed the sigh she wanted to let out as she fixed her gaze on Lord Terenyk.


    "I don''t want you to fight," Maria said, seemingly ignoring the statement Ferio had made about the possibility of her ascension. "I want to paint and play. Go outside and see the city... Go to school?"


    Aperio fixed her gaze on the maid who still stood in the corner, her slight giggle immediately replaced by a deathly silence as she stared at her feet. The All-Mother could hear her heart beat faster, could see the slight sheen of sweat that formed on her skin.


    She sighed and tore her eyes from the frightened maid, shifting Maria slightly in her arms. That the girl completely ignored most of what had happened was fine with Aperio, the current direction of the conversation vastly preferable to the confrontation it was heading to before.


    Lord Terenyk lowered his head, the last bit of fight fleeing from his form. "If that is what you wish, Maria. I just ask that you think about who you are dealing with. Being associated with her has cost us your mother already."


    Before anything could be said, Aperio stood up, shifting Maria slightly in her arms and wrapped one of her wings halfway around her daughter; the feathered appendage easily preventing her from moving and making it clear that the mortal''s words would go unanswered. At least from their side. Once her daughter had let out a disgruntled huff and sent her a small mental nudge that she would stay, Aperio removed her wing.


    The mortals in the room still felt Ferio''s anger, even if she had been held back by her mother. Even Caethya held her breath for a short moment, turning ever so slightly to shield Brenia from potential harm. While this motion might not have meant much to most people, for Aperio it was a sign that her blessing had not gone to the wrong person.


    "But aren''t the ones that did that gone now?" Maria asked, oblivious to the tension in the room..


    "No," her father replied with a shake of his head. "Their Gods are gone, but the people remain and they could start to think that the All-Mother acted on behalf of our family, even if that is not the case."


    "If you believe the estate to not be sufficiently guarded, I would be willing to talk to the [Grandmaster] for you. I have no doubts she would be willing to organise a guard." And it would give me a reason to visit Roots again. I really need to know how broken the System is.


    Lord Terenyk did not reply immediately; clearly mulling over what Aperio had said. Perhaps he did not trust the [Guides] or, more likely, he did not trust Aperio. Even if she could understand the reason for his distrust, she did not like it. But then, I don''t trust either.


    A light tap on her chest caused Aperio to look down at the girl in her arms. Words were not needed for her to realise that Maria wanted to be set down. Very gently, Aperio lowered the girl to the floor, careful to not injure her on accident ¡ª making sure the soul-river''s water still flowed around her injury. Why must everything be so fragile?


    Thus far, the only being that had been able to withstand more than the tiniest fraction of her strength was Ferio, with a close runner-up being trees of a certain forest. And both of those were a while ago. She had grown by leaps and bounds since then, the strengthening of her body only progressing faster and faster. Do I even want to know where this will lead? What I would be without this ...shell?


    Diskrye had made it quite clear that her body was disposable ¡ª a notion Aperio still did not appreciate. For the first time in her remembered life she felt good, and liked how she looked. But then, this body looks like this because it is what I want, no? She sighed at the thought, her wandering mind always trying to answer questions at the most inconvenient of times.


    Instead of pursuing thoughts she would likely be unable to answer anyway, Aperio set her eyes on Maria as she made her way to her father. The girl hugged the man as best she could once she reached him, not caring for any sense of propriety Aperio was sure she had.


    Geshton returned the embrace, picking his daughter up and holding her close. "I don''t want to lose you too," he whispered. "She might be the All-Mother, but that means she does not understand or even care for us, Maria. You have to understand that. She is not like you or I."


    Aperio wanted to give the man a sign that she could hear every word, but decided against it. He already knows that, doesn''t he? He has to. Geshton obviously knew that she was beyond anything people would consider normal, that she had better hearing should be obvious. That the thought about her hearing had brought with it the annoying noises of the city was pointedly ignored in hope of it vanishing again.


    "Perhaps it is best if we leave and let the two of you discuss this in peace? It appears that you have much to talk about that is not meant to be heard by others."


    Maria wriggled in her father''s arms at the words, trying to turn around. Geshton helped her after a moment''s hesitation, shifting his daughter to one arm so she might look at her Goddess. "But how am I supposed to reach you? My prayers always fail..."


    "They do, at the moment. But now I know what to look for; even if the message is lost I will still know you called for me," Aperio said. "I will also continue to heal you, which means a part of me remains with you, in a way." That she kept watch over Maria through her aura was left unsaid. The mortals did not need to know that she could survey the world in detail with little effort. Or any restriction on range¡­ "Once your soul is fully healed, that should no longer be a problem."


    "How long will that take?" Lord Terenyk asked.


    "A week, perhaps a bit less," Aperio replied. The cracks on Maria''s soul healed a lot faster than the runes that had been meticulously inscribed on the other mortal souls. Though, this method is slower than having her bathe in the water directly¡­ Or is it the Void that speeds up the healing?


    It was obvious that Geshton was not happy with the reply, but there was nothing Aperio could do to change that. Besides using my mana to heal her soul, but that would only create more problems. The situation wasn''t that dire, she knew that Maria was not in danger of dying anytime soon ¡ª the soul was much more resilient than she would have expected. Everything is more resilient than it appears to me, isn''t it?


    "I do not wish for you to fight each other, but it is easy enough to understand that you, Lord Terenyk, do not want me here and will not back down." Even if I could kill you with a thought, she thought before continuing. "So I will take my leave."


    Her words were accompanied by the sound of breaking glass as reality splintered apart behind her. A small mental query informed Caethya and Ferio about her intent to leave, even if it was likely not necessary. Her disciple took Brenia''s hand and pointed at Laelia who was visible through the portal Aperio had created, saying something to her that the All-Mother did not understand as the pair walked through.


    Ferio kept her gaze on Geshton for a moment longer, a small fire flickering in her eyes before she turned and left without another word. Once her daughter had stepped through the portal Aperio lowered her head slightly, the motion accompanied by a touch of her magic blocking sight and sound from travelling through the tear she had made.


    "I am sorry for what has happened to your wife, Geshton," she said. "There is no excuse for my own actions, I know that, but continued hatred will only break you. Trust me."


    Before the man could reply, Aperio gave a small wave directed at Maria and vanished alongside the portal she had created.


    GamingWolf


    Split-POV Marathon is over now!


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 Crusade – Chapter 76: An Anomaly

    Aperio appeared in the air above the anomaly she had sensed, her wings spreading behind her and keeping her aloft with lazy beats. She wanted to be alone for a moment. Her breakdown and Ferio''s continued overzealousness were things that put a burden on her mind she did not quite know how to deal with.


    She did inform Caethya, Laelia, and her daughter what she was doing and why she did not join them, but Aperio did not tell them exactly where she went. Not like I can hide from any of them, though. She was certain that they could spot her like a beacon of light in the dark of night; the amount of mana that constantly flowed to and from her easily dwarfed anything else she was aware of. Hopefully they respect my wish.


    With those thoughts, Aperio directed her gaze at the thing below her. Space twisted in on itself, the ambient mana that she could feel all around her flowing into the anomaly. It did not look like the portals she made; more akin to what she found in Vigil''s moon-side temple. But not wrong, like the thing he made.


    She tilted her head slightly, the motion accompanied a touch of her magic that caused a branch to break off of one of the nearby trees. She flung it into the anomaly.


    Aperio watched with interest as the stick entered the distortion. There was another shift in her aura, multiple overlapping layers of mana encasing the piece of wood that slowed it down before it reached the centre and vanished. The All-Mother tilted her head as she let her senses follow the trail of mana that raced away from the anomaly, only to find something else heading towards her side of the apparent passageway.


    Is that a Human? A strong mage, then? She couldn''t really think of anything else. Ferio had said that teleportation was reserved for bigger installations or extraordinarily strong individuals. Aperio was also interested as to where the portal led. It wasn''t on Verenier, she knew that much. Mortals can travel between worlds?


    The idea struck her as wrong, as something that shouldn''t happen. Perhaps they can because the System is broken? The answer seemed likely as she could feel the amount of mana weakening the further she followed the stick she had thrown. He can''t be a mage¡­ There is barely any mana where he comes from. Can he even survive here?


    With her there she had little doubt anything would happen to him, but that didn¡¯t mean all that much. She wouldn''t continuously watch over him, after all. And who made this portal? As the passage lacked the feel she had gotten when she had inspected Vigil''s creation, and was nowhere similar to the sensation of transitioning to Ferio''s Dominion, she doubted it was the doing of one of the Gods. ...Did the System make this?


    Aperio narrowed her eyes as she focused on the anomaly, lightly setting down in front of it. She let her senses follow each of the threads that comprised the distortion, tracing them through the infinitely complex weave that was the fabric of reality.


    Keeping track of the Human that was moving ¡ª Falling? ¡ª through the anomaly, the stick she had thrown into it, and now the individual bits and pieces that made up the presumed portal in front of her were somehow not much of a burden on her mind. While it required her to focus more than most other things ¡ª to ignore the physical world around her ¡ª it did not feel as strenuous as she had thought it would.


    What did cause her to almost lose track of the other threads of thought in her mind was the revelation that her hunch had been correct. The mana that made up the anomaly in front of her did, in one way or another, lead back to the System ¡ª to her.


    Aperio still couldn''t quite figure out where the System was located, but it was close to her well, which was for all intents and purposes the source of all mana in the world. And it is part of me¡­ So the System is part of me too?


    She had always assumed that it was a construct powered by her mana, not an actual part of her. But how does that work? Quite unlike her well, it did not feel like the System was a part of her. It simply existed ¡ª keeping watch over everything she made. No, not everything.


    Wherever the man still travelling through the anomaly came from, it was a world largely untouched by mana and the System. The idea of such a place felt wrong to her, not something she would have to fix immediately but probably something that shouldn''t be ignored for too long. Knowing this is weird.


    Aperio continued to send her senses through the ever more dull feeling thread leading to the potentially mana-less world. The idea of it, while still wrong, intrigued her; stirred something deep within her that she hadn''t known about. Something that just wanted to know ¡ª to tinker with the part of her creation that had not turned out how she knew it should.


    It only took her a few moments longer to sense ¡ª to feel ¡ª the world on the other side. The familiar flow of mana in the air was absent. Instead, all she was able to find was what Aperio could only describe as a piece of her Void, neatly interwoven with the threads of Reality. Can I not feel it on Verenier because it has mana?


    With a slightly tilted head, Aperio let her senses retreat away from the world devoid of mana, focusing more on the Human that still moved towards the distortion. He seemed to be slowing down, however. Too quickly. He can''t control it, can he? ...Not that he should be able to. If a random ¡ª manaless ¡ª Human could guide something the System had created, something would have to be seriously wrong. Or just more broken than I assumed.


    Aperio sighed as she expended a bit of her mana to grab hold of the man seemingly trapped in the distortion. So much for trying to live a normal life¡­ It had been her initial goal ¡ª and still was, to an extent ¡ª but other matters simply were more pressing. Like remembering who I am. Or dragging an errant Human through a random portal-anomaly ...thing. And figuring out why this even appeared.


    She doubted the System would make such a portal completely randomly. As far as she knew, the System itself was not capable of thought, just a machine she had built to fulfill a purpose she had long forgotten. Enable magic use for everyone, for one. Perhaps also to allow the emergence of new Gods? ...But why?


    With a shake of her head she returned her focus on the anomaly in front of her, using her eyes more than her aura to look at the distortion. It hadn''t changed since she had first appeared, but Aperio knew there was a Human about to emerge from it.


    It took only a moment longer for the distortion to vanish and the Human to take its place. Aperio tilted her head as she felt the threads of reality shift ever so slightly. Mana, guided by the System, flowed into the Human, establishing a reserve for him to draw on and pushing it through his body. Soon it circulated naturally, in the same flow she could observe in any other living being.


    So where he comes from really has no mana? Aperio thought to herself, stepping a bit closer and leaning over the newly emerged Human. The first thing she noticed was the scent. Whatever it was, it was stronger than most anything Aperio had smelled before. A bit like soap? While it wasn''t unpleasant, she would encourage the Human to perhaps wash more often, or use less of whatever he did to achieve such a ...fragrance.


    She had never seen the like of his clothing before. His shirt held colourful depictions of various people striking heroic poses, and above them stood a bit of very bold text that she did not understand. Famous adventurers perhaps?


    His pants were made from a rough, blue material that she was certain she had seen before but could not quite recall the name of. He seemed to have been in some trouble previously as multiple tears in the fabric were present on his thighs and knees. Was he running from something? Aperio did not doubt that wherever he came from was free of monsters simply because it was devoid of mana.


    Another thing that struck her as strange was the black hair he had, in a very similar style to a certain youth that had challenged her before. It wasn''t exactly rare, as she had seen many slaves with black hair, but in the current times it did not seem to be a prevalent colour. Maybe he wasn¡¯t from here either?


    The two did share a similar build and face, furthering her belief that they came from the same place. Or is it mere chance? Aperio made a mental note to talk to the Human should she meet him again. Perhaps ask him to take care of this one?


    She took a step back as she felt the System''s touch recede, the threads of reality stitching themselves back together. Scaring the Human after he had presumably run for his life and now found himself in an unknown place was not something she wanted to do. Not that I would be any less scary if he would sit up and discover me by himself.


    Aperio waited patiently as the Human groaned, grabbing his head as he slowly came to. He froze a moment later, the mana in his body surging briefly before returning to its natural flow. She could sense reality changing in front of him, undoubtedly a message from the System. Why does it welcome him to the world? ...Does it do that for newborns as well?


    With a shake of her head, she willed the small information window the System provided into existence.


    Adam Keino Lincoln | [Walker of the Veil (Hidden)] | Level: 22


    Should I even approach him if he is only level twenty-two? ...Maria has a higher level than he does. Not that levels mean much at the moment. Aperio was still fairly certain that Laelia was stronger than Caethya, despite the latter having nearly twice the levels of the former. I really need to fix that.


    The title, Aperio assumed, he had gotten because he had gone from one world to another ¡ª piercing the veil between worlds if one wanted to be poetic. Why is it hidden, though? ...And how, exactly, did the System decide he should be level twenty-two?


    Aperio sighed and lightly shook her head, the noise enough to startle the newly System-inducted Human. The [Status] he had just summoned before his eyes vanished and he quickly righted himself, freezing once his eyes landed on Aperio.


    He tried to crawl backwards, away from her, but only managed to elicit a slight wobble of his arms. Aperio could only let out another sigh as she took a few steps to close the distance between them. Her wings twitched as she heard his breath quicken and the beat of his heart start to race. Does he think I brought him here as a sacrifice?


    She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sent a small mental nudge towards Laelia, requesting her presence. The eager reply she received prompted her to send a clarification: no weapons or armour needed to be brought. A small flex of her mental muscles ripped the threads of reality apart, letting Laelia appear next to her without any visual disruption that might further scare the Human. Or is this scarier?


    "What do you need, my Goddess?" Laelia asked, her eyes darting between the downed Adam and Aperio. "Did he do something?"


    "He¡­ appeared here," Aperio replied, gesturing towards the air above the man with one of her wings. "Came out of a portal I did not make. He also seems to be scared of me, even though I have done nothing.¡± Why is that always the reaction of nearly every mortal I meet?


    "Was the portal the anomaly Ferio said you wanted to investigate?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "But please, could you try and speak to the man? I doubt he will do so with me present. If he can understand us. His name is Adam Keino Lincoln, level twenty-two. So please, be careful." Somehow, she doubted that language would be a problem. The thought caused a bit of anger to rise up in her. Why does the System help a random Human with language but not me?


    Laelia nodded after a moment of hesitation. "Of course. But, unless he has a serious affliction, special care should not be needed. Level twenty-two seems about right for a man his age. One that has not done much to raise their level, that is."


    "Y-You can stay there," the man managed to stammer, his words perfectly understandable despite his weird accent.  "P-Please stay over there."


    Aperio sighed yet again. She wanted to ask why he was so scared, but being taken from your world ¡ª probably in the middle of running for his life ¡ª was bound to be scary. But I am not that scary. Just a tall, winged Elf. With mana-wisps floating around me. ...And Laelia just said that I am her Goddess.


    "We mean you no harm," Aperio said, not quite managing to convince herself despite it being the truth. "I am just trying to find out why you ended up here."


    "Something the remaining traitors did?" Laelia inquired.


    Aperio shook her head. "No, they are not the ones responsible. I know what happened to bring him here, but not why."


    Her last word caused Adam to wince slightly, the man obviously not used to her mana-intensive voice. She could only repress another sigh, instead gesturing to Laelia to take care of the man. Why is everything broken?


    GamingWolf


    Shits broke, yo. (Poor Adam)


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 Crusade – Chapter 77: Fragility

    Aperio let herself fall down onto the grass, spreading her wings slightly to allow herself to sit. Lying down now would be unbecoming of her stature, even if she had already ignored the gentle voice of Laelia as she started to talk to Adam; removed their voices from her mind so she could better focus on herself.


    I''m starting to think the old me just gave up on trying to fix all of this. The All-Mother could not quite believe that everything had broken down as much as it did during her absence alone. Unless it was a lot longer than I thought¡­ I never asked Ferio how long, exactly, I was gone.


    She rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed again, something that was becoming a lot more frequent than she would like. All she really wanted to do was roam the world and live, not be presented with problem after problem with no solution in sight. To understand and fix the issues she knew about, she would either have to retrieve more of her memories ¡ª something that was bound to pull the veil back on more unpleasantness from her past ¡ª or spend inordinate amounts of time understanding her own creation. And hope more doesn''t break while I figure things out.


    Right now, however, Aperio wanted nothing more than lay down on the soft nothing of her Void and scream. Not because she was upset, or even angry, but because despite the powers she had gained ¡ª despite knowing how to use them ¡ª she was unable to fix what she wanted to.


    She couldn''t make herself forget her old life; couldn''t undo what had been done to her. Neither could she undo the burden she had put on Maria, on Caethya, or even on Laelia. Even Ferio, her own daughter, was starting to feel distant. She seemed to have an image of Aperio that the woman herself did not want to share.


    Aperio had no desire to become the one above that ruled with an iron fist. She wanted to have a family. Friends. Not followers, disciples or Scions. The one member of her family she had managed to reconnect with seemed to think of her as far more than just a mother. I''m always the All-Mother¡­ Such a stupid title.


    Even with Ferio behaving as she did, Aperio still found a comforting warmth within her heart when she thought about her daughter, one that brought the slightest of smiles to her face. Even the memories of Moria did not quite manage to elicit the same warmth from the winged Goddess. But, should she want to express her fondness, she would feel repulsion and disgust at herself. The few times she had been able to express herself despite that had been marred by the need to keep her strength in check.


    She wanted to lean into a hug ¡ª show her affection ¡ª but doing so with more than the tiniest fraction of her might would kill most anyone. Even Ferio would break. The only things she had found able to withstand more than a minuscule amount of her strength were her weapons and the trees of the forest above the dungeon she had returned to. I doubt it still holds true for the trees, though.


    Spreading her wings fully, she gave in and let herself fall completely onto the grass, uncaring for the loss of dignity it might incur. Aperio ignored the way the earth compacted more than it should beneath her, instead directing her eyes at the clouds above. Despite the sun hanging high up in the sky, the All-Mother had no trouble making out the twin moons hanging above the surface of Verenier.


    Her aura was not needed to spot the chunk she had removed; a mortal''s eyes were enough to spot the cosmic wound. A part of her wanted to fix it, while another insisted that it should stay ¡ª to serve as a reminder for what had happened. Aperio was inclined to listen to the latter part of her mind. Memories were fleeting things, while the world seemed to be just fine without her help. If I don''t count the broken System or traitorous Gods.


    She closed her eyes, ignoring the tears that flowed down her cheeks; ignoring the tiny flowers that bloomed to life where they hit the ground.


    Her mind was turning in circles. Unable ¡ª unwilling ¡ª to decide on which path she should take. She ignored the worried voice of Laelia calling out to her, the scared whimpers of Adam, and the unmistakable feeling of her daughter''s magic flowing through a new hole in the fabric of space.


    She did not want to deal with any of it anymore.


    She wanted to know why her emotions were as steady as a drunkard on a ship in a storm. Why the voice at the back of her mind told her she was better than those that surrounded her ¡ª that she must be perceived to be perfect.


    She wanted to know why parts of the old Aperio somehow remained when every other memory had been removed. Burned from her mind.


    But there was no-one that could answer that question. The ones that were most likely to have answers had been killed by her own hand in fit of rage and sadness at the memory of their betrayal. Another disgusting loss of control.


    Aperio wanted to punch something, vent her anger. But even that was not to be. Whatever would end up the target of her rage would not survive, and undoubtedly only make it worse for her in the future.


    Instead of breaking the world even further, she shut her eyes tighter and wrapped her arms and wings around herself. The soft touch of her feathers against her skin did manage to calm her a little, the presence of the rather unnatural limbs a reminder that kept her mind from descending further into the twisted depths of her past.


    Aperio knew that her followers ¡ª and daughter ¡ª were watching her, the information her aura provided eagerly informing her about Caethya''s and Ferio''s arrival, but at the moment she did not care. For some reason, she was finally able to be honest, at least with herself, without feeling like she was about to part with her non-existent breakfast, without feeling like she needed to cleanse herself afterwards.


    She took a deep breath of the fresh air, the lack of the city¡¯s scent a welcome change. The next breath was accompanied by the hand of her daughter resting against her cheek. A touch of magic brushed past the edges of her mind in an obvious attempt to soothe her.


    The All-Mother could feel the worry of her daughter, Ferio''s heartbeat and magic far from their usual steady calm. Ever so slowly, Aperio untangled one of her hands and gently rested it atop Ferio''s. The slight shake of her daughter''s hand might have been practically unnoticeable by most, but was distressingly obvious for Aperio.


    She hadn''t really expected her daughter to react with worry to such an extent that she ignored the presence of mortals in her efforts to try and help. Nor did Aperio want her daughter to worry ¡ª did not wish to be a burden on Ferio''s mind ¡ª but at the same time she desperately wanted the presence of someone that cared. About her. Someone who did not expect her to show constant, everlasting control.


    Ferio had said that she was there to help, that she only needed to ask, but the All-Mother had not taken her daughter''s offer. Aperio had not wanted to appear even more vulnerable than she already had in front of her daughter, the part that was adamant she was better also convinced her daughter would not understand. She had been inclined to believe it, as Ferio had always held her in higher regard when others were around. It was something she had taken to mean that her daughter''s words were not quite as honest as she had wanted to believe.


    But here she was, sitting on the dirty grass behind her mother trying her best to soothe her. To most such a thing would be a matter of course, but not to Aperio, and another stream of tears cascaded down her face as she realised it. Why am I like this?


    The answer to that was, of course, not something she knew. It wasn''t something Ferio or anyone else knew either, and Aperio doubted even retrieving all her old memories would aid in answering this particular question. Instead of trying to rack her brain to find an answer, Aperio allowed Ferio to lift her head into her lap.


    It was perhaps the wrong way around, the daughter comforting her mother, but at the moment Aperio could not bring herself to care. Being able to simply lay in a field and have someone who was there for her, even if she had previously rejected her help, was a soothing balm that spread over her mind and helped to stem the flow of tears at least a little.


    "Why did you not ask for help, mother?" Ferio asked quietly, the slight quiver in her voice and shake of her hand betraying the stern facade she tried to convey.


    The All-Mother did not reply immediately, grasping her daughter''s hand a little tighter instead. She wanted to turn around and hold her daughter tightly in her arms, letting her emotions run free until the fog on her mind lifted, but that was not to be. The risk of losing control of her strength and injuring her daughter was far too great.


    Aperio gave her daughter''s hand a light squeeze, the Goddess'' flesh giving way too easily for the amount of force she had used. A touch of her magic wiped her tears and Aperio opened her eyes.


    The first thing she saw was the face of her daughter marred by worry. Ferio''s brows were creased slightly, a tiny bit of moisture pooling below her eyes.


    "What is happening to you?" she asked, her voice barely audible even to Aperio''s ears. "What can I do?"


    "I don''t know." The words were freeing, no disgust or guilt manifesting after she had said them aloud.


    Only relief.


    Aperio felt her daughter''s magic spread around the two of them, and by the nature of its composition she knew it would bring them to Ferio''s Dominion. The mana that unwound the threads of reality was not only guided by her daughter''s hand but also by the cold and unfeeling touch of the System. By me...


    She did not have to think about it, the System drawing from her well on its own. Before her mind''s eye, Aperio could see the System perform its work, mana flowing through infinite loops and countless runes so that it might aid the Goddess in her work.


    Each part of the machine worked with the others in perfect harmony, slowly undoing the weave of her creation and stitching it back together so the space in front of them might lead to where Ferio wanted to go.


    It all happened so slowly. Aperio''s senses flicked between her body and the mana of her daughter slowly spreading around them. She could see the threads connect to her. Not her body, or her soul.


    Her.


    There was no orb hidden in her well that contained who she was; only a bottomless pit of power. The clarity she felt at the moment was without comparison ¡ª everything felt as if it was only a thought away. Every piece of her creation was just waiting on her command.


    And yet, she did not know why.


    A light pull on a thread shattered one of the accursed crystals, but no influx of power or memories followed. Instead, Aperio saw the mist fly out of the broken remains far faster than it should, the distant scene as clear as if it were right in front of her.


    Her touch did not reach the mist that lingered above its destroyed home, the mana somehow hers but not connected. Unbound. It only took a moment longer for the mist to flicker and twist, taking on shapes Aperio could easily recognise as runes but had no meaning to her. No real meaning, at least.


    She had seen them before. Not engraved on the collars, written in books, or cruelly etched into the souls she had inspected, but within the depths of the System itself. The parts that lay dormant, broken and ripped apart. Sections that hid themselves in the endless depths of the System''s residence that Aperio was quickly coming to believe was the closest thing she had to a soul.


    The pieces that she knew needed repair lay in the Dungeons. In the memories that had been stolen. But why can''t I touch them? She knew they were parts of her, just the same as the crystal below Ebenlowe and in the dungeon she had returned to had been, as the mana was easily recognisable as her own.


    Helpless, Aperio watched the crystal reform, the broken parts floating up to encase the mist that remained stolen from her. Why do I need to be there? ...Why does my body need to be there?


    A surge in her daughter''s magic heralded the end of her time to watch. Aperio closed her eyes, both physical and mental, as the two of them entered Ferio''s Dominion. The last thought that shot through the All-Mother''s mind before she and Ferio vanished from the grassy hill was that Diskrye had been right.


    This is a shell.


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 78: Unpleasant Choices

    Ferio glanced down at her mother as the two of them arrived in her Dominion. Aperio''s skin was cold to the touch, like it had always been, the only perceptible warmth coming from the mind-boggling amount of mana flowing through the All-Mother. Not that a mortal would be able to tell the difference.


    That was something that had changed. Aperio had always been beyond other deities, including herself. But, what she was doing now made simply no sense to the Goddess of Life and Light. The amount of mana her mother was using to improve her body was staggering, multiple times what she herself would be able to command for at least another couple of millennia.


    It was these things that made her question if the woman currently lying with her head in her lap was actually her mother. But I know it''s her. She looked like her mother, when Aperio chose to have a body that is. Aside from the Elven ears, she still had the same fit physique, the same face, the same eyes, and she only stood taller now that she drew even more mana from her well. And the wings¡­ Perhaps most importantly, Ferio could also feel the truth of it in her soul. And yet, she couldn''t shake the feeling that Aperio wasn''t, well, Aperio anymore.


    She still liked to fight and was divorced from the concept of subtlety, but she cared for mortals now. All of them. Aperio had told her that she had lived as a slave, that she had been powerless. While Ferio still had trouble believing that, it did help to partially explain her mother''s current behaviour. And why she doesn''t trust anyone.


    Ferio sighed as she shifted her hand to brush a strand of her out of her mother''s face. Feels like I am the mother now.


    "Thank you," Aperio said, closing her eyes again and seemingly content in Ferio''s lap. That''s also new, Ferio thought. Her mother was not opposed to physical touch, per se, but tended to not like it. Even after she came back.


    "But I still don''t know how I should talk about my past," her mother continued. "I don''t want to talk about it ¡ª do not want to remember."


    Ferio returned to gently stroking Aperio''s cheek, trying to soothe her mother with her magic and touch. She did not truly expect her efforts to have much of an effect, the gap in power likely too large for any attempt of hers to matter. Anything is better than nothing. All Ferio wanted was to have her mother back.


    Aperio had not been a great parent, the demands of the All-Mother often greater than Ferio could ever hope to match. And yet, her mother''s guidance had forged her into a Goddess that was stronger than most. She knew that Aperio had wanted to be closer to her than she was, but every time Ferio tried to connect with her mother, she was pushed away. For her own good, her mother had claimed, though Ferio had not truly understood at the time.


    The Goddess of Life and Light could vividly remember the time a few minor Gods thought it a good idea to kidnap her. The rage her mother had displayed at the time was not something she had expected from the usually calm and collected Goddess. Having now experienced it for herself when Aperio had thought she had simply watched as she had to live the life of a slave, she could understand why those minor Gods were very quick to run. Not that it helped them any. Running from the Creator of everything was doomed to fail. But now, here, Ferio hoped she could finally show that she was family. Though Aperio had been a harsh mother, she had always cared in her own way.


    "I have no doubts it will hurt," Ferio said, brushing away a few tears that had returned to pool beneath her mother''s eyes. "But burying it will only hurt more. What happened with Maria will just repeat itself if you don''t try to process your memories."


    She could feel her mother tense up at her words, half expected her to lash out. But Aperio didn''t. The All-Mother just wrapped her wings around herself again, the impossibly soft feathers brushing against Ferio as she did. Did she make them so soft so she can do this?


    "Have I ever forced you to do something against your will?" Aperio asked, opening her eyes again. That was another thing that had changed. The colour of her mother''s eyes had always been silver and blue, but they had never shifted in intensity and hue before. Nor did she have mana flowing through them like she does now.


    There was enough of it in Aperio''s eyes that a mortal would be able to see the flecks of blue flow across her eyes. I hope that doesn''t influence the mortals.


    Ferio herself might not be too fond of most of them, but her mother was. Having her unwittingly hurt them with a glance was not good if Aperio really wanted to spend most of her time around them.


    "Not really," Ferio finally replied. "There were times where you stopped me from going against the other deities, but you did the same to them if they tried to skirt the rules. Though, your enforcement of the rules was spotty at the best of times.


    "You were either around, watching over your creations and making sure they behaved, or you were off doing something else and did not care what happened. The latter was by far the most common." Please don''t become like that again¡­ In times like this, Ferio wished she could pray to a higher power like the mortals to make her wish come true. The only problem was that the only higher power she could pray to was her mother, who was part of her wish.


    Aperio remained silent for a moment, her wings shifting a little as she brushed her hand along their length. "I was not a good mother, was I?"


    Ferio''s hand stopped moving at the question, not quite ready to provide an answer. The truth was that she wasn''t sure. She had learned a lot from Aperio, but the All-Mother had also never really been there for her when she needed it most. There was always something else that demanded her attention, something else that she had deemed more important.


    "No," Ferio whispered, her hands starting to tremble again. "You were not."


    Aperio gently lifted her daughter''s hand and sat up straight, turning around to wrap Ferio in a hug with her arms and wings. The whisper in her mind that wanted her to loathe herself for having to hold back as to not crush her daughter with her affection was pointedly ignored. I have so much to make up for¡­


    The more she learned about her old self, the more she started to question if she even was that Aperio. What she wanted to do now was almost the opposite of what her old self seemed to do. She wanted to spend time with Ferio; with the mortals who followed her.


    For a brief moment she considered simply taking Ferio and everyone who wanted to join her on some remote island and just living her life in peace. The idea was, of course, quickly discarded. While she knew she could make everything a mortal would need to survive, she did not know how to. Yet. The best she could do for now was heal any ailment that would befall them ¡ª something that for some reason seemed to include hunger and thirst, if she chose to trust her own feelings on the matter.


    The problem she faced now, however, was of a different nature. She wanted to be the mother she should have been to Ferio, but she had no idea how she should go about doing that. Aperio could not remember her past life as the All-Mother ¡ª and even if she could, it would not be of much help ¡ª and neither did she have a mother or even family of her own as a slave. Only Moria¡­


    While the Beastkin might have cared for her in a way that Aperio imagined a mother would, she had no real idea if it actually was motherly. And so, as she carefully pulled herself away from her daughter, Aperio spoke words free from the disgust she would normally expect but filled with the pain and sorrow of her own failure.


    "I do not think I can be what you want me to be. I cannot remember my previous self and I do not know how I should act as your mother. Or the All-Mother¡­ I am starting to think that, perhaps, it was for the best that I cannot recall ¡ª that it should remain forgotten."


    "Don''t say that, Mother," Ferio replied almost immediately. "You might not know what to do, or how to be what I wished you were, but that''s life. Now, you are trying your best despite not even knowing yourself anymore. I should not ask for more."


    Her last words were barely a whisper, more meant for herself than Aperio, but still unable to escape the All-Mother''s ears. "It simply feels like I am not doing enough," Aperio said, drawing back a little to better look at Ferio. "There are so many things I feel should be done immediately that I do not know where to begin, only to then feel disgusted at myself because I should know.


    "I made all there is and yet I cannot even figure out how I died in the first place. Or retrieve my memories without being physically present. I can feel the other crystals ¡ª can destroy them from anywhere ¡ª but the mana contained inside remains out of reach."


    "I think outside of retrieving more of your memories there is not much you can do to solve this. Unless, of course, you are willing to spend aeons relearning everything you already knew."


    Aperio''s shoulders slumped at her daughter''s words. All this power, and I have no clue how to use it. Not for what I really want, anyway. There was another thing that had plagued the mind of the All-Mother ever since she had retrieved her first set of memories.


    "What if I change when I retrieve more memories?" she asked. "This time I received memories of your childhood, and the beginning. What if I next remember the reason why Vigil, Inanis, and the others turned against me? What if I lose control like I did when I was with Maria?


    "I could kill someone if I slip up for a moment," Aperio continued, slowly wrapping her wings around herself as she drew her knees to her chest. "I could kill everyone if I lose control again. Just touching someone already requires more restraint than it should¡­ Even you, Ferio. Everything is just so fragile."


    "I will be there, Mother," Ferio said, closing the short distance between them and pushing Aperio''s wings a smidge apart to look at her mother. "I told you I will help however I am able. Last time Maria was able to calm you down; all you needed was time. Something that a foolish mortal did not realise."


    "Is that why you were so¡­ charged?"


    Ferio lowered her head at the question. "Yes. I dislike it when mortals do not show the proper amount of respect. None of them would be here if it wasn''t for your efforts. The other deities contributed, yes, including myself, but we all came later. Secondary. The mortals should at least know not to raise their voice near you."


    "No," Aperio disagreed, "they should tell me when I am wrong; admonish me for my mistakes. I want to live among them. That is what I want, a normal life. No bowing mortals that praise me for simply existing; who think that everything I do is perfect simply because it was I who did it."


    "They will come to revere you no matter what you do. Just being near you for long enough will make them feel it in their soul, Mother. You made everything and the mortals will find that out if they stick around you long enough," Ferio replied with a slight sigh.


    "I will still try, once I repair the System. Which means I need to retrieve more of my memories¡­" Do I really want to?


    "I wish I could help you with the System, but you already explained to me once that it wouldn''t work," Ferio said. "No matter what happens to you after you retrieve more of your memories, I will be there for you. I just don''t want to lose you again."


    Aperio just let herself fall back onto the weirdly soft floor of Ferio''s Dominion, her eyes staring at the ever-shifting orange sky. Even with her daughter''s declaration she still felt unsure about regaining more of her old self''s memories.


    She did not feel any different after she had regained her first set of memories. It wasn''t as if something foreign had been placed in her mind ¡ª she knew the memories were hers. The way she was trying to retrieve something that belonged to her and yet was cut off from, however, still nagged at her. How does that even work?


    It was one of the many questions that still drifted around in her mind. Just like the others, however, she had no answer. Only those stupid crystals do, Aperio thought, sitting back up again.


    "I guess I have no real choice, do I? Waiting for who knows how long is not an option. It only leaves the crystals."


    Ferio moved next to her mother at her words, wrapping an arm around her. "It''s okay. We''ll go there together."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 79: An Overdue Talk

    GamingWolf


    As things take a turn for the worse in my life, I am doing something that do not like and put the Patreon up front and telling you that it is a thing that gets you advanced chapters and side stories. If you feel like I deserve your support, thank you, if you just want to enjoy some words in your free time. You are welcome. I hope your 2020 is going better than mine.


    Aperio sat in silence next to her daughter. An idle thought spurred her to check on how Maria was doing. Despite being in Ferio''s domain, she could still feel the connection to the girl. Even when she had not focused on it, the healing of Maria''s soul had never once been interrupted.


    She hadn''t forgotten it, but neither had she given the act of soul healing any additional thought. After she had set the process in motion, it continued on its own. Kind of like the even speedier improvement of my body¡­ Is this normal for a Goddess?


    Thinking about it a little more, however, she had always been able to focus on a great many things. Even when her accursed collar had bottlenecked her actions to one thing at a time, her mind had still been free to latch on to multiple things. So, perhaps, this is normal for everyone?


    "May I ask you a few questions, Ferio?" Aperio asked.


    "Of course," her daughter replied. "Just don''t be disappointed if I do not know the answers. You weren''t in the habit of sharing how things worked, leaving the pantheon to figure things out on our own."


    "The first one is more likely to make you question my intelligence," Aperio said, absentmindedly brushing her hand along her wings. "Is it normal that I can work on so many things at once? I feel like it should be possible, and yet I am doing far more than just two things at the same time."


    Ferio giggled at the question, confirming that it was as stupid as Aperio had suspected. I really know nothing, don''t I?


    "Mortals are notoriously bad at multitasking. Some acquire skills that help them, but most are stuck doing a thing and maybe thinking about something else," Ferio explained, smiling at her mother''s almost pouting expression. "As Goddesses, however, we don''t really have the luxury of just doing one thing. I answer countless prayers at the same time every hour of the day, something you might, sooner or later, have to do, or else you''ll simply start ignoring the mortals like you did before."


    "So a part of my divinity was there when I was a slave? How was the collar able to work, then? Or was it like that because I am what I am?" But why couldn''t I just kill them all, then?


    Ferio''s smile vanished at the mention of her mother''s past. "I don''t know. This is one of the things you¡¯ve never told anyone. To me and many others, you were a kind of constant for all of existence. That you could die ¡ª even if only momentarily ¡ª had not crossed our minds."


    "And the ones that would know are dead," Aperio said, drawing her wings closer to her body. "Perhaps I should find the others that tried to take control of the System first?"


    "Who tried to take control of the System?" Ferio asked, her voice sounding just a little more sharp. "Can they even do that?"


    "Lor''Kem, Heshtar, and Epemirial are the only ones left that tried to access ''higher privileged functions''," Aperio replied. "I do not know what it meant by that, but the System rejected them without my input." And if my hunch is correct, they could not control the System without controlling...


    "¡­Is that what Vigil and Inanis tried to do?" Aperio mumbled to herself as she retreated deeper into her wings. "Control me?"


    Ferio wrapped her arms around her mother as best she could, Aperio''s wings twitching ever-so-slightly at the touch. "They failed, and neither Vigil nor Inanis can try again."


    "But what if they were not the ones who planned it?" Aperio asked, peeking at her daughter over the edge of her wing. "Neither of them seemed prepared to face me in any way when I went after them. All they had was my bow, and some arrows for it.


    "They could have injured me, but even though the arrows were hard to grasp with my magic, they were not dangerous." I probably could have simply plucked them from the air without slowing them down first.


    Ferio remained silent for a while, continuing to stroke her mother''s back in an attempt to soothe her. "Calm, Mother. Please," she said when she finally spoke again. "If you don''t keep your aura in check, you might break my Dominion. We will find out what happened. It will just take a bit of time. Time in which to retrieve your memories, and time after that for you to sort through them."


    "Why does everything break when I am not perfectly in control?" Aperio asked nobody in particular as she let her head hang, the tiny arcs that had started to dance across her wings vanishing. "Did I make all of this to punish myself?"


    "I don''t know. Nobody but you can know," Ferio said. "But what I do know is something I have said many times. Something that bears repeating. You are not alone, Mother, and you have multiple people to call upon for help. We all offer it to you. Please accept it."


    Aperio did not resist as her daughter moved to lift her chin. At least I can show emotion in front of my own daughter now. The tears were clearly visible on her face, something quite unbecoming of her stature. But, ever since her breakdown, it was like the gates holding her emotions in check had fallen apart; taking the annoying feeling of disgust with them.


    "Let Laelia lead your church. She is your Scion, and she knows people who might have more insight into whatever Vigil and Inanis had planned," Ferio said as she produced a small red cloth that she used to clean Aperio''s face. "Going eons without talking about your emotions can''t have been good. Even if you can''t remember most of it now."


    "What did I even do the entire time?"


    The obvious request to change topics was easily understood by her daughter, who shrugged in response. "You added things to the System, I know that much. Classes were one of the more recent additions, and one of the first to go again after you vanished. Aside from that, I''m not sure." She tilted her head slightly in thought, her hand tapping against her chin. "Maybe you made more worlds? You did say that calmed you, once."


    Make something? Most of what she had done had been the opposite of that, achieving far more death and destruction than life and creation. I haven''t really been a Creator, have I?


    "Perhaps I should try that. But, there is something I have been meaning to ask," Aperio said. "West of Ebenlowe there is a forest with a very deep dungeon. Do you know anything about either of those?"


    "I only know about the forest there," Ferio replied. "That''s one of Root''s projects. The Eternal Forest. It never told me what it''s for, but I didn''t really care either. As far as I know, the forest consists of Ironbarks Roots personally modified."


    "The wood of those trees was able to injure me. I am not sure that is still true now, but even right after my return metal and stone was¡­ fragile. The trees managed to pierce my skin and even break off a few of my feathers."


    "That would be quite the feat," Ferio said as she sat back, letting the cloth vanish, "even if you were significantly weaker then, which I am not so sure about. Perhaps it is best to ask Roots about that. I bet it would be thrilled to see you; as thrilled as that stupid tree gets, at least."


    "You do not like Roots? I thought you two got along quite well," Aperio replied with a slight tilt of her head. The prospect of learning more about what she would now consider her family was vastly preferable to talking about her past; even when she knew she should do the latter.


    Her daughter let out a heavy sigh at her words, her hand moving to rub the bridge of her nose as if it was the most appropriate action. "It''s just that it doesn''t make sense. I know you made it to be a neutral party and System overseer, but neither your nor it would tell me why, or what that even means."


    "I am sorry that I did not tell you," Aperio said. "But even if I would want to now, I cannot. If you wish I could ask Roots to explain it to you?" Would it even listen to me? ¡­Probably.


    "No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "I''d rather you tell me when you remember. I haven''t known what it does for who knows how long, a few more years won''t change much."


    "Years? Why would it take years?" Ferio should know as well as she did that distance was more of a suggestion for her. Nothing would stop her from tearing holes into reality to go where she wished. Which makes me having to be there make even less sense¡­ Unless I can''t teleport myself there?


    "It''s been a while since you destroyed the first crystal," Ferio replied. "I had assumed you wanted to take a bit of time after each one to see if something happens that you did not expect."


    "I probably should do that," Aperio mumbled. "But, I guess I just did not want to face the past." I still don''t want to. The thought that it would inflict the same pain as the past she could already remember did not want to leave her mind.


    "I won''t force you ¡ª not that I could ¡ª but I still think it would be best if you retrieve more of your memories."


    "I know you are right," Aperio said, shifting her wings as she moved to stand. "It just does not make my doubts vanish. Even though I wish that was the case."


    With a thought, Aperio smoothed out the tiny imperfections in her dress that came from sitting for what had felt like days. Another started the slow process of finally replacing the last bits of normal thread that were still in her garment. I also need to adjust its size¡­ Maybe add some armour?


    Thinking about anything but the decision she had to make was nice, but the nagging voice at the back of her mind did not let her push it away any longer. With a sigh and a slight shake of her head, Aperio turned around.


    "Once Maria has come to a decision, I will leave for Procul. Alone. I know there is a dungeon there that was somehow connected to the one below Ebenlowe."


    "Are you sure you want to go alone?" Ferio asked. "Depending on others is not some weakness you need to rid yourself of, Mother. Everyone else depends on something, even if it is only your System. Why shouldn''t you be allowed to?"


    "I just need some time to think; clear my head. It is not like I will vanish into my Void again and ignore everything. You can still talk to me, and the others can pray, but I just need to be alone for a while."


    Ferio looked at her mother with an expression that Aperio could not quite place. Is she scared? "Promise me you will come back," Ferio said, standing up and wrapping her arms around Aperio in a hug that would have killed a mortal woman. "Don''t disappear again, Mother. Please."


    "I promise," Aperio said, gently returning her daughter''s hug. "I will not disappear again."


    "How do you expect to deal with the mortals you will find? Are you gonna hide your wings?"


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she thought. Ferio had said that the mortals would sooner or later figure out what she was, but hiding her wings might delay that a little. But it hurts, and feels wrong.


    "I do not know yet," Aperio replied, holding her daughter just a little tighter. "But I am sure I can think of something. I will need to finish fixing my dress before I go, however."


    "Why not just use one of your old ones? Adapting those to your new physique should be easier than making one from scratch."


    Why didn''t I think of this? As soon as the idea was brought up, she knew exactly where to look. ... How do I get in there, though? When she had retrieved her weapon she had been fueled by rage and anger; not exactly a state she wanted to return to anytime soon.


    Simply wanting to open a portal to that specific plane did not work. For a moment Aperio considered using her weapon to slice reality apart to see if that would work, but decided against it as they were still in Ferio''s Dominion. That would probably not end well.


    Splitting the threads of reality with her will was somehow very different than doing it with her swordstaff. Even though I also made the weapon...


    "I will think about it."


    "Once you figured out how you actually managed to get your weapon back?" Ferio asked with a small smile.


    "Yes."


    After a moment of silence, Aperio very carefully ended their embrace. "I think it is time to return. The others might start to worry otherwise."


    "It''s only been a few hours, Mother," Ferio said. "This is not your Void, time does not lose its meaning here."


    "So it is not just my sense of time being off?"


    A small laugh escaped Ferio as a portal started to form behind her. "No, your sense of time is also very much off. It always has been. ''This will only take a moment'' would sometimes end with you staring intently at nothing for hours."


    Aperio just shook her head as she stepped past her daughter through the portal. Not even time is working correctly.


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 80: Seeds of Hope

    Aperio tilted her head at the scene in front of her. The grassy hill was now overgrown with a sea of flowers, spreading farther than it had any right to.


    Amidst the colourful ocean of blossoms were Caethya, Laelia, and the newly-arrived Human. Her two followers immediately noticed her return, the conversation ceasing as both turned their heads to look at their Goddess.


    A single step was all Aperio needed to close the distance between them, the threads of reality almost eagerly parting to allow her passing. Adam, the name her mind so helpfully volunteered for the low-level Human, just looked at her wide-eyed for a moment before he tried to jump up and, presumably, run away.


    He had barely managed to take a step when Caethya''s hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Stop being so worried. She won''t punish you."


    "Why should I punish you?" Aperio asked, tilting her head as she looked at the Human. "Do you think what happened was your fault?"


    His only response was a hesitant nod, his eyes shifting between Aperio and her daughter. I didn''t even do anything evil¡­ He saw me cry, and apparently create a hill of flowers. "It is not your fault. As far as I know, you have nothing to do with any of this. If anything, you are the victim here."


    Adam did not respond, simply continuing to stare at the All-Mother. Ferio''s hand brushed past her wings to reassuringly rest on her back, as it so often did of late, and the gentle reminder caused Aperio to avert her gaze from the mortal and take a deep breath.


    The smell of the flowers was somehow familiar, even though she could not quite figure out why that was. ...Do I smell like anything? She had not exactly had a bath in quite a while, but neither had anyone said anything about her needing one. But they also think anything I say or do is the absolute truth¡­


    With a slight shake of her head Aperio dismissed the thought. Considering how sensitive her sense of smell had become, she would probably be the first to notice if something was off. Why am I even thinking about this?


    "You are free to go, Adam," Aperio said. "There is a city named Ebenlowe I would be willing to bring you to if you so choose. You can also stay here if you wish."


    The Human looked at her for a few more moments before he finally spoke. "Can I go home?"


    The All-Mother sighed at the question. She probably could send him back where he came from. Even though I would need a good while to even find the place. But it was a place with so little magic that the idea of putting him back there did not sit well with Aperio.


    "No," she finally replied. "Your world has no magic. Sending you back now would not be a good idea."


    "Why?"


    Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose at the question, her wings twitching ever-so-slightly in annoyance. The small motion was apparently enough to remove the small bit of courage that Adam had managed to scrounge up. Of course. When it would be nice if a mortal could just accept my word, they don''t.


    "I honestly do not know what might happen," Aperio said. "I can only tell that it would not be pleasant. Neither for you, nor the people of your world."


    "My Goddess," Caethya began, her eyes flicking between the All-Mother and the cowering Human. "Perhaps it would be best if he could take some time to acclimate to this world. It has to be taxing to be taken from the life and world you know."


    Aperio lowered her head at the words of her disciple. Caethya was right; her own reaction to dying and finding herself in a world she no longer knew was most likely not a normal one. The voice of her daughter also echoed through her mind, quietly reminding her that bending reality to her whim was very much not normal.


    That it had become second nature to her gave Aperio pause, if only for a moment. She was the All-Mother, the Creator. I really need to watch what I am doing. ...After I have brought them to Ebenlowe. The thought was accompanied by reality splitting apart, revealing the house of healing that had seemingly become the home of her impromptu church. At least it is if I go by the fact that Laelia lives there.


    "The people there can help you get used to this world," Aperio said, gesturing towards the portal. "If you wish to take the offer, that is." Should I start paying them as recompense for all the trouble I send their way? Probably.


    That did raise the question of how exactly she would do that. She did not have any gold. I could probably make some, no? Aperio pushed the thought from her mind as she took a step to the side, distancing herself from the portal so Adam might be more inclined to go through it.


    The Human did not oblige her, however, simply shifting his gaze between the portal and the floor. Only after Caethya offered him her hand did he stand up and move towards the rift in space.


    The All-Mother extended a small mental thanks to her disciple that caused the young Elf to briefly stagger; just another reminder of the gulf between herself and the mortals. And I want to live amongst them¡­


    A touch of her magic stabilised Caethya, another briefly flowing through her body to check if the woman was uninjured. Aperio was happy to find that besides the slightly faster beat of her heart and quicker breaths, the Elf was unharmed. That Caethya was reacting in that way still caused a tinge of worry to rise in Aperio. I hope it''s not what I think it is.


    Despite having taken a liking to her new life ¡ª even with the continued struggles of breaking things by applying a bit too much strength ¡ª Aperio did not like the possible direction Caethya''s interest seemed to be taking. She does that whenever I touch her, be it physical or with magic¡­


    Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose again, a habit that she would have to get rid of before the mortals decided it was some form of symbolism. Can''t they just treat me like one of their own?


    "Are you sure it''s safe?" Adam asked, taking Aperio out of her thoughts. He looked at the portal for a moment before his eyes wandered to the All-Mother. After a moment, he leaned closer to Caethya to whisper in her ear. "What if she wants to kill me? She seems to not like me¡­"


    "Why would I want to kill you?" Aperio asked, the irritation clear in her voice. "And why do you think I have something against you? I barely know you."


    "You should be thankful the All-Mother even graces you with her presence, mortal," Ferio said. "There was no need for her to return here to check up on you, and yet she did."


    "I have yet to see her go against anyone that did not deserve it." Laelia''s added comment seemed to calm the Human a little, even if he still sent fearful glances towards the All-Mother and the Goddess of Life and Light. "And even if her presence and voice might be intimidating, Aperio is a kind woman at heart. I know that to be true."


    Her Scion delivered her last words with a pointed stare at the All-Mother. The meaning of the words was not lost on Aperio; she had just assumed that her struggle would have been less apparent. Or did Ferio tell her?


    "She is," Caethya agreed, gently nudging Adam through the portal. "Her followers are kind too."


    Once her disciple and the otherworldly Human had fully passed through the tear in reality, Aperio erected a small barrier in front of it to keep sound from passing.


    "Did you tell them anything, Ferio?"


    "I did not, mother," her daughter replied with a sigh. "It isn''t hard to figure out how you feel about things, however. You are very expressive."


    "We just had to figure out if it was us or yourself you were unhappy with," Laelia said, her head slightly lowered. "After your¡­ breakdown at the Terenyk estate, it became quite obvious that there are more things wrong than I had first thought."


    Her Scion took a few steps towards the All-Mother before she spoke again. "I cannot claim to know what troubles you. But I have sworn myself to you. If there is something I can do for you, please, call on me."


    Aperio shifted her gaze between her feet and her Scion a few times as the words of her daughter echoed through her mind. Ferio was right. She should make a proper church before the mortals decided to make one on their own.


    The act of asking Laelia for help was still not something she felt comfortable with ¡ª even when the feeling of disgust was nowhere to be found. It simply felt like the wrong thing to do.


    Nonetheless, Aperio knew she would need help. She had no idea how she should set up a church nor did she know what was expected of her when she did. The All-Mother had no desire to be swarmed with prayers that demanded her attention, no yearning to appear in a church to hold her own sermons.


    "There is something I would like your help with," the All-Mother said. "Ferio has rightfully pointed out that I do not know how to start my own church. Originally, I did not want to have a following as, unlike the other deities, I do not depend on my followers."


    "I don''t think you have to found a religion, my Goddess. Most people in the house of healing have already taken you up as the patron Goddess of our home," Laelia explained, moving a little closer to Aperio yet again. "The [Guides], too, seem to be worshipping you already. The only difference is that they believe you to seek knowledge while we focus on helping one another."


    Aperio tilted her head at the words. She did seek knowledge, and she also liked helping those she cared about. But I only care about a few people¡­ I don''t want to be responsible for everyone that just chooses to follow me. She had no doubts that there would be people who came to her church to take advantage of her or her eventual followers. No matter how she turned the matter over in her mind, she could see nothing that would result otherwise. The problem would, perhaps forever, persist.  I would just find out even later.


    "I told you that the [Guides] are practically already your followers, mother," Ferio said. "The question now is if you want to allow them to actually follow you."


    "I do not mind anyone following me as long as they understand that I will not come and fix every problem they have." There was of course the matter of slavery as well, something she should definitely address but did not truly want to yet. With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Aperio pushed past the mental blockage and continued nonetheless. "I will also not tolerate slavery of any kind. Should I find someone partaking in such vile acts, I will kill them."


    "Is that why you removed both Vigil and Inanis?" Laelia asked.


    "Partly, yes," Aperio said, her wings flaring slightly at the memory of the traitors. "They had larger crimes to pay for, however. Ones I am starting to think death was too lenient a punishment for."


    A small plea to calm from her daughter caused Aperio to notice that a few tiny arcs of her mana had singed some of the flowers around her. Her Scion hesitated for a moment before she had seemingly gathered enough courage to ask the All-Mother another question.


    "May I know what they did, Lady Aperio?"


    The All-Mother fixed her gaze on her Scion, the woman shrinking a little under her attention. "No. All you need to know is that they paid for a lifetime of terror and abuse and that I will never let such a thing happen again."


    ¡°Understood, my Goddess,¡± Laelia replied, quickly bowing her head. ¡°May I know who you have in mind as leader of your church?¡±


    ¡°You, my Scion,¡± Aperio replied. ¡°If you believe yourself able to, I would be delighted if you chose to fill that role.¡±


    ¡°Would the [Grandmaster] not be a better choice?¡± her Scion inquired. ¡°She has centuries of experience leading a large group of people, and has many connections I do not.¡±


    The All-Mother tilted her head at the words. ¡°Perhaps, but I do not trust Miss Videns. She may be capable, but she is not my Scion. I also have reason to believe she is more a follower of Roots than myself.¡±


    ¡°What about Caethya?¡±


    ¡°As far as I know, she has not been part of a church and does not know how they are supposed to function. Neither do I think she would want to do it,¡± Aperio explained. ¡°Ferio has recommended that I ask you and I believe her to be correct. Not only are you more capable of leading than Caethya, but I also think it would be something you might enjoy.¡± I just don¡¯t know how I know that.


    There was a small pause in the conversation where neither of them spoke. ¡°If you need time to think about the offer, take as much as you need.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Laelia said, ¡°I will gladly accept your offer. I was simply not sure if you truly meant it.¡±


    ¡°I rarely say something I do not mean,¡± Aperio said, tilting her head at the slight pull on the mana in her well. ¡°Our meeting may have been by chance, but I have come to trust you more than other mortals, Laelia. I hope my trust is not misplaced.¡±


    ¡°It is not, my Goddess.¡±


    Laelia¡¯s words ended the pull on her well, seemingly finalising a deal neither of them had truly known was taking place. A moment later, an all-too-familiar silver window materialized in front of Aperio, proclaiming to the world what she had just done.


    Rejoice!


    The [Church of the All-Mother] has been reborn.


    Those who dare challenge her righteous rule will be cleansed.


    Why does it sound like I want to conquer the world?


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 81: A Step into the Open

    ?


    GamingWolf


    "I guess it is official now?" Laelia asked, staring at what Aperio knew was the System notification. "I did not expect it to sound so¡­ aggressive."


    "Neither did I," Aperio said with a sigh. "No matter. What is done is done."


    "It reads like some of your old announcements, Mother. Really old ones."


    Did I go on a conquering spree in the past? Aperio thought, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Are all the messages you get from the System worded like that?"


    "No," Laelia replied with a light shake of her head. "Usually it is factual and straight to the point. ''This happened, which is why you get that''."


    There came a pause, as though her Scion was turning over a thought in her mind. Before too much could be concluded, she spoke again. "Do you not know what the System shows to everyone?"


    "I do not," Aperio replied. "I certainly have the ability to look at them, should I so choose, but there are far too many notifications going on at any one time to properly pay attention to them. I do not personally get many notifications either, as most of what the System is supposed to do simply does not apply to me.¡±


    "You are also the source for most of its rewards," Ferio added. "I am also fairly sure it knows what you want to see and what not but, like so many other things, you''ve never told me how it works."


    Aperio tilted her head to the other side, narrowing her eyes slightly at her daughter''s words. The System most certainly did not show her what she wanted to see, otherwise she would know how to use it by now. It only knows how to royally piss me off.


    Sometimes she wanted to punch the System itself. It was something she could probably accomplish, one way or another, but she would never seriously entertain the notion as the System was already broken enough as it was. Perhaps that is why it can''t tell me what is wrong? Because the part that is supposed to tell me is, itself, broken?


    "Something wrong, my Lady?" Laelia asked, taking a step closer as Aperio glanced her way. "I can feel your anger, remember? It is not as pronounced and doesn''t affect me anymore, but I still know how you feel."


    Aperio shoulders slumped a little as she let out a long sigh. "Do you think it would be disgraceful if the others saw me like this?"


    The portal leading to the house of healing was still open, the ability to see and hear from the other side temporarily suspended as Aperio did not want them to witness their conversation.


    "Like what? Slightly more approachable?" Ferio asked with a raised eyebrow. "You don''t have to try and act like the All-Mother at all times. Just be yourself. I think your followers would appreciate that too, right Laelia?"


    Her Scion nodded briefly at the words, seemingly not quite ready to voice her opinion on the matter just yet. Or she is scared of disagreeing with Ferio.


    "If I did what wanted to do, I would be in my Void most of the time," Aperio said. "Or I would wander around the world and explore. Having followers is not something I wanted. Friends, yes, but not people devoted to me simply because I am who I am."


    She paused for a moment, reaching out with her mind to ask Caethya to join them. Her disciple deserved to hear what she planned to do just as much as her Scion. Leaving after just having founded a church seems wrong. ...But then, I am also never truly far away.


    The portal the young Elf was stepping through was proof that Aperio was not restrained by distance. To the one who made it, the laws of the universe were more like guidelines.


    "Yes, my Goddess?" Caethya asked once she had cleared the portal. "Is there something you need of me?"


    "I wanted to address Laelia and you at the time," Aperio replied. "I will be leaving for Procul once Maria is healed. Alone. It is not because you did anything wrong, I simply require a bit of time on my own."


    "Your interactions with mortals are rather... volatile. Are you sure you should go alone?" Laelia asked, taking a small step forward. "Not even Ferio will be joining you?"


    "She is right, Mother," Ferio agreed. "Just think about what you did to that Human in the dungeon."


    She just doesn''t want me to leave her, does she? It did fit with Ferio''s behaviour. Her daughter had made it quite clear that she wanted to remain at her mother''s side, after all. But it''s not like I will be gone. "I will still answer your prayers and return should the need arise. But I will not get used to the mortals if I am always treated as a Goddess. Having an entourage at all times does not help with that."


    Caethya hesitated for a moment, her eyes wandering over Aperio. "I don''t think travelling alone will change the amount of attention you will receive or how the people view you, my Goddess. Your appearance is quite¡­ distracting."


    Oh, right. The mana. With a sigh, Aperio reduced the flow from her well, shrinking it back to the slow trickle it had been in the beginning. The wisps gradually returned to her, melting into her skin and joining the flow of mana through her body. What did not change, however, was her height. She was merely taller than her Scion, but she simply towered over everyone else around her. I guess that''s permanent, then?


    Another thought caused her wings to vanish, the feeling of being less complete settling at the back of her mind. Annoying. Why she even felt that way was just something else she would have to figure out. Her new form would, however, aid in drawing less attention.


    "Now I am just a tall Elf with a swordstaff," Aperio said, her weapon settling comfortably in her hand. Her dress slowly shifted as she sped along its repair and alterations. Perhaps add some armour? "Should be fairly normal, no?"


    "No, mother," Ferio replied with a sigh. "Nothing about you is normal. If you stick around long enough the mortals will figure out what you are no matter how much you hide it. As blind as they are to the world, they can always spot a divine."


    "Truly?"


    "Your daughter has a point," Caethya said. "When you speak, I can feel it in my soul. It is hard to describe what it is, but I know you are something more."


    Aperio tilted her head. "But you carry a blessing of mine, as does Laelia. Ferio is my daughter. What you all notice of my presence is most definitely not the same as what a mortal would perceive."


    "Even when I first met you, you were far from normal. Though that was mostly because you had just fought a Demon without any weapon." Laelia''s words brought back the memory of the awful spider-bear thing she had battled in what she now knew to be the Eternal Forest. She knew such creatures were wrong, and that even the other Gods hated them, but was still no closer to knowing what they were. Nor have I seen one since¡­


    "But did you know in your soul that I was a Goddess? The All-Mother?"


    "No," her Scion relented, "I did not. I mean no offense, but I still believe your understanding of us is¡­ lacking."


    Aperio waved off the woman''s concern. "It''s fine. I prefer it if you speak your minds. Having everyone scared and groveling all the time is annoying. I do not want to hurt anyone, nor do I wish anyone to worship me simply because that is somehow expected."


    "Is that why you want to go on your own, mother?" Ferio asked, closing the distance that separated them. An apology echoed through Aperio''s mind as her daughter wrapped her arms around her, causing the All-Mother to let her weapon vanish back into the void. The incoherent flood of thoughts from Ferio was not something the All-Mother had expected, especially not in front of mortals.


    With a thought, her wings returned to their rightful place, spreading out behind her briefly as a counterbalance before she folded them against her back. Much better. Very carefully she embraced her daughter and returned the hug. "Why are you apologising? You did nothing wrong."


    Ferio did not respond, only hugging her mother tighter. Caethya and Laelia stood there for a moment, seemingly not quite sure what to do at the rather ungodly display in front of them.


    The All-Mother did not mind. She might not understand why Ferio was doing what she was, but Aperio still appreciated the fact that her daughter was willing to display emotion in front of her and mortals; thus far it had only ever been one of the two.


    "I just need some space. If you need me you can still reach me," Aperio said, shifting her gaze onto her followers. "The same is true for you. Just pray to me and I will come." It¡¯s not as though distance means anything.


    "What about your church, my Goddess?" Laelia asked, vaguely gesturing towards the still-open portal. "I have no doubts that many people will want to join, but I do not know what I should tell them. Unlike Vigil, you have no list of commandments. None that I know of, at least."


    Aperio had no answer. She had never wanted a church, but that was now irrelevant as she had made one anyway. Better than having the mortals blindly attempt to interpret what my words actually mean, though.


    "You are correct, I do not have anything like that," Aperio replied, gently stroking the back of her daughter''s head. What happened to her?


    Holding Ferio just a little tighter, Aperio returned her attention to Laelia. "How does a mortal choose whom to follow, anyway?"


    "Whoever is most relevant to us," Caethya answered. "For myself, it was Mayeia at first, but after I found you I knew you were the one."


    "But why? They can follow me, yes, but I do not give anything in return," Aperio said, pausing for a moment before she quickly added, "You and Laelia are the exceptions. You were both blessed, but I would also like to consider you friends, not followers."


    Neither of them seemed to have expected what she said, if she went by the rather confused looks on their faces. I guess a Goddess doesn''t declare mortals friends that often? Her thoughts were interrupted as Ferio tried to separate herself from the prolonged embrace, only able to do so after Aperio let go.


    "I''m sorry," the Goddess of Life and Light mumbled. "I am just not ready to let you go again."


    "Again?" Laelia mumbled to herself, fixing her eyes on the All-Mother a moment later. "Is there something we should know?"


    Aperio could only sigh at the question. "There is. But I am not sure if I am ready to share it quite yet."


    Caethya''s eyes darted between the floor and the All-Mother, the young Elf obviously wanting to say something but not quite sure what. Or scared to do so. "Yes, Caethya?"


    "Is it why you were so angry at Vigil and Inanis?" her disciple asked, her voice barely a whisper. "And with the dungeon core you destroyed?"


    "They were responsible. Partially, at least," Aperio replied. "The cores are a consequence of what they did. I plan to destroy the dungeon the new masters of the Ebenlowe dungeon spoke of next."


    "I understand you wish to go alone, my Goddess," Laelia began. "But don''t do it just because you feel the need to prove something. You have nothing to prove; you tear apart reality with no effort."


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly in reply, not quite understanding what her Scion was trying to say. "I do not want to prove anything. I simply want time to think."


    "Mother was never good at dealing with people," Ferio said with a small smile on her face. "But, perhaps, it is best if she has some time alone that is not in her Void. I don''t like it either ¡ª probably even less than either of you ¡ª but I am starting to think it is for the best."


    "Like I said," Aperio interjected, "you can still reach me, and I will come back if it is needed."


    Before another word could be spoken, Aperio raised her hand. She had felt the tiny shift in her well that could only have come from one of Maria''s failed prayers. So they are ready?


    "Maria and her father have come to a decision," Aperio said. "My presence is required. Caethya, if you could please keep an eye on Adam, I would be very thankful."


    "Of course, my Goddess," the Elf replied, quickly bowing her head and stepping through the portal leading to the house of healing.


    Did I do something wrong? "Have I offended Caethya?"


    "I don''t think you did," Ferio replied, "but I will check up on her if you wish."


    "Thank you." The words were accompanied by a new tear in reality, this one leading to the Terenyk estate. "Are you coming, Laelia?"


    Her Scion hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Aperio."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 82: A Decision Made

    ?


    Aperio stepped through her portal right behind her Scion, the room they found themselves in not Maria''s but the dining hall in which they had first met the Lord of the house. Even the same servants were present.


    Food had once more been prepared and served, the smells of dishes Aperio did not know tickling her vastly enhanced nose. Despite the presence of the meals, she still felt no need or true desire to eat any of it. It was simply curiosity, wanting to know what the colourful dishes would taste like. That will have to wait, though. The reason she had come here was not food, but to hear the decision Maria had made.


    The girl in question was sitting next to her father at the head of the long table. Her eyes were cast to the floor and her hands tried to continuously straighten her already impeccable dress. The obvious nervousness of her youngest follower caused Aperio to narrow her eyes slightly. She did not believe that Geshton would force his daughter to do anything, but it wasn''t beyond the realm of possibility.


    "Welcome," Lord Terenyk said, his eyes fixed on the tear in space Aperio had created. "Please be seated."


    The All-Mother looked at the wooden chair, the portal closing behind her. She had been able to sit on it last time without breaking it, but the continued changes to her body had made her heavier than before, she knew that.


    Aperio''s wings vanished as she sat down in the high-backed chair, a touch of her magic flowing through it to ensure it would not break. Having her wings pressed against the chair or somehow draping them over the back of the chair did not appeal to her. While she did not like being without her feathered limbs, at the moment it was the easiest option.


    "Thank you," she said, folding her hands in her lap. A small mental nudge told Laelia that she, too, could take a seat, but her Scion remained standing just behind her. "You have come to a decision, Maria?"


    As the All-Mother waited for a reply, she focused on Maria''s soul, inspecting the tiny orb. The cracks were receding faster than she had previously believed, the continued exposure to the Soul-river''s water seemingly compounding its effectiveness. At least some good news.


    "I want your help," Maria finally mumbled. "I don''t want to go back to being alone all day. I want to learn what I can do."


    Geshton grit his teeth at his daughter''s words, the choice she had made not to his liking. Still, he remained quiet, possibly knowing that Aperio would ignore what he had to say.


    She did not want to dismiss him as a bystander, but it was a question about Maria''s future. Something Aperio fiercely believed should be decided by the person themself; not anyone else.


    "If you want to learn what you can do, I think Caethya would be a good teacher. She is like you, after all." That Aperio considered herself a terrible teacher was left unsaid. "Brenia might join too, if Laelia finds it agreeable."


    She couldn''t quite pin down why just yet, but her Scion¡¯s adopted daughter felt different to the other Humans she had met thus far. It wasn''t simply because Brenia was unafraid of her, but something more indistinct and weighty seemed to nudge Aperio to believe that the girl would be different.


    "If she wishes to, Brenia is free to join," Laelia said, then resumed her silent vigil behind the All-Mother.


    Maria''s eyes practically sparkled at the mention of Brenia, seemingly quite eager to see the other girl again. Her joy was fleeting however as she lowered her head slightly again. "Father said that training should be here for a while longer."


    "That is fine, is it not?" Aperio asked. "I am sure Caethya and Laelia have no problem coming here. As long as Lord Terenyk has nothing against the notion, that is?"


    "They are welcome to stay here," Lord Terenyk replied, the man sinking just a little further into his chair. "I can have rooms prepared for you if you wish."


    The All-Mother waited for her Scion to reply, the question not one she could answer. A small mental nudge caused Laelia to realise her Goddess would not make the decisions for her.


    "A room will not be necessary," Laelia said. "At least for me. I already have a home for my family and myself."


    "I will ask Caethya if she wishes to take your offer, Lord Terenyk." Aperio paused briefly, tilting her head as she focused on her disciple to ask her if she would like to teach Maria and live in the estate.


    The reply was a string of confused emotions, resolving in the young Elf''s agreement, and an additional note that the pain from Aperio''s mental message was not as severe as before. How easily Caethya had agreed to teaching Maria and living with her did not sit quite right with the winged Goddess, however. I should have asked her before.


    "Caethya has agreed to teach Maria and will also accept her offer," Aperio said, tilting her head to the other side as a prayer from Caethya reached her. She wants me to ask if she can teach Adam here as well?


    It was probably a good idea; the poor Human would need time to adapt and a safe place to stay was surely going to help. "Would it be all right if Caethya brings someone else to live here? He is new here, and will need some time to adapt."


    "I will have another room prepared for him," Lord Terenyk said after a moment of silence, signing something to one of the servants who promptly left. The fact that Aperio had gotten an answer from her disciple without leaving seemed to be of no concern. He does know that I am a Goddess, after all.


    Silence settled over the room after Geshton spoke, some of the servants shifting around, obviously uncomfortable. Aperio couldn''t blame them. They were stuck in a room with their Lord and a Goddess that could wipe them out with a thought. Do they know that? ¡­Was Ferio right?


    A part deep inside her liked their fear; knew that it was right. Her conscious mind, however, rejected the idea. She did not want to be the harbinger of death, she wanted to be herself. Just a normal Elf. Her initial goal had fallen to the wayside after she had retrieved her first set of memories and subsequently removed Vigil and Inanis from the picture. Not that it changed much.


    "Is there anything else you wish to speak about, Lord Terenyk?" Aperio inquired, breaking the silence.


    The man remained silent at the question, his eyes fixed on the All-Mother and his hands gripping the fabric of his pants tightly. Maria on the other hand slowly raised her hand, trying to get Aperio''s attention.


    "Yes?" Aperio asked, shifting her gaze to the little girl.


    "Where did your wings go?"


    The question was not something Aperio had expected. The answer was pretty simple, she simply willed her wings out of existence. At least I think so. When she hid her wings, they were replaced with a slight pain below her shoulder blades. It was more of a companion to the incompleteness she felt.


    "Nowhere," she replied. "They simply cease to be should I want them to."


    The girl''s eyes widened a little at her words, the idea of simply removing a part of oneself without a doubt quite a foreign idea for her. For Aperio it was not, a fact that only served to underline the words of Diskrye. Perhaps I should try to change something else?


    "Does it hurt?" Maria asked, her eyes straining as she looked just past Aperio to where her wings were supposed to be. "And where did the wisps go?"


    A small smile tugged on Aperio''s lips at the questions of her youngest follower. The thirst for knowledge was something she herself felt more often than not. Just that I don''t get answers. "It does not hurt, but I feel incomplete without my wings. The wisps were simply a physical manifestation of my mana. Something I have been told is rather intimidating and therefore I have stopped for the moment."


    Geshton swallowed slightly at the mention of the wisps, the man likely far more knowledgeable about the amount of power one needed to use to have raw mana floating around them. I really need to figure out what counts as normal.


    "Can I do that too?" Maria asked, ignoring her increasingly nervous father and mumbling the next words to herself. "I want to have wispy friends."


    "The mana would be yours, Maria. It is not truly alive." Aperio wasn''t quite as sure of her words as she would like to be, but she knew that her mana, and by extent everyone else''s, wasn''t alive. It reacted to emotions, yes, but it did not feel on its own. She knew that. Unless a part of my instincts are also missing¡­


    It did, however, raise another question. One that Aperio would very much like an answer to but did not even know where to begin. What even is mana?


    Maria lowered her head at the revelation. "But why did they play with Brenia and me, then?" As soon as her words had left her mouth, she raised her head again, a new sparkle in her eyes. "You played with us!"


    Aperio nodded at the girl''s declaration, her smile growing bigger as she heard the suppressed giggle of her Scion. Laelia quickly cleared her throat in an effort to mask the slip-up, but Aperio had heard it.


    A small mental nudge directed at her Scion let the Human know that it was okay, that she did not expect her to remain formal at all times. Wished for her to act normally, even.


    The slight twitch of Laelia''s brow did also not go unnoticed by the All-Mother. A reminder that despite her mental communication being less strenuous on the mortals she talked to, it still caused them pain.


    "I did," Aperio replied, her reaction and message to her Scion barely having lasted for a breath. "I had thought you and Brenia might enjoy it."


    "I want to see Brenia again," Maria said, shifting her gaze to her father. "Please."


    Lord Terenyk loosened his grip on the fabric of his trousers a little at his daughter''s attention, taking a breath that was deeper than usual before he replied. "I already gave my permission, it is up to your friend to decide."


    "Can we ask her now?" Maria asked, practically bouncing in her chair.


    "I am afraid she will be busy in the coming hours," Laelia replied, this time without prompting from Aperio. "I will make sure a reply is sent here by the end of the day."


    The girl nodded her reply, obviously unhappy that she had to wait but understanding of it nonetheless. Lord Terenyk also took the chance to stand up and gesture at the table in front of him. "If there is nothing more to discuss, you are welcome to try anything you like."


    "I appreciate the offer, but I will decline," Aperio said. "Perhaps you would like to try something, Laelia?"


    The All-Mother could hear the slightly faster beat of her Scion''s heart, could sense her shift ever-so-slightly at the attention. Does she not like attention, or does she still think I expect her to simply serve me?


    "I am not hungry," Laelia replied, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you for the offer, however."


    Aperio did not correct her Scion for addressing her and not the Lord of the house, the statement clear enough as it was. She just needs time, Aperio told herself. You are not her new master. The fact that Laelia continued to behave like she was some sort of glorified servant was starting to grate on her. She had told her Scion that she was free to do as she wished, the woman even being somewhat casual with her as she had declared her the head of her church. But now she is back to servant Laelia. Why?


    With a slight shake, the All-Mother pushed the thought from her mind and stood up, her wings appearing in their rightful place once more. So much better. After a small stretch of her feathered limbs Aperio turned to leave, a tiny flex of her mental muscle pushing the chair back in its correct place.


    "If there is something you need, do not hesitate to ask," Aperio said. "Should I not be available you are free to ask Laelia, she is my Scion and head of the church." A small mental query also informed Laelia that should she not wish to be a liaison, she would not have to be one.


    "Do you know of Penbrook''s house of healing, Lord Terenyk?" Laelia asked, stepping past her Goddess.


    "I do not, no," Geshton replied, motioning for one of the servants. "But we do have a map."


    Aperio left the two Humans alone. Looking up a route they could reliably take was not something she could help much with. Perhaps I can teach Laelia or Caethya how to make a portal? The idea was dismissed as quickly as it had formed. Neither of her two followers would be strong enough to tear apart the threads of reality yet. Even if Laelia can see them.


    A small tug in her dress caused Aperio to look down. She had sensed Maria''s approach but had thought it best not to appear omniscient. Knowing where everyone is and treating it as normal will probably also scare the mortals. "Yes?"


    The girl wrung her hands as she tried to ask the question that was undoubtedly on her mind. Why Maria was so shy now was not something Aperio knew or liked, leading her to very gently pick her youngest follower up. After ruffling the girl''s hair a little, the All-Mother turned her attention back to the table packed with food.


    "Is there anything I should try before I leave?"


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 83: Best Served Cold

    Aperio looked at the pastry Maria had pointed out. The small, golden squares looked fairly unassuming; just another treat. If she would have been her old self, she would have stuffed herself with the food present, everything in front of her a delicacy reserved for her former masters. Now, though, it was just a thing, neither her body nor her mind yearning for the food.


    A touch of her magic brought two of the pastries to her hand, one of which she quickly passed to the girl in her arms. Maria happily took the pastry, immediately eating it. It felt cold in her hand, a quick glance at the plate through her aura confirming that a tiny bit of mana was coursing through it. Neat.


    Aperio had to actively stop herself from frowning at the sounds she heard, the mortal body continuing to surprise her with the disgusting noises it could produce. "And what is this?"


    "Berrelem!" the girl exclaimed, as if the name alone would answer everything.


    "I am not familiar with a pastry of that name. Where is it from?"


    Maria furrowed her brows as she tried to answer the question of her Goddess, a task that was seemingly not quite within her grasp. One of the servants noticed her predicament and, after hesitating for a moment, stepped closer to the Goddess and the girl.


    "It hails from a city with the same name on Spicor, my Lady," the servant said, polity bowing even though Aperio had her back turned to him. "In essence it is a small cake filled with various fruits or berries. It is said that Elves find it particularly delightful due to the magical nature of most of its ingredients."


    "Thank you," Aperio said as she turned around to face the servant. "But you do not have to bow before addressing me."


    The man did not reply, instead moving away as fast as he could without appearing to be improper. I am not scary. The smile that still remained on her face after Maria''s antics vanished with the thought, and as a result when the servant looked back and saw that the Goddess was no longer as happy as before, he hastened his departure. They are just scaring themselves at this point.


    Aperio had done nothing but turn around and face him, all while holding Maria in one arm and having a small pastry in her other. Flee from the dessert demon!


    The All-Mother chuckled at the thought, humour probably her best choice to deal with the issue. After a slight shake of her head, the small pastry vanished into her mouth.


    There was no explosion of taste or even a note of happiness as she ate the piece of food. Aperio could pick out the flavours and texture of the berrelem, but there was simply no joy in consuming it. Is there even a food I will enjoy?


    Perhaps not needing to eat also took away the pleasure she usually felt at having a meal. Or I was only happy for food because it was the first meal in days¡­


    Aperio let out another sigh as she turned back to face the table. "I think I have had enough."


    "But you only had one?" Maria asked, looking at her Goddess with lightly creased brows. "Did you not like it?"


    "It tastes fine; I simply do not find much enjoyment in food anymore," the All-Mother replied, letting her eyes wander over the assorted foods. "I do not need to eat, either."


    "What do you like?"


    Aperio tilted her head ever-so-slightly at the question. "I enjoy being with my friends, using my magic. Exploring. Nothing truly extraordinary." Makes it even weirder that everyone is so scared¡­


    The girl shifted a little in the arms of her Goddess, trying to get a better view of her. Maria''s eyes wandered over Aperio''s face, seemingly trying to find something off. "Do you like to create?"


    "I do," Aperio replied, gesturing with her free hand to her dress. "I made most of this. Though, it is not quite done yet." Still feels inadequate. Maybe I really should add some armour?


    "Is that why it''s so soft?" Maria asked.


    "Perhaps. It is weaved with thread made of my mana. I do not know how it would feel to a mortal." Something I should have probably thought about before.


    Her mana was vastly different from that of mortals, and even other deities. Assuming that it would not do something to mortals was probably a foolish idea. Does that count for my feathers, too?


    She had given Brenia one, a part of herself. Aperio had not given it much thought at the time, just a simple gesture that might make a child happy. Now though, the All-Mother had some second thoughts. If something made from her mana might already hold special properties, what would a piece of herself do?


    "Can you make me one too?" Maria asked, taking the winged Goddess from her thoughts.


    "Once you are a bit older, perhaps," Aperio replied, very gently ruffling the girl''s hair again. "I also have quite a lot to do right now. As soon as Laelia and your father are done, I will have to leave."


    "I thought a Goddess can do what she wants," the girl pouted.


    "There is nobody forcing me to do something if you mean that," Aperio said. "But there is also nobody else who could do it."


    Maria leaned a little closer at the words, lowering her voice as she spoke. "Do you have to remove more Gods?"


    "No," Aperio replied, her voice equally quiet. "I have to remember."


    Laelia turned ever-so-slightly at her words ¡ª despite her voice being barely a whisper, her Scion had obviously heard what she had said. Aperio simply let out an almost silent sigh. For reasons not quite clear to her, she found it easier to tell Maria of her troubles than someone who might actually be able to help.


    "Remember what?" Maria asked, quite eager to find out what the All-Mother might have forgotten.


    "Quite a few things; none of which should be discussed openly." While she might be fine telling Maria of her rather rampant memory loss, the same was not true for everyone else in the room. Laelia was, of course, the exception. "I have been gone for a long while, after all."


    "But, don''t you know everything?"


    Aperio stifled a laugh at the words of her youngest follower. The notion of someone truly knowing everything was quite silly to the All-Mother herself. Even the System that was omnipresent on Verenier ¡ª part of every living being ¡ª did not reach every world that existed. The only one that could, potentially, know everything likely was herself, but she had no desire to, nor did Aperio think it was entirely possible.


    "Nobody knows everything, Maria," Aperio replied, very carefully poking the girl¡¯s head. "Just like nobody is truly omnipotent. I cannot make a stone that is too heavy for me to lift, for example." Unless I don''t count my magic as ''lifting''.


    The girl frowned at her Goddess'' reply but did not push further, likely knowing that Aperio would not be forthcoming with more information. Neither would she get a chance as Laelia and Geshton moved away from the map, causing Aperio to turn around and face them.


    "You have finished?"


    "Yes," Laelia replied. "Finding a route that satisfied Lord Terenyk''s requirement for both secrecy and defensibility was harder than I thought."


    "The Gods responsible might be gone," Geshton said, "but that doesn''t mean the people who followed them will lay down their arms. I expect a war to come soon."


    "A war for what?" Aperio asked.


    "Revenge for the murder of their Gods, of course," Lord Terenyk replied. "I do not know how a divine feels about such things, but most mortals won''t take it lying down.


    "Some will be thankful, of course," he continued, folding the map and handing it to a waiting servant. "Vigil, Inanis, and Natio were all in favour of slavery¡ª"


    Further words were cut off by a surge of Aperio''s aura. The pulse cracked the stone beneath her feet, and tiny arcs of mana danced across the feathers of her flared wings. "You are telling me that slavers will start a war to bring back the traitors? Enslave more?!"


    Nobody responded to her question. A few of the servants had been knocked unconscious by the brief flare of Aperio''s aura, their stronger colleagues already tending to them. The All-Mother paid them little mind as she narrowed her eyes at the Lord of the house, the confidence he had displayed just moments before melting away with each breath he took.


    "Let them come ¡ª I will kill them all." Her last words were laced with far more of her power than usual, forcing Lord Terenyk to his knees and causing Laelia to take a slight step back.


    A small hand on her cheek caused the arcs dancing across her wings to cease and Aperio to look down at the girl in her arms. Maria did not seem to be affected by either her voice or the flare of her aura, the girl''s eyes darting from side to side as she tried to figure out what had upset her Goddess as much as it did.


    "You hate them, don''t you?" Laelia asked, her question attracting the gaze of her Goddess. "Vigil. Inanis. Everyone who enslaves. Why? Isn''t everyone more bound to your will than you theirs?"


    The All-Mother did not reply. Instead, Aperio closed her eyes and let a sliver of her Void flow around her, the soothing touch of the nothing doing more to calm her than a breath ever could. Being compared to slaving scum ¡ª even in passing ¡ª caused every fiber of her being to want to smite the heretic who had done so.


    Despite her power, she had done her best to not force her will on mortals; even when she wanted to. She had taken every chance she could to remind everyone that they were free to go ¡ª to choose what they wanted to do.


    Even the times she inadvertently influenced someone''s life, Aperio had tried to right the wrong she had brought. That she blessed Maria and Caethya in the way she had still vexed her; would give her sleepless nights if her body still had need for them.


    Aperio took a breath of the nothing flowing from her Void and opened her eyes, a small fraction of her mind making sure the emptiness steered clear of Maria.


    "You cannot begin to understand how much I despise them. How much the mere idea that someone might support such a thing grates on my soul." If I even have one.


    "Is this why you came back?" Maria asked, removing her hand from the Goddess'' cheek.


    "It is a consequence more so than the reason," Aperio replied, shifting her weight to the other leg as a small flex of her mental muscles repaired the floor she had broken and another, tiny, part of her mind checked up on every mortal in the room. "There is a lot you do not know."


    Luckily, her outburst had not seriously harmed anyone present. The servants that had fallen to the ground only had slight bruises that the tiniest touch of her magic healed in a breath. That it had even happened was of course not good, her lack of control over her own emotions a flaw she would like to eradicate just as she had both Vigil and Inanis.


    "No matter," Aperio continued, cutting any further questions short. "What we have come for is done and I have other things to take care of. Preparing for a war, apparently, if Lord Terenyk is correct."


    With her words, a portal formed in front of the door that would usually lead into the hallway beyond. Very gently, Aperio set down her youngest follower, spreading her wings for balance as she lowered herself to meet Maria''s eyes. "If you need my help, pray. If I do not reply, ask Caethya to ask for you, alright?"


    Despite responding with a decisive nod, the worry in Maria''s eyes never vanished. That the girl cared was nice, in a way, but also brought a sense of unease to Aperio''s mind. She very much wanted that her friends cared, but neither did she want to be their cause of worry. A burden. It only lasted for a moment, however, as Aperio stood back up to her full height and Maria quickly made her way to her father.


    Laelia said a few words to Lord Terenyk that Aperio did not understand, the language of the Humans still not something she had learned, before she stepped away to wait for her Goddess in front of the portal.


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly as she shifted her gaze between the two Humans, not quite sure if she should start worrying about the loyalty of her Scion or not. Despite knowing that it was unlikely, the tiny voice in the back of her head would not be quiet, constantly reminding her that Laelia was a mortal ¡ª was flawed.


    I really need that book, Aperio thought with a slight shake of her head. A single step closed the distance between herself and the portal, the casual display of her magic not scaring the people present as it had Adam. A few of the servants gave the tear in reality some worried looks, but none of them seemed particularly concerned about her tiny bit of teleportation. Perhaps there is a skill for that?


    Laelia needed no prompting to step through the portal, offering a slight bow before she did so. Aperio simply offered a small wave to Maria before leaving herself, the portal closing behind her.


    Before anyone in the small room in the house of healing could speak, Aperio raised her hand. "Caethya, do you have the book on the Human language?"


    "Yes," she replied, quickly producing a thick, leather-bound book from a black rift that had opened in front of her.


    An unneeded flick of Aperio''s wrist let the book appear in her hand, a part of her mind immediately dedicating itself to not accidentally breaking it. "Thank you."


    Very carefully, the All-Mother leafed through the freshly acquired book, tilting her head ever-so-slightly at the rather simple drawings of various species talking to each other with little bubbles above their heads. Not wanting to start learning the language right then and there, Aperio shut the book and let it vanish into her Void.


    "Do you plan on telling us what exactly is going on, Aperio?" Laelia asked, letting herself fall into a free chair.


    When she''s around people she knows, her confidence is back. The All-Mother did not count Adam, the Human seemingly not bothering her Scion or anyone else. Except me¡­


    That he had fallen out of a literal hole in reality did not sit well with her, especially since she knew that her System had made it. Just not why it had done so.


    "I do wish to tell you," Aperio finally replied. "But neither do I know how to do so nor has there been time in which to reflect upon the matter. If you want to leave, you are free to do so. I think I have made it abundantly clear how I stand on free will."


    "You did. But..." Laelia sighed, her voice trailing off as she simply stared at the All-Mother for a moment, unable to find the words that would reflect her thoughts.


    "You have to understand that you aren''t alone, Mother," Ferio said as Laelia continued to remain quiet. "I have told you countless times already, but you continue to march ahead on your own. I know how this feels and I know that it is not the way. Cannot be the way."


    "I was alone during much worse than this," Aperio snapped, focusing on her daughter. "You know nothing."


    Despite being shown the care she had longed for, she could hear the voice at the back of her mind growing ever louder at the audacity of everyone around her. How could they belittle her? Assume she needed help? She was the Creator of everything! She made their puny lives possible. How dare they assume they knew how she felt?! Knew anything?


    "You weren''t there," Aperio said, her voice filling every corner of the room, the mana imbued in it causing the crystal lights to shine bright for a moment before they shattered.


    "You waited. Unacting. Hoping that time would solve your problem." A tear in the fabric of reality widened with each word the All-Mother spoke, the blinding white light that shone within casting the room in apparent darkness with its brilliance.


    "Behold what waiting got you," Aperio began. Tiny bands of the white light started to flow from the rift, wrapping themselves around their mistress. "What betrayal made me."


    Her weapon settled comfortably into her waiting hand. Around her hips, waist, chest, collarbones and shoulders coiled multiple strips of bright white, and as the seconds passed they settled into loops. Their brightness dimmed to a shining silver as the separate armoured bands came into being to protect her entire torso, from hip to shoulder joints.


    Aperio did not know ¡ª nor care ¡ª how she formed the armour or why she had bothered. All she wanted was to show her daughter what her time as a slave had taught her. No connections ¡ª no weakness.


    "You did not raise Gods only for them to betray you; cast you down to life as a slave!" She spat the words, the mortals in the room visibly recoiling as the mana washed over them. "None of you know my pain."


    With a quiet clank, the last of her mana-forged armour set itself into place, wings spreading behind the All-Mother as the light from the tear flooded the room and turned the world an all-consuming, blinding white. A few last words echoed through the room as Aperio vanished, a few of her feathers slowly drifting towards the ground.


    "None of you will stop me from exacting my revenge."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 84: Turning Point

    Aperio let herself fall through the white nothing. While she was not certain what this place was, she knew it was just as much hers as her Void, its warm touch just as calming to her mind as her Void''s cold, black emptiness. And my weapon came from here. And armour, too, now, I suppose.


    There was one very important distinction between the two spaces, however. Her Void, in its usual state, was cut off from the world. It was isolated, protecting and cleansing the souls of the mortals that died. This white abyss was not divorced from the world.


    Aperio could feel her aura pierce the thin veil that separated her from the outside, her senses spreading further than they normally would without her focus. She could see the group she had left behind, talking to one another. Could see the [Grandmaster] pace rapidly in front of her desk as she read a note that bore the sigil of the Terenyk family. She could even see Roots ¡ª the tree somehow looking back at her with an invisible smile on its nonexistent face.


    There was something else the All-Mother could see, however. The extra drop that had caused her emotions to overflow and her to finally tell her closest companions what had happened to her. Aperio could see the armies, just like Lord Terenyk had said, marching from cities and countries she did not know towards Ebenlowe. She simply knew it was their destination.


    A part of her regretted what she had said; that she had openly announced her life as a slave. Her failure. Seeing the people march on the city that was rapidly becoming her new home extinguished those thoughts.


    She would have to tell the world sooner or later regardless, now that her secret was finally out. Of course, she would have to apologise for her outburst, but she simply had had to speak her mind. The anger still flowed through her, the tiny voice at the back of her mind continuously yelling that she should show them the pain she had to live through.


    That idea was rejected immediately. Aperio might have been angry, but she would never force her will, or her physical self, on someone. All she wanted was to live her life in peace, but to do that she would have to stop people from marching on the city she wanted to call home ¡ª would need to force her will on the mortals despite her wish not to do so.


    Were they not slavers, Aperio might have considered something else. But once someone disregarded the life of others in a way she had always considered worse than death, they lost the last bit of good will the All-Mother might have extended.


    A thought was all she needed to pierce the veil of the white abyss and appear far above one of the masses of people marching towards Ebenlowe. Her wings spread behind her, keeping her in the air with lazy beats as she directed her gaze at the people below.


    While at first she had assumed it to be an army of angry mortals, Aperio now saw with horror that they had people in chains in their midst, branded with markings she knew all too well. The slaves were forced to draw carts filled with equipment and food ¡ª all of which was undoubtedly something they themselves would never get to use.


    The All-Mother gripped her weapon a little tighter, drawing on her well again. She could kill them all ¡ª wanted to ¡ª and they would be unable to stop her. It would only take a thought to burn them all; to stop them from defiling her creation with their presence.


    Her anger caused her mana to arc across her skin and feathers, leaving silver trails in the air. A few of the mortals below began to notice her, undoubtedly feeling the change in her aura. They started to shout, pointing in her direction even though Aperio was sure she was nothing more than a tiny dot to their eyes. Or they somehow can see as far as I can.


    She doubted that as she was only able to make out the details of the people below her through her aura, the distance too great even for her eyes. Maybe they can tell where the source of an aura is? Aperio thought, before she shook her head. It doesn''t matter.


    Aperio stopped beating her wings, tilting herself forwards and folding them close to herself as she dove down. The air rushed past her, pressing itself and her dress against her body and sending her hair whipping behind her. The mounting pressure did not bother her, nor did the deafening crack that echoed through the air as she sped herself up with a small flex of her mental muscles.


    A toothy grin spread across her face as she sensed the mortals panic; felt their hearts beat faster and breath quicken. They feared her ¡ª knew that they were powerless ¡ª and she enjoyed it. They would not force their will upon anyone, especially not her. She would strike them down just as she had done with their traitorous Gods.


    Aperio tightened the grip on her weapon as she increased her speed yet again. The army below was the object of her anger, but she would still offer them a chance. Much like the followers of Natio and Vigil that had marched on the house of healing, she would let the people themselves decide their own fate.


    Keyno ignored the commotion that started around him, instead pulling the cart further along the gravel road. Of course he had felt the change, how could he not? The cold crept into his bones, the pressure making his already laboured breath even harder. But he also knew that if he stopped his work the pain would be worse.


    He, like most around him, spared a quick glance upwards, trying to spot what their handlers were shouting about, but was unable to see anything. What he had no problem noticing was the deafening crack that washed over him, the noise leaving his ears ringing.


    Keyno felt a pressure settle onto his mind, followed by a burning pain spreading across his back where his [Mark of Servitude] had been etched into his skin. The shouts and cracked whips of his handlers did nothing to spur Keybo on, and neither were they necessary, as his body resumed its task without his input. Not being in control did not mean he could not feel the ropes cutting into his skin, it only meant that his wounds would be worse as neither the magic nor his Lord cared how he felt ¡ª just that he did what he was told.


    When he had gotten the message that Vigil had died, there had been a sliver of hope that the cursed magic keeping him chained to his Lord would fade. That notion was quickly squashed, however, as the mark on his back was as dark and scarred as it had ever been and he was soon ordered to pull this carriage. Bidden, and forced to obey, his participation in a war his Lord wanted to start against something that could kill Gods would also, no doubt, result in his own death.


    He did not have a choice, and he was long past the ability to care. Keyno had accepted his place in the world long ago, his only chance at freedom a change of mind from his Lord or divine intervention that, while more likely now, was probably not going to come. Hoping would only lead to more pain, and Keyno did not want more pain. All he wanted was to do his duty well enough to earn some food and a good night''s rest.


    That chance was taken from him as the coldness that had started to seep into his very being turned into a sharp pain that pressed on his mind, quickly followed by something impacting the ground in front of his Lord''s army with such speed that it sent him, and quite a few of his fellow slaves, flying into the cart they were supposed to pull.


    Keyno groaned as he slowly removed himself from the sacks of armour and provisions, wincing slightly as he tried to put weight on his arm only for it to give under him. It only lasted for a moment, however, as a pleasant warmth began spreading through him, one that quickly removed the pain and coldness from his bones.


    He had no time to take in the pleasant feeling of the healing magic as it turned into a scorching heat as soon as it reached his back. Keyno knew better than to scream as he grit his teeth and continued his climb out of the wagon. Why his Lord decided to waste his precious healers on him, he did not know, but he would not waste the goodwill shown.


    The first thing he saw once he had finally managed to free himself of the sacks and errant pieces of armour were the people strewn across the ground. Whatever had fallen from the sky had done more than simply knock over a few slaves, seemingly impacting the others even more than those as low as himself.


    How?


    The thought quickly vanished from his mind as his eyes stopped on what appeared to be a winged Elf standing in front of his Lord''s army at the edge of a crater he was sure had not been there before. Silver lightning danced across her skin and flared wings, the weapon in her hand brimming with a power he did not recognize but could nonetheless feel. Every time it moved even the tiniest bit, Keyno thought he could catch a glimpse of something beyond. Death.


    "Your Gods are dead," the woman announced, her voice slamming into him like her earlier landing. "Free the slaves and leave, or die."


    Keyno averted his eyes at her words, knowing that his Lord would never part from his prized slaves. He could already feel the mark on his back burn itself deeper into his flesh, the searing heat the fore-bearer of a command he would have to carry out no matter what.


    Before he went to actually carry out the orders he was sure would come, Keyno looked over his shoulder as he picked up a fallen sack of provisions, trying to catch a glimpse of the Elven woman once more.


    Whatever deity she served had given her more power than he had ever felt, but standing against an army seemed foolish to him. Especially so when he considered that his Lord was blessed by Epemirial herself. The Goddess of Duty and Loss might have odd Domains, but was still considered one of the stronger deities.


    Lord Jinto Sheltan could feel the presence of his Goddess. Epemirial was watching, the stranger that had attacked his army seemingly extraordinary enough to warrant her attention.


    He had to admit that her entry was quite grand and the power flowing from her was nothing to scoff at, but he still trusted in the gift of his Goddess. His hand closed around the small black and white pendant he had had been given by Epemirial herself, the comforting warmth of her power giving him the resolve he needed.


    Some of the like-minded Gods may have fallen, but he knew his Goddess was stronger than they had been. She had played them, letting the naive deities take the fall for her. Jinto''s family had long been the instruments of Epemirial''s desire, and he knew all that and more.


    "Stand up, soldiers!" he shouted, moving his hands away from the pendant so that he might manipulate his [Slaver''s Bracelet] to get his property to move. "Don''t let a bit of magic deter you! Epemirial is watching!"


    The men and women in his army quickly got to their feet, some shouting while others banged their weapons against their shields. He himself grabbed the sword by his side, an heirloom long passed down his family line.


    The blade, too, had been a gift from Epemirial from ages past. Only one in his line could wield it and they would be the rightful ruler of the house ¡ª the only one that could make new [Eternal Slaves]. Jinto caressed the blade as he set his eyes on the woman that dared bar their way, the ancient runes engraved upon the metal glowing a faint yellow at his touch. You will make a fine addition.


    "Death it is," the winged Elf declared, breaking the ground as she disappeared with another crack.


    Lord Sheltan had no trouble telling where she had gone, the screams of his men quickly echoing across the field as they were ripped apart by the Elf. No matter, he thought to himself. They''re expendable. His plan would work whether they were alive or dead.


    What did cause him worry, however, was the fact that his slaves had not yet performed the task he had ordered them to. His bracelet had taken his mana and indicated that the command had been conveyed, but his slaves were still helping each other up and meekly putting his provisions back into the carts.


    His advisers had told him that they were facing someone vehemently opposed to slavery; that whoever they sent had a way to disable the [Mark of Servitude] was a possibility. He had not truly expected that to be the case but, in the end, it also did not matter.


    The Elf might be able to slice his army apart, throw his soldiers like dolls or burn them, but she would be powerless in the face of a true Goddess.


    Jinto grabbed the pendant and ripped it from his neck as a wave of mana washed over the battlefield. He watched with wide eyes as his slaves simply vanished, leaving only himself and his soldiers. Less bodies was bad, but the plan would still work.


    He poured every bit of mana he could into the pendant, his eyes never leaving the winged fury that had started to rip orbs of light from his soldiers. A shiver ran down his spine every time she plucked a shining sphere from one of his men. He knew without a doubt that whatever she was doing to his servants was a vile magic. It won''t matter.


    Clasping the by now scorchingly hot pendant to his chest, Lord Jinto Sheltan lowered himself to his knees. Even when the Elf appeared in front of him, stopping him from completing the motion as her hand burrowed into his chest, he did not stop his silent prayer. Even when he could see his body fall limp, the pendant floating above his corpse, he did not stop.


    Only when the pendant flashed with magic, and his almost frenzied need to complete his chant vanished, did he realize he was firmly held in the hand of Death and his prayer ceased. What was left of his mind began tearing itself apart as it tried to make sense of what had happened. A quiet chime that came from everywhere and nowhere dragged the last remains of his attention to the notification that appeared before his eyeless self.


    You have died. Your sacrifice has been accepted.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 85: Heart of Creation

    Aperio creased her brows at the flow of the System''s magic. What does it want with this soul? All the message said was that he had died and his sacrifice had been accepted. The only problem was that Aperio could not figure out what the sacrifice was for. And who was sacrificed.


    Her question was quickly and unpleasantly answered. The lifeless bodies, the ones whose souls she had not directly removed, began to shift and rise. They did not ask questions, perhaps incapable of speech. The corpses only groaned as they looked around and, spotting Aperio, began to advance towards her.


    The soul in her hand, too, wanted to return to its body, but the magic drawing on it was far too weak to elicit a response from Aperio. Instead of letting another undead rise, she let the soul of the slaver vanish into her Void, her eyes wandering to the sword that lay next to his limp body.


    It glowed in the same faint yellow light she had come to associate with her collar, its mere appearance causing her hand to briefly brush against her neck. Of course her fingers found nothing but unblemished skin, but her mind still somehow thought it should be there.


    A wave of her hand caused the newly risen undead to burst into flame, the silver-blue fire sending their souls into her Void. Disgusting. Another thought caused a burst of her fire to rid the world of the sword and its vile yellow light. She knew it had somehow been related to the slaves she had freed, the runes for Servitude and Obedience unmistakable.


    While she might have removed their souls, their mortal shells were still there. The smell of burnt corpses tickled her nose, producing a smell Aperio would rather not remember. An unneeded wave of her hand caused a breeze to sweep over the desolate field and crater she had made. For a brief moment, she considered fixing the damage she had done, but decided against it.


    She was far from any city or semblance of civilisation, the ones passing through here likely more armies on their way to Ebenlowe. A warning as to what would await them seemed fitting. To that end, she also brought forth the other corpses she still had in her Void ¡ª all of which had somehow been related to the insurrection Vigil and Inanis had started. And I don''t even know for what.


    Aperio sighed as she looked at the death she had wrought. The lack of emotions at the sight of hundreds dead was something that perhaps would have given her pause before, but did not now. The life of mortal slavers did not mean much to her, even if they had only been followers. They could have chosen to leave but they didn¡¯t ¡ª instead they followed someone who bound people to him against their will.


    She shook her head as she kicked off of the ground and took to the skies. A small mental query informed Laelia of the new arrivals the All-Mother had deposited outside the house of healing. Aperio considered offering an apology for a moment, but could find neither the words nor the courage to speak them. It wasn¡¯t even that the idea felt wrong as it had in the past ¡ª that particular feeling seemingly having vanished after her breakdown in the Terenyk estate ¡ª but simply that she had no idea how to approach the issue. What she had said was true. She had also meant every word of it.


    Why is this so hard? Aperio shook her head at the thought. Having to watch her words and choose for herself what she wanted to do with the mortals that crossed her path was still something new for her, despite all the time she had already spent on Verenier. Ridiculous.


    A thought caused the blood that still clung to her form to flow, pushed away by the wind pressing against her. Much easier than using soap. Another touch of her magic also cleaned her weapon, the blade still somehow dirty despite being able to cut through reality itself. How can anything stick if it cuts space itself? ¡­What does it even cut?


    With a shake of her head, Aperio stored the swordstaff in her Void. Figuring out how exactly her weapon worked was a task for another time. For now, she wanted to figure out who Epemirial was without having to face her daughter or her followers. While asking them would undoubtedly be the fastest way to answer her question, approaching them at the moment was not something the All-Mother was ready to do.


    Focusing on her aura, Aperio let it guide her to the nearest city. She might still be on Vetus, but her trip through the white abyss had taken her a long way from Ebenlowe. She mentally sighed at the prospect of having to hide her wings, but at the moment she did not want to stand out.


    To further decrease the stares she would receive, the winged Goddess also lowered the amount of mana she drew from her well again. The wisps that danced around her soon melted back into her body to continue their unending task of improvement.


    For a brief moment she considered trying to lower her height a little, but ultimately decided against it. It would likely be painful for her, and she quite liked being able to tower over everyone. Maybe it will also stop the mortals from asking silly questions.


    She had been told that she was intimidating, something she very much wanted to take advantage of now. To a degree, at least. Scaring the mortals so much that they would bar her entry was definitely counterproductive, but a taller than average Elf with a weapon, armoured dress, and voice laced with magic should probably be good enough. That one Adventurer did think I was some kind of Elder, perhaps that could work.


    As she raced through the air, another thing came to Aperio''s mind. A mortal had been in possession of something that could raise the dead. It was a fact that unnerved her. She might not know how common the objects were, and they did not offend the seemingly ever-present primal Creator in her, but she still found the idea of someone being able to raise an army of the dead by simply giving a little bit of mana to an amulet to be deeply disturbing. That it bound the souls of mortals to their dead bodies just furthered her dislike.


    But why does it not feel wrong if it binds souls? Aperio thought to herself as she fell into a comfortable rhythm of beating her wings and gliding just below the clouds. Teleporting to the city was certainly an option, but at the moment the All-Mother wanted some time to think. Matters of the soul were a mystery to her that she would like to solve. Anything else that messes with souls feels so wrong.


    She could vividly remember the small pendant floating above the corpse of the slaver; how small and unassuming it had been. Just before the magic had been released and the amulet faded into nothing, it had split in two, revealing an inside that reminded her more of a geode than a piece of jewelry.


    Aperio did not exactly know how geodes related to magic, but she had seen quite a few of them scattered around the various laboratories she had had to clean... or had been the subject of experimentation in...


    She shuddered. That such a small thing could turn a few hundred mortals into shambling corpses was not a good thing. Though, it might''ve only worked with the sword and the sacrifice of his life ¡­or did the entire army, knowing what might come to pass, willingly agree to return as undead?


    Something about that specific idea did not seem quite right. Aperio had a hard time believing anyone would be willing to let themselves be turned into an undead just so they could fight on for their Lord. Or were they also slaves?


    She had examined every mortal in the army and transported anyone who had the markings of servitude either etched into their skin or on a piece of equipment they held to Ebenlowe ¡ª she had even gone so far as to check the soul of each mortal before fighting them. Did I miss something?


    A shake of her head dismissed the thought. She had looked at everything that could have been used to force the mortals to do something they did not want. She had also offered them the choice to leave; an option that nobody took, much to her dismay.


    Killing them had been laughably easy. A part of her still enjoyed the fact that she had fought at all, even if the thrill of an actual battle was not present. How would I even know the thrill of battle? She had never been in a real fight; it had always been a one-sided beatdown. And now I am the one that they can''t fight against.


    All she had done was switch sides, in a way. Fighting with her swordstaff had also been a breeze, the motions almost as easy to perform as moving her wings. The knowledge of how to handle the weapon, how to shift her weight, just how far her reach was had simply been there. Just as she instinctively knew how to fly, she knew how to fight with what she had. Although I had to retrieve my weapon to remember¡­


    With another shake of her head, the All-Mother pushed those thoughts from her mind as well. In the end, it was a good thing that she could recall fragments of her past, even if it required her to use things her old self had created. Her brief excursion through the white abyss had also left its mark on her. She now knew how to get there, but not what it was.


    A thought and a small flex of her mental muscles opened a tear in reality that always stayed next to her despite the speed at which she was flying. Letting her senses sweep across the white nothing revealed nothing at first, and the idea that she might find something her old self had made quickly dwindled. That was, until she stumbled across what she could only describe as a temple. A temple she recognised.


    It was the very same building Vigil and Inanis had ascended in, the black stone it was made from exactly as she recalled it in her memory. However, neither the silver lines snaking their way across the entirety of the building nor the braziers dotting the walls were active. No blue flames flickered where they had in her memory ¡ª none of her mana flowed through now-dull conduits of the building, and not a single soul resided within.


    A thought was all the All-Mother needed to appear before her temple; the lines of silver coming alive with her mana as soon as she ran her hand over the closed door.


    It felt like home.


    Not like the cold comfort of her Void, but the warmth of family and loved ones. A feeling she had not felt in her past life but still could point out without much trouble. This is where I lived?


    She could feel the temple thrum with energy, her mana ripping the building from its slumber. At the fringes of her mind, memories she did not know she had crawled into the view of her mind''s eye. A young Ferio chasing after a Beastkin clad in red robes with a single black sphere on it, the man nimbly swinging from the branches of Roots-Beneath-All. Though it had no face, the tree was still seemingly happy.


    "Roots, Chellien..." Aperio said, somehow knowing the name of the Beastkin despite having never seen him. There was nothing now where she remembered the field of green grass and blue flowers to be. Only pieces of rock floating in the white abyss.


    A gentle shove opened the door and Aperio turned her head away from the empty nothing she had been staring at to face the inside of her temple. The hallways quickly filled with light, the blue flames flickering to life as soon as the lines of sliver that connected them all lit up with her mana.


    She let her instincts guide her feet. A part of her knew where she wanted to go even though it was her first time setting foot inside the temple. Aperio soaked it all in, every painting that adorned the walls, every little detail that entered her sight.


    The further she got, the more seemed off to her. Things were no longer how they should be. The paintings hung slightly ajar, the usually spotless construction showed tiny cracks, and, most importantly, the flow of mana that ran through every wall of her temple felt distorted. Wrong.


    Aperio quickened her pace, each step filling her with more and more dread as her mind focused on at the heart of her temple and the feelings of vile disgust it brought to her mind. Soon she was running, ripping holes in the fabric of space and time that should take her where she wanted to go but only ever managing to bring her a dozen steps closer.


    Her swordstaff appeared in the All-Mother''s hand as she stepped through the final tear she had created and into the heart of her temple. She knew this place. The polished black marble floor, the blue carpets with their silver embroidery ¡ª the altar and her throne behind it.


    What she could not remember in this place was a crystal easily ten times her size floating in the middle of the room, slowly spinning as the blood red mist inside tried to break free. Every time the mist crashed against the confines of its crystal prison, Aperio felt a wave of disgust roll over her.


    The first caused her to flare her wings and draw on her well, the arcs of her mana singeing the air as they danced across her skin. Another led her to grip her swordstaff tighter, more and more of her magic flowing through the weapon.


    She knew what that crystal was, what it would try to do. This time there would be no talking; she would take back what was hers. Another wave of vile magic rolled off the crystal and washed over the All-Mother. Aperio let out a scream as she kicked off of the ground and beat her wings, throwing herself at the crystal to end its existence.


    The stone and metal chairs, tables, and benches that were dotted around the room were thrown into the walls as Aperio crashed into the crystal. Her weapon easily pierced the vile construct, and the mana that had been taken from the All-Mother eagerly flowed back to its mistress, burning the remains of its prison as it did so.


    Aperio let out another scream, this time in pain, as untold amounts of mana rushed through her body. Despite the feeling of molten rock flowing through her veins, her bones breaking and mending and breaking again at a speed too fast for a mortal to comprehend, Aperio did not fall.


    The magic in her well shifted as more and more excess that her body could not handle flooded the endless ocean, a part of it flowing into what she knew was the System. Aperio did not care. She stood at the Heart of her Creation, closing her eyes as a new set of memories slowly returned to her.


    She was home.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 86: Home Is Where the Heart Is

    ?


    GamingWolf


    Sponsus actually works now.


    Aperio took a deep breath, the fires in the braziers flaring higher as she did. The world itself then appeared just a little brighter to her, the few colours present in the abyss somehow more vivid. Only after she took another breath did the All-Mother notice that she was breathing air, and not the nothing that had filled the white space before.


    The change in her surroundings was quickly dismissed from her mind, however, as the newly-returned memories started to unravel themselves. What she had retrieved from the dungeon in Ebenlowe, and from Vigil and Inanis paled in comparison to the mess of memories she now received.


    Remembering scenes of her daughter playing with the red-robed Beastkin brought a smile to the All-Mother''s face, a comforting warmth spreading through her chest that pushed away the pain of her body''s multitude of breaking changes.


    The fire flowing through her veins was a paltry price to pay to remember more of her life. It was nothing she had not been through before and neither, she observed grimly, was it the worst pain she had ever experienced. That she knew she would come out even stronger than before, however, left a sour note in her mouth.


    She was already far beyond anyone else ¡ª even beyond what her previous self had been, if Ferio was to be believed. Something Aperio was quite willing to do, especially now that more memories of her daughter were returning to her.


    Most scenes playing before her mind were those of a young Ferio, playing with an assortment of other deities that Aperio did not yet recognize. A few, however, featured a more mature Ferio successfully building her own Dominion; a process Aperio had not known was necessary, or possible.


    But then, neither my Void nor this place are normal. Her Void was home to the River of Souls, a vastly important place in itself, and while the white abyss seemed not too far removed from Ferio''s own Dominion, and only held her temple, Aperio was very certain that there was more to it. The surroundings here reacted to her more than the mortal world did ¡ª everything here felt like more to her.


    With an unsteady gait, courtesy of her continuously breaking bones, the All-Mother made her way to one of the few chairs that had survived the dismantling of the crystal. One she could only describe as a throne. That needs replacement.


    Aperio had no desire to lord over potential subjects from a throne in her temple. Perhaps Ferio would enjoy this? she mused to herself as she slowly set herself down on the surprisingly comfortable piece of furniture.


    The slight doubts that it might not have been hers vanished as she found she did not need to hide her wings. The feathered appendages simply phased through the backrest, a pleasant tingle spreading through them as they did. Aperio let out a sigh as she let her full weight fall into the chair, the unexpectedly cozy stone showing no sign of distress.


    She could lean back, too; only her wings passed through the backrest by means she neither understood nor cared about at the moment. Currently, the All-Mother was content to sort through the new memories she had retrieved ¡ª to revel in the warmth of family she felt when the scenes of her daughter played out before her mind''s eye.


    Aperio did not know exactly how long she had spent simply remembering. There had been more than just her daughter and Chellien that had called this place home. Both Vigil and Inanis had been here; had had their own section of the seemingly infinite temple for themselves and their followers.


    The idea that the traitors had lived in her home, had likely taken advantage of the cover of her hospitality to plot against her, filled Aperio with an anger that would have caused her to kill them had she not already done so.


    The armrest of her throne had not been so lucky ¡ª the stone crumbled as she dug her fingers ever deeper into it. There was no end to the memories of the traitors, now more in number than just Vigil and Inanis.


    Aperio remembered Epemirial.


    Duty and Loss were her Domains, a combination that had put her at odds with a few of the other deities that had called Aperio''s temple their home. Most of the others were nothing more than a shadowy outline in her reclaimed memory.


    The All-Mother still knew the Goddess. Just like every other deity at the time, Epemirial carried a piece of Aperio''s mana within her ¡ª the Seed of her Divinity.


    The Goddess of Duty and Loss had never been particularly fond of the All-Mother. Aperio was now able to clearly recall just how the Goddess had talked about her when she foolishly thought she would not be overheard. How stupid.


    Epemirial had even gone as far as to bring her own slaves to the temple. The All-Mother in the memory had only sighed and shook her head at the prospect of more mortals being in her home, an action that made Aperio further question her old self. Why would I let a slaver stay in this place? ...Why did I not like the mortals?


    It was true that they had a tendency to worship her and were exceptionally fragile, but she still liked them. Laelia, Caethya, and Maria were rapidly becoming a sort of family for her as well. She looked around her vast temple, and thought of all the slaves she would undoubtedly have to free. Having a home she could offer them would certainly be a plus.


    With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Aperio pushed the thought from her mind, the stone of her armrest neatly repairing itself. Finding out her previous opinions on mortals might be useful to a certain extent, but it did not help her in understanding the System nor explained how and, more importantly, why some of the Gods had turned against her.


    Attempting to more carefully sort through her newly acquired memories was of little help at the moment, as most of what she had gained was still a shapeless mess in her mind. It was strangely reminiscent of the way she had remembered things as a mortal ¡ª misty, unclear, indistinct.


    Ever since she had returned, Aperio had been able to recall with perfection every facet of her life. Most of the time the memories were viewed from afar, almost as if she was reading a very detailed recount of what had happened. Only the memories she did not want to remember seemed to replay with an unpleasant vividness.


    A sigh escaped her lips as she opened her eyes. The room at the heart of her temple was still in disarray after her outburst and subsequent destruction of the crystal. A touch of her magic righted the chairs and tables but did not repair the broken floor as it had already mended itself. Neat.


    She had not felt a drain on her well, the amount of mana needed likely too small for Aperio to notice unless she focused on it. Especially now¡­


    Destroying the crystal had not only brought her more memories than the previous times but also an incredible amount of mana. Despite the fact that there was no limit to how much her well could hold, this new surplus was too massive to fit, and instead it was the System itself that reached out and took the surplus. Or does the System just need more mana to repair itself and did not want to draw on my well?


    As most of her reclaimed memories were still too jumbled to make sense of at the moment Aperio chose a better, and potentially more useful task to focus her mind on. Carefully, she followed the excess flow of her mana through the infinite mess of runes that made up the System, seeing if there were any new discoveries or understandings to be had.


    Being able to mend her own body while gently untangling the mess of memories and still managing to focus intently on the System was a feat Aperio continued to wonder at. She knew, of course, that as a Goddess her mind was much more capable than that of a mortal, but the extent of that gap was not something she had yet discovered.


    The space the System resided in was abuzz with activity. Many of the once-dormant collections of runes glowed with her mana ¡ª even the ones that had missing parts were showing signs of life, albeit intertwined with the occasional flicker as whatever her old self had built failed to fulfil its function.


    Most of it still made no sense to her. The memories of the System''s operations were still buried within the mess she had just retrieved or, perhaps more likely, they were not part of this specific set. Still, despite not having any more tangible knowledge, Aperio found it easier to discern the function of each part. Is it because of the additional mana?


    Sensing the flow of mana had become second nature to Aperio, even if she still didn''t know how exactly it worked. How can I know without knowing? She pushed the thoughts from her mind, focusing on the countless runes that made up the System instead.


    She could feel her mana flow through the sequence of runes that allowed the mortals to view their own [Status], see how it changed its function as it passed through the glyphs. There had been a blockage of sorts before; a big, almost angry-looking rune, one that had tried desperately, unsuccessfully, to divert the mana. When she had looked at it the first time, it had ceased to function under her curious gaze.


    Now, more and more runes brightened into existence in the construct, some of which she could have sworn were not previously present. They set themselves into place with a silent click, glowing with the flow of her mana not a breath later. What surprised the All-Mother was not that she could see all of the System repairing itself at once; but that she could feel it.


    Much like the influx of mana ¡ª of strength ¡ª after retrieving a part of her memories, she could feel herself changing with every bit of the System that repaired itself. The only difference now was that instead of growing stronger, her mind was now becoming clearer ¡ª an unseen weight lifting from her shoulders. Sorting through her newly retrieved memories became easier with each passing moment, almost as if most of her mind had been preoccupied with the System without her knowledge.


    A sigh escaped Aperio''s lips as she leaned further into her throne, the chair¡¯s stone shifting to better support her back. She could feel her mana pulsing throughout her temple and the white abyss that housed it. Repairing the System had more far-reaching consequences than she had initially assumed, but she probably should still have expected as much.


    Everyone was connected to it ¡ª to her. Even the Gods that had a piece of her mana as their Seed of Divinity still relied upon her omnipresent creation to guide and reward their followers. And enslave them, Aperio thought to herself.


    She had no doubts that the System had somehow aided the deities that chose to enslave others in their endeavour. It did not think on its own ¡ª at least as far as she could tell ¡ª simply doing the job her old self had given it. What exactly that job was, was becoming less and less clear as more rune chains were automatically restored to working order.


    Every bit of the world seemed to be somehow related to the System, not just living beings as Aperio had first assumed. She could feel its magic run through her temple in harmony with the mana she directly controlled.


    Of course, that was how it should be ¡ª the System''s mana was still hers, she simply allowed the System to control it. Her temple also reacted differently to mana that was controlled by the System, directing it to runes that had been drawn out of the same silver material as the veins that carried her mana throughout the building.


    They were everywhere. Some were hidden between the walls where mortals would not spot them, others etched into the doors, prominently displayed for all to see. What every rune had in common, however, was that they were all connected to one another and, perhaps most importantly, to a formation that ringed the entirety of her temple.


    Much like herself and the System, her temple now seemed to be even more lively ¡ª even though she was still the only one present. The blue flames burned just a little brighter in their braziers, managing to fully light the rooms and hallways despite their rather small size.


    The smell of flowers caused Aperio to open her eyes, her attention taken from both the System''s rapid repair and the mess that was her memories. She stood up, a touch of her magic keeping her steady as she made her way outside.


    Aperio could sense movement in her aura; things walking in- and outside her temple. They were not alive, she knew as much, but neither could she tell what they were nor why the smell of nature had so suddenly flooded her home. She was still in the white abyss, all her senses told her so. Her eyes couldn''t yet find a trace of the nature her nose was so sure had to be there.


    Stepping outside her temple, the All-Mother tilted her head in confusion. Both her nose and the rest of her senses had been correct. She was still in the white abyss, but at the bottom of the stairs the System''s mana was flowing into a formation of runes that, every now and then, unwound the threads of reality to show the tiniest fraction of the mortal world.


    A bit more focus on her part could''ve easily spotted this through her aura, but despite using her magic as effortlessly as she did, the All-Mother still clung to a few mortal habits such as looking at things with her own eyes.


    Intrigued by the System''s attempt to breach reality, Aperio guided more of her mana into the formation. Her involvement caused the tear that had previously winked in and out of existence to widen and stabilise. A moment later, she felt a noticeable drain on her well as a dome of her mana formed around her home.


    Aperio tilted her head to the other side as the white abyss outside the dome vanished, only to be replaced by a tree she knew, in a field of grass and blue flowers that she immediately recognised. She ignored the clouds that passed by her home, taking a step forward that broke the laws of the universe and brought her to the place where her daughter had once played without a worry in the world.


    "Your might is in full bloom," Roots said, the deep, rumbling voice sounding like bark peeling off a tree. Aperio looked up at one of the few divines that had remained loyal to her as it added, "Does this mean it is time for a new spring?"


    Aperio sat herself down, leaning against Roots who had no problem supporting her weight. She did not answer, instead letting the scene of Ferio and a long dead friend playing in her home repeat itself before her mind''s eye again. And again. "I''m home."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 87: A Moment of Clarity

    ?


    Caethya directed her eyes at the ceiling as she felt the aura of her Goddess settle over her. It had changed yet again, the strength of it no longer in a realm the Elf could even properly perceive. Only a sense of overwhelming power remained. Was she holding back before?


    After Aperio had told them that she had at one point been a slave, her Goddess had not left her mind. She was worried for her well being, something she might have previously considered foolish. She no longer did ¡ª if the All-Mother could somehow be enslaved once, it could happen again.


    Ferio had tried to reassure her that Aperio was already leagues stronger than she had previously been; a feat the young Elf was not sure what to think of. Her Goddess was the Creator of everything, shouldn''t she already be the strongest?


    The Gods and Goddesses of Verenier themselves depended on the system, something that ran on her Goddess'' mana. At least, that was Caethya''s theory. While the mana directly controlled by her Goddess bathed her in comfort and warmth, the feeling of it was also familiar in a way she couldn''t quite place until she remembered the flows of the System after having gained a level.


    The Goddess of Life and Light had not been able to tell her if the System indeed ran on the All-Mother''s mana, and neither had Caethya wanted to push. Ferio was visibly distraught after Aperio had, perhaps blinded by rage, announced to their small group what had happened to her.


    After the Creator had left, her daughter, no longer caring for the appearance of divine dignity, broke down and cried openly. Caethya had tried to comfort her, but her mind always wandered back to Aperio as it so often did recently. Maybe Ferio is right¡­


    The young Elf had never really felt anything for anyone. She had her fun, sure, but that was to enjoy herself in the moment, not part of a search for anything more. Perhaps she had never stopped to consider a relationship as she was always searching, always working to become stronger. Once she had found Aperio, she had also found strange feelings. She felt something.


    She felt more alive in her presence, her heart beating faster and her mind throwing itself in circles as she could never quite say what she wanted. There was, of course, the possibility that it was the blessing she carried that made her react that way, but she highly doubted that.


    Laelia was the Scion of her Goddess, and if one went by the sheer amount of mana that flowed in and around the Human, she carried an even bigger blessing. Caethya was very sure that, despite having more than a hundred levels on her, the Scion could beat her quite easily in a fight. Her level can''t be accurate anymore


    Though she had also been blessed, the Human had never shown anything close to her own reaction to Aperio. The other woman seemed to have nothing but respect for the winged Goddess, even more so after Aperio started to share more of her past.


    Caethya respected the All-Mother ¡ª how could she not? ¡ª but the more she learned of Aperio''s past the more worried she grew. She did not want her to be in pain, she wanted her to be happy ¡ª happy like Caethya herself was whenever she was in her presence.


    That tiny tingle that ran down her spine when she touched her, the slight skip of her heart when she entered the room. Caethya wanted Aperio to feel these small moments of joy too ¡ª wanted to give her the same happiness she was receiving.


    The Elf sighed as she stood up, shifting her eyes away from the ceiling and her senses from the aura of her Goddess. Aperio was close and, going by the omnipresent feeling of sorrow in her aura, not doing that well.


    Folding her hands in front of her chest and closing her eyes, Caethya mumbled a prayer to her Goddess. She wanted to help Aperio if she could, her stomach turning in on itself as she tried to think of what might have recently happened to bring such sadness to her.


    Laelia and Ferio had undoubtedly noticed Aperio''s aura as well, but both of them were busy organising the now-free slaves the All-Mother had brought. Many of them were understandably confused as to what had happened, and some wanted to be brought back to their master. They did not want to be punished for an escape attempt they had not asked to partake in.


    She could understand the worry, even if she could not see why someone would willingly return to a live of enforced servitude. If they did go back, the punishment... would be harsh. She doubted that Aperio would let that happen. The All-Mother had always been clear on what her stance towards slavery was ¡ª one that made even more sense now that she knew the Goddess had somehow been one herself.


    The comfortable warmth of Aperio''s mana spreading through her body took Caethya from her thoughts. It seemed to pull her upwards despite her not moving. An invitation, she realised a moment later, letting her own mana cling to that of the All-Mother.


    As soon as she had accepted the call, Caethya felt herself fall backwards despite knowing that she was not moving. The sensation only lasted for a moment, however, the room she had been in instantly replaced by a field of blue flowers. Leaning against a tree that dwarfed any she had seen before was Aperio, eyes closed, perfectly still and not reacting to Caethya''s arrival.


    The All-Mother was surrounded by the tiny wisps of her mana Caethya had grown used to, though now they carried a vividness that she had not seen before. The same was true for her dress ¡ª and still-present armour, too. All of it flooded the area with mana; the magic, intentional or not, causing even the flowers to also take on the vivid glow the All-Mother was exhibiting.


    While the Creator might have looked motionless to an outsider, Caethya herself was very aware that Aperio had noticed her arrival. Even if she discarded the fact that her Goddess had brought her here, a warm touch of mana was flowing around her in ways that required the guiding hand of the All-Mother.


    "The first visitor sprouts from the gates," a deep voice intoned, the sound that travelled across the field somehow sounding like leaves rustling in the wind. "Welcome to the Heart of Creation, Caethya."


    "Roots?" Caethya asked in shock, the voice of the [World Tree] unmistakable. "Did Aperio bring you here too?"


    "In a way," the [World Tree] replied, some of its branches dipping in what Caethya guessed was a nod. "Her Highness planted me here long ago ¡ª before any of your kind was more than a budding seed, waiting to bloom into existence."


    The Elf shook her head, the idea of the tree being older than her species intriguing but not why she was here. Her eyes landed on Aperio again, the Goddess leaning against the tree in a way that could not have been comfortable with her wings.


    "Aperio?" Caethya inquired, taking a few steps forwards through the sea of flowers. "Are you okay?"


    "Her Highness is adjusting to the mana she has retrieved," Roots explained. "It is of no danger to her."


    The young Elf scrunched her brows at the [World Tree]''s words. She wasn''t worried about Aperio getting a mana burn, but about what else she had likely retrieved.


    Vigil and Inanis had lost their lives the last time the Aperio had put this much mana on display ¡ª after she had destroyed the dungeon in Ebenlowe. The All-Mother''s aura had changed back then, too, carrying a sense of melancholy. Now, even more mana swirled around her Goddess, leading Caethya to believe that there might have been another crystal, and a sinking suspicion that they stored more than just mana.


    Aperio kept her eyes closed, ignoring the conversation unfolding between her disciple and Roots. Instead she took slow, measured breaths that, while not needed, helped her remain calm. The more of her memories she unraveled and viewed, the more she wanted to rip the souls out of a variety of deities and crush them. But there was someone who she was even more angry with: Herself.


    They had defiled her home and she had just let it happen. She saw how they figured out how to make the very same collar she would wear for her entire mortal life and she did nothing ¡ª just let them do with the mortals as they saw fit. Disgusting.


    She would have to fix what those Gods had set in motion ¡ª take their divinity and free those they enslaved. And figure out why I let that happen.


    How she could simply disregard the mortals in the past was not something she understood. They were people, but people unable to protect themselves from the deities she had made. Were there no rules?


    After she took another, deeper breath, Aperio opened her eyes and set them on Caethya. The woman had crossed the ocean of what were now blue-glowing flowers but had stopped a few steps away from the All-Mother, looking quite unsure if she should come closer or not.


    "Do you plan on standing there forever?" Aperio asked, trying and failing to smile at her disciple. She let out a sigh as she looked over to her temple looming at the the end of the flowery ocean. It still was ¡ª felt like ¡ª her home, but the memories she was still unraveling tainted that feeling of comfort with disgust and hatred.


    The All-Mother did not have to worry about that at the moment, however, as Caethya shook her head and replied. "No, I just didn''t know if I was allowed to approach you or not."


    "If you were not allowed to approach me, I would not have brought you here." She paused for a moment, seeing her disciple fidget slightly in the corner of her eyes. "I had hoped that you would see me as myself, as Aperio, not just as the All-Mother."


    Caethya hesitated for a moment longer before she took the last few steps and sat herself down next to her Goddess. Aperio spread one of her wings slightly further, allowing the Elf to rest her back against it and not the hard wood of Roots. Much like her own, Caethya''s dress was back-free and while Aperio was sure the Elf had no problem leaning against a tree, she still somehow disliked the idea.


    "So soft," her disciple whispered under her breath, probably not thinking that Aperio would hear it. Caethya did not speak again for a few breaths, the woman having closed her eyes as she leaned slightly to the left, almost resting her head on Aperio''s shoulder.


    The All-Mother creased her brows a little at the action. "Are you resting enough, Caethya?"


    Her words caused the Elf to quickly straighten herself, the tips of her ears taking on a reddish hue. "I don''t need to sleep, but with all that has happened lately I have had a lot on my mind. Helping Laelia with her duties, trying to figure out what I should teach Maria, and what to do with Adam." She let out a sigh, dropping her head slightly. "And then there is the matter of what I feel whenever I even think of you."


    "Is it because of something I did?" Aperio asked, turning to fully face her disciple. "I know that my interactions with mortals are¡­ flawed, but I try."


    "I¡­" Caethya''s voice trailed off, her cheeks taking on the same red colouring as her ears. "It pains me to see you sad ¡ª so much so that it makes me feel sick. Ever since you told us of your past, I can''t stop thinking about what you might have been through. Trying to figure out what I could do to make you feel the same spark of joy I do whenever you enter my thoughts."


    "I''m sorry," Aperio said, lowering her head. The only reason for Caethya''s feelings ¡ª the only thing that could possibly change a person that much ¡ª was her blessing. Her soul might not have been damaged like Maria''s, but she had still altered the Elf''s mind. "I never intended for that to happen."


    After a moment of silence in which Caethya raised and lowered her hand multiple times, she finally came to a decision, reaching out and taking Aperio''s hand. "Why are you sorry? And what do you mean you never intended for this to happen?"


    "The blessing," Aperio replied, lifting her head to look at the woman whose life she had potentially ruined. "I cannot shake the feeling that it is the cause for your feelings. You barely know me, after all."


    "You think I like you because of the blessing?" Caethya asked, the redness slowly receding from her face. "I don''t think so. It is you who brings me joy, who confuses me; not the blessing. That only makes me stronger. ¡­Something I''ll need if I want to catch up with Laelia."


    Aperio cocked her head to the side in reply. "How can you be so sure?"


    "That the blessing does not influence my actions?" Caethya asked, shifting herself around to better face Aperio. "I can''t be one hundred percent certain. However, when I first met you in the dungeon, I wanted to kill you. I thought you were something it had cooked up to enslave me.¡± The redness that had begun to recede from her face made a furious return, causing the Elf to lower her head slightly. ¡°Even if I don''t fully understand why my feelings are what they are, I know how I feel."


    The All-Mother let Caethya bring her other hand over to cover their joined hands, enjoying warmth that flowed from the Elf''s own. She wasn''t sure if she felt for Caethya as the woman did for her. There was something, a comfort that she felt when the Elf was around that neither Laelia nor her daughter evoked in her. Still, Aperio did not know if that was the spark of joy Caethya was talking about.


    With her hand clasped between her disciple''s own, Aperio couldn''t help but notice differences she had never really seen before. There were slight imperfections to be seen on Caethya ¡ª tiny errant hairs, slight discolorations of skin, many minuscule wrinkles. It was a mortal hand, one that did not get torn apart and rebuilt as her own did, one that could very easily be broken if her grip was just a little to tight.


    "I understand that you need time, and I am willing to wait," Caethya said, giving her hand a tight squeeze that caused the All-Mother to meet her disciple¡¯s gaze. "But, what you went through in the Terenyk estate ¡ª I don''t want to see you go through that again, especially not alone."


    "Neither do I," Aperio mumbled, wincing slightly as the muscles in her arm shifted uncomfortably in response to the excess mana doing its duty. She sighed, gently removing her hand from Caethya''s before continuing.


    "I do not know if I feel the same for you. Being with you is¡­ calming, in a way. It is not the same as with Laelia or Ferio. The closest would be Maria, but that is different in another way." A small smile spread across Aperio''s lips at the thought of her youngest follower. "She is like a daughter to me. One I can actually remember.


    "But then there is you," Aperio continued, shifting herself to rest on her knees to better face Caethya, making sure her wing securely held the woman in place. "You are neither a daughter, nor a follower like Laelia. But neither do I know if you are more than a friend, and for that I am sorry."


    "You don''t have to be sorry," Caethya said, the redness again appearing at the tip of her ears. "I half expected you to reject me outright or excommunicate me. But, like I said before, I am willing to wait. Time is something I have plenty of."


    The All-Mother chuckled at the words, smiling just a bit wider than before as a foreign warmth joined the burning mana in her veins. "I guess you do."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 88: Life Returns

    ?


    Aperio looked at her disciple for a few moments longer as the pleasant warmth that spread through her body was joined by a tingle that ran down her spine. What was that? She had not really felt anything like it before. There were things she knew of that could be the cause, but none really applied to this situation.


    "Thank you, Caethya," Aperio said, smiling slightly. "That meant more to me than you might think." Even if I don''t understand it myself.


    Her disciple simply nodded her head, her ears and cheeks bright red. Aperio shifted her wing in response, making sure she was still securely held.


    "Should I remove my wing?" the All-Mother asked, tilting her head slightly as Caethya''s ears took on an even brighter shade of red and her breathing quickened. "It seems to affect you negatively." The idea that someone would blush so profusely simply because she touched them did not sit quite right with Aperio. Caethya''s reaction seemed a little excessive, but at the same time, she did not want to stop.


    "It''s fine," Caethya replied after a moment. "The softness of your feathers together with the mana that flows at your touch are not something I am used to." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Not to this degree at least."


    Who else bathes their surroundings in mana? Aperio thought as she shifted herself to sit cross-legged. The mana still burning through her body had decided that her legs were in dire need of rather drastic enhancement, making her previous kneeling position quite uncomfortable.


    "If you are fine, then so am I. I simply do not wish for you to feel uncomfortable." A small twitch of the branches above her caused the All-Mother to direct her attention towards the tree. "Do you have something to say, Roots?"


    "I merely wished to inform you that the temple has almost finished regrowing its lost leaves." Its branches shook in chorus with the deep rumble of its voice, almost as if it wanted to underline its flowery speech. "Should you wish to, your followers could soon come here to plant new roots for themselves. They will not want for anything ¡ª your temple will provide."


    "Your temple can make food?" Caethya asked as she slowly leaned herself back and into Aperio''s wing, seemingly not trying to draw attention to her movement. "How does it do that?"


    The All-Mother tilted her head at the question, spreading her senses into her temple. She did not know what her temple could do, nor had she assumed it would be able to provide for her followers. It does make sense, though. Her old self was very much not the type to take time out of her day to care for mortals and, despite allowing other deities to have slaves, Aperio doubted she had any that could take care of the temple.


    "I do not know," she said as her mind inspected every detail of her home. It did not take long for her to find a kitchen, one filled with more runes than most other rooms. "But I do have an idea."


    A thought sent a minuscule wisp of her mana into a rune ¡ª one she could identify as ''Dawn'' even though she had never before seen it in her life. A moment later, the entirety of her temple shone bright in her aura. The amount of mana that drained from her well gave the All-Mother pause.


    "What was that?!" Caethya exclaimed, moving herself a bit closer to Aperio as her head spun around, undoubtedly trying to figure out where the monstrous amount of mana was heading.


    "I activated a ward in the kitchen. It is quite fascinating." As silly as her words might have sounded, watching her mana flow through her temple and the island it resided on was fascinating to her. Aperio could feel every detail of her home, her mana almost eagerly letting her know what it was doing.


    She knew a large portion was flowing to a field behind her temple, that it wanted to grow plants that her followers could eat. How exactly the runes accomplished that, however, remained a mystery to her. At least these don''t break.


    "How far does your aura reach?" her disciple asked, seemingly not as interested in kitchen runes as Aperio herself.


    The All-Mother shrugged slightly, the shifting motion of her wings eliciting a small murmur from her disciple. "I have not yet found the end of its reach, nor do I plan on searching for it. Even without my aura, I already perceive more than I truly wish to know."


    At least her mind was getting better at filtering out all the sounds the mortals made by simply existing, a fact Aperio greatly appreciated. Now if only I could do the same for smell¡­


    With very few exceptions, the world the mortals called their home was rather offensive to her nose. Even the people that roamed it were little better. Caethya and Laelia both were exceptions to the rule, but both of them were probably more of a fledgling divine than a normal mortal.


    "Is something wrong?" Caethya asked. "You don''t usually frown for nothing."


    Aperio waved her off. "Just a minor annoyance; nothing to worry about. I do, however, have a question for you."


    Her disciple straightened herself a little at the words, her eyes focused on Aperio. "Yes?"


    "If I hide my wings, is there any possible way I could pass as an Elder? I have been confused for an Elder of the Moons before and I do not wish to stand out as much as I currently do when I finally leave for Procul."


    "Perhaps?" the Elf replied. "Could you show me again how you plan to look?"


    Aperio gave a nod in reply, carefully removing her wing from behind her disciple before standing up and letting her feathered limbs vanish ¡ª her swordstaff settling comfortably in her hand at the same time.


    A small touch of her magic straightened out the wrinkles in her dress, another adjusting the armour pieces to be slightly more comfortable to wear. The small weight they had previously carried had vanished, too, her body having become stronger yet again thanks to the mana she had retrieved. Will I ever stop gaining strength?


    Caethya looked her Goddess up and down, her eyes lingering briefly on her weapon and the pieces of armour that slowly shifted over her shoulders and chest.


    Even without her wings, Aperio would attract attention. She stood at least two heads taller than Caethya herself, and, as an Elf, she was already taller than most other races. She probably has to duck through every door¡­


    Her choice of weapon and fit physique was another thing that would draw attention. Most Elves chose to be mages or rogues of some kind, very few training themselves to become warriors to the point that that it would show. The ones that did want to acquire more brawn usually did so through the System, hunting titles that would increase their strength.


    Aperio shifted her weight from one leg to the other, her hair flowing behind her in a breeze that Caethya could not feel. The All-Mother also carried a subtle glow with her ¡ª a silver sheen that seemed to flow just below her skin.


    "You look¡­ divine, even without your wings," Caethya said, a bit of heat flushing through her ears. "Not many of our kind are as¡­ fit as you are either." I doubt a mortal could even accomplish that.


    The longer she simply looked at Aperio, the more obvious it became that she was something divine. At a glance it would be fine, just an outlier that had not perished like so many did. But people would notice, especially ones that could read auras better than Caethya could.


    "Thank you?" Aperio replied, slightly tilting her head again. Her hair shifted, and Caethya''s eyes were drawn to its blue sheen. "But, I assume that means I cannot hide? The goal was to not stand out, after all."


    "You will always stand out, but I don''t think you would be recognised as a Goddess or the Creator like this. As for passing as an Elder¡­" Caethya''s voice trailed off as she glanced over Aperio again.


    The way she held herself, how she somehow seemed to be in command despite not doing anything certainly fit with the few Elders Caethya herself had met. Aperio also had a certain feel to her, one that seemed to be almost ancient in nature. The Elf was not quite sure if that was because she knew who her Goddess was, or if everyone would feel like that.


    "I think it could work for short periods of time," she said after a moment. "But, do you know what the Elders usually do? Have the proper identification if someone asks? ¡­Do you even have any form of identification?"


    The All-Mother sighed at her question, her swordstaff vanishing as she sat herself down. "I do not have anything I could use to identify myself with. Except perhaps my voice and the wisps, but that is not something truly unique."


    "I forgot about those," Caethya quietly admitted. She had gotten used to the power in Aperio''s voice and the wisps of her mana. It was not exactly a common occurrence ¡ª enough so that it would seem off to the average person ¡ª but she had seen quite a few adventurers that displayed their mana in physical form. She herself had done it a few times, mostly to scare off some annoying patrons in a certain bar she used to frequent.


    "You can hide the wisps," Caethya said, though the inflection was more that of a query. "While it is not that uncommon, it is usually only done as a show of strength. Condensing your mana into physical form like that is not exactly easy. As for your voice¡­ It might actually help you sell yourself as an Elder."


    Aperio tilted her head to the other side, the tick of her Goddess bringing a small smile to Caethya''s face. "Oh? How would that help?"


    "Well," Caethya began, her hands brushing over her dress as she tried to banish from her mind the idea that an Elder might somehow be listening in. "They like to play themselves up; intimidate people. Infusing your voice with mana is not that hard, but doing it every day for every word you speak? Not something the average person can do."


    "So I will be seen as either an unusually strong Elder or an especially pretentious one? I assume the way I speak will lead people to the latter."


    "Perhaps," Caethya said, nodding slightly. "But there are many noble houses that prefer your way of speaking. My parents do it too when there is someone not from the family present, and we are not even nobles per se."


    Aperio paused for a moment at the mention of her parents ¡ª or perhaps her status. "Have you told your parents about me?"


    "I did," she replied immediately, her heart beating faster as the aura of her Goddess changed almost imperceptibly. "Should I not have?"


    "You are free to do as you please," the All-Mother replied. "I just realised that I might be keeping you from your family. If you wish to visit them, all you need to do is ask. ¡­And tell me where I should bring you when you do."


    "You have not been keeping me from anything. I chose to stay with you. Honestly, I never really thought I would find you, and never planned on going home until many years from now. Vetus is huge, after all. It would have taken me centuries to explore it all."


    Aperio''s brows creased lightly at her words, the All-Mother perhaps aware of the workings of the universe that she herself would chalk up to Fate or Destiny. But then, she does not seem to be aware of the world at all sometimes. Almost as if she had forgotten about it¡­


    Caethya''s thoughts were interrupted by a surge of mana washing over her ¡ª the tingling of Aperio''s mana replaced a short moment later by the confused chatter of people. Laelia''s voice rose over those of the crowd as she tried to get their attention, the sound reaching her ears despite the fact that the people were not close at all.


    "I am sorry to cut our talk short," the All-Mother said, lowering her head slightly. "But Laelia asked if there was a space more suited for the freed slaves." A small sighed escaped Aperio as she looked in the direction in which Caethya assumed she had teleported the group. "I have freed them, and now I have to care for them. I hope you understand that I have to do this, and that it is not something I do to get away.


    "Spending time with you is¡­ calming to me," Aperio continued. "Enough that I would consider asking you to accompany me to Procul had we not made prior arrangements with Lord Terenyk."


    Caethya averted her gaze at the potential option of travelling with Aperio. She would very much like to do that, but much like her Goddess, she had made a promise that she intended to keep. There was, however, an option that the All-Mother had not ¡ª or did not want to ¡ª consider.


    "I think both Maria and Adam could use some actual experience in the world from time to time," Caethya said. "And who could protect them better than you?"


    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the question. "They would be better protected if I did not put them in danger in the first place. I have no intention of letting any harm come to Maria, and I do not know what awaits me on Procul. Not truly, at least."


    "Maria is stronger than you think and Adam will need to learn the ropes of this world. From what he told me, where he came from is¡­ very different. Neither monsters nor magic, for example."


    "I know," Aperio sighed, quietly mumbling her next few words. "Another thing that is broken and requires repair." With a shake of her head, the All-Mother stood up, extending her hand towards Caethya. "I will think about it."


    The Elf took the offered hand, letting Aperio pull her upwards. "Do you wish to listen to the address?"


    "Of course I want to join," Caethya replied with a smile, giving the All-Mother''s hand a slight squeeze. Perhaps the gesture did not mean much to Aperio, but it did to her.


    The smile did not leave her face as she felt the warm touch of Aperio''s mana wash over her entire being for a brief moment. Then, the magic of her Goddess ripped the both of them from the field of flowers. When they reappeared, Caethya could only describe her surroundings as a throne room.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 89: Upsetting the Balance

    ?


    With Caethya still holding her hand, Aperio appeared in the main hall. Away from the throne. She had no desire to be seen as the new master of the freed people before her. If she was honest with herself, she did not truly wish to speak to them at all.


    The All-Mother sighed slightly. The chance that they saw her as their new master simply because she killed their old one was there, and she did not like it one bit.


    Laelia was the first to notice her arrival, letting out a breath as she gestured towards Aperio; the cluster of freed slaves she had been talking to turned around. It only took a moment longer for the general chatter to die down as the rest of the ex-slaves followed suit and turned.


    Letting go of Caethya''s hand, Aperio took a step towards the crowd, causing a few of the freed people to take a couple steps backwards. Her shoulders dropped slightly at the reaction, even she should have expected it.


    Even if they had not seen how she had slaughtered the army, they had all witnessed the impact she had made with her landing ¡ª had all been teleported by her. Why those things frightened them was not something she could claim to understand, but neither did she know what they had been through.


    She might have once been a slave, but it was very obvious that, even when she was a mortal, her mind had always worked differently than those of other people. For some reason she had never been broken like the others ¡ª did not know for certain what the mortals in front of her felt.


    "My name is Aperio," she began, lightly inclining her head in greeting. "Most of you have likely never heard of that name. But, it is not the only name I have."


    She did not know if Laelia or Ferio had told them about her, but going by the murmurs of the mortals she suspected that many of them were indeed unaware.


    "You may have heard of the All-Mother ¡ª the Creator. That is me." She paused for a moment, waiting for a reaction that did not come. "During my absence, things that were never supposed to happen...did. Now it is my duty to correct those mistakes.


    "Your master is dead," Aperio said after a moment, her eyes flicking over each and every mortal in front of her. "He cannot reach you here, nor will I allow the followers of his house or Goddess entry to my home. Should you wish to stay here, you are welcome to; should you wish to leave, you need only tell me where you wish to go."


    A few of the ex-slaves moved to bow or kneel at the words, an action that caused Aperio''s brow to furrow. "I do not expect your worship, nor am I your new master. There will be no slaves in my home."


    Her last words were accompanied by a flare in her aura, the wave of mana washing over the mortals in front of her. Pieces of jewellery, bracers, and greaves fell free from the people in the crowd, and the clanging of metal as it fell to the floor filled the room. The runes on them had not survived the teleportation, but removing them seemed like a good gesture that those present in the room would better understand. Even if it is only symbolic.


    "You do not have to fear for your freedom," the All-Mother continued, trying to restrain the power in her voice at least a little. "Not anymore."


    Aperio had not noticed the slight shake of her hand, and it was only when Caethya gently took hold of it that she realised she was trembling. She spread one of her wings behind the Elf, gently resting it against her back. At the moment she did not care that it might harm her image as the All-Mother. Quite the opposite in fact; if it helped the mortals see her as something closer to their own, she would welcome it.


    There was a moment of silence before the crowd erupted into frantic murmurs. Aperio used the time to reach out to her daughter. Ferio had not been near Laelia or the freed slaves when Aperio had brought them to her home, and it was only now that she remembered to reach out, to ask if her daughter was all right.


    The All-Mother knew where her daughter was, a wandering thought having procured the information from a deeper part of her mind. Ferio was in her temple, alone in a room at its heart. I am a terrible mother¡­


    Even if her daughter did not reply, she could still know how she felt ¡ª a few of her emotions flowed back through the link Aperio had opened with her mental query. Her shoulders only dropped further as she felt a small fraction of Ferio''s sadness ¡ª her pain.


    The All-Mother gave her daughter another small mental nudge, trying to convey her own feelings with the mana she used. Whether the attempt had succeeded or not, she did not know but Ferio did show a reaction; the smallest of smiles tugged at her lips. A moment later the Goddess of Life and Light disappeared from her temple, the trace her magic left behind filling Aperio with the warmth of Ferio''s Dominion.


    Does she want to be alone? Aperio would grant her daughter the wish; when Ferio was ready to talk, she would come back. She can enter my home, right?


    A quick mental query to her favourite tree confirmed that, yes, Ferio was allowed to enter Aperio''s temple as she pleased. Another confirmed a hunch that the All-Mother had: Roots could take care of most of the temple on its own. It had only needed a bit of help from the All-Mother to get going again.


    "Your holiness," one of the mortals called out with a shaky voice, the woman shrinking as the All-Mother set her eyes on her.


    "You are free to call me by my name, I am not very fond of titles."


    The woman swallowed slightly, looking at the people beside her for strength. None of them spoke up, leaving her to be the one that would talk for their group.


    "A-Aperio, my Lady," she said, wincing slightly as she added a title despite being told not to. "What are we supposed to do?"


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly at the question, her wings twitching slightly. "Whatever you wish to do. I am not your master or anything of the like. You are free."


    Her words fell on deaf ears, only a few of the ex-slaves seemingly understanding what she meant. The woman that had asked just look lost, tears forming under her eyes as she slowly fell to her knees.


    Aperio frowned at the reaction. At first she had assumed that the woman simply needed more time to understand that she was free, but now the ex-slave was looking at her with pleading eyes, almost as if she could not live without receiving a command from her.


    A gentle squeeze of her hand caused the All-Mother to direct her gaze towards Caethya. Her disciple gave her a reassuring smile as she lightly inclined her head towards the crowd, and a small prayer urged her to approach them.


    After a moment''s hesitation, the All-Mother did. Folding her wing back behind her back so as to not accidentally topple Caethya, she took a couple of steps towards the crowd. Aperio did not quite understand why her disciple wanted her to approach them as most of the mortals seemed to be scared of her.


    Nevertheless, she continued onwards, trying to appear as non-threatening as she could. Or is this more threatening? She was not sure how her approach appeared to the mortals. The magic she was using to steady herself, her body still using the recently retrieved pool of mana to improve itself, the slow steps she was taking because of these factors ¡ª what was the impression they were getting?


    Did they think she was coming to take their souls after they failed to submit themselves? Or did they think she had injured herself by freeing them? In the end, how she appeared to the mortals mattered little. Aperio would not change how she looked. They would learn that she was not like the other Gods or their masters. She would not change who she was to fit whatever mold the mortals had made for her.


    Lowering herself in front of the kneeling Human, Aperio very slowly stretched out her arm and brushed away the tears on the woman''s face. The All-Mother was not sure what Caethya expected her to do and neither did she know herself what the correct course of action was. She simply did what felt right to her in the moment.


    A small mental query towards Roots caused the lights in the hall to shine slightly brighter as a few of the runes embedded in her temple came to life. The mortals around her started to look around, trying to figure out what was happening.


    The one who currently knelt in front of the All-Mother tried her best to remain calm, but Aperio could her the frantic beat of her heart, the rapid breaths she took. A thought sent a minuscule amount of her mana through the woman, looking for anything that might be off. She could not find anything aside from a few old injuries that had not healed properly, something her mana fixed in passing after a small nudge.


    "I am not your new master," Aperio said slowly. "I do not expect your devotion or gratitude, only that you live a life you enjoy."


    The confusion of the mortals around her died down as various foods started to appear on tables spread through the hall, courtesy of Roots. The tree was also kind enough to remove the last pieces of broken furniture the All-Mother had left behind. Aperio herself had no desire to eat any of the banquet''s offerings, but she hoped that it would at least show the freed slaves that receiving care was not something that required their servitude.


    How long she would grant them hospitality in her home, Aperio did not know, but she knew how she still felt about her captors ¡ª how her mind drifted on its own to places she did not want to go. The mortals would need time and help, both of which she intended to give them until they could care for themselves once more.


    The first pieces of a plan started to form in the back of Aperio''s mind, and the All-Mother gave the slave in front of her a smile as she withdrew her hand. "I do not expect you to know what to do right now. You are free to stay here for as long as you need."


    Standing up, Aperio vanished from where she stood, reappearing next to her Scion. "Laelia," she said, a small touch of her magic preventing their conversation being heard. "I have a proposition for Mister Penbrooks, and would like you to convey it."


    "You want his establishment to move here, do you not?" her Scion asked, turning slightly to face her Goddess.


    Aperio nodded in reply. "I do, yes. They might have experienced what I did, but it is obvious that I am not affected by it in the same way most of them are." She lowered her head slightly, looking at her hand as a few arcs of her mana danced between her fingers. When next she spoke, she mumbled her words. "What makes me so different?"


    Her Scion did not respond immediately, her eyes flicking between the group of freed slaves and Aperio. "You are the Creator. Comparing you to a mortal is a foolish thing to try; your mind works in ways that do not compare to ours, or even that of the Gods.


    "I know that there is more to your past that you have not shared," Laelia continued, glancing at Aperio''s disciple. " Your aura has been much calmer ever since you brought her here. I think you should talk more with Caethya. Perhaps she can help you understand yourself."


    "Perhaps," Aperio agreed, setting her eyes on the Elf in question. She had started to talk to the freed slaves, clearly taking demonstrative samples from each food item before the others would begin eating. Do they think it is poisoned?


    "Your daughter did not take your departure well," Laelia said, shifting slightly as she brought the topic up. "She tries to help, but you keep pushing her away. I cannot claim to know what you have been through, but please. Let us help you."


    Her Scion gestured to the mortals in front of them. "How you feel about them is how we feel about you. You want to help them, but they push you away ¡ª don''t trust you."


    "I try," mumbled Aperio, a part of her noting that no disgust was present as she prepared to say her next words. "I am not perfect. I barely understand why I feel the things I do. But, that is not an excuse. I must do better." Be better.


    "We are all simply worried, Aperio. Even Brenia." Laelia waited for a reply that did not come. Then, after noticing the portal that had silently formed behind her, she sighed. She stepped through it, giving her Goddess a last look before it closed.


    But what can I do better? Aperio thought to herself as she appeared on her throne. She did not know how she could magically make herself trust others more. The only one she somehow could speak more freely with was Caethya. But why? Ferio knows more about all of this than she does¡­


    The All-Mother loved her daughter, but could not bring herself to broach the same topics as she did with her mortal disciple. A part of Aperio''s mind continued to try and figure out the why behind her feelings as another set itself to building or finding a portal the mortals could use to freely leave her temple.


    On the fringes of her perception she had to grimly note how every single slave she had freed had calmed as soon as she had sat herself in her throne. Almost as if everything was back to how it should be. She despised the idea so much that she considered removing the throne right that moment but, in the end, she decided against it.


    It was something her old self had made and, perhaps more importantly, was a chair she could actually sit in. The mortals would learn that she had no desire to command them ¡ª no desire to own them. That everything in existence was still connected to her in one way or another was pointedly ignored.


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 90: A View Inside

    Aperio looked into her Void, trying to take her mind off of the freed slaves and the awkward talk she just had with Laelia. It helped that there were a few things she had left in her Void that should be taken care of. A book on the Common the Humans spoke for example, and an identification card the guard Captain had given her that she had completely forgotten about.


    Didn''t he say the [Grandmaster] could make something more permanent? She would have to visit the woman again before leaving for Procul, as the card Lerendil had given her was marked with big red letters reading ''temporary''.


    She absentmindedly spun the card in her hand as she directed her senses towards the River of Souls. The tiny orbs of light floating through it seemed to shine slightly brighter at her attention, almost as if they wanted her to notice them and step closer. That''s new. Not only were the little lights more active, but they were also more numerous; all of them being ferried to a new life by the river.


    Despite having more souls in her Void, the All-Mother would not grant the lights their unspoken wish. Neither she nor the world needed more blessed, especially not if their souls could be damaged in the process.


    With a silent sigh, Aperio set her eyes on the mortals in front of her, the card vanishing back into her Void. Most of them were now eating the food she had provided, seemingly happy that they had any food at all. She could hear Caethya talking to them, and she took a moment to listen in. While not every ex-slave was asking what they should do, the ones that did were in the majority. Caethya gently rejected each and every plea for a command or directive. Do they not know how to be themselves?


    Aperio had seen a few of her fellow slaves turn into nothing more than a husk that wanted to please their masters, a fate that thankfully never befell her. But neither did Moria budge¡­


    The Beastkin had not changed much over the years Aperio had known her. The only differences had been the scars they had both accumulated as time went on. How could I have ever thought that was normal?


    In hindsight, it was painfully obvious why she had been singled out for so many of their experiments ¡ª why she had had to endure so many procedures that had broken the other slaves.


    All the torturers and magicians of the Inaru Empire had achieved was to make Aperio hate them even more, not that they cared. Why would they even need to break the will of a slave?


    They had the collars to control them, something that was still practiced today if the freed mortals in front of her were anything to go by. Some of the less fortunate even had the runes etched directly into their flesh, a practice Aperio had narrowly avoided due to the Emperor''s son not wanting his plaything to have such unsightliness carved into her.


    With a shake of her head, Aperio stood up, vanishing from the main hall a moment later. A small mental message informed Caethya that she would be outside with Roots, and that she should call if she requires anything.


    For the moment, the All-Mother required a bit of time away from all the new arrivals in her temple. The longer she looked at them the angrier she became, and the more she remembered of her mortal life. All things that would not end well for anyone.


    "Are the mortals taking root in their new home?" Roots asked as Aperio gently leaned herself against the tree.


    "Not truly," the All-Mother replied. "But neither are they supposed to stay here forever. I will not remove them should they choose to stay, but my goal is to help them return to a normal life."


    Roots'' leaves rustled in reply to her words. "The teleportation array will need your attention if you wish for the mortals to use it. I am barred from using it at the moment."


    "Barred?" Aperio asked, spreading her senses through her temple in an effort to find the array Roots had mentioned. The tree only rustled its leaves again in reply, the All-Mother not needing more confirmation.


    Finding the set of runes she was searching for turned out to be surprisingly easy. While she had not known what the formation was supposed to look like, the giant arch at the other side of her temple left little to the imagination.


    Made from the same silver-lined black marble as the rest of her home, it stood taller than most buildings she had seen in Ebenlowe. Though it was currently not working, Aperio could feel an almost frightening amount of mana flowing through it, tiny tears in the fabric of reality connecting it places unseen.


    "Where does it lead to?" she asked, her mind already tracing the mana that flowed through the tears.


    "Every major town had a temple dedicated to you," Roots rumbled in reply. "Most have been taken over by the [Guides], though some are wrapped in the ivy of various other orders."


    "I assume not all of those orders think of me as highly as the [Guides]?"


    "Yes," Roots said. "The Order of Inaru follows goals almost exactly opposite of those you have expressed."


    Aperio''s mind blanked as she heard the name of the Empire that had enslaved her for so long. She wanted to crush those that had taken its place, inflict onto them what the Empire had done to her; slowly burn their souls until nothing remained.


    She took a deep breath, directing her senses on the calming presence of Caethya at the heart of her temple. Watching the Elf help the other mortals served as a good reminder that not everything in the world was bad.


    "Where did they get that name?" Aperio asked after a moment of silence.


    "A misinterpretation of history. They believe Inaru to be a dead God they could revive when it was only ever the name of a few empires and sects that once existed on this continent.


    "They also believe the Demons to be parts of their fictional God," Roots continued after a moment of silence. "Mistaking lost and tortured souls for a dead God is truly something only mortals would do."


    So that is why the Demon in the forest bowed after I killed it? Aperio thought as she fed a bit of her mana into the rune reading ''Dawn'' at the base of the gateway. She wasn''t entirely sure if that would start it, but it felt like the right thing to do. It worked for the kitchen¡­


    "What do they hope to achieve?" she asked, trying and failing to keep her mind from bringing forth more memories she did not want to see. "Revive a God that does not exist?"


    "Perhaps," Roots rumbled in reply. "The more likely goal is the ascension of one of their own. They even tried to harvest the souls remaining in the Eternal Forest, not that they had any luck uprooting my children."


    "Is that why the trees there could hurt me after I returned?" Aperio did her best not to think about what kind of God might spring from an Order that got its name from a slaving empire. Instead, she focused her mind on the task of gently guiding her mana through the teleportation array. A task that required more concentration that she had thought it would. Not knowing what the runes mean definitely does not help.


    Her question was met with silence, only the ever-present breeze flowing over the sea of flowers surrounding her. The empty space in their conversation allowed the possible explanation of the forest to settle in her mind. ¡­Do the trees have souls? "Why do you call the trees in the Eternal Forest your children?"


    "Because they are my offspring," Roots replied after a moment of hesitation filled with the low rustle of its leaves. "After you disappeared, this world was cut off from the Beyond. Whenever a mortal died, their soul would remain here, doomed to wander the world until it faded."


    Aperio could feel the tree lower its branches as it spoke, the topic obviously not one it enjoyed talking about. "I followed the directive given by you as best I could ¡ª tried to preserve this world. It pains me to admit that I had to break one of your rules, but the creation of the Dryads was a necessary step in upholding the Cycle."


    Dryads? Aperio thought, her mind wandering to the [Grandmaster] and her suspiciously leafy hair and connection to Roots. She is also nearly a millennia old¡­ "Is Miss Videns a Dryad?"


    "Half-Human, Half-Dryad," the tree replied. "Her father was one of my own, but he had taken his final rest in the Eternal Forest centuries before you returned."


    "Every tree there is a dead Dryad?" Aperio asked, her stomach starting to twist as she dreaded the tree''s reply.


    "Yes."


    The All-Mother remained silent, her mind trying to recall how many souls it would have taken to construct the vast Eternal Forest."Why?" she finally asked, the idea of it all still seeming wrong ¡ª dreadful ¡ª to her.


    "It was the only thing in my power that would give them enough time to rejoin the River of Souls," Roots replied, its barking scraping voice somehow barely a whisper. "Leaving them unattended would see this world overrun by them as they tried to claw their way into a mortal body to call their own."


    "The Rage," Aperio mumbled to herself. Did Vigil force souls into bodies to see what would happen? The mere idea caused a fury to bubble up in the All-Mother, one that would have driven her to remove the stain that was Vigil from the world had she not done so already.


    "The mortals'' name for a gruesome affliction," Roots intoned. "It rarely forms on its own; a consequence of mortal or divine experiments."


    "Disgusting," Aperio spat, a few of the nearby flowers wilting away. "Why would the other Gods encourage such behaviour and not work to fix it?"


    "It is not their duty to care for the world; that task falls to Diskrye and myself. Some members of the Pantheon try to find solutions, but most are content as long as their power grows. Your absence brought out their true colours. But, as much as I wish to cull the weeds, I am but a Caretaker. Not an Administrator."


    "Then I will do it myself," Aperio declared, a last flex of her mental muscles providing the mana the teleportation array needed to start. A shudder spread through the threads of reality, a large flood of mana flowing from her well into the runes that made up the archway connecting her home to the world below. Or worlds below. Aperio could not help but notice that some of the connections lead not to Verenier but to realms she did not know.


    Before she left for Procul to retrieve more of her memories and tried to find a way of righting the wrongs that had befallen the world during her absence, the All-Mother had a few things to take care of.


    Aperio appeared in front of the gateway at the other side of her temple. A brief moment later, she was joined by Caethya. Her disciple had noticed the large amount of mana coming from the teleportation array and asked to see what it was, assuring her that the freed slaves would be fine if she left them alone for a little while.


    "Where does it lead?" Caethya asked, stepping a little closer to Aperio.


    The All-Mother gently folded a wing over her disciple, a motion that was quickly becoming second nature to her. To Aperio it was like a hug she could actually tolerate at the moment, a gentle reminder that someone enjoyed her presence without expecting more.


    "A great many places," she replied. "Most of them on other worlds." Unlike the System, her home seemed to know what she wanted, the connections to the other worlds slowly drawing less mana as they returned to inactivity.


    She knew that even a mortal could step through it and the gateway would pick the correct destination.What troubled her about that fact was that she had no idea how her creation did what it did, and that if a mere construct like a teleportation array could somehow figure out what she wanted to do, a God could too. How can it read intent? Or does it use the System?


    The All-Mother creased her brows as she let her senses flow through the space the System occupied, trying to find any connection to her home she might have missed.


    "Is something wrong?" Caethya asked, carefully brushing her hand against Aperio''s arm.


    She pulled away from her disciple, not quite understanding what prompted the motion. "Not necessarily," she replied, having found a small connection to a section of the System that prominently displayed the runes ''World'' and ''Link''. Does the System know what everyone thinks?


    Somehow, that idea felt even worse to the All-Mother. The notion that her System could somehow read minds was not one she wanted to entertain, but it was the one that made the most sense. Everyone ¡ª everything ¡ª was connected to it in some way. Was connected to her.


    "Did I make it so I would not have to look at it all?" Aperio mumbled to herself as she examined the black and silver archway in front of her. Her mana flowed through it happily, eager to be used.


    This time, the All-Mother did not shy away from Caethya''s touch, the warmth that had fled their surroundings replaced by a note of comfort in her mind. Her disciple carefully wrapped her arm around Aperio''s waist, giving the Goddess a hug that was only answered by a slight shift of her wing.


    "It''s okay," the Elf said. "We are in this together."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 91: Unforeseen Progress

    One of the things Aperio had previously noticed in her aura had diverted from its previous path and was now heading straight for them. The All-Mother could feel her mana flowing through the construct, could see the enchantments glow in her aura.


    Caethya, too, seemed to notice the machine come their way as she shifted slightly and Aperio could sense a touch more of her disciple¡¯s magic flow through the air.


    A moment later, a small silver-bodied machine emerged from a tiny hole in the floor that vanished as soon as the thing had passed. Aperio tilted her head as her eyes flicked between the small machine and the threads of reality. They seemed to flow around the construct in a way that felt unnatural, but yet carried no sense of wrongness.


    "What is that?" Caethya asked, moving closer to her Goddess. "I can feel it in my aura but can''t see it."


    "A machine," Aperio replied, focusing on the runes engraved all over its silver body. "A caretaker?" she mumbled as her mind helpfully supplied the meaning of a few of the runes.


    The small thing did not move, seemingly aware that the All-Mother wanted to inspect it. Aperio''s mana flowed calmly through its runes, a small blue stone buried within the machine somehow drawing it from the silver veins of her temple. But what does it do?


    As if to answer her question, a few of the stones that made up the archway vanished, revealing a small opening the machine could enter. What exactly it would do once inside was not answered, but Aperio already had a vague idea.


    She had kept track of the things once she had first noticed them, not paying them much mind as they seemed to be part of her temple. They were of her make, she knew that, something about them giving her a sense of familiarity similar to that of the temple itself.


    "What do they do?" her disciple asked, leaning a bit more heavily against Aperio''s wing. "And why can I sense them in my aura but not see them?"


    The All-Mother shifted slightly at the words, making sure that Caethya was still securely held by her wing. "They bend the threads of reality around themselves. The only reason you can see them is because you carry my blessing ¡ª your very own piece of my divinity." At least I think so¡­


    Her disciple seized up at the words, seemingly forgetting about the small machine that had held her attention before. Aperio turned her head to face the woman, a slight concern taking root in the back of her mind.


    "Is everything alright?" she asked, taking hold of Caethya''s hand like she had done for her before. "Did I do something wrong?"


    Her disciple shook her head in reply, taking a few deep breaths as she let herself be fully held up by Aperio''s wing. The All-Mother could feel her disciple''s mana run wild, more and more flowing outwards from her soul.


    Not knowing what was happening, Aperio picked her disciple up as carefully as she could and ripped reality apart. The room behind the main hall had likely not been used for millennia, but the large bed and rather heavy use of enchantments led Aperio to believe that it was hers.


    The All-Mother placed her disciple into the oversized bed as gently as she could, ignoring the fact that not a single speck of dust was present in the room. Her senses slowly followed the flow of the Elf''s mana, entering her soul to see what might have brought this change.


    If the world worked as Aperio thought it did, what she saw certainly explained the sudden influx of mana. Nestled deep in Caethya''s soul was a small, crystallised piece of her own mana; one that was now, for reasons unknown to the All-Mother, supplying her disciple with amounts of mana that were most certainly not suited for a mortal.


    Unwilling to potentially damage Caethya''s soul, Aperio could only use her magic to try and soothe the Elf who had begun to writhe in pain. She held her disciple''s hand, giving her what she hoped to be a reassuring squeeze as her other hand brushed a few errant hairs out of Caethya''s face.


    Not knowing what else to do, Aperio tried to reach out to her daughter but was only met with silence. She knew that Ferio was in her Dominion, but ripping her from there to help her with Caethya was a decision she would make only if the Elf''s life was in danger ¡ª something Aperio knew was not the case.


    The mana that flooded her disciple¡¯s body was doing what it always did; diligently improving it. What was of more concern to the All-Mother was why it happened now, and so abruptly. All they had been doing was standing in front of a teleportation array and inspecting one of the little things that roamed her home.


    But they could not be the origin of Caethya''s affliction. They don''t do anything¡­ At least not to mortals. She could feel them do something to her temple, repairing and cleaning it if she had to guess, but they had no interactions whatsoever with the residents.


    Taking a deep breath, Aperio tried to push the swirling thoughts from her mind in order to concentrate on Caethya. She gently brushed her hand over her disciple¡¯s forehead, a motion that likely accomplished nothing but yet felt oh so right.


    "I''m here," she whispered, leaning closer towards Caethya. Her wings flared slightly as another query towards her daughter went unanswered, the All-Mother shifting the fraction of her mind that had called for Ferio to look for her Scion.


    Aperio''s magic flowed through Caethya, easing the transition her body was undergoing to the point where the Elf was no longer writhing in pain. She ignored the small machine that had entered her chambers, only devoting a part of her attention to it as it halted next to her and offered a potion by floating it above its rune-engraved body.


    A quiet chime echoed through the chamber, the small machine moving just a little bit closer to its creator. Aperio shifted slightly, putting more of herself between Caethya and the caretaker as she squinted at it. A unneeded motion let the vial appear in her hand, her aura scouring the liquid within for any sign of danger.


    While the swirling silver contents of the vial did not seem dangerous to her, Aperio had no idea what it was or if it would even help Caethya. Something she had presumably made had brought it to her, but as long as she could not remember what exactly the small machines were supposed to do, she was unwilling to trust it.


    She returned all of her attention to the woman lying in her bed, easing a bit more of her mana into Caethya in a further attempt to lessen the pain she found herself in. The All-Mother brushed her hand free hand over the Elf''s cheek, holding Caethya''s hand in the other, leaving the vial to float next to her.


    "I''m here," she whispered again, a bit of moisture pooling below her eyes.


    Caethya could feel Aperio''s mana flowing through her, taking away the pain her foolish decision had brought upon her. The memory of the notification had been burned into her mind, taunting her, reminding her of how stupid she was. She had hoped her progression would impress Aperio, but all she had managed to do was make her worry.


    Taking a step on the [Path to Divinity], as the System had called it, had seemed like something she should do, especially after it had appeared right when Aperio had told her that she carried a piece of her divinity inside her. A piece of the All-Mother¡­


    However foolish or even silly it might seem to an outsider, Caethya very much cherished the idea of having a bit of Aperio with her at all times. The System might also be an extension of her Goddess, but it lacked the warmth and comfort the physical presence of the woman gave her.


    Taking the first steps on the path towards becoming a Goddess herself had been so tantalising, and accepting a title had never before led to any pain. It had always been nothing more than a slight tingle as the System''s mana did its job and applied the bonus of the given title.


    Caethya could hear her Goddess speak but the words made no sense, her ears picking up a mess of voices she was sure belonged to the freed slaves. There was also the noise her body made whenever she shifted on the sheets she now found herself on. For reasons not quite clear to her yet, it was deafening, almost making her wince every time it echoed through her mind.


    She slowly opened her eyes as she felt a hand gently brush against her cheek. A few arcs of mana jumped from Aperio''s fingers, leaving a slight tingling sensation where they landed on her skin. The face of her Goddess was blurry, her eyes not able to focus on any one thing as she felt a pressure ebb and flow within them that coincided with the mana raging through her body.


    Despite not being able to make out the world around her clearly, Caethya was able to spot a vial floating next to Aperio. It was filled with a silver liquid she had never personally seen but had read about a great many times before. Acquiring even a single drop of the [Tears of Creation] would mean you did not have to work another day in your life. Those who could afford it would gladly pay any price to acquire it.


    It is said that it can cure any illness and even bring back the dead should you administer it quickly enough. A single drop had supposedly healed Elder Visir from a Dragon''s poison, an affliction that normally meant death for anyone that it was directed against, and her Goddess was now preparing to use an entire vial of it.


    Caethya tried to raise her hand and gesture towards the [Tears of Creation], unsure if Aperio even knew what it was. It was very clear by now that her Goddess did not know or understand how mortals lived their lives, or what even the smallest favour from her would mean.


    Aperio seemed to notice her feeble attempts, her eyes flicking towards the vial even though Caethya had not managed more than a twitch of her arm. Lifting it was already a hard task with her Goddess¡¯ hand holding her own; the woman''s arm was nigh unmovable.


    A breath later, the potion was in front of Caethya, the weight of Aperio''s hand no longer a barrier as her Goddess had shifted with a speed and grace she had not been able to keep track of. She was now looming over her, with her wings slightly flared as if to prevent some unseen spectator from watching.


    Ever so gently, her Goddess placed the Vial in her hand, helping her along as Caethya slowly tried to raise it to her mouth. Why Aperio had not just given it to her, she did not know, but the help was still appreciated.


    That she remained by her side, helping her through the change and pain of her mistake meant more to Caethya than Aperio would probably know. The worry in her eyes, her calm voice whispering to her; it all told Caethya what she so dearly wanted to be true.


    At the moment she wanted nothing more than to reach out and wrap the woman in a hug and thank her for simply being there. But she couldn''t. It took all of her concentration merely to manage to take a sip of the [Tears of Creation], and she was rewarded for her efforts by a warmth not too dissimilar from Aperio''s magic spreading through her body.


    Where her Goddess had shied away from assisting the System''s changes, the potion did not. Caethya gasped for air, grabbing hold of Aperio''s arm with more force than she had intended as the pain that had been held at bay by her Goddess returned with a vengeance.


    The winged Goddess did not seem to mind the strength she had used, simply using more of her mana to ease the pain Caethya found herself in. The Elf could also feel a slight shift in her Goddess'' aura, a small area behind the bed being overwhelmed with an amount of mana she had not felt before. For the briefest of moments, she thought she could sense Aperio''s Void where the mana had collected, but the feeling vanished as soon as it had appeared.


    As she started to writhe in pain again, Caethya felt herself get lifted up, Aperio herself climbing into the bed and wrapping her wings around the both of them as she spoke words that still got lost in the chaos her ears heard.


    The last things Caethya saw before the darkness took her were a pair messages from the System, ones that made her heart skip a beat.


    You have been awarded the [Demigoddess of Creation] title!


    [Demigoddess of Creation]


    The road towards divinity is paved with hardship and failure, but you are walking it hand in hand with the Creator. A seed planted, already starting to bloom. Ascendance awaits.


    You have been awarded the [Favoured of the All-Mother] title!


    [Favoured of the All-Mother]


    Be it through cunning or fate, you have drawn the continued attention of the All-Mother. It may bring you closer to the goals you seek, but be warned that betrayal means a fate worse than death.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 92: Past Dues

    Aperio did not know how much time had passed, her mind seemingly having lost its ability to track it. All she had done over the last while was hold Caethya close to herself, using her magic to lessen the pain her disciple felt.


    She had read the messages the System had given the Elf, and they confirmed what she had assumed was the cause of Caethya''s pain. Her own body was still incorporating the mana she had recently retrieved, and despite the time that had passed, it nonetheless burned terribly as it flowed through her. But she was used to pain like this ¡ª had had a lifetime of it ¡ª while Caethya had likely not experienced anything like this before.


    Even though Aperio knew it was not truly her fault, she still felt responsible for the events that unfolded. That she also felt this inexplicable closeness to Caethya only furthered her growing worry. She had largely ignored the newly free mortals in the main hall, only giving them a fraction of her attention to make sure that she would be aware when and if one of them wished to leave.


    Thus far none of them seemed to want to take the offer she had made, quite content to eat their fill from the endlessly refilling tables. That fuelling this feast did not even register as a drain on her well did bring a smile to Aperio''s lips, one that vanished immediately as Caethya shifted slightly in her arms.


    The woman was starting to wake up, the mana in her body having largely returned to its previous, calm flow. The amount of mana was greater ¡ª purer ¡ª than before, but it was no longer a raging torrent that burst from her soul.


    Aperio shifted slightly, lifting Caethya to lie her on the bed beside her. Righting herself and brushing her hair from her face, she noted her disciple had been heavier than before. It wasn''t much of a change, but the System''s effect was definitely noticeable. But will she simply know how to use it like I do?


    Whatever improvements Caethya had undergone would undoubtedly require some time to adjust to. It was probably nothing more than a foolish notion to believe that her disciple would instinctively know what she could do.


    A slight groan from Caethya drew Aperio''s attention, and she turned to better face her. The woman mumbled something, the words senseless and incoherent, turning to lay on her side.


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly, having assumed the Elf would be waking up. Instead, Caethya''s hands were slowly inching across the bed, searching for something. Aperio shifted the unused blanket so that her disciple might grab it, smiling as the Elf wrapped herself in the surprisingly soft fabric. ...Is the blanket made from my mana too?


    A quick inspection revealed that it was made from the same sort of magical threads as her dress. In fact, most of the things dotted around the room carried more of her mana than the world usually did. It made sense, in a way; she had made everything, why wouldn''t she take the time to personally make the things in her room?


    The only thing that did not quite ring true in Aperio''s mind was that while everything was connected to her, it did not bear the same marks of her creation as her dress or the blankets. She was certain that even a mortal would be able to tell that these two items were special, the world itself not really having her personal mana running through it.


    As a part of her mind continued to wonder about how exactly her creations came into existence, another was directed at the freed mortals in the main hall. They were fewer in number, a change that made sense once Aperio discovered their presence in other rooms, further down the hallway. They seemingly did not fully trust her, for while some were sleeping others kept watch ¡ª something that, to Aperio, appeared to be a largely useless endeavor.


    If she had wanted them harmed, they would have no way of stopping her; something she was certain they had realised. Or do they think Caethya or Laelia would do something? The fact that they had seen her Scion and disciple leave the hall would likely not have meant much to them, as they had all been teleported here by Aperio.


    The All-Mother sighed, gently brushing her hand over Caethya''s blanket-wrapped form. Her touch was accompanied by a flow of her mana, just a tiny bit of her magic ensuring that the Elf was indeed fine. Why do I care so much?


    She knew that what happened was not truly her fault, not like the damage to Maria''s soul had been, and though she still felt a certain level of responsibility for what had happened the amount of concern and worry she felt was not something Aperio had anticipated. Aside from Moria there had never really been anyone she had cared about before, no specific person to draw her attention, but that was not something that had truly registered in her mind at the time.


    Aperio shook her head, pushing the line of thought ¡ª as well as the question as to how exactly she had made everything ¡ª from her mind. Instead, she sent a mental query towards her Scion, inquiring about the decision of Mister Penbrooks.


    While she would like him to accept the offer, she doubted that he would. She might be the All-Mother, but that did not mean he wanted to be affiliated with her, or any other deity. ¡­Or maybe he will accept because I am the All-Mother and thinks not doing so would be seen as an insult?


    Aperio sighed, lying herself back down in the bed after a moment and spreading a wing over Caethya. The blanket might be nice, but she was absolutely certain that nothing could come even remotely close to the softness of her wings. She still was no closer to figuring out the reason behind her feelings, but at the moment she did not care. Simply laying there and making sure her disciple was as comfortable as she could be at the moment was enough.


    Another query towards her daughter went unanswered. Ferio was still in her Dominion, doing something that required her undivided attention. Or perhaps she simply didn''t wish to speak to her. This continued state of silence between the two of them was starting to worry Aperio. She had snapped and yelled at her daughter and the others, yes, but she did not think it would affect Ferio this much.


    The All-Mother gently wrapped her arms around Caethya, drawing her closer as she tightened the hold of her wing around the woman. She would be glad to bring Maria and Laelia here too, just so she could be certain that they would not leave her, but in the end she knew that doing so would cause more problems than it was worth.


    At some point she would actually have to start trusting others; trust that they actually wanted to stick around and not just use her for their own gain.


    Aperio was about to ask Laelia again if they had come to a decision when her Scion reached out on her own. The message she sent, however, caused the All-Mother to crease her brows. While Mister Penbrooks had agreed to take the offer, there had also been a member of the guard that delivered a letter, one that Laelia was supposed to deliver to her Goddess at her earliest convenience.


    The All-Mother was not entirely sure what exactly the guard might want from her, but had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with the Vinmaier brat that had tried to enslave her. If the rest of the family was anything like the one she had killed, Ebenlowe might suddenly find themselves a noble house short.


    After a few moments of blissful silence in which she enjoyed the comforting warmth of Caethya against her, a small flex of her mental muscles brought the letter to her room. It hovered above her as she gently removed her arms from Caethya. Aperio folded her wing behind her back and carefully left the bed, making sure the Elf was still firmly tucked into her blanket.


    She grabbed the envelope out of the air, another touch of her magic straightening the wrinkles that had formed in her dress. Neither of the three seals that were present on the paper meant anything to Aperio. Assumptions could be made, however, as it was likely that the seal that resembled a bunch of islands was that of Ebenlowe itself, and the one that was mostly comprised of a shield could be taken to be the seal of the guards.


    The last seal remained a mystery to her however. A sextant and an open book set in a heart-shaped frame made of runes that either spelled ''Learn'' or ''Love'' ¡ª not something she had seen before. And if I had, I would surely remember it.


    There was a memory in her mind, foggy and out of reach, that felt like it would hold the answer. Try as she might, however, Aperio could not dispel the fog that clung to it, a sharp pain taking root in her mind that only grew the harder she tried.


    With a silent sigh and slightly slumped shoulders she opened the letter, the enchantment that had been present already broken when she had first teleported it. Whoever had fashioned the enchantment was either unaware of what her mere presence would do to them, or they had not expected her to actually read the letter herself ¡ª a task that might turn out to be difficult if it was not written in the Common she knew.


    Unfolding the letter, Aperio was relieved to find that she was indeed able to read the words written on the page, even if a few of them required her to read them twice. Why can''t the language just stay the same? she idly wondered, ignoring the fact that she could likely find a way to make that happen if she truly wished.


    As her eyes flew over the letter, a part of her mind was devoted to making sure Caethya was still fine, while yet another thanked Laelia for her time before checking in on Maria. The damage to the young girl¡¯s soul was completely gone, the soul river''s water Aperio had never ceased directing simply flowing around the tiny orb briefly before returning to her Void.


    A small smiled played at the All-Mother''s lips for a moment before her face twisted into a frown. Why does another God want to speak to me over the death of a slaver? Why the God of Knowledge and Love had not asked for an audience on his own was another thing that did not make much sense to her. He obviously knew how to reach her, so why not simply ask to meet?


    Aperio shook her head, letting the letter vanish into her Void as she sat down on the edge of her bed. Caethya was still asleep, her breathing slow and steady as her mind was undoubtedly working to understand the changes that she had undergone. She did not know that for certain, of course, unwilling to give in to the whisper in the back of her mind that wanted her to try and look into the mind of her disciple. That it was even a possibility was already disturbing enough, actually trying it out was not something Aperio wanted to do.


    Not managing to find any paper in the room with either her eyes or her aura, Aperio tried to produce a sheet much like she had done with her dress. Just as she had hoped, a piece of paper took shape in her hand, shifting slightly as she chose to forgo a pen and directly create the letter with her message on it.


    It was a simple thing, letting Caethya know that she would be outside with Roots and potentially talking with another God. Of course, Aperio would still keep watch over her disciple, but she would not let the world wait while she enjoyed the comfort of her home. Doing so seemed a bit selfish to her in a way she would not exactly like seeing in someone else.


    Aperio carefully folded the letter, making sure to not accidentally break it, before placing in on the nightstand on Caethya''s side of the bed, the name of her disciple clearly visible in the excessively cursive script she had chosen.


    Another letter was forming in the air behind her, destined to be delivered to the temple of Edisicio. She might not have personally visited it, or even seen it, but the map Lord Terenyk had used to plan possible routes with Laelia was etched into her mind, as easy to recall as her name. If only the rest of my memories came that easily.


    After making sure once more that her disciple could get the rest she needed, Aperio silently vanished from her chambers. As she reappeared in the field of flowers outside, the letter she had created materialized far below in Ebenlowe, in front of someone she assumed to be a priest of Edisicio.


    She would have personally delivered the letter, or better yet talked to the God of Knowledge herself, but she did not know where he was nor had she the desire to figure it out on her own. Once she knew how far her aura reached, she would never be able to forget it. For now, Aperio could at least pretend that she was not privy to everything that happened in her creation.


    "Welcome," Roots rumbled. "Your guests are slowly leaving their shells. Perhaps soon, they may blossom once more.


    "Your Elven friend, too, seems to be blossoming into something more," it added after a moment of silence. "Without your help, her ascension would have been much more arduous; she will undoubtedly be grateful."


    "Perhaps," Aperio mumbled, her eyes flicking across the ocean of flowers as she tried to figure out why another God would want to meet her, and why they would choose such a roundabout way of asking.


    "Would you happen to know why the God of Knowledge and Love would want to meet me?" the All-Mother asked, turning to face Roots.


    "I do not," it rumbled in reply. "But I do have a suspicion. The mortals of Ebenlowe are in turmoil. The seeds of Urol Vinmaier''s death had been planted long ago, but they were reaped recently over the death of his son at your hand. I do know that Edisicio has blessed a few members of both the [Guides] and the [Guards]; perhaps he is seeking an audience to spare them from your wrath when the families will foolishly try to take revenge against you?"


    Would I have just killed the entire city in the past? Aperio thought, tilting her head at the words. "Why would I go against someone uninvolved?"


    The tree remained quiet for a while, only the slight breeze that seemed to be omnipresent on her temple grounds rustling its leaves. "The lake in which Ebenlowe is built was created by you, after the city that once stood there torched your temple," Roots eventually said, its deep voice unusually subdued.


    "Just because of a temple?" she asked, not quite believing what the tree had said. "That seems a little excessive." ¡­Was I really that bad?


    "The fire would have killed the mortals within," Roots replied. "But you never particularly cared about them before you disappeared. Most of the Pantheon still do not care for them beyond their usefulness in advancing their own power."


    Aperio sighed, leaning against Roots as she sat herself down. She had already disliked her past self, but the more she learned the more she hated what she had done. Destroying a city because someone wanted to set fire to her temple was no longer something she would ever do.


    "Perhaps tyrant was not all that wrong of a name for me¡­" she mumbled to herself as part of her mind wandered back to the Elf sleeping in her chambers. Another followed the hurried steps of the priest, the one she had teleported her letter to, as the man rushed deeper into the temple, past collections of crystals that tried to keep Aperio''s aura out but failed miserably.


    He would deliver her message, and she would have to set the record straight that what the old Aperio had done is not what she would do. The mortals of Ebenlowe had nothing to fear as long as they did not enslave one another. And even if they did, she would give them the choice to stop their vile practices like she had done with every encounter before.


    "The Pantheon does not know of your change of heart," Roots said. "Neither your daughter nor myself have told them what has happened. Some of them know, of course; those that conspired with Vigil and Inanis will be wary of you, but the others should welcome the change."


    Aperio did not respond, her eyes cast down as she stared at her hand. Small arcs of her mana were dancing between her fingers, waiting to be used. Eager to create her dreams or destroy what she wished gone.


    She knew who she was ¡ª what she was ¡ª but the full extent of what she could do still scared her. The knowledge that she had to deal with Gods and Goddesses that had been appointed by her for unknown reasons caused a knot in her stomach to form that she most definitely did not want.


    Another sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes, trying to calm her mind as she waited for Edisicio to arrive. Whatever he had to say would only further the headache that had begun to take hold in her mind, she was sure of that. Still, at the moment she could do nothing but wait. Time, the thing that usually passed too quickly for her liking, seemed to slow down to an agonizing crawl.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Crusade – Chapter 93: Audience

    With her back against Roots, eyes closed in the ocean of flowers, Aperio waited, her mind''s eye keeping watch over Caethya, Maria, and Laelia. She did not know when the God of Knowledge and Love would receive her letter, or if he was able to actually visit her island. Maybe telling him ''above Ebenlowe'' was not enough?


    When her attention was suddenly shifted away from her followers and the newly-freed mortals by a subtle pressure in the back of her mind, her worries about Ediscio not showing up were squashed. A moment later, the All-Mother sensed a presence a few paces away from the land that made up her flying island.


    The man that floated there was undoubtedly Edisicio, the mana that flowed through and around him much purer than that of mortals. Still, despite this, Aperio could not help but scoff slightly at his weakness. The more Gods and Goddesses she encountered, the more she questioned how they could have ever killed her old self. She would need nothing more than a thought to crush the man where he floated; a blink of an eye to erase a God.


    Aperio shook her head and wrapped a few threads of reality around the man. She shifted them, and Edisicio was brought through the fabric of space to be deposited into the ocean of flowers, a few steps away from her. He looked around for a moment, seemingly not believing that the All-Mother would simply sit in a sea of flowers, leaning against Roots. What did I do in the past when I had an audience with someone?


    "You wished to talk?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly at the unwillingness of the God to start the conversation after having asked for it.


    "Yes," he replied after a moment of continued hesitation. "There are a few matters I would like to discuss. If you find it agreeable, of course."


    The All-Mother cocked her head to the other side, a touch of her magic stopping her hair from falling in her face. "If I did not want to talk, I would not have brought you here, no?"


    She had expected a bit more from the God of Knowledge. At the moment, he seemed to her like a child that had broken something and feared the punishment of their parents. Not that those brats ever got punished for what they did.


    "Of course," Edisicio replied, nodding hesitantly. "I was simply not expecting this." His words were accompanied by a gesture of his arms that seemed to indicate the flowery sea. "The last time I had the honor to be in your presence the arrangements were vastly different."


    "Things have changed," Aperio replied, her wings twitching slightly as a careful touch of her magic adjusted the blanket covering Caethya. "But what, exactly, do you wish to discuss with me?"


    "The death of Kereman Vinmaier and the fate of Ebenlowe."


    Aperio remained silent for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the God of Knowledge and Love. The breeze that flowed through her temple had vanished, the world shifting in accordance to the anger that slowly rose within the All-Mother. "Was he one of your followers?"


    "No," Ediscio replied, his voice shaking slightly. The mana surrounding Ediscio shifted a little, the God drawing more from his own well. If you can even call it that. The reserves everyone else seemed to have barely qualified as a puddle to Aperio.


    "How you plan to proceed will have an impact on a good number of my followers," Edisicio eventually continued, drawing more on his mana, likely doing it for comfort as Aperio sometimes did. "The Vinmaiers do not seem to be aware of the true nature of their son¡¯s misdeeds and I fear that some of my followers might be caught in a confrontation."


    "If your followers do not partake in such vile acts as the Vinmaiers, they have nothing to fear," Aperio said, a bit more of her power leaking into her voice. "I do not intend to let slavers run free when I find them."


    The other God remained silent at her words, probably asking himself why she had not yet removed every slaver if she did not want them. Aperio herself did not know the answer to that. She did not want anyone to be forced and follow someone else''s will, but enforcing a ban on slavery would be exactly that. But it is infinitely better than not doing it.


    Edisicio tapped his chin, as he stared at a window the System had provided. The window had shifted for a moment, trying to hide itself from her view, before it seemed to notice who exactly it was trying to hide from and stopped.


    What the God of Knowledge and Love was looking at was a map of sorts, one with various seals present. Aperio would have an easier time reading the screen if it was not somehow showing more than one world at once, overlapping them all to a mess that offended something deep inside her.


    "Do you intend to change the System?" Ediscio finally asked, his previous hesitation gone. "The Repens Nabu will not like it," he mumbled to himself, not waiting for a reply. "But she already killed three of its members¡­"


    "If there are more deities who have forsaken their duty like Vigil, Inanis, and Natio, they too shall die," Aperio said, a thought removing the window in front of Ediscio from existence. "I have ignored them for too long." Not that I knew of them before¡­


    The other God looked at her, his eyes darting around as if he was trying to spot something off about her. Aperio tilted her head slightly, keeping her eyes fixed on the man. She did not know what he was looking for. The only thing she could think of was that he thought her an impostor. Can''t he feel my mana? My strength?


    To prove her point, she drew slightly more on her well, the wisps of her mana flowing out of her skin to lazily float around her form. As the slight glow of her skin became more pronounced, small, barely perceptible, lines of silver mana that she had not noticed before were visible on her exposed flesh, overtaking the spots that would usually be occupied by the blood in her veins. Is my blood even blood?


    Aperio shook her head, a small flex of her mental muscles teleporting her in front of Edisicio, her wings slightly flared. The man had to look up to meet her gaze, the All-Mother easily standing a head taller than him. She could feel the mana surrounding him clinging to his skin, flowing more closely as he readied himself for a fight.


    "Do not stare," she said, folding her wings behind her back and stopping the draw on her well. "It is impolite."


    Ediscio nodded and took a few steps backwards, obviously not wanting to stand too close to Aperio. The All-Mother simply twisted reality apart again, appearing leaning against Roots a moment later. "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"


    She had no particular desire to continue the conversation ¡ª if she could even call it that. Ediscio did not seem confident in anything that he did; always taking ages to think about his answer. Is he scared, or simply confused?


    The branches above her shook a bit, Roots seemingly quite amused with the situation at hand. Aperio could only sigh. Perhaps I should not have done the teleportation bit¡­


    She had intended to intimidate him a little, as the way he just stared at her caused her skin to crawl. Like she was something he had to figure out ¡ª had to dissect.


    "My apologies," he finally replied, bowing his head slightly. "You are simply not as I remember, something that usually does not happen."


    "Does the sapling not believe the Creator is who she claims to be?" Roots asked, its voice rumbling across the ocean of flowers. "Can you not feel her mere presence invigorating the seed of your divinity?"


    Aperio titled her head slightly at the tree''s words. Is that why Laelia and Caethya said they could feel it in their soul? ¡­Though, Laelia did say she knew before that I was different, but that was because I punched a Demon. "Why send a letter if you were not sure that I was the All-Mother?"


    "I was sure," Ediscio replied, his eyes shifting between the All-Mother and Roots, "but I still remember the last time someone tried to impose their will on you. Their world is still a nightmare of molten rock and storms of glass, devoid of life on its surface and filled with despair below. Despite their status as a God, all they can do is watch their people suffer."


    "Who?" Aperio asked, not quite believing the words.


    "Eschengail," Roots rumbled. "The world and the God are one. They tried to enslave you in the same manner with which certain mortals recently made the attempt. You condemned them to a life of torture, to watch until the last of its people perish."


    The All-Mother creased her brows at the reply. No matter how she viewed it, the punishment was cruel beyond belief. The mortals that called the planet their home likely had played no part in what their God had planned, but without the relevant memories to hand she couldn''t be sure.


    "I will look into the matter," she said, rubbing the bridge of her nose, not really caring that the other God might figure out that she had lost her memory. Edisicio had already figured out that something was off and Aperio was tired of pretending to be someone she was not. And it doesn''t feel disgusting to just be me anymore.


    The problem Aperio faced now was that she had no idea where that world was or how to get to it. She remembered the tunnel Adam had fallen through well enough ¡ª how it felt, how the System had twisted the threads of reality to allow the passage of a mortal ¡ª but none of that told her how she could pick a destination. No choice but to use my aura¡­


    Edisicio stared at her for a moment. Aperio shifted slightly, drawing on her well again, and the God of Knowledge and Love quickly averted his gaze. It was clear that continuing to stare would not end well.


    What would I do if he did not stop? Aperio asked herself. As much as she liked to fight, starting one over this seemed excessive. Doubly so if a mere thought would be enough to end the life of her opponent. But that''s true for everything¡­


    A touch of her magic brushed a few hairs out of Caethya''s face. Focusing on her disciple did wonders to soothe her mind. Simply having someone she was allowed to care about, knowing she needn''t fear the possibility of them being ripped from her life, felt very good indeed.


    If it were feasible, Aperio would bring Caethya and Maria into her Void and enjoy an eternity of peace and quiet. Sadly, neither of them would likely enjoy the idea of spending millennia in a space devoid of anything they knew. As her knowledge of what she had done in the past continued to grow, she also had to acknowledge the worry she had about what she might eventually turn into. She didn''t want to bring her followers somewhere they could not leave on their own. Not that they could hide from me...


    "If you do not require my presence, I would like to take my leave," Edisicio said, the man having taken a couple steps away from Aperio again.


    "You are free to leave if you wish," Aperio said, not really paying attention to the God. Most of her attention had shifted back to Caethya who was finally starting to stir.


    "If you need to talk to me, simply ask. There is no need for a messenger," she added, as she brought into being behind him a portal that returned him to the spot he had previously been, just next to her floating island.


    Edisicio did not speak, simply holding his bow until he stepped through the portal entirely, at which point he vanished from the mortal world.


    Aperio lowered her head as a thought brought her back to her chambers. As awkward as the conversation had been, she had still learned something. Not something I enjoyed learning, but it is new information nonetheless.


    She was not even sure if she should feel responsible for what the old Aperio had done. That was not her. Not anymore, at least. Did I just do all of that because I could? she thought to herself. She glanced at her hand, balled into a fist, and observed for a moment the way her mana jumped in arcs across her fingers.


    "Memories first," she mumbled to herself, taking a seat on the edge of her bed next to Caethya.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she laid herself down, flinching slightly as her disciple tried to wrap her arms around her. Even though the idea of being held was not inviting at the moment, Aperio did not stop her disciple. The comforting warmth that she felt was worth the paradoxical discomfort.


    A thought let her wings vanish, the feathered appendages a barrier between the All-Mother and the Elf that she did not want at the moment.


    The conversation with Edisicio repeated itself in her mind over and over, and with each pass Aperio drew a bit more mana from her well to soothe her growing worry. She did not want what he had said to be true ¡ª did not want to remember doing such a thing. But Roots had confirmed what the God of Knowledge and Love had said. In order to fix what her old self had done, she would have to remember.


    Trying her best to ignore Caethya''s breath brushing against her ears, and the words she mumbled in her sleep, Aperio retreated deeper into the embrace of her disciple.


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 94: Memory’s Clutch

    The first thing appearing to Caethya''s waking mind was the warmth of a body held in her arms, followed by a smell she could only describe as heavenly tickling her nose. When she opened her eyes she was greeted with a world of silver-blue, and it took a few blinks for the image to partially resolve into Aperio''s hair, too near to be properly focused upon.


    Despite the barriers to her vision, her aura readily supplied all she needed to know. Her arms twitched slightly when she realized that the All-Mother had hidden her wings. But Aperio hates removing her wings... did she remove them just so she could lay here with me?


    Caethya wouldn''t dare say one word of complaint about this, as it was what she had long desired. Simply laying there with Aperio in her arms was worth the pain she had to go through; becoming a Demigoddess was only a cherry on top.


    She could feel Aperio shift slightly, the small movement effortlessly pushing her a bit further into the bed. Caethya tightened her hold on her Goddess, ignoring the purer mana that now flowed through her body and, well, simply enjoying the closeness to Aperio.


    Even though the All-Mother''s body lacked any give, there was a certain softness to it. A certain softness that felt very appealing, and Caethya tried in vain to pull Aperio closer. Despite the grace and ease with which she moved, her Goddess was substantially heavier than she had first assumed. How the mattress could carry both of them and still provide just the right amount of comfort was a mystery.


    Caethya took a deep breath, not minding the small tickle against her nose from Aperio''s hair. She had not thought there would be a day where she would lay next to the All-Mother, and her heart filled with a warmth that she had not felt before. Aperio might not reciprocate her feelings in full just yet, but the affection she displayed at the moment was already enough for Caethya.


    "How are you feeling?" Aperio asked, a sliver of her mana flowing through Caethya and taking away the last bit of soreness she had felt.


    "Good," she mumbled into the back of the All-Mother''s head. There had been a tinge of worry in Aperio''s voice, causing her to tighten her hold further in an attempt to make her Goddess feel safer. "Stronger."


    Aperio nodded slightly in reply, only moving her head enough for Caethya to tell that she had heard the answer. Her Goddess had already been gloomy, but it seemed to have increased drastically. Whatever had happened while she was asleep, it could not have been good. It was as though someone had told the All-Mother that the world was going to end. Not that it would likely be much of an inconvenience for her to stop that.


    "What''s wrong?" Caethya asked after a few more moments of silence, propping herself up on one arm in an effort to look over Aperio''s shoulder into her face.


    There was no reply, only a shift in the All-Mother''s aura. Fear, and uncertainty. Emotions Caethya knew well, but had never expected Aperio to feel, let alone put on display for her to see. Not yet, at least.


    Caethya gently ran her fingers along Aperio''s ear, just like her own mother had done when she was anxious or scared. The All-Mother pulled away slightly at her touch, seemingly not quite as comfortable with physical contact as Caethya had assumed, causing her to stop the gesture immediately and retract her outstretched hand.


    "I cannot remember," Aperio finally said, curling herself up slightly in an attempt to be smaller. "I have condemned countless mortals to suffer and I don''t know why, nor where. I was a monster¡­"


    "But you aren''t anymore," Caethya said, trying to use her own magic to soothe the All-Mother¡¯s mind. "You can make amends. Find out what happened, and lift the punishment. You know that I will be by your side; helping you as best I can."


    She had wanted to express her support more, wrap Aperio in a hug, touch her arm ¡ª do something that would show her affection besides the words she had spoken. But the All-Mother shied away from her touch now, and the almost primal fear spreading through her aura weighed heavily on Caethya''s mind.


    "You don''t have to fear anything anymore," she said, carefully resting her hand on Aperio''s back. A tide of mana flowed like molten rock beneath her skin, strong enough for Caethya to feel with little effort. The heat of it was subdued, Caethya was sure of it; with such power, the mana should have been outright burning her hand. What is she doing?


    She ignored the heat and mana. Instead, she slowly wrapped her hand around Aperio, trying to pull the All-Mother into the embrace but instead only pulling herself closer. In the end, it did not matter. Caethya held on as tight as she could, her head resting against her Goddess'' back as she very slowly stroked her arm.


    Aperio no longer resisted the touch, only taking slow, deep breaths as Caethya tried to soothe her in the only way she could think of at the moment. Words did not seem to work; the All-Mother was too focused on her own thoughts to hear. She knew how it felt, being trapped by your own mind, endlessly berating yourself for things you had no part in.


    "Talk to me," she said nonetheless, using her hand to tug a few strands of Aperio''s hair behind her ear. "Please."


    "I¡­" Aperio began, her voice barely a whisper. "I don''t want to remember. I don''t want to know what atrocities my previous self committed. All I wanted was a life of my own."


    "Then don''t," Caethya replied, her hand shifting to stroke Aperio''s arm once more. "Nobody could force you to do something you do not wish to do."


    "I cannot leave the mortals to suffer for something they potentially had no part in. If I did that I would be no better than before."


    Caethya was not sure how to reply. She had tried to ignore the fact that somehow the All-Mother could not remember most of her life, but the issue at hand could not be solved without first diving into this one.


    She sat up, nudging Aperio to lay on her back as she was not able to physically turn her. The All-Mother obeyed, her unblinking eyes staring at Caethya. Her Goddess had stopped breathing as well, seemingly forgetting about it while her mind was occupied with other things.


    Caethya brushed away the tear that had formed beneath Aperio''s eyes, looking into them as she held her Goddess'' head in her hands.


    "You do not have to remember to help them," she said, her thumbs brushing over pale unmoving cheeks. There were no blemishes in Aperio''s skin, only a few tears staining the pale white beneath her eyes. Those sharp and perfect features were Elven but motionless, and Caethya found herself wondering whether the Goddess had taken the form of an Elf, or Elves had been molded in her image. "If you continue to cling to your past, you will only hurt yourself and those around you more.


    "You are beautiful and kind," Caethya continued. "But you are also wild ¡ª a force of nature. I cannot imagine what you had to live through in order to forget, what you had to endure as a slave, but I know that you care. Perhaps too much, even."


    ***


    Aperio continued to look at her disciple, suppressing the urge to move away. She wanted to be close to Caethya at the moment, but also not. Her touch ¡ª the warmth of her palms against her cheeks ¡ª reminded the All-Mother of days and nights she never wanted to remember.


    The words spoken also seemed hollow to her. She was not kind; she was selfish. Freeing the slaves might be good for them too, but she did it because the mere idea made her sick. That she knew what their masters might do only made it worse; created an outlet for who knows how many years of hatred.


    Aperio did not know how long she had been a slave, her nature as an Elf and now the All-Mother making any guess from appearances useless. As a mortal, she could have been two centuries old and still look the same, and as she was now, she could look how she desired.


    The changes any influx of mana brought should change her physical appearance, push her further from the realm of mortal possibility, but it did not.


    At least that part is true, Aperio thought in a feeble attempt to shift her mind in a new direction. She liked her new form, enjoyed the reaction the mortals had. Even if it is inconvenient. She would draw attention, probably even from unwanted suitors, something she was not sure yet how to deal with.


    "Aperio," Caethya said, hesitating for a moment before she simply leaned closer. "Focus on me. Don''t think."


    The All-Mother did, her eyes flicking from the black and silver hair of her disciple to her eyes. Much like her own, Caethya''s hair had taken on an otherworldly sheen, the silver parts seeming to shift away from her focus as if they did not want to be observed. Her eyes, too, had gained tiny specs of silver mana flowing through them that shifted every time the Elf blinked.


    "Breathe, even if you don''t have to."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly but did anyway, taking slow breaths as she tried to figure out what her disciple was doing.


    "I said no thinking," Caethya reprimanded, removing her hands from Aperio''s face. "I just want to help you, but that doesn''t work if you get lost in thought all the time.


    "Stuffing your worries down is not good, even for you," she continued after a moment. "It also hurts those that care about you; makes it seem like you don''t want us to help you."


    "I don''t know what to say," Aperio said, casting her eyes down. "I cannot put into words what is in my mind." Nor do I want to¡­


    "Then don''t. You have put thoughts directly into my mind before, why not do that?"


    The All-Mother simply looked at her disciple, trying to figure out if she actually meant what she had said. She was not even sure she could convey a memory as well as she could a message and, even if it was possible, what she had lived through was not something she wanted others to experience. Especially not someone she had actually come to care about.


    "I do not wish anyone to feel what I had to, nor do I know if I even could."


    Caethya sighed at the words, her eyes wandering over where Aperio had clasped her hands above her chest, a small touch of her magic straightening the wrinkles that had attacked her dress.


    "If I could, I would forget the time I had to live as a slave," Aperio mumbled. "But would I be me then?"


    "I don''t know," Caethya replied, lying down next to the All-Mother. "Are you the same person you were before you were a slave?"


    It was obvious that her disciple wanted to know more ¡ª wanted to ask how she had even managed to become a slave to begin with. Of course, she herself did not know that either, but even if she did, she was not sure if she would share that knowledge. If it worked once, it could work again.


    "No," Aperio replied, her eyes flying towards the ceiling. "I am most definitely not the same person I was before. If I was, you would not be here, and even if you were, I would have already punished you for your questions." And possibly for being in my bed and touching me.


    "Do you want to be someone else?" her disciple asked after a moment of silence, trying to take hold of Aperio''s hand. She allowed the movement, clasping Caethya''s hand as tight as she could without hurting her.


    "I do not."


    Even if she wanted to forget her past, she did not want to forget herself ¡ª did not want to become a heartless monster again. She had banished an entire world worth of people to a life of pain and despair; of torture. But they couldn''t all have been deserving of such a fate. Perhaps she had taken away those that had been free of sin, and only leaving those that should be punished? That, too, left a sour taste in her mouth. That she could still punish their children, and their children''s children, generations and generations of people suffering for things their ancestors had done was a terrible thing. It was only the barest of margins better than punishing the entire world, but perhaps that had been enough for her previous self.


    "I don''t want to remember who I was, but at the same time I need to remember in order to properly be who I am. I need to know how all of this happened in the first place."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 95: Opening Up

    "I''m just moving in circles," Aperio said with a sigh, her wings appearing inside the mattress much like they did with her throne. But I also somehow move farther away from those I hold dear.


    "Then stop dodging around the subject," Caethya said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "It will hurt, but avoiding the topic will not help anyone."


    Aperio knew that, of course, but she did not know how to deal with the situation either. Talking about it was easier said than done, as she found it hard to express herself.


    Perhaps she could find a way to convey her memories like Caethya had suggested, but she would not wish those experiences on anyone. Except perhaps the slavers¡­ They could stand to know what it felt like to be on the receiving end of their machinations.


    "I just need to figure out how," Aperio mumbled, opening a portal in front of the gateway outside in response to a prayer from Laelia.


    "What was that?" Caethya asked, sitting up. "Did you do something?"


    "Laelia wished to return with her children," Aperio replied. "I opened a portal for her and let her know where she might find rooms for them and herself.


    "I can ready one for you too, if you wish," she continued, glancing at Caethya. Preparing a few rooms for her Scion next to her own had been easy, only a slight touch of her magic needed to transport the few things that should not be there and remove the last bits of dust.


    Her disciple looked at her for a moment, her mouth opening as if to speak before she closed it and looked away, the tip of her ears taking on a slight red hue. "I would be grateful if you did."


    Aperio arched a brow at the woman''s behaviour. "You can have this chamber if you wish. I do not have much use for it; nothing is quite as comfortable as my Void.


    "Unless you wish to share it with me," the All-Mother added after a moment. Caethya had made her feelings quite clear, but Aperio was not sure how the Elf would interpret the arrangement. "I do not mind, but I am not sure what you expect. You might also find Brenia and Maria going through your things when I bring them here."


    "I would like to share," Caethya mumbled. "Even if you are rarely here.Aside from my feelings on the matter, I think it would be good for you. After all, you did seek companionship in your time of need."


    Aperio nodded slightly in reply. Her disciple was correct, she did seek her out; wanted to be comforted. To what end that would help her, she still did not know. What she did know, however, was that talking ¡ª as long as it was not about her past ¡ª to her disciple felt good, that her presence was soothing despite the discomfort she had experienced at Caethya''s touch. Some memories just don''t want to leave me alone¡­


    "But," Caethya began, "you are doing it again. Distracting yourself from the problem at hand."


    "I still do not know how I should¡­solve this problem, or even approach it," Aperio said, shifting her wings slightly. The tingling that filled them was still pleasant in a way, almost as though she had made the mattress and her throne for the explicit purpose of comfort. Makes sense for the bed, but the throne?


    "Talking about it is not as easy as it sounds. Not being able to forget what they did to me is bad enough; telling you or someone else? No. I do not want to relive the hell I had to endure."


    "Then don''t talk," Caethya said, turning to face Aperio. "Show me what happened to you. Help me understand. I know you do not want me to feel what you did, the pain you had to endure. But it is better than doing nothing."


    The All-Mother held her disciple''s gaze for a moment before averting her eyes. No matter how much it might help and how willing Caethya was, she could not show her what had happened to her.


    Could not show her the feeling of dissection, her body being split open for viewing and mocking. The feeling of mutilation, happening so often that she had gotten a knack for knowing what kind of knife was used on her flesh by the nature of the pain she was in. The distinct horror of watching her entrails be draped on poles in an ''artful'' display above her, being fed just enough potions to be kept alive, and her eyelids temporarily carved away so she was forced to observe every twitch, every squirm of that which should rightly be within her. The feeling of foul, eager breath in her face as she was violated by an endless parade of both men and women ¡ª so many that she had all but lost count. The sick horror that came when she was with child, again, knowing that it would end with dissection, with the cruel knife slicing the emerging life out of her, forced to only observe as they found ''entertaining'' and unusual ways to terminate her unborn child.


    How could she let someone she cared about have the visceral knowledge of what it felt like to have their skin peeled from their flesh? How could she let a fellow Elf experience the slicing off of ears, and the ocean of shock and shame that came from the mage''s laughter as they showed what they had cut off ¡ª her ''imperfection''.


    Caethya''s hand brushing along her arm caused Aperio to flinch, reality twisting apart as she vanished from the bed and reappeared in a low crouch with her wings slightly flared on the other side of the room, weapon in hand.


    It took Aperio a moment to realise what she had done, her swordstaff vanishing back into her Void as she folded her wings behind her back. A tiny flex of her mental muscles brought her back into the bed, a bit further away from Caethya.


    She increased the draw on her well, also bringing a bit of her Void into the room. Its soothing nature wrapped around her, and she found relief in its embrace.


    "I don''t think this will work," Aperio mumbled, glancing briefly at her disciple. If even a short look at her memories resulted in a torrent like this, doing anything that would help with her issues would be nigh impossible. "Why does it have to be so vivid?"


    "Because you are, well, you," Caethya replied, moving to touch Aperio before pulling her hand back, fidgeting with her dress instead. "Barring what is stopping you from remembering your more distant past, I would assume you have perfect memory."


    Aperio frowned at the words, a small part of her mind delegating itself to helping Laelia move some of the more unwieldy things Penbrook''s healers required. It was true that she could recall every moment she had lived through, in greater detail than she had thought possible.


    A deeper look into some less unpleasant memories revealed things she had most certainly never noticed as a mortal. It was almost as though her aura had always been there, even when she was a slave. She could remember the runes engraved all over the library, how the mana flowed between them. Aperio could feel the collar¡¯s magic flow through her body, twisting its natural mana in ways that made her sick just to observe it.


    "That makes no sense. How can I remember things I was not able to see?"


    Caethya did not reply immediately, moving herself a bit closer to Aperio. The All-Mother tensed at the motion. The last thing she wanted right now was being touched. Her disciple stopped, likely not wanting her Goddess to teleport away again.


    "Even as a mortal you were still you," she said, her eyes darting erratically over Aperio''s form. "Whatever happened might have put in a mortal body, but your soul ¡ª you ¡ª is perhaps uncontainable."


    "I do not have a soul," Aperio said quietly. Admitting it hurt, but as best she could tell, she did not have a soul. Nothing that would be her source of power ¡ª nothing that would be her.


    "You do not¡­?" Caethya asked slowly, her eyes settling on Aperio''s own. "How? Everyone has a soul."


    "I only have a bottomless well of mana; of power," Aperio replied, averting her gaze. "There is nothing that feeds it ¡ª no source. No soul." Just a pit of power.


    Her disciple remained quiet, simply staring at her. Aperio could feel Caethya''s magic flow around her, the Elf seemingly trying to figure something out.


    "Are you sure?" she finally asked, moving her hand towards her Goddess before thinking better of it.


    Aperio sighed in reply, directing her senses inward in an effort to find the end of her well. She had not yet truly tried to find the bottom of her ocean of mana, having trusted the feeling at the back of her mind that told her there was none.


    No matter how far her mind reached into her well, all she found was the silver mana she had come to call her own. There was always some motion in the ocean, some of her mana leaving and some returning ¡ª where it had gone or what it had done were not things she knew. Probably the System.


    The only thing she was able to observe that she had not noticed before was that the mana in her well got purer the deeper she went. Whatever the System or she herself used from the upper layers would return deep in her well, in a purer state. Interesting.


    She had to look quite deep to find the purity that was currently coursing through her body, pushing it past any semblance of reasonable. But, it was not the purest it could get, she knew that, and looking even further down only confirmed it.


    After a while her mana lost its almost liquid form, simply existing in her well. Aperio drew a tiny amount of it into her body, gasping as it spread through her in a wave of heat. She stopped immediately, the tiny drop having advanced her body further than the other mana had ever managed.


    What? Aperio wondered, not moving away as Caethya''s hand approached her much slower than it should. She could see lips moving, but there was no sound. It took the All-Mother a moment longer to notice that she could not move, that her body was no longer connected to herself.


    She looked down, or at least she thought she did, but she could already see in every direction at once ¡ª could see the city down below. Feel the planet beneath her. There was also a small presence in space, dancing around her ever-expanding form ¡ª Consciousness? ¡ª in joy. Diskrye?


    Much like the manifestation of space, she currently did not have a form. In a sense, Aperio was her aura. She could sense every tiny detail, could touch ¡ª change it ¡ª with but a thought.


    The All-Mother focused on Verenier, her temple, not wanting to know all their was in her creation. There was a presence in Ebenlowe, one that tried to get her attention, but Aperio felt uneasy and did not want to linger in this form; did not want to become a formless mass of thoughts. The ability to easily see all that there was was overwhelming, and it was with only a thought that she returned to her body.


    For a moment it felt cramped, the shell that was her body too small to contain what might be her true form. A thought brought more of the pure-but-formless mana to bear, Aperio trusting the guidance of her instincts to allow her to return to a more corporeal state.


    Caethya was looking around frantically, seemingly being able to feel Aperio spread through the room. Laelia, too, had stopped what she was doing, her brows creasing as she looked around trying to determine the source of what she felt. Even Maria down below in Ebenlowe had awoken from her sleep, simply staring straight up at the temple as her hands fidgeted with her night gown.


    Aperio reached out to all of them at once, trying to tell them that they need not worry. They all froze, the All-Mother seemingly having misjudged the strength used in her communication. It only took a moment longer for her body to adapt, and as it took a deep breath Aperio flowed back inside it.


    Her disciple was still frozen in place, staring at her with unblinking eyes. A quick check revealed that she was fine, physically at least. She was obviously in shock, though Aperio could not quite understand why. It was by no means the first time she had talked to any of her followers in that way, and neither was it the first time that she had flooded their surroundings with her mana.


    "Is everything alright?" she asked, trying to keep as much of her power out of her voice; a task that had gotten a lot harder now. She also reached out to Maria and Laelia, trying to use as little mana as she could to convey the message.


    "What did you do?" Caethya asked, her voice barely a whisper. "I could feel you everywhere, overwhelming me with your mere existence. And now, you are radiating more power than ever before. Can you even exist in a body properly?"


    Aperio tilted her head slightly, inspecting herself through her aura while having a similar conversation with both Laelia and Maria. Much like before, her appearance hadn''t altered much despite the changes that had happened.


    The subtle glow beneath her skin was a little more pronounced, leading to her features appearing slightly sharper than before. If that continues, I won''t even look like a mortal anymore.


    She was already far removed from what most could ever achieve, her body not necessarily adhering to the rules of mortals ¡ª or even the divine ¡ª as it took the image and shape she desired. And it''s not just the wings¡­


    Her desire for strength had manifested itself quite obviously, her muscles now being almost unnaturally well defined. As she observed the new and sharper curves her body had acquired, she also noticed that her wish to be unmarred had also made itself evident. She had thought herself to be perfect before, but now even the tiniest creases that appeared when she bent her limbs were gone.


    "I can," Aperio replied, despite not being quite sure herself. "I have no desire to be a formless thing. I wish to live amongst the mortals; have a life. If that means I have to push my body past its previous limitations, then so be it. I will find a way to make it work."


    Caethya, much like Maria, remained quiet, seemingly not quite sure what to say. Her Scion had taken it much better, simply asking for a warning the next time Aperio decided to become everything for a while. Has she experienced this before?


    The All-Mother shook her head lightly, focusing instead on Caethya and Maria as they both seemed to be unable to process what had just happened. Not that I really know what that was either¡­ She assumed that what she had briefly experienced was her true form, even if it was essentially formless. It had felt good ¡ª right ¡ª but it would have taken away the ability to interact with those she held dear. Aperio had little doubt that, in the worst case scenario, she could have found a way to make herself another body. Ferio had once said that she currently looked the way she did ''when she decided to have a body'', after all.


    What she did not like was she had no idea how long that might take, and she was most certainly not ready to be alone with her thoughts and the ability to do anything on a mere whim. That was a slippery road that Aperio thought would lead her right to her old self.


    A shift in the mana outside her temple caught her attention. A visitor? Aperio thought as a gold and white portal slowly materialised. Once it had finished forming, three people stepped through. Two mortals, and what Aperio assumed to be a Goddess.


    The divine, however, was not what kept her attention. She knew the two mortals that accompanied her. Had almost killed one of them before. What is Kiro doing here?


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 96: Unseen Ties

    It took Caethya a moment longer to fully waken from her stupor. The woman still looked confused, but at least she was no longer frozen in place.


    "Are you okay?" Aperio asked, twisting reality apart to appear before her as she didn''t want to go through the hassle of moving around the bed normally. At the lack of response, she reached out to brush Caethya''s hand.


    "Yes," she managed to say after a while, her eyes slightly unfocused as she looked at a System notification. at a System notification. The threads of reality in front of her returned to their normal state, and Caethya asked, "Why is Mayeia here? Did you call her here while you¡­ did whatever that was?"


    "I did not," Aperio replied, a part of her mind trying to figure out what the System had shown her disciple. "I had not planned to distract myself again from finally trying to solve some of my own problems." At least not on purpose¡­


    She did not know if she had somehow reached out to any other deity while she had been free of her body. Everything had only been a thought away, and she would not discard the idea that Mayeia had interpreted her brief attention as an invitation.


    "Will you let her in?"


    I should, shouldn''t I? The All-Mother thought with a sigh. It was another distraction that would yet again postpone progress on herself, but just letting a Goddess wait struck her as wrong. Of course, she knew that technically all other deities were below her, and would likely not say anything against her not wanting to meet them, but it still felt wrong to do so. I don''t like waiting either¡­


    "In a little while," Aperio replied with a slight shake of her head. "First I need to be sure that you and Maria are actually fine. Drawing mana of that purity might have changed more than just myself." I did touch everything after all¡­


    "I feel fine," Caethya replied after a moment, the mana within her shifting slightly. Aperio could sense the magic of her disciple flow through her body, the crude way in which it attempted to determine if everything was alright.


    How, exactly, she knew what the correct way to check a mortal body for changes was did not reveal itself to her, but she was getting used to simply knowing most things relating to magic. The brief moment she had spent as a formless mass of thoughts had made it quite clear that, in a way, she was the mana that surrounded her. It was not a perfect analogy, of course, but it was one that did not give her a headache and explained why her intuition on magical things was usually on point.


    But why is there a world with no mana, then? She pushed the thought from her mind for the moment, easing a tiny fraction of her mana into Caethya to be truly sure that she was fine. The same happened to Maria down below in Ebenlowe, the girl giggling happily as she hugged the blanket closer to herself.


    She still could not find anything wrong with either of them, however the nagging feeling at the back of her mind did not leave. Aperio knew something had changed, but she could not figure out what.


    With a shake of her head, she brought the waiting Goddess and her mortal entourage onto her temple grounds, depositing them in front of Roots. She asked the tree to keep them company for a while, not wanting to meet them quite yet. Luckily for her, Roots was happy to oblige, the tree seemingly very eager to do anything she asked for. Did I make him this way, or is he actually happy fulfilling the tasks I give him?


    The line of thinking was dismissed as quickly as it had come, the All-Mother focusing back on her disciple. Even though Caethya''s eyes never left the winged Goddess, she still looked a bit lost; unsure what she should do. Aperio herself also had no idea how she should proceed. Something had changed in her disciple and she could not figure out what.


    As carefully as she could, she took Caethya''s hands into her own, giving them a very light squeeze. "Are you sure everything is alright?"


    Her disciple nodded slowly in reply. "Yes. I am just struggling to make sense of what I felt. I can''t even put it into words, not really at least. All I can say is that it felt good ¡ª right, in a way ¡ª but also overwhelming and oppressive."


    That explanation had been much more helpful than the ''cosmic hug'' one Maria had given, even if they were both, perhaps, correct in the end. Aperio still did not like the idea that her default form was essentially nothing. She did not want to call it her ''true'' form, as it was apparent that she could take on any form she wished.


    This is my true form, she thought to herself, bringing her wings slightly forward to drape them over her shoulders. The All-Mother was fond of the body she had inadvertently made for herself, the fact that it was merely a shell that could likely be changed on a whim not distracting much from it. Perhaps her attachment to a physical form was a remainder of her life as a mortal, but it enabled her to achieve her goals and allowed her to interact with the people she cared about in a manner she actually enjoyed.


    As silly as it might seem to a normal person, Aperio found herself enjoying the interactions she had with her small group of followers. To her they were more akin to friends, or in the case of Maria almost a daughter. That Ferio still did not reply to her pained the All-Mother, but her continued failure to address the issue as she had promised to do was her fault. I also did not rely on her as I said I would¡­


    "If anything changes, please let me know," Aperio said, giving Caethya''s hand one more gentle squeeze before letting go. "I feel a change in Maria, Laelia, and you, but I do not know what exactly it is yet."


    "I truly feel no different," Caethya said, her magic once again flowing through her body. "Is it dangerous?"


    "No," Aperio replied with a shake of her head. "I know that much at least. It feels more like a blessing, but not quite." Did I give them another tool to ascend faster?


    It certainly seemed as though that was the case. The intangible sensation that she could perceive in her three followers most definitely seemed closer to something divine than the mundane.


    "I will let you know if anything changes," her disciple said, her voice devoid of its usual surety. "Do you plan to meet Mayeia now?"


    "I guess," Aperio replied with a sigh and let herself fall backwards, a tiny touch of her magic making sure she ended up next to her disciple again. "The only reason I can think of for her visit would be my encounter with the two mortals she brought here. I¡­ did not restrain myself when he challenged me to a duel."


    "What did you do?"


    Aperio slashed her hand through the air in reply, reality itself coming apart in its wake. Of course, the damage repaired itself quickly, but she could not imagine how being subjected to it would feel. Perhaps like being skinned?


    "But I cannot imagine she came to enact revenge or something of the like," Aperio said, closing her eyes as her mind wandered to the waiting Goddess outside her temple in an effort to distract herself from what she had done to the mortal.


    Mayeia wore a modest white and gold dress in a style the mortals in Ebenlowe seemed to favour, her long ears adorned by small, golden chains that were entirely too gaudy for Aperio''s tastes. The ornament that kept her hair bundled up, on the other hand, was something she liked; the two staves crossed in front of a book depicted on it, likely her seal.


    "You cut him in half?" Caethya asked. "How did he live?"


    "I healed him. At the time I wanted him to suffer, though I do not know why. I simply wanted him to be in pain. My reaction was not exactly warranted¡­"


    "What did he do?"


    "He implied some unsavoury things," Aperio replied, her face briefly twisting into a frown. "At least, that is what it sounded like to me at the time."


    Her disciple hesitated for a moment before she replied, the beat of her heart and her breath quickening slightly. "You have not been the most stable person, no. But I still trust that you would not kill someone in cold blood."


    "I felt nothing when I killed the slavers," Aperio said quietly. She had not really given it much thought, but now it was starting to become a point of concern for her. "I gave them the option to not fight, but they ignored it. Every single one of them died by my hand, and there is nothing. No regret or remorse, not even a twisted sense of happiness or relief. Nothing."


    "But you do feel," Caethya said, moving herself closer to the All-Mother. "Perhaps a part of you knows that letting yourself feel anything for those monsters would only make it worse for you. There is already enough for you to deal with, probably even more than that which I know about."


    "Like talking to a Goddess who I have never met, and cannot recall," Aperio mumbled, not enjoying the prospect of having to talk to the Goddess.


    "I can accompany you," Caethya said, taking Aperio''s hand into her own after the All-Mother lifted it slightly. "I have been a follower of hers before I met you after all; have met her in person. She is usually not one for drama, or even formality.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if she simply wishes to meet you," Caethya continued after a moment of silence. "She has been trying to figure out how the System works for as long I can remember. One of her priests said that she had been researching it before she became a Goddess as well."


    Too bad I don''t know how the System works myself, Aperio mused. "Are you sure she will not be angry that you abandoned her for me? Most of the deities I have met thus far had been annoyingly arrogant and resentful." But so have I, haven''t I?


    "Why wouldn''t they?" Caethya asked, her voice slightly mocking. "Us mortals can''t do much against them. Most don''t even want to either; they behave like the deity they follow in hopes of gaining their favour."


    "Explains their stupidity, at least," Aperio mumbled. All the mortals that had followed one of the Gods that went against her had been very stubborn to abandon their ways even when faced with death by her hand. If they thought they could win, it made at least some sense that they did what did.


    "It does not tell me why I selected them in the first place, however," Aperio continued, her voice quieter than before. "I chose most of them ¡ª did not care what they did."


    "You have already started correcting your mistakes, have you not?"


    "I did, in a way," Aperio replied. "But who is supposed to stop me from doing something like that again? And how would they do it? Will I be killed again?"


    Her disciple remained quiet at her question, the topic obviously not something she was comfortable with.


    "I don''t think any other God actually managed to harm you," Caethya mumbled, her eyes fixed on Aperio''s hand she still held in her own. "I think you yourself wanted to forget. The other deities just seized the opportunity."


    "But, why?"


    "That is what we have to figure out, isn''t it?" her disciple asked in reply, directing her eyes to meet Aperio''s own. "Perhaps you have to collect more of your memories after all."


    "I do," Aperio said. "But first we have to meet Mayeia." And I should inform the [Grandmaster] that some angry slavers might be marching towards Ebenlowe.


    Informing Miss Videns was an easy task; a simple query directed at Roots asking if it could convey the message was enough. The tree did say that the [Grandmaster] was likely already aware of the issue, but Aperio thought it better to make certain. She also apologised for taking as long as she did, but things had not exactly been easy lately.


    Her disciple did not reply, simply nodding her assent. A moment later, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought Caethya and herself outside. Mayeia turned around as soon as the All-Mother had emerged in the field of flowers, her conversation with Roots completely forgotten.


    The two mortals that accompanied her did not react with a smile like their Goddess did, taking a couple steps backwards as Aperio''s eyes lingered on them for a moment longer.


    Nobody spoke for a few breaths, Aperio content to wait until her guest had collected her thoughts. The All-Mother did crease her brows slightly after a while as the other Goddess simply stood there, unblinking and unbreathing.


    "Are you alright?" she finally asked, a touch of her mana flowing through Mayeia but not finding anything wrong besides the tension in her muscles.


    It took a moment longer for the Goddess to get her wits back together, offering a small wave while mumbling a quiet, almost reverent, "Hello".


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 97: Overture

    "Hello," Aperio said, tilting her head lightly. Mayeia''s reaction was not what she had expected. "Why did you come here?" Unannounced, too.


    The Goddess simply looked at the All-Mother, her magic flowing around the temple as she seemingly tried to take in as much as she could. Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly. Her wings wanted to twitch but she held them back to simply flaring slightly and, with but a thought, directed all of Mayeia''s mana back to her.


    "Before you try and explore my temple you should at least tell me why you came, no?"


    The two mortals took another few steps backwards. They clearly wanted to further distance themselves, but Roots stood firmly in the way of further retreat. Instead they stood there, muscles tense and magic prepared, ready to fight at a moment''s notice.


    "I am sorry," Mayeia eventually replied, bowing her head. Then she took a deep ¨C and likely useless ¨C breath before her words began spilling out. "I just never thought I would actually get to meet you. I have so many questions, but can''t even think of how to ask them when the mere existence of this island already breaks most of the rules I thought magic had to follow."


    She rushed over to a junction in the pathways that snaked their way through the ocean of flowers, excitedly pointing at a set of runes that slumbered beneath the surface. "How can Dispersal and Accumulation be paired? Or Death and Life? They''re all coexisting in this set of runes, and it makes no sense!"


    Aperio tilted her head to the other side, her senses focusing on the enchantment the Goddess had pointed out. There were more than the four runes she had pointed out ¡ª a lot more, in fact ¡ª and most of them meant nothing to Aperio. Despite this, she could still figure out what it was supposed to do.


    There wasn''t all that much it could do out here, and following the mana proved her theory correct. The enchantment circulated mana throughout the ocean of flowers, drawing some from the surrounding space if there was not enough in the System and dispersing it if it had too much.


    The Life and Death parts Mayeia had pointed out were runes Aperio was able to read, their purpose also quite obvious. One supplied the fields with new flowers while the other removed all that was left of the ones that had died, funnelling whatever it took to another enchantment deeper in her temple.


    "That enchantment merely keeps the flowers alive and well," the All-Mother said, appearing next to Mayeia. A thought caused some of her mana to condense and become visible, forming a replica of the enchantment below the earth. A small, unneeded, wave of her hand moved the projection, every rune a slightly different hue of silver and blue, showing what it would do in normal use.


    Aperio might understand what her creation did, but she was woefully unequipped to explain any of it with actual words. In addition, the idea of verbalizing it ¨C putting the enchantment''s concept firmly into the mind of the Goddess ¨C was not one she wanted to entertain.


    "See?" she asked, looking down at the other Goddess. She was not sure what, exactly, the woman wanted, but explaining a few more minor enchantments was certainly something she could do. It sounded like she just wants to learn? "It makes perfect sense. It does not, however, explain why you elected to come here unannounced."


    Mayeia slowly looked up at the All-Mother, likely not having expected the woman to appear beside her. Aperio did not react to the quiet whisper that escaped the other Goddess'' lips, nor the slight twitch of her hand as she, for but a moment, tried to touch her.


    "I want to learn," she eventually said, taking a step backwards so she would not have to strain her neck looking up at the All-Mother. "I have been searching for the one that made all of this," Mayeia continued, gesturing vaguely at the world around them. "Searching for you so I can understand it."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly, directing a mental query at Caethya who had thus far remained silent, asking if the Goddess in front of her was always so scatterbrained. "If you have come to seek a position as my disciple, I will have to disappoint you. Caethya and Maria are the only ones I intend to teach at the moment." Not that I would know how I made all of this in the first place.


    According to her disciple Mayeia''s behaviour was not out of the norm, just more excited than usual. Just because she got to meet me? Of course, Aperio knew that some people revered her; that she disliked that did not seem to bother them. But the excitement the woman in front of her displayed was something else. The longer the other Goddess remained in her presence, the more Aperio thought she would simply explode into an unstoppable flood of questions.


    "I would not dare to ask such a thing," Mayeia said, her hands twitching ever-so-slightly as she tried to not fidget with her dress. The action brought a small smile to Aperio''s face which, in turn, caused the other Goddess to relax slightly. "I had merely hoped that you would be willing to answer a few of my questions. There are some things that I have always wanted to know about the System but have never been able to figure out on my own."


    "And what would those be?" Aperio asked, teleporting herself and Caethya ¡ª who had readily agreed to the request ¡ª in front of Roots in a sitting position, their backs leaning against the tree. Just as she had last time, Aperio used one of her wings to support her disciple. The two mortals who now found them directly next to the reason for their fright quickly moved away, their eyes never leaving the Goddess.


    "Levels for one," Mayeia replied as she took a few long strides to close the distance that now separated them. That she had brought two mortals with her was seemingly forgotten already; she did not even react as Aperio made some chairs so they would not have to stand while their Goddess was talking to her.


    "Someone with a higher level can be significantly weaker than someone with a lower one," the woman continued. "The System can translate foreign languages for you if you have the correct title, but there is no skill for it." She took a breath before she spoke again, the Goddess seemingly more attached to mortal ticks than Aperio had assumed. "And then there is how the System interacts with the world. I can feel it in everything, but whenever someone invokes its power the result just appears without anything actually happening along the way."


    The All-Mother tilted her head at the words. The System very much did things when someone used it. She could see how it twisted the threads of reality to display the [Status] screen, for example. As for the other things the Goddess had touched on, Aperio did not know how to answer them besides pointing out that the System itself was currently broken, something she did not want to do ¡ª especially as she did not know Mayeia or her two followers well enough. Are they even her followers?


    "And why do you think I would answer any of that?" Aperio asked, a part of her mind checking how the System''s repairs were coming along. "I barely know you, after all. And, as much as I trust Caethya, I have been thoroughly disappointed with most of the deities I have met after my return."


    "That''s an understatement," the mortal she had fought before mumbled. A sharp glare from the Beastkin that accompanied him brought Kiro to silence, which did wonders to quell the voice inside of her that wanted to squash the mortal for his impertinence.


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, trying her best not let her aura flare up even a little. Caethya''s hand gently brushing past her wings and resting in the small of her back helped, but also showed that her attempt had not been successful. "But engraving runes onto a mortal''s soul so that they might enslave them is not something I tolerate. Slavery itself is bad enough on its own."


    "It is," Mayeia agreed, her cheerful demeanour from before nowhere to be found. "Most of the Elder Gods seem fine with it. But, as you are undoubtedly aware, they are also not very fond of you."


    "I am aware, yes. Some mortals are already marching on Ebenlowe in response. I removed one of those armies already; the mortals they held are free now."


    "Are they the ones inside the temple?" the other Goddess asked. "I can sense the mortals inside, but not clearly. The enchantments of the building are quite unlike I have ever been able to observe before."


    "Yes," Aperio confirmed, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the Goddess. "But you are not permitted inside."


    "Of course," Mayeia replied, her gaze briefly lingering on Caethya. "If you are not yet willing to answer my questions, may I at least know how Caethya has been doing since she found you? She did not even say goodbye."


    The All-Mother looked at her disciple with a raised brow. "I do not speak for her. If she wishes to tell you, she is free to do so."


    Caethya moved herself a bit closer to Aperio in response, the All-Mother wrapping her wing around the woman slightly tighter in reply. "I''m doing just fine," she said. "And I am sorry for not informing you of my change of faith, I was very excited as you can surely understand."


    "Oh yes," Mayeia replied, a small smile tugging at her lips. "It would also seem I underestimated how fast you were progressing towards divinity. Being a Demigoddess at twenty-five is very impressive."


    The two mortals the other Goddess had brought stiffened slightly at the mention of Caethya''s status as a Demigoddess, a reaction that caused a frown to flash across Aperio''s features.


    "Why did you bring those two?" she asked. "I cannot see anything wrong with them that would need my attention and neither am I particularly fond of their past behaviour."


    "I understand," Mayeia said, slightly bowing her head. "I simply brought Kiro because he is something akin to my disciple, and Jerien did not want to let her boyfriend come along without her protection."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the words, her aura focusing on the two mortals. What protection? "You make it sound like they expected a fight by coming here."


    Neither Kiro nor Jerien said a word, both rooted in their chairs as Aperio''s mana lazily flowed around them. Mayeia, on the other hand, moved a bit closer to the All-Mother. "I did not expect a fight, but neither did I think I would be invited onto the island, let alone actually talk to you. What the other Gods told me about you did not make you seem particularly approachable.


    "Your presence and imposing physique also add to that," the Goddess continued, adjusting her glasses slightly. "The longer I look at you, the more otherworldly you seem to become. It is fascinating."


    The response was not exactly what Aperio had expected. She felt Caethya tense up in response to the words of her old Goddess, and for her disciple''s comfort wrapped her wing a little more firmly still around her. Does she think I take it as an insult?


    While it was true that she did not enjoy being seen as something of a mystery to be solved by Mayeia, Aperio found no reason to be hostile. If anything she should probably take it as a compliment; the Goddess in front of her, seemingly solely focused on figuring out how the world worked, had found an interest in her. But then, I am also the world in a sense¡­ At least, everything is connected to me.


    "I am happy that you haven such interest in the workings of the world, but I am not sure I am able ¡ª or willing, as it stands ¡ª to give you the answers you seek."


    "Why would you not be able to answer her questions?" the Beastkin woman ¡ª Jerien, if Aperio''s memory was correct ¡ª asked. "Did you not make all of this?"


    There was no immediate reply, the All-Mother remaining quiet as she tried to find a way to properly answer the question without revealing that she no longer knew. The world slowed, or at least to Aperio''s senses it appeared to, as she debated with herself if she should reveal that she forgot. Until now, she had always elected to not reveal such things, fearing what would happen if she did.


    But running from her problems, as she had done ever since she had returned, was becoming less of an option every day. The System would need to be repaired, and while it did so on its own, Aperio had a feeling that it would be better for her and everyone else if it was back in working order as fast as possible.


    "Because I am unsure myself as to why some things have happened as they did," she replied, the mortals barely haven taken a breath. "The System has broken during my absence and I do not know if it was intentional or not. Repairing it is also not something I can do with just a wave of my hand; it is too complex for that, and too many people depend on it."


    "It makes no sense because it is broken?" Mayeia seemed even more intrigued than she had previously been, something that Aperio would have thought to be highly unlikely to be possible. "How long has it been like that?" she asked, a chair made from her mana appearing behind her as she sat down.


    Aperio could only shrug in reply, the wing that wasn''t holding Caethya moving with the motion. "A few millennia, at least, but I do not know for certain. Time is something I am hard-pressed to keep track of. A day and a month can sometimes feel like the same thing."


    Nobody spoke for a moment. Aperio closed her eyes and drew a bit more mana from her well, as well as bringing a bit of her Void into the mortal realm. It might have been just a few words, but speaking them had been harder than she had anticipated. Caethya''s hand moving in slow circles on the small of her back coupled with small mental messages of reassurance helped, of course, but she still found the idea of admitting that her System was broken and she did not know why to be wrong.


    "Would you be willing to let me help?" Mayeia offered, breaking the silence. "I have studied the System for centuries; there is bound to be something useful in my research."


    Her voice carried an innocent eagerness Aperio had not heard before. There was none of the deceit she had grown so used to hearing over her life. Every noble in the Empire had always wanted to advance their own goals, an instinct most mortals ¡ª outside a few people, most of whom were now her followers, and her daughter ¡ª still had.


    Aperio did not even know how she could determine someone''s intent, nor did she want to find out. The possibility that she could read a person¡¯s mind by merely being near them was high, and one she most definitely did not want to be true.


    Pushing the thoughts from her mind, Aperio regarded the Goddess in front of her. She did not know her, but Caethya had vouched for Mayeia as best she could and Aperio trusted her disciple more than she was willing to admit. The comfort the woman gave her, the closeness she felt when she was with her contributed to her trust, of course; but there was something more that she could not quite place that made her trust Caethya''s judgement.


    "Yes," she eventually replied. "But should I find you are trying to exploit me or those close to me, you will regret it."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 98: An Agreeable Agreement

    The smile that had already started to take root on Mayeia''s face widened a little as the woman did what Aperio could only describe as a victory dance in her chair. Caethya stifled a laugh next to Aperio, retreating deeper into the soft embrace of her wing.


    "Is there a way to see the System?" the Goddess asked, the smile still on her face. "I have no idea what it would look like but I do know that it is a physical thing somewhere. I have tried on multiple occasions to see if the [Status] windows are connected to it somehow, but could not find anything of note."


    "She cannot see them?" Caethya quietly asked, her voice further muffled as her face was buried in Aperio''s feathers. "Why can I see them, then?"


    "Them?" Aperio inquired, tugging on a few of the tiny strings that bound reality together. "Do you mean the threads?"


    Her disciple nodded, removing her head from Aperio¡¯s wings to better see the section of space in which the All-Mother had broken reality. "Yes, threads is a good word to describe them," Caethya said after a moment longer. "I cannot make out individual threads, but I can sense that they are there nonetheless."


    "So, you are like a spider on a web, tugging on its strings?" Mayeia asked, her mana flowing around the section Caethya was focused on ¡ª where Aperio had briefly messed with reality. "It is very subtle, then. I can''t feel anything off."


    "Aperio is not subtle," Caethya giggled, leaning herself against the All-Mother. "She is overwhelming."


    Aperio herself could not help but raise an eyebrow at the statement. She had not expected Caethya to act so ¡­familiar with her in front of others, nor was she entirely comfortable with it. A small mental nudge told her disciple as much and a quiet apology came quickly, the other woman moving herself a bit away from Aperio to merely rest against her wing. Inside, really. Her wing was easily big enough to fully cover Caethya, but at the moment it merely provided support and a bit of warmth as it wrapped the Elf in a feathery hug.


    A thought also let the armour covering her dress disappear, something she should have done much sooner. She might be able to ignore the laws of the world and not poke holes in her bed ¡ª or hurt Caethya ¡ª with the pieces of extraordinarily sturdy metal, but having them gone for the moment seemed like the better choice.


    "The System is quite obvious if you know where to look," she said, as nobody else seemed willing to speak. "Your spider analogy is, however, fairly accurate. In the end, everything connects back to me; uses my mana to sustain itself. The System is no different, it merely has more authority over the mana it has."


    "And it doesn''t think," Mayeia added, her brows creasing a moment later. "Or does it?"


    "It does not," Aperio confirmed. She knew the System was as unthinking as a rock, merely pushing mana through its runes to get a desired result. "Just a very complex set of enchantments."


    "Like the Ebbcom, then?" Jerien asked, having found enough courage to interact with the All-Mother.


    Aperio, for her part, just tilted her head slightly as her aura focused a little more on the Beastkin. "I am not aware of this ¡®Ebbcom¡¯. You have to understand that I am not omniscient. I have little interest in what most people do."


    "It is a communication system built by the Ebenlowe guard," Mayeia quickly said, seemingly not wanting Aperio to question Jerien too much. "It uses enchantments to receive and transmit the voice of whoever uses it. You can even attune it to different ''bands,'' as they call them, so more people can use it.


    "The ''bands'' are not really what they think, though," Mayeia continued. "They have not yet figured out that mana is attuned to each and every mortal, and that those slight differences make it possible for the streams of mana to not interfere with each other."


    The attunement the excited Goddess spoke about was something Aperio already knew, as it was trivial for her to spot. She had never cared about it however, the differences so minor that they would not matter for most anything. Perhaps simply knowing is not that good?


    "What of the [Identifications Stones], then?" Caethya asked, leaning slightly forwards. "They identify a person by their mana, so they have to pick up on this ''attunement'', no?"


    Mayeia nodded, sitting a little straighter as she spoke her next words. "They do, but those are not an invention of a mortal. I made the main enchantment; the mortals merely add their own twists onto that."


    "Has nobody tried to figure out how they work?" Aperio asked, not quite believing that the mortals would ignore a magical invention from the Gods like that. "I cannot imagine that they would blindly use it, not if someone like you made it their life''s mission to understand the System."


    "Of course they tried," Mayeia laughed. "But most people who have the required finesse with their mana to understand it are not really interested in it."


    The All-Mother simply nodded in reply, filing the knowledge away should she ever need it. Not that I forget things. ...Anymore. She shifted her attention to Kiro and Jerien, the two mortals having relaxed a little since their arrival. Still, neither of them seemed to be comfortable.


    "Is there anything you need of Kiro or Jerien? If not, it might be best for them to leave, as neither seem to be particularly happy to be near me." A sentiment I share. Aperio could perfectly recall what Kiro had said ¡ª the way he had looked at her ¡ª and she could do without him on her temple grounds.


    "They are free to go," Mayeia said. "Like I said before, I merely brought him because he is the closest I have to a disciple, and it is customary to bring your disciple along. I did not want to make a bad first impression."


    "Where would you like to go?" Aperio asked the two mortals without turning around. It might have been rude, but she did not want to leave her comfortable sitting position with Caethya and she thought neither the Human nor the Beastkin were that deserving of getting looked at.


    "If you could bring us to Mayeia''s temple, we would be very grateful," Jerien said, grabbing Kiro''s arm with a bit more force than needed to take him out of his chair.


    "Yes," the man said, his voice slightly shaking as he spoke for the first time since his arrival. "That would be greatly appreciated."


    "That can be easily arranged," Aperio replied, looking at the Goddess to whom the temple belonged. "If you are permitted to enter."


    Mayeia simply gave a nod. "They are welcome to."


    A thought of the All-Mother twisted reality apart, the two mortals vanishing from the field of flowers without leaving a trace, appearing far below in Ebenlowe. Finding the proper location had been easy, the seal she had on her hair ornament proudly presented many times in the library that was Mayeia''s temple. I like her.


    The building held a collection of books that rivalled the Imperial Library of Inaru. Might even have more, she thought, her mind supplying a quick count of books in each of them. She was not quite willing to trust herself with the tally despite knowing that it was accurate.


    Still, the fact that the temple lacked most things one would expect was something Aperio took a liking to. Mayeia seemed to be more interested in knowledge than anything else, whatever duty she had as a Goddess seemingly not that important.


    "How I wish I could use magic like that," Mayeia said as she looked where Jerien and Kiro had been but a moment before. "Not even a second to teleport two people. I couldn''t even notice a mana buildup."


    "You noticed no buildup because I have more mana in my body than you can draw on," Aperio stated matter-of-factly. "And drawing even more from my well would only need a thought."


    "Perhaps, but it really does not feel like it. You radiate large amounts of mana, yes, but they feel more like the ambient mana that surrounds us." She paused for a moment, tapping her chin in thought. "Purer is probably the best way to describe it. Your mana feels like purer ambient mana, not something one would notice without looking."


    "Some mortals seem to have trouble being near me, though," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly. "How can it be barely different from the mana that surrounds them every hour of the day and yet be overwhelming?"


    "Ah, well," Mayeia began, her eyes wandering to the ground. "I am not sure how much contact you have with mortals, but while it might just be a slight change, it would still be overwhelming for them.


    "I remember how it felt to stand in the presence of a God; could feel his mana resonating with my soul," she continued. "When I became a Goddess myself I asked a few of my followers how they felt near me. Most said that they were filled with a desire to learn and an eagerness to explore. They feel what you embody ¡ª at least that is what I think ¡ª and you are the origin of everything. ¡­At least I think so."


    Aperio remained quiet for a moment as she thought about Mayeia''s words. Time did not seem to slow down as it did last time she contemplated what the Goddess had said, her mind not as frantic to find an answer.


    "It is true, in a way," Aperio said with a sigh. In a sense she was everything, after all. "But I still think their reactions are excessive in some cases and while possible, excluding every mortal from my aura is not something I want to do."


    "I can''t even do that," Caethya mumbled as she retreated a bit further into Aperio''s wing, leaning herself more heavily against the feathered appendage. "How do you do that?"


    "I just do it," Aperio replied with a tiny shrug. "I might not be the best teacher when it comes to using your mana. For me, it is like breathing for a mortal ¡ª it happens naturally."


    "I could help with that," Mayeia chimed in, then hesitated briefly as Aperio''s gaze landed on her. "But it will take a little while, as I do not know how far Caethya has come in her magic studies and¡­"


    "And you would like information on the System or other things that might be of interest, no?" Aperio continued for the Goddess, guessing as to why she might be hesitant to speak further. After she received a nod, the All-Mother continued. "I have no problem answering your questions, but I will warn you that I might be unable to explain things to you. Like I said before, for me magic is as natural for me as breathing." A thing I often forget nowadays¡­


    Her reply, however, had been truthful. She found she did not mind explaining what she knew to Mayeia. Maybe she can even help me understand the System¡­ The All-Mother was not yet ready, however, to tell the other Goddess of all that she had forgotten, or of her life as a tortured and abused mortal slave.


    It was not the Goddess that replied next, however, but Caethya. "You don''t have to do something you don''t want to just so I can learn something a little faster."


    "I would have answered her questions regardless," Aperio replied, her words accompanied by a mental nudge informing her disciple of the possibility that Mayeia might be able to help with the System repairs. If she chose to, and if it turned out Aperio could fully trust her, that was.


    The other Goddess smiled brightly at her words, fidgeting in the chair she had made as she tried to contain her excitement. "Thank you," she said after having calmed herself a little. "I''ve waited ages for this!"


    "You are free to stay here for as long as you wish," Aperio said. "I will leave for Procul in a few days as there is something there that requires my attention. The mortals that are here are not to be commanded; they are free to do what they wish. Rooms that are off-limits to you will be closed."


    "Of course," she replied, bowing her head slightly. "I have never seen the need to have mortals do my bidding. If I wouldn''t do it myself, why should someone else?"


    "She really doesn''t," Caethya confirmed. "At least not that I have seen, and I did follow her for a bit over a decade."


    That''s not really long for a Goddess, now is it? Aperio thought to herself, her mind wandering back to the millennia she had seemingly spent floating in her Void, absorbing those little lights. Still need to figure out what those were¡­


    She knew that they were not the souls of people. They had lacked that certain feel she had noticed on every other soul she had seen or touched. More like mana, but not quite.


    A shake of her head dismissed the thought and she returned her attention to Mayeia. "Then ask what you wish, and I shall try my best to answer."


    GamingWolf


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 Crusade – Chapter 99: Speaking Truth

    "Where does the System get its mana from?" Mayeia asked without hesitation. The confirmation she had received from Aperio seemed to have erased the doubts she might have had.


    The All-Mother exhaled in amusement at the question. "From me, of course. It draws on my well to satiate its demand for mana."


    "Isn''t that exhausting?"


    Aperio offered a miniscule shrug in reply. "I do not even notice it if I do not focus on it. What the System needs to sustain itself is laughable when compared to what my body requires."


    "What your body ¡­requires?" The confusion was apparent on Mayeia''s face.


    "Creating a vessel to contain me is not as easy as it sounds," Aperio said, shifting slightly. Calling her body a vessel or shell ¡ª while true ¡ª was not to her liking. "You might have noticed that the amount of mana I carry inside is growing steadily. It is needed to ensure my body is strong enough to survive, well, me." That she also enjoyed the feeling of her mana flowing through her body was left unsaid. Mayeia did not need to know everything.


    "I did notice that," the Goddess said, lightly clearing her throat and adjusting her dress as she shifted a little on her chair. "I did not think all that mana was used to strengthen your body, however." She hesitated for a moment before she leaned a little closer. "That is a lot more mana than I have ever sensed, and you are telling me it all goes to reinforcing your ''vessel''? What happens if you don''t have a corporeal form?"


    Aperio merely waited for Mayeia to make the connection on her own. The Goddess had already scrunched her brows in thought and the All-Mother was sure she would figure it out if she had a moment to ponder it. In the meantime, she pulled her wing closer to herself, gently nudging Caethya along. The Elf did not resist. Quite the opposite in fact; she closed her eyes and let herself be fully supported by her Goddess.


    For a moment, Aperio thought something was amiss, a sliver of her mana gently flowing through Caethya in an effort to find what might be wrong. She did not find anything, and a mental query revealed that her disciple was merely tired. The ascension to a Demigoddess, the ensuing conversation, and then meeting her old Goddess had been more exhausting than she had anticipated.


    The offer to bring her back to her room was denied, Caethya being quite happy to stay where she was. And while Aperio herself was not quite as fond of the likely reason behind her disciple''s decision, she still pulled her wing closer to better cover her disciple, and let her rest her head on an unnaturally firm arm. Is that really comfortable?


    "Was that presence a few hours ago you?" Mayeia asked with a start, ignoring the almost sleeping Caethya beneath Aperio''s wing. "Is that what happens when you don''t restrict yourself to a body?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "And I dislike it." For now, at least.


    She was no longer bound by the silly rules of mortality and, at one point or another, she would likely grow tired of a physical form. But that was for her future-self to deal with. As it currently stood, she very much wanted to be on Verenier to mingle with mortals that inhabited her creation.


    "I¡­" the other Goddess began. "I don''t know what to say. I can''t even begin to fathom what it would feel like, and trying to think about it more deeply gives me a headache. Do you experience all there is at once? Or are you more like a cloud of All-Mother?"


    Aperio chuckled at the words, quite happy that the voice at the back of her mind she had been sure would demand Mayeia''s head was quiet. "The former," she replied. "I take in all that there is; would only need a thought to make my will reality." Not that it takes much more than a thought now, she mused, and took an unneeded breath before continuing. "All of creation connects to me, wanting to feed me information I do not desire to know. When outside of my body, it is much harder to avoid gazing past the surface and wind up seeing what I do not wish to."


    "So much information, and I only asked where the System gets its mana," Mayeia mumbled to herself. A touch of her magic lazily drifted around Aperio, likely trying to better understand what the All-Mother was doing to her body.


    While she did not really enjoy the idea of the other Goddess examining her like she was, Aperio did not stop her either. Mayeia had been nothing but helpful thus far and a bit of goodwill was in order. I have been awfully short on that, even towards my own daughter¡­


    Her by now regular queries to Ferio had mostly been left unanswered, with the rare instance of being told that she was busy and did not have time at the moment. She had considered asking Roots or her daughter''s [High Priestess] Diana, but decided against it. If she truly wished to know what her daughter was doing, she could just look. Bringing her followers and friends into it for spying purposes was plain wrong. Do Ferio and Roots even consider each other to be their friend?


    "I hope I am not shattering too many of your theories," Aperio said after a moment of continued silence, trying to redirect her mind to the conversation at hand. "I am awfully out of touch with the mortal world." Or anything, really.


    "Well," Mayeia began, "I would have never expected to actually meet or talk to you. And most definitely not while you are using a wing as a blanket for your disciple, who is using you as a pillow. The stories I have heard made you out to be a vastly different person."


    "Because I was. In the past, I did not care what happened to the mortals, nor what the Gods and Goddesses I had appointed did. I¡­ still do not feel much compassion for mortals outside a select few, but neither do I ignore them anymore."


    Indeed, she had not felt much after having killed the mages shortly after returning. Nor did she feel any grand stirrings of emotion following the eradication of the guards Natio and Vigil had sent, or following the decimation of an entire army. It was true that they had all been slavers and, in her mind, deserved what they got; but even the slaves she had succeeded in freeing did not manage to get much of an emotional reaction from her. Most of the emotionality of the situation had come from her memories of living as one of them ¡ª the reason she freed them in the first place. ¡­That''s just me being selfish, is it not?


    "I expected you to be something beyond my ability to comprehend," Mayeia went on to say. "That I would lose my mind if I tried to understand you. Instead, you are an Elf with wings. You are not the cosmic entity that I expected, but a person. That you don''t care for every mortal is a given. Nobody cares for everyone.


    "But," she continued, "that not caring for all of them makes you uncomfortable just shows that you, in a way, do care. Probably in a way that would actually stretch my sanity if I tried to understand it. Looking at you through my aura for extended amounts of time already gives me a headache, after all; what goes in your thoughts would likely shatter my mind."


    "Perhaps, but I also do not intend to let anyone into my mind," Aperio said, shifting her wing slightly to better support the now-sleeping Caethya. How she had managed to fall asleep leaning against her while in the presence of another Goddess was a mystery to the All-Mother. Perhaps she was just that tired?


    "The closest thing I do is a simple mental message," Aperio continued. "Besides a mild headache, my followers do not seem to have much of a problem with it. Monsters on the other hand¡­ They simply die. I do believe you are more durable than some monster."


    "I hope I am," Mayeia laughed. "But, you cannot really compare your followers to anyone else. Especially not those close to you. They are all blessed by you, are they not?" Aperio nodded at that, the Goddess continuing shortly after.


    "I am not sure if this applies to you, but the System makes any mental communication with someone who is not a follower and therefore lacking any of that deity''s mana exceedingly painful and costly."


    "The System does not facilitate my actions," Aperio said, the fact Mayeia had implied she depended on it annoying her more than she thought it would. "I merely find it hard to hold back enough to not hurt them. It is harder than you might imagine when you use magic without even thinking about it." Almost like I am the magic.


    "I can only imagine¡­ Just sitting there you go through more mana than I have ever seen, but I¡¯ve said that already. ...How much do you use to repair the System? Or does that not use mana? Is there something else that one could use for magic besides mana?"


    "No," Aperio said. She did not know for certain that there was not something else, but there was only mana in her well and the manaless world she had sensed appeared to be pretty devoid of magic. But then, it wasn''t like there was no mana at all ¡ª just very, very little.


    "There are, however, different purities as you rightly observed. What is flowing through my body is not the purest there is, but what is currently needed for it. If I were to draw from deeper in my well, it would have some unpleasant side-effects.


    "The System''s repairs do need a decent amount of mana," she continued, a touch of her magic brushing a few hairs out of Caethya''s face. "But it is mainly an effort in trying to understand what broke and how it might be repaired." And trying to remember what those runes mean¡­


    She had found a few more she knew, not because she remembered them from her life as a slave but because her mind so helpfully supplied them from seemingly nowhere. The section of the System that worked under the rune of [Class] was the busiest at the moment; her mana flowing around the various constructs as they shifted, split apart, and reassembled themselves quicker than they had any right to. At least I added a self-repair function¡­


    The other Goddess hesitated for a moment before she asked her next question. "Can I see the System?"


    "I am not certain?" Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. Ignoring the fact that Mayeia was unable to see the threads of reality, the All-Mother was not sure if she could bring someone to the space the System occupied. It should be possible ¡ª mana was a physical thing after all ¡ª but she was not sure what that would do to anyone she brought there. "I have never tried that and I do not know what it would do to you."


    A flex of her mental muscles caused the air around her to shift, her mana forming a recreation of the System as she saw it. At least, a small part of it. Aperio had only chosen the bit labelled [Class], the module of the System already taking up more space than she had thought it would.


    "I think this is the best compromise," she said, her eyes focused on the ever-changing representation of the System she had made. Its runes flowed into each other, forming new combinations altogether or merging to become another rune ¡ª always flowing into more runes that seemed to spawn from the kaleidoscope that was her System. Each change was accompanied by a small shift in the threads of reality that Aperio tried as best as she could to make visible for the other Goddess. She could not show the threads themselves, opting to give the runes a blurry haze whenever they messed with the fabric of reality instead. Not that it is a close analogy¡­


    "I could slow it down if it is too fast for you," Aperio said as the other Goddess remained silent with her eyes fixed on the [Class] module. Why do I have to be so far beyond anyone else?


    Mayeia nodded slowly, and Aperio did as promised in response. "I already have trouble understanding what most of this does, thank you for allowing me this chance to further understand. I can recognise some of the runes, but most are ones I have never seen before¡­"


    Neither have I, Aperio thought as she glanced at the runes Mayeia pointed out. "I cannot really help you there, sadly. As it stands, my understanding of what broke and what changed is limited and I find it hard to make sense of large parts of the System."


    The other Goddess tore her eyes off the model of the System at her words, studying the Elven-looking woman for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, only to close it a moment later as she was seemingly not sure what to ask.


    It took a moment longer for Mayeia to find the words, or perhaps courage, to ask what was on her mind. "Did you ¡­forget? Is that why you are not like the stories I have been told? Ediscio did say you changed¡­" Her last words were mumbled to herself, the Goddess just voicing her thoughts quietly.


    Aperio tensed at the question, waking Caethya in the process as she pressed her wing against her disciple with more force than she had intended. She was not sure if she should tell Mayeia of her affliction; that she could not remember. Caethya''s gentle touch and rhythmic breathing gave the All-Mother something to focus on as she did her best to stop her mind from running in circles and trying to imagine the worst possible outcome. Her disciple trusted her former Goddess, and Aperio was willing to trust Caethya.


    A touch of Aperio¡¯s magic gently lowered Caethya¡¯s head against the side of her chest as she carefully wrapped her arm around the other woman. She would trust her Disciple''s old Goddess, if only for the care and comfort she had given her.


    "Yes," the All-Mother finally said, her voice quiet as she lowered her head. "I have forgotten."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 100: Growing Trust

    "You¡­ forgot?" Mayeia asked, her voice barely a whisper.


    Aperio did not reply, closing her eyes and focusing on Caethya''s right hand that gently moved across her back. She let her senses wander. Anything that could distract her for a moment was welcome. The city below was bustling with activity, and held more armoured mortals than before ¡ª presumably in preparation for the various armies she had previously spotted.


    Their preparations were, perhaps, unneeded. The slavers were coming because she had killed their Gods, and Aperio had every intention to help the city defend itself. She would offer the invaders the same choice she had to the last army: change their ways and free their slaves, or die by her hand. Or magic, really.


    While physically dispatching of them did please the part of her that wanted to fight, it would not be the best way to ensure the safety of Ebenlowe itself. If I even let them get that far¡­ She did consider removing them all before she left for Procul, as it would not take long, but she had a small hope that another mortal might be able to convince them to change their ways. Being told that you were wrong by the same Goddess that had killed your Gods was less likely to yield results. At least, Aperio thought so. Not that they know who I am¡­


    "Does your forgetting have something to do with the millennia you were gone?" Mayeia asked, breaking the silence. "Was it you that prevented the Elder Gods from coming to Verenier?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, directing her gaze back towards the Goddess. "Though most of that time was spent¡­asleep, in a way." While ''sleep'' might not be the best way to describe what had happened to her, she did wake up in the Void after she had carved her own heart out. The time she had actually spent there while awake could have easily been another few millennia; what had felt like a few minutes of relaxation in the makeshift soul-river bath house had been a week, after all.


    "What happened?" the Goddess asked, leaning forwards in her chair.


    Aperio tensed at the question, a few arcs of mana dancing across her skin. She had anticipated the question, but her reaction to it had still not been as¡­ reasonable as she had hoped. Caethya took hold of the All-Mother''s left hand, giving it a squeeze that would have likely broken any mortal''s bones. A few words of reassurance also made their way to Aperio in the form of a quiet prayer, causing her to relax a little. Why do I react like that?


    Mayeia sat straighter in her chair, already starting to apologise when the All-Mother waved her off. "What happened does not concern you. And I would appreciate it if you did not try to gather information from my followers either. If you show that I can trust you, I might tell you."


    "Of course," Mayeia replied. "I should not have asked."


    "Perhaps not," Aperio agreed, letting her back fully rest against Roots as she closed her eyes. The projection of the System she had made had lost its time dilation effect during her momentary lapse, a mistake that was quickly rectified. She lifted her free hand, gesturing towards the model. "I believe you had more questions about the System?"


    The other Goddess did not reply immediately, perhaps unsure if her questions could even be answered by Aperio. "What do you want to do in this world?" she finally asked, fixing her eyes onto the All-Mother. "Besides ridding it of undesirables."


    "I just want to have a life," Aperio replied. Her goals were not really a secret. "Go where I please, and do what I want. But, in order to do that I first have to fix the System. And to do that I have to remember, which requires me to confront various Gods and Goddesses who have seemingly decided that abusing mortals is a fine thing to do." The breeze that so lazily blew through the ocean of flowers picked up at her words, causing Aperio to sigh. "And if I do not have perfect control of my emotions, the world will react to them." Or I will react to the world again¡­


    That part she kept to herself. Nobody needed to know that the collective thoughts of a world influenced her. Perhaps that will stop once I have retrieved more memories.


    "Of course your creations react to you," Caethya said, gently pushing against Aperio''s wing and causing her to remove the feathered limb. Her voice was quiet, the Elf not fully awake yet. "I''m certain Mayeia can feel the shift in your emotions, too. Perhaps not like I do, but she should notice something."


    "I do," the Goddess confirmed. "It is almost like what I sense from some of my more devout followers; a suggestion of what you might be feeling."


    "I know why it happens," Aperio said. "That does not make it any less annoying or inconvenient, however. I do not want to be an emotionless wall." I have already had a lifetime of that. Showing emotion as a slave had usually made her treatment worse, a fact that had led Aperio to simply not display what she felt. It had not worked as often as she had hoped it would ¡ª there was only so much pain she could withstand before crying out.


    Mayeia rubbed the back of her neck, leaning back in her chair slightly. "I don''t think there is much to be done about it. You are probably the most magical being that exists and your relationship with mana is so close, I am almost willing to say that you are mana. Or something like it, at least."


    The All-Mother simply sighed, the projection of her System vanishing. While she did not truly know what she was, Aperio had a very good idea. She was not the mana that flowed through her creation ¡ª that was only a part of what she was.


    Her earliest memories were of herself. Nothing else, just her. Everything that existed only came to be through an expression of her will. The view of the universe exploding to life around her was still in her mind, so clear that she could feel the heat that was over her body.


    Aperio shuddered slightly. In her memory she did not have a body, and the feeling of the heat brushing through her form was very weird when translated to physicality. The closest thing was, weirdly enough, the retrieved mana burning its way through her. Just a bit more¡­ pleasant?


    "Mana is part of me, yes," the All-Mother eventually replied. "But it is not all that I am."


    She could feel that she was close to figuring that particular conundrum out, not that it was one she had actively been trying to solve. What she was did not really matter for what she wanted to do. Perhaps it will help me, though.


    "Is everything a part of you?" Caethya asked hesitantly, pulling slightly away from Aperio.


    "No," she replied confidently, retracting her arm and wing. "While everything is connected to me in one way or another, it is not a part of me. You are nothing but yourself, and Mayeia is nothing but herself. Unlike Ferio, you are not my children."


    Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose, quite sure that she would have a headache by now if it were possible for her to have one. "I assume you do not really want to learn about the System anymore?"


    "I still want to know more about it," Mayeia replied, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "But, if you can no longer remember how it works, I am not sure it is best to ask you questions you might not know how to answer. I''d much rather try and help you fix it ¡ª I did spend most of my life researching it, after all."


    "If you wish to do that, you are free to. Though, I do not know how you intend to help me. You said yourself that what I showed you is already beyond you, and that was only the part that governs Classes. There are parts of the System that are far more complex than this." And for some I know what they do despite never having seen them before.


    "And," Aperio continued, "you do not have access to the System proper, nor am I certain you would survive it if you did." The area of space that housed the System was filled with mana that was purer than that which resided in her body and, while not as pure as the mana that had pushed her into her true form, Aperio had no doubts that it would end poorly for anyone but herself.


    "That might be true, but the research I did could still prove helpful." A book appeared in Mayeia''s hands at her words, her seal embossed on its front. She offered it to Aperio, the All-Mother slightly cocking her head as a touch of her magic brought the book into her hand. "All my theories on the System are in this book. I hope you find it to be helpful."


    "I hope so too," Aperio mumbled, carefully opening the book and flipping through its pages before looking back at the Goddess. "Thank you, Mayeia."


    "I am happy to help," she replied. "I am also still willing to teach Caethya, if she wishes. A break from trying to understand the System and finding you is probably in order."


    "I would be most grateful," Caethya said, sitting a little straighter. "But I also have people of my own to teach; Maria and Adam are both in dire need of some lessons. There is also the matter of me having agreed to living in the Terenyk estate¡­ Perhaps it would be best to inform Lord Terenyk of your temple?"


    Aperio paused at her disciple''s words, turning her head to better look at the woman. During the time she had spent with Caethya she had not thought about the agreement with Lord Terenyk, too preoccupied with her own problems. How very mortal of me¡­


    "That is indeed a good idea," Aperio said, a small flex of her mental muscles creating a piece of paper with a message written in the excessively elaborate cursive she had grown unreasonably fond of. It simply informed the man of her temple floating above Ebenlowe, and Caethya''s ¡ª and her own ¡ª wish for it to be the location of both her disciple¡¯s residence and the lessons of Maria.


    The man tensed up as the letter appeared before his eyes, the maid that usually guarded Maria appearing in his study only moments later. She was the one who plucked the piece of paper out of the air, her eyes widening as she quickly began reading it to her lord.


    "It is done," Aperio said, directing most of her attention back towards Mayeia and Caethya. "Lord Terenyk has been informed."


    "Caethya was right," Mayeia said with a small smile. "You are not subtle."


    Aperio raised an eyebrow. "I merely made a piece of paper with a message on it."


    "A piece of paper woven from the mana of the All-Mother," Caethya said with a small laugh. "Probably more durable than some armours."


    Really? Aperio thought to herself, directing her gaze towards her dress. How durable is this, then? The paper had been made because she wanted to convey a message. Her dress, on the other hand, had been created with the intention of protecting her and being comfortable. Not that I¡¯ve felt uncomfortable since I returned.


    Her new body seemed to be unable to produce that particular feeling. Ever since she had visited that village, Aperio had worn a binding around her chest. It was something that had gotten uncomfortable quickly before, and it had not yet bothered her in the least. Probably don''t even need that¡­ Her dress would offer support enough.


    "Your dress is probably the best armour in this world," Caethya said, following Aperio''s gaze. "Aside from the actual bits of armour you wore over it before."


    "I think her skin is tougher than any armour," Mayeia chimed in. "It also already stops me from looking within, which does not happen often ¡ª even with other Gods. Though, knowing what she is doing, I don''t think I would want to know."


    "And I would appreciate it if you respected my privacy," Aperio said sharply, glaring at the Goddess and causing her to shrink ever-so-slightly. "I am not going around inspecting everyone within my aura''s reach either."


    "My apologies. I¡¯m simply eager to learn more. Even if you cannot explain how you use your magic, just observing it is very insightful. You are doing things that should by all means be impossible, and you don''t even seem to notice."


    Aperio was about to ask when Caethya did it for her, the Elf seemingly as unaware as her Goddess. "Like what?"


    "I wasn''t sure at first," Mayeia began, "and I am still not one hundred percent certain yet, but I believe Aperio is purifying the mana in anything that is close to her. Unlike most things she does, this is very subtle, but definitely noticeable if you look.


    "My own mana," she continued, a small, light blue orb appearing above her hand, "has gotten more powerful since I''ve left my Dominion. Not by much, but it still happened. At first I thought it was the temple''s doing, that some of the enchantments had done this, but a quick check revealed that it is happening to the mortals below as well."


    Aperio tilted her head at the words. She had only looked for such a change in the people she had blessed. That her mere existence was affecting all mortals was...  She did not know. On the one hand, it was not exactly bad for them; they would have access to purer mana, perhaps live a little longer. On the other, however, the fact that this had happened at all hinted at something being more broken than she had originally assumed. At least, the All-Mother thought so.


    "My mere existence makes mortals stronger?" Why?


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 101: Mortal Foundations

    Aperio let her senses wander, taking in Ebenlowe and the world beyond. She was trying to find the change Mayeia had mentioned. The problem Aperio was running into, however, was that they all felt pathetically weak to her. It was true that she could inspect each mortal even more thoroughly, but then she would violate their privacy even more than she already was.


    She found herself mildly curious as she let her aura inform her of the happenings on continents beyond Vetus, but did not redirect her focus. While she was no longer as unwilling to discover the full extent of her own power, she would not do so now. Being aware of one continent is enough for the moment.


    ¡°Well,¡± Mayeia began, tapping her chin. ¡°Your mana is purer than what is normally available and most mortals refine their bodies with it at least to a small, unconscious degree. Being given a higher quality resource would obviously make the progress faster. What is weird is that it also works on me¡­¡±


    A moment later a pen and notebook appeared in her hands, the Goddess mumbling her next words. ¡°It also varies from person to person. Maybe she unconsciously knows who everyone is and helps them along? No¡­ if she knew, the slavers would see no benefit at all.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind her,¡± Caethya said, placing her hand on Aperio¡¯s cheek and trying to turn her head. The All-Mother glared at the mumbling Goddess for a moment longer before she obliged, facing her disciple.


    ¡°And why should I?¡° she asked, tilting her head slightly to rest it lightly on the Elf¡¯s hand. Why that had been her first reaction, she did not know, but neither did she mind. Aperio focused her eyes on Caethya¡¯s own before she continued. ¡°I do not enjoy being talked about as if I am not present.¡°


    Her disciple sighed after a moment of silence. ¡°This is just who she is. It happened to me too, after she looked at my [Status]. She just started mumbling ideas to herself and taking notes.¡±


    The All-Mother pulled her head free of Caethya¡¯s hand and directed her gaze onto the Goddess who was still preoccupied with muttering to herself as she took notes. ¡°She comes to my home unannounced, wanting to learn from me even though I have no idea who she is, and now I am being treated like I am her new science project. I do not like that.¡°


    As Aperio''s mind ''helpfully'' supplied her with memories in which researchers of the Empire talked as Mayeia did now, her aura flared slightly in agitation. She breathed deeply, trying to center herself before she did something rash.


    A hand taking her own caused Aperio to avert her gaze from Mayeia. Caethya shook her head as she looked at the All-Mother. ¡°I¡¯m the only mortal here, and yet, it feels like I am the mature one.¡±


    Aperio tilted her head slightly. ¡°You are not a mortal, you are a Demigoddess.¡°


    ¡°A Demigoddess whose legs are falling asleep,¡± her disciple mumbled, trying to find a more comfortable position while still holding onto Aperio¡¯s hand.


    The All-Mother simply stood, carefully pulling Caethya up with her. A touch of her magic removed the dirt from their forms and straightened any creases that had appeared in their clothes.


    ¡°I should have left a while ago; now is as good a time as any,¡° Aperio said, fixing her eyes on Caethya. ¡°As Mayeia seems to be¡­ busy, and Lord Terenyk does not appear to have an answer at the moment, you could accompany me. If you wish.¡°


    ¡°I would love to,¡± Caethya replied, ¡°but are you willing to leave Mayeia here? It did not seem like you had the best impression of her.¡±


    ¡°Just because I am on Procul does not mean I cannot keep watch of my temple.¡°


    Her disciple rubbed the back of her neck at the words. ¡°Right¡­ Sometimes I forget just who you really are.¡±


    A smile bloomed on Aperio¡¯s face in response. ¡°That is good! Perhaps others will follow suit.¡°


    ¡°I doubt that. You are not as friendly with others as you are with me.¡± Caethya paused briefly, looking at Aperio before averting her eyes again after just a moment. ¡°Nor do others feel for you like I do.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡° she replied, the hand of her disciple feeling oddly heavy in her own as a slight pressure took root in her chest. ¡°I still do not have an answer for you. I apologise.¡°


    Mayeia had suddenly stopped her mumbling and was now looking intently at the two, the conversation seemingly of more interest to her than what Aperio¡¯s aura did to mortals.


    ¡°Is there something you need?¡° Aperio asked, turning slightly to face the Goddess.


    ¡°No,¡± Mayeia replied. ¡°I am just surprised that I misjudged your relationship. That doesn¡¯t happen often.¡±


    With a slight shake of her head, the All-Mother directed her eyes and attention back to Caethya. What Mayeia thought about any perceived relationship mattered little to Aperio. The Elf looked at her old Goddess a moment longer, turning away after Mayeia had given her a small smile and a thumbs up that she had to have known Aperio would see.


    ¡°I have prepared a room for you,¡° Aperio said to Mayeia without facing her, simultaneously informing Roots of where it was. ¡°Roots can guide you there should you wish to remain here. The mortals that call my temple their temporary home are your equals as long as they are here. Understood?¡°


    ¡°Yes,¡± the Goddess replied, bowing slightly. ¡°Very clear.¡±


    For a moment Aperio considered if her words might have been a bit too harsh, but she quickly dismissed that line of thinking. If Mayeia wanted to be treated with more friendliness, she could start by not treating her as a science project.


    After confirming through a mental query that Caethya was ready, Aperio let her senses spread again; let her mind accept the information her aura always provided. She took in the vast oceans surrounding Vetus, the countless creatures that called the depths their home.


    A few of the monsters attempted to flee her aura¡¯s reach, a task that was doomed to fail. The stronger beasts steeled themselves for battle as the All-Mother¡¯s senses swept over them, seemingly unable to differentiate between her aura and an attack.


    Aperio paid them no mind, instead closing her eyes to better immerse herself in what her aura sensed. Even though her senses had made the journey from Vetus to Procul faster than the blink of Caethya¡¯s eyes, for Aperio it was a long and informative journey.


    Before, she had always been scared to use her aura for more than keeping track of her immediate surroundings. She still was, in a way, but by now she realised that not using what she had ¡ª rejecting, again, who she was ¡ª would lead to more trouble than it was worth. Eventually she would have to come to terms with the fact that her senses would touch more than she wished.


    A flex of her mental muscles twisted reality apart, taking her and Caethya to the shores of Procul, a little ways away from a bigger city Aperio had found. Another thought caused the armour of her dress to slowly form, creeping its way across her shoulders, chest, and skirt.


    Her wings were the next to be changed, and they vanished, leaving the icy breeze to brush against her exposed back. Ever since she had returned, neither scorching heat nor freezing cold had bothered her in the least. Her body was uncaring of the temperature of her surroundings, and thus the current wind and cold did not bother her.


    Caethya seemed to mind the wind, as a mantle appeared on her form, loosely hugging her. Aperio expanded a bit of her mana, letting it flow into Caethya and warming her disciple from within. The Elf let out a small sigh, shuffling a bit closer to Aperio.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, tugging her mantle a bit closer. ¡°I did not think a continent known for volcanoes and Dragons would be so cold.¡±


    ¡°I did not pay it any mind,¡° Aperio said with a small shrug, the motion feeling somehow off without her wings. ¡°Temperature means little to me. Perhaps the same will be true for you too when you get a little stronger.¡°


    ¡°Hopefully. Avoiding freezing to death as well as turning into a liquid Elf would be very nice.¡± She hesitated for a moment, inching a little closer still to Aperio. ¡°Whatever you are doing to warm me feels nice.¡±


    Aperio smiled at her disciple. ¡°I wanted you to be comfortable.¡° She had used no convoluted magic, she had simply wished for Caethya to be warm, and her mana obeyed.


    ¡°Better not answer others if they ask you what you did with your magic,¡± Caethya said with a small shake of her head. ¡°That would only create more questions.¡±


    ¡°Learning to be a mortal,¡° Aperio said with a small, ethereal laugh. ¡°Never thought that would be something I¡¯d have to do.¡°


    As a slave there had been no need for her to know how to behave like a normal person, and as the All-Mother it was painfully obvious that what was normal for her was very much not for the people surrounding her. Not that that should¡¯ve surprised me¡­


    ¡°But you have a bona fide mortal as your teacher!¡± Caethya said, taking hold of Aperio¡¯s hand. ¡°Or, well, ex-mortal, I guess.¡±


    ¡°You are still an outlier amongst them, though,¡° Aperio rebutted. ¡°Your level is far higher than most mortals I have seen.¡° She paused for a moment, lowering her head slightly. ¡°My blessing made a normal life impossible for you before you were even born.¡°


    ¡°And I do not mind,¡± Caethya replied, giving Aperio¡¯s hand a squeeze. ¡°I am thankful for what you have given me. Though, I do have one question.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡°


    ¡°How old are you?¡± Caethya asked, looking up at Aperio. ¡°Technically, you are as old as all of existence, but I think how long you have been alive as a¡­ mortal, would be more accurate.¡±


    The All-Mother let out a small sigh. ¡°I do not know. The only hint I have is that I was sold into slavery at the age of three. How long I was trapped there is not something I know.


    ¡°Neither do I know how long I was in my Void after I¡­ died,¡° she continued, her eyes wandering towards the sky above. ¡°A few millennia at least, if I go by what I know of Vetus and what I believe happened after the ritual.¡°


    Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose as she looked at her disciple again, her ears twitching slightly as she heard distant yells of mortals. ¡°I was asleep for most of that as well; not aware of what was happening.¡°


    ¡°Perhaps it is best if you don¡¯t tell people how old you are,¡± Caethya said with a small smile. ¡°A stern look should be enough to silence most people.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I thought I was not that scary.¡°


    ¡°You tower over nearly everyone, look like you could throw most people through the nearest wall, and your eyes not only shift between shades of blue and silver but also seem to pierce with a look into a person''s very core,¡± Caethya said, holding Aperio¡¯s gaze despite her own words. ¡°It can be quite intimidating if one doesn¡¯t know you. Most Adventurers are not friendly, and Elders aren¡¯t either.¡±


    ¡°I can see that,¡° Aperio said, pointing in the direction she had heard the yells from. While the mortals that were fighting each other were still a good distance away and hidden behind a hill, Aperio had no doubts that Caethya could see them through her own aura. ¡°They seem to be having a disagreement.¡°


    Two leather clad mortals were protecting a third while three others were circling around them, yelling at them in a language Aperio did not understand.


    Caethya scrunched her brows, either trying to find the people Aperio was talking about or trying to understand what they were saying.


    A step accompanied by a small flex of her mental muscles brought both of them to the top of the hill that had hidden the squabbling mortals before. Caethya looked around confused for a moment before she focused on the group below them, giving Aperio¡¯s hand a last squeeze before letting go.


    ¡°I think the one on the ground stole or hid something from the group,¡± Caethya said with a puzzled expression. ¡°They want him to admit to it while the other two are saying that he could not have done it.¡±


    She wanted to say that their reaction seemed a bit dramatic, but she had done similar things since she had returned. Like yelling at the only people that care about me¡­


    With a sigh and an unneeded wave of her hand, the mortals froze in place, only their heads still able to move. They all looked around frantically until, one after another, their eyes came to rest upon Aperio and Caethya.


    The All-Mother took another step, twisting reality apart to bring herself and her disciple in front of the group. Intervening was perhaps not the best choice, but at the moment it felt like the right thing to do.


    ¡°Killing one another over what is likely a misunderstanding is a little extreme, no?¡° she asked, a small smile creeping onto her face as the mortals somehow stood even more stiffly than before.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 102: First Impressions

    Jikoh''s muscles strained against the magic that held him in place as he tried to move. He eyed the pair of Elves again. The taller one, the same one that had spoken before, was looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes.


    He would have protested her intervention, but every part of him was screaming at him to run away, that the woman that held him with her magic was dangerous. His [Identify Threat] skill returned nothing either, something that had never happened before.


    ¡°Why, exactly, are you trying to fight one another?¡° she asked, her ever-shifting eyes briefly lingering on every member of what used to be his party.


    ¡°They are traitors,¡± he hissed, the Elf¡¯s voice somehow seeming to echo in his mind. ¡°They protect the thief!¡±


    ¡°And what did he steal?¡°


    Jikoh remained quiet at the question; it was not his place to talk about the royal signet the thief had taken. Tiko would have to speak about that. It had been her duty to protect it.


    ¡°I did not permit him to touch the property of Fel¡¯Erreyth,¡± the woman snapped, her eyes never leaving the thief. ¡°If I do not punish him, the guards will. Your interference with justice will only draw the ire of his majesty!¡±


    The tall Elf titled her head slightly at Tiko¡¯s outburst, glancing at her companion who nodded after a moment. Telepathy? Jikoh thought with growing trepidation. He redoubled his efforts to get free of the magical grip that held him in place, even though he knew he could not.


    ¡°And why is he not allowed?¡± the other Elf asked, her voice not brimming with power as the other¡¯s did. ¡°It¡¯s just a ring.¡±


    The taller one waved her hand lazily, the signet ring they had been trying to retrieve appearing between her fingers. ¡°Is it this one?¡° she asked, inspecting it.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tiko exclaimed, trying to turn towards the Elf. ¡°Give it to me at once! You¡¯re withholding property from a Royal Messenger!¡±


    Jikoh would sigh if he could. He already knew Tiko¡¯s next words. She would tell the Elves they were subject to Fel¡¯Erryth¡¯s laws, even though it was painfully obvious they were not from Procul. The way the taller one spoke and conducted herself fit almost perfectly with what he knew of the Elven Elders. Someone they did not want to upset, if true.


    The woman merely shrugged and tossed the ring towards Tiko, who caught it as the magic that held them vanished.


    ¡°The cowering one was not the one who had it,¡° she said, gesturing towards the only member of his former party who was not only unable to move but also floating a little ways off the ground. ¡°Your friend there was.¡°


    ¡°What?¡± Jikoh asked, looking at the still frozen figure of Ilo. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°How should I know?¡° the tall Elf asked, her voice growing closer until she stepped past him and grabbed Ilo out of the air. ¡°I merely stopped you from potentially killing each other over a silly ring.¡°


    She effortlessly held the bulky Dragonkin aloft with one arm, looking him up and down as if searching for something only she could see. After a moment longer, she unceremoniously dropped him with no sign of having found what she had been looking for.


    The other Elf had followed her companion and now looked at his group with an apologetic smile. ¡°Perhaps we should introduce ourselves?¡± she asked, inclining her head towards the taller Elf. ¡°This is Aperio, [Elder of the Moons], and I am Caethya Martinek, her disciple.¡±


    ¡°Your kind has no power in the realms of Fel¡¯Erreyth,¡± Tiko said, glaring at the Elder and her Disciple.


    Jikoh took a couple steps back, separating himself from the group. He might have thought the woman was an Elder, and she might have been introduced as one, but something about her still felt off.


    That both of them could teleport was not remarkable, high levelled people usually had one or two skills that bent the rules of the words a little to allow them to move faster. But the way the taller Elf just forced her will on the world unsettled the Dragonkin.


    Her name, too, reminded him of something. Jikoh was sure he had heard of ¡®Aperio¡¯ before, that it had been talked about in hushed voices when they went to get Tiko from Fel¡¯Erreyth¡¯s court.


    ¡°Your ruler is the reason I am here,¡° Aperio said, the displeasure obvious in her voice. ¡°Well, part of it, at least.¡± She paused briefly before she took a few steps to stand next to her disciple. ¡°Would it not be appropriate to return the favour and introduce yourselves?¡°


    Jikoh remained quiet, his eyes shifting between his former party and the two Elves. His instincts were to run, get as far away from this monster as he could, but he somehow knew that any attempt would be futile.


    ¡°My name is Jikoh,¡± he said after a few more breaths, his eyes fixed on Aperio. He was sure that a wrong answer would mean his end; that the woman was just waiting for an excuse to kill them all. ¡°A simple Adventurer.¡±


    There was no reaction to his words. Aperio merely held her unblinking gaze on him a little longer before she returned her attention to the others. Jikoh took another step back as he noticed something that he had not picked up on before.


    She doesn''t breathe, he thought with shock, and his hand wandered as subtly as he could to a potion that hung on his belt. Undead?


    The smaller Elf, Caethya if he recalled correctly, was blinking and breathing as someone who was alive should. She also did not look off to him, unlike Aperio.


    Aside from her freakishly tall stature, there were other things he had not taken immediate notice of that stood out now that he looked more closely. The woman had either spent an ungodly amount of time pursuing strength without the System¡¯s help, or was using magic to alter her appearance.


    He deemed the latter much more likely, as it would explain the lack of any imperfections on her skin. Elves aged slower, yes, but so did his kind, and he knew that the ravages of time left little marks on everyone. Even Fel¡¯Erreyth had them.


    Before the others of his former group could speak, a few quiet words that he immediately regretted escaped his mouth. ¡°What are you?¡±


    A prayer from Caethya telling her she should have let her do the talking was the first thing that reached Aperio after the Dragonkin had asked his question.


    What gave it away? she thought to herself, relaying the question to her disciple.


    ¡°An Elf,¡° she replied in the meantime, fixing her gaze on the one that called himself Jikoh. It was a lie, kind of, but it was the simplest answer to come up with at the moment. Maybe I should just tell people I¡¯m a Primordial Elf? I am one, after all.


    It was perhaps also easier to explain, as she could show them her [Status] and they could see that it said ¡®Primordial (Elf)¡¯. That it only meant she looked like an Elf was not something they needed to know. Can mortals even show their [Status] to someone else?


    The mortals remained silent, the one named Jikoh taking another step back despite her not having done anything. Rude. Caethya had given her a long list of things she needed to fix; one of which was that she would have to have some imperfections on her form.


    Her disciple had suggested a complete makeover, but she had also clarified that she neither wanted that for herself nor truly thought Aperio would drastically alter her appearance. Right she is. A few minor changes might be doable, but Aperio would rather bear the attention and doubts than to change anything major.


    It was, perhaps, a mistake to stick with what she had made ¡ª a more mortal appearance would further her goal of living amongst them ¡ª but she wanted to live life, not play charades. Either they accept me as me, or they don¡¯t.


    ¡°Anything else you wish to ask?¡° Aperio inquired, promising Caethya she would do the talking next time with a mental message. And remember to breathe, blink, and not break the laws of the world by walking¡­


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± the perpetually angry woman asked. ¡°What do you want from his majesty?¡±


    Tiko Tellheim | [Messenger of Fel¡¯Erreyth] | Level: 127


    ¡°He might know the location of something that has been stolen from me,¡° she replied, dismissing the System notification her magic had yielded. ¡°Perhaps I will also inform him of your manners, Miss Tellheim.¡°


    While the mortals remained quiet at her words, Aperio could hear a quiet sigh from Caethya, her disciple obviously not happy with her magic usage. The All-Mother tilted her head lightly, asking why her use of [Identify] would have been wrong. Ferio had told her it was a skill mortals used, after all.


    ¡°You make an awful mortal,¡± Caethya whispered as she passed her Goddess to stand between her and the group. ¡°Just let me talk, okay?¡±


    Aperio sighed but gave a slight nod in reply nonetheless. Her disciple taking over was a good thing, if she was honest with herself. She would have been at a loss for what to do next. The longer she talked with them, the more she felt like not doing exactly that. I hope that doesn¡¯t happen with other mortals¡­


    Her experience with them had been¡­ limited. Caethya is probably right, Aperio thought as she looked at her disciple and the group of mortals. No magic the next time.


    Jikoh had distanced himself from everyone, including his group, but was now moving slowly towards her again. "What are you," he asked again, quietly enough so that only Aperio could hear him.


    ¡°An Elf,¡° she replied, shifting her gaze onto him. She briefly considered her next words. Revealing her true nature was not an option, but neither did she want to lie outright. ¡°Unlike others you have met or heard about, however.¡°


    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°Normal Elves breathe.¡±


    Aperio waved her hand dismissively after a moment, having first tried to shrug her wings before she realised there were currently gone. ¡°It is no longer necessary past a certain level.¡°


    She knew that her words were not a lie, as Caethya had said she could survive in space for a while and she was below four hundred. What level is an Elder even supposed to be? A thousand?


    The question was mentally filed away, added to the pile of questions she had in her mind, before she turned to face the man more fully. She tried her best to ignore the bit of twisty joy she got from towering over him before she asked a question of her own.


    ¡°Why is Tiko so upset about a signet ring? And why would the other guy even want it?¡° From what she knew of those rings, they only worked for the person to whom it was linked. Stealing one only got you a very recognisable ring of questionable value. Perhaps the Empire had special ones?


    ¡°How do you know her name?¡± Jikoh countered, the tension he had been under having seemingly vanished.


    Aperio folded her arms in front of her chest. ¡°[Identify]. A simple skill that lets me know a person''s name, title, and level.¡°


    She had not actually used a skill, but the result was the same so it did not really matter, and she doubted the mortal in front of her would be able to call her bluff by having the skill themselves.


    ¡°Tiko takes her job very seriously,¡± he said after a while, the information Aperio offered apparently enough for him to speak on the matter. ¡°Even if Ilo cannot do anything with the ring, its loss might mean the loss of Tiko''s job, as well as the Title it gives.¡±


    Jikoh scratched the back of his head as he eyed the man in question, who was currently talking to Caethya. ¡°As for why he would want one? I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°And why are you so talkative suddenly?¡° Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly. ¡°You looked like you wished to be anywhere but here just a little while ago.¡°


    ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡± he replied, his scales glimmering in shades of red as he tilted his head like the All-Mother had. ¡°I¡­ I just wanted to know what you are.¡±


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at his words. Is this what Ferio meant when she said people will know who I am? Or did he change because I did not want him to run off?


    Neither prospect was good in her eyes, but if she truly influenced people by offhandedly thinking about what she did not want them to do, her goal of living amongst the mortals would be all but impossible.


    ¡°Approaching the one that effortlessly disabled your party because you assume she is not what she claims to be seems like a good way to lose your head.¡°


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t,¡± he said, as if that was justification enough.


    ¡°No, you did not,¡° she agreed, her eyes flicking back to Caethya and the other mortals.


    Her disciple had a talent in dealing with them that she lacked. Perhaps I am too intimidating? Aperio thought, looking down at herself. Caethya had made it clear that she would need to change a little about her looks, but Aperio was not sure how much that would help.


    She could probably give herself some small imperfections that would make her look more normal, but she would likely not make herself smaller or rid herself of her fit physique. Aperio knew it would draw attention, but she had spent a lifetime being forced to look as others wanted ¡ª something she was not keen on repeating just to fit in.


    A small flex of her mental muscles almost teleported her next to her disciple before the All-Mother realised what she was about to do and released the grip on her magic, instead taking the few steps she needed to close the distance.


    Gently, she placed her hand on Caethya¡¯s shoulder, a mental query asking her if they could continue onwards. The way Jikoh behaved was weirding her out, and she would be thrilled if they could leave.


    Her disciple gave her a light nod, telling Aperio that they should probably take the mortals with them. The All-Mother scrunched her eyebrows at that. She would be lying if she said she had not looked forward to spending a bit of time with Caethya alone, but she understood why her disciple would make such a suggestion.


    A sigh escaped her, the air somehow flowing from her lungs though she still had not bothered to breathe. ¡°You are right,¡° she said. ¡°If we leave them alone, they will probably be at each other¡¯s throats again.¡°


    ¡°And what gives you the right to command us?¡± Tiko asked, her hand closing around the hilt of her sword.


    Aperio merely raised an eyebrow in reply. ¡°Nothing. But, I believe Ilo would be quite happy to travel with us so he will not get beaten to death.¡°


    The man in question was quick to nod, moving himself behind Aperio. I guess I make for excellent cover?


    ¡°I think we should stick with them too,¡± Jikoh said. ¡°I have no desire to fight any of you.¡±


    The two leather-clad mortals followed suit shortly thereafter, nodding their assent and moving to stand with Jikoh and Ilo. The man that had previously been the accused also joined them, a very brief touch of Aperio¡¯s magic flowing through him to make sure he was okay. Should have done that sooner¡­


    The scaled woman looked at them for a while longer before she huffed and turned away, walking down the road towards the city Aperio knew was in the distance.


    ¡°I hope most people here are not like her,¡° Aperio said, moving to follow the woman with steps she hoped would not tire their new companions. If they are, I might have to postpone my mortal training.


    Nobody answered her question, but the All-Mother did not truly care either, not when Caethya fell into step beside her and a bit of her magic danced around Aperio.


    A small smile spread across her lips as she responded in kind, letting a minuscule amount of her mana flow around Caethya. The longer she spent with the Elf the more certain she became that what she felt in the back of her mind was not something that had spawned out of a life of loneliness but, perhaps, something more.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 103: Social Climate

    If her assessment of the mortals was correct, they would likely ask for a break soon ¡ª something neither she nor her disciple needed. They had travelled for a little while already; the sun that had stood high in the sky before now slowly dipped past the horizon.


    Their pace was already slow, and the idea of stopping for a break was not one she looked forward to, but there was something else that bothered the All-Mother. Caethya had for some time now taken on a thoughtful expression, and had been stealing glances at her and intermittently shaking her head.


    Aperio finally turned to face Caethya, curiosity getting the better of her. A touch of her magic ensued the mortals would not be privy to their conversation, and it was not until she was satisfied with the level of privacy that she asked, ¡°Is something wrong? You seem¡­ distracted.¡°


    ¡°I guess?¡± Caethya responded after a moment of continued silence. ¡°I just have trouble understanding, well, you.¡± She took a breath of the cold air, holding it for a moment before letting it go. ¡°You remember more of your mortal life than that of the All-Mother, no?¡±


    After Aperio gave a hesitant nod, Caethya pressed on. "I do not know how you appeared back then, but I can only presume that you have some semblance to your former self. Why do you cling to the form that was subject to so much pain? You could be anyone, or anything. You are the All-Mother!" After a moment, she added, "It''s not that I want you to change, but you cannot deny the fact that staying as you are will continue to draw attention."


    The All-Mother considered her disciple¡¯s words for a moment, idly looking at herself through her aura. ¡°Because it is my choice,¡° she replied after a while. ¡°For the first time, I enjoy how I look; who I am. What they had tried so hard to destroy is now better than ever and beyond their reach. It might be vain of me to cling to physicality as I do, but it helps.


    ¡°I agree that it is perhaps a bit much,¡° Aperio continued, balling her hand into a fist and observing how the muscles shifted beneath her skin, ¡°but this is who I am.¡° Who I want to be.


    Perhaps it was a bit irrational to not want to change any aspect of how she looked, but at the moment it was a burden she was willing to bear. Perhaps just creating an illusion would be enough?


    ¡°A few small things, then,¡± Caethya said. ¡°Like a few wrinkles in your hands, or perhaps make your face not as perfectly symmetrical. And maybe a bit more warmth for strangers. I know you do not trust them, but you have to open up a little.¡± She took Aperio¡¯s hand into her own before she continued, uncaring that the mortals would see. ¡°And you can always rely on me.¡±


    ¡°For tips on how to look worse?¡° Aperio asked, in an attempt to lighten the mood.


    Despite understanding the need to change her appearance, Aperio found herself unwilling. Merely hiding her wings gnawed on her mind ¡ª already caused a small amount of pain ¡ª and the prospect of further changing her appearance was appalling. Anything less than perfection was not desirable ¡ª even if the mortals found it weird or distracting.


    A part of her was vehemently against the mere suggestion of further altering her form. It felt akin to bowing her head in shame, accepting that her former masters did not like who she had become. It was, of course, just an unpleasant reflection of the past, as nobody could force her to do anything she did not want, but it unfortunately did not stop her mind from supplying such unpleasant suggestions.


    ¡°Advice on how to fit in,¡± Caethya said, a small smile briefly flashing over her face before she turned serious again. ¡°I doubt it is the reason for your unwillingness, but I will say it anyway. To me, it does not matter how you choose to look; I like you for who you are.¡±


    The words of her disciple filled her with a surprising but not unwelcome warmth, one that made her want to wrap the Elf in a hug. That was not an option at the moment, but a touch of her magic dancing around Caethya was an excellent substitute.


    ¡°I have never before been able to choose,¡° Aperio said after a while, a small, bitter laugh preceding her next words. ¡°Before, I was weak, my body mutilated. Changed to fit the desires of my masters. Not anymore.¡°


    The All-Mother sighed after a moment, a small breeze brushing past them in reply to the accidental loosening of her iron grip on her aura. ¡°But, I guess changing might be the only way to comfortably mingle with the mortals. Some compromises will have to be made.¡°


    Caethya gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, a calming touch of her disciple¡¯s magic brushing against the edges of her mind. At the moment, however, the minuscule nature of her magic only underlined the issue.


    An unneeded wave of her free hand dissolved the magic that had blocked sound from reaching the mortals. There was nothing more to discuss that the mortals were not supposed to hear. In fact, Aperio had a few questions of her own about the city she could sense not too distant from them.


    It housed the dungeon she had come to destroy, and scattered in its proximity were numerous people who were only slightly weaker than Caethya. Definitely not something normal for a mortal city. Or is Ebenlowe just weak?


    With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the thought from her mind. ¡°Does the Adventurers Guild control the dungeon here?¡° she asked instead, focusing her senses on the mortals behind her.


    ¡°No,¡± Jikoh replied. ¡°His majesty controls it. I had thought such knowledge would make it past our little continent.¡±


    ¡°Fel¡¯Erreyth would never let those filthy adventurers control his dungeon,¡± Tiko spat. ¡°He controls it and, one day, will become one with it.¡±


    The words gave Aperio pause. Become one with the dungeon? The mere idea caused a shudder to run down her spine. She did not want to believe that someone would voluntarily do such a thing as absorbing so much pure mana, let alone having the audacity to steal her memories. But they don¡¯t know¡­


    ¡°I hope for his sake that he has not done that yet,¡° Aperio said. ¡°The dungeon has something that belongs to me. If he has already taken it¡­ that would be problematic.¡°


    ¡°What would you do if he took them?¡± Caethya asked, tightening the grip on her hand slightly.


    ¡°I do not know,¡° Aperio replied, a mental message telling her disciple that she would get her memories back one way or another.


    ¡°What do you intend to do when we reach Ullier?¡± Jikoh asked, hesitating for a moment before he added, ¡°Lady Aperio.¡±


    ¡°Retrieve what has been stolen from me,¡° she replied. ¡°After that? Perhaps explore these lands a little. It would be interesting if I could find something worthy to fight.¡° Though I doubt that exists. Maybe I can spar with Caethya when she ascends?


    Aperio still would like a bout with her daughter, but she was not sure what their relationship was at the moment. Ferio continued to reply to her inquiries with nothing more than a simple "I''m busy," something that had led the All-Mother to briefly check if her daughter was actually okay. Luckily, she had not been able to find anything wrong. Physically, at least.


    Caethya moved a little closer to her, the bond they shared likely making her sadness obvious to the Elf. Aperio had to note, however, that the bond was no longer as prevalent as it used to be. Good. The stronger her disciple became, the less the connection seemed to matter ¡ª the more she could trust Caethya¡¯s affection to be genuine.


    On the other hand, the rather abrupt change in attitude Jikoh had displayed worried her. It had been too abrupt, as if her dislike for his wariness had taken that from him. There was of course the possibility that he was merely curious, but Aperio had her doubts. She already knew that her will ¡ª her emotions ¡ª influenced the world and the people. Just like they do to me.


    ¡°You make it sound like whoever stole from you is hiding in the dungeon,¡± Jikoh began. ¡°But only Fel¡¯Erreyth and his court live in the Valley of Everlasting Fire; the lower floors of the dungeon.¡±


    "That is because the dungeon is exactly where it is," Caethya replied. A touch of her magic brushed against the All-Mother''s cheek ¡ª she had clearly taken note of Aperio''s irritated expression ¡ª and she all but mumbled her next words. "I hope Fel''Erreyth is not too attached to the dungeon..."


    The brief quiet that had settled over the group was broken by a snorting laugh coming from Tiko. ¡°Do you think the dungeon stole from you? Those things don¡¯t even think. They are mindless monsters that can only be tamed by the truly strong.¡±


    Aperio only shook her head in reply. It made sense that the mortals did not know, of course, but she knew that the dungeons were very much things that could think. It was a truth that worried her even more about Fel''Erreyth''s potential bond with the dungeon. The idea that he would get her memories, would see her life...


    She let out a breath despite the lack of air in her lungs, the clouds that had started to gather far above them stopping their race to darken the skies. Why is my influence on the world so much more pronounced here? There was nothing special about Procul; nothing she could feel at least. Perhaps it is the dungeon?


    ¡°The weather is odd today,¡± Ilo said quietly, taking Aperio from her thoughts. It was the first time he had spoken since Aperio met the group. ¡°Perhaps his majesty is angry?¡±


    ¡°Of course he is angry!¡± Tiko rebutted. ¡°You tried to steal from one of his messengers!¡±


    ¡°I doubt that was him,¡± Caethya said, her eyes fixed on Aperio as she removed her hand from the All-Mother¡¯s, resting it against the small of her back instead. The movement was accompanied by a warming touch of her magic flowing through Aperio¡¯s body.


    The mana of her disciple should have been barely noticeable in the flood that coursed through her body, but it still managed to bring a warmth to her being that she had not expected. One she was not certain came entirely from Caethya¡¯s mana.


    ¡°Is your¡­ master doing that?¡± one of the leather-clad Dragonkin asked. He also mumbled something about the master and disciple thing being a lie, but Aperio ignored that comment. Disciple was just one of the many things Caethya was, and definitely not all she could become.


    ¡°Yes,¡° Aperio replied after a while, her eyes fixed on the distant gates of the city. ¡°Something here is¡­ resonating with my magic.¡° Does the mana the dungeon stole know I have come?


    It was not unthinkable. Her mana ¡ª just like anything she had created ¡ª reacted to her emotions; her thoughts. There had been a few occasions before when her mana had been seemingly happy to get used, almost as if it was eager to shape reality to her will. But mana doesn¡¯t think.


    Jikoh scratched the back of his head, the claws of his hand scraping over the scales that covered most of his form. ¡°What was stolen, anyway?¡±


    ¡°Upsetting an Elder seems like a stupid idea,¡± Ilo mumbled, his eyes flicking between the Aperio and the slowly dispersing clouds. ¡°Like a walking calamity,¡± he added, even quieter than before.


    ¡°What has been stolen is none of your concern,¡° Aperio replied, letting her senses wander through the busy streets of the city ahead. She had no intention of telling them about her lost memories, and neither did she want to make something up. ¡°That something has been taken is enough.¡°


    The reply silenced the mortals for a moment, the group exchanging a few glances before the quiet seemingly became unbearing and the other leather-clad figures spoke. ¡°Do Elves usually share such an¡­ intimate bond with their students?¡±


    Caethya raised a brow at the question, not stopping the gentle movement of her hand against Aperio¡¯s back. ¡°Do you not comfort your friends?¡±


    ¡°Comfort?¡± Jikoh asked, obviously not what to make of the words.


    ¡°Calm would be a better word,¡° Aperio replied, a slight smile forming at the absence of the feeling of wrongness she had half expected to return. ¡°I usually do not leave my home,¡° she continued, taking extra care not to mention anything that would contradict her cover as an Elder. ¡°Dealing with people who do not know how to conduct themselves is not one of my strong suits.¡°


    It had been obvious that her comment had been directed at Tiko, the woman falling slightly behind as she stole a few glances at the sky above. The other mortals also fell behind, muttering various things that included what sounded like assorted prayers to various deities.


    Aperio did not mind. Her attempt to appear like a mortal had already been foiled by her own actions, and as soon as she had reached the city it would have been moot anyway. Mortals don¡¯t destroy dungeons, after all.


    Still, her test had been helpful. She now knew what she had to do the next time she went to mingle with the mortals. I just hope a few small changes are enough¡­ With a slight shake of her head, Aperio pushed the thoughts from her mind, focusing on the city that drew ever closer. Soon.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 104: Holding All the Cards

    Aperio debated making a few changes to herself as the guardsmen continued to stare at Caethya and her. They had finally reached the city, the mortals indeed needing a break that had been cut short with a bit of magic from her disciple.


    It had been agreed that they would all visit Fel''Erreyth, Aperio because she was very sure the presence she could feel far below the city was the ruler of Procul, and so that was also where the dungeon core was likely to be; and Tiko because she was adamant that Fel''Erreyth would punish Ilo for his insolence and would likely also squash Aperio.


    The All-Mother doubted that he would do anything of the sort.


    "Will you intervene if Ilo really gets punished?" Caethya asked quietly, a touch of her own magic keeping the words private. "I am beginning to think that the people here are a bit¡­ barbaric."


    While the All-Mother would not necessarily agree with the assessment, she had no problem seeing why her disciple would think that. Everyone outside the city gates was armed, armoured, and looked as though they would start a fight if spoken to.


    On the other side of the walls, it looked a little different. Her aura had no trouble seeing what was inside the city, and what she saw was much more in line with what she knew. People still carried weapons and wore armour nearly everywhere, but they also talked to one another.


    "I don''t know," Aperio replied with a sigh, a touch of her own magic reinforcing Caethya''s. "I do not want him to suffer, but he did steal something and I am not certain if it is my place to judge¡­ Perhaps I will intervene if they want to kill or enslave him."


    "Maybe you feel it is not your place to judge," her disciple began, "but you are the All-Mother ¡ª you made all of this. I think that gives you the right to judge, or at least to prevent something unjust."


    "Does it?" Aperio asked. "I do not even remember how ¡ª or even if ¡ª I made this planet. And even if I did do all that? Why would that entitle me to judging a random person?"


    "Since most places are ruled through strength, you''d easily have the upper hand there," Caethya replied. "But I also already know that you would intervene if they did something out of proportion. You have done so already, after all."


    The All-Mother sighed slightly. Caethya was right; she would do something if Fel''Erreyth decided that stealing a useless ring should be punishable by slavery or death. She was likely to come into conflict with the ruler of Procul anyway, as she doubted he would let her simply destroy the dungeon. And he won''t believe me that the dungeon will still be there after I destroy the core.


    "We shall see," she said. "But first we have to get inside."


    That course of action was easier said than done. I should have gotten proper identification from the [Grandmaster], Aperio thought to herself. A mental message to Caethya revealed that Elders did not have special papers they carried with them and that Aperio could just copy what her disciple used. If I can copy that¡­


    The small card Caethya had produced and now held in her hand was made from a metal Aperio had not seen before and was dotted with runes she could not read. The All-Mother tilted her head slightly as she focused on the card, trying to get a feel for it through her aura.


    She had little doubt that she could make something that looked like it, but Aperio had no idea if she could replicate any of the card¡¯s functions. A flex of her mental muscles caused her mana to flow between the threads of reality, something she hoped would hide her magic from the mortals.


    Her mana flowed into the small space she had created, twisting the fabric of space further as she forced her will into reality. It was not long before the metal card she had wanted came into being, only hers carried a blue sheen that Caethya''s lacked.


    Because it''s made from my mana? A thought turned the card in its secluded pocket of reality as Aperio inspected her creation. Even though it had been easy to make and, in the end, did not amount to much, the act of creation had been enjoyable on a level that did not quite make sense.


    Another touch of her magic caused runes to slowly appear on its surface, each one flickering to life as soon as she was done etching it into the metal surface of the card. Her name was then etched into it in the excessively cursive script she had come to adopt, connecting the various runes to one another and causing the entire metal card to briefly shine with the full force of her mana before settling into a more subtle and muted blue and silver glow.


    Aperio brought the card out of its secluded space ¡ª her attempt to hide it from the mortals seemingly a success ¡ª and gently placed it in Caethya''s hand so she could inspect it.


    Her disciple ran her fingers across the metal surface, tiny arcs of mana dancing over the card and her hand. Caethya turned it around, visually inspecting the other side before Aperio felt a bit of her disciple''s magic flow through the card.


    With a satisfied nod, Caethya handed it back. After responding to Caethya''s mental query for privacy by erecting an invisible barrier, their conversation continued.


    "It should work," her disciple said, "but it will probably still draw a bit of their attention as it has some¡­ peculiar properties. It should not be too bad, but it would seem that your penchant for perfection is going to make things a bit more difficult again."


    "I did not try to perfect it, though," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly. "I just tried to recreate yours as I have no idea what these are supposed to do in the first place."


    "Usually they are made by pushing your mana through a tool that reads your signature and stores it in your runes," Caethya explained, tracing the small lines of her own card with her fingers. "Your mana creates them, marking it as yours forever. The name is just an optional touch."


    "So it will work because I did the same, just without the help of a machine?" Apparently made it better, too.


    Her disciple gave a nod in reply, taking a step forward as the group in front of them was finally done. Aperio let the magic that had given them their privacy fade, and followed.


    Most of the guardsmen continued to stare at them, and only the one in charge of the gate seemed to be used to seeing people like Aperio and Caethya.


    Maybe wearing a dress is also not the best idea, Aperio thought as she stepped closer and handed the guard her newly-made identification card. Adding armour doesn''t really make it more fitting for adventurers. While her disciple might have worn something similar when she had first encountered her, it did not mean that it would be normal attire for most adventuring mortals. Caethya is not exactly a normal adventurer, after all.


    The guard placed the card on a small stone tablet that was not only ringed with various crystals but also had many runes etched into it. It''s gonna break, isn''t it?


    Just as she had thought, the tablet flashed once with a blinding green before the crystals cracked and the stone seemed to melt slightly.


    "You may enter," the guard said with a sigh, as another guard took the broken tablet in his hand and replaced it with a new one. "Should''ve known that would happen," he mumbled as he took Caethya''s card, inspecting it before placing it on the tablet.


    Aperio moved slightly past the man, a touch of her magic flowing around the tablet her card had broken. While she did not intend to fix it, Aperio did want to see if she could figure out what exactly went wrong with it.


    The obvious theory was that her mana was too potent for the device. I do break wards by just being near them, after all. Though a feeling in the back of her mind told her that it would be useless, Aperio made a mental note to try pushing her mana between the threads of reality to hide it in a space mortals could not see the next time she encountered wards.


    With that noted, Aperio shifted her attention away from the broken tablet and onto the mortals that had accompanied them. Much like Caethya and herself, they presented the guard with a little card that he placed on his stone before waving them through.


    Jikoh''s eyes lingered on the broken one for a moment, the Dragonkin glancing at the waiting Aperio as he passed.


    The gentle touch of Caethya''s hand against her back caused Aperio to fall into step next to her disciple. For a moment, the All-Mother wanted to fold her wing over her disciple in reply, the feathered limb almost appearing before Aperio caught herself and took Caethya''s hand into her own.


    She was not sure if the stares they received were from her general appearance, the fact that they were Elves or if the residents of Ullier did not appreciate them holding hands. The whispers that reached Aperio''s ears not only caused them to twitch slightly, but also confirmed that it was her first two thoughts that were correct.


    In comparison to the thousands of mortals, the handful of Elves ¡ª she could only locate a few within the city ¡ª would be a rare sight. That she looked exotic to them, apparently even more so than a normal Elf, only garnered more attention.


    Can''t exactly change how I look with mortals around, Aperio thought to herself, her senses wandering through the city. The dungeon was easy to find, but her hope of popping over to an empty floor to take a breather and maybe figuring out what to change about her appearance was quashed as she found more city on every floor.


    It made sense, of course; if you can control the dungeon, why not use the space to expand your city? Perhaps A''ryein and Den''kelter will make the dungeon available to the residents of Ebenlowe? There is already a village in it, after all. She pushed the thoughts from her mind. What the people of Ebenlowe decided to do was none of her business. The only bit she cared about was that A''ryein and Den''kelter did not abuse their newfound strength.


    She did make a mental note to visit them later, however. Thus far, she had heard nothing whatsoever from the two, which unsettled her a little. I should also visit Maria again¡­ "So much to do," Aperio mumbled, briefly contemplating simply teleporting to the bottom of the dungeon.


    The idea was quickly dismissed, and Aperio instead tried to busy herself by observing the city. Most of the buildings were made from a dark grey stone that she had no doubt came from deeper in the dungeon. They all carried a certain note with them that the All-Mother could not quite place, but knew it came from the dungeon.


    "I think we should invest into some veils," Caethya whispered, moving just a little closer to her Goddess. "At least if we intend to go places where being an Elf draws attention."


    "I could make some now, if you wish."


    "No," her disciple replied with a small shake of her head. "Just give me a little bit of time to prepare the next time we plan on going somewhere."


    "Taking you with me had been a rather impromptu decision." Aperio wasn''t quite sure how to put the reasoning for her decision into words.


    The warm fuzziness that spread through her, the gentle note of calm that helped her stay out of infinite loops of doubt and memories that crawled out of the depths of her mind. It was a foreign feeling for Aperio; one she had not experienced before. She sent this information to Caethya in an indistinct mental nudge, no words she knew able to accurately convey the meaning, and privately admitted to herself that the comfort she drew from Ferio or Maria was different, lacking that certain something that she felt when she was with her disciple. It was a grounding calmness, she hesitantly decided, and it was the little urge she felt to hold on to the Elf.


    The All-Mother indulged in the impulse, holding Caethya''s hand a little tighter and pulling her a little closer. That she had to take meticulous care of how much strength she used was only a small down side, one she hoped would vanish in time. Though, with her never ending increase in strength, it was doubtful that that would ever be the case.


    A giant, cathedral-like building made from black marble not unlike that which her own temple used took Aperio from her thoughts. Tiko walked straight towards it and the All-Mother could feel the floors of the dungeon stretching out underneath.


    "Do we have to walk all the way down?" Jikoh asked. "I have only ever gone to the third floor, and that took quite a while."


    "No," Tikoh replied, showing the ring to one of the guards at the door. "We will use the gate to go directly to the Valley of Everlasting Fire."


    Nobody stopped them as they made their way through the giant hall. Aperio would have been impressed at it all if it did not remind her of her own temple. Did the dungeon try to recreate it?


    The idea was confirmed for her when she laid her eyes on the gate Tiko had mentioned. It looked exactly like the one outside her temple, minus some of the runes. And the fact that this one is actually being used.


    The Dragonkin did not hesitate as she stepped through, the rest of the mortals following shortly after. Aperio and Caethya gave each other a look before stepping into the portal themselves.


    It was cool to the touch, almost like water, but what Aperio noticed more was the crude way in which this portal ripped reality apart. Her skin crawled as she emerged on the other side, almost reaching out with her mind to fix what was clearly in need of repair so she could be at ease when her eyes landed on the presence she had felt in her aura all along.


    At the end of the cave she now found herself in was a Dragon, its scales a shiny black similar to the marble-like floor of the cave itself. Each one of its leathery wings was bigger than the gate they had used to get here, and a crystal embedded into its chest glowed with a familiar twinkling light as the red mist flowed within.


    Aperio''s swordstaff appeared in her hand before anyone had spoken, her assessment of the room having taken a fraction of a breath.


    The Dragon opened its eyes in reply, shifting its limbs as it stood to its full height, easily taller than most of the buildings she had seen in both Ebenlowe and Ullier. The crystal in its chest, too, was bigger than any she had seen before. At least twice as tall as herself, and filled with the red mist she knew all too well.


    "The Tyrant arrives," the Dragon rumbled, its voice causing the threads of reality to sway slightly. "I have been told to expect you."


    Aperio did not reply, instead focusing on the monster in front of her. With a small twitch of her mind, she willed the System''s notification into existence.


    Fel''Erreyth | [Conduit of Memory] | Level: Error


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 105: Evocation

    Aperio shifted her swordstaff, the blade of her weapon cutting through reality itself with no resistance. She kept her eyes fixed on Fel''Erreyth as a flex of her mental muscles brought Caethya and the mortals that had accompanied them behind her, encased in a sphere of mana she had drawn from the deeper, purer parts of her well.


    "I have no intention to fight," the Dragon said suddenly, the mist in the crystal flaring an angry red. Fel''Erryth stretched out his wings before lying back down, tail curling protectively in front of his legs. "My God has told me that you would come; would kill me. But I respect the Law of the First, and I know you better than my God does. I know I have no chance of beating you, and I know what you have come for, Aperio."


    "Do you?" she asked, taking a step forward as her wings came into being once more, spreading slowly behind her. "You call me a Tyrant like those who oppose me ¡ª even admit that your God is one of them.


    "You took what is mine for yourself," Aperio continued, small cracks forming on the marble floor with every step she took. "Used it to strengthen yourself."


    Fel''Erreyth''s eyes followed Aperio as she came closer, lifting his head as she kicked off of the ground accompanied by a strong beat of her wings. It brought her directly in front of him, and she stayed level with his gaze, pointing her weapon at the crimson eye staring at her.


    "I want them back."


    "I don''t know how to give back what you seek," the Dragon replied calmly. "I have sought a bond with the dungeon to gain strength, but the price that came with that strength was not worth it. If you must kill me to take back your memories, then so be it."


    Fel''Erreyth shifted his considerable bulk before he continued to speak. "I will bear the consequences of my choice, even though I do not know what they might be. I just ask that my people remain unharmed."


    Aperio relaxed her arm a little, her weapon lowering marginally, and the breeze that had started to flow through the chamber began to lightly subside.


    "Would you die if I destroy the crystal?" Aperio asked, trying her best to ignore the voice in the back of her mind that wanted to fight the dragon.


    "I am unsure," Fel''Erreyth replied. "The dungeon''s core is now part of my being. Removing it would likely spell my end, First One. But there is a slim chance it might not."


    The All-Mother stopped beating her wings, letting gravity take her down so she might look at the crystal. The stone cracked beneath her feet as she landed, something she had by now grown accustomed to.


    Despite her body itching for a fight, Aperio did not wish to kill Fel''Erreyth. Unlike the others that followed the Gods that were part of the Repens Nabu, the Dragon in front of her did not seem to openly wish to kill her.


    "Have you seen my memories?" she asked. Her free hand reached out to brush over the crystal, and she could feel the mana within calling to her. "Do you know what I was?"


    She was not sure if he could see her memories, as his title made it seem like he made them available for someone else.


    "Only in the beginning," Fel''Erreyth said, confirming her suspicion. "Lor''Kem soon took interest in my achievement and took that ability from me." A bit of smoke curled from the Dragon''s nostril as it huffed. "He said it was to protect me from the Corruption of the Tyrant."


    Aperio pulled her hand back, and a few hairline cracks spread erratically on the crystal in the Dragon''s chest. His words had caused her to lose sight of her strength, the idea that one of the traitors would use her memories unacceptable.


    But he had a point, Aperio thought to herself. She had little doubt that her memories would have unforeseen effects on anyone but herself. The pure mana that accompanied them alone would be the death of a mortal, perhaps even a God.


    "Did your God do something with them?" she asked, her mana slowly seeping into the dragon as she tried to find a way to remove the Crystal without killing.


    Fel''Erreyth lightly nodded his head, a motion Aperio had not expected from the large creature. Neither had she expected the calm acceptance of her mana, but Fel''Erreyth seemed to be actively preventing his own from fighting the All-Mother.


    "I assume he did," he finally replied. "But I cannot be certain. The relationship of me and my kin with the Gods is tangential at best. They value us as warriors for their cause, and we accept the boons they give us in return.


    "The devotion we gave to our creator is not for the current Pantheon to receive," Fel''Erreyth added after a moment of silence, the power in his voice slightly more pronounced.


    Aperio let go of her swordstaff, the weapon floating next to her as she used her now free hand to physically move a few threads of reality away. She had had a sudden idea as to how she could destroy the crystal and take back her memories without causing undue harm.


    While she was a long way from trusting Fel''Erreyth, she did not want to hurt him. He had been courteous enough; had not attacked her even though his God was one of the few that opposed her. Or one of the many? Her lack of knowledge about the deities that existed in her creation was something she would have to rectify later.


    Very gently, the All-Mother plucked at the threads of reality, trying to find the ones that bound the dungeon''s core to Fel''Erreyth. While she was not sure if it would work, Aperio chose to trust the feeling at the back of her mind. The one that told her it would be fine if she wanted it to be.


    Aperio knew, of course, that her will alone would not be enough to right all wrongs. Not yet, at least. How much stronger she would become? Thinking about how much a mere thought from her could potentially do in the future was a scary prospect, especially when she considered how easy it had felt to influence her creation after she had left her body.


    A single thread of reality caught at her attention, the strand resonating more strongly with her mana than the others that surrounded it. Aperio focused on it, her senses following it as she had done before to find Vigil''s Dominion. She doubted it would lead her to Fel''Erreyth''s God, the mana that clung to this specific thread quite clearly her own.


    The kaleidoscope of colours that greeted her senses beyond the threads that held the realms was oddly pleasant for her. Each minuscule part that resided here was an integral part of her creation ¡ª the knowledge an irrefutable fact in her mind.


    What was also clear to Aperio was that the single thread that resonated with her mana did not belong, destroyed the perfect balance she had created here. Her mind followed the strand, faster and faster, the colour of this world beyond merging into a multi-coloured strip as the All-Mother devoted more and more of her mind to finding the end of the offending thread.


    Aperio''s thoughts came to a halt as she found the end of the strand she had chased. In front of her mind''s eye was not the solution she had sought, but a carefully woven pocket of reality that housed hundreds of crystals; all filled with the same red mist.


    "Conduit," Aperio mumbled to herself as she drew more mana than ever before from the depths of her well. The pain that spread through her body was easily ignored with the promise of so much of her past so close by.


    The arcs of her mana that danced across her skin and jumped between her hair and feathers were ignored. Aperio did not care about the stone melting beneath her feet, simply hovering in place with lazy beats of her wings. The wisps of her mana that were thrown across the room whenever she moved her wings were also of no concern, the barrier she had created between herself and Caethya and the mortals more than strong enough to protect them.


    Slowly, Aperio stretched out her arm, following her instinct to both retrieve the mana in the crystal in front of her physical self and the ones hidden beyond the realms of apparent reality.


    Arcs of mana leapt from her skin, creating cracks whenever they struck the crystal embedded in the Dragon''s chest. A thought of the All-Mother forced her mana into Fel''Erreyth and commanded it to push the crystal out of its host.


    The Dragon roared in pain for a moment before Aperio directed her mana to heal him with another thought. A part of her wanted to kill him for trying to take what was her own, but a greater one did not. Fel''Erreyth had not known what the dungeon''s core contained, what it would lead to. He would not die, but he would not get to keep the power he had gained from her memories either.


    With a flex of her mental muscles, Aperio suddenly pulled the crystal free. No blood flowed from the Dragon''s wound, his flesh quickly regrowing and filling the space the dungeon core had recently occupied.


    The All-Mother did not know what the Dragon needed to survive, only letting her own mana aid that of Fel''Erreyth as his body seemed to instinctively know what was required. She did devote a small part of her mind to improving what she found lacking in the Dragon''s body, a way for her to reward him a little for being cooperative.


    Most of her mind, however, was focused on the small pocket of reality that housed more of the crystals then she had ever seen before. A thought of the All-Mother caused more mana to flow from her well, coiling around the crystals to aid her in pulling them into the mortal realm.


    One by one, crystals came into being in the space around her body. The largest one ¡ª the one that had been in Fel''Erreyth ¡ª slowly floated towards her. The closer it got, the more the fractures on its surface seemed to spread. The space around Aperio became more and more distorted with her power, and a flex of her mental muscles teleported the unconscious dragon behind the protective barrier she had previously made.


    The air surrounding Aperio was slowly being pushed away by the sheer magnitude of mana flowing from her body. She drew still more from her well, the omnipresent pain in her body ignored as she broken and was reforged again and again; a small price to pay for so much of her past.


    A loud crack echoed through the hall. Broken shards fell to the floor as the crystal that had been embedded in Fel''Erreyth''s chest shattered. The red mist within held steady in the air, confined by the might of Aperio''s will.


    She took a deep breath. Mana poured into her lungs, seeping into her flesh with a burning sensation. Slowly, Aperio spread her arms and wings, a thought drawing the cloud of red mist into her body.


    As soon as it had made contact, Aperio''s eyes opened wide. The noise of countless crystals shattering, breaking apart as fast as they could emerge from their hidden space, filled her ears. Unbidden, more mana flowed from her well, and for a moment she feared it was too much, the mana too pure for her body to contain.


    But that was not the case. Her mana mixed with the mist of the crystals; with her memories. It seeped into her muscles, her bones ¡ª her very being. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the mist and mana that surrounded her.


    Every cell in her body tingled as the mixture of pure and reclaimed mana spread through her. She threw her head back, gasping for air she did not need. The ceiling and walls of the cave cracked as though in reply, pieces of stone falling down only to settle into an orbit around Aperio''s floating form.


    She had stopped beating her wings, simply hovering above the molten stone. Her feathered limbs twitched slightly with every shaky breath she took, and her muscles shivered as more and more mana flowed into her shell, trying to reinforce it so it stood a chance of containing the seemingly boundless might of her formless self.


    The last of the crystals emerged from its hidden space, the shell imprisoning her memories burning away as soon as it entered the mortal realm. The red mist surrounding Aperio was so dense that it seemed distorted, and arcs of her mana flashed through the mist to slice reality apart above her. From the wounds in the world came the cold comfort of her Void, spiraling down to embrace her pained form.


    She needed the calmness her Dominion brought. The pain and pleasure flowing through her body, the anticipation of knowing more about herself and the apprehension of remembering the atrocities she might have committed; it was too much for her to willingly bear.


    Despite the fear mounting in her mind, Aperio drew more of the mist into herself, letting it fill her with its foreign comfort of times long past.


    With an effort of will she slowed her breathing, closing her eyes. She heard the worried voice of Caethya at the back of her mind, but did her best to ignore it. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to send reassurance to her disciple ¡ª her friend ¡ª but she knew that in her current state, any effort of communication would be far too much for even a Demigoddess touched by herself to bear.


    Instead, the All-Mother focused on the first fuzzy memories forming in her mind, nudged them closer to her mind''s eye. As the scene coalesced, already she recognised a few people. Chellien, the Beastkin God that had played with her young Ferio, was talking to a mortal she did not know. And yet, as she observed their interactions, she couldn''t help but feel that they were somehow familiar.


    The mortal kept glancing at her, seemingly wanting to say something to Aperio before Chellien chastised her and she focused back on him. Gradually, at a glacier''s pace, her form resolved into something clearer, and Aperio was finally able to make out her face.


    Brown, mottled fur, with a few white patches. A crooked ear, and a scar that ran from the outer fringes of her right eye, over her cheek and neck all the way to her collarbone.


    Moria?


    It was Aperio''s last coherent thought before an immense flood of memories filled her mind, melting and overlapping with one another and making it impossible to distinguish any one memory from the whole.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 106: Memento Mori

    The wild flood of memories had slowed, formed a flow that ¡ª while still chaotic ¡ª at least showed individual memories in greater detail. As a memory she had previously seen reappeared, clearer than before, it took away the last bits of doubt that the mortal she had been looking at was indeed Moria. She was arguing with Chellien, her voice hushed, probably thinking Aperio would not be able to hear her.


    That was, of course, not the case. She had no trouble picking up on the words, on the distaste Moria had for an Elf in their lands. The words gave Aperio pause. The Moria she had known would have never said something like that.


    Another one with the same name? the All-Mother wondered as her memory self regarded the pair in front of her. She had no wings in her memory, but, minus the muscle definition and height, she looked similar to her current self.


    She also felt weaker. Still a lot stronger than the other God present, but nothing short of frail and powerless when compared to her current self.


    Aperio remembered the irritation, the disgust at the presence of a mortal, and noted that another stark difference was her behaviour and thoughts. The emotions clashed with what she felt now: a longing to reach out to someone she thought of as a friend, and a fond remembrance to the comfort Moria had given her in the past.


    A wave of her past self''s hand caused Moria and Chellien to fall silent. There was a slight warmth that spread through her when she stepped closer, the memory so vivid and clear it might as well have played out right in front of her. She wanted to wrap the Beastkin in a hug, tell her of what she had to live through.


    But she could not. Even if Moria truly was in the here and now, none could simply brush side the chaotic storm of mana that now surrounded Aperio. The goddess herself was distantly aware of the world around her, and less distantly aware of the pain present in every part of her being.


    Despite all of that, the All-Mother was happy. She had been gifted with a part of her life not filled with slaughter and death, one featuring a friend she had thought lost forever. A friend she had never hoped to see again in any form.


    That this was the Moria she had known was increasingly unlikely, however. As far as her newly acquired memory was concerned, this happened millennia ago. Far before she died and was reborn as a slave.


    Aperio frowned mentally when Chellien bowed in her memory and Moria fell to her knees. It was her doing, prompted by an annoyance at the mortal''s current actions. Why?


    She could feel the indignation of her old self, the disgust. Still, it did not warrant the actions she had taken. Abusing her strength like that was exactly what Aperio no longer wanted to do.


    Before the memory could continue, another pushed it out of the cloudy mess that was her mind and took its place. Aperio wanted to hold on to the moment with Moria, and knew that the storm surrounding her was lashing out as her mind reached for the moment she had just been immersed in, but despite her efforts it slipped through her mental grasp.


    The new memory resolved into clarity much more quickly than the previous one, showing that Chellien seemed to be the common link between the two moments in her past. Her old self, she quickly realized, held in her hands what was undoubtedly his soul, and the hope that this, too, was a happy memory was dashed. The fact that she could feel the comforting presence of her wings against her back in her memory was largely ignored as the orb in her hand began leaking a black smoke that came from somewhere within. Chellien''s body, too, emitted the wispy darkness as it slowly started to dissolve.


    The storm that surrounded her actual self grew in intensity as anger flowed through every fibre of her being, a part of her Dominion manifesting in the mortal realm to prevent her anger from further breaking reality.


    Space around her was already distorted; twisting apart to reveal the construct beneath. The minuscule bits of her creation, moving erratically as they did their duty, resulted in a display that would likely drive a mortal insane.


    Aperio screamed when the black mist lashed out, enveloping three Beastkin who had been praying nearby. She could feel the changes within the three, how her old self ripped their mortal flesh apart and reforged them with Chellien''s very essence.


    She remembered his wish. Give his people the strength to protect themselves. Help them.


    The All-Mother''s attention was also drawn to one of the Beastkin writhing on the ground. Despite the magic that concealed her form, and made her look like the other men that had been praying, she knew it was Moria.


    Before she could ask herself how Moria could accomplish such a thing, the memory vanished. She didn''t reach for this moment as it rejoined the confusion in her clouded mind like she had the previous one. She knew that she had witnessed the last moments of Chellien''s existence in entirety, and that there was nothing left to see.


    The mana surging through her body flared with her anger and, despite the presence of her Dominion, reality folded in on itself infinitely as it twisted even further apart. At the moment, Aperio did not care about the damage she was doing to her creation. The one she cared about was protected by a barrier that grew in strength with every second as her body changed more and more, making it easier for the All-Mother to exert her will on the world.


    Another memory took her attention away from the mortal realm and, with it, a bit of the anger she had felt. Moria sat on the stone rim of a large fountain in the middle of a city neither her old or current self recognised. What she did know, however, was that her old self had lost the animosity she had once felt towards the Beastkin.


    In fact, there was a fondness that was only slightly tainted by her dislike for mortals. She observed Moria not only through her aura but multiple sets of mortal viewpoints. Her old self was there in a form Aperio recognized, but was also simultaneously present as a variety of Beastkin walking through the city.


    How? she wondered as her old self sat herself down next to Moria without the mortal noticing. Could I hide my aura?


    The anger that had clouded her mind had largely disappeared, replaced by the longing she felt to meet her long lost friend again and overlaid with the fondness she remembered from this meeting.


    While her old self might have been happy with what Moria had done, she was very much still displeased that she had to be there. Technically she did not have to be there, of course, but she was fulfilling the last touches of Chellien''s wish, something that had meant more to her than Aperio had first thought.


    Her previous behaviour, from before her time as a slave, had always been described as cold and uncaring. Most of what she remembered supported that, and what she had recently learned seemed to uphold that theory. Condemning a world filled with mortals to eternal damnation because their God had offended her was not something anyone should do, least of all herself. But still, the gentle fondness underlying her memory self''s current actions made her begin to reconsider things. There was clearly more to be learned about who she had once been.


    Moria immediately moved away when she noticed who was sitting next to her, bowing her head deeply. Aperio wanted to reach out and wrap the Beastkin in a hug, even if the Moria she currently saw could not have possibly been the one she knew.


    They spoke in a language Aperio could not name, but understood just fine all the same. It was not the one the Humans spoke, sadly, but it sparked a small hope. If she could fully remember this one, then it might be possible to skip the hassle of her current self learning it.


    Only a few words were exchanged between the All-Mother and Moria before Aperio could see a faint trickle of her mana flow into the Beastkin. A moment later, the memory turned blank and she was left with the knowledge of what her old self had done.


    [Memento Mori]? Aperio asked herself, the name of the title she had given to Moria not making much sense to her. What language is that? She recognised the letters easily enough, but the words themselves were unknown.


    A shift in the System''s secluded space caught Aperio''s attention, causing her to try and look inside it. The task was easier said than done, her mind too busy trying to sort the flood of memories.


    Though she needed no air, her breathing quickened, and the storm raging around her hovering form grew further. Tiny strands of her Void mixed with the silver and blue of her mana, reflected maddeningly within the abyss of torn-open reality. Aperio struggled, trying again and again to look at the information the System wanted to show her, but was unable to.


    Held hostage against her will, she couldn''t move, could barely think, could do nothing but watch as a seemingly endless parade of memories flew in and out of view of her mind''s eye.


    Lost, in pain, past the point of caring, Aperio fixated on the one thing she wanted. A primal scream ripped from her lungs as she forced her arm to move far before it was ready to be used again. She had to see ¡ª had to know ¡ª what Moria''s title meant.


    With another scream that tore the threads of reality apart Aperio lashed out, her balled hand flying through the fragile reality of the mortal realm and breaking it in its wake. She physically forced her way through the layers of her creation beyond, trying to find a way to see what her mind did not want to show her.


    A shudder ran through reality itself as Aperio punched a hole into the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of colours that held the threads of reality. Her mana danced across her skin as more and more flowed into her from deeper and deeper in her well.


    A second push accompanied by another scream moved her hand entirely past the edges of her creation. A familiar sensation spread across her hand, travelling up her arm and extending throughout her body. It felt like her Void, but not quite; more¡­ fundamental.


    Aperio took a step forward, the raging storm of her mana parting to make way for its mistress. The fog of memories in her mind eased as she stepped closer to the tear she had made.


    The All-Mother did not know what exactly she had done, having only acted with the intent to know what the title of the Moria in her memory meant.


    A clear mind was a welcome change from the chaotic swirl of memories she had experienced before, but Aperio knew that it was only a short reprieve. If she wanted to remember, she would have to endure the onslaught of her past ¡ª submit to it.


    For now, Aperio was glad for a break, and for the ability to actually think about what she had learned and figure out what it might have meant for her dead friend.


    Tentatively, she reached out. Her mana now felt different than before, purer still but also easier to grasp, to control. It seemed more akin to the bits and pieces of her creation that lingered beyond the threads of reality.


    A minuscule flex of her mental muscles tore the last threads of reality away from the mortal realm, letting the storm made from her mana, her Void, and the Beyond ¡ª a name she found fitting ¡ª mingle in the cave while she sent her senses further into the new space she had found.


    It only took her a moment longer to realise she had physically forced her way into the System''s space, the runes she could sense a bit further into the Beyond unmistakable.


    An unneeded, painful wave of her hand caused a familiar blue window to form in front of Aperio. The System had provided the information as soon as she had wanted it, but to the All-Mother it felt more like she had done it herself.


    For a brief moment, Aperio glared at the collection of runes with narrowed eyes before she returned her attention to the System notification.


    [Memento Mori]


    Your body might die, but your soul will remember.


    The All-Mother blinked at the words, the motion feeling more foreign than she remembered. What? Why had she given Moria a title that let her remember her past lives?


    She could not be sure that that was what the title meant, of course, but it was the only thing that made sense to her at the moment. Why? she asked herself again as she dismissed the window and let her senses retreat to the mortal realm. Or, what was left of it in the dungeon of Fel''Erreyth.


    Her outburst had utterly destroyed the threads that had made the mortal realm liveable. As it was now, Aperio had no doubts that a mortal, gazing out upon the endless stretches of nothing that sometimes flashed in colours they could not see and that casually leaked more mana than they could bear, would lose their mind.


    She closed her eyes as she breathed in the mana-filled air. A tingling sensation spread through her as it joined the rest of her magic in its endless endeavour. Curiosity sated, and feeling better for having had the reprieve, the All-Mother let herself slowly sink back into the swirl of memories.


    The knowledge of Moria''s title was still prominent in her mind despite the deluge of memories starting to cloud it again. Aperio could not shake the feeling that her friend had somehow known what she was ¡ª had only acted as she did because she feared retaliation when the being currently trapped as an Elf slave would eventually remember.


    Her new goal was clear. The prospect of finding what had been her only friend for most of her life was too great, superseding even the desire to regain her memories. She would need to find Moria.


    The All-Mother drew the storm that still raged around her body as close as she dared, embracing the pain that came with it. Despite its chaotic nature, it still managed to offer her a guiding light in the endless folds of her memories. Once she had cleared her mind, she would search for Moria and get answers. How she would do that, Aperio did not know, but she would find a way.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 107: Out of Bounds

    As the magic of her Goddess turned the barrier back to its usual opaque white colour and blocked her view, Caethya reluctantly removed her hand from its surface. Up until now it had been distressingly invisible, revealing the world beyond as well as the gashes that seemed to keep tearing into reality itself. After the mortals she had been with had started to bleed from their ears and nose, she had done her best to use her own body to shield their view.


    She had gotten a headache when she had looked at it, but nothing more. Probably because of her blessing, she thought to herself as she turned around.


    Her magic was no longer needed, as Aperio''s had retaken control of the barrier after a few hours. Perhaps these guards will fare better?


    "Do you truly not know what she is doing?" Fel''Erreyth asked. The Dragon had woken up almost a day after Aperio had taken the crystal from him, and had immediately called for a few guards as well as someone she presumed to be a doctor. The group she had briefly known, still bleeding from their facial orifices, had been gently led away while Fel''Erreyth had remained, surrounded by various Dragonkin as well as a large Serpent-Dragon.


    The Serpent-Dragon, who for reasons Caethya did not understand was wearing a large robe that covered most of its body, was pushed aside by one of Fel''Erreyth''s wings as the Dragon continued. "The mana density beyond the barrier ¡ª I can feel it. It''s already sufficient to wipe out the entire continent."


    Caethya sighed. She could feel it too, of course; but she could also feel Aperio''s pain, her ever-shifting emotions. The problem was that she couldn''t answer Fel''Erreyth''s question. She truly did not know, especially since her attempts at contacting Aperio kept failing.


    She could still feel the overwhelming presence of the All-Mother looming outside her mind, experiencing it as an unwavering guiding light. The Demigoddess had not thought that knowing what Aperio felt and being unable to help would be as distressing as it was. She was well aware of the feelings of the All-Mother, but seemingly not all that it entailed.


    "I don''t," she finally replied. "All I know is that she will need time to sort things out, and might be¡­ agitated once she is done."


    "But what is she doing?" the Serpent asked, its mouth unmoving as the voice simply entered her mind. "And who is she?"


    "The All-Mother. The Creator. The First," Fel''Erreyth said, raising his head and glaring at the Serpent. "I thought I had known what would happen, but it appears I was wrong."


    Caethya sighed as she tried once more to reach out to Aperio. Her efforts, as had become usual these past few days, went unanswered, but surprisingly this time they did not go unnoticed. She could feel the All-Mother react, the presence that loomed at the edges of her mind shifting a little, the small movement already threatening to overwhelm her.


    So she can''t control her strength right now? Caethya thought to herself as her hand brushed against the barrier again. Aperio had felt stronger the last time she retrieved some of her memories, though Caethya did not know how exactly an all-powerful being could even get stronger. Perhaps more concentrated?


    "All we can do is wait," Caethya said, setting herself down in front of the barrier. Thanks to her recent advancement to a Demigoddess, she no longer had to worry about sleep, food or drink; neither did she have to fear being removed.


    Fel''Erreyth would likely not have tried to take her away, but even if he had it would likely have ended in failure. If she was judging correctly, she was currently the strongest present after Aperio. More powerful than even a Dragon. Father will be proud.


    Though she still very much wanted to introduce her family to Aperio, suddenly coming home with the All-Mother in tow was likely not the best of ideas. Maybe it would be helpful for her, though? It was possible that Aperio needed a chance to see that not everything was bad, and the city Caethya''s family called home was a good choice for such a venture.


    It had been at peace for centuries, and slavery had been abolished since before the Night of the Second Sun. A quiet place, with people who were not bothered by much: the perfect location to help Aperio learn to live like a mortal.


    Caethya sighed, closing her eyes and focusing on guiding her mana around her body. It might not be technically needed, but purging further impurities from her now-immortal flesh still seemed like a good idea.


    She also didn''t have much else to do. The questions the Serpent asked, and still seemed to distantly be waiting to be answered, were mysteries she wished she could say were solved. But they remained unanswerable. Focusing on something else was exactly what she needed right now to take a bit of worry from her mind.


    Her efforts would not amount to much, Aperio''s healing having already removed almost all of the small impurities that remained, but it was something to do that would help her to not go mad and try to find a way past the barrier.


    If Caethya had learned anything, it was that time meant little to the All-Mother. In all likelihood, she would have to wait a few more days before she could see her again. At least I can still sense her.


    The Serpent ¡ª Aveo, apparently ¡ª asked her another question, only to be reprimanded by Fel''Erreyth. He had seemingly figured out that there was a bit more to her relationship with Aperio than she had verbally admitted to.


    She did not hide her affection, and the All-Mother had been surprisingly open as well. Caethya had assumed that any public displays of affection would be met with refusal, but Aperio had reciprocated most of her advances.


    There was, of course, the possibility that she was forcing herself to accept them because she thought it was the right thing to do, but Caethya doubted that. She knew how her Aperio felt, to a degree at least, and there was no sign of her not enjoying it.


    The appearance of another strong presence caused Caethya to stop her attempt at distracting herself and turned around. Stepping out of the gate was a Beastkin with cat-like ears that were poking out through holes she had cut into her hat.


    Her black and gold fur reminded the Elf of someone, but she could not remember who. The same was true for the longsword the woman carried on her back, the weapon bigger than she was. Adventurer?


    The woman only gave her a glance as she walked towards Fel''Erreyth, taking a knee once she had reached the dragon. Caethya paid her no more mind as soon as she started to report on what was happening in the city.


    Probably the captain of the guard. Her curiosity thus satisfied, she returned her attention to the barrier, and to Aperio still floating in mid-air beyond it. Please be safe.


    Aperio''s eyes snapped open. The storm that had surrounded her had disappeared, absorbed into her body and well. A thin fog of mana continued to cling to her skin and a bit still flowed from her eyes, but she did not mind.


    The onslaught of memories had been most helpful. Not only had she learned something about Moria and her own past, but some knowledge of the System had returned. How she had made it. In part, at least. Its nature was not what she had expected, far more of an extension of herself than she had initially believed.


    Before she did anything else, Aperio reached out to Caethya as carefully as she could. Her disciple might be able to handle her communication better than most, but with the amount of mana she now had idly flowing through her veins, even she might be in danger.


    There was a pause that seemed to stretch far beyond the fraction of the moment it really took, but as soon as Caethya had replied, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought her disciple directly into her arms. She wrapped her wings around Caethya as well, holding on as tightly as she could without injuring her. Holding back as much as she did still annoyed her, and took away from the moment, but she was grateful for the moment nonetheless.


    A thought stopped the magic that held her aloft, gravity readily taking hold again and dragging her down. As they descended, another thought allowed the hall that Fel''Erreyth had called his home slowly began to rebuild itself; the molten rock that flowed below them slowly solidifying into the black marble it was before.


    Before she touched the ground, Aperio used a touch of her magic to slow herself down, all the while holding onto Caethya. Even though the All-Mother logically knew that her disciple would not leave, the worry was still there that she would once Aperio had fully remembered her life as the All-Mother.


    She only let go when she noticed the redness creeping up Caethya''s face as she mumbled the words, "Your dress."


    Reality itself had not been the only thing ripped apart in the storm. Her dress had not weathered the experience, and was now little more than tattered rags. Luckily, making a new one was an easy task. Just a tiny drop of her mana and a bit of concentration.


    Dark blue fabric came into existence on her form, molding itself to fit her body as it flowed across her skin. She left the designs mostly unchanged, simply recreating what she had worn before with the exception of the bindings for her chest. Those have to go. While they were not uncomfortable per se, Aperio felt much better simply adjusting her dress a little further to offer the support she needed.


    Upon recreating her skirt, she realized that it had been a bit restricting before, not letting her move how she wanted without constant help of her magic. Easily fixed, she thought to herself. While she concentrated on flaring out the design of her old dress a little more to allow for better movement, a small touch of her magic caused another piece to form. The dovetail skirt sat neatly overtop her normal dress, extending behind her down to the middle of her calves while remaining short in front.


    The same silvery armour that extended over her chest and shoulders also formed on her hips, offering some unneeded protection for the upper part of her thighs.


    Satisfied both with her new attire and with the knowledge that reality had been repaired in this room, Aperio let out a breath of misty air. The sensation of air forming in her lungs so she could go through the motions of breathing it out was a weird one, doubly so when her mana clung to it. That also needs fixing.


    "I apologise," she said, bowing her head lightly as the final pieces of her armour settled onto her form. The mana that had clung to her skin had felt almost identical to her dress. "I was happy to see you, and had not noticed my clothing''s state."


    "It''s fine," Caethya replied, unconsciously biting her lip as her eyes flicked over Aperio''s now clothed form. "I didn''t expect it, that is all." She opened her mouth again to speak but closed it again quickly, shaking her head.


    Aperio tilted her head at the words. While she had a tendency to ignore or not understand most social cues, it was clear that Caethya had something else she wished to say. If her assumption was correct, her disciple would be disappointed once she asked.


    The All-Mother smoothed out a few nonexistent wrinkles with her hand, the silky fabric feeling oddly pleasant against her fingers.


    "It is still unbecoming," Aperio said with a sigh. "Imagine what would''ve happened had I just removed the barrier." Good thing I had to fix¡­ reality before.


    "But you didn''t," Caethya said, placing her hand on Aperio''s cheek. The All-Mother leaned into it, enjoying the warm touch of her disciple. "You know what I feel," she continued. "This is not a problem. Understandable, even. I cannot fathom what you might have gone through; forgetting a bit of modesty is okay."


    Aperio folded her wings around Caethya, using them to draw the Elf closer to herself. "I remembered Moria," she said, wrapping her disciple in a hug. "She was like a mother to me, and now that I know more I fear she only behaved that way because she feared retribution if she did not.


    "I gave her a title that lets her remember her previous lives," Aperio continued, holding Caethya a little tighter still as she buried her face in the Elf''s hair. "Please tell me I did not do something similar to you; that the blessing doesn''t matter to you. That you like me for who I am, not what I am."


    Caethya did not reply immediately. She wrapped her arms around the All-Mother instead, embracing her. Aperio leaned into it, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.


    With every breath Aperio took came Caethya''s scent. It was a mix of flowers she did not know, fresh air above the clouds she had come to enjoy, and more things she could not verbally describe besides identifying them as Caethya.


    After a moment Caethya pulled away, and it was only the fact that it was to see eye to eye with her that kept Aperio from immediately worrying. "I wouldn''t be here if I didn''t like you," Caethya said. "The blessing has nothing to do with that, I am sure. I would have likely felt the same way had I met you under different circumstances." With a smile, Caethya brushed a few strands of silver-blue hair back behind Aperio''s ear. "Right now, I''m just waiting for you to find out how you feel."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 108: Embrace

    Aperio looked at her disciple. She knew that Caethya likely did not expect an answer right now, but she felt cornered nonetheless.


    Her hands moved across Caethya¡¯s back on their own accord as she thought. Further denying that she liked the Elf would do everyone a disservice, but Aperio likely had different expectations than her disciple. She would also become a target for the Repens Nabu¡­


    She was about to speak when Caethya put her finger on Aperio¡¯s lips. ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself to answer,¡± she said. ¡°I know that you enjoy my presence. But I also know that you are not sure.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I like you,¡° Aperio said after her disciple had removed her finger, ¡°but I don¡¯t know what that means to me yet. What I do know, however, is that you are already a target. Anything more might just put you at a greater risk.¡°


    Caethya only raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°I am certain you can protect me,¡± she said, poking the same finger against Aperio¡¯s stomach. ¡°I know those aren¡¯t just for show.¡±


    Aperio sighed, separating herself from the Elf as she sat herself down on a chair made from her mana. Another one appeared for Caethya before the All-Mother rubbed the bridge of her nose and spoke. ¡°I can protect you, yes. Your family, too. But I do not want to cause needless death again. There has been enough of that in the past.¡°


    ¡°I doubt anything between us will influence the decisions of the other Gods,¡± Caethya stated matter-of-factly as she made herself comfortable in the chair. ¡°And as much as it pains me to say, I doubt those who want to see you gone will just leave quietly.


    ¡°This is probably also not the best place to discuss this,¡± she continued, scratching the back of her neck. ¡°I doubt me disappearing did us any favours.¡±


    Aperio just waved her off, the movement also causing the last of her mana that still filled the cave to return to her. While her newly acquired memories were still quite fuzzy and had not held a solution to her omnipresent aura at first glance, they had still given her an idea.


    ¡°You are more important to me than they are,¡° Aperio said as she directed her mana to do something she should have thought of a lot earlier.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a little selfish,¡° Aperio continued as she tried to make her mana mimic the ambient mana that surrounded them, ¡°but I did not come here to talk to them. I came for my memories.¡°


    ¡°We both know that you will still talk to them, even if you don¡¯t like it.¡± Her disciple looked around, her magic sweeping through the cave as she seemingly tried to figure something out. "What are you doing? I can still sense your aura, but it feels more like when you were formless.¡±


    The All-Mother smiled at her disciple¡¯s words. ¡°I am trying to imitate the ambient mana ¡ª make my mana appear less pure ¡ª something I should have tried earlier, all things considered.¡° How would I even explain this?


    The idea had crossed her mind before, but Aperio had discarded it on the assumption that her mana would still be significantly purer and more potent, and thus still detectable in the same ways. Masking it with ambient mana and weaving her own between the threads of reality worked better than she had presumed. ¡°I had not expected it to work, especially for you.¡°


    Her disciple tilted her head slightly, her magic once again flowing through the cave. ¡°Maybe you should ask Mayeia for help with this as well. Magic is her Domain, after all.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡° Aperio said, standing up and letting the mana she had used for her chair return to her. ¡°For now this will have to do, however.¡°


    As Caethya also rose, Aperio mentally dismissed the other mana-formed chair. Her disciple hesitated for a moment, taking a step closer before she asked, ¡°What else did you remember?¡±


    The All-Mother flicked her wrist, countless runes appearing around both of them. ¡°What these mean. Mostly.¡° She recreated the model of the ¡®Class¡¯ part of the System in front of Caethya, slowing it down so the Demigoddess could perceive it properly. ¡°I hope I can use that knowledge to repair this. Sadly, it¡¯s all still a bit fuzzy¡­ and I have yet to figure out what, exactly, it is even supposed to do.


    ¡°But, while important,¡° she continued, ¡°this will have to wait until after I have found Moria. I need to know if her friendship was feigned or not.¡° I hope it wasn¡¯t. Aperio was not sure what she would do if it turned out the only friendship she had had in her time as a slave was because they knew what she was.


    ¡°You are thinking too much again,¡± Caethya said, stepping beside Aperio and brushing her hand over the All-Mother¡¯s back, below her wings. ¡°I doubt she simply pretended to be a friend.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully,¡° Aperio mumbled, her eyes wandering to the barrier that still separated them even though she did not spare it a thought. But then, the world also runs without me thinking about it. She could of course sense Fel¡¯Erreyth behind the barrier, as well as a Serpent-Dragon and a surprisingly strong Beastkin. The ruler of this cave was agitated, though Aperio doubted the other mortals would be able to tell. ¡°I think it is time to talk to our Dragon friend. I am sure he has some questions.¡°


    The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before she turned to face Caethya again. ¡°How long was I gone?¡° Didn¡¯t feel all that long¡­


    ¡°About a week,¡± Caethya replied immediately. ¡°If I had not been able to feel your presence, I might have tried to go through the barrier.¡± She removed her hand from Aperio¡¯s back, taking her hand instead as she moved herself a little closer. ¡°You did not answer my prayers, but I could feel you reacting to them.¡±


    ¡°I feared I might hurt you if I did. The more of my mana that returns to me, the harder it becomes to talk mentally without injuring others. Even you.¡° Everyone is just so fragile¡­ Of course, she knew that it was not really everyone else that was weak, but it felt like it nonetheless.


    ¡°But you can still do it?¡± Caethya asked, giving Aperio¡¯s hand a small squeeze. ¡°It would be weird if you could not answer prayers.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts and mana were in turmoil,¡° the All-Mother said, wrapping a wing around the Elf. ¡°I might¡¯ve crushed your mind if I answered. Now that my memories are mostly in order, I can do it, even if holding back that much is becoming quite the task.¡°


    Caethya ran her hand over the inner feathers of Aperio¡¯s wing as she leaned against the All-Mother herself. ¡°Talking is much easier anyway.¡±


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡° Concern rose as Aperio pulled her wing tighter around the Elf for support, sending out a tendril of mana to check on her Disciple''s condition.


    The Elf shook her head slightly, visibly relaxing as the All-Mother¡¯s mana flowed through her. ¡°I was simply more worried than I thought. Not having slept for a week probably did not help.¡±


    Aperio removed her hand from Caethya¡¯s and wrapped her arm around her waist, easily holding her up as her disciple leaned further onto her. ¡°You are a Demigoddess,¡° she said, slightly tilting her head. ¡°You do not need sleep.¡°


    ¡°My body might not, but my mind is still very much used to it.¡±


    Her disciple did indeed sound tired, even though her body, from what she could sense, did not seem to share that sentiment. Aperio hesitated for a moment before she picked Caethya up, forced reality apart and gently placed her disciple into her bed. The All-Mother could feel Mayeia perk up outside but ignored her, brushing Caethya¡¯s hair out of her face and tucking her in instead.


    It did not take long for the Elf to fall asleep, mumbling words that made no sense but still caused a smile to tug at Aperio¡¯s lips. How exactly she had managed to fall asleep this fast was a mystery for the All-Mother, but that did not matter. As long as she is well.


    The doubt she felt at the back of her mind was rapidly dissolving, but she still did not know what to do with the feelings. She was the All-Mother, had created everything there is. Should she feel this way for someone that lived in her creation? Aperio wanted to, but she also knew that if she ever wanted it to be anything serious then either Caethya would have to become a lot stronger or she would have to get significantly better at subduing her own strength. Can¡¯t even hold her properly¡­


    With a quiet sigh and a last look at the sleeping Caethya Aperio disappeared from her temple, a part of her mind still keeping watch over her disciple. She also created a small note for Mayeia, informing her that she was not to disturb Caethya. The Goddess of Magic simply scribbled a small ¡®yes¡¯ on the paper Aperio had provided before offering it to a lowered branch of Roots. What does he want with it?


    The All-Mother dismissed the thought, instead spending a brief moment to inform Maria that everything was alright. The girl had been praying to her, obviously aware that something had happened. Her youngest follower also happily informed her that her father had no objections to letting her live in the All-Mother¡¯s temple.


    I should probably just land it somewhere, Aperio mused to herself as she dismissed the barrier in Fel¡¯Erreyth¡¯s cave. Perhaps Ebenlowe is the best place for it.


    The conversation that had been going on immediately stopped, all eyes focusing on her for a moment before they started to wander: likely searching for Caethya. Aperio kept her eyes on the black and gold Beastkin. The woman already looked ready to draw her oversized sword at a moment''s notice, every muscle in her body tense.


    Aperio took a step forward, stretching her wings slightly as she did. I should fly again. The motion seemed to be more intimidating than she had thought, as it prompted a few of the armoured individuals to step between her and the two Dragons. I didn¡¯t even mean for it to be intimidating¡­ I just want to use my wings.


    ¡°I have taken the liberty to repair your home,¡° Aperio said, directing her gaze at Fel¡¯Erreyth. ¡°It took a bit of damage while I was sorting things out.¡°


    ¡°There was enough mana behind that barrier to erase this continent, likely more,¡± the Dragon said, raising its head slightly. ¡°Where did that all go?¡±


    The blunt nature of the question took the All-Mother off-guard ¡ª she had expected more annoying groveling and useless platitudes. ¡°To me,¡° she said, gesturing at herself. ¡°It was mine to begin with; I just took it back.¡°


    ¡°So you did not lie,¡± the Serpent-Dragon said, his voice barely a whisper in her mind. ¡°The First has returned.¡±


    Telepathy? Aperio thought, sending a minuscule, probing thought towards the Dragon. She did not try to place her message in his head like she did when answering a prayer, but merely let it flow by in the hopes he could pick up on it.


    The Dragon coiled its long body in reply, either in pain or not liking her attention. ¡°I did not intend to hurt you,¡° Aperio said after a brief moment of hesitation. ¡°I was simply not expecting a telepathic Dragon.¡°


    ¡°How did you hear my words?¡± the Dragon asked, his voice now clear in her mind. ¡°I did not direct them at you.¡±


    Fel¡¯Erreyth slapped the other Dragon with one of his wings, causing the Serpent to bow slightly. ¡°She is the All-Mother,¡± he said. ¡°Do you expect her to not be able to pick up on simple telepathy?¡±


    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the words. Considering that she could very much kill someone by thinking in their direction, she would not call telepathy ¡®simple¡¯. But then, they probably don¡¯t have that problem. Her ability to hear telepathy if it was not directed at her could be both useful and annoying. The All-Mother could already imagine the ordeal of being in a city of telepaths, all speaking to one another in an incoherent barrage that would be difficult to tune out. Even more so if they were trying to talk behind her back in the belief that she could not hear them. Please don¡¯t let that be a thing.


    ¡°It does not matter,¡° she said, a slight flare of her aura quieting the two squabbling Dragons. ¡°I have retrieved what I came for. I only remain to offer my thanks to Fel¡¯Erreyth for making the right choice.¡°


    ¡°There was no choice,¡± the Dragon said after a moment of silence. ¡°The Laws are clear.¡±


    ¡°Many have shown themselves to be less intelligent ¡ª or perhaps too arrogant. Including Gods.¡°


    The Serpent-Dragon slithered forward, its magic holding it aloft as it rose slightly into the air. ¡°What have you done to Fel¡¯Erreyth? He lacks the Crystal of Old, but his strength remains unchanged.¡±


    ¡°I gave him a minor blessing as a sign of good will,¡° Aperio said with a raised eyebrow. While she liked people not being intimidated by her presence, being asked question after question annoyed her. ¡°Should you not introduce yourself before trying to interrogate me?¡°


    ¡°My wingless friend over here is called Aveo,¡± Fel¡¯Erreyth said. ¡°He rules over the waters surrounding Procul and the people that live within them.¡±


    What Aperio could describe as a snort reached her mind as Aveo moved a little closer to her. ¡°I am a [Seeker of Knowledge],¡± he said. ¡°And I am sure you hold knowledge I lack.¡±


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly, as the mention of the title he bore prompted a trickle of information to enter her mind. Effortlessly, she now knew what the title meant as well as how he had gotten it.


    ¡°Perhaps I do,¡° she replied. ¡°But it is not your place to know. Like I have said before, I merely stayed to offer my thanks to Fel¡¯Erreyth, which I have done multiple times now.¡° Reality shattered behind her, a blue and silver portal forming that led into her temple. ¡°Should he have need of me again, he can pray to me,¡° she continued, fixing her gaze on the winged Dragon.


    After she had received a nod, Aperio took a step backwards and entered the portal she had made. A moment later she was in her chamber, the bed with Caethya in it in front of her. She closed the portal, making sure reality repaired itself quietly while she stepped closer.


    Despite not feeling the least bit tired, her bed looked oddly inviting. A thought caused the armour adorning her dress to disappear and a moment later, Aperio let herself fall face first into her bed.


    With a thought, she stopped herself short of actually hitting the bedding as she did not want to wake Caethya. Instead, she simply lowered herself the last little bit and spread her wings, draping one over her disciple.


    She turned after a while, her wing simply moving through her bed as it was filled with a comforting warmth. Aperio wrapped her arms around Caethya, pulling her closer as a thought moved the blanket to cover both of them.


    Pretending she had no feelings for the Elf would be a lie,and while the All-Mother was not yet certain how to express feelings she had yet to properly define, this seemed like a good start. She closed her eyes, taking slow breaths as she tried to find sleep for the first time since she had returned to Verenier.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 109: A Class Act

    GamingWolf


    Caethya''s hand blindly reached for the covers, pulling the feathery blanket further up as soon as she had found it. A moment later she opened her eyes, and her vision was filled with black feathers that shimmered blue in the dim light of the room. She wanted to turn, but two arms wrapped around her waist kept her securely in place.


    "Aperio?" she asked quietly, unsure if the slow, rhythmic breathing of the All-Mother was a sign of sleeping or relaxation. No answer came; Aperio only held on a little tighter as her breathing quickened.


    Caethya did not need her eyes to know that Aperio was not having a good night. The temperature of the room was steadily dropping, and the light that came from the chandelier and crystals along the wall was being pushed back by a darkness that was most assuredly not normal.


    That she could also feel a mixture of fear, anger, and sadness from her Goddess was not a good sign. Even if she were to only dislike the idea of the one she loved having a bad night, Caethya was well aware that Aperio only needed a thought to make something reality and she dreaded what the All-Mother could dream up.


    She wriggled in Aperio''s hold, slowly turning around until she was face to face with her Goddess. Eyes flicked back and forth behind closed eyelids in a face that twisted in what Caethya could only describe as pain. Slowly but surely, the Elf freed one of her hands and gently brushed it against Aperio''s cheek.


    The All-Mother moved away slightly from her touch, mumbling something as she held on a little tighter. Caethya removed her hand but otherwise ignored the contradicting actions of Aperio, instead trying to reach her with a prayer.


    Aperio''s eyes flew open not a breath later, the bed breaking below her as she removed herself from it without the help of magic. Caethya herself had been left unharmed, a thin barrier of mana protecting her from the splinters and keeping her perfectly still in the air.


    The All-Mother had her wings flared and stood in a low crouch as arcs danced across her skin. For a long, dreadful moment, Caethya thought Aperio would attack her. Instead, she could feel the temperature of the room climb again and the light slowly take on its usual warm glow. She could sense the bed beneath her repairing itself, the wooden splinters slotting back where they had been as if time was reversed.


    "I apologise," Aperio mumbled, appearing at the foot of the bed. Caethya found herself gently deposited on the heavenly soft creation. "I did not mean to scare you."


    "You did not scare me," Caethya said, inviting the All-Mother to join her on the bed by patting it lightly. "Not in the way I think you mean, at least. I am concerned for your well-being."


    Aperio obliged, appearing next to her with her face buried in the pillows. Her wings were splayed out to the sides, brushing over Caethya''s knees and hanging off of each side of the large bed. The Elf ran her hands across the feathered limbs, smiling slightly at the mumbles that came from her Goddess in response. "Do you wish to talk about it?"


    "No," Aperio replied with a shake of her head that caused her hair to shimmer blue as it caught the light in the chamber. "Just a bad dream." She sighed, turning onto her back, her wings simply moving through the bed. "It was not even a memory. Not really, at least."


    "Dreams rarely make sense," Caethya said, gently placing her hand on Aperio''s. "But I had assumed that you were used to dreams like this; that this was the reason you did not sleep."


    "I did not sleep because I haven''t been tired since I returned." She directed her gaze at Caethya for a moment before she sighed and lowered it again. "I just thought it would be nice to¡­"


    "It would be nice to, what?" the Elf asked after a moment of silence, raising an eyebrow. "Sleep?"


    "Be with you," Aperio said quietly. "Hold you. Not worry about the world."


    "We can still do that," Caethya said, laying herself next to Aperio and trying to pull her into her arms. That failed of course, but before she could do anything more the All-Mother had wrapped her arms and wings around Caethya and held her tightly against herself.


    "Thank you," Aperio mumbled, her voice muffled by Caethya''s hair hanging in front of her face.


    The Elf smiled slightly, wriggling her arm free of Aperio''s hug so she could run her hand over her Goddess'' wings. "You shouldn''t feel bad for wanting contact," she said. "You also don''t need to thank me for spending time with me, I enjoy this as much as you do."


    There was no reply, the All-Mother only holding on a little tighter with her arms and wings. Caethya did not mind, as she would rather wait for Aperio to move things along than push her and ruin what they already had. Time does not matter anymore.


    The Demigoddess of Creation closed her eyes, placing her hands on Aperio''s own and gently stroking them. She knew that the All-Mother would not sleep again for a while, but she would still make their time together here as relaxing for her as she could.


    It was plain as day to Caethya that her love did not show her affection through words but actions. In hindsight, she should have noticed it earlier. Every time they were together, Aperio went out of her way to be in contact with her ¡ª be it with physical touch or the warm embrace of her magic.


    When did she realize how she felt? Caethya wondered as she shifted a little in Aperio''s embrace. She doubted the All-Mother knew how she had felt until recently, perhaps believing it to be a coping mechanism that would only show her weakness.


    She wanted to talk with the All-Mother about her past, help her work it out, but she knew that Aperio did not wish to speak about it. In time, Caethya thought to herself as the first bits of tiredness clawed at the edges of her consciousness again.


    Aperio''s ears twitched slightly as one of the machines that inhabited her temple scurried past, clearing the last bits of dust and debris her violent exit from the bed had created.


    She used her left wing to gently stroke Caethya''s side while her arms held the sleeping Elf close. Her disciple¡¯s hair tickled her nose whenever she moved in her sleep, something that would have likely annoyed her in the past but was strangely welcome now.


    The All-Mother closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of Caethya in her arms and the soothing sound of her slow breaths as her mind drifted towards the memories she had gained.


    A thought brought her mind''s eye into the System''s space. She did not want to delve further into the details of her dream, nor did she want to try to ponder what Moria might have actually thought of her. Trying to learn more about the System with her newfound understanding of runes, all the while being in the comforting presence of Caethya, was a good distraction.


    She brought up the part of the System that handled Classes, looking it over to see if she was able to better understand what exactly it was supposed to do. Upon first glance, it was immediately obvious that she still lacked knowledge on simple runes, as a good few of the archaic symbols continued to escape her grasp.


    Still, the runes for Soul, Potential, Measure, and Grant gave her enough of an idea as to what this part was supposed to do. Looking deeper into it also showed various runes that combined disparate elements of magic together and attached something the System ¡ª or more likely, her old self ¡ª called an ''Emblematic Identifier'' to a soul.


    This identifier, while seemingly important, seemed to do nothing more than instruct another part of the System to grant something to the soul upon meeting a set of conditions she could not determine, as the part of the System that should handle that was all but absent. How did it just¡­ disappear?


    A bit of digging and a set of scrunched eyebrows revealed that it had not, as she had originally thought, disappeared. It was merely broken beyond belief, as the strands of mana that usually connected the runes together had snapped. Over what was surely a long stretch of time, the entire section lost cohesion and simply drifted apart. How exactly a rune ¡ª a letter, for lack of a better term ¡ª could even exist in a physical space to begin with was not something Aperio wanted to think about at the moment; the mere idea was already giving her a headache.


    Her hands absentmindedly brushed gently over Caethya''s stomach as she used a touch of her magic to form new runes. These she tied to the rest of the Class section of the System with a few fresh strands of Mana. She was not exactly sure if she had picked the right ones, but it looked ¡ª and more importantly felt ¡ª correct.


    A Class, in her mind, would be something tailored to a mortal depending on what they had achieved in their life. Her old self had seemingly had a similar idea, as the Class part of the System was connected to a variety of other things, most of which were labelled along the lines of ''Feats'' and ''Achievements''.


    The presence of Mayeia outside her temple gave Aperio an idea. A thought created a piece of paper with a message asking the Goddess of Magic for any information she might have on ''Classes''. Her small note would have gone missing in the haphazard outdoor office the Goddess had made for herself if she had not created it directly in front of her.


    Mayeia''s eyes flew over the small piece of All-Mother-made paper; her eagerness practically palpable. In short order a stack of notebooks appeared on the desk she had gotten for herself from somewhere unknown, quickly followed by a mental whisper asking why she did not use telepathy.


    Aperio would have tilted her head if she had not been lying down, but she could have sworn she had already told the other Goddess why she refrained from mental communications. With a shrug of her mind, she directed her thanks at Mayeia, teleporting the books into her chambers at the same time. It didn''t hurt that Dragon too much, maybe she''ll be fine.


    The Goddess of Magic winced slightly as the All-Mother''s message reached her, a note of understanding following it quickly thereafter. Mayeia did ask her to use telepathy nonetheless, as training for both Aperio and herself. The All-Mother distractedly conveyed her ambivalence on the issue and returned her focus on the Elf in her arms and the broken System.


    Her disciple shifted in her arms, trying to turn over, and a touch of magic gently turned Caethya and herself to the other side. Aperio took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her brain silent for a moment.


    She had never felt this calm ¡ª at peace ¡ª in her life. There was no anger or doubt at the moment, just the silent contentedness that the Elf in her arms brought with her. Aperio wanted to hold Caethya tighter and never let go, but that was sadly not an option. She would only hurt her, and she still had places to be. But not now.


    Another thought both brought her back to the System and opened the notebooks Mayeia had given her. They were filled with sketches of what the Goddess had previously postulated to be the System''s functioning parts. Runes intertwined with one another, building complex shapes that made no sense to Aperio and were most definitely not present in actuality.


    She had to leaf pretty far through the books until she found what she had been looking for ¡ª descriptions of previous Classes and what they could do. There was a seemingly infinite amount of them, something Aperio had already guessed based on the way the System made a class for a mortal. Can two mortals even have the same one?


    According to Mayeia''s notes, the answer was yes. Mortals had gained one of a variety of fairly basic Classes in the past, either granted by a deity or through training and study. Some were born with one, but those had been rare and their Classes exceedingly powerful. But why did I make all of this?


    Her question went unanswered as she read through more of Mayeia''s notes. She did find more information on the way mortals used to acquire Classes. Those who had gained Classes had been the cornerstone of many empires and kingdoms, and when she had disappeared the presence of Classes had dwindled to simply Titles.


    A Title did not provide the same bonuses as a Class but it was better than having none, at least according to the notes. How did I get Titles, then? Did I just give them to myself without knowing?


    Both her [Demiurge] and [Forgotten] titles were self-explanatory, but it did not tell her how she had gotten them. Will I get a Class when I fix this? ¡­Probably not.


    With a silent sigh Aperio directed her attention back to the incoherent mess of runes that was her System, trying her best to fix something she had no memory or knowledge of making.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 110: Puzzling Progress

    Aperio let out a frustrated sigh as the Class Subsystem fell apart again, burying her face in Caethya''s hair and letting out a scream that nobody heard as it was negated by a touch of her magic.


    This had been the sixth attempt in at least as many hours that had gone awry. Most had simply ceased to exist while the two more promising ones disassembled themselves in rather fantastical explosions of multi-coloured magic. The All-Mother was starting to believe that her recreation of the Class part of her System was not good enough for her to try things on. Using the actual one would probably be better, but she did not want to risk endangering everyone who used the System with her tinkering. And nearly everyone uses it.


    The only place not making use of her creation she could think of at the moment was the world Adam had come from. I should ask him about that place. It felt¡­ weird. Aperio would be lying if she said she did not want to go there, but the lack of mana led her to believe that it would not be a good idea. I radiate that stuff, after all.


    After Mayeia had told her her mere presence made people stronger by giving them access to purer mana, Aperio had paid a little more attention to the world around her. It had not taken long to discover that she was a walking wellspring of mana. Not that it wasn''t obvious before.


    A few incoherent mumbles from Caethya caused Aperio to remove her head from her disciple¡¯s hair and brush her wing gently over her side. She had no doubts that Caethya could feel her agitation at her continued failure to repair the System, something that likely made her sleep a little more restlessly than needed.


    Aperio let a sliver of her mana flow through Caethya, the Elf losing the bit of tension that had appeared when she had become more and more annoyed with her lack of progress. The All-Mother contemplated trying to use that technique on herself for a moment before giving it a try. Sadly, moving her mana through her body only caused it to reinforce her shell more quickly and not relax her. At least, not how I wanted it to¡­


    She would have lied if she said the mana flowing through her ¡ª improving her ¡ª was not relaxing in a way. But it was a different kind of comfort. One for the insisting of her subconscious that she must be stronger still to properly defend herself.


    Another set of runes appeared in her mind, settling into her recreation of the Class Subsystem. This time, she had opted to redo the entire section that supposedly dealt with stat increases, making it a bit more stable. And actually functional¡­ Hopefully.


    She added a few more runes she knew should be there, interconnecting every piece of the Class Subsystem. Aperio had to figure out how to prevent information from flowing backwards in the System, but simply looking at the more intact parts ¡ª especially the [Status] region ¡ª of her creation had been helpful in that regard.


    A sliver of her mana flowed into her recreation, causing it to practically hum with energy. There was, of course, no actual noise, but Aperio could feel her recreation come alive regardless.


    Unlike her last attempts, this one remained stable, simply sitting in place where she had created it. Now¡­ How do I test it? She could not just take a soul and use it as a test subject; that would go against everything she stood for. Creating a fake soul was also out of the question for now.


    She had no idea how to actually create a soul and, even if she did, making one that was not truly alive might not be possible. I already change them by merely touching them, what would happen if I created one?


    The answer was obvious: Ferio. While she could not remember how exactly her daughter had come into the world, Aperio knew it was not through normal means. In all likelihood, she had created a soul that would become Ferio. I would''ve had to have made all the souls¡­ Or built something that made them.


    She doubted souls just came into being out of nowhere, and her apparent lack of one only furthered the idea that she had invented the concept of souls, and then somehow made them. Aperio shuddered slightly at the thought, the motion causing Caethya to mumble slightly and place her hands on Aperio''s own.


    "Caethya?" the All-Mother asked quietly as she could, feeling the mana of her disciple flow more actively through her body.


    The woman just mumbled in reply and tried to pull Aperio''s wing tighter around herself as if it was a blanket. Despite her status as a Demigoddess, Caethya was still unable to move Aperio''s wing. The All-Mother did not resist, however, moving her feathered limb with her disciple¡¯s motion.


    A small flex of her mental muscles ruffled Caethya''s hair and caused the test version of the Class Subsystem to shudder slightly as she pushed more mana through it. How do I figure out if it works now? she wondered as she reinforced a few of the connections that had begun to dissolve under the strain of her mana.


    Aperio let her mind wander through the System''s space, trying to find something that would help her with her current predicament. I had to have had a way to test it before¡­ Even though her old self had been relatively emotionless, she had still cared about her creations, and making something that she could not have tested seemed wrong to her, even now.


    While the All-Mother did not find what she was looking for, she did get a bigger picture of just how broken her System was. Now that she understood a little more about how it worked, the closer she looked the worse it got. ''Attributes'' ¡ª a rather large section ¡ª was almost entirely gone, and the same was true for ''Advancement.'' A quick glance revealed a myriad other missing sections, and those were only the more easily noticed gaps in the System.


    Would explain why someone with a lower level appears to be much stronger than others, Aperio thought to herself as she poked at the broken parts with a few tendrils of her mana. They felt cold; dead. Like the ruins of some long lost civilization. It kind of is. The only difference was that she was the only one who had had a hand in creating it.


    With a small sigh, Aperio created copies of the broken Subsystems she found next to the ¡ª hopefully ¡ª repaired one for Classes. Won''t achieve much if these are broken too¡­


    Sure, she could simply integrate her repairs of the Classes into the actual System, but what use would it be to have Classes if nobody could level correctly, or even get the stats they earned for it? None, was Aperio''s conclusion, which prompted her to start to replace the broken runes she recognised.


    Working on the System was soothing in a way. Despite having no idea how it worked, she still knew what to do. A most bewildering feeling, but still one that felt right to the All-Mother. Repairing her creation was the correct thing to do, of course; that it was weirdly enjoyable was merely a bonus.


    The shifting body of Caethya in her arms caused Aperio to pull her attention from her System repairs, only devoting a small part of her mind to continuing the task.


    "Slept well?" the All-Mother asked, lifting herself up a little so she could better look at Caethya.


    The Elf replied with a mumbled "Mhm" and a shallow nod of her head before she yawned and stretched. Her disciple''s movement caused Aperio to retract her wing and distance herself slightly.


    After a moment longer of stretching and some more yawning, Caethya sat up straight and rubbed her eyes. Aperio followed suit, letting her wings hang off the edges of the bed.


    "Do you have a bathroom?" her disciple asked after a moment of silence.


    The All-Mother raised a brow but gestured towards a door at the back of the room, behind Caethya, nonetheless. "There is one, yes, but I have no idea if what you need is in it."


    "I think I''ll manage," she said as she started to crawl off the oversized bed.


    Aperio appeared in the middle of her bed once Caethya had left it, burying her face in the pillows and spreading her wings as much as she could. Despite the already ridiculous size of her bed, her wings still hung over the edges with the outermost feathers touching the floor.


    "Maybe you need to make it even bigger," Caethya said, smoothing out the wrinkles that had accumulated on her dress. "A room that is nothing but bed. That would be nice."


    "I have my Void for that," Aperio said, turning her head to watch her disciple walk towards the bathroom. "Much more comfortable."


    "For you, maybe," were the last words the Elf said before she closed the door behind her. There was an enchantment on the room that obscured it even from Aperio''s senses, but upon minor inquiry the room''s enchantment only functioned as long as she didn''t focus on it.


    Maybe I can add an enchantment like that to my dress? Hide my aura with that? If nothing else, it might at least stop her aura from providing her information about everyone near her in far too much detail. ¡­How do I add enchantments to clothes?


    Aperio scrunched her brows as she appeared sitting on her bed, a small piece of cloth coming into being in front of her at the same time. It was the same technique she had used to make her dress, just that she had added all the runes she had found around the bathroom to it.


    At the moment, it did not exactly do anything, the runes simply sitting on the magically created cloth and shimmering in a pale silver whenever the light shone on it. Aperio tilted her head slightly as she poked her finger at the piece of cloth, sending a tiny pulse of her mana through the runes.


    Instead of numbing her senses to the fabric she had created as Aperio had expected, it glowed with her mana for the briefest of moments before it simply ceased to exist.


    "What?" Aperio mumbled as she looked at the space the cloth had just occupied. The threads of reality had been violently torn apart when she had pushed her mana into the enchantment, as if the magic had somehow exploded. But it didn''t. It just stopped existing¡­


    She averted her eyes from the section of space that slowly mended itself as Caethya left the bathroom. Her disciple had switched dresses, wearing another dark blue and silver one that Aperio was very certain was supposed to show Caethya''s allegiance to her. It only lacks an identifying sigil...


    "Yes," her disciple said, sweeping her hand in front of her skirt and lifting it with a little flourish, "these are the colours we picked for any official clothes of your church. You weren''t there and we thought you might like it; wearing the same colours and all. It''s just missing your sigil."


    "I don''t have a sigil¡­ Or don''t remember it, at least."


    "Then make a new one," Caethya said as she closed the distance that separated her from the bed. "Would probably be better anyway. I doubt you wish to continue what you have done in the past."


    "Perhaps," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as the sections of the System she had copied for repair slowly began to ''speak'' to each other. Speaking was perhaps overstating the phenomenon, but they were definitely communicating with one another.


    "Something wrong?" Caethya asked, her eyes flicking all over the room.


    The All-Mother did not reply immediately, her attention fully directed at the copies she had made. Not paying attention to the repairs had seemingly yielded better results than actively repairing them. How?


    "Aperio?" her disciple asked again, this time lightly touching her upper arm.


    "I''m fine," the All-Mother replied eventually, directing her gaze towards Caethya. "I¡¯ve just discovered something¡­ weird."


    "And that is?"


    "I made copies of broken parts of the System while you were asleep," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as she observed the separate Subsystems pushing a final bit of mana through the constellation they had formed before falling silent. "I wanted to fix them, but despite my efforts they never really worked. But, when I did not focus on it ¡ª delegated it to the back of my mind ¡ª they somehow got fixed faster."


    "I wouldn''t know how to breathe if my body did not do it for me," Caethya said. "Perhaps it is something like that?"


    "Maybe," Aperio replied, a few strands of mana already flowing into the now-repaired copies she had made. "That does not mean I like it."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 111: Focused Distraction

    Aperio tapped her foot against the stone floor, occasionally breaking it from using a bit too much force. "How does that work?" she mumbled to herself as she searched through the thousands of regions that made up her System. "There has to be something¡­"


    A finger poking against her forehead caused Aperio to stop her search and focus on the woman to whom it belonged. "Yes?" she asked, a small part of her mind quietly going back to looking through the System.


    "You''ll have an easier time finding what you are looking for once the System has fixed itself," Caethya said, retracting her hand. "It''s fine to trust what you have built before."


    "It''s not that I don''t trust it, but that I feel the need to understand it."


    Her disciple sat herself down on the bed next to Aperio, idly brushing a hand over her wings as she spoke. "And you will have an easier time understanding when you don''t have to piece it back together. The world has worked with the System, broken as it is, for millennia; a few more years will hardly make a difference."


    The All-Mother let out a sigh. As usual, Caethya was right, but the knowledge did little to quell her need to know. Her desire to know more and better herself was part of her Domain ¡ª something that she should likely also properly figure out.


    It had been months already, perhaps even a year since she came back to Verenier, and she still knew little about herself. Remembering who she was before certainly helped, but it mainly showed her what she did not want to be, not why she felt the way she currently did.


    Aperio wrapped her wing around Caethya and pulled the Elf closer. At least I know I like her¡­ Trying to run from her feelings any longer would only cause them both to suffer, something Aperio most definitely did not want.


    "It''s not wrong, is it?" the All-Mother mumbled to herself, glancing at Caethya. Her disciple''s weight as she closed her eyes and nestled deeper into the offered wing was welcome, but negligible at best. A twitch away from being thrown across the room.


    "What is not wrong?" Caethya asked, grasping one of Aperio''s hands between her own. "Looking at the System again?"


    "No," Aperio replied, lowering her head slightly before she continued. "My feelings for you¡­ are they wrong? Should I feel this way for someone? I don''t even know my birthday, let alone anything more noteworthy about myself. Nothing good, at least."


    Caethya leaned forwards slightly to better look at her Goddess before she spoke. "Why should it be wrong? Just because you are the All-Mother and I am but a mere Demigoddess?¡± The look on Aperio''s face prompted her to try again. ¡°Or because someone else would object to it?"


    "Because I do not know what I will become once I have retrieved all my memories."


    "I doubt you will change for the worse," Caethya said after a moment of silence, tightening her grip on Aperio''s hand a little. "The only thing I am worried about is that you will feel guilty for things you did not do¡­ It hurts seeing you be so down on yourself for something you did not even know had happened a moment before."


    "But it was still me who did it," Aperio said, closing her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Forgetting what I did does not absolve me."


    Caethya let go of her hand and sat as straight as she could, likely trying to appear a little taller before she delivered her next words. "Continuously beating yourself up about it won''t do anything either. If you cannot live with what you have done; change it."


    "I am trying, but to right the wrongs I have done, I need to remember more¡ª"


    "Which only shows you more things you need to fix, I know," Caethya interrupted. "Focus on one thing at a time. So for now, we focus on finding Moria while you let the System repair itself." The Elf placed her hands on Aperio''s cheeks, looking directly into her unblinking eyes. "Okay?"


    "I¡¯ll try," Aperio mumbled, gently removing her disciple''s hands from her face. "But it is hard not to think about it. The same is true for the System ¡ª even now, I am looking through it to figure out how it can repair itself."


    Caethya dropped her now-free hands in her lap, leaning slightly against Aperio''s wing again. "Do you ever focus on only one thing?"


    "I do sometimes, but it happens less and less frequently." She tilted her head lightly, answering a small prayer from Maria. "I don''t know how I managed to live without being able to do a multitude of things at once."


    "So even when I can, quite literally, feel the weight of your attention on me, you are still doing a myriad other things?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, tilting her head lightly before she continued. "But what do you mean by ''weight of my attention''?"


    "You can feel the presence of other people, yes?" Caethya asked, continuing after the All-Mother nodded slightly. "I can sense yours, and when you focus on me, I can feel it drawing closer; bringing with it what I assume is a good amount of your mana."


    "But I don''t do anything? I just delegate whatever I was doing to the back of my mind and pay attention to you. How would that act shift mana?"


    "Probably because you are who you are. You said yourself that using mana is as intuitive as breathing is for me. I am sure there are moments in which you use magic without even knowing it."


    "Maybe I should ask Mayeia about this." Or Ferio, but she still doesn''t want to talk.


    A giggle came from her disciple at the words. "''I bet she would be eager to perform all manner of experiments to figure out why that is. Or, maybe, she already knows why it happens and could just tell you."


    Instead of asking the other Goddess directly, Aperio merely shifted her focus to her; observed how she was scribbling notes. It only took a moment before she looked up from her work and faced the All-Mother despite the multitude of walls that separated them.


    Mayeia''s mental query asking if she needed anything came a breath later, the Goddess sounding eager even through her thoughts. Aperio''s question was easily conveyed, as the phenomenon she wanted to ask about had just transpired.


    "Do you mind if we go to Mayeia?" she asked. "I am not quite comfortable only talking via telepathy with her."


    "Sure," Caethya replied. "But you will have to accept that I will continue to use your wing as a blanket." To underline her words, she retreated deeper into Aperio''s wing and tried to pull it over herself a little more.


    The All-Mother obliged her disciple, wrapping her wing a little tighter around her as a thought twisted reality apart and brought them both outside.


    Roots'' branches shook lightly as they appeared at his base, seemingly quite happy to see her. Mayeia, too, quickly turned around and took the few steps that separated her from Aperio and Caethya.


    As the Goddess sat down on the grass in front of the All-Mother, a few books appeared floating gently next to her, seeming to wait to be used. "While I don''t know why, exactly, this happens, I do know that it''s not only divines that have this problem," Mayeia began.


    "There are some mortals who also experience this," she continued as she plucked one of the books from the air and started leafing through it. "It doesn''t really make sense at first glance, probably more so for you as magic is second nature to you¡­ Do you even think about using magic, or do you just do it?"


    Aperio tilted her head at the question. She understood what Mayeia had meant, but the choice of words struck her as quite odd. "I simply exert my will on reality. I want something to be, and then it is.


    "Teleporting some people? That merely takes a thought. Something like the System, on the other hand, requires me to build every part of it on its own. It is too complex to be imagined in one go." While that statement was not entirely true, it came the closest to conveying the situation as it appeared to her.


    The All-Mother could simply force something as complex as the System into being, but she was also very certain that it would not work how she wanted it to. And probably break the existing one even more¡­ Aperio was confident that she, at times, even used parts of the System unthinkingly. As it was a part of her, though, did that really count?


    "I wish I could use magic like that," Mayeia said as her eyes darted back and forth over the pages of her book. "Would make many things so much easier."


    "How do you use magic?"


    The Goddess of Magic looked up from her book at the question. "I have to channel my mana to where I want to use the magic I am trying to invoke, be it my hand to throw a ball of fire or my eyes to see what wants to be hidden.


    "Then," she continued, "I have to either attune my mana to the fitting element myself or let the System handle it. Knowing how this is done could be considered a detriment as most mortals do all of this unconsciously and don''t even know it."


    "Like me, then?" Aperio asked, willing a small flame into existence that danced across the palm of her hand. "I do it unconsciously too, most of the time."


    "Not quite. Most mortals rely on the System to attune their mana to the right elements, even when they are not using a chant to hand over the entire process."


    "And your little flame there contains more mana than a normal mortal could expend," Caethya said, her eyes closed again as she simply leaned herself against Aperio''s side. "Your control over the magic, once it has been formed, is also better."


    "That is to be expected," Mayeia said. "She is basically magic given a physical form. The universe itself as a person, if you will."


    "I am not the universe," Aperio snapped, her aura flaring slightly in irritation. "I am not this world, not you, nor anything else other than myself. Just because I made it does not mean I am it." She paused briefly, glaring at the Goddess of Magic with narrowed eyes. "Are you the clothes you made; the words you wrote?"


    "Not really, no," Mayeia replied, her face having lost a bit of colour. "I apologise, I didn''t mean to offend you."


    "It is annoying when people assume that I am somehow everything," Aperio said with a sigh. "But, that is not what we were talking about, now is it?"


    "No, it is not," the Goddess of Magic replied, her eyes cautiously wandering back to the book in her hand. "The truth of the matter, however, is that nobody really knows why an aura shifts mana to the person you are paying attention to.


    "It could be something as simple as your mind not being able to differentiate your attention from a desire to know more about the person," Mayeia continued. "Something that would require your aura ¡ª your mana ¡ª to be close to the person in question to figure it out."


    "Or it could be something completely different," Aperio said. "Like your Soul reacting to the presence of one that is stronger than itself."


    "Perhaps," Mayeia said. "But studies of the Soul are outlawed. At least for most of the Pantheon. Some still do it, many of whom are the ones who are also less than pleased with your return."


    "And those that do will pay for their transgressions." Aperio¡¯s eyes were still fixed on the Goddess of Magic. "I do not tolerate the defilement of Souls."


    Caethya''s arms slowly wrapping around her caused Aperio to relax a little, the slight glow beneath her skin dimming again. Why that happened was another thing she had to figure out, but that could wait. Her next goal had already been made clear: finding Moria.


    The talk with Mayeia was a distraction, the information she could gain certainly useful but not what she needed to focus on at the moment. With a small shake of her head and a sigh, Aperio gently shifted her wings, causing Caethya to sit a little straighter.


    "As much as I would like to stay and find out exactly why my attention is a literal weight on people," Aperio said, "I have matters to attend to."


    Mayeia closed her book, holding her place with her thumb. "Might I inquire what those matters are?"


    "I have to find an old friend," Aperio replied. And hope she actually is one.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 112: Matters of the Heart

    "May I know the name of your friend?" Mayeia asked. "If they know you, it is likely I have sought them out in the past¡­ Getting information about you isn''t easy."


    "Her name is Moria," Aperio said, tensing slightly at the prospect of having to inform Mayeia of the title the Beastkin held. "According to her daughter, she went missing some time ago. Nobody knows where she is.


    "At first I thought that it could not have been her," she continued, relaxing a little as Caethya''s hand brushed against her back. "I now know that I was wrong, and that I have to find her."


    The Goddess of Magic lightly tapped her chin in thought for a moment before a bookmark appeared to replace her thumb in her book. "Finding her might be hard," she said, placing the now-closed book on the grass beside her. "I doubt you would say you needed to search for her if you knew the magical signature of her soul.


    "Without that," Mayeia continued, a notebook appearing in her hand, "we would have to rely either on what other mortals tell us, or traces of her magic which have likely already vanished. I doubt she is a font of mana like you."


    "She is not. But I can also do more than you think." Probably.


    "Perhaps, but I still believe that it won''t be an easy task," Mayeia said, opening her notebook. "Even if you can see the entire world at once ¡ª and she is even on this one in the first place ¡ª there are still millions of mortals."


    And more than a few that I could mistake for Moria, Aperio thought to herself, her mind wandering back to her rather embarrassing encounter with Neria.


    "I would start by asking her daughter," the All-Mother said. "I have met her in the past, but our ways quickly parted again. I am certain that she will be looking for her mother."


    Caethya shifted next to Aperio, sitting herself up a little straighter. "Do you know Moria''s full name, Aperio?"


    The All-Mother nodded in reply. "Moria Kellborn. Though¡­ I do not know if she has changed her name in the meantime." Perhaps she does not wish to be found¡­


    "I doubt it," her disciple said. "You might not believe it, but I am certain that she kept the name by which you knew her."


    Mayeia raised her hand slightly and quietly cleared her throat, only starting to speak once Aperio had turned to face her again. "If she is indeed a Kellborn, we would likely find information with the [Ancestral Guard] of Foderys. If I recall correctly, Edisicio once mentioned that all Kellborns serve them at one point or another."


    "Foderys?" Aperio asked, unfamiliar with the city ¡ª or was it a country? "I assume that is on Solito?" While she might not know what Foderys was, assuming that it was on the continent that had historically featured the most Beastkin was a safe bet.


    Mayeia nodded in reply. "It''s the de facto capital of the continent; home to some-odd million mortals. A city-state unto its own that is neutral towards every tribe."


    Aperio sighed internally. "Why do mortals always have to fight one another?"


    "At the moment they aren''t fighting. But I would argue that the Pantheon fights even more than the mortals."


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes at Mayeia, leaning forwards a little at the words. She was not surprised that the Gods fought amongst themselves, but she had hoped that it was intermittently at best. "And where do they fight?"


    "On other worlds." The other Goddess shrugged. "I don''t partake in the [War in Heaven]. Throwing away the life of my followers to deliberately claim an entire world makes little sense to me, considering that any given population will come into contact with magic ¡ª and therefore me ¡ª at one point or another."


    "Do they send their followers to fight for them?" Aperio asked, the ethereal glow beneath her skin growing in intensity. "Is any one of them not a coward?" Why would I ever allow that?


    "The mortals might think that Gods can''t die, but we all know that is not true. Why should they risk themselves if they can just send some mortal pawns?"


    Caethya''s arms wrapping around her waist caused Aperio to let out a breath. The mana she had started to gather in anger simply flowed back into the raging river that coursed through her body.


    "One thing at a time," her Disciple admonished, leaning her head against the All-Mother''s side. "A mortal chooses their God. If they want to follow one that leads pointless wars, that''s on them."


    "Some people do not have the luxury of choice," Aperio said with a slight hiss as she turned her head to face her disciple. "I am certain that there are worlds devoted to but a single divine, one who makes sure that the mortals follow them and only them."


    "She is correct," Mayeia said. "Though I only have second-hand information, I am certain that the likes of Lor''Kem and Epemirial have no problem killing off non-believers."


    Aperio took a deep breath, the glow of her skin growing in radiance as she did. Moria first, she thought to herself as she breathed out a wispy fog of mana instead of the air she had taken in. "Do you know how to move between worlds?" she asked, shifting her gaze back to Mayeia.


    "I do not. Not truly, at least," she replied, relaxing the grip on her notebook slightly. "All I know is that you need followers on the world you want to move to. Something you can do by sending an Emissary, though I do not have the ability to name one.


    "The part of the System that enables this does not respond," she continued. "Only those who already have an Emissary can reassign that obligation."


    Aperio furrowed her brows as she scrutinised the memory of Adam''s entrance into this world. She could easily recall how the world had beyond felt; how the bridge between the worlds felt.


    She tried to find something ¡ª anything ¡ª that could show her how she could move to that other world. All she needed was a hint, a small sign, and she could tear open reality and bring peace to the worlds her Pantheon had plunged into war.


    Caethya''s sudden but gentle touch on her face caused Aperio to push aside the memory. "Focus," she said, cupping the All-Mother''s cheeks in her hands, and her Goddess allowed her head to be guided to a different position. "I know you are angry; can feel it. But just sitting here and trying to figure out how to solve your problems won''t actually solve them.


    "For now, we will search for Moria," Caethya continued, brushing her thumbs over Aperio''s cheeks. "Mayeia can help us, and mayhap Roots can tell you how to move between worlds."


    "I cannot," the tree rumbled immediately in reply. "I have taken root on many worlds, but I am not permitted to spread on my own. The knowledge is forbidden to me."


    "Why?" Aperio asked, placing her hands on Caethya''s and gently pulling them away, holding them instead.


    "I do not know," Roots replied. "It is a restriction you placed upon me when first planting my seed. I have not felt the need to question the decision, nor do I feel it now."


    A few of its branches shook slightly, Roots'' crown tilting to point towards the sky. "Diskrye was in charge of the new worlds. The Sky moves between the worlds like my roots through the earth."


    Of course, Aperio though to herself, a part of her mind already reaching out to the nebulous entity beyond Verenier. But will its method work for me?


    While a part of her conversed with Diskrye, Aperio shifted her right wing to pull Caethya a little closer. She ignored Mayeia''s slight smile as she wrapped an arm around her disciple as well, leaning her head to the right so it rested against Caethya''s. It was a comforting position, and Aperio let out a sigh.


    "I do have a question," Caethya said, her voice even and calm despite her quickened breathing and rapid beat of her heart. "I know that I said we should look for Moria first," she said after a moment of silence, "but, how do you travel to your Void? Isn''t that just another world?"


    Aperio blinked at the question. "My Void is not a world like Verenier or the one Adam came from." She knew that to be true; knew that it existed between the fabric and foundations of reality. "I merely have to twist the threads apart and pass through. I also know where it is, which I cannot say of other worlds.


    "Which is why I was scrutinising the memory of Adam ''falling'' to Verenier," she continued, said memory closer to the forefront of her mind. "I know how his home world feels. The lack of mana on it; the little piece of my Void that was weaved into it."


    "A world without mana?" Mayeia asked, suddenly intrigued. "How does that work? Every world has mana; it is required for species to develop beyond mere animals, as far as I know."


    "It is not," Aperio replied. "Adam had not a shred of mana in his body before he came to Verenier." The System grafted that into him¡­


    "Interesting," Mayeia mumbled, another notebook appearing in her hand in which she promptly started scribbling. "You wouldn''t happen to know anything else about that world, would you?"


    The All-Mother shook her head lightly. "I do not, no. But you are free to ask Adam about his home, as long as he agrees to your questions."


    "Of course," the Goddess of Magic replied. "Unlike other divines, I respect mortals."


    "Now," Caethya said, speaking before either Goddess had a chance. "How do you intend to find Moria?"


    Aperio remained quiet at the question. She was not sure how she would do that. Or if I even want to. The possibility of the only friend she had ever known turning out to be nothing more than an act still filled her with dread. What if she disappeared because she knew I would come back?


    While she could not be sure, the All-Mother felt certain Moria shared a connection to her. One akin to Maria''s and Caethya''s, just more subdued and likely only letting her know that she was alive. Enough reason to go and hide¡­


    The face of her disciple filling her vision and the small weight of her body in her lap caused Aperio''s thoughts to pause. "Focus," Caethya said, poking the All-Mother''s forehead with a finger. "You are overthinking things again."


    Aperio sighed in reply. She pulled Caethya closer with the arm that was still wrapped around her waist and slung her other arm across to embrace the woman in a hug.


    She did not know how not to have her mind whirl with thousands of thoughts at once, and though hugging Caethya did help her to calm down it was not really a permanent option. In fact, doing so just sent her mind down another spiral, one in which she asked herself whether the Elf actually liked her and whether she even should entertain the idea of a relationship in the first place.


    Aperio knew she had a mountain of issues to work through, many of which would be painful for herself and, by extension, Caethya ¡ª if she chose to stay with her.


    Her disciple leaned back, or at least she did once Aperio loosened her grip so she could, and ran cautious fingers through the All-Mother''s hair. "Please. Focus. Not on what could have been, but on what you actually know. The here and now. Facts.


    "Don''t worry about what you think I feel, or what Moria might think," Caethya continued, placing her hand on Aperio''s chin and, after the All-Mother obliged the motion, slightly tilting her head upwards. "I chose to be with you. I knew it would not be easy."


    She carefully brushed a few errand strands of silver hair out of Aperio''s face, tugging them neatly behind an ear. "Presuming what others feel is not only likely to be wrong, but it also hurts. I know of your past; can feel your dread and anxiety whenever it comes up, but just thinking up the worst outcome won''t solve anything."


    Caethya rose slightly, the All-Mother shifting her arm away as soon as she noticed the movement, but the Demigoddess seemed to hesitate for a moment before removing her hands and sitting back down at Aperio''s side. She trailed her fingers along the inside of her wing, mumbling some unintelligible words to herself before she faced the All-Mother. ¡°It hurts seeing you continuously doubt yourself. It is true that you carry a great burden, but there is no need to add to it by blaming yourself for things you did not do. Helping those that have been wronged is right, but you must also help yourself."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 113: To Foderys

    Caethya retreated deeper into Aperio''s wing, hoping to hide the redness that had started to creep up her cheeks and ears. She had wanted to say something else, but it was not the time for that; nor the place.


    The All-Mother noticed her distress, pulling her wing tighter around Caethya as well as wrapping an arm around her. While the Elf knew Aperio just wanted to soothe her, at the moment it had the opposite effect.


    Still, she leaned into the embrace, letting herself be held by her Goddess. Caethya had not gone as far as she had wanted to with her words, but Aperio would only doubt the veracity of her confession if she gave it now. She had still managed to speak her mind in the hopes of getting her point across, and for that she was proud of herself.


    "Caethya?" the All-Mother asked, a sliver of her magic running through the Elf''s body. Aperio had her eyes fixed on her, the intricate pattern of blue lines and specks that crisscrossed her irises changing every time Caethya blinked.


    "I think she has something else to say that you are not yet quite ready to hear," Mayeia said from her position on the grass a few steps away.


    Aperio ignored the Goddess of Magic, simply continuing to look at Caethya. The Elf could feel the All-Mother''s attention weigh on her. It was not the tidal wave that had once seemed to threaten to crush her, but the promise of a tight embrace that would bring nothing but comfort.


    "There is no need to stay quiet if you wish to say something," the All-Mother said, brushing her hand over Caethya''s cheek in the same way the Elf had just recently done.


    Caethya gave a shallow nod in reply. "I will tell you when I am ready," she said, leaning a little more heavily against Aperio''s wing. "For now, finding Moria is more important."


    Aperio held her gaze a little longer before she gave a curt nod, a few strands of her hair falling in front of her ever-shifting eyes. "As you wish."


    A thought accompanied the words; one filled with the All-Mother''s worry for her, her uncertainty. Aperio had also conveyed a small question to which Caethya readily agreed.


    She was effortlessly lifted into the All-Mother''s lap with her back resting against Aperio''s chest. A moment later, her Goddess wrapped her arms and wings around Caethya, holding the Elf a little tighter.


    Mayeia smiled at the two of them, though she quickly averted her gaze after Caethya felt a brief flare of anger flow through the All-Mother''s aura. Caethya placed her hands on Aperio''s own in response, trying to convey a feeling of calm through her own aura.


    "Where do you think we should look for Moria first, then?" the All-Mother asked, her body losing some tension as she leaned against Roots.


    "Might I suggest Foderys?" Mayeia said, lowering the notebook in her hand. "The [Ancestral Guard] is likely your best bet for information, unless you plan to look at every little bit of Verenier at once."


    The All-Mother tilted her head, Caethya perceiving the motion through her aura and by the slight tickle of silver-blue hair against her face. Is she actually considering it?


    "Do you even know what to look for?" she asked. "I think asking the [Ancestral Guard] would be a good start."


    "I know how Moria''s soul felt the last time I saw her," Aperio said after a moment of silence. "But that was¡­ a while ago, and I would have to abandon my form to properly search using that method."


    Mayeia nodded at the words. "And you would rather not risk being stuck formless without Caethya while you figure out how to make a new shell to contain you."


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "There are other reasons as well, but that is the main one. I do not know if I can reinforce my body fast enough to return to it after finding Moria."


    The uncertainty Caethya felt in the All-Mother''s aura made it clear that she herself was not even sure if she could find Moria that way. It was not the only thing that permeated the bond she shared with Aperio, however. There was also fear.


    She knew little of what happened to Aperio in her time as a slave, but it was abundantly clear that the prospect of losing her body terrified the All-Mother. What Caethya was not so sure about was the reason her Goddess was so frightened of the prospect. Was it because she was attached to her physical form as it was now, and did not wish to lose her current ''shell,'' as Mayeia had called it? Or, she considered as she was held just a fraction more tightly, was her Goddess frightened that a loss of physicality might harm their relationship?


    A small sliver of her mana flowed around Aperio in the best approximation of a hug the Demigoddess could manage. Her control over her mana was still nowhere near that of Aperio or even Mayeia, but ever since she had become a Demigoddess it had become easier and easier. And I keep getting more mana too.


    She was not entirely sure where it came from, but her best guess was the woman in whose lap she currently sat. Caethya wouldn''t put it past her love to give her a little extra, just to make sure she could take care of herself. Or she''s done nothing because she''s forgotten amidst all the other things she''s worrying about.


    Though it was indeed possible that she was being given special treatment, it was more likely that Aperio had not given her anything extra. The All-Mother had made it quite clear that she did not want to influence her in any way; that she was scared of the mere prospect. Convincing her that her feelings did not come from the blessing but were truly her own was easier said than done.


    But, we are making progress, Caethya thought with a small smile on her face. "We''re going to Solito, then?" she asked, tilting her head back to look at Aperio with not only her aura but also her eyes.


    "Yes," Aperio replied after a moment, shifting a little and moving Caethya effortlessly as she did. "It is the best place to start and I can continue my search from anywhere."


    "If I may?" Mayeia interjected, continuing after Aperio waved her on with her wing. "I have a temple in Foderys and a good number of followers in the [Ancestral Guard]. Knowing your preference for staying off the map, I thought it would be best if I arranged a meeting for us."


    Aperio squinted at the Goddess of Magic. Mayeia had a point, but the All-Mother also thought that she had pushed the issue away for long enough.


    "Fine," she said with a sigh. "How long will that take?" Might as well look at the city while we wait. Maybe meet with Neria.


    "A few hours," Mayeia replied. "A day at most if they try to delay it for some reason."


    The All-Mother let her senses wander, finding Solito and the biggest city on it a rather trivial task for her. Aperio also had no trouble spotting Mayeia''s temple; another library filled to the brim with books of all kinds.


    "Are you trying to get Lore or Knowledge as a second Domain?" she asked, her eyes focused on the Goddess of Magic as her senses wandered through her temple in Foderys.


    "Maybe," Mayeia mumbled in reply. "No luck so far, though."


    "The other Gods aren''t willing to help?" Caethya asked, shifting a little in Aperio''s lap to better look at the Goddess of Magic.


    "Edisicio told me I am on the right track, but that''s about it." She shrugged and stood up. "In the end, it doesn''t really matter if it takes a few more centuries or millennia. Time is not really a concern."


    Perhaps she can''t get one because that part of the System is also broken? Aperio was certain by now that the thing was only holding on by some form of divine grace ¡ª one that undoubtedly came from some part of her own subconsciousness.


    "Are you ready to go, Caethya?" Aperio asked, looking down at the Demigoddess.


    "I am," she replied. "But¡­ What about Maria and Adam? I did promise to train them, and I would like to keep that promise."


    "If you wish, I can bring them here and you can stay with them," Aperio said, her shoulders and wings slumping a little. "But I am certain that both of them would understand if you delayed their lessons by a little."


    Her disciple remained quiet for a moment, tapping her fingers on Aperio''s hands as she thought. "Can you land your temple?"


    "Yes? But, what does that have to do with anything?" Aperio had brought her temple out of another dimension; landing it should most definitely be possible. If it can''t do it on its own, I can just teleport it down. Probably.


    "Nothing yet," Caethya said. "But I thought that it would make everything a little easier. People could just come here directly and you would only have to teleport me. And maybe I can eventually figure out how to do that too."


    The All-Mother quirked an eyebrow at the words and shook her head after a moment. "Maybe," she said. "Do you wish to accompany us to Foderys or do you want to remain here?"


    "I''ll come," Caethya replied, attempting to stand up but failing to move from her Goddess'' embrace.


    Aperio stood up in response, effortlessly bringing Caethya up with her as she did. A touch of her magic ensured that the Demigoddess of Creation had not been injured by her movement. She folded her wings behind her back, giving Caethya a last squeeze before letting go.


    "Are you ready?" Aperio asked, directing her gaze at Mayeia.


    "Of course!" she replied, her own magic gathering but failing to take hold as the barrier surrounding the All-Mother''s temple prevented it. A thought from Aperio brought Mayeia outside, where she stayed for a moment before appearing in her temple in Foderys.


    The All-Mother shook her head lightly at the action. "She could have just told me where to go," Aperio mumbled, holding her hand out towards Caethya. "Have you ever been to Foderys?"


    "No," her disciple replied, taking the offered hand. "I have spent most of my life on Spicor before coming to Vetus."


    "I have never been to Spicor," Aperio said, looking in the direction the continent laid in. "Would I be welcome there? Even though I look like an Elf, it''s only because I feel comfortable as one. But, in the end, it''s a lie."


    "Most would probably honoured you chose to look like one of us when you could be anything," Caethya said, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. "Some, however, would probably take it as an opportunity to proclaim that ''Elvenkind is superior''. Such people sadly exist in every species."


    Aperio nodded, focusing on herself for a moment to get rid of the subtle glow beneath her skin. Another thought caused her wings to vanish and the armour to appear above her dress.


    A tiny flex of her mental muscles twisted reality apart, bringing Caethya and herself into Mayeia''s temple in Foderys. The shelves that surrounded them were not only stuffed to the brim with books and scrolls, but also runes. They were engraved in every visible part of the wooden surfaces, and glowed with mana. At least, they did to Aperio''s eyes.


    "Why do you have Wards of Confinement on your shelves?" Aperio asked, squinting at the struggling enchantments. At least they aren''t breaking.


    "Ah, yes, those." The Goddess of Magic looked at the shelf in question and sighed. "Those are books written by people not from this world, and the knowledge within has been deemed too dangerous by the Pantheon and the countries that originally held them. So, as a somewhat neutral third party, I hold onto them."


    "Why not in your Dominion?" Caethya asked. "Wouldn''t that be safer?"


    Mayeia shrugged in reply. "It would, but the mortals wanted to keep them on Verenier and the other Gods didn''t really care."


    "Have you already sent someone to the [Ancestral Guard]?" Aperio asked, changing the topic.


    "I did that as soon as you had agreed to it," Mayeia replied. "I will let you know what they tell me once they contact me. Until then, you could take the opportunity to explore the city. Perhaps it will help you worry a little less."


    The All-Mother glared at the Goddess of Magic, only stopping when Caethya slung her arm around her waist and smiled at her. "I think that is a good idea."


    While staying in a library had been a large part of her life as a slave, Aperio still enjoyed being surrounded by books. They had given her knowledge and a small taste of freedom with the stories they told. Walking these halls with Caethya would further her enjoyment, but so would walking outside.


    Exploring the city was something she could do without leaving but, much like reading, she preferred looking at it with with her own eyes. Having her disciple by her side while walking through Foderys was a nice thought, and ultimately the one that won in her mind. She could spend some time with Caethya alone; finally get to know her a little more.


    ¡°Perhaps it is,¡± Aperio replied, a thought twisting reality apart to bring Caethya and herself outside.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 114: Cake and Conversation

    Aperio wanted to wrap her wing around Caethya as they appeared outside Mayeia''s temple, but realized a moment later that she had hidden them on purpose. With a silent sigh, she offered her hand to the Elf. It would have to suffice.


    Caethya happily placed her hand in Aperio''s own, smiling at the Goddess as she did. "So," she began, "where are we going?"


    "I don''t know," the All-Mother replied with a small shrug. "I would like to try the food here, but I don''t have any coins on me. I could probably make some, but that seems like a bad idea." And I''d have to figure out what they make their money out of.


    A small leather pouch appeared in Caethya''s free hand. "Then I shall treat you to dinner. Being a high-level Adventurer pays quite well."


    "Thank you," Aperio replied with a smile, a part of her mind already looking through every establishment in Foderys to find something both of them might enjoy. The most immediate problem she encountered was that she did not actually know what Caethya liked. "Is there anything you would want to try?"


    "Anything you wish to eat is fine with me," she replied with a smile. "I''m not the one who had not had any food in millennia."


    "I had some," Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. "Even though it was better than what I had before, most of it was... boring." Perhaps I just don''t know what normal food is supposed to be like?


    She had only ever eaten some formless gruel as a slave, and that was when she got food. Sometimes they had simply been given a cheap potion that would keep them alive for the day. Aperio''s face twisted into a grimace at the memory of the taste. Disgusting.


    Caethya gave a nod at Aperio''s words, starting to hum lightly as she started to walk. The All-Mother followed, easily falling into step with the Elf. "You have a place in mind?"


    "No," Caethya said, moving a little closer. "We can just stop if we find something interesting. It''s better that way, no?"


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, her eyes wandering from mortal to mortal. Mayeia''s temple was surrounded by a small park that saw little use. But, beyond its walls, the city was packed with people.


    The two of them did not necessarily blend in with the crowds, but neither did they stand out. A good number of the mortals were as tall as Aperio, and some even managed to be taller. Elves were common enough, too, though the All-Mother still garnered some curious looks ¡ª some of which showed a little too much interest for her tastes ¡ª from those who felt a little stronger than the average mortal.


    Perhaps they can sense my aura still? She had been employing the same trick she had used before, trying to weave her mana beyond the fabric of reality and purposefully muddling it with the ambient mana. It seemed to work well enough, as most people didn¡¯t pay her any more mind than Caethya. Just those few¡­


    A small mental query directed at Caethya revealed that it was not only her aura that drew people''s attention, but also the way she held herself when she walked. The floating gait Aperio preferred had apparently evolved into something more warrior-like without her noticing. She could only scrunch her brows at the revelation as it made little sense to her.


    "It doesn''t matter though, does it?" Caethya asked, her voice crystal clear to Aperio''s ears despite the buzz of the city. At least that got better¡­


    "It does not," she replied. "I simply went through great pains to be able to do it, and not noticing a change seems¡­ weird."


    "You don''t notice a great many things about yourself." Her disciple smiled at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.


    "Oh? What else do I do without knowing it?"


    "Command any room you enter, for example," Caethya replied, gently nudging Aperio around a corner and towards what the All-Mother instinctively classed as a tavern, though upon second glance it was obviously a lot higher in class.


    "I think that just comes with what I am," Aperio replied, a touch of her magic ensuring only Caethya heard the words. "The amount of mana I carry within me far exceeds that of all the mortals here combined, after all."


    Her disciple nodded. "You got pretty good at that, though. I can still feel some of it, sure, but it''s pretty hard to find." She paused for a moment, looking at Aperio as she contemplated her next words. "Perhaps it also helps that you are¡­ settling in, for a lack of a better term."


    "In the world? My body? ¡­Being with you?" Aperio was not quite sure which of these Caethya had meant, but knew that all of them were true to a degree. Despite the worries that had been shoved at her mind, the All-Mother had, of late, felt more at home in the world as well as her own flesh. She had also acknowledged her feelings for Caethya, which might have been the biggest change in itself had she not also begun acting upon those feelings as well.


    "All of them," her disciple replied, stopping before she walked into the midst of the tables and chairs laid out in front of the fancy-tavern. "Have you ever been to a cafe?"


    "No," Aperio replied with a small shake of her head. "What makes it different from a normal tavern?"


    "They focus on other drinks, not just ale," Caethya replied, spotting an empty table and guiding Aperio to a seat. "I am also pretty sure they were brought here by someone from Earth."


    "Earth?"


    "The world Adam and Kiro come from." Caethya shrugged. "Apparently they have a lot of these, and less taverns and bars."


    The All-Mother raised an eyebrow at the words but did not comment. Instead, she picked up the booklet that sat in the middle of their table. Flipping through it revealed that it was filled with small pictures of the things they sold, as well as helpful descriptions to explain what you might be potentially ordering. Seems a bit much for such a small place.


    The images of the various foods and drinks didn''t appear that appetizing to her, and nothing elicited enough of a response to be worthy of choosing. "Did Adam give you any recommendations as to what we should try?"


    "No," Caethya replied, taking the small booklet Aperio offered her. "But I am sure I can find something good."


    A smile spread across the All-Mother''s lips as she watched her disciple flip through the menu. She had not stopped her search for Moria, but just being here with Caethya had helped to lessen her worry. They hadn''t even done much yet, just some talking and now a pause to sit down for something unnecessary, but it didn''t really matter what she did as long as Caethya was there. She was still worried about Moira''s answer, of course, but somehow the potential of her having just pretended to be her friend didn''t seem so devastating anymore.


    "Perhaps we should do this more often," Caethya said, lowering the booklet and looking at Aperio. She also waved a waiter over as she spoke, handing him the menu as he arrived and ordering two teas, and some cakes with names the All-Mother was sure were not from Verenier.


    "Maybe," Aperio said, her shoulders slumping a little at the small wince of the waiter. She had forgone ensuring only Caethya could hear her and her voice had seemingly been a little much for the young Beastkin. "I am still not sure it is okay for me to just walk around like this."


    Her disciple tilted her head slightly. "Why would it not be okay for you to walk around? You stand out a little, certainly, but as you likely have noticed, as long as you keep your aura in check people don''t seem to pay too much attention."


    "I also can''t talk to them," Aperio said, nodding towards the waiter moving away from their table a little faster than necessary. "He is scared because I spoke."


    "I think he is going that fast to inform the proprietor of this business about a potentially important guest."


    That wouldn''t be wrong, Aperio thought to herself, a minuscule part of her mind following the waiter. He scribbled some unreadable words next to their order before handing them to another employee, then started to walk towards a heavy looking wooden door behind the counter.


    "I hope that is the case,"Aperio said, observing the hapless employee handing their order over to a chef, and tilting her head slightly at the chaos that broke out in the kitchen. "I don''t want to scare every mortal I encounter." Only some.


    "You really have no idea how to live a normal life, do you?" Caethya asked after a moment of silence. "I knew that all of this would be new for you, but I keep forgetting. Before, you couldn''t just go where you wanted or do what you wanted, and now you are¡­ well, you."


    "Normality is not something that begets me, it would seem."


    Her disciple looked at her for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin. Aperio was not quite sure what Caethya expected her to do, and her only immediate response was to shift slightly in her chair. A touch of her magic ensured the wooden frame did not collapse under her weight. Whoever had made these had anticipated heavier people, but apparently not quite so significant a mass as what the All-Mother brought with her. Does mana weigh anything?


    "Do you know what you will do after you find Moria?" the Elf finally asked. "Go after the other Gods that went against you?"


    "Figure out what this [War in Heaven] is," Aperio replied. "I would like it if it solved itself and I could just take some time to live, but I doubt that will happen."


    Further talk was cut short as a waitress brought their order. Unlike the other waiter, this one did not seem to be in much of a hurry to get away. Aperio knew why, of course; this waitress had been in the room with what she assumed to be the owner of the business when the first waiter had come in to report her presence.


    "Thank you," Aperio said after the waitress had placed the last plate on the table and Caethya had thanked her. She seemed unaffected by her voice, simply bowing before leaving them to their meal.


    Oyla Ki | [Devoted of the Veil] | Level: 222


    Maybe that''s why? Aperio thought to herself, dismissing the notification. This waitress was by far not the strongest person she had ever encountered, but it was certainly possible that the other Beastkin was much less leveled. Or maybe this Oyla is simply used to serving stronger mortals?


    In the end, it mattered little, and the All-Mother returned most of her attention to the Elf sitting across from her. Caethya was looking at her intently, holding her steaming cup of tea in both of her hands and taking a sip every now and then.


    Aperio followed suit and carefully picked up her cup to smell the tea. Perhaps it was her enhanced senses, but for the All-Mother, the smell of it was almost overwhelming. Not bad by any stretch, but still a little much.


    She took a sip of the steaming beverage, savouring the scalding liquid as it flowed down her throat. Aperio could not name the flavours, or even describe them, but it was easy to determine that it was better than anything she had tried before.


    "Do you like it?" Caethya asked, her eyes still fixed on the All-Mother.


    "I do," Aperio replied, a touch of her magic bringing her slice of cake closer. "But it somehow lacks the ability to bring satiation. Or I lack the base needs to be sated."


    "Perhaps that''s because your body does not work like a mortal¡¯s?" Caethya asked, watching the All-Mother take a bite of her cake.


    Making sure the people surrounding them would not hear what they were not supposed to was rapidly becoming second nature to Aperio. Certainly helps that I can do it with my aura.


    "Maybe," she replied, looking at the piece of cake before shifting her gaze towards Caethya. "I do not truly care for this, though. Being with you is what matters."


    The Elf smiled at the words, her own food quickly vanishing as they sat in silence. Aperio did not mind, silently placing her plate in front of the Elf as she seemed to enjoy it much more than she herself had done. She also let a bit of her mana flow around Caethya, something she enjoyed doing and her disciple had not spoken out against, while a small part of her mind explored the city.


    "Is there really nothing you would like to do?" Caethya asked after finishing both her own and Aperio''s cake.


    "I would like to have a friendly bout of fighting, but there is nothing that would be enough of a challenge," Aperio replied, mentally acknowledging Mayeia''s message. The Goddess had heard back from the [Ancestral Guard].


    "Exploring is also enjoyable," Aperio added, shifting slightly in her chair and wordlessly informing Caethya of what Mayeia had just told her. "But, I am open for anything." Don''t exactly know what I should do, either.


    "I will think of something," her disciple replied, waving over a waiter and handing him a few coins before standing up. "But for now, we have a visit to make, do we not?"


    The All-Mother nodded at the question and rose from her chair. She could not help but notice the grey-haired man behind the counter looking at her, nodding his head almost imperceptibly as a bit of Aperio¡¯s mana flowed around him. He smiled at the two of them, offering a small wave as they left.


    Who is that ? Aperio idly wondered, the System providing an answer a moment later.


    Migu¨¦l Bianchi | [Walker of the Veil (Hidden)] | Level: 296


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 115: Beyond Her Ken

    Aperio led Caethya to an empty alleyway, teleporting them both inside Mayeia''s temple as soon as she was sure nobody could see them.


    She did not really mind people seeing her teleport but, in an effort to appear a little less godly, Aperio had chosen to do so out of sight. The All-Mother was also planning to ask Mayeia to bring them to this [Ancestral Guard] they were supposed to meet.


    "Did you enjoy your excursion?" the Goddess of Magic asked as soon as Aperio and Caethya reappeared in her library.


    "Yes," the All-Mother replied, her voice overshadowing a similar statement from her disciple. "Even if it was a little short."


    "But we did not come here to sightsee," Caethya said. "We came to find Moria."


    "Yes." Aperio sighed. "We did."


    The All-Mother might have lost some of her worries about actually finding Moria, but that did not mean she looked forward to it. She did, however, want to make sure Moria was fine; a courtesy she would extend to her old friend, even it if turned out she had only pretended to be one. Her hiding because I came back might be the best outcome¡­


    "Well," Mayeia began, "the [Keeper of Voices] has agreed to meet you." She hesitated for a moment before she continued. "I am pretty sure he already knows you are not an Elder but a Goddess. How he would know that is beyond me, but he definitely recognised your name."


    A small thought flashed through Aperio''s mind, causing her to ask, "Does the [Ancestral Guard] worship any specific God or Goddess?"


    "Not really, no," Mayeia replied. "Their members follow different deities, but all of them offer their devotion to Chellien during their initiation. That he has died a long time ago does not seem to bother them."


    "Of course they do," Aperio mumbled. She had little doubt that this order had something to do with some of the first vivid memories she had seen from Procul''s dungeon crystals. "They know who I am," she continued, fixing her gaze on Mayeia. "I am certain the first of the order were the ones I gave Chellien''s essence to after he died."


    The Goddess of Magic blinked at the words, seemingly not quite sure what to make of them. "You gave the essence of a God to mortals? How? Their bodies should not be able to withstand it,¡± she said, her fingers twitching a little, almost as if she wanted to grab an invisible pen and write down what she had just heard.


    Aperio tilted her head in reply. "I reforged their flesh. It was Chellien''s last wish; or at least how I interpreted it at the time. I do not remember why I would grant him such a wish ¡ª just that I did."


    She could recall in detail how she had guided what was left of Chellien through the bodies of the three mortals; rebuilding their bodies so they could actually make use of the dead God¡¯s gift. The only memory that followed that featured one of the three was with Moria when she had given her the [Memento Mori] title ¡ª not something that helped her now.


    "Interesting," the Goddess of Magic said after a moment of silence. "I did not think there would be an organisation left that is so directly tied to you."


    "Probably because nobody knows that I had a hand in its creation," Aperio replied, her eyes fixed on Mayeia. "Even I did not know until recently."


    The All-Mother did not believe the Goddess of Magic would do something to endanger the [Ancestral Guard], but she would still keep an eye on both of them. Mortals and Gods alike were willing to oppose her after all, even if they knew they could not win. Though, perhaps the mortals don''t.


    Assuming that their Gods told them who exactly she was was a stretch. If they did, they probably would not be quite as willing to throw themselves at her. Natio did not seem to know who I was¡­


    They had managed to get rid of her once; so why wouldn''t it work again? Aperio did not know why it would not. She only knew that ¡ª according to Ferio ¡ª she was much stronger than ever before, something that did not necessarily make sense to her. How could she be stronger when she had already had the ability to do anything she wanted? Doesn''t get stronger than willing the universe into existence¡­


    And yet, Ferio had said she was stronger. Vigil and Inanis had seemed surprised that she could stop their attempt so easily. Maybe I did do this to myself¡­ but why? Forgetting was an easy solution to the guilt she now felt, but Aperio doubted her actions bothered her much before.


    With a shake of her head, Aperio dismissed the thoughts, spreading her wings behind her before wrapping one around Caethya. Having her feathered limbs on display was freeing in a way that did not quite make sense to her. Maybe I should just say they''re a cape¡­ She could make them look like one ¡ª at least a little ¡ª but she doubted it would convince people.


    "Well," Mayeia said. "As revealing as this conversation is, I think we should not keep the Keeper waiting too long."


    Aperio raised an eyebrow at the words. She had not expected a Goddess to be mindful of a mortals schedule; even one as nice as Mayeia. Or does she only do it because I am here? "Yes, we should not keep them waiting."


    The Goddess of Magic nodded once before disappearing into a blue portal. Aperio squinted to appraise the magic Mayeia had made, dismissing it with a thought before bringing Caethya and herself to the sprawling complex Mayeia had teleported herself to.


    "Did you not like my portal?" the Goddess of Magic asked as Aperio and her disciple appeared next to her.


    "It was¡­ crude," the All-Mother replied after a moment. "Like the gate Fel''Erreyth has in his dungeon, your magic forces its way through the fabric of reality in a way that is both wasteful and unstable."


    Aperio was aware of the Beastkin in the room; how he scrutinized her. "So it is true," he said once the All-Mother looked at him. "You have returned."


    "Yes, I have," she replied, her voice easily filling the large hall. "What does it matter to you?"


    The Beastkin hesitated for a moment, seemingly shrinking a little under Aperio''s gaze. "We have rites to perform; people to inform. Your return has been prophesied throughout the ages¡­ Though the one who had offered us insights into you has vanished some time ago."


    "Moria?" Aperio asked, appearing in front of who she assumed was the [Keeper of Voices]. She could sense a pang of sadness from Caethya at her departure and, a small flex of her mental muscles brought the Elf back under her wing.


    "Yes," the Beastkin replied, his eyes wandering between the Elf that had wrapped her arm around the All-Mother''s waist and the Creator herself. "If you have come to find her here, I will have to disappoint. We have been searching for her for more than a year now and are no closer."


    "We came to gather any information you might have," Mayeia replied. "As the Keeper, you should know that even the divine is limited in what we can do."


    "Painfully so," the [Keeper of Voices] replied, grasping the small pendant that hung from his neck. "Despite what we have been told, I had hoped that the Creator would be all knowing. There are so many questions we have."


    So do I, Aperio thought to herself, tilting her head before she asked her next question. "What have you been told?"


    "The Kellborn have always told us that you would return," the [Keeper of Voices] said. "That you would oust many of the Pantheon and bring change akin to an apocalypse for many.


    "Three have already fallen," he continued, "We had assumed you had returned, but we weren''t sure. It would not be the first time that the Gods kill some of their own, after all." He grabbed the pendant a little tighter as he finished speaking, and a small speck of mana left his body to vanish into the workings beyond the fabric of reality.


    "No," Aperio said, following the speck of mana with a thought. "It would not be the first time." But hopefully the last. "What can you tell me about Moria?" the All-Mother asked, leaning forward slightly. She towered over the sitting Beastkin, but he did not seem to be too intimidated by her. Maybe Moria told him he doesn''t have to fear me?


    The thought was quickly stricken from her memory as she could sense the Beastkin''s heart start to beat faster and his breath to quicken.


    "Perhaps we should ask for his name first?" Caethya suggested, lightly pressing her hand against Aperio''s stomach so she would not loom over the [Keeper of Voices]. Aperio obliged Caethya and moved back a little, the [Keeper of Voices] calming slightly as she did. Her disciple bowed her head lightly before she spoke her next words. "I''m Caethya Martinek, the only one here whose name you probably do not know."


    The [Keeper of Voices] did not reply immediately, lowering his head instead as he took a shaky breath. "Kenmo," he whispered, after another moment of silence. "Just, Kenmo."


    "My condolences," Mayeia said, crossing her arms in front of her chest in a gesture Aperio did not know. "I know it is not easy to lose the one you love."


    "Thank you," Kenmo replied, making another similar ¡ª but one armed ¡ª gesture in return. "But it is a price I have to pay as the Keeper."


    The [Keeper of Voices] had given them his name, but apparently that somehow connected to him losing a loved one. Am I missing something? She was about to ask when Caethya almost imperceptibly shook her head.


    "I lost my partner," Kenmo said, having picked up on Aperio''s confusion. "And with it a part of my name; a part of me. I knew it would happen when I took the title as [Keeper of Voices], but sadly that spares me none of the pain.


    He sighed after a moment of silence. "But you have not come to hear about the sorrows of an old man. You have come to meet Moria, but all I can offer you is the meagre information we have gathered."


    "That is what we came for," Mayeia confirmed. "We already knew Moria would not be here."


    Aperio let her senses spread through the complex, ignoring the various Beastkin that took notice of her action. She had hoped to find Neria here so she could ask about her mother, but she was not there.


    "Of course," Kenmo said, clearing his throat and shifting in his chair. "Pardon me but, try as I might, I cannot quite gather my thoughts in the presence of a Goddess and the Creator."


    "There is no need to worry," Aperio said, widening her search for Neria to encompass the city surrounding the complex of the [Ancestral Guard]. "I have not come to demand information or wreak havoc if I do not get to meet Moria." Perhaps that is what I would have done in the past¡­


    "I would not have assumed that you would," he said. "But neither did I expect to meet you today. A priest of Mayeia asked for an audience for an ''important guest by the name of Aperio''. I had hoped it was you, but one never knows."


    The [Keeper of Voices] eased a bit of his mana into two stones embedded into his chair, sending it racing through the walls and floor to a room in the middle of the building they were in.


    "Some of us have you as their namesake," Kenmo continued, standing up from his chair and leaning heavily on a staff that had appeared in his hand. "Most do not know where it came from, and those that do expect me to offer them respect they do not deserve."


    "Respect is earned, not given," Aperio said, squinting at the Beastkin. She paused for a moment, simply watching the [Keeper of Voices] slowly make his way to one of the doors in his chambers. "Do you need help?" she finally asked, mentally wincing at the disrupted flow of mana in his body.


    "No need," he said, tapping his staff against the door, causing it to open. "Please, follow me. I had the [Archivists] prepare what information we have."


    His grey fur moved in an unseen wind as he waited by the door, and the All-Mother eyed the old Beastkin for a moment longer. There was something about the way he held himself that was familiar to Aperio.


    She shook her head slightly, pulling her wing away from Caethya as she began walking towards the door. The Elf frowned slightly, but quickly followed nonetheless while Mayeia hid a smile behind her hand.


    "It is not every day you get to visit the inner sanctum of the [Ancestral Guard]," the Goddess of Magic said, a few magic-assisted steps bringing her next to Aperio.


    The All-Mother did not react to the words, focused on black pearl seated on a small pedestal in the middle of the room beyond. She could easily see it with her eyes, but the black marble was invisible to her aura. What is that?


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 116: The Black Pearl

    Aperio stepped past Kenmo, a tiny flex of her mental muscle twisting reality just enough so she would end up in front of the black pearl. Why can''t I sense it?


    Though it looked like the essence of Chellien, albeit lacking the fog, she could clearly recall the feeling of the dead God''s soul. This orb simply did not exist as far as her more magical senses were concerned.


    A thought stopped the two golden-furred Beastkin that tried to intercept her before the [Keeper of Voices] told them that it was fine. Aperio would have inspected the pearl even without the consent of Kenmo, as its presence did not feel quite right to her. Something about it was¡­ off. Corrupt.


    As far as Aperio was concerned, nothing should be outside her perception, but she had to concede that she was limiting herself by inhabiting a body. A touch of her magic flowed around the sphere, lifting it off of its pedestal and letting it hover over her palm.


    She ignored the conversation happening between Caethya, Mayeia, and the [Keeper of Voices], focusing entirely on the orb that floated above her hand. Now that she was close to it, Aperio could faintly sense the black pearl in her hand. It was a strange sensation, weak and distant, almost as though it was not even in the same space that she was.


    The All-Mother tilted her head at the thought. Another flex of her mental muscles tore open reality and the kaleidoscope of colours beyond. If the orb was connected to something, it had to be beyond what she already knew; could already sense.


    Aperio''s face twisted into a frown of confusion at what she found beyond the basic foundations of reality. Out here, it was basically the same as her Void. Her mind latched onto the idea, and sent a part of itself off to search through the seemingly endless black abyss she had come to call home.


    She searched, and searched, venturing far beyond where she had ever explored before. She could not have possibly told how long she had focusing on this task, but eventually there, at the far reaches of her Void and the space beyond reality, she found what she was looking for. Herself. Aperio was, from within her Void, looking at herself holding the black pearl; the space seemingly also encompassing physical reality. Could I use this to go to other worlds?


    The All-Mother let the magic that had held it above her hand cease. As soon as the sphere touched her palm, she was sure that it was connected to her Void, and she grabbed hold of it with both hands. Past its glass-like surface, she could sense - feel - the cold comfort of the black abyss. But how can it possibly be hiding from me?


    Her thoughts stopped as the orb''s hue began to shift. A silvery-blue that looked very much like her mana started to billow out from the depths of the darkness within. Soon it spilled out into physical reality Aperio found herself in, bathing her surroundings in visible mana. The only problem was that she had put none of it into the pearl. As if to answer her unspoken question, the orb in her hand began to open; the surface peeling away bit by bit as if it was a flower starting to bloom.


    The hole Aperio had ripped in reality slowly repaired itself as the All-Mother herself focused on what she could only describe as a seed inside the pearl. It shone with the same light that gleamed through her own skin whenever she drew a bit more on her well.


    A hand brushing past her wings and resting against the small of her back caused Aperio to look away from the glowing seed, directing her eyes at the owner of the hand. Caethya was standing next to her, squinting at the seed and straining against an unseen force. It was only then that Aperio noticed the dome of mana that separated her from the rest of the room.


    She only needed a glance to know it was the Goddess of Magic who had made it, but it also revealed that the barrier was already breaking down. A touch of Aperio''s magic replaced Mayeia''s barrier and also wrapped itself around Caethya, causing her to let out a shaky breath.


    "What are you doing?" she asked, leaning a bit more heavily against the All-Mother as she took deep breaths. "If Mayeia hadn''t contained the mana, you would have levelled the city. Even with your blessing I can barely stand against it."


    "This is somehow connected to my Void," Aperio said, nodding towards the orb in her hand. "It resembles the seeds of divinity I took out of Vigil and Inanis, but it seems¡­ tainted and drained. Almost as if someone tried to use it but did not know how."


    The Demigoddess let out a sigh at the words. "Whatever you''re examining, you can''t just do it here. What happened to the Aperio that cares? Normally you are concerned how your mere presence affects people, but now here you are, ripping open something that could end countless lives at a whim."


    Aperio froze at the words for a brief moment before she covered the seed with both hands and a barrier of her magic that was likely strong enough to withstand at least a few of her own attacks. "I''m sorry," she said, lowering her head. "I do not know how I did not notice¡­ I was so focused on finding out why I could not sense the orb; needed to know why."


    The All-Mother had to consciously relax her hands, the barrier she had made around the seed drawing ever more mana as she crushed it between them. With an unneeded breath, Aperio directed the mana that had filled reality and compressed into a small, silver-blue ball no bigger than her hand. Another thought caused the sphere of condensed mana to melt into her being like the countless tiny orbs in her Void had once done.


    Unlike that time, however, the mana she received from this orb was only noticeable because she tried to see what happened. Slowly, Aperio uncovered the seed in her hands, making sure any mana that it emitted simply flowed into her body. It might not have been the best choice, but her body still consumed ungodly amounts of mana to strengthen itself, so adding a little more was not the worst thing she could do.


    "I am sure you would have noticed if it had affected the others," Caethya said, lightly rubbing Aperio''s back. "But please, be more careful. We aren''t all as strong as you are."


    "No," Aperio mumbled, her shoulders slumping as she looked at the slowly pulsating seed in her hand. "Everyone else is fragile. Even with you I have to be careful to not accidentally hurt you when I hug you." And I just can''t stop hurting people, it seems.


    The Elf smiled at her, gently nudging away the All-Mother''s arm that held the seed and wrapping her own around Aperio. "That just means I will stay with you to help you and, maybe one day, get strong enough that you don''t have to worry about me.


    "Did you at least figure out why you could not sense it?" Caethya continued after pulling away slightly to better look at her Goddess. "I can''t see it either, but I am fairly certain you can sense everything, in a way."


    Aperio shifted her gaze from the seed to Caethya. She couldn''t help but see her as small and fragile ¡ª in need of her protection. The fact that the Demigoddess barely reached her chest did not help with that, but she had chosen her form because she did not want to be viewed in the way she saw most everyone else, and she liked her appearance.


    "It is a part of my Void somehow," she said, a minuscule effort of her mind lifting it out of her hand and letting it float back to its pedestal. "It also feels like a seed of divinity, but not quite."


    As soon as the seed arrived at its old resting place, the sphere that had opened to reveal it slowly closed and cast the room in a blue and silver light. Aperio no longer had to draw the excess mana it produced into herself as it flowed through the pedestal into a formation hidden beneath the floor. Countless runes came to life as soon as the magic flowed through them, their angled lines like the ones she had seen in the System and not what the mortals used. What.


    Close to the pedestal¡¯s base, Aperio could see a cluster of runes ¡ª the ones for ''Allow'' and ''Forbid'' far more prevalent than any other, but always followed by another rune. Does it need to spell out what can be used?


    "What did you do?" Caethya asked, her eyes wandering over the now-glowing floor.


    "I simply put it back," Aperio replied as she tried to figure out what the runes were supposed to do. "It probably was not working right because I was not there." Well, my mana wasn''t there¡­


    Aside from the many occurrences of ''Allow'' and ''Forbid'', Aperio could also see runes meant to measure something and create something according to the measurement. The only part about the entire contraption that gave Aperio pause was the fact that it was made with the same runes she had used to make the System. And they are too small to be made by mortal hands.


    The runes were not visible to the naked eye; not even Aperio''s own. At least not until she truly tried to see, that was. Being able to see every particle the world was made of was not something she usually saw much benefit in when her aura could provide her with much more ¡ª and actually usable ¡ª information.


    "Done experimenting?" Mayeia asked, having dismissed the barrier she had summoned. She eyed the glowing runes for a moment, her aura sweeping the hall before she turned her attention back to Aperio. "You gave the mortals quite the scare."


    "I apologise," the All-Mother replied, her wings twitching slightly as the eyes of a few mortals lingered on Caethya, who still had her arms wrapped around her waist. She gently ran her hand through the Demigoddess'' hair, her eyes lingering on one of the guards that seemed to have more than a few problems with the display of affection. "Something about the seed felt¡­ off."


    "The seed?" Kenmo asked, his gaze flicking between Aperio and the object in question. "[Chellien''s Pearl] used to power Foderys before it was stolen by the Imperium of Geshwen. We retrieved it, as you can see, but never managed to repair it."


    Aperio directed her attention at the orb again, a mental message asking Caethya to let her go. The Elf obliged, running a hand along the wing the All-Mother draped over her instead.


    "It needed my mana," she said after a moment. Kenmo''s comment had led her to believe this was Chellien''s soul, but another check showed that to not be the case. He is right, it is a thing¡­


    While it was still obscured from her senses, there was something that she could only describe as lifeless about the orb. A soul had an inherent will to it ¡ª wanted to do something ¡ª and [Chellien''s Pearl] lacked that. It should have been obvious to her, but Aperio had been preoccupied figuring out why she could not properly sense it. The answer to that particular question was rapidly becoming clear now.


    Is it part of me? She tried to reach the pearl through her Void, finding it surprisingly easy to both spot and interact with now that it was no longer dormant. Aperio did not want to actually do anything with it as she had no idea what it was supposed to do, but knowing it was more connected to her ¡ª more so than everything else, at least ¡ª helped explain a few things. Don''t feel my organs either, after all.


    "Your mana?" Mayeia asked, walking past Aperio and looking at the now-glowing sphere. "Did you make this?"


    The All-Mother squinted at the Goddess of Magic, but did not reply. She might be fine with her knowing that she forgot, but that was not true for the mortals in the room.


    Seeing she would not receive an answer, Mayeia shifted her attention to the [Keeper of Voices]. "May I take a look as well?"


    After she received a nod from Kenmo, the Goddess of Magic started to let her mana flow around the pearl and through the floor; undoubtedly trying to figure out what it was supposed to do.


    Aperio merely shook her head, pulling her wing ¡ª and Caethya ¡ª closer to herself. Her disciple leaned into the feathered appendage, likely enjoying its unnatural softness. The All-Mother shifted her gaze onto the [Keeper of Voices], the man stiffening slightly in response.


    "I apologise for the interruption, but I believe you wanted to show us something else."


    "Yes," he said after a moment of hesitation. "Of course. Follow me, please."


    Aperio could not help but narrow her eyes slightly at Kenmo as she moved to follow him. The man that had greeted them had seemingly vanished, replaced by one that exhibited the annoying signs of devotion Aperio did not like.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 117: Finders, Keepers

    Caethya rubbed Aperio''s back as she felt the muscles tensing there, trying to soothe away the slight mixture of annoyance and anger that was flashing through the aura that surrounded them. The motion caught the attention, and a few looks, from the Beastkin they passed, but she gave it no mind. "What''s wrong?" she asked instead.


    A slight tingle ran over her skin as the All-Mother''s magic flowed around the two of them, creating an almost imperceptible barrier that garnered a raised eyebrow from the Goddess of Magic who had abandoned her study of the runes in favour of following them. It was quickly followed by a long, ethereal sounding sigh. The more annoyed Aperio got, the more her nature as the Creator seemed to show.


    "Nothing serious," she finally replied, her gaze briefly pausing on every member of the [Ancestral Guard] that looked at the two of them weirdly. "I had simply hoped that he would keep his straight-forward attitude and treat me like anyone else. Or at least just like a Goddess, and not the Goddess¡­ And they keep staring. As if it''s the first time they have seen someone showing affection."


    "You did just fix the thing they had thought broken for a long while," Caethya pointed out with a small chuckle. "I think they are all a little shocked. They probably also did not think that you would show interest in such base desires."


    "Why would I not be able to feel something for you?" Aperio asked, her ever-shifting eyes settling onto Caethya''s own. There was anger hidden in their depths. "Do they think I''m some thing that does not deserve to feel? To be alive?"


    "No," Caethya replied after a moment, her gaze wandering to the floor. "They aren''t trying to tell you what to do. They probably just find it weird that a Goddess would deign to be with a mortal."


    "But you aren''t a mortal," Aperio interjected. "You are a Demigoddess, and will be an actual Goddess in time."


    "They don''t know that, though," the Elf replied, looking at her Goddess again. "To them I am just a stronger than average Elf." She held up her free hand to stop Aperio from talking, continuing herself instead. "I know, it shouldn''t matter, but mortals don''t usually see the divine in person. And they never get to see them being affectionate with, at least as far as they know, a mortal."


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly, her aura losing a bit of the suffocating feeling after a moment. "That still leaves Kenmo''s newfound devoutness. I didn''t actually repair it ¡ª did not do anything." She sighed in exasperation. A few wisps of mana flowed out with her breath as if to underline her next words. "It simply needed a bit of my mana, which it got when I touched it."


    Aperio mumbled a few more words that Caethya could not quite make out despite her excellent hearing. Being able to discern the conversations of the people around her from the usual background noise of a city was not something she was used to quite yet. It did, however, offer a topic for conversation that would hopefully shift Aperio''s thoughts away from the [Keeper of Voices] a little.


    "How do you deal with all the noise?" Caethya asked. The All-Mother looked at her for a moment, tilting her head slightly before she seemed to figure out what the Elf had meant.


    "I ignore it," she replied after a moment of continued silence. "Or at least I try to. It got better with time, but now that you brought my attention to it, I am having a hard time not hearing every conversation in the city at once."


    "Despite the barrier?"


    "Yes," the All-Mother replied. "It only stops them from hearing us."


    Caethya grimaced at the words. "I''m sorry," she said, removing her hand from Aperio''s back. "I just thought a different topic would help you a little."


    Her Goddess'' wing wrapped a little tighter around her, the feathered limb easily pulling Caethya closer. "It did help," Aperio said, her hand running through the Elf''s hair before resting, warm and near, on her shoulder. "I am still annoyed at his change in behaviour. But¡­ It''s my fault for expecting otherwise."


    Progress! Caethya thought to herself as a smile graced her lips. "Perhaps," she said, wrapping her arm around Aperio''s waist again, "you just need to remember that what you consider normal is likely not. Before, you couldn''t know what was normal, and now your nature skews your view."


    "Your normal is not a normal mortal''s normal either," Aperio countered. She did have a point. Caethya had been working to become an adventurer since her early teens. Her skill with magic caused her to forego most normal education an Elf her age would take, leading her to not make many friends her own age.


    That remained relatively unchanged as she grew older. When the few people she did become closer with went out to play, she would train. Be it her magic, sword fighting or simply trying to get her body to be on par with her magical might; it all took time away from learning what was normal. Now she was one of the highest levelled individuals walking the worlds, and before even turning thirty.


    "Still more grounded than you, miss mana," Caethya said, leaning her head against Aperio''s side. Despite the fact that they were walking and her Goddess was a lot more sturdily built than any mortal, it was one of the most comfortable things she had done.


    A slight sheen emanated from the All-Mothers skin in reply to Caethya''s jest. Wisps of mana joined the glow after a moment, lazily dancing around them and growing in number with each step.


    "I am the Goddess of Mana," Aperio declared in a mocking tone, giving Caethya''s arm a gentle squeeze. It was followed by a moment of silence, then a slight sigh from the All-Mother. "Hoping that it was actually a Domain of mine was perhaps a bit much¡­"


    Caethya wanted to ask about her Goddess'' Domains, but the [Keeper of Voices] had suddenly come to a halt, and the barrier that had kept their words private vanished ¡ª an indication that their conversation was put on hold for the time being. They had arrived in front of a large, heavily ornamented set of doors. She had paid so little attention to where they were going ¡ª being content to talk to Aperio ¡ª that she had only noticed it when the All-Mother''s hold on her loosened a little and the glow and wisps faded out of existence.


    "Welcome to the Ancestral Archives," the [Keeper of Voices] said, opening his arms wide which caused the doors to do the same. "Please, step inside."


    Aperio squinted at the door, its metal decorations reminding her a little too much of the ones that the Empire liked to use. A light touch of Caethya''s magic pulled her from her thoughts; stopped her from going down yet another dark passageway of her memory. She moved her wing ever-so-slightly in reply, brushing it over her disciple¡¯s back. While talking was nice, words were not needed.


    "What, exactly, is this for?" the All-Mother asked, her eyes taking in the rows of shelves that seemed to reach endlessly upwards. There was a fog covering them further up, but her senses told her that they continued on ¡ª farther than should be possible. The building they were in was large, yes, but it was not high enough to house this.


    "Knowledge," was the reply from the man behind the desk. "We collect and keep every piece of knowledge the guards, hunters, and now the Witness bring.¡±


    Aperio had seen and sensed his location a little ways away from the group, but had thought him a simple librarian. If the guards were anything to go by, none aside from the [Keeper of Voices] seemed all that eager to talk to them.


    "Witness?" Caethya asked, taking a step forward from beneath Aperio''s wing.


    "A member of the order who witnessed the death of our God and the planting of the seed that would become the [Ancestral Guard]," the [Keeper of Voices] said, his eyes fixed on Aperio. "The latest Witness is someone you have already met¡ª"


    "Neria?" Aperio interrupted.


    "Yes," Kenmo replied. "She has not only met you in the now, but also witnessed your gift to Chellien''s Trinity during her initiation."


    The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Is she here?"


    While their last encounter had been a little awkward, she still thought that meeting her could be helpful. She is Moria''s daughter after all¡­ Maybe she knows something.


    "Not at the moment," the librarian replied. "She and her mentor have been dispatched to take care of a few Demons in the Shiel''ma mountains."


    "Allow me to introduce my colleague," Kenmo said, glaring at the librarian with barely concealed anger. "This is Selehan, the [Keeper of Tomes]. He is more interested in books than manners or propriety."


    The man in question scoffed at the words. "I am interested in knowledge, my dear Kenmo; it doesn''t have to be books." His eyes shifted to Aperio, his ears twitching ever-so-slightly, and his tail increased pace slightly from the regal swooping it had been doing before.


    "And now we have a veritable font of it walk into these halls, specifically to seek help from me?" he continued, clasping his hands in front of his chest. "How could I not be excited? I have read so many things about the Creator; asked Moria so many questions before she disappeared."


    "Don''t expect too much," Mayeia said with a sly smile on her face. Aperio tensed for a moment before the Goddess of Magic continued, alleviating her fear and causing her to let go of the magic she had started to form. "Most of what she talks about is beyond what I know, and the other things she remains silent on."


    A laugh came in reply from Selehan, causing Aperio to quirk an eyebrow and Caethya to smile slightly. "I would not expect the All-Mother to answer any of my questions," he said. "I hope to learn something by merely observing."


    "Aren''t you the one that is supposed to give us the information we came for?" Caethya asked, tilting her head slightly.


    The Beastkin looked briefly startled before beaming at her disciple''s words and producing a giant leather-bound tome from somewhere below his desk. "Why yes I am!" Selehan exclaimed, eliciting a long-suffering sigh from the [Keeper of Voices]. "Everything I know about Moria is in here." He tapped the book. "I have also compiled a list of potential places where she could be and who could have brought her there.


    "Usually the divines do not touch our order," he continued, looking at Aperio. "But with your return I would not rule divine intervention out. Though, the likeliest option is still that she left on her own accord."


    Because of me, Aperio thought to herself, directing her eyes to the floor. The warming touch of Caethya''s mana helped, but did not manage to wash away her guilt this time. Neither did the hand of her disciple rubbing her back and the words of her prayer entering her mind.


    The only upside of the situation was that it showed that Caethya cared. She knew why Aperio reacted the way she did and tried her best to help her.


    With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, the All-Mother dismissed the thoughts ¡ª as best as she could, at least.


    "May I see the book?" she asked and, after she received a nod from Selehan, waved her free hand. The book teleported into her grasp.


    "There are also some other archivists that have gathered information for you," the [Keeper of Tomes] said, taking out another, smaller, book from beneath his desk. "Some of them have some rather¡­ colourful ideas on what happened, but I believe any idea is worth investigating at this point."


    He sighed, scratching the base of one of his ears before he continued. "While the order can work just fine with two Keepers or even none at all, the disappearance of the [Keeper of Relicts] is¡­ unsettling."


    "[Keeper of Relicts]?" Caethya asked. "What do these titles even mean?"


    Kenmo stood a little straighter at the question, smoothing out his robe with his free hand. "As the [Keeper of Tomes], Selehan holds the combined knowledge of every member of the [Ancestral Guard]. This library is akin to a Domain, albeit a lot weaker than that of a God or even Demigod.


    "Moria," he continued, "is the [Keeper of Relicts]. The one that holds the tools of our order within herself and teaches members how to use them."


    Kenmo hesitated for a moment before he cleared his throat and spoke again. "I speak with the voices of those who came before; interpret their will in the here and now. I listen to the plights of the members that fall, be it in battle or old age, and carry them onwards to the beyond."


    After a couple moments of silence in which Aperio only stared at the two Beastkin, trying to determine how what they claimed their titles did would work, the [Keeper of Tomes] spoke.


    "Our titles find a new host when we perish," he said. "There is no new [Keeper of Relicts], so we know Moria is still alive. We just need to find her."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 118: Reading into Things

    Aperio held the book the [Keeper of Tomes] had given her, her eyes flicking over the rapidly changing pages. Despite the fact that she still had one arm wrapped around Caethya and held the book in her free hand, each page turned over in rapid succession with the barest effort of her mind. She could have read the book without opening it, but something about the slight rustling of the papers as her magic turned them over and the act of actually reading the words ¡ª even though she barely spent a second on each page ¡ª felt nice.


    With a sigh that echoed too much for her liking, Aperio teleported the book back to its owner. Sadly, there was not much to be learned from the book, as she had already checked on most of the locations the [Keeper of Tomes] had written down, and already checked out the ones she had not as she encountered them in her reading. The only ones she had yet to search were, for the most part, the Dominions of Gods and Goddesses she had less than a stellar opinion of, which meant that getting within the Dominions themselves to take a look was quite a bit harder. I''d have to find them first, too¡­


    Aperio did not know where she would even begin with that search. Finding Vigil''s Dominion had been mostly luck ¡ª having Inanis come to his aid even more so. I doubt every deity is as¡­ bold as they were.


    "Find anything useful?" Caethya asked, turning slightly in the All-Mother''s gentle embrace.


    "No," she replied. "Most of the locations listed there are ones I have already searched, and the ones I had not yet searched also turned out to be wrong.


    "I did not look into the Dominions yet," Aperio continued, her wings twitching a little at the prospect of fighting more deities. "I would have to find where they put them first."


    The [Keeper of Tomes] blinked at her words, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times as he struggled to find the words he was looking for. Mayeia giggled at the man¡¯s unbelieving face but made no move to say anything, likely not wanting to risk saying something the All-Mother would find disagreeable.


    "I am not omniscient," Aperio said, quirking an eyebrow. Not that I couldn''t be. It was very much a conscious decision; her brief stint as a formless fog had done a good job of dissuading her from the idea. Another reason for staying corporeal was currently wrapped in her arm and a wing, bringing a sorely needed note of calm to the brewing storm in Aperio''s mind.


    Selehan took a moment longer to get his bearings, the information he had received seemingly a bit much despite its rather mundane nature. He cleared his throat, placing the book somewhere beneath his table again before he asked, "But could you be?"


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes as she glared at the man. Caethya''s free hand settling onto her stomach caused her to let go of the magic she had started to weave and shift her attention to the countless books surrounding them. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"


    "I do not think so," the [Keeper of Tomes] replied. His voice was unsteady; a little higher than before. Almost as if he is scared now.


    Aperio tilted her head as she inspected the Beastkin a little more closely. Something about his behaviour was¡­ off. But, against expectation, she did not find anything wrong with the man. At least not with his body. Selehan had also seemingly not noticed her more forceful look, something that only furthered her suspicion.


    A light, almost unnoticeable tap on her stomach caused the All-Mother to shift her attention to the new arrivals. Caethya then removed her hand from Aperio''s stomach and nudged the winged Goddess'' arm around her shoulders away. Aperio obliged, folding her arms in front of her chest instead; only keeping her wing loosely draped around her disciple.


    Why Caethya reacted to these new people with less comfortable casualness as she usually did was a mystery to the All-Mother. A quick mental query did not help either, only getting her a mental shrug.


    In the end, it mattered little as long as Caethya was around. Even if it''s a little selfish¡­ The calm her disciple brought, the fuzzy warmth Aperio felt when she was near, it was all unquestionably good, but she did not feel she gave something of equal value back.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by the annoying practice of bowing to someone of a higher social strata than yourself. Aperio merely sighed, her free wing sweeping upwards slightly in a motion the new arrivals easily understood.


    The group of Beastkin rose, the rustling of robes and slight creaking of leather filling the room as other sounds had seemingly left the world at the All-Mothers exasperation. "Are these the Archivists you mentioned?" she asked, her eyes settling onto the [Keeper of Voices].


    They had been scattered throughout the hall, noticeable in her aura in the same way a mortal might see something in their periphery. She likely could have inspected them more closely, but the All-Mother was making an effort to not intrude too much into everyone''s life. Which I do anyway just because I am who I am¡­


    "Yes," Selehan replied. His voice sounded normal again, the man having seemingly gotten over whatever had unsettled him in the first place. "There are some who are currently not present as we dispatched them to check some of the locations we considered good candidates.


    "Of course," he continued after a brief pause that seemed to bring back of his previous agitation, "that is no longer necessary."


    "I will have a [Communika] call them back," the [Keeper of Voices] said as a bit of his mana flowed through his staff, gently illuminating a few runes. After a brief moment, Aperio could sense a sliver of the magic flow into the network of runes that seemed to be omnipresent in the building.


    "Perhaps it would help if they actually tell us what they know instead of just staring," Caethya said, inclining her head to the newly arrived Archivists. "It''s pretty rude."


    Aperio shifted her wing slightly to better cover Caethya. While she did not like them much either, she had not considered the mortals¡¯ stares rude. It was the first time many of them likely saw a Goddess; something her disciple had usually been the first to point out. Maybe it¡¯s the way these ones do it?


    "That will happen a lot more in the future," Mayeia said. "The path you are on is one is less travelled and will get more attention one way or another." She paused, and Aperio could feel a small pulse of mana emanate from the Goddess of Magic, as well as the slightest narrowing of her eyes.


    "Caethya has a point, however," she continued. "Everyone here seems awfully slow in their search for the third Keeper. I would have thought that this would be something the [Ancestral Guard] would enlist the help of the Tribes for."


    A tense silence settled over the hall as neither of the Keepers replied. It was only broken by an ethereal sigh of the All-Mother.


    "I do not care what they have done to find her," she said, her voice filling the room despite her having not raised it. A few wisps of mana had also started to float around her as she drew a little more on her well. "I came here to find out what they know," Aperio continued and turned to face the new arrivals. "So please, tell me what you know."


    It was not one of the mortals in front of her that replied, but a cat-eared Beastkin that had hidden herself behind one of the impossibly tall shelves. Her black fur melted into the background, and the yellow highlights ¡ª almost golden ¡ª reminded Aperio of the one she had seen in Fel''Erreyth''s Dungeon.


    "They do not want her to return," she whispered with a shaky voice, retreating back into the shadow of the shelf. It was clear that not everyone had heard her ¡ª but Aperio did. The All-Mother heard the next words the Beastkin spoke too, the ones said with eyes fixed upon her. "The [Keeper of Relicts] prophesied the end of the times we know, and her voice carries too much weight for them to ignore."


    The magic that had started to form around the woman ceased to be as Aperio simply waved it aside. She had expected Selehan or Kenmo to be the source of it, but it was one of the Archivists that had gathered before her. Did they expect that to work? They had to either not know who Mayeia and she were, or simply be a lot more stupid than Aperio had thought possible.


    "I have not come here to dabble in your games," she said with slightly more power in her voice. The Beastkin that had spoken appeared before her as, simultaneously, the one that had tried to cast the spell found herself unable to move.


    The All-Mother directed her attention at the Beastkin who now stood before her, suppressing a sigh as she tried to make herself as small as possible. "What do you know?"


    There was no reply. The cat-eared Beastkin just stared at Aperio and shook as she tried to make herself smaller still. The All-Mother''s wings and shoulders slumped at the reaction; the room seemingly growing colder with the action. I helped her and now she is scared, why?


    Caethya emerged from under her wing, Aperio lifting it slightly to let her disciple move past. She carefully approached the Beastkin, a few wisps of the All-Mother''s mana trailing behind almost as if they did not want to let go. In a way, that was true. Aperio liked being near Caethya, and her mana was very much a part of her.


    Aperio stretched her wings slightly before folding them behind her back. She tilted her head slightly as Caethya pulled out a small notebook from a nonexistent pocket on her dress and held it out towards the Beastkin.


    "You don''t have to be scared," she said as the Beastkin took the book. "But if you don''t wish to speak, you can just write it in there, okay?"


    The All-Mother wanted to tell Caethya to not treat the woman like a child, but she kept quiet as the Beastkin nodded ever-so-slightly and started to scribble into the book with the pen that had been attached to its side. That worked?


    She would be lying if she claimed she had foreseen a positive outcome from her Disciple''s actions, but nonetheless the attempt had succeeded. Aperio gave Caethya a small smile that she could not see and conveyed her gratitude in the form of some mana dancing around the Elf and a mental message.


    A part of her mind was also reading what the Beastkin frantically scribbled into the book while another held the one that had tried to cast magic just a little tighter. With every word the cat-eared one wrote, the small flame of anger in Aperio''s chest grew.


    So far, the mortals she had seen had only shown their worst side after a more direct interaction with their Gods. That was not the case here, however. At least as far as she knew. The [Ancestral Guards] did not follow one God or Goddess, but many.


    Perhaps she was a fool for thinking that the mortals would be less corrupt and misguided without direct influence of their Gods, but the All-Mother ¡ª despite her own mistrust ¡ª did not want to believe that they were all as tainted by greed as the Beastkin''s allegations made them out to be.


    "Do you have anything to say on the matter?" Aperio asked, her eyes flicking between the [Keeper of Tomes] and the [Keeper of Voices].


    Neither of them looked like they wanted to be here right now; but they both knew full well that they could not leave. Kenmo sighed, leaning a bit more heavily on his staff. The [Keeper of Tomes], on the other hand, produced another book. Unlike the previous times, he retrieved this one from a black rift, and it was instantly clear that the volume was bound by chains that rustled slightly as it was held aloft.


    "That," Mayeia said, squinting at the book, "should not be in a mortal''s hand."


    "Usually, it is not," the [Keeper of Voices] said. "Moria left it here when she disappeared. Despite what Meherisha has told you, we most definitely want to find our friend. She merely thinks we are part of the problem when, in reality, we had been unaware until recently."


    "And are powerless to change it without Moria," Selehan continued. "Our titles may grant us power, but they are tied to the will of the entire [Ancestral Guard]. Most wish to be on this path, and we are forced to follow their wish."


    The [Keeper of Tomes] carefully removed the chains that bound the book. Hushed voices filled the room shortly thereafter, whispering about things that could happen ¡ª promising great power, if you only opened it and spoke its text aloud.


    "The [Keeper of Relicts] still holds the pages we require to remove the ones that have been corrupted by greed," Selehan said, offering the book to the All-Mother. "Mayhap it will help you in finding her."


    A touch of Aperio''s magic brought the book into her hand. The whispers ceased as soon as the tome was in her grasp, whatever magic was responsible either no longer working or too scared to continue. The All-Mother assumed it was the latter, as something about the book felt decidedly alive.


    ¡°I do not like being deceived,¡± Aperio said, glaring at both the [Keeper of Tomes] and [Keeper of Voices]. ¡°You are lucky I want to find my friend.¡±


    The mention of Moria as her friend had the desired effect as both of the Beastkin froze in place. Aperio directed her attention to the book in her hand, carefully leafing through the pages. Mayeia appeared next to her and also peered into the book, seemingly quite interested in what it had to say.


    Aside from the fact that the book felt alive, Aperio was also sure that it was trying to read her. How would it even do that? Pushing the thought aside, the All-Mother kept leafing through the book. Caethya joined them after a moment longer, bringing the cat-eared Beastkin named Meherisha with her.


    Aperio stopped. Written at the edge of the page were words she recognised before her mind grasped their meaning. When she had first laid eyes upon these words, she had not been able to read them. They had been written on an item that had been given to her by the one who had acted most like a mother to her during her mortal life. It was perhaps a foolish idea to think this phrase was a hint, but Aperio was willing to take that chance. She would still go and look.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 119: Reunion

    GamingWolf


    Hello! Just a quick announcement! !his story is now also available as an Audiobook by Tome Raider (Though it will be behind for a while). Have fun playing more Cyberpunk! Probably.


    Finding the place she had called home during her time as a slave had been surprisingly easy. The ruins of the Empire''s capital were still standing, though mostly abandoned. A few of the more intact houses at the edge of the city housed people ¡ª researchers of some kind, if Aperio had to guess.


    The All-Mother did not care for them, however. She was looking for one of the few places in the city that did not fill her with disgust or dread. A place Moria and she had often used to hide from the horrors of the world.


    It had only ever given them a short reprieve; neither of them wanting to stay there for more than a handful of minutes in fear of being spotted. Perhaps they always knew, Aperio mused to herself as she weaved her mana through the fabric of reality. Give us some hope so they can make us suffer more.


    Suddenly, the memory no longer mattered. She had located their old hideout, and within sat Moria, who had made no attempt to hide and was instead sitting cross-legged on a cloth blanket. Her eyes were closed, and as Aperio took a moment to observe, there was barely any difference between the Moria she remembered and the one she now saw. A few more grey hairs, perhaps, or a negligible change in height, but overall she was exactly as her memories had pictured her.


    She looked at peace. That was the only way Aperio could describe her. As if her life''s work was now complete and she was just waiting for Aperio to come and collect.


    The space behind the All-Mother unfurled itself as she took extra care to not break anything. She was excited for the meeting, while also dreading it, and her mind was already busying itself with many potential outcomes of their impending conversation. Being able to think about as many things as she could, as fast as she could, was not always a blessing.


    Caethya gently brushed her hand over Aperio''s arm, her magic dancing across the All-Mother''s skin in its wake. "Did you find her?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, the portal behind her coalescing into a steady pool of silver and blue. She looked at Caethya for a long moment before the book in her hand vanished into her Void, freeing her arms to pick her disciple up. Wings followed arms to wrap Caethya in a hug, one that was returned by all four of the Demigoddess'' limbs.


    The All-Mother simply held her for a while, ignoring the looks of the other people in the room. "As much as I want to bring you with me," she said, her voice muffled by Caethya''s hair as most of her face was buried in it, "I have to do this alone."


    "I know," her disciple replied, rubbing Aperio''s back. They held the embrace for a moment longer before Caethya spoke again. "I think it would be best if you brought Meherisha and me to the House of Healing.¡±


    "Okay," Aperio mumbled in reply, giving the Elf one more gentle squeeze before letting her down. Once Caethya was standing on her own two feet again, the All-Mother brushed a few errant strands of hair out of her face and then shifted her gaze to the cat-eared Beastkin. "Do you wish to accompany Caethya to Ebenlowe? Given the current situation¡­"


    She didn''t need to finish the sentence for Meherisha to nod fervently and quickly seek refuge between the All-Mother and Caethya. For someone that knew Aperio was supposed to herald the end of the world she knew, the Beastkin did not seem to mind being near her at all.


    Meherisha stiffened as Aperio shifted her wings slightly, moving to stand behind Caethya a little more with her ears pressed against her head. She mumbled something about them being real as she eyed the All-Mother up and down. Aperio tilted her head slightly at the action but did nothing else ¡ª she knew she did not look like any Elf the Beastkin had seen before.


    "Ready?" she asked, a small smile spreading across her lips as she looked at her disciple again.


    "I am," Caethya replied. "I don''t know about our new friend here."


    "I''m ready," Meherisha replied with only a slight shake to her voice.


    The All-Mother nodded and with a slightly more force, unravelled reality to bring both of them to the House of Healing. Caethya''s prayer, letting her know not to hesitate to fetch her Disciple if anything was needed, came at the same time she informed Laelia of what had happened and where she was planning on going next. Simultaneously, she extended an offer to return Mayeia to Roots and her temple if she wished to do so.


    Her Scion gave her a stoic nod that would have looked weird to everyone who did not know she had just spoken to her Goddess, while Mayeia simply appeared outside of Aperio''s temple, waiting to be let in.


    The All-Mother obliged, sending Caethya a brief message letting her know she had been heard before turning her attention to the remaining mortals in the room. They shrunk slightly under her gaze and aura as she drew more heavily on her well. "Depending on what I learn, I might be back to punish those responsible for the corruption of the [Ancestral Guard]. Trying to hide will only make the punishment worse."


    She did not wait for a reply, taking a step backwards that covered more distance than it shouldand vanishing into the portal she had created.


    Moria opened her eyes at Aperio''s arrival, taking a good, long look before speaking. "You look different," she said, shuffling to the side on the blanket so the All-Mother could sit. "Strong. Imposing, even. But¡­ I guess that was to be expected."


    "¡­Was it?" Aperio asked as she carefully sat herself down across from the one she used to call mother, spreading her wings slightly to accommodate the motion. The dread she had felt at meeting Moria had mostly disappeared. All she wanted to do at the moment was hold her surrogate mother, but she restrained herself. She did not know what Moria thought of her; how she viewed the time they had spent as slaves.


    "Yes," Moria replied with a nod. "I did the same in my following lives, after all." She paused, giving Aperio a bittersweet smile as the winged Goddess grimaced at the mention of multiple lives. "You said that there was a chance you would not remember much of your life before; that you would not stop the others from interfering. I know you now blame yourself for what happened. Don''t."


    Moria took a breath before continuing. "I chose to go with you; chose to keep the title you have given me. I know you didn''t plan for it to go as it did, even if you do not believe it yourself now."


    "Chose to keep the title?" Aperio asked, not quite understanding what Moria meant. She also ignored her remarks on whether or not she had actually planned to end up as a slave. Knowing what she did, Aperio found it unlikely ¡ª but not impossible ¡ª for her old self to consider a life as a slave as atonement for her actions. "Can you simply remove it?"


    Moria hesitated for a moment before she nodded. "Yes. When I die, the System gives me the choice to leave the title behind and let my soul be washed clean."


    "But you don''t."


    "No, I do not."


    Aperio hesitated for a moment and drew her wings closer to herself. Moria could, of course, be keeping the title from life to life only because being able to draw on countless lives was useful, but the All-Mother wanted to believe that Moria did it because she wanted to remember the ones she loved.


    "You are still as easy to read as when you were a mortal." Moria smiled. "Yes, a large part of why I keep it is the friendship I had with you. Though¡­ I would be lying if I said I did not consider forgetting over my last few lives."


    "But why? I was a monster." Am a monster¡­


    For all the good she was capable of doing, Aperio found it hard not to think of the times she grew angry or excited. It was so terrifyingly easy to slip up, and to hold back a little less... and thereby kill most mortals around her. She wasn''t even a corporeal being to begin with, and was squeezing her normally formless self into a shell made from more mana than any God could ever hope to wield, all the while making it ever stronger so that none could force their will on her.


    But the part that firmly planted her in the realm of monsters in her mind was the fact that she enjoyed it. She liked growing stronger by the second, looking like she did. Even intimidating the mortals with her mere presence brought her certain amounts of joy, despite the fact that it made living among them much harder than it needed to be. She didn''t want to be scary, didn''t consider herself as such either, but some primal part of every mortal was in tune with the part of herself that disagreed with that notion.


    "You are intimidating, and sometimes downright frightening," Moria replied, placing her hand on Aperio''s knee. "But you are not a monster."


    "I condemned an entire planet to eternal punishment because their God upset me," Aperio mumbled, her eyes cast down.


    Moria gave a snort in reply. "You punished a God who subsumed the souls of his followers and turned them into mindless drones that only served his will. He was a monster; you are not.


    "But, I am sure I am not the first person who told you that," she continued after a moment. Moria shuffled herself slightly closer before she continued, brushing Aperio''s hair out of her face with the same gesture that was ingrained in both their memories. Normally, this would follow into Moria''s hands separating Aperio''s hair, braiding it to keep it out of the way, but a small gesture of the All-Mother''s hand stayed the Beastkin''s. Despite having hair that was longer than it had been in any memory that had not been forcefully reclaimed, Aperio wanted to keep wearing it loose.


    As Moria seemed unsure about how to proceed, the All-Mother gave in to the urge she had been fighting since the moment she had arrived in their secret spot. She wrapped her Beastkin friend in a hug comprised of arms and wings, and held her tightly as she dared.


    "I''m sorry," she mumbled, her voice carrying more power than usual, riding the surge of her emotions as she failed to restrain herself properly. She let go as soon as she noticed a slight tap against her arm and let a bit of her mana flow through Moria to find what had gone wrong. Luckily, her surrogate mother seemed to have stopped her before she went too far as Aperio could not find anything amiss.


    "You still lack restraint, I see," Moria mused with a small smile on her face. The expression only lasted for a moment, however, as she flicked Aperio''s forehead. "And I told you I chose this. Stop being sorry for everything. It''s not your fault, and it doesn''t suit you."


    "I know you said you chose to come with me, but that does not change how it makes me feel," Aperio sighed. But everyone tells me to apologize less¡­ Well, Caethya also does, but that''s two for two.


    Still, it remained just as she had said. It did not change the fact that she felt responsible. She was still the same person, even if she seemingly had different values now than before. But then, the crystals seem to only give me one side of my memories.


    "Some of your old confidence would not go amiss, then," Moria said. "Or at least the full story and not just the half truths you seem to remember."


    "I only remember what I do because I retrieved some memories by destroying dungeon cores."


    Her surrogate mother sighed at the words. "I figured," she said. "Some of them have taken to forming avatars that look a lot like you. Some tweaks here and there, but it''s clear where they got the idea from."


    "I know," Aperio said, her aura briefly flaring in anger as she recalled her encounter in the Ebenlowe dungeon. "One of them talked to me, said I have no right to my own memories."


    "I see," Moria said before falling quiet.


    Silence reigned as Aperio did her best to calm herself and tried to think of something she could talk about. Moria had never been one to talk much, but she seemed more reserved around her now than she used to be. Was she only so open because I was a mortal at the time?


    The gleam of a silver and blue armlet caught Aperio''s eyes, taking her from her thoughts. Moria had pulled the piece of jewellery from the same black rift that seemed popular with higher levelled mortals.


    What really caught the All-Mother¡¯s attention was not its feather-like design, but the fact that it was made from the same material as the armour that usually covered her dress, and the fact that she knew this armlet was hers. It looked a little too small for her now, but Aperio felt with certainty that that would not be an issue.


    "You said I should give you this when I met you again," Moria said, her voice barely a whisper. "But¡­ I couldn''t. The collar prevented me from taking out any of my soul-bound items and, even if I somehow could have, they would have just taken it away."


    She ran her thumb over the metal surface, the blue becoming more pronounced as her mana reacted with the armlet. "I did not want to risk losing it ¡ª you never took it off before, after all. I don''t know what it meant to you, but I think it''s time you got it back. Perhaps it can help you remember."


    Aperio carefully took the arm ring from Moria''s hand, tilting her head at the familiarity of the item. Merely looking at it filled her with a fondness that was only ruined by an ever-present feeling of loss and regret. Why a piece of ¡ª arguably extraordinary ¡ª metal caused her to feel this, Aperio did not know.


    "Thank you," she mumbled, her eyes still fixed on the armlet as she moved it between her hands for a moment longer, watching as it sparkled and glowed in the dim light. Then she slipped it over her right bicep.


    Her assumption had been correct. As soon as she tried to put it on, the ring shifted slightly, just enough to fit her current form. Nothing changed after it was done, no influx of emotion or memory; just the slightly tainted feeling of fondness.


    The All-Mother shifted her gaze towards Moria, her surrogate mother giving her a sad smile as she slowly turned a ring on her left index finger. It made sense that her surrogate mother was married, but going by her expression and absent-minded toying with the ring, her other half was no longer there.


    Aperio wanted to wrap her surrogate mother in another hug, but hesitated. She wasn''t sure if it was appropriate, or even wanted. Her rather forceful brand of physical affection was likely not enjoyed by many.


    "It''s okay," Moria said, embracing her de-facto daughter in a hug. "It''s not the first time, and it won''t be the last. Outliving the ones I love was something you made me very aware of before giving me the title.


    "We have much to discuss," she continued, pulling back slightly and taking a breath. "I have found more than a few concerning things."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 120: Shades of Memory

    "What did you find?" Aperio asked, her left hand idly brushing over the armlet Moria had just given her. She had never noticed that there had been a slight weight missing from her arm before, and had barely noticed when she had added it, but now, it felt as though her arm was somehow more complete. As if she was no longer naked. "Anything to do with the other two Keepers?"


    Her surrogate mother hesitated for a moment before she nodded. "Amongst other things, yes," she said. "But I am more concerned about the Pantheon at large. I assume the ones that have been¡­ removed from power by your hand were ones that were somehow involved with how your mortal life went."


    "They called me a tyrant. Tried to kill me with one of my own weapons," Aperio said, drawing a little on her well to calm herself as the memories she had reclaimed from the dead Gods surfaced in her mind. "They each had a bit of my mana within them¡­ and a few of my memories.


    "Fel''Erreyth held some, too; saw a few of them himself," Aperio continued after a small pause with a slight shake in her voice. "He got them by somehow merging with a dungeon core, one which was connected to many more that hid in their own pocket of space."


    Moria''s ears twitched slightly as she looked at the All-Mother; a sign that she was trying to remember something. It took a moment, but eventually a black rift opened next to her and she pulled a crystal shard from it.


    Aperio tilted her head as she looked at the shard, focusing her aura on it enough that Moria seemed to notice, raising a brow. "It feels familiar," the All-Mother said after a moment. "Not like the armlet, or anything else I have found; but I feel like I know this."


    "You should," Moria replied, her voice growing softer as she looked at the crystal in her grasp.


    "What is it?"


    Her surrogate mother hesitated for a moment, turning the object in question in her hand. "A focus... for memories. The more lives I live, the harder it gets to recall the earlier ones. You did not want to teach me how to make this kind of focus at first, saying that the ability to forget was a luxury I should not give away, but after I repeated my request countless times you relented and finally taught me.¡±


    "Are you trying to say I somehow made the dungeon cores?" Aperio asked, not quite believing the implication.


    Moria nodded at the question. "You would be the only one who could bind your memories to one," she said. "At least, if I go by what you told me. If I wanted to do the same, I would have to pull the memories out of my mind, or my soul. You once said that your bodies didn''t really have a brain as a mortal would, so it would stand to reason that your mind does not follow the same rules as mine.


    "Perhaps that is different now," she continued, looking at what used to be her daughter with a small smile. "But, back then, you always split yourself between multiple bodies doing countless things at once. They were probably more of a projection than anything else."


    "I told you all of this?" Aperio knew her old self was fond of Moria, but it did not seem like her to tell someone that much. Especially how to take memories from someone¡­


    But, at the moment, Moria was the only person aside from Caethya who she was willing to open up to. That had nothing to do with her relationship before her life as a slave, however, and more with the fact that all she remembered about Moria were good things. And Caethya¡­ is Caethya.


    She still couldn''t quite put her feelings for the Elf into words. There was one that came to mind, but a lot more needed to happen before Aperio would consider the barest implications of its meaning to have been met. At the moment, the fact that they both enjoyed each other¡¯s company as a little more than friends was enough for her.


    "Not all, no," Moria said, even quieter than before. "Chellien told me a lot of what I know. We didn''t exactly like each other for a long time. Long for me, that is." She turned the crystal in her hand again, its surface shifting through a multitude of colours. The way the light within seemed to catch on the surface of the focus reminded Aperio a little of the world beyond the fabric of reality.


    "After he died¡­" Her voice trailed off as her ears lowered slightly. She took a deep breath. "After he died, I was ready to do the same. But you stopped me." She laughed bitterly. "You probably didn''t even intend to save me at the time, but you did. After that, you would visit us, helping build what would become the [Ancestral Guard].


    "I don''t know why you did that," Moria continued, her expression softening a little as she looked at Aperio. "But you obviously thought more of Chellien than other Gods."


    The All-Mother did not reply immediately, still thinking about the implication that she had taken her own memories. But why? According to Moria, she had chosen to live as a mortal for a while and knew that she might not remember everything. I also told her that forgetting is a luxury¡­ But what would I want to forget?


    As far as she knew, she couldn''t actually forget something outside of what happened to her right before she was a mortal. And even that isn''t truly forgotten. The memories still existed. Were still a part of her creation; part of her, in a way. She just had to get them back.


    "In any case," Moria said, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "This crystal contains everything I have gathered and found suspicious over my lives since you disappeared. I, uh, never asked if you could actually read my memories from these, but I hope you can." With those words, her surrogate mother extended the crystal shard towards Aperio.


    The All-Mother took it, a tingle running through her hand as it touched her skin. She could feel the mana flowing within; calling to her despite not being her own. Weird. There was something besides mana stored within, quite unlike the dungeon cores which were wholly filled with her mana.


    It vanished into her Void with a thought to be inspected later. For now she wanted to spend time with Moria, not fill her mind with even more worries about what the Pantheon had done during her absence.


    "It would seem that your disregard for the very rules you made is still alive and well," Moria said, her eyes fixed on Aperio''s now empty hand. She remained quiet for a moment, taking a slow breath. "I assume this means you want to talk."


    "Yes," the All-Mother replied. She shifted her wings slightly, the rustling of her feathers and dress filling what remained of the small room they were in. "There is something I need to know; need to hear you say it."


    "Yes?"


    Aperio hesitated for a moment. Their interaction had technically already told her what she needed to know, but she still felt as though it was not the truth. She needed Moria to say it to know.


    She focused on her surrogate mother, every sense she had looking at the Beastkin to see her. The All-Mother took an unneeded breath, drawing on the comfort of her well.


    "Do you fear me?"


    One of Moria''s ears twitched at the question and the woman shifted slightly on the cloth blanket. Aperio could feel the fabric strain as it tried and failed to move under her weight; could see every one of Moria''s hairs sway in the gentle breeze as her surrogate mother slowly opened her mouth to respond.


    Aperio''s eyes darted across the Beastkin''s form, trying to find anything that would confirm her fear. Show her that the words Moria was beginning to say were not the truth. Would let her hate herself.


    "I don''t," was the reply she received without the slightest hint that Moria had lied. "At first I was scared, sure, but that quickly vanished once I figured out you didn''t really care about mortals." Moria paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the woman she had essentially raised. "Did you think I was here because I feared you would punish me if I wasn''t?"


    Aperio hesitated to answer. Moria was right, of course. That is what she had thought ¡ª what a part of her wanted to be true.


    "Yes," she finally whispered in reply, pulling her wings around herself as if they could hide her from the world. "How could I not? I know how I behaved in the past and know what my mere presence does to most people." Her mind wandered back to Caethya, her aura dutifully informing her that she was currently talking to Adam and a very excited Maria.


    A bitter smile crept onto her face as she directed her attention back towards Moria. "I can''t even be sure if what people claim they feel is what they actually feel, and not just a byproduct of my meddling."


    Her surrogate mother tried to gently push her wings aside, only managing it after Aperio herself allowed them to be moved. "Your ''influence'' does not affect people''s minds," Moria said. "Not in the way you seem to think, anyway."


    She brushed her hand through Aperio''s hair like she had done so many times in the past when the then-Elf had been agitated. "I can''t claim to know what exactly your presence does to a mortal, but I do know what it did to me before you gave me a title." Moria paused, looking Aperio in the eye. "Do you want me to explain or do you want to¡ª"


    "Explain," Aperio interrupted, her voice carrying a touch more power than she had wanted it to. While a part of her still somehow wished for Moria to lie, she knew the Beastkin would not. But how can I know that? And how can I still want to be wrong? The All-Mother took a deep breath, the gentle breeze that flowed through the broken room gaining a bit more strength as she did. Her thoughts contradicted one another; made no sense. "Please."


    Her surrogate mother shifted slightly, settling into a more comfortable position. "How about we begin with you telling me what you remember about yourself?" Moria asked, giving her a reassuring smile. "If you feel like you can, that is."


    Aperio absentmindedly turned the armlet around her bicep as she fixed her gaze on Moria. "I do not know what more I can say," she began. "I was a monster; but I already told you that. That Eschengail used the souls of his followers does not make it better that I condemned the mortals that were still free of his influence to live through his punishment as well.


    "The other things I know are not much better," the All-Mother continued with a sigh. "I created a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses that does not care for the mortals that give them their power. I was also fine with them enslaving them, forcing them to do what they wanted; all in my temple. My home."


    Moria held her hand, a conflicted expression on her face: part sad smile and part worried mother. "You think inaction makes this your fault," she said, gently stroking Aperio''s hand. "Even if that was the case, you have to accept that it is in the past and can¡¯t be changed.


    "I would also argue that you are not even the same person anymore," her surrogate mother continued. "You chose to live as a mortal for a reason; one you never told me, but still a reason."


    "Why would I want to forget?" Aperio asked, tilting her head. She didn''t believe that she was absolved from responsibility just because something had happened in the past, but arguing the point was not something she wished to do at the moment. She froze when a possible answer surfaced in her mind. "¡­Did I want to kill myself?"


    But Moria said me forgetting was only a possibility, the All-Mother continued in her mind. It was yet another thing that made no sense to her. Before, her past had been easy to understand. It was not nice to think of herself as a monster, but it had been easier than what she had to consider now.


    The God she banished had broken a fundamental rule she still punished people for. Souls were not to be touched by anyone. But punishing the mortals that she assumed were still on the world was plain wrong. And it should have only taken me a thought to get them out.


    Moria sighed and produced another crystal from the small black rift. "I think showing you how you were in the past is easier than telling you." She turned the shard in her hand as a bit of her mana flowed into it. "You''ll have to allow it to happen. I can''t force you to view the memories, just offer you a way into my mind to see."


    "Are you sure?" Aperio asked after a moment of hesitation. She knew what she was capable of doing by simply letting loose a tiny little bit. Having that happen in someone¡¯s mind seemed like a bad idea. "What if I lose control again?"


    "You viewed them without restraining yourself to a body before," Moria said, shrugging. "You do feel more powerful now, but I assume that is because you are consolidating all of yourself in one place."


    "Ferio said that I am much stronger than ever before," Aperio mumbled, her eyes wandering to her arms as she balled her hands into fists. "I certainly feel stronger than ever before."


    "Do you remember how strong you were before?"


    "No," Aperio sighed. "I do not."


    "It is still worth a try," Moria said. "I cannot think of a better way to show you what you were. I won''t say that you were not evil at times, but you almost always had a good reason."


    The All-Mother hesitated for a moment longer, unsure if she should. Her thoughts seemed to argue and clash, and there was no distinct conclusion she could draw at the moment. In the end she decided to trust Moria, even if only so she could be a little closer to the woman that had been her mother for most of her remembered life.


    "I do have a question before we try," Aperio said, waiting for her surrogate mother to nod before she continued. "How old was I when you¡­ when you died?"


    "You didn''t know?" Moria''s gaze softened as Aperio shook her head. "Twenty-seven by the time I died. That is, we were together there for twenty-four years at that point, and you were three when you were sold into slavery."


    "It felt a lot longer," Aperio mumbled as she looked at Moria. She sighed, shifting a little on the blanket. "What do I need to do?"


    The Beastkin smiled at her. She channeled her mana into the crystal shard, causing it to float above her palm, and multiple rings of runes appeared hovering above it. "Just follow my lead."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 121: Moria’s Memory

    At first, Aperio was not sure what Moria had meant by ''follow my lead'', but it was quickly becoming clear. Her surrogate mother was weaving her mana into the crystal, causing something within the shard to flow back towards her.


    That ''something'' was still mana, but it resembled her own much more than that of Moria. Taking control of someone else''s mana only required a thought from her ¡ª something that did not sit well with her, but was very helpful now.


    As gently as she could, Aperio took hold of the mana that flowed from within the crystal, trying to mimic how Moria''s mana clung to it. What followed after was not what Aperio had expected. She was not viewing the world from Moria''s perspective as she had thought, but was more like a ghost floating around in the memory, free to look where she wanted. How?


    She wanted to ask Moria but, unlike herself, the Beastkin seemed to be in a trance and did not react to Aperio moving. The All-Mother did not want to risk anything by actually touching her surrogate mother and instead erected a barrier around the two of them. While she was easily able to look at the memories Moria showed her and keep track of the real world, the All-Mother did not want to take any chances. Not like this requires any effort.


    Aperio allowed more of her attention to drift towards the memory she was currently viewing, the large number of people garnering her interest. Everyone present wore colourful garments made from fabric that was visible to more than just her eyes. It was clear that Moria was fairly accomplished in reading things with her aura, the magic flowing through many of the attendees¡¯ clothes clearly visible. However, it also showed just how much more Aperio herself could see.


    The Moria in the memory stood next to another Beastkin ¡ª one that appeared strangely familiar to Aperio ¡ª that wore a rather tight-fitting suit that did not quite match his more beastly appearance. Where Moria could superficially pass as an Elf or a human if you discounted her ears, tail, and few patches of fur on her body, the man next to her looked like a wolf that had decided walking on two legs was preferable.


    Aperio''s attention was quickly taken from the mortals as she watched herself appear in the room. A version of herself, at least. She did not loom over everyone, and had no wings, but the face and general look was the same. Also, she just teleported there. What she did have, however, was the armlet Aperio now wore.


    Most did not even notice her entrance, only a few select mortals looking in her direction. A few steps of her memory self were enough to close the distance to Moria, a bit of magic obviously at play as she crossed the space between them in only a couple of strides.


    Perhaps it was a trend at the time, but the Aperio in the memory also had her hair in a braid; one that she easily recognised from her time as a slave. Did Moria get the style from me? Her surrogate mother had had a large variety of hair-dos that Aperio got to pick and choose from at the time. All of which had been more appropriate for her masters than a lowly slave like herself, and even at the time she had wondered how she had gotten away with it more often than not.


    "Hello Moria." The voice of herself echoed through the hall, easily filling it but yet somehow not interrupting anyone else''s conversation. "How have you been?"


    Aperio could not quite describe the feeling of seeing herself walk and talk to Moria and, perhaps more importantly, see just how similarly she talked and carried herself now. She had thought her floating gait and rather posh speech had come from the fact that she had been forced to learn it from a young age, but seeing herself in Moria''s memory caused her to doubt that a little.


    "Well enough," the Beastkin replied. "I just wish these events did not come with such a stupid dress code."


    "I did not make the rules," the All-Mother replied with a small shrug. "They wish to express themselves, and I see no reason to stop it."


    "You don''t see a reason to stop most anything," Moria mumbled, her voice obviously loud enough for Aperio to have heard as she just shrugged again.


    "Why should I bother? It''s gonna change in a few decades anyway." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "That I am attending this meeting is already more than they could ask for."


    Aperio wanted to object to what her other self had said in the memory, but that was not possible. Moria, too, seemed to be not quite as happy with the words, but remained silent, while the truly beastly Beastkin looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.


    Her remembered self seemed to enjoy the Beastkin''s struggle, as she gave him a smile that Aperio would now deem inappropriate for most any occasion ¡ª especially for someone she had just met that was already uncomfortable.


    "I expected more from the future leader of the Lycans," the All-Mother said, squinting at the man in question. "Is he really your son?"


    "Yes," Moria said. "And he has heard a lot about you."


    There was a moment of silence before Aperio heard her own voice echo through the memory. Not the room they were in, but the memory itself. Is that what it sounds like when I use telepathy?


    Her voice was inescapable, the question she had asked having seemingly embedded itself deep into Moria''s mind. It was not a reprimand, or even a particularly harsh question. Her past self had simply wished to know if Moria''s son knew about her title and past lives. Apparently, he did not.


    Aperio moved herself next to Moria, gently wrapping her surrogate mother in a hug of arm and wing. Moria had wanted to show her that her past self was not as bad as she now thought and, while there had been no senseless murder just yet, Aperio was still appalled at the memory self''s conduct.


    Nice is something else, Aperio thought to herself as she shifted her attention to the mortals in the room. Her weird ¡ª almost ghostly ¡ª vision of the memory allowed her to drift away from Moria and her old self to look at the other groups. They were a little indistinct, and their voices not as crisp as she would perceive them in reality, but it was enough to figure out what they were talking about.


    Most of the mortals present were discussing politics that Aperio did not understand and, likely, no longer mattered either. She didn''t know when ¡ª or where ¡ª this memory was taking place, but the fact that Moria had stored it in a crystal meant that it had been some time ago. And that it is somehow important to her.


    It undoubtedly had something to do with Moria''s son. Maybe a crown ceremony? Her past self had addressed the Beastkin as the future leader of the Lycans, and that seemed like a fairly important event for both Moria and her son.


    Aperio raked her mind to find his name, but came up empty. She definitely knew the man, but not why. Perhaps because he was Moria''s son.


    "I am honored that you chose to attend the day of my Delma," Moria''s son finally said after a little nudging from his mother.


    "You should be," her past self replied, still looking at him. "Not everyone gets to be in my presence."


    Perhaps it was because she was viewing Moria''s memory, but Aperio had not noticed until that point that the room was a little emptier than before ¡ª something she was certain had to do with her old self''s last words.


    "Plus," the All-Mother continued, "by just having me attend you are already guaranteed less potential usurpers. People magically lose interest in deposing the mortals I am closer to." She tapped her chin in an exaggerated manner. "Really weird, that."


    Moria sighed at the words, shaking her head. "Don''t mind her, Teldo," she said, patting her son''s shoulder. "Just focus on the event."


    Much to Aperio''s surprise, her past self did nothing. She merely squinted at the future leader of the Lycan tribe a little longer before appearing in a cushy chair behind the mother and son pair. "Why did you ask me to come early, Moria? Doesn''t seem like there is much going on."


    "I had thought you would enjoy a change of scenery," Moria replied as she turned to face the All-Mother. "Though, you are probably looking at a million things at the same time right now."


    "Well yes, but I had thought there would be some action here. Excitement."


    "I doubt there will be any fighting tonight," Moria said, eyeing the All-Mother who was now lounging in the chair, legs dangling over the arm rest.


    Aperio knew that Moria wanted to say something about her past self''s behaviour, but did not. If she hadn''t known Moria as well as she now did, she would have thought that her silence would stem from fear. She knew better ¡ª her surrogate mother was simply tired of trying to convince her old self that not everything needed a fight.


    There was even some vague feeling from the memory that led Aperio to believe that she was likely partaking in some altercation at the same time as she was in the room with Moria. She did not know for certain, of course, as her surrogate mother had no way of knowing that either. What a weird feeling¡­


    Aperio leaned back a little, still holding on to her surrogate mother with her wings as the memory Moria was showing her sped along in front of her mind''s eye. Her hand wandered to the armlet again, slowly turning it around her bicep.


    The fact that the metal ring changed its form to always sit perfectly against her upper arm was ignored as Aperio watched Moria''s son take an oath that made little sense to her despite reliving the memory through her surrogate mother. Maybe she doesn''t know either¡­ Or do I not understand because I do not know the language?


    She had no trouble with that in her own memories, but there was likely a difference between her own and Moria''s. All in all, however, Aperio failed to see why her surrogate mother showed her this specific memory. It did not really show her anything important, just that they were on decently good terms before and that her past self did not go ballistic at small snides. Something I had always felt like I should do until recently¡­


    The rest of the memory was nothing more than a simple inauguration; quite similar to the ones Aperio had witnessed during her time as a slave. The only difference here is that I was present as an important guest. She did not do anything special in the memory, only continuing to lounge in the chair and looking generally disinterested.


    Her past self did look at a few mortals as if she was appraising them but, even then, her attention was quickly pulled elsewhere again. Did I just forget I had a body there for most of it? ¡­Was I just a formless mass most of the time?


    Moria shifting in her winged embrace caused Aperio to let go, moving herself in front of her surrogate mother with a small flex of her mental muscles.


    "And?" Moria asked after a moment of silence and a deep breath. "A bit eccentric, and most definitely not normal, but also not inherently evil."


    "Also just a single memory against the ones I already retrieved," Aperio countered. "And I wasn''t exactly nice either." A useless exercise¡­ mostly.


    She still enjoyed seeing a bit of her past that showed her being at least friendly with Moria, even if it was clear that her past self clearly saw herself as the superior being.


    "It also makes me question why I would ever consider to live as a mortal," the All-Mother continued. "It simply doesn''t fit with what I saw."


    Moria let out a quiet sigh as she placed the crystal back into the black rift. "I do not know why you did that either, and I doubt any of the memories I kept through my lives will help you understand.¡±


    She paused, rubbing the back of her neck. "I can''t show you all of them either. It might not seem like much, but going through the memories in the crystals takes a lot out of me. Even more when I have to bring someone in with me. It did feel, though, like you were watching, and not reliving the experience like I did."


    "I was," Aperio confirmed. "Like a ghost. But my view of the world was¡­ dull. Subdued compared to what I usually see. I also did not really feel what you felt, just some vague hints at the back of my mind."


    Moria offered a small smile. "Your mind does work quite differently from my own. Perhaps the way a mortal thinks simply does not work for you?"


    "Maybe," Aperio mumbled, the crystal shard Moria had given her appearing in her hand. She turned it over in her palm, careful not to break it. "Perhaps I should try with this?" Maybe ask Caethya to help?


    "A good idea," Moria said. "But I would be more comfortable if you had someone besides me with you when you do it. Most of what I figured out is¡­ likely to upset you."


    The All-Mother stopped turning the shard in her hand and fixed her eyes on her surrogate mother. "What happened?"


    Moria held up her hand to placate Aperio. "Is there someone you trust that can view it as well?"


    Aperio narrowed her eyes a little, regarding her friend with suspicion as she tilted her head. "Yes," she said slowly, reaching out to Caethya. "There is someone. But why?"


    "Because I think you will need their support."


    The All-Mother raised a brow at the words but did not dispute them. Aperio knew she had not been the most stable of people lately. Just a bit of anger could kill people¡­


    A thought brought Caethya to her side, the Demigoddess having readily agreed to help her. Moria studied the Elf for a moment before raising a brow of her own as Aperio pulled Caethya into her lap and wrapped her arms around her stomach.


    "Caethya has agreed to help," Aperio said, holding onto her disciple a little more tightly. "Now, what did you find?"


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 122: A New Directive

    Caethya leaned back against Aperio as her Goddess held on a little tighter. She brushed her hands over the All-Mother''s arms as she offered up another prayer to ask what, exactly, she was supposed to do.


    "Help me not get unreasonably angry," Aperio said. "Moria thinks that whatever she found out will greatly upset me, and you are the only person I trust to help me at the moment." Ferio would probably try for a crusade¡­


    "I will certainly try," Caethya said with a small nod. "But, shouldn''t you introduce us first?"


    Moria simply smiled, causing the All-Mother to shift a little from the words of her Disciple. "Yes, I think proper introductions would be good," her surrogate mother said, keeping her eyes fixed on Aperio.


    "Fine," Aperio mumbled, slightly wrapping her wings around Caethya. "This is Caethya; currently a disciple of sorts, and perhaps¡­ more." Her surrogate mother''s smile widened a little at that. "The stupidly smiling Beastkin," she continued, trying and failing to hide behind her disciple, "is Moria, an old friend and the closest I have ever had to a mother."


    "Old friend?" Caethya asked, looking up at Aperio. "Do you remember her?"


    The All-Mother''s wings and shoulders slumped a little at the question. "No¡­" she replied after a moment of silence. "I remember our time together when I was a slave, not what happened before. I simply know that we were friends of sorts."


    "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this now?" Moria asked, her eyes wandering to the crystal shard that was still floating next to Aperio. "What I found is not good, yes, but it is also not something that you can fix at the moment."


    "I have to know," Aperio said, lifting one arm away from Caethya''s stomach to reach out for the floating crystal shard. Even before she grasped it fully in her hand, she could feel the mana flowing within calling to her ¡ª could hear its yearning to tell her all that Moria had uncovered.


    The All-Mother paused as she felt worry permeate the bond she shared with Caethya. "Are you sure?" her disciple asked, gently brushing her hand over the arm still wrapped around her midsection. "I will help in any way I can, but you seem almost¡­desperate to know."


    Because I am, Aperio thought to herself, her gaze stuck to the crystal shard in her hand. It was not just the memories of Moria in this crystal, but all the memories she had lost. Her fear of turning back into who she was before had vanished, replaced by a desire to know. Why ¡ª or even when ¡ª that shift had happened, the All-Mother did not know. But it was in line with her growing more comfortable with her power and her role in the world. Namely, that my role is what I make of it¡­


    "I want to fix what I have done in the past," Aperio said, hesitating for a moment before she continued. "I want to find out why I forgot. Was it really something others did? Or did I do it myself?" And if it was me¡­


    "Most of what you did was very much justified," Moria said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I do not know everything you did, of course, but I know that you did not really care about the mortal worlds.


    "That''s not necessarily nice," Moria continued, offering Aperio a small smile as the All-Mother was decidedly displeased with her words, "but it also means that you rarely did anything to mortals that would need fixing now. Most of your violent interactions with mortals that I know of came about because they were experimenting on souls."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes, her aura giving a slightly subtle flare.


    "I see you are still as angry about that as before," her surrogate mother said, a little more quietly. "This is also why I am hesitant to tell you to look at what I found. The Repens Nabu is¡­ very interested in figuring out how souls work."


    The words gave Aperio pause. She had a memory of Gods and Goddesses that were part of the Repens Nabu in her temple, experimenting on mortals. While she could not recall what they were trying to do, it wouldn''t be a stretch to think it had something to do with souls. But I did not care about that at the time¡­ Her anger at the memory was not remembered, but stemmed from her current view of the world.


    "If they are playing with souls, it is even more important that I see what they are doing," Aperio said, trying her best to keep her rising anger at the mere idea under control. "Thus far I have not done much to pursue the Repens Nabu, but if they all mess with souls like Vigil and Inanis did, I will stop them."


    Her surrogate mother hesitated for a moment before lowering her head. "I do not know what exactly they did, but I know what I saw wasn''t very good. It felt wrong."


    Caethya shifted a little in Aperio''s lap, holding out her hand towards the crystal. "May I?" The All-Mother obliged and gently placed the shard in her disciple''s hand. "Weird," Caethya mumbled as she turned it over in her palm. "It feels like it doesn''t want to be held by me."


    "Because it doesn''t," Moria said. "Those are my memories, and they would rather stay with me and mine."


    "Understood," Caethya said, handing the crystal back to Aperio. "I was just curious."


    The All-Mother shifted a little, inspecting the tiny shard again. "How do I view them?" she asked in an effort to stop any tension from forming between Caethya and her surrogate mother.


    "Just do what I did," Moria said. "I am sure you saw exactly how I guided my mana to unlock my crystal. Even in your brief time as a mortal, you were more sensitive to it than most."


    "And how can I let you and Caethya see?" They can''t take over mana like I can, after all.


    Her surrogate mother did not reply immediately and simply looked at Aperio. "You can''t," she finally said. "I don''t think either of us is skilled enough to do that, let alone strong enough to force even the slightest bit of will on any of your mana. Even if you do allow it to be controlled."


    "She is right about the last part," Caethya said, turning a little to look at Aperio. "Your aura alone makes it harder to cast magic. It''s easier for me now, but I still notice it."


    "So my mere existence makes mortals stronger, but at the same time also makes it harder to use magic?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly as she considered the phenomenon. Her next words were only a murmur. "I hope they cancel each other out after a while¡­"


    She took an unneeded breath and stretched her wings to their full length. The motion was too wide for the hidden space, and as Aperio''s wings brushed past the edges of it a few stones crumbled away, eliciting a giggle from Caethea as well as a raised eyebrow from Moria. The All-Mother ignored both of them and wrapped her wings around her disciple again. For convenience, she told herself. Not because I''m embarrassed...


    The crystal shard, now the object of her attention, seemed to react to her gaze by floating in front of her face. It slowly spun before her, the mana inside brimming under her scrutiny in the same way her own mana yearned to bend to her will when she reached out to manipulate the world around her. The crystal mirrored her own excitement, her own desire, and Aperio let out a breath of wispy mana as she began to weave her magic into the same formation Moria had used.


    "I''m ready," she declared, having mimicked Moria''s mana formation with her own to a degree that she felt acceptable.


    Caethya moved slightly, shifting herself from Aperio''s lap to sit on the floor in front of her. The All-Mother allowed the movement, retracting her wings so that they spread behind her, out of the way. Moria''s ears twitched slightly but she remained quiet, simply giving her de-facto daughter a small nod.


    Aperio closed her eyes and gave her mana the last nudge it needed to complete its formation. The yearning force within the crystal flowed into her, and a part of her mind was on a continual loop of checking that it was doing nothing but presenting her with memories. She frowned as nothing seemed to happen, oblivious to the fact that barely a moment had passed.


    Another unneeded breath later, Aperio found herself looking at a piece of paper. She could not read the words written on it, but she still knew what they said. It was a simple list of names ¡ª ones she recognised quite easily as soon as Moria''s memory had translated them for her.


    The Repens Nabu, Aperio thought to herself just as her view of the memory shifted. She was no longer viewing the world through Moria''s eyes, but was back to spectating the memory like a ghost.


    Her surrogate mother, flanked by two other Beastkin, was slowly making her way through a field of corpses. Aperio could smell the stench that filled the cavern, could feel how the other two Beastkin tried to hide their disgust and fright.


    The sudden sound of breaking bones caught everyone''s attention, and as Aperio was freely observing the scene she quickly spotted a skeleton with red fire for eyes at the end of the cavern, one that was slamming another cluster of bones into a wall.


    "You came," it rasped, adjusting its black robe and brushing a bit of bone dust off of themselves. "I know that words cannot atone for what has been done, but I will still offer my apologies.


    "What my kin has done here is unacceptable," it continued, a purple fire spreading over the other robed skeleton who started to scream in pain. "I can only offer to burn him free of his sins before sending him on."


    One of the two Beastkin with Moria mumbled something about the Great One as he looked at the skeleton. Her surrogate mother, however, merely sheathed her blade and let go of the mana she had started to gather in her hand.


    "You are lucky she isn''t around," Moria said, ignoring the screaming skeleton. "I hope you have a good explanation for her when she comes back. For your sake."


    The skeleton ¡ª a Lich, if Aperio recalled correctly ¡ª remained quiet for a moment before it sighed, the noise sounding more like someone drawing their nails over a gravestone than an actual sigh.


    "I will face whatever punishment she deems just when the time comes," the Lich said. "But I have tolerated them for too long."


    Moria made a motion with her hand that Aperio did not understand but which caused the other two Beastkin to start moving through the sea of corpses, taking the time to place each cadaver on their backs as well as closing their eyelids. The two of them crossed their arms in front of her their chest for everyone they rearranged, mumbling a prayer ¡ª the mana that left them at the words leading Aperio to believe it was one, at least ¡ª before moving on.


    "What do you know?" her surrogate mother asked after making another motion that caused the screams of the other skeleton to cease.


    "Extraction of memory and power," the Lich replied. "He said it''s for the greater good; that the Gods are on his side." It sneered at the words. "Anyone who claims these methods are right is not a God, but a Demon."


    Before the conversation could continue, Aperio was whisked away to another scene Moria had stored in the crystal. The rapid changing from one scene to the next was nowhere near as smooth as with the other memory crystal her surrogate mother had used, and was more akin to her experience with the dungeon cores.


    The memories stored in this one entered her mind but did not take hold right away; they needed a moment to be accessible. Why she got stuck on any one of them for any amount of time was a mystery to her, but the few scenes that had already flashed before her were already enough to make her angry.


    How Moria had managed to observe Vigil remove the soul from a mortal and start engraving the runes she had already seen on it in the past was beyond Aperio. But, here she was, watching it happen.


    He was not the only deity present either. A little further back, near the corners of the dimly lit room, the All-Mother could spot Epemirial. The Goddess of Duty and Loss had a wicked grin on her face as Vigil performed his vile act, looking decidedly too pleased with what was happening.


    There were other Gods, ones Aperio did not know herself, but Moria''s memory helpfully supplied their names. Lor''Kem and Heshtar stood out to her in particular, as they were on the list of deities the System claimed had tried to access ''higher privileged functions''. There were also others: Olderia, Indurom, Viekal, and Poskerium. All were names she did not know.


    How many members does the Repens Nabu have? Aperio asked herself as the disturbing memory of soul-etching retreated into the swirl that had come from the crystal.


    Memories danced past her mind¡¯s eye, never staying long enough to hear what was said or see more than a glimpse of the people present. All Aperio knew was that every single image showed her more deities taking the souls from mortals and changing them to suit their needs.


    Aperio''s anger was flaring up, despite the far-distant touch of what had to be Caethya''s hand on hers. Her focus had narrowed to the things playing out before her in these memory records, and all Aperio wanted to do was to figure out a way to turn back time and stop them. Punish them. Kill them.


    The influx of Moira''s memories was banished to the back of her mind by a twofold interruption: a familiar blue window materialized in front of her mind''s eye, and a rather significant drain on the mana in her well appeared. Whether it had been something else the crystal had brought to her, or her full-minded desire for the offending Deities to stop, something had caused her System to react.


    New Directive created. Non-System interactions with component designated ''Soul'' have been disallowed for all entities.


    The Court record has been updated.


    Quests generated.


    In accordance with previous Directives, entities ''Roots-Beneath-All¡¯ and ''Diskrye'' have been exempt from the Directive.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead? Check out the Patreon.

 Side Story – Neria 1: Ancestral Call (And a New Cover!)

    GamingWolf


    ''Tis the season of gifts and stuff! So I am gifting you something extra courtesy of the Patrons for the money and creadfectus for turning said money into art!


    I also bring more stuff to read! Namely, a few chapters following Neria after she encountered Aperio in that village way back in like chapter 15. There are four parts to it and I will release one a day over the next four days (now that''s math!).


    Neria sighed as she stepped off of the ship and onto the plank leading to solid ground. Finally, she thought. I hate boats. She had spent the last few weeks on one as she returned to Solito, the continent she usually called home. The sight of the city caused her tail to wag just a little faster, the prospect of being able to live in her own home again bringing her more joy than she had thought it would.


    A few of the people greeted her as she passed; some with words, and others with a subtle nod. Neria might not be as widely known as her mother had been, but as an adviser to the Council, most people would at least know of her. That she looked a lot like her mother, and therefore their ancestral founder, only added to that.


    The looks she got here, however, were those of admiration or simple curiosity, quite unlike what she had to endure on Vetus. Not that many Beastkin had made their way back to the Cursed Continent, the deeds of the old empires that once resided there not yet forgotten.


    For most, there was no need to leave Solito, as it was by far the biggest continent in both size and population. While Ebenlowe might be a big city, it paled when in comparison to Foderys. The capital might not be home to the [Guides] like the island city was, but it had its own sets of guilds that enjoyed world wide recognition. The oldest ¡ª and most influential ¡ª branch of the Adventurer''s Guild called Foderys its home, after all.


    Neria stopped by a small stall, putting a few copper coins on the counter. "Two Jeyli, please."


    The man running the stall grunted and swiped the coins off the counter, replacing them with the two fried fish Neria had requested. She took them, offering a small nod before she continued on her way.


    It might have struck an outsider as odd, that she chose fish as her first meal when back on land. Doubly so when one considered that the main meal on the ship consisted of the exact same species of fish. But for her at least, the small grey and black fish, fried in oil that would not pass any reasonable health inspection, was an indicator of home. A feeling she had lacked on Vetus.


    Her stay in the frontier village in the Eternal Forest had been cut short after that strange Elf had turned up; they had sent most home after Ira and his paladin guard left. Though, now that Vigil and Inanis are gone, that village is definitely gone. Most of its protections had been provided by those two deities, their churches footing most of the bill that the excavation they performed brought with it. A morbid part of her almost wanted to go back, to linger and watch as the followers of the now-dead Gods slowly descended into madness as they tried to find a new deity that would take them in. Not that that should be hard.


    Neria herself had converted from Lor''Kem to Kensar early on in her life, the God of Battle and the Hunt much more fitting for her personality than Might and the Sea. What is Might even supposed to mean? That she also did not like the sea only furthered her desire to switch deities.


    Lor''kem''s church had not liked her switch of faith, having barred her from entering any of their institutions ever since. There were a few other deities that openly frowned upon mortals that dared change their faith, but most others did not care much, seeming sufficiently happy if a mortal searched for a God that better suited their personality.


    Neria took another bite of the fried fish as she rounded another corner, finally coming up on the main market square. Proper stores slowly overtook dinky carts and ramshackle sheds, signs of civilization she had missed in the frontier village.


    "Finally back, miss Neria?"


    The Beastkin stopped at the words, turning her head to see the speaker. It was a young man of Lycan decent like herself. His fur was not the mottled brown she and her mother shared, but an almost radiant gold. She did not need to see the insignia he carried on the dragon-mail he wore; there was only one tribe on Verenier that had golden fur like that.


    Neria turned to fully face the [Ancestral Guardsman], bowing deeply and almost dropping her fish. "Indeed, I have returned. The news I bear is sadly not so kind."


    "That is sad to hear," the Beastkin said. "But it is of no matter at the moment. I have been ordered to bring you to the Council once you return. So please, follow me."


    Neria swallowed slightly before she nodded to herself and fell into step behind the Guardsman. She shouldn''t be nervous about being summoned to the council ¡ª she worked for them after all ¡ª but them sending an [Ancestral Guardsman] meant that something was off.


    On the surface, the Tribe of the Ancestors did nothing more than run Foderys. They staffed all the official buildings, supplied the guard, and generally handled the day-to-day activities that were required to run a city. Neria, however, knew that they did a lot more.


    They enforced neutrality in the council, none of their members ever taking part in any disputes between the tribes. None usually left the city either, unless it was absolutely necessary. Sometimes it was unavoidable ¨C their duty as mediators required elsewhere, or their assistance called upon to guard delegations to other nations.


    The greater part of their duties, however, lay here in Foderys. The vast histories of all the tribes would not collect and sort itself, after all. Neither would any tribe accept a marriage not officiated by one of the [Ancestral Guard]. They also maintained their own version of The Record the [Guides] had, one they claimed was more accurate.


    The thing that made Neria respect them the most, however, was their unwavering devotion to their cause. Milennia ago, when Foderys had been raided, the [Ancestral Guard] had fought to their last to defend the city from invaders. The ones that had had the greatest failure of all ¡ª failing to protect the leader of the Lycan tribe that was Neria''s own distant ancestor ¡ª later took their own lives to repay that irreparable blunder.


    While it was a bit too far for her, she could understand why they had done it. Any [Ancestral Guardsman] would rather die than fail in their mission. Good thing they rarely fail. She was not privy to specifics, as those were reserved for the Elders on the council, but she had heard tell that no-one below level four hundred was permitted to enter active service as a Guardsman.


    Still a long way to go for me. She had wanted to join the Guardsman ever since she first knew of them, but the world saw it fit to throw a great many wrenches into her plan. First had been the death of her father, and while she was reeling from that loss, her mother had disappeared. Neria was without siblings, so if whoever responsible for the abduction and murder of her parents was after the eradication of her entire family, she was clearly next on the chopping block.


    Neria shuddered slightly at the thought. She had hoped her expedition into the Eternal Forest would have yielded some answers, as the Elders had suggested. The arrival of that Elf, and the subsequent fall of Vigil and Inanis, only served to provide an almost infinite amount of new questions. She glanced at the remaining fish she had and put it into her bag of holding, her appetite having been thoroughly quashed.


    Maybe that Elf was who I was supposed to find? The Elders had never told her what, exactly, she was supposed to be seeking; only that she would be able to find something at that distant village location. She had asked them for clarification before her departure but had only been met with silence.


    "Something on your mind, miss Neria?" the Guardsman asked as he held open the door so Neria might step into the council building.


    "You don''t get an escort from a Guardsman to the council every day," Neria replied. "It does have me a bit worried."


    The man chuckled as she stepped past. "Nothing to worry about, they simply wanted to ensure your speedy arrival. The council is very interested in what you have to say. Even if the news is not good."


    The words failed to reassure Neria; she couldn''t quite imagine that they would be happy with what she had to report. Which is nothing. She had managed to acquire some more information about the empire that had raided the city millennia ago ¡ª it wasn''t exactly nothing ¡ª but factual tidbits for the Archivars was not what she had hoped to find.


    "Please, follow me," the Guardsman said again as he started to walk through the spacious hall.


    Neria did as she was told, falling in behind the man. Her steps echoed through the building, the polished marble floor, while pretty, not the most silent of materials. Not that it mattered; the noise of her steps simply joined that of the others as there were a great many people hurrying about in the Council hall.


    Her destination, however, was vastly different from the others. Neria and the Guardsman were heading towards a rather unremarkable door that was guarded by two other Guardsmen. They nodded at their compatriot as he opened the door and stood aside so that Neria might pass.


    "Please, the Council awaits."


    After a shallow nod, Neria stepped past the Guardsmen and into the Council¡¯s wing. The noise of the city and hall itself were silenced as soon as the door closed behind her. The [Ancestral Guardsman] had not joined her inside, obviously not invited to stand before the Elders. Steeling herself for the encounter, Neria made her way through the small collections of rooms that were situated in front of the [Chamber of Voices]. She received a few nods from the staff as they went about their business, but ignored most of them, her mind focused on the meeting she was about to attend.


    Her hand did not even touch the metal of the chamber doors before it swung open, another [Ancestral Guardsman] inviting her in with a slightly bowed head and a sweeping motion of her arm. Neria could not help but notice the engraved falchion that hung at her hip, a weapon she very much wanted to carry herself but would not be able to wield. For now.


    "Neria Kellborn." The words of the [Keeper of Voices] echoed through the chamber, silencing the Elders that had talked amongst themselves. "Your arrival has been eagerly awaited. With the recent fall of the Despicable and the Liar, we are most eager to hear your report."


    Neria winced slightly at the titles the Keeper used for Vigil and Inanis, still finding the idea of addressing what were once actual deities in such a way to be a bad idea. Despite the discomfort she felt, Neria straightened her back and made her way to the centre of the chamber. None of the Elders spoke as they, prompted by the words of the Keeper, waited for Neria to begin her report.


    After she had lightly cleared her throat ¡ª the gentle noise of which carried, via enchantments in the podium in front of her, throughout the entire chamber ¡ª Neria began to speak. "I am saddened to report that I have not been able to find any conclusive evidence to the whereabouts of Moria Kellborn. The only hint at new knowledge came from an Elven mage who mistook me for the first Kellborn, leading me to believe she knew my mother. Sadly, I was not able to question her further. The only information I have on her is the name ''Aperio'' and that she left the village in the Eternal Forest for Ebenlowe.


    "I did, however, acquire some more information for the Archivists. The empire that raided Foderys and captured the first Moria Kellborn was the same one that brought about the Fall of Vetus with their ritual. While this has been suspected before, we now have definitive confirmation."


    "We know the woman you speak of," the Keeper replied. "She is not an Elven mage, however. Aperio, Sacrae Numen Ea. The All-Mother. The Creator. Those are just a few of the names we discovered in the archives. That she knew the first Kellborn was something we did not know, however, and will require a change of your next mission."


    "Next mission?" Neria asked. She was supposed to complete her history studies after the excursion to Vetus, a task that would take at least another year.


    "Your application to become a Guardsman has been expedited, and accepted. We hope the training will help you in your mission to find and make contact with the Creator. You are likely asking yourself why we do not send a Guardsman we already have ¡ª understandable ¡ª but we have reason to believe that the Creator would not be willing to speak to just anyone. It has been many millennia since the Archivists have heard of her being on Verenier, after all.


    "With the recent shake down of the pantheon, however, the Council has concluded that bringing into the light the motivations of the strongest Goddess we know should take precedent. We hope that your connection to the first Kellborn will help in this endeavour."


    Neria could only stare at the [Keeper of Voices], her mind struggling to comprehend what he had just said. Her dream was coming true, yes, but she was also supposed to make contact with a woman that had apparently created everything they knew. A notion she couldn''t quite believe, when she thought back to her encounter with Aperio.


    "Do you accept your [Ancestral Call], Neria Kellborn?"


    Neria swallowed slightly before slightly bowing her head. "Yes."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Side Story – Neria 2: Induction

    Neria looked at the weapon in her hands. The [Keeper of Voices] had said her induction would be expedited, but she had not expected to undergo the first ritual only a few days later. While she hadn''t been idle in those days ¡ª managing to raise her level to one hundred fifty-three with the help of one of the Guardsmen ¡ª she was still far from what she should be to undergo the ritual.


    She swallowed slightly as she very carefully laid the weapon back down, picking up her new clothes instead. The material was soft to the touch, but somehow resistant to being cut ¡ª even with her new weapon.


    "I don''t think you can change your clothes by staring at them," a voice called from behind her, causing Neria to drop her uniform and spin around. Her eyes landed on her instructor and future partner, Kemeria. "You should get ready, they are expecting you."


    Neria nodded after a brief moment of hesitation, turning back to pick up her clothes after Kemeria had left. She was right, of course; Neria had spent Kensar-knowing how long just staring at the equipment, trying to mentally prepare herself for what was to come.


    She let her old clothes fall to the floor, her hand lingering over the scar just below her heart. The furless patch a reminder of her failure. Of her inadequacy. Pushing the thoughts away, Neria slipped into the first layer of her new clothes. My new life.


    The rest of her attire ¡ª shift, pants, belt, pauldrons, greaves, and bracers ¡ª was quickly put on, the time in which she had to prepare quickly running out. Only when she went to affix her falchion did Neria slow down again. The weapon was heavy in her hands as she fastened the blade and its sheath to her left side. Far from usable, despite the unnatural sharpness of its edge; she could barely carry it. It would take some time to get used to wearing a sword that, when swung, would be about as effective as using a too-heavy club, but it was the way of the ancestors to have it by one''s side at every time of day. She would not complain.


    A last look in the mirror showed the thin, short reflection of herself. Her mottled brown fur somehow clashed with the white and gold colouration of her new uniform. You can do this, Neria thought to herself, straightening the top of her armour one more time before turning and leaving her chambers.


    "Took you long enough, new blood," Kemeria said, pushing herself off the wall she had rested against. "Come on now, it''s time for the induction."


    Neria just gave a slight nod in reply before falling in behind the older Guardsman, still not quite accustomed to the familiarity and lack of professionalism Kemeria displayed.


    While she could no longer tell which tribe Kemeria originally came from by just her looks, Neria still had a good guess. The carefree attitude reminded her of what she had seen when visiting the Catta¨² tribe.


    They were the only one of the big five that still stuck to the nomadic roots all the tribes shared. The Kin that hailed from that tribe often also cared little for most things the other tribes would consider essential. Like formality. Kemeria certainly fit the bill when it came to behaviour, it was just that she lacked the thin tail and shorter, pointy ears the Catta¨² usually had. Adopted, perhaps? But the Vulp¨ªere and Catta¨² hate each other...


    Neria could vividly remember the Elders of both tribes yelling at each other as her mother tried to mediate the dispute. Would it have been any other clan, they would not have cared that the Catta¨² passed through their territory, most even welcoming the merchants and storytellers.


    But the Vulp¨ªere did care. They had made it a whole ordeal that had cost the young Neria a summer with her friends. It wasn''t the explicit duty of the Lycan tribe to be mediators, but most of their ranks saw it as a necessity as the [Ancestral Guardsmen] only did so outside of Foderys as a last resort.


    That the Lycans also let almost anyone join their tribe only cemented them as the Beastkin diplomats and mediators. And why most of the [Ancestral Guardsmen] come from our tribe. That duty and honour were still among the more favoured virtues among most Lycans also helped.


    The voice of Kemeria interrupted her train of thought. "What''s on your mind, Neria? The ritual is not dangerous. You do know that, right?"


    "The Keeper told me that, yes," Neria replied, her hands suddenly in dire need of something to do. "But, I am not even close to the level I should be. What if it fails? ...I don''t even know what is supposed to happen."


    The other Beastkin waved her off. "You''ll be fine."


    "But what do I have to do?"


    "Not much," Kemeria laughed. "Just go inside and do as you are told. You don''t even have to recite your duties like you did before gaining access to the inner sanctum."


    Neria winced slightly at the reminder of her first step as a Guardsman. It wasn''t like she had forgotten what she had to say or what movements she had to make, but she had been nervous enough that her entire recital was more like a broken record. You can''t just repair first impressions, though.


    Repairing the recording on a cracked crystal disc, while hard, was possible. All you needed to know was the right spell. Magic to calm the mind did exist, but it was usually reserved for priests, something about it not being their magic but that of their chosen deity.


    "You are doing it again," Kemeria said and lightly flicked Neria''s forehead. "Relax. And don''t forget to breathe."


    Neria rubbed her head but did not reply, instead taking a deep breath as she laid her eyes on the heavily decorated stone doors that barred their way to the ritual chambers. Despite how much they had to weigh, Kemeria pushed them open without much apparent effort. Level four hundred¡­


    Behind the massive doors lay a hall that dwarfed most everything Neria had seen in her life. Almost the entire floor of the hall was made up of rune-bearing black marble tiles, the magic strong enough to even be felt by someone as inept at the arcane arts as herself.


    "I bring before you, as ordered, Neria Kellborn." The sudden proclamation startled Neria as she could not spot anyone inside the chambers. Nevertheless, Kemeria continued. "In accordance to the scripture of our ancestors, she will now face the past and be judged."


    Neria swallowed slightly at the words. She did not like the idea of facing her past, or being judged. Who will judge me, anyway? Kemeria was the only one present after all, and Neria doubted the warrior would officiate any ritual.


    After a subtle wave of her caretaker, Neria stepped into the ritual hall. The runes lit up beneath her feet, pulsing for a moment before a path illuminated itself in front of her.


    "Follow the trail and face the trial." With those words Kemeria lightly pushed the confused Beastkin, closing the heavy stone doors behind her and effectively locking Neria inside.


    "Hello?" she called into the darkness, expecting some sort of reply. She was met with only silence.


    After a couple of shaky breaths that did little to calm her nerves, Neria took her first step of the trail before her. Nothing happened. Another step onto the glowing runes without adverse reaction allowed a bit of confidence to return to the woman, and soon she was walking along the snaking path.


    It wasn''t long before Neria noticed a slight change in her surroundings. It started as a soft whisper, an almost silent hum at the outskirts of her mind. She turned her head in an effort to find the source but came up empty no matter where she looked. The noise was everywhere and nowhere, steadily growing in volume and intensity as her feet carried her further along the path of dimly glowing runes.


    A shudder ran down her spine as she stepped forwards and found herself in a circle befreed of runes. Instead, the language of magic itself encircled it ¡ª and her. Neria glanced behind her but was only greeted by an all-consuming darkness her eyes could not pierce. Once she had turned around again, she was standing in a desert bathed in the scorching rays of the sun.


    "What?" The word came from her lips unbidden, the heat, wind, and coarse sand she could feel so far removed from the cold, polished marble she had tread on before that she almost believed she had been teleported. But I wasn''t, right?


    Before more questions could form in her mind, a particularly strong breeze kicked up a cloud of loose sand that obscured her vision for a moment. She blinked rapidly, hands raising to further protect her eyes, and as soon as her sight had cleared Neria was looking at a small procession of Beastkin walking through the desert, clothed in nothing more than the fur they were born with.


    "Your ancestors, child." Neria whipped around at the words, her hand immediately resting on the weapon at her side. What she saw was the vague, sandy outline of a person, tall and broad-shouldered, his build fitting the deep rumble of his voice. "You have nothing to fear from me, child. I am here to teach you. And to test you."


    "Who are you?"


    In response the sandy figure lifted his arm to point out a Beastkin in the middle of the pack. "That is me with my pack. The first of our kind to brave the deserts to answer the call of our maker; the ones that would eventually found this tribe."


    His words were marked with a shift of their surroundings that brought them closer to the pack, allowing Neria to see the unmistakable golden fur. She did not know what the Guardsmen called their tribe ¡ª the knowledge not shared with outsiders ¡ª but it was clear who the people in front of her were.


    One thing, however, did not make sense to her. "Our maker?"


    "Yes," the figure replied, changing the scene with a wave of his hand. "It is largely forgotten now, but our rise to civilisation was long and troublesome. It did not happen by mere chance. Follow me."


    Neria did so, quickly falling in behind her sandy ancestor as he walked without trace over the dunes in front of them. Each step she took seemed to advance time by leaps and bounds, the desert soon giving way to more and more greenery.


    Along the way Neria saw some of the Beastkin leave the procession, choosing to stay behind to start a new pack of their own. But the core of the original pack remained, always continuing on their journey no matter what happened. They braved the heat of the deserts, the floods of the forests and later still the cold of the mountains that froze the snow to their fur.


    Somewhere along the way, they had acquired simple hides to better protect them from the growing amount of monsters that attacked them. Their enemies were relentless in their assault, willingly throwing their life away but only managing to slow the pack of Beastkin down a little.


    "Not everyone wanted us to reach our maker," her ancestor said as he noticed Neria''s confused look. "The rulers of this world are often uncaring for mortal matters, some even abhorring the mere idea of making contact with their creations."


    "And they would try to kill them? Why?"


    "I could not tell you the thoughts of a divine. But yes, some had deemed it necessary to stop us. Others decided a worse punishment was in order."


    This time they stood in what was, despite its simplicity and unadorned state, a temple; the centerpiece of which was a statue of what Neria could only describe as a more beastly ¡ª Primal? ¡ª Beastkin. His hands ended in long, sharp claws, and his teeth looked like they would easily bite through anything that got between them.


    "Chellien, our maker," her ancestor said as he motioned towards the statue. "He uplifted us from our primitive selves so that we may live a more prosperous life. He made the five tribes you know today; gave us the foundations for our civilisation."


    Neria wanted to ask so many questions but found herself unable to speak, the solemn feeling that had befallen the area constricting her throat. Rushing through the door was the recognizable living form of her sandy-outlined ancestor, as well as a group of other men; the ones that had stuck with her ancestor for the entirety of their journey. Together they carried what she easily recognized as Chellien. What? How?


    One of his arms was missing, black blood that melted the stone it touched dripping from the wound. His chest was equally scarred, countless cuts stretching over it like a deadly web.


    "Some divines had deemed his transgression too high, that he needed to die for his violation of their rules." She could see the group carefully arrange the body below the statue before they started praying, uncaring for the black blood that burned through their fur. "It was too late. The ones that wanted him dead outnumbered him ¡ª locked him in the mortal realm to die a final death."


    A shudder seemed to run through the world. The light that had once glowed behind Chellien''s pained, tired eyes faded away, and in response the statue at the feet of which he lay began to crack. Fissures spread from the chest of rock, snaking and coiling their way over the entire form, until it could withstand no more and crumbled into a pile of rubble.


    As the last breath escaped the dead God, a person appeared in front of the group. Neria knew who it was, the black and blue wings and long silver-blue hair unmistakable in her mind. Aperio?


    The woman made a grabbing motion, a black marble appearing in her hand as she did so. She said a few words that Neria did not understand before gently brushing her other hand over the sphere. A moment later the body of Chellien began to fall apart and a black mist started to stream from the marble, quickly enveloping the Beastkin that had prayed for their God.


    "Our God was dead and we thought we were lost, but a final gift from Chellien saw us graced by the Creator. Our kind given another chance by the dying wish of a God."


    As quickly as Aperio had appeared she had vanished, leaving behind an empty temple and a group of passed-out Beastkin. Only her ancestor was still conscious, his eyes locked at the small black sphere that floated where the Creator had stood.


    "Now it is your time to brave the blessing of Chellien, the Tortured Soul." His words were accompanied by a black mist quickly spreading through the entire chamber, the illusion of the temple she had seen before crumbling when the fog touched it. As soon as it reached Neria she started to scream, falling to the ground as she writhed in agony. Before darkness could claim her, the shadow of her ancestor spoke once more.


    "Survive, child. Greatness awaits.¡±


    GamingWolf


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 Side Story – Neria 3: Newfound Strength

    A sharp pain in her head jolted Neria awake. Before she could open her eyes, she could already see the System notification hang in front of her. Her mind, however, was not drawn to the words but the warmth coursing through her veins.


    Her grasp on the arcane had never been strong. Now, though, she could feel the mana flowing through her, could sense the world around her through her vastly changed aura.


    "What..." she mumbled to herself as she focused on the message in front of her eyes.


    You have been awarded the [Ancestral Witness] title for surviving the [Trial of the Tortured Soul] and beholding the truth of its creation!


    Your race has changed to [Golden Lycan] to meet the requirements of the [Ancestral Witness] title.


    There were more messages for her ¡ª hundreds of them ¡ª all telling her that she had levelled up and her stats had been increased. Neria mentally flicked through them all, trying, and failing, to keep count as the notifications flew by her mind''s eye. What the fuck¡­


    When the last of the System''s notifications materialised in front of her, Neria could not believe what she saw, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes despite knowing the acts were useless.


    You have reached level 400. Class selections and evolutions have been postponed until the [Class Ban] has been lifted by the Creator.


    Slowly, Neria lifted her arm, letting her eyes wander over the golden fur that now covered her. Her eyes had no trouble making out the tiny, individual hairs, and the way they each swayed slightly differently in the light breeze unnerved her and forced her to look away.


    As the lingering drowsiness of sleep relaxed its clutches on her, the further changes in her body and mind became apparent. As she started to recall what had happened during the ritual, the speed at which she noticed every single novelty of her person increased.


    Neria could recall the pain. The mana of a dead God had flowed through her body, washing away the impurities of her mortal flesh to reforge her as a warrior made in his image. Chellien¡­ The name echoed in her mind, bringing forth the image of Aperio turning what was left of the God into a tool to be used by his followers.


    "His last wish?" she asked herself, once again inspecting her new coat of fur. "Why would he wish for this?"


    With a thought she opened her [Status], tearing her eyes from the drastically increased attributes after a moment of disbelief to focus on the title she had earned.


    [Ancestral Witness]


    You follow steps of the first Beastkin that survived the Trial of Chellien, the Tortured Soul. A part of the God''s strength now resides within you; waiting for you to step on the path of Divinity. You have gazed upon the Creator both past and present, allowing you to witness the truth of the Trial''s creation.


    Neria closed the window, whipping her head around to face the door as she could feel a presence approaching. This is weird, she thought to herself before the door swung open and Kemeria stepped inside.


    "Finally awake, huh?" she asked. "How are you feeling?"


    "Weird," Neria replied after a moment. "If I look at something too long, I start to see impossibly small details. It''s giving me a headache. I can also somehow tell where you are without looking¡­ I don''t even know how I know that."


    Kemeria gave a short laugh at her words. "That''s normal. Rapid advancement in levels and being knocked out for a week will do that. Just wait until you try to pick something up only to break it. Or just stand up."


    Prompted by the woman''s words, Neria sat up straight and swung her legs off of the bed she had been resting on. That she had been moved from the ritual chamber to her room had been relegated to the back of her mind as she had been presented with far more important things.


    She felt lighter than before, each movement she made somehow easier to perform. Gently pushing herself off of the bed to stand on her legs resulted in her falling forwards, having used far too much strength. The stats weren''t lying¡­


    Luckily, strength was not the only thing that had been increased. With a preternatural grace that Neria knew she had never possessed, she twirled twirled once on one foot before firmly planting the other onto the ground.


    "This is weird," she mumbled again. "How can I do this?"


    "A helping hand from the System," Kemeria replied, a small smile gracing her features. "It wouldn''t do if you became stronger only to break everything, including yourself."


    "I suppose," Neria replied, looking down at herself and slowly poking her finger into her stomach. How can flesh become this hard? ...Am I even still flesh and blood?


    "Calm down,¡± her mentor said with a little motherly laugh, ¡±you are still yourself. The ritual only grants you the means to ascend faster, it doesn''t change who you are." The words of the older Guardsman calmed Neria a little, even if the change she had undergone was still a bit much for her to take. "What title did you get, anyway? Guardsman? Archivar? Or, perhaps, Rogue?"


    "Witness," Neria replied absentmindedly, her hand slowly unsheathing her falchion. So light¡­


    "What level?" Kemeria asked, the slightly higher pitch of her voice causing the newly-minted [Ancestral Witness] to sheathe her weapon and look at the woman.


    "Four hundred, why?"


    The woman remained quiet for a while, simply staring at Neria. "There haven''t been many that received the Witness title; even less that also reached four hundred through the ritual."


    "The System said I got it because I ''gazed upon the Creator both past and present, allowing you to witness the truth of the Trial''s creation''," Neria said, reciting what the System had told her. "Which doesn''t make sense to me. I have seen Aperio, yes, but that was the present. The only time I have seen her in the past was during the ritual, however." Which isn''t really the past¡­


    "You should talk to the Keeper again," Kemeria said. "We knew you had contact with the Creator before, but this seems outside expectations."


    Neria nodded slowly, very carefully setting herself down on her bed as she began to actually think about the words the System had given her. Is she watching me? Because I look like someone she knew? She would not put it past Aperio to do such a thing, the Creator seemingly very close to her distant ancestor. At least, if I go by her initial reaction.


    "What level did you think I would reach?"


    "Two fifty, perhaps three hundred," Kemeria replied. "The ritual grants a lot of power, but what you got is definitely outside the norm. Getting used to your new strength should not take much longer, however. Like you said, you know how to use your new abilities."


    "Did you go through this as well?" Neria asked, a thought bringing up her [Status] again. "I had always assumed you only get to be a Guardsman if you are already at a high level; that I would spend the next months or even years training to catch up. Not this."


    She wanted to say that only a God could do something like this, but in a way, that was the case. Just that Chellien is dead. That fact just served to illustrate how much stronger a God truly was; even the remains of one able to catapult her to the upper echelons of power in a single push. It just hurts a whole lot.


    "Of course I did," Kemeria replied. "But I went in at just above level four hundred; the ritual sent me past five hundred where I have been stuck ever since. The monsters I need to kill to advance further are not as common here."


    As she thought about the ritual, something else came to mind. The searing pain, so intense that she expected to die at any moment. "Did someone ever die during the ritual?"


    Kemeria shook her head in reply. "No. The worst that happened was a mana burn that took a week of healing to fix. The trial is more a test of spirit than anything else. It judges you and decides if you are worthy to be part of the order. I wasn''t lying when I said it''s not dangerous."


    "The pain was still not something I had ever thought I would have to endure," Neria said. "I felt like I was dying, I think that counts as dangerous."


    "Pain is temporary and it alone won''t kill you," Kemeria replied with a shrug. "There are far worse things out there."


    Neria''s mind wandered back to the supposed Demon near the Eternal Forest, the one she had heard about just before she met Aperio. The beings were rare and dangerous, sometimes causing entire cities to be evacuated if a group of them roamed near it. The [Ancestral Guardsmen] had already defended Foderys against a number of attacks from the things.


    Nobody knew what they wanted ¡ª or if they could even think ¡ª as they did not talk and the Gods were unwilling ¡ª or unable? ¡ª to provide answers.. Neria herself had not spared them too much thought. To her, Demons had just been another dangerous beast she should avoid if she could. Won''t get to avoid them anymore now...


    "Does the title we receive dictate what we do?" Neria asked, not quite sure if her [Ancestral Witness] would qualify her for the guard duty she had originally sought to do.


    "Well," Kemeria began, "yes and no. Usually the title you receive from the ritual is already in line with what you wanted to do. Most people who would want to fight become a Guardsmen and those more inclined towards the academic side of things become Archivists."


    She paused briefly, tapping her chin as she stared at nothing in particular. "The last time an Archivist wanted to fight, he was allowed to do so. His title even changed after a few years, almost as if Chellien is still watching."


    "Any idea what I might be told to do?" Neria asked as she cautiously made her way to the door, trying to be mindful of her own strength. "Or is it something the Keeper will make up on the spot?"


    The more experienced Guardsmen shrugged again in reply. "I don''t know, but I''d assume you will be sent out to search for the Creator. That you got a special title because you met her also speaks for that."


    "But the only reason she met me was because I look like Moria. ...Not even my mother, but some ancient ancestor."


    "You should know that our ancestors live on through us," Kemeria said, stepping beside her charge and putting her hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps the Creator saw her old friend in you."


    "She almost crushed me," Neria mumbled, remembering the overbearing embrace the creator had wrapped her in. "Must''ve missed her pretty dearly."


    The sound of laughter coming from her mentor caused Neria to turn her head and look at the woman. While the movement might have been simple in the past, now it caused her vision to swim as she moved far faster than she had anticipated.


    "What''s so funny?" Neria asked after she caught her bearings again.


    "You got a hug from the Creator? I think that should also give you a title!"


    A small smile crept onto Neria''s lips at Kemeria''s reply. There was something about the upbeat attitude of her mentor that was infectious ¡ª a quality she very much appreciated at the moment. An onlooker might have mistaken their conversation for nothing more than happy banter with a friend, if they didn''t manage to spot the bit of moisture beginning to pool under Neria''s eyes.


    She might have wanted to join the [Ancestral Guard] to perform a duty she thought worthy, but also to, perhaps, uncover what happened to her mother. Neria had not been as close to her as she would have liked when Moria had disappeared, their last conversation on a sour note as she had not wanted her mother to go on yet another journey right after she had returned.


    That Neria had been right in her warning did little to soothe her every time she thought about the conversation. The fact that her mother had disappeared at all weighed on her mind much more than the truth of her words at the time. Years gone and I am still no closer¡­


    "Everything okay?" Kemeria asked, stepping in front of Neria and lifting her head. "That was just a joke, I did not think it would offend anyone."


    "You did nothing wrong," the newly risen [Ancestral Witness] replied with a slight shake of her head. "I just remembered something I''d rather not." With those words, Neria stepped past her mentor and opened the door, only damaging the bronze doorknob slightly with her newfound strength. "Just bad memories."


    GamingWolf


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 Side Story – Neria 4: The Fight At Hand

    GamingWolf


    Neria breathed heavily as she sheathed her sword again, the thing in front of her no longer alive. She closed her eyes, folding her hands in front of her chest and bowing slightly as she felt the influx of mana from the System, rewarding her for killing the Demon at her feet and finally putting the tortured soul to rest.


    Kemeria did the same, another of the shadowy creatures at her feet. Neria could sense something else in the woman, a change in her mana that she could not quite place. It was only after a smile slowly formed on her mentor¡¯s face that she realised what might have happened.


    ¡°Level five-hundred?¡± she asked, closing the small distance between them in a few steps.


    Kemeria nodded. ¡°Yes. No new titles though,¡± she added with a tinge of sadness in her voice. ¡°The System just said that classes are still banned by the Creator and that an evolution will take place once that ban is lifted.¡±


    ¡°What does it mean by evolution?¡± Neria asked, looking through her own notifications to see if any of the Demons she had killed had given her anything beyond just experience. They had not.


    The other woman shrugged in response. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I can¡¯t wait to finally get a class. Have you read some of the scrolls about what they are like? It¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°I have not,¡± Neria replied, looking back at the slowly dissolving remains of the Demons. ¡°And I probably won¡¯t. What I can do now is already beyond what I ever thought possible; becoming even stronger? The thought scares me.¡± A single person could take out a country¡­ That strength should be reserved for the Gods alone.


    ¡°It has only been a few months, just wait a while longer to get used to your power and you will think differently.¡±


    Neria shook her head in reply. She did not think she would ever enjoy a single person being able to decide the fate of a country, but she could not deny that using her strength ¡ª and levelling up ¡ª felt intoxicating in a way. ¡°Maybe,¡± she replied with a small sigh. ¡°Still a scary thought, however.¡±


    Her mentor nodded at that, the motion perceived through her aura. ¡°Definitely, but you also have to consider that the Gods would not take kindly to a mortal killing their followers.¡±


    Neria¡¯s mind wandered to the All-Mother, the woman not striking her as someone who would take the death of her followers lightly. But then, she did nothing when Chellien died¡­ Or did I not see what she did?


    ¡°Do we know what happened after Chellien died,¡± she asked suddenly, turning to face Kemeria. ¡°I only saw how the All-Mother did something during his last moments.¡±


    Her question was met with a silence that lasted for a few moments before a long sigh interrupted it. ¡°No, not really. The texts we have mention the creation of the Heslmel Mountains as a response; that the Creator cut off the desert that spawns these¡±¡ªshe gestured at the Demons¡ª¡±things, so that Chellien''s people might live in peace, but other texts are claiming she did nothing.


    ¡°The deities that are prominent now don¡¯t provide answers either,¡± she continued, motioning for Neria to follow as she turned to leave. ¡°They either don¡¯t want to answer questions about the All-Mother or cannot do so.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe she stops them from doing that,¡± Neria mumbled as she walked with her mentor. She did not necessarily believe her own words, her mind wandering back to the rather bizarre first encounter she had with the woman. Being nearly crushed in a hug by the All-Mother was probably not something people would have believed happened to her if it wasn¡¯t for the old [Guide] confirming the story.


    ¡°I doubt that,¡± Kemeria replied, ducking through the small opening that led outside.


    Neria followed suit, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. ¡°I hate caves,¡± she said, trying to shift the topic away from the All-Mother. ¡°Why are they always in caves?¡±


    ¡°Because outside of dungeons, they have the highest chance of being full of ambient mana,¡± her mentor replied. ¡°Why do you keep forgetting that?¡±


    Neria rubbed the base of her ear at the question, pointedly not looking at Kemeria. ¡°I am still new to this, okay? The lessons all just jumble up in my head.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t take them all at once. Just because your initiation was expedited does not mean you have to cram years of studying into a few months.¡±


    A sharp crack interrupted her mentor¡¯s speech, and a bolt of lightning flew from her opened hand to strike the stone above the small passageway they had used to enter the cave. Neria could feel Kemeria¡¯s magic run through the stone, collapsing the entrance and a large part of the ceiling of the cave.


    ¡°I wish falling rocks could kill Demons,¡± Neria said as a touch of her own ¡ª newly gained ¡ª magic cleared the smoke her mentor had created. ¡°Or I could just suffocate them.¡±


    ¡°Sadly,¡± Kemeria began, her spear appearing in her hand, ¡°those creatures aren¡¯t exactly alive or even completely in this realm. At least, that is how it has been explained to me. A Demon is born when a soul cannot pass on from the realm of the living, gaining a hatred for those that get to live while it¡¯s forced to exist in a limbo.¡±


    ¡°And they are beings of mana and will,¡± Neria finished for her, repeating the words many of her teachers had drilled in her head as her hand rested against the dimly glowing hilt of her falchion. ¡°Only a weapon imbued with the power of the divine may banish the Demon and put the soul to rest.¡±


    She sighed before she continued. ¡°Who is blessing our weapons, anyway? I assume it says it right on the blade, but I can¡¯t read those runes.¡±


    ¡°They forge our weapons with a piece of Chellien¡¯s armour,¡± Kemeria explained, pausing briefly to signal the third member of their team with a sharp whistle. ¡°You would learn it eventually, so I doubt it hurts to tell you now.


    ¡°Much like in the titles we receive ¡ª a blessing of a sort, really ¡ª Chellien also lives on through the weapons and armour we wield. We carry out the duty to protect our kind in his stead. He has given peace to us in life; we will give peace to him in death.¡±


    The shrill cry of a bird cut further talk short, an enormous shadow flowing over them. Neria looked up to see the large Dustwing Falcon lazily gliding above them. While it was Kemeria¡¯s mount, the giant brown-feathered bird could easily carry both of them where they needed to go.


    Her mentor produced a raw Jellien from her [Dimensional Storage], throwing it into the open beak of her Falcon after it had landed in front of them. ¡°Spotted anything, Yel¡¯dah?¡± she asked, gently brushing its neck as it rubbed against its owner.


    The bird cawed quietly in response; Neria was unsure if it understood its owner or not. it was reply enough for Kemeria, however, as she nodded curtly and mounted the bird in a graceful leap. Neria followed shortly after, not easily as her mentor but still far beyond what she could have done just a few months before.


    Yel¡¯dah lifted her long neck, giving both of her riders a view of the mountainous expanse they found themselves in. A sharp wind blew past them, ruffling Neria¡¯s fur and bringing the smell of death and decay that was so prominent here to the forefront of her mind.


    ¡°Why are we letting a necromancer live in the desert, exactly?¡± she asked, her eyes focused on a more distant set of mountains that split the Deserts of Solito from the rest of the continent. ¡°His¡­ people leave their stench wherever they go for weeks.¡±


    ¡°The Deremkyir have a mining outpost close by,¡± Kemeria said, an unspoken command causing the Dustwing Falcon to propel itself into the air. ¡°That¡¯s where the smell is coming from.¡±


    Neria groaned at that. ¡°Can¡¯t we just let ourselves be teleported back? They managed to dump us all the way out here, after all.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± her mentor replied, spurring on her mount. ¡°They can target the magical signature of a Demon, but not anyone else. As far as I know, the gate was also built by a divine as a gift to us after Chellien¡¯s death. I doubt the Archivars know how it works.¡±


    ¡°Would¡¯ve been nice if they told me that,¡± Neria mumbled as she looked at the mountains passing below them.


    A sigh came from Kemeria. ¡°As much as I hate to admit it, the Guard can be a bit elitist and your skipping to level four hundred and getting a very rare title after such a short time does not sit right with quite a few people. I might trust you, but your expedited induction did not do you any favours.¡±


    ¡°So they are withholding information because they are spiteful?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I expected better.¡±


    ¡°Strength might change some things, but we are still of the Kin. We all make mistakes.¡±


    Neria just huffed in response. She had not not planned on meeting the Creator, nor had she picked her title. Fate had handed her these cards and she would be a fool not to play them.


    As they continued to fly, Neria¡¯s mind wandered. What class will I get? she asked herself. If her title was this rare already, she hesitated to think what an equally rare class would do to her. I don¡¯t want to be a one woman army¡­


    The thought was only partially true, however; she enjoyed what she could do now. Enjoyed the feeling of using her magic; of fighting. Is this why mother did not want me to join the guard¡­ Did she know?


    She would have loved to ask her mother, but there had been no progress in finding her. Moria was alive, the [Keeper of Voices] had confirmed it. He had not been willing to tell her how he knew, however.


    Maybe they are not doing their best because of me? Neria shook her head at the thought. Her mother was too important for the Council, and they would try all they could to find her. Sadly, the Gods did not really see it as their duty to offer any sort of help. Following a dead one was seen as heresy in the eyes of many of the pantheon.


    Luckily, descending onto the mortal plane was costly for the divine and they would rather not throw the lives of their followers away for something that was, in the end, inconsequential. Not that it stops them from raiding us for slaves¡­


    That, however, was more an action of various countries than their Gods. Raiding parties from Geshwen were hated all over Verenier for a reason. The Eternal Empire of Zeltar controlled most of the continent, and was of the stark opinion that anyone not born on their continent should be a slave. Why did Vetus get burned down, and not that one?


    A shake of her head forced the line of thinking from her mind. Instead, she entertained the idea of asking the Creator for help in finding her mother. Finding Aperio again was a mission they would soon send her on ¡ª once Kemeria decided she was ready to hold her own against anything she might encounter. All-powerful Creation deity excluded.


    Her mentor¡¯s voice sounding out in front of her pulled Neria fully from her thoughts. ¡°Looks like the Deremkyir also had a run in with some Demons.¡±


    Directing her eyes at the ground below, Neria saw tens of zombies in matching armour holding two Demons at bay as a skeleton in an ornate robe raised its hands up high. Its skeletal jaw moved, the Lich chanting an incantation.


    A pillar of light fell upon the skeletal mage a moment later, Neria squinting against the barrage of holy magic. ¡°Isn¡¯t that suicide?¡± she thought aloud. ¡°Holy magic is poison to the undead.¡±


    ¡°Not to the Deremkyir,¡± her mentor replied, directing Yel¡¯dah lower as she prepared herself to throw her spear.


    ¡°What?¡± Neria asked, not truly expecting an answer as she readied herself for battle. Kemeria did not have to tell her what her intention was. As part of the Ancestral Guard, it was their duty to help any and all that may find themselves at the mercy of Demons, or others of their ilk.


    As the Dustwing Falcon reached a few meters from the ground, Kemeria and Neria jumped, the latter slowing their fall with her magic. The zombies did not seem to care about their arrival, busy keeping the Demons occupied as the Lich mumbled another incantation.


    With a flare of her own magic, Kemeria kicked off of the ground, leaving slight cracks in the stone that glowed red with the blood she had just sacrificed.


    Neria followed suit, the winds following her bidding and carrying her silently into battle as she pulled her weapon free of its sheath. The runes on the blade shining brightly in anticipation for the coming fight.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 123: Sua Sponte

    Caethya removed her hand from Aperio''s as the All-Mother opened her eyes. Being asked to help her Goddess remain calm had been a strange request, but she knew how Aperio reacted to some memories. She could still feel the anger in the All-Mother''s aura; the coldness in the air. However, her reaction was a lot less intense than she had expected.


    She could not claim to know how Aperio felt any one emotion, but she knew that some things made her irrationally angry. A very mortal trait that was, perhaps, a leftover from her time as one. But then Moria would not have asked for help, right?


    "How are you?" Caethya asked, leaning forward and up a little to brush a few of Aperio''s hairs out of her face.


    Her Goddess'' ever-shifting eyes rested on her for a moment before Aperio let out a sigh, one that was accompanied by a few wisps of mana which immediately took to lazily floating around her.


    "Angry," Aperio said after a moment of silence in which her wings gently wrapped themselves around Caethya. "But less than I feel I should be." She paused for a moment before mumbling her next words. "Maybe because I can''t see them all clearly yet¡­"


    "You need time to integrate them?" Moria asked from behind Caethya with a hint of confusion in her voice. "I had thought that wouldn''t apply to you."


    "It does," Aperio replied, and at the same time her Goddess'' voice echoed through her mind, asking Caethya if she could come closer. "Some of the memories I have retrieved on Procul are still a little foggy, for example." Caethya moved herself next to Aperio as she spoke, gently brushing her hand over her Goddess'' back to counteract the way her aura flared a little with anger. "I do already know what happened in the memories you gave me, just not the identity of every deity that disgraced themselves."


    "I see," the Beastkin mumbled. Her ears twitched slightly, perhaps picking up a sound Caethya herself could not hear, before she spoke again. "All we can do is wait, then." Moira nodded to the crystal, and it was then that Caethya noticed that it now looked to be nothing more than a piece of glass. "As this one contained more memories than simply my own, it could only be used once. My own mind is not made to handle the memories of all my lives.


    "I cannot remember every single deity that took part in the rituals," she continued after a moment of silence. "What I do know is that Epemirial is one of the higher ups of the Repens Nabu. Higher than Vigil and Inanis were, anyway."


    Aperio tensed at the words, the already frigid air growing colder still. Caethya could have sworn that the world itself was holding its breath as her Goddess set her eyes on Moria.


    "Then I shall visit her and inform her about the error of her ways." The words, delivered with a clarity and lack of emotion that was entirely uncharacteristic of the All-Mother she knew, gave Caethya pause.


    Aperio usually reacted with a wide variety of emotions to anything and everything, even when it was not really warranted. Despite her claimed trouble in expressing them, Caethya had never found it hard to figure out how her Goddess felt. Even without the bond. The All-Mother''s wings alone had always told her a lot. Couple that with Aperio''s tick of tilting her head and the subtle twitches of her ears, and Caethya was usually fairly certain of what was going on in Aperio''s mind.


    In accordance with her own gut feeling on the matter, the Demigoddess of Creation brushed her fingers across the armlet Aperio now wore on her right bicep. "Where did you get this?" she asked. "It feels¡­ old. Ancient, even."


    Aperio blinked at the question. "Moria kept it for me," she replied. "It was something I used to wear at all times, but for some reason gave to her before my life as a mortal."


    "Was it always filled with mana?" Caethya asked, turning a little to look at Moria. "There is enough in there that I can''t tell how much there actually is." Just like an ocean¡­ Or Aperio. In truth, Caethya was almost sure that the small armlet somehow held more mana than Aperio currently did. Though, she can probably draw on much more.


    "It was," Moria replied, offering a slight nod. Much like Caethya, she seemingly thought that a change of topic was in order. Or I am reading her wrong. "But I do not know why."


    Her Goddess absentmindedly turned the armlet with her free hand after Caethya had removed her own. "Is it really that surprising?" she asked after a moment, looking at Caethya. "According to most people, I carry a ludicrous amount of mana in my body. Why would an armlet with some more be weird? Especially since I made it when I actually knew how everything worked."


    "Not surprising," Caethya said with a small smile on her face. "But very interesting. Everything I know about you led me to believe that worldly possessions were not something you took much interest in, but it turns out you had one even before you knew the life of a mortal."


    "I do not know the life of a mortal. I knew the life of a slave," Aperio snapped, setting her unblinking gaze onto Caethya.


    The Demigoddess shrunk slightly under her Goddess'' glare, and retreated further from the anger she felt in her aura. Before she could apologise, Aperio sighed, her wings brushing against Caethya''s back as they slumped a little.


    "I''m sorry," the All-Mother breathed, moving to remove her wings completely before Caethya lifted her arm in an attempt to stop the movement. "I¡­" Her voice trailed off as she looked at something only she could see. A notification?


    "Your daughter?" Moria asked, seemingly knowing something that Aperio did not.


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly as she looked at the Beastkin. "How did you know?"


    "Just a hunch," Moria said, her ears twitching slightly. "I felt you doing something, and if I can feel something with the System change, your daughter most assuredly can as well."


    Aperio shifted her eyes back towards the notification. This gets her attention, but not my multiple attempts to talk to her? Ferio had asked her to her Dominion, something the All-Mother had considered doing without an invitation multiple times now. Why now?


    She would go ¡ª that wasn''t a question ¡ª but it still hurt that her daughter only wanted to talk to her after she had made a change to the System, and not because Aperio was reaching out on her own.


    The warmth of Caethya''s arm wrapping around her back caused Aperio to relax a little. For a brief moment she had feared her reaction to her disciple''s earlier question would have put her off, especially so after she did not even properly apologise. At least I can apologise now.


    "So," Caethya began, brushing her free hand over the inner feathers of Aperio''s wing. "Are we going to visit Ferio?"


    "Yes," Aperio said, raising a brow at Caethya''s motion before glancing at her surrogate mother. "Do you wish to accompany us?"


    The Beastkin did not reply immediately, and only looked at her. Aperio shifted a little under her gaze, not quite sure what Moria wanted her to do. "I think I''ll stay here," she said. "I think my presence would not help matters. I also have to figure out what to do with my colleagues and what has become of the [Ancestral Guard]." She sighed, mumbling her next words quietly enough that Aperio had almost missed them. "Might as well start over with that¡­"


    "Can I not help you with that?" Aperio asked. "I know that Selehan and Kenmo talked of corruption in their ranks; one stemming from the Pantheon." The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before she continued. "They also said that they are looking for you because you have the proof they need to fix the problem."


    Moria gave a bitter laugh at the words. "Of course they would say that." She shifted a little, adjusting her clothes to hide the slight shake of her hands. "They are as corrupt as the rest of them; they just want the artefacts I carry."


    Aperio extended her wing and almost moved herself and Caethya next to Moria before she stopped herself. As much as she wanted to give her surrogate mother a hug, she knew that it wouldn''t help her. Moria had been very clear about that during her time as a slave.


    "We will stay a little longer," Aperio said, letting a bit of her mana flow around her surrogate mother. Moria might not have been fond of physical touch when she was sad or in distress, but it still felt wrong to the All-Mother to just stand there and do nothing. "Perhaps we should deal with this first?" If Ferio wanted to make me wait, she can wait a little too.


    "No," Moria said after a deep breath and a moment of silence. "I need some time to prepare myself." She offered Aperio a smile ¡ª sincere, but sad. "It''s good that you are back. I was getting worried, despite your claims."


    Aperio hesitated briefly. "I''m sorry that I am not the one you remember."


    "Don''t be," her surrogate mother replied. "Change was the whole reason you did this, after all." Moria sighed, fixing her gaze onto Aperio. "I did not lose a friend ¡ª I gained family.


    "I got to know the real you, know who you are when you shed the eons you lived alone in the nothing. The you unburdened by the knowledge that the other Gods want to use you." A silence briefly fell over the three of them before Moira spoke again. "I think you wanted to forget. Gain a fresh start, of sorts."


    ¡°I failed, if that was the goal,¡± Aperio mused. ¡°Floating alone in my Void would have been better than life in the Empire. I also still feel like most people ¡ª be it mortal or God ¡ª want to use me.¡± She shifted a little, still wanting to reach out to her surrogate mother, but as Moria disliked physical means of comforting and any words she could offer would feel empty, she was at a loss of what she could possibly do.


    Her surrogate mother seemed to notice her dilemma, moving herself a little closer to touch Aperio''s shoulder. "I know you want to help," she said. "And you can in the future, but for now I have to make peace with the fact that the people that have been like family to me died long ago."


    "What about Neria?" Aperio asked. "She has been searching for you."


    "I will meet her in time," Moria replied with a heavy sigh. "She will have to be the one that rebuilds the [Ancestral Guard]. I failed to do that. Twice." Her surrogate mother sighed again and shook her head slightly. "Go, meet your daughter. I need some time to think."


    Aperio gave a hesitant nod and directed a mental query towards Caethya to ask if she was ready. Once her disciple had answered in the affirmative, the All-Mother mentally accepted Ferio''s invitation.


    For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the System''s magic weaved itself around Aperio. The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly and, with a small flex of her mental muscles, bent the magic to also incorporate Caethya.


    "I''ll be there if you need me," Aperio said, looking at her surrogate mother.


    "I know," Moria replied with a small smile on her face, offering a tiny wave before the All-Mother and her disciple vanished from the mortal realm.


    Aperio blinked at the amount of people present in Ferio''s Dominion. She had expected to find only her daughter, not a room filled with mortals as well as quite a few deities. At least they feel stronger than Caethya¡­ Some of them might not actually be Gods as they merely felt slightly stronger than her disciple, but Aperio''s view on such things was a little¡­ skewed.


    "Greetings, Mother," Ferio said, then glanced at Caethya who still had her arm wrapped around Aperio''s waist. "And to you too, Caethya."


    Her entrance had caused the few conversations that had been on going to cease and attention to focus on Aperio. She could easily spot Edisicio, the God of Knowledge and Love giving her a small nod. Aperio did not know any of the other Gods ¡ª or what she assumed were Gods ¡ª present.


    A pair of figures further back managed to grab at her attention despite the vast number of other people in the space. One of them seemed to be made of light, while the other seemed to be made of darkness. Both of them seemed very interested in her, just like the third glowing being in the room. Aperio had noticed it as well but had not paid the being much attention, as it had felt far weaker than the previous two, until she spotted that it seemed to flick back and forth between brightness and darkness every other breath.


    The All-Mother did not pay them any more mind as she faced her daughter. "Hello," she said, shifting one of her wings around Caethya slightly to better support her and offer her a little cover from prying eyes. "You wished to talk?"


    "I do, yes," her daughter replied, motioning for them to join her as she walked towards a large table at the center of her sunlit Dominion. "I had hoped this conversation could wait, but your new Directive makes that an impossibility."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at her daughter''s back, and a few of the mortals in the room took a step back as a bit of anger crept into her aura. Caethya let a bit of her magic flow around her Goddess, following it with a mental message and slightly tighter grip around her waist.


    The All-Mother wanted to confront her daughter about her silence, but knew full well that now was not the time for that. "And why is that?" she asked instead.


    "Because it changed the rules for the [War in Heaven]," her daughter replied.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 124: Pro Hac Vice

    "I have no interest in your war," Aperio said, eyeing the presumed Gods and Goddesses in the room. I would end it if I knew how. "If part of it required you to experiment on souls, I could not care less that you lost that ability."


    "That''s not really the issue." Ferio sighed, gesturing to the two beings made of light and dark respectively. "The Directive you implemented puts the [Court of Heaven] in charge of handling every transgression.


    "Yes, I know that is what you made it for," her daughter continued, informing Aperio that it was indeed something she had made without telling the others present that she forgot. "But neither of the Judges will be able to enforce a ruling against the people who are actually in violation."


    Perhaps I should just make a new Pantheon, Aperio thought to herself as she looked at every person in the room through her aura. Most did not notice the inspection, but a few of the more powerful deities stiffened a little at her scrutiny.


    The fact that they did sparked a little joy in Aperio''s mind that she tried to shove as deep down as she could. She did not want to enjoy lording her strength over others, but she still very much did.


    Aperio fixed her gaze on the two figures in question. She had not even meant to create a Directive, and now she had to deal with this. That she was also annoyed ¡ª though more sad and angry ¡ª at the fact that Ferio had ignored her until there was a problem she could not fix did not help.


    "And how am I supposed to fix it?" Aperio asked, a touch of her magic ensuring only Caethya and Ferio heard her. "I do not know who these people are, what they do nor why they do it." The All-Mother took a breath, leaning a little into Caethya''s embrace. "I am also not really inclined to help after being called here to fix your problem after being met with silence for weeks." Or months¡­ How much time passed?


    "Really, Mother?" Ferio asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I told you I was busy. You rejected me again and again when I was trying to help you, so you can''t claim to not know why I remained quiet." Ferio''s eyes wandered to Caethya before she looked at her mother again. "Especially when you instead chose to trust someone mortal you barely know."


    Aperio squinted at her daughter. "I know Caethya better than you by now," she said. "I know you are my daughter, but aside from that I know nothing about you. I don''t know who you are; what you like."


    Ferio held her gaze for a moment before she sighed and directed her eyes to the floor. "Perhaps¡­ But I had hoped that you would remember me, at least. Had thought that you did." She rubbed the bridge of her nose again. "I merely wanted you to care about me like I care about you. But," she sighed, "I guess that will need even more time.


    "For now," she continued. "we will have to deal with this. The Court cannot do what you directed it to do without your help. How exactly this should be solved is not something I know yet, but I know that you can fix it."


    "How?" Aperio asked, trying her best to hide the annoyance in her voice. "I do not even know what this Court you speak of is. Or where the limits to what I can do are." If there even are any.


    The only real thing she knew she could not do was travel back in time. There were a great many other things she knew she could do, but not how. But then, maybe I just don''t know how to manipulate time yet¡­ The mere potential that she could mess with time was already enough for Aperio to bury the thought deep in her mind, right next to the twisted joy she got from being stronger than others.


    "You know how to bless someone and strip a blessing," Ferio said. "Technically, Godhood is quite similar. It is not exactly the same, of course, but I had hoped you could do something to either strengthen the Judges in the Court or make other deities weaker."


    "Make a level playing field?" Caethya asked, shifting slightly under Aperio''s wing. "I am surprised that''s not how it works already."


    "Mother made the Court to deal with the Gods and Goddesses that ascended on their own," Ferio huffed in reply. "Not with the ones she chose herself. Even that, however, only goes so far. The self-ascended deities are slowly becoming too powerful for the courts as well."


    "And who says this Court will be just in their judgements?" Aperio asked, drawing her wings closer to herself and pulling Caethya gently along with them. "What if they act like me? Cast down a God because they wronged them?" What gives me the right to do that?


    "For what it''s worth, I have never seen them act in their own interest over the millennia I have known them," Ferio replied. "I''m almost convinced they can''t do that."


    Aperio carefully removed her wing from Caethya and stepped up the table, a thought bringing the two glowing figures into the small, audibly secluded space she had made.


    They looked surprised for a moment before they both bowed. "Welcome back, Creator," the Light one said.


    "Your presence at the Courts has been missed," the Dark one added.


    Their voices shifted from high to low as they spoke, echoing through the small space almost like her own. Just way weaker. Even her normal speaking voice filled any room with her power; her mana. Whenever she got even a tiny bit angry, it only got worse. At least it doesn''t seem to be tied to the mana in my body anymore.


    That problem had seemingly solved itself. Even after she had drawn in the pure mana from deeper in her well, her aura and voice had shown little change while the amount of mana in her body had increased greatly.


    "Hello," she replied, offering them each a curt nod as she suppressed the urge to wrap her wing around Caethya again. "It has been brought to my attention that you would not be able to enforce the new Directive."


    "Yes," the Light one replied, its voice briefly settling on a deep baritone. "The System has already scheduled a date for the hearing of Epemirial and we are most certainly not equipped to handle her, even with your daughter''s help."


    "She is stronger than you?" Aperio asked, looking at Ferio.


    "In a potential fight in which I have to protect a room full of people and she does not? Yes," her daughter replied.


    The All-Mother tapped her chin lightly and tried to will into existence a System view that would show her the Directives. It did not quite work as she had hoped, but a small blue window filled with various Directives and their functions did appear in her view. A slight narrowing of her eyes and a small flex of her mental muscles caused the System to only show her the one she had just put into effect.


    At first it only seemed to repeat what it had said when she had accidentally willed the Directive into place, but it seemed to expand a little to provide some options. There was one helpfully labelled ''Enforcement'', and a part of her mind immediately started diving through the System itself in hopes of finding something that could tell her how the options she was currently interacting with actually worked.


    Aperio paid no heed to the atrociously slow movements of the other people in the room as she focused another part of her mind on the ''Enforcement'' section of the System view. As a great many sub-options filled the window before her, she couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. Most were greyed out, and she didn''t need to focus on them to know that they were broken. A fact that only seemed to highlight how intertwined she actually was with the System. I am the system, really...


    "How would she hold up to me?" Aperio asked, barely a moment after Ferio had finished speaking, her investigation into the System having taken a lot less time than she had thought.


    "She, uh, wouldn''t," Ferio replied with a confused look on her face. "She would not have been able to before, and most certainly would not now."


    "Does the Creator think of attending the hearings in person?" the Dark Judge asked, seemingly uncaring that Aperio asked if she even was stronger than the Goddess of Duty and Loss.


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, returning more of her attention back to the System windows in front of her mind''s eye. She had hoped ¡ª perhaps in vain ¡ª that one of the options would allow her to let the System itself deal with it.


    The All-Mother scrunched her brows as she found a section of the System that seemed to be working a little harder than it should, drawing noticeably more mana than the surrounding parts. A thought was all she needed to get a closer look at it, inspect it.


    Most of the runes present did not mean anything to her, but she did spot a few she did understand. Enforcement, Aperio thought to herself with a small smile as she rotated her mental view of the section.


    There was something else at work in the Subsystem; another part of her System that she had been searching for. All the tendrils of mana that worked their way through the Enforcement section connected back to another Subsystem that was unlabelled, as far as she could see, but had to be the part responsible for repairs. Or I just don''t know those runes yet.


    It was one of the more complex amalgamations of runes she had seen thus far, and definitely the one that drew the most on her well. Not that it is using a lot of mana¡­ Either she had made her System very efficient or ¡ª by far the more likely option ¡ª she commanded much more mana than she had thought. Aperio had still not taken the time to see just how far her well reached; how pure her mana could become.


    "I would rather find a solution that does not require my presence," Aperio said, her continued exploration of the System having barely taken a moment of real time. She glanced at the glowing figures for a moment before she continued. "Not that I am unflattered by the offer, but I have other things to take care of."


    "We understand," the Light one said, its shifting voice devoid of the tiny bit of hope that the Dark one had had. It stepped a little closer to the table, almost leaning on it. "What did you have in mind?"


    "I am not quite sure," Aperio admitted, a small smile playing across her lips at the lack of any feelings of disgust. "My absence has not been good for the System." Disregarding any potential sabotage¡­


    "I suggested that she take away the powers of anyone not affiliated with the Court when they are present," Ferio said. "But Mother raised some concerns."


    "I did, yes," Aperio said, tilting her head as the System seemed to work a little more slowly under her scrutiny. Almost as if it wanted to make sure she understood what was happening. Or is it because my subconsciousness fixes it and that doesn''t work when I focus on it?


    How exactly the System and her own mind were connected was still a mystery to Aperio, but it was clear that the former could not work without her while she had no trouble existing without the System.


    "As I am sure you can gather from the recent Directive," Aperio said, trying to find something that would allow her to change the Judge¡¯s Dominion, "I am not exactly happy with how the trust I gave has been misused. I do not want to introduce another faction to a war I plan to end."


    "Is that why Diskrye did not restart their duty of distributing the New Worlds upon your return?" the Dark Judge asked. "Or are they truly inaccessible to them?"


    "I do not know and I do not care," Aperio said, glaring at the Judge. She took an unneeded breath to steady herself and leaned herself slightly against Caethya''s hand that had appeared on her back. "What I care about is punishing those who use souls as their playthings."


    The All-Mother gestured towards the table, the maps spread upon it obvious planning for the [War in Heaven] Mayeia had told her about. "I also want to stop this war," she continued. "Why I ever let it happen in the first place is beyond me.


    "If I have to, I will go and find every single member of the Repens Nabu and kill them myself," Aperio said, fixing her gaze on the two Judges. She took a step towards them, ignoring Ferio''s almost panicked look. "Let me be perfectly clear," the All-Mother began. "I do not trust you, or anyone else in this room besides Ferio and Caethya. Especially not with the power to strip someone of their Godhood.


    "I do not know what your relation is to the ones that went against my will," she continued, "but I know that they need an adequate punishment, and I do not trust either of you to deliver one."


    Aperio let out a sigh as she sat Caethya and herself down on a sofa formed by her mana. Speaking her mind ¡ª like she imagined her old self would have ¡ª had felt decidedly too good. Even if it was true that the only grounds for punishing someone for messing with a soul was her will, putting it in words made it feel worse.


    Despite looking through the System''s options faster than she should be able to, Aperio was only drawing blanks as to how to make the Court able to deal with the problem and not have her there at all times. Or have me outright hunt the Repens Nabu.


    Even if she truly hated the Gods and Goddesses that played with mortal lives because they felt superior, Aperio did not want to kill them. She still regretted what she had done to Vigil and Inanis, despite knowing that the quick death they received had been far too light a judgment. And I want to see them suffer, too.


    The disgust she had usually felt for admitting she was less than perfect had found a new place in her mind, one she could at least somewhat agree with. Everything she knew about her old self led to death and cruelty. All things she now detested, but still derived joy from.


    Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed in exasperation at both herself and the situation at hand. Just let me live a normal life, please. "Show me your Court. I''ll figure something out."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Side Story – Moric 1: Woes of the Dead

    GamingWolf


    Surprise! I hope you safely entered the new year! (And that this one is a little bit better than the last.)


    This picks up where the Neria mini-arc left off.


    Moric rattled his teeth as he watched the Demons turn into smoke, the tell-tale glimmer of their souls returning to rest twinkling within. He turned and looked at the two Beastkin that had come to his aid, the fires that burned in his empty eye sockets returning to their normal blue.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, his voice enunciated by the rattling of his bones as he took a step towards the newcomers. ¡°I had not expected to meet the [Ancestral Guard] this far from your City. But, where are my manners,¡± he continued, bowing slightly. ¡°I am Moric, a Lich in service of the Great One.¡±


    ¡°Kemeria,¡± one of the golden-furred Beastkin said as she pointed to herself, before gesturing at the other. ¡°And this is Neria.¡±


    ¡°Ah, a Kellborn I presume? The daughter of Moria, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°You know my mother?¡± Neria asked, taking a couple steps closer. ¡°Have you seen her?¡±


    Moric lowered his head at the question. ¡°No, I have merely been informed of her disappearance. Many of those who serve under the Great One have been asked to be on the lookout for her.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± the Beastkin said, her ears twitching slightly and tail lowering.


    ¡°Do not worry,¡± Moric said, his bones rattling soothingly. ¡°The Great One has promised to find your mother, and he always keeps his word.¡±


    His words did not have the desired effect, as the Beastkin¡¯s ears lowered and her tail dropped even further. Moric wanted to say something further, but he found himself lost for words, the orbs of pale blue fire in his eyes dimming slightly.


    ¡°I apologise,¡± he said, inclining his head gently. ¡°I forget that those not of the Deremkyir usually don¡¯t share our faith in the Great One.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Neria said with a sigh. ¡°I had just hoped that I would finally get some news about my mother.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here anyway?¡± Kemeria asked in an obvious attempt to change the topic. ¡°I know there is a mine not too far from here, but your kind rarely leaves the desert.¡±


    The fires in Moric¡¯s eyes burned a little brighter at the question. The Lich was always happy to inform people of his quest. ¡°I am trying to raise a family!¡± he said. ¡°Awfully hard at home where the corpses are rationed.¡±


    ¡°Corpses are rationed?¡± the woman asked, her ears twitching. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Only so many people die each year,¡± Moric said with a slight shrug. ¡°And some do not want to be resurrected.


    ¡°I am just trying to find a family to raise on my own,¡± he continued, tapping his fingers against his bony chin as he mumbled his next words. ¡°Finding one that has been buried together and in which every member is willing to live again is harder than you¡¯d think.¡±


    He had found many tombs of noble families, but communions were not always possible. And when they were, it seemed that it was invariable that one or two members of the family did not want to be brought back. Of course, he could resurrect them anyway, but that would go against the laws of the Deremkyr. Disobeying the Great One''s laws was a good way to find a permanent end.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t anyone you use your magic on turn into your slave?¡± Neria asked, the dark crystals the Demons had left behind floating into her waiting hand. ¡°Isn¡¯t that how necromancy works?¡±


    Moric¡¯s bones rattled in disgust at the question. ¡°A true necromancer would never bring back a soul without their consent! You not only risk the wrath of the Great One, but of the world!


    "Forcing the dead to rise does not bring back their souls," he continued. "They would then require a piece of mine to function, and would not be able to evolve." He then gestured to the zombies that had returned to etching various runes into the ground. "I was once like them, one who was willingly brought back, but I worked to understand magic and became a Lich by the grace of the Great One.¡±


    ¡°Is your Great One a God I have not heard of before?¡± Neria''s eyes didn''t leave the other undead, still at their task of etching runes into the stone.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Moric replied with a happy rattle of his bones. ¡°The Great One is a [Demigod of Death]. Through him we can use holy magic to banish demons.¡± He paused for a moment, tapping a bony finger against his jaw. ¡°If your belief is strong enough, that is. But then, you are not truly of the Deremkyir if your belief is weak.¡±


    A loud caw caused Moric to look up, his fiery eyes easily spotting the Dustwing Falcon circling overhead. The Lich could feel the panic of the monster, its instincts telling it to attack him to protect its master while its training told it that all was well. ¡°Your Falcon is not used to my kind, is it?¡± Moric asked, shifting his gaze back to the Beastkin in front of him.


    ¡°No,¡± Kemeria replied, her words followed by a sharp whistle that caused the bird to swoop down and land behind its master.


    Moric had liked animals during his life of flesh and blood. Ever since he had risen again as an undead, though, the joy of having a pet had been made impossible. Sadly, the Great One can''t yet fix that.


    He had been unlucky in that regard, having been revived immediately after his death. While he did not know exactly why, the sooner a body was revived, the more of its memories it kept. And if you waited too long, you could only make a normal undead with a piece of your own soul.


    The deserts of Solito were unique, as far as Moric knew. Souls passed on slower here ¡ª a circumstance that made the rise of the Deremkyir possible. Also brings a lot of Demons.


    He sighed as she watched the woman gently brush her hand along the feathered neck of the bird, the noise it brought forth from him just another, quieter, rattle of his bones as he had no lungs.


    ¡°I hope the presence of my kin and me are not too distressing,¡± he said after a moment of continued silence. ¡°The lesser living are usually very confused at our lack of mindless slaughter.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Kemeria said as she produced a fish to feed to the bird. ¡°But she was merely alerting me of a large group of undead coming our way, not really confused about it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my reinforcements,¡± Moric said. ¡°Though we no longer need them, thanks to your intervention.¡± A sign from one of the zombies caused Moric to raise his bony hand, and add, ¡°Please stand back, the ritual is ready.¡±


    The two Beastkin did as he asked, even the large bird taking a few steps back. His workers followed suit, the zombies quickly leaving the large formations of runes they had etched into the stone.


    ¡°Do you not want to wait for your reinforcements?¡± Neria asked, her nose twitching slightly as a few zombies passed in front of her.


    ¡°By the Great One, no,¡± Moric replied. ¡°The only one who could come here to help on such short notice would be Joshua, and he would only try to take the ritual for himself.¡± His eyes shifted to the winding path that led up the mountain ¡ª the one the reinforcements would undoubtedly take ¡ª and mumbled his next words. ¡°He always lords his status as a Greater Lich over everyone.¡±


    He let a bit of his mana flow into the runes his workers had made. The light seemed to be sucked into the formation, the surroundings dimming as the magic took hold.


    Finding lost souls was a hard task and if it were possible, Moric would be sweating from the strain. Luckily he could not, and the only visible cue that showed how much effort he put in was the slight dimming of the fire in his eyes, something he was pretty sure the two Beastkin would not be able to interpret properly.


    Moric¡¯s hands moved in front of him, his mana flowing from them as he guided it deeper into the ground. The ritual he had set up added ambient mana to his efforts in amounts he could not hope to bring forth alone.


    His bones rattled in anticipation as he felt the presence of death and decay drawing his mana in. It called to him in a way that pulled at his very marrow. The souls he had been searching for were here, he could feel it.


    Why some souls did not move on was beyond him, but he would do his best to help them. The offer was either a chance to live again, or a helping hand to allow them to pass on and avoid the risk of becoming a Demon consumed by hatred for the living.


    Just want to raise a family, Moric thought to himself as he slowly channeled his mana into the halls of death below them. He did not know who these catacombs belonged to or how long the souls had stayed there, but he did know that at least a few of them were a family. That they were bonded by Fate.


    He had not tried to raise a new undead in a few months, too busy with his duties to the Great One, but now that he was doing it again, Moric felt at peace.


    His mana gently flowed around the bodies of the dead, slowly attaching itself to the fine threads that trapped the souls in the mortal realm. The physical world left his senses as he tried to commune with the first soul, pushing his mana closer.


    As soon as his magic touched the faint remnant of the person still bound to the mortal realm, Moric felt his consciousness shift. The sensation was not new to him ¡ª everyone who wished to talk to a soul would have to enter the realm of the dead, at least partially.


    He would now have to experience the limbo this soul had had to endure for countless years. His body was still left in the mortal realm, outside his control, while his mind was in the realm of the dead, unable to move on and doomed to slowly forget its life.


    There was no relief for these souls in the Great River, no forgiveness of their sins and no appreciation of their virtues. Just an endless abyss of nothing in which they would go insane. He had only been there briefly before he had been revived, but even that small moment had been enough for him. A glimpse of the nothing, a small taste of dread, of forgetting who he was while being fully aware of what was happening. Moric would not wish such a Fate on anyone.


    The soul he reached out for flared the last remnants of its magic, a reaction he had seen a great many times before. For how long this particular soul had to have spent in limbo, its magic was surprisingly strong, requiring a not insignificant amount of Moric¡¯s own magical might to deflect it.


    He tried to convey his message of peace ¡ª his offer ¡ª but the soul just continued its barrage. Either it was too far gone to understand him, or it wished to remain as it was, perhaps seeing limbo as a fine punishment for itself.


    Moric tried again, reaching out with his mind to try and show the lost soul the way out; a new life with its family. There was a brief reprieve in the surprisingly strong onslaught from the lost soul, the idea of family seemingly able to appease it.


    Another push of his magic reached out to a different soul, one that shared a bond with the one he was already talking to. [Fixtures of Fate] pulled them together, merging the abyss the souls had dwelt in into one, reuniting them.


    A wave of mana washed over Moric¡¯s mind, stronger than anything the soul had shown before. Luckily this one was not meant to push him away but filled with the warmth of love. It wrapped itself around the soul his skill had brought over, gently pulling it closer to the first one he had contacted.


    Carefully, he reached out again, his offer of peace and a promise of a new life unchanged. Neither of the two souls responded to him, their magic darting back and forth between them instead.


    He focused on his skill again, sacrificing more mana to the System to bring the third soul into this abyss; to reunite it.


    Fix its Fate.


    It was his mission. Given to him by the Great One. Find the broken family, fix their Fate. Offer them the chance at a new life ¡ª a chance to live the life that had been taken from them.


    He did not know why the Great One had tasked him with it ¡ª what made him worthy of the skill he had received ¡ª but he would not question the Great One, who had lived through what these souls had to endure; pulled himself into the Great River and was rewarded for it. Tasked by the world itself to guide those that have been lost.


    Moric would do all he could to aid the Great One in his quest. Sacrificing the last bit of his mana, he activated [Fixtures of Fate] one more time, pulling the last of the bonded souls into the abyss they now all shared.


    The mana that flowed between the four souls shuddered and shifted subtly, expanding around them for a moment before it drew back. Almost as if breathing. Moric could feel his own magic resonate with the rhythm, drawing him in ¡ª inviting him to join.


    To take their offer of life.


    And he took it.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 125: Amicus Curiae

    The Judges just stared at Aperio for a moment before the Dark one nodded with what the All-Mother interpreted as a smile spreading over its face. "Of course!" it exclaimed. "We would be delighted!"


    The Light Judge did not look as pleased for a moment as it scrunched its brows. At least, that is what the All-Mother thought it did, as the being did not actually have eyebrows. Or a face, really.


    Neither of the Judges nor the other glowing figure had eyes or a mouth. They had little indentations where the eyes should be, but not the actual thing. The mouths were also completely absent, featuring only a translucent skin that visibly showed the glow beneath. How do they eat? ¡­Do they even have to eat?


    She assumed they did not, as she could not find anything that would look like a stomach or anything else needed for digestion in their body, but neither had she allowed her aura to inform her about more. Showed me enough already¡­


    If other people knew how she perceived the world, they would likely ¡ª despite the knowledge ¡ª try to hide themselves a little more. Perhaps I could find a way to put the enchantment of my bath onto everyone''s clothes?


    Aperio shook her head lightly, pulling Caethya a little closer to herself with her wing as she waited for the Judges to do something.


    She was about to speak up when the System informed her that she had been invited to the [Courts of Heaven] and that it would take a moment longer to prepare the space for her presence.


    The Judges gave each other a glance, the System probably having also informed them of what it was doing. Before either of them could ask a question however, Aperio accepted the invitation, extending it to Caethya and Ferio with a thought as the System had only started to teleport her.


    Aperio could not help and raise a brow at the room she now found herself in. It was split in two, each side the same except for the marble that comprised the walls and floors. Just like the Judges themselves, one side was made of white marble while the other featured black marble. Both had gold and silver inlaid into them, showing what Aperio assumed was the creation of their species, complete with a giant golden version of herself that took up most of the ceiling. Even with wings, huh.


    That was another reason for her raised brow; the room was larger than any other she had been in. Even the size of Fel''Erreyth''s cave paled in comparison to the entrance to the [Court of Heaven]. The Dragon and his serpent-like friend could fly in the hall to their heart''s content without needing to worry about hitting the walls or ceilings for a good while.


    "Where is everyone?" Aperio asked, not quite sure why she could not sense a single person in the entire space. It was something she did not think should happen with a court comprised of Gods or, at least, God-like beings.


    "We asked them to leave," the Light Judge replied. "We were not certain what the System meant when it said that it would reinforce this space prior to being able to let you in."


    "Additionally," the Dark figure continued, "we thought you might not enjoy the presence and questions of the mortals and deities present."


    Got that right, Aperio thought to herself as she gave a small nod. "I hope that does not disrupt your work too much."


    "It does not," the Dark Judge said. "Though it usually remains open, the Court is not in session today. We usually take every other Sendal to go over the recent cases."


    "Why in the middle of the week?" Caethya asked, seemingly unperturbed by the presence of the two Judges and a Goddess that did not necessarily like her.


    A small smile played across Aperio''s lips at her disciple¡¯s words. She liked how Caethya spoke her mind even if they were not alone. Something I should do more often, perhaps.


    "Because it was the day the Court came to be," Ferio replied before either of the Judges could. She folded her arms in front of her chest as she looked at the golden version of the All-Mother at the ceiling. "They used to take every Sendal off, but with more work and only two Judges, that is no longer possible."


    Her daughter then lightly cleared her throat. "There is a new Judge, but they are still in training. I think you saw them in my Dominion, Mother."


    "The one that is both Light and Dark?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly. She continued at the nod of her daughter. "Yes, I noticed them. Quite peculiar."


    Aperio cocked her head to the other side as she felt a small pressure against her aura, one that vanished as soon as she had directed her attention towards it. A moment later, almost as if her mana was flowing through the Court and liquefying the gold and silver, the inlays in the walls and ceiling started to glow with a slight silver-blue sheen.


    A closer inspection revealed that that was exactly what was happening. The previously still murals that adorned nearly every part of every wall in the [Court of Heaven] now started to move ever-so-slowly, acting out the scenes they depicted.


    The golden version of herself in the ceiling lazily beat her wings as she stared with ever-shifting eyes at any and all newcomers to the court. What Aperio had not expected was that a new presence entered her mind; one almost like her aura, but not quite the same. Focusing on it let her see the court through every depiction of herself. Creepy¡­


    Both Judges were practically vibrating with excitement, and the glow beneath their translucent skin increased a little. Almost like me, Aperio thought as she directed her eyes at her arm. She closed her hand into a fist, her muscles shifting beneath her skin which caused the glow ¡ª wherever it actually came from ¡ª to move with it. Like light on water¡­


    "Did you make this?" Aperio asked, removing her eyes from her arm to look at the two Judges. Her wings twitched slightly as she let her aura sweep through the room, and the urge to just leap upwards and fly was bigger than she would have thought. Maybe I can teach Caethya how to fly?


    She filed the idea away for later; right now she had to find a way that would let the Judges deal with someone far beyond their own strength without having the ability to abuse it.


    "We did," the Light Judge said. "You never honored us with your presence after its completion, so we were not certain if it would work."


    "You do realise that I was already more than capable of seeing the entire Court, yes?" Aperio inquired, trying not to focus too much on the view her depictions provided. And why the wings? Ferio said I did not have wings before¡­


    The Dark Judge cleared its throat ¡ª or at least made it sound like it did ¡ª before it spoke. "While we assumed you could, we were not certain. It was meant to tell the story of our people. The idea of giving you the ability to observe the court through it came later."


    "I think its a nice gesture," Caethya said, tearing her eyes from the larger-than-life Aperio at the ceiling. "Though, how did they manage to recreate your image so perfectly if you rarely came here?"


    "She has not changed much," Ferio said as she raised a brow at Aperio¡¯s attempt to rid herself of the slight itch that called her to fly by stretching her wings to their full length. "Except for the wings, height, and some more¡­substantiality, she looks the same. When she had a body, at least; Mother had not really been a fan of being in a body in the past.


    "This," her daughter continued, gesturing at the ceiling, "is what most people would see if she conjured up a projection of some sort. Especially here in court."


    "Her Grace told us she wished to appear as something mortals would know," the Light Judge said. "We could not ask for clarification as you left us shortly thereafter, but this is the form most mortals thought of when we asked them about the All-Mother."


    "Shockingly close," Aperio mumbled as she drew a little more heavily on her well, enjoying the by-now comforting warmth that spread through her body. "I appreciate the gesture," she added after a moment of silence, "but I did not come here to admire your home."


    "True, you did not," the Light Judge agreed, hesitating for a moment before it continued. "We are, however, not sure how we should help with the current matter, or if we are even capable of helping."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly. "You just had to bring me here," she said, taking an unneeded breath as she let her aura assert itself more fully than she had ever before.


    The ethereal glow beneath her skin became more pronounced as a slight sliver haze filled the air. A thought at the back of her mind ensured that Caethya and the Judges would suffer no harm from her aura and, for a brief moment, she considered extending the same protection towards her daughter. In the end, she decided against it. She can obviously fend for herself.


    "Tell me about your war," she said, directing her eyes at Ferio as she tried to understand how the Court was constructed. The power her voice now carried was an unexpected boon in that endeavour as the various enchantments hidden in the walls, and sometimes even nestled between the threads of reality itself, resonated with every word she spoke. "What happened while I was gone?"


    Her daughter did not answer the question immediately, instead reaching out to make sure she had heard correctly. Aperio scrunched her brows in irritation as she asked again, this time mentally, just like Ferio had.


    She needed a distraction while she tried to guide her mana into every nook and cranny of the [Court of Heaven]. As the System did not supply her with a helpful window that allowed her to do what she wished, Aperio had to find another way to influence this realm. And for some reason, that works best when I am distracted. Perhaps her old self still lingered deep in her subconsciousness. Old habits die hard, after all¡­


    "After you left," Ferio began, "nothing changed for a while. Diskrye continued to divvy up the worlds that could bear life but had no deities yet, and the Pantheon largely stuck to the rules.


    "Some ignored the rules as soon as your absence became more wildly known," she continued, keeping a wary eye on Aperio as well as the steadily increasing amount of silver fog in the air. "But they only did minor things, like settling on already inhabited worlds and the like."


    Her daughter hesitated for a moment, raising her arm before she sighed and lowered it again. "A century or so after you left, the Repens Nabu made their move, so to speak. They removed me from the Custodians, and spread their views on every world without a care. From what I know, they also tried ¡ª and probably succeeded ¡ª in damaging the System so it would not get in their way. How they did that I do not know."


    Aperio drew a bit more mana from her well, letting the warmth comfort her as she tried to not curse the Repens Nabu any more than she currently did. Might actually turn into a real curse if I continue¡­


    "I assume they are to blame for the rampant slavery that spread across Verenier and, presumably, the other worlds?" Aperio asked, narrowing her eyes as she felt a tingle run up her spine.


    She had been slowly unraveling the fabric of reality in sections of the Court in an attempt to better understand how it worked. Aperio knew how this realm worked, had a gut feeling on how she could influence it, but she wanted to be sure before she made any drastic changes.


    "They are," Ferio replied, looking at Aperio with a worried expression that the All-Mother did not quite understand. I''m calm, am I not?


    "Are you saying that they are also responsible for the people of Geshwen?" Caethya asked, stepping next to Aperio and running her hand along her wing before taking hold of Aperio''s own.


    "In a way they are," Ferio replied, raising a brow at Caethya''s involvement. "The main deity of that empire is Epemirial, and she makes no effort to hide what she wants to happen."


    "What does this have to do with the war?" Aperio interjected, her voice echoing through the halls with a little more force than she had intended. "I already know more about the atrocities on Verenier than I had ever wanted. What I wish to know is how the other worlds fare." Do I have to go and look myself?


    She knew, of course, that there was more happening on Vernier that she did not know about, but at the moment Aperio wanted to finally rid herself of some of the larger endeavors she had been continuously pushing away. Like dealing with the Repens Nabu...


    "Fine," Ferio said with a sigh. She let herself fall into a chair that appeared behind her and offered an apologetic smile to the Judges before turning her attention back to the All-Mother. "Promise me that you will control your anger, okay?"


    Aperio tilted her head with a light shake as she looked at her daughter. "What more could they have done?"


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 126: Ambivalence and Assorted Answers

    GamingWolf


    Looks like 2021 thought 2020 chaos wasn''t enough. Stay safe everyone.


    Aperio fixed her gaze on her daughter, offering Ferio her undivided attention as she repeated her question. "What did they do?"


    Her daughter hesitated for a moment longer before a table and a few couches appeared in the room. "Please, sit," she said, gesturing towards the nearest sofa. "It will take some time to explain."


    The All-Mother sighed as she sat herself down, spreading her wings and draping them over each end of the couch. Am I the only one that makes wing-friendly furniture?


    A small weight leaning against her caused Aperio to briefly look away from her daughter and sling an arm across Caethya''s waist. She wanted to lift her disciple into her lap and just hug her, but that was not appropriate at the moment. Offering her wing as part feathery embrace, part backrest as she did right now was the most she was comfortable with at the moment.


    Caethya responded in kind and gently brushed her hand over Aperio''s back, her touch a good distraction from what the All-Mother assumed would soon come. A thought darkened the room slightly as Aperio brought a bit of her Void into the Court. Just in case¡­


    The comfort her Void gave her was always appreciated, but when Ferio asked her to promise to not get angry ¡ª something she could not do ¡ª taking the small extra precaution could not hurt. Not that my Void really prevents me from being angry.


    The silence stretched onwards, and there seemed to be no answer forthcoming. Perhaps Ferio did not want to talk about what happened in the presence of the Judges or ¡ª something Aperio considered far less likely ¡ª she thought that it would reveal that Aperio forgot. If she was honest with herself, however, she did not really care if the Judges figured that out. At one point or another, people would figure it out anyway. The Repens Nabu probably already knows¡­


    "What did they do?" Aperio asked again, her voice only a little less calm than before. Why do I always have to repeat myself?


    "Have you encountered a Demon since your return?" Ferio asked.


    "I did," Aperio replied with a small nod. "Pesky thing. Mindlessly attacked me until I¡­ purified it." I guess that''s the best description.


    "Do you know why they exist?"


    "No." Didn''t really have the opportunity to question it at the time¡­ "But I have a guess. One I do not like."


    Ferio shifted a little, glancing at the two Judges who ¡ª to Aperio at least ¡ª looked as confused as mostly expressionless glowing figures could. "After you left, the Souls of the dead would not always pass on. Some would just sit, stuck between your Void and the realm of the living, doomed to slowly forget without a chance at a new life.


    "Some Necromancers," her daughter continued, "took it upon themselves to fix this ¡ª have been at it for almost a century now, actually. They bring their own Soul into the space between the realms and either bring the Souls they find back with them, or pass them on to the River."


    Ferio rubbed her neck, looking at Aperio. The All-Mother merely tilted her head and moved her free wing a little, asking her daughter to continue. She realized a moment later that her wing-gestures might not be as understood as easily as she had thought but, before she could say anything, Ferio seemed to have gotten the idea.


    "Not everyone thought of this as the crisis it was," her daughter said. "Some saw it as an opportunity to test their theories. After all, if the soul never comes back to your Void, it means that it''s still alive."


    "What did they do?" Aperio asked, her voice coming from every corner of the Court instead of merely her mouth. Weird.


    It had not felt any different. She had merely spoken like always, but letting her aura manifest itself a little more seemingly meant manifesting herself more strongly as well. An unwelcome reminder that she was not like the other people in the room.


    "Well," Ferio began, her voice growing a little quieter. "They tried to make the most loyal of followers, ones that would stay with them through every life." She paused, waiting for a reaction that did not come. "Everyone knows that the River of Souls cleanses a Soul of everything, but if they never get there?"


    "When it''s suddenly possible to have followers remain with you, life after life, the forbidden lure of modifying someone''s Soul suddenly starts to make sense," Caethya offered after Ferio simply let the question hang in the air.


    "To them it did, yes," Ferio said, keeping her eyes fixed on her mother. "But they didn''t exactly succeed with what they wanted. Instead, they created the first of what we now know as Demons."


    "How fitting," Aperio said in a mocking tone. "The mortals they wanted to force into eternal servitude turned into senseless beasts. Ones that only wish to die, almost as if they would rather forget what they are than serve them."


    "Doesn''t this make you angry?" Ferio asked, the confusion apparent in her voice when Aperio said nothing further.


    "It does," Aperio replied, her voice as neutral as she could manage. While her anger was not as pronounced as she thought it should be, there was still a slow rage that had started to bubble deep within her. "But I do not wish to subject anyone here to my anger." And I can hide it. A little.


    It also helped that the rage she felt at the actions of the Repens Nabu somehow felt removed at the moment. Almost as if allowing even a part of herself to exist outside her body dulled her emotions. But I still feel the same about Caethya. More attached, if anything¡­


    While that particular aspect of her emotional range was not truly connected with having a part of herself filling the Court in a misty form, the feelings did feel a little more pronounced now. Do I no longer care for mortals? Aperio tilted her head slightly at the thought. Ferio was correct that she should have been a lot angrier, would have been angrier if this had been revealed to her a few weeks prior. But now? Not so much.


    No, she decided with a small shake of her head. I obviously care. Why else would I ask myself this?


    "Aperio?" Caethya asked, sitting up a little straighter and placing her hand on the All-Mother''s cheek. "You still with us?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, shifting her eyes to look at her disciple''s face. A small smile spread across her lips for a brief moment before she schooled her expression again. "I merely thought of something."


    "Something that can help us?" Ferio asked, her expression losing the slight touch of worry Aperio had noticed before. "Or did you merely get lost in thought again?"


    "Mostly the latter," Aperio replied, removing Caethya''s hand from her cheek and taking it into her own instead. "But I am making progress on that too. Interacting with a Dominion like this is¡­ weird, however." At least I don''t see everything again.


    She still did not enjoy the idea that her normal state of being was an all-encompassing mass of practically nothing. Nothing and everything at once¡­ weird. Aperio had noticed a similarity between her formless self and the Judges, however.


    While they did have a body, inside they were just a cloud of mana. Relatively pure mana, but nonetheless just mana. But I am not really mana like they are¡­ Her natural state of being was most definitely something more. An almost imperceptible shake of her head dismissed the thought to the back of her mind as she lifted a wing to stall her daughter''s next words.


    "I have a question," Aperio said, lowering her wing again and pulling the other feathered limb a little tighter around Caethya. "Is the Repens Nabu responsible for The Rage?"


    "Partially, at least," Ferio replied after giving her mother an inspecting glance. "It is more of a side effect to their other experiments than something they consciously did."


    "That doesn''t make it better," Caethya mumbled from her position beneath Aperio''s wing. "I have seen what it does to people¡­ It''s horrible."


    "Having multiple souls fight over anything is never a pleasant thing," Ferio said with a sigh. "The Judges can attest to that."


    "We can, yes," the Dark Judge said. "A few of the newer deities lost their divinity, some even their lives, for knowingly triggering the condition in mortals that slighted them."


    Aperio squinted at the Judges, not quite sure how she felt about their ways of judgement. Not feeling angry is weird. Caethya seemed to think so too, as a bit of her disciple''s mana slowly started to dance around her. Is she worried?


    The All-Mother let a bit of her own mana flow around her disciple in reply. Caethya shivered slightly as the fog of Aperio''s mana brushed past her, causing the winged Goddess to stop her attempt at soothing and instead direct a mental query at Caethya, asking what was wrong.


    Apparently, her mana''s touch had felt almost like the time she had been formless; just a lot more intense. Because I am not spread out? Aperio wrapped her wing a little tighter still around Caethya, as well as letting go of her hand and instead slowly brushing over her arm. That did not cause Caethya to shiver. Instead, her disciple leaned herself against Aperio''s side ¡ª the small weight surprisingly heavy.


    "How often did that happen?" Aperio asked, a touch of her magic obscuring her disciple from the others in the room. Why Caethya had asked for that, Aperio was not quite sure. The slow heartbeat and slight red tint of the Demigoddess'' ears, coupled with the slight sparkling flare of her aura, gave her a good idea. I doubt that should be the reaction to my touch¡­


    "Only a handful of times over the centuries," the Light Judge said. "It is not exactly easy to trick Souls into a body that is already claimed, after all."


    "Do you know of The Veil?" Ferio quickly asked, before Aperio had a chance to question the Judges further. "Not as in the actual Veil, but the organization that shares the name."


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly as she thought. She barely knew about the Veil that separated the worlds, having only seen it briefly as she watched Adam arrive on Verenier. Maybe I should talk to him?


    An organisation that called itself ''The Veil'' was unknown to her, and the only things she could think of were the two mortals she had seen in the Caf¨¦ she had visited with Caethya. But they weren''t Gods, and this is most definitely a divine matter.


    "No," she finally replied, furrowing her brow as she felt a slight tingle run down her spine.


    Before she could speak her next words, her mind was flooded with knowledge not her own. The view she had gotten from the likenesses the Judges had spread across the Court did not compare what she saw now. She knew where every single thread that made up the [Court of Heaven] was; how they were intertwined to form the space every living being could see.


    The inlays that depicted her also seemed to have slightly morphed, becoming a bit more real, for a lack of a better term. They were still very much made of metal and magic, but to the All-Mother herself, they felt like another body she could inhabit. Just incredibly frail, compared to what I already have.


    Aperio closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reality itself expanding a little as she did. She knew she could sever her bond to this realm with but a thought. The only thing that connected her so directly to that which was here was her more fully manifested aura that had subsumed, through means she did not know, the ambient mana that had filled the space in the Court.


    "What happened?" the Light Judge asked, looking around the room just like its colleague. "The Court feels¡­ alive."


    "Because Mother is messing with it," Ferio said, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that Aperio had essentially made a physical space part of her being. "I''m surprised she allowed herself such control over this realm, though."


    Aperio opened her eyes again as she slowly let out the breath she had taken. The fog of her mana that had filled the realm cleared with it as her mind shifted through the new information her connection to the [Court of Heaven] supplied.


    "I merely did what felt right," the All-Mother said. And now I can hopefully figure something out. However her connection with the Court worked, it had taken another piece of her anger with it ¡ª made it feel even further removed while leaving her other feelings untouched.


    "Now, tell me of this Veil," Aperio said, furrowing her brows as she let her mind''s eye sweep over all the different runes that had been cleverly woven into the very fabric of this realm. "I have not heard of them before. Are they like the Repens Nabu?"


    "They share members, from what I know," Ferio said, shifting a little as she eyed her mother. "But they have vastly different goals.


    "While the Repens Nabu wants to replace you with one of their own," she continued, "the Veil wants to tear down the walls between worlds and have them all become one."


    "We think that is the case, at least," the Dark Judge quickly added. "It has been infuriatingly difficult to get actual evidence on the issue."


    "I see," Aperio mumbled, making a mental note that the slight glow beneath her skin had grown in intensity. "Anyone I would know that is in both groups?"


    Ferio hesitated for a moment, opening and closing her mouth a few times before she finally spoke. "Epemirial," she said. "She is the one I currently suspect leads The Veil, and she also holds a high position in the Repens Nabu, if she isn''t the de-facto leader of that as well."


    "I will find her when I am done here," Aperio said, her swordstaff appearing hovering behind her. "I am sure she has a thing or two to say." Before I kill her.


    While she might not feel the overwhelming anger that anything related to the defilement of Souls usually brought with it, Aperio was able to recall what had happened to the small army she had stopped from marching on Ebenlowe. She still very much wanted to punish the Goddess of Duty and Loss for it. Just like Vigil and Inanis, Aperio would strip her of her divinity and, if she also somehow stole some of her memories, let her meet the same fate. Or one worse.


    Aperio knew she could destroy a soul for good ¡ª had almost done so with both Vigil and Inanis ¡ª but, a part of her reviled the idea. Another part called for vengeance, and when it came to the deities that had wanted to erase her, Aperio was inclined to give in to that anger. Some crimes cannot be forgiven.


    Caethya''s arms wrapping around her midsection pulled Aperio from her thoughts, a touch of her mana flowing through her disciple to make sure she had not somehow missed something happening to her. She had not; Caethya was still as healthy as ever, if a little sleepy. A fact that was underlined by a quiet mumble coming from the Elf that asked Aperio to be calm and hold her. Last time she was exposed to my formless¡­ form, she also got tired, didn''t she?


    The All-Mother had no problem obliging to the request, gently lifting Caethya into her lap and wrapping both arms and wings around her as she pulled the Demigoddess closer to herself.


    Ferio merely raised an eyebrow at the action, quickly schooling her expression as Aperio''s swordstaff tilted slightly towards her. Neither of the Judges showed any reaction, either having a better control of themselves or not actually surprised at the happenings. Probably both.


    "Are there any mortals in The Veil?" Aperio asked, leaning back on the couch and letting it support her for the first time since her daughter had made it. Having her wings swept forward around Caethya helped, but it was still not very comfortable to have them pressed against something.


    Ferio took a moment to reply, seemingly not having expected the question. "Not that I know of. Most mortals do not even know of the Veil. Or other worlds, for that matter."


    "The ones that do know," the Dark Judge added, "are either [Veilwalkers] from one of the New Worlds, or in the higher echelons of one of the major religions."


    Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose, the motion eliciting a small grumble from Caethya. "I have an idea for how I can solve your issues," the All-Mother began, shifting her gaze to the Judges. "We will know if it works in a little while, after which I will take Ferio and pay a visit to Epemirial." Wherever she is hiding.


    "I am not sure if you will render a judgement onto her or not," Aperio continued, ignoring how her daughter stiffened at the mention of her coming along to see Epemirial. "But you should prepare nonetheless."


    I just want this to be over, Aperio thought to herself, having barely caught herself from saying the words aloud. A thought and a not insignificant drain on her well caused the [Court of Heaven] to distort slightly as reality did its best to follow her will. I hope this works.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 127: Restrictive Affection

    Aperio furrowed her brows as the [Court of Heaven] shifted almost imperceptibly. What she had intended was not a huge change, but she still had no idea how, exactly, she could make it happen.


    Reality itself, however, seemed quite ready to manifest her wish. Without the System, too¡­ She had not stopped watching the secluded space the System called its home, in hopes of figuring out how her will simply became reality if she tried hard enough. Sadly, her System did nothing in this instance to help her understand that part of herself. Maybe there is another System for this?


    She doubted that was the case, but then, not long ago Aperio had also thought she was nothing more than a powerless slave that for some reason could not break and become numb to the world as the others like her did.


    A more deliberate touch of her magic caused her daughter to stiffen slightly as Aperio directed the [Court of Heaven] to ignore anything a deity might want to do with their divine powers.


    Caethya shifted slightly between her arms and wings, undoubtedly noticing the change the All-Mother was weaving into reality. As a Demigoddess, she would be affected by anything that messed with the divine. The Court probably did not need help dealing with an aspiring Goddess, but Aperio wanted to create a level playing field for everyone who might stand accused before the Court. Something that required her to either strip or suppress the more godly aspects of those who came here.


    "This feels weird," Ferio mumbled, a small flickering flame appearing on her palm. "Like I am wearing a dress that''s way too small."


    So, how I feel every day? Aperio mused to herself. It was true that she felt constrained in her body, but it was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make. Especially now, she thought as she gently brushed a hand over Caethya''s arm, ignoring the quiet giggle the motion elicited.


    "Could you try to open a portal to your Dominion?" Aperio asked, fixing her eyes onto her daughter. She was not quite done yet, but the threads of reality had mostly finished rearranging themselves. The All-Mother did not recognise all of them, but most were clear in her mind.


    ''Divinity'' and ''Suppression'' were easy enough to understand, even for someone who did not know what the formation was supposed to do, but that was about the only part of the Court that would make sense to a casual observer. For one, Aperio was fairly sure that she was among the only people who could even see the [Court of Heaven] in enough detail to make out the runes woven out of the threads of reality. Maybe Laelia could¡­


    Her Scion had been able to make out some of the threads after she had received the title. Caethya might be able to see them as well, but her disciple had not shown much of a response to it. Maybe Maria can see them too?


    "I can''t," Ferio replied, most of the mana she had tried to use refusing to leave her body. Only a small trickle had been allowed to leave to invoke whatever spell she had wanted to use, and it had obviously not been enough to work her magic. "How did you do this? You didn''t do anything to me that I noticed."


    "I added a bit more to the Court itself," Aperio replied. She also informed her daughter about the fact that she did not truly know how it happened with a mental message.


    "Oh," Ferio said, hesitating for a moment. "Isn''t that dangerous?"


    "No," the All-Mother replied firmly, her voice carrying a bit more power than intended. While her anger had mostly mellowed out, being questioned by her own daughter in front of the Judges still managed to annoy her in just the wrong way. "It is not." I do most everything by just wanting to do it, after all.


    Her dress was a good example for that. Aperio had merely imagined the gown she wanted to wear, and it had appeared. She had later made more precise changes, sure, but the general idea and bulk of its creation had been made by forcing her will upon reality.


    "If you say so," her daughter relented; verbally, at least. She did make it clear that she did not fully trust the changes Aperio had made with a mental message of her own.


    "Is that why we were unable to interact with the [Court of Heaven]?" the Dark Judge asked. "It is fine now, and feels no different than before, but when you were working on it we briefly lost access."


    The All-Mother only offered a small shrug in reply, not really sure what she should say on the matter. She barely understood herself what she had done to achieve her goal. Why that process had locked out the Judges was not something she knew or ¡ª if she was honest with herself ¡ª actually cared about.


    Caethya shifted a little in Aperio''s lap, leaning a bit more heavily against the All-Mother as she let out a small sigh. Aperio tilted her head slightly at the slight difference she could feel in her disciple''s aura. It was not much, and probably only noticeable by her, but it was there. Because I exposed her to my formless self again? ¡­My essence?


    She was not quite sure what she should call it, but it was clear that her Demigoddess reacted to it, while everyone else did not. Her daughter was fine, and neither of the Judges had shown much of a reaction. And I even shielded her from it¡­ Maybe being close is enough?


    A quick check on herself showed nothing out of the ordinary. Caethya had not somehow stolen a bit of her mana for herself. Even if, somehow, her disciple had managed to do that, the All-Mother used more mana to strengthen her body in the blink of an eye than what was needed to effect the small change in Caethya''s aura.


    "I gather this takes care of your issue?" Aperio asked, shifting her gaze towards the two Judges. Something about her daughter''s behaviour was just rubbing her the wrong way ¡ª even if the cause of it was likely her own fault ¡ª and at the moment, the All-Mother yearned to leave in order to scream into the Void.


    "It should, yes," the Light Judge replied. "If it works on Ferio, it should work on the other deities." It hesitated for a moment, the glow beneath its translucent skin dimming slightly before it continued. "You have also said that you would bring Epemirial here personally, so even if it does not work as it should, you could keep her in check."


    "I said I might," Aperio corrected the Judge. "There are some transgressions that require immediate punishment of a magnitude the Court will never be able to deliver."


    "Of course," the Light Judge said, bowing its head slightly. "If I may, I would still ask you to be present for the first few cases. Not only would it ensure the safety of the Court, but it would also show that you still trust our judgements. Your absence had our allegiance called into question more than once."


    Aperio squinted at the Judge. She wanted to say that she did not trust them, but that did not seem to be the best option at the moment. Being there would show me how they proceed, at least. Not that I know how a Court should work¡­


    The ''legal'' process she had observed in the Empire barely deserved to be called such. It had invariably been little more than some random noble the Emperor had put in charge that day looking over the accusations before tossing that out the proverbial window and passing judgement based on how much they liked the accused. Usually, the peasants dragged before them were not well-liked. And they always needed more slaves.


    "Sure," Aperio said. "Ferio can call me when you need me." Not like distance matters. "But," she continued after a moment of silence, "realise that I will voice any concerns I have about your practice. I have no need for people who abuse their status." I just need to see that I don''t disappoint myself.


    "Of course," the Dark Judge replied, bowing again. "I would not dare to judge myself in front of your Grace."


    Aperio squinted at the pair of judges, a part of her enjoying how they shrunk a little under her gaze. Despite the fact that she was lounging in a couch with her arms and wings wrapped around Caethya, they still treated her with respect. A most ungodly view.


    She knew that there was a certain grace to everything she did ¡ª a result of countless years of training ¡ª but she doubted that it extended to hugging her disciple. Just wish I wouldn''t have to be so careful¡­


    Even the simple act of brushing her hand along Caethya''s arm required her to watch how much force she used. A normal mortal could not even shake her hand if she did not move it on her own. At least the floors have stopped creaking¡­ mainly because I am no longer visiting houses with wooden floors, though.


    "Alright," Aperio said, folding her wings behind her back as she leaned forward and letting go of Caethya so the Demigoddess could stand up. "We will take our leave, then."


    Her disciple still looked a bit tired. The change in her aura had become a little bit more pronounced as well, but Aperio could not find any indication that it would progress any further than it had. Maybe it''s just my proximity to her? Or that I like her?


    Caethya was the only person she had regular physical contact with and, when she considered all that touching her soul had done, touching her body might also have some side effects. Especially now that she is a Demigoddess.


    A portal manifested behind her, the black expanse beyond inviting her to step inside. She offered her hand to Caethya, who took it after stretching herself briefly. Neither the Judges nor Ferio seemed to mind the rather ungodly behaviour of Aperio and her disciple. Probably because I am the All-Mother.


    "How am I supposed to get back?" Ferio asked as Aperio turned to face the portal she had made. "I can''t enter my Dominion from here, as it stands."


    "How do normal people enter and leave the Court?" Aperio asked, looking over her shoulder at the Judges.


    "The gate," the Dark Judge said, pointing at an oversized pair of doors and making a pulling motion that caused them to open. Behind them was a gate that, though it was much more heavily ornamented, was almost like the one on her temple island.


    And another version of me, Aperio thought as she looked at the stone version of herself at the top of the gate. She was looming above two Celestials that made up the sides of the gate. They really like depicting me with them, don''t they?


    "There is your answer," Aperio said, pointing a wing at the Gate and stepping through the portal.


    As soon as Caethya followed, the portal closed and Aperio let herself fall forward onto the nothing to let out a scream into a pillow that had manifested itself in her hands.


    The entire meeting had drained her in a way that made little sense to her. Not much had happened, but Aperio still felt like she had just spent a century going through the fine print of some contract she had to sign.


    Her disciple crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her wing and, after a moment of hesitation, on the solid nothing on which Aperio was lying. "What happened?"


    "I don''t know," Aperio mumbled. "Maybe fixing a Dominion is more taxing than I thought."


    "I think it''s your relationship with Ferio," Caethya said. She carefully sat herself down next to the All-Mother and began to gently brush her hands on her Goddess'' wings. "You don''t seem to be on the best terms, but she is still your daughter."


    "But she wants more than I am ready to give," Aperio replied, turning onto her side to look at Caethya. "I do not know what I have done to her in the past. I know she is my daughter, but that''s about it.


    "I don''t feel comfortable telling her what I tell you," she continued, turning on her back but keeping a wing draped across her stomach so Caethya could continue to stroke it. "I barely know her, and I feel like she expects me to be the mother she did not have." I''m not ready to be a mother¡­


    "Maybe just start a little slower?" Caethya asked. "Meet her every now and then and do something together. No godly politics, or anything like that."


    "Maybe," Aperio mumbled before she stretched herself and let out a yawn. Being tired is weird.


    She had not felt tired until she had come here and laid down in her Void and, if she was honest with herself, she didn''t really want to sleep. The last time did not go well.


    "Perhaps sleeping would help," her disciple said, echoing the part of her mind that she was hesitant to listen to at the moment. Her eyes wandered over Aperio as she shifted on the nothing, trying to find a place that was comfortable.


    Before anything more could be said, Caethya seemed to have made the decision for them both as she laid herself down next to Aperio, carefully tugging at her wing so she could move it across her like a feathery blanket.


    Aperio obliged after a moment of confused silence, shifting slightly to wrap her arms around Caethya''s midsection and pulling her closer so she could burrow her face as best she could in her disciple''s hair.


    "You also need breaks," the Demigoddess in her arms mumbled sleepily, gently running her fingers over Aperio''s arm. "Try to get some rest. I''ll not go anywhere."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 128: The Next Step (And Some Art)

    GamingWolf


    Caethya shifted slightly in the embrace of her Goddess. While Aperio had seemingly managed to fall asleep, she could not say the same. Despite the All-Mother''s outward relaxed appearance, calm breaths and gentle embrace, Caethya was worried. How long have we been here?


    Aperio had been acting strange lately. Incoherent, almost. It was obvious that she wanted to be liked by her daughter but, just like she had said, Aperio did not actually know Ferio. That they had both seemingly ignored each other for months on end certainly did not help. And she doesn''t like me¡­


    It was clear as day to Caethya that the Goddess of Life and Light was not fond of the fact that she was with Aperio. Probably thinks I want to exploit her¡­ She obviously did not want to do that. By now she was certain that she was in love with the All-Mother and not merely interested, but Caethya also knew that she would have to wait a while before Aperio would be able to show her own feelings.


    "What has she been through?" the Elf mumbled to herself, removing her hand from Aperio''s arm and running it along the inside of her wing instead. So soft¡­


    Aperio tightened her hold on Caethya slightly, mumbling something the Elf did not understand but still somehow knew was good. The aura of her Goddess helped a lot with that. Even if she could not see her face or understand her words, Aperio would always show how she felt with her aura. Or, perhaps, through the blessing?


    She was not quite sure how it all worked, but she could feel what Aperio felt even without looking at her Goddess¡¯ aura. When the All-Mother got really angry, Caethya would even feel some anger herself. But she has been oddly calm lately. Almost too calm.


    The small metal armlet Aperio had acquired after going to meet Moria caught Caethya''s attention as it brushed against the exposed skin of her arm. She could feel the untold amounts of mana flowing within. It was soothing in a way, like lying by the beach and listening to the waves roll against the shore.


    Is that why she is so...  serene now? Caethya wondered. She tried shift a little in Aperio''s comfortably unyielding embrace, managing to shift herself just enough to get a better look at the armlet.


    It was made out of the same silvery metal as the armour that sometimes adorned her Goddess'' dress. Two feathers, their quills and tips carefully entwined, formed the delicate yet somehow sturdy shape. Did it always look like this? She could swear that she saw tiny flashes of blue out of the corner of her eye, ones that danced across the surface of the armlet, but whenever Caethya tried to actually focus on them, they seemed to disappear from view.


    What she had no trouble telling, however, was the age of the piece of jewellery. She did not know how she knew, but she did. It was absolutely ancient. Whenever Aperio had made it, it had likely been before anyone else actually existed. Maybe it contains the first universe she made?


    The idle thought was pushed away as soon as it had come, as everything she knew about the old Aperio painted her as anything but sentimental. She would not have kept something just because it was her first creation. And yet, the idea somehow called to Caethya; almost as if the armlet had noticed her thoughts and wanted her to pursue the matter. But then, did it always look like that?


    Caethya reached out, her fingers brushing across the metal surface and Aperio''s arm. The All-Mother shifted her wings slightly in response, unconsciously turning Caethya in her arms so that she was now face to face with her.


    The rapidly flicking eyes and expression of anguish were not present this time. A few errant strands of Aperio''s hair hung in front of her face, shifting gently with every motion of the All-Mother''s head.


    A small wiggle was all Caethya needed to free both of her arms, and the first thing she did was to brush the offending strands of hair out of Aperio''s face and place her hands on those sleeping cheeks. The All-Mother mumbled something that the Elf thought was her name, but was not quite sure. She still found herself smiling at the confused expression of her Goddess.


    Who knew the All-Mother needs some sleep every now and then? Caethya thought to herself. Perhaps this is because she lived a life as a mortal?


    The Demigoddess of Creation did not know how long she simply lay there, mulling over the recent behaviour of Aperio. Her musings came to an abrupt halt as the All-Mother''s eyes snapped open. Caethya was immediately caught up in a hug that was tight enough to warrant a tap on the arm, as well as a prayer to be a bit more gentle.


    "I''m sorry," Aperio mumbled, her voice somehow still echoing through the empty expanse of her Void. She looked at Caethya for a moment longer before she averted her gaze, a feat the Elf was not quite sure was possible for a normal mortal at this proximity. "I¡­ I dreamt that you left me."


    "I told you I would be here," Caethya said, trying to get Aperio to face her again. The All-Mother resisted a moment longer, and the thought that Aperio liked the idea of leaving had just enough time to cross her mind before she found herself pressed against her Goddess with enough force to kill any normal mortal.


    "Please don''t leave," Aperio mumbled, her voice still perfectly clear despite the fact that she was speaking into Caethya''s hair.


    The Demigoddess wrapped her arms around the All-Mother as best she could, gently stroking her back. She had known fairly early on that Aperio would need time, something that had only become clearer with each passing day.


    "I won''t," Caethya said, trying to keep her voice as clear and steady as she could while being embraced by Aperio as she was. "I knew what I was getting into, and I am here for it all. I''ll be happy to repeat that for you every day, if that is what you need."


    The All-Mother relaxed her embrace a little, holding Caethya in the soft embrace of her wings as she cupped her disciple''s face with her hands. Aperio simply looked at Caethya for a moment, her thumbs gently brushing over her cheeks as those intensely blue eyes darted left to right, seemingly trying to find something that only she could see.


    Neither of them spoke, Caethya content to give Aperio the time she needed to think. She offered her a small smile that caused the All-Mother¡¯s brows to furrow in thought ever-so-slightly. She could feel the indecision in her Goddess¡¯ aura; how she was on the verge of a decision but could not quite make it.


    The Demigoddess brushed her thumbs over Aperio¡¯s cheeks once more before removing her hands. She was about to speak but could not as but a moment later, Caethya found herself unable to move. She could feel herself blush and the tips of her ears turn red as Aperio leaned in close, giving her a gentle but all-too-brief peck on the lips.


    The All-Mother unconsciously bit her lip as she looked at the frozen Caethya in her arms. Was I wrong? Too fast? ¡­Too forceful? Questions without answers filled her mind as the Demigoddess of Creation remained perfectly still in her gentle embrace. Not gentle enough?


    She was about to let go to give Caethya some space when her disciple lifted her hand, motioning for her to wait. Aperio took a deep breath of the nothing that filled her Void, unable to suppress a small smile as Caethya did the same.


    "You don''t have to push yourself," her disciple said after another breath of the comforting nothing. "I know that you are conflicted and don''t know which of your feelings to trust."


    "Should I not have?" Aperio whispered, the shadows of her Void flowing closer as she attempted to hide herself a little. I knew it, I shouldn''t have!


    "No, no," Caethya said, briefly leaning closer to her Goddess before she seemingly thought better of the motion. "That is not what I meant. I liked what you did, but I know you had to push yourself to do it."


    The All-Mother let out a relieved sigh at the words. While she could feel Caethya reacting to the action she had taken, she knew full well that instinctive reactions were not to be entirely trusted. Her mortal body had reacted of its own accord when she had been raped, after all.


    "I felt like I had to do something," Aperio said, extending her arm to touch Caethya''s face but stopping halfway. "Like I had to somehow show you what I feel." Or you would leave anyway¡­


    Perhaps she should give voice to her doubts, but Caethya had just said she would not go. Aperio had no desire at the moment to test that resolve by telling her the darker concerns that always gnawed at her consciousness.


    Caethya gave Aperio a smile. "I already know what you feel," she said, taking the All-Mother''s hands into her own as best she could. "But, I appreciate the desire to make your feelings known. Just don''t push yourself to do something you don''t want to, simply because you feel obligated to do it, okay?"


    "I''ll try," the All-Mother replied with a small nod, frowning slightly as a few strands of her hair fell before her eyes. A touch of her magic moved them aside, the act eliciting a small giggle from Caethya that caused Aperio to tilt her head slightly. No hair obscured her vision this time as it was firmly held in place by her will.


    Caethya let out a content sigh and gave Aperio''s hands a gentle squeeze. "Feel better now?" she asked. "A bit less worried?"


    "A little, perhaps." She did feel oddly calm at the moment. More than the usual comfort her Void provided, at least. Is it because of Caethya? ¡­Or because of what I did?


    The kiss she had shared ¡ª however brief it may have been ¡ª had been something else for the All-Mother. She had experienced it all before, of course, but this one was the first she had given of her own accord to a person she had actual, if still slightly uncertain, feelings for.


    What Aperio was certain about, however, was that she did not want to leave Caethya if she could possibly avoid it. Is it selfish? The calm her disciple brought to the raging sea of her thoughts was something she found she was beginning to depend on; a path she could follow without feeling used, or abused.


    Sadly, there was still a part of her mind that questioned Caethya''s goals, that said that the reason she felt what she felt was because the Elf was simply a master manipulator; that her disciple was just waiting to stab her in the back and try to steal the power she had just recently reclaimed.


    Aperio let out a long sigh as she sat up, gently removing her wings from Caethya and stretching them before returning them to their folded position behind her back. "Why did I have to make a pantheon of idiots?"


    "I''d wager a guess that they weren''t idiots when you made them Gods," Caethya said, following her Goddess and righting herself. She smoothed out a few wrinkles in her dress, giggling slightly at Aperio who looked at the motion with a slight tilt to her head.


    "Your rediscovered comfort with magic, to the point that fixing your clothes with your hands is now a strange notion, is a good thing, no?"


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, looking at her own immaculate gown. I didn''t even think about it¡­ "Makes it harder to live amongst mortals, though¡­ I still wish to do that once I¡¯ve taken care of the Repens Nabu."


    "I''ll do my best to help when the time comes," Caethya said, hesitating for a moment before she continued. "But I guess that brings us to Epemirial, and what you are going to do with her once you¡¯ve found her."


    "That depends on what she has done," Aperio mumbled, mentally reprimanding herself for changing the topic. "I fear she has done worse than both Vigil and Inanis¡­ If I am correct, I will put her to rest for all eternity."


    Aperio did not like the idea of destroying a Soul, but now that she knew the River of Souls could be circumvented, she would not allow the continued existence of someone that wanted to make eternal enslavement a reality. Vigil and Inanis might already be somewhere again, plotting.


    She did not know how the River of Souls could be sidestepped on the path to being reborn, but discarding the possibility that those two deities still existed was not something the All-Mother was willing to do just yet.


    "That¡­" Caethya began, stopping herself as she furrowed her brows in thought. "Can you destroy a Soul? I guess you could, you made them after all. But do you really want to do that?"


    "I do not," Aperio replied. "But even the chance that they could somehow remember their past life is dangerous." The All-Mother paused as an idea crossed her mind; one that would help her in the long run, but was nearly as bad as destroying a Soul outright.


    There was nothing stopping her from marking a Soul. That way, she could figure out where it went if it did not enter the River like it should. But doing more is also only a step further¡­


    "I will cross that bridge when I get to it," Aperio finally said, her eyes wandering to the Souls that lazily floated through her Void. "I have to find her first."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 129: The Ties that Bind

    Aperio let out a sigh as she stood up, her feet solidly planted on the nothing that filled her Void. She had delayed again and again what she should have done a long while ago, but she wouldn''t do that now. Just need to figure out how to find Epemirial¡­


    She had an idea where to start the search, but that did not mean it would yield any desirable results. Aperio''s plan was quite simple: go to a temple of the Goddess of Duty and Loss and see if she could locate something that connected it to her Dominion, like Vigil had in his moon temple.


    "Are we leaving?" Caethya asked, crossing her legs as she remained sitting on the nothing. "Or did you just need to stretch?"


    "Leaving," Aperio sighed. "First to deal with Epemirial and then to help Moria with the [Ancestral Guard]." The All-Mother paused briefly, fixing her eyes on Caethya. "And then, hopefully, I can just spend some time with you. Without any obligations."


    Caethya smiled at her words. "I think you should visit Spicor. Even if you only look like an Elf now, you used to be one."


    "You want to introduce me to your family, don''t you?" Aperio said with slightly narrowed eyes. "Are you sure that''s a good idea?"


    While the All-Mother was not really concerned with the opinion of Caethya''s parents, she did not want her disciple to end what they had because the norms of Elven society did not condone their relationship. I really know nothing, don¡¯t I?


    The Demigoddess shrugged in reply. "We don''t have to tell them who you are right from the get-go. But even if we don''t, I doubt it will matter much. They even treated Mayeia like anyone else when I was invited to meet her."


    "They did?" Aperio asked, stretching her senses slightly at the same time to find a bigger temple devoted to Epemirial. "If they would treat me the same regardless, I would rather not hide who I am. I was also more worried about the fact that I am not a man. My knowledge on social norms is severely out of date."


    Caethya looked confused for a moment before she mouthed a silent "Oh" and gave her Goddess a nod. "Mother might be a bit miffed that I won''t get her grandchildren, but she still has my sister and two brothers for that. As for others? Some are against it, but most simply don''t care." She paused for a moment, seemingly unsure what to say. "Was it forbidden when you were a mortal?"


    "No," Aperio replied, brushing her hand over her dress. "It wasn''t forbidden, merely frowned upon if you were not a noble. Everyone who was not a slave was expected to have at least one child, however, no matter what they preferred. I did not have a choice in the matter."


    Her disciple froze at the words, her face pulling into a grimace. "I''m sorry," she said, lowering her head slightly. "Seeing you now makes me forget what had happened during your time as a mortal."


    "No need to apologise," the All-Mother said, a few wisps of mana dancing across her palm. "I''d rather not have you treat me like some delicate flower." Not when I can break anything with the slightest effort¡­


    Caethya eyed her for a moment longer before she gave a nod and moved to stand up. Aperio offered her hand and, once the Elf had taken it, effortlessly pulled Caethya to her feet.


    "So, what''s your plan for finding Epemirial?" her disciple asked, letting go of Aperio''s hand to fix her attire. "I doubt you want to go all cosmic horror cloud to find her."


    The All-Mother tilted her head at Caethya''s choice of words. "I planned on finding a temple of hers and seeing if it is connected to her Dominion as Vigil''s was."


    "The one on the moon?"


    "Yes."


    I''ll also have to figure out a way to check on every Soul and make sure they are fine, Aperio thought with a slight shake of her head. "Maybe I could ask Mayeia for help with that," she mumbled as a portal to her temple opened next to Caethya and herself.


    "Help with what?" her disciple asked, giving her Goddess a questioning look.


    Aperio hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should tell the Demigoddess more about the Soul dilemma. In the end, she decided that hiding things from Caethya would likely do more harm than good. "To try and figure out how to check every Soul for signs of tampering," she said.


    "Do you think Epemirial is stronger than Vigil?" Caethya asked as she stepped closer to Aperio, offering her hand.


    The All-Mother took the offer and gave a slight shrug with her wings. "I assume so," she said. "I am more worried that she has a weapon of my design that proves to be a bit more useful than the bow Inanis had."


    "But you still intend on facing her in her Dominion?" Caethya asked, following Aperio''s lead and stepping through the portal. "Isn''t there another way?"


    "I don''t plan on entering her Dominion," Aperio said. "The excursion to the [Court of Heaven] has taught me a few things. Most importantly, that I can manipulate any space if I try hard enough.


    "So," she continued after a moment, "I will either make her Dominion useless to her, or force it to throw her out. It''s just a matter of how long it will take me to do that." And if I can even find it by looking at a temple of hers. "So much to do¡­"


    Caethya gave her hand a squeeze. "Can''t you, like, slow down time while you try to solve the problem?"


    "No," Aperio replied, a thought closing the portal to her Void. Another thought greeted a very excited Roots who was losing a few more leaves from shaking its branches, covering the Goddess of Magic that sat at its base. "Even if I knew how to mess with time, I wouldn''t." That everything slows to a crawl when I truly focus is already creepy enough¡­


    It was like her mind was forcefully slowing itself down so she could interact with the world at a normal-feeling pace, instead of having to wait subjective days for a sentence to be spoken. Now if only thinking fast would also make me smarter¡­


    "Why?" Caethya asked. "Seems extraordinarily useful."


    "What would you think if you knew I had you relive a day a thousand times because I did not like a part of it?"


    "I would probably hate it," her disciple relented, averting her gaze. "Sometimes it still feels like you can slow down time."


    No, just the thinking speeds of the Creator of the universe, Aperio thought to herself as she offered a small, wing gesticulated, shrug. "You have to remember that I am not an Elf, no matter how I look."


    "We think faster than mortals," Mayeia said from her position by Roots. "Sometimes that makes it seem like we slowed down time. I''d think that would be even more extreme for the All-Mother."


    "You''ll experience it for yourself in time," Aperio added, offering her disciple a small smile. "Though you might not notice it until someone points it out." I did not really notice a change, after all. But I also wasn''t a normal mortal¡­


    "How long does it take to become a Goddess?" Caethya asked, wobbling slightly as Aperio twisted reality to bring them in front of Mayeia.


    The All-Mother had moved her hand behind her disciple''s back faster than the Elf could react, leaving her momentarily trying to grab the air where Aperio''s hand had just been before she realised what had happened. "A few centuries, I would guess."


    "It took me almost a thousand years," Mayeia replied. "And then a couple more to get any strength that was worthwhile. But taking the initial step is the hardest. Getting mortals to believe in you and offer you their support is not easy when there are already so many Gods to choose from.


    "Once they do, though," she continued, placing her pen on the desk next to her, "it is quite the experience. For a moment, you feel as if you could do anything, before the sudden influx snaps back to the steady drip it was previously."


    "Sounds like it''s designed to make you want more, and try to get it," Caethya said, glancing at her Goddess. "Aperio can also just make someone a God. How does that work?"


    The All-Mother shrugged in reply, this time spreading her wings slightly to show that she truly did not know. "We can ask Epemirial once I find her," she offered. While Aperio was fairly certain the Goddess of Duty and Loss would end up dead one way or another before she could get any information, it was still worth a try.


    "Perhaps asking Edisicio about the matter would bear more fruit," Roots rumbled. "Telling him that you have forgotten might not be what you wish to do, but the truth is already starting to bloom in his mind."


    "Maybe," Aperio admitted, focusing her senses on the Goddess of Magic. "I do have a favor to ask of you, Mayeia."


    "Oh? And what would that be?" their guest asked, shifting slightly under the All-Mother''s attention.


    "I merely want to see if I can trace your Dominion from your person."


    Mayeia blinked at the question, offering a hesitant nod after a moment. "Sure? How would you even do that, though?"


    "I do not know if it will work, but I assume you are connected to your Dominion like I am to my Void," Aperio said, removing her hand from Caethya''s back as she took a step forward.


    She let her aura manifest itself more fully, this time not shielding anyone but the mortals in her temple from its effects. It was not out of malice or neglect, but because she hoped that exposing people to it would make them a little more resilient. And, perhaps, speed up Caethya''s ascend to Godhood just a little.


    "If I can do this," Aperio said, letting her mana slowly seep into Mayeia''s own, "I hope I can also do it from a temple so I can track Epemirial. Or at least her Dominion."


    "Well, she will certainly know something¡¯s wrong," Mayeia said. "Whatever you are doing feels very weird. A bit like being healed, but without the actual healing part."


    "I guess it is kind of similar," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as she focused on Mayeia''s seed of divinity. It was quite unlike Natio''s. Stronger, for one, but also more connected to the Goddess'' soul. Almost as though Natio took a shortcut¡­


    She mentally took hold of the seed, trying to be as gentle as possible as Mayeia stiffened a little. There was a tiny thread that lead away from her Soul ¡ª joined the weave that made up the fabric of reality.


    Aperio had no trouble following it; the complex formations that made up reality distressingly easy for her to navigate. What she found at the end of the thread was not what she had expected, however.


    The All-Mother had thought ¡ª and hoped ¡ª it would lead to Mayeia''s Dominion which, in turn, would lead to her temples. That was not the case. What she found instead was a small nexus of sorts. Thousands of threads just like the one that came from Mayeia connected to it; a multitude of rune-engraved rings slowly revolving around the large ball of mana-charged threads.


    Are those other deities? Aperio asked herself as she inspected the space she found herself in. It felt familiar; like a space that existed between her Void and the System. A transitional space that somehow connected them both.


    She let a part of her mind wander along another thread she had chosen at random, careful to not place as much strain on it as she did on Mayeia''s. Perhaps they won''t notice it, then.


    Perhaps she should not have given in to her curiosity ¡ª should only have done what she came to do ¡ª but Aperio had to know where these other threads lead. Maybe they are her temples after all?


    The All-Mother shifted a bit more of her attention towards the space the nexus occupied. The tunnel Adam had traversed on his way to Verenier came to her mind, though it was not all that surprising. This space was outside the normal physical realms. Does Mayeia know about this?


    "Are you aware of your connection to what I assume are other deities?" Aperio asked, trying her best to let her voice ring with more power than necessary.


    The Goddess of Magic gave her a confused look and a small shake of her head. "No, I am not aware of any such connection."


    Aperio was about to reply when she reached the end of the thread she had been following and her senses spread into the world beyond. For a moment she was confused as the two views of different worlds collided in her mind.


    Verenier was practically overflowing with mana when she compared it to whatever other world a part of her mind was now on, but her assumption had been correct. The thread she had followed was connected to another deity. One that was currently staring ''at'' her as best as he could with an expression of what Aperio could only describe as terror on his face.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 130: Hello, God? It’s me, Aperio!

    Aperio furrowed her brow as she let her senses spread a little more through the space the horrified God occupied. It was not a Dominion as far as she could tell ¡ª the world beyond simply reacted too easily to her will to be one.


    She wanted to tell the God that he had nothing to fear, but the sparse mana in his surroundings and his apparent weakness made her hesitant.


    In the end, she came up with nothing better, and reached out as gently as she could to tell the God that he had nothing to fear. He grimaced slightly at her words and held his head, but also seemed to calm down a little. Because he knows I am not lying?


    Ferio had told her that people ¡ª especially deities ¡ª would know who she was. So far that had been true, but all the Gods she had met had been on Verenier, the world that was not only home to her mortal self but seemingly also to her old self.


    The world and God she was now inspecting through her aura were mostly unknown to her. There was something that she recognised, something she would have thought was merely part of Mayeia''s aura if she had not found this new God. Does that mean he is also a God of Magic?


    "How many Domains do you have, Mayeia?" she asked, devoting another part of her mind to slowly opening a portal to the new world she had found.


    "Only one that is fully realised," the Goddess of Magic replied. "My second one is still eluding me, but I think I am getting closer. Why?"


    "I found another God," Aperio replied, an unneeded wave of her hand causing reality to shift to show Mayeia and Caethya what she was seeing. Both of them looked at her projection for a moment before turning to her.


    "Looks a little weird," Caethya said, rubbing her eyes before she returned her gaze to the projection. "Almost like you are forcing something to be where it is not supposed to be."


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly in thought. "I merely wanted to show you what I am sensing. It will be a little while longer before I am done opening a portal there." Don''t want to accidentally merge two worlds or something like that.


    "I guess what I see with my aura does not translate that well to a visual?" Aperio wondered out loud, trying to make the image clearer while being truly able to differentiate the two. In hindsight, it was a surprise Caethya and Mayeia could make sense of it at all as Aperio had not tried to actually change what her aura was sensing. Good thing I can see with my aura¡­


    "It''s good enough," Mayeia said. "But, did you say you would open a portal to the other God¡¯s world? Just like that?"


    "Yes?" Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. "He looked terrified when he noticed my presence; seeing that I am an actual person should help better than just telling him I mean no harm."


    "I am more surprised by the fact that you can do that so simply," Mayeia said, leaning herself against Roots as she let out a breath. "Should probably not be, though. You are the All-Mother after all."


    "It is not even that hard or mana intensive," Aperio said, spreading her wing slightly to point it at her disciple. "Caethya has more than enough to do it. All you need to be able to do is see the threads and then manipulate them slightly."


    The Goddess of Magic laughed briefly at her words before she let out a long sigh. "You make it sound like that''s something I can just learn how to do, when you are the only one I have ever heard talking about them.


    "To most of us," Mayeia continued, "reality is not as malleable and transparent. We have to abide by the laws you ignore."


    "But you can learn it," Aperio mumbled. "Caethya and Laelia are already making the first steps. Yes, they have both been blessed, but Laelia has not been affected by it like Caethya. She can just see them." Come to think of it, Maria can probably see them too.


    "That is still a blessing from you," Caethya said, moving a little bit closer to the All-Mother. "Have you ever seen someone who was able to manipulate the threads without having been blessed by you?"


    "No," Aperio replied quietly, shaking her head before continuing in a normal voice. "But, the deities that carry a seed of my mana and not a System-generated seed cannot see them either. At least, I have not found one that appeared as though they could."


    A thought informed the new God of her intent to visit and to not be scared as she twisted reality apart to open a portal.


    So much for no distractions¡­ While she had told herself that, she could not just let the opportunity to visit another world slip. Especially not when she had unwittingly scared a random God by basically hijacking the connection to their Domain. And, perhaps, this will help me understand how to go to other worlds at will¡­


    "Does anyone want to join me?" Aperio asked, gesturing at the portal that had formed next to her. "I found nothing dangerous on the other side. It just has less mana than Verenier."


    "Every world has less mana than Verenier," Mayeia remarked. "Some of the stronger mortals from here could masquerade as Gods on some worlds."


    "Is that why there are so many deities here?"


    "It is one of the reasons for Gods to take root here," Roots-Beneath-All rumbled in reply, its branches shaking slightly. "This world has also always been your home, a fact that caused many deities to flock here." It paused briefly, its leaves rustling in an unseen wind. "Some assume that you hid something here that would give them more power, while others think Verenier is the source of your strength.


    "I know the latter to not be true," Roots continued, the tree somehow managing to sound smug without a change to its voice. "My seed existed before this world, and the All-Mother was just as strong before its creation as after."


    "Does it matter?" Aperio asked, taking a step towards the portal she had made. Caethya was quick to follow, causing the All-Mother to direct her words at Mayeia who still had not moved from her spot by Roots. "If you wish to join me, you are free to do so."


    "I think I''ll stay," the Goddess of Magic replied with a small smile. "I might go and check on Meherisha. Leaving the [Ancestral Guard] like that took quite the toll on her."


    The All-Mother blinked. She had forgotten about the Beastkin she ''rescued'' from the [Ancestral Guard]. Another thing that I need to take care of. She did not know what the other two Keepers did, but Aperio was not willing to trust them over Moria. The Beastkin had been with her through her mortal life ¡ª had been chosen by Aperio to accompany her journey into mortality. And she was a better mother than my actual one.


    "I hope it was not too bad for her?" Aperio asked. "I¡­ am not sure what else I should do for her."


    "Helping her fix the Guard would probably help," Mayeia replied, turning back to her notes. "She seemed quite attached."


    The All-Mother sighed. "I''ll talk to her after I have dealt with Epemirial and this," she said, gesturing towards the portal before mumbling her next words. "I just want some peace and quiet."


    "Are you sure you want to meet a new God like this?" Caethya asked, stepping up next to Aperio and brushing her hand past her wings to place it on her back. "You don''t have to."


    The All-Mother eyed the portal she had made, a pang of shame surfacing in her mind. Despite what she had told herself, she was still delaying her encounter with Epemirial. It wasn''t like this one had been done on purpose ¡ª Aperio had discovered it while trying to figure out how to track the Goddess of Duty and Loss, after all ¡ª but not dealing with the issue at hand like she had promised herself still felt a little wrong.


    "I''ve already done this much, might as well see it through till the end." She offered a small shrug. "Perhaps it will even help me find out how to track Epemirial."


    She did not give Caethya or Mayeia the chance to object as she stepped into the portal, making sure she did not drag her disciple along if she did not want to come. Luckily, the Demigoddess did not move from her side and stepped through the portal as surely as if it was just another door.


    Aperio had expected something ¡ª a brief moment of vertigo or some view behind the fabric of reality ¡ª but that did not happen. Instead it had been disappointingly normal: like any other portal she had traversed before, one moment she was on her temple grounds and the next she stood in front of a practically shivering God inside a rather nondescript church.


    He looked like a Human; perhaps a bit old for a God with his white hair and beard. Like a wizard from a book. For reasons unknown, the authors of various fictions she had read during her time as a slave had seen it fit to portray wizards as elderly men with long beards. Even wears a robe.


    "Hello," the All-Mother said, trying to keep the power of her voice as low as she could. The wooden floor creaked for a moment as she took a step forward before the touch of a fraction of her mana seeped into the ground to fix the issue.


    "We mean you no harm," Aperio continued, trying to let her aura soothe the God as Ferio had done to her. "I just happened to stumble across you while searching for something. I did not intend to scare you with my presence."


    As no reply came, the All-Mother mentally slapped herself. Why would he speak an old language from Verenier? As far as she knew, it was not some sort of universal language that all Gods of every world used.


    Luck seemed to be on Aperio''s side, however, as the God spoke. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice heavily accented but, considering his elevated heartbeat and the distress omnipresent in his aura, surprisingly calm.


    The resident All-Mother, she thought to herself before she inclined her head slightly and spoke. "Aperio. Though, you will likely better know me as the All-Mother or the Creator.


    "This," she continued, gesturing first with her wing and then her hand at Caethya, "is my disciple, Caethya."


    The Demigoddess in question gave a curtsy that caused Aperio to briefly raise a brow. Caethya had not really behaved like a noblewoman ever since she had met her, but what she had just performed looked like it had been drilled into her from a young age. Like me.


    Caethya seemed to notice her confusion, offering her a quick prayer that informed her that she did know everything required to dine with a King. Apparently, it was something she had learned in preparation for meeting Mayeia. Well, that wasn''t needed.


    "I-I am honored," the God stuttered, bowing stiffly. "What can this humble Soul do for you?"


    "You can start by acting normally." Aperio sighed. "I have only come because I wanted to make sure I did not cause too much trouble and, perhaps, take a look at your world. I would also like to know your name."


    "I do not have a name," he replied. "My people call me God, or Magic, in different tongues across the world."


    Aperio tilted her head at his words, focusing on him. "May I?" she asked, letting her aura slowly push away his own.


    He had barely given her a nod in reply when Aperio was already looking at his Soul and the clearly System-given seed of his divinity. But that means he has to have been a mortal before. "Are you sure? Can you not remember a time before you were a God?"


    "Should I?" he asked, the fear and anxiety slowly but surely fading from his aura as Aperio continued to look for anything that might be wrong.


    "Yes," Aperio replied, hesitating briefly before she moved to look at his soul. "You should."


    She furrowed her brow as she carefully turned his soul in her mental grasp. It did not have runes engraved on it as she had feared, but that only meant that the most disgusting way of changing someone had not been used. A stronger God can probably still make you forget¡­


    "There''s always another thing, isn''t there," the All-Mother mumbled to herself as she withdrew her senses from the new God. A thought smoothed out her dress as she let her aura manifest itself a little more fully to better see the world around her. If she could not find a hint as to what had happened within the God themselves, she hoped that she would find one in his world.


    And if that doesn''t work, she thought, I am sure I will find something with Epemirial.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 131: A World of Problems

    GamingWolf


    "How long have you been in charge of this world?" Caethya asked, taking a step closer to the nameless God. Aperio only half listened to the words, furrowing her brow as she drew more heavily on her well and let her aura spread further across the planet.


    The God hesitated for a moment, eyeing Caethya before he looked back at Aperio. "I do not know exactly, but my first memories are from two or three millennia ago. My people had built a large shrine to pray for me, so I answered."


    "So you came to be because your people needed a God?" her disciple asked, her eyes shifting towards Aperio. "How would that even work?"


    "Perhaps the System determined this world needed a deity to supervise it, but none of the mortals living on it were suited?" Aperio guessed, tilting her head slightly as she found what she could only describe as a large rune embedded into the planet itself.


    Pulling her senses away from the world and looking at it from space revealed a sight she had not expected to find. "Do you know what the runes on your world do?" she asked, the question of how the God had even come to be temporarily forgotten.


    "The Sacred Symbols, you mean?" he asked, gesturing towards the floor which had ¡ª as far as Aperio could tell ¡ª a purely ornamental rune engraved in it. After the All-Mother gave him a nod, he continued. "Yes, I am aware of their presence. They guide the mana of the world so it does not hurt my people. Your own messenger told me that."


    "What else did this¡­ messenger say?" Aperio asked, squinting at the God. Something''s definitely not right.


    The runes she had found, coupled with the fact that the God had seemingly just appeared out of nowhere, had made Aperio suspicious already, but hearing that a messenger ¡ª something she most assuredly did not have ¡ª had talked to the God and told him something about the runes on his world, sealed the deal.


    A thought brought a bit of her Void into physical reality, darkening the skies above. Aperio drew more mana from her well, letting her aura flow freely around the world she found herself on while making sure that she would not harm the mortals in the process.


    "Not much," the God said, taking a step away from Aperio. He hesitated for a moment, and when he spoke again there was a slight but noticeable shake to his voice. "What are you doing?"


    "I am going to find out what the runes do," the All-Mother replied as she directed her mana into the runes at every location that had no mortals present. "I do not have messengers, and neither does a world require runes to guide mana. It does that by itself."


    "I did not know¡­"


    "It''s okay," Caethya said. She stepped between the God and Aperio, raising her hands slightly. "What can you tell me about this ''messenger''?"


    "He is a God himself," the nameless God replied, shifting his weight from one leg to another as his eyes jumped between Caethya and Aperio. "Stronger than I am ¡ª I thought only those who serve the Creator would be stronger than me¡­"


    "There are many who are stronger than you," Aperio said. Wisps of her mana floated around her, and the ground beneath her feet glowed in silver blue light as the only thing keeping it from breaking apart was her will. "This world seems stripped of its mana."


    She spread her arms and wings, a motion that was not needed but felt right to do nonetheless. In response to her gesture, her mana rushed through the very earth of the planet, following lines she could not see, but sense ¡ª connecting all the runes into a planet-wide formation.


    The anger that had been distant ¡ª absent, even ¡ª for the past while started to surface in her mind as she slowly pieced together what the fake messenger had done. Siphon, Direct, Tunnel¡­ The runes themselves were simple, not as precise as the ones her old self or the System used; easier to read, in a way.


    Their legibility did nothing to change their purpose, one that only got worse as she found a second formation at the heart of the first that spanned the world.At the heart of the second was a rune ¡ª as perfectly drawn as any other iteration she had seen of it ¡ª that almost caused her to erase the entire formation from existence right then and there. Soul¡­


    Aperio ignored the words her disciple exchanged with the nameless God as she let more of her Void flow into the physical realm. The unnatural darkness would doubtlessly scare the mortals below, but she needed her Void to fix what she feared she would find. And to remain calm.


    She wanted to blame Epemirial for what she found here. The formations and practice reminded her too much of the one she had seen the noble channel to create undead from his small army.


    The All-Mother took a deep breath of the inky black that surrounded her, devoting a part of her mind to ensuring her surging mana would not injure anyone on the world.


    A cloud of incorporeal black rolled from her lips as she let out the physical nothing she had taken in. The silver-blue light of her mana shone brighter and the ethereal glow beneath her skin intensified as Aperio began to dismantle the runes as carefully as she could. Having something siphon the mana and Souls of a world was not something she tolerated.


    Carefully deconstructing the runes and the formation it formed was a lot harder than simply ripping it from reality, but Aperio was not sure what would happen if she simply willed the offending runes to stop existing. This way, she could keep a metaphorical eye on the mortals that called this world their home as well as their God.


    How exactly the mana was directed elsewhere, Aperio did not know. She could not feel a flow that somehow went somewhere else; mana simply flowed through the formation and powered it. That did not use it up, as mana did not diminish after performing what it was ordered to do, and yet it seemed to just¡­ disappear from the world without a trace.


    Her own mana, despite being technically used in the formation, did not vanish like the ambient mana did. It stayed in her control like it always had, slowly breaking the runes and the paths that connected them by being just a little too much for them to bear.


    The Souls, on the other hand, were a different matter. They did leave a trail, albeit a small one, but it was something she could track, at least. It was just that there weren''t many Souls that actually left, as the faint trail she could sense likely stemmed from one that had left the world a long while ago. Does it check for something?


    Aperio could not find anything obvious in the runes, most of the ones she could understand not much use in figuring out anything about Souls. Most of what they were supposed to do was warding the actual passage of Souls against tampering. More tampering, that is.


    Another, somewhat more forceful, push of her mind caused the last of the connections between the runes to crumble. There was no explosion of mana across the world or even any backlash that Aperio could feel. The mana that had been flowing between the runes simply dispersed into the surroundings.


    What did change, however, was the arrival of someone new. Someone stronger than the nameless God.


    Aperio had not paid much attention to the conversation between the local God and her disciple, but the description the former had given for the supposed messenger had stuck in her mind.


    A Human with brown hair and eyes. Fairly unassuming, if it weren''t for the pair of bat-like wings that sprouted from his back. More people need wings, Aperio thought to herself as she focused on the newly arrived God.


    He paused mid-air as the All-Mother''s mana flowed around him, looking around and trying to spot who was working the magic he could likely feel.


    Miesto | [Messenger of the Veil] | Level: Excluded (Deity)


    That''s new, Aperio thought to herself as a small flex of her mental muscles teleported the newly arrived God in front of her.


    "Greetings," she said, letting the darkness of her Void recede a little now that she had finished what she had wanted to do. "Why do you use my name in vain?"


    She might not have been as angry as she would have been in the past, but at the moment Aperio had to exercise a lot more control than usual to avoid killing the God that had used her name to set up what Aperio could only call a Soul harvesting operation ¡ª likely one of many.


    "Miesto," the nameless God mumbled. He took a step back, trying to distance himself a little more from Aperio and the now-struggling messenger.


    "Is that the one?" Caethya asked as she, unlike the God of this world, moved closer to her Goddess. "The one that tricked you?"


    The nameless God just gave a shallow nod in reply, seemingly unwilling to speak. Aperio did not blame him. He had just learned that he had been lied to; had been used. Not something that necessarily made one talkative. Or is he still trying to figure out which one of us told him the truth?


    In the end it mattered little what the nameless God thought. Aperio had come to check on him, yes, but the main incentive had been the travel to other worlds. And the fact that it was a distraction.


    "Silence does not win you any favours," Aperio said, an unneeded wave of her hand bringing Miesto closer to her. "Why did you take Souls from this world? Where did you take them?"


    The God struggled against her grasp, trying to use his magic to break free. It was useless, of course. Whatever magic he tried to use simply failed to manifest in the world.


    At his continued silence, Aperio pushed her senses into the [Messenger of the Veil], trying to see if there was anything amiss. Much to her surprise, she found something wrong. Very wrong.


    The mana that should have been flowing out from his Soul was doing the exact opposite, seemingly at his behest. Miesto simply stared at the All-Mother as more and more mana flowed into his Soul until tiny cracks started to form on it.


    His eyes widened as Aperio''s hand buried itself in his chest, moving past his heart and through the threads of reality to grab hold of his Soul. Any bit of her mana that would usually flow through the hand that touched his soul was carefully set aside. Don''t want this guy to be blessed.


    Miesto''s body fell to the ground as Aperio withdrew her hand; the slightly cracked marble that was his Soul was firmly in her grasp. Would he have really ended his existence?


    "Why do you do that?!" Caethya asked in a hushed voice, grabbing hold of the arm that held the dimly glowing orb. "Why would you just rip out his Soul?!"


    "He was trying to kill himself," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as her eyes wandered to the Soul in her hand. "¡­Should I not have?"


    It was the only thing she could think of that would stop him from destroying his own Soul ¡ª an act Aperio was certain he did not know the consequences of.


    "He tried to kill himself?" Caethya asked, looking at Aperio. "How?"


    "He was pulling more mana into his Soul than it could handle," she replied, gesturing towards the cracks with her free hand. "If I did not do anything, it would have broken¡­"


    The idea of a destroyed Soul still did not sit right with her, but the idea of someone besides herself doing that was even worse. Selfish, is it not? Did she, just because she made them, have the right to not let a Soul destroy itself? Was she truly saving this one from itself? Or was she condemning it to another lifetime it did not want?


    Aperio did not know if a Soul thought on its own. It certainly did not tend to remember once it wandered through the River of Souls in her Void. But then, she was still herself even after forgetting essentially everything she ever knew. And Moria does not forget.


    Her disciple let go of her arm, rubbing the bridge of her nose instead. "How are we supposed to find out why he pretended to be a messenger of yours now? Or did you not want to know?"


    "I already know what he did," Aperio replied, after a moment. Despite what she had done, what she had figured out, she still felt awfully calm. Holding a Soul was definitely not normal; neither was finding a planet-wide formation that siphoned mana and the occasional Soul to a place she could not reliably find.


    "The runes on the planet channelled mana and even some Souls away from this world," she continued, letting go of the Soul she still held. Her fingers tingled as her mana flowed back into her hand, causing her to continuously open and close it, but her eyes were fixed on the Soul that now simply floated in the air. "I do not know where yet, but I have an idea how to change that."


    "The Soul?" her disciple asked, glancing at the hovering, fist-sized marble. "Are you sure?"


    "Sure? No. But it is the best lead I have to whoever is actually behind this." She gestured to the Soul that still floated in space before her. "This one was a [Messenger of the Veil]. Another organization Epemirial is involved in."


    Now we just have to see if their Souls really go somewhere else, Aperio thought. Then, as she felt a tiny tendril of mana reaching out for Miesto''s Soul, her eyes narrowed. Guess I will find out sooner than expected.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 132: The Abomination

    Following the tendril of mana that wanted to drag Miesto''s Soul away was a trivial task. A hand bushing past her wings and resting in the small of her back caused Aperio to delegate the tracing of whatever magic pulled on the Soul to the back of her mind.


    "Yes?" she inquired, tilting her head slightly as she looked at Caethya.


    Her disciple¡¯s eyes were filled with concern as they flicked left to right, scanning her Goddess'' face for anything out of the ordinary. "Are you sure everything is alright? You are¡­ unnaturally calm. Cold."


    The All-Mother cocked her head to the other side. She was calm, yes, but it did not feel wrong. Certainly better than being angry ¡ª practically unhinged ¡ª at what had happened, and breaking more in the process of seeking revenge.


    "Would you rather I give in to my anger and kill everyone I will find on the other side?" she asked, a portal slowly starting to form beside her.


    A thought placed Miesto''s Soul into her Void, having it join the countless others in the River so it might be washed clean of the sins he had committed in this life. Hopefully the next one will be better.


    Aperio''s wings twitched slightly as Caethya moved around her and wrapped her other arm around her midsection as well. "Just because you don''t show your anger doesn''t mean it''s not there," she said, looking up at her Goddess. "Remember? I know how you feel. At least a little."


    "But I don''t feel angry," Aperio said, a touch of her magic making sure the nameless God could no longer hear their conversation. "How can you know how I feel when I''m not even experiencing it myself?"


    Caethya hesitated for a moment before she lowered her eyes, averting her gaze. "I don''t know¡­ I just know that something is wrong." She took a deep breath, moving her hands to Aperio''s sides as she looked up again. "Can you do me a favour?"


    The All-Mother blinked at the words but gave a nod nonetheless. Whatever favour Caethya would ask of her would likely be one she was willing to fulfill ¡ª there were only a couple of things she would not do for her¡­disciple...after all.


    "Please, let me try to talk to the people on the other side first." Caethya said. "I refuse to believe that all of them knew what they were doing, especially now that I know what happened here." She hesitated for a moment, gripping the fabric of Aperio''s dress a little tighter before she continued in a whisper. "I don''t want you to have to kill them all."


    Aperio wrapped her arms and wings around Caethya, pulling the Elf into her embrace. She brushed her hand over her disciple¡¯s back, trying to comfort her. The All-Mother did not quite understand why Caethya was concerned about death now, but if her disciple wanted to offer them a chance, she was willing to let them have it.


    "You can talk to them," she said, trying to let the mana that accompanied every word she spoke convey a bit of the calm she felt. "Just don''t hope for too much. People are more wicked than you think.


    "I am also not some delicate flower that needs protecting," Aperio continued after a moment, ending the embrace and holding Caethya at almost arm¡¯s length. "I have no issue doing what needs to be done."


    The Demigoddess gave her a sad smile. "No, you don''t," she said. "But I don''t want you to have to deal with the knowledge that you killed them all. There are other ways to deal with this issue."


    "I doubt that," Aperio said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Anyone who knowingly abuses Souls will suffer the consequences of their actions."


    Caethya sighed. "Let me put it this way. Would you enjoy watching me slaughter a room full of people like it was nothing?"


    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the question. If she was honest with herself, she likely wouldn''t ¡ª even if life itself held surprisingly little meaning to her. That wasn''t a recent development, either. As a slave, she had seen more than enough executions and murders to render the experience duller than the mundane. None of it had ever truly bothered her, and later on she merely found herself envying the dead. Now, she knew that death was not truly the end. Just a new beginning.


    "No¡­" she said quietly. "However, I do not know why. If they deserve to die, they should. But the thought of you doing that just seems¡­ wrong, somehow."


    "And that''s how I feel with you," Caethya said, standing on her toes to more properly poke a finger at Aperio''s chest. "I know full well that you can do it ¡ª and that your judgement is scarily accurate ¡ª but I would like to believe that not everyone is a raging arsehole."


    "You will be disappointed," Aperio said, letting the magic that had kept their conversation private dissolve, and faced the nameless God.


    "I have found something that needs my attention," the All-Mother said, pointing a wing at the portal as her hands were still wrapped around Caethya. "I apologise for appearing on such short notice, but recently, things have been a bit disorderly and it needs to be addressed."


    The God merely gave a nod, too busy making sure he never looked at the hugging women directly. Aperio squinted at him as she gently wrapped her wings around Caethya as well, not sure if he was being polite or if he had something against the display of their affection.


    "It''s fine," Caethya said, moving to Aperio''s side once she had gently nudged the All-Mother''s arms and wings aside. "He''s just trying to be respectful, right?"


    "Y-Yes," the God stammered. "My people usually do not show their¡­ affection outside their own home."


    "Your rule?" Aperio asked with, perhaps, a bit too much power in her voice.


    The nameless God shook his head vigorously. "No, it''s just what most of them prefer." He hesitated for a moment before he lowered himself into a chair that appeared behind him. "They mostly manage themselves," he said. "I only step in if their actions would plunge the world into chaos."


    "Good," Aperio said, taking her eyes off of the God and stepping through the portal. "Keep it that way."


    The other side of the portal was not what Aperio had expected. No gilded halls, no guards expecting her arrival, just a giant cave full of various crystals arranged in what she guessed were deliberate formations. Filled with mana¡­


    It was easier to feel here than on Verenier, but it felt off somehow. Like it did not belong here. The answer as to why that was the case was obvious, and Aperio had no doubt that there was more than the one world that was suffering from having its mana siphoned off. The purpose of the collection of magical energies, however, remained unclear.


    "The mana here makes my skin itch," Caethya said, rubbing her arms as she tried to hide under Aperio''s wing. "Feels so¡­ wrong."


    "Because it is," Aperio said. She let her aura expand again ¡ª just like she had on the nameless God''s World ¡ª taking in everything her senses revealed to her.


    It required little more than a thought to command the abundance of mana that filled this realm, the energy almost eager to serve her will over what it was doing before. There was, however, another presence, one that tried to pull the mana from Aperio''s mental grasp. A fruitless endeavour, but one that piqued her interest regardless. Wouldn''t usually even notice something like that.


    She took a step forward, reality twisting itself further apart to bring them directly in front of the presence she had felt. Seeing it with her own eyes and not only her aura was something she felt was needed in this situation.


    Gyesfal | [The Abomination] | Level: Excluded (Preliminary Classification: s???????????l??? ???k????????n??????g??l??????m????r??????t???)


    Classification error: Failed to apply specified bounds.


    Fallback: Unavailable. Action required.


    "No shit," Aperio mumbled, mentally dismissing the System notifications.


    The being in front of her was nothing she had ever seen or heard of before. The exception, perhaps, lay in tales of Demons. It was large. Too large. The cave she and Caethya found themselves in was easily dwarfing the one Fel¡¯Erreyth had resided in, and the writhing mass of fleshy tentacles that was Gyesfal took up most of the space.


    A thought wrapped her disciple in more of her mana than Aperio had ever used before in the protection of another. Just in case. She wanted to send Caethya away, but she knew that the Elf would not accept that ¡ª would perhaps try to find a way back.


    The mass of flesh before them moved, then, its slimy appendages twitching as countless sets of eyes opened along their length; all focusing on Aperio.


    "Who are you?" Gyesfal asked, its voice tugging ever-so-slightly at the threads of reality as it rippled through space.


    Crude, Aperio thought with a frown. The being was stronger than any other God she had encountered before, but it seemed unable to properly wield its might.


    "Aperio," she eventually replied, making sure her voice carried a bit more power than Gyesfal''s own. She also took a step forward and, reconsidering the situation at hand, brought Caethya into her Void. Risking Caethya¡¯s well being was out of the question, and a part of her mind devoted itself to making certain that her disciple would not leave the safe space. Every part of Aperio¡¯s being knew that being yelled at later was far preferable to having to attempt to undo whatever damages Gyesfal might be able to do.


    "The Failure," it said, its fleshy appendages flailing about. "How does the Failure wrest the mana away from me?"


    Aperio tilted her head at the words, the anger that had been so long absent starting to make itself known at the back of her mind. "Who do you call a failure?" she asked, taking another step towards the mass of tentacles and eyes.


    She easily pushed through the barrier that surrounded the being, not even having to draw on her own well to do so as the mana that filled the realm was already more than willing to do her bidding. It even tried to enter her body and join the stream of pure mana that coursed through it, but the All-Mother did not allow it. Who knows what they did to it.


    "You," it rasped. "You failed your creations. Left them to commit sin after sin. Left them to create me." It shifted, more tentacles and eyes somehow phasing into reality. "You abandoned your creations to suffer at the hands of the Pantheon you made."


    "I did not abandon anyone!" Aperio spat, appearing before the biggest eye at the center of the abomination. Her wings unfurled behind her, the black feathers glinting with a subtle blue light as they kept her aloft with a slow beat.


    "I was betrayed! Used!" A thought accompanied with a grasping motion of her hand caused the flailing tentacles to be compacted into a ball, pieces of the wall and reality itself joining them as Aperio found herself uncaring of the realm they were in.


    "You create suffering," she spat, closing her hand further. A thick, viscous brown liquid started to seep from its tentacles as skin started to break in Aperio''s grasp. "You take the Souls of others without thinking. Consume them."


    "I am the shape of their revenge! Their desire!" Gyesfal spat back, struggling to break free of Aperio''s hold. "I will unmake your world of suffering and create a true world, free of wicked things like you."


    The All-Mother took a deep breath, letting her Void seep into the realm she currently occupied. The comforting nothing was accompanied by a mixture of anger and distress from Caethya, a feeling that Aperio answered by showing the Demigoddess what she saw and letting her know more clearly what she felt. She yearned to close her fist and squish the thrashing mass of tentacles in front of her, but she needed information. And to set the record straight.


    "You are nothing more than an experiment that goes against everything I stand for," Aperio said, further tightening her grasp. "And you are just as wicked and broken as your creators.


    "Do you know them?" she asked after a moment filled with nothing but the sound of Gyesfal''s blood dripping on the remaining bits of stone floor. "Do you know who made you? What they did to make you?"


    The abomination did not answer immediately, fruitlessly struggling against her grasp instead. Aperio let her Void flow over Gyesfal as she extended her senses into its body.


    Aperio paused as she stumbled upon something she had not expected. There was some truth to its claim. In a way, it was the shape of some Souls¡¯ revenge. Much like The Rage, Gyesfal had more than one Soul in its body, but for some reason they were not fighting one another.


    They acted in unison ¡ª or as close as they could ¡ª with one Soul dominating the rest. She did not want to look closer at the subservient Souls, knowing that she would undoubtedly find runes engraved on them, forcefully ¡®taming¡¯ them so they would not fight over the body they inhabited. Is this why they sought out people with The Rage?


    Aperio looked deeper anyway. Even if she knew she would not like what she found, she still needed to see it. Needed to fix it.


    Just as she had expected, the Souls were covered in runes, so extensively that barely any part was left unmarred. Even the main one ¡ª which shone a bit brighter than the rest ¡ª had some on it. Most prominently, a formation she knew all too well.


    The mark of enslavement was engraved into Gyesfal''s Soul perfectly and, for a brief moment, Aperio considered letting the creature live. The feeling lasted until she noticed a small rune above the mark, one that would alter its meaning. It had always surprised her how one additional rune could turn a slave into a master, but it did. And Gyesfal had it.


    It was no slave to someone else''s desires. It knew perfectly well what it was doing to the other Souls. Knew it stole their freedom to strengthen itself.


    A shower of flesh and brown blood covered the cave Gyesfal had called its home as she closed her hand. The torrent of gore left Aperio unscathed, any part that came too close simply bursting into a bright blue flame before disappearing from reality.


    Gyesfal''s Soul, and the myriad other ones it had used to strengthen itself, floated where the mass of tentacles had been before. Aperio stopped counting after a thousand, merely letting out a breath of inky black Void. She had not gotten any answers, had just killed the thing once she found out what it had done.


    Not that it would have told me anything anyway, she told herself, looking at the still somewhat brighter Soul that had been the main consciousness for the entity once known as Gyesfal. This has Epemirial written all over it.


    Without a sound, Aperio and the Souls disappeared from Gyesfal''s blood-stained realm; a part of her mind staying behind to keep watch. She was sure someone would come to check up on their experiment. Someone from The Veil¡­


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 133: Perplexing Perspective

    Aperio took a deep breath of the nothing that filled her Void, lowering her head slightly as her eyes landed on Caethya. "I am sorry," she said. She tried her best to keep her voice free of her might, but her Void pushed it past its usual power regardless. "I did not know what it could do and thought you would be safer here. I know I said I would let you try and talk, but that¡­ thing was not what I had planned for."


    "I understand," Caethya said, stepping in front of Aperio, looking up to look her Goddess in the eyes. "But!" She took another step towards and jabbed her index finger at Aperio''s chest. "At least warn me that you''ll dump me in your Void! You know how scared I was before I realised where I was and felt your presence again?"


    "I''m sorry," Aperio mumbled, her wings wrapping around Caethya. "I will try and stay in contact if I have to do it again, but you saw what that thing was. I was scared it could do something to you¡­"


    The Demigoddess of Creation let out a sigh and shook her head. "I understand that, even if I couldn''t make sense of everything you shared with me. But the anger that bled through with that was something else."


    Her disciple took a deep breath before fixing her eyes on Aperio. "I''m not mad at you," she said, brushing her hand over the All-Mother''s cheek. "Well, maybe a little," she continued, pausing for a moment before she raised herself up and planted a quick kiss on Aperio''s lips. "But I am worried about you."


    The All-Mother did not respond for a moment, simply standing rooted in place. It was by no means the first kiss she had received ¡ª and not even the first she had shared with Caethya ¡ª but something about it felt different. Better.


    "Once I take care of the Repens Nabu," Aperio said after blinking a few more times, "or at least Epemirial, things should hopefully relax a little. Maybe then I''ll have time to figure out how act like a normal person."


    "Not act," Caethya reprimanded, tapping the All-Mother''s nose. "You are perfectly capable of being one."


    "We''ll see," Aperio said with a sigh. "For now, it''s back to finding Epemirial. At least I now know that deities are connected to something. That might help a little."


    The All-Mother could still feel the nexus of mana that was the origin of the Domain of Magic. Almost like a part of me never left¡­ She did not feel any different herself ¡ª aside from being a little exhausted from worrying about Caethya, and still being angry that Gyesfal had been created by mashing Souls together and chaining them to another.


    "About that," Caethya said, lowering herself onto the solid nothing of Aperio''s Void and tapping the space beside her. "I am certain I saw something... some symbols I am certain belong to Epemirial in that cave. Realm. Where the abomination was."


    Aperio appeared next to her disciple, wrapping one wing around her. "What does it look like?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "A little hard to find something I know nothing about."


    "It''s sword with a small flag attached to its pommel," Caethya said. "Not really something one would associate with a Goddess when first seeing it."


    Aperio furrowed her brows at he description. She had not seen ¡ª or sensed ¡ª anything like that in Gyesfal''s realm. A small flex of her mental muscle brought her mind¡¯s eye back to the cave, her aura flowing into the space again just as it had before.


    "Where did you see it?" she asked, unable to spot anything that fit Caethya''s description.


    "Right where we appeared," her disciple replied, motioning with her hand as if they were there. "It was on one of the walls."


    The All-Mother closed her eyes and straightened her back as she drew more heavily on her well. If she could not see or sense the symbol, then something else had to be at work and would make sure she would find the reason.


    Aperio ignored the wisps that danced around her physical self and the pleasant warmth that spread throughout her body as she tried to find anything that would explain how Caethya could see a symbol she could not.


    It took Aperio a perceived eternity to find something. A sliver of mana, one she had dismissed before, was the only thing she could find that did not fit with the rest of the realm. At first she had not paid it any mind, as Verenier was full of tiny patches of mana like the one she had found here ¡ª though those were all connected to the mortal that made them.


    This one, however, was not attached to any living thing Aperio could see at a glance. It merely hung on the wall and tried its best to be invisible. But how can it hide something from me? ¡­Or was I too focused on Gyesfal?


    With a mental wave of her hand, the All-Mother forcibly dismissed the bit of mana and looked at what lay below. Just as Caethya had said, there was the symbol, neatly engraved into the wall. If I did not see that, what else has slipped past my notice?


    "It was hidden," Aperio said, opening her eyes again and looking at her disciple. A part of her mind tried to find anything off about the symbol itself, but it seemed to be nothing more than a normal engraving. "And it doesn''t seem special in any way¡­ Aside from the fact that I did not notice it was even there in the first place."


    "Missing the forest for the trees?" Caethya asked, the words causing Aperio to tilt her head a little. "Means you¡¯re only focusing on a few small parts of a bigger whole. You see the world differently than anyone else; probably see stuff I can''t even imagine."


    The All-Mother moved her hand through the nothing in front of Caethya, parting the threads that held reality together to reveal the kaleidoscope of colours beyond. "Like this?"


    "Yes," her disciple replied, only looking at the ever-changing swirl of shapes and colours for a brief moment before averting her eyes. "Just looking at that gives me a headache, and I don''t even understand what I am seeing¡­"


    Aperio lowered her hand again, letting reality stitch itself back together as she pondered how she could miss something so obvious. What else have I missed?


    "It''s¡­" She paused, tilting her head as she tried to think of a word that could accurately describe what was beyond the realm of reality. Nothing she could think of felt correct or made sense. Nothing, but one stray thought that briefly surfaced in the back of her mind.


    "It''s me," she mumbled, as much for herself as for Caethya. Looking past the fabric of reality at the swirling mass of plentiful nothing was easy for her ¡ª as easy as opening her eyes.


    Aperio wrapped her wing more fully around Caethya as she unravelled the fabric of reality in front her again. This time, she did not stop at a tiny slice, tearing away enough of her Void that she could stand in the colour beyond just fine.


    And then, she looked.


    Not with her eyes or aura, but the tiny nagging feeling at the back of her mind. With the small flicker of a thought that said that understanding was just outside her grasp.


    Looking at yourself was always a peculiar experience ¡ª be it in a mirror or through more magical means. For Aperio, however, the way she saw herself now was something entirely new.


    She cocked her head slightly, only it wasn''t her that moved but reality itself that tilted to the desired degree. And yet, she could feel her physical body go through the motion, see both herself and reality at conflicting angles.


    "How does that even work?" Aperio mumbled as she lifted a hand, trying to touch the colourful nothingness that lingered beyond reality.


    A shiver ran down her spine as she felt something brush against the edges of her mind, the telltale tingle of mana running through her fingers that had touched the colours beyond.


    It wasn''t the same as when she had left her body behind. When she floated around without a form, she still knew she was herself. The thing she was now using to look at herself, that she touched, was undoubtedly a part of her, but it was not her. More akin to mana than anything else. But also¡­ no.


    Where mana was orderly and flowed in neat patterns, the graspable nothing that lingered beyond the veil of reality simply¡­ was. There was no rhyme or reason to how it moved; to what it did. The only thing Aperio knew was that, just like mana, it was a part of her, and would form to her will should she wish to call upon it.


    "What do you mean, it''s you?" Caethya asked, causing Aperio to move her wing slightly and look at her disciple. "That''s space¡­ stuff. Not you."


    The All-Mother looked back at the nothing and, through it, back at herself and Caethya under her wing. "Perhaps not me as I am now," Aperio said, letting the tear she had made in her Void mend itself. "But it is a part of me. Like mana, but different."


    "You know you aren''t making much sense right now, right?" Caethya asked, nestling herself a bit further into the All-Mother''s wing. "Perhaps I have to become a cosmic force on my own to figure out what you mean."


    "I am not sure that would change anything," Aperio said, shifting a little to better look at her disciple. "Besides me, I doubt anyone is even supposed to see ¡ª much less able to understand it."


    "It was a joke, Aperio," Caethya said with a light shake of her head.


    "Oh."


    "In any case," her disciple continued, "did you find anything that could help us find Epemirial?"


    "Not really?" the All-Mother replied. "The symbol you found is a sign she was involved somehow, but I can''t find a trace of anything that would resemble the connection Mayeia had with her Domain."


    That, of course, did not mean it was not there. As she had just discovered, looking too closely at the world made her miss the obvious. Magic is so easy, yet I know so little about it. Her innate understanding of mana and how she could use it apparently did not translate to how other people used it. Did this happen to me in the past as well?


    "I am also still watching that realm," Aperio continued, letting her senses wander through it one more time. Trying to look for something you had missed while also not looking too closely so as not to miss the obvious was harder than the All-Mother had expected. "If they sent someone to check on a world that no longer gave them mana, I''d assume they would also send someone to check on their experiment."


    "And you will capture them and not let them try to destroy their Soul?"


    The All-Mother shook her head. "I planned on letting them return and simply following them. I might miss the obvious sometimes, but I am very good at tracking magic." It''s part of me, after all.


    "I guess you are not the only one that forgets the obvious here," her disciple replied. "But what do we do until then?"


    "Wait here?" Aperio suggested. "Unless you don''t like being in my Void, that is."


    "Here is fine," The Demigoddess said, stretching before leaning herself against Aperio''s side. "Your Void is weirdly comforting. I feel like it should be scary, being an empty space and all, but it almost feels like home.


    "Though," Caethya continued after a moment, brushing her arm against Aperio''s back, "that might because of you."


    "Maybe?" Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly and wrapping her wing more tightly around her disciple. "But it is comforting. Calming. I woke up here after being sacrificed."


    "And I gave you your blessing and messed up Maria''s life here," Aperio added in a whisper. A thought brought the both of them closer to the River of Souls, the multicoloured light of the orbs shimmering in front of them as they floated through the nothing.


    "Are you sure you are to blame?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied firmly. "She lost her mother because my blessing messed with the stones they used to read her [Status]."


    "That sounds more like an excuse than the reason to me," Caethya said. "She comes from a noble family. One influential enough that I knew of their name before I left Spicor. Murder is part of that world, doubly so on Vetus."


    "Another thing I need to fix, then," Aperio said, not wanting to argue over something neither of them would budge on.


    "Fixing the nature of mortals seems like a hard thing to do," Caethya said, leaning herself a bit more heavily against Aperio.


    The All-Mother only gave a huff in reply as she slung her arm around her disciple. At the moment, she did not wish to talk ¡ª needed some time to process what she had learned about herself and the world she had made.


    Caethya seemingly understood, as she closed her eyes and started to slowly stroke Aperio''s back. The All-Mother let out a sigh as she leaned back a little, holding herself upright with a touch of her magic. Why can''t it always be like this?


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 134: Following the Thread

    Aperio eyed the Souls she had freed from Gyesfal, making sure they stayed in the little pool she had made for them. The invisible water of the River of Souls was doing its job and gradually removing the runes that had been engraved upon them, but it would still take a while to heal them all.


    The progress that had already been made caused Aperio to question how long she had spent in her Void with Caethya. Her disciple did not seem to mind the time spent thus far, still leaning against her with her eyes closed. Did she fall asleep?


    "How long will it take to heal the Souls?" Caethya asked, trying to pull Aperio''s wing a little tighter around herself.


    Guess not. The All-Mother obliged, letting her disciple move her wing as she saw fit. "A while," she replied. "I don''t really know if they are healing faster than the first ones I fixed, or if we have already spent a week in my Void."


    "A week?" Caethya asked, shifting slightly to better look at Aperio. "Does time flow faster in here?"


    The All-Mother offered a small shrug in reply, trying her best to not disturb her disciple. "I know precious little about my Void. I mostly thought my own perception of time was off as I also failed to notice days going by while I was on a carriage."


    "Well, your perception of time is likely very different from my own or that of other mortals," Caethya said. "Probably also different from other deities, too."


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, her voice trailing off as she felt a small change in the realm Gyesfal had called its home. "Someone finally noticed that their experiment disappeared."


    "Anyone you know?"


    "No." Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly as she focused on the hooded figure that stood in the hall the abomination had resided in.


    Her idea had proven valid, however, as she could quite easily sense the trail of mana that snaked its way through the threads of reality to some other place. "I can find out where they came from, however."


    True to her word, a part of her mind flowed along the strand of mana that still connected the hooded figure to wherever they had come from. She considered cutting that connection, leaving the person stranded in Gyesfal''s dead realm as punishment for taking part in that abominable experiment, but decided against it in the end.


    They might have been forced to do this¡­ That could''ve been true of Miesto as well, but the man had tried to destroy his own soul as soon as Aperio had caught him. Not something she could just let happen. Of course, she did not know if this person would do the same, but if they belonged to the same organisation that Miesto had been a part of¡­ Better not risk it.


    "How long will it take for you to figure out where they came from?" Caethya asked, sitting herself up a little straighter and removing her hand from Aperio''s back.


    The All-Mother frowned a little at the motion. She did not want her disciple to stop, but neither did she say anything about it. "Not long," she said instead, focusing on the stranger in Gyesfal''s realm who had produced a large scroll with various runes written on it.


    Much to her surprise, Aperio was able to read nearly all of the runes. How exactly a formation on a piece of paper was supposed to track her, the All-Mother did not know. Is it easy or hard to track me? She constantly exuded...well, a lot of mana. No matter how much mana was already surrounding her. But then again, her mana was rather similar to ambient mana, according to Mayeia. And that realm he¡¯s connected to has ambient mana from so many worlds. But, maybe that drove them to develop a way to tell them apart?


    She tilted her head slightly as she let a little more of her aura seep into the realm, poking at the magic that slowly formed above the scroll the newcomer had brought. The spell that slowly assembled itself did not strike Aperio as too complex. Much like the runes that had created it, she knew what it was supposed to do; almost as if the magic had noticed her scrutiny and wanted to ask for her permission.


    Non-interference seemed to be taken as an okay as a wave of orange light spread from the small orb that had formed above the scroll, causing the ambient mana that lingered in the air to shift, making it even easier to see in Aperio''s aura.


    "So it''s just to help the person track?" she mumbled to herself, focusing more on the small thread that led away from the hooded figure. The spell she had observed had been neat but she could not really do anything against a person trying to find her mana, bar removing all mana or messing with that person''s mind. Both were things she would not do.


    "What''s happening?" Caethya asked, leaning herself against Aperio''s wing so she could better look at her.


    The All-Mother opened her mouth to speak before she closed it again, just showing her disciple what she saw instead. Aperio had not considered that it might hurt Caethya the first time she had shared what she saw, but fortunately the Demigoddess seemed to not feel any pain from her direct mental communications anymore.


    The information was filed away for later as Aperio''s aura spilled into a new realm at the end of the thin thread that connected to the stranger. A world much more akin to what she had expected.


    Towers of gleaming gold, each surrounded with a sprawling city, pierced the skies here.  Every single one of the towers ¡ª while made from the same materials ¡ª had been constructed in a different style, always somehow matching the symbol at its base.


    The tower and city that bore the flagged sword of Epemirial was easy to find. It stood taller than any of the others, actively channeling a good bit of the mana that was present in the world upwards and into¡­ Nothing?


    Upon closer inspection, it turned out that it wasn''t nothing. Just another thread that leads elsewhere. This one, however, was not a mere connection, but a conduit for the mana that the tower seemed to gather. What''s she doing with that?


    "That''s Epemirial''s sigil, right?" Aperio asked, looking at her disciple.


    Caethya nodded in reply, holding her head afterwards. "Yes," she said. "And could you please stop showing me what you see?"


    Aperio did as she was asked, letting the mental connection fade. "Did it hurt?" she inquired, letting a bit of her mana flow through the Demigoddess'' body. "I''m sorry."


    "It doesn''t hurt," Caethya replied. "It''s just¡­ too much. So many sensations that I do not know what to do with. Like my mind cannot comprehend what you are trying to show me."


    "I could try to limit what you see the next time," Aperio offered, moving Caethya closer to her with her wing. "But I believe it is only a matter of time before you understand what I am showing you. My telepathy does not give you a headache anymore, after all."


    "I guess¡­" her disciple said, looking at her hand as if that would provide answers. "I didn''t notice anything change, though."


    "I did not notice myself changing much either, until I looked." The All-Mother shrugged. "Now I just keep track of every small thing that changes without even thinking about it."


    "But you can also keep track of a million things at once," her disciple said. "You are currently talking to me, checking that the Souls heal correctly, tracking some person in another realm, looking over another realm, and probably a lot more stuff. All without looking like it is any kind of burden."


    "Because it''s not," Aperio mumbled, turning to face Caethya. "I just¡­ put my mind to it and then I focus on that as well." She hesitated for a moment, trying to find words that could better describe what she did before she sighed. "I really can''t explain it. I just do it."


    "It''s fine." Caethya waved her off. "I am okay, and we have more important things to focus on. Don''t think I didn''t notice how you are stalling again. The sooner Epemirial is dealt with the better. Both for you and the world in general."


    "I''m not," Aperio rebutted, letting her mind wander along the thread that connected Epemirial''s tower to yet another realm. "I am going from realm to realm trying to find her and that takes some time.


    "The person that came to check on Gyesfal came from a realm that is mainly big cities surrounding golden towers devoted to a given deity," Aperio continued. "Those towers also seem to channel mana from that realm somewhere else. To the deity they are made for, I assume."


    "I didn''t think Chrysos was real," Caethya said. "The idea of it was as ridiculous as Vigil''s moon temple." She paused for a moment, holding up her hand as Aperio opened her mouth to speak. "I know, I should have seen this coming after it turned out that was real."


    "You are also currently sitting in front of the River of Souls next to the literal Creator of the universe."


    "And I am now a Demigoddess," Caethya continued, raising her arms in defeat. "I get it, I shouldn''t be surprised by stuff like that. I just never¡­ noticed the change. Again. Maybe it''s your influence?"


    "I have an influence of obliviousness?" Aperio asked, furrowing her brows as she found more threads joining the one she was following that came from Chrysos.


    Her disciple stifled a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. If she hadn¡¯t been sitting on the nothing of her Void with creases in her dress, Aperio could have taken her for some lost royalty.


    "I take credit for your grace as well, then," the All-Mother mused, not wanting to let the chance slip by. She had been told that she appeared graceful even when she had been tortured, a quality that still gave her a twisted sense of pride. Why do I like it so much?


    "Do you now?" Caethya asked, running her hand over the inside of Aperio''s wing. "I think the first one is more fitting."


    "Probably," the All-Mother relented, lowering her head slightly. "I did not exactly have the opportunity to learn how a normal mortal should behave."


    "I guess you did not," her disciple said, removing her hand from the All-Mother''s wing, "but you have me now, so we can work on that."


    "Not now, though," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as yet another part of her mind found itself in a realm that made a lot less sense than the others. "I think I found Epemirial''s Dominion. Or at least something close to it."


    Desks and chairs were abundant here, on the floor as well as on the walls and ceiling. The Goddess of Duty and Loss clearly did not seem to like the concept of up and down, and the mortals in this realm wandered to and fro as though this situation was all perfectly normal. It was only at the moment when they moved from one surface to another that they seemed to remember that a wall was a wall and a floor was a floor. Wherever they had just come from seems to always be the new wall.


    "Anything unusual about her Dominion?" Caethya asked, leaning herself fully against Aperio''s wing.


    "Besides having every surface be ''down'', no," Aperio said. "Doesn''t feel much different from Ferio''s Dominion. Perhaps a little bit more mana inside it, but not as much as I had feared."


    "Does she know you are looking at her home?"


    The All-Mother could only offer a shrug. While she was trying to be careful, she did not know how Epemirial perceived her own Dominion. Or if this even is her Dominion.


    "I do not know," she said. "But I think she hasn''t noticed yet."


    "So, what are you going to do now?" Caethya asked. "Find Epemirial and confront her in her own Dominion?"


    "That was my plan, yes."


    "Can''t you bring her here?"


    "Bring the one that manipulates Souls to the nexus of all Souls?" Aperio asked. "I don''t think so.


    "I do, however, have another idea," she continued. "I have another realm we can use."


    The white abyss her temple had been in was empty now as far as she could tell and, just like her Void, always lingered patiently at the back of her mind. A thought was all she needed to transport the both of them into the bright expanse.


    "How many realms do you have?" Caethya asked, looking at the new form of nothing that surrounded her.


    "I do not know," Aperio replied, taking an unneeded breath as she let more of her aura seep into what she assumed was Epemirial''s Dominion. "Nor does it matter for now."


    The All-Mother removed her wing from Caethya, a touch of her magic supporting the Demigoddess instead. She stood up, a thought smoothing out her dress and erecting a barrier around her disciple. In her own realm, Aperio wasn''t too concerned about something happening, but precautions should still be taken.


    "Now, to find Epemirial in her Dominion and bring her here."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead? Check out the Patreon.

 Revelations – Chapter 135: Seeking Thoughts

    GamingWolf


    Hello, just some info for you. The next ten chapters will release sooner than normal as they are the end of Book 4 and are better if you read them without a 3 day break in between. While this means you will get a chapter a day for the next little while, it also means Forgotten will go on a small hiatus afterwards as I get my backlog built up again. This might take a few weeks as I am not the fastest writer and I am in the middle of my finals.


    I hope you enjoy the coming chapters.


    Actually finding the Goddess of Duty and Loss turned out to be a lot harder than Aperio had initially thought. The presumed Dominion of Epemirial was quite a bit larger than original impressions led her to believe, and its twisting nature had led her down the wrong path more than once already.


    With a frustrated sigh, Aperio spread her aura through Epemirial''s Dominion a little more aggressively. She had a sneaking suspicion that the Goddess of Duty and Loss had designed her Dominion to make it hard to track her ¡ª or anything else ¡ª inside of it.


    "Having trouble?" Caethya asked, standing and looking up as the All-Mother nodded. "Anything I can do to help?"


    "Not really," Aperio replied with a sigh. "I doubt that you can look through her Dominion faster than I can." Or take control of it if you try hard enough.


    That was her plan after all: take over Epemirial''s Dominion, bringing the Goddess of Duty and Loss into the white abyss while also forcing anything shady that might be going on in that realm to stop.


    Nobody seemed to notice that her mana was slowly but surely seeping into every single thread that made up Epemirial''s Dominion. Which, on second thought, did make some sense. Her mana was already used to make everything else, why would they notice if she took back what technically already belonged to her?


    Of course, that did not mean it was impossible to notice ¨C plenty of mortals already did, after all ¨C but none of the ones inside Epemirial¡¯s Dominion seemed to. Or maybe they are nothing more than mindless drones at this point¡­


    Aperio wanted to check, but she would not risk discovery just yet. Not until I have full control. Reality already bent to her whim ¡ª even in another God''s Dominion ¡ª but that was not the kind of control she was after at the moment. No, Aperio wanted the partial unity she had accidentally achieved with the [Court of Heaven]. At the moment the twisting nature of this realm managed to confuse her, but if she made herself part of the realm as she had before, it wouldn''t. Hopefully.


    "Any sign of Epemirial at least?" Caethya asked, taking a shaky step closer to Aperio. Her trust in the white abyss was apparently not as high as in the Void. Or maybe this realm is not good for her?


    A sliver of Aperio''s mana flowed through Caethya''s body, the Demigoddess relaxing slightly in response. "Not yet, no," Aperio said, a sofa appearing in the otherwise empty space. "You seem unwell. Please, sit."


    "Just worried," her disciple replied, taking a seat nonetheless. "And this space is a little¡­ unsettling. Your Void is comforting in a way; this place just feels cold and empty."


    "My temple was in here," Aperio said. "And my swordstaff¡­ Maybe I used this as storage before?"


    "Ah yes, the closet for giant temples and weapons that cut reality itself." Caethya smiled. "Something we all have, I''m sure."


    "If you don''t have one, you should get one," Aperio said, setting herself down next to her disciple. "Really handy to just find a floating temple hiding behind a reality-slicing swordstaff."


    "I can''t just make a realm," Caethya said with a sigh, "and my [Dimensional Storage] is fairly limited in what I can do with it." She paused for a moment, her eyes wandering to the All-Mother. "Can you see what I have in my storage?"


    "I don''t think so?" Aperio tilted her head slightly as she let a bit more of her mana seep into Epemirial''s Dominion. "I am certainly not aware of where that skill would put the items. Or if it''s even a physical space."


    "Not a physical space?"


    Caethya looked utterly confused, so the All-Mother attempted to explain. "Most everything is from mana," she began. Aperio did not have proof for the theory she was about to propose, but it made sense enough in her mind. "So it should be possible for the System to turn an item back into mana, no?"


    "I guess?" Caethya replied with a light shrug. "Might be worth asking Mayeia about it once you¡¯ve figured out what to do with Epemirial."


    "You make it sound like I can just snap my fingers and get her to appear, ready to face her punishment." Aperio sighed. "If I knew where she was, I could, yes. At least, I think I could. I am not sure how strong she is."


    "Is it even possible to be stronger than you?" Caethya asked. "Reality itself bends to your will, after all."


    "I''m not unbeatable. Otherwise I would not have lived the life of a slave and forgotten everything."


    "Unless you wanted to."


    "Unless I wanted to," Aperio echoed, her voice barely a whisper.


    That she did this to herself was an option, of course. The only one that made sense with the information she had at the moment, as well. How could she ever actually die if she did not want to? A thought was all she needed to stop any magic thrown at her. Poisons or other mortal tools would not work, as she did not depend on her body to actually live.


    "But why would I have wanted to do that?" the All-Mother mumbled to herself. A reason still eluded her; the only answer she could come up with was wholly inadequate as a reason to let herself die and throw all of creation in peril with her absence.


    "I don''t know," Caethya replied. "I can''t really think of anything that makes sense. But knowing what you can do without much effort, I struggle to see how a normal Goddess ¡ª or even all of them combined ¡ª would be able to stand against you.


    "You said it yourself," she continued. "Everything is made from mana, and you can control all the mana in existence with but a thought."


    "It''s a bit more complicated than that," Aperio said. "I can''t really explain it, though. I just grasp the mana with my mind and after a bit, the mana kind of¡­ wants to help me. Serve me."


    A small nudge of the mana that floated through Epemirial''s realm confirmed her words. Caethya could not see that, of course, but Aperio had not quite believed her own words despite having witnessed it happen more than once already. Sadly, the validation of her theory did not really help her in finding Epemirial.


    While the mana that floated around in the realm was more than willing to serve her, it did not behave like her own mana ¡ª her aura. She couldn''t use it to see. Did not know how to. Simply wanting to spread her senses through it did not work, as the free mana simply remained unreactive to the prompting. Almost like it doesn''t understand what I want from it.


    "End result is still the same," Caethya said, moving herself a little closer to the All-Mother to wrap her arm around her as best as she could. "You control the mana, which means whoever you took it from is basically powerless. Kind of like what you did in the [Court of Heaven]. Ferio is strong, but you nullified her abilities in a few minutes."


    "What if it doesn''t work on Epemirial?" Aperio asked. "What if she figured out a way to usurp my position?" There was that weird rune when I first looked at the System¡­


    "If she did that," her disciple replied, "she would have never let you return. Nor would she have a need for runes on Souls."


    "Perhaps," the All-Mother said, furrowing her brows as she found yet another quirk in Epemirial''s Dominion. The Goddess of Duty and Loss, despite all the mana funneled into her Dominion from the realms that connected with her tower, seemed to not yet be content with what she had.


    In a ''room'' away from the mortals that roamed the Dominion Aperio found a small nexus of mana, not unlike the one that she assumed was the origin of the Magic Domain. This one, however, was not divine in any way. It was simply a collection of mana that had a few threads connected to it leading to different realms. Almost like a ball of yarn.


    A thought cut the strings that connected the nexus of mana to the other realms, and Aperio took the mana that still flowed through them for herself. Her well was the origin of all the mana that flowed through her creation; returning some to it should do no harm. Why does it still flow, though?


    That question would have to be answered later; she had a Goddess to find. Cutting off Epemirial''s Dominion from the other connecting realms was not just just because the mere idea of the Goddess sucking more worlds dry did not sit right with Aperio, but also because she hoped that it would draw her out.


    The small nexus the threads had been connected to was¡­ shoddy at best. How it even managed to channel any usable amount of mana was beyond Aperio. But, in the end, that mattered little compared to the need to find Epemirial soon so she could finally get some answers.


    "Do you think Epemirial is behind all of this?" the All-Mother asked, staring into the endless expanse of the white abyss.


    Caethya hesitated for a moment before she replied, seemingly unsure of her words. "Responsible for your life as a slave? Perhaps, but not for you becoming a mortal. We know you planned that ¡ª even asked Moria to come with you."


    "But how would she do that? And why?" Aperio asked. "I did not care for her experiments. Or anything, really."


    While she did not remember much about her old self, what she had seen made it quite obvious that she had not really held a fondness for anything at all. Moria''s memory made that clear enough¡­


    Aperio absentmindedly brushed her hand over her armlet, a tingle running through her fingers as a bit of the mana within flowed into them. The sensation caused the All-Mother to pause and look at the piece of jewellery. It looked as unassuming as always; just a metal ring that neatly fit around her bicep. But it always touches me?


    "Something happen?" Caethya asked, trying to move Aperio''s wing so she could see what she was doing.


    The All-Mother obliged, wrapping her wing loosely around Caethya instead. "Just the armlet being weird. Mana flows from it when I touch it with my hand, but it does nothing when it''s simply sitting on my arm."


    A small flex of her bicep yielded no tingling of mana either, making it clear that ¡ª for whatever reason ¡ª a touch of her hand was required, and not just a deliberate action of her body. Not that it matters. If she wanted, she could always just pull all the mana out of the armlet at once. Would only take a thought¡­


    Aperio sat a little straighter as she felt a presence move towards the small nexus of mana she was currently observing. A quick look confirmed that it was Epemirial. A furious Epemirial. Has she not noticed me?


    The Goddess of Duty and Loss seemed to be focused on the ball of mana that floated in the ''room'' in her Dominion and not on Aperio. Epemirial''s presence was easy to feel, and definitely stronger than most Gods Aperio had encountered. Maybe even stronger than Ferio. How did I not notice her earlier? The most important part, however, was that the Goddess of Duty and Loss felt just as weak and fragile to Aperio as anything else that wandered in her creation.


    "I found her," she announced to her disciple, removing her wing from Caethya as she stood up. "No idea how I had such trouble with that¡­ She shines like a beacon in her Dominion."


    "Did she notice you?" the Demigoddess asked, sitting a little straighter herself.


    "Not yet, I think," Aperio replied. A thought caused reality to twist a little, and the comfortable weight of her swordstaff settled into her hand. "She will in a bit, however."


    Her disciple took a deep breath. "Try not to kill her, please."


    "We shall see," Aperio said. "She has a lot to answer for, and I will get answers."


    Further talk was cut off as Aperio drew on her well more heavily than she had before, only a few moments passing before she had taken in more mana than Epemirial seemed to command.


    A flex of her mental muscle twisted and tore the fabric of space apart, a few of the mana wisps that floated around Aperio becoming lost in the colourful space beyond. The All-Mother let her aura run free in Epemirial''s Dominion, grabbing hold of the Goddess of Duty and Loss as she did.


    The panic that briefly flashed across the woman''s face caused a small smile to creep onto Aperio''s lips. She might hide her desperation, but the All-Mother knew how Epemirial felt. Just or not, one would always be judged. Only a matter of time.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead? Check out the Patreon.

 Revelations – Chapter 136: Stubbornness

    The Goddess of Duty and Loss attempted to resist Aperio''s mental grasp, trying to get her Dominion to hold off the unseen intruder. Sadly for Epemirial, it did nothing to stop the will of the All-Mother from being forced upon the realm. A moment later, Aperio held the Goddess by her neck ¡ª her desire to just squeeze and end it all bigger than she had previously thought.


    "Hello," she greeted, letting Epemirial crumble to the invisible ground. A small flex of her mental muscles caused the Goddess of Duty and Loss to stand up straight, much like a puppeteer pulling the strings of their marionette. "It is time to answer for your crimes."


    The Goddess did not reply immediately, but instead just stared at the All-Mother as if she could not quite believe what she saw. "You had to know I was back," Aperio said, taking a step closer. "Even Vigil and Inanis knew, and they do not hold as much sway as you do."


    "I have nothing to say to you," Epemirial hissed through clenched teeth. "Do what you must."


    A small touch of Aperio''s magic caused some of her mana to wrap around Epemirial''s Soul, preventing the Goddess¡¯ own mana from accessing it. "I have seen that trick before," she said. "And I won''t let it end in death again."


    While her mana flowed around the Goddess'' Soul, Aperio took the opportunity to inspect the glowing orb as well. She did not expect to find runes or anything else engraved upon it ¡ª the Goddess behind that vile idea likely not stupid enough to try it on herself.


    Much to her surprise, however, there were a few formations present on Epemirial''s Soul. They were small, perfectly clear and quite unlike the previous examples Aperio had seen. The Goddess of Duty and Loss did not have the marks of slavery to tarnish her Soul. Instead, the runes came together in a formation that was supposed to channel mana into the Soul itself: an endeavour that did not work on the mana under Aperio''s control.


    Judging from the slightly widened eyes of the Goddess in her mental grasp, that particular quirk of the All-Mother''s mana had not been part of the plan. "Did you think you could take what is mine?"


    "You have no right to any of this," Epemirial hissed. "You never had!"


    "I made it," Aperio said, taking another step forward and raising the Goddess a little so she could take a good look at who she held captive. "You are the one who has no right to do what you are doing.


    "Experimenting on Souls?" she continued, tightening her mental grasp. "For what? So you can grow stronger by taking the mana of entire worlds? So you can take my place?"


    The Goddess struggled in her grasp for a moment, fruitlessly trying to draw on her own magic. How can she be responsible for all of this? Did I just really want to¡­ die? Aperio suddenly let go of Epemirial, the magic that had held the Goddess aloft simply vanishing.


    She ignored the grunt of pain that came from the woman as she hit the invisible ground. How does that even hurt you? You''re a Goddess.


    "Why?" Aperio asked, looking at the woman at her feet.


    Epemirial propped herself up, her arms shaking as they struggled to support her weight. "You enslaved us all with that System of yours," she said, clearly out of breath. "And you tell me that once I do the same it''s suddenly wrong?"


    "You drained worlds of mana ¡ª and stole Souls ¡ª to build an abomination that thought it could make a better world by killing everyone," the All-Mother said. "How does that compare to a System that enables every mortal to achieve what they want?"


    Aperio furrowed her brows as no reply came. The Goddess of Duty and Loss lay on her side, her breathing now so shallow that the All-Mother barely noticed it. Aperio lowered herself, a touch of her magic keeping her dress out of the way, and placed a hand on Epemirial''s chest as she tried to figure out why the woman was so pale and out of breath.


    "What''s wrong with her?" Caethya asked, stepping up beside Aperio only to be blocked by a wing.


    "I do not know," the All-Mother replied. Search though she might, she was unable to find anything wrong. Is it because I blocked her Soul?


    A thought let a sliver of mana flow from Epemirial''s Soul into her body, causing the Goddess to gasp and turn. She took deep breaths, coughing again and again as if she had drowned and was trying to rid her lungs of water.


    "You enslave us," she rasped, taking another breath. "Torture me" ¡ª another cough interrupted her words ¡ª "And you have the audacity to question me?"


    Aperio sighed as she stood up again. Are they all stupid? None of the deities affiliated with the Repens Nabu had made any amount of sense once she had captured them. They all just started accusing her of things she either did not do, or could not remember. And they know that I can''t remember¡­ Right?


    "I made sure you did not try to destroy your own soul like Miesto tried to," Aperio said. An unneeded wave of her hand caused reality to twist apart and Epemirial to appear on a sofa that the All-Mother had just conjured. "I did not enslave you, nor do I torture you. I know how that feels; I have been through both. This does not compare."


    You''re just closer to a mortal now, Aperio thought.


    "I made you a Goddess," the All-Mother continued, "and you repay me by having me live a life as a slave? Why?"


    It made no sense to Aperio ¡ª the only reasons she could think of being jealousy, or a misplaced fear that she would cast them down if she found out what they were doing. But I knew what they were doing then and did nothing. Perhaps she should thank them for teaching her the error of her ways, but she doubted that was their goal ¡ª no matter what Epemirial claimed now. It just doesn''t add up.


    Their actions and words were so far apart that the All-Mother was starting to believe that they suffered from delusions, mental or otherwise. A small flex of her mental muscle caused a bit more of her mana to flow through Epemirial and the nothing surrounding her. If she was under some form of illusion spell, Aperio would know soon enough.


    "And I thought I would finally get some answers¡­" the All-Mother mumbled, looking at the Goddess at her feet. Useless, she thought, letting the sofa upon which Epemirial sat disappear. If she did not know what Epemirial had done, she might have felt pity for the woman, but as it stood, Aperio had to constantly tell herself that she would bring Epemirial to the Court to be judged. ¡­Could have summoned her directly there.


    "So what do we do if she does not talk?" Caethya asked. "Find another member of their group?" She sighed. "I am starting to feel like they don''t know why they are doing this themselves."


    "I know what I am doing," Epemirial said, her voice still rough from the previous ordeal. "You are the ones that are blind to the truth."


    "Your truth is slavery for everyone that does not offer their all to you," Aperio snapped, drawing a bit of her Void into the white abyss. She breathed in, the black nothing filling her lungs as a calming comfort spread through her very being.


    "Fuck your truth."


    Her words carried her anger a bit too well as Epemirial was physically pressed into the nothing by the mana that accompanied them. Aperio did not care about that, however, as she set her mind back to looking through Epemirial''s Dominion. There has to be something.


    The All-Mother refused to believe that the Goddess of Duty and Loss had nothing in her Dominion that could help her understand what had happened. Or do I have to look at her memories somehow? Moria had made it seem like she could look at someone''s memories even without a crystal, but Aperio was fairly certain that it would require some tactics she would rather not use. If I can even do that.


    Aperio was still not quite sure how that would work. The memories Moria had shown her had been neatly packed into a crystal as easily-understood magic; it was just mana that carried information about the past instead of instructions on how to make a fireball or something else.


    For a memory that was still in someone¡¯s Soul, Aperio doubted it was that easy. Doesn''t help that I don''t know how any of that works. She might know what a Soul was and what it did, but she did not know how it stored information or actually channeled mana. Messing with something so vital seemed like a bad idea. Not that the Repens Nabu cared about that.


    With a shake of her head, Aperio twisted reality apart, bringing Caethya, Epemirial, and herself into the [Court of Heaven]. She let most of her mana recede away from the Goddess'' Soul, trusting in the modifications she had made to this realm to take care of most of the shenanigans Epemirial could come up with. The possibility that she might try to destroy her own Soul was there, but that was why Aperio had left a bit of her mana behind and dedicated a small part of her mind to observation.


    A Celestial in a dark blue robe bowed slightly at their arrival, seemingly unconcerned that the Goddess of Duty and Loss was crawling on all fours. "Welcome. Your arrival has been anticipated and we have prepared a room for you." The robed figure motioned towards one of the decorated doors that lined the wall. "If you would follow me."


    Aperio only gave a nod in reply, dragging the Goddess of Duty and Loss behind her with but a thought. There were a few other people in the entrance of the Court; most of them were Celestials that obviously worked for the divine institution, but some were mere mortals that looked at their small group with wide eyes. Do they recognise Epemirial? ¡­Or me?


    The Court did feature more than a few murals that depicted her with surprising accuracy. Even the wings, she thought. Didn''t Ferio say I had no wings in the past? She dismissed the thought for now, as getting answers out of Epemirial was more important than figuring out why a mural of her past self had wings.


    "Please wait inside," the Celestial said after they had crossed the short distance towards the already prepared room and opened the door. "The Judges will be with you shortly."


    "Thank you," Aperio said, stepping into the room. The Celestial only nodded, leaving once everyone had stepped inside.


    "Warn me next time," Caethya said, briefly touching Aperio''s arm as she passed her. "Being teleported around is weird."


    "I will try," the All-Mother said, setting her eyes on the by-now standing Goddess of Duty and Loss. "Do you have anything to say before the Judges arrive?


    "Anything of value, that is," she added on as Epemirial opened her mouth to presumably tell her how she was enslaving everyone with a System she did not even directly control. "You telling me how I am the greatest evil to ever exist is not something of value."


    The Goddess of Duty and Loss simply stared at her for a moment before she sat herself down on one of the chairs. "I know that I did the right thing," she said. "Sacrifices had to be made so all worlds could live a better life. Yours in particular did not work. You still live ¡ª never truly died like you were supposed to ¡ª and thus refuse to let us live in peace. We therefore needed to try something else."


    "Ah, yes ¡ª sacrificing entire worlds so you can grow stronger. How noble," Aperio snorted. "You would fit right in with the scum that inhabited the Inaru Empire. Maybe I should send you to them?"


    A hand sneaking past her wings and resting on the small of her back caused Aperio to hesitate. The soothing voice of Caethya that followed stopped the magic she had started to weave around Epemirial for good. "Let the Judges handle her, please."


    "They do not understand the extent of her crimes," Aperio said, pulling her eyes off of the Goddess after a moment. "Cannot understand them."


    "They can listen to you, though," the Demigoddess countered. "Killing her won''t solve the problem and it won¡¯t get us any answers.


    "She obviously does not want to tell you what she did," Caethya continued. She hesitated for a moment before speaking her next words. "Maybe she is actually saying what she believes to be true. Fact is, we need information and our best bet is the Judges."


    Aperio squinted at the all-too-calm Goddess of Duty and Loss, brushing her hand over the armlet. The slight tingle that danced across her fingers was calming in a way. Just what she needed at the moment.


    "Fine," she said. "We will wait."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 137: Courtly Confusion

    They did not have to wait long for both the Light and the Dark judge to appear. Just like the previous Celestial, neither of them seemed concerned with the Goddess of Duty and Loss in the room.


    "Welcome," the Dark Judge said, bowing slightly. "I see your endeavour has proven most fruitful. Congratulations."


    "It was not ''fruitful''," Aperio said, her eyes settling on Epemirial. "She is most unhelpful." And seems to believe her delusions.


    The Light Judge took a step towards the soon-to-be disgraced Goddess, grabbing at the air in front of it and producing a scroll made of parchment. "Is she saying something to the effect of you being an evil deity that enslaves us all with the System?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "I still fail to see how the System is enslaving anyone, however. It is what gives most mortals ¡ª and Gods ¡ª their power. It enables them to become more than they were. That is hardly enslavement.


    "What they do, on the other hand," Aperio continued, trying her best to keep her aura from flaring up too much, "is most definitely slavery. The worst kind, at that."


    The mere fact that Epemirial and her ilk had been going around engraving the Mark of Servitude on people¡¯s Souls was already enough for Aperio to write them all off and be done with them. Sadly, that would not get the information she wanted and, while it was certainly theoretically possible to rummage through their Souls in order to forcefully retrieve the information, that action was very much against her own beliefs.


    "I do believe we can gather some more information from her," the Dark Judge said, stepping up next to its Light colleague. "We may bear the title of Judge, but we do much more than simply proclaim a verdict."


    "And now," the Light Judge continued, "we finally have the chance to actually prosecute one of the deities that thought themselves above the court." The Celestial looked away from the scroll in its hands, eyeing the Goddess in front of it. "The list of your crimes is quite long."


    Aperio would have guessed that the Judges were happy, but neither of them seemed to be capable of expressing much emotion. Kind of like me? The All-Mother was not really good at showing what she felt. Unless I am angry¡­ Destruction was easy to see and do, after all.


    "Your little Court is below me," Epemirial said. "The only reason you can reach me is because the Tyrant decided it was a good new way to torment me."


    Aperio closed her eyes, letting a bit of her Void flow around her as she tried her best to not hear the words Epemirial had just said. How full of yourself can you be? It almost seemed like the Goddess of Duty and Loss was trying to get herself killed. Do the Judges have a better way to get information? If they touch her Soul¡­


    She might not like Epemirial, but that did not mean she would let anyone mess with her Soul either. The only action she would permit to happen would be to cast it into the River of Souls and let it be washed clean. Or destroy it completely if her crimes are too grievous.


    "There are only a handful of beings that are truly above the [Court of Heaven]," the Dark Judge said. "You are not one of them."


    "And what will happen now?" Aperio asked. "I want to know what she did, and why, without having to look through all her memories."


    "Normally we would have depositions and the works," the Light Judge said, turning to face the All-Mother. "Gather all the relevant facts from both sides to best be able to judge the case.


    "For her," it continued, gesturing at the scroll in its hand, "the matter is both easier and more complicated."


    "How so?"


    "It is easier because we do not need to gather evidence and listen to witnesses," it replied. "Most of the information we need is already recorded in the System from other cases."


    "Which makes it more complicated," the other Judge continued. "We cannot know to what extent those cases relate to her, and the reason we cannot rely on witnesses is because they would rather remain silent than speak out against a Goddess of her stature ¨C the act would be useless."


    "That is an easy problem to solve," Aperio said. "Her time as a Goddess has come to an end regardless. It does not matter if I strip her of my blessing now, or after the case."


    That goes for most of the Pantheon. Nearly everything she had learned about the current Pantheon of the deities she had personally elevated was less than stellar. Aside from a few exceptions like Edisicio, the Gods she had made had turned on her and fallen to depravity for reasons that were still not quite clear to her. Power corrupts?


    If that statement was true, she should be a tyrant like Epemirial had said. But I don''t do much besides cleaning up the mess they made¡­ All Aperio wanted to do was live a life in peace, away from the struggles of the divine. Just me and Caethya¡­ Maybe open a small shop?


    Epemirial did not seem to like her suggestion as she glared at Aperio. The All-Mother could not help but smile back at the Goddess. Serves you right. She still wanted to just grab the woman by her throat and give it a nice little squeeze until the life in her eyes went out, but that was counterproductive.


    "That will sadly not help much," the Dark Judge said. "Her word would still carry some weight." The Celestial hesitated for a moment, its usual expressionless face contorting briefly before it continued. "We also do not like to pass any form of judgement before a case is complete."


    "Fine," Aperio replied, not bothering to hide her dislike for their decision. "Then what can you do now? You said that witnesses would not be forthcoming ¡ª and I am not even sure where you would find any, besides myself ¡ª and the evidence you have is with the System. And you are not even sure how it relates to her yet." Seems like it was a waste of time to bring her here. They can''t do anything.


    "We will do what we always do," the Light Judge said, offering Aperio the scroll. "It will take a day or two, but the method has yet to fail. There is always a Truth to be found."


    The All-Mother took the offered piece of parchment and carefully unfurled it. Her eyes darted over the ancient-looking letters that she did not know but still somehow understood. At the top there was a list of crimes that Epemirial was accused of having committed; ranging from trivial infractions all the way up to deicide, heresy against the Creator, and the literal theft of Souls. The last two are one and the same. Heresy against her could only come in a few forms. One of which was messing with Souls.


    A few lines down from the list of crimes were a set of scribbles, presumably written by the Judges, that outlined how they wanted to approach the problem. Apparently they were quite sure they could wrangle the truth out of the Goddess as most of their plan was built upon the fact that she did not lie. How is that supposed to work?


    The All-Mother made a wave with her hand, erecting a barrier around Epemirial that would stop her from seeing and hearing what happened outside before she asked her question. "How do you intend on getting her to tell the truth? All of what you wrote here assumes she does not lie.


    "And even then," Aperio continued. "Is it a lie if she believes it herself? What if she is so delusional that she thinks what she does is the right thing?"


    "Then she admits to committing the crime," Caethya said from her position next to Aperio. Her disciple had largely remained quiet since their arrival, either not comfortable enough with the Judges to speak or too polite to interrupt them. "I think they want to determine the truth of her actions, not her words."


    "Very astute!" the Dark Judge said with an enthusiastic nod. "Though I am a little surprised that the Creator has forgotten about the abilities we were given.. Our job would be impossible if we could not tell if someone actually did what they are accused of."


    "If you can do that, why even have witnesses?" Aperio asked, quite confused as to how the Court was supposed to work. She was well acquainted with the system the Empire had used ¨C and ignored, the times nobles presided instead of an actual judge.


    "It doesn''t hurt to have more perspective," the Light Judge replied. "We would be fools to assume we are infallible. Therefore, proper research and procedure is required. You made that very clear when you gave us this position."


    The All-Mother rubbed her temples and sighed. "Just do what you have to do," she said, handing back the scroll. "I will take a look through her Dominion and try to find some answers there."


    "Of course," the Light Judge replied, bowing slightly. "We would take the accused to her room, if you would allow it."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she felt a small draw on her well when the Judge spoke the words ''the accused''. A quick check revealed that Epemirial''s most prominent title was no longer Goddess of Duty and Loss, but The Accused. Did that only work because this realm suppresses her powers?


    "You may," she eventually said, dismissing the magic that had granted them privacy from the delusional Goddess. "I will keep an eye on her nonetheless."


    Both Judges bowed slightly at her words before they, alongside Epemirial, disappeared in a small flash of golden light. Aperio had little trouble finding them again, as the Judges had brought the Goddess a good distance away, to a room that seemingly had no doors. Still better than what most of her followers have.


    The room Epemirial was now in had a nice bed, a separate washroom that Aperio was fairly certain she did not need, and even a shelf that seemed to contain more books than it should.


    Caethya rested her head against Aperio''s shoulder as the All-Mother heaved another sigh. "And here I thought I would get some answers. But no, it''s just more accusations. What did I do that they even think that?"


    "That''s what we have to figure out, isn''t it?" her disciple asked as she slowly brushed her fingers over Aperio''s arm. "I do not know what those two intend to do with Epemirial, but they seemed to have a plan."


    "They are the Judges of the [Court of Heaven] ," Aperio said. "It would be very bad if they did not have a plan."


    "You are the All-Mother, and rarely have a plan."


    "That is¡­" Aperio began. She wanted to object the statement, but Caethya was correct. Most of the time she didn''t have a plan. Like now. Sure, she knew what she wanted to achieve, but she had never really thought about how she might get there. "True," she admitted with a sigh.


    But how should I plan for something I know almost nothing about? Aperio wondered, a part of her mind focusing on the two Judges to, perhaps, get a glance as to how they planned.


    Sadly, their approach seemed to include staring at each other and not actually talking. Telepathy? Aperio already knew that the Celestials did not really speak ¡ª they had no mouths to do so, after all ¡ª so seeing them just stare at each other while still somehow looking like they were deep in conversation only seemed to leave telepathy for a plausible answer.


    "How do I plan for something that I know so little about?" Aperio asked. "I don''t even know what my limits are. Do I even have any? Why did I die in the first place if I am this strong? I know I could sit in my Void and just execute everyone who is against me, but that doesn''t tell me why, and forcefully ripping that knowledge from their Souls is just wrong."


    "Breathe," Caethya said, moving herself in front of the All-Mother. She cupped the All-Mother''s face with her hands, trying her best to get Aperio to look only at her. "We already know you wanted to live a life of a mortal; Moria told you that. She also said that you knew that you might not remember everything right away."


    "But why?" Aperio asked in exhaustion. "Because I was bored? Because I had to do it?" Because I wanted to become even stronger? ¡­How does that even work?


    "I think you did it because you wanted to," her disciple said. "But I also think that you having forgotten everything was not part of your plan.


    "The best bet for answers at the moment is Epemirial," she continued. "I know you don''t trust easily, but have some faith in the Judges. They made it sound like you created them explicitly to solve issues like this."


    "Perhaps I did," Aperio mumbled, lowering her gaze slightly before she took a deep breath. Then she shook her head. "While we wait for them, I would like to visit Epemirial''s Dominion. Maybe I can find something I missed before."


    "We could try asking the people there," Caethya suggested. "If Epemirial wanted them to forget that you existed, they might not know what you look like."


    "It''s worth a try," Aperio said. "Seems a little far-fetched, however."


    "Any plan is better than no plan," her disciple said, standing up.


    Aperio followed suit, offering her hand to Caethya who took it without hesitation. "I hope your ''plan'' brings some answers."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 138: Misconceptions

    Their entrance into Epemirial''s Dominion was surprisingly uneventful. The mortals that inhabited the realm did not initially spare them much mind, only inclining their head slightly and mumbling greetings when they passed.


    Aperio let her aura spread through the Dominion a little more while also making sure no passerby would listen in on her conversation with Caethya. She no longer bothered hiding her presence ¡ª something that got an immediate reaction out of the inhabitants. Confusion was the most prominent reaction which was quickly followed by fear, most likely because the mortals did not know what the sudden influx of mana meant. Did Epemirial punish them like this?


    She let her mana flow in the way it wanted, trusting her instincts to make a connection with this realm as they had in the Court. What required a more conscious effort on her part was the checking of each and every mortal Soul present for runes or other signs of tampering.


    "What did you find?" Caethya asked as Aperio took a deep breath and balled her fists.


    The All-Mother moved her hand through the air, reality splitting apart in its wake. A thought connected the large tear she had made to her Void, letting a tiny fraction of the River of Souls flow through it.


    "She did it to everyone," Aperio hissed, trying her best to not summon Epemirial and grind her into dust. "Every Soul here has been marred¡­ Abused by her. They fear the mere presence of my mana."


    "Maybe because they can feel your anger?" Caethya asked as she brushed her hand over Aperio''s arm, letting her mana flow into the All-Mother. "They do not know that it is not directed at them, after all."


    "That does not make it much better," Aperio replied, taking a deep breath of the nothing that leaked into the realm alongside the small bit of the River she had diverted. "I would have to be a lot angrier for a normal mortal to notice. That they can feel this means they know what they are looking for."


    Caethya looked at the mortals that surrounded them, most of whom were trying to steal a glance at the All-Mother and her disciple when they thought they would not notice. "Maybe," she said. "I do not know how a normal person would perceive your emotions." She held up her free hand as Aperio opened her mouth to speak. "But I do know that your emotions very much influence the world at large.


    "After your encounter with Vigil and Inanis," she continued, moving herself in front of Aperio, "the atmosphere of the world changed. I bet you noticed that too."


    "I did," Aperio said. It goes both ways, she added in her mind. The influence the inhabitants of her creation had on her had become less and less as time went on, having come to a point where Aperio was no longer certain if their emotions even did anything to her anymore. But maybe that is because I somehow feel¡­ less in general.


    Things that would have made her unreasonably angry in the past still managed to get her blood boiling, but it was nowhere near as strong of a feeling as it had been before. Caethya, on the other hand¡­ That part of her seemed to be unaffected by whatever change had happened to her.


    "Maybe it has something to do with the armlet?" Caethya asked. "Ever since you started wearing it, you haven''t seemed to be as angry. Even when it comes to things like this."


    "Is that bad?"


    "No," her disciple replied. "Just a little weird. Was this, perhaps, why you wore it in the past? So your anger would not influence your creation?"


    "Maybe," Aperio mumbled, brushing her wing over the armlet in question. She could feel the mana inside it; almost like her well, but not quite the same. Definitely old. There was an intangible touch of sadness that flowed through her when she thought about the armlet a little more ¡ª a weird contrast to the comfort it brought.


    "I was ¡ª am," she corrected herself, "attached to it. I know it meant a lot to me in the past, still does in a way. I just don''t know why." Or why it has a feather design when everyone says I did not have wings before.


    "Maybe something to ask Ferio about once we are done here," Caethya said, looking at the growing group of mortals that was starting to form around them. "I think they are ready to talk."


    "It would seem so," Aperio said, a thought dismissing the barrier that kept her conversation with Caethya private. Another thought informed her disciple that she should talk to the mortals, Aperio herself quite sure that they would not be that receptive to her questions. My presence alone might already taint their answers.


    The mortals did not speak immediately, just staring at the All-Mother and her disciple. Caethya removed her hands from Aperio''s arm and turned to face those that had gathered around them. Most of them seemed unsure whether to speak or to bow down in front of who they had already recognized to be a Goddess.


    Aperio wanted to reassure them somehow, but could not think of what to do. A smile, maybe a few words of encouragement were in order, but the All-Mother could not bring herself to do that. Just looking at the people gathered in front of her brought a tinge of sadness as well as anger to the forefront of her mind.


    She wanted to help them beyond healing their Souls, despite the fact that it was likely the biggest thing she could do for them. Do they even know what happened? Or do they think Epemirial helped them, like Laelia thought Vigil helped her?


    The sound of Caethya clearing her throat took Aperio from her wandering thoughts. "I know you have questions," her disciple began, holding up her hand to quiet down the whispers that had already started. "We will try to answer them as best we can, but we have some questions of our own first."


    Aperio lowered herself on the ground and loosely wrapped her wings around herself. It did not really serve a purpose, but the All-Mother hoped that it would help calm the mortals down a little. Having her loom over everyone while they were already scared was not really desirable to her. Epemirial fucked them over enough.


    "I will start with a simple question," Caethya began, clasping her hands in front of her chest. "What kind of duties do you have here?"


    Her question was greeted with silence, the mortals glancing at each other. Some whispered to their neighbours, seemingly assuming that the All-Mother would not be able to hear their words.


    So they think we work for Epemirial? That was the most common subject being whispered by the inhabitants of the realm. They seemed to think that the Goddess of Duty and Loss had sent Caethya and herself to take care of something while she was gone. Did they think she left on her own? Aperio had assumed it was fairly obvious that Epemirial had been taken against her will. But then, nobody really saw it happen¡­ And they probably can''t sense much with their auras.


    "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves," Aperio offered, trying to keep her voice as gentle as she could. With her aura as prominent as it was in the realm, that was easier said than done.


    "A good idea," Caethya said, bowing slightly to the still-growing crowd of people that surrounded them. "I am Caethya, a Demigoddess of Creation." She hesitated for a moment before Aperio informed her with a thought that she could continue and she gestured towards the sitting All-Mother. "And this is Aperio, the All-Mother."


    Luckily, the proclamation of her title did not yield the results Aperio had feared. The mortals surrounding her did not seem to know what that title was supposed to mean. Or they are very good at hiding it.


    "What are you here to do?" a raspy voice called from the crowd. "Do you serve her majesty?"


    "No," Aperio replied, her voice a little more forceful as she focused on the man who had spoken. "I serve no-one."


    "We came here because we have a few questions," Caethya said while also offering a small prayer to Aperio, asking her to let her do the talking. "And fix a few problems," she added after the All-Mother squinted at her.


    "What do you wish to know?" another voice asked. "If you can come here, the Lady must surely value you."


    Caethya hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure what she should ask now that the people seemed ready to help. Asking them if they knew why their Goddess was so against Aperio was not really possible when they thought that Epemirial had invited the two of them here. Still, why did she not inform her followers that she got taken against her will?


    "For one," Caethya began, "we would like to know about The Veil. One of its members has gone¡­ missing and we hoped that maybe someone here would know what they were last up to."


    Aperio was certain her disciple was asking about Miesto, the messenger she had killed before finding Gyesfal. Why is she asking that?


    A mortal further back in the crowd raised their hand, dropping a few of the scrolls they had been holding. "Do you mean Miesto?"


    "Yes," Caethya said with a small smile. "Do you know what their duty was?"


    Are we in a school? While Aperio had never attended one herself, she had been close enough in proximity to the Royal Academy of the Inaru Empire to know how the institute worked. What was unfolding in front of her now was fairly similar to what happened in the very first classes people took. Just that none of the mortals here are children¡­ If they were, Epemirial would have found herself a very quick end.


    The mortal dropped the other scrolls they had been holding, before quickly bending over to pick one of them back up again. "Yes!" they exclaimed, fumbling with the ribbon that held the parchment closed for a moment before finally getting it open.


    They cleared their throat as they unfurled the piece of parchment before beginning to read. "Miesto Mirkael. In charge of tribute collection for sectors one through four. There are no marks on him until he disappeared nearly a week ago."


    The rustling of parchment as the mortal opened another scroll was almost deafening in the quiet room. "His last orders were to confirm an interruption in The Work." They hesitated for a moment, lowering the piece of parchment before they continued. "He is currently missing, presumed dead. Signed by Epemirial herself."


    "He is dead," Aperio confirmed, looking at the mortal who had read from the parchment. Why do they have it if they obviously don''t read it? She could not think of another reason why the mortal would be surprised by the fact that it said Miesto was missing, presumed dead. "What is your duty here, mortal?"


    "A C-Courier, m-my Lady," he replied, bowing deeply and dropping the papers he had just read from. Ah, that makes more sense.


    "Do you know of Gyesfal?" she asked, holding her gaze on the mortal before sweeping it over the crowd. "Anyone?"


    "We all know of the afterlife, my Lady," another mortal replied. "That is why we all work as hard as we do. So we can be reunited with everyone in Gyesfal."


    Aperio let a bit more of her Void flow into Epemirial''s Dominion at the words. Selling eternal torture as the afterlife, she thought. Disgusting. The worst part was that Epemirial was not even lying. Technically, they would be reunited with people in Gyesfal. That''s just fucked up.


    "Gyesfal was not what you think it was," Aperio said. She did not really care if the mortals would refuse to answer her; what she wanted to know was on the scrolls they carried, anyway. Don''t need them to read those.


    The magic that guarded them against prying eyes was awfully flimsy for something used by a Goddess, not even requiring a conscious effort to bypass. Should have looked at them earlier.


    "Was?" a mortal asked, quickly adding, "What do you mean by that? My Lady."


    "That it is no longer there, and never really was what you were told," she replied. A thought brought Caethya, herself, and every mortal she could find in Epemirial''s Dominion into her Void proper.


    A larger section of the River of Souls was diverted with another thought, causing it to flow through the crowd she had just brought here.


    "This is where you go when you die," Aperio said, gesturing towards the countless lights that floated in the River. "Your Soul joins the others here as they rest from the life they had and prepare for the next."


    It was a bit of a lie, but telling the mortals in front of her that they would forget everything they knew was not something she wanted to do at the moment. "And sometimes," she continued, spreading her wings slightly as the River flowed past her. "I have to use it to heal the Souls of mortals."


    Caethya sighed at the words and shook her head. A moment later a prayer from her disciple came, asking why she had brought them here instead of further questioning the mortals. Aperio simply showed the Demigoddess what she had found on the scrolls some of the mortals had carried. The reports, plans, and other details that she was sure the mortals themselves would have never told them.


    "Heal? Us?" a mortal asked, trying to see the River''s invisible water as it swept past her. "Why?"


    "Because your Souls have been tainted by a traitor," Aperio replied, not specifying who the traitor was. "I will not stand for a world filled with slaving Gods."


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 139: New World Report

    "Who?" one of the mortals asked, their eyes darting around the Void as if to find who Aperio was talking about.


    The All-Mother simply quirked an eyebrow at the question. "Your precious Goddess," she said, squinting at the mortal and causing him to shrink a little. "She decided to disregard one of the few rules I am not willing to bend, and enforce your will and loyalty by disfiguring your Souls."


    A few of the mortals voiced their objections to her words; Aperio ignored them. The few that had spoken in favour of Epemirial were far fewer than those that now looked at the All-Mother and the distant twinkling of the other Souls. Can they already feel the change?


    Erasing the runes from their Souls would take time ¡ª less than it had the first time, but still longer than Aperio would like. A quick check revealed that many of the mortals¡¯ Souls had already been mostly scrubbed clean of the vile marks. Because I got stronger¡­ somehow? Or are their Souls more easily manipulated because of what Epemirial did?


    "Why?" someone mumbled, looking at their hand before grasping at their chest. "Why would she do something like this?"


    "To make sure she has loyal followers," Aperio said, unfurling the scroll that had appeared in her hand. "Why make sure you actually care for your followers if you can make them blindly follow you?"


    Scroll after scroll appeared in front of the All-Mother as she read them one by one. Of course, looking at them through her aura and reading them that way was an option, but Aperio enjoyed going through the motions of picking a scroll she wanted and reading it. Even if it only takes a glance.


    Caethya, too, had started looking through the scrolls after Aperio had made a few appear near her disciple. So far there had not been anything of note, only reports on how the various branches of Epemirial''s church organised themselves and planned their efforts to expand their numbers. Not what I want to know, though.


    She doubted that Epemirial would have written her entire reasoning for being against Aperio on a random scroll, but any hint as to where she might get more information would be nice. Anything that doesn''t require me to burrow through her Soul or mind.


    While Aperio was certain she could do it, she would rather not exercise that power if she could avoid it; even if it would make her search for answers longer. Perhaps it was foolish, but using her power for every problem would only turn her into a person she did not want to be. A quiet life. Please.


    Ignoring everything was also an option, of course, but to Aperio that was even worse. If she did not get information from the scrolls, the Dominion or the Court, Aperio would use her powers to get answers. She just hoped that it did not come to that. I can do without seeing the madness of Epemirial''s mind.


    The All-Mother ignored the growing intensity of the mortal chatter as she sifted through more and more scrolls of largely useless information. Aperio paused as her eyes flew over another piece of parchment she had thought to be as useless as the rest when she had first picked it up. Luckily, that was not the case this time.


    New World Report? The title definitely piqued her interest, and so did the scroll it came on. For one reason or another, it was vastly longer than the ones she had read up until now. Whoever had made this obviously took pride in their work. The scroll was filled with mana which fuelled a series of enchantments that Aperio had only noticed when she looked a little closer. A book in a scroll. Neat.


    Why, exactly, they had decided to use a swiping gesture to flip through the magical pages was not quite clear to Aperio, but she did not mind. It was finally something she could use. The first part of the report went largely ignored as it mostly consisted of praising the deities who were supposed to read the report for their wisdom and continued support.


    What followed after that, however, was of much more interest to the All-Mother. Names? She did not recognise most of them, of course, but one stood out. Earth¡­ Isn''t that the world Adam is from? A small mental message directed at Caethya caused the Demigoddess to shuffle closer and look at the paper.


    "Yes, that''s his home world," she said with a small nod before she squinted at the small bit of text that stood next to the name. "What do they mean with ''Occupied''?"


    "That one or more deities are already present on the world in question," Aperio replied after flipping back to the beginning and looking at the very helpful list of definitions. "Though, it also says that they cannot confirm the actual presence of a deity as they do not know where that world is."


    "Oh!" Caethya exclaimed, quickly moving back to her pile of scrolls and burrowing through it. After a short while she emerged with an unassuming piece of parchment and offered it to the All-Mother before fixing her hair and dress and giving the few mortals that had peeked at the commotion she had made a stern look.


    "Read this," she said, returning her attention to Aperio. "I did not really think much of it when I first found it, but now it makes much more sense."


    "It does?" Aperio asked as a touch of her magic took hold of the scroll and unfurled it. She raised a brow at the words ¡ª obviously written by the same individual that had made the quite extensive report she still held in her hand. "Diskrye knows but does not want to tell them?"


    "Apparently," Caethya said, offering a small shrug. "Could you ask her? ¡­It?"


    "I will see what I can do," Aperio replied, a part of her mind already busying itself with searching high above her temple for the space-borne deity. "I do not really know where they are, however." Space is pretty big, and I will not become some weird cloud again.


    "I am fairly sure you can find them," Caethya said with a small smile on her face. "Maybe ask Roots about it, too? Its name hasn''t come up yet, but I am sure it¡¯s only a matter of time."


    "Probably," Aperio agreed, returning her attention to the more extensive report.


    So many, she thought to herself as she swiped past yet another page filled with names of other worlds. It was obvious that the Repens Nabu had been steadily collecting information, and the only problem Aperio saw now was that they did not cite where they got it from. One source, at least, was obvious; [Veil Walkers] like Adam and Kiro would know how their home world differed from the new one. And according to Mayeia, they usually choose a deity as patron¡­


    None of them knew what the Repens Nabu wanted to know, though. It was clear as day that the Gods wanted to find these worlds to make them their own, and the only one that could help them with that was refusing to do so. Good job, Diskrye. Aperio did not know if it was refusing to help them because it thought of their actions as wrong or if it simply had not received instructions from her to cooperate, but neither did she really care. As long as the Repens Nabu did not gain access to the New Worlds, she was fine. Perhaps it is for the best if they remain separate¡­


    The fervor with which the old Gods tried to find the New Worlds, coupled with what she had learned about the [War in Heaven], only showed that they were most definitely not ready to go there. Almost like spoiled brats that got their toys taken.


    Aperio was taken from her thoughts when her eyes finally landed on something besides names for more and more worlds. What she was looking at now was not quite what she had expected to find in a scroll ¡ª especially not one that would probably end up in a mortal¡¯s hands at one point or another.


    Taking over Verenier seemed like a silly plan for anyone, doubly so now that she was back. Which they even made a note about. It seemed like a desperate move; one that would cost countless mortals their lives. And what is so important on Geshwen?


    "Caethya," she began, a touch of her magic cutting the two of them off from the by-now noisy crowd surrounding them. "What do you know about Geshwen?"


    Her disciple hesitated for a moment, simply looking at Aperio. She rubbed her neck, sighing lightly. "I don''t know much," she said. "But what I do know isn''t great. Almost the entire continent is ruled by a single empire." Caethya''s eyes darted all around Aperio, seemingly trying to spot even the slightest reaction to her words. "They have a, uh, unique belief."


    "It''s slavery, right?" Aperio guessed, lowering the parchment she held.


    "Yes," Caethya replied and heaved another ¡ª longer ¡ª sigh. "They believe that anyone not born on Geshwen is a low-born and can only have value as a slave."


    "Of course it is," Aperio said, shaking her head. "Probably also raid everyone else for slaves, correct?"


    "In the past, yes," her disciple replied. "They have been awfully quiet lately."


    The All-Mother turned the parchment in her hand, letting the Demigoddess read what was written on it. "Probably because of this."


    Caethya blinked and shook her head in disbelief as she reached the end of the page. "Are they mad? How can they possibly think this would work?"


    "Because they have the support of the Repens Nabu?"


    "Yes, but most Gods can''t just walk around on a world like you do. This invasion would not even get past Lightfray."


    "Lightfray?" Aperio asked, looking back at the page to see if she had somehow missed that name.


    Her disciple''s arm vanished into a small ¡ª somehow even blacker ¡ª patch of space for a moment before pulling it back with a map in her hand.


    "It''s an old tower," she said, pointing towards the south-eastern edge of Vetus. The words ''Lightfray Edge'' were clearly written below a drawing of a small, weird looking tower. "Master Uehryal and his disciple keep it operational and also stop most expeditions from Geshwen dead in their tracks."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she let her aura manifest itself a little more on Verenier itself. She was sure she had seen a tower like the one depicted on the map before, but she wanted to see the real thing before making any assumptions.


    It did not take long for her to find the building in question, a giant discharge of mana racing into the sky giving its position away almost immediately. The pillar of almost pure mana also made it clear where it got its name from as the light of Verenier''s sun seemed to unravel as it passed through the concentrated magic.


    "How would that stop anything?" Aperio asked. "Can they steer that discharge?"


    "Did you look at it?" Caethya asked as she put the map away again, continuing after Aperio gave a brief nod. "I think they use the mana the tower gathers to fuel spells; the discharge is like the last safety so the tower doesn''t explode."


    "Why did they put sails on a tower?" Aperio asked, mentally squinting as she tried to look closer at the weirdly shiny fabric. "Oh," she said as mana was diverted into the sail, witnessing the runes inside lighting up to let the magic slowly dissipate into the atmosphere. "That''s neat."


    Before Aperio could direct her attention back to the parchment in her hand, a System notification appeared in front of her mind¡¯s eye. Apparently the Judges had gathered all they needed and were ready to proceed with the case against Epemirial. They had also attached a note stating that they had taken more members of both The Veil and the Repens Nabu into custody and would try them as well.


    "Looks like we have to go," Aperio said, shifting the notification towards Caethya and tugging at the threads of reality just enough so her disciple could see it. "Do you think the mortals will be fine on their own?"


    "Maybe bring them to your temple and heal them there?" the Demigoddess suggested. "There are still ones from the Vigil incident there, right?" She paused, and Aperio nodded. "Then maybe they can help each other."


    "I will also ask Laelia and Mister Penbrooks for help," Aperio said, standing up. "Mayeia, too," she added and dismissed the barrier that had separated Caethya and herself from the mortals.


    Getting the confirmation from Laelia and Mister Penbrooks only took a thought, both of them seemingly very eager to help the mortals. Convincing Mayeia was a little harder but, in the end, Aperio only wanted her to supervise and step in if the mortals did something stupid. Something to which the Goddess of Magic agreed.


    A light clearing of her throat that somehow echoed through the entirety of her Void caused the conversation between the mortals to die down. No fighting, Aperio observed. That''s good. She had heard quite a few heated arguments about Epemirial and herself, but nobody seemed to see the need for a physical altercation.


    "While you are healing," Aperio began, a thought opening a wide portal leading to her temple to the side of the group, "you may stay in my temple. There are others there that share your experience and may be able to help you. You may leave the temple if you wish; just speak to Laelia and she will arrange for your departure."


    Most mortals simply nodded and began to shuffle through the portal once Aperio motioned for them to go. A few stayed behind, however, one of them raising their hand. "What will happen to our Lady?" the woman asked with a shaky voice.


    "She will answer for her crimes and be judged," Aperio replied. "The least severe punishment she will face is the loss of her divinity. Your ''Lady'' will be a normal mortal if you see her again."


    Anger flashed over the face of many of the mortals still present, but none of them acted upon it. They simply glared at Aperio for a moment longer before following the others and leaving her Void.


    Once the last mortal had disappeared, Aperio let out a sigh and, after letting her disciple know, twisted reality apart. Caethya and herself appeared in the room they had previously occupied in the [Court of Heaven], the All-Mother still holding the parchment she had been reading. Might be useful.


    "What do you think they found?" Caethya asked, moving to the door that had already been opened by a Celestial in the seemingly customary dark blue robes.


    "Nothing good," Aperio mumbled. "Nothing good."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 140: Disturbing Delusions

    Aperio stepped out of the room Caethya and herself had appeared in. They were not greeted by the large open hall that was the entry to the Court but a well-lit corridor, the walls of which were lined with more doors like the one they had just walked through. She knew that there were thousands of these rooms, but seeing them with her eyes and not her aura made her appreciate the scale a little more.


    "My Lady," the nearby Celestial said, pausing briefly as they offered Aperio a sealed scroll. "The Judges have prepared a small brief for you. What they uncovered was deemed classified and not to be shared with a messenger like me."


    A touch of her magic lifted the parchment from the Celestial''s hand and into her own. "Thank you," she said as she split the enchanted seal with her finger.


    Whatever magic had been infused into the seal stood no chance against the All-Mother as it simply fizzled out without doing much else. As soon as the seal was undone the parchment unfurled, revealing neat handwriting Aperio assumed belonged to one of the Judges.


    The All-Mother motioned the Celestial to continue onwards as she started to read through the letter. Most of it was simply reiterating what she already knew, whether she had learned it from Epemirial directly or through reading some of the many scrolls in her Dominion.


    A few things did stand out, however. The number of people the Judges had brought in for what Aperio assumed was going to be a trial was perhaps the most notable. The list of names might not have been as long as the ones the Repens Nabu had for different worlds, but still longer than Aperio had first assumed.


    "How did they find all of them?" she mumbled, mostly to herself. Aperio recognised some of the names on the parchment, sure, but most of them were not ones she had heard before. The ones she did recognise were some of the Gods that had been known during her time as a slave ¡ª like Lor''Kem ¡ª but also ones she knew now only because she had viewed Moria''s memory.


    "They are very good at what they do, my Lady," the Celestial replied with what Aperio guessed was a hint of pride. "You picked them, after all."


    Aperio squinted at the back of the Celestial, not quite sure if they truly meant what they said or if they were trying to be nice because she was the All-Mother.


    "That does not make it less impressive," she finally said. "I do not even know all the people on this list."


    Caethya brushed her hand over Aperio''s folded wings, smiling at her once the All-Mother had turned to face her disciple. "See, they did not let you down."


    "Yes," Aperio replied, shifting her gaze back towards the parchment. "For once I am not surrounded by incompetence." Except for my own.


    While the people around her knew what they had to do, Aperio could not say the same. And I am supposed to be someone they look up to¡­ She might have accepted what she was ¡ª at least somewhat ¡ª but her role in her own creation was still not something she was sure about.


    "I would like to believe the people here are better than the ones who ran that empire," Caethya remarked, lightly touching Aperio''s arm. "A bit of trust is all you need sometimes."


    "We still have to see how all of this plays out," Aperio said, raising an eyebrow at the parchment in her hand. Just like the other one she had read ¡ª Need to finish reading. ¡ª this one, too, let her swipe through different ''pages''. A seemingly endless amount of them.


    There were lists upon lists of things Aperio did not even know were important. Or what even counts as evidence. Apparently, the Judges had not only brought people here but also a good chunk of their belongings: ledgers, pictures, clothes, entire cabinets, and even an entire church that supposedly belonged to Lor''kem. Where did they put that?


    The question as to where the Judges stored buildings in their realm would have to be answered later as they came to a stop in front of a small, yet somehow grand door. Aperio sighed as she let her aura seep into the parchment in her hand, the information that had been written on it simply appearing in her mind. Weird¡­


    Merely knowing the information like this somehow felt¡­ unsatisfying to Aperio. Why exactly that was would have to be determined later, as for now she had to deal with whatever the Judges had come up with.


    She could already sense the room they were about to step into. It was not the chamber the trial would be held in: that honor would go to the large hall that was just beyond it. At least, Aperio assumed that was the case. Sure looks like a courtroom, though.


    Aperio gave the Celestial a nod as she stepped past them and into the chamber beyond. She reached out with her mind to offer her thanks, before thinking better of it and offering a verbal "Thank you" instead.


    The Celestial hesitated for a moment, the light in their face growing in intensity briefly before they bowed and closed the door behind Caethya, who gave a quiet giggle at the interaction.


    "Please excuse them," the Light Judge said, offering a small bow of their own. "The-One-That-Moves has been anticipating your arrival for quite a while, Lady Aperio. They even pulled all their copies that usually guide people around the Court back to themselves just so they could lead you as a whole."


    "I am flattered," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly. "I think."


    The idea that someone had ignored what appeared to be their duty just so they could guide her down a hallway ¡ª a journey she most assuredly could have completed herself ¡ª felt nice, but also very wrong. Just treat me like a normal person, please.


    "It was a nice gesture," Caethya said, setting herself down on the couch the Dark Judge gestured towards. She gently tugged at Aperio''s arm, guiding the All-Mother to sit next to her as she slipped her arm past Aperio''s wings. "Even if you do not like the special treatment, you have to admit that."


    "It was," the All-Mother replied, shifting her wings to make herself a little more comfortable on the sofa. "I merely hope it will not become a common occurrence."


    "It will not," the Light Judge said. "The-One-That-Moves had requested exactly one exception to be made so they could do this. Now it is done."


    Why would they plan for that? Aperio wondered. It''s not like I was going to profess some profound wisdom to them¡­ The thought caused Aperio to stifle a sigh. Everyone expected her to be the one they remembered, but she was no longer that person. Nor could she just tell them that, either. Would probably cause even more chaos.


    "In any case," Aperio said, removing a few barely perceivable wrinkles from her dress with a thought. "We have not come here to discuss your people''s conduct. What do you intend to do with Epemirial and her ilk?"


    "Try them for their crimes, of course!" the Light Judge exclaimed, almost too excitedly for Aperio''s tastes. "Once we started looking into her a bit more, finding the connections turned out to be remarkably simple."


    "Looked into her?" Aperio inquired. The way the Judge had phrased it had caused a feeling of unease to settle in her stomach. Almost like they just tore open her mind. She might have been willing to do that as a last resort, but most definitely not as the preferred option. Even for others.


    The Light Judge gave a hesitant nod. "Yes. Ask her questions, judge the answers. Taste her Truth."


    "Hers was twisted," the Dark Judge continued. "Foul, even. She believes her words to be true, but the taint on them is all too clear. The same was true for most others we questioned. Their Truths are lies to all but themselves."


    Why must they speak in riddles? Aperio wanted to sigh in exasperation, but held it in. What the Judges described did not sound like ripping into someone''s mind to get what they wanted ¨C more like some form of truth-telling that Aperio did not yet know.


    Using magic to discern what was true and what was not was nothing new to her. The very first magic she had used upon her return had been a very simple version of truth-telling, after all. Just with reality and not another person.


    "So they are convinced my sole purpose is to enslave them, and the best solution to that problem is killing me and then enslaving everyone themselves?" Aperio asked. "How can they be that stupid? They are Gods."


    "Gods are not safe from delusions," the Dark Judge said, pulling a stack of papers from its desk. "Usually you would have removed them from their position if they started to show signs of being tainted like this."


    "But you were gone," the Light Judge continued, taking the papers from its colleague and handing them to Aperio. "So it was allowed to continue. Letting their delusions fester."


    "But how did this even happen?" Aperio asked. "Did I miss something when I checked Epemirial''s Soul? Did they somehow break themselves?" How could I miss that, though?


    She might not remember how a Soul worked, but she knew when something was wrong with one. There was an understanding of how a Soul should look ¡ª should feel ¡ª in her mind, and while Epemirial did disfigure her own, it was not broken. Or did I lose the ability to tell when one is broken and only think I know?


    There were a few other possibilities that entered her mind. The broken System could also be a reason, though the older Pantheon of Gods did not depend on it as much as the new ones, and those seemed to be fine. So maybe it was my absence? But how?


    Aperio doubted she had micro-managed the other deities before her disappearance, and she knew they weren''t merely some weird copies of herself. She had the memory of Vigil and Inanis ascending in her head, after all.


    "Perhaps this can help," the Light Judge said, offering the papers it held to Aperio. "We are not well versed in the matters of the Soul. We deal with the truth of experience, not the truth of existence."


    "Could it be that they needed your presence?" Caethya asked. "They carry a bit of your divinity, after all."


    Her disciple¡¯s words were accompanied by a mental message that caused Aperio to almost drop the papers she had just received. The possibility of her mana being responsible for twisting the Gods into what they were now did not sit right with Aperio. Not because it was not possible ¡ª to her it was the most likely scenario ¡ª but because it would mean that Caethya and Maria might face an even worse fate.


    The All-Mother wrapped one of her wings around her disciple, pulling her closer. She had to make sure that whatever happened to Epemirial and the others would not happen to Caethya and Maria.


    "I hope not," Aperio mumbled. "If that is the case, there are a great many more things that will be broken."


    "It might be the cause," the Dark Judge said, "but I doubt it. The [Court of Heaven] depends on the All-Mother just as much ¡ª if not more ¡ª than the Elder Gods, and not much has changed during your absence."


    Nothing you noticed, Aperio corrected in her mind. A glance at the parchment she had received from the Judges caused her to raise a brow. It was a list of yet more names. She did not need to know them to figure out that every one of them had been deities at one point or another. They had all been stripped of their positions and blessings by her, following what was only listed as ''abnormal behaviour''. What did I do?


    "Do you know what was wrong with them?" the All-Mother inquired, handing back the stack of papers.


    Both Judges shook their heads. "We do not," the Light one said. "It was never our duty so we never asked. If you wish to enlighten us, we would listen, of course, but we do not expect to know how the divine works."


    "Perhaps it would even be preferable that we remain ignorant," the Dark Judge added. "Knowing the exact nature of those we are to judge might make us liable to feel compassion, or despise them. It is best to remain impartial."


    "Perhaps," Aperio agreed, her eyes wandering to the door that led to the courtroom. "What happens now?"


    "There will be no normal trial this time," the Dark Judge said. "They have already been found guilty of deicide, heresy, and a plethora of other crimes. We now also know how some of the less powerful Gods evaded judgements; they simply had Epemirial, or someone close to her power, who was able to ignore the rules of the Court. Thankfully, that is no longer possible.¡±


    "We will proclaim the judgement we have come to," the Light Judge continued, "and then it is up to your grace to decide how you wish to render it."


    Aperio let out a sigh at the words. She was certain what the Judges had come up with was beyond what she had planned. At least they are leaving the final decision to me¡­ Not that I want that. "Let us proceed, then," she said, carefully pulling up Caethya with her as she stood. I want to be done with this.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Revelations – Chapter 141: Second Nature

    "It will be a moment longer before everyone will arrive," the Dark Judge said, "as we did not know if you would return immediately or if you would wish to speak to the accused beforehand."


    "I do not wish to speak to any of them," Aperio replied. "Even if I did, I doubt they would tell me anything of value." They hate me too much for that¡­ Or maybe, fear me.


    Epemirial and her ilk were undoubtedly aware that all she needed to remove them from her creation was a thought. That''s probably what I should do, she mused. It would be so easy to make the deities that slowly filtered into the courtroom just disappear. All she needed to do was will it.


    As she looked around at them, they all looked so strangely sure of themselves, as if whatever would happen here would have no impact on them. Even Epemirial herself seemed to be at ease in the Court, despite the fact that her status as a deity was not only irrelevant here but would also be revoked in just a little while. So smug.


    A single thought would be enough to solve this problem. Just have to remove them¡­ If the pantheon that was against her no longer existed, who would stop her from just living her life? There was no-one that could go against her; all Aperio had to do was give herself a little push.


    Just ignore the questions, she thought, pulling on her well as her aura flowed into the courtroom. Remove the problem; ignore the questions.


    "Aperio?" Caethya asked, her voice pulling the All-Mother from her thoughts. Her disciple placed her hand on Aperio''s arm only to pull away again as a few tiny arcs of mana jumped across to her hand. "What happened?"


    The All-Mother blinked, once. Twice. She shook her head, letting out a long breath of silvery mist. "I do not know," Aperio mumbled, shifting her gaze to her hand. It shook ever-so-slightly, her fingers twitching as if they wanted to curl around someone''s neck. She balled her hand into a fist, her nails digging slightly into her palm. "Anger?"


    As gently as she could, Aperio reached out with her mind to show Caethya what she had felt. Words could not properly describe the experience, and even if they could, she did not want the Judges to know.


    It was not exactly a desire to kill; she wanted to rid herself of a problem. The easiest and simplest way to do that was killing those who were causing her problems. That''s not me¡­ I don''t just kill people.


    "Could you leave us for a moment?" Caethya asked, stepping in front of Aperio and taking her hands into her own. "Please."


    "Of course," the Judges replied in almost perfect unison.


    "We shall begin with the reading of the judgement," the Light Judge said. "The introductions alone will take a while. We will have The-One-That-Moves get the both of you when we are ready to begin proclaiming the judgment. Does that work?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, tearing her gaze from her disciple to look at the Judges for a moment. "That is fine."


    As soon as the Judges had left the room Aperio slumped to the floor, dragging Caethya with her. The All-Mother wrapped her arms and wings around the Elf as she adjusted her position on the floor slightly.


    A touch of her magic ensured that no-one ¡ª not even the Judges ¡ª would be able to listen. She did make an exception for the door that already had what Aperio assumed to be a projection of The-One-That-Moves next to it, so they could still perform the duty they had been assigned.


    "Feel better now?" Caethya asked, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke into Aperio''s chest and dress.


    The All-Mother loosened her hold on her disciple a little, letting the Elf pull back somewhat before she spoke. "A little," she said. "But¡­ I was so close to giving in to that feeling." She pulled her wings a little closer to herself. "So close."


    "But you did not do it," Caethya said, shifting in Aperio''s lap to better look at the All-Mother. "And that''s what counts."


    "I did not because you stopped me," the All-Mother mumbled in reply. "And now any trust the Judges had in me is gone as well. They''ll figure out that I''m nothing but a fraud in no time."


    Caethya heaved a sigh as she leaned back, Aperio''s wings easily supporting her weight. "You are not a fraud, Aperio. And I am convinced you would not have acted on that impulse, either.


    "Don''t truckle every time you take a step back," she continued, leaning forward and cupping Aperio''s face in her hands. "Nobody knows how your mind is supposed to work. But I know you would not cause that much harm without reason. You may come close, but you would not do it ¡ª even without my intervention." She leaned in closer, brushing her thumbs over Aperio''s cheeks. "Have a bit more faith in yourself, okay?"


    Aperio sighed and carefully removed Caethya''s hands from her face, holding them in her own instead. "Thank you," she said, giving her disciple''s hands a careful squeeze. "But I need to know why this happens. There is no world in which this would be normal." Or good.


    Coming close to murdering a room full of people because it would solve a problem could not be considered a good outcome by any sane person ¡ª at least in Aperio''s mind.


    "Considering what happened to you," Caethya said, shifting slightly as Aperio narrowed her eyes, "I think it is probably how you would have solved this in the past. This wouldn''t be the first time, either.


    "Back in the Ebenlowe Dungeon," she continued, leaning herself against Aperio''s wings, "it happened too, no? I did not see what you did, but your anger ¡ª this kind of anger ¡ª was the same. It felt the same."


    "That does not make it any better," Aperio replied, letting go of Caethya''s hands and holding her head. "I almost killed them! Irrevocable death!" She paused, taking a deep breath. The air in the Court did not provide the calm her Void did, but helped her clear her mind nonetheless. "I cannot be among mortals if I lose myself like this.


    "I want to kill them," Aperio said, holding up her hand to postpone a reply from Caethya. "What they have done has no excuse; but where would that end? Would I just turn into what Epemirial accused me of being? ¡­She was not wrong, was she?"


    "She is wrong," Caethya replied with a shake of her head. "If she was right, she would be dead right now and you would be playing with her Soul; doing to her what she did to others. Instead, you are here, questioning your own sanity because you almost gave in to instincts you no longer identify with."


    "While waiting to pass judgement on the people I want dead," Aperio quietly added as she shifted her gaze to the floor. Why am I like this?


    Caethya shook her head as she closed the small distance that separated her from the All-Mother. She placed her hands on Aperio''s shoulders, trying and failing to push her down until her Goddess gave in.


    "What''s this supposed to do?" Aperio asked, tilting her head and letting her wings spread out across the floor.


    Caethya only offered a shrug as she laid herself down next to the All-Mother. "If you are uncomfortable with what your old self would have done, why not do something she would have never done? People change, and so do you."


    "I did not really care for manners in the past," Aperio said, rolling onto her side to better look at Caethya. "When I went to the crowning of Moria''s son, I just lounged in a random chair for most of it. Legs over the armrest and all."


    "They had chairs for your size?"


    Aperio frowned at the words. "No," she said. "I was smaller then, split between multiple bodies¡­ Maybe that is a problem? Staying in one body?"


    "I doubt it," Caethya replied. She reached out, brushing a few strands of hair out of Aperio''s face. "I think whoever tried to remove your memory only managed to take actual memories and not your instincts, leaving you with contradicting emotions."


    "So, what you are saying is that I am a right old mess?"


    "You are my mess," Caethya said, moving herself closer to Aperio in order to rest her head against her chest, hugging the woman as best she could. "But that is beside the point. Everyone is a mess in their own way. Your problem is just one that is wholly unique, and the only one who would know anything about it is part of the problem."


    The All-Mother heaved a sigh, smiling slightly at the quiet giggle that came from her disciple. It did not really make sense to Aperio why Caethya calmed her the way she did. The Demigoddess did not shy away from her like others ¡ª had no issue telling her what she thought. Maybe that''s why¡­


    She wrapped her arms and wings around Caethya and herself, holding her as tight as she dared. While the fragility of everything else still bothered her, it was not something she wished to change either. The Gods she had made were already abusing what little strength she had given them. With more, they would likely fall into even greater depravity. Would do what I wanted to do just moments ago.


    "So I need to go back to retrieving more of my memories," Aperio mumbled, her voice furthered damped by Caethya''s hair.


    She took another deep breath, relaxing slightly as Caethya began to slowly stroke her arm. There was something surreal about the moment that did not quite want to make sense in Aperio''s mind. She was lying on the floor of the [Court of Heaven], holding the woman she was starting to suspect she loved. And yet her mind was running in circles, telling her that what was happening was not real. That she was a monster that used Caethya for her own pleasure while also being used by her for reasons unknown.


    "Stop doubting yourself," her disciple said, tapping Aperio''s arm. "I would not be here if I did not like you."


    "How?" Did I accidentally let her know?


    That was a downside of only needing a thought to make most things happen. A little distraction and a stray wish would have been enough to inform Caethya of everything she had been thinking about. Or hurt her¡­


    "You are easy to read, Aperio," her disciple said, shifting a little in the All-Mother''s embrace. "And remember, I can feel what you feel ¡ª especially when we are close."


    "Really?" Aperio knew that she was not the most outwardly emotional person. Every time she had shown what she had felt in the past, after all, it had been punished. She had been more open with Caethya than most anyone, but even then, her doubts had never really left.


    "Yes," her disciple replied. "You also pick up on what I feel without me telling you. And apparently without noticing it, too."


    Aperio could practically hear the smile in Caethya''s voice, a fact that caused one to spread across the All-Mother''s face as well. "I did not know that," she said, pulling away slightly as she sensed The-One-That-Moves shift a little. "I just do what I feel is right¡­"


    "So do I," her disciple replied, hesitating a moment before she continued. "For someone who did not get to live a normal life, you are doing very well. At least as far as I am concerned."


    Caethya pushed herself up slightly, planting a quick kiss on Aperio''s lips before pulling away again. "It will be a long road," she said, brushing her hand over the All-Mother''s cheek, "but I am here for all of it. I am here for you ."


    Aperio blinked as Caethya untangled herself from her arms and wings. She wanted to continue to hold her, ignoring the people that waited for her in the courtroom, and just do nothing.


    "Feel better now?" Caethya asked as she slowly stood up and fixed her dress.


    "A little?" Aperio guessed. If she was honest with herself, she was not quite sure what to think. She still feared what she had almost done; how close she had come to just killing a room of people because it was easy. And that I have to explain this to the Judges¡­


    "Cuddles never fail," her disciple said as she stepped behind the now-sitting Aperio and ruffled her hair. "Ready to judge?"


    "No," Aperio sighed, her shoulders slumping. "But it needs to be done. The-One-That-Moves will call for us at any moment now, too."


    The Celestial was obviously anticipating its cue to come as it already had its knuckles in front of the door, just waiting to knock and ask for them.


    "I figured," Caethya said. "I can''t really see outside this room, but I can feel it move."


    A thought caused Aperio to appear behind her disciple. She wrapped her arms around Caethya''s waist and rested her chin on her head. "Thank you," she said. "For stopping me, and for helping me."


    "Of course," her disciple replied. "But" ¡ªshe flicked her finger against Aperio''s forehead ¡ª "stop thinking you are a monster. You are not."


    Aperio''s reply was postponed by a knock on the door. With a sigh and an unneeded wave of her hand she opened it. "Yes?" she asked, not bothering to let go of Caethya as she fixed her eyes on The-One-That-Moves.


    "The Judges wish to proclaim the crimes and the judgement," the Celestial replied, bowing slightly. "They have requested your presence."


    "Let''s go," Caethya whispered, tugging at Aperio''s hands that were still wrapped around her waist. "What''s done is done."


    "What is done is done," the All-Mother echoed, letting go of her disciple and offering her her hand instead. Let''s just hope I don''t kill them all.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 142: Judge, Jury, and Executioner

    Aperio tried her best to ignore the stares and bows that followed the announcement of her name and title as she stepped into the courtroom proper. Even the guards that stood next to the doors seemed to have deemed it necessary to show their respect for her. How are you supposed to do your job if you stare at the floor?


    There was something she could not ignore, however. Epemirial and the deities that flanked her ¡ª unlike everyone else in the room ¡ª had remained seated, giving Aperio contemptuous glares while still somehow looking like they had perfect confidence nothing bad would happen.


    The All-Mother squinted at the God next to Epemirial; he was so thin that she was not quite sure if he even had any organs in his body. A quick use of [Identify] informed her that it was Lor''Kem, God of Might and the Sea. How he had gotten hold of those Domains was beyond her, but neither did she care. You won''t have them for much longer. No matter if he lived or died, none of the deities here would leave as one. Just have to stay calm¡­


    That was easier said than done. Just seeing Epemirial ¡ª knowing what she and the idiots that followed her had done ¡ª caused rage to bubble up in Aperio.


    "Your Grace," the Judge called in unison, bowing towards her. "The Accused are ready to be judged."


    Aperio waved them off with her wing. Perhaps not the proper way of doing things, but it allowed her to keep her hands behind her back ¡ª hiding the fact that she was balling them into fists hard enough to draw blood. Nobody would ever notice, of course. Her hands healed as soon as she relaxed slightly and her blood ¡ª if it even was blood ¡ª only took a thought to remove.


    The comforting warmth of Caethya''s magic gently flowing around the two of them almost caused the All-Mother to let out a sigh. It was the most outwardly affectionate thing her disciple could do at the moment. Going hand in hand into the judgement would have only caused more trouble she would have to deal with. Already have more than enough to deal with¡­


    A thought brought Caethya and herself to the pair of seats ¡ª Thrones, really ¡ª that the Judges so helpfully bowed towards. None of the Celestials seemed to be surprised by her liberal use of magic, while the rest of the people that filled the room murmured various theories. Did they not believe the System announcement?


    Aperio had thought that her return was common knowledge by now. The System had proclaimed that her church had been revived, after all. Or do I not look like they thought? ¡­Then who do they think all the statues are of? It was hard not to see her own face when walking around the Court.


    A strike of the Judge¡¯s gavel silenced the room as Aperio and her disciple took their seats. "In accordance with the [Mandate of Rule]," the Light Judge intoned, its voice sticking to a deep baritone, "the Accused will now be judged for the crimes they committed."


    "This is not a trial," the Dark Judge continued, its eyes fixed on the first row of Accused. "Their transgressions have been brought before the Court by the All-Mother herself so that all may see what happens to those who defy the [Mandate of Rule]."


    With their announcement made, the Judges sat themselves down, the rest of the room following on an unseen signal. Most definitely not like any court I know¡­ She was used to witnesses being called, statements being taken, and lots of arguments. But then, they did say this is not a trial. Just the judgement.


    "The Accused have committed the highest acts of heresy," the Dark Judge said. Murmurs followed the words, but were silenced by a strike of the gavel. The people still seemed to talk, but no sound escaped their lips.


    "The Souls are sacred," the Light Judge continued, returning the gavel to the small stand it had been taken from. "To be protected by every deity. Not to be marred and disfigured."


    Tortured and raped, Aperio added in her mind as she let her aura manifest itself a little more fully in the courtroom. The people here should feel her anger; should know that what the Elder Gods had done thoroughly displeased her. That is what she wanted to do, but a few of the witnesses seemed to not be able to handle even a fraction of her more unrestrained aura. Made my point.


    "The Accused have broken this sacred rule in her Grace''s absence," the Dark Judge said. "Instead of helping the mortals that believe in them, they forced them into eternal servitude. In the past, the [Court of Heaven] was not to bring justice to the Elder Gods. That is no longer the case."


    Neither of the Judges had to say anything more for nearly all eyes to settle on Aperio. The All-Mother did not react. It was not the first time a room full of strangers stared at her, and it would likely not be the last. At least there are only a few people who hate me here.


    Most witnesses were looking at her with what she could only describe as reverence. Please don''t. She did not wish to be the object of someone''s worship. Just your friendly neighbourhood Elf.


    "With the return of the All-Mother," the Light Judge said, "we can bring justice to those who see themselves as beyond the laws." The Celestial paused, its eyes fixed on the Elder Gods. "None of you are above the law."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the back of the Judges. What they were saying was not necessarily wrong, but she most definitely did not like it. They make it sound like I am the law¡­ It was not really a lie, per se. She could enforce what she wanted and make that the law. I am doing that right now.


    "The judgement," the All-Mother said, hoping that her nudge would stop the Judges from coming up with more ways to make her life harder. Her voice seemed to have broken whatever spell the strike of the gavel had brought about, as the murmurs suddenly returned in full force. After a moment, however, silence fell once more; this time not caused by magic, but by what Aperio assumed to be anticipation alone. "Please."


    "Of course, your Grace," the Judges replied in unison.


    The Dark Judge produced a surprisingly small piece of parchment after they had replied, placing it in the center of the desk it shared with its Light colleague. "There is only one punishment that can be dispensed by this court that is adequate for the crimes they have committed."


    "Death," the Light Judge said, the parchment the other Celestial had placed on the desk lighting up briefly before it vanished.


    Lines of golden light began to flow through the room, building a large formation that caused Aperio to furrow her brow. Why does it look like the one the Empire used to sacrifice me? ¡­They do realise I want information, right?


    The All-Mother was about to put an end to the magic when the Light Judge continued to speak, its words altering the flow of the golden light. "There is, however, another thing that must be returned before they can pay for their transgressions.


    "Their Truths have been twisted beyond repair," it continued as the formation descended into fractals of itself, the copies settling underneath the feet of many of the Accused. "But they still hold what is needed for others to be brought to justice and, perhaps, to reveal further crimes they have committed."


    The flow of golden light stopped and Aperio sat herself down fully on her seat again. How is a purification formation to help? What had started out as the formation she had been commanded to end her own life in had turned into something that prominently featured the ''Purification'' rune. They even said that their ''Truths'' are beyond repair¡­ Whatever that means.


    The only thing she knew about what the Judges had meant by that was that they had used some form of truth-telling. I guess this ritual is related to their powers? A small flex of her mental muscles erected a thin barrier of mana around Caethya and herself. She might not truly believe the Judges would try something as stupid as attacking her, but she would not risk inaction either. Caethya cannot be injured.


    Her disciple shifted a little in her seat, the mana that had danced around Aperio freezing for a moment as Caethya asked what had just happened. The All-Mother did not reply with words but showed her what she had seen on the day she had been sacrificed; how the runes that currently snaked across the ground were the same as the ones in the ritual that had killed her.


    A moment of mental silence followed, Aperio fearing for a moment that she had shown too much of her past before Caethya took her hand. As small as the motion might have been, it caused the All-Mother to slump a little in her chair. Nobody seemed to notice ¡ª or mind ¡ª the gesture; most people in the room were probably occupied with the formation that creeped across the floor.


    Her barrier turned out to be unneeded as the formation receded, closing in around the Accused it had marked before. Aperio tilted her head slightly, focusing on the magic she felt emanating from the runic circles that remained at the feet of those the Judges seemingly wanted to purify.


    "You have lived a life of luxury, free of the fear of death or disease," the Light Judge said, the golden light beneath the accused growing in intensity with every word. "You have been granted power beyond belief, and yet seek power from belief."


    "The truth will always prevail," the Dark Judge continued, the golden light taking on a dark tinge as it did. "You may convince yourself of lies, but there is still truth in what you saw."


    The All-Mother cocked her head to the other side as she saw the black and gold light of the Judges¡¯ magic coalesce into jagged crystals above each of the Accused. There were no screams of pain or agony as they stood there in the pillars of magic; not even confusion. The Elder Gods merely stared at the Judges with disdain, as if they had thought this little trick would not work on them.


    A small flicker in the Judges¡¯ magic caused Aperio to squint, trying to find what had caused it. It did not take her long to find the source of the disturbance. One of the witnesses was mumbling to themselves, their eyes fixed on the crystals as he moved his hands frantically below his robe.


    Aperio stood up from her throne, letting go of Caethya¡¯s hand. A thought let some of her mana flow into the formation the Judges had made so it might help the Celestials complete the ritual. Another flex of her mental muscles, combined with a step, brought her to the chanting individual.


    She grabbed the figure by its neck, ignoring the gasps and murmurs from the other witnesses as she effortlessly lifted him up and interrupted his chanting. The Beastkin tried to sink further into their cloak as Aperio narrowed her eyes at him.


    "What are you trying to do?" the All-Mother asked while easing a tendril of mana into his body to see if anything was wrong. Much to her surprise, his Soul was unmarred. And neither is he a God. "How did you get here?" And how did you fuck the magic of the Judges?


    She doubted the small flicker in their ritual would have done much ¡ª probably less than her teleporting across the room to grab this mana ¡ª but the fact that he had tried still struck her as odd. "Do you believe what they did is right?"


    The Beastkin did not reply. He simply looked at her as he clung to her arm as if he would die if she dropped him. Aperio just sighed, letting him down and pushing him into the waiting hands of two Celestial guards that had appeared by her side, obviously waiting to take over. Can''t even ask mortals questions anymore.


    She gave the two guards a small nod before another thought brought her back to her seat. Luckily, the Judges seemed to not have minded her intervention, and the extra mana she had provided for the ritual had not turned the process upside down. Sped it up, if anything¡­


    Caethya took Aperio¡¯s hand into her own again, giving her a conflicted look as she asked what had happened. The All-Mother could only offer a small shrug as she showed the Demigoddess what she had seen. A whole lot of nothing.


    The crystals that flew above the heads of the Accused looked a lot more solid by now but, perhaps more importantly, they now felt a lot like the memory crystal Moria had used to show her her past. So they did extract their memories, Aperio thought with a frown. But why does that require a purification ritual?


    She could feel the mana contained within the crystalline structure, how it flowed back and forth as it seemingly inspected the space it now found itself in. Are memories¡­ Alive? The answer to that question did not present itself as Aperio looked closer, as only her own mana came to mind. The more she observed, the more it seemed that whatever the Judges had done had brought the mana that had resided in the Elder Gods a little closer to her own.


    The intricacies of the ritual were something she would ask the Judges about later. For now, she wished to know what they had pulled from the heads of the Accused. She had had her doubts about the need for such a method ¡ª found the idea of it revolting, even ¡ª but the answers it could provide were something she could not ignore.


    "Death is the easy route," the Dark Judge said, the magic that had flowed from it and its colleague slowly ceasing. "Truth is a road dotted with obstacles, traps, and distractions. Sometimes a helping hand is needed to bring out what even the person themselves no longer believes to be reality."


    "Words would not do justice to what we have found," the Light Judge continued. "All gathered here shall now witness what the Elder Gods have rejected, and why they face judgement at the hand of their Creator."


    With their proclamation delivered the Judges turned to face Aperio, who could not help but look at them with furrowed brows. They had told her she would be the one to enforce the judgement, yes, but they had not said she would be the one to actually make it up.


    "Go ahead," Aperio said, suppressing a sigh. Knowing what they had done was worth the hassle of dealing with the fallout. Probably. The All-Mother had a sneaking suspicion that she would be a lot angrier once she knew the full truth of the matter.


    GamingWolf


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 Revelations – Chapter 143: The Day of Darkness

    Seeing herself in a memory was still weird for the All-Mother; even more so this time because the thoughts of disdain that had been going through Epemirial''s head were clear as day. The small prayers that echoed in her mind coming from Caethya as her disciple described what she saw only added to the surreal experience.


    Whatever this event had been, it had left the Goddess of Duty and Loss with even more hate for Aperio than she had had before. Just that this memory does not show me what happened.


    The All-Mother ¡ª and everyone else in the courtroom ¡ª could only see that her past self was leaving Epemirial''s Dominion. Through a door, of all things. The Goddess of Duty and Loss shuddered slightly as a wave of mana rolled through her Dominion: undoubtedly the sign that Aperio had left.


    "What a blind bitch," Epemirial mumbled as she grabbed a small orb from the desk behind her. The office currently in view was not something Aperio had found when she had searched through the Goddess'' Dominion on her own, but this memory was likely a millennia old. Before she had been reduced to a mortal slave.


    "If she cannot see reason, she has to be removed," a voice called from behind Epemirial.


    The Goddess of Duty and Loss turned around to face the bony man that was Lor''Kem. "And how do you plan on doing that? She doesn''t play by the same rules. She makes them. Probably already knows you said that."


    "If she knew, I would be dead," the God replied with a shrug. "She doesn''t know everything and neither is she omnipotent. She is merely the first of our kind."


    "If that is true," Epemirial said, taking a seat behind the desk, "we can rid ourselves of her. I highly doubt it, though. There is more that separates us than just strength. Aperio does not need mana to sustain her, for example. It seems to flow out of her instead."


    "No," Lor''Kem said. "It''s just like we are to mortals. She simply took the next step we have not yet reached. But you know as well as I do that mortals can kill a God."


    "You speak of Heresy, Lor''Kem," the Goddess of Duty and Loss hissed, her eyes darting around her Dominion.


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she felt what she could only describe as an inferior version of her aura began to feed Epemirial information about her Dominion. The Goddess'' memory was filled with a palpable fear as she looked for any trace of the All-Mother in her realm, the thoughts racing through her head making it quite clear that she had no doubt the Creator would snuff her out then and there if she caught wind of what they were talking about.


    "Why does she even care about that scum?" Epemirial asked, taking a parchment from one of the drawers of her desk. "It''s not like mortals or Souls are in short supply. And how is it different from her precious System?"


    "It''s not," the other God replied, leaning himself against the desk. "Aperio talks about opportunity and growth, but she simply doesn''t want us to get what she has." Lor''Kem turned himself a little to better face Epemirial. "Have you ever considered that she did not make everything?


    "If she made everything," he continued, not letting the other Goddess get a word in, "how did she come to be? Why did she give us free will only to enslave us with that wretched System?"


    Lor''Kem pushed himself off of the desk, turning around before he placed a fist-sized crystal on it. "Think about it and let me know when you are ready," he said, giving the crystal a light tap before he disappeared.


    The reserved expression that had been on Epemirial''s face vanished as soon as the other God had left her Dominion. "Idiot," she mumbled, picking up the crystal he had left behind. "You really think you will be the one to lead us?"


    Before more could happen, the view shifted, placing Aperio into a large hall filled with Gods she did not know. The same could not be said about Epemirial, however, as she ticked off every single one on a piece of parchment she held in her hand.


    How many deities are there? Aperio wondered as racked her mind, trying to remember if she had heard of any of these Gods before. The answer was no for nearly all of them, the only ones she knew being part of the silent Pantheon that had been worshipped during her time as a slave.


    Aperio paused as Epemirial''s eyes landed on a Goddess she did not know but whose presence was distantly familiar. Epemirial seemed to have trouble recalling who that Goddess was as she squinted at the woman and the parchment in her hand before a thought sparked in her mind and she ticked off a name that gave the All-Mother pause.


    She could not claim to know the name or the woman it belonged to, but she still knew who that was. A small prayer from Caethya asking why Aperio herself was at this gathering solved the question of who she was looking at.


    "So I knew," Aperio mumbled, her voice quiet enough that only Caethya would have heard her.


    Her disciple did not immediately react to her words, only moving after Aperio had informed her of the feeling of familiarity she felt from what was apparently a version of herself in a Goddess disguise. How did Caethya know, though?


    The answer to that question was a mental shrug, followed by a list of similarities Caethya had noticed and the information that she also just knew. She does look a little like me, but as a Human.


    Aperio tilted her head as she tried her best to ignore the thoughts of Epemirial''s memory and look at her past self. There was no worry or concern visible, only a Goddess that seemed eager for whatever this meeting was supposed to be. But why?


    The answer to that question did not reveal itself immediately as the meeting began with a lengthy introduction of most of the Elder Gods; each stepping up on the stage and telling their story of how they had ascended and what struggles they now faced. They never outright said that Aperio was an evil they needed to remove, but they all heavily hinted at something being in place that prevented progress for them all.


    When it was Epemirial''s turn, she placed a thick tome on the podium, next to the parchment with the names of every God that chose to attend. What caught Aperio''s eye was not the runes that dimly glowed on the book the Goddess had brought but the name that had been embossed in gold upon it.


    Repens Nabu; N¨®vaie Lybr¨ª. Aperio did not know what the words meant, but she most definitely knew of the Repens Nabu. She balled her hands into fist as she let out a slow, shaky breath. Whatever they had done at the founding of their organisation could not have been good.


    The All-Mother did her best to ignore the nonsense Epemirial began to spout. It was the same rhetoric she had used when Aperio had asked her, and it was just as baseless as when she had first heard it. Works on the people here, though¡­


    During the speech, a few of the deities vanished, seemingly no longer interested in listening to what Epemirial had to say. Among those that disappeared was the Goddess Caethya had suspected to be Aperio. But why did I leave? Did I already know all of this?


    "The time has come," Epemirial said, clapping her hands together and taking Aperio from her thoughts, "to take back what is ours." The Goddess of Duty and Loss had seemingly waited for Aperio''s presumed old self to leave to make that proclamation, as she waved her hands and the banners that previously adorned the walls were exchanged with ones that mirrored the symbols on Repens Nabu book.


    "You have stayed behind because you, too, wish to ascend past the constraints of Godhood," Epemirial said, spreading her arms wide as she took a step back from the podium. "Because you are not content to live under the heel of a liar that feeds off our work like a leech; gives us just enough rope to hang ourselves.


    "We will remove her," she continued. "Not through a fight or vote ¡ª that would never work ¡ª but by taking from her what sustains us all. We will take the belief of the mortals and those who are not part of our cause. If you do not wish to be free, you are nothing more than a pawn in her machine. In her System."


    Aperio clenched her teeth as Epemirial''s vision swept over the crowd, the gathered deities slowly nodding to one another as the tirade continued. With every word the Goddess of Duty and Loss spoke, Aperio came just a little closer to leaving her seat in the real world and ending the life of the treacherous Goddess.


    What kept her seated was the hand of Caethya gently placed on her own and the reminder that acting on her impulse now would stop her from finding out what she truly wanted to know. Her disciple was right, acting on the anger she felt would do her no good now, but Aperio also knew that whatever came next would only make it worse.


    She brushed her free hand over the armlet that still adorned her right arm, turning it ever-so-slightly as the mana within caused a small tingle to spread through her fingers. It was only a matter of time before Epemirial''s memories would show her working on someone''s Souls; before Aperio would not be able to hold her anger back anymore. The almost unnatural calm she had felt over the past while had seemingly run its course, or was unable to survive her anger at the disfigurement ¡ª Rape ¡ª of the Souls she had witnessed and would witness again and again.


    The Goddess of Duty and Loss held a Soul in her hand, the other deities watching as she carved rune after rune into the glowing marble. Just make it stop!


    Aperio knew why they had done it; they wanted to ensure that people would follow them and not her. Wanted to remove her name from existence in hopes of eradicating, or at least weakening her. They obviously believed their words, and they did succeed in a fashion, but Aperio knew that her power had nothing to do with what mortals or other deities thought of her. She did not even remember who she was herself and could still end all of existence if she wished to do so. Just make it go away¡­ Please.


    What her creation had become during her absence was so far removed from what she wished for it to be that starting over might be the least cruel option. Everyone would be back at square one. No plots, no slavery. No Evil. No Good. Silence¡­ Blessed silence.


    Her Void consisted of such a nothing; such nice and calming nothing. Turning everything into that and starting again might truly be the solution she had been looking for. She did not remember her past life; what if reality, too, forgot its past?


    A thought tore open the threads of reality, letting her Void flow into the Courtroom. Just as Epemirial''s mana seeped into the Soul in the memory, Aperio''s Void seeped along the threads she had not broken, bringing a desperately needed calm to the constant thrum of mana that permeated the [Court of Heaven].


    "Silence for all ," Aperio said, her voice barely a whisper but yet still loud enough to fill the room and banish the noise from it. There was no more rustling of clothes, no more sound of mortals breathing or the incessant voice of Epemirial''s memory detailing how she could twist a Soul in such a way that would remain forever loyal. "Blessed silence."


    The almost unheard jingle of Caethya''s jewellery caused Aperio to turn her head and look at her disciple. She narrowed her eyes, staring at the small chain made of silver feathers that hung around the Demigoddess'' neck.


    Her disciple tried to speak but no sound came out. She was only able to mouth what she was trying to say as the colour of Court was slowly growing dimmer, washed away by the black nothing of her Void.


    "It''s okay," Aperio said, placing her hand on Caethya''s cheek. A touch of her mana flowed through her disciple''s body, the colour that had been drained away by her Void returning together with the sound of her frantic voice.


    "What are you doing?!" Caethya asked, her eyes darting around the court.


    "Solving the problem," Aperio replied, tilting her head as the nothing of her Void seeped into the crystals floating above the Accused.


    The All-Mother was about to respond when the memory of Epemirial shifted yet again, this time showing what was obviously Aperio lying on her bed in her temple with her arms crossed over her chest.


    Aperio knew as well as Epemirial that she was not dead, but the Goddess of Duty and Loss wore a smile on her face nonetheless.


    "Who would have thought that you would want to live as a mortal," Epemirial said. "Don''t you worry, we will make sure you won''t be needed if you return."


    The Aperio in Epemirial''s memory did not react to the words, simply lying there. It took the All-Mother a moment longer to notice the small dagger that was embedded in her chest. The blade was simple ¡ª Featureless ¡ª the only ornamentation being a compass rose that she knew all too well that replaced the pommel. In her mind''s eye she caught a remembered glimpse of herself in the blade, one that featured mutilated ears. Why is that here?


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead or get some Side Stories? Check out the Patreon.

 Revelations – Chapter 144: Reunification

    Aperio wanted to pluck the dagger from herself in the memory and helpfully relocate it into Epemirial heart. If she even has one. Luckily for the Goddess of Duty and Loss, the All-Mother was not able to do that. Of course, nothing stopped her from recreating the dagger and using it to kill her, but Aperio held herself back. For now. There was still one more thing she needed to know.


    The memory she had witnessed up until now told her what had happened ¡ª to a degree at least ¡ª but not why . And I still don''t know if I killed myself, or if it was Epemirial¡­ Judging by the symbol on the dagger and the fact that it was the same one that she had used to kill her mortal self and return to godhood, Aperio was leaning towards this being her own idea. But why did I do it in my temple? And why is she here?


    Epemirial did not seem surprised to see the All-Mother like this, but neither was there anything that would indicate she had been the one responsible. It would not make sense if she was the one that did it. Even lying there with the dagger embedded in her chest, the memory of the All-Mother was beyond the Goddess of Duty and Loss.


    Aperio tried to find any other detail that might help her explain why this had happened. A surge of anger flowed through her, causing the nothing of her Void to seep into the memory crystals a little further. If they would not volunteer what she wanted to know; she would take it.


    She did not know how the crystals worked, but neither did she care. They held the answer she had been searching for for so long and she would not be denied; could not be denied. This was her creation, and it would tell her what she wanted to know.


    Another flex of her mental muscles shattered the crystals, each fragment fading into the black nothing of her Void as the memories they contained slowly floated into her own mind. She had to see ¡ª had to know ¡ª why she had given herself over to a life as a slave.


    Aperio tried her best to ignore the voices that started to spread through the courtroom, still wishing they would just be silent like she wanted them to be. Instead, she wrapped her wing around Caethya to pull the woman closer before placing her on her lap. The All-Mother slung her arms across her disciple¡¯s stomach, holding her as tight as she dared as she set to unravelling the memories she had taken from the crystals.


    It was not too dissimilar from getting her own memories back from the dungeon. These were simply not her own and did not want to become part of her. That did not stop Aperio from taking them anyway. She did not truly know how she could view the memories, but a tiny voice at the back of her mind told her that she could. That she only needed to want it.


    Aperio wanted to know; wanted to know more than most anything else in her life. The only thing more important to her right now was her relationship with her disciple, but Caethya would see what she saw. Caethya would understand. She wants to know too.


    Asking the Demigoddess for permission had become second nature by now, an act that Aperio had not spared much thought for but still deemed essential. There was no argument from Caethya, the Elf probably understanding just how desperately Aperio needed to know this crucial bit of information.


    With an inaudible crack, the last of the crystal pieces shattered, reduced to fine dust that slowly drifted towards the All-Mother. Aperio closed her eyes, viewing the crystal dust with her aura alone. She did not want the distraction of actually seeing the chaos that was slowly unfolding in the courtroom. Her aura would still show her what was happening, sure, but she had gotten good enough at ignoring her magical senses that it was not too much of a burden.


    Instead of giving the Accused and the witnesses any more mind, the All-Mother focused on guiding the physical remains of the memories to their new home. A new crystal comprised of all the others. A Nexus of memory. There was no real reason as to why she formed them into a crystal again, just a feeling that it was the right thing to do and, by now, Aperio knew that her instincts were usually correct about such things.


    She was the one who had made Souls ¡ª gave them the ability to remember ¡ª so she should know how to get the mess in front of her sorted. Just that I don''t know but only feel. In the end, it did not matter how her goal was achieved as long as she could finally see the reason why she had died. Why she had to live a life as a tortured Soul.


    Aperio took a deep breath, relaxing slightly at the somehow calm voice of her disciple that entered her mind and told her it would be fine. Caethya no longer tried to tell her to stop. Probably because I am no longer trying to bring silence to all. That had been a lapse in judgement on her part. She had given in to an illogical want that could have changed much more than she could probably think of. Or am comfortable with.


    Luckily for her creation, the desire to silence it all had vanished nearly as quickly as it had come, replaced by the burning desire to retrieve the memories stored in the crystal that slowly took shape according to her will. There was no clear picture of it in her mind; not even an idea of how it should look, and yet, reality seemed to know what she wanted to happen.


    With the strange reversed sound of glass breaking, the final piece of the crystal assembled itself. A small ripple that Aperio was fairly sure only she could see followed its creation. With a thought, the crystal moved closer to Caethya and herself and, with another flex of her mental muscles, she let her mana flow around and into it like Moria had shown her before.


    The memories that entered her mind were clearer this time; closer to what she was used to by now. Each of the Accused provided a viewpoint and thoughts for every scene she saw, from Lor''Kem''s smug superiority that he believed he could somehow take her place to Epemirial''s schemes that had remained unseen via the method the Judges had used.


    For a moment she considered if they had tried to hide this from her, but she instinctively doubted that was the case. Why would they? She could not think of a good reason why they should, but then, she could also not think of many good reasons why Epemirial and most of the Elder Gods had betrayed her. Besides just being stupid and full of themselves.


    A mental twist caused the memories of the Accused to speed by, nothing they revealed to her right now worth her time. She wanted to know why she had killed herself; why Epemirial was there to see it. Maybe so they believe I am dead?


    The flood of memories halted with a thought from the All-Mother. A meeting between Epemirial and her own daughter was not something Aperio had thought she would find. The magic of her disciple that danced around her increased a little, Caethya undoubtedly noticing the flare of her aura at the sight. Why?


    "What do you want?" Ferio asked, not even turning to look at the Goddess of Duty and Loss. "I have little time for people like you."


    "I have merely come to deliver a message," Epemirial said. "Change is coming. We have lived under your mother¡¯s heel for too long." The Goddess of Duty and Loss paused briefly, taking a step closer. "We understand that you are not as close to the All-Mother as some people assume, and would like to offer you an invitation to join us."


    "Join a bunch of traitors and leeches?" Ferio snapped, turning around to face Epemirial. "What makes you think I would want that? How do you even plan on getting out underneath my mother''s ''heel''?" She gestured at her surroundings. "She made all of this. She made you."


    "We have our ways," Epemirial replied. "Your mother is far from omnipotent, and she knows that as well as we do. She bleeds, so she can die."


    The Goddess of Life and Light simply stared at Epemirial in response, seemingly not quite sure if she heard correctly. "You know that she cannot die, right?" she finally asked, each word slow and deliberate so the other Goddess would not misunderstand. "Even if you kill her body, she is the world we live in; the magic we use."


    "Of course you would believe those lies; you are her daughter, after all." The disgust in Epemirial''s voice was obvious, the Goddess likely only having extended the invitation because Ferio was a Goddess of high stature.


    Why would she think that would ever work? Aperio would be lying if she said she did not consider the fact that Ferio might have betrayed her, but a larger part of her had always known that would not happen. They might not get along that well, but Aperio would not betray her family and she was certain Ferio would not either.


    "If she does not want to go," Ferio said, squinting at Epemirial, "she will not go. It''s as simple as that."


    "What she wants does not matter," the Goddess of Duty and Loss replied. "And neither does what you think of our work. You will see the light like all the others."


    Her daughter did not reply, simply giving a huff and disappearing in a small flash of red light. Ferio was quickly replaced by Lor''Kem, his view of the memory seamlessly entering Aperio''s mind. And they both think they will be the one to rule¡­


    That was the most prevalent thought both deities had on their mind. They wanted to rule over her creation. Alone. Both saw the other as a means to an end; something that had obviously not played out as they expected. Ferio was right: I cannot die.


    With a thought, the memories sped up again. Just like a record player¡­ How that worked, Aperio was not quite sure. The memories inside the crystal seemed to lazily swim inside the mana and she simply manipulated it. If only I could get my memories back this easily¡­


    The next time she found a stray dungeon hoarding her memories, she would have to try using her Void to disassemble it. If that was possible, she might be able to actually remember and not just feed her mind more bits and pieces of ethereal knowledge.


    A thought from Caethya that was accompanied by a gentle tap on Aperio''s arm caused the All-Mother to halt her rapid viewing of the memories. Her disciple had found something that she had missed ¡ª a memory that was still fractured.


    The mana that resided within did not belong to Epemirial or any of the Accused, but instead herself. How? Aperio wondered as she tugged at the bit of mana with a thought, trying to view it in the swirl of past events from the other deities.


    Realisation dawned on her as she found another fragment of what she could only describe as her own memory. Their seeds¡­ It was the only explanation that made sense to her. When she had killed Vigil and Inanis, she had regained a part of her memory that had been hidden inside their [Seed of Divinity]. If all the Elder Gods have one¡­


    Aperio held Caethya a little tighter as she mentally sifted through every speck of mana she had bound into the crystal, trying to find those that belonged to her. While she was doing that, she could not help but take a peek at the fragments she had already found; only to tilt her head in confusion at what she saw.


    It was herself. Standing not in the black nothing of her Void but an endless plain of smooth, black glass, the edges of which seemed to be continuously breaking and floating into the sky where they met an equally endless plain of yet more shiny obsidian with yet another version of herself standing on it.


    The fragment of herself flickered back and forth, saying something she could not yet understand. It seemed like an argument with herself, an endless dialogue the purpose of which Aperio could not yet discern. Reasons to leave? To stay?


    With every piece of her own memory Aperio found in the crystal, the memory of herself in the sea of polished obsidian grew more and more clear; the words she spoke were more distinct. It was not an argument like she had thought, nor a debate over what she should do. It was a message ¡ª fragmented and unclear for now ¡ª but a message nonetheless.


    I knew . It had always been the most obvious answer to the question of how she could die, one that had only ever been made more clear with every bit of information she had gathered. Now though, Aperio had proof. Proof that she could view, if only she could find the last few pieces that were missing.


    This answer did raise a new question, however. One she was quite certain she knew the answer to already. Why are these memories linked to their divinity? To Aperio, the obvious answer was that her past self had planned this part. Made it so she would have to remind herself of what they had done before she could remember who she was. A wake-up call¡­


    If that had been her plan, it had worked. While she had despised the Repens Nabu, what she saw in the memories ¡ª still witnessed right this moment ¡ª all but sealed their fates. None of them would be permitted to live upon her creation once she was done. They would die and a new age would begin; one free of their pointless feuds and wars.


    The anger that had been so helpfully absent for the past little while was back, strong enough that a thought was spared to make sure none of the Accused would talk, breathe or even move while she was busy. They would not die ¡ª Yet ¡ª but neither did they deserve the comforts of life anymore. They could sit there and wither for however long it took her to piece her own memory back together.


    No matter how many fragments Aperio found, there always seemed to be something missing. Just that little bit extra she would need to finally understand what her past self had been trying to tell her with this memory.


    The raising voices echoing through the courtroom were ignored as Aperio weaved yet another piece into the tapestry of her memory. So close. She could feel the memory growing more complete, could see that the last gaps in the weave of her past draw closer and closer together before they finally closed with a silent yet indescribably loud sound that Aperio could not place.


    It was unlikely anything she had heard before and did not come from any single source. An omnipresent ringing of her ears that was louder than anything else she heard but somehow only underlining the shouts of the people in the Court.


    The All-Mother closed her eyes, taking a breath and drawing on her Void as she tried to bring back the blessed silence that had started all of this ¡ª embrace the peace and quiet of the nothing.


    When she opened her eyes again, Aperio was greeted by her own self staring at her as they both stood in the infinite, yet somehow breaking, sea of black glass. The Aperio from the memory smiled, almost as if she could see her current self. Her expression widened as Caethya appeared next to her, realty twisting and bending to allow the Demigoddess of Creation entry into the endless finite space.


    Before Aperio could open her mouth to even voice a single one of her thoughts, her memory self raised a hand that caused the infinite expanse of bounded glass to turn into a liquid beneath their feet.


    The sharp waves raged for but a moment before they returned to the calm they were before, building an impossibly smooth surface that only broke at the edges of her perception, flowing upwards into the perfect copy of the current space.


    When Aperio looked back up, she was greeted not by one but a multitude of herself, all of whom were staring directly at her.


    The All-Mother reached for the armlet on her right bicep, the motion mirrored by every version of herself. She did not know why or how, but it was the right thing to do. The only thing she had to do.


    A slight tug was all she needed to remove the metal from her arm, the gap that had formed so she could pull it off immediately closing again. She let go as the version of her past did too, wrapping a wing around Caethya to stop her from trying to catch the armlet.


    With vibrations filling the endless sea, akin to a giant musical instrument having plucked a string at a pitch that was both too high and too low to be heard, Aperio felt a small change within herself. The tiniest of adjustments to the mana flowing through every fiber of her body. A change that somehow brought a completeness to her being that was only able to be matched by the Elf at her side.


    "Welcome back," the first of her memory selves said, offering Aperio a small smile.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead or get some Side Stories? Check out the Patreon.

 Revelations – Chapter 145: Know Thyself | Book 4 End

    GamingWolf


    Well, there it is. The end of Book 4. As I said before, Forgotten will now go on a small hiatus will I rebuild my backlog and finish the last of my exams. (Today was the first of the last three. Great birthday present, really.) Get some snacks and a cup of tea. This chapter is the longest yet at some ~7k words.


    In the meantime, here are some other stories you can read while you wait:


    Inheritors of Eschaton (Fantasy, Complete) by TMarkos Synopsis:


    The tear in reality led to a new world, one that promised fortune, prestige and a deeper understanding of the universe.


    Those that entered found only death.


    Four survivors are stranded in a strange and hostile world, at the mercy of forces they cannot understand.  Their only path forward is to travel among the ashes of a broken and dying land searching for a way to survive, to endure - and to make their way back home.


    Grand Design (Sci-Fi, Complete) by TMarkos Synopsis:


    Humanity once ruled space, building an empire that stretched across hundreds of stars.  Now Earth is a cold cinder in the void, its colonies and ships annihilated in an instant.  For five thousand years the surviving races have huddled in the dying light of those few stations which avoided total destruction, eking out their existence in the shadow of the long-dead humans who built their homes.  When a piece of that lost legacy resurfaces, the few who still remember humanity have one last opportunity to find the truth and avenge the fallen.


    The Last Science (Urban Fantasy, Ongoing-ish [She is back to writing now :)]) [Scraps Edition (Shorter Chapters)] by Etzoli Synopsis:


    Nestled deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, something is emerging. Kept in absolute secrecy, it seeps into a fading town, quietly shared from person to person. For Alden Bensen, a directionless high school graduate, this discovery could mean an escape from his empty existence. To Rachel DuValle, perpetually underestimated and dismissed by the world, magic represents a chance to become something much greater than herself.


    In the face of an unsuspecting world, their decisions shape the growth of a budding society discovering untold power. This potent force offers anyone the power to change humanity forever¡ªor send it cascading into swift and total annihilation.


    Epilogue (Completed) by Etzoli Synopsis:


    In the war-torn land of Cyraveil, four heroes strove to overthrow an empire. By cold steel and elemental sorcery, they brought peace to a warring land on the brink of destruction. As the flames died, the realm needed strong leadership, and who better than the champions who had saved the kingdom? But when the people sought out their saviors... they vanished.


    Matt, Blake, Jen, and Carl: the four mysterious companions, who together had deposed an insane ruler and saved countless lives, were gone¡ªspirited back in a whirlwind of magic to a sleepy suburb in Mellbridge, Oregon, never to return. The friends found themselves home in the real world, exactly as they''d been the night they were taken, as if no time had passed... except only three came back.


    Dandelion by JCLouis Synopsis:


    Amber Houston was born light-years from Earth, aboard the enormous colony starship Dandelion. By the age of fourteen, she has spent her entire life training as a ¡°Ranger,¡± ready for the day when she will be among the first humans ever to set foot on an alien world & build a new civilization.


    When Dandelion suffers an emergency toward the end of its journey, Amber & her fellow young rangers are evacuated & land on the planet New-home years ahead of schedule. While the adults left behind on Dandelion slow the ship & turn it around to come back¡ªin eight years¡ªAmber & her friends must build lives for themselves amid revelations that will change Humankind¡¯s destiny forever.


    Meanwhile, aboard the ship, secrets that were buried over three hundred years ago finally come to light¡­


    There are of course other stories I could recommend, but most of you probably read them already :)


    "What?" Aperio muttered. As the sound of her words travelled over the endless plains of smooth obsidian, the realm appeared to ripple and warp. "What is this?"


    The version of herself that stood in front of her only offered a small shrug before she pointed at Aperio''s head. "It''s you," she said. "We are you. Made by yourself, for yourself."


    "That makes no sense," Aperio said, wrapping her wing a little tighter around Caethya. The things in front of her might look and feel like herself, but she could not be certain that they actually were.


    "There you go again," another version of herself said. "Doubting your own words." The second version of herself hesitated for a moment before she tilted her head and added, "We go again, I guess."


    "Are you her past lives?" Caethya asked, trying her best to peek out from underneath Aperio''s unmovable wing. "How would that even work?"


    "In a way," the first version of her memory selves replied, setting her eyes on the Demigoddess as a small smile played across her lips. "We are nothing more than fragments of her mind; the ones she cannot yet accept, or continues to remain unaware of. That you are here with her," she continued, crouching down a little to be at eye level with Caethya, "means that she is long past the point where she would need our help."


    "But you are still here," Aperio said, placing herself between her disciple and the eerily calm memory version of herself as the obsidian ocean beneath her flickered with every word she spoke. "If there is no need, why are we here?"


    "Because you refuse to remember," another version of herself replied. "You do not wish to remember your past; do not want to know who you were. What you were."


    Aperio glared at the version of herself that had spoken, narrowing her eyes slightly as the black glass beneath the copy began to crack.


    "I know perfectly well who I am," she replied, each word causing the cracks underneath the other version of herself to widen. "What I am," Aperio added, taking a step towards the first fragment of her memory. "I have no desire to become what I was before."


    The ocean of obsidian shuddered as Aperio lowered her head, her eyes briefly lingering on the concern-marred face of her disciple before they locked onto her own reflection in the impossibly featureless black glass beneath her feet.


    "I don''t want to be like her again," she mumbled. "Why can''t I just know why I died?" Aperio removed her wing from Caethya and let herself fall to her knees, her hair pooling messily on the obsidian sea under her. "Did I go too far? Did I regret what I did? ¡­Was I just bored and decided breaking all of reality was the correct choice? Or, did I want to forget?"


    "You can, don''t know, yes, probably, and most definitely yes," the first of the fragments to speak replied, causing Aperio to focus on that version of herself faster than should have been physically possible.


    "What?" the fragment asked, tilting her head. "You know this as well as I do. I am you, after all. That tiny voice at the back of your mind? That''s us. You." The fragment offered a shrug. "But you know that already."


    "No," Aperio replied, "I don''t know." She stood up, brushing away Caethya''s hand as she tried to hold her back. "How can I talk to a memory that I cannot even remember having? None of this makes any sense! "


    "How did we create all of this?" one of the fragments asked, gesturing at the infinite ends of the ocean of black glass. "Why do we like Caethya? Why do we like fighting even though nothing could ever be a challenge?¡±


    "You don''t know," another fragment said. "We¡±¡ªshe gestured at Aperio and all the fragments of herself¡ª¡±don''t know. Not really, at least."


    "But," yet another continued, "that doesn''t make any of it less true."


    The All-Mother just stared at the fragment of herself, lowering the hand that she had slowly raised in order to¡­


    Her train of thought was interrupted as Caethya placed herself in front of her, standing on her toes causing her still concern-filled face to appear in her vision. "I have no idea what''s going on here," her disciple said, taking Aperio''s raised hand into her own, "but could you at least try to listen to these¡­ yous?" She shook her head, hesitating for a moment before her shoulders slumped. "Please, I don''t know what else I should do. I don''t mind repeating myself for you, but you need to do something yourself; talking will only get you so far."


    Aperio looked at Caethya for a moment longer, trying to see if she could find anything wrong with the Elf. "Fine," she said, shifting to cross her legs beneath herself as she mumbled her next words. "Listening to figments of my imagination that I somehow made real¡­ Ridiculous."


    "Isn''t everything here because of your imagination?" Caethya asked as she set herself down in front of the All-Mother. She did not quite look comfortable being surrounded with the other versions of Aperio that walked around the endless sea of finite obsidian. "I wouldn''t put it past you ¡ª your old you ¡ª to make something like this because you knew you would need it."


    "And why would I do that?" Aperio snorted. "I was a bitch. I just did what I wanted because no-one could stop me. Doesn''t seem like a person who would prepare for their own demise and subsequent return.


    "None of them seem to know either," she added after a moment, glaring at the closest other version of herself. A thought caused a sliver of her mana to flow towards the fragment she was looking at. Aperio could sense them just fine with her aura, but that only confused her further. It was most definitely impossible that the memory fragments were living beings... but, if she went by normal metrics, neither was she.


    She did not breathe, and the blood that flowed through her body was more akin to mana that had taken physical form than actual blood. The fragments, however, were mere clouds of mana ¡ª just like the one she did not want to become.


    But they get to keep their form, Aperio thought with a frown. Or is it because I am imagining them that way?


    "That''s exactly why," the first fragment that had talked to her said. "And yes, we hear your thoughts, just like you can hear ours. There are yours, too, after all."


    "And I simply don''t want to know them," Aperio mocked, her eyes never leaving the movements of the fragment as she wandered around the obsidian expanse. "Why would I collect all the fragments that had been embedded in the deities if I did not want to know? Why, then, did I end up here?"


    "Because you want to know, but also not," Caethya said, placing her hand on Aperio''s cheek. Her disciple tried to turn her head, but the All-Mother continued to stare at the fragment for a moment longer before she let the Demigoddess complete the motion.


    A flick against her forehead caused Aperio to blink and a shudder to run through the ocean of black glass. "Pick one and talk to her," her disciple said. "Or get us out of here and deal with Epemirial and the other Accused."


    The All-Mother did neither, taking Caethya''s hand first and making sure the Demigoddess had not somehow hurt herself. She did let her senses wander through the real world as best she could, furrowing her brows slightly at the nearly frozen scene that greeted her. Whatever she was currently doing was happening a lot faster than she had thought.


    "Fine," she finally said, her eyes still fixed on her disciple¡¯s hand. A thought brought the fragment she had been talking to back in their vicinity, just out of arm''s reach ¨C even for herself ¨C to her right. "How did I- we," she corrected herself, "die?"


    "We didn''t," the fragment replied, tilting her head slightly. "We cannot die¡ª"


    "Because I''m everything?" Aperio interjected, narrowing her eyes slightly as she sensed a few of the fragments disappearing.


    "No," the reflection of herself replied. "We are not everything. We are not Caethya nor Epemirial. We are the nothing upon which we weave reality."


    "If I was nothing," Aperio said, placing her hands in her lap. "I would not exist."


    "If there is enough nothing, there is something. You. Us. What we are is outside a mortal¡¯s comprehension, which is why you made a body to inhabit. One that is still woefully inadequate."


    "Still?" Aperio balled her hand into a fist, then squinted slightly at the possibly-imagined phenomenon of reality twisting due to the force of her grip. "I won''t be a weird cloud again," she said, her eyes locking onto the small droplet of her own blood that fell onto the black glass. "And you ¡ª I? ¡ª better start making sense soon."


    Her memory self only shrugged. "I merely answered your question. You can''t die. Whatever it is that Epemirial remembers, or thinks she remembers, is not capable of killing you. You can forget, yes, but you cannot die. It is an impossibility. But I am sure you knew that already."


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "I know I planned to live a life as a mortal, I even asked Moria to join me in that. But," the All-Mother continued in an attempt to forestall the fragment''s offering of either more information she already knew, or another cryptic and rambling sentence that cleared nothing up, "that does not explain why I forgot, why I had to live as a fucking slave, or why my memories are now trapped in some weird-ass crystals that I can only destroy by physically punching them!


    "It makes no sense!" Aperio yelled, batting away some of the splinters of obsidian that rose from beneath her as well as falling from the reflection above. "Why would I do that? How can there even be something that my mana cannot manipulate if everything is made from it?!


    "And," she continued pointing at the way-too-calm fragment of herself, "why would I make some sassy projection of myself that only manages to make me even angrier?"


    "You can''t do anything with them because you don''t want to." The fragment let out a sigh. "None of us know why we appear like this. We are not even different people, after all.


    "My ¡ª your ¡ª best guess is that we feel the need to hear it from someone else. Due to the fact that the people you trust have none of the answers you seek, we made this. Just take those thoughts from the back of your mind and allow them to take the spotlight, front and centre. Open the flood gates, if you will."


    "I''m going insane," Aperio mumbled, her eyes darting from one fragment of herself to another. "Is this how the other slaves felt?" Yelled at by their own thoughts? ¡­Did they get the idea of the collar from something I did?


    Caethya suppressed the urge to slap Aperio, not only because she loved the woman but also because she would probably break her hand doing it. But maybe it would help¡­ A few broken bones would be a small price to pay to help Aperio get out of her mental spiral of doom.


    Instead, she held a raised finger towards the imitation of her love and used her other hand to lift ¡ª or at least try to ¡ª Aperio''s head.


    "You are not going insane," Caethya said, placing the hand she had used to quiet the weird projection on her Goddess'' cheek. Probably¡­


    She was never quite sure what was going on with Aperio. Of course, she knew most of the time she was mulling over something that she thought she had caused, but generally her Goddess was not this scatterbrained.


    Maybe giving your memories a physical form is a bad idea? Judging by the mumbling coming from Aperio, that was likely the case. Seeing her love beside herself like this was not something Caethya was sure she knew how to deal with.


    Being thrust into a position of previously unfathomable power had been remarkably easy to adapt to ¡ª mainly because no-one really knew about it yet and thus nothing was expected of her, but also because she had already been in a position of power beforehand. If she had gone all-out, back then, people would have had a hard time stopping her.


    Now, however, Caethya was at a loss for what to do. Before she had somehow always managed to think of something to do. Most of it had boiled down to calming Aperio through touch ¡ª be it physical or magical ¡ª but now, the Demigoddess was finding that even that failed to do the trick.


    She was in a realm that made no sense ¡ª Her Soul? ¡ª with countless copies of Aperio aimlessly wandering around. It did not help that some of the copies were spewing nonsense that only worsened the condition of the true Aperio. At least they listen to me¡­


    Listen to me? An idea sparked in her mind; one so stupid it might just work. None of this makes sense anyway.


    "Listen to me," she said, with a bit more force than she had thought. Trying to physically shake the All-Mother from her stupor only resulted in Caethya moving herself around instead, but the intended effect was still achieved as Aperio ceased mumbling to herself and looked at her.


    "I don''t know what this is," Caethya said, gesturing at the expanse of black glass before she took Aperio''s hands into her own. "But I have an idea. So please. Listen."


    Aperio gave her a slow nod, obviously not quite sure if she could trust the idea. "Sure."


    "Okay," Caethya said, taking a deep breath as she tried to ignore the fact that the trust her love had in her had seemingly vanished. She vaguely understood why, as whatever Aperio was currently going through was not something she could likely imagine, but it still hurt.


    "These¡­ fragments" ¡ªshe gestured to the version of Aperio that sat beside her¡ª "are your memories, right?" The All-Mother gave a nod. "So what they know should be known to you already, right?"


    "Yes?" Aperio replied with another, slower nod. "But I don''t know how to remember!" She let out a sigh, lowering her head as she did. "I''m not even sure if they really are my memories and not something I came up with to torment myself."


    The fragment of her Goddess crossed her arms in front of her chest at the words, obviously unhappy with what the real Aperio had said. Still, just like Caethya had instructed her earlier, she remained quiet.


    "Can you recall the feeling you had when you got some memories back from the crystals?" Caethya asked, brushing her thumbs over Aperio''s knuckles. "This time you didn''t break the crystal to absorb the mana within, and who knows what that does to the memory-regaining process." Who knows how you even made that¡­


    "So I should just break it?" the All-Mother asked, the mana surrounding her immediately growing denser as if she was already preparing to do just that. It only lasted for a moment, however, before it dissipated again. "But that would destroy everyone''s memories¡­"


    "You¡¯re right," Caethya replied, not quite convinced of her own words. Hopefully this works. "Just try to remember how it felt when your other memories returned to you. Try to replicate that when feeling the mana that surrounds us here."


    The Demigoddess of Creation could not be sure if the mana that filled this endlessly finite space was, as she was suspecting, that of the memories themselves instead of that of Aperio, but it was the only thing that seemed to make sense. It felt different, somehow. It lacked the warmth, the curiosity, and sadly also the doubt that was omnipresent in her Goddess'' aura.


    That was not to say that the mana did not belong to Aperio ¡ª all mana did, after all ¡ª but it was unmistakably attuned to the All-Mother in a way she did not quite understand. They have to be memories.


    "And why would that work?" the All-Mother asked, a bit of the warmth of her mana returning. "How did you even come up with that?"


    "It''s how I taught myself magic before my parents wanted to hire teachers," Caethya replied, offering a small smile. "I would sit and watch my mother do her exercise and then try to replicate it by feel." She cast her gaze down, saying her next words a little quieter. "I don''t know if it''ll work, but talking doesn''t seem to be effective. Neither with me, nor with these¡­ yous.


    "No matter how many times I try," she continued, meeting Aperio''s eyes again, "talking just leads you to walk in circles, but I will say it again anyway. You are you. What your old you did does not define you; doesn''t make you a bad person. She isn¡¯t you."


    Aperio did not reply immediately, her eyes wandering over the obsidian ocean and the dwindling number of fragments that wandered through it. The more copies that vanished, the more of the usual warmth seemed to return to Aperio. Her aura became more comfortable, for lack of a better term, and given her Goddess'' slight change in posture Caethya felt safe to assume that there was a shift going on within her mind as well. There was a feeling growing in the air, one that she could only describe as nostalgia.


    The obsidian sea upon which she sat also reacted, the black surface becoming slightly transparent and letting the Demigoddess get a glimpse at something that lingered beyond. She wasn''t sure what exactly it was that she saw, but it was there, moving behind the milky obsidian. The colours of this other thing just barely managed to shine through enough for her to see.


    "I don''t know how many atrocities I''ve committed. I don''t even know if Aperio is my real name," the All-Mother said as her gaze lingered on the fragment closest to the two of them for a moment longer. "But I know that my actions were eventually sufficient cause for me to kill myself. Well, try to, at least.


    "Why I let Epemirial and her people think that they managed to off me is not something I know," she continued, gently wrapping her wings around Caethya and herself. The Demigoddess moved herself a little closer, giving her love''s hands a tight squeeze as she nodded for her to continue.


    Aperio did not seem to notice how the fragments continued to vanish as she carried on speaking, nor how the one that sat beside them had the faintest of smiles on her face.


    "I wanted to see what it would be like to live as a mortal," the All-Mother continued. "How it would be to have nothing. To be used. A way to punish myself, perhaps."


    "Are you sure?" Caethya asked in the hope that the question would help Aperio.


    "Sure? No, I don''t remember." She took a deep breath, and the mana that billowed through the obsidian sea flowed towards the All-Mother. "But I feel like that''s what I did. They couldn''t hurt me then, and most definitely not now. The only options were that I did it myself and either did not bother to correct them, or planned that they would assume they were responsible.


    "You saw me at their gathering," Aperio continued, the black sea that surrounded them giving way to the scene Caethya had already spectated once before. "How I tricked Epemirial into ignoring me so I could listen in. I knew what they were doing. I knew that they were messing with Souls and I did nothing!


    "I just went there to find out if they were actually a threat to me. Not because I cared for the Souls they abused, or even the rules they had broken."


    "Then why did you choose to live a life as a mortal?" Caethya asked, hesitating for a moment before she continued. "Why did you choose to have nothing?" How did she even do that?


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she looked at her disciple. I did choose to live like that, didn''t I? It was not clear as day by any means, but it felt like the correct answer. It felt like the truth; unclear, yes, but irrefutable nonetheless.


    There was more to be felt in the moment, too. It was not quite the flood of feelings and memories she experienced when she destroyed a dungeon core, but more of a gentle stream that invited her to dip her toes into it. Maybe take a swim.


    The All-Mother gave in, letting herself be immersed in the slow waves of mana. Caethya had said she should try to find this feeling. Her disciple had stuck with her even though she had been running in circles for Gods know how long. Even if she had not known how, or even what the real issue happened to be, she had always tried to help. Aperio trusted her.


    Once this was over, she would have to take the time to properly thank Caethya for what she had done. For now, Aperio simply wrapped her wings a little tighter around the Demigoddess as well as letting some of her mana flow around and through her. They might be in the safety of her own weird mindscape-thing, but Aperio felt that more was not appropriate at this time.


    "Probably because I did want to punish myself for doing nothing," she finally replied. "And I deserved it."


    Her next words were suddenly cut off by the arrival of a memory in her mind''s eye, one that was clearer than the others. It was one of herself, floating in the same space she now occupied. Unlike her current form, the Aperio in this memory was little more than a cloud of mana that loosely resembled an Elf. The sea of black glass was in constant motion, both on the ground and in the sky, the sound of it breaking and its weird reverse echoing through the infinite expanse as if it was nothing more than a large hall.


    The fragment that had sat close to Caethya and herself smiled as Aperio glanced at her before she dissolved into a fine black dust, swept away by an unseen and unfelt breeze.


    "That doesn''t work," her remembered self mumbled as she let go of a small ball that immediately dissolved into the same black dust as the recently departed fragment. "Why did I even make those stupid things?"


    A wave of her old self caused reality to unravel itself and a few more black marbles to emerge from the rift. "Right," the old Aperio mumbled as she picked up one of them in a suddenly solid-looking hand. "Why do they try to toy with their own Souls too?"


    She turned the black marble every which way before a sigh escaped the cloud. The bit of mana the impossible act had produced drifted into the marble, turning it from the solid black it had been to the colourful orb of light Aperio had come to know as a Soul.


    The glow within the newborn Soul lasted only for a second before it winked out and the marble returned to its light-absorbing black. "Not even a tiny bit?" Her cloudy self shook her nonexistent head. "I should have just never made these things. I don''t need one, so why does anyone else?


    "Because they aren''t capable of living if they don''t exist," the old Aperio continued, answering her own question. A foreign thought that was still her own crossed Aperio''s mind, undoubtedly from the memory she was currently reliving. The brief consideration to make something akin to a Soul that could hold herself raced past before a jagged crystal made from a somehow even darker material appeared before her old self.


    Just like before, a bit of her mana flowed into it, but this time it did not come back out. "I should really thank Ulria for coming up with those memory crystals. Their structure is so useful for storing stuff." Her old self stared at the crystal for a moment before she laughed. "Nah," she continued with a shake of her head. "She would just invite me to one of her harvest festivals again."


    Another one of the foreign thoughts caused countless more of the jagged-looking crystals to appear, all of various shapes and sizes. "That should be enough for Verenier," her old self said. "Enough to spur them on to get stronger, at least. Just need to¡­ go there."


    The obsidian sea beneath the cloud that was her old self fell still as she let out a long sigh. The doubt Aperio knew all too well was back, but this time it was not her own ¡ª not directly, anyway ¡ª but that of the old Aperio. She was not quite committed to whatever idea she had, but it was clear as day that she saw it as the only way.


    "I let it go this far¡­" her old self mumbled with a shake of her almost nonexistent head. "Nobody would learn if I didn''t do it. I wouldn''t pay for what I let happen.


    "Perspective is good!" The old Aperio cheered herself on, faking a different voice that sounded almost like Ferio. Another thought racing through the All-Mother''s mind caused the crystals she had just made to vanish. "I hope Ferio can forgive me for this. Whatever comes won''t be nice for her. For anyone, really.


    "But sometimes," her old self continued, the cloud of mana coalescing into the form Aperio remembered her past self usually having, "harsh measures are needed. It''s not like I''ll die; I''ll just forget. Hopefully forever." She shook her head, touching the armlet that adorned her right bicep. "Why do I even want to save this version? Because of Ferio?"


    With another sigh and another shake of her head, Aperio''s old self vanished along with the memory she had just seen, replaced by a view of Verenier from space she had experienced once before.


    Diskrye twisted itself around the memory of Aperio that stood silently in the nothing of space, dancing around its mistress as she placed the crystals she had made all over the world.


    Only a matter of time¡­


    The thought echoed through Aperio''s mind, both past and present, as her old self looked at the world below her. "It''ll be such a mess," she said. "And I won''t even see it."


    "Then don''t leave?" Diskrye asked, mirroring the shape of old Aperio as it took its place next to her. "Where are you going, anyway? And when will you be back? I am almost done with the next set of worlds. They are quite nice, if I say so myself. Especially the fjords on one of them."


    "I can''t tell you, Diskrye," her old self replied with a wave of her hand. "It would be too much for you to know."


    "If you say so," the space-born deity replied, the distaste for the lack of answer obvious in its voice.


    "I do," her memory self said. There came a long, quiet moment in which Diskrye and her old self simply stood there in the void of space, observing Verenier. Then, past Aperio spoke again. "Look out for Epemirial and the ones that follow her. They will make some claims, but they are lying. Don''t assign the new worlds to anyone either; they can take care of themselves."


    "Is that why you asked me to make those changes?"


    "Yes," she replied with a nod. "Can''t have them falling into disarray while I am gone, now can I?"


    "But the old worlds can?" Diskrye asked, swooping in front of Aperio.


    "They need it," her old self replied, unmoved by the shadowy deity that was directly in front of her face. "As do I.


    "There is another way," she added, twisting the armlet a little, "but that is a last resort. I made the problem, so it is only right that I make it go away. Even if it takes a while." And some pain.


    The words rang through Aperio''s mind as if they were her own. She knew what was awaiting her, and she wanted nothing more than to reach into the memory and strangle her old self for what she had done. The Aperio of the past had likely planned her own torment, but had effectively punished someone who knew nothing of the crimes that had been committed. Someone who would never have done such things in the first place. Who would have cared for what she made.


    "Calm." The voice of Caethya caused the memory to waver and, ultimately, vanish. Aperio''s vision returned to the sea of black glass, now in turmoil, and a concerned-looking Demigoddess staring at her. "I don''t know what you saw, but I am sure that if it continued, this space would have broken." She nodded to a patch of the obsidian sea that had disappeared, showing the maddening kaleidoscope of colours beyond.


    "I saw myself preparing to die," Aperio said, ignoring the tear in reality that was already beginning to mend itself. "Talking about how I would fix something I did but ignoring what Epemirial and her ilk did to the Souls. I just didn''t seem to care."


    "But you did seem fit to punish yourself?"


    "Apparently." Aperio looked at her disciple a moment longer before she sighed and lowered her head. "There is something else, too. I made the dungeon cores and put parts of myself into them in order to make them, and I quote, ''Enough to spur them on to get stronger''.


    "What was I even thinking?" she asked, leaning herself back. "Let''s make some dungeons that kill people before I kill myself! Let''s give Epemirial and her fucks more time to torture people!"


    A slap followed immediately by a loud "Ow!" echoed through the obsidian sea.


    Aperio blinked, touching her face where Caethya had hit her. It hadn''t hurt, physically at least, but it had managed to clear her mind a little. A thought and a quick motion had the Elf''s hand in her own and enough mana to resurrect her from the dead flowing through her.


    "Why would you do that?!" Aperio half asked, half yelled. "You broke your hand!"


    She would fix it, of course, but that was still a lot more reckless than she had thought Caethya would ever be. The fact that she had been hit did not mean as much to Aperio as it probably should. Perhaps she should get angry that Caethya had hit her, but her anger was aimed squarely at herself, not at the one she had come to love. "I was doing it again, right?"


    "Yes," Caethya replied with a shaky voice, wiping a few tears from her eyes with her free hand. "Just stop blaming yourself for everything that bitch did. You aren''t her; not anymore. She died like she wanted to."


    Aperio stared at Caethya''s hand in her own, gently stroking it as she removed the mana she had used to heal it. "Can you promise me something?" she asked, locking eyes with her disciple.


    Caethya gave a hesitant nod, seemingly not quite sure what the All-Mother wanted. "Of course."


    "Don''t hurt yourself because of me," Aperio said, a small flex of her mental muscles dissolving the last tears that still clung to Caethya''s eyes. "You should not hurt yourself to fix me."


    "I will do what is necessary to get you to understand," Caethya replied gently. "I did not want to do it ¡ª don¡¯t want to do it again ¡ª but you don''t listen when you are like that. You never do.


    "Dwelling on it won''t make it better either," she continued, placing her free hand on top of Aperio''s. "Go forwards, not backwards. Get your memories back, and then act with that new knowledge. Don''t try to pull something out of your ass because it fits with the ridiculous narrative you have in your head."


    She shook her head and sighed. "Yes, the old you did horrible things and was largely illogical, but that''s not you anymore. I don''t know how many more times I have to say it, but she died. She won''t come back just because you retrieve your memories."


    Aperio wanted to object, but that was exactly the attitude Caethya was talking about. She wanted a reason to justify how she felt; she was as aware of that fact as anyone else. It made little sense, but neither did her entire existence. A sentient nothing that made the things.


    She shook her head lightly, the obsidian sea beneath her becoming a little lighter as she did. Before she could return from this endless ocean of black glass, Aperio had one more thing to do. She needed to see every crime Epemirial and the other Accused had committed, even if it was only to justify the punishment she had already decided on. Death.


    Caethya wiggled her hand, pulling it away as Aperio let go before she climbed on the All-Mother''s lap and wrapped her arms around her as best she could. The Elf rested her head against Aperio''s chest, perhaps trying to listen for the beat of a heart she did not have or for the calming sound of taking a breath that would never come.


    "There is still so much more," Aperio said, her eyes wandering through the now-empty ocean of obsidian. Though, to call it truly empty would be lying. It was filled with the memories she had crammed into the crystal, all of it slowly flowing determinedly in a direction but yet never reaching anything.


    The feeling of remembrance had left Aperio, but still memories were nagging to be viewed at the edges of her mind. Not ones from her own life, but ones from Epemirial and her ilk. She had said she wanted to see them so she could be sure of her judgement, but even back then Aperio had known what to expect. She didn''t want to see it. Did not want to feel the anger it would bring.


    "It''s okay," Caethya said, rubbing Aperio''s back. The All-Mother wrapped her arms and wings around her disciple, gently resting her head on Caethya''s as she let a touch of her mana flow through her. Her disciple was fine, the broken hand back in perfect condition and no sign left that she was hurting, and yet Aperio felt like something was off.


    "It''s the first time that a memory wants to be viewed," she said instead. "Why?"


    "Because you want to see it," Caethya replied, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke into Aperio''s chest. "You''re really dense, sometimes." She pulled her head back and pushed herself up a little before planting a quick kiss on Aperio''s cheek. "You look at the memory and I¡¯ll keep you calm, okay?"


    Aperio gave a hesitant nod in reply, holding onto her disciple a little tighter as she let the memory further into her mind. The notion that Caethya could keep her calm with something as simple as a hug might have seemed silly, but the All-Mother knew it worked. Whether it was magic or because of what she felt for Caethya, the Elf always managed to calm her by merely being there.


    The first thing that greeted her in the memory was something that caused her to hug Caethya just a fraction more tightly. It was her own corpse, displayed on a stone altar and surrounded by deities. As she looked at those who surrounded her body, she noted that they all had one thing in common. They were all part of the Accused. What are they doing?


    Epemirial held a knife, the same one Aperio had used to kill herself not once, but twice. The symbol of the Inaru Empire sitting where a normal pommel would be already caused anger to rise within her, one that was easily overshadowed by the rage that bloomed as Epemirial began to cut into her dead body.


    There was no blood, no inner tissues, not even bones to be revealed. Each slice of that infernal knife caused the shell of her previous self to crumble away. All that was left behind were a few small crystals, ones the All-Mother recognized to be tiny versions of the dungeon cores she had made. Why her old self had simply given away the memories in that way was beyond her. The only reason she could come up with was that, perhaps, she wanted to be able to kill them when she revived and so placed the incentive within them.


    The ones she had retrieved from the accused were the ones that explained ¡ª at least to a degree ¡ª what had happened to her. Could they see them? Fel''Erreyth could¡­ Aperio somehow doubted that they could as the scene shifted in front of her, time seemingly turning back as the body reassembled itself and returned to her bed where the Goddess of Duty and Loss had first found it.


    It did not stop there, however, running back further and further, showing each and every time Epemirial tried and failed to kill the All-Mother. And yet, at every failure the old Aperio seemed to conveniently not notice the attempt, thus allowing Epemirial to try again and again.


    The Goddess of Duty and Loss, through all the attempts, only had hatred on her mind. She truly wanted nothing more than to grind Aperio into dust and usher in an age with herself as the ruler. Not anyone else, only her. She failed, as Aperio knew, but the desire was there. A burning passion that had consumed everything as time went on.


    There had once been something good in Epemirial. At least, Aperio believed that to be the case as the further back the memories went, the less cruel the Goddess was. The more she cared for her people, for those that lost themselves and others while doing the right thing. There was no surprise event or turning point that had twisted Epemirial to an evil path of deceit and murder; just an ever-growing desire to right the wrongs she saw until everyone but her was evil and had to be controlled. Was that the mistake?


    Another shift and she saw the same journey for Lor''Kem and the other Accused. They all pursued their Domains more and more blindly until all they could see was a world in which they were right and everyone else was wrong. Shells of their former selves that needed to get more power so they could save the world from those that corrupted it. From me¡­


    In a way, they had been right. She was the one that had given them their powers; had set them on this path. But not everyone went insane. Ediscio was a good example. The God of Knowledge and Love had not changed, as far as she could tell. But every single one of the Accused had fallen deeper and deeper into cruelty as they started to deceive themselves to justify their means.


    Aperio wanted the deluge of memories to stop, but it did not. Life after life played before her mind''s eye, showing the final insanity of the Accused before going back through their timeline to show her what they once were. People with an ambition that she had taken and made their source of power. The Domain was their passion and she had given them reason to ignore everything else to fuel it; to grow stronger. Eventually, for their madness to end, she had to die.


    The issue was that it had not worked. They still continued on. Came up with even more cruel experiments to ensure they could create a world that would fit the ideals they had twisted beyond recognition.


    Tears streamed down Aperio''s face as the memory-carrying mana that filled the obsidian ocean flooded into her, showing her every severed limb, every raped and tortured Soul the Accused had gotten their hands on. Their crimes were clear, and so was their reasoning. It did not make sense to anyone but themselves, but it did not have to. No-one could stand against them. Twisted their truths beyond repair¡­


    They could not, should not come back. Simply ripping out their divinity would not solve the corruption of their mind. They would never stop pursuing what they thought was the perfect world. They had to die.


    The world around her shifted, the black glass beneath her crumbling as reality twisted itself apart. Aperio stood up from the throne she had occupied in the courtroom, her mind still in the slowly dissolving obsidian sea with Caethya in her arms. She would do what was needed to save her creation. Her past self was wrong. Selfish. Weak.


    She had sought an escape for herself, not a fix for the mistakes she had made. Aperio had one; one she did not like, but one that was necessary. One that would only require a single word to usher in an age of chaos.


    "Death."


    Her voice quieted the courtroom immediately. There was no blood or rolling heads. The Accused, many of which had already been clawing at their throats, crumpled to the ground one after another. The light in the room gave way to darkness as Aperio brought her Void back into the Court, guiding what was left of the Accused to the River of Souls so that they might be washed clean of their corruption and start a new life.


    Aperio took a breath of the nothing that spilled from her Void, letting her mind touch all of Verenier. She could not yet touch the crystals that contained her memories, but she knew where they were. She no longer feared what they contained ¡ª had no more reason to lie to herself. They will be mine, in time.


    The All-Mother touched the armlet that still adorned the bicep of her body in the courtroom, a glimpse of another time flashing through her mind before it was replaced with the warmth of comfort. Her old self had failed with her first and second try, but she would do it right.


    I have to, Aperio thought, giving Caethya a squeeze before the sea of obsidian finally crumbled away. For me. For her.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


    Want to chat? Join the Discord. Want to read ahead or get some Side Stories? Check out the Patreon.

 Side Story – Natio 1: Just a Janitor

    GamingWolf


    Hello! While it is still a bit before Book 5 starts, there are some other things you can read. There will be three sides stories that will come out (two about Natio and one about the Vinmaiers) over the next week or two. These introduce you to some characters that will play a more active role in Book 5 and also give you something to read in the meanwhile.


    Toodles!


    Natio glared at the bucket for a moment longer before he closed the cupboard. Scrubbing fucking floors, he thought to himself as he left the supply room and made his way to the cantine.


    He was mortal once more and had to partake in the most disgusting task of eating again. All because those fucks lied to me. He had trusted Vigil and Inanis, and why shouldn''t he have? Ever since he had killed the Drake that had repeatedly destroyed one of Vigil''s churches, they had helped him.


    They had proclaimed him a knight in service of Vigil and, after years of hard work, he had finally managed to take the first steps towards divinity. And that bitch just took it away.


    The woman he had come to know as Laelia glared at him as the thought crossed his mind. He was fairly sure she could not read his mind ¡ª Yet ¡ª but Natio also knew she was well on her way to becoming a Goddess. That always changed people. He was also certain he had seen her on one of his many visits to Vigil. One of his test subjects, if his mind did not deceive him.


    What Vigil was testing, he did not know. Natio''s old mentor had never told him. All he knew was that it had something to do with Souls, which was probably the reason the All-Mother of all people had gotten involved. And they said she was dead¡­ And I fucking believed it.


    It had been foolish of him to believe that the literal creator of the universe could even be killed. But then, when he had encountered her, she had seemed just like a new Goddess. A new Goddess that can strip your divinity...


    Natio looked down at the food that had almost magically appeared complete with a tray in his hands as he was lost in thought. He did not like to eat ¡ª or do most things mortals had to, for that matter ¡ª but now he had to. At least it doesn''t taste too bad.


    With a sigh, he sat himself down at one of the empty tables in the room ¡ª far away from anyone else. Natio was about to take his first bite when his attention was taken by that accursed Dragonkin appearing at his table. The reason she was here was also quite easy to deduce.


    Qhinya Il''Jheem was, for all intents and purposes, the guardian of the newcomer, and she knew that he knew something she did not. Namely that the newcomer was a [Veil Walker] and did not suffer from Etherical Rejection. Well, mostly.


    Technically, Adam did suffer from that particular ailment, but only because he came from a world that had little mana. Epemirial can''t get this one, he thought to himself with a small smile.


    "Something funny?" Qhinya asked, poking at her own food. Why she still chose to eat was beyond Natio, as he knew that she was far beyond such silly needs. At least I didn''t lose everything. His [Identify] was still pretty good. It didn''t give him all the information it once did, but he still got a name, level, and title.


    Natio simply sighed and placed his cutlery beside his tray. In the past he would have yelled at the woman for her insolence, but the lessons he had gotten from Mister Penbrooks stuck with him.


    "I just remembered something," he said, sitting a little straighter. "Can I help you with anything?"


    "Oh, you know, the usual," she replied, absentmindedly circling the grip of her fork with her finger. "Just waiting for you to tell me what you know about Adam. You are creeping him out with your stares, you know."


    The fallen God gave a shrug in reply. "I have nothing to tell you, Miss Il''Jheem."


    "Want to tell me something about your past, then?" she pressed. "I know there is something. Laelia knows, of course, but she said it''s up to you to tell me."


    "And why would I divulge my past to a random stranger?"


    Qhinya leaned back in her chair. "How about your name, then? We have known each other for weeks now, and I only know you as ''The Janitor''."


    "That''s because I am the janitor," Natio replied. Telling her his name made her figuring out who he was a certainty. He was very lucky that Qhinya wasn''t there when he had been cast down, and that most members of the House of Healing had no interest in telling the world who he was. He would have to thank Mister Penbrooks for that later. Again. Good thing I lost the green in my hair¡­


    He had given himself a rather striking appearance as a God. The reason for that was quite simple. The more people that knew him, or simply knew of him, the stronger he would become. But now, despite more people knowing his name due to that infernal System message, there was no influx of mana to satiate his need. Nothing but the weak flesh of a mortal.


    "Are you, though?" Qhinya asked, taking a bite of her food. "I get the feeling there is more to you then you let on. Much more."


    "Please don''t interrogate your colleagues, Qhinya," Mister Penbrooks said from behind Natio. "If you continue, I will have to make some room on your schedule to attend my etiquette lessons."


    The former God stiffened a little at the presence of Mister Penbrooks. He had a tendency to just appear inside the House of Healing; something that was too close to how he had moved through his own Dominion for his liking.


    "Greetings, Mister Penbrooks," he said, taking a breath and trying his best to relax a little. Scared of a mortal. Ridiculous. "How are you today?"


    "Fairly well," he replied, gesturing to the seat next to Natio. "May I?"


    Natio gave a shallow nod before he froze once more; Laelia stepped up to the table and took a seat next to Qhinya without asking.


    "Manners," Mister Penbrooks said, looking at Laelia. "Please."


    Laelia just stared at him for a moment before she shifted her gaze towards Penbrooks. "You are being too nice. You know what he has done; what he wanted to do."


    "I do, but he is already serving his punishment," Penbrooks replied with a calm voice. "It might seem too lax to you, but I can assure you that it is working quite well. He is here to learn, after all."


    "I stand by what I said when he arrived," Laelia said, starting to go through a stack of papers that had appeared next to her.


    "I know," the purveyor of the House of Healing said. "But the choice was left to us, and all but you wanted to teach him how to behave properly."


    Qhinya shifted in her seat a little as she leaned forward. "Who brought him here?"


    "My Goddess," Laelia replied, a little too fast for Natio''s tastes. "She let the people he wronged decide his punishment. A few of them, at least."


    The Dragonkin blinked at the words and leaned back in her chair. "Isn''t your Goddess Aperio? Creator of everything we know and source of all life? Looks like a big winged Elf that could break you in two?"


    "Yes."


    "She was on Procul recently," Qhinya said, almost placing her feet on the table before a sharp glare from Penbrooks convinced her otherwise. "Destroyed Fel''Erreyth''s dungeon and injured him, according to my friend."


    "I know," Laelia said, placing one of the papers on a new stack. "That Dragon was smarter than I thought."


    Natio finally started eating as he listened to the conversation. He did not know much about what the Creator had done after she had cast him down besides also ridding the world of Vigil and Inanis; something he was actually thankful for.


    "Of course he is," Qhinya said, now looking at Laelia. "Fel''Erreyth is an Ancient Dragon. You don''t become one by being stupid."


    The other woman merely shrugged lightly before she looked directly at Natio. "So far, everyone else who has been involved in this has been a total idiot."


    Qhinya followed the woman''s gaze, raising an eyebrow as it settled on the fallen God. "What does the Janitor have to do with any of this? Was he the chief temple cleaner?"


    "No," Natio replied, quickly swallowing his bite in hopes of stopping Laelia from revealing who he was. "I was not."


    He took a deep breath. At the moment, all he wanted to do was make these stupid mortals go away. They didn''t deserve to be in his presence; they should be cowering on the ground to offer up their life to him instead.


    A rather rough pat on his back banished the thoughts from his mind. "He had been deceived, like many others," Mister Penbrooks said, removing his hand. "But he also made his own mistakes that he will have to answer for. The All-Mother left the punishment up to us, and we want to heal him and offer him a second chance at life."


    "By cleaning toilets?" Qhinya barely managed to get the question out between small fits of giggling. "What did he do?" The Dragonkin was met with silence and sighed. "Do I really have to wait until the literal Creator of everything comes back and ask her? I will do it, even if she throws me into space for it!"


    "She''ll probably tilt her head, raise an eyebrow, and not answer you when you do that," Laelia replied. "Aperio is¡­ Aperio. Quite unlike what I have been told to expect of her, that much is certain."


    "Definitely doesn''t seem like she would be the one who made all this," Natio mumbled as he poked at his food. Did not feel like it, either.


    Aperio had felt fairly strong when she had fought him, but nothing like the literal Creator should. He had even managed to injure her. Even if that hadn¡¯t seemed to do anything to her, he had drawn blood. Now she was beyond his mortal senses and even if he met her again, he wouldn''t be able to tell if she had gotten stronger or not.


    Before anyone else could speak, Laelia stood up, the papers on the table simply vanishing. "Thank you for your time Mister Penbrooks, but I have to leave."


    "Duty calls, I presume?" the man asked. Laelia only gave a curt nod in reply before she vanished, a few wisps of oddly silver mana dancing in the air for a moment before they, too, disappeared. Penbrooks sighed as his eyes lingered on the space the woman had occupied moments before. "That one could use some time off," he sighed.


    "Don''t we all," Natio mumbled, taking another bite of his food. He''d have to block the showers for a few hours later so he could actually feel clean again. Can''t even go and level to rid myself of this stupid need.


    "Well," Qhinya said, standing up. "One of my charges is here, so it is time to leave." She offered a small wave as she moved towards the twins at the other side of the room. "Toodles!"


    Natio''s expression soured as he looked at the two boys. He had known of their affliction, had thought that Vigil was trying to heal them. As with many other things concerning the late God, he had been oh so wrong. Vigil had not wanted to help them, but had used them to get Laelia into his service. She had been very clear about that when she had cornered him shortly after arriving here.


    At the time, Natio had thought she would kill him, but she did not. Laelia had made it quite clear, however, that she wouldn''t hesitate to do so if he ever did something to endanger her family or any of the other mortals in the House of Healing.


    He knew the threat was very real. Every time he did something that even had the slightest chance of injuring someone, Laelia was somewhere close by, waiting. How does she do that, though? He knew that she wasn''t a Demigoddess yet ¡ª though probably just as strong ¡ª but she still had this slight bit of divinity in her aura. Guess that''s what a blessing of the All-Mother gives, huh?


    Natio had spent a good few decades to get to the level the All-Mother''s Scion had achieved in mere months. But then, as a Scion, she will probably be stronger than most Gods in time. He shuddered slightly at the idea. What he knew of the woman told him that she would make the same mistakes he did, though probably in the other direction. Try so hard to be good that you become evil¡­


    As the last bit of food disappeared from his plate, Mister Penbrooks closed the book he had been reading and smiled at Natio. "Ready for your next lessons?"


    "Yes," the fallen God replied with a small sigh. He had not even noticed that the man had gotten himself a book, as he was lost in thought. Disgusting.


    GamingWolf


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 Side Story – Natio 2: Headache Avoidance

    Natio narrowed his eyes as he looked at the [Veilwalker], leaning against the door frame as he tried to figure out if Adam was merely pretending to be bad or if he actually did not know how to use the mana that now flowed through him.


    Like most mortals that bore the same title, Adam had gotten a bit more than the average person in terms of mana. It just seemed that his control over his gift was severely lacking. Can''t even summon a fireball¡­


    Even in his current crippled form, Natio could still defend himself. Not from someone like Qhinya, but most other mortals would find it quite hard to beat him. It wasn''t because he somehow retained some of the mana he had cultivated while he was a God ¡ª the All-Mother took all of that from him, after all ¡ª but because he knew magic better than those around him. And she did not stop me from ascending again¡­


    He had begun his journey towards godhood again once he had figured out that Aperio had not blocked it, but his own mindset had been the issue. After he had fallen, he had changed. To most, that much would be obvious, but Natio himself had not wanted it to be true. That this denial had a tangible impact on his life was not something he had ever expected.


    When, at long last, he had finally begun to accept his situation, he had actually managed to make some progress again. Not much yet, but it was a start. Goes a lot slower without a Patron¡­


    His progress did show him one thing, however. He was still much better than Adam. Doesn''t help that Qhinya is a bad teacher. The Dragonkin might be an expert on Etherical Rejection, easily able to answer general questions of magic and health, but she was most definitely not able to teach.


    "You are allowed to help him, you know."


    Natio stiffened slightly at the voice of Mister Penbrooks. He had not noticed his approach, the proprietor of the House of Healing being as stealthy as always.


    "I''m a janitor now," Natio replied, nodding to the broom that leaned against the wall. "I was never a teacher, either."


    "You still know what he has to do," Mister Penbrooks insisted. "Qhinya, on the other hand, does not. She has never known a life without magic, and has not advanced enough to know about the fundamentals Adam has to learn. You, on the other hand, know them well."


    "Doesn''t mean I can teach him how to do it." Or want to.


    "I won''t force you," Penbrooks said. "But I will remind you that you are not only a janitor. Up until now it was merely the only useful thing you were able to do without constant supervision."


    "Can''t really fuck up cleaning toilets, you mean," Natio huffed in reply.


    Mister Penbrooks gave a small laugh. "You''d be surprised how easy it is to screw it up," he said. "For you it was more meant as an exercise in humility. Most people would have called for your head, but¡­ Well, suffice to say I know that death only begets more death."


    "As do I¡­" Natio mumbled in reply, eyeing the struggling teacher and her helpless student. He sighed, shaking his head slightly as he saw the magic Adam tried to invoke fizzle out in his hand. "I''ll think about it," he said, grabbing his broom again.


    "That is enough for me." Penbrooks reached out to give the fallen God a pat on the shoulder. "Just remember that progress takes time."


    The fallen God huffed in reply, shaking his head once more before he pushed past the proprietor of the House of Healing to clean the rest of what he had come to call his home.


    Days came and went as Natio fell back into the unpleasant but well-trodden routine he had taken on since he had been forced to live here. Sweep the floors, clean the toilets, take out the trash, ignore the other residents, and try to eat while bearing with Qhinya''s constant questions. As the days progressed, another thing that remained sadly unchanged was Adam''s progress.


    Natio leaned against the wall and folded his arms in front of his chest as he watched Adam try to use his magic again. Tenacious, at least. He would be lying if he said that he liked the boy, but the fallen God could not fault his attitude towards learning magic.


    "Probably because it was only ever fiction for him before," Natio mumbled to himself as he tapped his foot against the wall.


    He had watched him make the attempt over and over during the last couple of days, waiting to see if the [Veil Walker] would figure it out on his own. Adam had not. There had been some tiny amount of progress, but it was not noteworthy in Natio''s mind. Not even a fraction of the mana he uses gets out.


    It wasn''t as though Adam lacked in mana. Once his body had adapted enough ¡ª and he had screamed loud enough to wake the neighbourhood ¡ª he had gained access to a good chunk of mana. Nothing truly extraordinary, but a very good place to start. More than I had at his age, at least.


    Natio had never been a prodigy at magic like Mayeia was, but he had made up for that with dedication. And a Patron¡­ Seeing the current sorry state of his magic also made him wonder how it would have turned out if he had not been chosen by an already established God.


    With a sigh, he pushed himself off of the wall, grabbing the broom that leaned next to him in a fluid motion. Natio was about to open the door and head back inside when he saw Adam turn in the corner of his eye.


    He waited with his hand on the knob, but the boy did not speak. "Need anything?" Natio asked, looking over his shoulder at Adam.


    The boy hesitated before he shook his head and turned back to the unmarred scarecrow. "No, nothing," he said. "Sorry for making you wait."


    Natio just gave a grunt in reply and pushed the door open to step inside. He quickened his pace as he spotted Laelia talking to her adopted children. The woman disliked him ¡ª not that he could blame her ¡ª and he very much liked to avoid contact when possible.


    Luckily, the All-Mother''s Scion did not seem to want to worsen his day today. She did give him a glare as he turned the corner but returned her attention to her children fairly quickly.


    Brenia, Kaam, and Ern themselves did not have a problem with him. Quite the contrary even, they liked to talk to him when he was doing his job. Do they know? He doubted it, but he would not ask to make sure either. That was a good way to end up with some broken bones. Probably.


    The reassuring click of the door to his room closing behind him, followed by the slight hum of magic as the privacy enchantment took, was a sequence of things that never failed to calm him. Natio knew, of course, that anyone of sufficient strength could easily ignore these measures, but it still helped.


    There was also the hope that Laelia held the same values as her Goddess. Everything he knew about the Creator made it quite clear that she valued personal freedom very highly. Highly enough to strip my divinity, at least. He wasn''t sure how that translated to her followers, however. Or if that even extends to privacy¡­


    There was a good chance the Scion saw it as necessary to keep an eye on him and make sure he would not do anything stupid. Not that I could. Natio was very certain Mister Penbrooks had the ability to be anywhere in the House of Healing in a matter of seconds, and he was strong enough to stop most troublemakers. Hides it well, though.


    If it wasn''t for his [Identify] skill and his general knowledge of magic, Natio was sure he would have never guessed Kairo Penbrooks was actually a magic user of fairly high standing. Don''t get [Chosen of Ice] for nothing¡­


    Natio placed his broom by the side of the door before he threw his hands up and let out a long yawn as he stretched. Readjusting to mortal life had been hard, but he found that sleeping was actually something he enjoyed now. No dreams of the past haunted him like they had in the beginning; now it was just a nice relaxing black after which he felt like a new man.


    This time, however, that was not the case as Natio found himself awoken by a knock on his door. He groaned as he turned on his back. He did not remember actually going to bed, but he obviously had. Just without changing clothes.


    Natio gave another groan as he righted himself, rubbing his eyes and mumbling as the knock on his door repeated. "Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "I''ll be right there."


    He climbed out of his bed, shaking his head and steadying himself on the wall as the world spun around him. "Not again," he groaned, holding his head with his free hand. "Never thought being good actually makes you sick."


    A few stumbling steps brought him to the door, his hand wrapping around the broom. Just in case whoever was on the other side needed some¡­ percussive maintenance.


    "What?" he asked as he opened the door.


    Natio''s grip on the broom tightened as his eyes landed on Adam. The Human lowered his head as Natio glared at him. "What do you want?" the fallen God asked, making no effort to hide the annoyance in his voice.


    "I-I would like to ask for your help?" Adam stammered, his words sounding more like a question than anything else.


    "Help with what?" Natio asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Made a mess?"


    The Human looked up at him, the confusion clear on his face. "No? I¡­ I wanted to ask you to help me with my magic." He hesitated for a moment, putting his hands in his pockets before pulling them out multiple times. "Miss Il''Jheem said she doesn''t know where to start teaching me and you seem to be watching me every time I train and then Kairo said you are actually good with magic so I thought maybe I could ask for your help."


    "Of course he told you," Natio huffed in reply. "And you just believe him? I''m a janitor, not a magician."


    "H-He said that something happened that made you not want to use magic," Adam stammered. "That it could help with your recovery."


    "I have nothing left that is worth recovering," Natio spat. He had to grab his head a moment later as a splitting headache raced through it. "Fine!" he exclaimed, his eyes fixed at the ceiling where he was sure the infernal Creator was watching. "I''ll help you. Get your things."


    "Now?" Adam asked, taking a step back.


    "Yes," Natio replied, pulling on the robe that hung beside his door. "Now."


    He was not actually certain that the All-Mother was watching him, but he would not disregard the idea. Especially when he got a headache or something similar as soon as he started to fall back on his old way of thinking.


    Natio stepped past Adam, glancing out the window at the sun that had barely started to rise. "I''ll wait outside."


    Surprisingly, it did not take Adam long to join him. Probably because he did not actually go and get anything, Natio thought with a sigh. "Do you have a focus?"


    "No," Adam replied in confusion. "Qhinya said it''s not needed to do magic."


    A slap rang through the empty courtyard as Natio''s palm slammed against his forehead. "Stupid Dragons," he mumbled as he stepped past Adam. "She might not need one, but you do."


    Natio rummaged through his pocket for a moment before he found the key to the equipment shed and pulled it out. He knew they had various foci in there, he had just never bothered to actually use any of them. His desire to practice magic had largely vanished after he had been struck down, doubly so because he now needed a focus to perform even the simplest non-System spells. And using the System isn''t really magic anyway.


    Most people had even stopped calling the System-assisted spells magic, as you did not need to be a magician to use them. You merely needed to remember the words to get the System to do what you wanted. And don''t mind sounding like an idiot.


    Natio looked at the various foci strewn across the shed before he picked up two crystal tipped staves made from [Glimmerwood]. How these had ended up in the House of Healing was not something he knew, but he did have a few suspicions. Mister Penbrooks was a fairly talented mage, and the various healers that scurried around were all just a little bit too good at their job to be normal.


    Guess the order did survive, he mused to himself as he handed Adam one of the staves. "There, take that."


    "And what do I do with it?"


    "If you would have let me talk," Natio said, inspecting the staff he had picked for himself, "I would have told you."


    It would take time to teach Adam anything, but maybe, just maybe, Mister Penbrooks had been right. Perhaps this was something he needed to do ¡ª something that would help him get back on his feet.


    GamingWolf


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 Side Story – Vinmaier 1: A Noble Goal

    Jester Kemeleir Vinmaier was annoyed. Not particularly at the servant in front of him, but at the world in general. His brother had died. It was something he had considered bringing about himself many times over, but he had never actually followed through on those thoughts. The brat was no danger to his personal goals. Moreover, his death would only cause trouble. In fact, Kereman could not have died at a more inconvenient time nor could he have chosen a more ridiculous target to be his executioner.


    "Killed by a fucking Goddess," Jester murmured as his eyes again flew over the letter his father had received weeks ¡ª maybe even months ¡ª ago. "And the old fool tried to hide it, too." Stupid.


    He sighed, motioning the slave that had brought the letter to leave his room. She would be back later, he knew, to fulfill her other evening duties. He liked the girl, but lately she had only ever brought him bad news. Of course, it wasn''t exactly her fault ¡ª she was just a slave-concubine of his father, one that was privy to some information the Lord of the house did not think would leave his bed chambers.


    His personal slaves might not be permitted to speak to him, but they could still write down what they heard and pass the information to him. Nor could they tell his father that they did bring him information. Whenever he would ask them, they would tell him that they did no such thing ¡ª that he only used them as a man of his stature should. In bed. Should not have let me buy your slaves, father.


    Jester was not as stupid as his little brother had been. He had his eyes on a goal much grander than being the Lord of the Vinmaier family. Owning an island in Ebenlowe might have been something many people would already deem ambitious, but for Jester that was just a matter of time. The real goal that would require work was owning Ebenlowe itself; something that had become much harder now that the literal Creator of everything had made it her home. And Kereman offended her somehow.


    With another sigh, he stood up and made his way towards his study. His footsteps echoed through his chamber, the polished orichalcum-laced marble not allowing for quiet movements; something his mother had belittled him for at the time he had purchased it. After multiple assassins had failed to move quietly across the floor - and been caught because of it - she had of course changed her mind. The enchantments had been worth their rather audacious cost.


    Something that truly prevented entry ¡ª and was unknown to proper assassins ¡ª was a lot harder to get, and even more expensive than the floor tiles he had ordered.


    The door to his study shut with a heavy click as its lock fell back into place, the slight hum that reached his ears as the enchantments activated giving Jester a comfort he seldom felt these days.


    "Three Gods dead," he murmured to himself, making his way through his study to the small bar he had installed next to his desk. "Ridiculous."


    With a quiet ding of the bottle hitting his glass, Jester poured himself a drink. The Potion of Delight did its name justice, even if it was not exactly a true potion. It used some of the same herbs as a mana tincture but, in the end, was still nothing more than an alcoholic beverage. One he liked to indulge in every now and then.


    After taking a sip of the light blue liquid, he took a few pieces of paper from a drawer of his secretaire as well as a gold-inlaid pen. A touch of his mana flowed into the writing instrument, allowing the words he wrote on the page to shift into unrecognisable shapes.


    His father had made a blunder he could no longer tolerate, forcing Jester to accelerate his plans. The death of this brother would not remain a secret much longer and, once it was out, their standing would be in danger. He also had to somehow appease the Goddess his brother had offended, a feat he was not sure how to accomplish.


    "If only he had not hidden it," Jester mumbled as he wrote the last few words, pressing his ring onto the paper once he was done. The sigil of the Vinmaier family appeared on the letter, glowing crimson for a moment as the rest of the words he had written vanished.


    A moment later, his family sigil disappeared as well, replaced by an incomplete compass rose. The marker that should point south-west was not present ¡ª broken like the rest of the circle westward of the small diamond that represented south ¡ª with only the north-east part of the spear being intact. A double-bladed spear crossed the rose in the opposite direction, the bigger edge pointing north-west, barely resting on the rose¡¯s perimeter.


    As he watched, the sigil of the Order of Inaru completed itself, restoring the missing elements with golden lines, and he knew they had accepted his contract. Now to wait for Jidol to accept. The Order would only send the best to ensure his father would meet an untimely end. Then the burden of leading the house would fall to him. At least mother will be happy. The woman had wanted to leave Ebenlowe for years, but couldn''t as long as his father remained head of the house.


    The piece of paper quickly vanished back into the drawer it had come from, the glass he had deposited on his secretaire appearing in Jester''s hand as he stood up. It was soon joined by a new set of clothes that replaced the old ones he had worn. Not many people were capable of space magic, even fewer knew how to use it to transport items from a storage skill onto their person.


    Jester liked to be prepared, carrying various antidotes, weapons, and clothes in his [Dimensional Storage], ready to be used for any situation he could think of. Having to take them all out the usual way was simply not an option for him. If he needed a sword in his hand, he needed it now , not a few seconds later.


    His sword settled comfortably at his side, the weapon much more a symbol of their family¡¯s power than an actual weapon. Jester knew how to use it, of course, but the yellow glow of its runes signalled to anyone that knew that it had a much better use than slicing his enemies apart.


    Content that everything was in order, Jester turned to leave, having only come to his study to set in motion his plans. That he had to visit his father later that day caused his pace to briefly falter, but the man had made his own grave. Not sharing the news about his brother''s death was a step too far, one that would cost them dearly, and required his removal.


    Jester sighed as he opened the door to his main chamber, a slight touch of his mana disabling the enchantments of the door. The room was as empty as he had left it ¡ª how he liked it ¡ª but the memories he was fond of in these chambers were not ones he wanted to think about at the moment.


    Shaking his head he finished the drink in his hand, letting the glass vanish, and left for the main hall, expecting to find his mother there. She knew of some of his plans and undoubtedly would be informed by the Order of the planned assassination and, even if it would not be revealed, she would know he ordered it. At least, he thought so.


    Elariya Vinmaier tapped her fingers on the large, dread-wood table, her eyes fixed on the pendant laying on it. The Order she had helped bring to glory had been ordered to remove her husband ¡ª a thought that did not sit quite right with her despite the fact that there was no love lost between the two.


    They had married because their parents demanded it, and had the three children that were required to uphold their duties to their families. And, for the longest time, she had been content to let Urol run the family and play his little games in Ebenlowe. It let her slip by unnoticed, and helped rebuild the Order of Inaru to its former glory.


    But, once she had it up and running, she had wanted to leave Ebenlowe for greener pastures. The city-kingdom was a dead end as far as she was concerned. The [Guides] had it on lock-down, stopping any attempt at take-over in its tracks, but still Urol had made it his goal to stay here and take over the island their estate was on.


    Her son, at least, had the loftier goal of taking the entire city. Something she still considered impossible, but at least more laudable than a dinky island. She herself just wanted to leave these cursed islands behind, especially now that an angry Goddess had made it her home. One that very much disliked her way of living. Thrice damned All-Mother¡­


    Elariya did not follow any particular deity, only selecting ones that would benefit her in some way. She wanted to revive Inaru ¡ª the reason she had rebuilt the order ¡ª but that goal seemed to move further out of reach each day. Especially now that the creator had returned and was very displeased with slavery. Resurrecting a God of Slavery is sure to draw her ire¡­


    That her other son had already offended her did not help, either. She did not want to be in the spotlight or in the sights of her enemies ¡ª even less so when that enemy was the strongest being on Verenier.


    She shook her head at the memory of Kereman. He had been the youngest child, the one they had let get away with more things than his brother and sister. He had been a gifted fire mage, but Elariya doubted any magic a mortal could muster would help against the All-Mother.


    Urol had tried to keep his death a secret. It was, to her, a stupid idea, and she had tried in vain to convince her husband of the same. He had never truly listened, and for that she had allowed one of Jester''s ''spies'' to pass on the information. In a way, she had signed her husband''s death warrant. Though the decision sat heavily on her conscience, she did not regret it. It would allow her to finally live her own life. Pursue her goals away from Ebenlowe and a potentially vengeful Goddess.


    She let the pendant vanish into her storage as she felt her son enter the range of her aura. He did not need to know that all his requests to the Order were requests to her just yet. Does he want to tell me Urol will die?


    Elariya sighed, leaning back in her chair as she watched the door. Jester hesitated for a moment before he opened it, stepping into the main hall. Despite its name, everyone knew that it was her domain, and simply barging in would not end well.


    "Mother," Jester said, slightly bowing his head. "I have something I need to tell you."


    "I know what you did," she said, closing her eyes. "I will do my part when the time comes."


    She could feel Jester''s breathing relax slightly at her words, thankful again for the boost in power she had received after achieving level two hundred fifty. It had furthered her aura''s perception quite a lot, allowing her to pick up on cues that would have remained hidden to her before.


    Her son directed his eyes at the floor, the decision to remove his father from the world probably weighing on him despite the ease with which he chose to make it. Elariya felt for Jester. He was still young, not yet fully inducted into the true world of the nobles.


    "It was the right decision," she said, motioning for her son to take a seat. "He made his choice when he tried to keep Kereman''s death a secret. Especially in times like these, our family cannot appear weak. Losing our patron God already drew unwanted eyes towards us. Having a Goddess kill our son and then not saying anything only made it worse."


    "Was there nothing you could have done?" Jester asked after a moment of silence. "I know that you figured out what happened to Kereman a lot sooner than I did."


    Elariya shook her head in reply. "There are rules we have to follow. If I had announced the death of my son it would have been even worse. What Urol was thinking is not something I know. He could have simply said that Kereman perished in a dungeon and left it at that. Instead, he said nothing at all, trying to cover it up."


    A silence settled over the two of them, Elariya thinking of how she could further her ultimate goal of bringing Inaru back or ¡ª even better ¡ª taking his place. She had not yet figured out what exactly she needed to do, but she knew she was close ¡ª could feel it in her soul.


    The sounds of glasses hitting the table caused her to open her eyes. Her son was pouring two rounds of Seltrop, and a smile spread across her lips. She picked up her glass, raising it like Jester did.


    "To a better future," he said.


    "To a better future," she replied.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 146: A New Direction

    GamingWolf


    Hello! It¡¯s been a while since you had a chapter to read. This marks the beginning of Book 5: Omen, and that means there will be a few changes. The main one will be a greater focus on the world at large, as I have previously said (it will likely expand to multiple worlds later on), as well as more snippets from other perspectives to give you a better understanding of what Aperio does without her obliviousness filter.


    As before, you can support me on Patreon and get up to ten chapters ahead. And some Side Stories if you are into that.


    You can also join the Discord to chat if you wish!


    Laelia tapped her fingers on the hard wood of the desk as her eyes scanned over the letter she had just received. Ferio''s Ocussuary had captured yet more of Epemirial''s former followers as they tried to set up a ritual to sink one of the islands. Fucking insane zealots¡­


    The thought was both for the mortals that had tried to kill everyone on that island and the knights Ferio had let loose in Ebenlowe. They might be good at their job, but the Ocussuary were not mere guards. Usually, the Goddess of Life and Light would use them to break open heavily fortified positions or send them to clear out a dungeon that had gone haywire.


    As the leader of Aperio''s church Laelia had also contributed forces to secure Ebenlowe, not that they had many at the moment. At least the ones we do have are in a league of their own. How Maria''s father had managed to get that many high-levelled people to rally to their cause was beyond her, but she welcomed it nonetheless.


    Even Kairo got his gear out again¡­ The proprietor of the house of healing had once been a part of Tuvmi Mitschi, travelling the world to go into the deepest dungeons for the sole purpose of healing the adventurers they found there. It was a dangerous prospect even if your entire party consisted of various fighting healers.


    "Thank you," she finally said, giving a nod to the aide that had been patiently waiting while she read over the letter. "Tell them that we will send someone to look at the ritual site." Laelia sighed. "Maybe this time we will find something."


    Another prayer to Aperio went unanswered and the [Scion of the All-Mother] shook her head. "Where are you?" she asked nobody in particular, standing up from her desk.


    A few steps brought her to the shelf that took up an entire wall in her office. Laelia''s fingers nimbly flew over the spines of the books until they landed on the one that held the list of mages in her employ. If her Goddess would have answered her prayers, this problem would''ve been taken care of already, but Aperio had remained quiet since she had killed most of the known Pantheon four days ago.


    She was not dead, Laelia knew that. Not only because Aperio was her Goddess, but also because both Roots and Ferio had told her as much. The All-Mother apparently chose not to speak with them for some reason. Probably has to deal with some divine bureaucracy. Laelia did not envy her Goddess in that regard. She had been dealing with Ebenlowe''s convoluted laws for a while now and was still nowhere near understanding them. The only reason she had gotten anything done was thanks to some connections she had made during her time as a paladin for Vigil, as well as some generous help from Lord Terenyk.


    "Maybe I should visit Maria again," the Scion mumbled to herself as she flipped through the ledger, looking for someone who was still available while also suitable for the task at hand.


    The girl had not taken well to her prolonged absence ¡ª even if it had only been a couple of days ¡ª going as far as to blame herself for it in her worst moments. Luckily that had not happened in a while since Brenia took it upon herself to explain the working of divine bureaucracy to her new friend. Surprisingly enough, she had done a better job at that then Laelia. At least the Scion assumed as much, as Maria had been a lot happier since.


    Her eyes stopped on a name she had not seen in ages. One that had almost made her throw her life away in a futile attempt for vengeance. When did Inerlius come back?


    She had almost started a fight with Aperio to figure out where he was, and now the idiot just appeared as a mage in her books? ¡­Why did he not tell me? They had been through a great many things as paladins of Vigil but, more importantly, as friends. If it wasn¡¯t for Ira, Laelia would have perished fighting the literal creator of the universe in an attempt to figure out where he was..


    A swipe of her finger caused the name to glow and a small piece of parchment to appear in her hand. With a rather loud slam the tome holding the names of the mages in employ of the Church of the All-Mother hit her desk. The noise was quickly followed by the sound of a quill scraping over parchment in angry swings. Inerlius would do the job she gave him and then report to her. Tell me why he never spoke to me.


    She had invested a non-trivial amount of resources searching for him since she had become head of Aperio''s church. Lord Terenyk had not objected to her endeavour either, once she had told him who he was and why she was searching for him.


    "I still have your ring," Laelia grumbled, grasping the small gold ring that hung from a chain around her neck. "That''s not a promise you break."


    She tugged the piece of jewellery back into her clothes and adjusted the still-too-heavy bow she had slung across her back. It did not have a name ¡ª even the bowmakers she had shown it to could not find anything suitable ¡ª but it was certainly a good weapon.


    The first time Laelia had managed to actually use it with any degree of competency, she had accidentally destroyed a part of Aperio''s temple. Luckily it had repaired itself and the All-Mother herself had either not noticed, or not cared. Why did she even give this to me?


    She shook her head as she pushed the thought from her mind. Why the All-Mother had given her a weapon that could likely wipe out a city on its own was an issue for later. For now she had lunatics and a lost¡­ friend to deal with.


    Aperio tilted her head as she placed yet another rune into the infinite complex that was the System. The flow of mana changed a little in accordance with her addition, the part she had just changed now looking a little less broken. There was a certain measure of calm that came with fixing the System, something she sorely needed right now.


    She would never be able to forget what she had seen ¡ª not unless she killed herself again ¡ª but perhaps that was for the best. It had shown her that there were dangers to making someone into a God; dangers she apparently had known about and had led her to do something else before.


    Something with this, Aperio thought as she turned the armlet around her bicep slightly. She had an idea as to what her old self had done; why the piece of jewellery felt so ancient. Aperio was almost certain that her old self had destroyed her first attempt at creation but had kept the armlet as a memento. How could you cram an entire ¡­everything... in an armlet though?


    "Feeling better?" Caethya asked as she ducked past a few solid projections Aperio had created in order to better understand the System. "You feel a little calmer, at least."


    The All-Mother offered a small shrug, the motion still a bit exaggerated by her wings. "I am trying to fix the Classes," she said, pointing at the complex of runes in front of her. "It doesn''t quite make sense to me, but I think I know how to fix it."


    "Because of the new memories?" her disciple asked, setting herself down next to Aperio.


    "Probably.¡± She wrapped a wing around Caethya, pulling the Demigoddess a little closer as she squinted at one of the runes she still did not understand. "Some of it still makes no sense, however."


    "There are a great many things that don''t make sense, Aperio."


    She turned to look at Caethya. "Yes, but a System based on rather basic logic should not be one of them. Especially not when nearly all of existence depends on it."


    "I wouldn''t call the System simple." Her disciple shrugged. "The music players we have on Verenier are simple, this'''' ¡ªshe gestured towards the various projections that floated around Aperio¡ª "is not. You made something that enables everyone to achieve almost everything they could ever want. Definitely not simple."


    "What it does is not simple, no," Aperio agreed. "How it does that, however, is." She moved the section titled ''Classes'' closer to herself and her disciple, slowing the projection down so Caethya could actually see what was happening.


    "All it does is look at what a Soul did in the past." Aperio began pointing at the relevant sections as she spoke. "Then, it checks what this specific Soul is good at doing." A thought caused the section in question to light up slightly. "And after that, it is supposed to generate a number of Classes that matches the Soul¡¯s past actions and aptitude and present them to the mortal to choose from."


    "What about that part?" Caethya asked, pointing towards a small, still-broken section the All-Mother had left out. "I recognise ''Title'' in there."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she inspected the part her disciple had pointed out. She knew most of the runes that made up the segment, but what exactly it should do was still beyond her. "Offer better Classes based on the titles you acquired, I would assume."


    She made a pulling motion with her hand, the broken section leaving the greater complex and becoming a little larger so it could be better inspected.


    The runes for ''Title'' and ''Reward'' were clearly present and linked. There was, however, another rune that piqued Aperio''s interest. It was mostly broken, parts of its metaphysical ink seemingly having been washed away. Still, the rune was familiar to her, almost looking like the one she had seen upon gazing upon the System''s space for the first time.


    It was composed of multiple parts, four of which were undoubtedly supposed to be in perfect symmetry to each other but were somehow broken, as parts of it were clearly missing. The golden colour of the middle section of the rune shimmered ever-so-slightly whenever Aperio focused on it a bit more, almost like the kaleidoscope of colours in the space beyond reality, but fragmented. Broken.


    Aperio did not know what it meant ¡ª at least not fully ¡ª but it gave her a feeling that was close to when she had thought she had found her Domain. Just that strive isn''t it, and that I probably don''t have a Domain. It made little sense, at least to Aperio, for the creator of everything to have one.


    "Do you know this rune?" the All-Mother finally asked, a thought creating yet another projection. This one showed the rune Aperio had first seen when she had looked at the System. "It feels familiar, but I cannot recall what it means."


    Caethya tilted her head as she looked at the rune, mirroring the All-Mother as they both stared at the projection. "No," she finally said. "I don''t know that one, but I do know one that looks similar."


    A projection appeared next to Aperio''s, this one a little more crude. "Something like that," Caethya said, her eyes fixed on the floating rune she had made. "I just can''t make it clear for some reason. Almost like the world doesn''t want it to be there."


    "Is it because of mine?" Aperio asked, moving all the projections she had made away from Caethya''s own. Nothing changed. "Or not."


    "Like I said, it''s like the world ¡ª or maybe your Void ¡ª doesn''t want it to be there." She offered a shrug. "Not that it matters. This one represents something like Ascension, but I was told that it''s not an actual rune and the meaning is only an approximation."


    "Who told you that?" Aperio asked, letting some of her own mana flow into the projection Caethya had made, taking it over from her disciple. She frowned at the feeling that took root at the back of her mind. There was something about it that she could not quite place. It wasn''t like the nudges of ethereal knowledge that used to come to her ¡ª those had been all but absent after her stay in the obsidian sea ¡ª but more akin to something foreign trying and failing to enter her mind. Failing to talk.


    "One of the professors at the Ahl Ghave Academy," Caethya replied as she leaned herself against Aperio. The All-Mother let a touch of her mana flow through her disciple, just in case trying to show her the rune had done something to her. "I''m sorry, but I don''t remember his name."


    "That''s okay," Aperio replied as she dismissed the projection and produced a piece of parchment instead. She was about to draw the rune in question when she lowered the quill that had just appeared in her hand. The projections Aperio had made of her System also faded, the link they shared with the actual System severed so her actions would no longer influence it. Not as easily, at least.


    "I don''t know why," the All-Mother said, shifting slightly, "but this feels¡­ wrong."


    "The rune?"


    "No," Aperio replied, her shoulders and wings slumping a little. "Everything I¡¯ve done after¡­ killing the Accused. I''m still angry ¡ª I think ¡ª but I also feel like I need to do something besides sitting in my Void." She sighed. "But where should I even start? Somehow undo the brainwashing of the billions that followed them without using the same methods they used? Go to Verenier and deal with that slaving empire?


    "And how would I even do that? I doubt everyone there believes in what they do. How many just do what they do because they have no other choice? Should I just go to their capital and kill the ruling family? What good would that do, if they simply fall back into their old ways as soon as I stop killing everyone who does something bad?"


    Aperio let herself fall onto the nothing of her Void. "Should I try to make the System govern this? I¡¯ve already made a directive that says Gods should not tamper with Souls; why not also make the System give out the consequences?


    "Because that would never cover all possibilities," Aperio said, answering her own question. She moved to cover her face with her hands, a pillow appearing just before they hit. The scream that followed was muffled but still caused Caethya ¡ª and the Void itself ¡ª to shudder slightly. "Why does every choice I make lead to¡­ to whatever this" ¡ªshe gestured at the countless projections she had made¡ª "is supposed to be."


    She remained silent as her mind began to wander; trying to trace the something at the back of her mind. It brought doubt to her mind as well as the promise of an answer; one she already knew but simply could not recall. All she needed to do was figure out how she could grasp it. Take it. Pluck it from its incorporeal strings and make it her own.


    She felt Caethya lying down next to her, placing her hand on her stomach and moving it in slow circles. The motion ¡ª comfort it brought ¡ª caused Aperio to close her eyes. To relax. To see.


    Oh, Aperio, Caethya thought as she laid herself down on her side, placing her hand on her love''s stomach. It was not the first of her spirals into depression, and would likely not be the last, but so far none of that had changed how she felt about her Goddess.


    "This calmed you down from murderous rage to questioning yourself," Caethya said as she propped herself up a little more on the nothing to better look at Aperio¡¯s face. "You even managed to fix almost all of the Class subsystem, aside from that weird rune. Maybe returning to Verenier is best for now. I bet Maria would be happy to see you; we haven''t visited her in a while."


    Aperio sat up, her wings scooping Caethya into her arms as she did. A moment later the comfortable nothing of Aperio''s Void was replaced with air rushing through Caethya''s hair and the sound of her Goddess'' wings spreading behind her.


    The Demigoddess now found herself held in a bridal carry by Aperio, floating high above Vetus. She shifted a little, placing her hand on Aperio''s cheek. "So you made a choice?" she asked, brushing away an errant tear. "Going to visit Maria?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, setting down on an invisible sheet of mana. She let Caethya down as well, draping a wing over her and taking her hand. "I was away long enough.


    "I don''t mean the last few days," she continued, preempting the Demigoddess'' question. "I disappeared millennia ago; left everyone to their own devices because I thought that would somehow fix everything. As if my meddling would undo itself if I left." Aperio heaved a sigh, the space surrounding the two of them rippling slightly as she did. "I said I would fix my mistakes, so that is what I will do."


    Caethya was about to speak when another, stronger ripple ran through reality. "My first¡­ action," Aperio said, giving Caethya''s hand a squeeze, "is the return of Classes."


    "You fixed it?" Caethya asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked at Aperio. "How?"


    "I remembered," she replied. "Sort of." A wave of her hand caused a giant rune to appear in the air in front of them. "You know how I never figured out if I had a Domain or not?" Aperio asked, only continuing after Caethya gave her a confused nod. "I thought it was something like striving at first, and just a few moments ago I thought that I did not have one.


    "I still think I don''t," she added, "but when you showed me that rune ¡ª when I tried to make it myself ¡ª I felt something was wrong. It felt like it was trying to enter my mind. Like I do when I send you my thoughts." The words were accompanied by a string of thoughts and memories; what Aperio had felt during the brief moment she had tried to create the rune.


    None of it made any sense to Caethya, the knowledge racing through her mind far beyond her understanding. Even the world she now remembered, perceived through Aperio''s senses, was not something she would even recognise. And yet, despite all the distractions, Caethya could feel the slight tug at the back of her mind that Aperio had felt. A silent voice that stirred her doubt as she tried something that should not work, and another that tried to correct the course.


    Neither could enter Aperio''s mind, or seemed to know how she felt; they were merely¡­ there. As if the All-Mother had made them herself for this express purpose.


    "How does that make you remember a rune?" Caethya asked, furrowing her brows as she took a step closer to Aperio and took both of her hands into her own. "And what does it do?"


    "It doesn''t," Aperio said, offering a small shrug. "Not really, at least. Realising what I should do just helped me somehow. When I laid down and you talked to me I just kind of did¡­ nothing. I stopped thinking for a moment, and there it was." She nodded towards the rune floating behind Caethya. "Not an answer or a solution, but a sign of change. Technically, I still don''t know what it means. Just that it is an omen. Kind of."


    "A good one, I hope," Caethya said, turning slightly to look at the rune. The longer she looked at it the more she wanted to not do that. The rune seemed to twist in on itself, the golden parts shimmering and shifting whenever she tried to focus on them. "Because it actively gives me a headache."


    "I''m sorry," Aperio said, the rune disappearing from Caethya''s vision. "I had thought you wanted to see the correct version."


    "I did, but I also did not think it would be as weird as that space beyond reality¡­" Her voice trailed off as Aperio brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, brushing her thumb over her cheek as she did.


    "It doesn''t have a name," the All-Mother replied with a small smile. "I just call it the beyond, and I am sorry for giving you a headache. Again." A touch of mana accompanied her love''s words, taking away the pain that had settled over her mind.


    Caethya let out a breath and lightly shook her head, undoing the work Aperio had just done with her hair. The All-Mother frowned slightly, a touch of her magic brushing the strands behind Caethya''s ears again.


    "It''s okay," she said as she turned to face Aperio fully again. "It didn''t hurt much and you took care of that, too. I am more concerned about how you remembered it while still not knowing what it does."


    The All-Mother offered a small shrug. "It does not feel wrong, or evil, and my instinct has not been wrong on things like that since I returned. I chose to trust it, just like I trust you and, I hope, you trust me in return.¡±


    "I do trust you," Caethya replied, stepping closer to Aperio and wrapping her arms around her. "But I still worry. I know it might be silly, but the idea of you getting hurt because of this rune won''t leave my mind."


    The All-Mother wrapped her arms and wings around the Demigoddess, picking her up in a smooth motion. The hug that followed was just shy of too much for Caethya, but she responded in kind nonetheless. Even up here, far away from anyone else, it was still hard for Aperio to show how she felt and Caethya would not pass up on this gift of a moment.


    "I will be fine," Aperio said, her voice nothing more than an ethereal whisper as she lowered herself down towards Caethya. A small shiver ran down the Demigoddess'' spine as their heads gently made contact with one another, the ever-shifting eyes of Aperio becoming the center of her vision. She could feel the soft tingling of exchanged magic on her face. Even if her love did not know what this meant, Caethya did. "I have you, after all."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 147: The Shadow Grows

    Mayeia let out a sigh as she looked through the list of notifications again. The silver messages all said the same thing, just with a different name for every deity. All ''fallen from grace''. The number of deities that the All-Mother had killed would lead to a great deal of trouble for her and all those that had not fallen to Aperio''s wrath.


    The Goddess of Magic shuddered slightly as she recalled the whisper that had run through her mind that day. It had only been a word ¡ª one that she heard a thousand times a day ¡ª but coming from the All-Mother and spoken with the intent she had, it had some drastically different effects. Even those deities that had not been meant to fall from the order had to deal with some of the strain it brought. And they thought they could fight here¡­


    To Mayeia it had long been clear that Aperio had gone of her own will for one reason or another. It had never made sense to her how the literal creator of the universe could die by anyone''s hand but her own. Her verdict of the deities that stood accused of Heresy only drove that point home. A single word had been spoken with enough power to not only kill all the deities that had banded against her, but also to ripple out from the Court into every corner of her creation. Even at the furthest edges it had been felt. At least according to Ediscio.


    She was willing to trust the God of Knowledge and Love; he had been around before nearly all of the Gods that now remained and had thus far not spoken a single lie to her. At least, none that she or anyone she knew had caught.


    With a shake of her head, Mayeia put the notifications back in the folder she had made for them. Still one of the best functions. She was unsure how she had ever managed to get by without the System¡¯s ability to store the notifications she had received. Technically, she could just dismiss them and get the System to bring them back at a later date, but that required her to remember what the notification was about and the general time frame in which she had received it. Putting them in a folder that she could label was much easier.


    "Now," she said to herself as she stood up and clapped once. "Time to prepare."


    A thought caused a piece of paper and a pen to appear in front of her with which she quickly composed a message for Laelia. She would have to leave the All-Mother''s temple for a while and the Scion would probably have to send someone else to look after the people that still lived here. Especially since that group had just recently grown by a good amount. All people who followed Epemirial, too.


    With a sigh, she added another sentence to the paper before letting it appear on Laelia''s desk. So far, nothing had happened with the newcomers, but Mayeia was fairly sure that was because she was a literal Goddess that sat just outside what was now their home. One in cahoots with the one that killed theirs.


    They wouldn''t ¡ª couldn''t ¡ª do something against her, but she would still rather have someone she trusts watch over Aperio''s temple while she was gone, and Laelia was not yet on that list. "Minia is, though," the Goddess of Magic mumbled to herself as she stood up and stretched. "Been a long time since I had to ask a favour of her."


    The [Dragon of Ebenlowe] was a lot less frightening than her title might imply. First of all, she was not a Dragon. That honour belonged to her husband. The universe had seemingly seen it fit to give a Human woman the personality ¡ª and magical ability ¡ª to be a Dragon, and make the actual one a loving man that could not be happier spending a day sitting at home with a good book and a cup of tea. Or molten rock. His tastes did not always make sense.


    Despite her rather vengeful streak and rather unpredictable nature, Minia had yet to fail a request to keep the peace. A thought and a swipe of Mayeia''s hand caused a small, blue window to appear, fill itself with text and promptly disappear. Using a divine summon for something like this was perhaps a little overkill, but it would ensure that Minia got the message and not ignore it for three days. It was either that or giving her a basket of sweets.


    It did not take long for Minia to accept the summon Mayeia had given her and, with a little help from Roots-Beneath-All, to appear in front of her. Instead of a bow or any other formal greeting, Minia simply raised a brow as she looked at Mayeia and the books that surrounded her.


    "I did not know the All-Mother was fine with littering in her temple," the [Dragon of Ebenlowe] said. "Or would let so many people in her temple wearing the clothes of the Goddess she just killed."


    "You seem awfully calm," Mayeia said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Did something go wrong at the orphanage?"


    "Besides some idiots trying to blow up the entire island?" Minia turned to look at the temple that now housed the now God-less mortals. "Idiots that look just like the ones you want me to guard."


    "You of all people should know that looks mean jack shit," the Goddess of Magic replied as the books that had been strewn across the field vanished. "I would not have asked you to watch over them if I had not thought it necessary. They lost their Goddess and had their Souls messed with. I doubt they will do anything stupid, but if they do I would rather have someone I can trust be there to take care of it."


    The branches of Roots-Beneath-All shook slightly at her words, causing a few leaves to fall. "Nothing the mortals can do could damage the temple," it said. "The most they could do would be to injure themselves."


    "And we don''t want that," Mayeia said, giving the tree a glare. "I''ll be back once I¡¯ve taken care of the lunatics in Ebenlowe and Quill Vayne."


    "Quill Vayne?" Minia asked, rubbing the back of her neck. "Wait, don''t tell me they are trying to wake up Ginieal."


    "They are."


    The Human heaved a sigh before she bowed slightly. "I will not keep you, then. Having another Elder Dragon awake would not be good."


    Why people had built a university-turned-city right next to the sleeping place of the [Elder Dragon of Water] was not something Mayeia would ever understand, but she would be damned if she let that annoyance add itself to the mess that was already underway. Probably thought it was a God. The city of Quill Vayne was older than she was herself, after all, and mortals had a tendency to declare something a God when it was strong enough. Especially during the dark age.


    Aperio did not move as Maria crashed into her. The girl''s attack had not been a surprise ¡ª she had seen her start running as soon as she had appeared in the mansion¡¯s main hall, after all ¡ª but she had not expected Maria to be this quick. Or sturdy. A quick check on her youngest follower showed nothing wrong, even though the girl had essentially run into a brick wall at full speed.


    "Aperio!" Maria exclaimed, her voice only muffled by Aperio''s dress she was speaking into.


    The All-Mother shifted one of her wings slightly, wrapping it around Maria as she began to slowly and very carefully began to pat the girls head. "Hello?"


    "See," Caethya said, a smile spreading across her face. "She missed you."


    "I did," Maria said, her voice still muffled by Aperio''s dress. She held on a moment longer, trying and failing to reach around the All-Mother before she pulled herself away and looked up. Before she could speak further, Aperio lowered herself, brushing away a tear that had appeared in Maria''s eye. "Why did you not answer me?" the girl finally managed to get out.


    "I¡­" Aperio began, only for her voice to trail off as she tried to find a way to express herself. The obvious answer was that she had not heard Maria, but that would not be the whole truth. She had heard her prayers at the back of her mind ¡ª had heard a great many ones dedicated to her ¡ª but she had ignored them, had not wanted to hear the hate most of them had brought with them. Had not wanted to hurt the few that she did care about.


    "Lady Aperio," the voice of Geshton Terenyk sounded from behind the All-Mother. "I did not know we were expecting you today."


    "You weren''t," Aperio replied as she began to stand up before she thought better of it and offered to carry Maria. The girl took the offer with a bit too much eagerness for Aperio''s taste, but it was better than having to explain to the girl that she could have been killed if she had so much as thought the wrong thing. "Caethya suggested that we should visit, actually. I was quite¡­ busy, lately, and also made Caethya and myself go back on our word."


    "I got taught by a Dragon lady!" Maria exclaimed at Aperio''s words. "She is also trying to teach Adam, but only the janitor seems to be able to do that."


    "The janitor?" Aperio asked. "Natio?"


    "Yes! He is a really good teacher even though he can''t do magic himself."


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly at the words. "I bet he is."


    She would have to visit the House of Healing and check in on the fallen God, but that had to be done later. For now she needed to deal with the masses of people on Verenier that had just lost their Gods and would do who-knows-what because of it.


    "I am sure there are good reasons to postpone her lessons," Geshton said, gesturing towards a set of double doors to the side of the main hall. "Still are, I assume."


    "Yes," Aperio replied, shifting Maria a little in her arms. "Sadly, I do not know how long it will take to solve this particular mess."


    While the All-Mother was sure that her decision had been correct ¡ª had been the only one that was adequate for their crimes ¡ª she had seriously underestimated the fallout it would cause. She could feel the anger of the mortals that lived on Verenier, could feel it brushing against her own mind as the collective emotions of a world tried to influence her as they had after the death of Vigil and Inanis.


    Now, however, they did not taint her mind. She knew what she had to do, just not how. Somehow, she would have to stop the people that used to follow the now-dead Elder Gods from doing what they probably thought of as righteous retribution. Of course, she could just force them all to do nothing, but that would require either restraining them somehow or messing with their minds ¡ª both of which she would rather not do if she could avoid it.


    "Couldn''t you just make them go away?" Maria asked as she began to play with a few strands of Aperio''s hair. "You can do that, right?"


    "There is a difference between what I can do and what I should do," Aperio replied, unbothered by the glare of Maria''s maid or the fact that the girl was playing with her hair. "I could just put them elsewhere, sure, but that would not solve the issue of them being angry and confused."


    "They are trying to sink Ebenlowe," Lord Terenyk said. "Parts of it at least. Luckily they have not managed to do that or anything else yet."


    "I see," Aperio said, a thought pulling out a chair for her disciple to sit on. "I assume the Guard needs some help with that?"


    Caethya sat herself down after the Lord of the house had done the same, while Aperio simply remained standing with Maria in her arms. The personal maid of her youngest follower did not seem to like the arrangement as she glared at the All-Mother''s back.


    "They do," Lord Terenyk replied. "But we have done our best to support them, together with the [Guides] and your daughter."


    "I noticed," Aperio said. The knights in their red armours with stylised suns engraved on them were hard to miss, after all. So were the random assortment of people who, for some reason, all wore black and blue armour with a small symbol depicting two wings that wrapped around one another. Almost like my armlet¡­


    She had most certainly not given Laelia any official imagery to use for her church, so this was probably what she had come up with. Could be worse.


    "I assume you organised the people that now bear my colours?" Aperio asked, stretching her wings slightly to show their blue edges. "I did not know that you chose to follow me."


    "That is because I don''t," Lord Terenyk said, his voice pitched slightly higher than before. He cleared his throat and took a sip of the water that stood on the table for him before he continued. "I do not follow any deity."


    "For Maria, then?" Aperio asked, holding onto the girl a little tighter. She did not like the idea of him using his daughter to get into good standing with her. "Or for Ebenlowe?"


    "Both," the Human replied. "I do not wish the city I love to be destroyed by raving lunatics, and neither do I want my daughter to be in danger.


    "I just want this to be over so my family can finally have some rest." He slumped slightly in his chair before mumbling his next words so quietly that Aperio was certain only she had heard them. "Actually have a family."


    Aperio''s hand reached for Caethya''s shoulder, giving it a squeeze as she frowned slightly at the man''s words. "Then I will do my best to make that happen."


    The last of the maids that stumbled out of Jester''s room, holding her uniform closed with one hand, gave him a sly smile before the door shut behind her. He had needed the distraction after the accursed All-Mother had deposed most of the Gods that had helped the Order of Inaru in their goal. Sadly, he still did not know if the Creator had done that because she wanted to stop them from reviving Inaru, or because those deities had done something to upset her. Probably the latter.


    The few people that had known about Aperio in their order had been told by the Gods themselves just how fickle the woman was. There was no rhyme or reason to her actions, something they underlined with the fact that she had been gone for millennia. Though their narrative conflicted there¡­ Some had claimed they had killed the All-Mother ¡ª something both he and his mother found to be a ridiculous idea ¡ª while others had said she had merely left for one reason or another.


    "And that''s why the Vinmaiers don''t follow any of you numb-nuts," Jester mumbled as he directed his gaze upwards. "How did you even become Gods?" He stood up from his bed, kicking a piece of clothing one of the maids had forgotten across the room. "Doesn''t matter anymore, I guess."


    What did matter was how they would get the resources for their project back. Dead Gods didn''t revive themselves, after all. No one in the Order was under the delusion that Inaru would magically rid the world of the accursed All-Mother, but they did have the hope that he could at least shield them from her tantrums and let them live the life they deserved. "Far away from the vermin that infest this city."


    His father ¡ª and Jester himself, when he was allowed to attend the Gathering of the Isles ¡ª had always advocated for stricter rules and proper segregation, but their voice of reason had always been drowned out by the insane idiots of Feranir. Fuck Geshton. The lone Lord of the Terenyk family had been a thorn in their side for a while and, despite having lost his wife because of his demonic child, he was still pushing for the same reforms he always had.


    That it turned out the child had been blessed by the All-Mother had not helped their goals any. Most people viewed the Creator in a favourable light, after all. "All because of those [Guides]," Jester mumbled as he slowly made his way to the desk at the other side of his room. The tiles on the floor lit up as he stepped on them, always lighting his way without the need for torches or other flammable things. Dying in an ''accidental'' fire was something for his enemies, not himself.


    A small expenditure of mana caused a piece of parchment to appear on the desk. Jester had a letter to write. The people currently running amok in Ebenlowe did more harm than good for his taste so they had to go, preferably before the All-Mother did something to stop them. Can only be a matter of weeks before she reacts.


    He still wasn''t quite sure why she would even care. She had not cared for millennia, but suddenly the ideals the majority of Verenier lived by were wrong? That did not really make sense to him or anyone else in the Order. Still, the answer to this confusion was simple. The Elder Gods had lied to them. Not something they hadn''t thought of before, but not really something they could change.


    Even with the power they had gathered, they could not stand against a God. Not yet. They needed Inaru for that. Guess he won''t have to fight now. With the Elder Gods dead their plans had both become easier and harder. They no longer needed to pretend to follow one of them to not get removed from the world, but they also had to find a new source of divinity to fuel their ritual.


    The demon child of the Terenyk''s was still an option, but she was directly affiliated with the Creator. Not something anyone wanted to risk for now. The same was true for the Elven Adventurer that had now seemingly evolved to become the toy of the All-Mother.


    For now, however, Jester had to make use of his family name and get the Guard to crack down on the rampant lunatics. "I have to do my duty to protect Ebenlowe, after all."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 148: A Change In Procedure

    Aperio set Maria down, gently patting her head as she grabbed hold of the All-Mother''s dress as if that would somehow stop her from leaving. She had an idea on how she could solve the current issue of having people run rampant; one that had the potential to make everything even worse.


    Fixing the last bit of the Class subsystem would most definitely be a distraction for everyone. Just that I don''t know how they will react. Or what it will do to them. Aperio knew, however, that it would have to interact with everyone''s Soul ¡ª an opportunity she wanted to use to make sure that she could find and get rid of any tampering the now-deceased Elder Gods might have left behind.


    A prayer from Caethya surfaced in Aperio''s mind, her disciple''s voice barely a whisper among the churning tide of her thoughts that still somehow managed to quiet everything else. Apparently the All-Mother was not the only one who had considered using the Classes as a way to at least distract the people from their anger and other problems. Need to figure out how to do that.


    The subsystem was still broken ¡ª that much was clear ¡ª and Aperio still had no real idea as to how she could get the System to check if someone''s Soul was marred without risking the System itself doing something to a Soul. At the moment, the System never did anything with Souls besides ''reading'' them; something it had to do in order to provide Classes, Titles, and everything else it offered. If this ''reading'' included any potential marring of a Soul, it was not something Aperio knew.


    She still replied in the affirmative to Caethya, while also showing her disciple the doubts she had about the idea. What would happen if the lunatics that were trying to avenge their Gods got a Class to match their anger? Does anyone even know what Classes were like?


    The answer was an obvious yes, but the person she could ask was not one she wanted to deal with at the moment. Given that her daughter was, perhaps, the only person that could actually help her solve the issue, continuing to avoid her was increasingly unfeasible as an option.


    "Is there anything I can do to help?" Lord Terenyk asked with a slight shake to his voice. "I am not quite sure what more I could do, but I am willing to help in any way I can."


    "There is no need," Aperio replied as she lowered herself to be on eye-level with Maria. She ruffled the girl¡¯s hair, giving her a smile. "The best thing you can do is be there for your daughter." Just like I have to be.


    "Do you have to go again?" Maria asked, lowering her head slightly as she held on to Aperio''s dress a little tighter. "You just came here."


    "I know," Aperio replied as she picked Maria up again. "But there is someone else that I have not talked to for too long. I would take you with me, but I don''t think that is a good idea right now."


    "But I would be safer with you!" the girl exclaimed as she tried her best to wrap her arms around the All-Mother. "Nobody here can protect me as well as you."


    Aperio suppressed a sigh. Maria was right, but she did not want to expose the girl to the talk that would inevitably come when she visited Ferio. "That might be true," she finally said, "but there are things that are likely to happen that I do not want you to see."


    "Perhaps it is for the best if you stay here," Caethya said as she got up from her chair. Maria turned to look at the Demigoddess, squinting at her. Her disciple held out her arms, offering to take Maria from Aperio. "I will stay here with you while we wait for Aperio to return, okay?"


    The girl remained quiet for a moment before she gave a small nod and let Caethya take her from Aperio''s arms. "Thank you," the All-Mother said, placing a quick kiss on Caethya''s lips before giving Maria''s hair a final ruffle and directing her gaze at the girl¡¯s father. "I thank you for your support, Lord Terenyk. I hope I can repay you in kind."


    Before the man could respond, Aperio disappeared from the estate. She spread her wings, beating them lazily as she floated above Ebenlowe. Aperio had already found her daughter; Ferio''s aura unmistakable amongst the mortals that inhabited the city. She took a deep breath as she reached out to her daughter. Neither of them had been a good example for a family. And neither was my past self¡­


    Ferio''s reply took a moment, long enough that Aperio had considered simply appearing in her daughter¡¯s study. Luckily, that was not necessary as her daughter asked her to come to her temple directly. The All-Mother obliged, appearing in front of her daughter''s desk barely a moment later.


    "Your mind seems to be back up to speed," Ferio remarked as she looked at her mother, hesitating for a moment. "You did the right thing removing those leeches. They have done nothing of value while you were gone."


    "They forced their will on Souls," Aperio said. "It is hard to do worse than that."


    "And yet, you took this long to act."


    "I did," Aperio replied. "I tried to find other problems to occupy me. Tried to find excuses." She took a step forwards, reality twisting itself apart just a little to allow the All-Mother to appear in front of her daughter. "I tried to flee my obligation towards you."


    "What obligations?" Ferio huffed. "You are the All-Mother. The only obligations you have are the ones you give yourself."


    Aperio lowered her head at the words, her shoulders and wings slumping a little. "You are my daughter. The fact that I cannot remember all of our past does not change that." The All-Mother paused for a moment, smoothing out some non-existent creases in her dress with her hands. "I want you to be a part of my life, even if I do not know how that will look."


    Please. Aperio would fully understand if Ferio''s reaction would be to say no and send her away ¡ª was prepared for that to be the case. She had never been proper family to Aperio before, and even now she still could not. Did not know how to. And yet, Aperio knew that she wanted her daughter to be a part of her life.


    "Did you only come to tell me this, or is there something else you wish to talk about?" Ferio asked, her face and aura remaining free from any emotion that Aperio could discern. "The removal of the Elder Gods has led to some undesirable results and I would like to take care of that first."


    "There is something else," the All-Mother mumbled in reply, lowering the hand she had begun to outstretch. "I had hoped you knew something about Classes."


    "Classes? Why?" Ferio asked as she suddenly sat herself down. "Are you planning on bringing them back?" The Goddess of Life and Light leaned back in her chair, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Just for Verenier, or all worlds?"


    "All worlds," the All-Mother replied. "I am not even sure I could contain it to one world." She let out a sigh, setting herself down on an invisible chair made from her mana. "Nor am I certain what will happen once I do fix it."


    "Can you even fix it on command?" Ferio asked, looking back at her mother. "I was under the impression that you did not know how to fix the System."


    "I don''t really, no." Her nebulous understanding of the System was not something she could explain, but Aperio was certain that she could fix the Class subsystem. She knew she only had to do one small tweak, and she was sure it would work. "But I know how to fix this. I am more worried that Epemirial and her ilk have messed with more Souls and that it would somehow mess with the Classes."


    "And you want to check everyone to make sure that is not the case," Ferio added. "Right?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "Wouldn''t it be easier if you just left your body for a bit to check on every Soul?" Ferio asked as she opened a drawer on her desk. "I am pretty sure you have done that before¡­"


    Aperio raised a brow as she looked at her daughter practically disappearing into a drawer that was most definitely too small for her. "What are you doing?"


    "I have," Ferio began, reemerging from the drawer, "a book where I wrote down stuff you did in the past that I did not understand. Like the way you turn into what I now guess to be mana, and thereby just doing stuff."


    "And how is that supposed to help?"


    Ferio leafed through the pages for a moment before she handed it to Aperio. "You added notes to it."


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly as her eyes wandered over the pages. She had not recognised either of the styles as her own and had assumed that both belonged to Ferio. Actually reading the annotations made it clear that her daughter had not written them. Correcting ¡®body¡¯ to ''Unfit Vessel'' doesn''t seem like something Ferio would do.


    Still, even after reading the pages Ferio had shown her, Aperio was still not quite sure what this was supposed to accomplish. The pages merely contained the observations of her daughter whenever her past self had abandoned a body and done something as a weird space cloud. It did not, however, detail how such an act was done. Aperio did not want to abandon her body without at least a solid idea of how to get back to it. Her physical form was a connection to something she knew, and kept her grounded. Literally.


    Having everything be only a thought away was helpful, sure, but Aperio was certain that she would do more harm than good that way. And I would probably see their thoughts or memories¡­ After her experience in the Court, Aperio was not so keen on seeing the memories of others again.


    "And what are the notes supposed to tell me?" Aperio asked, closing the book and placing it on her daughter¡¯s desk. "I do not know how to leave my body at will, nor how I would get back once I am done."


    "I had hoped it would somehow help you remember," Ferio replied with a sigh. "But at least we know you can still read the language I made up."


    Aperio blinked at the words, her daughter¡¯s book appearing in her hand again. She flipped it open, her eyes scanning rapidly across the page. Reading the words was no problem, and for a moment the All-Mother questioned what Ferio had meant before she noticed that what was written was not in a language she had seen before. How does that work?


    A quick look through her aura at a few random books in Ferio''s temple revealed she could still not magically read every language, just the one her daughter had apparently made up at some point. "I don''t remember learning it, though."


    "You never did," Ferio said. "I think. I asked you to explain something one day to me and then you started annotating things in my book." She tried to take the book from Aperio, only managing to take it after the All-Mother let go. "In any case, the Classes.


    "From what I know of them, they would elevate some of the mortals to heights they have not known before. Or even higher, in the case of your Scion or¡­ girlfriend. Having the Class of Demigoddess is a lot stronger than the title. I imagine the same to be true for whatever Class Laelia will end up with."


    "I am more concerned about the people who are currently trying to avenge their dead Gods," Aperio said. "What if they get a Class that enables them to actually do what they plan on doing?"


    "Receiving a Class is a very intimate experience, from what I have been told," Ferio said. "I am pretty sure many of those who are angry now will see differently after confronting their past. And, even if a large part won¡¯t, most everyone is getting one. I would be more worried about any marks the Repens Nabu might have left on someone''s Soul messing with the process of getting a Class. I''m also not sure how you would heal them en masse without leaving your body."


    "I have an idea for that," Aperio replied. "It already has to look at a Soul to read titles and the like in order to make a Class for someone. I would simply have it not proceed for anyone that has been marred. It would not fix them ¡ª I barely trust myself to do that ¡ª but it would prevent them from being subjected to any undue complications."


    It was not ideal, and the question still remained of whether the System''s act of checking if a Soul was marred would have any further consequences on the Soul, but it was still the best option Aperio could come up with at the moment. All her other ideas leaned towards her having to kill a lot of mortals ¡ª something she did not want to do ¡ª or simply forcing them to think of something else. With more time, she might have perhaps been able to come up with other options, but time was not something she had. And I doubt I could come up with a solution by myself. Though the All-Mother might have been able to think faster than anyone should be able to, it sadly did not translate into easy solutions. Or even solutions that necessarily made sense. I''m more likely to spiral back into bad memories...


    "But you would like the System to be able to fix them?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, a part of her mind already devoting itself to nudging the last pieces of the Class System into place. "But that can come later. Should come later."


    "Just have to be careful with the Classless then," Ferio said. "Mortals are very quick to take advantage of those. Always have been."


    "People were without Classes in the past?"


    "If you did nothing to deserve one, you did not get one. There weren''t many, but they did exist. You never paid them much mind, though."


    "I did not pay much mind to most things¡­" Aperio mumbled as a thought placed another rune in the endlessly twisting paths of the System. Fixing something so complicated based mostly on her instincts felt weird, but she knew what she was doing was the correct way. Even the System seems to know. The automatic repair had stopped as soon as she had started tinkering with it, quite unlike the past few times where she had to basically fight it. "But that changes now." Even if I don''t like it.


    Aperio did not want to be worshipped by mortals. She had not need for their prayers and did not want to know about their problems, but she could not just ignore them either. She was the All-Mother, after all.


    "I certainly hope so," Ferio said as she stood up from her chair. "I am sorry that I could not help you with the Classes, but something tells me you would have brought them back anyway." Her daughter stretched slightly, garnering a raised eyebrow from Aperio. "It''s the right choice. The mortals need a working System and, more importantly, change. Your absence was not great for anyone."


    "I know," Aperio replied, drawing the final rune in her mind. It was a simple thing ¡ª basically nothing more than the word ''and'' ¡ª but it would be the one that would bring Classes back to her creation. The parts that had sufficient mana, at least.


    "But I hope I can fix at least some of the damage I have done," she added, fixing her eyes on her daughter. "That includes things I did before I left." Ran away like a coward.


    A final thought caused the last rune to slot into its place, linking the Class subsystem with the rest of the winding pathways of her System. She could feel a draw on her well as the runes began to glow ever-so-slightly and another, not quite foreign, presence swept across parts she had just fixed.


    It was the System. Aperio knew that, just not what it tried to achieve with the sweep. The question was answered a moment later as a silver window appeared in front of her mind''s eye.


    Changes to subsystem ''Class'' accepted. No errors found. System integration will be completed in one (1) day (Based on current position: Verenier).


    A moment later, Aperio was also presented with a side by side view comparing what the Class subsystem had been before to its new, altered state. Inspecting the comparison closer resulted in it shifting through each and every step she had taken in fixing this part of the System and a small prompt asking her if she would like to revert to the earlier stage. Why did this not pop up earlier?


    Her mind was taken from the question as another prompt appeared in front of her. It listed all the worlds that did not have enough mana ¡ª the ones running on what the System called ''essential mode''. Trying to find out what that meant did not yield any results. Maybe Diskrye knows. Something Aperio did know of, however, was the appearance of a small prompt underneath the way-too-long list. It was a simple question; one she was unsure how to answer.


    Announce changes?


    With an unneeded deep breath, and a shake of her head, Aperio mentally pressed yes.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 149: Precipice

    Caethya squinted at the notification that hung in front of her. She really did it. The clock ticking down seemed a little ominous, but the message she could read below it turned the dread that had slowly started to creep into her stomach into excitement. She would get a Class!


    Just what kind? she wondered. A mage of some sort, maybe? Caethya''s expertise was mostly in the mystical arts, if you narrowed it down to using magic to rid the world of monsters of various kinds.


    "Will I get a Class?" Maria asked, looking up from the sketch she had been working on. "Is there an age limit on Classes?"


    "I don''t know," Caethya replied, lowering the book she had been holding but not really reading. "I''d assume everyone will get one, but the only one who would know would probably be Aperio."


    The girl grabbed hold of her dress, holding the fabric tightly between her hands before she spoke again. "Could you ask her?"


    Caethya closed the book and placed it in her lap as she sat a little straighter. "Why not ask her yourself?"


    "She does not listen to me¡­" Maria mumbled in reply. "I can pray as much as I like but I never get an answer. Only dreams of her." She picked up the notebook she had been sketching in and showed to Caethya. "And you, now."


    The drawing Maria had begun to make showed Aperio and Caethya standing, facing one another with hands intertwined as they stared into each other''s eyes. Not something Caethya could recall happening, but it was definitely within character for the both of them.


    "May I?" Caethya asked, nodding towards the drawing. Maria simply offered the notebook to her in reply, letting the Demigoddess take and inspect it more closely. Even got Aperio''s look right, she mused as her fingers brushed over the depiction of her love.


    The way the All-Mother looked at her was not something Caethya had thought could be properly recreated in any way, as it was always accompanied by the calm of her presence and the warmth of her aura.


    "You are really good at this, aren''t you?" Caethya asked as she handed the notebook back to Maria. "I had never thought a drawing could capture Aperio like that."


    "I use my magic for them!" the girl exclaimed, her previous sadness seemingly forgotten as she hugged the sketch she had made. "I think it''s a part of my blessing."


    "Perhaps," Caethya agreed as she began to formulate a prayer to her love in the back of her mind. "Her blessing does make magic shockingly easy; brings us a little closer to her way of doing things."


    "How does she do things?" Maria asked, tilting her head ever-so-slightly.


    Caethya offered a non-committal nod in reply as she tried to think of a way to explain how Aperio worked her magic. The book she had been trying to read vanished into her [Dimensional Storage] and she clasped her hands in her lap. ¡°Aperio just... wants something to happen and then it does. For me, magic works in a similar way. I know how I need to guide my mana for it to work, but I don''t need to." She held her hand out, a small flame dancing across her palm. "Most combat related magic only requires me to think about what I want to happen, not how to make it happen."


    "I don''t even think about magic," Maria said, her eyes fixed on the dancing flame. "I just¡­ draw."


    Caethya let the flame disappear, raising a brow at the maid that stood behind Maria. She had shifted ever-so-slightly, undoubtedly taking hold of a weapon underneath her uniform.


    "I started out like that," the Demigoddess said, unbothered by the overprotective maid. "But then I got taught properly, as the instinctive way of using my magic led to some interesting situations."


    Caethya smiled a little as she felt the attention of her Goddess settle on her. The prayer she had sent her love''s way had arrived safely, but she could already feel Aperio''s hesitation. There was assurance that nothing bad would happen and that everyone whose Soul had not been marred by the Repens Nabu would get a Class, but there was also an undercurrent of worry that came with Aperio''s thoughts. She doesn''t know how the Classes work, does she?


    She lightly shook her head before setting her eyes on the now rather confused-looking Maria. "You will get a Class, but she does not know what kind."


    "I wanna be mage!" the girl exclaimed, hugging the sketch she still held again. "With a cool staff and a tower!"


    "I''m sure you would be a great mage," Caethya replied as she got up from her chair, dismissing the notification with the timer to the edges of her vision. "Do you want me to show you some more magic?" she asked, shifting her gaze to the maid behind Maria. "Or is that forbidden?"


    "It is not," the maid replied, never letting the Demigoddess out of her sight. "If Maria wishes, we can prepare the garden."


    "Please!" Maria almost yelled as she whipped around in her chair, looking at her maid. "I want to learn magic!"


    Caethya offered the girl her hand as they both reached the door. "I will do my best."


    Jester tapped his fingers against the stone surface of his mother''s desk. "Are you certain?"


    "Yes," his mother replied. "Your father would not do well with a Class; it''s best if we do it soon."


    "Fine," Jester replied with a sigh. "I''ll let Jidol know that we won''t need his services anymore."


    "Thank you," Elariya said. "Please give him my best wishes for his wife. The first child is never easy.


    "Of course, mother."


    With a shake of his head, Jester pushed himself out of the plush chair he had been sitting in. Why his mother had the things was not something he would ever understand, but he would not question her either. He had no desire to end up like his father would by the end of the day.


    What a fool, he thought to himself as a servant closed the door to his mother''s office behind him. The old man had never been a match for Elariya when it came to wits, but over the past few years it had gotten a lot worse. He had become¡­ obsessed with their mission to bring back Inaru, despite a literal God telling him that rushing it was wrong. Probably thinks he can use the ritual to ascend. Fool indeed.


    Of course, Jester too would like to be a God, but he knew that the road to actual Godhood did not run through an ancient ritual. The last one of those that had been performed had led to rather questionable results. Sure, the [Grand Magus] had gained strength from it, but he had also lost his sense of self and nearly everything else. What use is strength if you turn into a mindless monster? The thing at least still had its uses, so his investment in the ritual had not been completely wasted. Won''t be able to stand against the Creator, though¡­


    That was the biggest issue in his book at the moment. No matter how he approached the resurrection of Inaru, he could see no possible way that the All-Mother would not notice it; and from what he knew of her, she very much disliked the values Inaru represented. Even if it is the natural order of things.


    He would like to know more about the only God he was actually willing to follow, but the records he had access to were all a little¡­ lacking. Some of the people in the Order of Inaru were convinced that Inaru was not, as was commonly assumed, a God, but perhaps instead the name of an empire. Jester found that notion to be a bit silly. There probably had been an Inaru Empire at one point or another, but he was sure it had gotten its name from the same God they were trying to bring back.


    "Lita!" Jester called, only having to wait a moment before two slender arms snaked across his midsection.


    "Yes?" the purring voice of his favourite slave whispered into his ear. "Does Master need to relax?"


    "Alas, no," Jester replied. "We need to visit Jidol."


    "Oho! Planning something naughty, are we?" she asked, gently rubbing her head on his shoulder as her tail coiled around one of his legs. "How bad."


    "We are cancelling a contract; mother is doing it herself."


    The Beastkin let go, stepping beside Jester instead. "Who made her that angry?" she asked, fixing her attire that had gotten a bit dishevelled from her previous antics. "The Lady usually does not get her hands dirty."


    "You will see when we get there."


    Lita leaned closer to her master, lowering her voice so only he could hear. "Family business?"


    "Indeed."


    "How exciting!" the Beastkin exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Should I bring anything, or does Jidol not require¡­ convincing?"


    Jester shook his head in reply. The assassin would not need any convincing, he would simply take the usual cancellation fee and call it a day. Might even be happy he won''t have to kill father. His father might be delusional, but he was not weak.


    The System did not care for your intelligence when it gave you stats; all you had to do was kill enough monsters and you would get stronger. Of course, with the supposed return of Classes, that might be changing. What little Jester knew of them made him certain that someone with a bit of brain would be able to get stronger than someone who merely went and killed mindlessly like his father had done. Of course, she might have changed how they work.


    Trying to understand the divine was already a silly idea, and applying that to the All-Mother was probably worse. Just thinking about how someone like that could even come into being from supposedly nothing gave Jester a headache.


    With a wave of his hand he commanded Lita to follow him as he stepped through the door ¡ª that had so helpfully been opened by a servant ¨C into the noisy streets of Ebenlowe. It was the only downside of his mother''s hidden estate, really. Why she tolerated the peasants and lower races right in front of her was not something he truly understood, but he could appreciate the value of a more inauspicious base of operations. Would be even better if I could finally get a spy inside.


    Lita had disappeared into the shadows again, undoubtedly taking some of the possessions the peasants had not secured; something Jester could not care less about. If they truly valued something, they would learn [Dimensional Storage].


    "Now then," he mumbled to himself as he began to walk to the [Assassin''s Guild]. "Time for business."


    Aperio squinted for a moment at the maid that had drawn her dagger before she sat herself down on the stairs leading towards the Terenyk''s rather expansive garden. Caethya had noticed her arrival, but she had asked her to not tell Maria yet ¡ª the girl seemed so excited to use her magic that Aperio did not want to interrupt.


    Instead, the All-Mother directed her attention back towards the part of the System she had just fixed. Despite the countdown still going, it had already begun to sort out some Souls that it had identified as marred. So it''s already working, but not actually granting people Classes?


    It made sense to a degree. There were trillions of Souls that it needed to check ¡ª not counting the ones that floated through her Void ¡ª so getting a head start on that was likely a good idea. The only thing Aperio wanted to know was how it worked with the amount of mana it drew from her well. It had begun with a large pull to get going, but ever since, it had slowed to a trickle; using far less than her constant body improvement did. That won''t ever stop, will it?


    She could still feel herself growing stronger ¡ª as paradoxical as that might be, considering she should already be as powerful as was possible ¡ª but the visual changes that had usually come with it had stopped. She had not grown any taller than she already had and the definition of her muscles had largely stayed the same. Maybe because I am happy with it?


    Her appearance had not been something she had consciously chosen like her dress, but something that had just happened. And is largely based on how I looked as a mortal¡­ Perhaps that is why I am attached to it? In the end, her body was a shell. Every other deity had said that and Aperio knew they were right: her brief time as a cosmic cloud proved it. Still prefer a body, though.


    The reasons might be selfish, but she did not care. She had made all of existence, couldn''t she do a few things she liked? Not being a Goddess people would worship was not an option, Ferio had been right in that regard. Even if people did not know who she was, most of them still somehow figured out that she was not merely a strong mortal.


    "Your dagger won''t help you against her either," Aperio commented to the maid as her daughter appeared next to her. "Besides, she is my daughter and has worked with Lord Terenyk in the past."


    "She is just doing her job," Ferio said, taking a seat next to her mother on the stairs. "And I think she is one of the new ones, or at least I have not seen her before."


    "My apologies," the maid whispered, bowing deeply before retreating back to her place at the door.


    Aperio let out a sigh. Her talking had alerted Maria to her presence, the girl having probably felt the mana each of her words carried. It was not necessarily bad, and Aperio liked the girl after all ¡ª it was easier to see her as her daughter than Ferio, sometimes ¡ª but she still wished for her to have had a bit more time to play with her magic before being distracted.


    A thought was all she needed to appear by Caethya''s side, wrapping a wing around the Demigoddess while gently patting Maria''s head. The girl had immediately wrapped her arms around the All-Mother, holding on as tightly as she could.


    "The whole Class thing is really this stressful?" Caethya asked, brushing her hand over the inside of Aperio''s wing.


    "I don''t know what will happen once it goes live," Aperio replied as she carefully wrapped her other wing around Maria. "It will change how the world works, and I am not sure anyone is ready for that."


    "Nobody is ready for a change like that," Ferio said, offering Maria a small wave as the girl peaked out from underneath Aperio''s wing. "It was still needed, however."


    The All-Mother did not reply, only letting out another, more quiet sigh. Caethya gently rubbed her back as she let some of her magic flow around Aperio. "Would you like to see what Maria learned while you were gone? She is quite talented."


    A smile spread across Aperio''s lips as she lifted her wing from the girl so she could better see her. "Would you like to show me?"


    "Yes!" the girl exclaimed, quickly removing herself from Aperio and moving a few steps away from the group.


    Aperio sat herself down on the grass, pulling Caethya into her lap and gently resting her chin on the Demigoddess'' head. She wished every day could be like this. No worries about the upcoming Classes, just relaxing with her love while watching Maria eagerly trying to use her magic. The All-Mother had no real reference point to compare the young girl to other mortals, but from what she could see it was clear that Maria would make an excellent mage.


    Her mana moved with her almost like it did for Aperio herself, forming small balls of water and fire that slowly began to whirl around one another, picking up speed as though they were learning the dance they took part in. If anything, the display made her question why Maria ever needed a teacher to begin with when she could clearly use the mana she had just fine. But that would be a question for another day.


    For now, Aperio would enjoy the last few hours of peace before the world would irrevocably change.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 150: Classification

    Aperio gently brushed her hand over Caethya''s stomach as she let a bit of her mana dance around Maria. Her youngest follower had gotten quite good at sensing her mana, letting her spheres of fire and water follow along the path the All-Mother made with her own. Why did she say she was bad at this?


    "Will you and Ferio get a Class?" Caethya eventually asked, tilting her head back to look up at Aperio. "You won''t, right?"


    "Ferio might," Aperio replied with a small shrug of her wings. "I doubt I will get one. The System cannot give me something, as it derives everything from me." I think.


    "I never had a Class before," Ferio said, tapping her chin. "But I think that was because I am your daughter and already a divine without the System''s help."


    "But so were the Elder Gods," Aperio added, looking at her daughter while holding onto her love just a little tighter. "They had a part of¡­ me that gave them their divinity."


    "Yes," Ferio agreed. "But they still relied upon the System to manage that. It takes centuries for a mortal to acclimate to their new powers."


    Caethya shifted slightly in Aperio''s lap, directing her eyes at the Goddess of Life and Light. "Everything seems fairly normal to me so far," she said, retreating a little further into Aperio''s embrace. "That I don''t notice the change is honestly scary."


    Ferio chuckled at the Elf''s action, shaking her head slightly. "I doubt it will take long for you to get used to your new powers. Your blessing is quite a bit different than that of the other deities."


    "I wouldn''t call what the others had a blessing," Aperio mumbled, the knowledge that they had possessed her memories causing her to wrap her wings around Caethya and herself. "And what I took from Natio was a bit of the System that enabled him to draw on more mana than before. Something I assume the Classes will do to everyone."


    "They should," Ferio agreed. "A boon for someone like Caethya or Maria who can control their mana fairly well already, but a hazard for all those that rely on the System''s help."


    "Hazard?" Maria asked, stopping the dance of her magic to look at the group. "Will it hurt people?"


    Aperio looked at her daughter, the force of her stare silencing her before she could answer Maria. A thought accompanied the silence, asking Ferio to please be a little more considerate while Maria was present. The All-Mother held her gaze for a moment longer before she turned slightly, retracting her wings a little and motioning for the girl to come closer.


    "The ability alone will not," she said, reaching past her love to brush her hand over Maria''s head. "But mortals have a¡­ tendency to abuse their powers." Her eyes flicked over to the countdown. Ten hours¡­ "I will do my best to stop the worst, but people will use their powers how they see fit." And stopping them would be much the same as enslaving them.


    It was a problem Aperio was not sure how to deal with. On the one hand, she knew people would die because of the Classes. But she also knew that they would die without them. It would just be the method that changed. Stopping that would, of course, be good for those that now continued to live, but to effectively stop all those that intend evil, she would have to subsume their will to some degree; something she would never do.


    "Why?" Maria mumbled, tilting her head ever-so-slightly, the question mostly directed at herself. She looked up at Aperio, moving a little closer still. "Can''t you just stop them from doing that?"


    "I could," Aperio replied, taking her hand off of Maria''s hand. "But that would require me to take something from them I am not willing to take from anyone." Or I kill them all¡­


    For some ¡ª probably even her own daughter ¡ª that was the obvious solution. She had just killed a large swath of deities after all, what would a few mortals mean in comparison? To Aperio, not a whole lot. She did not know them, nor did she feel much for any of them. She knew that many of them would die ¡ª were dying right now ¡ª but it garnered no reaction from her. The knowledge that some of them were enslaved and did not get to live or die, however, made her blood boil. If I had any. What flowed through her veins was many things, but blood it was not.


    "Could you not just tell them not to do it?" Maria asked. "Wouldn''t they listen to you?"


    "If I tell you to never paint again, would you do that?" Aperio asked, gently resting her chin on Caethya''s head again while also letting a touch of her magic flow around the Elf. Despite the timer still counting down towards the implementation of her changes, she could already feel a small shift happening within the Demigoddess.


    Luckily, it was not her Soul that was changing, just the connection it shared with her love''s body. It seemed to reinforce itself, undoubtedly preparing for the increase in strength and therefore mana Caethya would experience when she got her Class. I hope it doesn''t hurt¡­ She was not sure on that front, but if her own changes were anything to go by, it would not be a pleasant experience. Better stay the night and watch over Maria.


    "I would try," the girl eventually replied. "But why would you do that? It''s not hurting anyone."


    "Mother was merely trying to make a point," Ferio said. "If she only tells people to do something, most of them won''t do it; and if she forces them to do it, she is breaking her own most essential rule."


    "You have rules?" the girl asked, taking a step closer to Aperio. "Who made those?"


    The All-Mother let out a sigh, gently shifting Caethya to one leg and lifting Maria onto the other with a touch of her magic. Despite the topic, the girl still giggled as she briefly floated through the air and tried to grab hold of Aperio''s wing.


    "I made those rules," she said eventually, raising a brow as Caethya picked up Maria and shuffled herself more properly into Aperio''s lap. It would seem that the Demigoddess did not want to share her almost-Elven chair. "There are a few things I am not willing to do, and those rules outline them."


    "Like what?" Maria asked, turning herself and looking over Caethya''s shoulder. "I know you dislike hurting people, but you still do that when you need to."


    Aperio gave a half-hearted smile in reply and shifted her wing a little to shield her youngest follower from the annoyed glare of one of the maids. "I will not force my will on others just because I can. If the only way I can stop them is through manipulation of their mind or Soul, I will not do it.


    "Often that means I have to¡­ kill the people that stick to their ways," she continued, not quite sure if the topic was something she should be discussing with Maria. "But even that is a last resort. In most cases, noninterference is the best solution." I just want to be left alone to spend some time with Caethya¡­


    Simply sitting in her Void with her love was already better than most other things she could think of ¡ª the only downside was that it would likely bore the Demigoddess. But that did not matter, as Aperio was happy to do most anything as long as she could do it with Caethya. That also included sitting around and somewhat performing the duty of being the literal Creator of everything that ever was, is, or will be.


    The back and forth continued for a while longer, Maria sometimes returning to practising her magic before asking more questions again. Eventually something came up that Aperio had expected, but had hoped would not be asked.


    "So will you help the Council of Ebenlowe with the Remembrance Party?" the girl asked, as if Aperio knew who those people were. "They really like touting that Humans are better than anyone else."


    Almost all of the maids stiffened at their charge¡¯s words, a few even putting their hands on the weapons they had hidden beneath their clothes. Aperio merely tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder and onto the steps she sat on. She was no fan of divine or mortal politics, but she owed the Terenyks ¡ª and maybe even the people of Ebenlowe as a whole ¡ª a debt that she wished to settle.


    "I have no problem with helping. If my help is wanted, that is. I know very little of what is happening in Ebenlowe."


    "Nobody knows what is happening here," Ferio mumbled. She shrugged as the All-Mother extended her wings slightly to give her daughter a gentle tap. The motion was not nearly as stealthy as Aperio had wished but the point was still made, even if Aperio was certain her daughter''s utterance had a certain truth to it. With a city this big, it would be impossible to keep track of everything. And if they call it a council, it probably means that not much gets done.


    "What?" her daughter continued. "I am telling the truth. Just ask Lord Terenyk. Or your Scion." She eyed Caethya for a moment, the Demigoddess not paying much attention as she was braiding Maria''s hair while the girl giggled happily. "Maybe even your girlfriend, but I think she knows more about the politics of Spicor than Vetus."


    Aperio drew her wings a little closer, covering herself as well as Maria and Caethya a little more fully. "We will see," she said, a part of her mind always looking at the clock that was steadily ticking down.


    It had certainly not felt like so much time had passed, but that was nothing new for the All-Mother. She had once spent three days motionless in a carriage while she was first trying to figure out her aura, after all. To think I didn''t know how to use it¡­ Now it was a part of herself, like an extra set of eyes that could see everything if she wanted it.


    "My Lady," one of the maids ¡ª Amelia, if Aperio remembered correctly ¡ª said. "It is time to get ready for bed."


    Maria''s giggles ceased as her shoulders slumped a little, then tapped Caethya''s arm to let down. The Demigoddess obliged, patting the girl¡¯s head before standing up herself. Aperio followed the trend, briefly stretching her wings to their full length before draping one over her love. The sun had begun to set, and while Aperio was fairly certain Caethya would not be bothered by the cold that had begun to creep in, it still felt like the right thing to do.


    "Will the Lady stay for the night?" one of the other maids asked, her voice barely remaining steady as Amelia ushered Maria into the mansion. Aperio did not reply, instead directing her gaze at Caethya and her daughter instead. She wanted to stay ¡ª and had told her love as much ¡ª but the decision was still up to Caethya.


    "Thank you for the offer," Ferio said, offering the maid that had asked a small nod, "but I will return to my temple." She turned to face Aperio and Caethya, offering a bow. "Mother. Caethya. I hope you are prepared."


    Before Aperio could reply, her daughter vanished in a small swirl of leaves, something she was sure was not her doing. It had not felt like her daughter, and most certainly did not look like it. Roots? she asked herself, a thought reaching out to the ancient tree to confirm her idea.


    As Caethya gently pulled on her arm to follow the maid inside her mansion, and Aperio obliged by taking her love''s hand into her own, the All-Mother could practically hear the rustling leaves of Roots-Beneath-All as it informed her that it had indeed brought Ferio home to her temple. Probably a wonder she stayed as long as she did...


    The relationship between Aperio and her daughter was still strained at best, but the Goddess of Life and Light had just spent the better part of a day with her, mostly just sitting around and letting Maria learn how to use her magic by chasing the mana of a literal Goddess.


    Aperio pushed the thought from her mind as the maid that had lead them tried and failed to open a set of heavy-looking wooden doors for them. "Is this our room?" she asked, stepping up next to the Human and opening the door with a gentle push. "It looks nice."


    If she did not know better, Aperio could have thought she was back in her own temple. Aside from being made of less sturdy materials, this room featured nearly everything she had in her own.


    "Thank you," Caethya said as she practically danced into the room, pulling the All-Mother along as best she could. "We will be sure to call for you if you need anything."


    The maid bowed in reply to the words, letting out a sigh of what Aperio thought was relief that she probably thought nobody would hear. Why is she so scared? I did nothing scary all day¡­


    Her thoughts were stopped in their tracks, for as soon as the doors closed behind them she was enveloped in her love''s arms. There came a muffled, heavy sigh as the Demigoddess leaned her entire weight into the embrace. "I think that timer is wrong."


    "So you noticed it too?" Aperio asked, letting a touch of her mana flow through Caethya''s body to soothe any pain she might be feeling. "But why did you not tell me sooner? ¡­And act like we are a married couple off to their first night?"


    "Because that is what the maids expected," Caethya replied, her voice muffled by Aperio''s dress. "You either show no affection, or all of it, and that is not something that you usually see in noble families." She pulled away slightly, offering a slight shrug that did not quite work as she still had her arms wrapped around the All-Mother. "So I just let them think what they want to think."


    The All-Mother remained quiet for a moment, her eyes fixed on something Caethya could not see. "So should I not show how I feel?" she asked. "I felt like it was the best way¡­"


    "I enjoy it, and if you do too that is all that matters, no?" Caethya asked, shifting a little as she felt that slight pull at her very being again.


    A quick check of the timer showed that there were still a little more than eight hours left before the Classes were supposed to come. I guess they will hurt¡­ She hoped that the suspected intensity of her own impending experience would be because of her connection to Aperio, and not the case for everyone who was to be gaining a Class.


    She froze, causing the All-Mother to lower herself while more of her mana flowed into Caethya. The Demigoddess gently shook her head as Aperio''s face twisted further into concern, likely not being able to find anything that should cause the current reaction.


    "I just realised that if I will be in pain when getting a Class, Maria might too. She might not be a Demigoddess, but her Soul was still touched by you."


    "That is why I wanted to stay," the All-Mother said, tilting her head slightly. "I thought I told you that?"


    "You gave me your thoughts and feelings," Caethya corrected with a smile. "I can get a lot from that, but not everything. I thought the worry in there was for the Classes in general."


    "A bit of it, yes, but I am mostly worried about you and Maria," the All-Mother replied, gently nudging Caethya towards the bed. "I will do my best to ease any pain, but I am not sure what will even happen."


    Aperio let herself fall onto the bed, the wooden frame groaning for a moment before Caethya could feel her love''s magic run through it. She quickly followed suit, resting her head on Aperio''s chest as she closed her eyes.


    "It was still the right choice," Caethya said. "Classes would come back sooner or later anyway, and now the return itself has at least distracted the people enough that they stopped trying to start a world war over dead Gods."


    The All-Mother let out a long sigh which, considering that she did not breathe, left Caethya wondering ¡ª not for the first time ¡ª how such an action worked. "Perhaps." She wrapped her wings around Caethya. "I just want it to be over¡­"


    "It will be soon," the Demigoddess said, stifling a yawn. Why she was so tired all of the sudden was not something she knew, but chalked up to the Class she would receive in a little while. Sleeping through it doesn''t seem like a bad idea¡­


    Her love, too, seemed to notice the tiredness that Caethya felt as she remained silent, beginning to gently run her hand through the Demigoddess'' hair while wrapping her wings just a little tighter around the two of them.


    The sweet calm of sleep followed shortly after, her love giving her a feeling of safety and comfort that Caethya had never quite known she needed. It was not the dreamless slumber she had hoped for, as her vision was filled with flashes of light and colours she was quite certain did not actually exist. In a way, it reminded her of the space beyond reality she had caught a glimpse at every now and then.


    Luckily, the deluge of colours and shapes left as soon as it had come, replaced by blurry images she could not properly discern. A floor polished to a shine that did not show any reflection. The sound of what might have been cutlery scraping against a plate, though there was no accompanying conversation to be heard. The feeling of falling ever faster, only to suddenly be underwater, completely dry and free of the need to breathe. A figure holding her up, faceless yet still somehow looking at her lovingly, then she was plunged back into the ocean she had just been in.


    Caethya awoke to the sensation of molten rock in her veins. Of her own bones breaking, flesh squirming beneath her skin. As soon as the searing pain had come, a flood of soothing mana washed it away to be replaced by the soft embrace of her love. Though she was vastly more comfortable, she could still feel herself being systematically broken and being rebuilt, feel the swelling of her inner well as more and more mana entered her body.


    Only once she opened her eyes did Caethya see the System window hanging in front of her, informing her that her body was insufficient for the Class she was to be granted and would be ''adapted''. The class she read there was almost the same as the title Aperio had inadvertently given her not long ago, but [Avatar of Creation] vastly differed in effect.


    [Avatar of Creation] ¡ª [Unique]


    You have been granted this Class based on the title and continued interaction with the Creator. The Road of Ascension is hastily tread by many that forget their ways with their eye on power. Your goals remained steady, and your loyalty is unwavering. You may not be a Goddess yet, but your power already rivals some of the divine. Use it wisely.


    [Focus]


    Creation: Your will shall shape the world.


    [Actives]


    Active Skill Slots: 5 ( Can be increased with Class levels.)


    Disabled.


    [Passives]


    Passive Skill Slots: 5 (Can be increased with Class levels.)


    [Unleashed Reserves (I)]: The duty of the divine requires more than any mortal can give. You receive 100% increased mana reserves for each disabled Active Skill Slot.


    [Unleashed Magics(I)]: Your magic transcends mortal design. You gain 25% increased effect of your magic for each disabled Active Skill Slot.


    [Bonded (I)]: You are bonded to all other deities that share your Domain. All stats are enhanced if you are stronger than the other deities in your Domain.


    [Divine Body (V)]: The mana of the All-Mother has freed you of your frail, mortal form. Stat gain doubled. Stat effectiveness increased by 100%.


    [Boon of the Creator (I)] - Special: The All-Mother wishes you to be an equal that you can never truly be. All experience gain increased by 100%. All stats increased by 100%. Magic effectiveness increased by 100%


    With a not insignificant mental effort Caethya tried to summon her status, but a sharp pain that cut through the soothing mana of Aperio stopped her. Another notification quickly followed.


    [Status] has been disabled for the duration of the Class integration.


    The Demigoddess let out a sigh as the pain faded again, relaxing into the embrace of her love. Aperio said something to her, but Caethya did not hear the words. Her ears had begun ringing, then all sound abruptly vanished. Before she could worry, her auditory senses reasserted themselves louder than before. Then all was muted again, the cycle repeated, and an entirely different worry started blooming in her mind


    As words did not work, Caethya felt the worry of Aperio in her mind; the pain the All-Mother herself felt at the fact that she had brought this upon the one she loved. Caethya turned in Aperio''s embrace as best as she could, though she did let her love do most of the work. With all the strength she could muster with her breaking, squirming limbs, she hugged.


    Aperio followed suit, wrapping her arms and wings tightly around her as, despite Caethya¡¯s inability to hear, she continued to speak. A small smile spread across the Demigoddess'' face as she gave herself over completely to Aperio''s embrace. She had made the right choice and, once this was over, she would be able to finally help her love. Carry some of her burden.

 Omen – Chapter 151: Reckoning

    GamingWolf


    Natio gasped for air as his head emerged from the sea of blood. He struggled to make headway ¡ª the red expanse was harder to maneuver in than it had any right to be ¡ª but shortly after a wave of blood robbed him of his vision he suddenly found himself on solid ground. He shook off the red-brown sludge as best he could, large parts still clinging to his arms and legs.


    No matter how hard he tried to scrub it, the blood would not come off. Even using the piece of soap he now held in his hand as well as the bucket of water by his feet offered no help. Only when he let out a frustrated scream at the futility of his work did the blood finally yield, peeling from his arm to reveal perfectly polished white and gold armour.


    If he wore this suit of armour, his God could not be far away. Only the chosen of Vigil were allowed to wear this, and he would sully that honour by being late. Natio was about to step through the large door in front of him when he felt something pierce his chest and touch his very Soul.


    He reflexively closed his eyes from the pain, grabbing blindly at what had impaled him. Much to his surprise, he found that it was an arm. Opening his eyes revealed that the arm belonged to a winged Elven woman that held him aloft with her hand buried deep in his chest. He looked to her face, but instead of eyes he found there was only an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of colours, the patterns he saw causing his mind itself to bend. He wanted to look away, desperately so, but he could not.


    "What?" he mumbled, mostly to himself as the Elf, who continued to hold him fast, ignored his presence. He tried to free himself again, but despite his blessings, he did not manage to move the woman''s arm even the slightest bit. Desperate for a way out, Natio tried to pray to his God; only to hear his own voice, asking him to help.


    Before he could question his own words, the Elf removed her hand from his chest, and with it ripped something that had once lain within him. She spread her wings, beating them once and kicking off from the ground. Reality itself crumbled away as the winged Elf vanished, leaving Natio hanging in an endless abyss of inky black. Natio wanted to yell ¡ª to scream ¡ª but there was no air to carry the sound of his voice. He tried to take a breath, but nothing entered his lungs. And yet, he coughed, ridding himself of the last bit of air he had still had inside of him.


    He wanted to curse his God for allowing this to happen to him, wanted to curse that Elf for whatever she had done, but even that ability had been taken from him. His mana was leaving his body, tiny streams of dim blue light flowing from his fingertips. Calling it back did not work, his connection to his powers severed by a being that he had not known to exist.


    As the last bit of magic had left his body, a System window began to coalesce in front of him, made from the mana that had just been taken from him.


    "What?" Natio repeated himself, his voice echoing through the empty expanse. He stretched out his hand to touch the window that floated in front of him, taking a step forward to reach it. His feet found purchase on a ground he could not see ¡ª could not feel ¡ª but was there nonetheless. "What is happening?"


    When his fingers touched the screen, he screamed, letting go to hold his head with both hands. Something was racing through his mind, burning everything it touched, showing him memories he could not recall making. He saw himself ascend to Godhood under the watchful eye of Vigil. How he joined the [War in Heaven] on the side of his benefactors. How he had killed again and again to keep the favour of his patrons even though he had become a God himself. How he had doomed an entire world because Vigil told him to.


    He wanted to reject what he saw; declare it a lie. Slander. But he knew it to be true. He knew those were his memories. Knew that what he was living through now was his reckoning. She had taken her time, had given him hope. Natio had always known this day would come. She had allowed him to live, let his sentence be proclaimed by mortals. But now she was back to take her due. It was inevitable. Just like they always said.


    Vigil and Inanis had always told him that they would pay if she came back. There had never been a name or title. She was only ever¡­ she. Unnamed and evil. Forbidden. Natio knew her name now, knew what she could do. Would do, he corrected himself. He would embrace his punishment. He had made a choice when he followed Vigil, and now was the time to pay the price for that. A second chance was not something he deserved.


    Sweat ran down Natio''s forehead as he tried to pull his hands free of the System''s window. No matter how hard he tried, they were stuck fast. His next attempt was answered by the screen dissolving back into mana, then rapidly returning, flowing like water, into his hands. He crumpled to the ground, barely able to keep himself on his hands and knees as his life played before his eyes again; this time backwards.


    Natio gasped for breath as his eyes shot open and he sat up straight in his bed.


    His actual bed in the real world.


    He threw his blanket off him as he tried his best to take deep, measured breaths. Getting a Class was nothing like Vigil had said it was. He had never mentioned nonsensical dreams, nor the possibility of some weird version of the All-Mother barging into his mind to smash said dreams.


    He shook his head and rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on the feeling in the back of his mind. The System had a message for him and he wanted to see.


    [Fallen Servant of the Void]


    You have forsaken your oaths and your people. You have murdered and enslaved in the name of your God and your own. You shall serve those you have damned, bringing their Souls back to their rightful place of rest; cleanse those that remain of the stain your kind has dirtied them with.


    Previously acquired levels cannot be applied to this class and will be lost.


    [Focus]


    Soul: You must heal what you helped destroy.


    [Actives]


    Active Skill Slots: 1(Can be increased with Class levels up to a maximum of 5. Skill cannot be exchanged.)


    [Cleanse Soul (Special)]: Call on the River of Souls to heal a Soul of its ailments.


    [Passives]


    Passive Skill Slots: 5 (Skills cannot be exchanged.)


    [Master Mage (IX)]: Your proficiency with mana rivals the Gods. 10% increased mana and 5% increased effect of your spells per 10 intelligence.


    [Sword Saint (X)]: Your skill with the blade is unmatched. You may channel your mana through every sword. Damage with swords is increased by 15% per 10 strength and agility. 5% increased agility and strength.


    [Fallen Divine (Special)]: You may no longer call yourself a God, but your former brethren still find it hard to touch you. Grants immunity to curses. Grants immunity to blessings.


    [Sins of the Past (Special)]: Your sins are too many to count and your conscience not clean. Experience and stat gain reduced by 50%. Stats reduced by 15%.


    [Ire of the All-Mother (Special)]: Your past actions have caught the ire of the All-Mother. Tread the path of your past carefully. Effects hidden.


    Another mental push confirmed what he had already assumed. The [Status] screen was not available at the moment. If it was, he would have been able to see exactly how much of an effect his passive skills would have had. Natio sighed as he rubbed his chest. Even though it had only been a dream, the area where Aperio had simply punched through him still hurt.


    "So much for sleep," he mumbled to himself as he swung his legs off of the bed. He did not agree with most of what the System had said in his class description, but he would not argue it either. It was right that what he had done was wrong, and he would accept the punishment Aperio had chosen for him. "Funny, really."


    First he had gotten more experience than a normal mortal would through the help of Vigil, and now he would receive less because he had followed what his old God had taught him. "Guess those Ardynshaide fools were right with their balance talk."


    With another shake of his head, Natio got up from his bed. His¡­ pupil should have gotten his Class by now, and he would be a bad teacher if he did not check on him. Hopefully Adam got through his without an invasion by the All-Mother.


    Aperio ran her fingers through Caethya''s hair, holding the Demigoddess tightly with her other arm. She had seen the notification her love had received; had felt her change. There was still a lot of care required when interacting with her, but at least she could hold onto her Caethya a little more tightly now without having to worry that she would be injured.


    Maria, too, had received a Class, though her transition had been a lot calmer. The girl had gone to bed ¡ª after arguing with Amelia for a while ¡ª had fallen asleep and woken up to a screen telling her about her new abilities. It seemed that the System was quite aware of who should see what when they got a Class. The All-Mother had checked nearly every mortal in Ebenlowe when they had gotten their Classes, and the pattern was easy to spot. Children, the Elder, and even the weak all merely went to bed and woke up with a Class. They now talked about weird dreams they had, but most had experienced no pain.


    The same could obviously not be said about Caethya. Luckily for her, Aperio was more than willing to ease any pain her love might feel. Be it through magic or her presence ¡ª something Caethya had reassured her also helped ¡ª the All-Mother would do her best to help her love. Can''t wait for people to tell me how that''s unfair¡­


    Aperio had some unfortunate news for the people that would undoubtedly ask her to solve all her problems. She wouldn''t. It was the obvious answer, even if a tiny part of her mind still helpfully informed her that she could, in fact, solve everyone''s problems. But, the fact that she had made the world mortals called home did not mean she was responsible for every action every single mortal planned to take. It was, perhaps, something she should have realised sooner. Something I should have been honest to myself with.


    The problem was that she wanted to fix what she saw as broken. Why she would still go and likely force an entire continent to change their ways. What she knew of Geshwen and the empire that ran it was not good, and the peek she had taken while the world was reintroduced to Classes had only reinforced what she had feared to be true. For all intents and purposes, they were a reincarnation of the Inaru Empire, only that they they did not discriminate by race. They simply deemed anyone not born on their continent to be of a lower class. A slave.


    "Don''t," Caethya mumbled, brushing her hand over the arm that still held her tightly. "Burning it to the ground won''t change what they think. I know you want to fix things, but sometimes you have to let us mortals deal with our issues."


    "There are only a few things I am willing to intervene for," Aperio said, shifting slightly to better wrap her wings around Caethya. Following the movement, she also corrected her disciple. She was no longer a mortal. "But what they are doing is not something I am willing to accept."


    The freshly minted [Avatar of Creation] let out a sigh, tapping Aperio''s arm and turning as soon as the All-Mother loosened her grasp a little. "I know," she said, wriggling her right hand free to brush Aperio''s cheek. "But you already disposed of their deities, and now brought back Classes. I know that you don''t really care what mortals think of you, but if you give them something to unite against, it will be harder to actually make them stop this madness."


    "So you are telling me to do nothing?" Aperio asked, pulling away slightly and folding the wing she had wrapped around Caethya behind her back. "Just let them continue to torture them? I know what they are going through."


    "Not nothing, no," Caethya replied with a small sigh. She hesitated for a moment, reaching out again to place her hand on Aperio''s cheek. "You want them to change, but without forcing that change on them. If you simply go there and burn it all down, they will use that as yet another reason to band together against you¡ª"


    "Like the Repens Nabu," Aperio interjected, averting her eyes slightly. "But they are not driven mad by divinity¡­ they''re just mortals."


    "They could do nothing against you or me, but the people that follow you are another matter." Caethya sat herself up, moving to stretch her arms before she blinked and shook her head instead. "You have to make a choice here. Either you take an active role and be the change you want to see, or you retreat and let the mortals handle it on their own."


    "I hate it," Aperio mumbled, a thought causing her to appear behind Caethya. "I hate that I am starting to understand why I never messed with mortal affairs before." She pulled the Demigoddess into her lap, wrapping her arms around Caethya''s stomach and resting her chin on her love''s head. "Forcing my will on others to save people, even though I know how wrong it is, might be the only way. I just can''t let them continue as they are."


    "Life isn''t easy," Caethya replied, leaning fully against Aperio and letting her hold her entire weight. "And you have only ever known two extremes. You had no power, and now you have unquestionable power. That''s why I asked you to let us mortals figure this out. There are a lot of parts involved here that neither you or I know."


    The All-Mother huffed in annoyance, holding Caethya a little tighter still as she mentally informed the Demigoddess that she was no longer a mortal. Again. As she considered her disciple''s words, she knew they made sense, to a degree. Most of her remembered life ¡ª her actual life ¡ª was that of a slave with no agency or power, and now she could quite literally end the world with a thought. That did not change the fact that she could see what was happening on Geshwen, knew exactly how it felt to be on the receiving end, and had the means to change it. She would not even have to leave her bed. Just a small flex of her mental muscles, and every slaver would fall over dead. It would be so easy.


    But she did not know what would happen after she did that. She was as blind to the future as anyone else, after all. Sure, she could let go of her body and take a back seat in everyone''s mind, but that was worse. What was the point of life if there was nothing existing except her? There would be no substance to anything; just a puppeteer playing with her toys.


    "Fine," Aperio said, a part of her mind already reaching out to Laelia. "But if it takes too long, I will intervene. It''s been too long already."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 152: Lacking Reaction

    Aperio, seated at the edge of the bed, squinted slightly at the maid that stood in front of the door. The Human could of course not see, or even hear her, but the All-Mother still found her presence a little weird. Sure, she had memories of performing the same task herself, but this maid looked like she was dying to burst into the room.


    "Just ignore her," Caethya said, poking her head out of the bathroom, hair still wet from the shower she had taken. "She is just waiting to be called on. It''s almost time for breakfast, after all."


    "Oh, right," Aperio said, letting herself fall onto the bed properly and eliciting a small giggle from her love as she returned to the bath. "Eating." Did I really forget that?


    Ever since the bit of fruit and bread she had consumed shortly after her return, Aperio had not really thought about food. Or any other bodily need for that matter¡­ She had not even wanted for a shower again, a thought all that she needed to remove anything she did not like. Caethya, on the other hand, had denied her request to magic her clean, saying that a shower was something that helped her start the day. Aperio had even pointed out that this particular bathroom did not enjoy the privacy features of the one in the temple ¡ª she would see everything ¡ª but Caethya had not been swayed.


    So, the All-Mother had tried her best to distract herself. Something that mostly ended up with looking at the maid outside their room and the System itself. Caethya had only laughed at her reaction, something Aperio did not quite understand. Perhaps neither of them had a problem with any of it, but in the All-Mother''s mind, privacy was something that ranked highly; even if the party observed did not mind. It was a matter of principle, something she would need a lot more of in the future.


    The only thing keeping her from doing what she wanted was herself; the rules and principles she made. Aperio sighed as she rubbed her temples, flapping her wings slightly as a thought turned her around, causing her to lie in bed with her face buried in pillows. She relaxed her feathered appendages, letting them hang over the bed and spill onto the floor. Maybe I should have her make some food?


    Aperio disliked the idea of commanding the maid to do something, even though she knew that it was her job. One that paid well, if she had correctly guessed the value of the bits of jewellery the woman wore.


    "How much is a maid paid?" Aperio asked, removing her head from the pillows and looking into the bathroom.


    Caethya offered a small shrug as she ran a small crystal brush through her hair, causing the last bit of wetness to vanish. "Depends on the house they serve." She put the brush away, a dress appearing on her as if it had always been there. "The Terenyks seem to look after their servants. Their uniforms are also of remarkably high quality, not to mention the weapons they have on them at all times.


    "But why do you ask?" The Demigoddess stepped out of the bathroom and turned her back towards Aperio. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, gesturing at her exposed back. "Would you mind?"


    The All-Mother appeared behind Caethya, carefully running her hand over the runes that had been woven into the fabric of the dress. A touch of her mana caused the enchantment to come alive, knitting the garment together, creating the illusion that was a single piece. That enchantment design is ancient; hasn''t changed at all since¡­ then.


    She shook her head, brushing her hand over Caethya''s back instead. "All done," Aperio said, carefully combing her love''s hair back into place with her other hand.


    "Thank you," Caethya replied as she turned around, letting her dress flutter perhaps a bit more than it needed to. She held out her hand for the All-Mother to take. "It''s always a pain to wrangle that yourself."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she took the hand. "But you could just let your mana run through it? There is no need to actually touch the runes."


    "Not all of us can use magic as if it was another hand," Caethya replied, giving Aperio a light nudge. "It doesn''t help that I have a lot more mana now and that it''s seemingly not quite settled into my body yet."


    "Which also changed," Aperio added. Caethya might look the same as she did before, but Aperio was well aware of the changes her Class had brought. The Demigoddess was a lot stronger than before, more durable too. Something that would require some getting used to. Just like me. Though in hindsight, she had almost taken no time at all to get used to a body so drastically different from her own.


    "Yes," her love said with a nod, reaching out to open a door. A thought from the All-Mother made the movement unnecessary, the heavy wooden door swinging open to reveal the maid that was now bowing a little too deeply for Aperio''s tastes.


    "Should you not take a day off after getting your Class?" Aperio asked, gently pushing the Human upwards with one of her wings so she would stand straight. "I doubt it was pleasant."


    "I-I¡­ uhm," the maid began, her eyes wandering from the All-Mother to Caethya and finally to the floor. "I did not get one."


    Aperio withdrew her wing, letting go of Caethya''s hand as she took a step towards the maid. "May I?" she asked, a small ball of mana appearing in her hand. It was not needed, of course, but she hoped that her intent would be better understood this way.


    The maid gave a small nod and not a moment later, the All-Mother let the mana she had held in her hand flow into her. It did not take long for her to find the runes on the Human''s Soul. A thought caused a tiny part of the River of Souls to flow around the glowing orb, causing the maid to shift slightly.


    "Did you follow one of the Gods that I¡­ removed?" Aperio asked, lowering herself to eye level with the Human.


    "N-No," the woman stammered in reply, taking a step backwards, stumbling over her own feet.


    Aperio let out a sigh as she stepped next to Caethya again, a touch of her magic stopping the maid from falling over. "I am not angry with you," she said, retreating slightly behind her love. "I merely wish to know so I can help you."


    "Did she do something wrong?" The voice of Amelia echoed from further down the hallway.


    "No," Caethya replied. "Aperio inquired about her Class and, as she did not have one, asked if she had followed one of the now-dead deities."


    "She did not," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as she let more information from her aura enter her mind. Maria was waiting just out of sight behind the corner with yet another maid, something that did not quite make sense to the All-Mother. Why do they still fear me? A thought bent reality ever-so-slightly, causing a very happy Maria to wrap her arms around Aperio as best she could and the accompanying maid to take a few steps back. "But her Soul has still been marred."


    "Marred?" Amelia asked, only giving Maria a brief look before focusing back on the maid, who had acquired a slight, full-bodied tremor. "What do you mean by marred?"


    "That it has been damaged and needs to be healed," the All-Mother replied, barely catching herself from saying repaired. Being repaired was reserved for things, not people. "It should only take a few days, after which she should get a Class." I should''ve told the System to make me a list of the people it did not give a Class to¡­


    It was an oversight, one she would have to fix somehow. A part of Aperio''s mind devoted itself to looking over the System yet again, trying to see if she had maybe already done something similar in the past. The only problem was that there was only so much she knew about the infinite complex that made up the System. Her knowledge of most everything had grown, yes, but a good part of her creation still escaped her conscious mind. A feeling that told her what she needed to was there, but it felt a little more distant than usual; a little more¡­ uncertain. Quiet enough that Aperio was not willing to trust it.


    "Okay¡­" Amelia said, taking the shaking maid by one hand and wrapping the other around her shoulders. "Come with me, okay?" she asked, pulling the woman along after she gave a brief nod. Amelia set her eyes on the All-Mother once more before moving along further. "Lord Terenyk is expecting you. I will leave Maria in your care."


    Her last sentence had been spoken in a calm, measured voice. Each word perfectly enunciated. "Of course," Aperio replied, picking the girl up with one arm while taking hold of Caethya''s hand with the other. "I apologise," she continued, offering a small nod towards the maid that Amelia held. "I did not mean to scare her."


    Before any of the maids had a chance to say anything, Aperio forced reality to twist itself apart once more, causing Maria, Caethya, and herself to appear in the dining room that held Lord Terenyk. The man only coughed once at their entry, swallowing the bit of bread he had been trying to eat before standing and offering a bow.


    "Welcome," he said, his voice a little more coarse than usual. "I hope the accommodations were to your liking."


    "They were perfect," Caethya replied, giving Aperio''s hand a small squeeze. "Though, should we stay here again, you can tell the maids that we will not need their service."


    The All-Mother tuned out the pleasantries Caethya and Lord Terenyk exchanged fairly quickly. She had heard them all before and held no interest in them. What did interest her was the fact that nobody was showing much of a reaction to having received a Class. It should have, quite literally, changed the world. People who had little to no power before might now have more than they had ever thought while the people who enjoyed power before might now find themselves at the mercy of those they ruled. Kings and Queens don''t tend to do much.


    "What class did you get?" Aperio asked Maria, her voice barely a whisper as she tried not to interrupt her love''s diplomacy.


    "I''m a mage!" the girl replied in an excited whisper, a small ball of golden and silver mana forming in her hand. "It gave my mana funny colours!"


    "I can see that," Aperio replied with a small smile. The mana of her youngest follower had most definitely changed more than Maria seemed to know. Its purity had gone through the roof when she compared it to what the girl had used before. "Looks a little like mine."


    The golden part belonged to Maria ¡ª it felt like her and seemed to mold to her will a little easier ¡ª while the silver mana always took a little longer to follow the girl''s guidance. It also felt a lot like Aperio''s own mana, so much so that she had to make a conscious effort to not take control of it.


    Before Maria could reply, Lord Terenyk and Caethya had come to the end of their unnecessarily long greeting and the Demigoddess offered a seat to Aperio. The All-Mother frowned slightly at the gesture but sat herself down nonetheless, a touch of her magic pulling out the chair next to her so Caethya might sit as well.


    The Demigoddess smiled, placing a quick kiss on the All-Mother''s cheek before sitting down. Some of the servants present began to whisper at the action, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Aperio could hear every single one of them. Just not understand all of them¡­


    She shook her head, shifting Maria slightly in her arms and setting her gaze on Lord Terenyk. "There are a few things I would like to discuss." Once the man had given her a nod, Aperio spoke again. "Firstly, I would like to know if there is a bigger gathering you could call for the leaders of Ebenlowe. I have business with all of them.


    "Secondly," she continued, "I want to know why nobody seems surprised by the Classes they received. I had wanted this to be a distraction that calms people down, yes, but this seems a little much."


    "And you think I am qualified to answer that?" Lord Terenyk asked, his voice a little higher than usual. "Why?"


    The All-Mother offered a small shrug, her wings almost knocking over the neighbouring chair. "You are mortal like they are, and yet you show a great lack of surprise at what you got. Instead, it looks like this is just another day for you. For everyone."


    "What did you expect to happen?" he asked. "We talked about what happened, yes, but there is nothing we can change about it. No mortal has the power to just give someone another Class, so we simply move on." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It''s also not the weirdest thing that happened lately and most people ¡ª at least those I know of ¡ª want to return to normality."


    "So all the mortals collectively chose to just¡­ move on?" How does that make any sense?


    "We are simply more worried about the deities that no longer are," Lord Terenyk replied. "Which brings me to your first question. Yes, I can call for the Council of Ebenlowe to gather, but that won''t be needed. A gathering has already been called for tomorrow. You could attend if you like, but, if you allow me the question, why would you want that?"


    Aperio hesitated for a moment, only speaking after a touch of her magic ensured that Maria would not hear. "Because I wish to know what you plan to do about Geshwen. What they are doing cannot be allowed to continue, but I have been¡­ informed that my solution would only fix it in the interim, not the long term."


    "Ah, yes," Geshton said, "Geshwen. I am sure that topic will come up, even if it is only to discuss what little information we have left now." The man obviously did not seem thrilled to discuss the slavers, even less so that the All-Mother wanted to listen in on the conversation. And force the issue.


    If the mortals just bickered around like Aperio thought they would, she would go to Geshwen herself and do what she had initially thought of. Cut off the head and hope two don''t grow back. If Caethya was right ¡ª which she probably was ¡ª whatever empire called Geshwen home would simply come back, worse than it was now. Probably going to be one that calls itself Hydra, too. She had not seen that particular creature yet, but what she had heard about it was not good. Not that it would be an issue now.


    "If you have a plan to deal with the Eternal Empire of Zeltar, I would be happy to hear it," Lord Terenyk said. "Maybe it could be a long term solution."


    "It couldn''t," Caethya said, placing her hand on Aperio''s to stop the All-Mother from speaking. "Her view of this problem is a little¡­ skewed, and her solution reflects that."


    A wave of Lord Terenyk''s hand cleared the servants out of the room, none of them hesitating for even a moment. He, on the other hand, did hesitate, his eyes wandering from Maria to Aperio before Caethya beckoned him to say what he obviously wanted.


    "What is your plan, Lady Aperio?" he finally asked. "Just¡­ kill them?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, directing a thought at the girl in her arms as Maria wanted to know why she could not hear. "They do not deserve to live." She let a bit of her own mana dance around Maria, mimicking the flow of the girl''s own. "What they do is almost as bad as the actions of the deities they followed, and what they planned for the rest of the world is not better.


    "Luckily," Aperio continued, letting the ''New World Report'' appear in front of Lord Terenyk with the correct page open. "They can no longer lean on those Gods for help, but that only means they will drive the people they already enslave even harder. I have let this happen for too long, and either you mortals end it yourselves, or I will."


    The Human let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don''t know what you experienced to have such a view," he said, "but I agree with Lady Caethya. Merely removing the ones in power will not work. Changing the way an entire empire operates is not easy, nor is it quick."


    "Time is not an issue." Aperio shrugged. "I have no problem watching over them for the next millennium if that is what it takes for them to not be slaving despots." She shifted slightly in her chair, the wood creaking under her weight. "I do not have many rules, but slavery is one of the few things I will not tolerate." And once I figure out how, I will have the System forbid it.


    She would likely never be able to erase all forms of slavery, but she could at least stop the magical means of enabling that vile practice. For the rest, Aperio would have to accept that she could not prevent it if she did not watch over her creation at all times. Something that was quite difficult for her to even think of attempting. Why can''t people just be nice?


    Whatever it was, it seemed that mortals never wanted to be good to one another if they did not get something out of it. And if they found someone that could give them something they wanted or needed, they would rather spend their time begging that person than figure out another way to get what they require. Probably because Epemirial and her ilk trained them to do that¡­


    "I understand," Lord Terenyk said, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "But I am unsure what you want us to do. We are hardly equipped to wage a war, nor do we want to do that. Ebenlowe is a peaceful nation.


    "I could probably convince the Council to organise relief missions once the empire has fallen," he continued, scratching his chin, "but then it would still be up to you to face them."


    "That is not an issue," Aperio said, gently rocking Maria back and forth. How the girl had managed to fall back asleep so quickly after rising was not something the All-Mother understood, but she did not mind it either. "I can deal with whatever army they have."


    Keeping her aura from showing the rage she felt was not an easy task, but Aperio was fairly sure she was doing a decent job. Maria should be more sensitive to her emotions than most, and she didn''t seem to mind. And neither does Caethya.


    "Of course," Geshton said, his gaze lingering on Aperio a moment longer. "I simply forget just what you are sometimes. My apologies."


    "No," Aperio replied, spreading her wings ever-so-slightly. "That is good! You should treat me like any other person. Respect is earned, not given."


    "Your mere presence demands respect," Caethya said, offering a small smile as she looked at Aperio. "The very air changes when you are close; feels almost electric. But that might just be me."


    "It is not just you," Geshton said. "But for me it feels more like¡­ Like I should do something. It''s weird."


    Aperio tilted her head in reply. "Do you intend to do something?"


    "I do," Lord Terenyk said, nodding. "I do."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 153: Mortal Quandaries

    The building the Council of Ebenlowe used to house their gatherings was not what Aperio had expected. She had assumed that they would simply pick an attending noble and use their mansion, but that was not the case. Apparently, it had long ago been decided by someone that they should have an entire building dedicated to politicising. It was not something she really agreed with.


    Beyond the entrance hall she currently stood in was the room they would likely meet in. At least, that is what Aperio assumed as a lot of rather fancily-dressed mortals were inside. As well as Lord Terenyk. It also featured a rather large table ¡ª too gaudy for Aperio''s tastes ¡ª that had just enough chairs placed around it to seat all of them. No, Aperio corrected herself, one too many. Someone who had been invited was apparently not present, and she could only hope that what they had placed at the head of table was meant for that person. But going by the fact that there are two¡­ thrones, I doubt it.


    "So gaudy," she mumbled, her eyes wandering from the golden inlays that adorned the walls and ceiling to the polished marble floor, then finally to the statue of herself. After she had last brought Maria back to her bed, Lord Terenyk had informed the other nobles that the All-Mother herself would attend their next meeting, and one of them had immediately called for a statue to be made for their honoured guest. It was a shockingly accurate depiction, done in just about a single day''s time. Didn''t think they would actually manage to get one. The more she looked at the decor, the more it felt like it was far too much."Could they just¡­ not?"


    "Whoever they hired did an outstanding job," Caethya said, dragging the reluctant All-Mother closer to the larger-than-life replica of herself. "They even got the armlet right."


    "Where did they get an image from, though?" Aperio asked, tapping against the leg of her statue. The material bent slightly under her finger, causing Aperio to frown ever-so-slightly. While it looked like marble, it was obviously something else. "Only Maria draws me, and she doesn''t share her paintings as far as I know."


    "You have been seen by a lot of people," Caethya said, tapping at Aperio''s hand, trying to stop her from poking the statue further. "And people with high enough intelligence to have near perfect recall of someone as striking as you are not hard to come by."


    "Thank you?" the All-Mother said, not quite sure if she should take her love''s words as a compliment. "I would still prefer if they did not make one, though."


    She considered removing it herself, but that would be being mean for no real reason. Just after she had mentally dismissed the idea, Caethya''s voice echoed through her mind asking her to leave the statue be, causing Aperio to look curiously at her disciple. "That wasn''t a prayer, was it?"


    "I don''t know?" Caethya replied, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "I just did what I always do when I want to talk in private." Her words were quickly followed by a few more, ones that the All-Mother was glad she only heard in her mind. "Why do you ask?"


    Aperio gave a small shrug, mentally showing Caethya what had changed with her now telepathic communications while simultaneously taking the Demigoddess'' hand. Together they moved towards the only room that housed people that were not guards. As they walked, Aperio did her best to ignore the fact that they were all talking about her, some even throwing ideas around on how to best bribe her. The tiniest flex of her mental muscles caused the air surrounding those that thought a bribe was something she would accept to turn frigid and their drinks to slowly freeze.


    "Why did you do that?" Caethya asked, glancing at Aperio as they reached the door that seperated the two of them from the people beyond.


    "They were discussing potential things they could use to bribe me," Aperio replied, making no effort to lower her voice. While she was not speaking any louder than usual, her voice seemed of the opinion that the door should not hinder it much. Probably because I want them to hear¡­ She might not have come with the intent to sow discord among the Council of Ebenlowe, but she wouldn''t hesitate to do it if they all behaved like those people.


    So far, luckily, it was only a small portion of the group that had gathered who had even considered the idea that she might take bribes. The rest were more interested in what Lord Terenyk knew about her.


    "You can be bribed?" Caethya asked as she reached for the door. "With what?"


    Aperio placed her foot in front of the door, making it impossible for her love to pull it open. "They cannot bribe me. And if they shift to threatening those I love¡­" She wrapped her wing around Caethya, pulling her closer. "I hope they¡¯ve made peace with themselves."


    With the last of her words, and a touch of her magic, Aperio opened the door leading into the large ballroom that housed the Council of Ebenlowe. While this rather pompous door was never meant to open inwards, Aperio felt that a somewhat dramatic entrance seemed in order, and reality only needed to break a little bit in order to accomplish the feat. In addition, it allowed every mortal present to see her walking in, wing wrapped around Caethya while also holding the Demigoddess'' hand. That should be enough, right? She wanted the mortals to understand that Caethya was not some servant of hers but someone she cared about; someone they should not even think about messing with.


    The room quieted immediately upon her entry, the ones whose conversation she had previously interrupted taking a half-step back as she let her gaze linger on them for a moment longer. She spread her wings to their full length before folding them behind her back; one of these days she would have to use them again. Didn''t know I missed flying that much¡­


    Lord Terenyk was the first to approach the two of them, offering a deep bow before speaking. "Welcome, Lady Aperio," he said, only straightening himself when an invisible hand made from the All-Mother''s mana nudged him to do so. "We have been awaiting your arrival."


    "I noticed," she replied, a touch of her magic pulling out all the chairs around the table so everyone might sit. "Your¡­ discussions could barely be ignored." Another thought twisted reality apart, letting both Caethya and herself appear at the head of the table, in front of the thrones. In order to sit, her wings had to go, something she usually would not do, but today was not the time for that. She wanted these mortals to get shit done, and for that a confident approach should work best. At least, it worked for all the nobles in the Empire¡­


    Aperio had no real training on how to behave in a situation like this and neither the memories of her past life nor the feeling at the back of her mind were helpful at the moment. She knew how to tend to these mortals as a servant, but not how to act as someone who stood above them. Don''t like it, either. She was stronger than them, that much was true, but she did not enjoy lording it over them. Sadly, any other approach had been made moot when she gave those that had discussed her a little too much attention.


    Still, she would not do what her old self would have done, which was in all likelihood the utter removal of the entire continent of Geshwen and calling it a day. The tiny voice at the back of her mind was also not of much help, as it wanted the mortals in front of her to start a war ¡ª preferably big ¡ª so she could fight something. The problem was that the tiny voice was not wrong. She was itching for a fight. Maybe I could ask Caethya to spar? She could use it to get used to her Class¡­


    The mortals caught on rather quickly, taking their seats with only minimal wonder and glances directed at the All-Mother. Aperio shifted slightly in the almost-throne, not quite comfortable without her feathered limbs, and set her gaze on Lord Terenyk. She had no clue how these meetings usually went, and taking the lead any more than she already had was not something she wanted to do.


    Geshton cleared his throat lightly as he let a trickle of his mana flow into the sole ring he wore on his left ring finger. The letters ''G'' and ''M,'' engraved into the small crystal that sat atop the ring, shone briefly with a dim red light before the letters gave way to the sigil of House Terenyk and a stack of papers appeared in front of the Human.


    Aperio blinked, taking her eyes off the ring and setting them onto the papers instead. For someone of Lord Terenyk''s stature, he was using an awfully old and outdated enchantment. Even during her time as a slave the Empire had made storage items that worked faster than the one Geshton had. It only took the All-Mother another thought to realise why he might be holding on to an artifact from the past. Oh.


    Before she could dwell further on the issue, he began to read forth the agenda. First on the list for today''s meeting was Aperio''s presence ¡ª Lord Terenyk only announcing that ''The All-Mother has a request'' before moving on to the other, much more mundane items on the list. Aperio had no desire to sit through talks about taxes, development, or proposals to settle the ruins surrounding the lake of Ebenlowe. She would have to thank Lord Terenyk for his forethought later.


    "What has brought the All-Mother to our humble table?" one of the mortals asked, her voice just a little too dry to sound natural. She wore a plain black dress with a red double stripe over her right breast, as well as a scarf that looked like it would cost the average mortal multiple years to buy. How can something look so expensive?


    Aperio remained quiet for a moment, trying to recall where she had seen that particular mark before. The realisation caused her to squint and the woman in question to shrink slightly. "An empire that is breaking the same rules as the Gods I have removed. Just like your son once did, Lady Vinmaier." I hope you are better.


    "Which empire?" one of the mortals ¡ª one who had tried to figure out how to bribe her ¡ª asked. "And, with all due respect, what can we do that you cannot?"


    "Understand mortals," Aperio replied, raising a brow. Answering the question had brought no feeling of disgust, nor had she even doubted that she should answer it. It''s the truth, after all. "What they had planned to do before I deposed of their Gods should tell you all you need to know."


    An unneeded wave of her hand caused excerpts of the ''New World'' report she had found in Epemirial''s Dominion to appear. They did not need the whole thing, just the part about the Eternal Empire of Zeltar planning an invasion of Vetus with the aid of Epemirial to enslave them all.


    The woman that had initially asked her swallowed slightly, pulling her scarf over the red stripes that had previously been proudly displayed for all to see. So you have something to hide? Aperio thought to herself, making a mental note to keep track of ''Lady Vinmaier''. To [Identify] her for a proper name seemed wrong; she did not want to know the name of someone who was in all probability just like the son she had already disposed of. A slaver in disguise.


    At least the other mortals appeared to have no problem with her being there. They all seemed a little on edge, but that was only to be expected considering what she had done just moments before. Though they probably still don''t really understand what I can do. Grasping the true extent of her own power was not something Aperio was able to do either. Everything was a concept far greater than her still mortal-tinted mind was ever supposed to handle.


    "Am I right in assuming this is about the Eternal Empire of Zeltar?" one of the others asked. The question had come from a mortal wearing armour that was polished slightly too much, his voice a lot calmer than Aperio would have guessed given that she was having a difficult time ignoring the intense beating of his heart. She had gotten fairly good at tuning out all the noise a city made, but for some reason she could not ignore the quickened breaths and elevated heart beats of the mortals in the room.


    "Yes," she replied, giving the man a nod. "I am not asking you to go to war with them ¡ª I will do that on my own ¡ª I merely wish for you to care for the people once the empire is dissolved. Help them start something new."


    "I think you underestimate just how large the Eternal Empire of Zeltar is," Lord Terenyk said. "It spans nearly the entire continent of Geshwen and has millions of citizens, and even more slaves."


    "That is the problem," Aperio replied, folding her arms in front of her chest. "The empire will fall either way, I simply wish for the people that remain to be adequately cared for." Maybe I should just make the System announce that the Eternal Empire of Zeltar is to be removed? No¡­ that would just cause everyone to recklessly charge in to grab their land. The All-Mother had to suppress the urge to sigh and rub the bridge of her nose. Why is it so hard to stop mortals from being bad?


    ¡°What is the problem?¡± yet another mortal asked. ¡°The size of the empire? The amount of slaves?¡±


    ¡°The fact that they have more slaves than citizens,¡± Aperio replied, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the mortal who had spoken. ¡°Condoning slavery is already bad enough, but they are taking it to a level I have trouble believing the rest of the world let them reach.¡±


    ¡°We did not have much of a choice,¡± the armoured mortal said. ¡°We are a small and, more importantly, peaceful nation. A declaration of war requires a unanimous vote, and that will not happen.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Aperio replied, glancing at Lady Vinmaier. ¡°You cannot expect a slaver to vote against another, can you?¡±


    ¡°Slavery is forbidden in Ebenlowe,¡± Lord Terenyk replied. ¡°Indentured servitude, however, is not.¡±


    Aperio¡¯s head snapped around, her gaze focused on Geshton. ¡°You do what?¡±


    ¡°I,¡± he began, ¡°do not partake in those types of contracts. If someone owes me a debt, they will repay what they owe, not their life.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Luckily, there are limits on how long someone might remain in servitude and what they might do.¡±


    ¡°Unless they are found guilty of a capital crime,¡± the armoured mortal added. ¡°In that case they might be forced into servitude instead of being sentenced to death.¡±


    Aperio took a deep breath, reality itself twisting slightly as she almost pulled her void into the mortal realm. Calm, she reminded herself as she tried to focus on the calming flow of her love¡¯s mana around her. ¡°How do you enforce such a ruling?¡±


    Nobody replied. Instead, nearly everyone shifted their gazes towards Lady Vinmaier. The woman swallowed slightly before she replied. ¡°With an old enchantment,¡± she finally said, not elaborating further.


    Caethya¡¯s hand on her leg stopped Aperio from standing up and introducing Lady Vinmaier to the lofty heights and potentially lethal lack of air she would experience by dangling from her infuriated grip. Instead, she closed her eyes, letting her aura show her every single mortal that lived in Ebenlowe yet again. She had only told the System to ignore people whose Soul had been marred, not ones who had been enslaved with the help of an enchantment etched into their flesh. Neither had she checked every mortal for such disfigurement.


    It did not take her long to encounter a set of runes she was intimately familiar with, subtly glowing in the shade of yellow that made her stomach churn. Immediately she reached out with her mind, wanting to erase the marks from the mortals...  but she stopped herself. It might feel right in the moment to set them free, but she had no idea who those mortals were, much less what they had done.


    ¡°You,¡± Aperio spat, pointing at Lady Vinmaier. Her voice slammed into the woman like a hammer on an anvil, causing her chair to physically move back and the colour to drain from her face. ¡°You will make me a list of every mortal that has been forced into servitude and who gave that punishment.¡± She breathed out a bit of black nothing she had not noticed she summoned before speaking again. ¡°I will look at all of them and judge them ¡ª and you ¡ª myself.¡±


    Most of the mortals that filled the room gave her a nod, only a few seeming scared at the prospect of being judged by her. Lady Vinmaier in particular seemed about to pass out as she ever-so-slowly moved herself closer to the table again.


    "Will your church help?" Lord Terenyk asked, trying to move the topic back to Geshwen. He cleared his throat, trying his best to not to look at the shivering form of Lady Vinmaier. "Perhaps we could also ask the [Guides]?"


    "My church will help as best it can," Aperio said, a part of her mind reaching out to Laelia to inform her Scion of her plans. Should have done that a lot sooner¡­ "I have no control over the [Guides], but I intend to ask them as well." She let her eyes wander around the gathered mortals until she reached the lone empty chair. "I am surprised they are not part of this Council, given that they occupy an entire island."


    "They are part of it," Lord Terenyk said. "They simply disagree with the issues a few factions represented here try to push and have chosen to not attend meetings until, and I quote, ''the fools figure out how to be decent''." He cleared his throat. "The [Grandmaster] herself has said that."


    Not surprised, Aperio thought, thinking back to her first encounter with the woman. "In any case," she said with a light shake of her head, "are you willing to help or not? A simple yes or no is enough." This feels so useless.


    Maybe her presence scared the mortals more than she had noticed. Their physical reaction to her and her magic had been tame as far as she could tell, and yet they all just looked at each other while not talking. When she felt like she had waited more than long enough for politeness to account for, she let out a sigh and shook her head. When she stood up, her wings settled against her back and a tiny part of her rejoiced in feeling complete once more.


    "I will leave you to discuss," she said. "Lord Terenyk can inform me about your decision later." With those words, and a small flex of her mental muscles, Caethya and Aperio vanished from the mortal realm, appearing in her Void.


    The All-Mother spread her wings to their full length as she let herself fall backwards, breathing in the nothing that filled her home. "Was that too much?" she asked, holding out her hands towards Caethya. "Or were they just scared?"


    "Scared, I would say," Caethya replied, taking a step closer and taking hold of Aperio''s hands. "You acted a little¡­ weird. Quite unlike what I have come to know from you. Almost like I would think your old self would have talked to them."


    "My old self would have removed Geshwen from existence and called it good," Aperio mumbled, gently pulling Caethya into her embrace. "I just thought that that was what they would expect, especially after I silenced the ones that tried to figure out bribes for me."


    Caethya let herself be pulled closer to Aperio, only to flick the All-Mother''s forehead and sit herself on her stomach. "You shouldn''t change the way you act because that is what you think they expect. What they think doesn''t matter. Be yourself." She hesitated for a moment before taking one of Aperio''s hands into her own again. "If you don''t know what to do, you can also let me do the talking. I have been to more than a few of those silly gatherings, after all."


    "Let you talk while I just loom behind you, glaring at the people who only pretend to be nice?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly. "Would that work?"


    "You are the All-Mother," Caethya replied. "You can make it work."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 154: Coming Change

    "Well, that was something," Igelio said, his armour clanking loudly as he leaned back in his chair. "How, exactly, did you meet her again?"


    "My daughter," Geshton replied. "The blessing the stones could not read came from the All-Mother, and a few moons ago she simply showed up after Maria ran away again."


    The armoured man scratched his head. "The literal creator of everything we know just walked into your house? I wouldn''t believe it if I did not see her myself."


    "Agreed," Telijha said. The woman had remained quiet during Aperio''s visit, content to observe the Goddess. "You felt it too, right? The cold grip around your very being when she looks at you?" She shuddered slightly. "As if she is looking into your Soul to judge you. I wouldn''t want to be part of whatever army Zeltar sends to face her."


    "You think they will actually fight?" Lord Terenyk asked as he started to distribute the papers he had procured from his ring a few moments ago. "They have to see how pointless that would be."


    "You imply that they care," Telijha scoffed. "They have no problem sacrificing fleet after fleet to Lightfray, what makes you think they won''t try it against her? Unless you have been close enough to experience her, it all seems so far-fetched." She shifted slightly in her seat. "Why would something like her walk around Verenier? Why does she even care about us? She hasn''t for who knows how many millennia. Why now? What changed?"


    Geshton frowned slightly at the question, pushing the last piece of paper towards Lady Vinmaier. He was not quite sure what had changed. The fact that not only the All-Mother but also the Goddess of Life and Light had made his estate their second residence had taken quite a bit of his time, and even more of his mental energy. He should probably not be as worried about Maria being with Aperio as he was, but something at the back of his mind still told him that he needed to protect his daughter.


    It was a stupid thought, all things considered. Aperio was probably even more protective of Maria than he was. In her own, weird way. How the All-Mother ''worked'', for a lack of a better term, was not something Geshton knew ¡ª or even wanted to know ¡ª and yet he knew that she would help Maria should the need arise.


    "Something on your mind, Geshton?" Igelio asked as he removed his armoured gloves, placing them loudly on the table to get Lord Terenyk''s attention. "You left us for a moment."


    "I''m sorry," he replied, shaking his head. "I was¡­ trying to make sense of something."


    "I wouldn''t try," Mito said, inspecting the parchment the All-Mother had given all of them. "Things seem to defy sense today. Even this simple piece of...paper?" He turned it again, before he pulled out one of his daggers and stabbed it into the parchment.


    Tried to, at least. Instead of cutting through like it was supposed to, the dagger merely scraped against the parchment, filling the room with screeching that caused Geshton to wince and cover his ears.


    "Not paper," Mito concluded, placing both the piece of definitely-not-parchment and his dagger on the table, "but still, this simple thing defies sense." He set his eyes on Geshton. "Unless it was something not related to your new, totally-just-an-Elf friend?"


    Lord Terenyk grimaced slightly at the jab. When Aperio had first appeared on his literal doorstep, he had informed the council of her but had not disclosed who and, more importantly, what she was. He had merely said that she was an extraordinarily strong Elf; exactly what he had thought when he saw her for the first time.


    "It does concern her to a degree," he agreed, "but it also does not matter for our current situation." He cleared his throat lightly, shifting his gaze towards Lady Vinmaier. "We have much to discuss, after all."


    The woman retreated deeper into her scarf at his words, as if that would hide her from the stares of her fellow councilmen. She might not have been the only one at the table that currently held a vast number of indentured servants, but she was the one who always pushed for looser laws regarding the topic, and something Geshton would liberally call a more¡­ ''Human-centred'' approach to running Ebenlowe. Some of the ideas Elariya and her husband had proposed over the years he had been on the council would have undoubtedly sent Aperio into a rage.


    If she ever found out, he would not blame her if she chose to simply execute the entirety of the Vinmaier family for it. Already got one. So far, there were only rumours as to the prolonged absence of Ebenlowe''s premier nuance noble, but some quiet whispers that Geshton was fairly sure came from the [Guides] led him to think that Kereman might be a little less alive than his parents claimed he was. At the hand of the All-Mother, if the rumours are to be believed. He was inclined to believe them.


    "We do indeed," Igelio agreed, a small smile spreading on his face. "I doubt we have much reason to keep deferring the reforms I proposed for the last meetings."


    Lady Vinmaier shifted in her seat, her eyes set on Mito. "I am not the only one here who knows that we cannot just abolish policies we have had for centuries," she said, sitting a little straighter. "I will make the list Lady¡­ Aperio wanted, but I do not think we should change anything until she reads it."


    "I agree," Mito said, placing the dagger back into one of his many pockets a little more slowly than needed. "Like I have said many times before, change requires time."


    "Of course," Igelio hissed in reply.


    It was apparently time for yet another round of Igelio and Telija against Elariya and Mito, and like most others on the council, Geshton remained quiet. When one considered that Igelio was the de-facto leader of the Ebenlowe Guard, and that Mito currently led the [Assassin''s Guild] ¡ª which, while technically legal, was still responsible for a large number of crimes ¡ª the confrontation was to be expected as relatively routine. Geshton was rather thankful that the [Assassin''s Guild] had branched off into repossession and dungeon guides, instead of solely leaning into their primary ¡ª forbidden ¡ª export from Ebenlowe.


    He might not like the existence of such a guild, but at least they had some guidelines they stuck to. And they turn in other criminals. It was always a weird sight when a group of assassins turned in some thieves or other lawbreakers, but it was certainly not unheard of. What Elariya and the rest of the Vinmaier family were trying to do, however, was not something he could even begin to understand.


    In the past, he had been a lot more proactive in his fight against them. But, after his wife had died, he had had other things on his mind than these particular nobles and their schemes. Telijha, on the other hand, had lost most of her family to one of Uriel Vinmaier''s plots and, while it could not be proven it was actually them, had since done everything she could to curtail their advances. Everything she can while being half-Dwarf. Most people would not notice by looking at her, but that did not change such deep-seated opinions..


    "Do you really want to anger the All-Mother any further?" Telijha asked, placing her hands on the table and pushing herself up slightly. "Or do you perhaps still think that some dusty prophecy will somehow save you?"


    Lady Vinmaier narrowed her eyes slightly at the remark of a prophecy, but did otherwise not react to it. "I have no intention of angering her further. She will get her list by the end of the day. I merely think that we" ¡ªshe gestured at the gathered council¡ª "should wait and see what she does with the information. Or would you want to make a decision that goes directly against the judgement she will make?"


    Telijha lowered herself back into her seat, all the while glaring at Lady Vinmaier. She mumbled something under her breath before picking up the written agenda Geshton had passed around. "No, I do not."


    This will be a long day¡­


    ///


    Aperio let out a sigh, causing the small wisps of mana that danced around her to float away slightly, settling into a wider orbit. Caethya had told her to just let go for a moment and not hold back, so the tiny bits of mana her body could not incorporate swiftly enough were now floating around her again, melting back into her form whenever they touched her.


    "I think you should always have these wisps of mana," Caethya said, shifting slightly on Aperio''s wing. "It suits you, somehow."


    "Makes me seem mysterious?" Aperio asked, letting the bits of mana flare a little with each word. "It certainly feels nice. Like I can finally breathe again." Even though I don''t.


    "You are trying to contain all of yourself in one body," Caethya replied. "I can''t imagine that to be an easy task. Or even really possible."


    Aperio remained quiet for a moment, lifting her wing slightly so Caethya would move a little closer. Ferio had told her that she used to spread herself over multiple bodies, something that made a lot of sense in hindsight, but as the All-Mother had stated multiple times already, she disliked the idea of splitting herself like she had done in the past. Or being a cosmic cloud.


    "If I don''t," she finally said, "a stray thought could cause a lot of damage." Aperio pulled her free wing towards herself so she could be covered to the best of her ability. "Geshwen would probably be gone already. That moment of anger would probably have been enough."


    She paused, not quite sure how to express herself. Technically, a thought was all she needed to erase Geshwen now, but that required her to actually focus on the thing she wanted to do. For the brief time she had been outside her body, everything was connected to her in a way that had removed this need for focus; she had simply needed a hint of a thought to do something. If someone had told her ¡ª the old, mortal her ¡ª that feeling what she could only describe as unlimited freedom would be terrifying, Aperio would have never believed them. But now, she knew. Having a body is better¡­ At least it makes some sense.


    Aperio could not claim to understand how her own body worked, but at least it behaved like one would expect. Besides the fact that I don''t need to eat, sleep, or even breathe. All of those, however, were things someone who reached a high enough level would also no longer need.


    "Perhaps you should gather some more dungeon cores," Caethya said, turning onto her side to look at the All-Mother. "Knowing more about how you¡­ work cannot be a bad thing. And," she quickly added before Aperio could speak, "I think you have gotten enough of your memories back to say that it doesn''t change who you are. It almost seems like you just put them in some kind of mental picture book for later reference."


    Aperio frowned slightly at Caethya. Her love was not wrong in her assumption of how the memories of her past self ended up in her mind, and yet the All-Mother still felt a slight bit of unease when she thought about retrieving her past life. She did her best to push that aside.


    "Perhaps I should," she said. "The world would probably be a better place without them, anyway. Having something mindlessly produce monsters is not good, and neither is the fact that other dungeons might begin to think they are me.¡± Like that one in Ebenlowe¡­


    "It was rather disconcerting. ...but did it even really think?" Caethya ran her hand gently over the wing Aperio had used to cover herself. "I am not sure if those things can even be alive. They always seemed like a slightly smarter version of the System to me."


    "I don¡¯t think they are...¡± Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as she thought. ¡°Is there a dungeon expert I could go and ask? I doubt that in the time I was gone nobody tried to figure out how they work."


    "Oh, there are a few," Caethya replied, a small smile spreading on her face. "On Spicor, the [Guides] were helping two of the academies I attended¡ª¡±


    ¡°Academies?¡± Aperio interrupted. ¡°Did they make entire schools devoted to studying dungeons?¡±


    ¡°Not quite,¡± Caethya replied, ¡°but they do have classes for adventurers like me to help us prepare.¡± She waited for the All-Mother to give a small nod. ¡°But my idea was that you could try asking the [Grandmaster]. She should know, right?"


    Aperio remained quiet for a moment, lifting the wing she had used to cover herself and carefully pulling Caethya towards her. The Demigoddess wrapped her arms around the All-Mother in reply, no floor present to prevent the movement.


    "I had planned on visiting her anyway," Aperio said. She paused for a moment, running her fingers absentmindedly through Caethya''s hair. "She was not at that council meeting, because the [Guides] disagree with some of the policies certain people on the council are trying to push. I''d like to hear her opinion on the matter directly."


    Caethya shifted slightly at the words, propping herself up with her elbow on the now helpfully solid nothing. "And what will you have them do?"


    Aperio moved her free wing upwards slightly, the best approximation of shrug she could offer at the moment. "I primarily wish for them to help the slaves I will free acclimate to normal life. And help those still in my temple."


    "Have you considered landing your temple?" Caethya asked, then paused. "Can it even do that?"


    "I don''t know?" Aperio replied, tilting her head ever-so-slightly as a part of her mind reached out to her temple. She still could not make heads or tails of most of the runes that kept it working, but she was sure she could figure out which one of the enchantments controlled its flight. Or do I make it fly and I just don''t notice?


    She dismissed the thought with a slight shake of her head. There were lots of things running off of her mana that she did not know about, but anything she personally did, she was perfectly aware of. Even those corpses I still have in my Void¡­ At some point, she would have to clean them out.


    "It''s worth a try," her love said. "Having it hang above Ebenlowe is probably not the best idea in the long term."


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, "but that comes after I have dealt with Geshwen and whatever stupid ideas Ebenlowe still has."


    Caethya sat herself up at the words, brushing her fingers over Aperio''s arm as she did. "Should we get going, then?"


    The All-Mother heaved a sigh in reply, taking another breath of the soothing calm that filled her Void before sitting up herself. She rubbed her eyes, pausing for a brief moment as something she had expected did not occur. Only when she remembered that she should not be able to see with her eyes closed did the universe seem to agree and turn everything black. Except for the bit where I can still see with my aura. This is weird.


    When she opened her eyes again, her vision ¡ª her actual vision ¡ª was filled with Caethya''s face. The Demigoddess'' eyes darted around for a brief moment before a small smile spread across her lips. "Are you tired?"


    "I do not tire," Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. "I am annoyed at the state of the world. I lived my mortal life who-knows how many millennia ago, and nothing has really changed." She paused for a moment, smoothing out a non-existent wrinkle in her dress. "Is this how mortals will always be?"


    "Not every mortal is like that," Caethya said, a frown marring her face. "I was a mortal, remember?"


    "That''s not what I meant," Aperio replied as she stood up. She offered Caethya her hand, pulling the Demigoddess up once she had taken it. "I meant a more general trend. That mortal society as a whole trends towards this."


    "Well," Caethya began, "before you left you did not care about mortals, and while you were gone they operated under the traditions their old Gods had left them. Which included slavery. Those same traditions are what remains now, even if you have killed the Gods that made them."


    "Only have to somehow reform a nearly infinite amount of worlds, then," the All-Mother said with a sigh, draping a wing over her love. "Let''s start with Verenier."


    A nod from Caethya and a thought of her own tore reality apart, placing the All-Mother and her disciple in front of the [Guides] headquarters, a sight Aperio had not thought she would see again this soon.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 155: Duty of the [Guides]

    Aperio tilted her head at the mortals that scurried about in front of her. She wanted to tell them to calm down, but she doubted that would be of much help. She did after all just appear there with Caethya. There had been no portal or other construct that a mortal might have noticed. One moment there had been an empty street, and the next that space was inhabited by Caethya and herself. Note to self, appear in the air and just land where I want to be.


    "I think our entrance needs some work," Caethya remarked, earning herself a nod from Aperio. "At least they are mindful in their chaos."


    "I am pretty sure that it would hurt them more than you or me if they did run into either of us," Aperio said, her eyes darting from one mortal to the next as they all continued to run around. She had not yet figured out what they were trying to achieve, but it obviously carried great importance. Or they are really scared of me.


    She doubted that was the case, as the mortals should be able to hear their conversation just fine and it did not seem to influence them whatsoever. "Maybe they are used to it?" Aperio guessed. "The [Grandmaster] could probably do something like this."


    "I doubt that she can do anything close to teleportation." Caethya took Aperio''s hand and began walking through the chaotic crowd towards the building the [Guides] called their headquarters. "Maybe something to help in a fight, but certainly not the ''appear-out-of-nowhere'' stuff you do."


    "I could add an effect," Aperio said, falling into step next to the Demigoddess. "Would that help?" Maybe a few feathers flying around when I appear or disappear. Her wings were her most striking feature and she quite liked her feathered appendages.


    "Perhaps," Caethya said, giggling slightly as the All-Mother stretched her wings, causing them to brush against her back. "I think swooping down from the sky is the best option. Maybe even drop the last bit and break the ground a little for maximum impact."


    Aperio pulled her wings back, letting her right one brush against Caethya''s back and side a little more firmly than before. She wanted to answer with a quip of her own as well, but a Human inside the [Grandmaster]''s office caught her attention.


    A Vinmaier? Aperio thought as she squinted in the general direction of the room, the walls that separated her from it not stopping her aura from showing what was inside.


    The man was young ¡ª as far as she could tell, at least ¡ª and wore a suit Aperio would guess cost more than the average mortal''s yearly income. Just like all the other Vinmaiers she had seen, this one too had the red double stripe embroidered on the upper right of his chest.


    "Something wrong?" Caethya asked, the smile that had graced her face before quickly fading. A small presence asking for restraint brushed against Aperio¡¯s mind as Caethya noticed the mortals being weighed upon more heavily by her aura.


    "The [Grandmaster] has a guest," Aperio replied, simply showing Caethya what she saw in Olymni''s office. Her first instinct had been to show her love all that she was able to detect, but Caethya had been very clear how undesirable that was.


    "Oh," said the Demigoddess. "What is one of them doing here? Filing a complaint because she wasn''t at the Council meeting?"


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she tried her best to hear what they were saying while still ignoring the noise Ebenlowe itself made. At one point or another, her body had figured out that she did not need to hear everything that was happening around her at all times and had begun to tune that out. Trying to focus on a distant sound still allowed her to hear it, but it usually also meant that she would be assaultedby the rest of the noise her mind had so helpfully filtered before.


    She winced slightly as the sound of countless conversations from all around the city fought for space in her ears and mind. How can I even hear that much? Aperio wondered as she took a deep breath, the air not nearly as calming as her Void.


    "He wants her to transport something to a place called ''Ischtaken'' and apparently buy Din''sa. Whatever that is."


    "Din''sa is a liqueur from the Walled City of Din," Caethya said, her voice a quiet whisper that should have gone unheard among the thunderous noise of Ebenlowe but still somehow managed to drown it all out. "And Ischtaken is a city at the very south of Vetus, mostly known for the giant bridge they are building across the bay. They also run most of the ships that go to Procul and Linter."


    "Why does he need the [Guides] to do that for him?" the All-Mother asked, raising a brow at the parting crowd of mortals in front of her. Some of them stopped what they were doing to offer her a quick bow while others merely stared before one of their colleagues nudged them back to the task at hand.


    Aperio tried her best to ignore them, relying on her mere presence and floating gait to make an impression. I really need to change how I look when I am finally done with all of this, won''t I? ¡­Or maybe just go to another world?


    "I couldn''t tell you," Caethya said, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "There are plenty of companies dedicated to shipping things around and the [Guides] are not usually one of them." She tapped a finger against her cheek. "Well, maybe they do here? I only know the ones in Ahl Ghave, really, and that is on a different continent."


    "Ahl Ghave?" Aperio asked, tilting her head. Scouring her memory for a city with that name only brought to mind one called Ahl Vas, but that was a very old ¡ª and likely now dead ¡ª Elven King who had successfully led multiple incursions into the Inaru Empire. "Is it related to Ahl Vas?"


    "I mean, they are both cities," Caethya replied with a small shrug. "And are named after some ancient King."


    "I meant the King. There was one called Ahl Vas that successfully fought against the empire that used to rule most Vetus." Not because he wanted to free slaves, though.


    As far as Aperio knew ¡ª though she doubted she knew the truth ¡ª the Elven King had started a war with the Inaru Empire because they kept attacking his trade ships, causing him to lose his own¡­ ''merchandise.'' She was fairly sure that what she knew had been reframed by the lens of propaganda, but there was no way to find out. For now, at least.


    "The one that¡­?" Caethya¡¯s voice trailed off, her head turning sharply to look at her love with wide eyes, worry on her face.


    "Yes."


    Caethya moved herself a little closer to Aperio, a bit of her magic muffling the sound from the surrounding world. "Can we just talk about them?" she asked, moving her hand from Aperio''s own to the small of her back. "Are you fine with talking about them?" she added.


    The All-Mother remained quiet for a moment, wrapping her wing around her love as she thought. She did not want to think back to her time as a slave, but continuing to run from it was not a solution. Aperio heaved a sigh, the wisps of mana that had been mostly invisible before flaring slightly which in turn caused the mortals surrounding the two of them to briefly focus on them.


    "We can and should talk about it," she finally said. "But not now"¡ª she nodded towards the door to the [Grandmaster]''s office ¡ª"we have a meeting and a mortal to judge."


    "You realise that I will make you talk about it later, right?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, her next step twisting reality apart just a little so she and Caethya would be in front of Miss Videns'' door. "I am counting on it."


    After Caethya gave her a nod, Aperio lightly rapped her knuckles against the wooden door. She frowned slightly as a few splinters fell to the ground. I can''t use less strength. Perhaps switching back to kicking every door, as she had done when she had first returned to the world, was in order. Would certainly feel better.


    The door opened a moment later, the [Grandmaster] undoubtedly knowing who had knocked. "Please, come in," Miss Videns said, standing up behind her desk to offer a small bow.


    It only took the man sitting in a chair in front of the [Grandmaster]''s a moment to realise that someone of importance had entered and rose from his seat. He turned around, a smile on his face that only briefly flickered when his eyes landed on Aperio and Caethya.


    "Greetings," he said, offering what could barely be classified as a bow. Normally Aperio would not have minded the lack of respect but this man ¡ª Jester Kemeleir Vinmaier according to the System ¡ª could likely do with a bit more. "I did not know Miss Videns was expecting more guests."


    "She was not," Aperio said, narrowing her eyes as she focused on the Human. A thought and a slight draw on her well caused the wisps that floated around her to shine just a little brighter, the blue sheen of her hair to become a little more pronounced, and her feathers to turn just a little darker. "But we have a matter of great importance to discuss."


    "Oh? Is that not what the Council is for?" he asked.


    "Yes," Aperio replied as she twisted reality just a tiny bit more, letting herself and Caethya appear on a plush couch she had fashioned from her mana right next to the Human. "But your family''s proposals have stopped the [Guides] from attending." She paused for a moment, studying the man just like the nobles in the Empire had done in the past before speaking again. "Perhaps your family should consider its position a little more carefully in the future." If you don''t, I will make sure there is no family left to make these mistakes.


    "If you would be so kind, Lord Vinmaier?" the [Grandmaster] asked, nodding towards the door. She probably had no desire for Aperio to kill a man in her home. "I will look over your proposal and get back to you."


    The Human swallowed once before he offered a nod, one that was probably a little too shaky for his tastes. Aperio made sure to keep her aura focused on the man, letting him know that she was watching him as he left the building the [Guides] called home. Once the door to O''lymni''s office had closed, however, Aperio relaxed a little, spreading her wings and letting them hang over the edges of the sofa she had conjured. She did not know what had been harder: acting like she was a noble from an Empire she hated, or trying not to punish the man in front of her for crimes she knew he had committed.


    "I did not know you adhered to the etiquette of the nobles," O''lymni said, raising a brow. "Roots-Beneath-All had never mentioned anything of the like and my first impression of you was vastly different." She hesitated for a moment, eyeing the literal Creator of everything as she dragged the Elven woman onto her lap so she could hug her. "That is also not what I have been told or remember."


    Aperio pulled Caethya a little closer still before the Demigoddess tapped her arm and removed herself from the All-Mother''s lap. "I do not think we have been introduced yet," she said, standing up and offering her hand. "I am Caethya Martinek, [Avatar of Creation] and disciple to the All-Mother."


    The [Grandmaster] also rose, taking the Demigoddess'' hand and shaking it. "O''lymni Videns, [Grandmaster] of the [Guides] and the local keeper for Roots-Beneath-All. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    With the introductions done, Caethya sat herself back down next to Aperio and wrapped her arm around the All-Mother. "Likewise," she said, a small smile spreading across her face as Aperio pulled her a little closer with one of her wings. "I am impressed with the diligence of your order''s people. Despite being in the All-Mother''s presence, they did not stop their duties."


    "We have much to do," the [Grandmaster] replied. "We cannot afford distractions." She clapped her hands together. "Now, what have you come to me for?"


    Aperio straightened herself at the question, pulling her wings a little closer to herself as the wrinkles in her dress and slightly dishevelled hair disappeared with a thought. She studied the woman in front of her for a moment longer, the feeling of her dress brushing over skin and Caethya''s hand resting against her back more pronounced for some reason.


    "The Eternal Empire of Zeltar will fall and I would like the [Guides] to help guide the people that will remain," the All-Mother said, drawing a little more heavily on her well to calm the rage the mere thought of that empire brought with it. "The Council of Ebenlowe is currently debating what they will do but, no matter the outcome there, that Empire will fall.


    "I have also ordered them to make a list of all the ''indentured servants'' that exist in Ebenlowe," she added. The wisps of her mana that floated around her shone just a little brighter as anger began to bubble up in her chest. "I do not tolerate slavery of any kind."


    "I see," Miss Videns replied, her calm demeanour probably fooling anyone that was not the All-Mother. Aperio could feel the mana rushing through the woman''s body, how her heart was beating faster and more erratically. "I will inform the [Guides] on Geshwen of the situation. They will help you as best they can while I gather some more substantial support.


    "As for the¡­ servants." O''lymni seemed to be doing her best to not hesitate. "While some of them deserve to be freed, others have committed crimes that, in my opinion, deserve only death."


    "I will judge them when I see them."


    "Of course," the [Grandmaster] replied with a nod; the beat of her heart and the mana that flowed through her calmed slightly.  "Was that all you wished to talk about?"


    Is she anticipating the removal of that practice? Aperio thought, tilting her head. Or is she hiding something? While she could tell that O''lymni was agitated, the All-Mother could not quite discern the reason.


    "I would also like to know how many issues it would cause if I were to land my temple here," she said, tilting her head slightly as she saw a scantily clad Beastkin woman jump from the roof of the [Guides] headquarters and move towards Jester Vinmaier. Did he think I would not notice that? ¡­Is she a slave?


    She could not spot a collar or mark on her skin, but Aperio also did not know what additional methods they had come up with while she was gone. Or maybe she is one of the ones with a marred Soul¡­ A few tendrils of her mana started to chase after the Beastkin before Aperio thought better of it and focused most of her attention back on the [Grandmaster].


    "Well," Miss Videns began, "we don''t have a procedure for that, but it''s also not forbidden? I doubt anyone would complain about it, as space is at a premium here and making new isles is hard. If you place it behind Feranir, the island that houses the Terenyk''s estate, it should work well enough."


    "And make a point," Caethya added. "It should be known to most now that Maria and her family are under Aperio''s protection, but that should make it very clear."


    The [Grandmaster] nodded in reply, the smallest of smiles on her face. "That is one of the reasons, yes. There is also the fact that that part of Ebenlowe does not have a temple of any kind or many followers of the deities our Goddess has disposed of."


    "That is for the best," Aperio said as she stood up from the sofa, effortlessly taking Caethya with her. "I have no desire to deal with the inevitable confrontations that will unfold between the people that call my temple their home and those fools that still cling to their dead Gods."


    That she had no idea how to actually land her floating island was left unsaid. The [Grandmaster] did not need to know that.


    "I thank you for your time," she said, offering a nod. "If you wish to join the proceedings tomorrow at noon, you are free to do so. Once I am done here I will leave for Geshwen, so I would ask you to make your preparations as soon as you can." A thought opened a portal to her Void behind Aperio and Caethya, the mere presence of the black abyss filling the All-Mother with a sense of calm.


    Before she stepped through, Aperio took a step towards the [Grandmaster], the woman shrinking ever-so-slightly despite the fact that Aperio had not intended it to be a threat. "Please do not tell the [Guides] to fight. I will take care of that."


    "Of course," O''lymni replied with a curt nod. "I will tell them what I know and direct them to help you after the fight." She stood up, smoothing out her robe before offering a bow. "I look forwards to the meeting tomorrow, your Grace."


    Aperio frowned slightly at the choice of words but did not comment, instead turning around and walking through the portal she had made. Caethya waited for a moment longer, lifting her dress slightly to perform a curtsy before following the All-Mother.


    In her Void, Aperio beat her wings, letting them carry her despite the fact that any bit of the nothing would support her if she wanted it to. Before her love could say a word, Aperio wrapped her arms around her and disappeared from her Void again. She needed to clear her mind, and flying worked best for that.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 156: Winds of Change

    GamingWolf


    If you want more stuff to read and like solid worldbuilding and good characters, go and read Peculiar Soul by TMarkos. He also has two other finished stories that I can, and will, recommend, Grand Design and Inheritors of Eschaton.


    Have a good day! :)


    Caethya stretched out her arms and let out a small giggle as the wind blew past her. Aperio took her love¡¯s enthusiasm as an invitation to go just a little bit faster. A strong beat of her wings pushed her past the resistance she felt in the air, the sound of Caethya''s voice now fully drowned out by the noise of the air rushing past her, the roar of which continued on more than a bit behind them.


    The Demigoddess caught on quickly enough, her voice now brushing past the edges of Aperio''s mind instead. For a moment the All-Mother feared that she might have gone overboard, but her love only wanted to let her know that she was fine. Happy, even. Perhaps I should figure out how to give Caethya wings?


    While neither she nor anyone else technically needed wings to fly, using them made the experience all the more enjoyable. At least for me. How anyone else felt about soaring through the sky was not something she knew, or even cared about. What she did care about was that it helped her think ¡ª helped her clear her mind.


    Aperio shifted, only holding onto her love by one hand as a touch of magic ensured that Caethya would continue to fly beside her. Smiling slightly as she gave her love a taste of ''solo'' flight, with another thought she caused the roaring of the air that raced past them to cease. The wind still pressed against the two of them as it did before, but the All-Mother had told the noise it made to kindly go elsewhere; a request the universe seemed happy to oblige.


    "Do you think the Vinmaiers will adhere to the judgement I make?" Aperio asked as she turned herself to face the sky above them.


    Caethya pulled herself onto Aperio, ignoring the quirked brow the action got her. "On the surface they will," she said, trying to find something to hold onto. "But they ¡ª and probably everyone else that does what they do ¡ª will try something, even if they know that you are the literal Creator of the universe."


    The All-Mother wrapped her arms around Caethya again before she beat her wings and turned herself over once more. "But why?" she asked as the two of them passed a few random islands far below them. "Do they not realise that I will punish them?"


    "How should I put this," Caethya began, lightly tapping at Aperio''s arms that held her as she thought. The Demigoddess seemed to not be bothered by ¡ª or even question ¡ª the fact that the two of them were currently darting through the sky across a nearly empty ocean at speeds that probably defied physics. "The¡­ ''concept'' of what you are is hard to grasp outside of a myth. I know that you can do what you and others claim you can, but most people don''t. To them it mostly seems like far-fetched stories, even if they have met you.


    "If you had basically anyone else with us now," she continued, "they would probably be screaming and fearing for their lives. Or be weirded out by the fact that flying around like this helps you think and doesn¡¯t seem to bother me either."


    "It''s just a better version of pacing around," Aperio countered as she beat her wings again, causing them to break through the clouds and to near the edges of Verenier''s atmosphere. "And why would they have trouble believing that I can do what I claim I can? Mortals had no issue believing in deities they could not even talk to while Verenier was cut off." Plus they can see me break reality by merely existing.


    Just taking in slightly more mana from her well caused it to leave her body and casually float around her. Not something she had ever seen happen to anybody else. The same was true for her aura being strong enough to break wards. At least it stopped happening on its own. That she had to be honest about what she was in order to stop her aura from conflicting with her own creation was another thing that Aperio would solidly place into the column of weird.


    "I don''t know how else to explain it," Caethya replied, offering a shrug. "Having someone tell you something and actually understanding it are vastly different, as you can see right now." The Demigoddess paused for a moment before she reached out, placing one hand on Aperio''s cheek. "No matter what they do, I will be here for you."


    "They should thank you for that when the time comes," Aperio mumbled, her voice perfectly clear as her magic held the noise of the raging winds at bay. "Without you, I would probably do something I would regret." Like killing them all¡­


    "It would probably still be the right choice," Caethya said as she tried her best to give her love a hug as the two of them raced through the sky.


    Aperio took what she thought was a hint and twisted reality apart. A moment later the two of them appeared lying in space with Verenier hanging above them. The Demigoddess immediately wrapped her arms more tightly around the All-Mother and slowly ran her hands over her love''s wings.


    "How much time do we have before you have to judge the mortals?"


    "A few hours," Aperio replied as she let her aura inform her of the current time in Ebenlowe. "A few hours in which I intend to do nothing but lie here." And try to clear my head enough to not murder them all¡­ Her hopes for both the mortals she had to judge and the people that had enslaved them were not very high.


    "That sounds good to me," Caethya said before placing a kiss on the All-Mother''s cheek. "Just remember that you are not alone in this."


    Jester slowly lowered the glass he had been holding back onto the table, his hand shaking the entirety of the way. His meeting with the [Grandmaster] had been going pretty well until a winged Elf had barged into her office. He had acted like he should in the moment, showing the lowly creature that he did not care for it. That was a mistake. That ''lowly creature'' was not as low as he had initially assumed, and in fact was not even a mere mortal like he was.


    He had tasked Lita with observation, having her stay behind to try to listen to the conversation that supposed Elf had with the [Grandmaster]. That plan had not worked whatsoever as the leader of the [Guides] had made sure nobody would be able to hear what was going inside her office. At least she kept her word. The woman had told him that ¡ª no matter the request ¡ª nobody would be able to listen in.


    A small sliver of doubt had surfaced in his mind as soon as Lita had come back to tell him that the Elf was in fact the All-Mother. That was what all the [Guides] that scurried around were talking about while doing their work. She was the very being he and the entire Order of Inaru despised so much. The one they blamed for the sick order of the world. Why had she given Elves and Dwarves a longer life? Why had she made the Dragons as attuned to the magics of the world as they were? Why had she given Humanity only the scraps of her creation?


    In the end, it mattered not. What the other races had received in gifts, Humanity had made up for with ingenuity and adaptability. Jester doubted it was a coincidence that Humans ruled Verenier during the absence of the All-Mother, something he only felt himself reassured of now that he saw that she had molded the Elves after herself.


    "Are you alright, Master?" Lita asked as she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. The subtle, yellow glow of her eyes reflected slightly in the glass he had placed on the table, causing him to let out a sigh. Sometimes he truly wondered if Lita actually enjoyed the magic they had carved into her insides.


    "No," Jester mumbled. "I''m not ''alright''. I basically told the literal Creator to go fuck herself. All I can do is hope that she doesn''t know noble etiquette well enough to understand what I did and that her little¡­ pet Elf doesn''t tell her." He rubbed his temples. "Because Miss Martinek definitely knows the meaning of my lack of respect."


    "You know her?"


    "Of her," he corrected. "It''s hard not to. The wonder child of the Martinek family, basically a master mage by the age of sixteen." Jester picked up his glass, drowning the last bit of liquor inside before slamming it back down. "The nobles talked about nothing else when they heard that she was coming to Ebenlowe to visit our dungeon.


    After a long moment of silence in which Lita continued to slowly move her hands over his chest, Jester let out another sigh. "What can I do¡­"


    Most of his plans no longer worked with the All-Mother as an opponent. Bringing back Inaru ¡ª a God of Slavery ¡ª would not end well, and neither would it help if he took the dead God¡¯s place like he had planned. From what Aperio had said, Jester gathered that she had attended the most recent meeting of the Council and had met his mother. And did not like what she had to say.


    That was to be expected, however; Aperio was after all the antithesis to everything they wanted to achieve. And, sadly, she was likely able to achieve her goals before any mortal could even make a move. The only problem he now faced was that he could not come up with something that would see his goals come to fruition and not draw the ire of the strongest being he could think of.


    He had no doubt that some people would still go along with what they had planned, simply choosing to not believe that the All-Mother was as strong as everyone said she was, but Jester himself saw that as a sure-fire way to die. It was true that he, too, did not think everything they said about her was true ¡ª being able to control everything just seemed a little far-fetched ¡ª but he had no doubt that she could just snuff out the entire world if needed. She did already kill hundreds of Gods¡­


    It was true that he did not know how much effort that required or if she had had help, but it was best to assume that she did it on her own with little to no effort. Underestimating your foe would only get you killed and Jester had no desire to pass on just yet. That''s reserved for fools like father.


    While he did not know when Elariya would go through with her plans, his father''s fate was sealed. Luckily, he had not included his father in most of his plans, and the ones he had been a part of were no longer feasible anyway.


    "Right," Jester said, standing up and brushing Lita''s hands away. He turned around, his gaze briefly lingering on the yellow glow that still lingered in his slave¡¯s eyes as well as her slightly lopsided smile. "Could you get me a courier, Lita?"


    "Of course, Master," she replied and vanished a moment later.


    While his most prized slave went to fulfill his request, Jester made his way towards his desk. He might not be able to oppose the All-Mother in the open, but he still had access to a few people who sported at least half a brain and would be willing to help.


    He just had to hope that Aperio would not care enough about a small fry like him to have him under constant surveillance. The feeling he had when she had looked at him had passed and Jester hoped that meant she was no longer paying attention to him. The letter he had to pen practically wrote itself; all he really needed to do was ask a few of the minor nobles from the other kingdoms dotting Vetus to lend him some people. People that had been promised to him years ago.


    Of course, he would not tell them what he wanted their people for. They did not need to know that he fully intended on having them die for his plans or that some of them might get used to make their families the target of the All-Mother. How exactly he could accomplish the last one without the nobles simply telling the Goddess that he commanded their slaves was something he still had to figure out.


    ¡°A plan is better than no plan,¡± Jester mumbled to himself as he placed the first letter to the side and began to write another, almost identical, one.


    O¡¯lymni stared at the miniature tree that stood on her desk. The meeting with both the young Lord Vinmaier and the All-Mother had left her a little confused. What the noble wanted was easy enough to understand - some status symbols - but it did not make sense that he would come to her for that. The [Guides] were not a shipping company, nor did the Vinmaier family have any pull with them. In fact, O¡¯lymni herself disliked them quite a lot.


    What Aperio had told her, while also easy to understand, simply did not fit with what she had been told about the All-Mother or how her first encounter had played out. She had always imagined her as some kind incomprehensible being that just did things. After she had first met her it had become apparent that that was not the case; that the All-Mother was a lot more normal.


    Now, though, Aperio had acted neither like a Goddess nor a noble, despite seemingly knowing the etiquette that should be required. But then, she doesn''t have to care about etiquette. No noble wandering her creation could punish her for doing something wrong. Or even tell her that what she is doing is wrong. By her very nature, everything Aperio did was technically the right thing to do. She made the rules, after all.


    "Does it always feel like she is four people at once?" the [Grandmaster] asked, her eyes still fixed on the tiny tree on her desk. "Or is this something that happened because she was gone for so long?"


    "I do not know," the voice of Roots-Beneath-All replied, the miniature tree moving slightly as leaves sprouted from its branches. "I know that she has found something she had not truly known before; found many things she had not known before." The tree twisted a little further as if it wanted to look at O''lymni. "Nobody is impervious to change, Miss Videns, not even the Creator herself."


    "She seemed pretty constant in all the records we have of her from before the Dark Age," O''lymni said. "So did she just... decide that she should change as well?"


    "In essence, yes."


    "Of course," the half-Dryad mumbled. She remained quiet for a moment before she shook her head. "Well, I should not question the All-Mother, now should I? At least she is back now and is actually taking measures to make sure people follow the rules."


    She clapped her hands together and stood up from her chair. While she had a lot of things to do, O''lymni would simply have to attend the next impromptu meeting of the Council. Seeing the Vinmaiers finally get punished was not something she wanted to miss. Doubly so if she could bring out her old proposals afterwards ¡ª the ones to ban all forms of slavery in Ebenlowe as well as curtailing trade with empires that still practiced it ¡ª with the All-Mother present. It was pretty obvious that Aperio despised slavery. Perhaps even more than O''lymni herself.


    "I wish father was here to meet her," she mumbled. "He would have been so happy."


    "Indeed," the tiny tree on her desk rumbled, its voice far too deep for its size. "While he is no longer able to walk this soil, rest assured that he is proud of your achievements. Soon, like he should have done many springs ago, he will be able to begin his next life."


    O''lymni let out a sigh as her gaze swept over the veritable jungle that was in her office. Ever since her mother and father had passed away, she had felt restless, but the Dryad part of herself had found a way to remain calm when surrounded by Roots'' forest. Now that she no longer lived there, she had taken to surrounding herself with her floral friends. Even if it was a silly thing, they all made her feel more at home here. I suppose out of my two halves, the Human part withers more quickly. With another shake of her head, the [Grandmaster] vanished into her chambers. If she was to attend a Council meeting, she would have to look presentable.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 157: Mortal Perspective

    O''lymni straightened her robe one last time before she gave the large form of Roots-Beneath-All a nod. She closed her eyes as she felt its vines wrap around her and then, just a fraction of a second later, her aura was filled with flashes of mana she could only describe as magical white noise. That gives you a raging headache for weeks if you look at it.


    The teleportation method Roots-Beneath-All employed was unlike any other the [Grandmaster] had encountered before. Where normal mages could not transport themselves more than a few meters, and the best of their craft might manage to go to another city, Roots could send you to any place on Verenier it wished. In the past there had been groups of mages who had figured out long range teleportation, but all that remained of their work were the large gates that stood in most every city ¡ª the ones that nobody knew how to use. Just the knowledge that it required quite a few high-levelled mages to fuel just one of those gates, via a ritual.


    When O''lymni was still a child, her father had worked for one of the guilds that ran a few of the gates. She had never used them, and her father had never explained how they worked in detail, but she knew enough about them to sit by and smile when empire after empire tried to repair them. The key was held by someone who had just returned, and their trying would amount to nothing without that.


    "Welcome, Lady Videns," a voice called, taking the [Grandmaster] from her thoughts. "We did not expect you to attend the council today."


    "Neither did I," she replied as she offered a small nod to the servant, "but the circumstances demanded that I attend."


    "So you have heard?"


    "Of course." A small smile spread across the face of the [Grandmaster]. "Lady Aperio did tell me, after all."


    The servant simply stared at her, seemingly not quite believing that the All-Mother would seek out a specific mortal. Such a belief was at odds with the fact that she was in a relationship with one, as well as personally attending a meeting of the Council of Ebenlowe even though she could have simply solved whatever problem she perceived on her own. Well, O''lymni thought. She is quite unlike any of the few records show and definitely not like what little the Elder Gods divulged.


    She was still angry at the various churches for suppressing knowledge of the All-Mother and telling the people that the [Guides] were following a faux Goddess. But then, what were they supposed to do when the Gods they followed directly told them that? Just as she would not question Aperio, they would not question their chosen deity. O''lymni still technically did question the All-Mother, but that was mostly related to how she presented herself and what exactly she was trying to achieve now.


    "If there is nothing else, I will show myself inside," the [Grandmaster] said as she stepped past the still-silent servant. "You should get used to the All-Mother appearing more often in these chambers. For one reason or another, she wishes to work with us on the issues that plague our nation."


    She only saw the servant offer a slight nod before she rounded the corner and lost sight of him. Of course, she could simply use her aura to keep an eye on him, but the enchantments that were all over the Chambers of Rule made that task a lot more difficult. And I would upset the powers that be. Her breaking the wards that had been in place for centuries now would also show people that she was a lot stronger than they thought; an advantage she did not want to give up.


    Should really get them to upgrade this place while I''m at it. The building where the Council convened was older than she was ¡ª even predating the nation of Ebenlowe as it currently stood by multiple centuries. It had been built by the same nation that had constructed Lightfray, and it showed. The enchantments they had woven into every piece of stone that made up the Chambers of Rule were far beyond what any modern mage ¡ª or runesmith, if you even managed to find one ¡ª could make.


    The shortage of good magicians in Ebenlowe was just another entry in the long list of things O''lymni wanted to address. Sadly, some of the ¡­traditionalists had taken to opposing her merely because she was not fully Human, while others seemingly abhorred the idea of inviting scholars from other continents to finally build a proper academy in Ebenlowe itself. The one they currently had was a disgrace.


    Already at it, I see, the [Grandmaster] thought to herself as she heard the heated voice of Lady Vinmaier coming from the Chamber of Law, in which the Council usually convened. Probably stressed about being judged by the All-Mother herself for her barbaric ways.


    O''lymni did not find it in herself to even appear sad for Elariya. The woman deserved whatever Aperio had in store for her.


    Lady Vinmaier was quite well known for her policies, but also for the fact that she liked to punish every transgression against her or her family with indentured servitude. No matter how small the perceived crime might be, she would find a way to get the person into her custody. Most people that ended up that way were not heard of again as they were brought to one of the estates the Vinmaiers maintained outside of Ebenlowe.


    At first, O''lymni had intervened where she could, but that had to come to an end fairly swiftly as the various churches that supported the Vinmaiers¡¯ behaviour simply sent their own knights and paladins to guard the carriages. The [Grandmaster] had no intention of sitting idly by again. The All-Mother was upsetting the balance with her mere presence already, but now that she was taking an active role, O''lymni would do her best to rid the city she loved of the people who wanted to bring it low.


    "Greetings," the [Grandmaster] said with a smile as she pushed the doors open and entered the Chamber of Law. "I have been informed that we would be holding an important meeting today."


    The conversation that was ongoing before fell silent immediately as the eyes of the people present settled on her form. O''lymni did not mind. In her nine-hundred and some odd years, she had experienced this more than a few times. And they still forget that I am older than some of their silly families.


    Just because she had never devoted her might to establishing a noble family or a company did not mean she had done nothing. She had thought that was obvious, but generations of council members ¡ª or kings and queens, when Ebenlowe had had them ¡ª had taught her differently. For one reason or another, most people did not see the [Guides] as a force to be reckoned with until she withdrew their support from whatever endeavour they had planned. I even got fucking Vigil to send his paladins on one of our expeditions.


    She had not liked the fact that she needed to rely on that God, but it had been the best option. And it paid off. Laelia was now the Scion of the All-Mother and, from what she knew, it was the group led by Inerlius that had first encountered Aperio on the lowest floor of that dungeon. And to think we were only trying to study the Dryads that live in Roots¡¯ forest.


    "Welcome, Lady Videns," Lord Terenyk said as he stood up from his chair. He offered her a bow before moving to a chair to the right, giving the [Grandmaster] the option to seat herself at the head of the table where he had previously been. "I had hoped you would attend today''s meeting."


    "I would have likely missed it if Lady Aperio had not paid me a visit," she replied, gracing the man with a very brief curtsy before she made her way around the table. "The topic she wishes to discuss here is one I have been trying to address for multiple years now." O''lymni sat herself down on the chair to the left of the one at the head of the table, and set her eyes on Lady Vinmaier. "And I think, today, I can finally make some progress."


    The Human flinched ever-so-slightly at the comment, but it was enough for O''lymni''s smile to widen just a little bit. "Though, I think we will require another chair for her Grace''s partner." She gestured to the lone throne that sat next to her. "I doubt Lady Aperio will look favourably upon people who forget about her partner."


    "Not to worry," Lord Terenyk replied. "We will be using the Chamber of Judgement for the actual meeting with Lady Aperio and Lady Martinek." He rifled through the stack of parchments in front of him for a moment before he found what he was looking for and handed it to the [Grandmaster]. "You are free to make adjustments if you feel the need to, but I think we¡¯ve covered most everything already."


    O''lymni nodded at the man''s words and set her eyes on the paper that was now in her hands. It was a simple summary of what the Council had decided on for the ''event'' today, covering everything from which servants would attend to what kind of napkin would be allowed if someone wished to carry one. The only thing that stood out to the [Grandmaster] was the lack of religious symbols and phrases, but she could not argue with the decision. Aperio had just removed nearly all of the major deities.


    Luckily, the Classes that had come shortly afterwards had taken the people¡¯s minds off of silly things like revenge against possibly the only actual immortal being in existence. Gods might be regarded as ''immortal,'' but that was a lie. They could die; it was just hard to kill them. The All-Mother, on the other hand, would always come back even if you somehow managed to kill her body. She is the source of everything, after all. If she truly died, so would everything else.


    "The Chamber of Judgement?" O''lymni asked, lowering the parchment. "It''s been a while since we used that one."


    "It seemed fitting," Igelio said. "Lady Aperio wants to judge everyone who is currently enslaved, after all."


    The [Grandmaster] nodded at the words, ignoring the disgusted expression of Lady Vinmaier. If the woman wanted to jump in and defend the practice she was pushing, she was free to do so, but most present knew that it was merely a facade they had to keep up as actual slavery had been banned. Still don''t understand how this indentured servitude garbage made it through.


    "How many people are we expecting?" O''lymni asked.


    "Just shy of a thousand," Igelio replied. "There are more, of course, but we only brought the ones that might require a new sentence." He glared at Lady Vinmaier. "Not the ones that tripped and spilled some whale oil on a noble¡¯s dress."


    The [Grandmaster] tuned the bickering of the other Council members out as she started to sift through the stack of papers that had appeared next to her. Once Aperio had passed her judgement on the slaves as well as the nobles that had taken their freedom, she intended to press her advantage to make sure that she could stop this kind of abuse in the future.


    While she had drafted many proposals for this matter before, O''lymni now chose to start over. Not necessarily because she had to, but because invoking the name of the All-Mother would remind the nobles on which side the Creator stood. And because I can''t stand their discussion.


    She did as best as she could to remain calm as she worked on her new proposals, even as the words grew a little heated around her. O¡¯lymni knew that there was no point in arguing about anything with them until the All-Mother had passed her judgement. I already tried for decades, after all. Luckily for the [Grandmaster], they found themselves in the Chamber of Justice not long after. Only five hours that felt like a year, she thought. But now it''s almost time.


    She was about to call for order in the room when the lights that usually shone brightly dimmed as a creeping cold started to fill the room. A moment later, the All-Mother appeared in front of the throne the Council had prepared for her, Caethya by her side, as black and blue feathers slowly drifted through the air.


    The version of Aperio the [Grandmaster] saw now was yet again different from what she had experienced so far. Much closer to what I thought¡­ The All-Mother still wore her usual black and blue dress, but this time silver armour adorned her chest and shoulders, and there was a subtle glow that seemed to emanate from her skin. She also carried a swordstaff that stood taller than the Creator and whose edge seemed to cut into reality itself even though it was held perfectly still.


    As if all of that had not been enough, the room had by not only been filled with the creeping cold of the All-Mother''s mana, but also another force O''lymni could not categorise. It was not physical like the mana, but a feeling that filled her body and mind, preventing her from moving or speaking; telling her that she was nothing in front of Aperio. That she was nothing more than a mote of dust dirtying the tapestry that was Aperio''s creation.


    The All-Mother did not speak. She simply shifted her gaze from one mortal to another, causing each and every one one of them to lose what remaining colour their skin had thus far managed to hold on to. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her eyes settled on the [Grandmaster].


    O''lymni would have sucked in a breath if her body had allowed her to breathe. Whatever the Aperio was doing caused her own magic to yield and flow away from her mental grasp. It was a weird sensation, being unable to feel a part of yourself that you had known for centuries. A fraction of a second after her control over her own mana had ceased, it returned, and in its place was Aperio''s gaze. The [Grandmaster] felt the All-Mother''s eyes look past her physical self to stare directly at her very Soul.


    She did not know how she knew, but she knew. Aperio was passing judgement on every single mortal present. She had taken what little power they had away, and then looked at their very core. If she could, O''lymni would have fallen to her knees, but the same unseen force that stopped her from breathing also held her upright.


    Just as suddenly as the All-Mother''s might had manifested itself, it disappeared. Caethya was the first to sit herself down after the presence had vanished, briefly taking hold of the All-Mother''s hand before letting go and folding her hands in her lap. Aperio followed suit a moment later and sat herself down in the throne she had summoned, her wings somehow phasing through the otherwise solid marble.


    "We can begin," Aperio said, the thrones the mortals had prepared disappearing without a trace only to be replaced by two others made from what appeared to be black marble. "Bring in the Accused."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Side Story – Caethya 1: Preparing for a Day Out (And more Art)

    GamingWolf


    Hello! It''s Forgotten''s anniversary again, so you get some stuff. This time, it''s new cover art and a few Side Stories that are not really canon just yet. They are all about Aperio and Caethya spending time and having a good time.


    As for the art, you can find the full versions here: With title and without title (Be warned, they are very large!). Just like last time, they were made by creadfectus. If you wish to support my growing art addiction, you can do so on Patreon.


    Enjoy the Side Stories and have a good weekend!


    Caethya checked her dress again, smoothing out a wrinkle at her hips. Her hair was next, the silver ornaments she had been gifted by her mother a lot fiddlier now that she had to put them in alone. Everything has to be perfect. After all, she would get to spend the entire day with Aperio. Free from divine bureaucracy and other deities. No distractions.


    While the All-Mother had made it quite clear how she felt about Caethya by now, the two of them had never really had a date. Or much time to ourselves¡­ The Demigoddess had quite a few ideas on what she would like to do, but most of those were still a while off. Perhaps it was her past, or because of her nature as the All-Mother, but Aperio needed time ¡ª familiarity ¡ª before she would agree to any of Caethya''s more involved ideas.


    "A visit to Spicor will do for now," she mumbled to herself, the ornament finally securely fitted in her hair and holding the rather intricate braid together.


    Caethya looked at herself in the mirror, turning slightly to better see her hair. "Too much?" she mumbled to herself before she shook her head and picked up the dress she had made for the occasion.


    Some people would probably say that having a dress made for such a trivial occasion would be overkill, but Caethya wanted to make sure that everything was as perfect as she could make it. Not because Aperio expected it ¡ª the All-Mother would probably not even approve of the amount of time her disciple had spent planning the day ¡ª but because Caethya wanted it to be correct.


    The silky fabric practically flowed over her hands as she turned the dress, trying to find the small enchantment that held the back together. With a sigh, she focused on her aura, finding the magic flowing through her dress quite easily. A thought later and the back of her dress parted, allowing her to step inside and pull it up. Maybe I should have it made more open, like Aperio''s?


    Caethya reached back to hold her braid up as another thought caused the enchantment to spring to life again, adjusting the size of the garment as it closed itself. With a sigh she let her hair down again, smoothing out any perceived wrinkles in the dress with a touch of her magic. I can see why Aperio forgets to use her hands sometimes.


    Magic had never been hard for her, but recently things had begun to just do themselves for her with nothing more than a thought required. It was nowhere near what Aperio did, of course, but small tasks like opening and closing doors happened largely on their own now. After I did something on purpose first. Almost like I have some kind of switch for it.


    She shook her head at the thought and turned to face the mirror again. The silky black fabric shimmered slightly as she moved, the effect becoming more pronounced whenever light caught on the lines of silver that crisscrossed the garment. Caethya doubted that most people would figure out what the lines formed, but she was certain Aperio would notice.


    The All-Mother was very attached to her wings and Caethya could see why. Being able to fly would be nice and having a pair of nice and soft wings to embrace her love like she embraced her would be wonderful. For now, however, she would have to make do with a silver wing that ''wrapped'' around her dress.


    A knock on the door caused the Demigoddess to freeze for a moment, then quickly check herself over once more. "May I come in?" Aperio''s voice echoed through the room, the fact that she was on the other side of a solid brick wall and a thick wooden door seemingly not mattering.


    "Yes!" Caethya replied, turning around and running her hands over her already perfectly smooth dress.


    The All-Mother stepped through the door, closing it behind her before she set her eyes on Caethya and froze for a brief moment. The Demigoddess herself had barely noticed the slight stutter in Aperio''s step, but it still caused a smile to play across her lips.


    "Is that dress new?" Aperio asked, spreading her wings to their full length before wrapping them and her arms around Caethya. The Demigoddess gave a nod at the question causing Aperio to smile. "It looks good on you."


    The affection Caethya could feel through the bond she shared with Aperio was hard to describe, and most certainly something most people would not expect. When people met Aperio, they invariably expected her to be cold and uncaring. Perhaps even that she would throw them through the nearest wall.


    Caethya brushed her hand over Aperio''s arm, still not quite understanding how the All-Mother could be so soft with the amount of muscle she had. But, that was kind of a theme with Aperio. She looked intimidating, but once you got to know her a little more, it turned out that the scary Creator liked to spend her days floating in the nothing of her Void with Caethya in her embrace as they talked about nothing in particular.


    "Something wrong?" Aperio asked, placing her hand on Caethya''s own and removing it from her arm. "You seem a little¡­ lost."


    "Nothing''s wrong," Caethya replied, offering Aperio a smile. "Just excited." She clasped the All-Mother''s hand between hers. "We''ve been together for a while, but this is the first time we¡¯re going anywhere just to enjoy ourselves."


    "And you still haven''t told me what we will do," Aperio said, folding her wings behind her back as she tilted her head. "Just that we will go to Spicor."


    "Because it''s a surprise!"


    "You mentioned that already," Aperio said, taking a step backwards after freeing her hands. "I changed it a little like you asked," she continued, gesturing to her dress. The usual dark blue garment she wore had undergone some slight alterations.


    The main addition was a few silver threads that formed tiny interlocking wings that circled down her skirt, mimicking the armlet the All-Mother now always wore. Aperio did not have a symbol for her church yet ¡ª not an official one at least ¡ª and Caethya had made it a point to get the All-Mother to think of something.


    "Why did you want me to add that, anyway?" Aperio asked, poking a finger at the slightly glowing threads. "I know I need to come up with something for the church, but why do I need it on my dress?"


    "You wanted to blend in, right?" Caethya asked, waiting for Aperio to nod before she continued. "Well, if you are someone with any form of authority, you display your crest on your person somehow.


    "Our family does it with jewellery," she continued, turning her head slightly and pointing at the ornament she had painstakingly woven into her hair. "But, I know that besides your armlet you are not really a fan of ornamentation, so having it in your dress is a good alternative."


    The All-Mother blinked at her words, brushing her fingers over the armlet before she squinted at Caethya. "If I already wear it anyway, why have it in my dress as well? That makes no sense."


    "Ah, well," Caethya began, interlocking her fingers in every which way as she tried to figure out how to best explain the situation to Aperio. "The armlet itself would not be recognised in that manner¡­" She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "It''s complicated. Just trust me with this. It''s easier to simply have it on the dress and avoid awkward questions."


    The All-Mother offered a shrug in response, her wings flaring out slightly as she did. "Where on Spicor are we going then?"


    "Ahl Ghave," Caethya replied after a moment of silence. She had expected Aperio to just undo her modifications to the dress and simply deal with anyone that tried to tell her off when it happened. Poor guards would have to work so much overtime.


    "Ahl Ghave?"


    "The city I grew up in," Caethya said, offering her hand to Aperio again. "It''s quite important for the Republic, being the biggest port city and all."


    "And they will just let me in without a fuss?" Aperio asked, a few wisps of mana starting to dance around her form as she took Caethya''s hand. "Mortals seem to have a problem with my strength until they learn who I am."


    Caethya waved her off. "As long as you don''t do too much fancy magics, we should be fine. And even then, Mayeia is the main deity in Ahl Ghave. We can just ask for her help if we need it."


    "Hopefully that won''t be needed," Aperio said, her wings disappearing as she opened a portal that led to a large expanse of green beyond.


    "You don''t have to hide your wings if you don''t want to," Caethya said, her words causing the All-Mother to tilt her head.


    "But they make it very obvious I am not a mortal?"


    "Yes," the Demigoddess replied, "but I also know you don''t like hiding them, and you should enjoy yourself today instead of trying your best to blend in. The dress is enough, and doesn¡¯t cause you pain. I''ll deal with anyone who takes issue with your wings."


    "And what does ''dealing with them'' entail?" Aperio asked, her wings spreading behind her before she folded them behind her back, making them almost look like a feathery cape. A beautiful, impressively soft cape


    "Stern words," Caethya declared, placing her hands on her hip as she tried to make herself appear a little bit larger. "And maybe some punching if they are rude.


    "But," she continued, resuming her normal stance and taking Aperio''s hand, "that shouldn''t be needed though. The Festival of Life has its second coming now, and people like to dress up for that. Yes, even some fake wings wouldn''t be unthinkable."


    "Festival of Life?" Aperio asked, tilting her head lightly. "Wasn''t that something celebrated in Ebenlowe when I first arrived there a few¡­" Her voice trailed off, the All-Mother cocking her head to the other side as she tried to recall how long ago that was. "Whenever it was when I first got there. Is it supposed to last that long?"


    "You don''t know?" Caethya asked.


    "Know what?"


    "What the Festival of Life is about and how it works," the Demigoddess replied.


    "I don''t, no," Aperio said. "Should I?"


    "As an Elf? Yeah, probably." Caethya smoothed over her dress as she sat herself down on the edge of Aperio¡¯s bed. "I''ll give you the brief version. But before I do that I have to ask you some questions, even though I don''t know how any of it ever applied to you."


    "And what would those be?" Aperio asked, tilting her head ever-so-slightly.


    The movement caused Caethya to smile a little before she spoke again. "You never had to deal with suitors and the social norms that surround that, right?" Aperio nodded. "You probably also did not pay much mind to how frequently a Human can have children when compared to an Elf, correct?"


    The All-Mother cocked her head to the other side. "Not really, no. I was never interested in having a child, and neither would an Elf be allowed to have one. All I know is that those ''nobles'' had too many."


    "Well," Caethya began with a slight incline of her head, "we only get a chance every few years, so the point where the most women were able to bear a child turned into an event of sorts.. That was the part you saw in Ebenlowe."


    The Demigoddess took a deep breath, trying to hide the bit of redness that had creeped into the tips of her ears. "Nowadays it¡¯s mostly for people to have fun for a week, and for the children of the aristocracy that have come of age to make their debut.


    "But," she continued, "the second part, the one you will see on Spicor, is for those who are now expecting as well as those who found someone during the first part."


    "So it''s quite literally celebrating life?" the All-Mother asked, seemingly unphased by the topic. "A pleasant surprise. Something is named appropriately."


    "Why was I even worried," Caethya mumbled with a sigh. She wasn''t even sure why she was worried, as Aperio was not particularly squeamish ¡ª or modest, for that matter. The amount of times Aperio had forgotten to make sure her dress would survive a fight was¡­ more than one, and the amount of times the All-Mother had cared about her state of undress was still exactly zero.


    "Should I bring anything to the festival?" Aperio inquired, her ever-shifting eyes fixed on Caethya. "All the festivities I can recall involved a gift, clothing restrictions or some other arbitrary rule."


    "It''s fine," Caethya began, her ears and cheeks flushing red. "You are, uhm, with me after all. This part of the festival primarily exists so people who found someone can celebrate."


    The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before she appeared in front of Caethya with a smile on her face. She held out her hand, gently pulling the Demigoddess to her feet after she had taken it. "Then we shall enjoy ourselves, no?"


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Side Story – Caethya 2: Save the Date

    Caethya squeezed Aperio''s hand as the two of them appeared on the green fields just outside of Ahl Ghave, in front of the gateway that connected most of the major cities on Verenier and making it look like they stepped out of it. In the past she would have put us straight into the city.


    A guard in gleaming white and green armour was quick to approach them, only to hesitate when the All-Mother glanced at him. Don''t you worry, Caethya thought. She is quite nice.


    "Papers, I assume?" the Demigoddess asked. After the guard gave a court nod, Caethya produced a small metal card with her family''s crest on it from her [Dimensional Storage] and handed it to him. "Everything should have been cleared already."


    The guard looked at the card for a moment before he placed it on a small indentation on the armour of his left forearm. A green light pulsed once before he focused on a window only he could see. And Aperio. The All-Mother tilted her head slightly as she looked at the same bit of empty space as the guard, likely reading the System notification he had received.


    "That seems quite handy," she commented, causing the guard to stiffen a little. "I would love to know how it interacts with the System like that."


    "A prayer to the Goddess of Magic would be a good start," the guard said, his voice surprisingly steady. He handed back the card, offering Caethya a nod before he stepped aside. "Welcome home, Lady Martinek. The Festival of Life is in full swing, I hope you enjoy your stay."


    "Oh, I will," the Demigoddess replied with a small smile, lifting Aperio''s hand slightly before she led the All-Mother towards the gate that connected the gateway terminal to Ahl Ghave proper.


    The guard did not comment, but Caethya could sense him let out a long breath and take a seat once they stepped out of sight. Aperio had noticed too, as she let out a sigh of her own, her wings and shoulders slumping a little.


    "I thought a small comment would help," she said with a slight shake of her head. "Apparently I was wrong."


    "A powerful newcomer asking about one of the more closely guarded secrets of Ahl Ghave will catch most people off guard," Caethya said. "But, you are a Moon Elf, so he likely won''t think too much of it."


    "Ah yes," Aperio said, a small, private projection of a moon exploding appearing in front of the two of them. "Moon-destroying hermit Elf. A classic."


    Caethya giggled at the All-Mother''s words. Aperio''s humour ¡ª if one could call it that ¡ª never failed to make the Demigoddess smile. Even with stupid stuff like that. Aperio was well aware that she looked like a Moon Elf; she had used the [Elder of the Moons] cover quite a lot, after all. Might be worth actually getting that title for her. I bet they would be honored.


    "Your humour needs some work," the Demigoddess said, standing on her toes and motioning for the All-Mother to move herself a little closer. As soon as Aperio had lowered her head enough, Caethya placed a quick kiss on her check. "But I love it nonetheless."


    For a brief moment Caethya thought she could see a hint of redness in Aperio''s cheeks and ears, but the All-Mother wrapped her arm and wing around her and briefly obscured her vision with soft, black feathers. "I am the peak."


    "Of course you are," the Demigoddess replied with a small giggle, mirroring Aperio and slinging an arm around her waist. "Such a fearsome comedian."


    The gate that would usually guard the entrance to the main street of Ahl Ghave was open, adorned with flowers and various banners that proclaimed greetings to any traveller that had come for the Festival of Life.


    Only a few guards stood at the sides, none of them sparing the pair more than a glance. As behaved as ever, Caethya mused. Should check up on Vylca and Kaemo when I get the chance. Both of the siblings ¡ª sister and brother respectively ¡ª had taken up duties in the guard when she had left for Vetus. Probably Captains by now.


    She might be the only one in her family with a blessing of a Goddess, but that did not mean that her siblings were any less skilled or eager to prove themselves. If Caethya was honest with herself, she would probably have to say that they were a bit more diligent in their studies than she was. Magic was simply always easy.


    "Making more plans?" Aperio asked, smiling at Caethya.


    The Demigoddess offered a small nod at the words. "In a way, yes. I thought of visiting some of my siblings while I am already here. Haven''t seen them since I left."


    "If you wish," the All-Mother said, her eyes darting left to right as she looked at the mass of people that moved through the streets of Ahl Ghave.


    Caethya gave Aperio''s hand a small squeeze as they stepped into the crowd. While it might not make much sense, she knew that her Goddess did not truly feel comfortable with all these people around. How much of the city is she allowing herself to see?


    "Full swing was an understatement," Aperio said, fixing her eyes on Caethya. "How are you supposed to get anywhere with this many people here?"


    "I don''t think that will be an issue for us," Caethya said, nodding towards the small path that appeared in front of the All-Mother. "Crowds have a tendency to part for you."


    "And what if they do not magically make way for you?" Aperio asked, stopping Caethya as a group of children rushed through the crowd in front of them.


    "We make do," the Demigoddess replied with a shrug. She tugged at Aperio''s arm a little, causing the All-Mother to focus on her. "Follow me."


    "Where are we going?" Aperio asked as she used her wings to move some banners that hung a little too low for her out of the way.


    "A nice little place I know," Caethya replied, entering one of the many alleyways that ran through Ahl Ghave. "I think you''ll like it."


    "And what would that be?" Aperio asked, falling into step beside Caethya.


    Aperio was not a small woman, and normally even the Demigoddess would have already had to squeeze through some of the alleyways. Not today, however. How exactly the All-Mother managed to walk right next to her in the narrow passage was not something Caethya wanted to question at the moment. Probably by breaking reality a little.


    "You''ll see when we get there, it''s not much farther."


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly but did not ask again, likely trying to determine which of the many restaurants, bars, and cafes Caethya had meant.


    Another turn brought the two divines back onto a main road filled with mortals wandering every which way. It did not compare to the main street, but the presence of hundreds of people walking along the cobblestone roads still made for an impressive sound. One that Aperio still did not seem to be quite comfortable around.


    "Still too loud?" Caethya asked, placing her hand on her Goddess'' shoulder as best she could. "I thought it was fine when you did not react to the crowd on the main street."


    "It''s fine," Aperio replied as she carefully observed the crowd of people moving around them. "It''s just some comments about us that stood out."


    "Oh? What do they say?"


    "Most are trying to figure out what kind of Elf I am," the All-Mother said, taking Caethya''s hand into her own and looking at her expectantly.


    The Demigoddess caught on fairly quickly and started walking towards a rather unassuming building that housed a small restaurant and bar she used to frequent while she still lived in Ahl Ghave. "What do they think you are? It''s pretty obvious you are a Moon Elf."


    Aperio just raised a brow as she looked at Caethya. "Well yes, but they do have a point. Normally we come without wings," she said, spreading her feathered limbs a little.


    And don''t loom over everyone, the Demigoddess added in her mind. While Aperio was not actually a Moon Elf, she mostly looked and behaved like one. As far as she knows, she was one after all¡­


    "True," she replied to her Goddess, "but it''s not a given that you won''t have them." As if reality itself wanted to emphasize her point, a pair of Beastkin was conveniently near, both of whom sported a pair of wings on their own. She tilted her head in their general direction. "Just rare," she added.


    The All-Mother only offered a shrug. "Still stands out. More than I would without them, anyway."


    Caethya held up her hand to stop Aperio, as simply halting in her tracks was not an option with the All-Mother. "We are here!"


    "This?" Aperio asked, eyeing the rather unassuming facade of the stone building they had stopped in front of. "Why would a Wood Elf live in the city? In a house completely made from stone, too?"


    "You found Enjeria, then," Caethya said with a giggle. "He doesn''t like trees, the forest, or anything else that gave the Wood Elves that name." She pushed open the door, waving at the waiter who turned to face them at the sound of a little bell. Caethya looked over her shoulder, tugging at the All-Mother''s arm as she attempted to step further inside. "Come in!"


    Aperio obliged, ducking through the doorway and closing the door behind her with a touch of magic. "Cosy," she said, looking around a little before her eyes settled on the hearth. "Who enchanted that?"


    "I did," the voice of Enjeria sounded from behind the bar. "Just because I don''t hug trees doesn''t mean I eschew all of our traditions. The magic of the hearth is important to me as any other Wood Elf."


    "Just without the respect," the waiter said. He offered a nod to Aperio and a small smile to Caethya before snapping his fingers. In response to his action, the table shifted a little, growing slightly taller so it could better accommodate Aperio''s stature. "Please, have a seat. I will be with you shortly."


    The All-Mother eyed the wooden chair for a moment before sitting down. "Don''t trust his magic?" Caethya asked with a small smile. She could feel Aperio''s mana flowing through the wood of the chair and even the stone floor.


    "He underestimated my weight," she replied, picking up the menu that had appeared on the table. "Maybe I should take that as a compliment."


    "Perhaps," Caethya replied, wondering if she should inquire exactly how heavy Aperio was. In the end, she decided against it. While she could not pick the All-Mother up, she was not in danger of being squished when they cuddled and that was all that mattered. "Gonna actually eat something today?"


    "If I knew what any of this was supposed to be, maybe." Aperio looked up from the menu. "I did come to spend the day with you, however. Like I said before, what we do doesn''t really matter as long as I can do it with you."


    "May I order for you then?" the Demigoddess asked, a sly smile gracing her lips.


    "Sure."


    Almost as soon as Aperio had answered the waiter appeared again. He took the menu the All-Mother offered him and looked expectantly at Caethya. "May I have your order?"


    "I think you already know," she replied, handing over her own menu.


    "Pormeni¨®n it is," the waiter said with a slight bow. "You are lucky that Enjeria bought all he needs for it today. Almost as if he knew you were coming."


    The Demigoddess did not reply, only offering a slightly wider smile to the waiter.


    "I assume you know these two?" Aperio asked, brushing a few errant strands of hair out of her face.


    "I do," Caethya replied. " I met Enjeria and Gustavo through the Adventurers Guild and they have always been good friends since then. They just got a little old and decided to retire from adventuring," Noting that the All-Mother had placed her hands onto the table, seemingly unsure where to put them, she reached out and took one of those elegant hands into her own.


    "One thirty isn''t old!" the voice of Enjeria called from the kitchen, his words underlined with the sharp sizzling of meat as he prepared the dinner they had ordered. "It''s like the new forty," he said as he poked his head through the window that connected the bar to the kitchen. His eyes flicked to Aperio. "You''ll get it when you are older."


    "I know nothing about that," Aperio replied, glancing at the Wood Elf. "I don''t even know how old I am."


    "Old enough?" Caethya guessed with a small wink, giving Aperio''s hand a gentle squeeze. The All-Mother gave a small laugh at her tease, the fire in the hearth growing just a little warmer at the ethereal sound.


    "When you find the right one," Enjeria began as he retreated back into the kitchen. "You just start to long for a slower life."


    "I always wanted a simple life," the All-Mother said, shifting her gaze back to Caethya. "Maybe I can finally have one."


    "Maybe," the Demigoddess replied, moving just a little bit closer, "you can."


    Aperio mirrored her motion, freeing one of her hands and carefully holding it against Caethya''s cheek as their lips briefly touched.


    "I hope I can have one with you," Aperio said, an all-too-rare smile gracing her lips.


    GamingWolf


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 Side Story – Caethya 3: Bonding

    GamingWolf


    Caethya tapped her chin as she looked at Aperio. Trying to make her love appear less intimidating was harder than she had thought. "I think your usual blue is the best bet."


    "Told you," Aperio replied as her dress turned back to the usual dark blue. "It simply works better with my wings and eyes."


    "And you like blue," Caethya added, her eyes briefly lingering on a scarf before she shook her head. Aperio did not wear anything around her neck, and Caethya was not about to suggest otherwise.


    "I do." Aperio nodded as she ran her hands over her now-normal dress. "But why are we doing this, anyway? Aren''t you just introducing me to your brother and your sister?"


    "Well yes, but¡­" Her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered to the ceiling. Now that she thought about it, why was she trying to make Aperio less intimidating? "I don''t know? I just felt like that''s what I should do?"


    Aperio appeared next to Caethya, observing her reflection as she ran her hands over her dress to highlight her physique just a tad more. "¡­Do you think I should change how I look?"


    "No," Caethya replied, taking Aperio''s hands into her own. "Vylca and Kaemo... I don''t know, I''m just used to making sure everything follows the rules to a tee when I meet up with them." She shook her head. "You don''t have to change anything, you are perfect as you are, okay?"


    The All-Mother observed herself in the mirror as she traced her left arm with her free hand, seeming to tilt her head slightly in response to the way she moved. Then, strangely, she simply looked down at her body as if what her reflection had shown her was a lie.


    "I never really looked at myself, you know?" her love began. "As a slave I did not like what I saw, and avoided my reflection whenever possible. Then, when I came back, I never felt the need to see what I looked like. The only time I actively observed my own reflection was shortly after my return, and that was only to make sure my ears were actually back." As if to underline her words Aperio moved her ears ever-so-slightly, and Caethya was sure she could spot the faintest hint of redness at their edges.


    "Does any other Elf look like this?" Aperio continued, gesturing to herself in the mirror. She frowned for a moment before she turned her armlet a fraction of a degree and gave herself a nod. "Minus the wings, of course."


    Caethya stepped behind her love, wrapping her arms around her waist while looking past her at the mirror. Aperio certainly was a lot more built than many people, but she was far from the only one. Only difference is that she can actually throw you into the sun.


    "There are some," Caethya replied, slowly running her hands over Aperio''s stomach. "But does it matter? If you are happy with what you have, that''s all that counts, no?"


    "I guess? But I also want you to like me."


    Caethya scrunched her brows slightly in reply. "If I didn''t like you, I would not be here. You know that I love you no matter how you look." She squinted at their reflection, causing Aperio to close her mouth again. "I would even still love you if you decided to become some cosmic cloud again. I would miss cuddling, though."


    "Lucky you," Aperio said with a smile on her face. "I hate being without a body, and I quite like this one."


    Caethya pulled back slightly to rest her head against Aperio''s, between the base of her wings. Her love''s extra limbs shuddered slightly as she did and Aperio took a step back, causing Caethya to hold even tighter.


    That was another upside to being with Aperio. She did not have to care for how much strength she used, unlike some of her past encounters. No matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to hurt her love. Physically, at least.


    "What did you do?" Aperio moved her wings, stretching them to their full length before folding them over Caethya. "That felt¡­ weird."


    The Demigoddess pulled her head back slightly. "I just rested against your back." She placed one of her hands on the spot, letting some of her mana flow through her palm so Aperio could more easily spot it. "Here, between your wings."


    Her love shifted slightly in response to the mana, but a moment later Caethya found herself pulled away by Aperio''s arm.


    "Something wrong?" the Demigoddess asked, her eyes focused on Aperio''s own. Her love looked uncertain ¡ª lost, perhaps, or torn ¡ª as well as a little bit hurt. It was a combination Caethya didn''t feel good about at all. "Should I not do that again?"


    "Please don''t," Aperio whispered in reply with a shake of her head. She protectively pressed her wings against her back, her gaze unable to meet Caethya''s. "Not now."


    "Does it hurt?"


    "No," the All-Mother replied with another hesitant shake of her head. "Just... please don''t for now, okay?"


    "Of course," Caethya replied and shifted her gaze to her feet. She mumbled her next words. "I''m sorry."


    Aperio lowered herself slightly to be on eye-level with Caethya and carefully lifted her head. "It''s fine," she said, but the awkward smile she offered only showed the Demigoddess the inner anguish her love was going through. "I just need more time."


    ''I did not know'' was what she wanted to say, but that did not excuse what she had done. Even if Aperio had stopped her as soon as she had felt uncomfortable, the feeling that she had gone too far was still there. It was something Caethya did not like, especially when she considered all that had potentially happened in the mortal part of her love''s life.


    Before Caethya could form any more thoughts, she found herself wrapped tightly in Aperio''s arms and wings. The mana of her love slowly flowed around her, bringing a touch of warming comfort whenever it brushed against her skin. Like all things Aperio did, the amount of mana that soon flowed around the Demigoddess far outstripped anything that she would deem reasonable.


    "Everything okay?" she asked as she carefully brushed a few strands of Caethya''s hair behind her ears. The All-Mother paused briefly, as the action revealed the wing-like ornaments the Demigoddess had chosen to adorn her ears with. Aperio traced her finger along the edge of Caethya''s ear as she pulled her hand back, her eyes fixed on the black metal her ornament was comprised of. "They''re pretty¡­"


    "I could have some made for you," Caethya said, taking Aperio''s free hand into her own. "Might take a while though; gathering enough black dragon scales will take a while."


    The All-Mother considered her words for a moment, likely trying to determine if she should just make them on her own. "I would like that," she said eventually, gently resting her head against Caethya''s. "Thank you."


    After holding on for a moment longer and letting even more of her mana dance around Caethya, the All-Mother stood up to her full height again and carefully stretched her wings. Caethya smiled slightly as she caught her love glancing in the mirror again and striking a pose for the briefest of moments. That''s how it should always be.


    "Are you ready?" she asked, stepping past Aperio and picking up the scarf she intended to wear. "I would like us to be there before either of them arrive."


    "Oh?" Aperio asked, offering her hand for Caethya to take. "And why is that?"


    "Well," the Demigoddess began as she gladly took Aperio''s offered hand, "I like the idea of spending a bit of time with you there first. Have you get to know the servants and, perhaps more importantly, have the servants get used to you."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the words. "They know who I am?"


    Caethya nodded "They do. When I first met you, and again when I actually knew what I felt, I told my parents. I don''t doubt that they told some servants who, in turn, told others." She paused for a moment, looking up at her love''s worried face. "It''s gonna be fine. The servants we hire are professionals, and people outside our estate will think it''s just a rumor."


    "Let''s hope they don''t turn into bowing maniacs as soon as we arrive."


    Caethya gave Aperio a small smile as she let go of her love''s hand and wrapped her arm around her waist instead. The All-Mother followed suit only a moment later, gently holding onto Caethya as well as wrapping one of her wings around the Demigoddess.


    A moment later, the world twisted itself apart, forcing Caethya to close her eyes. The ever-shifting kaleidoscope of colours that lingered beyond physical reality was not something she could look at just yet. Though, my Class certainly helps. Whatever the System, and probably also Aperio, had done to her body and mind when she had received her [Avatar of Creation] Class had helped a great deal with the frankly weird things Aperio tended to do with the world.


    Excursions to space, flying around at multiple times the speed of sound, or being in the presence of Aperio''s Void were all things she had once regarded as scary. They had nevertheless always been enjoyable ¡ª mostly because Aperio was there, and being with her always somehow made her feel better.


    When she opened her eyes again, Caethya was greeted by a sight she had not seen in far too long: the estate her family owned in Ahl Ghave. It was usually inhabited by both her brother and her sister, as it was large enough to house both them and their prospective families ¡ª once they actually started one. Vylca would likely be the first.


    He had even gone so far as to ask her father''s approval, something the man had just quirked an eyebrow at, telling the prospective husband that he didn''t choose for anyone but himself. That had already been a weird evening, but it was only made weirder when Kaemo introduced his own boyfriend. That didn''t work out, though. They had separated shortly after that evening for reasons that were not quite clear to Caethya. Her brother had simply said that it did not work, and she had not inquired further. Since then, she had not heard anything new in that regard from Kaemo.


    "Welcome, my Lady," one of the guards said, offering a small bow to Caethya and then to Aperio. "Please follow me." He turned around and stepped through the gate that had been opened by the other guards as he spoke. "Your family has yet to arrive, but I am sure my Lady already knew that."


    "I did," Caethya replied with a small smile. "Did they tell you to prepare my quarters as well? Maybe also to clean out the courtyard and put my old training equipment in?"


    "They did," the guard replied and, without missing a beat, took a sharp turn. "I assume you wish to go there?"


    "Of course!"


    Aperio simply raised a brow at the exchange. While she did not say anything, it was obvious that it was not what she expected to happen. Caethya could feel the mana of her love flow around her and through the estate, almost like invisible hands poking at everything to see what they were made of.


    "While I welcome your enthusiasm, I have to ask you to restrain yourself," the guard said without having turned around. "You broke them often enough when you were young, and the targets have only gotten slightly better since then." He paused for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at Aperio. "Your partner might break a few of them with her presence alone. The wards on the older models were not made for mana-rich environments."


    "That is fine," Aperio replied with a wave of her hand. "I can simply direct my mana around the extra weak ones."


    Caethya let out a small giggle at the guard¡¯s faltering step and leaned a bit more heavily against Aperio. "You''ll get used to it," she said, offering the man a smile as he turned to face her. "If it comes to mana control, she can do basically anything."


    "Of course," he replied and bowed without slowing down. "I will endeavour to do better."


    The voice of her love echoed in her mind, asking what exactly they would do in a training area neither of them could use. Caethya simply waved her off and gave her her best smile. "Just want to show you a few things."


    "Alright," Aperio replied as the armour she usually wore slowly appeared over her dress.


    Caethya motioned for the guard to continue as he had briefly stopped upon witnessing Aperio''s display. He had nothing to worry about, as Aperio was just having a little fun. But then, he probably hasn''t seen someone casually summon armour that has its own magical aura. Like with most things her love did, Aperio had gone above and beyond, fashioning herself protection that was stronger than what most kingdoms used on their castles. And she probably did not even intend for it to be that strong.


    It was a good thing that she had not chosen to outfit her entire church with weapons and armour she had personally made. Even the most pious follower would be tempted to do silly things if their equipment made them essentially invulnerable to anyone but those who had ascended past the realms of mortality.


    Walking past the last edge of the main building of the estate and through a reinforced gate, the group entered the courtyard. What greeted them was a familiar sight, at least to Caethya, who had seen the training dummies and targets a great many times before. What she had not seen, however, were the pockets of slightly less mana dense space that now surrounded much of the training equipment.


    "This is better equipped than I had thought," Aperio commented, removing her arm and wing from Caethya and appearing next to one of the racks filled with weapons. She picked up a sword ¡ª a weapon the Demigoddess had never seen her love use ¡ª and spun it with her hand with a surety and ease that belied the fact this was likely the first time she had picked one up. "Awfully flimsy, though."


    "Everything is flimsy for you," Caethya said as she approached another of the weapon racks to pick up one of the bows she had once used to train with. Her love had been right; the wooden weapon felt a lot less substantial than she remembered. "I guess that also applies to me now."


    The guard that had led them here shifted his gaze between Aperio and Caethya before bowing towards both. "If you need anything, please call for Sebastian."


    "He still works here?" Caethya asked, lowering the bow she had been messing with.


    "Indeed," a new voice called from behind; one belonging to a man Caethya had still not seen coming despite her newly improved senses. "I have no intention of leaving, my Lady."


    Before replying, Caethya motioned towards the guard. "You may return to your post."


    Aperio eyed the aging butler for a moment before she appeared behind Caethya and gently wrapped her arms around the Demigoddess. "What do we do now?"


    "I¡¯ll show you the rest of my part of the estate," Caethya replied. And then you will meet the first few members of my family.


    "Alright," Aperio replied, taking her love''s hand into her own. "Show me."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 158: Proper Judgement

    GamingWolf


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    The outfit ¨C if you could call it that ¨C of the first mortal that walked in was tattered rags, with heavy shackles around his wrists and ankles as accent pieces. Aperio already wanted to do nothing more than take her weapon and remove a few heads from the nobles that were present.


    When she had arrived at the meeting, she took a moment to look at everyone''s Soul, using [Identify] with a little more mana than she usually would. That the System would show her a summary of a person''s life was not what she had expected, but it had been a most welcome surprise. But I cannot be sure if the information is accurate.


    The System was still far from repaired, and when going through the summaries it had given her, Aperio had already noticed a few things that did not quite add up. Like the one where it had said that the [Grandmaster] was a bunch of meaningless squiggles. Almost like those that were on my [Status] when I first viewed it after returning. It would seem that there was a reason the System usually limited the amount of mana it took for skills, as too much led to weird replies.


    Not that it mattered now. Aperio had gotten the gist of what she wanted to know. Mostly that nobody here has a marred Soul and everyone has a Class. The fact that the mortals just¡­ accepted that Classes were a thing now was still not something that made a whole lot of sense to Aperio, but even if she were feeling up to complaining about the matter, now was certainly not the time.


    The All-Mother raised her hand, stopping one of the council members from introducing the mortal who had just been brought in. She did not need them to talk ¡ª or do anything at all, really. The list that Lady Vinmaier had compiled was remarkably extensive, and while Aperio had not taken the time to give the mortals the illusion that she had read it, she instead simply opted to let her aura inform her of everything the papers contained. Her goal here was not to appear friendly but to make a point. To set an example.


    "Mortal," Aperio began as soon as the accused had come to a stop in front of her. The Human flinched at her words, the mana that washed over them tearing through the disgusting mess of runes that had been etched into their back. "You have been condemned to a life of servitude by those who would want to see the world bend to their will." A thought, and little more care for the fabric of reality than usual, caused many more mortals to appear standing beside the first accused. "Their time is over."


    The All-Mother ignored the whispers that ran through the chamber, instead adding a touch more mana to her magic that had expanded the inside of the room. She had brought in all the mortals that had been enslaved for ''crimes'' that should, at most, have been punished with a night in prison. The ones she would have to make a harsher judgment for would have to wait a little, but Aperio did not plan on sitting here all day. She had examples to make.


    Aperio glanced at Lady Vinmaier for a moment before she waved and let her mana scrub the mortals before her clean of the last vestiges of slavery. The idea that there had been a time in which she could not do this, or had questioned herself that she could, seemed ridiculous now. It only required a thought to erase the runes that had been etched into their clothing, jewelry, or even skin. A close inspection of some of them revealed something further. A trick the mortals in charge seemed to have learned, and one that only furthered Aperio''s anger.


    Some creatively twisted individual had decided to place the runes required for the slavery enchantment on the inside of a person ¡ª on the inverse side of their skin. So maybe that Beastkin was a slave after all? She had not found anything that would indicate that when she had observed Jester Vinmaier and the Beastkin woman, but considering what kind of family he came from, this new method she found made a lot more sense for them. Disgusting.


    Her aura flared a little at the thought, causing the murmurs that had been spreading through the chamber to quiet in an instant. The All-Mother seized the opportunity to address the collection of mortals in front of her. "You are free to go," she said, lifting her hand and gesturing to an empty bit of space. A moment later, reality peeled itself back, forming a door-sized portal that led to her temple. "Those of you who do not know where to go are welcome to stay at my temple while I proceed with this¡­ ''trial''.¡±


    There were some more murmurs at her choice of words, but Aperio ignored them. Instead, she offered the few mortals that stared at her the barest of smiles and slightly inclined her head towards the portal she had made. In the span of time it took for the newly-freed mortals to leave, the All-Mother examined a few of the more complex cases that had been brought before her.


    The ones she had just set free were easy to judge, as were the ones that would lose their life today. It was the ones that she was now looking at that caused Aperio to wrack her brain. She had their names and knew what crimes they committed, but she did not know why they had done it. Her excessive squinting and use of far too much mana resulted in a bit more information, but most of that was sadly still unusable for her. Random squiggles simply did not tell her enough.


    An old acquaintance made itself known at the back of her mind as Aperio mulled over possible ways to proceed. The tiny voice called for her to simply reach into their minds and take out their desires, their wishes ¡ª and with that, their truth.


    She did not listen to that voice.


    It did, however, give her another idea as to how she could proceed. One that was much more reasonable and did not require her to break her own rules.


    A thought was all she needed to ask the Judges if they would offer their help in the matter; something they agreed to a little too fast for Aperio''s liking. Still, their nature was exactly what she needed right now, and the fact they were willing to help her was good. Just maybe contemplate the request for a moment longer.


    Sharing what she knew about the harder cases with them ¡ª and Caethya, for good measure ¡ª only took a moment. The same was true for the matter of bringing both of the Judges into the room Aperio currently occupied. The fact that the mortals here had never seen a Celestial before did not interest her. Knowledge of the [Court of Heaven] should not be a secret.


    "Welcome," Aperio said, a wave of her hand creating two high-backed chairs for the Judges to use. "We can continue, then."


    Another unneeded motion of her hand caused the door to open and the next Accused to be guided in by an invisible hand made from her mana. The guards that held them reached for their weapons but a look from Aperio and a slight draw on her well to strengthen her aura was enough for them to understand. If only it was this easy to blend in¡­


    "Ihalin Jakura," the All-Mother began, her eyes fixed on the mortal before her. "You stand before me to be properly judged and punished for the crimes you have committed."


    The Elven woman gave a shallow nod but did not speak, her eyes never leaving Lady Vinmaier who was sitting off to the side with the rest of the other council members.


    "You do not need to fear her," Aperio said with a slightly raised brow. "She will be judged as well." The All-Mother paused briefly, letting her attention rest on everyone who had tensed at her words. "As will all those that think they have the right to make others their own.


    "Did you think I would free the ones you have enslaved and be content with that?" Aperio asked and stood up from her chair. "Did you think this is some kind of show for you to attend? A slap on the wrist because you have been naughty?" Her wings twitched slightly as she drew more heavily on her well, causing the magical lights that lit the room to dim as a bit of the mana powering them rushed towards the All-Mother. "This is not something you can just brush away. You will face judgement, just like your Gods have, and you will be punished for your transgressions."


    Aperio sat herself back down and briefly closed her eyes as her wings phased through the throne she had appropriated from her temple. The usual measure of calm the influx of mana from her well brought was not present today. Even Caethya''s mana slowly flowing around her did not manage to bring order to her thoughts.


    "Miss Jakura," Aperio said, her voice echoing through the chamber and quieting the whispers that had begun to fill it. "Do you think you should go free?"


    While the Elf opened and closed her mouth as she tried and failed to speak, Aperio mulled over what she knew about her in her mind. Ihalin Jakura deserved death in Aperio''s mind. She had sold her child to a noble house of a foreign nature, which was enough for her to write the woman off, but there had been a reason for her action. She had needed the money to buy medication for her husband and herself.


    To some people, this might even seem like a good deal. The child would not get to grow up with their actual parents, but it wouldn''t remember. The child would now simply live in a house that had the means to give proper care, perhaps even having better prospects for the future that way. For Aperio, however, this was not something she could see as good in any way. Perhaps it was because her own mother had sold her into slavery, but the mere idea of giving your child to somebody else did not sit right with her. Even if it says that the child was taken as heir to the family.


    The courts of Ebenlowe had decided that the act was punishable by a life as an indentured servant. The reason for that, however, was not that she had sold her child but the fact that she had done so to a family in a foreign nation; one that Ebenlowe did not have good relations with. Something I will address afterwards. Aperio had already decided that a few people who were currently on the council would not live past this day.


    "No," the Elven woman eventually replied. She lowered her head and grabbed the hem of her dress. "But not because I broke the law. Because I gave my son away." She locked eyes with the All-Mother, her breath only quickening slightly. "He should be the one to judge me."


    Aperio raised a brow and held up her hand to stop anyone from speaking on her behalf. A few of the mortals on the council had already moved to do so and she had no desire for them to start shouting that she deserved more respect. That is earned, not given. Just as she would not respect anyone simply because of their status, she would not expect others to do the same with her. Even if it feels wrong.


    "Your son is not here to judge you, and neither would he be able to," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as the Light Judge flooded her with information about the mortal in question. How the Celestial had managed to gather all this information so quickly was not something she knew, but it was helpful nonetheless. "He has never been told who you were. As far as he knows, he is an orphan who was adopted because his parents could not have a child on their own.


    "Neither does it matter," she continued, placing her hand on her chest. "I will judge you. Not anyone else."


    The only problem in this entire process was that she did not know what other options Ebenlowe had to punish crimes. They surely had a prison of some kind, but Aperio doubted putting all who did not deserve to die in there was a proper solution. And forcing them to work for someone else is basically what they already do. Just without the whole slavery rune thing.


    "The only question is what punishment is just." Aperio ignored the slight crawling of her skin and instead narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked past the mortal shell of the Elven woman. Her first instinct had been to kill her for giving away her child, but now that she knew more about the son in question, she was no longer so sure. "Enslavement is not the answer ¡ª it never is ¡ª but death is too harsh a punishment. And serving your time in a prison seems unfitting as well." She let out a sigh, causing the lights in the room to briefly brighten. "That leaves public service." Which is just slavery to multiple masters instead of one.


    "We have plenty of things that need doing," O''lymni said as she stood up from her chair. "And I think serving the public is a better punishment than the family that paid the court the most that day. Or to whose family that judge belongs." She smoothed out a few imperceptible creases in her robe. "Ebenlowe is always in need of a helping hand, and who better to help fix it than the people who broke its laws?"


    The All-Mother turned her head to face the [Grandmaster]. Looking at her might not have been necessary, but Aperio preferred, in this case, to have her facial expressions be seen by the one bringing them about. O''lymni''s suggestion made sense, but the mere idea of having someone serve a master or, in this case, a group of nobles, did not sit right with her. "While that is better than the current punishment, it still lets the Council trap their own people in an endless cycle of what is essentially slavery."


    "Roots-Beneath-All could be the one who manages their sentences," the [Grandmaster] said. "It already manages most of the intercity planning anyway."


    Aperio raised a brow at the statement as well as mentally reprimanding herself for the past few minutes. Her intent with this had been to make a point, but now she was falling back to her usual attempts to make herself appear more mortal than she actually was. The warming touch of Caethya''s hand on her arm caused a small smile to spread across the All-Mother''s lips. Perhaps it was for the best if she let the mortals do most of the actual problem solving? She did not want to guide the ways of the world after all, but to make sure that no person owned another.


    The All-Mother returned her gaze to the mortal before her. She was not fond of any of the options, but the last one seemed like the best. Even if it''s slavery-extra-light. If she applied her standard for such things to anything else, it quickly became obvious that her past might have influenced her view a little much. Technically, she could also classify every Adventurer as a slave, but it was clear that they weren''t.


    She heaved another sigh and shook her head. "Roots-Beneath-All will oversee any sentence of public service in Ebenlowe," she said, keeping her gaze fixed on the Elven woman. "But the Judges of the [Court of Heaven] will have the right to overrule any mortal court, as well as Roots itself."


    While she had not asked either of the Judges if they were okay with his, she had little doubt that it would be a problem. To no surprise, both Judges told her they would do their best just a moment later. What did surprise her was the request for the new Judge she had briefly seen in the [Court of Heaven] to also preside over some cases. Under the careful eye of the other two, of course. After a brief moment of consideration, the All-Mother simply gave them a nod. Then, with another thought, the runes on the pieces of jewelry Ihalin wore were erased.


    "Your new sentence will be to serve Ebenlowe itself to atone for what you have done," Aperio said. "Roots-Beneath-All as well as three Celestial Judges will oversee any such sentence. Trying to keep a mortal for longer will result in severe punishment." She paused for a moment, just so the mortals could properly prepare themselves for her next words. "Do not test me. If I have to come back to do something like this again, you will regret it."


    If she had a gavel, Aperio would have used it. As it stood, however, she simply waved her hand which caused the Elven woman to disappear and a Beastkin to take her place. This was a thing ¡ª calling the female Beastkin anything but a thing was generous ¨C and the only verdict for this one could be death. Even now, she stood hunched over, her head turning left to right as she took in every single person in the room. Her eyes stopped on Aperio and the All-Mother could have sworn that the Beastkin licked her lips before she tried to lunge forward.


    She did not move, of course. A thought at the back of Aperio''s mind was all it took to restrain her. "Oriya Karmwell," Aperio began, her eyes never leaving those of the Beastkin, "your sentence is death."


    There was no need for deliberation here. Oriya had killed her family, then proceeded to go on a days-long rampage through the only land-bound part of Ebenlowe before she was finally caught. According to the report she had in front of her ¡ª and the confirmation of the Judges ¡ª the only reason she was still around was because one of the noble families wanted to have a beast they could throw their prisoners to.


    "Be happy that the death I grant you is a quick one," Aperio began, raising her hand slightly. "Unlike those performed by your own hand."


    She pulled her hand down in a sharp motion. There was no scream, no blood. The Beastkin stood in the middle of the room, and then reality twisted itself in a blink. The next moment the body was gone, and all that was left behind was a lightly-glowing orb.


    With another, much gentler motion of the All-Mother''s hand the Soul disappeared. She had tried to see if anything was different about it; if she could find something that could explain what she had read, what the Judges had managed to show her. Sadly, her Soul had been like any other.


    The room remained quiet for a moment before Aperio brought in the next Accused, and then the next. She quickly came into a rhythm of bringing in a mortal, rereading the pertinent section in the council-provided papers, gleaning what she could from her own [Identify], then finally taking in the additional insights the Judges had to offer.


    For the first few she did most of the talking, letting the mortals know where she stood on the matter, but as it went on, Aperio grew more reserved. She still talked to each and every one of the Accused, but after giving her initial assessment she let the mortals in the room come to a decision, one she either accepted or overruled. Initially, she had not wanted to do that, but in the end it was better if they figured things out on their own. I won''t be judging them all, after all. She still had an Empire to raze.


    Aperio lost track of time as the rhythmic march of justice plodded onwards, but soon the last of the Accused was tried and taken care of as the situation saw fit. Looking back, the number of executions she had had to perform was a lot fewer than she had initially expected. Many had the Judges to thank for their new lease on life, as the two Celestials managed to pull relevant details out of seemingly thin air with almost careless ease. All of these details, when Aperio double checked via querying the individual in question, turned out to be true.


    With the first part of the day done, Aperio turned her gaze towards the council members themselves. "Lady Vinmaier," Aperio said, making sure to let just a little more of her mana wash over the woman. "It is your turn."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 159: Noblesse Oblige

    Before Lady Vinmaier had any time to use whatever magic she had been trying to invoke, Aperio appeared in front of her. She grabbed the other woman by her collar and effortlessly lifted her off of her feet. "What led you to believe that I would just let you go?"


    With no sympathy left for the woman and what she had done, the All-Mother unceremoniously threw her into the center of the chamber. As Aperio reappeared in her throne, murmurs began to spread through the room. She ignored them. It wasn''t necessary for her to have physically stopped Lady Vinmaier from trying something, nor did she have to throw her across the room, but it felt so good. Almost disturbingly so.


    "I have met plenty of mortals like you," Aperio said as she fixed her gaze onto the downed Human. "They thought that they were superior for reasons that I still fail to understand. That they had some God-given right to rule over others. I have not given such a right to anyone; will never give such a right to anyone."


    The only one who would forever be above everyone else was herself, and that was not because she wanted to but simply because she was. It was a truth she, and everyone else, had to accept. No matter how hard anyone tried, they would never be able to reach her. And how could they? Everything they used to become stronger was something she ¡ª or more accurately, her past self ¡ª had made available to them in some way, shape, or form.


    "Speak," Aperio commanded, still glaring at the mortal form of Lady Vinmaier. "Tell everyone why your son tried to collar me when I returned to this world." She grabbed hold of the armrests of her throne with a little too much force, causing a web of cracks to rush through the black marble. "Tell me!"


    The burning rage within her had risen as soon as she had turned her attention to Lady Vinmaier, and it was a mystery even to Aperio as to how she had remained calm during the entire mortal-judging ordeal.


    Just a short while ago, Aperio would have never brought this issue up; would have never even hinted at the circumstances that surrounded her return. But now, that had changed. The anger that continued to rise up inside her chest pushed away the thoughts of secrecy and the plain old wrong that had gradually made their way back into her mind. She wanted to kill the Human that cowered in front of her. Crush her very Soul.


    But she didn''t.


    "No more words?" Aperio asked, rising from her throne. Her wings spread slightly behind her as the light in the room dimmed again in concert with her pull on her well. "Does anyone else wish to argue for this mortal''s life?"


    Much to the All-Mother''s surprise, it was the [Grandmaster] who rose from her seat. She bowed slightly, keeping the posture as she spoke. "I do not have anything to say in favour of Lady Vinmaier, but I would like to point out that her death will leave the family in the hands of Lord Jester as his father passed away this morning."


    Aperio''s eyes snapped back to the cowering form of Lady Vinmaier. Something told her that the death of her husband was not something natural. "Anything you would like to add?"


    The only answer Aperio received was in the form of quiet sobs as tears began to roll down the woman''s face. The All-Mother could not help but frown at the Human. Why did she cry? What right did she have to be sad? She enslaved ¡ª tortured ¡ª others because she liked it; because she could. She did not deserve pity or remorse.


    "Would you like to tell me why the Beastkin I saw walk around with your other son is not here to be freed?" the All-Mother asked. "Did I not tell you to make a list of every slave here? Or did you think I only wanted to put on a show; that I wanted an offering of slaves to free?


    "Ridiculous," Aperio continued, a part of her mind already devoting itself to looking over every mortal that called Ebenlowe their home. "Why is it that mortals always think that I would not notice an omission like this? Or do you believe that I do not care?"


    "They fail to accept what you are," Caethya said quietly, her voice only heard by the All-Mother herself. "And Lady Vinmaier likely thought she would be spared if she at least pretended to fulfil your request."


    "Ridiculous," the All-Mother repeated herself, this time quieter and with a touch of magic so that only Caethya would hear. "It makes no sense. Does she want me to kill her?"


    No matter how hard she tried, Aperio could not figure out what Lady Vinmaier was trying to accomplish. The woman had chosen to be less than thorough. There was simply no way that she could not have known about her son''s ''extra'' slave. Probably also didn''t list the slaves her own family has outside of Ebenlowe¡­


    "If you have nothing to say," the All-Mother began, raising her hand and summoning her swordstaff, "I will carry out your sentence." May your Soul live a better life next time.


    Aperio''s lifted hand was gently pressed against, causing her freshly summoned weapon to disappear again. The amount of pressure did not move it one bit, but the warmth of Caethya''s touch caused Aperio to relax a little. Her love looked at her with her brows low and slightly pulled together, lips drawn downwards in a sad ¡ª bitter ¡ª smile.


    Despite the saddened expression of Caethya, her love''s mana carried a note of understanding; a thought of acknowledgement. In the end, the Demigoddess disliked the practice Lady Vinmaier had been pushing just like Aperio did. But, unlike the All-Mother, her vision was not reframed by the memories of a life as a slave.


    Aperio took a breath, small strands of nothing rushing in from her Void and mixing with the pure mana she drew from deep within her well. "Your sentence is death."


    There was no movement, no blood, and no screams. Aperio''s word was absolute and the universe worked to set its Creator''s will into motion. To make it reality.


    The form of Lady Vinmaier slumped forwards as if she was a puppet whose strings had been cut. A rustling of clothes and the high pitched ringing of metal hitting the polished marble floor filled the chamber. The murmurs that followed were deafening to Aperio''s ears, even though she could barely hear them. Only noticed them at the edges of her mind.


    One of the guards began to move towards the body of the now-dead Human but Aperio simply raised a hand, causing the corpse to vanish. Lady Vinmaier did not deserve to be buried or mourned. No slaver did.


    Aperio carefully took Caethya''s hand into her own, letting a mote of her mana flow into the Demigoddess. Her love might appear calm, but Aperio could feel ¡ª hear ¡ª her distress. She would offer comfort, but did not know if she could manage to do so when she might very well be the cause of the Demigoddess'' agitation. Still, she would try; losing Caethya was not something she wanted to imagine.


    "Let this be a warning," Aperio said, her voice filling the room as it always did despite the turmoil her mind found itself in. "If I ever find a mortal like her in these gatherings again, I will end them."


    There were no words of affirmation, only slow, hesitant nods. The All-Mother let her gaze linger on the gathered members of the council a moment longer before reality twisted itself apart and Caethya and herself disappeared, leaving behind a few black and blue feathers that slowly drifted to the ground where they dissolved.


    Aperio let go as soon as she had brought the two of them to her chambers in her temple and took a few steps backwards. She lowered her head, her wings slumping down and dragging on the floor. It did not fit the All-Mother, and neither was it how the one she loved should ever look.


    Caethya closed the distance between the two of them in a few determined strides. What Aperio had done with Lady Vinmaier was not what she had expected, but neither did she dwell on the issue much. For the Demigoddess the life of a slaver meant very little; she had dispatched more than few on her own. Her main concern had been with her love''s own well being.


    "I am sorry," Aperio said as grabbed hold of her dress. "I did not mean to upset you."


    Caethya frowned at the words. "Why would I be upset? You did what you came to do. If anything, I am worried for you." She took another step towards the All-Mother, moving herself so close that Aperio''s lowered gaze met her eyes. "The longer you simply talked to Lady Vinmaier, the more anger I could feel. I had feared that you would do something you would regret if you killed her with your weapon; with your hands."


    "There is little difference between using my hands or my magic," Aperio replied. At the same moment, Caethya felt herself gently embraced as if her love had wrapped her arms and wings around her. Except that she had not. Aperio had not moved a bit; her mana had simply taken a more physical form. "Mana is as much a part of me as my flesh and blood."


    Caethya embraced Aperio, pulling the larger and much heavier woman into a hug as best she could. "You need to take better care of yourself," she said. While her voice was muffled from speaking into her love''s chest, Caethya knew that Aperio would have no trouble understanding her. She pulled back slightly and looked into the All-Mother''s ever-shifting eyes. "But we have been over this countless times."


    "We have," Aperio agreed with a sigh. The rustling of feathers preceded her next words as the All-Mother briefly extended her wings to their full length before carefully wrapping them around Caethya. "But I cannot do that as long as I know these slavers exist. As long as Verenier is plagued by this¡­ disease."


    She ran her fingers through Caethya''s hair, tiny bits of mana sometimes flowing from Aperio''s hand. A moment later, the Demigoddess found herself held tightly against the All-Mother. The almost crushing embrace only lasted for a breath, however, before Aperio separated herself again.


    "Tomorrow I will go to Geshwen," she said, extending a hand for Caethya to take. "And then I will clean up Ebenlowe for good."


    "And after that?" Caethya asked, taking the offered hand and letting herself be pulled towards the bed.


    Her love fell delicately onto the soft mattress, pulling Caethya on top of herself and wrapping the Demigoddess in her wings once again.


    "Leave this world," Aperio said as she closed her eyes. "Go somewhere where people don''t know me and try to live a little. Maybe go to the world that Kiro and Adam came from."


    "And leave me behind?" Caethya asked, her voice not quite as steady as she had hoped it would be. "I don''t want to be without you."


    Aperio did not reply immediately, simply lying there without taking a breath. The only sign that she was even still there were the slight movements of her wings and hands as they moved across Caethya''s back.


    "I would like you to accompany me wherever I go," she eventually replied. "But I also cannot ask you to leave the only world you know. Leave your family."


    Caethya pushed herself up slightly, moving to sit up straight once Aperio had shifted her wings away. "I would still have the opportunity to see them, though?" she asked. "It would not be much different from now. All that would change is that I would ask you to take me back home every now and then." She smiled slightly. "And, who knows, maybe my family might even like you."


    "Will they not just bow and cower like anyone else?" Aperio asked. "They know what I am, after all."


    "They also invited Mayeia to a tea party," Caethya rebutted. "For one reason or another, they don''t really make a difference between the divine and a mortal." I am just not sure if it''s because they don''t care or because they are so¡­ dense.


    In Caethya''s mind, Aperio would get along great with her family. Especially her parents. Both of them were very much to the All-Mother''s liking, despising the games the nobility liked to play and much preferring just getting to the point. And they like fighting. Well, duelling.


    The Martinek name had not always been nobility ¡ª once upon a time they were commoners and merchants ¡ª but somewhere along the line, another family had discovered that those commoners and merchants could fight, and fight well. Since then, most members of the Martinek family had taken up fighting in one form or another, and at some point they had been recognised for their service to the country; first with a knighthood, and later with a grander title.


    "Maybe," Aperio mumbled. "Maybe."


    Caethya laid herself down again, this time next to her love. She did not understand how Aperio''s mind worked, but she also found that she did not really care. Trying to understand the All-Mother''s mental processes was something she would leave to scholars and other insane mortals. All she had to know was that Aperio cherished her and, perhaps more importantly, accepted her help.


    One day, Caethya thought to herself as she held onto her love a little tighter. One day you will think of yourself as I do.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 160: Reforging the Bond

    Aperio carefully removed her arms and wings from Caethya when she felt the presence of her daughter enter her temple. The Demigoddess, who had almost been asleep, shifted slightly back from the All-Mother.


    "Something wrong?" she asked.


    "Ferio is here," Aperio replied, not quite sure how Caethya could miss her daughter''s presence. "She had not told me that she would come."


    "Does she know you want to leave for Geshwen soon?"


    The All-Mother offered a shrug in reply. She had not told Ferio that she intended on solving that particular problem so soon, but neither was she really that surprised that her daughter had figured it out anyhow. She definitely knew about the Council thing. An event like that would be known to anyone who had a stake in anything going on in Ebenlowe, which included her daughter.


    "I would assume so," Aperio replied as she sat herself up, a thought straightening her slightly dishevelled hair and dress. "Why else would she come?"


    "Because she wants to spend some time with her mother, perhaps?" Caethya asked. "You might not be close, but she obviously still cares."


    "She also does not approve of our relationship," Aperio said. "I was not ¡ª am not ¡ª a particularly good mother. Nor am I ready to be one. I don''t even know her that well." Or at all, really.


    "While it saddens me that she does not approve of us, that is also not really her concern." Caethya moved herself a little closer to Aperio. "What does matter is you two getting along. Unless you want to have this animosity between your daughter and yourself for the rest of eternity?"


    The All-Mother remained quiet at the words. Family was not something she knew how to deal with. Not something I know¡­ Her shoulders slumped slightly, her wings hanging over the edges of her bed. But why now? Does she not want me to deal with Geshwen?


    She shook her head in an effort to clear her mind. "I just don''t know what I am supposed to do. And don''t just tell me to talk; that doesn''t work when I don''t know what to talk about."


    Caethya shrugged. "Just see what she wants and ¡ª I can''t believe I am saying this ¡ª maybe taking her with you to Geshwen is the right thing to do."


    "She might be a Goddess," Aperio said, "but I am not sure that is the best idea."


    Taking Ferio to first confront the emperor of the Eternal Empire of Zeltar and then inevitably fight whatever army they would throw at her for whatever reason... She rubbed her temples. Why can''t they just not be idiots? At this point, all the mortals in charge of anything bigger than a village should know of her, and that whatever was said was not an exaggeration. If someone claimed her to be a world-ending calamity, that would be true. She could end the world. Not that I want to.


    "Well," Caethya began, placing a brief kiss on Aperio''s cheek before leaving the bed, "go and talk to Ferio. I''ll wait."


    Aperio gave her love a nod, letting a touch of her magic dance around Caethya as she disappeared from her bedroom and emerged outside of her temple in front of her daughter.


    "Hello," Aperio said and folded her hands behind her back, hiding them under her wings. "I did not expect you."


    "I had not planned to come," her daughter replied. "But if we keep doing this dance of staying out of each other''s way, we won''t get anywhere."


    "Then what have you come to do?"


    Ferio shrugged. "Talk; about anything, really. Maybe join you when you go to Geshwen to see how you do things now?"


    "Less violently than you probably remember," Aperio replied, stepping past her daughter. As Ferio made no move to follow, the All-Mother extended one of her wings and carefully wrapped it around the Goddess to nudge her along. "I planned to go to Geshwen soon. After I took a moment longer to clear my head."


    The Goddess of Life and Light caught on quickly and fell into step just behind her mother. "I assume the arrangement you have with the Council of Ebenlowe is responsible for your anger?"


    "Arrangement? There is no arrangement," Aperio replied. "But the meeting is the cause for my anger, yes." She sighed lightly and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I just can''t understand why the mortals still feel like they can trick me. That they assume that everything I do is just for¡­ show. A trick to placate them." Or something else?


    Aperio could not think of any other reason for such misdirection, however. If she desired, she could end all of existence. What force could possibly move her, other than her own motivations? Do they think I need mortals to believe in me? That was the most logical conclusion she could think of, as it was true for every other deity.


    "Mortals are not the best at comprehending the vast abyss between themselves and the divine. Much less the one that separates the divine from yourself."


    "But that doesn''t matter?" Aperio rebutted, taking a turn towards the stone archway she assumed to be a gateway of some sort. "I literally removed all their Gods from existence, changed the System to give them Classes, and they all just act like this is normal. Like it has always been this way." Her fingers clenched around the fabric of her dress. "It makes no sense!"


    If she were alone ¡ª or maybe with Caethya ¡ª Aperio would be wringing her hands and, likely, collapsing face-first into the flowers that surrounded her. Being with her daughter, however, removed such options. There was decorum to be maintained. Even telling her as much as she already had might have been a step too far.


    "They lack respect," Ferio replied, taking a few larger strides in order to walk next to her mother. "All they know of you consists of the lies and half-truths their Gods told them while you were gone, and the new rumors that are spreading, shifting with each telling." She hesitated for a moment, reaching out with her hand before pulling it back again. "The sudden and unexplained removal of deities that have been absent for millennia has only enraged them, nothing more."


    "Trying to sink Ebenlowe is a bit more than just ''enraged''. It also doesn''t account for the worlds where the ''removed'' deities were the only ones present. You said yourself that only Verenier was cut off."


    Ferio stopped, causing Aperio to halt as well. "That''s true, yes, but you also have to understand that the act of a deity walking around the mortal world is not common. Interactions with our followers on worlds other than Verenier are also much more sporadic and, in most cases, only facilitated through our churches. Did you think we were just answering the prayers of trillions at every moment?"


    "Yes?" Aperio replied, turning around and tilting her head slightly. "Everything I have been told ¡ª have remembered ¡ª made it seem like you spoke to the people that believe in you. Let them know you are real." Actually give them something for their efforts.


    "Well, we are not," her daughter replied. "We answer a lot of prayers, yes, but not every single one we get." She paused for a moment and simply looked at Aperio. "Is that why you don''t reply to ones directed at you? Because it''s either all or nothing?"


    "I do not answer because I do not wish to be worshipped," the All-Mother said, turning around again and proceeding down the path that snaked around her temple. "The only prayers I do answer are from Maria, Laelia, and Caethya." And the latter doesn''t even need to pray anymore.


    If Caethya continued to gain strength like she was now, it was possible that future interactions with her might not require such an extreme degree of care. That was likely just wishful thinking, but Aperio still wanted it to be true. Living in a world where everything was made out of wet parchment was not something she had expected, or wanted.


    "But all of that does not matter, now does it?" Aperio asked as her daughter began to fall into step behind her again. "What I want won''t stop the mortals or anyone else from trying to sway me. I will go to Geshwen, present them with a choice, and then proceed to kill every one of those who will inevitably go against me. Perhaps they will learn reason in their next life."


    "That sounds a lot more final than I expected from you."


    "They are breaking the same rules I killed their Gods for. They will either change their ways to abide by this one simple rule I have for them, or they will die and can try again when their Souls are born anew."


    Ferio stared at her mother''s back as she walked further along the gravel pathway. What happened? The person she was talking to now resembled the Aperio of the past a lot more than she had thought possible. But, Mother would have simply cleansed the entire continent back then. All in all, it was likely good that she finally understood that helping mortals to their next life was not always a bad thing. Especially when they always get fixated on something stupid. For one reason or another, mortals never quite seemed to grasp what the divine told them.


    "Do you want me to do that?" she inquired, not quite sure if the anger her mother felt was because the mortals did not follow her rules or because she would have to kill them. "I have no issue with delivering an ultimatum on your behalf."


    "No," Aperio replied with a shake of her head. "I have to do this myself. But¡­ you could accompany me if you wish."


    "Even if you are not sure what any of this will accomplish?"


    "Yes," her mother replied, coming to a stop. "I do not wish for us to hate each other, but I am no longer the person you knew and, likely, not the person you want me to be either." She offered a shrug. "I am at a loss for what to do, so I might as well go with your suggestion."


    Ferio quickened her pace to catch up to Aperio, who had begun to walk again ¡ª a task that was deceptively hard when one considered her large strides. She wanted to know if Caethea would accompany them, but though she thought it was something she should know, she was unsure how to phrase the question. Or even if she should ask it in the first place. It should have been an easy thing, but somehow it was not.


    "We should leave," Aperio said, turning to face Ferio. "I have waited for too long already."


    "Caethya?" was all Ferio managed to ask, the idea of the Elven woman accompanying them not quite sitting right in her mind.


    "She will stay," her mother replied. "According to her, this is a good opportunity for us to bond and she does not want to impose. She is well aware that you do not approve of our relationship."


    The last few words were spoken with a bit more venom; Aperio was obviously not fond of the idea that her own daughter did not like the person she had chosen to spend a part of her life with. Ferio simply doubted the relationship with Caethya was something for the ages; her mother was just too different for that to ever work.


    "I never planned on interfering in your personal life," she eventually replied. "But she is correct, I find your relationship¡­ questionable."


    "And I do not care," Aperio replied. "Are you ready to leave?"


    What happened? Ferio wondered as she nodded her assent. Her mother had never been this¡­ fickle before. Every time she met her, the All-Mother seemed to have a different personality. Are the memories messing with her?


    She shook her head at the thought; the most likely explanation was stress. If she had learned anything about the new Aperio, it was that she behaved a lot more like a mortal. A lot more irrational¡­


    "I am," Ferio finally replied. As soon as the words had left her mouth she found herself standing on a thin sheet made from Aperio''s mana, high above the city she knew to be the capital of the Eternal Empire of Zeltar.


    "How did you know to come here?" she asked.


    Aperio crossed her arms in front of her chest, pointing at the large palace in the center of the city with one of her wings. "I simply looked for the most pretentious place that held the most slaves."


    Her voice was cold, devoid of the anger Ferio could feel running through the world at this very moment. Before either of them could say anything more, the Goddess of Life and Light felt the mana flowing beneath the city stop for the briefest of moments. It started to rapidly flow in patterns that seemed random, then stopped again. With an upwards wave of her mother''s hands, the entire city was engulfed in a casing of silver and blue... causing nothing that Ferio could perceive.


    "What did you do?" she asked, stepping a little closer to Aperio.


    "Freed the slaves," the All-Mother replied as she held out her hand.


    Ferio took a step backwards again as a shiver ran down her spine. A moment later, reality seemed to rearrange itself and Aperio''s swordstaff appeared in her hand. The weapon''s blade seemed to slice through space merely by existing in the mortal realm, and it also appeared to cut through magic itself when it strayed too close - Ferio''s aura had a small pocket of nothing around the swordstaff. That''s new.


    Aperio muttered something under her breath, something that Ferio could only guess was along the lines of "I am done with this," before the bit of mana upon which the two of them stood disappeared and they fell towards the city.


    Taking the sudden lack of footing in stride, the Goddess of Life and Light could only shake her head at her mother''s actions. Nothing she was doing made all that much sense to her, but as long as Aperio finally did something, all would be fine. She wouldn''t argue, whatever the direction of her mother''s actions might be.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 161: Through the Roof

    The palace was in turmoil. For a brief, terrifying moment, all forms of magic had ceased to function. When their connection to mana had come back, the slaves had somehow been freed of their compulsion; given back their free will. The nobles were currently hiding in the grand hall, while the guards were fighting off those they had once ordered around.


    Felix, for his part, simply tugged the table cloth a little bit more to the right so the guards in the room would not notice him eating the food he had taken from the table. What a good day, he thought, biting into the pastry. Maybe I could take some of that cutlery?


    It was golden and very shiny; all things Felix knew were good signs that they were worth a lot, and he liked money. Gotta wait till they''re done cleaning up, though. Freshly escaped slaves were high on the list of things to kill or recapture at the moment, and so for now he had to wait for things to calm down a little.


    His next bite of the sinfully delicious food was accompanied by the sound of shattering glass and even more screams. He heard one of the guards yell something and draw his sword, only for the voice to cease mid-word. A moment later, a head rolled under Felix''s claimed table.


    If he had been anyone else, he would have likely screamed. But Felix had seen more than his fair share of bodiless heads, and this one did not even bleed everywhere as the cut had somehow sealed everything off. He simply chose to¡­ liberate the gold-accented helmet. One more for Felix!


    "You," a woman''s voice echoed through the room. Felix could not move when she spoke, an invisible force holding him in place and taking control of his limbs just like the collar had done in the past. "You have a choice to make, mortal."


    If circumstances were different, Felix would have wondered about the choice of words. Instead, he was trying to get himself moving. He had been a slave for a few years already and that was more than enough, and besides, a golden opportunity ¡ª in the form of a helmet ¡ª had literally fallen into his lap. Whatever it was that was happening, he couldn''t stick around to find out.


    Before his mind could fully comprehend what was happening, Felix could feel something warm slowly wrap around himself. A moment later, he was no longer hidden safely beneath the table but standing next to his fellow ex-slaves behind two women.


    He could not tell much about them, only that one was an Elf ¡ª a tall one at that ¡ª as her ears poked through her hair. She also held a weapon that he had not seen before; a staff tipped with a black, feather-like blade whose blue edges always escaped the focus of his eyes. It matched the wings that sprouted from her back, which shared the same colour as the weapon down to the blue edges. Her dress was adorned by armour, though Felix could only see glimpses of metal pauldrons whenever her wings moved.


    "You can either abandon your vile ways," the winged woman said as she stepped towards the emperor and the nobles that had gathered around him, "or you can watch me kill every one who keeps by them. I am willing to overlook much, but not slavery."


    The other woman seemed much more normal in comparison, aside from the red hair and the fact that she had come into an apparent battle in a dress and without a weapon. I know her? He felt like he did, was sure he had seen the emblem she had embroidered on the hem of her dress before. But where?


    A side effect of the collar, he had soon learned, was the fact that his memory was not quite as good as it used to be. Why would a slave need to remember anything but the commands they had been given?


    "Silence is not an answer."


    The first to move after the freed slaves had been magically shifted behind the two intruders was another guard. One of the emperor''s personal ones, if Felix''s eyes did not deceive him.


    Neither of the women reacted to his approach. The only thing that happened as the guard''s blade began to swing was that the winged Elf''s hand lifted up to catch it. Felix did not quite believe his eyes when the obvious outcome did not occur, but instead the woman''s hand closed around the blade and squeezed, breaking it without any apparent effort. She let go and the clatter of the weapon''s broken pieces on the floor seemed to echo, then her hand ¡ª empty, and free from any signs of damage ¡ª embedded itself in the guard''s chest so fast that the freed slave could not follow it.


    What he did see was the aftermath. The dead guard slid limply off the woman''s arm as she held his heart in her hand. She looked at it dispassionately for a moment, then threw it at the feet of the emperor. Somewhere in that movement, the blood that clung to her arm and hand simply vanished as if it had never been. "Your answer. Now."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes further at the most gaudy of the mortals present. Prior to her crashing through the roof they had been sitting on the throne, ringed by guards as they slaughtered any of the freed slaves that tried to get close. While she did not particularly agree with them throwing their lives away like that, she did not blame them either. They didn''t know I was coming, after all.


    She found herself not truly caring for their deaths, as the idea of them being enslaved was worse than them awaiting their next life in the Void. Perhaps it was a bad sign, but she was too caught up in the moment to examine her mental state any further. She gripped her swordstaff a little tighter and took another step towards the presumed emperor, causing the polished floor to crack beneath her feet.


    Silence was not an answer Aperio was willing to accept. She did not care how scared the mortal might be of her, nor did she care what people would think of her. All she wanted was for them to stop enslaving one another. Something she didn''t think was too much to ask; shouldn''t be too much to ask.


    She could sense a miniscule shake of Ferio''s head, her daughter once again not content with what she was doing. Aperio no longer cared that bringing her along was a mistake. She barely knew Ferio, and the attitude with which she approached life was so far removed from her own view that it was beginning to be unfathomable that she was actually her daughter. But, she knew what her old self would have done ¡ª was currently doing exactly what her old self would have done.


    Aperio shook her head and waved her free hand, causing the emperor to be lifted into the air and dart into her grip. She held him by the neck and pulled him closer so he would be forced to look into her eyes. "Your. Answer.


    "This is not a hard choice," she added, ignoring the man clawing at her arm as he tried to escape her grasp. "Your guards seem to have made one of their own already." She dropped him. "You have a day to decide while I clean up the mess that is your empire."


    Her first course of action in cleaning up Geshwen was to take all the slaves she had already freed and place them in an abandoned city she had found. Forcefully teleporting them all might go against some of her own beliefs, but at the moment she could not bring herself to care. Freeing the mortals only to have them get murdered kind of defeated the purpose of freeing them in the first place ¡ª even if she did not truly care about their deaths.


    While she was not sure how she could make the System give them a message, she could use her own mana to fake a System message, one that told the freed slaves what had happened and instructing them to wait a day for her to finish cleansing the continent. Whether they followed it was another matter entirely, but she could take care of anyone that tried to take advantage.


    "So," Ferio said after the All-Mother had teleported the two out of the palace. "How exactly are you planning on ''cleaning'' this empire?"


    Aperio looked at her daughter for a moment, not sure if she was actually curious or simply wanted to make conversation. "I am bringing all the slaves here," she said, gesturing to the city below them. "And then I shall take care of anyone who opposes the banning of slavery. After that, I will figure out a way to make the System handle this." Or at least have it stop any form of magical enslavement or mental tampering.


    Messing with Souls was outlawed by a directive but that did not make it impossible, only illegal in the eyes of the [Court of Heaven]. After she had at least removed the mortals that had no ability to imagine a world without their ''beloved'' slaves, Aperio intended for the System to actively forbid the use of the System¡¯s magic to force someone''s will onto another. Some vague ideas on how she might do that were already gathering in her mind, but she would have to spend some time digging through the mess her past self had made to figure out if any of that would work.


    "Razing the continent is probably the easier solution," Ferio commented. She raised her hand to preempt her mother''s inevitable reply. "No, I don''t mean the slaves. Though, considering what some of them have been through, death might be a mercy for them."


    Aperio titled her head at the words. As cruel as it might sound to someone else, her daughter was correct. Some of the mortals had likely spent their lives being forced to do all kinds of things that they would never be able to forget. They did not have the luxury of being the All-Mother in disguise. Aperio herself had not questioned her lack of reaction to most things that had happened as they happened but, looking back, her experience was rather unique. Definitely not representative of what the average mortal would have.


    "I will give them the option," she eventually said, altering the fake notifications the freed slaves could see. It would require her to listen for their prayers, but that was a small price to pay. The whole situation was also her fault to a degree. She had left, and had never before been against slavery. Because I didn''t know.


    Aperio let out a sigh as she let more information from her aura fill her mind. Just as she had thought, the various armies that the empire had spread throughout their lands were starting to mobilize. "Why are they so stupid?" Aperio asked, turning to face her daughter. How do they think this will work? "You can see it too, right?"


    "Oh, I can," her daughter replied. "But you didn''t really think they would just accept your decision, did you?"


    "No¡­ I did not." I hoped they would.


    "Well," Ferio said, a sword appearing in her hand, "are you going to let them defy you or not?"


    Aperio gripped her own weapon a little tighter, the metal somehow withstanding the force she used. She would be lying if she said that she did not like the idea of a fight, but she was also fully aware that many of the mortals in the forces she was about to battle were likely not of the same mind as their commanders. The solution to this problem, at least in Aperio''s mind, was simple. She simply produced even more of her fake System notifications and presented them with a simple choice. They could lay down their arms, or die.


    "I will not be defied," the All-Mother replied, drawing a bit more heavily on her well. Just this once she would give in to the voice at the back of her mind that told her to punish those insolent mortals that dared to go against her will. "I presented them with the choice in a way that could not be ignored. Those that remain have chosen to die." She looked at her daughter as she spread her wings slightly. "This has gone on for long enough."


    Ferio''s lips tucked upwards into a small smile at her mother''s words and she grabbed her weapon of choice a little more firmly. "Are you ready?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, letting her mana sweep over the continent of Geshwen to to bring all those that had heeded her warning to the city as well. A small flex of her mental muscles caused a barrier made of her mana to come into existence around the deserters of the Eternal Empire of Zeltar. "I am more than ready to end this farce."


    With a beat of her wings, and a touch of her magic, Aperio and Ferio vanished. They reappeared directly over the nearest fort that still had mortals preparing to fight them. The All-Mother would not grant them the mercy of simply being erased. They would feel her anger, delivered by her own hands.


    Just as she had done once before, Aperio ceased beating her wings and let go of any magic keeping herself and her daughter aloft.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 162: Slaughterhouse

    GamingWolf


    Whoever had decided to attack the empire was obviously insane, but Tilka had to admit they did have a better chance than anyone else she could think of. They had somehow managed to disable all the slave collars and fake System notifications. The latter could not have been real; everyone knew that the System was an unthinking thing.


    Still, some of her colleagues had listened to the fake messages they had received and had abandoned the empire, and nobody was able to do anything about it as they had vanished shortly after. That had led to a few more people deserting and disappearing, but it did not take long for command to get the troops back in order and stop any more people from letting themselves be teleported to certain doom. Cheap tricks¡­


    Anyone with enough manpower and money could set up a teleportation formation that could target people like this. The bit earlier that had disrupted everything that had been powered by mana worried Tilka a little more, but she also knew that the researchers of the empire had been trying to figure this exact thing out for a few years now. Without a way to temporarily disrupt magic, they would never get past Lightfray, especially now that the cowards that had dared to call themselves Gods had disappeared.


    For her part, Tilka was certain that they had just been waiting for an excuse to abandon them. They had promised that they would lead them to glory for generations, but nothing had ever come of that. Ridiculous.


    Her musings were interrupted by a loud crash, quickly followed by shouts and then screams. Tilka grabbed her spear and helmet, putting the latter on before she stepped outside.


    The sight that greeted her was not what she had expected.


    Swords were flying, effortlessly piercing anyone that stood in their way while drawing a trail of fire behind them in the air. It lingered for a while, lashing out at anyone who dared to step close to it. She could not see the one controlling the swords, but neither did she need to. The other enemy that was rushing across the courtyard took all of Tilka''s attention.


    She could not follow the black and silver blur most of the time, only catching glimpses of the person when they slowed down briefly to drive their weapon into one of her colleagues; or sometimes simply moved through them. As best as she could tell, it was a winged woman wielding a staff of some sort. What that woman could do, however, did not fit into what Tilka knew anyone could accomplish. She could not feel any mana coming off of her, meaning that the stone that shattered beneath her feet whenever she kicked off it to reach her next target was not because she was enhancing her strength with magic, but simply through her own base abilities.


    Nobody should be able to move like that. The Eternal Empire of Zeltar had the honour of calling the Sword Saint their own, and not even he would be able to move like that. Tilka had once seen the man dismantle a battalion on his own, yes, but he had done so in a much more¡­ reasonable way. A loud bang called Tilka back to reality, and a moment later she was knocked to the ground by a gust of wind. One that was strong enough to shatter the windows of the building surrounding the courtyard as well as break the wooden gate.


    Tilka tried to take a breath but only managed to cough again and again, trying to vacate her lungs of the blood that had gathered inside. She drew on her well, letting the healing mana that her Class granted her flow through her body. It only took a moment for the damage to her lungs to be healed and Tilka to be on her feet again.


    As soon as she was, she saw what had caused the woman to dart across the courtyard even faster than before. Her captain had come outside and the attacker had obviously recognised his rank and wanted to dispose of him. Tilka had some hope that the captain would be able to pull something out of his hat to fend off the attacker, but the sickening sound of breaking bones and flesh tearing apart told her he did not. She only needed a glimpse of the attacker, spine of her captain in hand, to know that any hope she might have had was ill-placed.


    They would die.


    The empire would die.


    Aperio closed her fist around the bloody spine she had ripped from the latest mortal who had tried to use magic on her mind, pulverising it. Whatever they tried to do never amounted to anything, of course, but the mere idea that they were trying to mess with her mind was enough to prioritise them. She had let the healers live so far, wanting them to heal their fallen comrades as best they could just so she could cut them down again. These mortals did not deserve any mercy. Only pain. Death.


    She held up her hand, grabbing hold of one of her daughter''s swords as it zipped by. With a sharp motion and a lot more force than she needed, Aperio threw the weapon through the building in front of her. It impaled a mortal and sent him flying, first through a wall and then a building, causing most of his body to spread itself across the surroundings.


    An arrow fired from one of the mortals she had left alive bounced off of her, not even managing to leave a mark on her skin. To think Natio was able to make me bleed¡­ Even if he were still a God, he would no longer be able to do that. Aperio adjusted the grip of her swordstaff before throwing it in a wide arc towards the one that had assumed a puny arrow would do anything to stop her. A moment later, the mortal was cut cleanly in half.


    With a thought, her weapon returned to Aperio''s hand, the blood that should have been on it nowhere to be seen. The same was true for the grime that should have been coating the All-Mother. She had dashed through more than a few mortals that had been in her way, their weak bodies not slowing her down in the slightest. After her first bloody altercation, she had spent hours in a bath trying to clean herself, and now, she simply did not want to get dirty and the world obliged.


    Her will was law, and these pesky mortals saw it fit to question her. They would pay with their lives, but not before they felt at least a little bit of pain. Even the ones she had simply waltzed through got to live a little longer than they otherwise would have in order to experience pain; pain they would still feel in their next life.


    She had no need to mar their Souls like Epemirial did. No, Aperio simply gifted everyone she killed a little title. They would not know they had it, but it would be there. Always reminding them of what pain their vile ways had caused them.


    At the beginning she had not wanted to give them a title specifically, just something that would cause them to have a little voice in their next life that would stop them from repeating their vile mistakes. The System interpreted her wish and had gifted everyone she had killed so far with a title, one it had so helpfully called [Eternal Repentance]. In the end, Aperio hoped that it would stop them from doing something like that again.


    Aperio lightly kicked off of the ground again, moving herself through yet another mortal before she wrapped her fingers around the head of another and squeezed. The skull offered no resistance and a moment later the weakling''s brains scattered themselves over the surroundings.


    A set of arrows bounced off her wings, not even managing to ruffle her feathers. This time, she ignored the fools that still tried to fight her and jumped up into the air, her wings spreading to their full length behind her back. She did not rise into the air for a better aim for a mana-based attack, but to see with her own eyes what she had already done while drawing neither on the raging flood of mana that was flowing through her body nor the endless wellspring she could access at her whim. These mortals would die by her hand. Literally.


    Aperio stopped beating her wings and let herself fall downward again, ignoring the desperate screams that filled every bit of her surroundings. A moment later she landed, and a wet crunch confirmed that she had hit her target. The gaudier the mortal''s armour, the more unusual the way Aperio would kill them.


    A small whimper caused Aperio to look down at the mortal that had just been talking to the one she had squished. She was covered head to toe in the remains of her slaving friend, trying to use her pitiful magic to heal his remains. The All-Mother simply grabbed the woman by her neck and threw her with a liberal application of more strength.


    Using more than a tiny fraction of her strength resulted in the mortal''s body falling apart, the air itself changing as the pile of flesh and blood pushed through it. Behind the body, Aperio noticed a surprising absence of anything, one that tried ¡ª and failed ¡ª to pull her in. All of that meant nothing in comparison to the dome of fire that began to rise around the corpse just after it left her hand.


    There was a brief moment of silence, short enough that only the All-Mother herself would notice before the surroundings simply ceased to exist, replaced by a crater and smoke.


    "I thought you did not want to use magic," Ferio said as she brushed a bit of ash off of her shoulder. She waved her hand, causing the smoke that still lingered to clear. "Could have warned me."


    "I didn''t," Aperio replied, blinking as she tried to understand how throwing a mortal as hard as she could would lead to a result like this. "I just let loose and threw a mortal."


    "You threw a mortal? Hard enough to cause... this?" her daughter asked, gesturing at their charred surroundings.


    "Apparently," Aperio replied as she looked at her hand. She balled it into a fist, watching the muscles move below her skin. She would be lying if she said she did not enjoy what she had done, but a part of her was also scared; reminded of how easy it was to let loose and potentially hurt those she cherished. Just a little too much strength and she could end up hurting Caethya, something she would never forgive herself for if she did.


    "I guess?" Ferio said. "If you threw them hard enough¡­" Her daughter''s voice trailed off as she mumbled to herself. Aperio was sure she could hear the words ''fusion,'' ''plasma,'' and ''relativistic, '' but she did not know what exactly they meant.


    The All-Mother reached out to her daughter, gently touching her shoulder. "Ferio?" she asked, tilting her head. "You okay?"


    "Yes, yes," she replied with a small laugh. "I simply forgot that you are who you are, and are not really bound by the same rules as anyone else."


    Aperio ignored her daughter''s words and let a bit of her mana flow through her, just to make sure she really did not injure her. She had not expected this to happen and, while Ferio was strong, Aperio did not know how strong. Just because she herself went unscathed did not mean anyone else would.


    "It''s fine, Mother," Ferio replied with a small smile. "Goddess of the Sun, remember? That is not just an allegory to life and light; I used to actually live in the sun. This wasn''t much different from that."


    Aperio took her hand off Ferio''s shoulder, giving her daughter a last once over before she offered a hesitant nod. "If you say so."


    The All-Mother was still not quite comfortable with what had happened. She had let loose, and could have hurt her daughter. No matter how strong Ferio was, it was nothing compared to what Aperio could muster if she actually tried. Still, besides the remorse she felt at being reckless, she could not help but smile. She had liked the moment of being less than careful; liked to use the strength she always had to keep in check in order to not break everything.


    Aperio balled her hands into fists again and again, tensing her muscles as she did. She was itching for more. Wanted to find out what else she could do with her body alone. Her weapon disappeared back into her Void as she looked at her daughter. "Do you wish to join me?" she asked as she pointed towards the next military base she had found. "There are more."


    Ferio, of all things, smiled at the words. "Sure," she replied. "But do you even want me to help? You seem to be finally enjoying yourself."


    The All-Mother tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "Is that wrong?" she asked. "These mortals deserve no mercy, and I have not given anything my all since I returned." I need to fight.


    She had felt the itch before, but now that she had had a taste of her own abilities, Aperio wanted to experience it again. She wanted to fight; to give an outlet to the rage that had bubbled up inside her ever since her return. Talking did not help, and Caethya could only calm her anger, not erase it.


    The thought of her love caused the All-Mother to pause. Would Caethya even approve of what she was doing? Or would the knowledge of what she was truly capable of scare the Demigoddess so much that she would run away?


    Aperio began to reach out to her love but stopped. Then she reached out again, only to reconsider again. With a deep breath, she finally made contact with Caethya, letting her love feel the fear, the uncertainty that filled her mind. If Caethya did not want her to let the slaving mortals be the outlet for her anger, she would find something else.


    Much to Aperio''s surprise, Caethya offered the mental equivalent of shrug to her question. She did not care for them, and if Aperio thought that is what they deserved, she would be all for it.


    "It''s not wrong," Ferio replied with a smile, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "It''s simply not what I expected from you as you are now. You had this weird love for mortals when you came back and I had thought that extended to all of them."


    "I care for a few mortals," the All-Mother replied as she mentally said her goodbyes to Caethya. "I do not have any love for slavers."


    With those words, Aperio kicked off of the ground, spread her wings and, with a mighty beat, propelled herself towards the next base. The wind rushing past her, the small resistance she had to push past to go ever faster; it all made her feel alive. Like she was actually in the real world and not some weird dream.


    It only took a few seconds for her to reach her goal. Aperio folded her wings behind her back and closed her eyes. The mortals would not see or hear her coming, but they would most certainly feel it when she crashed through all the buildings that separated her from the one she assumed to be the leader of this fort.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 163: Fall of an Empire

    None of the outposts Aperio visited posed any sort of challenge. They all left her with small glimmers of satisfaction as she discovered new things about herself that she did not know, most of which boiled down to the fact that, ever since she had returned, she had been far too passive.


    While killing hapless mortals was not truly a challenge, the simple act of moving her body without regard for the damage it might cause was freeing. Almost as freeing as flight¡­ The thought crossed her mind more than once and after a short internal debate, Aperio had simply combined the two.


    At one point, her daughter had challenged Aperio to fly as fast as she could, an act that resulted in a few of the forts that still housed empire loyalists simply ceasing to exist as the All-Mother threw herself at them a not insignificant amount of her strength. None of those impacts left a mark on her, but a few did manage to tear her dress. Something she could fix easily enough.


    If someone would have told her only days before that she would happily slaughter thousands of mortals, she would have never believed them. But here she was, ridding the world of slavers by the droves. With my own two hands¡­ It was a massacre; there was no other way to describe the loss of life her actions had brought upon the Eternal Empire of Zeltar, but she did not feel bad for what she had done. She was setting an example for the rest of the world. Breaking her most sacred rule would be severely punished.


    Aperio raised a brow as Ferio finished piling up the corpses and lit them on fire. She had done this every time the whirlwind of murder that the All-Mother brought to a particular region had ended, and Aperio was not quite sure why. Neither had she asked. Yet.


    "Why do you not just leave them?" she finally blurted out, a flick of her wrist throwing a hand that had rolled out of the pyre back into it. "Their lives were forfeit when they chose to stick to their ways. Any rites of passing are wasted on them."


    "Giving them any sort of rite after you killed them would be very stupid indeed," her daughter replied as she gestured to the pyre. "I just don''t want perfectly good ground infested with their rot. I''m cleaning up ¡ª burning them ¡ª to make it easier for whoever comes this way next to do something useful with the place."


    The All-Mother''s brow rose a little higher at the words. Given her daughter''s disdain for mortals, she would not have thought her the type to go out of her way to prepare something for them. "But why a pyre?" Aperio asked. "Couldn''t you just burn them where they are?"


    "Of course, but this makes it seem like other mortals did it." The smile on her daughter''s face widened a little. "Something their feeble minds can still comprehend."


    "They certainly seem to have a hard time understanding that I am the All-Mother." Hopefully they will get it once I am done with this stupid empire¡­


    Even if they did not believe that she was the literal Creator of everything they knew, they would surely fear someone who had single-handedly fought against an entire empire and won. Easily, at that. Thus far, all of the fights had been little more than opportunities for Aperio to apply herself. A chance to actually figure out what she could do. Well, kind of¡­ If only they were a little stronger.


    Aperio paused at the thought. Like many things, it had come to her on its own; from a more primal part of her. Everything always boiled down to a desire to fight in the end. Ferio had said that even her old self liked to fight¡­ but why? There wasn''t anything that could possibly offer her a truly good fight. And now she was somehow even stronger than she had been previously, which meant there was even less chance that she could fight someone who even vaguely approached being her equal.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t exactly tell them who you were, either.¡±


    ¡°It would not have changed much, now would it?¡± Aperio replied. ¡°Even the mortals that know who I am doubt my abilities.¡± And yet, they still fear me¡­ It makes no sense.


    "Well," Ferio began, taking Aperio from her thoughts, "no matter what they think, they cannot refute that you are above them after this."


    "So," Aperio said, stepping closer to her daughter, "you want them to think I am some sort of mortal that is simply beyond anything they can fight? How does that make any sense?"


    "They cannot understand what you are, so it is simpler to make it seem as though you are like them, but simply too strong for them to deal with."


    "But if I am that strong," Aperio said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "why would I make a pyre to burn them? I obviously do not care for them or have the need to gather them up to burn them." Am I missing something or is Ferio a little¡­ off ?


    The All-Mother was by now quite sure that Ferio did not, in fact, know what she was doing. In hindsight, it had been foolish to assume that she would actually understand mortals. Her daughter had never been one. She had been born a Goddess, and had lived with Aperio. Her old self, she readily admitted, was decidedly not normal. Not even close.


    "You wouldn''t know," Ferio replied, "but they are likely to assume that you have an army to back you up. They would do this."


    Aperio simply shook her head and let her daughter do what she thought was right. There was no point in arguing if neither of them understood what the other meant. "If you believe it is for the best, then I shall not stop you."


    The Goddess of Life and Light obviously enjoyed the act of ''setting the scene,'' as she had taken quite a while to arrange everything. She was done now, but in the time it had taken her to set everything up Aperio was sure she could have eliminated at least three more of the forts the Eternal Empire of Zeltar seemed to love.


    Every installation she had wiped out so far had followed a very similar build pattern. A few sets of walls surrounded a castle or other fortress, sometimes with moats, sometimes with other natural features. None of those mattered when fighting her, of course, but she could not quite see why the mortals would do it like this. They were all painfully open to any form of aerial attack; something she had demonstrated multiple times now.


    "Done?" Aperio asked as her daughter took a step back from the pyre.


    The Goddess of Life and Light nodded to herself. "I think so," she said with her hands on her hips, letting her gaze sweep over the devastation her mother had wrought. "You really like using your body, don''t you?"


    "It feels good," the All-Mother replied before leaping into the air, her wings spreading behind her back once she had breached the cover of clouds that hung high above Verenier. "It feels liberating."


    Ferio appeared next to her but a breath later, giggling slightly at the twirls her mother performed. "If the mortals saw you like this, they would believe the rumours about you even less than they already do."


    "Luckily, they can''t." Aperio replied, coming to a stop next to her daughter. "And I don''t think they will see much more of me either." She gestured towards a fort below them. "Thousands are throwing their weapons away to flee."


    "Will you go after them?"


    "No. As long as they''ve learned their lesson, I do not care what they do." If I can make it work, they will be punished for it in their next life, anyway.


    While the titles she had given out in the beginning had stemmed from a deep-seated hatred for slavers, it had given Aperio a good idea as to how she could deal with them in the future. Now, she only needed to figure out how she could get the System to actually do what she had in mind. Well, do it without giving them a title. It could already do what she wanted, just not in the way she wanted.


    "So," Ferio said, her eyes fixed on her mother. "Back to the palace?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "It is time to end this¡­" She paused for a moment, trying to think of a word to describe what exactly she was doing. In the end she simply shook her head. "Whatever this is."


    "You think they changed their mind?"


    "I think they will try to collar me, or something equally stupid." As she spoke, a part of Aperio''s mind twisted reality apart in front of herself and her daughter. She could fly to the capital again ¡ª or even let herself drop through the ceiling ¡ª but, in her mind, this situation called for a little more.


    The formation they had prepared flared up as reality itself began to twist on itself and the crystal lights that filled the grand hall flickered violently before giving out. Before anyone could spare any more thought to that specific magical anomaly, everyone''s eyes were drawn to the black feathers that started to slowly drift down from the ceiling. They could not be touched, nor did they linger. As soon as one of the feathers made contact with anything other than air, they dissolved into a fine silver dust.


    Kheho was but a simple butler, but he knew who those feathers belonged to. They looked exactly like the ones from the winged Elf that had appeared not quite a day ago. So she is back¡­ He was not exactly scared of her, as there was little point in fearing someone that could kill you with a flick of their wrist. Fear probably annoyed a person like her, and that would only make his demise more likely.


    Of course, there was also the fact that he was just a butler. He had nothing to do with the practices of the empire. He was only a step above a slave, after all. Basically am one, anyway. He might not have been bound by magic like some of his colleagues, but he was still bound by the fact that his family would perish without the money he made by working here; as little as it was.


    His assumption proved correct as the tear in space vanished, replaced by the tall and broadly built Elf and the fiery haired Human. Of course, Kheho was fairly certain that neither of them were actually mortals like he was, but until he knew what they actually were, he would go by what he could see.


    Unbidden, his eyes wandered to one of the generals that had remained in the palace. The man was tightly gripping the small crystal shard the military used to communicate with one another. Nobody needed to hear what the ancient artefact told the man to know that whatever military might the Eternal Empire of Zeltar used to have was no longer.


    "Your answer," the winged Elf said. She took a step forwards, the floor cracking underneath her feet as a subtle glow seemed to shine through her skin. "Mortal."


    Kheho took a step backwards. He doubted whatever the imperial mages had set up would work and he did not want to be so close to the formation when they sealed their fate.


    "We will never serve the likes of you," the Emperor said, his voice high and shaky. "We would rather follow our Gods to the beyond than obey your will." Despite his apparent fear, he still took a step towards the winged Elf. "You should know your place."


    "Really?" the much taller woman asked. There was a loud crack and Kheho lost sight of the Elf for a moment as his eyes did not want to leave the broken floor that had taken her place. "Are you really this stupid?" She grabbed the man by his throat and lifted him up without effort. "Did you think your little ritual would work?"


    The runes the mages had meticulously engraved into the floor were etching themselves more deeply into it. They glowed dangerously bright before the marble itself cracked, the magic that had flowed through it simply ceasing.


    "Your efforts are meaningless," the woman said as she squeezed.


    There was no scream from the emperor, only a wet crack as the Elf''s hand pushed through the man''s skin and turned his neck into a fine paste made from bone and flesh. She let him drop, the grime on her hand disappearing a moment later.


    "I am sure you have heard about me already," she said, her gaze sweeping across the room and briefly stopping on every single person present.


    When her gaze landed on him, Kheho froze. His lungs refused to breathe and his legs had started to buckle despite the fact that he could not move an inch. The sensation only lasted for a moment, but it had left Kheho with an irrefutable piece of knowledge that the winged Elf was something more. Something beyond his comprehension.


    He wanted to shake his head and dismiss the thought, but he couldn''t. The idea stuck to his mind like fresh blood to clothes. It would not leave, almost like it had a mind of its own.


    "I do not impose many rules upon my creation," the woman said as she waved her hand, causing both the corpse of the emperor and the shattered remains of the runes the mages had engraved onto the floor to disappear. "But what you people have done breaks most of them. You will be judged, and face punishment."


    With those words, nearly everyone in the room simply disappeared. Only Kheho and a few other servants remained.


    "I am sure the Judges will love this," the fiery-haired woman said and raised a brow. "What do you intend to do with the rest?"


    "They can stay here," the winged woman said. "There is no need to do anything with them. They served here because they had little choice. Plus, Laelia and the Council will need their input when they get here."


    She clapped her hands, taking Kheho from his thoughts. "Mortals," she began. "The empire you served is no longer. In a few days, members of my church and helping hands from Ebenlowe will arrive. Learn from them, and do better."


    As if that had been enough information, she simply disappeared with the red-haired Human, leaving no trace of their existence except the broken floor and roof.


    Throughout all the events that happened over the last day, Kheho could only form one question in his head. What the fuck is going on?


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 164: Stirring the Pot

    Finding the mortals that worked for the [Guides] on Geshwen had been a surprisingly easy task. While they did hide who they were ¡ª their organisation likely not accepted by the slaving despots ¡ª they apparently could not stop themselves from taking care of the people who were, by now, understandably confused.


    That Aperio and Ferio simply appeared on the plaza currently holding the most [Guides] did not help this confusion. At least I remembered to add the feathers¡­ Announcing her entrance that way seemed to somehow make the mortals less scared. Though, as many people present were [Guides], it was likely that they already knew who she was and that they had nothing to fear.


    "Greetings," one of the mortals said as she bowed. "What brings your Grace here?"


    "Has the [Grandmaster] told you what would happen today?" Aperio asked, motioning for the woman to cease her bow.


    "Lady Videns has not told us the specific date, but we have been informed to expect this to happen." She gestured towards the various taverns that had been transformed. "We expected the free slaves to require our help, but even the ones we rescued ourselves disappeared after their collars ceased to function."


    Ferio covered her mouth with her hand, trying and failing to suppress a giggle. "Mother collected them all and placed them in an abandoned city so they would be safe. She also put those who defected from the empire there. Separated, of course."


    The All-Mother tilted her head at her daughter''s words. Was Ferio trying to make it sound like she was incompetent on purpose? She furrowed her brows as a small flex of her mental muscles caused the mortals she had taken from this city to reappear alongside a small rain of black and blue feathers. "I trust that you will help them."


    "Of course!" the woman replied, offering another bow and seemingly unfazed by the fact that Aperio had just teleported a couple hundred people to the exact locations they had been in before she had taken them. "That is our duty."


    "Good," Aperio replied with a smile. More mortals should be like her.


    Finding the other cities and villages the [Guides] had set up required Aperio to let her aura inform her of more things than she would usually be comfortable with, but the situation demanded it and she would do what she had to. To address the further confusion this second round of teleporting created, Aperio simply offered every freed slave another fake System notification that told them who the [Guides] were, and that they would offer help should it be wanted.


    For those mortals that had been places without [Guides] present, Aperio chose to distribute them more or less evenly between the various locations that did, while trying her best to keep what appeared to be families and close-knit groups together. Now to hope they realise this was a one-off thing because I do not tolerate slavery¡­


    "You are quite decisive today, Mother," Ferio said, stepping up next to Aperio. She hesitated for a moment before placing her hand on the All-Mother''s shoulder. The difference in height and the fact that Aperio still wore a few bits and pieces of armour over her dress made the gesture quite awkward, but the sentiment was there nonetheless.


    "This issue requires me to be direct. I do not want anyone to be able to twist my actions into something they desire." Aperio let out a sigh as she extended a wing to right the mortal who was still bowing. "And you do not need to bow all the time. I do not care for displays of respect, but actions that show me what you are."


    "Understood," the woman replied, only nodding in reply now. Aperio still squinted at her, not sure if she actually understood or simply said that because she did not want to offend her.


    Well, Aperio mused. This mortal is already leagues better than others. While the matter of bowing and other displays of subservience were still annoying, they were better than fear or the mindless reverence some mortals held for the divine. And they don''t seem to mind Ferio at all.


    That they did not comment much on her daughter was likely related to the bit of magic Ferio had covered herself with ever since the two of them had arrived in this city. Perhaps she should ask what kind of magic that was, but the thought of hiding herself was not one Aperio enjoyed. The people should see and accept her as she was. Wings and all.


    She spread her feathered limbs as far as she could, taking care to not accidentally injure any of the mortals that had gathered. The action garnered the attention of most around her, but she did not care. With a light kick that still broke the stone, Aperio propelled herself upwards, letting her wings unfurl themselves to their full length as soon as they could.


    The air brushed against her skin, pressing the fabric of her dress against her. It was freeing, and the note of calm it brought to her mind was something Aperio had sorely needed. She spread her arms as well, letting the armour that had adorned her chest, shoulders, and hips disappear back into her Void. The clouds that soon tried to dampen her clothes were ignored as Aperio closed her eyes.


    Ferio had not followed her. Either she had noticed that Aperio wished to be alone for the moment or she had stayed behind to calm the mortals and fix the damage her rather sudden take off had caused. Whatever was the cause, Aperio extended a mental thanks to her daughter for bearing with her sudden escape.


    The Goddess of Life and Light sounded remarkably happy in her reply, telling the All-Mother that she did not mind taking care of the mortals for a little while. Aperio offered her additional thanks for that as she propelled herself forward with a strong beat of her wings. This time her flight would not end in a violent explosion as she crashed into yet another fort, but hopefully with a clearer mind and less anger at the actions of the now effectively defunct Eternal Empire of Zeltar.


    A thought caused more mana from her well to flow into her body, accelerating the never-ending process of strengthening it. At least I can hold back enough¡­ While annoying, it was certainly a blessing that she was even able to live in a world where nothing could withstand even the tiniest fraction of her actual strength. And that''s just physical force¡­ Could push that even further, too.


    She shook her head. Aperio had wanted to clear her mind, not fill it with thoughts about how she would likely never be able to simply relax when interacting with her creation. This was the opposite of what she had wanted to happen while soaring through the skies. Instead of dwelling on the issue, the All-Mother took a deep breath and propelled herself forwards as hard as she could.


    There was a loud crack and the world around her transformed into streaks of colour that soon coalesced into a uniform mix of orange and yellow. The flames that formed around her body did not bother Aperio, their heat nowhere near enough to even singe the dress she had made. The All-Mother closed her eyes and simply let herself drift through the sky like this, letting go of the multitude of magics she had mostly unconsciously used to assist in her flight.


    After a moment, she opened her eyes again and spread her wings, halting her forward momentum almost immediately and creating another loud crack. A ripple raced through the air surrounding her, disturbing the clouds.


    A pungent smell hit her nose, almost like metal burning. She waved her hand and the world obeyed her desire for the bits and pieces that had irritated her nose to simply vanish. There was no need for physical reality to annoy her right now.


    "Thousands dead¡­" Aperio mumbled to herself. "All because they could not let go of their vile ways." She let out a sigh. "Why?"


    Had her old self made them this way? How much did she influence their evolution in the first place? At the moment, Aperio wanted nothing more than to be back with Caethya, simply holding her love and doing nothing, rather than have to ask herself these questions. Unfortunately, instead she had to deal with the mess she had made while clearing up the mess her previous self had allowed to fester long enough to warrant the amount of death she had wrought.


    No matter how hard she tried, Aperio could not see why anyone would ever think it was a good idea to enslave another. She knew that both the people of the Inaru Empire and the Eternal Empire of Zeltar thought of themselves as better ¡ª deserving of rule. But she could not understand why.


    Because it''s what they were taught? Aperio asked herself as she let herself fall downwards. It was the only explanation that even vaguely made sense to her, but even then, it did not explain how this belief came into the world in the first place. The deities she had killed obviously furthered this, but even while they had been barred from Verenier, this way of thinking had still stuck around. Was prevalent, even¡­


    Aperio let out a sigh and beat her wings again, holding herself just above the water that had been rapidly approaching moments before. She set herself down on a bit of solid mana she made and dipped her feet into the ocean. The people in charge of the Eternal Empire of Zeltar had been removed, and the slaves freed. Its military might no longer existed thanks to the rampage she had gone on, and they would take ages to rebuild. If they even remain as a single nation.


    While they could not join Ebenlowe as another island ¡ª at least Aperio doubted they could ¡ª the All-Mother hoped that they would copy some of the ideas from them. Not the execution, though. As the ''trial'' she had held in Ebenlowe showed, they still had a lot to work on on that front. But, they at least have the right idea on how to run a country. Probably.


    Aperio herself did not know what was actually needed to keep a nation working, and neither did she want to learn. Figuring out how to keep the universe running and how to make the System useful again was a big enough task for now. She let out a sigh and let herself fall into the water, a touch of her magic keeping her from sinking.


    "What now?" she mumbled to herself. On top of everything currently going on, she still had to help Moria with the [Ancestral Guard] and whatever they had been trying to do over the years. Helping Laelia with her church was also something she should definitely do. The Human had been basically on her own ever since Aperio had made her her Scion.


    With another sigh and a touch of her magic, Aperio reached out to Laelia and Moria, taking extra care for the latter. The people of Geshwen would obviously still need her help, but she would rather do that from afar as she neither wanted nor needed more people that would devote their lives to her.


    Laelia was the first to react to her mental communication, immediately asking if something was wrong and what she needed to do. The All-Mother could only offer a sad smile at her Scion''s reaction and informed that she had not come to ask for help but to offer her own. Running a church for a Goddess who did not reply to prayers could not be easy. Even when Ferio said that she doesn''t reply to most of them either.


    Much to Aperio''s surprise, Laelia told her that she had everything under control and currently did not require help. In her Scion''s reply there was also something else, a small undercurrent of emotion that ¡ª to Aperio at least ¡ª suggested that Laelia saw the fact that Aperio had asked if she needed help as something bad. Correcting that assumption was the first thing the All-Mother did. Just because she offered her help did not mean she was unhappy with what had already been done.


    As far as Aperio was concerned, the lack of complaints that had reached her was a sign that Laelia was doing a good job. She would have to look into what her Scion had done at one point or another, but that could still wait a moment longer. Might as well do that if I decide where to put my temple¡­ The floating island still hung over Ebenlowe, as she still had no idea how to land it or if the people of the city even wanted it there.


    The All-Mother shook her head and reached out to Moria again, this time a little more forcefully as she feared that the last time might have been dismissed as a stray thought by her surrogate mother.


    As no reply came still, Aperio sat up again and furrowed her brows. She was about to let her aura inform her of anything happening on Solito when Moria''s voice finally entered her mind. Even though no actual words were exchanged, Aperio could feel the agitation of her surrogate mother; an anger that easily spread to the All-Mother herself.


    Aperio stood up, the water as solid as ground beneath her feet. The question of where her surrogate mother was was quickly answered and a thought twisted reality apart to deliver the All-Mother there. Another flex of her mental muscles conveyed a message and a tiny bit of her anger to her own daughter. She did not know what had happened yet, but she did know what she would do next.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 165: New Fires

    Moria let out a long breath as she felt the mana in her surroundings rise to abnormally high levels. A moment later Aperio appeared next to her, wreathed in magic that was tinged by a level of anger and death she had not seen in a long time. In times like these, she was thankful that Aperio had taught her how to actually see mana so long ago.


    Without saying a word, Moria handed over the reason she had missed the first time the All-Mother had reached out, as well as the source of her own anger ¨C a letter. If it had only been herself, she would have likely not been able to deal with the issue quietly, but if Aperio could help her¡­


    "Are they stupid?" the All-Mother asked, taking her eyes off of the letter and handing it back. "Did they think I would simply let this happen?"


    "They likely thought you would not know," Moria replied with a shrug. "And they would have been right had you not reached out to me just now."


    Aperio hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand only to lower it again. The mana that clung to her shifted, losing some of the anger that had been so prevalent before and replacing it with sorrow. "You would not have asked for my help?"


    "Likely not, no." Moria knew her words would hurt Aperio, but she also knew that both the old and new All-Mother valued honesty highly. "I do not know where we stand, and would not want to impose on you."


    "I am always willing to help you," Aperio replied with slightly furrowed brows. After a moment of silence she offered the letter to Moria again. "Especially when it concerns family. All you have to do is ask."


    "Asking the Creator of everything I know is not something done lightly," Moria replied and took the piece of parchment back. "But if you are willing to help me, I will gladly take it. I¡­ would not be able to do this quietly."


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly at the words, her wings twitching. Moria did not know what exactly it meant, but she felt like it might be annoyance. When Aperio spoke again, her voice was cold and measured, the mana it carried not only delivering its usual echo but also a certainty of death to come. "This should not be done quietly. They are trying to take your daughter."


    Somehow, Aperio appeared to be even taller than usual, and despite wearing no armor and carrying no weapon she looked ready to fight. Others might have assumed that it was simply the All-Mother''s aura influencing the mind, but Moria knew otherwise. Aperio had made it very clear to her in the past that, while she could influence someone''s mind, the effort had to be a conscious one ¨C something that would be noticed. Her emotions still influence us all, though¡­


    "If I did not do it quietly, it would have been the last thing I did in this life."


    Aperio balled her hands into fists at the words, the muscles beneath her skin visibly tensing. As a few strands of inky strands of black swirled around her, she closed her eyes and relaxed her hands again with what appeared to be deliberate effort.


    "Does Solito need the [Ancestral Guard]?" she asked as various pieces of armour began to slowly appear ¡ª to grow ¡ª over her shoulders, chest, and the sides of her hips. "It most certainly sounds like they do not need this version of it."


    Moria shook her head at the words. While Aperio was most definitely right, simply wiping the [Ancestral Guard] out like that was not an option. The All-Mother''s word could do a lot, but some procedures would still have to be followed.. "How about we get my daughter first?"


    A wave of the All-Mother''s hand was the only reply, but it was enough. A mere moment later, a very confused-looking Neria appeared on the floor. Her eyes darted around, and lingeringed on Aperio for a brief moment. Then she spotted her mother, and Neria leapt to her feet and essentially threw herself at Moria.


    The older Beastkin caught her daughter, raising a hand to forestall Aperio''s forward movement. She might just be a mortal, but a hug from her daughter would not injure her.


    This was not how she had planned to meet her daughter again, but it was leagues better than having her held captive by the [Ancestral Guard]. The letter she had intercepted had explicitly stated that her daughter had been placed on house arrest until Moria herself had been found, and she knew that they knew that she would somehow figure that out and would come to get her daughter back. But they did not plan for Aperio''s help?


    That would be more than a little surprising, considering that Aperio had visited them and they knew that her daughter had had contact with the All-Mother. And they were always suspicious of me and my lack of faith in Chellien¡­ She shook her head slightly and held Neria a little bit tighter.


    "Where were you?" her daughter asked as she pulled herself back slightly. "Why did you leave?" Neria then turned to look at Aperio. "And why does she know you?"


    The All-Mother took a step back, the inky blackness that had swirled around her before now shrouding her and causing her to fade into the shadows of the room. It seemed as though she did not want to disturb the family reunion.


    "I had to take care of a few things," Moria said. "And you needed to figure out what you were meant to do."


    "And leaving was the right choice for that? Really?" Neria let go of her mother, taking a few steps back. She balled her hands into fists and directed her eyes at the floor. "I thought you had been taken from us; spent years searching for you."


    "And I am sorry for that," Moria said with a sigh. "But it needed to happen. I could not stay, and you could not know where I went or that I disappeared on my own volition."


    "Why?" The single syllable echoed through the room, filling every corner despite being nothing more than a whisper.


    "Because I am the [Keeper of Relicts]," Moria replied. "And the current leadership of the [Ancestral Guard] wishes to use the weapons I guard for their own purposes."


    "Is that why they were so¡­ weird about me wanting to leave again after my initial missions?"


    Moria did not reply, instead simply handing Neria the letter she and Aperio had both read.


    Aperio let more of her Void flow around her as Neria read the letter. She did not like the idea of Neria questioning the relationship she had with her mother, nor did she want to stand in the way of this reunion.


    Finding Neria had unpleasantly required her to use more of her aura than she was comfortable with, but her actions had been, in her opinion, warranted. Though the letter had only said that Neria had been placed under ''house arrest'' in the main building of the [Ancestral Guard], Aperio disliked the idea of anyone being held captive. Like they did with that cat-eared one¡­


    She would have to ask Mayeia how that one was doing one of these days, but for now she had another set of idiotic mortals to take care of. It wouldn''t take long until the other mortals of the [Ancestral Guard] would notice Neria''s sudden absence.


    Or would they? Aperio asked herself as she let her mind wander back to Neria''s room. A small flex of her mental muscles caused some of her mana to flow from her well and into the physical realm, while another thought caused it to twist and turn slightly. After a few more moments, a fuzzy recreation of Neria appeared in the room, lying in her bed. It was not perfect ¡ª or even good ¡ª but it was the best Aperio could manage at the moment.


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly as she tried and failed to make the magical apparition more accurate .She had no problem giving herself the armour that adorned her now, nor did she struggle with fixing her dress, but a projection of a living being was something that did not seem to want to work correctly. Bending the light to her will was a little harder than she had initially assumed. Still, it should be enough to at least fool anyone who merely glanced into the room.


    "So they wanted to use me to lure you back?" Neria asked, lowering the letter. "What exactly are these Relicts you hold?"


    "Weapons, armour, and other things the guard used during its prime," Moria replied. Her eyes wandered to Aperio, her shoulders slumping slightly as the All-Mother drew some more of her Void around her. "And some things that had been gifted to us by Chellien and Aperio."


    I gifted them something? Aperio wondered. A weapon? Her mental question was answered almost immediately in the form of a dagger featuring the same black blade with blue edges as her swordstaff appearing in Moria¡¯s hand. The hilt itself also featured runes similar to those on the shaft of her own weapon, and further inspection revealed that it was made from the same material. Why did I give her that?


    "This," Moria said, raising the dagger, her eyes wandering briefly towards the All-Mother, "was given to me by Aperio long ago. A gift for our family and a sign of her support." She flipped the weapon in her hand, offering the hilt to her daughter. "I suppose it is only right for you to have it now."


    Neria took the dagger, almost dropping it as she did not compensate for the likely considerable weight of it. Before she could speak, Moria held up her hand and produced another item. "This was made by Chellien," she said as a small pearl appeared in her hand. It had no single colour, constantly shifting between all hues but blue. "A piece of himself, so that he can stay with us even in death."


    "Isn''t that black pearl a piece of him? At the trials?" Neria asked as she looked at the sphere in her mother''s hand.


    "No," Aperio replied. "It contains some of his essence, yes, but it is a machine that utilizes that essence. Not an actual piece of Chellien."


    The All-Mother blinked at her own words. She had answered so confidently, despite the knowledge of what she had said not actually being something she recalled having. She frowned slightly at the new memories that had simply appeared in her mind. Was it because she saw the weapon and the pearl Moria had brought out? But if that was the case, why did the memories just¡­ appear? Every other piece of information she could recall from her past life had usually made itself known before she could recall it so clearly.


    "Oh," Neria said as she lowered her head slightly. "I am sorry."


    "What for?" the All-Mother asked, tilting her head. "You could not have known that." I did not know that until just now¡­ Aperio''s wings twitched slightly in annoyance at her inability to figure out this new way knowledge crept into her mind. "Nor is it bad that you did not know."


    Neria gave a hesitant nod and returned her attention back to her mother. "That does not explain why you left me, however." Her voice was not quite as hostile as it had been before, almost as if the reminder of Aperio''s presence caused her anger to falter.


    "If I had not left," Moria began, "they would have forced me to help them establish their ''new order'' and used you as a pawn to pressure me. When I left, that option disappeared and they could not really keep you without everyone else knowing something was going on.


    "After you joined them," she continued after a moment of silence, "I had hoped that you could somehow change them, but it seems like I was wrong."She sighed, gesturing towards the letter her daughter still held. "I had also planned to reveal myself again once you had established yourself, but then this happened."


    Neria did not reply, simply opening and closing her mouth as her eyes wandered between her mother and Aperio. She continued this for a moment longer before she finally shook her head. "Fine," she said, focusing on her mother. "We will talk about this later. Alone."


    "You two can talk now," Aperio said as she fully stepped out of the black nothing she had drawn in from her Void. "I can take care of the guard just fine." She held up her hand to stop any potential protest from either of the Beastkin. "Pushing this conversation aside because, for some reason I do not quite understand, you wish to help me and forget the anger you feel, is not a good choice. Trust me." I made that mistake.


    "What do you intend to do?" Moria asked, seemingly not willing to fight the All-Mother on the matter. "I doubt you know everyone who is involved."


    "I do not, no," Aperio replied. "But I am sure they will be willing to talk once I take the relict that gives them their power." And maybe intimidate the other Keepers a little.


    "Could I ask you to wait? Just a little."


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly but nodded nonetheless. "I will investigate on my own while I wait."


    With those words Aperio twisted reality apart to appear in Foderys, near the cafe she had visited with Caethya. She reached out to her love, asking her if she wanted to join; as well as to Ferio, telling her what she was doing. Her love was the first to respond, rapidly agreeing to help Aperio figure out what was going on with the [Ancestral Guard] while she waited for Moria.


    The Goddess of Life and Light, on the other hand, simply wished her mother good luck on the mission and told her that she would continue to take care of the mortals that were now without a country. Aperio hesitated at the reply, not quite sure if Ferio was actually fine with this or being uppity again.


    In the end, it did not matter. She had given her daughter the opportunity to join them and she had declined. That was her choice.


    She let out a sigh and held out her hand, a small flex of her mental muscles bending reality apart again to allow Caethya to appear beside her. The Demigoddess took her offered hand and gave her a smile. "Shall we?"


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 166: Guarding Information

    Caethya looked up at Aperio with an expression of what the All-Mother could only describe as a mixture of worry and sadness. "Are you going to devastated Foderys like you did Geshwen? Well, the [Ancestral Guard], that is."


    "Not yet," Aperio replied. She let a bit more of the information her aura provided seep into her mind. "I will wait for Moria like I said I would. Just going to do some light reconnaissance."


    "Couldn''t you do that from anywhere?" her love asked, tilting her head slightly.


    "I could," the All-Mother said, holding Caethya''s hand a little tighter but taking care not to use too much strength. "Moria and Neria need some time for themselves, however. Doing this with my aura would also be¡­ weird. I would either have to read someone''s mind ¡ª which I will not do ¡ª or make a projection they could talk to. At that point I would rather go in person." She took an unneeded breath, her next words barely a whisper. "And this is an opportunity to spend time with you."


    A smile spread across Caethya''s lips at the words. "I hope you know that I am not good at detective work. I needed Mayeia to give me a hint to figure out where you were, back then."


    "I was not even on this world when you started looking for me," Aperio said as she began to walk out of the alley she had appeared in. "And Mayeia did not know where I was either. That you found me in the dungeon was luck."


    "I would claim divine intervention, but I doubt that would work with you."


    "It would not." Aperio stopped as they reached the end of the alleyway, a touch of her magic keeping them out of sight of the mortals that walked past them. "But it is entirely possible that I wanted something to happen and the universe did its thing."


    "Its thing?" Caethya asked, stepping into the stream of mortals with Aperio.


    "Well," the All-Mother began, "if I want something to happen, the universe sometimes makes it happen despite me not having done anything. It just bends to my will ¡ª my thoughts ¡ª despite me not necessarily wanting that outcome."


    Her love remained quiet for a moment, simply walking beside Aperio and tapping her chin with her free hand. "I mean, all the mana in existence came from you, so it makes some sense that you can still influence it.


    "That it happens at a thought and seemingly at random," she added, "is a little more worrying. Did this ever lead to¡­ bad things?"


    "Not really?" Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. "It mostly happens when I wish to move somewhere or want to make something. Like when I adjust my dress or make the armour."


    "So you still actively want to do want something, but simply forgo the step of willing it to happen? You probably do do it, it just takes so little effort that you don''t notice." Caethya paused briefly. "That will likely become more common the more you settle into your powers again."


    "I hope not," Aperio mumbled as she absentmindedly balled her free hand and flexed the arm. "I wish to be in control of my powers; want to use them."


    She was still growing ever stronger, despite not knowing how exactly that was supposed to work. How could she get stronger if her strength was already nearly limitless? Aperio shook her head. The exactitudes of the way she gained power was, to her, less urgent a problem than the memory that had simply manifested in her mind. Maybe they are the ones I got from the crystals that were fuzzy at first?


    Every crystal, barring the first, had given her some memories she could access immediately and a great many more that had been jumbled and shrouded in a mental fog. None of them had come back to her in a way she had noticed, but maybe that was because she had busied herself with other things. And figured out that I¡­ love? Caethya.


    Her relationship with the Demigoddess was not something she had any prior experience in, and she had no idea what she should actually be doing. So far it had all gone well, but in Aperio''s mind it was only a matter of time before she messed up. Before she realises that I am too¡­ different. Who would want to be with someone that could end all of existence on a whim? Could control your every thought without you even knowing? Aperio herself knew that she would never choose to be near someone with such capabilities, and yet, she was the very person who could do all that.


    "No questioning spirals today," Caethya said as moved in front of Aperio and placed her free hand on the All-Mother''s stomach. "I will tell you when something bothers me. You don''t need to let your brain trick you into some weird scenarios that I can''t even think of."


    She wanted to show that she understood and appreciated Caethya''s words, but talking was not her strong suit. Aperio let out a soft sigh, wrapping her arms and wings around her love as she didn''t know how else to begin to express how she felt. The mortals flowed around them like a river would a rock, seemingly not minding the public display of affection even after Aperio had let go of her magic.


    The Demigoddess returned the embrace, the small giggle she made mostly silenced by Aperio''s dress. It only lasted for a moment before Caethya tried to pull away, Aperio letting her go as soon as she noticed.


    Her love offered her a smile and tapped her finger against Aperio''s chest, right where her heart should be. "One day you will be able to talk about what''s going in there."


    "Chaos," Aperio mumbled in reply. "And confusion."


    "I can imagine." Caethya took one of the All-Mother''s hands and began walking with the current of mortals towards the plaza. "All of this is new for you, after all. And instead of getting to take your time to figure it out, you have to deal with things you could not have thought possible before."


    If I had acted better in the past, I would not have to deal with them now, Aperio thought to herself. Caethya knew her opinion on the matter already, but arguing over it would get them nowhere. And she has a point. The All-Mother did have a tendency to spiral into a never-ending depth of bad outcomes, something she did not have time for, especially now.


    "Indeed," Aperio replied, letting herself be guided by Caethya. Starting at the plaza was as good as any other place she could think of as she could already see a few of the golden-furred Lycans she knew would be part of the [Ancestral Guard]. But, what do I ask them?


    She doubted that opening with something along the lines of ''Hey, so, I heard your Keeper dudes are like, really bad'' would work, and neither did she think that invoking her status as the All-Mother would do her any favours. If they were willing to go after Moria despite her having told them that she was a friend of hers, they would likely tell their members to be wary of her. And probably tell them how I look¡­


    "You wouldn''t happen to have any ideas as to how we could get some information from them, would you?" Aperio asked, roughly pointing towards the two golden-furred Beastkin with one of her wings. "Unless the guard is a lot more stupid than I think, they should already know who I am and will therefore not answer anything."


    "I mean, I could ask them," her love replied. "I doubt they remember me, and even if they do, I would just be some random mortal that chose to follow you for a bit."


    "You are not even a follower of mine," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly. "At least, I hope not."


    Caethya gave a small laugh at the words. "I do physically follow you, but I wouldn''t really consider myself part of your church." She paused for a moment, idly brushing her hand over Aperio''s wing before nodding to herself. "You are my love first and the All-Mother second, if that makes sense."


    "It makes sense enough to me."


    Her love''s smile brightened a little at her reply and she untangled herself from Aperio to move towards the two members of the [Ancestral Guard] with a skip to her step that caused Aperio to tilt her head ever-so-slightly.


    A touch of the All-Mother''s magic hid her from the prying eyes of the mortals; just another way to make sure the guardsmen would not associate Caethya with her. If they didn''t spot us hugging before¡­ She did not think they did as the two of them had been looking the other way, seemingly staring very intently at the group of armoured mortals that had gathered outside of one of the taverns.


    While Caethya did her thing, Aperio chose to move towards the gathering that the members of the [Ancestral Guard] had been watching. Those mortals would probably not know who she was, and a tavern was always a good place to gather information. I blend in too, minus the wings.


    She would not be the tallest nor broadest person there, just the only winged Elf, and she could play that off as a fancy cape if she remembered to not move them too much. A step accompanied by a small flex of her mental muscles brought Aperio right behind the crowd of armoured mortals. Despite the bit of magic that had kept most of the prying eyes off of her, a few of the people in front of her turned, obviously fully aware that she was present. That I just appeared here¡­


    Seeing her chance at passing off as a brawny Elf and not some kind of sorceress, Aperio closed her eyes and offered a smile, dropping the magic that had concealed her.


    "Greetings," she said as she stepped past the group and moved to enter the tavern. Aperio stopped and raised a brow as an armoured arm appeared in her way. "Yes?" she asked, turning slightly to look at the mortal to whom the arm belonged.


    "This establishment is currently closed," the armoured mortal said, standing up to fully block Aperio. "They cannot serve you."


    The All-Mother raised a brow and looked above the man into the tavern. "It looks like it''s operating just fine to me." She directed her gaze back at the mortal. "Would you be so kind as to step aside?"


    Another one of the mortals ¡ª this one wearing a lighter set of armour and carrying a sword made entirely from crystal ¡ª whispered something to the one standing in front of Aperio. She did not recognise the language, but the meaning was clear enough. He wanted his colleague to let her pass, probably because he was one of the ones that had seen her simply appear out of thin air. Let''s just hope they think I used some form of concealment magic and did not teleport. If they knew it was the latter, they would be stupid to try and stop her.


    The mortal blocking her replied to his probably-mage friend, but did not move. Aperio took a step closer, the relaxed posture she had maintained for the entire encounter gone. "I do not like repeating myself," she said as she squinted down at the man. "Move. Aside." For good measure, she also added a meaningless mumble in the ancient Elven she so rarely got to use.


    "It''s closed. Leave."


    Aperio let out a sigh, placed her hand on the man''s arm and simply pushed him to the side while giving the armour a good squeeze. He tried to stop her but not only did one of his arms not work, he was also woefully lacking in strength. Weaker than Laelia before she became my Scion. She was certain one of his colleagues could take care of the broken arm she had given him.


    The other armoured mortals were quick to stop the now-injured man from following Aperio, talking to him in their language and undoubtedly telling him to let it go. The All-Mother just shook her head as she ducked through the door and stepped into the tavern. Are they running a protection racket? Or is this somehow related to the mess the guard is in?


    Perhaps it was a good thing she had come here; the only downside so far had been the slightly concerned voice of Caethya echoing through her mind as she had confronted the group. It had not been concern for Aperio''s physical health, but apparently her love had feared that these mortals had some other unsavoury goals. The All-Mother could not quite follow, but a slight fuzzy feeling still managed to fill her.


    "Welcome," the man behind the bar said, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "You wouldn''t happen to be the help we requested?"


    "I am afraid not," Aperio replied, regarding the rather flimsy-looking stools that stood in front of the bar. "But ¡ª if you do not mind, of course ¡ª could you tell me why those¡­ people outside insist that you are closed?" Referring to them as mortals ¡ª while correct ¡ª was probably not the best thing to do right now.


    "They were tasked by the [Ancestral Guard] to, well, guard this part of town," the man replied as he grabbed a glass from beneath the counter and began cleaning it. "Turned into extortion really quick, but we did not expect much else from the current Keepers anyway."


    "Oh?" Aperio sat herself down on one of the flimsy barstools, a touch of her magic ensuring it would not break. "Do tell."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 167: Detective Aperio

    GamingWolf


    "Well," the bartender said, slightly lowering the glass he had been cleaning. "I am not sure where to begin with this." He hesitated for a moment, his eyes flicking from Aperio to the two large Minotaurs at the back of the bar. "You don''t look like you¡­ are from around here."


    "I know enough," Aperio replied as she asked her love for a bit of money so she could buy something from the man. "And I''m also aware that the [Ancestral Guard] has some, shall we say, problems."


    Caethya slipped her hand into one of the pockets of her dress as she continued to speak with the golden-furred Beastkin, a few curious looking coins appearing in it a moment later.


    The All-Mother offered the bartender a smile as a touch of her magic brought the coins Caethya had produced into her own hand. She placed them on the counter, making no attempt to hide the fact that she had just summoned them. Having to show the two bull-horned men that they did not stand a chance against her was not something she wanted to do, so doing what some of the lower nobles had done to some of the staff during her time as a slave seemed proper. Who would have thought that I would bribe people¡­


    "Payment is not needed," the man replied as he placed the glass he had been cleaning in front of Aperio. "And you do not have to show me more than you already did. My men would not fare well in a fight against you."


    "I have no intention to fight, but I will defend myself." She tilted her head slightly, her eyes wandering over the various bottles that lined the wall behind the bartender. "I would also like to order two of whatever you recommend."


    The man did not question her order, simply nodding and yelling a few unintelligible words over his shoulder. A second glass ¡ª identical to the one in front of Aperio ¡ª appeared on the counter a moment later. "An acquaintance or a friend?"


    "My¡­ partner," Aperio replied with a small smile. Perhaps it was not the best choice of words, but it seemed to do the trick just fine as the man stopped for a moment before yelling something else into the back. "It should not be long until she comes."


    The man''s eyes wandered towards the door and the mortals who waited beyond before settling back on Aperio. "Will she be okay?"


    "Caethya can take care of herself," Aperio replied, following the bartender''s gaze. She narrowed her eyes at the group, one of the mortals who had been looking inside quickly averting his gaze. "And should they try anything she cannot handle, I can take care of it from here."


    "Alright."


    The All-Mother''s smile widened a little as the man simply moved on from the matter, not questioning her ability and neither being subservient to her simply because she was stronger. Just treating me like a customer.


    A moment later, a set of cat-like ears emerged from the door behind the counter. The person they belonged to was too small to be seen with mortal eyes, but Aperio''s aura happily informed her that the person was not a child but a short and stout Beastkin ¡ª likely having a good part of Dwarf in him. After a moment of struggle and grunting that caused Aperio to raise a brow and almost use her magic to help him, the small mortal emerged from behind the counter as he had successfully climbed a bar stool.


    "Two of my finest," he said as two bottles of what the All-Mother guessed were wine appeared on the counter. The Dwarven Beastkin looked at Aperio, his eyes narrowing slightly before a third bottle appeared. "I only have one more, and that one will cost you."


    "When I said two, I had meant two glasses," Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. "And I will not require your last bottle either. I do not plan on getting drunk." I doubt I even can.


    The man grumbled something she did not understand as he grabbed the extra bottle he had placed on the counter and let it disappear again. He said something to the bartender that sounded a bit like a word of caution before he disappeared into the back room again.


    "So," Aperio began, not quite sure if the mortal truly wanted to share what he knew, "why did the [Ancestral Guard] decide to send glorified bandits in place of an actual guard?"


    "Officially? To rein in the rampant spending of the city," he scoffed. "But we all know they sent them to drive any that do not agree with their proposed changes away."


    "And what are those changes?" Aperio asked as she slightly pulled back the stool next to her and a touch of her magic caused one of the bottles to open itself and pour two drinks. "I only know that they are looking for the [Keeper of Relicts] and that she is not happy with them."


    The man hesitated slightly. Maybe it was because she mentioned that she knew something about Moria, or maybe it was the bit of magic she had used to pour the drinks. I doubt it''s the latter¡­ Did I offend him by doing it by myself?


    "Well," he began, the words slow and measured, "they would take issue with an Elf like yourself walking the city as freely as you do. Especially if you are as strong as I think you are.


    "There are also some other things," he continued. "Such as the outlawing of various religions and essentially forcing everyone to offer their worship to Chellien."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at the words, staring at the wall that lay in the direction of the main building of the [Ancestral Guard]. How did they expect to restrict people''s beliefs when it was widely known that the God they were supposed to worship was dead, while the ones they were supposed to leave behind actually existed? Well, used to¡­


    "He would not like that," Aperio mumbled to herself as she turned to look at the approaching form of Caethya. She heaved a sigh. "I suppose you would not know if this is something that is fundamental to the [Ancestral Guard], or something that their leadership decided on their own?"


    "I''m afraid not," the bartender replied, his gaze joining Aperio''s and his hands looking for another glass to clean. Silence reigned for a moment before the man looked back at the All-Mother. "Is she really going to be okay?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied with a smile, Caethya''s voice already echoing through her mind as the Demigoddess contemplated adding to the wounded Aperio had created. "She would win even if they fought her all at once."


    The man stopped his cleaning at her words, the beat of his heart quickening by quite a bit. "Is that so?" he asked as he slowly lowered his hands, the movement undoubtedly meant to mask his shakiness.


    Aperio gave a nod in reply and opened the door with a wave of her hand. A moment later, Caethya stepped inside.


    "They are really asking for a beating," she said, loud enough that the mortals outside could hear, before closing the door. "Idiots."


    "We can remove them if you wish. They are only here to drive this tavern out of business, anyway."


    "I''ll take care of it when we leave," Caethya replied, taking a seat next to Aperio and leaning in to place a quick kiss on the All-Mother''s cheek. "For now, we have a few things to talk about."


    "We do," Aperio agreed. She motioned at the bartender. "This gentleman here was also nice enough to offer me a bit of insight into what the guard has been doing." She would not repeat what she had been told, as simply showing Caethya the conversation was easier, but she felt that she should at least mention the man''s efforts.


    "That''s good; the two guardsmen weren''t very helpful. Their alertness spiked as soon as they failed to [Identify] me, and did not really engage in conversation at all." Caethya shifted her gaze towards the bartender. "I did manage to overhear some of the people in the streets, though. Apparently the [Ancestral Guard] is trying to take over the city."


    "It would appear so," Aperio said. "I still do not quite understand why, however. There must be something they will gain from all of this, otherwise the trouble would not be worth it. I doubt the other tribes will sit idly by when one of the others tries to overthrow a city."


    "It would be war," the bartender said. "The [Ancestral Guard] is supposed to be a neutral party that protects Foderys, enabling all the tribes to find a common ground. If they try to take over, the Federation would fall apart and we would go back to being warring packs."


    "So they want to destroy their own nation?" Caethya asked, taking the glass Aperio had nudged towards her. "That seems stupid."


    The All-Mother gave a dry chuckle at her love''s observation, her voice somehow sounding more ethereal than ever. "That seems to be a trend, one stupid decision after another. Makes me wonder if they are connected somehow."


    "Probably not directly. But I would guess the absence of their Gods spurred many of them to act sooner."


    Aperio nodded at the words, her wings moving ever-so-slightly as she wanted to wrap one of her feathered limbs around her love. Instead of breaking the illusion of only wearing a feathered cape, she wrapped her arm around Caethya''s midsection instead and took a small sip from the beverage she had purchased. Like most food stuff, it tasted fine but garnered little reaction from her otherwise.


    The bartender coughed lightly, no longer trying to distract himself by cleaning glasses. "Who, exactly, are you?" he asked. "I would usually not complain about information I can glean from the conversations of my guests, but this seems¡­ dangerous."


    The All-Mother tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "I am Aperio and this" ¡ªshe pulled Caethya a little closer¡ª "is Caethya." She closed her eyes and offered the man a smile, knowing full well that it did not answer his question. "We are just here to help out a friend."


    "Okay," the man said, the word stretching on for a few seconds as he lingered on the ''O.'' He scratched his wrist as his eyes wandered from Aperio to Caethya. "I hope your friend has better plans than the [Ancestral Guard]."


    "I did say that she is very unhappy with them," Aperio said. "And now that I have a better idea of what they are doing, I can tell you that I am not particularly fond of them either." Well, even less so.


    The fact that they had tried to hold Neria hostage had already lowered their reputation with the All-Mother to near rock bottom. Now that she knew that they essentially wanted to wrest control of Foderys ¡ª the only neutral place for the various Beastkin Tribes, apparently ¡ª away from whatever government it had, they had managed to actually hit the bottom. Did I deliberately make mortals to be this stupid?


    That was a question she had asked herself a lot over the past while. No matter how she looked at it, all the problems she was currently trying to fix stemmed from mortals that tried to force a hair-brained idea on everyone within their reach. Of course, there was the chance that the deities she had removed had done something to them that only began to show effects now that they were gone, but Aperio doubted that. Her time as a slave had proven that mortals did not need the divine to make their world a worse place.


    The bartender had frozen once again, only blinking as he tried to parse what Aperio had just said. It should be easy enough to understand; her friend was the [Keeper of Relicts] and neither of them were happy with what the [Ancestral Guard] was trying to pull. Just have to wait for Moria and Neria to be ready.


    Aperio would take joy in dismantling the guard. They had chosen this route, and she would gladly show them where it would lead. Maybe once the mortals had seen her act often enough, they would understand that any rule she made was not to be taken lightly.


    "I need a break," the bartender finally muttered to himself as he shook his head. "This is just getting crazier and crazier."


    "We really need to work on your interactions," Caethya said ¡ª mostly in jest, Aperio was sure. "Can''t bewilder every person you come across."


    "Maybe," the All-Mother replied. She let out a small sigh, a few wisps of mana floating from her mouth. "I am tired of hiding myself, though."


    "Well, you can let loose a little when you deal with the [Ancestral Guard]," Caethya said. She brushed a few hairs out of Aperio''s face, tucking them behind her ear. "You could also show the idiots outside that their delusions are just that."


    "I thought you wanted to take care of them?"


    "They deserve whatever you or I give them," her love replied. "But I am also pretty sure they would not actually try to fight us. They are stupid, but probably not that stupid."


    "They are that stupid," the bartender cut in. He nodded towards the two minotaurs at the back of the bar. "The first ones they sent tried to stop them from coming in. It did not end well for them."


    "Guess we will find out," Aperio said as she removed her arm from Caethya''s waist and stood up. She wanted to stretch her wings but restrained herself; a crack of her knuckles would have to do. Well, the motion of it. Her knuckles did not actually crack as her body was always in peak condition.


    A thought opened the door and the All-Mother stepped outside, Caethya following shortly after. "I have been informed that you are not welcome here," Aperio said, the weight of her swordstaff comfortably settling into her hand as she took a step towards the armoured mortals. "Please leave."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 168: Sides of a Coin

    Caethya followed her love''s lead and took a slightly wider stance, one that would allow her to react a little more easily. She doubted that any of the bandits in front of her would be able to even notice how the mana within her body shifted imperceptibly in preparation for the coming fight. Luckily, the bandits did not have to notice.


    "What happens if we don''t leave?" the man with the dented armour and broken arm asked. "You do not have any authority in this city."


    Aperio tilted her head in reply and took a step towards the man who had spoken. "I am quite sure I have enough authority to tell you to leave." The All-Mother took another step towards the group, a wave of her hand sending the mortal that had tried to nock an arrow flying into the house behind him, causing a sickening crunch to echo through the streets. "And you are part of the problem I have come here to solve."


    Caethya let some of her own magic seep into the ground below the armoured mortals in front of her. While her usual way of fighting might no longer be needed, she still felt most comfortable establishing a grip over her surroundings first, and with her Class this progress happened faster than ever. She could also feel the mana in the ground react to her presence, latching onto her own and following her will.


    A thought and a turn of her hand caused the ground beneath the man in the dented armour to rush upwards, encasing him in rock. "You do not wish to fight us," she said, offering him a smile. "Trust me."


    The prior members of the [Ancestral Guard] she had spoken to were surprisingly absent, almost as if they had seen this altercation coming and did not want to be involved. Probably knew that I am stronger than they are.


    After they had failed to use [Identify] on her, it had been pretty obvious that she either had someone looking over her who had given her something that blocked it, or that she was strong enough to do so herself. Both options would lead anyone with half a brain and a sense of self preservation to leave. And both assumptions would be correct.


    The All-Mother might not appear to be doing much, but Caethya knew that her love would not let anything happen to her. Even if she doesn''t really need to. She had been plenty strong before, and her ascension to a Demigoddess, coupled with the acquisition of her Class, had only furthered that.


    A surge of mana coming from most of the people before her caused Caethya to let out a sigh. The All-Mother did not move, simply shifting slightly and tightening her grip on her swordstaff. Caethya could feel the annoyance of her love, the anger at the fact that the mortals in front of her threw their lives away for some scheme that would never work.


    "Why can they never listen?" Aperio mumbled to herself as a bit of her magic brushed past Caethya.


    The Demigoddess stepped past her love, pushing against the arm that held her weapon. It did not move, of course, but Aperio still relaxed ever-so-slightly. "Greed drives many," she said as she brushed her hand over Aperio''s arm. "These people are no different."


    "I know," the All-Mother replied as the arrow that had been meant to hit her simply turned around and pierced through the eye of the woman who had shot it. She let out a sigh before raising her voice, speaking words that resonated with with Caethya''s very Soul. "Leave, or perish."


    The usual warmth and comfort Caethya felt in Aperio''s aura had all but vanished, replaced by annoyance and anger that was directed mostly inwards. Why her love was angry at herself was not something she knew, but she did not like it one bit. Luckily, it seemed that the bandits had gotten the hint as many of them had begun to slowly back away.


    Caethya let go of her magic, the stone that had encased one of the bandits returning to the floor as if nothing had happened.


    "At least they did not freeze," Aperio said as her skin, which had just begun to glow as she had amassed her strength for battle, slowly faded to its normal state. The¡­ pressure, for a lack of a better term, that Caethya had felt on her Soul also vanished; replaced by the usual warmth and comfort her love brought.


    Aperio nudged the last of the mortals along with a slight wave of her hand, sending her flying into the departing group. Annoying¡­


    There was one upside to this whole ordeal. It at least proved that mortals did not just simply know that she was the All-Mother. Otherwise, they would have heeded her the first time and left. Now, a few of their comrades had died by her hand and they seemingly had no desire to take their corpses with them.


    The All-Mother simply placed them in her Void, next to the other corpses that had been in there since her earlier days on Verenier. I really should remove them at some point.


    While nothing had happened to them and her Void was seemingly infinite in size, Aperio was not overly fond of the idea of having corpses in it the entire time. Just have to not forget about them. For someone that could recall any event in immaculate detail, she tended to not remember to do small things if she did not really focus on them.


    "How much more do I have to do before I can finally take a break?" Aperio asked as she turned to look at Caethya, her weapon vanishing from her hand. "Do I have to remove every single mortal from this place after all?"


    "No," Caethya replied. "Well, probably not. But you''ll have to get used to us mortals being short-sighted from your perspective. Most only have so much time, and will do what is perceived to bring the biggest profit."


    "You are not a mortal anymore," Aperio said with a quirked brow. "And even when you were, you did not behave like these ones. At least not as far as I know."


    Her love gave a defeated smile at the words. "I was also never really bound by age like most. Being an Elf already gave me more than enough time, and your blessing pretty much guaranteed that I could gain enough levels to walk this world for as long as I wished."


    "Ah¡­ right." Her mistake was showing itself yet again.


    "I will accept no apology or sulking," Caethya said before Aperio could speak again. She stepped closer, taking the All-Mother''s hand into her own. "Your blessing is not the curse you still seem to think it is."


    Aperio remained quiet, simply following her love''s lead as she began to walk. Words and feelings were failing her, almost like her mind could not quite translate what she should feel to an actual physical sensation. Perhaps it was her nature as the All-Mother that caused this issue or ¡ª the more likely explanation ¡ª some things could just not be truly realised by something as limited as a body.


    She had listened to the frightened beats of their hearts as they stood against her; had heard the quiet whispers and prayers as they prepared to die by her hand. All for some stupid coins¡­ Sure, the octagonal pieces of gold would enable them to buy what they needed, but what was the point of having them if you died before you could use them?


    Aperio looked at her empty hand, a small flex of her mental muscles causing reality to bend and twist. A moment later, a coin with a blue central gem lay in her palm, each of its eight sections glinting in the light of the two moons.


    "Why did they make them so complicated?" Aperio asked herself as she held the coin closer to her eyes. It was a mostly useless motion, of course, but it still felt like the right thing to do. "Why would you need to be able to split your money apart?"


    "To have a larger variety of prices," Caethya replied with a small smile. "And to make them harder to fake."


    "Is that what the runes are for?" she asked, quite happy that her love was willing to entertain the distraction. "They aren''t powered, so they shouldn''t do much."


    In response, her companion produced a few coins of her own, a neat stack floating in front of her. "The Adventurer''s Guild uses a tool that can read the runes in a way to make sure a coin is genuine. Each piece of a coin is unique, so every full Rikal you create will be as well."


    "Rikal? A funny name for a currency."


    "Named after their creator," the Demigoddess replied with a small shrug as the stack of coins disappeared again. "It stuck."


    The coin in her hand disappeared as well, the world taking back what it had made on Aperio''s behest. As nice as it was to distract herself from the stupidity the mortals seemed to love, she had still come here to rid the world of said stupidity.


    While she would still wait for Moria and Neria, there was no reason to refrain from separating some potentially good members of the guard from the bulk of the nitwits. One thing was certain, however; if Chellien was still alive, he would have hated what was going on. He had quite literally sacrificed himself so that the [Ancestral Guard] might have the power to protect the people in his place. A wish her old self had granted, despite the fact that it had hurt.


    Feeling the pain of her old self was a peculiar thing. Most everything she knew about herself pointed to her past incarnation being cold and uncaring, but a few people that wandered her creation had somehow managed to get close to her. Chellien was one of them; was the one that introduced Moria to her.


    Aperio blinked at the memory, not quite sure where it had come from. Again? she wondered as she tilted her head and tried to figure out why this was happening now.


    "Something wrong?" Caethya asked, the concern audible in her voice.


    "I just remembered something," she replied. "A bit of my old life that just¡­ appeared in my mind." Aperio paused for a moment, considering her next words. "It happened before ¡ª recently too ¡ª but I had hoped that it was a one-off thing. Apparently that is not the case."


    The Demigoddess remained quiet for a moment, the slightly faster beat of her heart only noticed by Aperio. "Perhaps those are memories from the crystals that took time to integrate? After you took all the ones Fel''Erreyth had, you did not really seem to remember as much as you should have."


    "Perhaps," Aperio agreed, having come to much the same conclusion herself, and wrapped a wing around her love. "It is not a bad thing, at least I hope so, but it does feel a little¡­ odd." The All-Mother remained quiet for a moment before tilting her head slightly. "Where, exactly, are we going?"


    "Nowhere in particular," Caethya replied. "I just felt like walking. It''s not like it would take us any longer to get where you want to go after this."


    "At the moment, we don''t have to go anywhere. Moria asked me to wait for her and I intend to honour that request. Though, I might present the members of the [Ancestral Guard] with a small prompt, giving them the choice of leaving or facing judgement like the rest."


    "Probably a good idea, even if you like to fight."


    "I enjoy fighting, not killing," Aperio corrected. "But some of these mortals deserve nothing but death." She sighed. "I will need to visit Adam or Kiro one of these days¡­ I need to know if their world is also like this."


    Caethya looked up at Aperio, a small smile spreading across her face. "Do you want to pay that world a visit? Go on a vacation?"


    "In a way," Aperio replied, offering a slight shrug that still moved her wings. "I mainly wish to see how a world untouched by the divine and the System fared. It would tell me if mortals naturally tend towards stupidity or if it is inspired by the ones I put in power."


    "I guess Verenier isn''t a good example for that, as everyone knew the Gods were real even while you were gone." Caethya moved herself a little closer to Aperio, letting go of her hand and instead wrapping her arm around her waist. "I think a vacation is a good idea. From what Adam told me, Earth seems like a fun place to be. We would stand out a lot, though."


    "I figured," Aperio replied as she wrapped her wing a little tighter around her love. "I still wish to see."


    A thought informed Moria of her plan, the Beastkin only taking a moment to agree to it. Then, the waiting continued, and Aperio felt herself growing impatient. Not with Moria, but with the mortals that sullied her home. She would not begin the true teardown of the [Ancestral Guard] without the one she thought of as her mother, but she would certainly begin separating the wheat from the chaff. Those who followed Chellien to uphold his last wish would be welcome in whatever took the guard''s place, and those who had fallen to greed like so many mortals ¡ª and even the divine ¡ª would meet their hand by her hand. I guess I am a Goddess of Death¡­


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 169: Unknown Scheme

    Aperio raised a brow at the mother and daughter pair in front of her. Seeing the golden-furred form of Neria next to her mother was odd. They looked awfully similar, with the only real difference now being the coloration of their fur. Both had a slightly crooked ear, but only Moria had a scar running through her face.


    "So you have talked it out?" she asked as moved herself behind Caethya, sat herself down and pulled her love into her lap.


    Moria rubbed the bridge of her nose in reply. "We talked about it," she said. "There is much more to discuss, however." She let out a sigh. "Neria also has some questions for you."


    "Oh? And what would those be?"


    The Beastkin looked at her, hesitating for a moment before she balled her hands into fists and took a step forwards. "Why would you curse my mother with such a thing?"


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at Neria, the air surrounding them growing a little bit colder. There was a clarity in her mind that she had not truly known before, a surety that had no equal. Her next words were the truth, and the world itself knew. "It is in her power to remove it. That she chose to keep it should tell you all you need to know.


    "Is that all you wanted to do?" Aperio asked, sitting a little straighter and locking eyes with the Beastkin. "Complain to me that I wanted my friend to remember her lives?" The All-Mother scoffed and shook her head. "I respect the will of others." Unlike some.


    "Do you really?" Neria asked, taking a step towards Aperio and Caethya.


    Her love shifted slightly in her lap, her aura flaring slightly at the Beastkin''s approach. "Choose your next words carefully," Caethya said. "I am not some pawn you or anyone else gets to use. If I did not like what she did, I would not be here."


    Aperio held her love a little tighter at the words and glared at Neria, not bothering to hide her displeasure. If the implied accusation had not come from the daughter of her surrogate mother, Aperio did not know what she would have done. As it stood, however, Neria got to enjoy a lesser reaction because the All-Mother still valued what was left of her friendship with Moria.


    The Beastkin did not reply, simply stepping back behind her mother who, in turn, shook her head. "I told you you were wrong about her. Believing your mother would do you good, sometimes."


    "I saw what she did to Chellien, how she turned him into that marble thing," Neria hissed. "How is that good or benevolent?"


    "He asked me to do that," Aperio replied, the note of truth still ringing in her mind. "He wished to protect his people. Protect you." She shook her head slightly, a touch of her magic pushing away the strands of hair that fell in front of her eyes. "Moria was there to witness it all, why don''t you ask her?" Did they even talk?


    "I saw what happened that day, and my mother was most assuredly not there," Neria replied with a smug smile, as if she had somehow figured out a grand scheme. "There were three men that got infused with that black mist you made."


    "I was there in disguise," Moria said, lowering her gaze to the floor. "The one whose place I took had perished in an earlier fight. We had no time to perform the ritual for me to take his place, so we did what we thought best at the time."


    Whatever the two Beastkin had discussed while Aperio and Caethya had waited had obviously not been enough. Not surprising, the All-Mother thought to herself as she nudged her love to stand up before taking her hand. "As you clearly have more to discuss, we will go pay the [Ancestral Guard] a visit while you do so. Once you have sorted...whatever this is out, Moria can tell me and I will fetch the two of you."


    As her mana rose up to do her bidding, Aperio set her eyes directly on Neria. "I hope you direct your anger more appropriately next time." Then without waiting for a reply the All-Mother and her disciple vanished, only to reappear in front of the headquarters of the [Ancestral Guard]. It was time to weed out the ones that did not wish to see their people cast into war.


    Her first idea for that problem had been the same fake System notification trick she had used on the freed slaves, but announcing her involvement in this matter probably needed to happen without the use of a proxy. The System did not truly seem to be the best option at the moment.


    "You don''t know why she is so against you either, right?" Caethya asked, looking up at the All-Mother. "It seems¡­ odd, to say the least."


    "I do not, no," Aperio replied as she opened the metal gate that barred their way with a light kick. "She was not like that when I first met her. But," she continued after a moment''s hesitation, "finding out your own mother has lived countless lives with countless families before you is probably not something anyone is prepared to hear." I certainly wouldn''t be.


    "I guess," Caethya mumbled in reply. "It''s still a little weird, though."


    "Most definitely," Aperio agreed. In the end, it was up to Neria. Whatever the Beastkin chose, hating her or not, the All-Mother would live with it. "If she needs to hate me to cope with it, then I shall bear with it."


    Her love frowned at the words but remained silent for a moment, likely having spotted the members of the [Ancestral Guard] that were currently making their way towards them. Aperio doubted they would try too much, but she still let a bit of her mana flow around Caethya, forming an invisible barrier against potential attacks. If they somehow managed to hurt her love, Aperio could not guarantee the safety of anyone responsible.


    "Maybe they did something to her?" Caethya asked, nodding towards the approaching guards. "It would fit."


    The All-Mother furrowed her brows at the question and let her aura unfold itself just a little more. Inspecting someone''s Soul had become a lot easier than she had ever thought it would, but perhaps that was to be expected. She had quite literally made them, after all.


    "There is nothing wrong with her Soul," she replied after a moment. "But that does not mean they did not convince her through more¡­ conventional means."


    Any further conversation about the topic was cut short as the members of the [Ancestral Guard] had come into actual hearing range by now. The All-Mother simply gave them a little wave and a smile. If they expected her to be scared of a few armed mortals, they were severely mistaken. Even during her time as a slave, her fear of being beaten or stabbed by people like them had eventually disappeared, and now they would not even be able to cut her dress.


    "Greetings," Aperio said, letting just a bit more of her mana seep into her voice. "I would like to file a complaint." The guards slowed at the sound of her voice and two of the three placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons. "Sending glorified bandits to extort the citizens of this city is wrong, would you not agree?


    "Are you not supposed to protect them?" she asked, taking a step towards them. "Or are the rumours correct, and you truly do plan to start a war between the tribes?"


    Aperio could see the Beastkin tense at her words ¡ª could feel the hearts beating just a little faster. Her smile widened a little, showing just the tiniest amount of teeth. It would seem like she found a bit of the chaff that needed to be cleared.


    Confirmation of her assessment came in the form of a bolt of lightning that lazily ¡ª to the All-Mother''s eyes, at least ¡ª snaked its way through the air. Aperio tilted her head at the rather crude nature of the magic, a tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her that the mana used to make that spell would scream in anger if it could. A flick of her wrist caused the lightning to simply snap down and hit the ground.


    "How rude," she said, but did not retaliate. Aperio could feel Caethya''s mana in the ground beneath the guards¡¯ feet and a quick mental query confirmed that her love had it handled. "You did not even try to pretend that I was wrong."


    With a surge of Caethya''s mana, the ground beneath the guards turned into molten rock that consumed them a lot faster than normal magma should. But then, it was decidedly not normal, as her love had made it and was still pouring mana into it. Also not as crude as that lightning¡­


    Pushing deeper into the temple of the [Ancestral Guard] did not pose much of an issue, as every guard they found attacked them on sight, most of them not even waiting for her to speak. After the third group, Aperio stopped and simply let her aura feed her all the information about the building she could need. Something was very wrong, and she would figure out what that was.


    "Their Souls are fine, right?" Caethya asked as she poked at one of the corpses she had just made. "Can''t find anything wrong with their body either."


    "They are," the All-Mother replied as she looked at the tiny marbles before they disappeared into her Void. "But there is something that is trying to interact with them. It seems to be coming from everywhere, but the problem is that the building has no runes on it, nor any mana of its own."


    Her love raised a brow at her words. "You are telling me there is magic you cannot see?"


    "No," Aperio replied, sharing what she saw with Caethya. "What I cannot figure out is where it is coming from. It just¡­ is."


    "Can you remove it?"


    "Of course, but that would also make it very hard to find the one responsible." Or ones. She doubted this was the work of one person; magic like this would need a ritual or a deity of some kind. Especially if she considered that the magic that hung in the air was very selective in choosing who it wanted to interact with. Caethya and herself were of no interest to the invisible magical fog, and so were normal Beastkin. It only went after members of the [Ancestral Guard]. Almost like that dungeon core mist that tried to take me when I came back¡­


    A thought surfaced in the All-Mother''s mind that caused her to twist reality apart, bringing herself and Caethya into the room that held the remnants of Chellien''s Soul. It was the only thing she could think of that would have the power to produce something like this and only target the members of the guard.


    Much to her dismay, she was correct.


    Above the pedestal that housed the black marble she found a crystal she was by now all too familiar with by. The only difference this one had to the ones she found in the dungeons was that the [Keeper of Voices] was seemingly inside of it. Is he trying to become a dungeon?


    "Is that a dungeon core?" Caethya asked, stepping closer to Aperio. "With a person inside?"


    "Yes," the All-Mother replied. A small flex of her mental muscles caused her own mana to subsume the fog that had spread throughout the building and, just as she had hoped, the crystal cracked slightly. So the fog is not connected to the core, but is part of the core itself?


    It would explain why nothing lead back to it, almost like the Dominion of a God. There was no connection needed; it was simply part of them. Anything inside could be bent to the owner¡¯s whim because it was essentially just another part of them. Just like everything technically belongs to me¡­


    "I don''t think Moria will have more time to talk about her familial issues today," Aperio said as she stepped closer to the pedestal. "This is¡­ wrong."


    A wave of sadness spread through her as she looked at the marble and the black fog that rolled inside. Somehow, she knew that it was hurt despite also knowing that it was neither alive nor contained anything more than the magical might of Chellien.


    Another few steps brought her directly in front of it and Aperio slowly extended her arm. As soon as her hand touched the orb, the black fog inside calmed, no longer flowing around like the ocean during a storm. Perhaps I was wrong back then? Aperio thought to herself as she lifted the marble closer to her face. Maybe he is still in there?


    Whatever the truth was, the mortals would no longer get to keep the remains of Chellien with them. They had been left with his people so that they might protect themselves with it, not so that a select few could turn themselves into an abomination and simply control the rest. But how did I not notice this being made?


    A ritual like this should have been dramatic enough to draw her attention, should it not? Creating a dungeon core could not be easy, or something that just happens. Aperio shook her head, appearing by Caethya''s side again with the black marble still in her hand. "Have you seen something like this before?"


    "No," Caethya mumbled, her eyes scanning the entire chamber. "But this room does look a lot like the ones actual dungeon cores normally reside in. They planned this for a long time."


    "I see," Aperio said. This time, she did not bother to ask for Moria''s or Neria''s permission to teleport them; what they had found warranted their presence and did not allow for wasted time.


    "I think their ambitions were grander than you thought," the All-Mother said as both Moria and Neria appeared next to her.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 170: Ancestral Ambition

    Aperio let the marble disappear into her Void. Given that the sphere still remained stubbornly invisible to her aura, she had wanted to place it next to her swordstaff so that she could find it, but that turned out to be unneeded. The remnants of Chellien''s Soul shone brighter than anything else in her Void.


    What? the All-Mother thought to herself, tilting her head. Her Void had not changed, and the remnants of Chellien''s Soul also looked as they did before. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but she could now see the marble as clear as day with her aura


    Not only did that not make any sense, it also came at a time where she did not really have time to give ither full attention. That was reserved for the Beastkin inside the faux dungeon crystal.


    "I think your reform ideas might need to be expanded a little," Aperio said as she let more of her mana flow from her well into the physical realm. For one reason or another, the crystal would not accept it, and this was a safer solution than to remove all the mana that currently existed near it. Who knows what that would do.


    "It would seem so," Moria replied, her voice barely a whisper. She tried to step closer to the crystal but an outstretched wing from Aperio blocked her path.


    The All-Mother shook her head as the Beastkin looked at her. "While I removed the fog it spread, I am not sure if it truly cannot influence you like it did the first members of the guard we found."


    "You don''t know?" Neria asked. She had not moved from the spot where Aperio had placed her and her eyes darted from the All-Mother to the [Keeper of Voices] inside the crystal. "How can you not know?"


    "I am not omniscient," Aperio replied with more than a little annoyance in her voice. "And neither do I try ¡ª or want ¡ª to be."


    Neria''s behaviour was another thing that did not seem to add up. At first, Aperio had thought she could understand the anger the Beastkin had felt. Learning that your mother lived countless lives ¡ª at least one of which was spent as a slave to one of the worst empires ¡ª would have made her angry as well. But now, she had seemingly forgotten how they had first met. That she had barely known anything about the world and had mistaken her for Moria.


    She relayed as much to her love, asking Caethya to also keep an eye on her, while also trying to convey her concerns to Moria without giving her surrogate mother a headache. It did not quite work as she still wound up wincing, but at least she knew.


    Now¡­ what do I do? She could simply break the crystal, of course, but going by what had happened in the past when she did that, that might not be the best option. It might show her the memories of the keeper ¡ª which would be helpful ¡ª but it might also do something so unexpected she could not plan for it.


    "You would not happen to know what this is supposed to be, would you?" Aperio asked, looking at Moria. "It looks and feels like a dungeon core, but that is not quite it." She paused for a moment, tilting her head. "It is also unlike the one Fel''Erreyth had embedded in his chest. Whatever he did is not something I have seen before."


    There was an odd pleasure that came with the knowledge that what was before her was not something she knew about ¡ª a deep seated feeling of what Aperio could only describe as happiness at her lack of knowledge. A feeling that very much flew in the face of her previous instances of disgust at not having known something. But then, those were things I should know¡­ She suppressed a sigh and silently wished that her feelings made a little more sense.


    "I don''t even know where to begin," Moria said as she looked past Aperio''s wing at the crystal. "He had some stupid ideas, sure, but this? This is a bit much even for him." She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "Did the rest of the council approve of this?"


    "How should I know?" Aperio gave Moria a quirk of her brow. She still let the information her aura provided enter her mind in an effort to find any members of the guard that might look like they belonged to a council. "I can sense a room of Beastkin wearing fancy robes and sitting on thrones," she continued, squinting slightly as she let her mana flow closer to the Beastkin in the room.


    What she found was not what she had expected. They were alive, per se, but none of them seemed to be all there mentally. The darkness of the room did not bother them, and they neither moved nor breathed, but their Souls were still where they belonged and the mana in their bodies still flowed as it usually did. A small flex of her mental muscles commanded the System to give her all the information it had on them, and the request resulted in a display she had most definitely not expected.


    They all shared the title [Body of the Guard] and had similar levels in the high nine-hundreds. What was more interesting, however, was the fact that they all stood up from their thrones and readied their weapons as if her act of using [Identify] was a threat to them. Well, that would be true normally¡­ If a group of adventurers stumbled into that room, they would likely try to identify the Beastkin there too.


    Another touch of her magic gave her another window that was much the same. The only real difference the [Keeper of Voices] had when compared to his seemingly mindless brethren was the fact that his title was no longer that of a Keeper but was now [Mind of the Guard]. That and his vastly higher level.


    "A hivemind?" Aperio mumbled to herself, tilting her head and dismissing the System notifications. Are all dungeons structured like that?


    "If he truly tried to become a dungeon, that would make sense," Caethya replied to the All-Mother''s unintended question. "The core is usually the only thing with any intelligence in a dungeon. Some of the monsters get strong enough to develop on their own, but most of them are nothing but drones."


    The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees as the All-Mother took a step towards the core. Most of the trepidation she had had about destroying it had beaten a hasty retreat as the implications of her love''s words started to fully settle into Aperio''s consciousness.


    "So he wanted to become a dungeon to take full control of the guard?" Aperio asked in low tones. The slight dusting of fog that had, until now, still lingered near the crystal, was instantly dispersed through the mana in her voice. "Is this truly all mortals are capable of? Finding new ways to enslave one another?" Maybe starting over is the right choice.


    The motivations for staying and continuing to attempt to fix the current situation were quickly dwindling, only leaving her with a few ¡ª albeit drastically more important ¡ª reasons. This being Caethya''s home was already enough for her to not start over, but it also made the fact that everyone was seemingly trying to rule over everything even worse.


    "This is what most people in power have been taught," Caethya said, gently brushing her hand over Aperio''s arm. "Most of these mortals were in contact with the Repens Nabu in one way or another. Having a literal God tell you that this is the way of the world would convince many." She eyed the mortal inside the crystal. "Especially if you already think of yourself as better."


    "And all of that still does not help me decide what I should do with this" ¡ªAperio gestured towards the crystal¡ª "thing. It only makes me want to start over."


    "Start over?" Neria asked, her ears twitching as she tried to make sense of the words. "Is this some sort of game for you?"


    "A game?" Aperio tilted her head. "No, it is not. But if all the worlds only exist to torture the people that live on them, what is the point?" She stepped up to the crystal, carefully placing her hand on its surface. "I could just stop everyone, of course, but then I would be doing exactly what I had just stopped from happening, and I refuse to become like that.


    "So what options do I have?" she asked as a tendril of her mana snaked its way through the inside of the crystal, towards the form of the [Keeper of Voices]. "Controlling people is out of the question, and killing them all would essentially be the same as starting over. It is only a matter of time until someone comes along and ruins it again."


    A tiny flex of her mental muscles caused the tendril of mana to slither into the body of the Beastkin and, ultimately, towards his Soul. "I could just kill this one. Take his Soul and erase him. But what would that do?" She turned her head, looking at Neria. "You''ve already changed after having been here, you know. When we first met, you were very different." Aperio paused for a moment, letting go of the mana she had wrapped around the Soul of the [Keeper of Voices] and taking her hand off of the crystal. "But the same is true for me, I suppose."


    When she had been in that village and had thought Neria was actually Moria, she had not even known what she was. What she could do. Standing in front of a Beastkin that was trying to turn himself into a dungeon was not something she would have ever considered possible, but now it did not even really phase her. All it did was make her question her past self''s decision to not end all of existence; a thought that still came with shockingly little pain or grief. No matter what I do, it''ll be the wrong decision.


    "Can you get him out?" Moria asked, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "I don''t care if it hurts him, I just need you to make him touch this." Her words were followed by a quick burst of her magic, causing a small bell to appear in her hand.


    Aperio looked at the item, tilting her head at the magic that flowed through it. "Did I make that?" she asked, recognising the material as the same she used for her armour. Considering that it was mana given a solid form that she simply told to act like a metal, it was definitely not something that a mortal should be able to make.


    "In a way," Moria replied with a smile. "I designed it and you made it. It is what gives the Keepers their authority over the guard." She paused for a moment. "It can also take titles away, and I hope it might undo¡­ this."


    The All-Mother gave a slow nod at the words. "If you think it might work," she said, thrusting her hand into the crystal without hesitation and breaking it. She grabbed hold of the Beastkin inside, the mana that angrily tried to enter her body immediately ceasing its attack as soon as it touched her own.


    She threw the man to the ground while feeding him a steady flow of her magic that made sure his Soul did not leave and his body kept working. Aperio did not care if it caused him pain or not, as in her eyes he had already sealed his fate. Once Moria had done whatever it was she wanted to do, this Keeper would lose his lease on life and go on to the next. Hopefully one without this stupidity.


    Aperio''s desire to visit a world untouched by the Gods she had made grew with every stupid mistake she had to fix on Verenier; with every mistake her past self had made. There was still worry, of course. The untouched worlds might still be just like this one, filled with strife and hatred, but before she decided on anything she would have to make sure. That is why I did this to myself, after all.


    A chime filled the chamber they were in and the bell in Moria''s hand glowed brightly for a brief moment before another, much deeper sound seemingly echoed in reality itself. The Beastkin on the floor gasped and gripped at his heart but Moria stopped him, struggling for a moment before Aperio simply pressed the man''s arms into the ground with a thought.


    Watching the mana flow through his body and into his Soul was a peculiar sight, doubly so as it almost immediately left again to flow towards the bell. There was nothing particularly special about the mana itself, but the amount was substantially more than she thought a mortal of his level should have had.


    "It seems like the first choice is usually the best," Aperio remarked as she briefly eyed the remains of the crystal. If Moria had not asked her to get him out, she would have probably chosen to erase the entire thing from existence to make sure nothing weird would happen. But, as it turned out, a dungeon core made by mortals only looked like the ones she made but did not do much else.


    "And what do you intend to do now?" the All-Mother asked, tilting her head slightly as Moria conjured what seemed to be a stick with a wide base and attached it to the bottom of the bell, forming a makeshift chalice. "I doubt he will answer any questions, even if I get him to a state in which he could speak."


    "He doesn''t need to," Moria replied. "We will see what he did." She carefully placed the chalice she had assembled onto the floor, where lines of golden light slowly drew a pattern around it. "The [Keeper of Voices] is the living memory of the guard," she continued as she closed her eyes and began to draw symbols into the air. "And the [Grail of Passage] allows everyone to partake in the memory he is supposed to keep. A precaution we took so that no-one may use the lives of those that came before to their advantage."


    "That failed," Caethya commented, her eyes fixed on the formation that was almost complete. "All he ever had to do was either replace you, or get you to leave."


    "I know," Moria replied. "But I also could not risk coming back." She paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Perhaps I have grown naive, but I had thought him to be a better person than he was."


    Aperio remained quiet at the exchange. The pattern Moria was drawing might look like nothing special to most anyone, but she recognised it with a faint sense of disquiet. Both the circle around the chalice and the square around her surrogate mother were the exact same ones the Inaru Empire had used in the ritual that had brought her back.


    Before she could reflect further on the fact that the Empire she hated so much had used something that she had helped create to give her new life, Moria whispered a few words that Aperio did not recognise but nonetheless understood, their meaning perfectly clear despite the words making no sense.


    Be the witness of truth?


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 171: Wishing for Ages Past

    Aperio raised a brow at the magic that flowed from the makeshift chalice. It looked much like the one Moria had used to share her memories, but the way in which the mana clung to her surrogate mother reminded the All-Mother more of the ritual that had set her free.


    How she had such a vivid image of the Emperor being burned to death by the flames of the ritual was not something she knew. By every account, it did not make sense; she had been dead by then. But here she was, with the memory of seeing Emperor Jenario Xenthis desperately trying to get the magically-fuelled flames off his body. Unlike that time, the mana that clung to Moria did not try to burn her; quite the opposite in fact.


    If Aperio''s senses were not tricking her ¡ª and so far they had not ¡ª the mana that came from the chalice was giving information to her surrogate mother in a way that was a little too close to her own method of telepathy.


    Just as she was about to question it further, the magic of the chalice widened to offer everyone nearby the chance to view what Moria was seeing. There was no System notification or voice in her head, just the knowledge that information was offered and, should she wish so, it would be hers.


    Neria took the offer immediately while Caethya hesitated, asking Aperio if it was safe to do so. The simple answer was that she did not know, but neither did she have to. A thought was all she needed, and invisible strands of her own mana flowed into the rather crude magic that came from the makeshift chalice. She tilted her head at the sensation that spread through her mind. Aperio could smell something she could only describe as nostalgia as she tugged on the unseen strings of the magic that the chalice''s mana tried to make a reality. Another gentle twist, brought on by a thought, caused the smell to turn into a tiny echo at the back of her mind. Then, she simply showed her love what she saw.


    The first thing to enter her mind was a sense of foreboding that was contrasted by a weird note of happiness. It only took a moment longer for the hazy feelings she received from the mana to resolve into a proper image in her mind, showing her what the memory of the [Keeper of Voices] held.


    Aperio had expected to see something nefarious, like a dark room filled with the leaders of the [Ancestral Guard] in the process of planning how best to enslave their own people in order to further whatever their goal actually was. Instead, what greeted her was simply the sight of various Beastkin pouring over a vast sea of scrolls in what appeared to be a makeshift library. Light flooded the room, and where it could not reach, there were large crystals that provided illumination.


    "Are we sure it will work?" one of the Beastkin asked. "I thought it was pretty clear that he was gone for good."


    "The All-Mother is not infallible," the voice of the [Keeper of Voices] replied. "She said so herself." His voice carried a note of truth, the same Aperio had felt when she had spoken to Neria before. "How can he be dead but still give us his blessings?


    "Because his power remains," he continued, answering his own question. "And if his power is there, I am sure that we can bring him back."


    The Beastkin who had asked the first question gave a slow nod. "But why this ritual? It is nothing more than theory ¡ª conjecture even. Combining the Ritual of Remembrance with an untested one for transferring power between dungeons cannot be safe."


    "If Moria was here it would be guaranteed to work," the Keeper said. "She has the bell and the focus, but as she has forsaken us we will have to make do with what we have."


    The other Beastkin shook their head. "While I do not agree with her decisions, throwing out everyone not of the tribes is not the right call either."


    So the plan was not to make some dungeon hybrid? Aperio wondered, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. At the moment, it seemed like they were trying to revive Chellien ¡ª a rather stupid idea as far as she was concerned. The orb they had was not the God himself, but merely the essence of power that she had made for them. Chellien had passed on to the next life. She knew this with a certainty that almost hurt.


    Remembering what she had done that day ¡ª even though it had been her old self ¡ª felt different. There was a sadness she could not quite place, but could definitely not refute. She could feel that there was more to this memory, but no matter how hard she tried to remember it stubbornly remained outside her grasp, only giving her another wave of sadness. Since when does a memory hurt?


    The content of a memory could undoubtedly hurt, Aperio knew that well, but this was different. It was almost like the act of remembering itself brought her pain, not physical but rather something deep down.. Like it hurt her Soul¡­ that was, if she had one.


    Aperio was taken from her thoughts by a shift in scenery brought forth by Moria physically pushing the mana along. The new memory that took shape before her mind''s eye was at first nothing more than a dark room, but soon she could see the [Keeper of Voices] as well as the effectively dead grouping of Beastkin she had seen in the council chambers, still very much alive in this slice of the past.


    They were inspecting runes they had carved into the floor, ones that did not only look like the ones currently active around the makeshift chalice but also the ones Aperio could so vividly remember from the day she died. Is that the Ritual of Remembrance they talked about?


    It was the only thing that would fit, and the fact that Moria used it to view this memory only furthered the thought. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed obvious that this ritual was the very same the Inaru Empire had tried to use on her. And it did not work because I am the All-Mother?


    If that was indeed the case, Aperio would have liked to know if the Emperor saw parts of her own memory before he died. Or did they kill him before the fire did? Without an awful lot of care, the act of sharing a memory with a mortal was enough to kill them. The tests in the Ebenlowe dungeon had proved as much. How ironic. The man had wanted to become a God, but could not even survive a few of her memories.


    "It looks good to me," one of the Beastkin said. "I still think it is a bad idea, however. There is a reason nobody has tried to revive Chellien throughout the entire history of our order."


    "Because they were cowards," another Beastkin that stood next to the [Keeper of Voices] replied. "They tolerated the filth that lived off our land and our accomplishments because their Gods were not dead. Now that those traitors have been disposed of, we can bring back our Chellien. He will tell you the same thing I did, I am sure of it."


    You would be wrong, Aperio thought as a bit of her magic flowed around what was left of the Beastkin who had spoken in the memory. For a moment she considered simply crushing her then and there, just to make sure that she could not come back even if they managed to reverse whatever it was they had actually done.


    "It does not matter," the [Keeper of Voices] said, silencing the other two Beastkin. "The decision has already been made. The ritual will commence tonight, with or without the help of the [Keeper of Relicts]."


    "What about her daughter?"


    "She can stay in her room," he replied. "If we have need of her title, we will get her."


    Aperio would have liked to give them all a slap in the face for this hair-brained scheme, but it was already too late for that. In what world would this ever go well? And why would they think that Chellien would be in favour of something like this when he had quite explicitly asked her to just give them his power? Unless they forgot that?


    She wanted to say that mortals were awfully forgetful, but so was she. And they have to pass the info along by word of mouth or writing. Things were bound to get lost to time, but she still thought that care would be taken to pass along something as critical as the fact that Chellien''s Soul was no longer there. It was important, after all.


    "Let''s hope we don''t need to do that," yet another Beastkin said. "Her mother will be furious if she finds out about this."


    "What do you mean ''find out''?" the [Keeper of Voices] asked. "We told her that we have her daughter and that she will have to come back if she wants to see her."


    The Beastkin who had spoken before simply rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. After a brief moment, he set his eyes on the black marble in the center of the room and mumbled a few words, undoubtedly a prayer to his dead God. "I would like the record to state that I am voicing my objection to this ritual and the alternatives yet again."


    "Noted," the Keeper replied, then shook his head. "Our descendants will remember your foolishness. Even if we fail to revive him, the ritual will give each of us a fraction of his power. There will be enough mana for every member of the guard to live free from the shackles of time this weak flesh imposes on us. We will live forever!"


    "Heresy," Moria mumbled, her voice cutting through the memory like a hot knife through butter. "Idiots, all of them."


    The words of her surrogate mother were followed by another shift in scenery, a leap forward in time. This time, the view was split; part of the memory still with the [Keeper of Voices] inside the chamber with the remnants of Chellien''s might, and the rest with the council in their chambers.


    "Is everyone prepared?" he asked as he inspected the runes in the square at his feet yet again. "There can be no mistakes."


    "Everyone is ready," one of the council members said, lifting a small, pure white crystal in front of her eyes. "The sacrifices have been prepared."


    Aperio''s eyes narrowed at the mention of sacrifices, and she forced herself further into the memory in hopes of getting a better view of the crystal. Sadly, it yielded no results. It seemed that she could not will detail into existence where there was none to begin with, and she watched with unsated curiosity as each of the council members in turn brought forth their own small crystal.


    "Good," the Keeper said. "Then we shall begin."


    There was no grand speech or anything. The Beastkin simply closed his eyes, raised his arms towards the ceiling and, much like the ritual that had reinstated her as the All-Mother, white flames spread across the entire formation as the [Keeper of Voices] recited the same chant the mages of the Inaru Empire had used. Unlike that time, however, there was no corpse that she unwittingly inhabited to spell the end of yet another continent. Only a group of stupid Beastkin.


    The All-Mother watched with furrowed brows as the members of the council lifted the crystals they had, joining the [Keeper of Voices] in his chant. A moment later, the light inside the crystals gave out and what seemed to be white magma dripped from them onto the floor, where it turned into the same fire that had spread through the chamber that held the remnants of Chellien''s might; the husk of his Soul.


    None of the Beastkin seemed to mind the fire as they continued their chant, their voices growing more and more discordant as they slowly raised their hands above their head, almost as if they had to lift something only they could see. A moment later, their bodies went limp as white flames began to flow like liquid from their eyes and ears.


    The [Keeper of Voices] ceased his chants, the final words seemingly spoken. He opened his eyes and breathed in, the fire in the room dimming slightly. When he let the breath back out, the flames grew in response.


    "Finally," he whispered, setting his eyes on the black marble at the center of the room. "We will have a God again."


    He lowered his arms to point at the sphere, and the fire that had spread through the entire room rushed towards the remains of Chellien. As it entered the sphere, the black fog inside turned a murky grey and a moment later the fire lashed out from the orb to strike at the [Keeper of Voices]. He let out a scream as the flames made contact with his flesh, and tried to remove them, but the magical fire would not come off. His panic only grew as the flames themselves started to drag him towards the fog-filled sphere.


    No amount of struggle seemed of any use against the flames he had brought into this world with his ritual. Soon, the [Keeper of Voices] found himself floating above the pedestal in the center of the room; the fire of his surroundings closed in around him, coating his entire body in layer upon layer of flames that slowly lost their fiery nature and transformed into a largely translucent crystal.


    Aperio let go of the magic that flowed from the chalice and set her eyes on the physical body of the [Keeper of Voices]. "What a fool."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 172: Clouded Clarity

    "They really did not think that through, did they?" Caethya asked as she looked at the body of the [Keeper of Voices]. "I have no experience with rituals and still could have told you that this was a very bad idea."


    "Stupidity seems to be a theme with mortals," Aperio replied, glancing at Neria. "I hope it is a trend that comes to an end soon, otherwise I will truly have to consider more drastic means."


    Moria shook her head and mumbled a few words to herself that Aperio did not understand before turning her attention to the All-Mother. "The ritual they performed was never meant to bring something back to life," she said, her shoulders slumping as she set her eyes on the body in the middle of the floor. "Even the untested combination they attempted to use would never have that result.


    "The Ritual of Remembrance is only to be used in conjunction with this chalice, with me present," Moria continued. "Its purpose is to transfer the entire memory of a member of the guard to the [Keeper of Voices], or to give that title to its new bearer. The other, untested ritual was meant to make one dungeon core stronger by giving it mana from another."


    "Such a ritual is doomed to fail," Aperio said and tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "But I guess there is no way for a mortal to know that the mana present in every dungeon is mine; that though I gave it freely at the time, it still belongs to me. Whatever means a mortal can muster would not mean much to it. To me."


    While the cores eluded her grasp somehow ¡ª just like the remnants of Chellien''s Soul had before she placed it in her Void ¡ª they were still filled to the brim with her mana. The one in Ebenlowe even had delusions of being something. How that had happened was still something she would need to figure out. Mana certainly felt like it was alive, but she knew that it was not; that what she felt was just another part of herself.


    "I figured as much," Moria said, her voice barely a whisper. "That they always come back no matter what we do was a good hint. So was the fact that the mana you could extract from them was never as pure or plentiful than what the core itself used."


    "Why did it turn him into a core though?" Caethya asked, picking up a shard of the destroyed crystal. She turned it every which way before a tendril of her mana tried to enter it.


    "Weird," she said, "it feels like it wants my mana, but when I try to give it some, it rejects it."


    A flick of Aperio''s wrist caused a shard to fly into her hand. If her assumption was correct, the crystal should be perfectly fine with taking her mana. With a slight furrow of her brow, the All-Mother tried to push a tiny sliver of her mana into the shard. The piece of the destroyed core greedily accepted the minuscule fraction of her power, pulling it inside¡­ only to shatter as soon as it had done so.


    "It takes mine," she said, turning her hand over and brushing the pieces of crystal off. "But, as you can see, it cannot withstand even the tiniest amount I can give it."


    Moria nodded at her words, as if it made perfect sense. "This one was not made by you ¡ª not forged by your mana ¡ª so it''s probably not resilient enough to hold your mana." She hesitated for a moment, her eyes flicking towards the empty pedestal. "I think it would also accept Chellien''s mana, but I do not want to test that."


    "And neither will we. The time with which the [Ancestral Guard] could use his gift has come to an end."


    Neria flattened her ears against her head and took a step towards the All-Mother. She opened her mouth to speak, but the hand of Moria stopped that.


    "I understand," her surrogate mother said, removing her hand from her daughter''s face. "I don''t assume there is a way to change your mind?"


    Aperio heaved a sigh, her wings spreading slightly behind her. "No," she said as she shook her head. "Not now, at least. Everything I have given so far has been used to make what I despise a reality. I do not wish to see this trend continued. If the [Ancestral Guard] needs a deity to look up to, I suggest you step up yourself, Moria.


    "You have lived enough lives to know," Aperio continued, setting her eyes on her surrogate mother. "Immortality is something you already possess; removing the need to be born again should not be hard for you, right?"


    Aperio''s words were underlined by the same note of truth that she had felt when speaking to Neria. Her question did not need an answer as everyone who had heard it already knew what the answer was.


    "Yes," Moria replied nonetheless. Her shoulders slumped slightly and, a moment later, she let herself fall to her knees. "I know that I could ascend. Not doing so is becoming harder and harder with every life, almost as though the world itself dislikes the fact that I choose to stay somewhat mortal."


    "Your status as a divine will not change the fact that you will be reborn upon death." [Memento Mori], as a title, was very clear, working with a single-minded duty to bring its bearer, Moria, back to life with their memory intact. Even if she were to become a Goddess, the title she bore still would work its relentless purpose. "Unless, of course, you wish to let go of your title."


    "Perhaps I will," Moria replied. She gave a bitter smile. "When it asks me if I want to remember...I say yes. Every. Single. Time. I do not want to forget my families, my friends."


    "Then don''t," Caethya said, stepping closer to the kneeling Moria. She lowered herself to be at eye level with the Beastkin. "I cannot imagine what it must feel like to¡­ outlive everyone over and over again, but I know that I do not want to be forgotten by those I love." She glanced over her shoulder at Aperio, smiling slightly as the All-Mother cocked her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "If there is anyone who can be a good leader for the Beastkin, I imagine it is you."


    Aperio gave a nod at her love''s word. She was not sure how Caethya managed to come up with the right things to say over and over again, but it was certainly a useful skill. Aperio wanted to comfort her surrogate mother, but nothing she could think of seemed appropriate. Wrapping Moria in hug just seemed¡­ odd, at the moment.


    "I am not a good leader," Moria said with a shake of her head. "I am not even a good mother. Not in this life, nor any of those that came before."


    "What?" Neria asked, her ears swivelling from left to right. "Why would you think that?"


    "Because I was never there for you? There was always something I had to do, something more urgent, more important, more critical that took my time away from you. Not only that, but I up and left you, without even saying a word." Moria took the tissue Caethya had grabbed from seemingly nowhere and wiped her eyes. "How is that being a good mother?"


    Neria narrowed her gaze and pulled her head back slightly as she shook it. "You wanted to protect me and, while I do not agree with the methods, I understand that you had to do something." Her ears flicked slightly and she set her gaze onto the All-Mother. "The only thing I do not understand is why you did not ask her for help with this sooner."


    "Because this is a problem of my own making," Moria said. "My problem, not hers."


    "Did I not make it clear enough that I am your friend?" Aperio asked, not quite sure why Moria would even think that. "I told you that I would help you with the [Ancestral Guard] if you needed it."


    "See," Moria said as her head slumped forward, "I am not cut out for any of this. I do best when I am alone somewhere without responsibility."


    Caethya let out a long sigh and shook her head. "No, you just need to learn that asking for help is alright." She looked at the All-Mother. "Just like Aperio needs to. Both of you seem to be under this illusion that you have to do everything yourselves, even if you are unable to solve the problem on your own.


    "No matter how strong you are," her love continued, "there will still be things you cannot ¡ª or will not ¡ª do. For those, you need help, but getting that help requires you to ask for it."


    Aperio remained silent at the words. She knew that Caethya spoke the truth, but there was nothing she could reply to, especially not now. The current situation still demanded their attention and the break they were currently taking was not really good. But needed. Forging onward while everyone was not on the same page would only lead to disaster in the future. Even Aperio herself could see that.


    "You do not have to lead if you do not want to," Aperio finally said. "But I think you would do better actually leading than trying to steer from the shadows." That is always doomed to fail.


    She had seen enough nobles try it during her time as a slave. They always thought they had it all figured out; that they could simply sit back and let everyone else do their bidding. For some, this actually worked, but they also tended to be people that had no issue with simply killing anyone that disobeyed them. If you left them alive, mortals would seemingly always decide that they did not need your guidance. That even seems to extend to the divine.


    "Someone needs to lead the guard," Neria said. "And I can''t think of someone more suited for it than you are."


    "Because there is not anyone." Aperio shook her head. "Whether you want to or not, the guard needs guidance that only you can offer at the moment. Unless you are fine with the ¡ª to my understanding ¡ª fragile peace between the tribes breaking."


    "Honestly?" Moria said, setting her eyes on the All-Mother. "I might be. The feuds they have are childish; fueled by ignorance and greed. I doubt I can change that, even with the help of the guard." She shook her head. "If I can even fix the guard in the first place."


    The All-Mother appeared next to her surrogate mother and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. Moria might not be able to see what she could do, but Aperio knew. She had spent more than enough time with her to know that the Beastkin was more suited to be a Goddess than any of the others she had enabled to become one. However, whether she would achieve that or not rested on her shoulders alone. The All-Mother would not elevate anyone to godhood again. Reaching it on her own shouldn''t be too hard for her.


    Aperio had a sneaking suspicion that all Moria had to do was let the System give her the seed of divinity. Whatever parameters her old self had set for ascension should have long been fulfilled by her surrogate mother.


    "I need time to think," Moria finally replied. "And we need to take care of this first, anyway."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly but stood up and nodded nonetheless. Her best choice of action for these things would likely always be noninterference. Well, as little as possible. She would still rather help her friends if she could, even if other mortals would inevitably try to somehow use that fact to their advantage.


    "What do we do now?" Caethya asked, stepping beside Aperio and placing her hand on the small of the All-Mother''s back. "While they did not try to mind control everyone, they were still definitely trying to throw everyone they did not approve of out of the city."


    "The guard does not rule the city," Moria said. "At least not officially. There is still an elected government, and they can continue as normal. The only problem will be the lack of people to police the streets, but we can make do."


    Aperio tilted her head gently to the side as she reached out to both Laelia and her daughter. She doubted either of them could spare much manpower at the moment, but it would be better than nothing.


    Her daughter was the first to reply, letting her know that she could send some people but that they were likely not welcome in Foderys. Laelia''s reply was much more somber. She did not have anyone she could send ¡ª just as Aperio had expected ¡ª but the tone of her reply caused Aperio to inquire further.


    Something was obviously not quite right in the world of her Scion, and the All-Mother wished to know what.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 173: Uncertain Futures

    Aperio turned away from Moria and Neria, focusing more of her attention on her Scion. Laelia was agitated ¡ª angry, even ¡ª but the reason for it was not something the All-Mother could discern. Her mental query for clarification went unanswered as her Scion was not able to express what caused the issue.


    The All-Mother tilted her head and let out a sigh. She could not simply leave the situation in Foderys behind to check up on Laelia, but neither did she want her Scion to deal with whatever she was dealing with alone. Been doing that for long enough already. After basically handing Laelia the reins to her church ¡ª which was more of a burden than anything ¡ª Aperio had not been in much contact with her. But then, her Scion had also not reached out to her to ask for her help either.


    "Something wrong?" Caethya asked, stepping up next to her love and placing a hand on her arm. "Does Ferio need something?"


    "No," Aperio replied as she wrapped her wing loosely around Caethya. "Something is wrong with Laelia, but she remains quiet and I cannot simply leave to check on her."


    "You can go," Moria said with a slight shake of her head. "I¡¯ve wasted enough of your time already."


    The All-Mother frowned at the words and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You are a friend, and incapable of wasting my time. Additionally, I do not know what else these idiots might have done," she said while glancing at the remains of the [Keeper of Voices]. "I do not want to see you die."


    "No," Moria said with a sigh, "you wish to see me ascend."


    It was true that Aperio would like to see her surrogate mother ascend to the level of a divine, but that was mostly because she felt like most of Moria''s problems could be solved if she actually possessed the means to care for her people.


    "I want you to be happy," Aperio replied. "I simply happen to think that becoming a Goddess would help you, and by extension your people. You know what the guard ¡ª and the tribes as a whole ¡ª need, and you obviously want to help." She shook her head slightly as Moria remained quiet. "If you do not wish to ascend, nobody will force you. I will make sure of that."


    "I simply do not know what I should do," Moria said as she set her gaze back on the body of the [Keeper of Voices]. "No matter what I try, the guard seems to be doomed to fail."


    Caethya shrugged. "Then let it fail. Perhaps it is time for something new. Having you as their Goddess might be the difference the tribes need the most. But, like Aperio said, whether you want to do that or not is up to you."


    Silence reigned for a moment before Moria took a few steps away from the body of the [Keeper of Voices] and took a deep breath. Instead of speaking, however, she simply opened and closed her mouth before her shoulders slumped and she shook her head yet again. "I simply do not know what to do," she repeated.


    Moria looked at her hands, trying to distract herself from the System notification that lingered at the corner of her vision. The System had seemingly heard that Aperio wanted her to ascend and had dutifully brought that prompt back for her to answer. It had done so many times by now, always asking if she wanted to complete her ascension after she had chosen to live yet another life.


    And even that was starting to get harder and harder. Not the living part, of course, as that only got easier. It was the conclusion of her life that had become an issue. Her lives no longer ended due to being murdered, or because her aging body became too frail to continue on.


    That simply did not happen anymore.


    Her Soul had lived through so many lives that she would always be born with access to more mana than many mortals would see in their entire life. Moria''s most recent past lives had ended only because she herself had chosen that it was time to do so. Not having to end a life and start over again and again was alluring, but Moria also knew that she was not ready to be a Goddess. She would never be.


    Taking responsibility for an entire race was not something she thought anyone would ever be ready for. Not even the old Aperio tried to guide the beings that lived in her creation. She simply appointed deities and let them do that for her. And that had failed.


    How Aperio had handled this in her previous attempt at¡­ existence, Moria did not know, but neither did she want to. Even thinking about the fact that her friend was entirely capable of simply ending everything to start over was giving her a headache.


    Moria straightened slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It belonged to Neria. While the All-Mother''s gaze had shifted away from Moria ¡ª through Moria ¡ª to a place she could not see, her daughter had taken the opportunity to come closer. "I''ll take care of this as best I can while you make a decision. Okay?"


    "This is not something I can just decide like this," Moria replied with a small shake of her head. "I cannot go back once I chose to ascend."


    "You can become a mortal again," Aperio corrected, tiling her head slightly. "Everything that is given can be taken back; if you no longer wish to be a Goddess, I can and will remove your seed of divinity." She hesitated for a moment, cocking her head to the other side. "I cannot promise that it will be painless, however."


    Moria let out a long breath at the words of the All-Mother. It did not matter that it would hurt, she merely wanted the option to go back to a mortal life if she so chose; something she had not thought possible before. And a luxury not many will be granted, I''m sure. She knew Aperio; had known her for so long that she could not even recall a time without the All-Mother. Except the bit after she¡­ lived as a mortal.


    "I-I still need some time to think," Moria said. She set her eyes on the body of the [Keeper of Voices] and let out yet another sigh. Such a waste. She would probably never understand why he had chosen this path or why the other members of the council had not tried to stop him.


    But, in the end, that also did not matter; she was still here and so were the other members of the guard. They needed leadership in one way or another and, as luck would have it, she was the only one in a position to give guidance.


    "If you need my help, do not hesitate to ask," Aperio said. "You have done more for me than I can remember, it is only fair that I offer a hand when you need it."


    Moria set her eyes on the All-Mother and nodded slowly, a mixture of happiness and fear flowing through her as Aperio shifted her weight to her other leg and offered a small smile. She could not feel any malice in the offer ¡ª knew that there was none ¡ª but the idea of having the literal creator of the universe do something for her still managed to frighten Moria.


    "I will," she finally said. "And thank you for rescuing my daughter."


    Aperio did not reply, only bowing slightly. There was no need for words at the moment, as the same understanding she had shared with the All-Mother countless times permeated the air. A moment later, the feeling vanished, along with Aperio and Caethya, replaced by the voice of her friend echoing through her head, reminding her yet again that all she had to do was ask.


    Moria shook her head and stood up. If only it was that easy.


    Laelia lowered the report she had been reading and shook her head lightly. The fact that she was going over a complex document, one that only a few weeks prior would have caused her physical harm, while having a conversation with her Goddess ¡ª the literal creator of everything there was ¡ª was not something she was used to. Neither was the feeling at the back of her mind that told her that the mana of the world was changing; twisting itself apart. A moment later her Goddess and her disciple appeared, looking more concerned than she had expected. Did it take that much out of me?


    Learning that Inerlius was not only alive but had been actively avoiding her ever since he had fled from Aperio had certainly put a damper on her mood. What she hadn''t expected was that it would impact her to a degree where the All-Mother herself would become concerned.


    "What happened?" Aperio asked, her voice accompanied by a wave of mana that filled Laelia with a comforting warmth. The All-Mother tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side before she appeared in front of Laelia and placed her hands on the Human''s shoulders.


    Laelia felt her muscles relax as more of Aperio¡¯s mana flowed through her body in search of anything that might be wrong. Being able to tell the intent of someone else''s magic ¡ª while undoubtedly useful ¡ª was something else she was not quite used to. But then, that was true for most things her new Class afforded her.


    "I merely learned that someone I thought I knew was not the person they pretended to be," Laelia said as she directed her gaze towards the floor. "Perhaps I was blinded at the time, but I should have been able to see it."


    There was a brief pause before she could feel her Goddess frown, the mana of the world itself flaring with anger for a brief moment. "Who is this person you are talking about?"


    "Inerlius," Laelia mumbled in reply. "He''s the paladin you encountered in the dungeon near the village where you met me."


    "I see." Aperio removed her hands from Laelia''s shoulders, her mana lingering for a moment before the All-Mother appeared behind her Scion, and wrapped her arms and wings around her.


    The calm that her Goddess¡¯ mana brought amplified with the gesture, causing Laelia to stagger slightly before catching herself. A sense of relief quickly followed, spreading through her body as the fear of being punished yet again by the deity she had chosen to follow was washed away. Aperio was not like Vigil; she had known that all along, but apparently she had not believed her own words.


    "Did he not approve of your choices and avoid you?" Aperio asked as she let go of Laelia and stepped in front of the Human again. ¡°Did he use you?¡±


    "In a way," she replied, her hand searching her neck for the promise ring she used to wear. A moment later Laelia shook her head and lowered her hand again, balling it into a fist. "But that doesn''t matter anymore. There are more pressing issues I have to take care of."


    "Your health is more important than whatever duty you think you have towards me," her Goddess said as she lowered herself slightly to better look into Laelia''s eyes. "I do not wish for my followers to be mindless in their efforts to serve me. If it was possible, I would have no-one follow me, but that is not something that will happen unless I force it not to."


    Laelia wanted to contradict her Goddess, but she knew she was right. Unless Aperio disappeared from the world of mortals for countless millennia ¡ª and got everyone to actually forget about her ¡ª there would always be someone who devoted themselves to her. Like me. Some might say that her devotion stemmed from the fact that Aperio had freed her from Vigil and had saved her children, and while that played a part, it was not the entire story. The All-Mother reflected the values Laelia herself held dear and, perhaps more importantly, she actually did something to make those values a reality.


    The ruins of the Not-So-Eternal Empire of Zeltar were a testament to that, and so was the situation with the [Ancestral Guard] her Goddess had told her about. Whatever their goals might have been, their actions had brought harm to not only themselves but the entire federation of the Beastkin tribes. The actions of the guard would reflect on all of them, no matter what anyone said.


    "What did this Inerlius do?" Caethya asked, stepping closer to Aperio and breaking the silence. She brushed her hand along one of the wings of the All-Mother before placing it in the small of her back and setting her eyes on Laelia. "I am sure you can feel her anger. What she thinks this person has done might be a lot worse than what he actually did."


    The Demigoddess was correct in her assumption that Laelia could feel Aperio''s anger, but it was almost lost in the sea of her own. What Inerlius had done ¡ª or rather, had not done ¡ª might not be that bad to many, but for Laelia it was one of the worst things a person could do. Betrayal.


    He had betrayed her, plain and simple. The man she had spent years of her life with ¡ª had promised her future to ¡ª had betrayed her. Not only did he let her believe he had died, he had made no attempt whatsoever to set right the wrongs he had committed while serving Vigil. He had simply stopped being a paladin and started working for whoever could pay him the most.


    "He was supposed to marry me ¡ª promised it," Laelia eventually said. "We wanted to settle down once Ern and Kaam had been healed, and become a proper family. Instead, he let me believe he had actually died after he¡­ after he encountered you, Aperio."


    "Oh," the All-Mother said, taking a step back and directing her gaze at the floor. "Is that why you were angry at the time?"


    "Partly," she replied. "But even then my feelings for him had¡­ changed already." She paused for a moment and pulled one of the chairs in her office closer with a touch of her magic so she could lean on it. "I am not angry at you for what you did. Knowing what the Vinmaier child tried to do, your reaction was rather tame."


    "Do you want him gone?" Aperio asked as she lifted her head and stood at her full height. The weight of the question was almost physical as the mana that always accompanied her Goddess'' words reached Laelia.


    There was no misinterpreting the words; no misunderstanding. If she said yes, Inerlius would disappear from this world without a trace, Laelia knew that.


    "No," she eventually replied. "I hate him for what he has done, but he does not deserve to die for it."


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes at the words but gave a nod nonetheless. Caethya simply shook her head and stepped next to Aperio, taking her hand. "Both of you need a break," she declared. "All of us, actually."


    "I cannot take a break when so much is left to do," the All-Mother said as she looked at the Demigoddess with slightly narrowed eyes. "Ferio is still on Geshwen dealing with the mortals and Moria is about to make the biggest decision of her life."


    "And you need to take care of yourself," Caethya rebutted, poking her finger at the All-Mother''s chest. "In fact, your daughter should join us. I would say Moria too, but she needs time with Neria to figure everything out."


    "And what would you have us do?" Laelia asked, not quite sure what the Demigoddess wanted to achieve.


    "Not deal with the stupid decisions of mortals for a moment," she replied with a shrug. "Maybe visit Adam and ask him about Earth. You wanted to go there, no?"


    "I do," Aperio replied. "I wish to know if a world without Gods falls to the same level as Verenier did."


    "Then let us do that," Caethya said. "Banging your head against problem after problem is not the solution. You will undoubtedly make them go away, but you would be more likely to break something than solve it."


    Aperio mumbled something Laelia did not quite understand and clenched her free hand into a fist. After a moment of silence, the All-Mother relaxed and opened her hand again, shaking her head.


    "Fine," she said. "Ferio said that the mortals need some time on their own and will be with us shortly."


    Laelia could only give a slight nod as Caethya smiled and motioned for her to follow. She could not claim to understand what had just happened or why the formality of the All-Mother fell away when she was with her disciple. She knew, of course, that the two of them were in a relationship of sorts, but she had not expected it to lead to this.


    She would not complain, however. Caethya had been right, at least in regards to her: Laelia needed a break from dealing with the people of Ebenlowe making one stupid decision after another. She just hoped that she could afford that same luxury to her knights sometime soon.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 174: Reconnecting

    GamingWolf


    It only took Aperio a few strides before she had caught up to Caethya and slung her arm and a wing across her shoulders. She pulled her love a little closer to herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as the Demigoddess wrapped her own arm around her waist.


    "You really need to take better care of yourself," Caethya whispered as she leaned herself more heavily against Aperio. "If you don''t, I will figure out a way to enforce rest hours for you."


    "Are you sure you can do that?" Laelia asked as she stepped past the couple to open the door, shooing some members of the church away. "Trying to get her to do anything she doesn''t want seems like a exercise in futility."


    "It is not," Aperio said as she ducked through the door that connected Laelia''s office to a rather inconspicuous-looking hallway. At one point or another, she would have to fix all the doors in her temple: having to duck through most of them was not something she should have to do in her own home. "People seemingly think that, however, and simply never ask. I am willing to do a lot for those I consider friends."


    "She also knows that I am right," Caethya added with a small smile. It only lasted for a moment before her gaze landed on the Scion and her expression became relatively serious once more. "This is also true for you, however. You need to take breaks or you will break yourself, and none of us want that."


    "Perhaps I should simply make a holiday that forbids anyone from working?" Aperio asked with her head tilted ever-so-slightly to the side. "Maybe I could even disable the System for that day."


    Her attempts at humour were met with a laugh from both Caethya and Laelia but brought wide-eyed stares from the other mortals that still called her temple their home. Aperio tried her best to ignore them, holding onto her love a bit tighter and focusing on the pleasant calm her presence brought to further distract herself.


    "Better not," Laelia said with a small sigh and shake of her head. "I doubt that would end well."


    "It was merely a joke," Aperio said. Too many things relied on the System for her to just turn it off. If I can even do that. The System was a part of her in some weird way, and over the long course of her disappearance it had accrued quite a lot of damage.


    "When will Ferio join us?" Caethya asked in an obvious attempt to shift the conversation. "Your words made it seem like she was ready to go."


    The All-Mother offered a shrug at the words. Ferio had told her she would let her know when she was ready, and so far her daughter had not said anything more. "I do not know. She will come whenever she wishes to do so."


    One of the mortals ¡ª perhaps even a follower ¡ª stepped closer to Aperio and extended a shaking hand. The All-Mother stopped and tilted her head before a minuscule amount of her mana flowed through the mortal, trying to see if anything was wrong with them. Much to her surprise, they were in perfect health, just a little excited going by the rapid beating of their heart and the shaking of their limbs.


    "Yes?" she asked, and for the first time since she had returned to her temple she made an attempt to restrain her voice a little.


    The mortal did not speak, their mouth simply opening and closing a few times as they tried and failed to formulate a response. Aperio removed her arm and wing from her love and lowered herself slightly so she did not loom over the obviously scared mortal. Very carefully, she extended her own hand and took the one they offered.


    Not hurting them took a not insignificant amount of concentration on her part, as the mortal was weaker than most anyone Aperio had encountered recently. Almost like a child¡­ That was all she could think of. They were like a small child, and she was some Dragon trying its best not to hurt the curious Human that had come to its lair.


    "What do you wish to say?" she asked, tilted her head to the other side. Her hair spilled over her shoulders as she exaggerated the motion, and as Caethya immediately began running her fingers through the long silver strands to remove the ones caught on her ears Aperio found herself smiling slightly.


    "I don''t think they want to say anything," Laelia replied for the mortal. "Most of them have chosen to follow you, but your status as the All-Mother makes them think they would never get to see you again. Or at all, for some."


    "This is my home," Aperio said, tilting her head to the other side, somewhat invalidating the effort of her love to stop her hair turning into a mess. "I was simply busy the last few¡­ weeks?" It was a guess on her part. She did not really know how much time had passed since her return and something told her that even though a few weeks felt right, it was too little.


    "More like a few months," Laelia said with a slight shake of her head. "Do you even have a sense of time left? When I first met you it was already¡­ questionable."


    Caethya laughed at the words, causing Aperio to turn her head and look. The Demigoddess waved her off as she took a breath. "I just realised that your lack of time perception is rubbing off on me, but I guess that is to be expected." She chuckled. "Watch out, Laelia, you too will fall to the ignorance of the All-Mother."


    Her Scion raised her hands and put on a frightened face that would convince nobody, then shook her head as she stepped back, stating in a deadpan voice, "The mere idea terrifies me."


    Aperio turned her gaze back to the mortal whose hand she still held. She let go, making sure that they did not hurt themselves as she did. "I hope your stay here has been pleasant," she said, trying her best to offer a calming smile. "If you require anything, do not hesitate to ask."


    The mortal did not move, only nodding after someone behind them poked a finger in their back. They offered another small nod before their eyes went to their hand and a smile spread across their face. Aperio only raised a brow in response as she stood to her full height again and took Caethya''s hand into her own.


    "Why are they looking at their hand like that?" Aperio whispered, a touch of her magic ensuring that nobody but her love would hear the question.


    Caethya chuckled. The musicality of her laughter had been happening a lot lately, and the All-Mother found herself hoping that the trend would continue. "They just touched the Creator of everything there is; to most mortals that is a once in a lifetime experience."


    "I guess?" She tilted her head. "You never reacted like that, though."


    "I never really felt in awe of you," Caethya said. "Not after I first met you, that is. I just... feel calm when I am with you. My thoughts are finally quiet enough for me to focus. Before you, that was something I had never felt before." She moved herself a little closer. "There was always a kind of fog on my mind, a mess of thoughts that moved from one thing to the next before I could do anything.


    "It was exhausting," her love continued. She looked up, closed her eyes, and smiled. "But then I found you and there was this clarity, and this feeling in my stomach that I cannot quite describe. I trusted this feeling and it turned out to be correct." Caethya stood on her toes and placed a quick kiss on Aperio''s cheek. "Now I know that the feeling I couldn''t place was love, and I don''t regret following it."


    Aperio remained silent, her mind unable to come up with any sort of reply that would even come close to expressing how she felt. Luckily, she did not need words, and a thought was all the All-Mother needed to show her love how she felt; what she had felt when they first met.


    Her experience was quite unlike what Caethya had described. She had feared that the blessing she had given her would twist her mind, force her to feel what she did for her because her magic was simply too strong to resist. That her mere presence would force her love to do things she did not want.


    In the end, her worry had turned out to be unneeded. If anything, the blessing she had given her had made Caethya ¡ª and by extension Maria, and now Laelia ¡ª more resistant to the effects her mana had on everything. They all could still feel her emotions, Caethya more so than the rest, but it no longer seemed to influence them. Finally something good.


    Her love''s smile widened a little as she linked her arm with Aperio''s, nudging her slightly so she would begin following Laelia again. The All-Mother obliged, starting to walk. While this was likely not the break Caethya had meant, the last few moments had meant more to Aperio than her love probably knew. Understanding why Caethya felt this way about her was doomed to be an exercise in futility, and neither did she really want to go there anymore.


    For one reason or another, her usual hesitation was not present with Caethya. She could trust her love, and that knowledge alone brought Aperio a sense of comfort she could not put into words. Instead of trying, Aperio simply wrapped a wing around her love and pulled her closer.


    She extended her other wing, tapping it against Laelia''s back as it was out of reach for her arms. Once her Scion was looking at her, Aperio gestured to her side and a small flex of her mental muscles caused reality to twist itself apart, creating a portal to the House of Healing. That is where they had wanted to go, after all, and Aperio saw little reason to wander the streets of Ebenlowe for no reason. And I want to talk to Adam about his home world.


    Figuring out how mortals lived ¡ª and maybe even thrived ¡ª without meddling deities was something that was of great interest to her. Perhaps it would be able to remove the last bit of doubt that mortals were always doomed to fall to greed from her mind. It was only a faint hope, sure, but it was still there and that is what counted in Aperio''s mind.


    Laelia only shook her head as she passed through the portal Aperio had made, mumbling something about restraint and common sense that the All-Mother did not quite understand. She was already restraining herself, and the portal was much easier to understand for a mortal than her simply disappearing the three of them.


    Aperio simply shrugged, taking care to not move the wing she had wrapped around her love too much, before she passed through the portal with Caethya. She had contemplated saying something to the mortals that had still been looking at them but, in the end, she had decided against it. What Laelia had said made it seem like the less she interacted with them, the better.


    The tear in reality closed behind Aperio without much fanfare, something that could not be said about the girl that was practically launching herself at the All-Mother. She untangled her arm from Caethya''s and took a slight step backwards as she caught Brenia in an effort to soften the impact on the child.


    "Hello," Aperio said as she adjusted her hold on the girl slightly in hopes of making it a little bit more comfortable. "Please do not jump at people, okay? You might hurt yourself."


    Brenia looked at her mother, saying something in the language Aperio had still not learned despite telling herself she would. Another reason to talk to Adam. He came from an entirely different world and he had no problem understanding her, so something existed that did the translation for him. And if it existed, Aperio could have it. Probably.


    "She is very sure that you would never hurt her," Laelia said, her voice filled with exasperation. She clearly was not happy with Brenia¡¯s actions, but the All-Mother knew that her Scion valued her adopted daughter''s happiness over the breaking of a social rule.


    "Not on purpose," Aperio agreed, shifting her gaze back to Brenia. "But my skin breaks metal, and I can just walk through walls. I doubt her body is equally tough."


    "Most definitely not," Laelia agreed. "She regularly gets paper cuts from turning pages too fast."


    Caethya brushed her hand against Aperio''s arm, a thought letting her know that she could take the girl accompanying the motion. "You wanted to talk to Adam, no?"


    "I did," Aperio said, giving Brenia a smile before she carefully handed her over to her love. "Could you tell her that I will be back in a little while?"


    "Of course," Caethya replied as she took Laelia''s daughter and started walking towards a couch.


    "Adam should be with¡­ his teacher in the courtyard," Laelia said, causing Aperio to raise a brow.


    She had spotted the man and the fallen God as soon as they had arrived, but it seemed that her Scion had gotten used to people not knowing about everything in their general vicinity. What a blessing. Aperio might have figured out a somewhat viable way to not know everything at all times, but what surrounded her was still always in her mind.


    "I see them," she said. "Should I expect anything from Natio?"


    "No," Laelia said, "he has been behaving remarkably well. He¡¯s also a good teacher, for some reason."


    "A pleasant surprise," the All-Mother said, her words not entirely truthful. "I guess I will observe their training for a bit." She looked at her love. "I am supposed to take a break, after all."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 175: Finding a Way

    As the ceremonial black and gold cloth descended to cover the last of the dead council members, Neria couldn''t help but shake her head at the actions of her mother. This rite of the [Ancestral Guard] was used to honor those who had died and gone to join Chellien in the afterlife ¡ª a useless act, as she now knew ¡ª and the idea that her mother still stuck to it for people who had tried to break the core tenants of the very organization they had been part of made no sense to her.


    "Why?" she asked, taking a step closer. "It doesn''t do anything for them ¡ª you are living proof of that ¡ª and even if it did they would not deserve it."


    "Perhaps not," Moria agreed, "but uprooting everything the guard was built on does not seem like a good idea. Especially not now."


    Neria flattened her ears against her head. Her mother was right ¡ª Probably ¡ª but she still felt like it was wrong to honour in any way the people that had tried to destroy the guard. Doubly so because there apparently was not even an afterlife, only endless reincarnation. A cycle she has been through countless times by now¡­


    "She still did not force me to accept the title," Moria said, as if she could read Neria''s mind. "I considered her a friend of sorts back then. Now¡­ now, I have to get to know her again, but she is already a better person than before."


    "Is she even a person?"


    Moria stopped in her tracks at the words and turned around. She stood up, somehow towering over her daughter despite being slightly shorter. "Neria Filia Kellborn, I will not hear you talk about a friend of our family like this again. Aperio is as much a person as anyone else you meet. The fact that she is the architect of our existence does not change that fact."


    Neria nodded weakly in reply. Even the slightest hint of her mother''s anger had always intimidated her, and when she had surpassed Moria in terms of levels that intimidation had remained solidly in place. Not that that means much. Classes might be a thing now, but levels still did not truly represent someone''s power. That''s probably the next thing Aperio will fix¡­


    Just thinking about the All-Mother caused a mix of anger and fear to rise up in Neria. Despite her mother''s continued reassurance, she blamed Aperio for what had happened, for the hardships Moria had had to go through. That she was now pushing her mother to become a bona fide Goddess did not win her many points. How could she expect anyone to bear the burden of being a deity? Especially after she had just deposed hundreds of them.


    A moment of silence passed, during which Moria produced a number of small pouches that she laid on every single deceased member of the council. "Do you think I should try and ascend?" her mother said at last. "Aperio is right in saying that guidance is needed, I just don''t know if I can offer what our kind needs."


    "I don''t know," Neria replied. "How could I? I cannot even really grasp what you would be like as a Goddess. What you could do." She sighed. "I have seen what Aperio could do during my initiation. She just ripped the Soul out of a God and turned it into¡­ whatever the orb was. Would you be able to do that?"


    "No," Moria replied with a shake of her head. "Messing with Souls is what got the other deities killed. Like Aperio has said many times by now, that is one of the few rules she imposes on her creation. Breaking it will not end well for anyone.


    "My role as a Goddess for the Beastkin," Moria continued, "would probably be something along the lines of a mediator. I have no idea what my Domains would be or how you would even go about picking them, but that is the only thing I could see as being useful for our people."


    "Goddess of Mediation," Neria huffed. "How is that supposed to help us? Most of our people are aimless after their Gods disappeared, and now the last constant of the [Ancestral Guard] has gone poof. And, and the All-Mother took the source of our power."


    "That is why she wants me to be a Goddess, so I can be our source of power."


    The mere idea of her mother becoming a Goddess and leading not only the [Ancestral Guard] but all the Beastkin tribes sent Neria¡¯s mind into a tumble. Despite her best efforts ¡ª despite knowing how many lives her mother had lived ¡ª she could not wrap her head around the concept. That Moria kept adjusting the covers and small pouches as she put forward more and more hypotheticals did not help her whatsoever.


    ///


    Aperio chose to walk this time. She did not want to draw Adam¡¯s and Natio¡¯s attention right away and also hoped that stretching her legs a bit might help her clear her mind. Before she left the room they had appeared in, the All-Mother turned around and offered a small wave while letting a bit of her mana flow around her love in the closest approximation of a hug she could manage with magic. Caethya gave her a smile and a small wave in return, setting her attention on Brenia once the All-Mother had stepped outside the room.


    She ducked through the door, closing it with a small motion of her wing as she glided over the hardwood floor of the House of Healing. The wood needed a bit of convincing through her magic to not make a sound, but by now she had gotten used to the fact that she was too heavy for most anything that mortals made.


    The few mortals she encountered on her way through the building did not pay her much mind, only a few of them pausing to turn around after she had passed them. Aperio did not pay them much mind in return, trying to ignore the whispers that they mumbled to themselves as best she could. Not hearing them was not an option, but she would do her best to act like a simple visitor, even when they recognised her as the All-Mother.


    It did not take her long to reach the door that led into the courtyard Natio and Adam had taken over for training purposes. What she sensed through her aura was not necessarily something she would describe as ''training'' but if it helped Adam to get better at magic, it was probably the best thing to do. But then, maybe this is how all mages train? She had expected it to involve more reading of books and less repeated throwing of spells at a target.


    With a small shake of her head, Aperio opened the door and ducked through, making a mental note to find a way to mandate higher doors for all of Verenier. Adam did not seem to notice her, too concentrated on the spells he was casting, while Natio visibly froze for a moment before he tried to regain a semblance of calm. His attempt would likely fool most people, but Aperio could hear the rapid beat of his heart, could sense how his muscles tensed whenever she made even the smallest of movements.


    Telling him that she had not come to punish him would likely not do much, so Aperio did not. Instead, she leaned herself against the wall next to the door. At least, she tried to. The feeling of her wings pressing into the stone as though it were wet dirt, crumbling under the touch of her feathers, caused her to change her mind and simply stand where she was. With a sigh, she extended her feathered limbs for a moment, giving them a quick beat to set the feathers straight before a small flex of her mental muscles returned the stone to its previous state. Need to figure out how my throne does this¡­ phasing stuff.


    "What do we owe this visit to?" Natio asked once Adam lowered his hands and the magic he had conjured had faded. "Nothing bad, I hope."


    "No," Aperio replied, her shoulders falling ever-so-slightly as both Adam and Natio visibly winced. "I have come to talk to Adam about his home."


    "My home?" Adam asked as he turned around. "Do you mean¡­?"


    He let the words hang in the air, but it was clear enough what he had meant. "Yes, Earth," she replied with a nod. "I wish to see it."


    The Human remained quiet for a moment as he simply looked at Aperio with his mouth open. After a moment, he shook his head. "Why do you need me for that?"


    Aperio narrowed her eyes at the question and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Because I do not know anything about your world and wish to learn before I go." And I want to figure out why you understand me just fine when you came from a different planet.


    The last part was something she did not really need his help for, just his consent to look at his status for a moment. For everything else, however, she needed Adam. Going to Earth ¡ª after she figured out where that was ¡ª without knowing anything about it was a bad idea. "For example, I do not even know if your world has Elves." She shrugged. "If it does not, I would stand out more than I already do."


    Adam regarded her for a moment before he looked at Natio. For a moment Aperio thought that Natio might not have known that Adam was from another world, but his lacking reaction told her that he already knew. The [Veil Walker] on the other hand was seemingly unsure if his teacher knew. After another moment of hesitation, he shook his head and took a step towards Aperio. "Could we talk about this somewhere a little more¡­ private?"


    "This place can be as private as we need," she replied as a touch of her magic flowed around the courtyard to ensure that no word they spoke would leave. "But why do you wish this to be kept private?"


    The answer to that was probably obvious, but Aperio liked to be certain.


    "Because not everyone needs to know where I come from," Adam replied, eyeing Natio. "And apparently, Natio wants to keep his name a secret. Don''t know why, though."


    "Does he?" Aperio looked at the Fallen God and raised a brow. "Perhaps he fears the retribution of those he wronged." She set her gaze back on the [Veil Walker]. "Do you wish to know what he has done?"


    "No," Adam replied with a shake of his head. "If he wants me to know, he will tell me. As for your questions," he added, "there are no Elves where I come from, and no magic either, for that matter. There''s only Humans, and what we invented." He cleared his throat. "But why do you want to go there anyway? It''s¡­ not a great place."


    The All-Mother offered a shrug, her wings moving with the motion. "I wish to know how a world without the influence of the divine fared. So far I have not been¡­ impressed with the mortals I have seen that held any sort of power."


    ///


    "That won''t change on Earth," Adam said, his voice barely a whisper. For a moment, he considered telling Aperio about the saying that did not want to leave his mind. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. He shook his head. Telling that to a being that was the embodiment of absolute power was probably a bad idea. Thinking that might already be bad.


    He looked at the All-Mother and held his breath, unsure if she would smite him down because she could actually read his mind. Aperio simply looked at him, tilting her head after a moment as he remained quiet.


    "Did you wish to say something more?" she finally asked as she shifted her weight from one leg to another.


    Adam swallowed and took a step backwards, his eyes scanning over the All-Mother''s arms and legs in an attempt to spot any sign that she might make a move.


    The winged Goddess let out a long sigh and shook her head. "I am not here to punish you or your teacher. I just want information, and maybe a guide when I leave for Earth." She lifted her arm and waved it around a little which caused a view wisps of mana to float from her skin. A moment later, she balled her hand into a fist and Adam could have sworn that reality itself had broken a little inside it. "Just because I look like I can throw you into the sun does not mean I will. If I was angry at you, you would know."


    Adam did not move, only offering weak nod as Natio gave one as well. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat in an effort to regain a semblance of confidence. "I don''t know if I''m ready to go back to Earth. My family has likely already reported me missing, and telling them I got transported to another world and then came back with the literal Creator of everything there is would see me admitted to a mental ward."


    "If you do not wish to accompany us, that is fine," the All-Mother replied as she opened her hand again, letting a few more wisps of mana float into the air. "But I would still like to ask a few questions about Earth."


    "Can you even go to Earth without breaking it?"


    Aperio tilted her head, her hair flowing over her ears and shoulders, leaving yet more wisps in the air. "Why should I not? It is a world like any other, the only difference is that the System is not active on it and that no divine has laid their hand on it."


    "Well," Adam began, rubbing the base of his neck as his eyes moved from the All-Mother''s wings, to the wisps of mana, and finally her ever-shifting eyes. "You are like a fountain of mana. Wouldn''t it be bad for a planet that had none to suddenly have too much?"


    "My mana is the fabric upon which everything is drawn." She poked one of the wisps with her finger, causing it to melt into her skin. "What you see here are merely as of yet unused shreds of the mana I use to maintain this body." As if to make her point, all the wisps disappeared, a subtle glow emanating from beneath her skin instead. "Do not worry, I will know if my presence will have an adverse effect on your home or not when the time comes."


    "If you say so," he replied, regretting his rather casual reply immediately as the All-Mother narrowed her eyes ever-so-slightly. "What do you want to know?"


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 176: The View on Mortals

    Aperio ran her hand over her stomach, smoothing out some nonexistent wrinkles in her dress. She was the All-Mother, so dealing with the empire on Geshwen and the [Ancestral Guard] while planning to travel to Earth shouldn''t have been much to deal with, but Aperio still felt overwhelmed by it all. And then there is Ferio¡­


    She had been trying to make some form of amends with her daughter, but the fact that she had still not let her know she was ready told Aperio that the excursion to Geshwen had probably broken more than it had fixed. After a moment longer, the All-Mother let out a breath she had not taken, letting the muscles she had unconsciously tightened relax again.


    The two mortals in the courtyard did not speak, both simply looking up at her. "What?" Aperio asked, a previously unknown annoyance at their looks causing her to drop her usual formality. "Am I not allowed to feel uncomfortable?" Anxious, even.


    Aperio kept the last bit to herself. Sharing that clearly how she felt about anything was reserved for Caethya and maybe ¡ª one day ¡ª her daughter. The continued thoughts of Ferio caused Aperio to hesitate for a moment before she decided to reach out again. Her daughter''s silence felt worse than she had ever thought it would; worse even than the first time Ferio had done so.


    "I didn''t really think you could be uncomfortable," Adam said, the pitch of his voice rising at the end of his statement. "With who ¡ª and what ¡ª you are."


    Aperio shrugged. "Just because I made all of this"¡ª she gestured vaguely at their surroundings ¡ª"does not mean I am somehow devoid of emotion. I am a person like anyone else."


    Natio mumbled something that Aperio only partly understood. It would seem the fallen God was not quite of the opinion that she was a person like anyone else. He could think that if he wanted to, but the All-Mother gave him a slight glare nonetheless. Though being normal was not meant for her, she would at least try to appear as such.


    Adam just shook his head and started walking towards one of the benches that lined the walls to Aperio''s right. After a few steps, he stopped and looked at the All-Mother, seemingly asking for permission to continue.


    "You do not need to ask every time you want to do something," she said, taking a few steps of her own into the courtyard proper and turning to face Adam before she closed her eyes, spreading her wings briefly to their full length then folding them behind her back. Once she was done, she opened her eyes again and let her gaze settle on Adam. "Now, what can you tell me about Earth?"


    Adam shrugged. "We don''t have magic, like I said before. There are numerous countries ¡ª too many to count really ¡ª and even more people. Before I disappeared, there were a bit more than seven and a half billion Humans on Earth."


    The All-Mother blinked at the number had given her and tilted her head. "That seems a little¡­ excessive. Verenier only has about two billion sapient beings on it."


    "It''s also bigger."


    "Earth is?" Aperio asked as she focused on her aura a little more just to make sure her gut feeling about Verenier''s population had been correct. It was.


    "No," Adam corrected. "Verenier is. At least as far as I can tell from looking at maps. It also relies on the fact that the System can somehow translate the measurements used here to ones I understand." He paused for a moment during which his eyes wandered back and forth between the floor and the All-Mother. "I had no reason to doubt the conversions yet as the [Translation] skill I got has worked awfully well since I got here."


    "That is something I would like to look at," Aperio said, a step bringing her directly in front of Adam. "If you allow it, of course."


    "Could I stop you?"


    "No, but I would not look if you did not want me to." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "That should be common decency."


    Aperio still felt conflicted about the whole thing. On the one hand, she liked that she could do what she wished and nobody would be able to stop her. On the other hand, doing something like that would go against the very core of her ideals. My tenants, she mused. Forcing her will on others was something she would not do unless she had to.


    "Most people would do what they wished if they had your power," Natio said, his voice quiet enough that Aperio was not sure if Adam had heard him.


    She whirled around, taking a step away from Adam to ensure she did not accidentally hit him with her wings. "Like yourself, perhaps?"


    The fallen God tried to take a step back as Aperio''s unblinking gaze did not leave him, but failed as the wall behind him did not move. As he could not retreat from the unmoving form of the All-Mother, Natio instead tried to make himself as small as possible.


    "Awfully quiet now, are we?" Aperio asked before she shook her head. "I do not know why anyone here is willing to give him another chance." She took a breath, the smell of Ebenlowe not entirely pleasant to her nose, and turned to face Adam again. "No matter. If you do not want me to look at your skills, I will not."


    Adam scratched the side of his neck and shrugged. "You can if you want to. Do I need to do anything?"


    "No," Aperio replied, a tendril of her mana flowing into Adam''s body and towards his Soul. "You could tell me if Earth is inhabited by as many wretched people as Verenier seems to be."


    The Human paused at her words. He simply looked at Aperio as if he had trouble understanding her, and for a moment the All-Mother thought that through her act of looking at Adam''s skills she had somehow broken them.


    "Why do you say the people here are¡­ wretched?" Adam asked, the confusion in his voice evident. "I might not have met many people yet, but the ones I have have all been nice. A lot nicer than most I knew on Earth."


    "Do the people of Earth consider slavery to be a moral thing?" Aperio asked, taking a single step towards Adam and looking down at him. "Are they willing to sacrifice their own family to achieve their goals? The people here do that and more." And they all seem to think that they can stand in my way¡­


    Where that idea came from was probably not something Aperio would ever understand, but it was a fact she had to live with. The people of Verenier ¡ª for one reason or another ¡ª did not want to accept the truth that whatever rules she made would be the ones they had to follow. She still held a slim hope that they might one day learn that enslaving your fellow mortals was not the right thing to do, but that feeling dimmed with every passing day.


    "Some do," Adam replied as he tried and failed to distance himself from the Goddess that loomed over him. "But most people just want to live their life and not bother anyone. The same as the people here."


    Aperio shook her head and took a step back, devoting more of her attention to deciphering the seemingly endless bundle of runes that made up Adam''s [Translation] skill. "Almost every mortal I have dealt with so far has been barely worth the magic that animates their Soul." She held up a hand to postpone any possible answer. "Of course, there are exceptions, but in general it seems that mortals are not what they are supposed to be."


    The All-Mother''s words hung in the air, neither Adam nor Natio even daring to move. Aperio simply let out another breath she had never taken and let her shoulders and wings slump. "I doubt this is a discussion you are prepared for, or even wish to have, so I suggest we move on to a different topic. You said Earth does not have magic; that has to be wrong. There is no life without mana."


    Every Soul needed a little bit of mana to work. It was the proverbial seed that allowed them to grow into a mortal able to decide their own fate. The gift from her old self that let them shape her creation to their will. If Earth had no mana, there would be no life on it.


    "We don''t have magic," Adam replied. "There are no people flying around, and no one throws lightning around like I can now."


    He hesitated, looking Aperio up and down which caused the All-Mother to look at herself as well in an effort to see if something was wrong. She could not find anything and set her gaze back on Adam, tilting her head slightly.


    "Well," he said, and scratched the side of his neck again, "you''d probably break anything we have on Earth by gripping it a bit too hard."


    Aperio tilted her head to the other side, a particularly knotted bundle of runes in Adam''s skill having piqued her interest. "That is always the case." She motioned at the surroundings with one of her wings. "All of this would break if used even a tiny fraction of my power. Even my own daughter ¡ª a literal Goddess ¡ª is not strong enough to withstand anything but a miniscule amount of my strength."


    The renewed thought of Ferio caused Aperio to reach out yet again, this time actually getting an affirmative answer. A small smile spread across her face, and a thought twisted reality apart to bring her daughter into the courtyard with them.


    Upon witnessing the entrance of the Goddess of Life and Light, Adam opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Aperio simply waved him off. "She knows where you are from," she said. "Perhaps she might even accompany us to Earth."


    "You''re going to bring more worlds into the fold?" Ferio asked with a raised brow. "I would have guessed you would want those worlds to stay untouched by the divine for as long as possible."


    "I wish to see how the mortals fare on a world that has not been influenced by the divine act. From what Adam has told me thus far, my hopes are not high." Luckily for anyone that was not Caethya or herself, Aperio had shelved the idea of restarting yet again. For now. She could not bring herself to end countless lives as long as there was a chance to have them change their ways. Perhaps it was futile and she would have to start over in the end anyway, but time was of no consequence to her or her love, so why not try?


    "I doubt it''s as bad as you fear," her daughter replied with a small shrug. "You''ll always find people that do not care for anyone but themselves, but by and large, the mortals are not evil. Not inherently, at least."


    "Perhaps I simply attract the worst of them."


    "More like you seek them out because they go against your ideals," Ferio rebutted. "In any case, when are we leaving?"


    "Once Moria has taken care of her business with the [Ancestral Guard] and I actually figure out where Earth is and how this [Translation] skill works." She twisted the mental image of the rune clusters around once more, trying to understand why it would need to read the user''s Soul to work with the foreign language. "I will not go to a world and not speak their language."


    "Ah, well." Adam coughed. "We have quite a few languages. Hundreds, probably thousands."


    "Even more reason to figure out how I can make this skill work for myself."


    She knew that System assisted skills worked for her ¡ª her use of [Reality Check] after she had returned proved that ¡ª but Aperio also knew that System assisted and System granted skills were different. One simply caused the System to bend ambient mana to a pre-formed pattern, while the other was magic that the System gave to a mortal based on their achievements, somehow linking it to their Soul. Well, the skill references the Soul. Aperio furrowed her brows as a thought crossed her mind. Could there be a duplicate Soul somehow? That was something she would have to look into at one point or another, as for now understanding the [Translation] skill took priority.


    "Couldn''t you just read a few books on the language and use that?"


    Aperio looked at her daughter and shook her head. "Perhaps, but it does not feel like that would work." The book on the Human''s language she had borrowed from Caethya ages ago appeared in her hand. Her finger slid over the fore edge of the book, prompting the pages to turn before her in quick succession. Her eyes scanned each page in turn, while her aura scoured the book in its entirety. "I still have no idea how any of these words sound. Those squiggles that are supposed to help with that mean nothing to me."


    "Did you just read ¡ª and understand ¡ª everything in that book?" Adam asked, seemingly not quite believing his own words.


    "Yes?" Aperio replied with a slight tilt of her head. "It does not really help me, however. I understood what was written there and could tell you what was on each page, but I still do not know how to use this knowledge." She cocked her head to the other side. "If that even makes sense to you."


    "It doesn''t really, but I think I got the gist of it," Adam replied. He remained quiet for a moment before he sighed. "I don''t really know what else I can tell you about Earth. The people aren''t much different, we just don''t use magic and find other ways to make do."


    "But would you be willing to accompany us when the time comes?"


    No matter Adam''s answer, she would still go, but having an actual guide would be good. Wandering around a world none of them knew anything about was bound to create trouble, especially if their very existence went against what everyone on that world knew to be true.


    "I don''t know," he replied. "Like I said before, I don''t know what happened while I was gone, but you can be sure that my parents put out a missing persons report and that the poli¡ªguard," he corrected himself, "would be looking for me."


    Aperio lifted her hand, a pale blue flickering to life in her palm. "Do you really think they could take you against your will?"


    "No," Adam replied with a shake of his head. "And that''s what scares me."


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 177: The Weight of Choice

    Moria eyed the small semi-translucent blue box at the side of her vision yet again. If she had her way, she would take a few months to mull over this decision, but she also knew that it would not change how she felt about becoming a Goddess.


    She very much wanted to, but she also knew that she could not do what was required to get her kind back on the right track. The years of corruption that the Elder Gods had spread would take even longer to undo ¡ª if she could even get rid of it all.


    Someone would have to do it, and at the moment, she could not trust anyone but herself. She brushed away a perceived wrinkle in one of the cloths she had used to cover her former comrades. After a moment, she paused, balled her hand into a fist and shook her head.


    "You seem to have made up your mind," Neria said as she placed sheathed falchions next to the last council members. "Do I call you Goddess or Mother now?"


    "You call me whatever you wish to," Moria replied. "I am still ¡ª and will always be ¡ª your mother." She shook her head, her ears twitching slightly. "Besides, I am still not sure. I don''t think I can do what needs to be done."


    "And what would that be?"


    "Killing, or at least incapacitating, quite a few of our kind. At least every leader of the churches devoted to the Elder Gods, as well as the few officials they have in their pockets."


    Neria simply looked at her mother for a moment before she gave a dry laugh. "And why would that be a problem? They made their choice when they stuck to those ideals after the literal creator told them that that is a no-go," she scoffed. "Even if it is a bit hypocritical of her. She controls all of us with the System, after all."


    "Not really," Moria said with a light shake of her head. "It''s a part of her, yes, but she doesn''t actually consciously control it. A long time ago, she tried to explain it to me, but I only understood a little bit of it." She took a breath and set her gaze squarely on her daughter. "In essence, the System is supposed to act as a buffer between Aperio and her creation. Back then, a stray thought from her could change reality without her really wanting to have done it. I am sure she can still change things, but every interaction she has with the world at large seems to be much more deliberate now.


    "In any case," she continued, "the System might be ''Aperio'' in a sense, but it acts on its own logic. Think of it like a very large and very, very complex ward. Seeing it will give you a headache, but it''s made from countless runes that are somehow able to process the information a Soul carries and act according to it."


    "So, it''s more like we influence ourselves? Like a kind of feedback loop?"


    Moria nodded. "Exactly. That''s why the System will give you a magic-aligned Class if you practice a lot of magic and then get more specific the more evolutions you go through. Aperio herself has nothing to do with that; she simply made the System and provides it with the mana it needs to run."


    Her daughter remained quiet for a moment, her gaze shifting from her mother to the covered corpses on the ground. "I know that the Gods she killed tried to mess with Souls, but did they also try to get her System to work for them?"


    "Perhaps," Moria replied with a shrug. "But given what I understood of her explanation back then, someone else taking control of the System wouldn''t really work. The Classes went away, but that was because Aperio was gone." She paused for a moment before adding, "At least, I think that is the case."


    "But why would she let them break? Does she have to walk around on Verenier for them to work?"


    "Ah, no," Moria said. She sighed. "Aperio will tell you what happened, if she so chooses. I will not break the trust she placed in me."


    "I am your daughter," Neria said, her voice a few octaves higher and just below yelling. "Why do you always keep secrets?!"


    "The secrets I keep from you are not mine to tell," Moria replied, her voice calm and measured as she stood up and regarded the covered corpses before her one last time before turning around. "You have secrets you do not wish to tell me either, and that is fine. We do not need to know everything, but we do need to be able to trust one another." She looked at her daughter ¡ª taking in the golden fur that never, through all her lives, had graced her. "Do you trust me?"


    Neria remained quiet for a while, her eyes wandering around the room but always pausing on her mother''s form. She began to speak more than a few times but always stopped again, seemingly unsure if her words were correct or not. In the end, her gaze stopped on Moria, her ears twitching.


    "I do," she finally said. "I know that you want to protect me." She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "But these secrets ¡ª especially if they concern the All-Mother ¡ª are driving me insane. When I first met her, she almost crushed me in a hug. She seemed lost; definitely not like the creator of everything.


    "And now," she continued, "she walks around, killing hundreds of Gods like it''s nothing and ¡ª for reasons I still don''t understand ¡ª is helping you deal with this and wants you to become a Goddess." She turned around and shook her head. "I''m sorry, but all of that is a bit¡­ much."


    Moria gave her daughter a bitter smile before she started to walk towards the exit of the council chambers. "It only gets worse the more you know."


    ///


    Jester let the rose fall from his hand and into the open casket that was supposed to house his mother. The flower settled against the inlay, rolling slightly to the side as there was no body for it to rest against.


    Silently, he took a step to the side and placed the other rose he carried between his father¡¯s cold, stiff hands. In the span of a few days he had lost both his parents. One had been planned, the other not.


    Perhaps it would turn out to be a blessing in disguise later on, but for now Jester would have to play his part as the mourning son. Sure, there was a bit of genuine sadness at the loss of his mother, but it was fleeting at best. Jester''s relationship to his parents had never been what others would consider good. Still, despite most of that being public knowledge ¡ª and the truth for most noble houses ¡ª he was still expected to mourn the loss of his parents. Something that put a damper on his plans for a little while.


    Jester remained standing for a moment longer before he stepped back and took a seat on the bench closest to the caskets. Nobody else would sit with him as he was the only one of the Vinmaier family in attendance; this bench was reserved for family. He did not even have Lita with him; he had sent her into hiding as the All-Mother had somehow missed her and he did want to keep her. In order to do that, however, he would have to figure out a way to remove the enchantment from her flesh. Something that he hoped would cause the All-Mother to overlook her again. If she is just loyal, that''s her choice after all.


    He had little doubt that Lita would continue to stay by his side even if the magical enforcement went away. She had been under its influence since she was born ¡ª almost twenty-three years now ¡ª and most of the time he did not make use of the enchantment for her to obey him. If anything, she forced the slavery magic to act on her own accord, seemingly enjoying it. Even more so whenever he told her to share his bed.


    As the priest ¡ª still wearing his now-meaningless robes and symbols ¡ª stepped onto the stage that housed the caskets of his parents, Jester sighed. For now, he would have to play the sad child. The idiot fool.


    ///


    Aperio tilted her head at the clothes Adam had laid out on his bed. "And this is what they wear on Earth?" She picked up the shirt and took a closer look at the people on it. "Are they famous?"


    The shirt Adam had worn upon arrival in Verenier was black with six vaguely Human looking people on it, all of them wearing rather comical clothes. "And why is one of them green? I thought Earth only had Humans."


    "I''d guess they are fictional," Ferio said as she looked over her kneeling mother''s shoulder at the article of clothing. "Probably some good old hero thing for kids. They all wear easily recognisable uniforms, after all."


    "Good old hero thing?" Aperio asked, turning her head and looking at her daughter. "I have never heard about anything like this."


    "Ah, well," Ferio began, "it''s not something from Verenier, but a few of the other worlds I have followers on. Some of them are less magically inclined and have taken to prescribing their spells to some inborn ''superpower''. Rather hilarious to listen to, if you ask me."


    "She''s right," Adam said. "They''re all fictional, part of an interconnected universe of different stories. You can read the stories when you are on Earth." He cleared his throat as the All-Mother twisted herself a little further and looked at him. "If you want to, that is."


    "I might do that," Aperio replied, setting her gaze back on the shirt and holding it for a moment longer before placing it back on the bed next to the other pieces Adam had worn when he had come to Verenier. "But I also know that I will stick to my dress. They can think what they want of me, but I like it more than any of this."


    She would stand out regardless of what she wore. According to Adam, she would be a rarity on Earth, even if one disregarded the ears she would also be keeping. For a brief moment, she had half considered tricking the minds of anyone that passed to simply ignore her ears, but that was already a step too far for her. The other option was to use her magic in another way to trick the eye of mortals, something much more manageable but also something she was not sure how to do. It had worked well enough for hiding Caethya and herself from prying eyes back in Foderys, but making it work only on their ears seemed more troublesome. And I don¡¯t even know if it would look right¡­


    The simplest solution was to simply want to hide her ears, but that could lead to her body changing, her magic influencing others, or her magic concealing her in a way she found unacceptable. All in all, something she was not willing to try as long as other methods were available.


    "Like I said, you can do that. Would be even better if Caethya also wears clothes similar to yours, then." He closed his eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Many people would still give you weird looks, but pretending to be someone else like that is not that uncommon. Especially in bigger cities."


    The All-Mother stood up to her full height and shrugged. "You still have time to prepare. And the option to not go is open until we actually arrive on Earth." She stretched her wings slightly, the room not allowing for much. "I am sure we can manage on our own if need be."


    "I am sure that lots of people will try to capture you as soon as they figure out even a fraction of what you can do." He held up his hand to postpone Aperio''s inevitable reply. "I know that nobody there can do anything to you, but I fear for what you might do to them."


    "I would defend myself," Aperio replied. "But that is all I would do. I doubt that is too excessive."


    "He''s concerned because his world is weaker than Verenier and you can break anything here already," Ferio said with a slight shake of her head. "I am pretty sure that is not an issue."


    "It is not," Aperio agreed, frowning slightly. "I am perfectly capable of not breaking things." Now if only I could understand this stupid [Translation] skill¡­


    No matter how hard she looked or how she poked at it, the skill did not make sense to her. It translated languages for the user ¡ª both what they said and what they heard ¡ª but most of the runes that made up the thing dealt with intent and telepathy rather than knowledge or even language. Almost like it just creates the illusion of speech and puts his words in people''s minds.


    She knew that that could not be the way it worked, however, as she knew what telepathy looked and felt like and Adam was not doing that. He just spoke, his body causing the air to vibrate and her ears to somehow decipher that. Language is weird. That was the only thing Aperio learned from her attempts. A fact that was obvious to anyone.


    Aperio tilted her head as a distant, quiet prayer from Moria nudged against the edges of her mind. Her friend had come to a decision and wished to speak. "Moria is ready," she said as a thought first informed her love and then brought Caethya next to her. She looked at her daughter, the smiling face of Ferio causing a small note of happiness to ring through her mind and a subtle warmth to spread through her. "Do you wish to join us?"


    Ferio¡¯s smile widened almost imperceptibly. "I would love to! It''s been too long since I have seen Moria."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 178: Delayed Ascendance

    GamingWolf


    I apologise for the delay, but there is sadly an ongoing emergency in my family that requires my attention more often than not. This sadly means that further chapters will likely also be delayed for the foreseeable future.


    Caethya rubbed Aperio''s back for a moment before stepping away to look at the covered bodies she could sense in the next room. The golden-furred Beastkin ¡ª Neria, if she recalled correctly ¡ª eyed her for a moment but let her pass nonetheless.


    It only took her a couple of steps to reach the bodies. Despite having crouched down and her hand hovering above, she did not lift the cover, the embroidered cloth obviously serving a more serious purpose than simply hiding the dead. Her aura might not be nearly as good at providing information as Aperio''s, but she could still see what she needed to: bodies that had been drained of their magic to power something they did not understand. A sight she had seen more than once in various dungeons.


    For one reason or another, some people seemed to hold the belief that they could control dungeons with the help of some phony ritual. It never worked, of course, but people still tried. Just like they try to go against Aperio again and again. That delusion made even less sense, but Caethya assumed that most people simply could not truly understand the concept that her love embodied. If she was honest with herself, neither could she, but neither did she need to. As far as Caethya was concerned, Aperio was her love, and only her love ¡ª everything else came second, third, or never.


    "The infamous council of the [Ancestral Guard], I presume?" Caethya asked as she looked over her shoulder at Neria. She had heard a lot about them, some bad, some good, but everyone she had talked to in the past had said that they were a little weird. Fair, but always seemingly up to something. Guess this was what they were up to. "They seem to have miscalculated."


    "They tried to use things they did not understand and had no problem throwing away everything the guard stood for," the Beastkin with golden fur replied. "None of them deserve to be buried with the rites mother has started."


    The Demigoddess regarded Neria for a moment longer before she stood back up. "Sometimes it is important to keep up appearances. Taking over an entire organisation as a Goddess is one of them."


    "How would you know if she chose to ascend?"


    "I walk the same path," Caethya replied as she let her eyes wander around the room. "And while I don''t know why, I can feel that she has taken a step on the road towards ascension."


    "Because all divines are connected," Aperio said. The All-Mother was looking at her friend, the conversation they were having obvious despite the silence between the two. "Your Domain is also at the root of all others, making it more likely that you will notice when someone taps into the realm of the Gods."


    "But I can''t feel you in the same way," Caethya said, her ears twitching slightly. After a moment she shook her head. "I should really write all of this down so we don''t forget."


    "Mother does not have a Domain," Ferio said. Aperio tilted her head ever so slightly at the words, causing Caethya to smile. The motion and the slight look of confusion on Aperio''s face somehow managed to make her look small.


    "If she had one," the Goddess of Life and Light continued, "it would be Creation, like the one you are working towards, Caethya." She smiled slightly. "I believe we all know that Mother is beyond the concept of a Domain; it is a little too¡­ shall we say, small for her."


    "How fitting," Neria mused as she stepped past the Demigoddess and next to her mother. "The lovers share a Domain. If only one of them wasn''t an incomprehensible entity pretending to be an Elf."


    "Joining the [Ancestral Guard] seems to not be favourable to one''s mental state," Aperio observed dryly. She shook her head and disappeared from her position in front of Moria. A moment later, Caethya felt the All-Mother''s hand brush lightly against her back before her love teleported a second time, arriving next to the bodies of the former council. "Certainly explains why these people thought their plan would work." There was a brief moment of silence in which Caethya could feel her love''s magic sweep through the room. "Are you sure you wish me to place their bodies outside the palace?"


    "Yes," Moria said with a slight shake of her head. "People need to see it to believe it. Especially the ones in charge." She let out a sigh as her ears twitched. "I do not know what else I need to do before the System decides to announce my ascension, but I''d rather set the facts straight before it does. Having people believe I sacrificed them to become a Goddess is not what I need."


    Caethya shifted her gaze to Aperio, her brows furrowing slightly at the expression of concern that marred her love''s face. "I am not sure my presence there will change their view of you for the better," she said. "I am the reason most of them lost their Gods, after all."


    "They don''t have to like me," Moria replied. "But your presence legitimises the proceedings. No matter what we mortals might think, in the end, whatever you say is the law."


    ///


    Moria looked at her friend, not quite sure if she was asking too much. Aperio obviously did not like the idea. In the past, she would have had to guess what the All-Mother thought, but ever since she had come back, she was a lot more¡­ like a mortal. I guess that was the entire point of her living as one.


    She was still unsure why Aperio had done that in the first place ¡ª especially if she considered what it had done to the System ¡ª but that was something she would likely never get an answer to. The only person who would know could no longer remember the reason, after all.


    "My word is only as much law as I am willing to enforce it," Aperio replied as she lowered herself to get a closer ¡ª and ultimately needless ¡ª look at the bodies. "And the only rules I am willing to enforce regard the disfigurement of Souls." Moria could feel the entire room fill for a brief second with more mana than she could ever hope to command before it all vanished again. "These ones tried ¡ª some of them even succeeding ¡ª to do exactly that. Self-inflicted as it might have been, they got what they deserved.¡±


    "Your presence is enough, Aperio," Moria said. "I have known the ones in charge for long enough to know that they know who you are. I also have it on good authority that almost everyone in a position of power followed Chellien; or at least pretended to." A small, sly smile spread across her face. "If they wish to expose their lies on their own, I welcome them to do so, but I doubt they will."


    "And how do they know of me?"


    The smile on Moria''s face widened. "I dropped some hints, of course. Can''t have your name be forgotten, especially if those sorry excuses for deities wanted everyone to forget." Cost me a few lives¡­


    For one reason or another, the Elder Gods had never seemed to figure out that she would come back with a new life no matter how many times they killed her. Probably something I can thank Aperio for. There had been times when she had been caught by a paladin of Vigil, Inanis, or Epemirial and they had tried to use her for¡­ research. But it had never worked.


    "I see," Aperio said and simply appeared behind Caethya. "Shall we go, then?"


    "Mortal squabbles." Ferio let out an exaggerated sigh. "Who knew I would actually look forward to that one day."


    "Don''t you deal with that a lot?" Caethya asked. "As a Goddess present on multiple worlds, you must get stuff like this on a daily basis?"


    "Not with a friend of Mother involved, and most certainly not on Verenier." She smiled at the Demigoddess. "Mortal shenanigans are usually overshadowed by their divine counterparts here."


    "Which is no longer the case, because Aperio killed them," Neria said as she shook her head, starting to move towards the exit before she stopped, likely having realised that walking was not something they would do with the All-Mother around. She let out a sigh and turned back around. "At least one of us will have fun."


    ///


    Aperio did not know what she should think of the conversation she had just partaken in. None of it made much sense to her, and neither did she like her daughter''s amusement over the situation at hand. Whatever Moria had planned would steer the fate of a nation; something that went far beyond ''shenanigans'' in the All-Mother''s mind.


    "Oh, I will be certain to enjoy myself," Ferio said with a slight smile on her face. "I just wish Mother would be able to see the hilarity in this."


    "I am sorry that I do not see the potential upheaval of a nation as something funny," Aperio replied, narrowing her eyes.


    She might not find it funny, but she also found herself not truly caring past Moria''s involvement, either. Perhaps she had never valued life in general, or ¡ª something she considered more likely ¡ª being the All-Mother simply meant she did not really care for something that was ultimately inconsequential to her own life or her creation at large.


    "It''s only a matter of time before you realise it''s better to be amused by mortal stupidity than try to understand it," Ferio said with a shrug. "I am ready whenever."


    Both Moria and Neria gave slow nods as Aperio set her gaze on them one after the other, and Caethya let her know that she was ready via small mental note and by letting some of her mana flow around the All-Mother.


    A small flex of her mental muscles caused reality to twist apart. The five of them, and the covered bodies, vanished from the chambers of the [Ancestral Guard] to reappear at the foot of a set of stairs that lead to what Aperio could only describe as a palace. Five large pillars were placed at even intervals along the front of the building, all of them made to look like a Beastkin from the five main tribes, holding up the roof of what Moria had said was the de facto seat of government for all tribes.


    The rest of the building followed the same style, with high ceilings that were painted with pieces of artistry Aperio was sure more than a few collectors would kill for and grand halls that all sported immaculately polished marble floors. All in all, it reminded Aperio too much of the palace in which she had spent most of her mortal life.


    The people that filled the stairs that led towards the building stopped as the group appeared. Whispers started as soon as they saw the covered bodies, the sound of recognition obvious even though Aperio could not understand what most of them were saying.


    Moria did not bother to address the people that had frozen in their tracks, instead walking inside the building. Aperio tilted her head slightly as she tracked her friend through her aura, watching her speak with a very frightened-looking clerk and placing a token on his desk. After the man had taken the round piece of metal, Moria turned around and walked back outside.


    "The local representatives will be with us shortly," Moria said as she stepped up beside Aperio. "Sadly, we''ll have to make do with them for now, as most of the tribal leaders left the city when the Guard started their antics."


    "Does it matter if they see them first?"


    Moria shook her head. "No, they are the eyes and ears of their leaders when they are not in town. Whatever I tell them, I tell the people that need to know." Her ears twitched slightly. "The only downside is that some of them will try to disappear when they get word. Not that it matters much; it''ll only prove that they were up to no good."


    Aperio shrugged, letting her wings move a little more with the motion than they usually would. "I cannot claim to know what you have planned, but it all seems a little¡­ random."


    "Because it is," Moria replied. "I had not planned for any of this to happen. Ascension is something that I have never truly considered; just looked at."


    "If you do not wish to, you do not have to," Aperio said, placing a hand on her friend''s shoulder, taking great care to not hurt her. "I no longer intend to declare anyone to be a God or Goddess anymore. If you wish to do this, it has to be because you want to."


    "Too late for second guesses now," her friend replied. She looked up at Aperio, a small smile on her face. "If I ever grow tired of it, I''ll let you know. For now, I have to do what is best for my people."


    Aperio gave a nod in reply. "As long as you are fine with this, so am I." She removed her hand and gestured at the people that still surrounded them ¡ª the group that was still increasing in size. "Now you just have to convince them."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 179: Inheritance

    Moria let her gaze wander over the still growing crowd that surrounded them. The tribal representatives had gathered at the top of the stairs, likely wanting some distance between themselves and the people they governed. They knew that whatever she had to say would not be good for them; doubly so because she had brought the corpses of the Ancestral Guard.


    She understood their hesitation, but nothing she had to say was unknown to the people. They all knew that their leadership had been in a steady decline for generations, but most of them had not been hit hard enough that they would be driven to be the change they wanted to see. For her, that was no longer the case. She would bring the change the tribes needed. As their Goddess.


    While Moria still had no idea when the System would announce her ascension, she could already feel herself changing. The conversations of the people around her that had been muddled before grew clearer by the second, and her eyes managed to pick up details that had been hidden from her sight just moments before. Even her sense of smell had evolved past what a Beastkin should be able to perceive. The most evident change, however, was her aura.


    It had been rather meagre in this life, compared to the auras she had had access to in her previous incarnations, but if she were to compare it to most other mortals it would be better than what they could muster. Aperio had shared glimpses of what she saw with her in the past, the memory of those moments usually accompanied by a sharp pain as her mind tried and failed to make sense of the images it saw ¡ª while also knowing, but not comprehending, what they meant. That pain was no longer there when those memories came to the forefront of her thoughts, and her view of the world around her was slowly inching closer to how she knew her friend saw it.


    "Would you mind making me a platform of some kind?" Moria asked as she looked at Aperio.


    The All-Mother, possibly still in mental conversation with Ferio, tilted her head ever-so-slightly as she looked down at the Beastkin but nonetheless gave a small wave of her hand. A wooden stage appeared behind Aperio. "Is there anything else you need?"


    "No," Moria replied with a smile, "I just needed a bit of help; can''t loom over everyone without help like you do, after all." Can''t demand respect by merely existing.


    Whether Aperio intended that to be the effect of her current form or not did not really matter ¡ª she was very intimidating even if you did not know that she could erase you with barely a thought. But I guess that makes sense¡­ Considering what she had been through during her mortal life, that was not such a foreign idea. At the moment, she looked like someone who would have never found herself in the position she had been in before.


    Moria dismissed the line of thought with a slight shake of her head and stepped past Aperio, glancing at her daughter as she did, to climb the small stairway leading up to the stage the All-Mother had made.


    Neria¡¯s brows were furrowed slightly, her daughter seemingly not quite happy with the events that were unfolding. Moria would have liked to offer her some comfort, but that would have to wait, for now she had a nation to address. A small part of it, at least. The rest would follow once she had actually become a Goddess and her means had grown a little closer to her needs.


    The crowd quieted down as Moria reached the top of the stage, seemingly quite eager to hear what she had to say. Moria cleared her throat before she drew on her increased ¡ª and still growing ¡ª mana reserves to enhance her voice. She did not plan on infusing her every word like Aperio did, but to simply amplify her voice so that everyone present would be able to hear what she had to say.


    "The [Ancestral Guard] has fallen," Moria announced and gestured at the covered corpses that still lay in front of the stage Aperio had summoned. "Whether they had been deceived or not no longer matters, as they have paid the price for their hubris. The guard was never meant to rule, or even suggest how those outside of it should live their lives.


    "And yet," Moria continued, "the council has thought it their duty to meddle not only in the lives of those they were meant to protect, but reached so far beyond their station as to go against the precepts of the [Ancestral Guard] itself and attempt to resurrect Chellien; a task not only impossible, but explicitly forbidden by our fallen ancestor himself."


    ///


    Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly as she felt more than saw how the people surrounding them reacted to Moria''s words. Her aura dutifully informed her of how the mortals shifted closer to one another ¡ª some already seeking the embrace of a friend or loved one ¡ª and her ears could not help but hear their mostly meaningless whispers.


    Even the non-Beastkin mortals that were present seemed to be a little shaken by what her friend had to say. It made sense; according to what she had learned, the guard used to treat everyone the same, as they were supposed to do. A neutral entity that simply mediates between parties. Why Chellien chose that as his legacy, she could likely never know, but neither did it matter. Moria would take over, and as the patron deity of the Beastkin, her will would guide them.


    "The guard has not been its own for a long while," Moria said, taking Aperio from her thoughts, "and it pains me to admit that I have been powerless to change that. I was not able to stop what I knew was coming. But I can prevent it from happening again." She paused briefly, glancing at the All-Mother. "It has not been long since the Elder Gods have been cast aside by the Creator ¡ª since the rest of the world learned the plight we have lived with for generations ¡ª but as their time without their Gods has just begun, ours is about to end."


    Aperio tiled her head ever-so-slightly as she looked at her friend. Whether the System had a sense for dramatic timing ¡ª something she doubted ¡ª or Moria had known on her own, the previously subtle change that had been happening inside her friend was becoming more and more obvious.


    "I have lived many lives," Moria said, her voice reaching just a little farther with each word she spoke. "Have tried to guide the guard and my people from the shadows I had banished myself into, but that changes now. I have chosen to ascend; to take the place that has been empty for so long, because I need to. I have let corruption spread for far too long; let its roots run so deep that they have managed to damage the foundation upon which our society has been built."


    There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch even for Aperio herself. She could feel ¡ª see ¡ª tiny strands of mana that belonged to the System thread their way through the seams of reality and flow into Moria. They slowly weaved their way through her body, changing her flesh and the mana running through it.


    Aperio wanted to reach out to ease whatever pain her friend might be feeling but held herself back. Moria was not touched by her mana like Caethya was, and interfering with the System-governed process of Ascension might have unexpected results, which she would rather not subject Moria to. She would have to make do with simply watching and letting the System do what it intended to do. Let Moria''s choice play out to the fullest.


    The only time she would step in was if she felt her friend to be in actual danger; something that was not the case at the moment. If anything, seeing Moria ascend filled her with a sense of happiness and even a note of comfort. Perhaps there will be some sane deities now¡­


    Only the Gods that had gained their power from her own mana seemed to have fallen into a winding labyrinth of their Domain that had twisted their minds. Natio had not been deranged like Vigil and Inanis, he had been misled. Of course, that did not absolve him, but it meant that System-fuelled divinity was not prone to the same issues as the divinity she could grant herself.


    "No longer," Moria continued as more and more mana flowed from just beyond the fabric of physical reality. "I will no longer allow my people to be used at the whims of some maniacs!"


    Aperio moved herself a little closer to Caethya, moving her left wing slightly to wrap it loosely around her love. The Demigoddess did not step on the road towards Ascension on her own but because Aperio had touched her Soul, making the All-Mother her source of power and therefore putting the first person she could remember feeling something more for at risk of falling to the same insanity that had come for the Elder Gods.


    The All-Mother was taken from her thoughts not only by the comforting, if small, weight of Caethya leaning against her but also by a myriad of tiny tears in the fabric of reality. Her creation was not breaking apart ¡ª she knew that ¡ª but preparing to push Moria over the edge and into the realm of the divine.


    Aperio closed her eyes, her view of the world unchanged as she could still see Moria lowering herself to rest on one knee as the mana the System commanded continued to flow into her. When she opened her eyes again, she was greeted by a silver System notification that looked just a little shinier than usual.


    Rejoice! A worthy heir has ascended to guide her people into a new age. Moria Kellborn, [Goddess of Duty and Remembrance], has become the Patron Deity of the Beastkin tribe with the blessings of the All-Mother and Chellien, the progenitor.


    ///


    Moria shut her eyes tight as her mind tried to sort through the sensations that flooded it. She could hear every voice of every mortal that surrounded her; could hear their breaths and the beat of their hearts and the rustling of their clothes. Her aura reached past the bounds of Foderys, flowing past enchantments she could have previously never hoped to circumvent and telling her far more than she had ever wanted to know.


    Before she could look at the notification she knew was waiting for her, Moria felt a hand on her shoulder. It belonged to Aperio, but she only knew that because the mana that carefully snaked its way into her body felt like that of her friend. Her aura no longer perceived Aperio as an uncommonly tall, winged elf but a radiant font of mana and something she could not quite grasp ¡ª a nothing, if she had to describe it ¡ª that was barely contained by a shell that was changing, growing stronger every passing second.


    "Are you alright?" Aperio asked, the mana of her voice somehow causing her other senses to take a back seat, almost as if the words demanded to be heard.


    Moria nodded and carefully sat herself down, leaning herself against the hand of her friend. "I am," she said and opened her eyes. The level of detail the world presented herself in had risen once again, but this was something she had experienced before. "The world just looks a whole lot different now."


    "I bet it does," the All-Mother said, the smile she had on her face audible in her voice. "I was a little concerned with the amount of mana that you received, but I cannot find anything wrong."


    Moria offered a nod at the words. "It''s a lot more than I thought I would get. Almost like everything I had gathered in my past lives had been stored just for this moment."


    "It probably was," Ferio said, speaking for the first time in a while. "Mother liked to give her friends little ''gifts'' back then."


    Moria only shook her head. Ferio was right, this was something the old Aperio would have done. She had always been looking for someone strong enough to entertain her a little, after all. With a small sigh and the barest of mental efforts, she pulled up the System notifications.


    Your achievements have not gone unnoticed. You have been granted divinity with the following Domains: [Duty], [Remembrance].


    [Duty]


    You have guided your people for longer than the God that created them. Their future was never your obligation, but you have made it your own. Do not fail your people.


    [Remembrance]


    The old are wise; you are wiser. You have lived countless lives through the ages. Your memories of all previous lives have been restored. Do not forget yourself.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 180: Expanding Horizons

    Aperio tilted her head slightly as the representatives of the various tribes all began to walk back inside. None of them seemed all too concerned with what had just transpired. Slightly annoyed, maybe, if anything.


    That could not be said for the rest of the mortals that surrounded them. Aperio could hear the frantic whispers all over the city ¡ª feel their excitement and their fear. All of it should have overwhelmed her, but it barely registered in her mind. It was all there, should she wish to see it, but her aura had seemingly learned that she valued a certain degree of ignorance. Or maybe I just got comfortable with not knowing about everything that goes on around me?


    While it was true that the people that inhabited her creation could not hurt her, Aperio had never quite accepted that. A lifetime spent as a helpless slave would likely do that to anyone, even when everything was pointing towards the fact that she had brought it upon herself.


    Aperio sat herself down next to Moria, extending one of her wings slightly to offer her friend something to lean against. Moria was not showing any signs of weakness, but for one reason or another, Aperio knew that her friend was exhausted. In hindsight, given that she had just become a Goddess, it was to be expected.


    "People are praying," Moria said, her voice barely a whisper. "I can hear them, all talking over one another."


    "What are they wishing for?" the All-Mother asked as she let her gaze sweep over the mortals in front of them. A few were visibly part of those who were praying to the new Goddess. Some had simply clasped their hands in front of their chest and closed their eyes, while others had fallen to their knees.


    "I honestly cannot tell," her friend replied. "I can barely tell their voices apart."


    "That gets easier with time," Ferio said and climbed the stairs onto the stage. Her daughter''s magic spread around them to prevent their conversation from being heard. "I have not yet met a new deity that could deal with it all right after they ascended. No matter how much you prepare, it''s always more than you would expect."


    Aperio remained quiet at the words, instead reaching out to her love to inquire how she was feeling. Moria''s ascension had renewed her worry that her foolish mistake of touching Caethya''s Soul had doomed her. What if her ascension hurt her because the System thought she needed ungodly amounts of mana to do what was needed?


    "I''m fine," Caethya said with a smile as she moved herself behind Aperio. She ran her hand through the All-Mother''s hair before patting her head. "You worry too much about me."


    Caethya followed her words with a mental message, telling Aperio that her love was quite capable of taking care of herself despite the All-Mother''s viewpoint of everything being so terribly fragile. She smiled as Aperio looked up at her. "Perhaps I should take on some missions from the Adventurers Guild again? I am sure they miss me."


    "Perhaps you should," Aperio agreed. "Maybe I should enter the guild as well?" It would certainly be useful whenever she needed to pretend to be someone strong but not quite All-Mother strong. And I would see what Caethya does to make a living. One of these days, her love would probably have to, or more likely, want to go back to work and at that point, Aperio would like to accompany her. First, however, they had another world to visit.


    "They definitely wouldn''t complain to have you with them," Moria said. "Speaking of which, I should probably leave the guild. I have no intention of travelling in secret like Aperio, and being an Adventurer while also being a Goddess seems like a bad idea."


    "Yes and no," Ferio replied. "You shouldn''t be part of it as a Goddess, but you should definitely have an alias that allows you to be in it so you can distract yourself a little from the mundanity of being a divine."


    Aperio chuckled at her daughter''s words. She would call her time as the All-Mother many things, but mundane was not one of them. Far from it, in fact. But she was also quite certain that most of that stemmed from the fact that she was ¡ª for the first time in her remembered life ¡ª free to do as she pleased. Well, mostly.


    At the moment, there were a few restrictions on what she did, but she had placed those herself with good reason. A few things in life would always take precedence.


    "What do you intend to do now?" Aperio asked Moria in an attempt to shift the conversation back to the topic at hand. "Throw out those that let the corruption spread through every layer of government?"


    "First," Moria replied, "I will take a day to get my bearings. The world is still changing, even though I am just sitting here. After that, I will start with cleaning up the mess the guard made here in Foderys and then I will deal with the rest."


    "I would give yourself a little more time," Ferio said with a mischievous tone to her voice. "Your Dominion still has to manifest itself. That is always such fun."


    "Somehow, your words don''t reassure me," the newly-minted Goddess said, turning slightly to look at Ferio. "Almost makes me think it will hurt a lot."


    The Goddess of Life and Light chuckled in reply. "It doesn''t hurt, but it''s a¡­ weird experience; certainly a one of a kind thing."


    Aperio tilted her head at the words. She had never asked herself how a deity got their Dominion; she had always assumed it simply appeared when they ascended. A small mental effort and a squint of her eyes caused the physical world she usually saw to break apart, letting her peer beyond the realm that mortals ¡ª and most Gods ¡ª could perceive.


    Seeing her creation like this felt unsettling, as her life as a mortal had made her value the way everyone else saw things. At the same time, looking upon this layer of reality felt weirdly normal, almost as if she had been meant to see things in this way. In any case, her shift in perspective had been driven by curiosity. How did the System go about creating a Dominion?


    There was no more mana flowing into her friend at the System''s behest, but the view behind physical reality revealed a complex weave of runes slowly coming into being on the weave of mana. Behind Moria, it seamlessly integrated itself into the threads of reality before the entire thing shifted around, folding in on itself in multiple places while expanding in others. It shifted through shapes Aperio could not quite name, but yet still somehow recognised. The same was true for most of the symbols present, and nearly all of them referred to bindings, dimensions, and will. The last one stumped Aperio for the briefest of moments before she remembered that a Dominion was supposed to bend to its owner¡¯s every whim. It would, therefore, have to somehow know what that whim was.


    "I can see why it would be weird," Aperio said eventually, breaking the silence. "The System is currently creating a pretty complex set of runes that I am pretty sure will turn into a pocket of space that links to your mind when it''s done." Most peculiar.


    ///


    Moria turned her head to look at Aperio. Her friend''s eyes, usually blue with ever-shifting silver dots, had turned completely silver. She stared straight through Moria at something behind her, something she could not perceive herself but was likely the runes that had been spoken of.


    At that moment, the only change Moria was able to see for herself was the constant shifting of the world as every sense she had available decided that it should see the world in far greater detail than anyone reasonably should.


    "I assume I will see that whenever it''s ready?" Moria asked as she tried to take her eyes off of the All-Mother''s.


    The newly-minted Goddess felt a sense of unease at the lack of pupils gazing back at her. Her aura dutifully informed her of the vast amounts of mana coursing through the All-Mother''s blank eyes, which did not help her state of mind. It was somehow wrong on a level she could not quite articulate, almost as though what her friend was doing should not be allowed.


    Of course, that was a silly notion, as whatever Aperio wished to be the correct thing would be so, but holding that truth in her mind sadly did nothing for her growing unease.


    "You will," Ferio replied. "It''ll be very obvious."


    Moria gave a slow nod at the words and relaxed slightly as Aperio stopped looking at whatever was hidden from view, her eyes returning to their more normal levels of weirdness. "Well, until that happens, I would like to talk to the representatives." She could already sense some of them packing their things and getting ready to leave, something she would like them not to do. "I want to have a word with them before they disappear. Their superiors need to be informed through proper channels."


    "Aren''t you the proper channel now?" Caethya asked as she took Aperio''s hand and helped the All-Mother stand up. "You are the Patron Goddess of the Beastkin."


    "Well, yes, but I would still like to go through the official channels for now. Believe it or not, we actually have multiple clauses that are supposed to go into effect once we have found Chellien''s successor."


    "And you think they will try to somehow overrule you?" Aperio asked, carefully removing the wing she had lent Moria for support and wrapping the other around Caethya.


    "I know they will," Moria replied. "They will also try to blame the fall of the guard on me, and do everything in their power to solidify their own position and weaken mine." She got up herself and shrugged. "Politics."


    "Ah, I love mortals and their silly plans," Ferio said with a happy sigh. "They always think they can outsmart or overpower anyone. Some of them are still trying to do exactly that with Mother."


    "And I still do not understand why," Aperio said. "Do they do it because they know I am not inclined to kill them, or do they actually think it will get them results?"


    Moria looked the All-Mother up and down. Even if one did not know who, and more importantly, what she was, Aperio still resembled someone you didn''t mess with in either combat or the court. Money and status got you very far in nearly every country on Verenier, and even the most rugged of farmers could tell that the dress and armour her friend wore would cost more than some nations had to offer. The last shred of doubt that she was someone not to be messed with should disappear once she actually spoke. Once she said a word, however it was Aperio did it, you simply knew that you were outmatched.


    It was not only the amount of mana that laced her words, but something else that accompanied it; some ancient knowledge that you never knew you had but that was suddenly very eager to inform you of its presence. "I have no idea," Moria eventually replied. "But I have also known you since basically forever, so my view is a little skewed."


    "It''s simple," Ferio said, glancing at Neria. "It''s because most mortals are stupid."


    Moria could only let out a sigh in response. The Goddess of Life and Light had a point. Neria had been very hostile with Aperio for something that the All-Mother couldn''t even remember doing and, more importantly, was not even her fault. Moria had chosen to accept the title, and had chosen to keep it through life after life after life. Anything unpleasant that had happened because of that was because she continued to choose to keep the title and her memories, not because the All-Mother had forced her into anything. Aperio had always valued the freedom of others, and in the past had extended the sentiment to everyone, even those who wished to see her creation usurped and her dead. Which did not end well for them.


    With a shake of her head, Moria turned to face the building that housed the very people that had tried to bring hers low. She was both excited to see the reaction of the tribal leaders and dreading the potential schism it might bring. The very same schism she had tried to stop with her ascension. The only question that remained was whether the people would rather follow the leaders that were set in their ways or a Goddess most of them knew nothing about.


    In all her lives, Moria had never thought that she would be the catalyst for an ''interesting times'' section in a history book, but here she was doing just that. She shook her head again before looking over her shoulder at her daughter and friend. Neria was still looking quite uneasy, while Aperio looked a lot more regal than she had any right to with a wing wrapped around Caethya. However, that was a quality she had observed in all divines she had seen, and one she would have herself in due time. Aperio is just a step above them if she wishes to be.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± the All-Mother asked, gesturing towards the building in the distance with her free wing. ¡°A few of them are moving towards a tunnel that leads away from the city.¡±


    Moria did not bother to ask how Aperio had seen through the layers of enchantments they had placed on those tunnels and instead gave a nod. ¡°It''s time I had a little talk with them.¡±


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 181: Discourse

    Moria shook her head as the cold sensation left her body. Being teleported by Aperio felt different every time, with the only constant being that it always felt weird. But I guess that is to be expected. Breaking reality and forcing it to put people where they weren''t was definitely not the usual way of shifting someone''s location in a hurry.


    The network of gates, used a few lifetimes ago to transport people and goods across Verenier, at least took the proper steps in moving people. They essentially turned them into mana and sent it to the requested destination gate, where the process would be reversed to technically form a completely new body with the same old Soul. Going through that process without knowing that your Soul could not be touched by it ¡ª or without even knowing you had one ¡ª was undoubtedly pretty nerve wrecking.


    "I placed a barrier in front of the tunnels," Aperio said as she stepped up next to Moria and looked down at her. "You can take all the time you want; none of them will be able to leave."


    "Thank you," Moria replied. She started walking towards one of the larger chambers that she knew would house a few of the more reasonable representatives. "The ones that tried to flee can wait."


    "They do not seem to appreciate waiting," Aperio said as she tilted her head slightly to the side. "Some of them are trying to break the barrier I made. I hope those mortals are not what people consider strong."


    Moria gave a dry laugh at the All-Mother''s words. "They are not the peak of what mortals achieve, no, but they are still plenty strong. Your view is just a little skewed."


    "More than a little," Ferio corrected. "All she needs to do is not want you to exist, and you wouldn''t."


    Moria could feel Aperio narrow her eyes at her own daughter as she opened the door that led into the first of the chambers. She turned to let the rest of the group in and observed the Goddess of Life and Light shrug in reply to the All-Mother''s words. "It''s true."


    "Perhaps it is," the All-Mother replied as she stepped past both Ferio and Moria into the room beyond. "But you also know that I would not do something like that."


    "I know you wouldn''t do it without reason," Ferio said. "But that doesn''t change the fact that you can do it. Your view on most anything is skewed by the fact that you are what you are."


    Caethya joined Aperio inside the room, not hiding the glare she gave Ferio as she passed her. "You know full well that what she can do matters less than what she actually does."


    Moria shook her head as Ferio also joined them inside the chamber, then caught Neria''s eye as she too passed through the entryway. Her daughter was still unsure of what she should be doing other than following them, it seemed, but the new Goddess could understand the hesitancy. Neria still largely considered Aperio to be the reason why she had been separated from her mother for so long, and also blamed the All-Mother for all the unpleasantness Moria had experienced in her past lives.


    Fixing that view would take a while, and it did not help that Ferio casually pointed out that Aperio could essentially do anything she wanted to anyone at any time. At the end of the day, the All-Mother was just another person that wanted to live her life. A lot more quietly, now that she has returned. How she would convey that truth to Neria was something she still had to figure out. For now, it has to wait.


    Moria was the last to step inside the chamber, closing the door behind her. Just as they had expected, the representatives of a majority of the Lycan and Feline tribes were present, likely because both leaders of their respective overarching federations were on good terms with her and had been for multiple generations. The de-facto ruling family of the Lycan tribe was especially close to her, with most of them knowing that she remembered her previous lives.


    "Quite the announcement," a large man with cat ears and white and black striped fur said. Moria knew him, but she could not recall his name at the moment. "I know you said that you would do something about the guard and their¡­ ideas, but I did not expect this." He gestured towards Aperio and Ferio. "Having the All-Mother and her daughter come here is certainly a surprise."


    "Your guard broke one of the few rules I will never bend," Aperio said, her voice filling every corner of the room as she spoke just a little louder than necessary. A shiver ran down Moria''s spine as she could feel the All-Mother''s mana spread through the air, pushing them all down just a little more. "Do not repeat their mistake."


    "We do not intend to," Kilui said. The lithe Lycan female stood up and offered a slight bow towards Aperio, her large, pointed ears always pointing at the All-Mother. "It would be a very foolish move."


    Her friend likely did not know the true meaning of the motion, but she still seemed to accept what Kilui had said. Moria smiled slightly at the representative of her own tribe. Though they had been friends for over four decades, Kilui had never quite believed her claim that she knew the All-Mother and considered her a friend.


    "Good," Aperio replied. A moment later, the mana in the room returned to its normal state and the All-Mother sat herself down on a couch that had appeared out of nowhere. How she managed to look dignified while having her wings hang over the edges of the sofa was not something Moria knew, but neither did she care. Her friend had made the point she thought she would, and that was all that mattered at the moment.


    ///


    Aperio shifted slightly in her seat as her eyes flicked from one representative to another. She would be lying if she said that she trusted the words of the Lycan. Her words might have sounded genuine, but she had heard mortals lie without any obvious hints at their duplicity often enough to know that words by themselves meant precious little. Still, words were all she was going to get at the moment.


    Ferio seemed amused at the entire situation as she was simply smiling while leaning against the wall right next to the door. Caethya, on the other hand, did not seem to be particularly happy with the events that were unfolding. She still sat herself down next to Aperio and leaned herself against a wing, but the All-Mother could feel the turmoil inside her love.


    While Aperio did not know why Caethya was feeling so conflicted, she did the only thing she could think of. A small mental message reached out to her love to inquire what was wrong while she wrapped her right arm around the Demigoddess.


    Moria walked further into a room with a small smile on her face while the reply from Caethya came in. While the Beastkin was seemingly sure the words of the Lycan were the truth, Caethya shared the worries of Aperio, even bringing up some more. Her love had a point, however; it all seemed a little too easy.


    "I assume you know why I am here?" Moria asked as she let her gaze sweep over the gathered Beastkin.


    "To let us know that anyone who opposes you will die?" the cat-eared Beastkin asked with a slight chuckle. "You know as well as I do that Garth is just waiting for a chance to clean house. This will give him the chance. In fact, I am sure he is already on it."


    "You are here because you want to help prevent a war from breaking out," the Lycan said. "Correct?"


    Moria nodded. "Yes. I might have ascended, but that doesn''t mean much if the people don''t believe in me or are turned against me by those who want to keep the status quo."


    A man taller and much broader than Aperio herself stood up from his chair, the sound of his clanking armour filling the room. "We number few," he began, his voice a deep baritone that managed to get even the All-Mother''s full attention, "but we have always done our best to serve the will of our God." He placed a large paw over his chest and bowed. "We no longer stumble in the dark, for a new light has graced these old eyes. You have my shield and my sword; my will and my body. The Ursidae will follow you until the end and beyond."


    The room fell silent at the man''s declaration, a few of the other Beastkin nodding to themselves as the bear-like man swiped a piece of paper away and placed his paw in a mold that fit it perfectly, a few drops of his mana flowing into it.


    "Our purpose is the will of our God," he began, a blue and red light slowly climbing up his arm. "We are the first to stand and the last to fall. Protectors of the worthy and scourge of those who wish to see our tribes fall. Long have we waited for this day; long have we waited to be free."


    At the end of his chant, his eyes flared briefly, one red and one blue. He removed his paw from the mold and massaged it with his other. "Our rites have been honored," he said, looking at Moria and sitting himself down. "We are yours to command."


    Moria hesitated for a moment before she gave the man a nod. None of the mortals gathered here had seemingly expected him to just swear his entire tribe to Moria, but it had happened nonetheless. A bit rash, isn''t it?


    Aperio could not claim to know how the Beastkin operated, but what the bear-like man had done seemed a little out of order. First of all, according to Moira, these were not the actual leaders of their respective tribes but merely representatives. To Aperio, that meant that they shouldn''t be making such bold claims.


    "While I will not go as far as our friend from the Ursidae, I can promise you the support of the Lycan tribes," the woman that had bowed to Aperio said. "You are of our tribe, it is only natural that we would help."


    Moria gave a nod at the words. "I expected nothing else, but it still feels good to hear it." She turned to the cat-eared man. "And yes, I know Garth will take this opportunity to clean up. He doesn''t appreciate rule breakers in the slightest.


    "I assume your tribe will remain as impartial as always, Zu?" Moria asked as she turned to a Beastkin covered in short, orange fur. If it weren''t for his many tails, Aperio would have thought he was a Lycan with short ears, but now she did not know what to think.


    "Yes," the man replied. "The Vulpes will do what we have always done: offer our magic to those who can pay the price." He cleared his throat as a few of the other Beastkin began to mumble. "However, her Grace Shiru has decreed that we are forbidden from offering our services to those who seek to spread unrest."


    "And what did Shiro say to that?" Moria asked.


    "He concurred," Zu replied. "The tribes require stability to undo the damage that has been done." He lowered his head slightly. "Even if it goes against the tenants of our forebearers."


    "Clinging to the past like that is not always the right choice," the Ursidae representative said. "We live in the now. Your rites should reflect that."


    "Not all of us can change so fast, Representative Hul," Zu said, his ears twitching slightly. "Our elders remember the past as clearly as the present, after all."


    Aperio took her eyes off the gathering of Beastkin as they started to argue amongst themselves and set her sights on Caethya. Her love no longer looked as concerned, the infighting of the tribes seemingly being what she had expected.


    "Is it truly good that they are bickering like that?" Aperio asked, a touch of her magic ensuring that nobody but her love would hear her. "It seems like exactly the thing Moria wanted to prevent from happening."


    "This is just normal posturing," Caethya said and let out a small sigh. "This is better than them all agreeing. That is a good way to make two large factions that just wish to eradicate the other.


    "In any case," her love continued, "this is their issue now. You have done your part and helped Moria." She looked at Aperio. "I doubt there is much more you should do here, unless you want to be the one that guides the fate of the Beastkin."


    "I''d rather not," Aperio replied. "Moria chose that duty for herself. I simply want to live a life."


    "Then perhaps it is time for us to take our leave," Caethya said as she brushed her hand over Aperio''s wing. "If we want to visit Earth we need to find it first, and I don''t imagine that to be easy."


    The All-Mother looked at Caethya for a moment longer before she tore her gaze away and let her eyes wander over the Beastkin representatives. Most of them were talking to one another now and Moira was sitting in a previously-empty chair, looking content with the events unfolding in front of her.


    With a small shake of her head, Aperio stood up, moving the wing Caethya leaned against slightly so her love would stand on her own feet before folding it behind her back. A small wave of her hand caused the barrier that ensured their privacy to expand around Moria as well, causing her to look at the two of them.


    "If you do not require more of my help," Aperio said, "I would take my leave. We still have much to prepare."


    "I only need you to stop the representatives below from leaving," Moria replied. "But for that you don''t need to be here."


    Aperio gave a small nod in reply. "If you need anything else, do let me know. A prayer from you should be noticeable enough." She turned her head slightly to look at Neria in the corner of the room. "I do hope your daughter can learn to accept me for what I am."


    Moria let out a long sigh. "She will. It''ll probably take a while, though." The new Goddess gave a small chuckle. "Not that time was ever an issue for you."


    "It is not, no," Aperio replied. "But I do not like the idea of my friend''s daughter hating me."


    Moria waved her off. "Don''t worry about that. Go and take care of what you need. I wouldn''t want to be the one that stalled the All-Mother."


    Aperio gave another nod and reached out to her own daughter with a mental message. Much to her surprise, Ferio wanted to stay a little longer. Apparently the bickering of the Beastkin tribes was entertaining to her. That was fine. As far as Aperio was concerned, she would probably need some peace and quiet in order to locate a different world.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Omen – Chapter 182: Universal Constant

    Aperio stretched her arms over her head and let her wings extend to their full length as she and Caethya appeared in the courtyard of Mister Penbrooks¡¯ House of Healing. While she did not think she was entirely done dealing with the mess the [Ancestral Guard] had produced, she did not want to do any unnecessary meddling. Only if Moria asks for my help. For now, her task was finding Earth, something she had no real idea how to accomplish.


    "I really don''t know what to think about Ferio," Caethya said as she ducked under one of Aperio''s wings. "It almost feels like she wants you to become who you were again."


    The All-Mother lowered her arms again and folded her wings behind her back. She brushed a hand over her stomach, smoothing out a few wrinkles in her dress only she could perceive as she contemplated her love''s words.


    "She wants me to view mortals as¡­ things, maybe?" Aperio guessed, offering a small shrug. "It certainly seems like that is how she perceives most of them. Little figures that wander the world to entertain her and the other divines."


    It might not be quite correct, but that was the only explanation she could think of for why her daughter considered the potential war between the Beastkin tribes to be a fun mortal quarrel and not the potentially devastating loss of life it actually was. It made no sense to Aperio to view another living being in that way, but the knowledge she had gained about her past self was more than enough to know that she had not always been so¡­ open minded on the matter.


    "In any case," Caethya said as she looked up at Aperio, "she needs to figure out how to accept that you are now a different person, and will likely never be the one she remembers again."


    "I think she knows that already. She simply has not accepted it yet." The All-Mother let out a small sigh as she started to walk towards the door that led inside the House of Healing. "I am not sure what I can even do to change that view."


    "Probably nothing," Caethya replied, falling into step next to Aperio. "But I still find it a little unsettling. It also makes me ask myself if I will come to view mortals like that if I live long enough."


    Aperio furrowed her brows at her love''s words. She placed her hand onto the door as soon as they reached it, holding it shut with her weight. "Ferio does not know how it is to live as a mortal. Just like me, before all of¡­ this." She lowered her head slightly. "I fear that her view on the world will not change unless she is forced to see it in a different light; something I will not do."


    "And nobody would ever expect that," Caethya said. "Probably. Nobody that knows even a little bit about you at least."


    "I hope so," Aperio replied and took her hand off of the door, opening it in the process as her magic held on to it. "Now to figure out where Earth is." Still don''t know how to go about that¡­ Maybe ask Diskrye?


    The deity in charge of space should know where Adam''s home world was and, more importantly, how she could get there. It was, after all, in charge of making worlds. If it forgot where it put them, everyone would suddenly have a lot more problems.


    A thought was all she needed to let her aura unfold itself high above Verenier in search of Diskrye. Finding the space-borne deity was easier than Aperio had anticipated as it only took a moment before she could feel space bending itself around her presence in the nothing. Just like the first time she had met Diskrye, it danced around her, seemingly quite happy that she paid it a visit. Even if it''s only a bit of my attention.


    Down on Venerier, Aperio was walking through the hallways in the House of Healing, trying not to wander into too many mortals while still taking as direct a path to Adam''s room as possible. Caethya only offered a small giggle after she had asked why the route was so peculiar and Aperio had told her the reason. The Demigoddess seemingly found it quite funny that Aperio wanted to avoid the mortals and their stammering.


    "I simply do not wish them to worship me," she said. "And apparently my mere presence moves them to do just that."


    Caethya looked Aperio up and down before she smiled and let out another slight giggle. "Well, you are divine."


    Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly as she ducked through yet another doorway that was too low for her. "I do believe that kind of divine is not something many people see in me, or even consider." Most just see the title and that''s it.


    Diskrye, high above Verenier, seemed quite happy to bask in the attention it was receiving from Aperio. It made no attempt to communicate, only speaking once the All-Mother had spoken first by reaching out as carefully as she could. Aperio had doubted that her telepathy would hurt or injure Diskrye, but it still paid to be careful. Killing the deity in charge of space was not something Aperio wanted to do. The fact that I have to even consider the possibility¡­


    One of these days, she would find a way to strengthen the people she had to deal with on a regular basis enough that she could not kill them on accident. That she had to be careful around her love all the time was already enough. A little too much force could break Caethya and a fit of anger could level any city she was in. Probably even the continent. What happened after the ritual that returned her power was proof of that, but at least she could control her own strength better now, despite the fact that she was somehow still growing stronger.


    That was something she never quite understood. She had made everything, and her will would become reality if she wished it to be, and yet she could still feel herself unconsciously amassing more strength, not just in the body she inhabited but the magic she used as well. It was almost as though she was weaving herself into the fabric of reality itself, something that was quite nonsensical and contradictory as she was also quite explicitly doing the opposite by deliberately confining herself to the body she had crafted to be her own. A body she was not willing to give up.


    "Do you have any idea on how to find Earth?" Caethya asked as the two of them arrived in front of Adam''s door. "I doubt your aura reaches that far while you are in a physical form."


    "I have no intention of finding out how far my reach truly is," Aperio replied as she asked Diskrye the exact same question her love had asked her. "I am currently speaking to Diskrye to see if it knows where I have to look. It made most worlds, so it should know."


    "Hopefully," her love said. "Despite the scary prospect of leaving my home world, I find myself eerily excited to see what a world without Gods and magic actually looks like." Caethya directed her eyes at the ceiling. "Imagine what they came up with to solve the problems that we solve with a literal wave of our hand." She looked back at Aperio, a wide smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes that the All-Mother had not seen before but wanted to stay there no matter the cost. "Maybe they have even figured out things we have never considered, or gone to places we had never dreamed of going to."


    "Like space?"


    "Yes!" Caethya exclaimed, bouncing slightly on her feet. "I have been there thanks to you, and Vigil had his temple on the moon, but everyone else here on Verenier has not even considered the possibility of living up there. Even when it was still around, most mortals ¡ª myself included ¡ª did not really believe that Vigil had built something on one of the moons."


    "Perhaps they found a way to leave their world," Aperio replied with a smile of her own. "I am more worried about what will happen when I, the source of mana, come in contact with a manaless world. It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."


    Aperio knocked on the door, the door moving a little more than she had thought it would. Perhaps I should go back to simply kicking in doors¡­ As weird as it was to think about, kicking in those dungeon doors as she muddled around during her first days back on Venerier had been quite satisfying. But those doors also did not belong to anyone. If she could, Aperio wanted to prevent undue property damage; she had no money to pay for it, after all.


    "And yet you want to go," Caethya said. "To me that means you either have a plan on how to deal with whatever happens, or you have already accepted that your presence will bring change to Earth."


    "A little of column A and a little of column B," the All-Mother replied, opening the door as Adam invited them in. A bundle of images and what Aperio could only describe as feelings from Diskrye caused her to pause for a moment before she continued to speak. "It is only a matter of time until the System goes there, so why not observe it while it does¡­ whatever it does."


    The space-borne deity had shown her how it had made Earth, and how it had placed the universe it inhabited in its own little realm, just like everything else it had made. Like her old self had taught it.


    "I see," Caethya said and stepped past her love, into the room. She paused once inside and looked at Aperio for a moment before she shook her head. "As stupid as it sounds, I am a little worried about you going there. I know that a lack of mana doesn''t do anything to you, but I still feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing."


    "I''m more worried about my home," Adam mumbled as he looked first at Caethya and then Aperio. "Your girlfriend defies all logic and excels at breaking stuff."


    "It is not my fault everything is so fragile," Aperio said as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She spread her wings as much as she could in the room and stood back up to her full height. "Earth will probably be worse than Verenier in that regard. Humans without magic sound like something that might break simply from my aura alone."


    It was a good thing that excluding mortals from her sphere of influence was something that barely required a thought at this point. She had yet to figure out if it worked on the scale of a world that had little to no mana on its own, but the thought brought with it a rare glint of optimism within her.


    "I mean," Adam began, letting out a sigh of what the All-Mother gathered was relief and rubbing the back of his neck, "when I first came here and I saw you, I thought you had come to reap my Soul or something. Felt like it, too." He cleared his throat. "I couldn''t move and could barely breathe. Like my entire being was trapped in a vice or something.


    "In any case," he continued, reaching behind him, "I had something made to help you remain a little more hidden on Earth."


    "A hat?" Aperio asked, the item Adam had picked up already perfectly visible to her. "A weird looking hat," she added as the shape of it was brought out for her eyes to see.


    "A beanie," Adam corrected. "To hide your ears. Remember, no Elves on Earth. Well, no real Elves, at least."


    "You have fake Elves?" Caethya asked as she took the ''beanies'' Adam offered. She handed one to Aperio and turned the other in her hand. "You are also lucky neither of us is very traditional. Even implying to one of the older Elves that they should hide their ears can get you into a lot of trouble."


    "Ah, well¡­ I didn''t know?"


    "It is fine," Aperio replied, putting on the hat and making sure it covered the tips of her ears. She tilted her head as she let the fabric move her ears, causing them to be pressed against her skull. "Feels weird."


    Perhaps the weird feeling came not only from the odd head-wear Adam had given them but also the fact that a part of her mind was occupied with sifting through the space beyond physical reality in which Diskrye built worlds and universes before bringing them forth to their place in Aperio''s creation.


    The sheer number of these realms was not something Aperio had expected, but it did help explain just why she was as strong as she was. Every single one of the realms her mind brushed past was surrounded by a comforting nothing she knew was part of her. A part that separated all the worlds that existed into their own little universes. Feels almost like the System. Is that the Veil, then? Am I the Veil, or is it a part of the System? But, the System is me...


    If it had been possible for Aperio to get a headache, she would have gotten one at this moment. Luckily, her body was not able to give her one.


    "Besides being taller than any person I know and still looking like you can and will break me, it works."


    The sound of Adam''s voice pulled her thoughts away from the absurdity of her own creation and back to Verenier and the task at hand.


    "I mean, she could break you," Caethya said, mimicking Aperio and putting on the hat. "But so could I. Neither of us will, though."


    The All-Mother wiggled her ears slightly, a touch of her magic necessary for the fabric not to rip. "I do not like this covering," she declared and pulled it off of her head. "Perhaps I could pass as one of your fake Elves?"


    Adam gave Aperio a long look, the All-Mother tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "Well?" she asked. "Do I need to hide my wings for you to be able to judge that?"


    "If you can, that would be good, yes."


    With a sigh, Aperio hid her wings, the stabbing pain beneath her shoulder blades a lot less sharp than she remembered from her first experience of hiding her wings in the Void. Still, the lack of her feathered limbs made her feel incomplete and a little¡­ exposed.


    "I won''t go as far as to cover my back," Aperio said, glaring a little at Adam. "And I will not hide my wings if we are alone."


    The human let out a slow, shaky breath. "That''s fine. I just ask that you don''t kill everyone that will comment on your looks. Some people have¡­ views on the ways others dress and your attire definitely does not fit their view."


    "And I do not care what they think," Aperio replied, narrowing her eyes slightly as she pushed her perception past more worlds shrouded in the nothing of herself. "I wear what I want to wear. If I did not wish to maximise my chances at remaining hidden, I would not even hide my wings."


    If she was completely honest with herself, Aperio did not want to hide her ears no matter what. The mere idea caused a bit of rage to bubble up inside her as she could not help but think back to her time as a slave.


    "Funnily enough," Adam began, "if you keep the armour you have now, most people would probably think you are cosplaying." He cleared his throat. "It''s people dressing up as characters from their favourite book or¡­ play. Those have Elves."


    "If it works," the All-Mother replied with a shrug, her wings coming back into being behind her and mirroring the motion of her shoulders. "I do not care what they call it, but I would rather not hide who I am." Well, what I want to be.


    That her true form was an amorphous cloud of nothing was not something anyone needed to know. In all honesty, Aperio would have liked to forget that little fact herself if she were able to, but it wasn''t an option. At least I can have a body¡­ Seeing how many worlds existed that were all dependent on the System, and therefore herself, helped explain why the body she had made for herself had to grow ever stronger. If she truly wished to have all of herself in one place, she had a lot of work left to do.


    "It''s good enough," Adam replied with a small shake of his head. "Now the only problem left is the language. Neither of you speak any of the ones spoken on Earth. At least I assume so."


    "We do not," Aperio replied, as she devoted a bit more of her attention to figuring out the [Translation] skill. Her strategy of letting her subconscious do that task for her had seemingly not worked, as she was still no closer to understanding anything aside from Ancient Common and a very outdated version of Dryadalis, the old language of the Elves. "I also somehow doubt your people speak Common."


    "Some probably speak a language with that name, but it''s not the one you find here. At least I doubt it."


    Caethya offered a small shrug. "Aperio has to find Earth first anyway, so we have a bit of time. If we have a few days, I am sure I can learn the basics without the help of a skill and I am certain our lovely little creator over there could master it. You would just have to teach us."


    "I would have to figure out how to turn off my [Translation] skill at will," Adam said. "¡®Cause at the moment, I am speaking English, not Common. You just hear what you understand."


    "Oh, that''s easy," Caethya said and walked over to Adam. She sat herself down next to him on the bed and opened a part of her [Status] view, one displaying a list of skills far longer than Aperio had anticipated. "You just tap on one and tell it to turn off. If you are good enough, you can just will it to turn off, but I don''t think you are that comfortable with the System itself yet."


    Aperio smiled slightly as Adam and her love began to point at things and call their names in their respective languages. A thought caused the throne from her temple to appear in the corner of Adam''s room. It barely fit, but Aperio wished to sit on a chair that did not crush her wings while she figured out where Earth was, how the [Translation] skill worked, and did her best to pay attention to Caethya''s attempt to learn this English that Adam spoke.


    Despite all the uncertainty in her life, Aperio found herself oddly happy. The prospect of going to a different world to just look was¡­ relaxing. Almost like a little vacation.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 183: Approaching the Threshold

    Aperio hummed a tune she did not truly know but could recall hearing when she had first arrived in Ebenlowe as one part of her mind poked at the [Translation] skill, another was getting ever closer to Earth, and all the while she was listening to the increasingly more fluent conversation between Adam and Caethya.


    The fact that she was able to absorb the knowledge of his language as quickly as she did was not truly shocking to her. Aperio would be a fool if she still thought that learning something that was mostly remembering would be hard for her. No, what surprised her was that her love had progressed so far in the same language-learning task in a mere few hours, despite having to do it the ''hard'' way. It was fast enough that Adam no longer simply looked confused, but also a little intimidated.


    Why he was intimidated by someone learning a language a little quicker than anticipated was not something Aperio knew, but neither did she care. Her love was a Demigoddess, so it should be expected that she would be beyond a normal mortal''s capabilities. Probably also has a skill that helps her. It wouldn''t be much of a surprise if she had one that helped her somewhere in the long list Aperio had gotten a glimpse at.


    "Your language is weird," Aperio said as her love and Adam had a rare moment of silence. "So many rules, yet you ignore most."


    The Human looked at her, blinking a few times as he processed the fact that Aperio had spoken to him in English, accented and broken as it might have been.


    "What?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly as she shifted back to the Common she was more familiar with. "Did you not think I could learn this simply by listening to you?" Not that I thought myself that it would work, the All-Mother mused as she mentally squinted at the mess of runes she was working on. Perhaps the [Translation] skill is working for me? While Aperio doubted that was the case, it certainly bore more investigation.


    "It''s just not something I would have expected to happen," Adam said to her after another moment of silence. "I should have known that you could just magically learn a language in a matter of hours, but Caethya is not the literal Creator of everything there is."


    "No, but she is smart and a Demigoddess."


    "And good with languages," Caethya added. "I do have a few skills that help with learning them. Most people speak Common, but not all, so it''s useful to have something like that as an Adventurer." She offered a small shrug. "I tried my hand at so many, I must have gotten a knack for it."


    "I guess you becoming a Demigoddess also helped," Adam said. "I noticed that remembering things got easier the more points I put into intelligence."


    "It did," Caethya agreed. "But dumping points into intelligence to get ''smarter'' doesn''t really work. Being able to remember more is nice, but it doesn''t make you magically better at math or something. You still have to apply the knowledge."


    "Unless you are Aperio," Adam mumbled, glancing at the All-Mother. "She just seems to do things and they work."


    "Because that''s what she does," Caethya replied, looking at the All-Mother and smiling. "I wouldn''t try to understand how she works ¡ª how anyone works, for that matter. Accepting a person for what they are is usually best."


    The Human let out a sigh. "I just can''t help but think about how things work when I see her. Like, how did she come to be? Why did she make the world the way it is?"


    Aperio let the mess of runes that was the [Translation] skill fade to the back of her mind as she set a bit more of her attention on Adam. The Human shrunk slightly under her gaze, the mana coursing through his body tensing almost as much as his muscles.


    The All-Mother offered a small shrug in reply. "My earliest memories are of me alone, surrounded by nothing. And I did not truly make all of this, I simply created the foundation upon which the world could build itself." And I am technically also the nothing that surrounded me.


    That last part, Aperio kept to herself. Adam did not need to know that she was technically a form of nothing that decided it wanted to be a person. The memory she had retrieved from the dungeon in Ebenlowe had been of her in absolute nothing already possessing a body, but Aperio now also knew that that memory was not the first universe she had made. Perhaps not even the second.


    How many previous attempts had actually existed, Aperio did not know and, quite frankly, did not want to know. She touched her armlet, a bit of the magic that resided within flowing into her as if it wanted to soothe her. At least one, Aperio thought to herself, closing her hand around the armlet that adorned her bicep.


    "You say that like it''s nothing," Adam said. "Like creating everything everyone knows is just something one does on a Friday afternoon. Even if it is ''only the foundation''."


    Caethya''s smile faded slightly as Aperio cast her gaze downwards. The voice of her love brushed past the edges of her mind, making sure that she was alright. Aperio let out a sigh, a few wisps of mana flowing out with it, and gave a nod. For one reason or another, the knowledge that the world she was in was not her first or even second attempt weighed a lot more heavily on her than she thought it should.


    "Perhaps I should show you how I see the world?" Aperio asked. She was not really planning on showing Adam anything, as she was fairly sure he would not be able to survive it, but she still felt like offering it was the correct thing to do.


    "I doubt that is a good idea," Caethya said. "It already gives me a headache, and he is far weaker than I am. And he does not carry your blessing like I do."


    "And I don''t want to know how you see the world, either," Adam said. "What I felt just before I arrived here was already weird enough, I have no need to see it. I think ignorance might be for the best when it comes to that."


    "Ignorance is bliss," Aperio mumbled as she stopped the part of her mind that was speeding past world after world. There were things she''d seen on her quest to find Earth that she''d have to follow up on eventually, but that search had now come to an end. What her aura saw was without a doubt Adam''s home world.


    A fraction more attention on her aura caused the view of the world to sharpen, and the countless objects that orbited it to become clear. She could even see metal contraptions flying through the sky and driving on the ground. Every being on that world was in her sight; within her reach. All she had to do to interact with any one of them was will it.


    Aperio paused for a single moment, no longer than a breath of a mortal, but it stretched to an eternity for her. She could feel mana in this world. It wasn''t much ¡ª not enough to do anything big with it ¡ª but it was there. Perhaps Earth had had magic in the past, but as the amount of mortals on it grew, the mana had to be split between them all and so the perception of its presence faded. No life without mana, after all.


    To make absolutely sure that it was the correct world, Aperio held out her hand and wielded a small projection of the planet into existence. "Is this your home?" she asked, nodding towards the small planet that spun around itself in the palm of her hand. "It matches the description Diskrye gave me." Mostly, at least.


    The space-borne deity had told her how the world had looked after they had made it and how it should appear if the amount of time that had passed was what Diskrye thought it was. Why it had designed a world with a continent that was supposed to split apart after a few million years was beyond Aperio, but she was also not the one that actually made the worlds the mortals needed to live on. Probably important that it works like that.


    Adam stood up and took the couple of steps needed to close the distance to Aperio. He looked at the projection in her hand in silence for a moment. He pulled his head back slightly as one of the many metal things that orbited the world flew by his eyes and he gave a weak nod.


    "It certainly looks like it," he said and looked at the All-Mother, who tilted her head in response. "Is this what you see?"


    "A part of it," Aperio replied. "I also see some weird metal things ¡ª planes, I think? ¡ª flying through the air, not just space. Are you sure your world has no magic?"


    "I am, yes," he replied. "Both the planes and the satellites do not use magic. Just good old Human ingenuity."


    Caethya smiled at the exchange. "This is what I meant. Our approach to flying has been to simply tame something that can do it, or to learn it yourself." She paused for a moment, tilting her head. "Well, I have heard that some people are trying to build a flying ship, but I doubt that''s anywhere close to being done."


    "I do have a flying island," Aperio said, lifting one of her wings to point in the general direction of her temple. "Still need to land that somewhere."


    She wanted to simply place it somewhere in Ebenlowe, but for that she would have to talk to the mortals in charge. If she did not want to be a hypocrite, that is. Not that they would ever deny me¡­ Aperio was fairly certain that most mortals in a position of power would do their best to appease her in a vague hope that she would repay them somehow. She wouldn''t, of course, but they did not know that. Just like they don''t know that I would accept it if they denied me.


    Adam walked back to his bed and sat down. He rubbed the back of his head and stared at his feet for a moment before he set his gaze onto Aperio. "I assume this means you want to go now?"


    "Not quite yet," Aperio replied as she closed her hand, causing the projection to disappear. "I want to finish the [Translation] skill before I leave, as I am sure your world has more than one language on it and I would rather not explain where my accent comes from. I do not think they would believe me if I told them that I came from a different world."


    "No they wouldn''t," Adam replied. "Some would think you are just staying in character, though. Or that you are¡­ not quite right in the head."


    The All-Mother did not reply, instead devoting more of her attention to the mess of runes that made up the [Translation] skill. She had taken it apart and put it back together multiple times as she tried to understand how it worked, but none of it told her why she herself could not use it. Its function was easy enough to understand, and while the way it went about translating languages was a little odd, that too was understandable. All it did was read the required knowledge from the Souls of those involved in the conversation and then translate between the two by interpreting the intent each word had. How exactly the runes managed to even grasp something as immaterial as intent from a conversation was not something Aperio understood. Perhaps I need to figure that out?


    "I can assure you that I am of sound mind," Aperio said, furrowing her brows as she nudged the runes of the skill further apart. "But my thoughts are also barely comprehensible for the mortal mind." So much so that it kills them.


    "I can only imagine," Adam replied with a sigh. He leaned back, letting himself fall onto his bed before he spoke again. "I am not sure if I really want to go back. You have to realise that people don''t just disappear like this without consequence." He sat himself upright again. "My parents would have told the police that I ran away or am missing, which means that they would forcibly take me back once they find me."


    "From what I understand, your police are basically like the Guard, right?" Aperio asked, only continuing once Adam had given a nod. "Then they only work for their country or city, not the world," Aperio said as a bit more of her mana flowed into the copy of the [Translation] skill she had begun to build. "If they are confined to one country, we will simply go to another. Or we could alter your appearance."


    "Well, yes, they are only responsible for their country, and even then only parts of it," Adam said, "but many countries have agreements to hand over people that another country is looking for."


    "I sincerely doubt they could take you," Caethya said. "You are what, level fifty now? If that world has no magic like you said, you are essentially untouchable for them."


    The Human shook his head in reply. "I would agree if we were using swords and bows like you do here, but we invented better weapons. Being able to move a little faster to dodge a sword or arrow won''t cut it. A bullet moves faster than sound does."


    "And? I can do that too, if I wish." Aperio looked at Adam and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Even if you cannot protect yourself, I can protect you just fine."


    To make her point more clear, a thought manifested a thin, invisible barrier around Adam, a second barrier around the room itself to keep any sound from escaping, and a small metal ball in Aperio''s hand. She might not know what a bullet was, but a piece of metal moving as quickly as she dared to throw it indoors should be a fine substitute.


    A flick of her wrist propelled the ball forward, a loud crack echoing through the room and a trail of fire filling the air just behind the metal projectile. As soon as the ball hit the barrier she had created, it simply ceased to exist, at least to the mortal eye. The All-Mother could see how the metal tried to move through the barrier but instead simply ground itself into a fine dust before harmlessly falling to the ground.


    Adam merely stared at her in response, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.


    "I think a warning would have been nice," Caethya said and brushed a few hairs out of her face that had been moved by the pressure Aperio''s demonstration had caused. "It''s awfully loud."


    "I apologise," Aperio said, inclining her head slightly towards Adam. "But I think I made my point. The barrier can withstand a lot more, but I did not feel comfortable throwing the ball with more strength indoors. This was probably already a little too much." At least the other members of the House of Healing did not hear this.


    "I think it is best to let Adam think on the matter a little more," Caethya said as she stood up and smoothed out her dress. "I would like to visit my parents before we leave. Maybe introduce you, too."


    "Do they know?" Aperio asked, setting her gaze on her love.


    "They know that I am with someone and that I found you, but they don''t know that we are together."


    "I see," she replied. It had always only been a matter of time until she would meet Caethya''s family, but for one reason or another, she felt a little uncomfortable with the thought.


    Her love took the few steps that separated them and took her hand. "You have nothing to fear from them," she said, offering a warm smile. "It''s just gonna be my parents. The worst that''ll happen is my mother maybe wanting to spar with you and my dad asking you all kinds of questions about magic and your views on some boring laws."


    "Is your mother stronger than you are?" Aperio asked with a slight tilt of her head. "If she is not, I see little point in a match, even if it is friendly in nature."


    Caethya waved her off with her free hand while trying to pull Aperio to her feet. "She just wants to know if you can protect me and she likes to make sure of that herself."


    "But you can protect yourself?" Aperio stood up and pulled Caethya closer to herself in one fluid motion. "Is that some sort of tradition?"


    "It is," her love replied, returning the embrace for a moment before pulling back. "I''ll explain it when we are alone."


    "As you wish," the All-Mother replied. She turned to look at Adam and offered him another small, apologetic bow. "We will return once we have spoken with Caethya''s family. If you do not wish to come with us, you are free to stay here."


    A weak "Okay" was all Adam managed in reply before he slumped backwards onto the bed again. Aperio furrowed her brows slightly, and just before she teleported Caethya and herself into her Void she reached out to Laelia, asking her Scion to send someone from the House of Healing to look after Adam. Perhaps I overdid it a little?


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 184: Meeting the Family

    Aperio stretched her wings to their full length as soon as Caethya and herself arrived in her Void. One of these days she would have to fly again. Maybe I could do that on Earth? Sure, the Humans there could not fly on their own according to Adam, but Aperio also knew that mortals tended to ignore things that seemed too extraordinary. At least, they did when I was one.


    She could vividly remember how she had dismissed as a trick of the mind something that she now knew was more than plausible. Seeing a winged Elf fly above you on a planet that only had Humans would probably fall under that category.


    "Do I need to wear anything special?" Aperio asked as she folded her wings behind her back again and looked at her love. A thought caused the armour that covered her chest, shoulders, and sides of her hips to disappear. "Should probably take those off."


    "You can wear whatever you are most comfortable in," Caethya said. "You could put on some Moon Elven jewellery if you have any, but even that is not necessary."


    "I do not own any," Aperio replied, raising a brow as Caethya pulled various items of clothing out of her own storage skill. "And I do not like the idea of putting something around my neck, or on my ears either. Both are perfect as they are."


    Caethya turned slightly to look at Aperio and smiled. "You are perfect as you are." Her love returned her attention to the clothes she had produced, grabbing a dark blue dress that almost matched Aperio''s in colour and held in front of herself. "Could you make me a mirror?"


    The All-Mother obliged, her Void twisting apart slightly in front of Caethya to facilitate her wish for a mirror. "Of course."


    "Thank you," her love replied. "Now the question is if I should actually wear a dress, or my usual everyday clothes."


    "You do not usually wear a dress?" Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly as she focused a little more on the apparel Caethya had gathered. "But you''ve worn nothing else ever since we met?" The only time the All-Mother could recall Caethya wearing something different was the very first time they met, but at the time, she was also in a dungeon and expecting a fight. How far we have come since then¡­


    Caethya shook her head in reply. "I usually wear my armour, or just a shirt and pants. When you can''t teleport everywhere, or move any faster than anyone else, it makes it a lot easier to get around."


    "Which means you could now, if you wanted to," Aperio replied and appeared on the other side of Caethya''s pile of clothes. "I doubt there are many mortals that could beat you, even if you had both hands tied behind your back."


    "I¡­ actually don''t know," her love said, lowering the next outfit she had picked up. "I have no real idea how strong I am now. Sure, I can look at my [Status] and get an idea from the numbers alone, but my Class already tells me that my body is at least partially divine and outside the norm for mortals and, therefore, outside of what my [Status] can show me."


    "You can always spar with me if you wish." Aperio smiled. "That actually sounds rather enjoyable."


    Caethya let out a laugh in reply. "Sure, we can do that, but it wouldn''t help me figure out how strong I am compared to someone normal. I could use magic that levels a continent, and you would shrug it off just the same as a fireball."


    The All-Mother lowered her gaze and ran her hand over her stomach. "I guess¡­" She still liked the idea of having a bout with her love, as fighting brought her joy. It would be wonderful, too, to fight for a reason that did not stem from rage or other negative feelings. "I still like the idea, though."


    "Perhaps when we have returned from our excursion to Earth," Caethya said as she placed a shirt next to the other items she had apparently decided upon. She nodded to herself and waved her hand, causing the other clothes to disappear. "For now, I''ll introduce you to my parents."


    "I am still not sure how I feel about that," Aperio mumbled to herself. Technically, she was older than any mortal that walked her creation, but the time she could actually say she had been alive was only around thirty years. At least, that¡¯s what it is according to Moria.


    Caethya paused midway into pulling off her dress and turned to look at Aperio. "Are you scared that my parents won''t like you?" Her love let out a slight giggle, shook her head, and continued to disrobe. "I''ll make sure to let mother know that she can intimidate the All-Mother."


    "I am not scared of what they think of me," Aperio replied as she turned around to grant her love at least the impression of privacy. "I simply do not wish them to view you differently because of your relationship with me."


    "They don''t care who I am with as long as you are not some serial killer or something," Caethya replied. "Also, why are you turning around? It''s not like that stops you from seeing me in any way."


    Aperio turned back to face her love again, tilting her head slightly as Caethya pulled on the shirt she had chosen. "To preserve the appearance of propriety?"


    "Well, I welcome you to look with more than your aura," her love said as she began to pull out various pieces of jewellery. "I wouldn''t have undressed here if I wasn''t comfortable with you seeing me."


    Aperio shifted her weight from one leg to the other and flared her wings slightly. "I understand," she said, not wanting to tell her love directly that the topic itself made her a little uncomfortable. A discussion about her past would be due one of these days, but until then, Aperio would do her best to simply manoeuvre around anything that might bring back memories she did not like.


    Caethya paused in her flurry to acquire accessories and looked at Aperio. "If you are uncomfortable with any of this, you will tell me, right?"


    "I am a little," the All-Mother replied with a small sigh that echoed through the Void. "I do not wish to be, but I cannot help it either. Not really at least." She sat herself down on the nothing of her Void and looked up at Caethya. "It is merely a remnant of my past that I need to deal with. I''m sorry."


    "You have nothing to be sorry about," her love said, a bitter smile marring her face. "What happened to you cannot be undone and it will take time to be fixed." Her smile brightened a little. "I will do what I can to help, but you already know that."


    "I do," Aperio replied, a small twitch of her hand causing a necklace and a pair of clips that would run the length of Caethya''s ears to float up slightly. "I think these would look good on you." A small flex of her mental muscles caused the metal they had been made from to shift slightly and the tiny imperfections that had been present in them to vanish. "Even better now."


    Caethya plucked the items from the air and turned them over in her hand. "Perhaps you should consider a career as a jeweller," she said as she put the clips onto her ears. "I doubt anyone could match this quality."


    "I would rather make something special for the one I love than for someone that pays me." Aperio appeared next to Caethya and offered her arm. "Money is not something I require, while your happiness is something I value greatly. Now, where do we have to go?"


    "Irikas," Caethya replied, slinging her arm around that of Aperio. "It''s the capital of the kingdom. Well, the current one," she added. "I don''t think the one we have now was around back then."


    "Irikas," Aperio mumbled as her aura flooded the continent the Elves called home for a city worthy of being the capital. "Does it feature lots of spires, trees, and a mountain?" Caethya gave a nod at the words and the All-Mother continued. "Looks like someone decided to combine three cities into one. Perhaps even four, if you count the tent city in the steppe to the north."


    "That does belong to it," Caethya said. "It''s where both of my parents are from, and High Elves in general. Contrary to what Humans seem to think, we get our name from what used to be called The Highlands, not because we are somehow better than other Elves."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the words, a flex of her mental muscles causing both Caethya and herself to vanish from her Void and appear in a part of the forest the All-Mother was sure did not actually belong to the city.


    "Do people believe Moon Elves came from the moon?" Aperio asked, looking down at Caethya, a mental message showing her love where they were and asking where they should go now.


    "Perhaps some do," Caethya replied as she began walking, not towards the city itself but a small river that snaked its way through the forest they were in. "We can use one of the gondolas to get to my parents house," she said as Aperio raised a brow at their direction. "But then, you could also just bring us there." She produced a small coin that had a flower the All-Mother did not recognise embossed on it. "Just look for an estate that has this sigil built into the courtyard."


    Finding the estate in question took Aperio only a brief moment and a thought placed Caethya and herself atop what the All-Mother assumed was the family sigil of the Martinek house. The few servants that were in the courtyard were startled, some of them even reaching for whatever they could use as a weapon for a brief moment before they seemingly recognised Caethya and offered a small bow instead.


    "Perhaps coming through the door would have been better," Aperio said, trying to keep her mana out of her voice as best as she could. "If they had not recognised you, they would have likely attacked us."


    "But it was never a question if they would recognise me," Caethya said with a smile. "Sure, it''s been a few years since I have been here, but they would not forget the heir apparent."


    Further talk was stopped as Aperio could sense two rather strong mortals approaching. Of course, they paled in comparison to herself or even Caethya, but they were still quite a bit above what the All-Mother would consider the average for mortals.


    "It would seem like your parents noticed our arrival," Aperio said, inclining her head towards the door the two Elves would emerge from. "They seem quite eager to see you again."


    "I would hope so," Caethya replied with a smile. "I will warn you though, the two of them can be a little overbearing and care little for status inside their own home."


    True to her love''s word, as soon as the two Elves had entered the courtyard and set their sights on Caethya they ignored everything else, storming towards their daughter and wrapping her in a hug despite the fact that she still had one of her arms interlocked with Aperio''s.


    The All-Mother only raised a brow and, with a small flex of her mental muscles, brought herself a couple of steps away from the family reunion. She might be fine with all the hugs Caethya wanted to bestow upon her, but that did not extend to the rest of her family. They could get a nod or a slight bow, perhaps a handshake, but that was it.


    Caethya only let her parents coddle her for a moment before she freed herself. "I am happy to see you too, but I have to introduce you to someone first."


    Aperio bowed slightly, her wings spreading slightly behind her as her love''s parents turned towards her. "Greetings."


    "Is that her?" Caethya''s mother asked, her voice a little too eager for Aperio''s liking. "She doesn''t look like I imagined her. A lot more like an Elf than I would''ve assumed."


    "Is that a problem?" Aperio asked, raising a brow.


    "Not at all!" the woman replied as she started to walk around the All-Mother. "I just thought our dear Caethya had adapted your description slightly to not unnerve us."


    "Some manners, Jhila," Caethya''s father replied. He bowed, a lot deeper than he probably needed to, before speaking again. "My name is Orlar, and you already met my wife, Jhila." He cleared his throat, Jhila finally relenting and returning to his side. "You must be Aperio, esteemed Creator and, arguably more importantly, partner of our daughter."


    The All-Mother could not help but smile slightly at Orlar''s introduction. "I am," she said, standing to her full height and letting her aura flow a little more unconstrained, causing tiny wisps of her mana to dance around her. "Caethya wished to introduce me to you."


    Her love shook her head at Aperio''s display and walked up to her. "I thought it best for you to meet before we go on our little excursion," Caethya said, holding out her hand towards Aperio. "I also think it best that we step inside. We wouldn''t want to further disturb anyone, now would we?"


    "If you wish," Jhila said and began walking towards the open door that led inside. "I''ll have Guro prepare some refreshments." She glanced over her shoulder at Caethya and Aperio. "Needless to say that we did not prepare anything, let alone for someone of your stature."


    The All-Mother offered a small shrug in reply before taking her love''s hand. "I do not require anything. Most mortal foods do not appeal to me."


    Caethya had said that her parents were a little odd, but Aperio had still expected them to either cower a little in fear or show some form of reverence she did not want. Luckily, that was not the case. If they had not addressed her as the Creator, she could have thought they assumed she was just another elf. An Elf that could kill them all by letting loose a little too much.


    "Don''t let Guro hear that," Caethya said with a slight giggle. "He takes his job very seriously. Now that I think about it, it''s probably best if he doesn''t know who you are, otherwise we will have a banquet on our hands."


    "I am always in favour of banquets," Orlar said as he stopped by the door and allowed Caethya and Aperio to pass. "They are a continual enjoyment."


    "Perhaps for you they are," Aperio replied as she ducked through the doorway and stepped into what appeared to be a dining room of some form. "The only banquets I can recall were not enjoyable in the slightest."


    "What do you enjoy?" Jhila asked as she placed four glasses on a glass table that stood close to the door. "Is it, like, creating worlds?" she asked, a wave of her hand causing a bottle of what Aperio assumed to be wine to fill the glasses. "Or do you tinker with the System?"


    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the question. There weren''t many things she would say she liked, and one of those was simply spending time with Caethya, even if that meant they simply floated in her Void and did absolutely nothing. "I do enjoy working on my System, but what I really wish for is a good fight."


    The Elven woman perked up at the words and Caethya''s father simply let out a sigh. "Honey, you can''t seriously think of fighting her."


    "You bet I am thinking of that," she replied. "I didn''t become a general by sitting around like you do all day!"


    Orlar shrugged. "The finances of the kingdom wont get sorted if I go around stabbing people."


    "I am sure the department could manage without you for a few months," Jhila said. "We could go around and clear some dungeons, just like we did a few decades ago!"


    "Do you see what I meant?" Caethya whispered, a tiny bit of her magic flowing with the words to make sure her parents did not hear.


    Aperio gave a small nod in reply. "I like them, though. They treat me like I am just another Elf." She tilted her head to the other side. "Though, I am unsure what this meeting is supposed to accomplish."


    "I just want you to get to know my parents, really. Had to happen sooner or later anyway, so why not take care of it now?"


    Their conversation was interrupted by a pair of glasses filled with the presumed wine floating towards them. Aperio carefully took the one that stopped in front of her and brought it to her nose. The smell was familiar, reminding her of what the nobles in the Inaru Empire liked to drink. Of course, as a slave she had never been allowed to partake and now that she could, she did not find the idea that appealing. Still, she took a careful sip of the contents. No need to be rude to their hosts.


    "And?" Jhila asked, looking expectantly at the All-Mother. "How do you like the wine of house Martinek? Guro takes great pride in it."


    "It is fine?" Aperio replied, letting the glass float in the air beside her. "I am sorry, but like I said, I do not find much appeal in such things. Neither do I have much experience with them."


    "Well, I guess you never needed to eat or drink to survive, and therefore did not grow to appreciate the act?" Orlar asked as he took a sip of his own wine. "I guess you don''t need anything to survive, now do you?"


    "I do not, no," Aperio replied. "Technically, at least." If something were to happen to Caethya she did not know what she would do, but being without her love was not something Aperio even wanted to begin imaging. The only thing she was sure of was the likelihood of wanting vengeance, and the fact that the whole world would feel her wrath should the time come.


    "There was a time where I did do it," Aperio added, "but I would rather not talk about that."


    Jhila looked at the All-Mother for a moment longer, her eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly before she started to drink from her own glass. Aperio had to do her best to suppress a sigh. Perhaps a bit of reverent treatment wouldn''t be so bad if it meant that these mortals would not try to mask an interrogation as friendly banter.


    GamingWolf


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 Omen – Chapter 185: Growing Closer, Getting Ready, Giving In | Book 5 End

    GamingWolf


    Caethya smiled, watching her love tilt her head to the side. Silver hair cascaded over pointy ears, and a barely-visible blue shimmer left a small trail of silver mana hanging in the air from the motion. She could feel Aperio drawing more mana into her body and could perceive the way it spread its way through her, even to the feathers on her wings which caused their blue edges to glow just a little.


    The small rituals Aperio used to calm herself were far from normal, but for one reason or another they had a similar effect on Caethya herself. Perhaps it was her ever-changing nature towards the divine, or maybe she had simply spent too much time with Aperio and her love''s magic had become something of a calming presence for her. Whether Aperio was aware of this phenomenon or not, she was a constant in the universe and, ever since Caethya had realized what she felt, for her as well.


    "I think you should try whatever Guro ends up making," Caethya said as she brushed her hand over Aperio''s arm. "It''s not like you have to watch your weight."


    The All-Mother tilted her head to the other side before giving a brief nod. "I will try it, just like I did with the wine, I simply do not expect to enjoy it." She extended one of her wings, gently wrapping it around Caethya before returning her attention back to Jhila and Orlar. "Is there anything you wish to ask me?"


    Aperio had undoubtedly noticed that her parents had gotten just a little more tense after she had made it quite clear that she would rather not talk about her past. Of course, her love had phrased it as a polite request, but the way the air itself had shifted with her words would have made it crystal clear to anyone that she would not discuss such things. It was a decision Caethya understood very well.


    Talking about her love''s time as a slave would undoubtedly help her work through it, but she knew that that was something which would take Aperio a while longer to be comfortable with.


    "I think I speak for both of us when I say that we have a lot of questions," Jhila said, cradling her glass. "But I am honestly not sure where to start."


    "Perhaps the easiest would be why you blessed our daughter," Orlar began. "Did you know you would like her, or is that coincidence?"


    "Coincidence," Aperio replied with a small shrug. "I do not know what a Soul will turn into when it enters the realm of mortals. In all honesty, I had not expected to run into the mortals that carried my blessing ever again. As for why¡­" The All-Mother paused for a moment, her voice a little lower and slower as she continued speaking. "There is no real reason."


    Caethya recognized that tone of voice from her love. She was not lying, but what she said was not the truth either. Have to ask her about that later¡­ While Caethya felt like she already knew the truth Aperio wanted to hide, her mind refused to offer up what that was, only giving her the hazy feeling that she knew.


    "Do other Gods just randomly bless people?" Orlar asked.


    "I do not think so," Aperio replied. "It requires a decent amount of mana that most deities would rather not spend on a mortal."


    "And you have no problem with that?"


    Caethya could not see her love''s face, but she just knew that Aperio was currently quirking her brow and trying her best not to ask her parents if they were all there.


    "Why would I?" Aperio asked instead, the wisps of her mana that had spread around the room flaring slightly. "I can make Gods."


    "Of course," her father replied, shaking his head. "A stupid question."


    "It is easy to forget," Aperio replied. "I have noticed that most mortals struggle to truly understand what I can do. I cannot blame you or anyone else for that, however. It does sound far-fetched when I claim that I can simply make a God."


    "It does," Jhila said as she sat herself down on a couch, breaking at least a few dozen baseless rules of proper conduct in the noble society. "But nobody would believe me that I can feel your voice in my Soul either. Very bizarre experience, by the way."


    "I can only imagine," her love replied, a little more quietly than normal.


    Caethya placed her hand on Aperio''s stomach, offering the All-Mother a smile when she looked at her. "Perhaps a spar with Mother is a good idea while we wait for Guro to prepare his feast."


    Aperio tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side for a moment before looking at Jhila. "If you truly wish to fight me, we can; it simply will not be as interesting as you think."


    "Perhaps not for you," Orlar said before downing the rest of his wine in one large swig. A wave of his hand caused the bottle to fly towards him and he poured himself another drink. "But I can guarantee you that my wife will love it."


    ///


    Jhila smiled as she pulled the last strap of her armour tight. The All-Mother had already moved to the other field behind the estate that Jhila would usually use to do her exercises. It should be big enough to have a somewhat proper fight. If she permits it, that is. The Elven woman was under no illusion that her daughter''s girlfriend could simply remove her from existence before she could take a breath, but she had said herself that she liked to fight and ending the spar like that would defeat its purpose.


    "Are you sure you want to do this?" Orlar asked as she let go of her hair, having finished braiding it. "It seems more than a little risky. What if she suddenly decides she wants more fighting? She could level the entire city."


    "Do you really think Caethya would have chosen her if she was inclined to wipe out an entire city on a whim?"


    "No," her husband replied. "But I have dealt with the divine and their supporters more than enough to know that some of them have killed simply out of boredom. They just do not work like we do."


    Jhila first grabbed her sword and placed it onto her hip, the enchantment of her armour keeping it in place, before grabbing her trusty spear. Against someone like Aperio, something with a bit more reach was probably a good idea. "You know as well as I do that this has more to do with how strong any one person becomes than anything else. Both our views on life changed as our strength grew."


    Orlar let out a sigh and shook his head. "Just know that I do not want you to get hurt."


    She smiled. "I know, and I won''t."


    It had been a good while since she had fought someone so clearly stronger than her. The last time it happened, she had been able to learn a good deal about how to fight.That might not hold true for this spar, as the All-Mother had no need to study technique or be proficient with a weapon. It was just as likely that she would brute force in the fight as it was that she was a master of whatever armament she used.


    "Good luck," Orlar said as he leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Jhila''s lips. "I will go and help Guro; have to make sure he doesn''t go too overboard."


    "You do that," she replied, smiling at her husband for a moment longer before turning to leave through the door behind her. "I will go and have a bout with the most powerful being in existence."


    Jhila ignored the small grumble from her husband and stepped out of the small armoury they had built into their home, onto the small path that would lead her to the field. After only a couple of steps, however, she could feel a presence wrap around her ¨C one she knew belonged to Aperio. It felt questioning, somehow, and after Jhila had as much as thought about it, she could feel it pull on her, inviting her to hold on. She did, and a breath later she appeared on the large open field in front of the All-Mother.


    "I figured it was appropriate to bring you here once you had prepared adequately," Aperio said. "Though, I did expect your husband to come as well."


    "He does not like to watch me fight," Jhila replied, unsure if the All-Mother had overheard their talk or not. "Especially not when he thinks I might get injured."


    "I already promised Caethya that I will hold back as much as I can." She held out her hand and a swordstaff with a feather-like blade appeared in it. "I will also offer you the use of my weapon, as what you brought will only break if you use it against me." The All-Mother spun the weapon in her hand, its edge leaving a multi-coloured trail that did not play nicely with Jhila''s eyes, before offering what the Elven woman assumed to be the handle. "If you can, that is."


    Jhila stuck her own spear into the ground and grabbed hold of the weapon, her eyes widening slightly as she felt a bit of her mana being drawn into it. As soon as the All-Mother let go, the Elven woman lurched forward, the weight of the swordstaff not something she had expected.


    "I don''t think I can fight with this," she said as she held it in both hands and carefully manoeuvred herself into a stance. "Way too heavy."


    Aperio let out a sigh, the weapon disappearing from Jhila''s hand at the same time. "Alas, it was worth a try." The All-Mother spread her wings slightly and rolled her shoulders. "I will do my best to repair whatever of your equipment breaks."


    While Jhila had seen a lot during her time as an adventurer, and was now a general in the kingdom''s army, standing in front of Aperio ¡ª whose wings were spread behind her, no longer masking her figure ¡ª was something else. Whether it was simply an inherent feature of her being the All-Mother or something she did on purpose did not matter, as the effect remained the same and caused Jhila to take a step backwards.


    "I will not use magic nor weapons," the All-Mother said as she lowered her stance slightly, "only what my body has to offer."


    If it was anyone else, Jhila would have laughed at that decision, but now it was simply a small boon that moved her chances from a guaranteed loss to a most assured one.


    "I am ready," she said, pulling her spear out of the ground and holding it tightly in both hands.


    As soon as Jhila took a step forward, Aperio vanished, dirt and grass filling the space she had occupied. Her eyes could not track her opponent, but neither did she need to as she felt herself being thrown backwards by the All-Mother''s fist slamming into her stomach.


    The air left her lungs as she hit the ground and before she could get her bearings, Jhila felt a hand lifting her up by her neck while another pulled the spear from her hands.


    "I believe that is my win," Aperio said before she sat the Elven woman back down and stuck the spear into the ground before her.


    Jhila took a deep breath and grabbed hold of her weapon to steady herself. She wanted to speak, but no words left her mouth as the All-Mother placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel mana spreading through her body, a pleasant warmth following in its wake, and but a moment later the pain that had slowly begun to claw its way to the forefront of her mind had vanished.


    "I had thought I held back enough," the All-Mother said. "Apparently, I was wrong. I apologise."


    "It''s fine," Jhila replied, placing her hand above her stomach as she felt a breeze brush against her skin. "I didn''t know that punching through dragon scales was that easy."


    It wasn''t the first time her armour had broken ¡ª the small loops of chain that held the scales together were a little weak when compared to the rest ¡ª but Aperio had not just broken those. A few of the scales were now cracked, even pulverized. Good thing the enchantment still worked¡­


    If she had been hit by that blow without the protection her armour provided, she would be sporting a nice hole that went through her stomach and spine. Instead of that, all she had was some mild discomfort that Aperio''s mana had already fixed.


    The All-Mother removed her hand and lowered her head slightly. "I will try to repair it, but I do not know if I can recreate what you had before."


    "Might as well make her some proper armour," Caethya said as she stepped closer. "That way Mother might last a little longer. Though, you would also have to slow down a little more. I could barely follow you."


    ///


    Aperio let some of her mana flow into the armour of Caethya''s mother, replacing the dragon scales she had broken with ones fashioned from the same metal she used for her own armour. If you can even call it a metal¡­


    It might look like that to most people but Aperio knew that it was simply her mana, condensed to the point that it became a solid material. The only part she had to worry about when making something out of it for someone else was if it would perform as expected when she was not around. It should, but she had not yet tested it. The weapons her old self had made did not react to the lack of her presence, so she hoped that this would be much the same.


    "I already held back a lot more than I did on Geshwen," Aperio said and took a step backwards to give Jhila some room. "I honestly do not know how much more I can hold back while still fighting effectively."


    "You don''t have to be effective to be a match for my mother," Caethya said with a slight giggle. "Probably should fight with one arm bound behind your back."


    "I think I need to get a little stronger before I ask to spar again," Jhila said as she let go of her spear to stand on her own again. She looked down at herself and raised a brow as the broken section of her armour quite literally regrew itself. "I can''t even react to her. By the time I had realised where she was, I was already flying."


    "I had thought you were stronger," Aperio said. "Both you and your husband feel a lot more powerful than your mortal peers. It would seem I overestimated your capabilities."


    Jhila shook her head slightly. "Perhaps, but if I may speak my mind?" Aperio motioned for her to continue. "I think you are unaware of the extent of your own strength and therefore do not know how much you should hold back when fighting someone you perceive as stronger than average."


    The Elven woman stretched her arms above her head and let out a sigh as Aperio heard a distressingly loud pop. "You are obviously capable of operating at our level," she continued, unbothered by the All-Mother''s raised brow and slightly tilted head. "You don''t break our home by walking in it, nor do you damage the glass that has not been treated in any way. We had other guests that did not manage to control their power as well as you did when trying to drink from a normal glass."


    "How?" Aperio asked as she furrowed her brows and tilted her head to the other side. "Do they just grasp everything as if it was their weapon?"


    She had no issue not breaking things ¡ª not anymore, at least ¡ª but that required her to actually pay at least a little attention to it. Doing that in a fight was certainly possible, but it would greatly impair her ability to apply herself to whatever target she had chosen. Though, what she considered to be greatly impaired might just be what was required to have a more enjoyable fight. Even if holding back like that is not enjoyable itself.


    "Apparently," Jhila said and shrugged. "But I also can''t really comment on that as I¡¯ve never really had such issues."


    "If you wish to try again, we can, but I believe your husband is coming to get us."


    Jhila''s eyes turned a pure white for a brief moment at her words, a rather sizable amount of mana rushing towards the house before she nodded. "Guro has finished his preparations. That was fast, even for him."


    Neat, Aperio thought to herself. As far as she could tell, what Jhila had done was essentially a brief glimpse into the world as the All-Mother herself saw it. Just limited to the physical realm.


    "Shall we go inside, then?" Aperio asked and offered her hand to Caethya. "I am sure there is more you wish to discuss."


    After both Caethya and her mother gave Aperio a nod, the three of them appeared next to Orlar in the small armoury the couple had built into their estate.


    The man recoiled slightly before realising who had appeared. "I was just coming to get you," he said. "But I guess our guest noticed."


    "I did," Aperio replied, offering a small smile. "I can also already tell you that your cook went overboard. I doubt I will even try a sixth of what he made." If anything.


    Orlar gave a very slight nod at her words. "That''s fine, the rest of the staff probably won''t mind taking care of what is left."


    "You three go ahead," Jhila said as she began to undo the straps of her armour. "I''ll be with you shortly."


    Before leading Caethya and herself away, Orlar stepped closer to Jhila and placed his hands on her hips. The two of them closed their eyes and brought their foreheads together, remaining like that for a long moment. Aperio could not help but stare, as she could both see and feel them exchanging tiny bits of mana in a manner that looked awfully close to Caethya''s approach to telepathy. The only difference is that they need physical contact.


    It was something she could investigate later, as for now she had a not-so-small dinner to enjoy before leaving for Earth. And I should try to make a good impression on her parents.


    To some it might seem silly that she, the All-Mother, wanted the approval of some puny mortals, but those people would be the same that laughed at her wish for a normal life. Something she hoped she could get a small taste of on Earth, if one ignored the fact that she would be half of the entire Elven population of that world.


    ///


    Caethya sat down next to her love and across from Orlar, then eyed the seat next to her father. It wouldn¡¯t be long before her mother would join them and she would have to tell her parents that they would leave for an as of yet undetermined amount of time. Or that it''s another world.


    The All-Mother leaned forward slightly, the wing Caethya was resting against moving slightly with her. "May I ask a question?"


    "Of course," her father replied and began to pour tea for everyone present, starting with Aperio as custom demanded.


    "Are you scared of me?"


    Her father remained quiet for a while, finishing the pouring of the tea before speaking. "I am, not because I fear what you might do but because of what you are, and what that represents. Your association with our family will draw the attention of people we likely cannot deal with on our own."


    "I assume you mean other Gods that would seek to somehow use your family to get to me?" Aperio asked, continuing after Orlar nodded. "If that happens, I can assure you that they will not be around for long."


    Caethya placed her hand on the small of Aperio''s back as the tiny wisps of mana her love had not bothered to hide flared at her words. The mere suggestion that someone would go against her family seemed to be enough to anger the All-Mother. All things considered it was probably a good thing, as it meant Aperio would aid them should the worst come to pass, but also begged the question of who would gain from such actions.


    "I don''t think we have to worry all that much about that," Caethya said. "The deities that actively disliked Aperio are no longer around and the mortals that do hold a grudge can''t really do anything. Nor do they know about us."


    "Perhaps," her father replied. "But it is still a fact that your actions will have repercussions for us, and perhaps even the kingdom. I wouldn''t be surprised if His Majesty asked for your presence before him, to test if you are still his subject."


    Caethya grabbed hold of Aperio''s hand with her free one, causing the All-Mother to close her mouth and not speak. "I stopped serving him after he declined my request despite having done everything he asked," she replied. "If he wants to see me, he can go through the guild like everyone else." She took a breath, a smile flashing across her face as her mother entered the room.


    "Perfect," she continued. "I have to inform the two of you about something. I will be away for a while and won''t be able to write to the two of you as regularly as I did before."


    "Oh?" Jhila asked as she sat herself down and picked up her cup. "And where are you going?"


    "Very far away," Caethya replied, unsure if the knowledge of other worlds was something she should reveal to her parents.


    "I can deliver letters," Aperio said as she turned to look at Caethya. "That should not be an issue."


    "All-Mother mail," Jhila said with a small laugh. "What a luxury. I would still like to know where the two of you are headed, however."


    "Another world," Aperio said, her voice as even and smooth as always. "I have to verify something and Caethya wished to join me."


    "Another world?" Orlar asked. "Like one of the moons?"


    "A little further away," Caethya said. "And not really reachable for mortals."


    Orlar took a sip of his tea, Caethya following suit a moment later. Nobody spoke before Jhila shook her head and broke the silence. "I wager that it''s not something we should know about?"


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied with a small shrug. "I do not care if the two of you know, as Caethya trusts you, but I also do not know what the knowledge would do to you."


    Caethya looked into her cup at the words. She knew her father well enough to know that the knowledge of other worlds filled with magic and sciences he knew he could never reach would be something he despised, but she also knew he was smart enough to have already figured that out.


    "I think both of you already know what it means," she eventually said. "I just wanted to let you know so you don''t get worried if you don''t hear from me for a while."


    "You have been out searching for her for over six years, Caethya," Orlar replied, shaking his head slightly. "Our worry ran out when you wrote to us that you killed a basilisk."


    "She killed a basilisk on her own?" Aperio asked and looked at Caethya. "What level were you when you did that?"


    "A bit over two hundred, I think," she replied, not quite sure why her love seemed impressed by that. Chances were good that Aperio didn''t even know what a basilisk was. "Why?"


    "Killing a monster so much stronger than you is no small feat," her love replied, a somehow both stupid and adorable smile plastered across her face. "I find that to be admirable."


    Caethya could only lean back and sigh as her mother began to tell the oft-told tale of her adventuring daughter. Most of the things Caethya had written about in her letters home had been grossly exaggerated at the time. Still, she could not help but smile at the enthusiastic way her mother told the stories, and how eager Aperio seemed to hear them. Her fear this meeting somehow going wrong could finally be laid to rest. Now we just have to see how we get to Earth¡­


    ///


    Adam rubbed the bridge of his nose as he looked at Mister Penbrooks. "Are they all like that?"


    "Who?" the man asked, offering a slight smile. "The divine?"


    "Yes."


    He shrugged. "Some are like that on purpose, but our esteemed Creator simply forgets how strong she is sometimes. As far as I know, that has always been a thing."


    "And who told you that?" Adam asked.


    "Ah, you see, I know a few people," the owner of the House of Healing said. "But this information comes from my brother. He is reliable.


    "In any case, you wanted to ask me about leaving for a while? I assume Aperio and Caethya asked you to accompany them?"


    "Yes and yes," Adam replied. He hesitated for a moment longer before he let out a sigh. "They want to visit my home and while Aperio has made it clear that I do not have to accompany them, I feel like I have to."


    "So far, the All-Mother has been a woman of her word and I don''t think that will change any time soon." He pulled out the chair Adam usually kept under his desk and sat down. "The real question is if you want to go back there or not.


    "I cannot say I know how travel between worlds works," he said. "But from what I have heard in my time, it can be very jarring to return. Mostly because of the unequal passage of time, I''m afraid. Either almost no time has passed while you remember being away for years, perhaps, or the other way around; though you''ve only spent a month on this world, your home is now in the next millennia."


    "How many [Veil Walkers] have you met?" Adam asked.


    He had never told Mister Penbrooks that he had come from another world, but the man had somehow known it as soon as the All-Mother had brought him here. Adam doubted Aperio or Laelia had told him, but with what Adam had overheard Mister Penbrooks speak about, the [Veil Walker] had long assumed that Mister Penbrooks knew a lot more than he let on. Doesn''t help that he never tells anyone his first name. Even Laelia calls him Mister Penbrooks.


    "Half a dozen that I am sure of, and probably a few hundred more where my evidence is mostly circumstantial," the man replied with a smile on his face. "Some are easy to spot. Lack of common sense, above average abilities and, sometimes, the weird thought that whatever culture they came from is inherently better that what already exists on a world."


    Adam could not help but give a laugh at the words. He had read more than enough books in which that had happened. "I can only imagine."


    "I am sure you can," Mister Penbrooks replied. "In any case," he added, "the question still remains. Do you want to return?"


    Silence reigned for a moment, Adam not replying as he tried his best to truly think about what he wanted. He knew that he was not keen on meeting his parents again; not keen to have to pretend to be someone else again. The only reason he wanted to go back was a kind of morbid curiosity to see what had changed, to see how long he had been gone for.


    A form of time dilation between worlds had been a staple in fiction, but he had not really given it much thought before Mister Penbrooks had mentioned to him it was quite real. He was inclined to believe the man, as he had yet to hear him tell a lie of any kind.


    "I think so," he finally said. "But I also know that all of this comes with a heap of complications. We don''t even have Elves, and neither Aperio nor Caethya are inclined to hide themselves. The former would rather fight her way through people than hide her ears."


    "I would wager there is a reason for that that neither of us will ever know," Mister Penbrooks said. "But that also does not matter now. You are only responsible for yourself, not the All-Mother and her girlfriend. They are perfectly capable of fending for themselves."


    "That''s what worries me," Adam replied. "My home is¡­ a lot weaker when compared to Verenier. At least, I think so. There is no magic like we have here, no levels, and no System that governs it all." He let out a sigh. "I cannot help but think what might happen when Aperio sets foot there. For all I know, it could usher in an apocalypse as the System spreads there and does what it couldn''t for who knows how long.


    "She is a walking fountain of mana," Adam continued, rubbing the back of his neck, "and Earth doesn''t seem to have an awful lot of it. Even if it¡¯s good to have it, too much of a good thing is still bad."


    "So you are worried about your home world and not about yourself?" Mister Penbrooks asked, shifting slightly in his seat. He did not wait for a response and simply continued. "Commendable, but ultimately foolish. Now that she has returned, it is only a matter of time before she begins to spread her System to the worlds that are lacking. If anything, her being present for it would be better for everyone involved." He hesitated for a moment before he pulled a very yellowed book from the inside of his robes and held it out towards Adam. "I heard you call the world Earth; this should help Aperio and Caethya with the languages."


    Adam took the book, the word ''dictionary'' entering his sight immediately. He opened it to see which language it was for, as the cover only marked it as a dictionary. Much to his surprise, he found an index that listed various languages he had not heard about but were almost definitely native to Verenier, as well as nearly every major language from Earth.


    "How?" he asked, picking the section for converting between Common he knew was widely used in Ebenlowe, and English.


    "I don''t know how it was made, just that it has been around for a while," Mister Penbrooks replied. "It comes from a library that a [Veil Walker] built once upon a time and seems to be capable of translating essentially every language into another. That should be plenty for Aperio to get at least a passing grade in whatever she will need. I have seen mortals learn a language in a day, I am sure she can manage."


    "She can," Adam agreed. "It only took her a few hours to grasp the basics and that was just by listening to me and Caethya point to things and naming them. She also somehow figured out words that she could not have known the meaning of."


    Mister Penbrooks gave a laugh at that. "She is the Goddess of the divine. The universe obliges her whims, even if she is not aware of her own wants. Trying to understand more than yourself is not something I recommend. The depths of oneself are more than enough to keep you occupied for a good many lifetimes."


    "I am pretty sure someone told me that already."


    "It bears repeating," Mister Penbrooks replied. "For one reason or another, most people always seem to be focused on what another can accomplish and not what they can do themselves. A universal flaw that we all need to work on." He laughed again. "But we are not here to have philosophical debate, the question still is if you truly wish to go."


    "Would you go if you had the chance?"


    "Most assuredly," he replied. "But I am also a very different man than you are."


    "I guess I can always have her send me back if it doesn''t work out," Adam mumbled to himself. "Just need to figure out how get the two of them some form of identification."


    He had no experience when it came to any form of fake identification, but it would seem he would need to figure that out in the near future.


    "See, making a decision wasn''t so hard. You just need to stop second guessing yourself."


    "Second guessing myself is what I do," Adam said as he lowered his head into his hands, muffling his voice as he continued to speak. "If I didn''t, I probably wouldn''t have even made it far enough to end up here. More often than not, my gut feeling would have gotten me into trouble."


    He could hear the robe of Mister Penbrooks rustle slightly before an almost inaudible sigh filled the room. "I apologise," he said. "But you can rest easy in the knowledge that that will not happen here."


    "I know," Adam replied. "Doesn''t make it much easier for me, though."


    "Perhaps a trip home will help with that."


    "Maybe it will," Adam replied, sitting up straight again. "Thank you for the talk, Mister Penbrooks."


    "No problem," the man replied as he stood up. "If you need my help again, feel free to ask at any time." Before he left the room, Mister Penbrooks turned around and smiled at Adam. "And you can call me Kario, no need to be so formal all the time."


    ///


    The estate was empty ¡ª a sight Jester had gotten used to by now, but hoped would change soon. His plans had been set in motion and if the rumours that had begun to spread through the Order of Inaru were correct, both the Eternal Empire of Zeltar and the Beastkin Tribes would be in a state of turmoil for a good while. The perfect time to expand.


    Most people would no longer trust the Vinmaier name alone, but Jester had called in enough favours to make that a non-issue. Sure, it would take some time, but he would get where he wanted to be. Also need to get a new name¡­


    In the past, he had always looked up to his mother, but with recent events her actions had done nothing but stain the good name of their family. That was not something he could ever fully fix, merely mitigate for long enough.


    "Lita," he said, the Beastkin appearing by his side a moment later. "It''s time to remove that enchantment."


    "Do we have to?" she asked, a subtle yellow glow shining through her eyes. "I like the voice! With it, I am never alone."


    "I would be a fool to assume that the All-Mother does not know about your¡­ affliction, and I would rather not have her come here, remove it from you and kill me for it."


    "Can I keep the voice?"


    Jester shook his head. Ever since the trial ¡ª if one could really call it that ¡ª Lita had been telling him more and more about a little voice she heard in her head. It had to come from the [Mark of Slavery], but that was most definitely not supposed to happen. Perhaps it was due to the nature of Lita''s enchantment that these issues had come to be.


    "I don''t think you can," he finally said. "And it doesn''t matter either. What I want is important, not some voice in your head."


    "Of course," Lita replied, the glow somehow dancing across her eyes. "Whatever you say is law."


    Yes it is. If his plans worked as he wanted them to ¡ª and the All-Mother did not interfere with his perfectly slave-free ideas ¡ª there would be a lot more people saying exactly that in the future.


    "Let''s go."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 186: Apsis

    GamingWolf


    Let''s hope it actually turns out to be a vacation.


    As soon as Caethya and herself had appeared in her Void, Aperio let out a sigh and stretched her arms over her head, letting her wings unfurl themselves to their full length.


    "I like your mother," she said as she folded her wings behind her back and set her gaze onto her love. "She is fun, if a little exhausting."


    "You wanted to hear more stories about my past," Caethya replied with a small shake of her head. "I can also tell you that most of what she said has been grossly exaggerated."


    "Oh? I guess I have to find some more monsters for you to fight, then. Can''t have your mother spreading lies."


    Caethya remained quiet for a moment, seeming to contemplate the idea, then crossed her arms in front of her chest as she met Aperio''s eyes. "You know, that might not be a bad idea. It would certainly give me a better frame of reference for where I am now."


    "Something we can do after we return, then?" The idea of going out to fight some monsters sounded a lot more appealing than it had any right to. "It was meant as a joke, but if you think it is a good idea, I will not say no."


    "I figured," Caethya replied as she started to walk around Aperio''s Void. "Is there anything else we need to do besides actually learning that language before we leave? Do I need to bring a suitcase, or will my magic work there?"


    "Magic is inherent to your being," Aperio replied. "You should be fine, and if you are not I am more than capable of supplying you with ample mana. My fear is that my presence there will cause the System to grow a little more active than it was before."


    "And that is a problem?"


    The All-Mother offered a small shrug. "It might not be, but as it stands the System on Earth is maintaining nothing more than ¡®basic functionality¡¯, whatever that actually means."


    If she could, she would slap her old self for having made the System as enigmatic as it was. Aperio had tried to figure out more about Earth ever since she had found it, but all that she could manage to dig up on the System was that it was present there, doing something that was deemed to be important. A look past the curtain the mortals called reality had not revealed much more, either. She could see a few tendrils that connected the System to Earth, but that was the same as any other world. At least, the others I checked.


    Aperio had selected a few planets ¡ª from the ones her mind had brushed past on her way to find Earth ¡ª to see if the tendril connection held true for them, too. It had, and she found it reasonable to assume that the rest of the planets that existed would follow the same sort of architecture. Figuring out how the System interacted with the worlds in her creation was probably a good idea, even if it already looked like a most frustrating endeavour, but this was likely something she should only look into later.


    "I guess we will find out," Caethya said. "But I also think that it''s only a matter of time before you decide to bring the System to every planet anyway. Perhaps you might alter how it works for a given world, but I am nonetheless sure that, one day, every realm will have it."


    "Probably," Aperio replied, an single, insignificant thought causing a tear in reality to open next to her. She extended her hand towards her love who took it without hesitation. "Are you ready to leave?"


    "To visit Adam? Yes. For Earth? Not quite. I would like to have a firmer grasp on at least that one language before we go."


    "I could try to give you the [Translation] skill Adam possesses," Aperio offered as both she and Caethya stepped through the portal she had made. "That should be easy enough, and I am sure I can pick up the language fast enough if I try." Something I should do with the local language of the Humans, too.


    She already had a dictionary; all she needed now was a person to pronounce some the words in it and tell her how to place them in a sentence. Or have them give me a book on grammar. It was still a little weird that she had little trouble learning this English Adam used while essentially only getting bits and pieces of it, but not one of the other languages mortals used on Verenier. The only thing Aperio could think of as to why that might have been was the fact that she ¡ª for one reason or another ¡ª had not really wanted to learn those language, and therefore did not. After all, the universe always obliged her will.


    "I would rather learn it on my own," Caethya said as she looked around the courtyard of the House of Healing that Aperio had declared their de facto arrival destination. "I have enough skills to help with that, and my memory has become a lot better than it has any right to be. Being able to recall entire days in perfect clarity will take some getting used to."


    "Just remember that your memory might be good, but it is not perfect," Aperio knew all too well that being able to remember things did not mean that you could not forget. As paradoxical as it might have sounded, it was most certainly true. She could recall nearly anything that had happened in her life, but sometimes Aperio still forgot that some things had actually happened. A good example of this were the corpses that still resided in her Void; at one point or another, she would have to find a place to put them.


    "I know that," Caethya replied, smiling slightly. "I see that with you often enough."


    Aperio exaggerated a gasp as she leaned away from her love slightly and placed a hand on her chest. "You wound me; implying that I am anything less than perfect."


    "I would never," Caethya said fondly as she stepped through the door Aperio had opened with a touch of her magic. "I simply speak the truth."


    The All-Mother chuckled at the words and ducked through the doorway herself. "Perhaps one day I will manage to achieve perfection. Somehow, I am starting to doubt that, though."


    "Perfection is a myth," Caethya countered. "At least when it concerns oneself. I have no doubts that you will become ever more perfect in my eyes, but I suspect that you might never see yourself in the same way, just as I will likely never see the perfection that you see in me."


    Aperio shrugged. "The main issue is that perfection is not definable; everyone has a different view of it and by the time you get where you initially wanted to be, your views might already have changed." She let out a small sigh. "I know that my views have changed a lot since I returned.


    "But that matters not, now," Aperio continued as she took a turn and used just a little of her magic to transport both Caethya and herself in front of the door that led to Adam''s room. "We have another world to visit."


    "First, we have to learn that language."


    "That reminds me," Aperio said as she used one of her wings to very carefully knock on the door and let the dictionary of the local Human language appear in one hand. She began to leaf through it. "I need to figure out this one as well."


    "Didn''t you say that it doesn''t really help you?" Caethya asked, giving Adam a wave as he opened the door.


    "Yes, but I also did not consider that I can just have someone pronounce the words for me." Aperio folded the wing she had used to knock behind her back again and gave the Human a small nod. "I figured out parts of Adam''s language with less help."


    Caethya did not reply immediately, only looking at Aperio for a moment before she let out a sigh and shook her head. "You really need to get better at asking for help."


    "What would she need help with?" Adam asked as he stepped aside and motioned for Aperio and Caethya to join him in the room. "Can''t she just do anything she wants?"


    "That is not how it works," Aperio answered, ducking through the door and moving towards the throne she had not yet removed from Adam''s room. "I am neither omnipotent nor omniscient. I cannot make something that I could not destroy, for example."


    The first one was a simple impossibility, but the second was more of a choice on her part. There was nothing that stopped her from invading the minds of everyone that wandered around her creation to find out what they planned to do. Nothing, of course, but her overwhelming desire to not do exactly that. The mere fact that she could do it was already discomforting enough.


    "You are as close as you anyone can get to being omnipotent, then," Adam said. "And the way you seemed to just know a few words of my language, without it being possible for you to know, makes me think you can just do what you wish."


    Aperio shrugged as she sat down. "If that is what you want to believe, I will not stop you." She leaned back, letting her throne carry her full weight, and closed her eyes. "It is also of no consequence now. The time has come. Caethya wishes to further her understanding of your English a little more before we leave, but once that is done we will be on Earth."


    "Ah," Adam began, producing from one of the drawers of his desk an old tome bound in what appeared to be leather. "Mister Penbrooks gave me this. It''s like a multipurpose dictionary."


    "May I?" Aperio asked, holding out her hand.


    As soon as Adam took a step in her direction to deliver the book, the All-Mother offered him a smile and teleported the tome into her hand. "Thank you."


    "Can''t do that on Earth," Adam mumbled and shook his head as Aperio opened the yellowed book.


    It was filled with many languages ¡ª most of which she had not heard about ¡ª and seemed to work a lot more like a skill than any enchantment she had laid her eyes upon. The runes woven into every page reminded her of the mind-bending mess that was the [Translation] skill. If she did not know any better, she would have said that whoever made this had been¡­ inspired by her work.


    Finding one that translated between the Ancient Common she knew and English only took her a moment. There was no page number next to the line, only the same note that was next to every other language pairing. It read ''touch me'', though Aperio could see that there was no script for the words, only a rune that was linked to the rest of what she would call the translation matrix. Neat.


    She followed the instruction and tapped the entry, allowing the enchantment to take a minuscule bit of her mana to power itself. It flowed through the entirety of the book, each page slowly changing to display new content that it retrieved by means Aperio could not quite understand. The All-Mother flipped through the book, her eyes wandering over every page as her aura scoured it not only for all the words it knew but also a deeper insight into the enchantment that powered it.


    "Quite useful," she eventually said, closing the book and letting it float towards her love with a wave of her hand. "I would like to know who made that and talk to them."


    "You would have to ask Mister Penbrooks for that," Adam replied. "He simply gave it to me and said that it might be useful for the two of you."


    "Oh, it is most useful," Aperio agreed. "But knowing the words only gets you so far; now I need to hear the language." And then I will learn all the others.


    Some might say that it was unfair that she could simply leaf through a book and listen to people speak in order to learn a language, but Aperio would still make full use of that ability. In all honesty it was something she should have figured out much sooner, considering she had likely always been capable of it since her return. Nonetheless, the ability was available to her now, and she would certainly avail herself of it. Who knows, maybe I can learn even more on Earth.


    ///


    Despite Adam telling Caethya that what she was capable of after the first day of learning was sufficient, the Demigoddess wanted to put in a few extra days to get to a level of proficiency she considered acceptable. Her zeal for learning never waned, and through the learning of niche vocabulary she and Aperio learned a little more about Earth''s culture and mindset. Or, at least, that of those who spoke English.


    Three days passed, in which neither she nor Aperio slept a wink, and Adam grew increasingly concerned as he watched the tireless beings at work.


    "Do you wish to take anything?" Aperio asked as she began to let more and more of her mana flow towards Earth.


    She would not place the portal on the world directly, but immensely high above it, further out than the unusually large moon the planet had. It was probably safer that way, both for the world itself and for them. Appearing out of a portal in front of someone ¡ª or where something had even a small chance of noticing them ¡ª was not something Aperio wanted to risk. Space was vast, and even though these Humans had put a great many gizmos around their world, she had no trouble finding places that were as they needed to be for travel purposes.


    "No," Adam replied, already having donned the attire he had worn upon his arrival to Verenier. "This is all I have to my name that wouldn''t get attention on Earth, anyway."


    "You have the two of us," Caethya said with a smile as she ran a hand over one of Aperio''s wings. "That''ll get you more than enough attention."


    Aperio let out a sigh as she forced her wings to disappear from the rightful place on her back. "I will hide them, but that is all I will change about myself. The ears stay."


    "I know," Adam replied. "You''ll have to contend with people asking which character you are supposed to be, though."


    "I am me," Aperio replied with a raised brow. "People should learn to mind their own business and leave others in peace. Why would it matter to them that I like my ears as they are?"


    "It''s probably more the fact that they don''t have any Elves," Caethya replied as she put on the hat Adam had made for them. "Well, real ones, anyway." She paused, adjusting her new headwear slightly before giving a nod. "I do like this ''beanie'' thing, though."


    "Perhaps," Aperio agreed, "but I still fail to see why they have to bother me. Why not just leave people be? It is none of their business how I wish to look."


    Adam shrugged, taking a step back from the black, silver and blue portal that was starting to take shape next to Aperio. "It''s just how some people work there."


    "We shall see how things go," the All-Mother replied as she weaved the last bit of mana into the portal, making it stable enough for anything to pass through. "For now, we have to actually go there."


    Aperio held out her hand for Caethya to take while a part of her mind was busying itself with making the section of space habitable enough for Adam. Neither she nor her love strictly needed to breathe to survive, but their feeble mortal guide most assuredly did.


    "You may still choose to stay here," Aperio said as Adam did not move, staring instead at the portal she had made. "Once we step through, your decision is final." Unless you annoy me enough to send you back¡­


    The All-Mother would not trap Adam on a world he did not want to be on, but he would have to ask to be returned. She would not read his mind nor would she try to interpret his actions. If he wanted something, he would have to say it out loud.


    Caethya took her hand, brushing away a few imaginary wrinkles in her dress with the other before holding it out to Adam. "Come on," she said. "I want to see your home."


    Neither Aperio nor Caethya showed much of a reaction as the portal closed behind them, leaving them standing on nothing but an invisible platform made from the All-Mother¡¯s mana. Adam, on the other hand, was holding his breath and frantically looking around, searching for something only he knew of before his eyes landed on the blue and green marble that was Earth.


    Swirling patches of white clouds drifted across its surface, becoming almost invisible as they passed to the night side of the world and gave way to a network of lights that spanned across its surface like a spider¡¯s web.


    He did not speak ¨C could not, if Aperio was honest with herself ¨C as he simply stared at his home from a perspective he had likely never thought imaginable. She let him look in peace, using the moment to pull Caethya closer and simply enjoy this brief instance of tranquility.


    As comforting as the moment was, it could not last forever and Aperio finally asked their mortal guide as she gestured towards the planet, ¡°Where do we go?¡±


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 187: What’s in Store for You

    John tapped his fingers on the frame of the glass counter, looking at the shirts that were housed within. Outside of the few events that came to the city a couple times a year, Riverburg was quiet, and so was the store he was in charge of.  It would be a slow day today, like usual.


    The chime of the bell caused John to look up from the latest merchandise that had been put on sale and direct his gaze to the door. Perhaps Miss Monet wanted to buy some more cards for her grandchildren? She was always fun and sometimes even brought some sweets, or even a regular meal.


    Miss Monet was not who stepped through the door. Instead, John was faced with a tall, muscular woman that had to duck as she stepped inside. She wore a dress made from what appeared to be a very dark blue or even black silk, with silver embroidery that had either cost her a pretty penny or more than a few hours of her time. The same was true for the armour that covered her chest and part of her shoulders. Whatever material she had used to make it certainly looked like the actual metal, but John had seen his fair share of cosplayers to know that there was always some trick behind everything.


    A trick he would have to learn for Miriam when she next stopped by ¨C this woman had some very convincing Elven ears that his friend would probably kill for.


    John wasn''t aware of the character she was trying to portray, but there weren''t many women seven feet tall who dressed up in cosplay for fun. He wasn''t going to forget this sight anytime soon.


    Before he could even greet the potential customer, she said something in a language he did not recognise. It sounded melodic, in a way, each word seemingly picking up right where the previous one left off and blending the entire sentence together. That was not the most interesting part, however. No, what intrigued John more was the novel sensation of warmth running down the length of his spine with each syllable that flowed from the lips of the new arrival.


    Once the woman had finished talking to whoever still remained outside, she turned around and offered him a smile and a wave. "Greetings," she said, a bit of the melodic nature he had heard before still present in her voice. "Our friend lost his¡ª" She paused for a moment, while a man around John''s own age and another woman sporting a dress and Elven ears stepped inside. "He broke his phone," she continued, nodding towards the man, "and we would like to know if you could tell us where we could procure a new one."


    "How interesting," the other woman said as she glided past her two friends and towards the comic books at the other end of the store. "Aperio! Look at this, they have so many!"


    The tall woman ¡ª Aperio, apparently ¡ª looked towards her friend before she bent down slightly to whisper something in the man''s ear. She handed him what John could only assume was her wallet before a few large strides ¡ª looking more like that of a dancer than someone who had so obviously spent most of their time in the gym ¡ª brought her to her other friend.


    "I''m sorry," the man said as he shook his head slightly. "They probably won''t break character in here. It can be a bit¡­ much, at times."


    "No problem," John replied, tearing his gaze from the tall woman to look at the man. "I''ll see plenty more of that once the convention starts. You guys are a bit early, I¡¯ll admit, but I guess taking a week to go and see some of the sights around here is a relaxing idea."


    "It is," the man replied, his voice a bit shaky. "Would be better if I hadn''t broken my phone."


    "Ah, right," John replied. "You''ll have to wait a couple more hours for the other stores to open, but you just continue towards the city center and you should have no trouble finding something." He scratched the back of his neck. "Kinda surprised you found this store first, if I am honest. All the hotels are in the center."


    The man gestured towards the two woman, who had by now shifted away from the comics and towards the rather small collection of books in the store. "Aperio owns a house a few miles from here, and we stayed there while they prepared what they needed. Getting all of the stuff ready takes a while."


    John gave a chuckle at the dismayed look of the man. "I can only imagine. I have a friend who does this and she spends hours upon hours sewing her own costumes." He hesitated for a moment, looking at the two women again as he could have sworn the tall one just wiggled her ears. "I am sure she would love to know how your friends made the ears, hers always look a little unrealistic."


    "You can ask Aperio," the man replied. "She is a freak when it comes to creating things, but she might not want to share her secrets."


    "So she made the dress too?" John asked, keeping to himself that the woman looked to be a freak in more than one department.


    "And the armour," he replied, then gestured towards the shirt he wore. "She made this too because, and I quote, she ''was bored.'' "


    ///


    Aperio placed the book she had picked up back on the shelf. During her time, most things in the library had been related in one form or another to either magic or history. There had, of course, been a few fictional tales included, but it certainly wasn''t the norm. She was fascinated to see literature that was seemingly accessible to all, and created only to entertain.


    She stood to her full height and looked back at the clerk as he stole another glance in her direction. Did he suspect something, or was he just making sure they did not steal? Neither of them needed to resort to thievery, of course. Adam had walked them through the basics of this country''s way of doing things when they arrived, and Aperio had taken the liberty to produce some money for them. While her actions likely had been in the realm of illegality, she doubted anyone could prove what she had done.


    It was wrong to say that magic did not exist on Earth ¡ª despite Adam''s claims, every Human had a bit of mana ¡ª but it most certainly came in quantities too minuscule for most accomplished mages to manipulate. Though, having them be in my presence seems to give them more.


    She doubted the clerk would notice it, but the All-Mother had little trouble seeing how the amount of mana in the air increased with every passing moment, and how he took it in. When she had spoken it had been even more obvious, as her voice was laced with many times more mana than Earth freely had available.


    "Is something wrong?" she finally asked, the conversation the man had had with Adam over. A few strides and a good amount of effort to not simply appear before the man brought Aperio to the counter. She looked down, first at Adam and then the clerk. "We have not done anything wrong, have we?"


    "No," he replied as he took a half-step back. "I was just curious how you made your outfit, especially the ears. A friend of mine also cosplays, but she never gets them quite right."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly in reply. "I am afraid that I cannot help with that." She wiggled her ears and offered the man a smile. "She would have to be born with them."


    Adam had told her that acting like this was fine for this first city. Apparently it was quite normal for the mortals here to see someone dressed up as an Elf, or something equally fantastical to them. Aperio had immediately tried to argue that her wings should be fine then, but he had been adamant that that would be too far. Her dress, armour, and even ears could all be explained away ¡ª and she did not even need to explain, as she could simply ''stay in character'' ¡ª but no homemade tinkering could ever hope to match the splendor of her wings. Aperio had only shrugged at the time. Being herself was most certainly easier than trying to pretend she was a Human that had to try her best to not break everything.


    Caethya, too, had quickly discovered that things on Earth were a lot more flimsy than what she was used to from Verenier. This world did not have to deal with people who could fight an army on their own or throw trees around, and it showed. What the Humans here regarded as sturdy was easily broken by her love if she was not careful. Even Adam ran into some issues.


    "Told you," Adam replied, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "She won''t break character."


    The man laughed and shook his head. "It was worth a try. In any case, you just have to walk down the street for a few minutes and you should see enough options to choose from."


    Caethya chose that moment to place a stack of the comics that Adam seemed to be so fond of on the counter, topped off with a few proper books. It had taken Aperio only a moment to find the origin of the people he had on his shirt, and found the idea quite amusing.


    "I would like to buy all of these," Caethya said before looking at Aperio and switching to the language of their people. "Do we have enough to pay for all of this?"


    "We do," Aperio replied as she took the wallet Adam was already offering her. The lack of storage skill was something she already despised; where were you supposed to put this wallet, let alone a phone? She had not designed her dress with pockets in mind, but now she had had to add some just to keep up appearances.


    Before the man had finished holding each item in front of his little machine, Aperio pulled the correct amount of money from her wallet and placed it on the table. Adam raised a brow at that, and Aperio took a moment to realise why. Normal people would probably not just know the exact price of the items their friend had just selected and pay not a single piece of copper more. Too late to change that¡­


    She would have to look into opening an account with the bank, something she had never even considered before. Aperio would have little trouble getting one on Verenier, her status proof enough that she could offset any amount of money she might want from them, but that would not work here on Earth. Nobody knew what she was, and that was supposed to stay that way. No need for more followers, no matter if they want to devote themselves to me or hunt me down.


    The last one was only half true, as she would like to see what the mortals of this world had come up with in the absence of magic. A peek with her aura had already revealed plenty of things that could be weapons. Quite a few of them were the guns Adam had talked about and, if Aperio was honest with herself, she had expected a little more of them. It seemed to be nothing more than a bit of metal propelled by an explosion that was not even that strong. Better than a bow and arrow, though.


    "That would be," the clerk began before his eyes landed on the money Aperio had already placed on the counter, "ninety-eight dollars and fifty¡­" His voice trailed off and he picked up the notes and coins. After counting it twice he looked at Aperio and shook his head slightly. "I guess you are good at math."


    "Yes," Aperio replied, offering him her best smile. "You could say it is a requirement in my line of work."


    "What are you, an Elven accountant?"


    "Property manager would be more accurate," Caethya said, her voice slightly uneven as she tried her best to suppress a giggle. "What?" she asked as Aperio gave her a look. "It fits."


    "Perhaps it does," the All-Mother relented after a moment of silence. "But it is missing the point a little." She shook her head slightly and stood to her full height again. "No matter, we came for information and we have gotten it."


    The clerk did not reply, simply shaking his head again and mumbling half-words that seemed to make no sense to her as he put the money in his till, almost absentmindedly placing a bag next to the reading material Caethya had wanted.


    Aperio still did not quite understand why they were going about this in such a roundabout way. It would have been so much easier to stop at Adam''s home to get the things they were now looking for, or even to have been told beforehand what it was their guide was looking for so she could have brought them directly there instead of coming to this shop first, but it was all seeming to work out anyhow.


    Her love started to bag her newly-acquired reading material, stopping to give each book a long glance before putting them inside. "Pleasure doing business," she said as she placed the last book in the bag. "Perhaps we will return."


    ¡°I shall look forward to it,¡± the clerk said with a nod. He turned his gaze to Aperio before he spoke again. "Next time my friend might be here, and I will warn you now that she won''t stop until she learns the secrets of your ears. And your dress."


    ¡°She may do what she wishes,¡± Aperio replied, taking the bag off of the counter. ¡°But do tell her that I dislike dealing with annoying Humans.¡±


    Adam just shook his head and headed outside while the All-Mother offered her free arm to her love. Caethya took it, slinging her own through as the two of them followed their guide outside. Aperio wanted to drape her wing over the Demigoddess, but that was not an option. Not here, at least.


    Flying was also not an option according to Adam. The Humans here had apparently not only built flying machines, but also tools with which to detect them. These machines, in turn, were apparently good enough to detect her in the sky even if she went faster than any of the planes they had.


    Once outside, Aperio let the bag vanish into her Void. It was easy enough to use her aura to check if someone was looking, and as there had been nobody it had been a safe decision. Now to get one of these phones. Perhaps something interesting will happen at the next store.


    She could already sense more and more of the Humans starting to move about, and a good number of the horseless carriages the dictionary had defined as cars were moving towards the city. Aperio would welcome whatever this world had in store for her before her presence would become too much and Earth would be welcomed by the System proper. At first she had thought that her visit would not be much of a problem, but as soon as they had arrived it had become clear to her that it was, and had always been, only a matter of time before the System blossomed into fuller functionality on Earth. Her return had spurred its expansion into the universe, and her presence here only sped it up.


    A smile appeared on Aperio¡¯s face as her ears picked up a happy yell from the other side of the city. The child that was playing there was right. Ready or not, here I come.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 188: Custom Job

    GamingWolf


    If you are looking for another story to read, I recommend Big Iron by someguynamedted, it''s quite good and is already complete. He just needs to post it all.


    On his way home from the conclusion of a devastating civil war, monster hunter Blake Campbell encounters dark entities who have made their home in a sleepy mountain town. Big Iron is a short novel set in Alternate Reality America with folk magic, superstition, and Lovecraftian horror throughout.


    Caethya moved herself a little closer to Aperio. The lack of mana on this world made her feel a bit queasy, but staying close to her love and simply taking in her mana fixed that. Aperio seemed to have noticed that, as a bit more mana than usual flowed off of her in Caethya''s direction, making it quite easy for the Demigoddess to take it all in.


    "And why would it be so bad if we just take your stuff from your parents'' home?" Aperio asked again, seemingly not satisfied with the answers Adam had supplied when they had first arrived. "You said yourself that surprisingly little time had passed here."


    "Because they would report it as stolen or think that I am back, both of which I want to avoid."


    "But why?" the All-Mother asked. "We are on the opposite side of the continent. I doubt they would look here for you if you took your things from back home."


    Adam shook his head. "They would as soon as I used my phone or the credit card. It leaves a trail."


    "But getting new ones does not? Do you not need to provide them with proof of identity?"


    How Earth worked still made little to no sense to Aperio. There seemed to be so many rules, but most of them seemed to be simply disregarded. Perhaps this was simply another one of those cases where one should have something, but it was not actually required.


    "I mean, yes, you do, but I had hoped you could take care of that."


    Her love raised a brow at the question, the magic that surrounded the three of them flickering slightly. "You wish me to break more of your rules? I thought you had said that I should not do that."


    "That was more meant for you to not kill people," Adam said and rubbed the back of his neck. "I would not ask you if I knew where I could buy a fake one, but figuring that out will get us into more trouble than having you make some." He cleared his throat before adding in a mumble, "Not like they can track that."


    Aperio gave a small laugh, her voice echoing through the small bubble of privacy she had made and filling Caethya with a pleasant warmth as the mana that accompanied it flowed through her.


    "Then what do I have to make? Another bit of paper or metal with too many numbers and letters?"


    "It''s made from plastic, but essentially yes." He shook his head. "My only fear is that whatever you can make won''t be enough. The ID is more than just a card and I am not sure how you would go about fooling everything else that goes into verifying that it''s legit."


    The All-Mother let out a sigh and shook her head. "So what you are telling me is that I could make what you need but since they use another thing it would be useless?"


    "Essentially."


    "So, why not just continue to pay with the money I already made?" Aperio asked. "If detection is less likely that way, I see no reason to switch. Even if it is annoying to always have to retrieve the wallet in a way that does not reveal my Void."


    "Would it be more feasible to produce documents for a foreign nation and have them try those?" Caethya asked. "I''d assume they would have a harder time verifying if those are right and proper."


    "Yes and no," Adam replied. "The problem is that all the other countries operate on a similar principle. As for just using the money Aperio made¡­" He scratched the side of his neck. "There is no real issue with that, but at some point people will notice that it''s not real money. Normal money would wrinkle and could be ripped, but what she made is basically indestructible."


    Her love stood a bit taller at the words and smiled brightly. "I do try my best when creating things. I will not accept inferior quality."


    "The quality is quite literally out of this world," Adam said. "And, sooner or later, that will be a problem."


    Caethya could only shrug at the words. "I doubt that people will care about that, and even if they do, how are they supposed to know Aperio made it? If someone asks us how we got it, we can just say that we got it as change from another store."


    "I should just replace all their money," Aperio mumbled. "That flimsy paper stuff seems like a pain to deal with."


    "Everything is flimsy for you," Caethya replied, brushing her hand over her love''s back. "And knowing mortals, they would probably try to make armour or something out of the money. If you give them something that doesn''t break, they will inevitably try to use it for their wars." She then looked at Adam. "Unless this world does not have wars?"


    Their guide let out a long sigh. "We have plenty of those, but I don''t think indestructible money would be the first choice to use for that. It is much more likely to end up in some lab as they try to figure out why they cannot destroy it."


    Aperio stopped, cutting off anything further Adam had to say as she stretched her arm out to halt him as well. Not a moment later, one of the Humans carriages raced past, far faster than it probably should inside the city.


    ///


    The All-Mother glared after the car that had almost run them over, a touch of her magic grabbing hold of it and ensuring that it would not go that fast again. At the moment, she did not care that the Human inside would question how their vehicle suddenly slowed. The only reason she had not simply disappeared the car and its driver was the fact that even if it had hit them, nobody but the Human driving would have been hurt. A metal box would have to go much faster to hurt Caethya, and would never be able to so much as scratch her.


    "Is your kind always so reckless?" she asked, looking at Adam. "I am fairly certain that the driver would have died if they ran into us."


    "They probably do not know that you are more solid than their carriage," Caethya said and shook her head slightly. "Still, the disregard for their kin seems a bit odd. Do they not realise that their mode of transportation is a weapon in and of itself? I''d think that it might have been enough to hurt Adam."


    Aperio looked at both her love and their guide, the latter seemingly still in a state of shock. She placed a hand on his shoulder and let some of her mana flow through him while also giving him the gentlest of shakes she could manage.


    "I''m fine," Adam eventually replied. "Just a bit spooked. I¡­ felt?" He looked around before he shook his head. "I knew the car was coming, but I didn''t really process that fact until it was already past."


    "The mind is usually faster than the body," Caethya said. "It¡¯s probably worse for you, as your jump in power was anything but gradual."


    "Would you not have the same problem?" Aperio asked as she nudged both Adam and her love to continue walking. "You have come far since we first met."


    "You''d think that," her love replied, "but my body has always been lagging behind what I could perceive. If anything, that gap has closed a little."


    "How peculiar," the All-Mother said as the three of them came to a halt in front of another store. This one was still closed but featured more than a few things Aperio had not yet seen. "Those are the things we have come to purchase?" She squinted at the little tags that hung next to a few of the rather unremarkable bricks. "Seems expensive."


    A thought let her aura provide her a more detailed view of one of the objects. It was filled with things she did not understand, but many of them bore a slight resemblance to the structured madness of her System. There were no runes, just minuscule machines that were comprised of even smaller parts. So small, in fact, that the All-Mother failed to understand how a Human could have made it at all without the aid of magic. A hair is bigger than that¡­


    "Yes," Adam replied. "Those are cellphones and we want one."


    Aperio tilted her head before closing her eyes. The noise and smell of the city was banished from her mind as she drew from depths of her well and began to force it into the shape another part of her mind was still observing. Perhaps it was a bit much on her part to will into existence a phone for them to use, but the All-Mother did not want to wait for the mortals to decide whether they could have one or not. It also helped that the simple act of imparting her will onto physical reality brought a sense of joy that few things could match, most of which were not available on Earth.


    Another pull on her well caused reality to twist apart between her hands, removing everything that could influence her recreation of the object she was observing. It was not strictly needed, but it was still the correct thing to do. Overlooking something and breaking her newest creation was not something Aperio wanted. Especially when she did not know what a big part of the device actually did. Her gut feeling was that it was an energy storage of some sort, as she could see tiny bits of her creation move inside it. A quick glance around her showed that it was the same for the other phones, and the ones that appeared to be on even had a noticeable increase in that activity. Maybe I can replace that?


    Mana was fairly universal when it came to powering things, and Aperio had little doubt it would work here. It would most certainly be better than whatever the Humans had come up with, mainly because it would never run out of power.


    The All-Mother expanded the view of her aura slightly, looking at mortals who were currently using the phone she was trying to replicate in order to determine how she should go about making that improved part of her replica. While everything looked fragile to her, the inner workings of this device seemed to be just a little more susceptible to even the smallest thing going wrong.


    Aperio opened her eyes again, Adam barely having finished taking a breath. She opened her hand, looking at the device she had created for a moment before holding it out to their guide. "I hope this will suffice."


    Adam simply stared at it for a moment before taking it from the All-Mother''s hand. "Did you just make one or did you take it from somewhere?"


    "I made it," Aperio replied, gesturing towards the biggest phone on display. "I took that one as a template as it actually fits my hand." She hesitated for a moment as Adam pressed one of the buttons on the side of the device. "I also took the liberty to replace what seemed to be its source of energy with something better."


    "Better?" he asked as the phone came to life in his hand, flashing through symbols and names Aperio did not truly recognise.


    "From what I could see, these things only have limited usability as they seem to run out of energy fairly fast." She held out her hand, a blue and silver crystal appearing in her palm. "I replaced it with this. A minuscule fraction of my mana, given physical form and instructed to mimic the output of what existed before. It should last longer than the average Human''s life."


    Adam''s gaze wandered from the phone in his hands to the All-Mother and back before he shook his head. "It works, that''s what counts. Just need to get a sim, now."


    "Of course it works," Aperio rebutted with slightly narrowed eyes. "I had thought that you would trust in my abilities by now."


    "I do," he replied. "I just find the¡­ jumps in your decision making a little confusing."


    Caethya''s laugh caused a smile to bloom on Aperio''s face, one that widened a little more and turned just a touch wicked as her aura caught sight of a small group of Humans she could only describe as unsavoury. Perhaps it was wrong for her to find a measure of enjoyment in the fact that they were currently following another mortal for what were likely nefarious purposes, but Aperio also very much knew that nothing would happen to the potential victim. Their groups would be passing by one another shortly, and she would have some words with the unsavoury lot.


    "We will have guests in but a few moments," Aperio said, wanting to point in the direction the mortals would come from with one of her wings before realising that that was not an option and using her hand instead. "The ones that follow seem to be very interested in the lone Human coming our way." She tilted her head, recognising the arms of the following group as the guns Adam had told her about. "Is it normal for your people to carry their weapons tucked in their belts?"


    Adam stared at the All-Mother for a moment, the Goddess simply smiling down at him as she waited for his answer.


    "For some people it is," he eventually admitted, stealing a few glances in the direction Aperio had pointed. "And those are also people we should not encounter."


    "Why?" Aperio asked with a shrug. "It is not like they can do anything." And I want to know how these Mortals fare in a fight¡­


    She doubted they would offer any challenge, but she still wanted to see what the average Human of Earth could do. What did magicless weapons actually look like when they were used? What would they think once they saw that they had no effect? Aperio had no answers to those questions but she wanted them, almost desperately so.


    "I am still more worried about what you will do to them," Adam mumbled, shaking his head. "But I guess I won''t be able to persuade you to leave."


    "You will not, no," Aperio affirmed. A small flex of her mental muscles caused a barrier to form around both Adam and Caethya. While she did not expect the other Humans to be able to do much, she would not risk anything.


    "Just let her have some fun," Caethya said. "It''s not like simple bandits deserve any better."


    Adam held his breath for a moment before he shook his head again and let out a long sigh. "I guess not."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 189: Damsel Undistressed

    Micheal cursed his brother under his breath as he rounded the corner. Not only was he running late because of him but he also had to find a way to shake the tail he had gotten, and all of that because his brother could not make a correct decision to save his life. Just that it''s gonna cost me mine. While he doubted the people following him would go as far as to kill him, he was most certain that they would do their best to send him to the hospital, something he could ill afford at the moment.


    "And now there is fucking fog everywhere," he mumbled before offering a half-hearted smile and nod to the group of cosplayers that were currently looking at the electronics store that had yet to open.


    As the tallest of them met his gaze, Micheal could have sworn that time itself froze for a moment and that something in her eyes had moved; tiny specks dancing on her iris. He shook his head ¡ª he had been too far away to make out the detail of anyone¡¯s eyes ¡ª and walked past, turning into the small alleyway behind the store. With any luck, he would be able to lose his pursuers here.


    At least, he had thought that would be the case, but the door he usually used to exit into another alley was not where it should be. Had he taken a wrong turn? Micheal was sure that he didn''t, but the fact that he was being followed by goons coupled with the sudden onset of unseasonal fog might have messed with him a little too much.


    His heart sank as he heard the unmistakable shuffling of his pursuers behind him, followed shortly thereafter by the sound of a round being chambered. What Micheal had not expected to hear was the sound of someone clearing their throat, let alone said noise somehow managing to make his heart skip a beat.


    "Hunting an unarmed man¡­ Is this not most uncivilised?" the voice of a woman asked, each word burrowing its way through his mind and into his soul, rooting him in place and weighing heavily enough on his chest that he had trouble breathing. "Perhaps you would like to face a more worthy adversary instead?"


    Micheal could not make out much, but he could clearly see the three people that pursued him turning around to face the outline of a figure that loomed over them. The only one he could think of that would match what he saw was the woman he had just passed, and going by her accent she was from elsewhere in the world. She didn''t know how things were handled here, by the less lawfully inclined denizens of Riverburg.


    "Do you have nothing to say?" the woman asked, stepping close enough to his pursuers that Micheal could see her.


    Perhaps it was the fog or the overall situation, but he could swear that her eyes were shifting every time she blinked; the blue of her iris seemed dotted with flecks of silver that never ceased to move.


    A flash illuminated the alley, allowing Micheal a glimpse of the tall woman smiling at his pursuers before the deafening bang of the weapon followed. He instinctively covered his ears, nervous fear rising in his throat. Strong though she may have seemed, muscle strength did not protect you from bullets, and now that he was a witness to a murder he knew he would not make it out alive.


    ///


    The projectile travelled towards the All-Mother, slow enough in her eyes that she considered moving out of its path for a moment simply because she could. It would defeat the purpose for which she had let herself be shot in the first place, so she stayed put, bemoaning the loss of amusement that might have come from the way the mortals might have reacted to someone moving faster than the weapon they had.


    She let the bullet hit her, almost raising a brow as she barely felt anything once it had impacted onto her stomach. Aperio looked down at herself, the small metal projectile having all but disintegrated as soon as it had made contact with her dress. She brushed her hand over the spot, only able to feel the silky smooth fabric and the resistance of her own body beneath. There wasn''t even a whisper of a disturbance in the fabric of her garment.


    "How peculiar," she mumbled before reaching for the weapon and pulling it from the shaking man''s hands. While Aperio turned the gun, looking at it from every angle, she moved a bit more of the fog she had created between the miscreants and the man they had been following before squeezing her hand shut, turning the gun into a ball of scrap metal. "I expected more from this."


    The mortals before her did not speak, simply staring at her and sometimes daring to dart a glance to the ball of metal in her hand. "Come now," Aperio said, taking a small step towards the frozen mortals and standing just a little straighter. "I am not usually that scary." She leaned herself forward, looming over them. "But, just for today, I am your nightmare."


    A gentle push caused something in the first man''s shoulder to give, and he toppled over backwards. Aperio frowned at that; she had used as much force as she would to open a door, definitely not enough to break anything. For the other two, she simply waved her hand, a touch of her mana placing them next to the first mortal she had incapacitated.


    "Did I overdo it?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Adam and Caethya. "I was sure I held back enough." Aperio frowned slightly as she began to slowly let go of the fog she had made, her aura having passed through a mortal that did not truly fit with the others she had seen on Earth.


    "You held back with your physical actions, yes," Caethya replied as she stepped up next the All-Mother and looked at the downed mortals. She inspected them for a moment before setting her gaze upon the man they had essentially saved. "But you did lace your voice with enough mana to knock out some adventurers."


    "But I did not change anything," Aperio said and looked down at her love. "Though, I will say that I was a little excited. Too much, in hindsight, but I really wanted to see what that weapon could do." She looked down at the crumpled gun, then at the two other mortals who still had their weapons and shook her head. "After what Adam had said, I expected more. Truly a disappointment."


    In the end, it really was nothing more than a more effective bow. Very deadly to most mortals, no questions there, but utterly boring for the All-Mother and her want for a proper fight. A thought brought the remaining guns into her Void. They might not be good enough for her liking now, but she could always tinker with them to make them better.


    "You also let yourself get shot," Adam said with a shake of his head. "At least the other dude can''t understand what you are saying."


    "He can''t even hear us," Caethya said. "Though, I do think we should talk to him now that we took care of his assailants so handily."


    "We should," the All-Mother agreed. "But I have also found a rather¡­ interesting mortal I would like to speak to. Quite unlike these ones here" ¡ªshe gestured towards the four mortals in front of her¡ª "they actually have enough mana inside them to do something with it."


    ///


    Micheal peeked between the tips of his fingers, the first thing greeting him the sight of the tall woman striding through the remains of the fog towards him. Behind her, he could see three bodies on the floor, most definitely unconscious as they did not react to the other woman poking them.


    "Are you alright?" another voice asked, one coming from the other side of the tall woman. "Those three seem to have given you quite the scare."


    He could only give a nod in reply as something he could not quite place had wrapped around his neck, squeezing tight enough that the thought of talking alone was enough to hurt. Micheal firmly closed his eyes, holding his breath for a moment before exhaling, then breathing in as deep as he could.


    Despite nothing much happening anymore, he felt overwhelmed. The slight breeze against his skin, the fog, the woman in front of him who had somehow not been injured by a point blank shot, and the mere fact that he had been hunted in the first place; it all was just too much for his mind to handle.


    The tall woman said something in a language he did not understand, but he could still somehow feel what she had asked. Almost as if her words had gone past the need to be heard.


    "I''m fine," he managed to croak out, taking a step back to steady himself against the wall. "Just need a moment to catch my breath."


    "You do not seem fine," the woman said as she took a single step to close the remaining distance that separated them and lowered herself. She reached out with her hand, hesitating for a moment before she placed it on his chest.


    A warm tingle spread through his skin, starting at the spot the woman had touched before it faded and Micheal felt an all-too-real weight lift off of his chest.


    "You must calm yourself," the woman said, tilting her head slightly and withdrawing her hand. "The danger is gone and nobody has been hurt." She offered him a smile. "They were most inadequate fighters and while I would like to punish them myself, I have been informed that I should not."


    Micheal remained still for a moment, frozen as the words danced around his head, matching the melody that seemed to underline every syllable the woman uttered. There had been no implication as to what her punishment would have been and the smile she had given seemed to have been genuine, but Micheal could not shake the feeling that this woman, whoever she was, could ¡ª and would ¡ª unleash hell on Earth if she considered it necessary.


    That thought was only underlined by the fact that he had seen and heard a gun being fired. At the range they were at, nobody would have missed. And yet, he could see no blood or even dishevelled clothes. Just a woman in a dress that looked like she did not belong here.


    The only problem was that none of that mattered. Sure, he could tell the police that he had heard a shot ¡ª knew it had been fired with every fibre of his being ¡ª but they would not believe him. There was no evidence to support it. And the other two would also say that nothing happened.


    ///


    Aperio frowned slightly at the man in front of her. Physically, he was fine, but he was most definitely not okay. A sliver of her mana still flowed through him, ensuring that he at least retained some measure of calm, but that would not help him forever. Why is he doing that to himself?


    If it was not for her magic, his heart would be racing and he would be on the floor taking more breaths than his lungs could manage, and all of that for no reason she could discern.


    A thought caused Caethya to perk up as the All-Mother showed her what she saw. Aperio knew what the man would be experiencing if she was not currently preventing it ¡ª she pushed away the memories that loomed at the edge of her mind ¡ª she simply did not understand why it was happening to him now. There was no longer any danger to induce the reaction, nor had he seen or heard anything that she had done.


    "I do believe he will require medical attention," she eventually said, using English and turning slightly to face Adam. "He might claim that he is fine, but he is not and I cannot help him more than I already have."


    The man''s breath quickened at her words, causing Aperio to furrow her brows. Did he not wish to be aided by a professional, or did the fact that she knew something was wrong cause the reaction? Even without her aura''s help, it would be clear as day that the man needed aid.


    "We''ll have to call the police anyway," Adam replied as he took out the phone Aperio had made and touched the screen three times in rapid succession. "At least emergency calls work without a sim¡­"


    Aperio returned her attention to the man and sat herself down cross legged in front of him. She eyed him for a moment, leaning from side to side to get a view of him from all angles that had not been supplied by her aura. With a satisfied nod she reached out again, hesitating before actually touching him.


    "May I?" she asked, turning her hand so he could see her empty palm. Showing that she did not hide anything was probably unneeded ¡ª nor was it even likely that he understood the gesture ¡ª but it was a habit the All-Mother had picked up long ago and would not rid herself of anytime soon.


    "If you tell me your name," he replied before placing a hand over his mouth as if he had not intended to speak the words.


    The All-Mother pulled her hand back and placed it on her chest, fingers slightly spread apart. She lowered her head slightly, the formal greeting demanding at least the attempt of a bow. "My name is Aperio," she said, raising her head again and matching his gaze. "To whom do I have the honour of speaking?"


    "Micheal," the man replied, his voice barely a whisper.


    Having kept her end of the bargain, Aperio extended her arm again, tracing her fingers across the man''s shoulder, down his chest, and towards his heart. "You require aid, Mister Micheal," she said as another minuscule sliver of her mana flowed into him, causing him to visibly relax. "I do not know why, but you seem to be highly¡­ stressed."


    "I feel fine," he replied. "Really."


    The All-Mother offered him a small smile at the words. "I have that effect on people." Should I wish for it. "That does not mean that you will be fine once I leave."


    Micheal looked at her, obviously not believing her words. It mattered not, of course; his calm state was indeed her doing but explaining that to the Human would be a futile endeavour. And if it''s not, it would reveal my presence sooner than intended.


    "Police and an ambulance will be here in a few minutes," Adam said, causing Aperio to look at him. He hesitated before continuing in the Ancient Common of Verenier. "Now we need to figure out how to identify ourselves. At least a full name and a phone number." He scratched the back of his head. "Can you get us a hotel room or something? I can explain the part where I lost my phone, but they will want a number and address so they can reach us again."


    "I can certainly try," Aperio replied, a part of her mind already looking through the various giant inns the city had. "But I am unsure I can do anything without physically being present and asking them for a room."


    Her attention was drawn to a smaller house that only had a few rooms on offer. Its size did not mean much, but the fact that the owner seemed to keep track of their residents in a physical book did. Not to mention that the mortal with more mana than anyone else she had seen on Earth was currently moving towards the same inn. "Take care of Micheal for me for a moment, please," she said as she stood up. "I will acquire a place for us to stay."


    After Adam had given her a rather weak nod, the All-Mother left the alleyway, disappearing from view as soon as none of the mortals could see her. She emerged outside the inn she had chosen, fixing her dress with a thought before going inside.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 190: Name and Rank

    The small bell chimed again as the door closed behind Aperio. While she had to duck through doorways on Venerier, the ones on Earth all seemed to be just a little bit tinier, and it felt good to be able to stand at her full height again. She let her gaze wander through the room, taking in the crackling fireplace, the chairs on the rug in front of it, and the small sofa off to the side near a few shelves stocked with books.


    It looked like a proper inn to her eyes. Everything felt like it fit, down to the counter on the far left side of the room and the stairs rising just to its right which neatly split the room in half. A thought brought her in front of the counter, and a small smile appeared on her face when she ran her fingers along its surface. The wood it was made from reminded her a little of the trees she had first seen just outside the dungeon she had returned in on Venerier.


    A moment later, the old gentleman she had sensed in the room behind the counter pushed back the simple cloth that covered the doorway and emerged into view. He hesitated when he spotted her, his eyes widening before he cleared his throat and shook his head.


    "Welcome," he said and offered a nod. "A room, I assume?"


    "Two, for two weeks," Aperio corrected with a smile. "One for a friend and one for my partner and I."


    He nodded again, more to himself than Aperio, and pressed a few buttons on the machine to his right. "Paying in cash, I assume?" he asked, pulling a lever once the All-Mother had given him a nod of her own, causing a pleasant ringing sound to fill the room. "That would be eight-hundred and twenty-three dollars. Breakfast and dinner are included."


    Aperio wanted to decline the food before she recalled that Adam needed to eat and Caethya might wish to try what Earth had to offer.


    "Much obliged," she replied and slid her hand under the armour that covered her hips to pull the wallet from her Void. Counting out the money she needed to pay only took a moment and she handed him nine bills that all had a hundred printed on them. "You may keep the difference."


    "You people have too much money," the man mumbled as he placed the bills in the register and pushed it closed. He turned around, taking two keys from the board that adorned the wall and placed them on the counter. "Your room is the first on the left, your friend has the first on the right."


    He hesitated for a moment, obviously wanting to ask something but not sure if he should. The All-Mother merely looked at him with a raised brow as she took the keys. "Yes?"


    "Have you been here before?" he asked. "I have this feeling of familiarity."


    Aperio tilted her head in reply. "That would be quite impossible. This is the first time I have come to this country."


    "Not a relative either, then?"


    "I have none here," she replied. "Perhaps you are merely confusing me for someone else?" Though, that would be weird.


    The old man gave a chuckle at that and shook his head. "I do not know anyone that looks like you, but you feel familiar." He gave another laugh. "Perhaps my age is finally taking its toll. In any case, your rooms will be ready whenever you return. Dinner will stop being served at eleven, but our doors are always open should you choose to end your day later than that."


    "I thank you for accommodating us on short notice," Aperio said, giving the man the best smile she could. "I do have other things to attend to, so I have to bid you farewell."


    With those words and a wave, she turned around and made her way to the door with a few large strides. Once she had ducked through and it had closed behind her, a thought brought her back to the alley. She would have liked to stay longer at the inn to encounter the mortal that seemed to possess a usable amount of mana, but she needed to be at the alley in order to talk to the officials of this town.


    Her aura was not needed to spot the motorised carriage that was nearing their group as it was equipped both with flashing lights and a loud siren. Why must their vehicle be so loud? Additionally, now that it was within her field of view she could also see that there were letters on the car proclaiming it to be part of the police. So much redundancy. I do hope the guards are not as annoying as their vehicle.


    ///


    Adam shook his head as Aperio returned to the alley. She smiled at him, handing him a key. "I booked rooms for two weeks, that should be enough, right?"


    "Yes," he replied, also using the Elven language the All-Mother had used. "Though, I do need the name of the hotel and its phone number."


    "Ah, yes," Aperio replied, handing him a card she had likely just taken from the hotel in question. "That should be enough, right?"


    "I sure hope it is," he replied as he turned the card in his hand. "Dragonfly Inn," Adam mumbled as he looked at the depiction of the insect. "Sounds fancy."


    "I thought to be quite a reasonable place." The All-Mother offered a small shrug before she stepped up to Caethya and poked one of the three perpetrators with her foot. "Quite cheap too, all things considered. A mortal I have taken interest in also seems to have chosen it." She smiled, something that seemed to have been happening a lot more recently. "Truly a fortunate turn of events."


    "We all know that fate has no influence on you," Caethya said as she ran her hand over Aperio''s back. "You chose it because you want to meet them, right?"


    "Perhaps," the All-Mother replied before turning to look at the police car coming to a stop at the entrance of the alleyway. "I assume those are the ones you called?"


    Adam gave a nod in reply before looking back at the All-Mother. "Please don''t try to start a fight with them. Just answer their questions." He scratched the back of his head as he looked at the three on the ground. "Gonna be hard to explain how they lost consciousness though."


    "Why?" Caethya asked and gestured towards Aperio. "They tried to fight and lost. That is quite literally what happened."


    "I could offer them the opportunity to fight me," the All-Mother said, the smile on her face widening. "That would most certainly convince them, no?" Before Adam could tell her what a terrible idea that was, Aperio let out a sigh and held up her hand. "Do not worry, that was a joke."


    The Human could only stare at the Goddess. While there was no doubt that the people of this planet were unable to do anything that would harm her, he would still like to avoid getting in trouble with the authorities. He also still had to figure out what to tell them. And hope they don''t ask where, exactly, we are from¡­


    Communication between the various police departments was poor most of the time, but Adam was sure that, with his luck, the two officers that had just exited their car would already know that he was missing. Not my full name, then. Adam Lincoln was probably a decently common name, so that should help. The current pressing issue was more along the lines of what Aperio and Caethya would be telling them.


    He knew that Caethya at least had a proper surname and family history, but Aperio had no real need for that. As far as he knew, the woman had no real family outside of another Goddess and likely did not even posses a surname at all, or anything even remotely resembling one. Perhaps she should just take Caethya''s?


    "How do you plan on introducing yourself?" Adam asked as he watched the two police officers slowly walk towards them. He did his best to avoid hiding behind Aperio even as he noted that both of them had a hand resting on their open holsters, ready to draw their weapon at any time.


    "Aperio Velkari," the All-Mother replied. "I had considered asking Caethya to lend me her name, but I do not feel quite ready for that yet."


    "Does the name mean anything?" Caethya asked, seemingly unbothered that her girlfriend did not want to take her own name. "I feel like I have heard that before."


    "It is a variation of a name I read in an old book," Aperio replied with a shrug. "The person it belonged to created the world of that story. After making a small tweak that makes it feel a little more... proper, I find it to be a fitting name. Perhaps it was my name in the past, and that character is based on me." She smiled slightly. "You never know."


    ///


    Officer Ashley Santori could not help but do a double take at the scene before her. Dispatch had informed them about some apparent gang activity ¡ª something that would have been normal for both this time of year and this part of town ¡ª but they had failed to mention that the ones that had seemingly resolved the conflict were two woman dressed up as Elves and a very exhausted man that was seemingly trying his best to explain something to them.


    It was obvious why the man was doing so, too, as she had no idea what language they were speaking. Well, languages. Their words seemed melodic ¡ª almost song-like ¡ª as they switched between two unknown languages. She would have said that the more elegant-sounding one was Latin, but she didn''t recognize any words. She was sure she remembered at least some of the common vocabulary from the lessons her parents had forced her to take. Connect with your heritage my ass.


    "Greetings," the tallest of the two women said, offering a small bow. "Have you come to take away these troublemakers?" She gestured behind her. "And perhaps help Mister Micheal? He might claim that he is well, but he is not."


    Ashley leaned slightly to the side to look past the rather large woman. What she saw was a man sitting on the floor looking like he was either just through or a few minutes away from a panic attack.


    "We have," Marvin, her colleague, replied as he took his hand off of his weapon. He took a step forward before kneeling down to look at the three people on the ground. "What, exactly, did you guys do to them?" He took out his baton and poked one of the downed men. "They are out cold, but I can''t see any injuries."


    "Aperio took care of them," the man said with a shake of his head. He gestured towards the tall woman ¡ª Aperio, apparently ¡ª whose smile widened slightly in reply. "They did not put up much of a fight."


    "They practically fell unconscious by themselves," the woman said as she tilted her head to the side, putting the Elven ears she had probably spent way too much time on on full display. "I only talked to them a little more sternly."


    Ashley''s eyes flicked to the other woman as she took a step to the side. She could have sworn that the second woman''s shadow had grown for a moment, and that something had disappeared in its wake. That was, of course, impossible, but it had looked like it. The fact that the taller one''s voice seemed to somehow echo in her head did not help matters any.


    "I''m sure you did," Marvin replied as he put handcuffs on each of the knocked out men and stood back up again. He shook his head and pulled out a small notepad. "Well, I am sure you know how this goes, so let''s start without names."


    After Ashley had heard the tall woman rather enthusiastically introduce herself as ''Aperio Velkari'', she stepped past them and up to the rather ragged-looking man at the end of the alley. While dispatch had said that an ambulance had been requested, they had also told her that it would take at least twenty minutes and that she should call it off if it turned out that it wasn''t needed.


    She lowered herself next to the man, just out of arm''s reach. "Are you alright?"


    "I''m good," he replied as he slumped slightly forward. "Just trying to make sense of what happened."


    Ashley narrowed her eyes slightly at the reply. She might not be an expert, but she knew enough to now see that this man was not, in fact, recovering from a panic attack but at the verge of having one. Perhaps a second one, even, judging by how frazzled he seemed. An ambulance was probably unnecessary, but getting him seen by a physician would be important.


    ///


    Aperio could not help but be confused at Earth''s equivalent of the guard. She would have raised a brow at the man that was currently questioning them, but something told her that that would not be a wise decision. Luckily, Adam was doing most of the talking as the policeman had seemingly come to the conclusion that the language barrier between them would hamper his endless flood of questions.


    The All-Mother gave a small smile before turning around and, as no protests came, began to walk back over to Micheal and the other mortal. Micheal seemed to have calmed down a little, the mana she had lent him doing the task she had appointed it to do. Having achieved its purpose, Aperio commanded her mana to return to her. It wouldn''t do for a random mortal to suddenly wake up with magical powers. No chaos for now.


    "Are you doing better now?" she asked as she squatted down next to the police woman. "And do not tell me that you are fine, we both know that I know that that is a lie."


    Micheal looked at her for a moment, trying his best to hide a look of surprise. "Yes," he eventually said. "I feel like I can breathe again."


    "Good," the All-Mother replied with a friendly smile. She turned slightly to look at the other woman. "Is there something you need?"


    The woman took a step back, almost falling over, before replying. "Your friend also mentioned the need for an ambulance, so I wanted to see what was wrong. You said yourself that he wasn''t fine."


    "Because he was not," Aperio replied with a shrug. She wanted to poke the man with a wing, but knew she still had to hide them in order to stay as inconspicuous as possible. Instead, the All-Mother simply gave him a judging look. "He should still see a doctor."


    "And how do you know all of that?" Micheal asked, his voice mocking.


    The All-Mother stood to her full height in reply, looming over both Micheal and the police officer. "Magic."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 191: Quizzical Nature

    GamingWolf


    I apologies for the delay, but together will all the other bullshit going on in my life, I now also have to deal with my own medical issues. Not Covid related, luckily, but it will hamper my ability to write for at least a little while we figure out what can be done against it.


    I apologize again for the delays this will cause.


    Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the laughter of both Micheal and the woman whose little badge on her chest identified as Officer Santori. Her reply had been supposed to be a joke ¡ª even if it was true ¡ª but thus far any bit of humour she had deliberately attempted had failed.


    "While I would love to believe that," Officer Santori said, "I don''t think you can actually do magic. Even if your getup is convincing."


    The All-Mother let out a sigh and shook her head. "I simply know what he went through, and what might come to haunt him in the near future." She paused for a moment, unsure if she should speak further, but eventually added, "It is not enjoyable in the least."


    "I noticed," Micheal said, any sign that he had just laughed gone. "But I am still¡ª was fine." He glared at Aperio. "The way you talk is messing with me."


    "I have been told that it has that effect on people," the All-Mother replied, letting a bit more mana seep into her voice to make the point. "I cannot particularly say I see why. Perhaps it is the accent?"


    Of course, Aperio was quite aware why the mortals were reacting the way they did, but telling them was definitely not an option.


    "Where are you from?" the policewoman asked, looking at the All-Mother through slightly squinted eyes. "Your accent doesn''t sound like anyone I know, nor do I recognise the two other languages you seem to speak."


    The All-Mother mentally berated herself for mentioning her accent. There was no place on this world she could mention that would come close, and pretending that she did not know the name in English would probably not work.


    "Does it matter where we are from?" Caethya asked as she stepped up next to Aperio and wrapped her arm around the All-Mother''s waist. "It shouldn''t, right?"


    Her words were quickly followed by a mental communication that informed Aperio ¡ª perhaps a little too cheerily ¡ª about her love''s willingness to fight these people should they force their hand.


    "It doesn''t," the woman replied, standing up. "I would still like to know, however. One of your languages sounds a little like Latin, but not quite, so I would assume that you come from somewhere near Italy."


    "That would still be a ways away," Aperio replied and tilted her head slightly. "And while I do not know what ''Latin'' would translate to, if you mean a very old language that used to be spoken by an entire empire, you would be correct. It is not quite the same, but close enough. The other one" ¡ªshe gestured towards her ears¡ª "is the language of the Elves. I would be very surprised if anyone aside from the two of us knows it. Well, and Adam, but he does not really speak it."


    Officer Santori rubbed her temples and let out a sigh. "I''ll go and speak with my colleague, please stay here for a while longer."


    "Of course," Aperio replied, offering a small bow. "We have no intention of going anywhere until this situation is solved."


    "Is he really okay?" Caethya asked, switching back to the language of their people and directing her gaze towards Micheal. "I have seen more than a few panic attacks, but his seemed a little¡­ weird."


    "Because I prevented most of it," the All-Mother said as she let a bit of her mana dance around her love. "It did not seem right to simply leave him be when I am the likely the reason for his shock to begin with. He might not have seen me get shot, but he surely deduced that on his own."


    "And getting shot is something that should take you out," Caethya continued for the All-Mother as she began to nod to herself. "You did the right thing. I am more surprised by the fact that these police people are not trying to ask us more questions, especially since the woman saw me hide the gun you broke in my [Dimensional Storage]."


    The All-Mother offered a shrug. "She probably thought it a trick of the mind. Not that it matters, either. What would she do? Claim that you used magic?"


    Caethya giggled at the reply. "You have a point," she said and began to gently move her hand over Aperio''s back. "What happened to the mortal that had some mana in them?"


    "They are about to step into the inn we are staying at," the All-Mother replied with a smile that stretched a touch wider than it perhaps should. "They also seem to have noticed my visit to the place. I had thought it would be nice to leave a trail of mana for them to find; a roundabout introduction, if you will."


    "Perhaps," Caethya said. "I doubt they can get much from that though, other than that someone was there. We''ve studied magic for centuries on Verenier, and it''s still difficult for us to pinpoint the precise person who manipulated some mana, or even get an impression of their overall strength. I doubt the people here are anywhere near as good, especially if they barely qualify as a mage."


    Aperio tilted her head to the other side as she let her aura deliver a bit more information about the man that had just stepped into the Dragonfly Inn. She would call him many things, but mage was not one of them. What little mana he had seemed to be mostly focused into his limbs, eyes, nose, and for some reason his teeth as well.


    "Not a mage," she said. "Their use of magic is more like that of a monster than a Human."


    ///


    Gregory closed the door behind him and stopped. He could feel a lingering presence hanging in the air, one that reminded him of the one he had first felt in the Sanctuary. Old man Hannibal knew the truth of his world, and had access to ward stones that could produce this effect, but Gregory doubted that he would have used one. Especially not when the next meeting of the council was supposed to happen in under a week.


    The need to time meetings with multiple clans to coincide with conventions that attracted cosplaying Humans was annoying, but it certainly made it easy to blend it. Nobody seemed to question the eccentric behaviour of the Elders or the newly initiated, and the more sane ones got the chance to roam a little more freely.


    "Did a mage check in?" Gregory asked, his voice easily loud enough to be heard by Hannibal in his office. "I had thought you disliked them after they rejected your son."


    A disgruntled chuckle came out of the office, Gregory only able to hear it thanks to his enhanced ears. It only took a moment later for Hannibal to emerge from the room, leaning most of his weight on a cane Gregory was sure held more than a few surprises. Always has that on hand when I come¡­


    "She is not one of those glorified tricksters," the old man said. "But not like you or your enemies, either. I would have said she was a Fae, but her size is the opposite of one." He shrugged. "She required two rooms and I accommodate those who know and can pay. It did help that she was exceedingly polite and that every word burrowed itself into my mind." Hannibal gave a full-bellied laugh and touched the pendant that he always wore under his greying, knitted sweater. "That was quite the experience; not much gets past Agne''s gift these days.


    "In any case," the old man continued, leaning the cane against the reception desk and opening the large book that rested on it, "I assume you require a room?"


    "I do," Gregory replied before taking a step forward that brought him to the desk while leaving a trail of black smoke and the faint screeching of bats behind him. From a hidden inner pocket of his coat he withdrew a single silver coin, placing it atop the book.


    "My usual room," he said. "I assume the fee is still the same?"


    "It is," Hannibal replied, closing the book without writing down a name. He opened a drawer and, after a slight rustling as he shifted the keys inside around, pulled out one made from bronze and engraved with a series of initials. "You will find your meals in the fridge like usual. Emma will also bring you the paper once we get it, just don''t try to be snarky with her again. I am not responsible for any bones she might break."


    "I will be fine," Gregory replied. "She can try what she wants, but she will not succeed."


    The old man placed the key on the desk and shook his head. "Perhaps not, but she still despises your kind and knows how to deal with them."


    Gregory took the key, the cold metal briefly heating up in his hand as it recognised its temporary owner. "Then why do you employ her? Or, for that matter, why does she work here? You are as close to us as one can be without being turned."


    "I pay well and she can keep my guests in check most of the time." Hannibal retrieved his cane and smiled at Gregory. "And those that still step out of line, I will deal with on my own. I might be old, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."


    Gregory shook his head slightly, his eyes still fixed on the cane Hannibal leaned on. Contrary to popular belief, garlic and wood did little to his kind and neither did they need to feed on blood. In fact, for those that liked to partake in the life-giving liquid, feeding garlic to your dinner was something you should do. Not only did you get a little more, it also came with a little kick. Seasoning, if you will.


    Though, going by the fact that most Human seasonings were usually weak poisons that they happened to enjoy the flavour of, perhaps garlic was not that good for him. Not that it matters. He had lived for a good while now, and had never really thought about the potential danger in large amounts of seasoning. It had never been a problem before, and it likely wouldn''t become one anytime soon.


    "I''m sure you do," he finally said. "Unless you have anything else to say, I will go and rest. Being out in the sun all day is exhausting."


    "I will have Emma wake you once our new guests return," Hannibal replied. "You seem awfully interested in the one who booked the room. The Maybe-Fae."


    "I am curious, yes; leaving behind this much of your presence means the person is either on par with the Elders, or they wanted me to find it. In either case, I am intrigued."


    The old man just shook his head in reply and sighed before moving back to his office. Perhaps Hannibal had thought that Gregory would not hear the mumble about ''youths'', but the Vampire was sure that his host knew of his guest''s vast age and excellent hearing.


    In the end, it did not matter. He would meet the person that seemingly wished to disturb the meeting that was to come. Not that that is hard to do¡­ At this time of the year, you could go to nearly any city and find a gathering of the supernatural. The fact that this woman had come to Riverburg only meant that she either had no idea what was going on, or knew quite well that the real decisions were made here. But then, every gathering thinks that they make the real decisions. It was the way of things; always had been, always would be.


    As the door closed behind Hannibal, Gregory turned towards the stairs, taking in once more the presence that still lingered in the room before ascending them. Soon.


    ///


    Jester frowned at the letter in his hand. It had been quiet for a few days now. Too quiet for his tastes. The omnipresent feeling of being watched had vanished a while ago and while he had, at the time, not been sure why that was, the information he had just received seemed to answer that question.


    The All-Mother had disappeared again. That was good news for him, but not as good as it could have been as the accursed creator had only left this world. Where she had gone, nobody seemed to know, but a loyal servant of his did inform him that the newly ascended Goddess of Beastkin had said that ''Aperio was on a brief vacation''.


    The only thing the new head of the Vinmaier household could hope for here was that a brief vacation for the All-Mother was a few centuries for anyone else. Somehow, he had his doubts, but he would still make the best of the time during which Verenier was free from her silly ideals. Though she was the creator, nature had obviously diverted from her plans. He was much more willing to listen to the order of the natural world than her.


    Still, he had seen first-hand what she could accomplish, and with his luck the chance of her returning sooner than hoped for was high. The old method of simply enslaving the lesser races therefore continued to be out of the picture. Luckily, Jester had new plans to circumvent that, but for those he would have to wait until Lita woke up. The procedure to remove the [Mark of Servitude] that had been woven into her flesh for nearly her entire life had seemingly taken a lot out of her.


    "All in due time," he mumbled to himself, placing the letter into one of the drawers on his new desk. "For now, I need more supporters."


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 192: Descendants of the Old Blood

    Aperio wrapped her arms around Caethya and rested her chin on her love''s head. Without her wings to wrap around them both, her affectionate actions seemed very much on display¡­ but it still felt good.


    A small part of her wanted to simply pick up her love and teleport them both to the small river she knew was only a short distance away, but the urge to meet the mortal with more mana was higher ¨C even if only a little. And teleporting is a no-no.


    "Comfortable?" Caethya asked as she shifted slightly in Aperio''s embrace, continuing to speak after the All-Mother had given a confirmatory murmur. "I don''t know why, but the lack of mana makes being on this world¡­ disagreeable."


    The All-Mother pulled back slightly, a touch of her magic rushing into Caethya to make sure that her love had not suffered any injury due to the lack of mana on Earth. She had tried her best to offset it, simply clouding the Demigoddess in her own mana, but that was seemingly not enough.


    "I''m fine," Caethya said, brushing her hands over the arms that held her. "You saturate the surroundings with more mana than some places on Verenier. The lack of it outside a few paces is just a little weird. Like the world does not want us here."


    "It probably does not," the All-Mother replied. She hesitated for a moment before she lowered her voice, a touch of her magic ensuring that only Caethya would hear her next words. "It feels like the world is trying to take my mana to feed its System. So far, I have not let it, but the longer I stay, the more I feel like I should not starve it any longer."


    The Demigoddess looked up at Aperio, offering a smile. "I am pretty sure you made the System with the intention of supporting every world. But, I am not sure if this one is ready for that kind of power. They are all so weak."


    "And fond of questions," Aperio added as she directed her gaze at Adam, who was handing over the card she had given him to the other police officer. "I would prefer it if I could deal with those rabble-rousers like I want to. Going after an unarmed man and then intending to use a weapon while their target has none? Despicable."


    "It''s not like any fight you start is much different," Caethya remarked. "That would be more akin to bringing an entire army to kill a single sheep."


    Aperio frowned slightly before she let out a sigh. "I guess."


    Her love was correct that anything she did in a fight would be overkill, but that was one of the few things she could not change. Or wanted to, for that matter. The idea of making someone else strong enough to offer an entertaining bout was much more appealing.


    Adam gave the two police officers another nod before they went their separate ways: the man walking to the car, and the woman heading back to Michael. Officer Santori stopped next to Aperio and Caethya, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "You are free to go. If we have any further questions, we will call you."


    "What will happen to Micheal?" Caethya asked, while Aperio only gave a low murmur to show that she understood what the woman had said.


    "We will have a doctor check him over, just in case, and then record his statement," she replied. "If nothing new comes up, he is also free to go."


    Aperio had to suppress the urge to simply teleport to the inn now that their brief encounter with the local law enforcement was done. Her meeting with the more magically-inclined Human was nigh. Does he even know he can use magic?


    It was a question she would have to answer on her own, as asking that directly was likely a bad idea. A walk is probably a good thing. She might not need to move around, but it likely would not hurt either.


    "I see," Caethya replied. "Then I hope that whatever this was is resolved quickly."


    The other woman let out a sigh at the words. "It''ll be resolved tomorrow, but that''s not what anyone wants. These¡­ altercations between gangs are getting more and more frequent and with the convention coming up-" She stopped and shook her head. "Just stay safe."


    "We will," Caethya replied with a smile. "I am certain that nothing here will be a serious danger."


    Aperio frowned slightly, but mumbled "Yes" as well. She doubted the mortals present would believe them, but that was luckily not required for it to be true. Only she was.


    "Perhaps we should start our way back to the inn," she said, carefully removing her arms from her love and taking a step back. "It is quite a ways away."


    "If we need anything, you will get a call," the woman repeated before taking the last few steps that separated her from Micheal.


    The All-Mother simply raised a brow and offered a hand to her love who took it without hesitation. It only took the two of them a few strides to close the distance to Adam, but Aperio still had to make a conscious effort to not bend reality a little. Twisting the world to her liking had become second nature to her at this point. Perhaps even a little too much¡­


    Aperio had always said she wanted to live a normal life, and normal people most definitely went for walks with their loved ones, right?


    ///


    The doorbell rang with a pleasant chime as Aperio opened the door that lead into the Dragonfly Inn. She stepped inside, followed by Caethya and Adam only a moment later.


    "Quite the place you chose," Adam said, his eyes wandering around the room and briefly lingering on the man that sat in one of the chairs in front of the fire place. "I''ll go and look at my room."


    "You do that," Aperio replied as she fixed her eyes on the same figure. She leaned closer to Caethya, a touch of her magic ensuring that nobody but her love would hear. "It would seem we were expected."


    "Or maybe he just came here to enjoy the atmosphere," Caethya replied. "Though, he does feel a lot stronger than the other people here. Still weak, though."


    "Now you know how I feel," the All-Mother mumbled as she stood to her full height again. "This one is the mortal equivalent of wet parchment. Probably less, if I am completely honest. Still, I wish to know what kind of magic Earth has, especially after Adam was so convinced that it did not exist."


    "I would not expect too much," Caethya replied before she began walking towards the seated mortal. "Do we tell him what we are if he asks? I doubt he will buy that we are cosplayers if he knows about magic."


    "We can tell him that we are Elves," Aperio replied, falling into step behind her love. "If he does not believe that, that is on him. It is technically true after all."


    Caethya gave a laugh in reply but did not say anything else, letting the All-Mother drop the magic that had ensured their privacy. The Demigoddess waited until Aperio had passed and taken a seat on the other free chair before setting herself down in her lap.


    It was most definitely not the most proper form, but the All-Mother could not help but smile at the action, wrapping her arms around the Demigoddess before shifting slightly to look past her at the mortal. "I assume you have been waiting for us?"


    "If you are the one that let their presence linger here, yes," the man replied, his voice a little raspy.


    Something about him felt off to Aperio. He was obviously hiding something, though she knew not what. The fact that he had mana could not be it, as he should know that she knew.


    "That was me, yes," Aperio replied. "I had thought it would be best to introduce myself without being present. Though, I am not sure how much you were able to gather from the mana I left behind."


    "I was supposed to gather something from that?" he asked, sitting a little straighter in his seat. "I had thought it was simply left because you wished to announce that someone strong had come." He remained quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "Would you mind telling me which faction you two belong to?"


    "Three," Aperio corrected, furrowing her brow as she had no wing to point towards the stairs with. "Our friend upstairs is very much a part of our group. As for our affiliation¡­ We serve nobody but ourselves. In fact, I had not even expected to find anyone able to use their mana on this world."


    Caethya let out a sigh before flicking her fingers against Aperio''s forehead. "That''s the wrong word, I believe."


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly, a bit of her mana flowing through her love to make sure she had not hurt herself. It took a moment before she noticed the error of her words. Telling people that they came from a different world was something they should never hear, but she had just blurted it out because she had not thought for a second. How unlike me.


    "Perhaps it is, but the meaning is much the same." Aperio offered her best attempt at a shrug in her current position. "We are not from here, and do not know what the people would expect from us. All we wanted to do was take a little vacation." And see how mortals fare without Gods, and if I do need to start over.


    While she was no longer truly inclined to erase everything in the universe, she was not willing to completely shelve the option. If all the mortals ever did was find ways to make life miserable for one another, even without the influence of power-hungry nut-jobs, there was little point in leaving it like it was. And changing their mind without means I will not use seems unlikely.


    "I see," the man replied, nodding. "You have chosen a¡­ tense time for your visit. Especially since nobody announced the arrival of anyone strong. The Elders will be displeased and throw a fit again." He heaved a sigh. "Would you mind telling me where you are from? Perhaps some arrangements can be made."


    "I would rather not," Aperio replied with a slight frown. "Trusting random strangers is not something I tend to do, even if I am stronger than they are."


    "Are you certain you are stronger than I am?" the man asked, his eyes gaining a slight red sheen as he set his gaze onto the All-Mother.


    "I am certain, yes," Aperio replied as she let her aura flare and allowing just a bit more mana to slip into her voice. She still held herself back, of course, but it was a lot closer to how she would normally sound. "And do not say that you are hiding your strength. I know quite well how much mana you have, and it is a pitiful amount."


    ///


    Gregory did his best not to refute the statement of the woman. The way her presence had flared and her words had wrapped around his throat like an invisible hand that wanted nothing more than to strangle him... Luckily, she had decided to forgo that option for now and was seemingly content to glare at him while the other did her best to not burst out laughing.


    His problem now was the fact that he did not know which group the newcomers belonged to, and thus, how he should treat them. It was obvious to him that he would lose in a fight and that the part of him that wanted to taste her blood would have to be silenced, but that sadly did not tell him what he should do ¨C merely what he should not. He would have to play things by ear, possibly blowing caution to the wind to act on what he felt was right. The latter option had gotten him in trouble a few times, but when it worked, it had worked great.


    "I see," he eventually said as he tried yet again to see past the veil of magic the two woman seemed to constantly erect around themselves. "While I do think I am more capable than you give me credit for, old man Hannibal does not like people fighting in his establishment. Therefore, I have another question for you.


    "Do you know what I am?"


    Right after the last word had left his mouth, Gregory felt a shiver run down his spine as the muscular woman narrowed her eyes slightly. He had not felt a shift in the mana, but e still inexplicably knew that she had manipulated the source of magic to her will in order to do something.


    The cold persisted for a moment, lingering not only in his spine but also spreading to his limbs and, for a reason he could not quite discern, his teeth. Like any Vampire worth their blood his teeth did not look any different than those of a normal Human, and that was not just an illusion. Learning how to physically change them so no mage could dispel it was considered a rite of passage for most.


    "I cannot say that I know, as I have only read about your kind," the woman replied, "but I would guess that you are a Vampire." She offered him a smile that spread a little too far and moved her ears a little closer to her head. "Do not try to get any of our blood."


    "Can we really just talk about things like this here?" the other pointy-eared woman asked. She looked at the taller one in whose lap she sat and spoke again. "I know that you are making sure nobody else hears, but it still seems like something that should remain private and he does not seem concerned in the slightest."


    Gregory could not help but raise a brow at the words. "Hannibal is quite aware of who ¡ª and more importantly, what his guests are. I had thought that was why you chose this inn. His prices are a bit higher than the norm, after all."


    "So I could have told him that I have no desire to eat anything this establishment might serve?" the tall woman asked, her voice still sending shivers down Gregory''s spine.


    "Yes?" he replied, not quite sure if the question had been rhetoric or not.


    She only offered him a smile and pulled the other woman into a tighter embrace. "I chose this inn because I noticed you coming here, and I was intrigued. You are the only mortal in this city that has a usable amount of mana." She paused for a moment, during which her eyes ¡ª and skin, if Gregory could believe what he saw ¡ª glowed slightly. "Though, I see now that I apparently acted a bit too hastily, as more are coming here."


    "Please do not call me a mortal," Gregory said with a slight grimace. "Vampires are lucky to be counted among the immortals here."


    The woman glared at him for a moment, the glow he had seen in her eyes fading to reveal tiny flecks of silver that seemed to dance on an incandescent blue iris. She did not blink, and neither did Gregory as every muscle in his body refused to function, frozen in place by whatever magic the woman was using. "I could kill you without any effort; that makes you very much mortal."


    "Going by who you can kill to determine mortality is a bad standard, Aperio," the other woman said. "If he does not die of old age and can deal with whatever the Humans have to offer, he should get the right to call himself immortal. At least here."


    The muscular woman ¡ª Aperio, apparently ¡ª held her gaze on him for a moment longer before her eyes shifted towards the one in her lap. "Fine, but I am of the opinion that he is too weak for that title. Adam is stronger, and he is very much a mortal.


    "That reminds me," she continued after a moment. "Introductions are in order." She gestured towards the woman in her lap before brushing a hand over her back. "This is Caethya Martinek," she said before pointing towards the stairs. "The man that accompanied us is Adam Lincoln ¡ª think of him as our guide ¡ª and I am Aperio Velkari."


    "My name is Gregory Vessey," he replied, offering a slight bow of his head. "I''m sorry to say that none of your names ring a bell. I had thought that beings of your stature would be known to me, but it seems I was mistaken." Perhaps saying they were from another world was not just a word getting lost in translation, but a slip of the tongue¡­


    Hannibal had said that he had considered her to be a Fae but disregarded it because of her size. Now that he had seen it for himself, he could see what he meant. Not many people stood beyond seven feet in height and few of them were women, even fewer were built like they could throw a car. Still, what Gregory knew of Faes did not rule out the possibility of them looking like this. The only thing the two women were missing were the wings.


    Asking if they were of that elusive race was probably not a good idea, as almost every scripture he had managed to read over the years had made it quite clear that, while there were many different races of Fae, none of them liked being called out for it for one reason or another. But these ones do not seem to hide it¡­ Gregory had to admit that visiting Riverburg during the convention was a genius move. Nobody would question two ''Elven'' woman here. The wonders of modern media.


    "Almost sounds like a noble," the woman he now knew as Caethya said. "Going by the fact that he probably is a Vampire, that might even be true. But why would such a noble man come to a town filled with people playing pretend? And why would even more people capable of wielding magic join him?"


    "Good questions," Aperio said as she tilted her head slightly. "I would assume a sort of council is about to gather to discuss matters of import to those beyond the influence of Humans. Perhaps we should attend; finding it will not be an issue."


    "Perhaps I could arrange a more suitable entrance for you," Gregory said, trying his best to sound diplomatic. "It would be preferable to at least know which race to you belong to, but I am getting the impression that you do not wish to share that."


    Aperio gestured towards the ears of Caethya and then her own. "We are Elves, is that not obvious? Or do you have a different name for us?"


    "I would have called the two of you Faes, but everything we know about them points to them being rather¡­ small and fond of mischief, or aligned to nature," Gregory replied while tapping his chin to hide the fact that his hand was shaking slightly. "The whispers that speak of those having encountered the Fae have been approaching zero lately, at least for nature-attuned ones, but perhaps we simply do not know how many kinds exist?"


    The taller woman raised a brow and shifted slightly in her seat, the weight of Caethya seemingly not offering the slightest impedance. "I was never particularly small, but I have been incorporeal for a while. Though, that is really not the same."


    Gregory took a deep breath before asking his next question, unsure if anything he dared ask might be considered a great offense by the two. It was far more stressful than he had thought. This is worse than talking to Elder Wu. "An easy way to figure out if you fit our definition of a Fae is to see if you have wings, are inherently magical, ageless, and if your thoughts don''t make much sense to anyone but yourself. The last one is more of a personal observation from what I have heard over the years, but at this point anything helps."


    Aperio smiled brightly at his words, practically leaping out of her chair as a pair of large, black-feathered wings spread behind her. She held Caethya in a princess carry as she extended her wings further, filling almost the entire room. Gregory could barely make out the edges of her feathered limbs, but they reminded him somehow of her eyes. Not only were those edges almost the same shade of blue, but they also featured the specks of silver that seemed to shift almost at random, something Gregory had to note was true for the entirety of her wings. Almost like the night''s sky¡­


    The presumed Fae folded her wings behind her back and adjusted her grip on Caethya, unbothered by the fact that Gregory was currently doing little more than to stare at her.


    "As you can see I do have wings," she said, the smile still on her face. "I am also very much a being of magic, ageless, and I have been told that my thoughts do not make much sense to most mortals like yourself. I could show you what I mean, but your feeble mind would not be able to withstand even the tiniest fraction."


    Gregory could not help but blink at the events that had just transpired, pulling himself together enough to be able to shake his head. He did not know the reason for which these two had come here, but he didn¡¯t need to. Neither Aperio nor Caethya had shown much of what they could do, but Gregory still had a distinct feeling that he would be annihilated in a fight.


    "I will just announce you as two Fae and a Human guide," he eventually said, his voice barely a whisper. He stood up, more than a little effort required to suppress the shaking of his limbs. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some calls to make."


    There was another legend Gregory was remembering. One that, while it did not fit the appearance of these two Fae, did match how Aperio had felt. How the mana he had noticed when he had arrived at the inn had felt. If he was right, the woman he had been talking to was old. Far older than anyone currently in charge, and equally as far beyond them in power.


    The Old Blood was not often talked about, but whenever it was, the Elder had an almost religious reverence for it. They were not Vampires, Werewolves, mages, or anything that the factions now called themselves, but more akin to Gods walking among the mortals of the world. A choice of words that Aperio seemed to be very fond of as well¡­


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 193: Choosing a Direction

    Gregory let out a shaking breath as he closed the door to his room behind him. The words of Aperio still echoed through his mind; clung to it like honey did to bread. Mere words shouldn''t have such staying power, but neither should a random woman be capable of freezing him in place with nothing more than a glare.


    At first he had not believed her when she had said that killing him would require no effort on her part, but the longer he had remained in her presence, the more his instincts had screamed at him to run; to flee. To save his life.


    "If all Faes are like that, I don''t want to meet any more," he mumbled to himself as he stumbled to the fridge in the corner of the deceptively large room.


    When Aperio had brought out her wings, she had also seemingly loosened her grip on her magic. Gregory had almost been drowned in the mana that gushed forth from the woman like an overactive spring. Such a river of magic made little sense when he considered the fact that mana on Earth had only been getting more scarce as the population rose.


    Just like all other energies in the universe, there was only so much to go around and they were seemingly nearing the limit of what Earth itself could handle. Of course, some factions ¡ª especially the mages ¡ª had tried to come up with ways to fix that, a few even going as far as to claim other worlds existed behind some Veil of invisible magic that they could tap to solve the mana problem.


    There probably were other worlds. Gregory was fairly certain of this, but he just as strongly doubted that getting to said worlds would be easy, or even at all possible with the mana they had to hand. No matter what faction you belonged to, there were countless advanced magics that had been lost to time, and even more were being lost simply due to the cost of casting them. He himself knew of a dozen that could only be theoretically still be performed through a mass sacrifice of Human life. Needless to say, though, the desire of all factions to keep hidden kept a tight lid on such hypothetical actions.


    "The meeting this year will be fun," Gregory said before he let out a long sigh and grabbed a bottle labeled ''A+.'' "Perhaps," he mused as he pulled out the cork, "I should try and convince them not to attend? It might be for the best."


    Of course, it was highly unlikely he could be persuasive enough for that, but he knew that the chaos that would ensue simply from Aperio and Caethya existing in the same space as some of the Elders alone would be sufficient enough cause to try to plead his case. And, having either of the Fae do anything would just cause people to riot, especially once word got out that the two newcomers did not even consider Vampires ¡ª one of Earth''s strongest races ¡ª to be worthy of the word ''immortal.''


    Gregory held the bottle to his nose and inhaled deeply, the pleasant aroma of the blood offering a mote of calm he had sorely needed. Usually he abstained from the drinking of blood, but in this case he not only needed the comfort it offered but the strength it would give him.


    He still had to figure out why they had decided to appear now, of all times. It was obviously not, as Aperio had tried to imply, a mere coincidence. That a group of people stronger than everyone he had ever known would simply pop up just as they were about to have the biggest Council meeting in decades? They have to had known¡­


    As both Aperio and Caethya were most definitely not Human and seemed to have little interest in hiding themselves, that only left Adam as the one who could have been their informant. While he had only seen the man briefly, he fit the image of a mage. Scrawny and unassuming, though in his case a bean pole would be a more apt comparison. Certainly not someone you would assume was strong.


    Physical appearance had little to do with actual strength, Gregory knew that, but it was not entirely wrong to judge people by it. Most Werewolves were more brawn than brains, and it showed. If this Aperio character happened to share their love for a fight? The Council might be in need of more than a few new members.


    He took a swig of the blood, closing his eyes as he savoured the taste. Whatever Hannibal had done to it was wondrous. For a Human that claimed to dislike all things magic, he sure knew how to cater to his supernatural clientele.


    "Guess it''s time to write a message for Elder Wu," Gregory mumbled. "If she appears at the meeting without him knowing of the possibility first, chaos is guaranteed."


    The old Vampire was the oldest and strongest of them on the west coast, and also had the duty of heading the Council meeting. Nobody would ever suspect old Mayor Wu of hosting a meeting of monsters in the town hall, nor would they assume that he would immediately start a fight with a seven foot amazon simply because she barged into said meeting.


    "Why is it always my life that so chaotic?" he asked himself as he opened the laptop that sat neatly on the desk. "I just want a century without chaos for once¡­"


    ///


    Aperio hummed happily as she walked in circles in front of the fireplace with Caethya in her arms. As negligible as the weight of her love was, holding her did make the All-Mother happy. Why that was, she could not say, but neither did she care.


    "You might want to hide your wings before the owner comes back or a guest walks in," Caethya said, leaning to the side slightly to grab one of the fruits that sat in a bowl on one of the desks Aperio passed on her endless journey around the room.


    "I''ll see them coming," she replied, slightly flaring the feathered limbs in question. "Plus, Gregory did say that the owner is quite aware of the supernatural, so why would I need to hide them from him?"


    "I guess?" Caethya replied as she regarded the fruit she had picked up. "Looks like an apple. I wouldn''t have thought that different worlds shared fruits."


    "Humans are on more than one world, so why would there not be some fruits that are the same?"


    Caethya took a bite of the apple and frowned. "Tastes sour," she said after swallowing. "Almost like the ones you can get from Ischtaken. I wonder if they farm them in the desert here as well?"


    Aperio moved one of her wings forward, sliding it under Caethya''s back so her love could rest on it while the All-Mother commanded one of the fruits to appear in her hand. She took a bite of it, but just like any other food she had tried since her return, it left her unfulfilled. It tasted good, no question there, but her body showed no signs of being happy that it had been fed. Makes sense, in a way. I do not need food, after all.


    "Food aside," Caethya continued, shifting slightly in Aperio''s arms, "do you really intend on visiting whatever meeting Gregory referred to?"


    "I do," Aperio replied with a nod. "It seems like a good opportunity to get acquainted with magic on Earth. Plus, seeing Adam''s reaction to it will be hilarious. Imagine what he will do once we tell him one of the customers here is a Vampire."


    "Not believe us, I''d think." She motioned for the All-Mother to slow down, hopping out of her arms once she had come to a stop. "You have to consider that he has had this belief for his entire life, and having us merely tell him without showing proof of Gregory''s difference won''t get us very far."


    Aperio shrugged and folded the wing she had used to support Caethya behind her back again. She looked at her love for a moment, slightly saddened by the turn of events, but simply shrugged as she took another bite of the apple before disintegrating the rest. What Adam believed mattered not to her, and neither did it matter that the beings attending the upcoming meeting would be doing their best to either win her over or remove her.


    "I will do what I came here to do," the All-Mother replied, her gaze fixed on the wall that separated her from the rest of the city. "And that is to judge whether or not mortals are warring idiots that would rather see their fellows bound in servitude than have them forge their own path. If things are as I suspect them to be, I might have to take some more¡­ drastic measures to get my creation back on track." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and let her aura assert itself just a little more to show everyone who was able to perceive it that she was displeased. "I have no desire to be the maker of world upon world that is filled with slaving despots."


    "I''d say that the main reason for your stay here is a vacation," Caethya said as she placed her hands on her hips and tried to make herself as tall as possible. "You need a clear mind, and for that you need to relax. And I will make sure that you do."


    Aperio sighed and let herself slump a little. Her love was right in that she needed to relax, but she did not know how she should do that. Or if I even can. Unlike her past self, her current self had trouble ignoring what went on in her creation, especially if it dealt with anything she had experienced in her mortal life.


    Of course, she knew that there was no way to prevent all the evil that existed without actually puppeteering all the beings that existed in the worlds she had made. That was a fact she had accepted, but that did not mean she would tolerate mortals making it their sole purpose in their fleeting life to make that of their fellows miserable.


    "I had thought I could understand mortals better now, but their actions still do not make sense to me." She gestured towards the ceiling where she could sense Gregory pacing in his room. "Our Vampire friend is losing his mind because he cannot comprehend me, and Adam looks like he is about to pass out every time I wish to speak to someone. I know that I am different, that my voice ¡ª my very being ¡ª evokes some sort of reaction in mortals, but is it really that bad?"


    "Not for me," Caethya replied. She stepped closer and took Aperio''s hand into her own, pulling them away from the All-Mother''s chest. "Before I got my Class I could feel this little nudge in my Soul that told me you weare special, beyond what I could understand. But if I had not looked for it, it would not matter.


    "The mortals will know that you are different, yes," she continued, taking another step towards Aperio, "but you already know all of that. The problem is that you are a different form of life than anyone else. No matter how much any of us try, that fact will remain."


    "I won''t turn into some weird cloud again," Aperio said, narrowing her eyes. "I am quite attached to my body and what it allows me to do."


    "Your body lets you do things you could not do as the all-mighty space cloud?"


    "Perhaps not do per se," she replied as she ran her thumbs over Caethya''s hands, "but it certainly adds to the experience. And I very much dislike when everything is only a thought away." Probably even less than that, considering things are only a thought away now¡­


    "In any case," Aperio continued, a touch of her magic causing a small note to appear in Adam''s room. "I wish to explore the city a little more. Are you going to join me?"


    "Of course," Caethya said before gesturing towards the All-Mother''s back. "Have to hide your wings, though."


    Aperio frowned but willed her feathered limbs to disappear nonetheless, a second thought causing the note she had created to fill itself with the excessively cursive script she had come to call her own in order to inform Adam that she and Caethya would be going again, and that he should offer a prayer if he needs anything.


    For a brief moment, Aperio considered picking up her love again but decided against it, leading her towards the door with a few large strides instead.


    The All-Mother began to hum a tune she had heard being played in many places in the city as she ducked through the door.


    Caethya followed, giggling slightly as she linked her arm with Aperio. "Time to explore Earth without our guide?"


    "Yes," the All-Mother replied. "More mortals with mana are coming here, and I intend to meet at least a few of them. I should have looked a little more thoroughly when we first arrived; there seem to be quite a few Humans that can use magic." As meagre as it was.


    "I guess we are going to meet Gregory''s competition, then," Caethya said. "Where do we go?"


    Aperio gestured towards one of the buildings that loomed over most others in the city. "In there, spread across the various stores. Perhaps we should purchase some clothes to better blend in?"


    "That could be fun," Caethya replied. "Are we going to accidentally bump into the more magically-inclined Humans while doing that?"


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied with a smile. "Perhaps."


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 194: Changing Winds

    Caethya could not help but smile as Aperio leaned forwards to look at yet another dress. The All-Mother ran her hand over it, furrowing her brows slightly before pulling back.


    "There are so many options, but all of them feel¡­ lacking," she said as she moved the other hand across her stomach. "Whatever fabric they use is not good at all. Though, it is better than what I used to wear."


    "You are comparing it to a dress that is fashioned from your own mana," Caethya replied as she stepped past Aperio and picked up a shirt from one of the shelves that lined the wall. "This feels better than most things you could readily buy outside of major cities on Verenier, so I would say that it''s at least decent."


    "You are probably correct," Aperio agreed, the tall woman somehow managing to vanish into another section of the store unnoticed despite not having teleported. "Sadly, I cannot use anything they have to offer. It would seem that they do not cater to anyone taller than their doors."


    The Demigoddess let out a laugh as her love held a shirt against herself that looked almost exactly the same as the one Adam had worn when he had first arrived on Verenier. "The only one that would even remotely fit is a tent¡­"


    "Good thing you don''t have to buy clothes, then. Right?"


    While Caethya had suggested they buy clothes to better blend in, it had been pretty clear from the start that Aperio would have to make her own. Caethya herself had already run into some problems with the women''s clothing on offer on this planet as she was above average in height, but all she needed to do to mitigate that was find the right section. Her love, on the other hand, was in a different league, both in height and in general stature. The mortals of this world seemed to be unusually small in most aspects. Whether it was due to a lack of monsters to fight, physical work to be done, or a simple lack of mana itself, was hard to determine.


    Aperio folded the shirt again, any wrinkle that might have appeared while she had handled it simply vanishing as she placed it back on the shelf. "Indeed."


    A few strides brought the All-Mother to Caethya''s side. She hummed lightly as she looked at the growing selection of shirts and pants the Demigoddess was balancing on one hand, before giving a nod and disappearing once more. What exactly her love had in mind was not something Caethya could even begin to hope to understand, but she had long since accepted that fact. Her mother had been correct when she had said that powerful people were eccentric, even if it showed in the weirdest of ways for some.


    Aperio wanted her to be happy ¡ª at least that was how it appeared to the Demigoddess ¡ª but she was also very much restrained by her own past, which led to some rather weird ways of expressing that desire. It was clear that she was obviously drawn to physical contact, but that warred constantly with the fact that everything around her was so incredibly fragile in comparison to her vast strength and what she had experienced during her time as a quasi-mortal. And yet, Aperio simply wants to cuddle in her Void.


    She knew that most people might laugh at the mere idea of the All-Mother wanting such a thing. Her love was taller than most, looked like she could lift the carriage of your choice, and seemed mildly annoyed at everything around her at all times. Indeed, anyone who did not know what she was would likely still scoff at the idea of a desire for cuddling as soon as they looked at her.


    ///


    Aperio moved a bit to the side as she followed her love to the register, standing between her and some mortals who had been eyeing the two of them for more than a little while now. They probably were just surprised to see two Elves wandering around in a store, but something about the group did not sit right with the All-Mother. A preventative stance was a lot better than retaliating against some form of aggression or untoward behaviour.


    Any interaction with that group would also delay their one hundred percent completely unplanned encounter with the group of magically-inclined mortals who had just a few moments ago arrived in the city. For one reason or another, shopping was their first chosen activity. Aperio would use that to her advantage.


    The All-Mother placed one hand behind her back, out of sight of anyone, and pulled the wallet she had made from her Void. While the means with which she had acquired the money within were questionable, they were also not provable. Well, not by anyone credible. The mortals that could use magic probably wanted that fact to remain a secret.


    "I am still not quite sure I understand how this world is supposed to work," Aperio mumbled as she observed other mortals sitting at desks and talking into the phones that everyone here seemed to use. "Most of the things I can see them do, do not actually seem to amount to much. Just talking to each other." She frowned slightly, an errant thought letting a group of mortals pass by a dark alley that another had used to hide. "And some of them are as despicable as those nobles I used to know."


    "Don''t kill them, please," Caethya replied as she began to place the clothes she had chosen on the desk next to the register, causing the woman staffing it to raise her brow slightly. "And don''t disappear them either ¡ª that would probably cause even more issues."


    "I directed them past one another," Aperio replied before offering a smile to the mortal in front of them. "Perhaps we should use a language she understands; talking like this seems very rude."


    "You''re right," Caethya replied in English. She lowered her head slightly towards the cashier. "I apologise, it must be weird having people talk in some weird language in front of you."


    "Wouldn''t be the first time that happened," the woman replied with a smile that Aperio guessed was more forced than anything. She began to slide every piece of clothing in front of herself, one by one, holding yet another machine up to it until a beep echoed through the room. "We get lots of people from all over the world here. As long as you don''t speak about anything too unbecoming, you''re good."


    Despite her words, the mortal still looked at Aperio for a moment longer as she worked through the items Caethya had chosen. If the All-Mother had to guess, it was her voice causing issues yet again even though she had held back as much mana as she could from it. There was only so much she could do to remove the magic from herself. Being inherently magical ¡ª being the source of magic ¡ª was not the best when you wished to not radiate mana.


    "Just some discussion," Aperio said as she began to pull out the money needed to pay for the items Caethya had chosen. It might come off as odd that she would be handing over the exact amount needed before the mortal told it to her, but at this point she wanted to do something while they waited and figuring out how much each item would actually cost was as good as anything.


    "Comparing the make of these clothes to the ones we have back home," Caethya elaborated. "Remarkably different, while also being the same."


    The woman did not reply as she did whatever it was she was doing to the last item and read out the total cost. Aperio placed the money on the counter, still not quite sure how paper had any value even if it had a large number printed on it. All the money she knew from Verenier was valuable because it was either made from something that had inherent value, or because it could do something special. But then, anything that is wanted is worth something¡­


    Contemplating the economic system of Earth might be something Aperio could see herself doing, but it was most definitely not what was supposed to be happening at the moment. No, the plan was that Caethya and herself would leave this store in just a few more moments and bump into the group of mortals that was approaching.


    "Thank you for your purchase," the cashier said as she took the money Aperio had already placed on the table and sorted it into her register. With a practiced move, she took the slip of paper that every single one of these machines seemed to produce, placed it atop the pile of clothes she had built and put all of that into a bag which she handed to the All-Mother.


    Aperio took it, offering a small nod as both thanks and goodbye before turning to leave, turning to leave, closely followed by Caethya. Her love quickened her stride briefly to walk beside the All-Mother.


    "Are the people outside the ones you want to meet?" she asked, nodding towards the group of mortals that rounded the corner just as they stepped outside the shop. "They seem to be making use of the same strategy we are."


    "Indeed." Aperio could not agree more as every single mortal looked like they would fit right in on Verenier.


    Leading them was a large man with green skin, horns growing from his skull, and a build that seemed to fit as well as Aperio''s own on Earth. He was followed by a woman wearing a pointed hat and a deep blue robe. The item of clothing was obviously enchanted, as what little mana the planet had to offer flowed into it. Also, because it did not want to be looked at.


    The All-Mother was quite certain that a normal mortal of this planet would not even notice its wearer as whatever magic was used on it tried ¡ª and Aperio and Caethya''s case, failed ¡ª to let the eyes of any spectator simply drift past. That trick was also what alerted the woman to their presence and the fact that they were not just normal people, causing her to nudge the last person of their little party.


    He was the most normal-looking of the three, with the only thing giving him away as a Vampire like Mister Vessey being the feel of his magic. Aperio would still describe the sensation as more beast-like than anything else, and had she not met Gregory before, she would have likely assumed this man to be some form of experiment created by the other two ¡ª  an Orc, if she had to guess, and a mage of some sort.


    "Greetings," she said, stepping closer to the group that had stopped upon noticing them. "I had not expected to meet more¡­ fantastical mortals in one day. You would think that talking to a single Vampire a day would be a lot, let alone two."


    ///


    Gale could not help but pause at the tall woman''s words. Not only had she guessed at a glance that Ethaniel was a Vampire, but her voice had a particular ethereal quality to it that he had only ever felt from one other source: the World''s Voice. What he called the World''s Voice, at least.


    It did not really have a name and neither did it ''speak'', per se, but it communicated. Well, had. The last time he had heard it was shortly after he turned six, an event which had occurred almost four centuries ago now.


    "Talking like that in the open is a bold move," Ethaniel said, undoubtedly preparing some kind of weapon of magic.


    "Nobody else can hear us," Eleanor said and gestured at something only she could see. "I assume our new friend over here does not like being spied on and is quite obviously proficient." She paused for a moment, and Gale could feel her squinting, before she continued. "But I do not know which school this is supposed to follow."


    "You could say that she is self-taught," the other woman replied as she covered her mouth and let out a slight giggle. "Don''t let that fool you though, she is better than anyone else when it comes to magic."


    "You could say that I am a natural," the tall woman said with a smile. The words were accompanied by a slight wiggle of her ears and a wave of pressure that Gale did not appreciate.


    His displeasure did not stem from the fact that she had done it, but rather that it seemed to be a response to her cracking a joke; to her losing a bit of control over her magic. Fighting between the various factions might have died down over the last century, but Gale still remembered the battles he had had to fight. True power was a rare sight, only appearing at the whims of the Elders. He had thought that all of the Elders were known, though.


    "And who do you belong to?" he asked, his eyes darting from her ears to her eyes and finally to her hand that held a large paper bag. It tightened at his words, the very air around him turning cold as the woman took a heavy step forward. One that left a large crack in the floor.


    Gale would have stepped away if he could, but while his mind was telling him to run, his instincts kept him rooted in place and ready to protect his friends. He did not want to fight, almost desperately so, but he would do it if it meant that his friends had even the slightest chance to escape from the enemy he had inadvertently created.


    "I belong to nobody but myself," the woman hissed, the cracks in the floor spreading further with every word. She lifted her hand slightly, the bag somehow seeming more threatening that it had any right to. "Is that clear?"


    "Crystal," Eleanor replied for their group as she stepped in front of both Gale and Ethaniel. How the mage always figured out why people were angry was a mystery to Gale, but he certainly appreciated the talent. "He did not mean to imply that; Gale merely wished to know what faction you support."


    "None," the woman replied as she stared at Eleanor through narrowed eyes. "I serve only my friends and myself." She righted herself, standing to her full height before she spoke again. "I care not for your tribes and their petty squabbles. We have come here, after being told that magic would not exist in these parts. Apparently it does, though, alongside rather outdated views."


    "I don''t think he ever meant that," the other woman said as she placed her hand on the back of the tall one. "His choice of words was rather poor, however."


    "Perhaps we should go and sit down somewhere?" Eleanor suggested. "I know a place that is discreet and close by."


    The two women exchanged a few words in a language Gale did not understand ¡ª and a quick look showed that none of his friends did either ¡ª before the tall one gave a nod and motioned for Eleanor to lead them. Note to self, do not upset the muscle Elf. ...Is she even an Elf? I don¡¯t think I have ever seen one.


    Whatever she did, it would not be fun. He might be able to take her physically, but the woman seemed to possess magic that was somehow related to the World''s Voice and that was something nobody should mess with. Gale had no doubts that the strange pair would be attending the gathering and for one reason or another, he found himself looking forward to the conflict between Elder Wu and this newcomer.


    The old Vampire always claimed he could still hear the will of the world, and many people believed him. Though, mostly because he is stronger than they are¡­ Anyone with a mote of magic in them ¡ª and who had been graced by the Voice before ¡ª would immediately know this woman had much more to do with the World''s Voice than Elder Wu ever would.


    Perhaps she can tell us why it got more and more quiet over the years, Gale thought to himself as he turned to follow Eleanor. He could not help but see her clenched fists and slightly staggering gait. Another thing he would have to investigate. The mage was never flustered, angry, or exhausted, no matter what happened. Eleanor might have been young, but she had quickly distinguished herself as a masterful magician that was at least on par with most of the Elders of her faction. This is either gonna be fun or very, very deadly.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 195: Hidden History

    The bell above the door of the caf¨¦ jangled merrily as Eleanor led the way inside. Gale knew the place ¡ª just a little shop on a corner near the mall, run by some people that, while not magically gifted, still did work for the Mages'' Association. His friend probably thought that, should anything happen, they would be safer here. It was a view he did not share.


    He had lived long enough, and been in enough fights to know when he was outclassed, and that was most assuredly the case now. And not only by the tall one. The other pointy-eared one ¡ª while more reserved and better at hiding it ¡ª also exuded an aura that resonated with danger. She was definitely a mage, and most assuredly someone he did not wish to fight.


    "You can order whatever you wish," Eleanor said as she gestured towards the cards that stood in the middle of the table. "My treat."


    The strange pair did not hesitate before they sat down, though Gale was sure the woman did something to the piece of furniture ¡ª he could have sworn he saw the chair buckle for a moment before stopping and repairing itself, remaining as sturdy as ever. He did his best to listen in on their quiet conversation, but neither he nor his friends had suddenly acquired the means with which to understand it. For a moment, he considered recording some of it so he could later figure out what it was, but the way it could potentially cause the muscular woman to be angry caused him to quickly discard that idea.


    "Names," the taller of the two women said as she brushed a few strands of her oddly shimmering hair out of her face and behind her pointed ears. "You may call me Aperio," she continued before gesturing to the other woman. "And her, Caethya."


    "Gale," Eleanor said simply, pointing at him, and he was strangely happy to have been mentioned first. Her finger then moved to his Vampire friend. "This is Ethan, and I am Eleanor."


    "An Orc named Gale?" Aperio asked as she raised a brow. "Do you practice wind magic of some kind?"


    "I don''t, no," he replied as he picked up one of the menus that sat in the middle of the table. "It is simply the name I was given."


    "He is not magically inclined," Eleanor said, already waving Ethaniel off before gesturing to the shimmer that appeared in response to her movement. "It looks like our new friend is taking care of our privacy again."


    "I have been told that magic is a¡­ forgotten art here," the woman replied. "And while that is obviously not the case, I know that most mortals are not aware of this hidden world. The other Vampire also said as much."


    Before anyone could talk, Aperio inclined her head slightly. Gale followed her indication, seeing the waiter approaching them. The hint was easy enough to understand; no talking about the supernatural until he was on his way again.


    Ethaniel shifted in his seat slightly to better ignore the waiter that came to the table. The man took orders from Eleanor, Gale, and surprisingly Caethya as well before departing as swiftly as he had come. As soon as he had left, the Vampire leaned forward slightly. "Who have you talked to?" he asked.


    "Does it matter?" Aperio replied as she leaned back in her chair, unconcerned by the quiet groan of the metal. "I am not inclined to trust strangers whose friends walk around speaking like a person can be property."


    "Must be fucking Vessey," Ethaniel mumbled to himself as he glared at the two pointy-eared women. "He always tried to get an advantage for his miserable clan."


    The muscular woman scoffed at the Vampire''s words. "I have said it before, but I will say it again ¡ª this once. I have no interest in your petty squabbles." Somehow she sat straighter in her chair, looming over everyone else despite not having stood up. "What we have come to do is learn more about this world. To that extent, I am willing to offer a bargain. A question for a question. Knowledge for knowledge." She waited for a moment, eyeing them. "You may start."


    The deal the woman offered could be good, Gale thought as he looked first at Eleanor, then Ethan. The thing was, they had no real idea what she knew. Additionally, he only knew of one problematic race that tended to offer bargains like this one.


    "A deal with a Fae seems like a bad idea," Gale replied. "No matter how insignificant the payment might seem."


    "We are not Fae," Caethya corrected, though the Orc was not sure if those words were entirely truthful. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Do you not know other people with pointed ears?"


    "It''s the only race I know of that has that specific feature, likes to strike bargains, and has this general air of¡­ trouble."


    "So you have met one?" Aperio asked, leaning forward slightly.


    The way the woman seemed oddly eager to know if he had met one of those tiny winged devils made Gale hesitate. But only for a moment. An idea blossomed in his mind, and a smile briefly flashed across his face. "I may have."


    ///


    Aperio leaned back in her chair. While she was not overly fond of deception and trickery, the ''plan'' Caethya had proposed had certainly worked wonders. It also showed that she still did not understand mortals one bit.


    Why would telling him that we are not what he thinks, while acting like we are, get him to to agree? the All-Mother wondered as she set her eyes on the Orc again. Her view of him was still fairly low, even though Caethya had tried her best to tell her that he had never meant to imply what he had. Just as killing someone on accident while in a fight was still murder, his words had still been spoken and could not be undone. Not by him, anyway.


    All of this, at least, distracted her from the fact she had messed up and referred to Earth as a world and not the world. Really need to be more careful with that¡­


    How anyone could consider this hunk of dirt to be important was something Aperio would never understand. As soon as she had allowed herself a brief glance over the entirety of the planet, she had been inundated by death and despair no matter where she looked. Or at least, that had been her perception of it, but she did try to keep in mind that her perception had been shown to be more than a little skewed a good number of times now.


    "I thought we would get to ask the first question," Eleanor said before turning quiet as the mortal working at this particular establishment came back to place their order on the table.


    The mortal mage might be able to hide from others, but Aperio had noticed the first time around that Eleanor knew the employees and that they, in turn, were quite aware of what she was. Not only did they not pay any of their ¡®costume¡¯ any mind, but they also all wore the same symbol on their uniform somewhere a normal person would not look. Marking everyone that belonged to your faction with the same symbol was only good if nobody could see it. Still, pointing that out was likely to lead to trouble that would only postpone her gathering of knowledge about this world; the reason she had sought out these mortals to begin with.


    "You may ask me anything," she said, giving each of the mortals in front of her a sharp glare. "I reserve the right not to answer, however. Some things are not for you to know, no matter how much you wish to tell me otherwise."


    "Where are you from?" Gale asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and a smile that Aperio could only describe as mischievous spread across his face.


    "I am not from anywhere," the All-Mother replied and gave a shrug. "My earliest memories are of darkness and not much else. I could not tell you where exactly that would have been.


    "Now for my question," she continued, giving the Orc a smile of her own. "What is the purpose of this gathering that everyone keeps talking about?"


    "The Council has been called to discuss the ever-dwindling amount of mana in the world," Eleanor replied, causing the All-Mother to shift her gaze slightly. "I am sure you noticed the decline of magical ability as time went on. Magic was replaced with machines, and studying our past is forbidden out of fear of what others might do."


    "There is not much any of you could do to combat that specific problem." Aperio shrugged. "There is only so much mana to go around, and the amount of people on this world will only ever increase."


    At that, the group of mortals simply stared at her ¡ª Ethan in particular seemingly trying to retreat further into his seat ¡ª causing Aperio to look to her love for help. Caethya could only offer a small shrug. What Aperio had said was obvious to both of them, but apparently not for the mortals in front of her. Though, saying there is a finite amount of mana is wrong.


    "We figured that was the case," Eleanor whispered, mostly to herself. "But how do we get more mana without killing people?"


    "While that is two questions in a row," Aperio replied, "I know of a way. But that is a solution that is for none of you to decide or execute. Before I say anything more, however, I would like to know why everyone is hiding. You all appear to be vastly stronger than the other mortals, so why live in the shadows?"


    Gale exhaled sharply through his nose at the question. "Have you ever been shot at?"


    "Yes," the All-Mother replied, tilting her head. "Earlier today, in fact. It was a very underwhelming experience. The weapon did not even manage to put a hole in my dress."


    "Well, most of us are not bulletproof," Gale said. "Ethan would come out fine and I can take a few rounds myself, but Eleanor is as susceptible to being shot as any other Human."


    Caethya''s voice came next, speaking the language of their people to make sure the others would not understand as she eyed the Vampire for a moment longer, seemingly as confused by his constant shifting as the All-Mother herself.


    "They are weak, Aperio,¡± her love said. ¡°This world has probably seen more mana in the last day because of you than it had known for years. Each word you speak is probably like a wave crashing against a very fragile dam."


    "I am taking great care to not upset the balance of this world," Aperio replied with slightly narrowed brows as she held up a hand to stop Gale from interrupting her. "As far as I can tell, Earth does not touch my mana even though it wants to. The System wishes to work on this world, but I am not letting it." Yet.


    "Because you want to know if these mortals can be trusted with power or if you should just reset the entire universe?"


    The All-Mother let out a long sigh and shook her head. While she had considered that option, it was not really viable. Even if she erased everything and started anew, how could she guarantee that things would not go awry again? I can''t, that''s the answer. She would have to find another way, but luckily there were already a few ideas forming in the back of her mind, most of which would probably drive the average mortal mad if she were to explain them.


    "I am no longer truly considering that course of action," Aperio replied. "I am, however, very much evaluating how these mortals would use the power the System could grant them. And how this world would change." She turned her attention back to the three mortals on the other side of the table, ignoring the impatient gazes of Gale and Eleanor and the indignant one of Ethan. "In any case, I have some more questions for these people."


    Caethya placed her hand on Aperio''s thigh, causing the All-Mother to look at her love and raise a brow. "Are you going to let them know who you are?" she asked as she picked up the cup of weird-smelling brown liquid. "You don''t seem to be concerned about that anymore."


    "I will not tell them outright," she replied with a small shrug, "but I am also not going to hide it much. If they wish to think of me as a Goddess, they are free to do so."


    Aperio then returned to the conversation with the mortals, switching back to English. "That is a weakness that can be overcome," she said, as though the intervening chat with Caethya had not happened. "It is simply a matter of strength, something I am willing to help depending on what I see."


    "Depending on what you see?" Eleanor asked, tightly holding the cup of tea she had ordered. "You make it sound like you have come here to judge us, or something like that."


    "Because I have," the All-Mother replied. "It is only one of the reasons for my presence here. Perhaps a little lower on the list than expected, but that does not mean it is any less important."


    ¡°Ah yes,¡± Ethan began, speaking for the first time in a while. The hoarseness of his voice seemed to match his prolonged bouts of silence. "The Lord above has sent an Angel to judge our sins. Come on, show us your wings and the holy light.¡±


    "Are you some kind of Fae Queen, come to decide if your kind should return?" Gale asked as he leaned forward slightly, completely ignoring the quip of his friend. "I do not know much, but what I know tells me that your kind has been more affected by the increased number of people and the ongoing industrialisation than we have."


    Aperio could not help but laugh at the Orc''s words, but not before shooting the Vampire a glare. He would have to do better to get a rise out of her. For a moment she considered granting Ethan¡¯s wish and showing him her wings but, in the end, all she did was to let a few wisps of mana escape her, just so they could see for themselves that she had more than enough of it. "I do not know what a ''Fae Queen'' is supposed to be, but I am sure that whatever you are talking about has no influence on me. Few things do, and most certainly nothing from here."


    The lack of mana was a problem, simply due to the fact that she had to constantly devote a bit of her mind to making sure that the cloud of mana that always surrounded her did not grow too large, dense, or otherwise out of this world''s norm. Additionally, she also had to make sure that Caethya always had enough of it around her to not feel any discomfort due to the lack of natural ambient mana.


    "Before you ask another question, I would like you to answer at least one more of my own," the All-Mother said, offering a smile with her reminder of the supposed bargain they struck. "Have any of you had contact with something you would consider a ''God''?"


    The mortals remained quiet at her question, simply looking at one another as they shifted in their seats. Aperio let her gaze linger on one for a moment before moving on to the next. She repeated the pattern over and over as nobody wished to speak, while also letting her aura manifest itself just a little more each time she had to start again.


    "The only thing I can think of is what I call the ''Voice of the World''," Gale replied eventually. "It knows things that it shouldn''t, and has on occasion even granted people a boon of sorts. It has been quiet for centuries now, however."


    Aperio perked up at the Orc''s choice of words. "Would this ''Voice'' happen to deliver its messages as fragments of text only you can see, or did it actually talk?"


    "Both," Gale replied with slightly narrowed eyes. "But the one I mean mostly communicated through text; almost like something you would expect from a game. The other seemed much more¡­ aware of what was going on. Less detached than I would think a deity of any kind would be."


    "Gods can be very meddlesome," Caethya said as she eyed her love, not even trying to hide the implication. "The thing I assume you are speaking of does not even think. It is simply a tool to help us grow stronger."


    "A tool?" Eleanor asked. "Made by who?"


    "That is the question, is it not?" The All-Mother leaned back in her chair as she did her best to let her aura fade again. "In any case, I would like to know if you had any kind of special ritual to contact either of these two deities. Do not worry about the cost that they require; I am more than capable of meeting them." Nor do I need your rituals.


    Aperio could always simply scour the planet for everything she wanted to know, but she wanted to learn how the mortals here worked and in order to do that, she would acquiesce to their methods. Even if they are slower. She already knew that one of these ''Voices'' was simply the System as it struggled to get anything done. It was the other that interested her. If Earth had a God, she would like to meet them and give them a very stern talking to ¡ª one that may or may not involve her fist ¡ª about meddling with mortals.


    Much to the All-Mother''s surprise, it was Eleanor who answered her and not Gale. "I can show you the rituals we used to use," she said before taking a sip of her still-steaming tea. "They are illegal now because we would need to sacrifice over a hundred people to power them, but if you can power it on your own, I don''t see the problem."


    "Matching a few hundred mortals is an easy task. I expected it to be a lot more." I use more mana to enhance my body in a second than this entire planet possess¡­


    She stopped her train of thought before it could go much further. However much mana she used to simply exist, it was required for the way she wanted to live. Stressing out about it would not help. Sure, becoming stronger and stronger by the second was not helpful for ever finding someone who could give her a good fight, but she had already decided many times that her own progress would not be slowed so mortals can catch up. Have to speed theirs up instead!


    "If you really are that strong," Gale began, "why have you remained hidden until now?"


    "You could say that I was¡­ resting," the All-Mother replied. "I¡­ required time to come to terms with past mistakes I made. Nothing you need worry yourselves about."


    Her words were not entirely truthful, of course, but it was also not wrong. She had been asleep in a way, and she definitely was coming to terms with past mistakes she had made. And happy about one, Aperio added in her mind as she glanced at her love. She still disliked the fact that she had set the Demigoddess on a path by touching her Soul, but she was also thankful for it. Caethya had given her something she had not really known before; something she had not been sure she was even capable of. Love.


    "Does it matter why she was hiding?" Eleanor asked Gale, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "She is here now and, just maybe, she can actually help. I am tired of the Elders talking all damn day and never getting shit done. It''s always talk and never action."


    "I won''t cover for you when they find out," the Orc replied. "The old rituals are forbidden for more than just their cost. Just ask Ethan about it, he knows."


    "I don''t care," the Vampire in question said. "The Council couldn''t care less about me or what is left of my clan, so I don''t give a damn about their rules."


    Gale let out a long sigh and grabbed his face. "They stopped caring about your Clan because you kept breaking the rules."


    "And I am not beholden to anyone," Aperio interjected. "Show me the ritual and I will decide myself what I will do." She turned to face Gale. "If you wish to inform your Elders of what I am doing, feel free to do so. I intend on visiting your little meeting and having a talk with them anyway. If they know I am coming, they might even prepare some things and will thus not be stuck in a loop of stammering and potential bowing."


    "I will let them know," he replied, hesitating for a moment before he stood up. It was clear to Aperio that Gale still wanted to ask something, but she would not push him to do so. If the Orc wanted her to answer a question, he would have to go and ask of his own free will. "See you then, Eleanor, Ethaniel."


    The mage watched him go, then finished her cup in a single long gulp. "Follow me," she said, standing up and starting to walk away. "Don''t worry about paying," she added with a smile as Aperio began to pull some money out of the wallet she had summoned. "I said it was my treat."


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 196: Puny Rituals

    Aperio could not help but raise a brow at the crude runes etched into the walls that hid the entrance to the basement. Of course, the magic worked on neither her nor Caethya, but the All-Mother was surprised that it worked on anyone at all, as the amount of mana they used was truly pitiful. A child could break these¡­


    If her control over her aura was even a tiny bit lesser, the ward these runes created would have broken as soon as she had arrived on Earth; as it stood however, the enchantment merely flared up as she stepped past. Much like the runes she had seen when she had first returned to Verenier, these ones seemed to etch themselves deeper into the stone and some even began to shine with the silvery-blue glow of her mana.


    Eleanor hesitated for a moment as she spotted what, to her, was likely unexpected behaviour from the runes and shifted her gaze towards the All-Mother, who only offered her a smile in response. The mortal mage was smart enough to figure out that her mere presence was enough to upset their meagre runes. And I am holding back harder than I ever have before¡­


    "I am surprised those runes are even working," Caethya remarked, placing her hand onto the small of Aperio''s back. She looked up at the All-Mother and switched to Ancient Common. "You got better at holding back, didn''t you?"


    "A little bit, yes," Aperio replied. "It''s mostly based in my realisation and actual acceptance that I can just want things to happen and they usually do. That''s a bit oversimplified, but I think you know what I mean."


    "I do," her love said. "Now you just need to figure out how to hold back in a fight."


    Aperio gave a non-commital grunt in reply. She could hold back her magic, but what she could do without it still vastly eclipsed anyone else, and not making use of that in a fight was harder than one would think. Not breaking someone while shaking their hand or not shattering the cup they gave you was easy; happened basically on its own. Not breaking someone when she threw a punch, however, was harder. Even the lightest blow she could offer was enough to injure a God, let alone some puny mortal that barely had any mana.


    "The runes are old but they serve their purpose," Eleanor said as the All-Mother had not replied to Caethya''s words. "Maybe not for you," she added, as Caethya was about to speak, "but for anyone else they do."


    "Even your Vampire friend?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly as she let the mortal in question pass. "He might not be that strong, but he can still draw on more than most of the people here."


    "They work just fine on him," the mage replied before taking a turn and descending down the stairs that were supposed to be hidden by the ward. "Besides, Ethan isn''t known for his magical prowess. His thing is more¡­ brutal murder with his hands. And biting. Lots of biting."


    "I did not come here to get insulted," Ethan mumbled in reply, though not showing any sign that he was inclined to leave. "But yes, I am not a magician. Vampires rarely are."


    Aperio tilted her head as both Ethan and Eleanor looked at her. "Why are you looking at me? I would not know if he speaks the truth, he is the second Vampire I have ever met." That I can recall, at least.


    A small mental query directed at her love asked if she might know of a blood-sucking mage, but ¡ª much like Aperio had thought ¡ª Caethya did not know of one either. Why would they even think I know that?


    The reason probably mattered little, and Aperio, frankly, considered herself unable to actually understand mortals. It had become abundantly clear that during her time as one ¡ª or at least as close as she would probably ever get ¡ª she had not managed to truly understand the mortal mind. It had afforded her a new perspective, and more strength somehow, but the rather random nature of mortals still confused her.


    "I had assumed you know because you seem to know how strong someone is with just a glance." Eleanor shrugged and opened another door in the narrow hallway. "Down here."


    "Did you really build a coffee shop over old catacombs?" Caethya asked as she followed the mortal mage down the staircase. "These stones are old; older than most things in this city, I''d wager. The symbols too. I don''t recognise them, but they remind me of burial charms I have seen."


    "Interesting how that works," Aperio commented, ducking through the doorway and walking slightly sideways as the stairway was too small for her. "I, too, recognise some of these, even though there should be no way I should be able to."


    "Why not?" Eleanor asked. "It''s not like these are exclusive to this region. If anything they came from somewhere else."


    "Our home is very¡­ reclusive," Caethya said, looking at Aperio over her shoulder. "Not many people go in and out."


    Ethan huffed at the words. "Does the place have a name?"


    "It does," Aperio replied, letting a bit more mana seep into her voice. A few of the runes that had been engraved into the stone further down flickered, and the Vampire almost stumbled as her power rushed through them. "But that is not important for you."


    A huff was the only reply the All-Mother received from Ethan, the Vampire likely not wanting to say anything more that might upset Aperio. Did I overdo it? She had intended to scare him them a little so they would not ask about Verenier, but apparently she had overestimated how much mana she should use.


    She shook her head slightly, rolling her shoulders to ease the slight stabbing pain just below her shoulder blades where her wings should be. Not having her feathered appendages on display was really starting to annoy her. After this, I need to stretch my wings.


    Aperio had found the ritual site already; that had only taken a moment. Discerning its function, however, was much harder and the main reason why she would simply be a supplier of power while letting Eleanor do all the magic. All the runes they have there look like generic guides for mana¡­ They were not quite the same as the ones she knew from Verenier, but close enough that she both recognised them and questioned how they were so similar.


    "What can you tell me about the ritual?" the All-Mother asked, her voice easily reaching Eleanor even after she had unlocked a door at the bottom of the stairs and walked through it.


    "Only that it is old and technically forbidden," the mortal mage replied, Aperio only hearing the answer thanks to her vastly enhanced ears. "And that it requires a lot of power."


    Somehow, I doubt that, Aperio thought to herself, drawing just a tiny bit more heavily on her well. It was something she had not done in a while but should definitely do more often, even if it sped up the strengthening of her body way past the point of what even she had come to consider reasonable.


    "I think we will be fine," Caethya said with a slight giggle as she looked around the chamber the ritual would be set in. She looked at the All-Mother as she ducked into the room, a few of the old stones cracking as Aperio turned a little too soon. "Though I do hope that the ritual can withstand more than your doorways."


    Eleanor let out a sigh as she looked at Aperio, who only shrugged. "Not to worry, she is not the only one that breaks those stones. We have replacements. Somewhere." The last word was barely a whisper, words not meant for anyone but the mage herself. She remained quiet for a moment before she clapped her hands. "Anyway, the ritual."


    "Yes," Aperio said as she stepped into the middle of the room, for once not feeling anxious standing inside a runic circle, "the ritual. Just do what you need to do, I will supply you with the mana you need." The All-Mother turned slightly to look at Eleanor. "If you try anything funny, I will make sure that I will have the last laugh. Understood? The same goes for your friend."


    ///


    Eleanor eyed the Fae-Elf-Whatever woman for a moment longer before she turned around and pulled a stone out of the wall. Inside the hidden compartment there was a small book bound in purple leather and embossed with a golden skull. It was a family heirloom that had been passed down for generations, and was very much illegal. Her mother had given it to her on her twenty-third birthday ¡ª a tradition of their family ¡ª with a very detailed lecture on how, and much more importantly, when to use it.


    This situation had most definitely not been in that lecture, but Eleanor simply filed it under the ''extraordinary opportunities'' her mother had mentioned. It was not every day that someone practically oozing mana specifically sought you out, let alone two. The fact that one of them caused her to grow a tiny bit dizzy every time she talked was a small price to pay for having even the slightest chance at talking to the maker of their world. Or at least the maker of our magic.


    Who made what was a hotly debated topic among the mages. It was generally accepted that what many people referred to as the Voice of the World, or God, was not responsible for the actual creation of the world but more for the magic and people on it. At least, accepted among the various factions of magicians.


    "Crossing you or your friend seems like a bad idea," Eleanor said as she began to leaf through the book. "But I am a little surprised that you have no issue standing in the middle of a formation that''s mostly used to sacrifice things."


    The woman simply raised a brow at the words, the runes on the floor flickering slightly again. Just how much mana does she have? A part of her wanted to say that she had an infinite amount, but that would be crazy. How would a single being ever be allowed that much power? If she was a Goddess maybe¡­ But then she wouldn''t walk around here like that.


    Aperio was rather formal, yes, but more in the way of some rich snob ¡ª or a queen, if you wanted to go back to the time she seemingly lived in ¡ª but not a Goddess. Someone divine would probably also not see the need to apparently live in the gym like this woman did.


    "You would need a lot more than this to worry me," Aperio said with a shrug. "These runes are already struggling with my presence when I am holding back. The only thing that makes me do is question the viability of this site to perform any sort of ritual."


    "While we aren''t in a big city with millions of people," Eleanor began, placing the book on a small pedestal as she had finally found the correct page, "we still need to make our ritual sites a lot more sensitive than we ¡ª and by we, I mean us mages ¡ª used to. Finding people that can power even a small ritual on their own is hard enough."


    "And I bet you are one of those," Caethya said as she stepped up next to Eleanor and looked into the book. "This one calls for five people?"


    "It does," the mage replied. "That''s why I said I am not sure she can do it on her own. In the past a single mage had more mana and you still needed at least five to do this. Now there is less mana, and she is only one person."


    Aperio crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at Eleanor. "Five mortal mages? That is all?"


    "Why do you refer to everything as ''mortal''?" Eleanor asked, her eyes wandering to Ethaniel. "I know it''s technically true for most of us, but it sounds weird."


    "I do it because it is true," the woman replied. "Your Vampire friend is also very much a mortal despite his kind¡¯s different viewpoint. At least I assume he, like the other one I talked to, thinks that he is undying." Aperio offered a smile. "You are ageless, but not beyond death."


    "A Vampire can die," Ethaniel agreed. "But it''s not something your average Human or mage can do."


    "Good thing neither Aperio nor myself are average, then," Caethya said before she returned her gaze to the book in Eleanor''s hand. "Could I borrow that book for a moment after we are done? It looks most intriguing."


    "No," Eleanor replied. "You are lucky you get to see any of it."


    Caethya said something in their weird sing-song language and Aperio, who had taken a step towards them, mumbled something in reply and moved herself back into the centre of the circle.


    "How much longer will we have to wait on you, mortal?" she asked and Eleanor was sure she could see a few cracks form and subsequently vanish in the stone beneath the woman''s bare feet.


    A part of her wanted to say that they would start once she had put on some shoes. But, after taking a quick look, Eleanor was convinced all over again that Aperio did not seem like a person who would take a joke well. The mage had no desire to find out if a poorly-timed jest would result in being broken by magic or by fists. Probably both.


    "I''m ready whenever," she replied, trying to hide a little behind her book. "Just need to figure out how, exactly, I am supposed to use your mana instead of mine. I haven''t exactly tried to take the power of someone else before, especially not someone stronger."


    "Simply begin the ritual, I will do the rest."


    Eleanor gave a hesitant nod at the words, the amount of mana Aperio had put into them making them significantly more of a threat than a request.


    She closed her eyes and folded her hands in front of her chest before beginning to recite the words the book stipulated for the ritual. The exact meaning of the words had been lost long ago, but she knew the gist of it.


    It was a prayer, something you could potentially guess from her folded hands but many mages still somehow missed. It didn''t really matter if the other participants knew if it was a prayer or not as nobody listened to this one, anyway. Only the mana you offered with the hollow words was of any importance, which had given this ritual the nickname of ''Hollow Offering,'' often extended by annoyed mages to ''To a Deaf God.'' Deaf as whoever listens to this might be, they still brought magic to this world.


    Eleanor had to press her hands harder together after she had finished the first verse and a veritable torrent of mana followed the path her own took through the room. The foreign mana mirrored every action her own took, reacting to her guidance before she had even finished directing where she wanted hers to go. Whoever this mystery woman truly was, once she had told her master of this he would stop at nothing to recruit; that, Eleanor knew.


    The second verse was followed by even more mana from Aperio as well as a sensation Eleanor could only describe as something brushing against her mind. She did not know if that was part of the ritual or not, but for now she would assume that it was intended. They were trying to contact a God, or something like one at least, so it only made sense that they would speak directly into your mind.


    Before Eleanor could began the next verse, she felt a breeze rush past her, almost as if the ritual had taken place outside. She opened her eyes, immediately squinting against the torrent of blinding blue light that swirled around Aperio.


    The woman seemed to have no issue with being in the middle of the storm of mana, still standing there with her arms crossed and her eyes fixed on Eleanor.


    "Focus," she said, her voice ringing not only Eleanor ear''s but also her mind, somehow pushing away the other presence she had felt approaching with ease. "Being distracted by a inconsequential whisper is not what you should do when commanding more mana than you will likely ever possess."


    Aperio let out a sigh and motioned for Eleanor to continue. The storm of mana reacted to her gesture, swirling around the outstretched hand as if it wanted to do nothing more than return to her; as though it was somehow alive.


    Eleanor closed her eyes again. She wanted nothing more than to watch the storm of mana the ritual had brought forth, but the tall woman had been correct. For now, she needed to focus.


    The third verse left her lips and, just like before, the mana Aperio offered the ritual increased again. Once Eleanor had spoken the last words of the prayer that had ingrained itself into her mind after looking at it for only a few minutes, she felt weightless.


    When Eleanor dared to open her eyes again, she saw nothing. She was surrounded by a black nothing and, for just a moment, the thought that she had died crossed her mind. That was quickly proven wrong as not only Aperio but Caethya and Ethaniel all appeared in the black abyss next to her.


    "What a cheap imitation," Aperio mumbled before letting out a sigh and waving her hand.


    In response to the motion, the darkness faded, revealing a wall in front of them that featured what Eleanor could only describe as a tapestry of every religious symbol that might exist on Earth, as well as some that definitely did not. If her master would have heard her next words, he would have not only reprimanded her but also given her at least a week of house arrest. "What the fuck?"


    "Swearing will not give you answers," Caethya said as she wrapped around Aperio''s waist and looked around. "Asking that guy¡­ thing might, though."


    The slightly smaller pointy-eared woman gestured towards a man ¡ª at least Eleanor thought it looked like one ¡ª that was sitting on a nondescript chair. One moment he was a bearded old man, and the next his face was heavily painted and he grew a pair of ghost arms that rose behind him in addition to his actual ones. His form, his face, seemed to twitch and change every second.


    Eleanor could not help but blink and repeat herself. "What the fuck?"


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 197: Brewing Trouble

    Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the rapidly shifting form of what she assumed to be the amalgamation of every deity thought up by the people of Earth. She was about to move past the tapestry of symbols when a new one appeared on it with a flickering of mana; barely enough to even place the symbol on the fabric. Just like all the others, she did not recognise it, but she had no trouble seeing the effect of it on the being whose Dominion they had entered.


    It tried to scream, throwing its head back, but no sound came as parts of it shifted to form of what was no doubt the new deity created by the mortals of Earth. Mortals messing with the Gods this time around¡­ The All-Mother tilted her head to the other side. Well, maybe just one God?


    What she saw looked a little bit like the Rage Laelia''s adopted sons had suffered from, but instead of multiple Souls vying for control over a body it seemed more like different personalities were trying to make their own shells to live in. The only problem was that they did not have enough mana to do that.


    "Who- What is that?" Eleanor asked, her gaze bouncing between the rapidly-shifting being and Aperio.


    "An amalgamation of things the people of Earth have come up with," she replied. "At least, I would assume so. I am not well versed in your beliefs and could not tell you who ¡ª or what ¡ª any of these variations are supposed to be."


    "Did you know this would happen?" Ethan asked as he all but glared at the All-Mother.


    "Know? No." She shrugged, a thought causing her to appear behind the still-shifting being with her wings flared. "But I had a feeling.


    "There are only so many things that could have happened," she continued as she placed her hand onto the being¡¯s back and let some of her mana flow into it. "I did, however, think that it would be much more tame. A single deity that shifts its personality, perhaps, not something like this."


    Observing the body of the being more closely didn¡¯t reveal much that was new. It was trying to physically change its vessel, but before one version of itself could finish another had already taken over. And even if it did not switch as much, there is not enough mana here to actually make a suitable body¡­


    With a small shake of her head, Aperio drew her hand back slightly before she drove it into the being¡¯s back, effortlessly pushing past the ever-changing skin and bones; past the thin barrier that separated its Soul from the physical realm.


    After making sure that none of her mana would flow inside the Soul, Aperio wrapped her hand around it and pulled it free from its shell. The body crumpled to the ground, flickering a few more times before stopping mid-transition.


    She held up the small orb she had liberated from the body, turning it slightly and smiling at the non-existent light refracting through it.


    A sigh from her love caused the All-Mother to look down and fold her wings behind her back. "Did you really have to do that?" Caethya asked as she closed the distance between herself and Aperio. "I doubt you want to manipulate them into forgetting this."


    "I won''t," Aperio replied in the ancient Common of Verenier, looking at both Eleanor and Ethan who had taken what she would describe as fighting stances. "But I could not just sit idly by and let this Soul be tormented further. As I was going to fix it anyway, I might as well be comfortable while doing so."


    "You could have done all of this without even leaving your Void," Caethya objected before shaking her head. "Not that it matters. You like doing things in person, and it was only a matter of time until at least the mage figured out that something is not quite normal with us."


    The All-Mother smiled at her love and let go of the Soul she had freed, letting it hover in place in front of her and above the slowly crumbling body it had previously occupied. She would have to build a body for it or, failing that, let it make its own. The first option was one she would rather not pursue as anything she would make would be vastly more powerful than it was supposed to be. That, in turn, meant that she would have to create an environment in which the amalgamation of deities could sort itself out. Which would mean bringing the System to this world¡­


    "Neither of us have any intention of fighting you," Aperio said, briefly switching back to English and directing her attention to their mortal companions. "If we were to do so, there would be nothing you could do to stop us, anyway."


    To make her point, she simply appeared behind them and lifted each one up by the neck. The two mortals flailed for a moment, but any resistance they had to offer was futile; the only thing their efforts accomplished was spurring Aperio to use a touch of magic to make sure they did not hurt themselves in her grip. Aperio shook the two mortals lightly, causing them to go limp for a moment before she let them go, not caring that they would fall a short distance. They consider themselves to be strong, so a small drop like that should be fine. With her demonstration done, Aperio reappeared by the Soul, one arm across her chest and tapping at her chin with the free hand.


    "What to do¡­" she mumbled mostly to herself, in the language of her people, before shaking her head. "Well, more how do I go about doing what I have to do."


    "What do you have to do?" Caethya asked as she joined her love in staring at the floating Soul.


    "Give it an environment in which it can sort itself out," the All-Mother replied. "That would boil down to giving it a mana-rich environment, which would require me to either bring the System for Earth up to speed or bring this Soul to a different world. I much prefer the first option."


    The Demigoddess let out a sigh and shook her head. "I guess it was only a matter of time."


    Aperio raised a brow. "Not trying to talk me out of it?" She had fully expected her love to stop her from doing this, suggesting they go another route instead.


    No matter what Caethya might say, Aperio knew that her love was concerned about her and tried to steer her away from revealing herself as the All-Mother. In most cases, she would be right and Aperio would let herself be nudged away from it, even if it annoyed her that she could not be herself.


    "No point," her love replied with a shrug. "You would have revealed yourself sooner or later anyway. The only thing I would suggest is that you wait in unleashing the System upon Earth, and keep it for whatever this meeting the mortals have planned is. If you are going to reveal yourself as a Goddess, might as well make it a good first impression."


    "And stop them from thinking we are Fae," Aperio added before she briefly closed her eyes and drew on her well. She wanted to talk to this deity, and for that to happen it had to sort itself out. And for that, it needs more mana.


    Supplying it with her own was out of the question, but letting the System take a bit to make some sort of changes to what Aperio assumed was the amalgam''s Dominion should be just fine. The thing she should pay the most attention to was likely the two mortals, who were both rubbing their necks where she had grabbed them. Don''t want them to get some random titles from my actions here.


    "I think that is the least of our worries," Caethya said as Aperio began to draw more mana into herself and the Dominion of the amalgamation. "I am more concerned with our new friends over there."


    "Not to worry," the All-Mother replied as she mentally poked at the System to ''motivate'' it to do the correct thing. "They are perfectly fine where they are. I am only letting the System touch this space, not the people inside it."


    How, exactly, she was able to tell the System that only the space ¡ª and by extension, its owner ¡ª should be allowed to be brought into the fold was not something Aperio quite knew. She knew that she could do it, but the exact ins and outs of how she was doing it did not want to come to the forefront of her mind. The knowledge simply lingered at the edges of her mind, letting her know what she had to do and how to do it, but now why it would work.


    At the moment, that was fine with the All-Mother. She wanted to have a chat with the deity ¡ª or deities ¡ª that the people of Earth had thought up. No matter what it might lead to, it was sure to be interesting. Doubly so because we have two actual mortals from Earth here.


    "What about Adam?" Caethya asked as she let her gaze wander around the rapidly brightening Dominion of Earth''s God.


    The thought of bringing Adam here crossed Aperio''s mind briefly, but in the end she decided against it. "No," she replied with a shake of her head. "All he would do is try to talk me out of this and no matter how much I would try to explain, he would not understand that this needs to happen." The All-Mother was not in the mood to argue. What she was doing now might only be accomplished through instinct and the simple knowledge that she could actually do what she thought she could, but true understanding was what she wanted, and she could feel she was close.


    Fixing this deity would not only help a Soul trapped in an endless cycle that Aperio could only describe as torture, but hopefully also bring the fragments of her own memory that currently eluded her grasp back to her. She had no idea how her own System actually interacted with the world and if she wanted to bring some meaningful change, she would have to change that first. A grasp of what her old self had done ¡ª and why she had done it ¡ª was required. And just knowing what I can do is not enough for that.


    Aperio had a few guesses as to why she had created the System in the way it existed now. Two were easy enough to understand; it made people stronger and might actually produce something that would be fun to fight ¡ª something her current and past self apparently both looked forward to ¡ª and it also tied up some of herself in a predictable way. The universe already bent to her whims enough, and if her System did not give structure to at least a part of her subconsciousness, things would be a lot worse. Perhaps ''fixing'' this God might also tell her what the System actually meant when it said it was maintaining ''basic functionality'' on Earth.


    Trapping a Soul in an ever-changing body certainly doesn''t seem basic, Aperio thought to herself as she guided some more of her mana into the Dominion of the amalgamation. Though, perhaps it meant magic in general¡­


    "Hopefully I will know soon," the All-Mother mumbled to herself as a thought carefully manoeuvred a bit of her mana to something that looked and felt like a System-given seat of divinity deep in the nothingness of the amalgamation''s Dominion. "But first, you have to wake up."


    ///


    Lita tugged on the robe Jester had given her as she looked at herself in the mirror. It had been over a week ago that her master had told her that he would undo the great magic she had been blessed with as a child. That alone wasn''t bad. She would miss the small joys the enchantment gave her whenever she obeyed, but more freedom might be good. From time to time, Jester was a little too specific in his demands and she had a hard time following through of her own volition.


    What she did not like was the fact that she might lose her friend. Ever since Jester had said that the enchantment would be removed, she had not heard from the little voice in her head. Her usual methods of bringing them out ¡ª defying an order for a while, stalking some of the other servants, or pleasuring her master ¡ª had not worked. Even going on a small spree of murders, which would usually result in a strong scolding, if not the voice trying to steal her body away from killing, had not worked. The voice had never truly wrested control away from her before, anyway. Purging the unclean was, after all, her duty.


    "I won''t go anywhere," the voice mumbled in Lita''s mind, causing the Beastkin''s ears to perk up and her tail to sway slightly. "I have more rights to this body than you."


    "But it''s mine?" Lita asked and tilted her head. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, running her hand over her stomach and moving her ears. "It''s always been mine."


    While the voice in her head could not really scoff, Lita was sure her head-bound companion had just done so. She did not know what the voice knew, but her memories stretched back to a time where she could barely walk. How could it have more rights to her own body?


    "What you believe differs from the truth," the voice said with a little more venom than usual. "And belief does not make things true."


    "At least it means that we will stay together, right?" Lita asked, wrapping her arms around herself. She froze after a moment, meeting her own gaze in the mirror. "Maybe we can even get you your own body!"


    "Your ''master'' would never approve of that," the voice commented, the last few words growing dimmer as Lita could feel the enchantment within her shift slightly, moving her body on its own accord.


    "I guess we have to go now," the slave said with a bright smile that only lasted for a moment. "Please don''t stay away that long again."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 198: The Price of Imagination

    GamingWolf


    Lita hummed a tune together with the voice in her head as she laid herself down on the cold and hard stone table Jester had gestured towards.


    She tugged at the robe he had given her, the silky fabric brushing against her skin a sensation she did not truly enjoy. The only things that should caress her like that were the hands of her master or the wind, not some annoying robe.


    The voice offered its best approximation of a snort at the thought but did not say anything more. It had never been a fan of her choice of company or clothing, but Lita did not really care about that. If the voice truly disliked being with her, it would have surely left years ago.


    "We are ready," a voice said from the side, obviously not speaking to Lita but someone else.


    He was out of Lita''s visual range, but he was still no doubt one of the countless masked figures she disliked that roamed around this facility that Jester had brought her to. If her master had not already told her that they worked for him, she would have hung ¡ª and maybe gutted ¡ª a few of them as a sign to the rest. They always looked at her funny, and a few demonstrative deaths had always worked in the past to curtail those who annoyed her.


    "Proceed then," Jester replied. "The sooner this is done, the better."


    "Of course," the voice said.


    None of them addressed Lita directly, of course, and neither did they warn her before foreign mana forced its way into her veins. She did not scream, as the pain was lesser than what she had experienced on occasion from Jester''s family.


    The voice in her head did not take the forceful intrusion in such stride as it let out a blood-curdling scream that only Lita could hear. She wanted to speak out and soothe her friend, but her body did not react.


    She could not speak, nor move her arms. Even her eyes were fixed on the ceiling above and did not deign to move no matter how hard she tried. And yet, despite being unable to control her vision, the world went black for a moment like she had blinked.


    When vision returned to her, Lita found herself no longer in her body, but hanging above it; seeing it writhe on the table and scream. She turned herself, looking at Jester who stood a few paces away with crossed arms. He did not seem to care for her body''s suffering, or even see her floating above it.


    She tried to speak to her master, but her words had no effect on him, or anyone else in the room. Lita herself could hear her efforts just fine, as they simply sounded like her usual voice. Unheard, and disliking her position in the air, she tried to move away.


    She couldn''t.


    Something kept her tethered there, unable to leave the position she held above her own, still screaming body.


    ///


    Eleanor strained her eyes, pulling as much mana as she could into them in order to see the magic Aperio was weaving into existence.


    The orb she had taken out of what she could only assume was the fabled Voice of the World still floated lazily in front of her. Inside, a fog danced back and forth, gradually shifting through the entirety of the colours Eleanor''s eyes could perceive as well as a few she could only see thanks to her affinity with magic.


    While she did not know what it was, simply looking at it filled her with an almost primordial dread. Like what she was seeing was not for mortal eyes. It likely isn''t, she thought to herself as her eyes wandered to the wings that now sprouted from Aperio''s back.


    The feathers, while black, still shone with a blue luster as if an unseen sun was shining on them. The edges of her wings, which actively glowed blue, drew a trail of fog as dark as their feathers behind them whenever they moved. The amount of mana the woman was bleeding into the world this way was quite frankly obscene and Eleanor would love to do nothing more than yell at her for hoarding it, but she knew that would not end well.


    Not only had Aperio supplied more than enough mana for the ritual without breaking a sweat, she had also killed what was probably the closest thing to a God on Earth, and simply teleported around as if that was easier than walking. Not to mention that she handled us like dolls without using magic¡­


    Eleanor rubbed her neck again and narrowed her eyes slightly as Caethya and Aperio continued to speak in their incomprehensible sing-song language.


    "What is she doing?" Ethaniel asked, taking Eleanor from her thoughts. "Some sort of summoning?"


    "No idea," the mage replied. "I have not seen any of the patterns she uses, nor do I know of a ritual that needs this much mana. She could solve our problems simply by dumping this surfeit of power on the Council."


    The vampire''s skin faded to a paler shade of grey, and his fingers elongated slightly. "What is she?"


    "Don''t try to eat her," Eleanor said, slapping Ethan over the back of his head. "I can tell you that she is not, like Gale thought, a Fae or anything similar.. Faes have the same issue we do with the lack of mana. The nature-bound ones even more so. She just seems to¡­ I dunno" ¡ªshe threw her hands up¡ª "make mana, I guess!"


    "I am not making it," Aperio said, her gaze focused on something only she could see. "I am simply bringing forth a tiny fraction of what I can draw on to fix an issue. No, I will not just give you my mana, though I will attend your Council meeting and perhaps offer a solution there. It also does not involve worshipping me, or anything of the like. I dislike being treated like a deity when I am technically not."


    "Technically?" The word left Eleanor''s mouth unbidden, as she had wanted an answer, before her mind could even fully comprehend the meaning behind Aperio''s words.


    "It''s a term made by mortals," Caethya said, looking at her, "and it doesn''t really mean much. While I don''t know the origin of the word in your language, in ours it comes from another that simply described someone so strong they could not possibly be the same as you."


    Aperio gave a huff at her words before saying something that neither Ethan nor Eleanor understood but caused Caethya to shake her head. The two pointy-eared women exchanged a few more words, seemingly uncaring for the continuously growing amount of mana Aperio commanded to flow into the room.


    The muscular maybe-Fae flicked her wrist, a blue shimmer briefly appearing next to her in response before it vanished and the entire room ¡ª or plane, if Eleanor was a little more honest with herself ¡ª distorted slightly.


    Her heart skipped a beat as she felt a wave of cold wash over her. It was quickly followed by a scorching pain as something burned its way through the web-way of veins mana had constructed throughout her body over the years.


    She was certain that it was not mana that had rushed through her but something else; a weird absence of everything. Eleanor could not properly put the sensation ¨C briefly feeling as if she might be turned inside out but in a direction that seemed to come from a higher dimension ¨C into words, nor could she shake the feeling that something had just looked past all that she was to stare directly at her Soul.


    ///


    Aperio squinted at the System notification her actions had brought forth. It had done what she wanted ¡ª namely enabling itself in the Dominion of Earth''s deity ¡ª but it was also telling her that ''adaptation'' would be required for a more widespread implementation on Earth. And of course it doesn''t tell me what that means.


    She had shown the notification to Caethya, but her love had no clue either. How should she? Aperio had made the thing and only had a passing knowledge on how most it worked, how could anyone else help her with it? Perhaps the few mortals who had devoted themselves to figuring out the world she had made could help her, but even then, none of them could even view a fraction of the true nature of the System without it hurting their fragile little minds. Not even Mayeia ¡ª a literal Goddess ¡ª seemed to have gotten very far in understanding her System.


    For now, she had done what she wanted, and figuring out what exactly the System would have to adapt on Earth would be something that would take a little more time. And probably some work. Of course, the obvious answer was the fact that the mortals of this world had adapted to the absence of mana, and might not react all that well to the surge of it that an active System would bring.


    "So, what happens now?" Caethya asked, looking up at Aperio. "It certainly feels a lot more normal now."


    Aperio shrugged, unfurling her wings slightly to underline the motion. "For now, we wait. The Soul should hopefully figure out that its Dominion has more than enough mana in it, and then do something."


    "And if it doesn''t?"


    "Then I will have to think of something else," the All-Mother replied. "I dislike the idea of making a body ¡ª or bodies ¡ª for it, but I will if it is required."


    Caethya shook her head at the words. "Seems like a bad idea to give some random God anything made by you. Even if the System is responsible for its existence and state."


    Aperio was not sure how she should reply to her love¡¯s words so only offered another shrug before turning her attention to the two mortals who were staring at them. Both of them were undoubtedly confused, even more so because she had stopped trying to hide.


    "It will be a while before this Soul understands what it has to do," the All-Mother said in English. "If you wish to leave, simply let me know and I will bring you back to the ritual chamber."


    "And you don''t mind that we saw all of this?" Ethan asked, gesturing first towards the blackness that surrounded them before pointing at the floating Soul and Aperio''s wings. "You can''t think that we will simply ignore this."


    "I do not and neither would I expect you to," she replied. "But it also does not matter. First of all, who would believe you?" She let the question hang in the air for a moment, continuing as no reply came forth. "Secondly, I plan to announce my presence at your little gathering anyway. Gale is already informing them that we will come. He is doing so right now, in fact."


    Keeping watch of the Orc had been an easy feat; there weren''t many of his kind on Earth, after all. Not seeing everything else that happened on the planet was much harder in comparison. I wish I had a switch for omniscience¡­ Having to devote a large part of your mind to specially not see things was likely never going to be a fun experience. At least the body helps. An errant thought caused the wallet she had made to appear in Adam¡¯s pocket as he was patting himself down in obvious search for something with which to pay the increasingly annoyed clerk in front of him. Sometimes¡­


    "And what are you, if you are not a Goddess nor a Fae?" There was a little more venom in Ethan''s voice than Aperio would have liked.


    "I am me," she replied with a shrug, turning her attention back to the Soul that had begun to draw some mana into itself. "Nothing more, nothing less."


    "You can think of her like a minder," Caethya added and smiled at the All-Mother. "One that sometimes comes to fix age-old mistakes."


    Not wrong, Aperio mused to herself as she did her best to not poke at the Soul in front of her, observing it weave the mana that filled its domain into what she assumed was a vessel for itself. So far, she could not really tell what exactly the Soul would end up with, but the process was still marvelous to behold.


    Is this what happened after I died? The question had come unbidden to her mind but it was not without reason. She had not made her body with a conscious effort. It had been there when she had awoken, and the only change she had made was her height. And that happened in a fit of rage. But she also felt comfortable with the vessel she had made for herself, even if did not follow the same rules as a mortal''s body.


    "Why now?" Eleanor asked, taking a shaky step forwards. "Did something happen that called you here?" She hesitated for a moment, her eyes flicking between Aperio and Caethya, who had begun to gently trace her fingers over the All-Mother''s wings. "Where did you come from?"


    "Originally?" Aperio asked as she tore her eyes from the Soul and set them on the mortal mage. "A place much like this," she answered once Eleanor had given her a shallow nod. She gestured towards the empty blackness that surrounded them and lowered her gaze slightly. "My earliest memory is of myself alone in a dark abyss devoid of life. Just me."


    Ethan closed his eyes and shook his head at the words while Eleanor only stared at Aperio. The All-Mother for her part did not care. They had wanted to know where she came from, and she had told them. It had not been a lie or even an attempt at deception. Just the truth.


    The warm hand of her love slipping past her wings to brush over her back caused Aperio to make a conscious effort to look away from the inky nothing upon which she stood, focusing once more on the Soul. It was close now, or closer at least, but the mana that swirled around it had begun to take on the vague shape of a Human.


    Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly at the ghostly form before unfurling a wing slightly and draping it over Caethya. Perhaps talking to the collective deities of Earth would help her understand a bit more about the System and, failing that, the people that had dreamed this deity into existence.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 199: Out of Many, One

    GamingWolf


    I wish everyone a happy new year now as this will likely be the last chapter of 2021. Let''s hope 2022 is a bit better.


    Aperio took a step backwards, a touch of her magic bringing Caethya with her, as the vague image in front of her rapidly gained solidity. The form that the Soul had drawn with the System-provided mana was still shifting through a myriad of different forms, but this time it seemed more deliberate; like it had at least some control over it.


    "How peculiar," the All-Mother mumbled, tilting her head slightly. She squinted a little as she saw multiple System notifications open for the amalgamation of deities, letting her aura manifest itself a little more to make sure the being would not try to hide them from her.


    "It still looks like it''s stuck with all those bodies," Caethya said before turning to look at Aperio. "Did something go wrong?"


    "No." The All-Mother shook her head. "This being seems to truly be a representation of all the deities the people of this planet have thought up over the years. It has a few titles that say as much, but they also say that the prevalence of any one deity is based on the amount of mana they gained during the time they were worshipped." She tilted her head again, this time to the other side, and squinted. "I am surprised the System managed to fix this without my help. It seems rather complex."


    "Well, the System is you, in a way," Caethya replied, offering a small shrug that caused Aperio to slightly lift the wing wrapped around her love. "So all in all, not that surprising I would say."


    "Perhaps it is not," Aperio agreed, turning her head slightly further to look at Ethan and Eleanor. They seemed to still be at a loss for what to do as they simply looked between Aperio, Caethya, and what might be their God as it slowly coalesced into a more proper form. "Should we do something with them?"


    Caethya followed her gaze, taking in the two mortals for a moment before shaking her head. "I doubt that a simple talk would achieve much at this point, and I am certain that the other options would not be to your liking. Plus"¡ª she nodded towards the amalgamation ¡ª"this one seems as though it will be ready soon."


    "I am not sure if ready is the right word," Aperio said. "It has become painfully obvious that not many things are truly ready to meet me. Even if I am only an usually strong Elf."


    Caethya giggled slightly at her last words, shaking her head slightly. "I''m pretty sure it will know what you did. And maybe even what you are."


    Further musings of the two Elves were cut short as the amalgamation''s form sharpened into something much more solid and much more Human. It was no longer shifting between forms, having settled on a man wearing a white robe that covered about half his chest, sandals, and a crown of leaves made from gold.


    Aperio looked down at the God and, as the arc of electricity jumping between his fingers and the leaves of his crown was answered by the low rumble of thunder rolling through the Dominion, she could not help but raise a brow. "If you are trying to intimidate me, it is not working," the All-Mother remarked, putting just a little more force behind her voice and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Your little light show is amusing at best."


    The God only stared at her, quite obviously not understanding a word she had said. "Really?" Aperio asked before switching to English. "I do hope you understand this language, otherwise I will be forced to grab Adam''s [Translation] skill."


    She did not like the idea of forcefully adding that skill to the God in front of her, but it seemed to have understood what she had said the second time around as it gave a slow ¡ª if confused ¡ª nod.


    "I understand you," the God said, its voice a low rumble that was underlined by what Aperio could only describe as more thunder rolling through its Dominion. "But I do not know who you are despite feeling¡­ familiar."


    Aperio frowned at the words, the thought of turning their conversation private briefly crossing her mind. A touch of her magic did just that, silencing the mortals to their conversation. She was fine with them knowing that she was able to do a lot with the System, but not that she had made it, which was something this deity ¡ª or collection of deities ¡ª was about to learn.


    "Perhaps because I made all of this," the All-Mother replied, gesturing at their surroundings and spreading her wings slightly. "And the System you know."


    "System?" the God inquired as its robe shifted to cover its entire body, changing from white to grey. The laurels that adorned its head slowly faded away, freeing the way for its hair to grow longer as it turned black."The Voice of the World?"


    "Sure, if that is what you want to call it," Aperio replied, her arms crossing once more in front of her. "I was also the one that stopped you from randomly shifting forms by giving you enough mana to actually exist." She took a step towards the God, looking down at it. "I do hope that you have left the mortals in peace."


    "Left them in peace?" it asked as it tapped a finger against its chin. It thought for a moment longer before it looked up at the All-Mother. "I only did what they asked of me. What they thought of me."


    "That doesn''t sound so bad," Caethya mumbled. "A little sad, maybe."


    "It is, but that is also not quite what I had wished to know." Aperio took another step towards the God, looming above it as she placed her hands on her hips. "I know what the divine do if they are left unchecked, and I do hope that your many forms did not partake in those practises."


    "I would tell you if I could," the God replied, its voice rising in pitch as it changed shape yet again, this time to a dark-skinned woman in a simple dress and a rather complex-looking headdress. "I only remember brief moments of clarity. Ones where the collective prayers of the people rose up to wish for something; often directed at two or more Gods, desires contradicting one another but yet still all represented by me."


    It tapped its chin again and mirrored the head tilt the All-Mother had done. "Do you know who I am?"


    As soon as it had asked the question, it shifted once more, saying something in a language she did not know before altering its form once again, repeating the process.


    "Did I do something wrong?" Aperio asked, shifting her gaze to Caethya and pointedly ignoring the two mortals who had by now tried ¡ª and failed ¡ª to come closer. "I had thought letting it fix itself would be the best course of action."


    She could likely stop the deity from shifting rapidly, but whether she should was another matter. Perhaps this was part of its being. Though I highly doubt that.


    "In a way?" Caethya half stated, half asked. "The System made it and it''s obvious that it can''t deal with all the personalities that have been created over the centuries, or however long this world had actual life on it."


    The All-Mother''s frown deepened slightly before she let out an ethereal sigh and the Earth-born deity stopped shifting. It had settled on a rather inconspicuous-looking Human, one a mortal''s eyes would likely simply gloss over. It looked at Aperio, meeting her unblinking eyes for a moment before it directed its own gaze at the floor.


    "Are you going to kill me?" it asked as it continued to stare at the blank nothing below its feet. "Can I even die?"


    "Most everything can," Aperio replied before glancing down at herself. She shook her head and focused back on the deity. "You are among those that have an end. It is simply not one claimed by time alone."


    "Are you without end?"


    The All-Mother raised a brow at the question. "Seemingly," she eventually said, her wings twitching slightly. "I was here when nothing was. Before the reality you find yourself in had come to be." That she had made it, Aperio kept to herself. For now. It might figure that out on its own anyway.


    The deity turned towards Caethya, a sparkle Aperio could only describe as curiosity in its eyes. "Is she?"


    "If I have a say in it, yes," Aperio replied, moving herself just a little closer to her love.


    "We shall see," Caethya said as she took the All-Mother''s hand into her own. "True eternity is a hard concept to grasp as I am now."


    "Are you not like her?" it asked. "Or like me?"


    "Like you?" Caethya looked at the God, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Perhaps, but I am definitely not like her. Aperio is quite unique."


    "In what I can do, not what I have been through."


    Caethya glared at the All-Mother for a moment, but did not comment further on what she had said. "Do you know what you are?" she asked the deity.


    "A God," it replied with little confidence in its voice. "All the Gods."


    At its words, Aperio offered up a little more mana, enough to stop it from needing to shift again. She let out a sigh and shook her head.


    "This has been a most unhelpful endeavour," she mumbled in the language of the Elves. For a moment she considered simply going into her Void, leaving behind Earth and its problems to be ignored forevermore, but that thought was quickly dismissed. Running away from problems was not something the All-Mother should do. Not anymore, at least.


    "A God that doesn''t remember anything seems to be slightly problematic," Caethya agreed. "But I don''t think we can just leave it like this."


    "And what am I supposed to do?" Aperio asked. "The only thing I can think of is to give all the deities inside of it a body of their own. But I do not like that plan. The other Gods I personally helped to ascend eventually turned into literal tyrants."


    "You''re a different person now," Caethya rebutted. "And your daughter didn''t. But I also think that too much interference here isn''t the right call." Her love hesitated for a moment, her eyes drifting towards the two mortals. "I have an idea."


    Aperio raised a brow as she followed her love''s gaze and allowed the magic that kept their conversation private to cease. "And what would that be?"


    The two mortals did not speak, simply looking at the group of what they likely considered Gods with unreadable expressions. Aperio would have sympathy for them if they had not turned out to be so annoying.


    "Let our new friends help a little," Caethya replied. "Not directly of course, but if it can observe them for a time, it might figure out how to¡­ exist. And you are here, so it won''t be able to do anything that would endanger Earth.."


    The All-Mother shifted her gaze between Eleanor, Ethan, the now physically stable deity of Earth, and her love. She did not like that idea one bit. Walking around on Earth with a somewhat amnesiac God in tow seemed like a world of trouble she did not want to deal with, but picking the Soul apart to set every single personality it had into a separate body also seemed wrong.


    "I am not sure that is a good idea," she replied. "You do realise that it is still an actual God, right?"


    "And you are the All-Mother. I really doubt it can do anything against you." Caethya eyed the God. "It feels weaker than myself."


    A quick check of both her love and the God did reveal that despite the amount of mana Aperio had gifted to the Earth-born deity and its dominion, its power did not quite reach Caethya''s level. Something that did not quite make sense, and that Aperio had not even considered.


    "Because it is," Aperio replied, tilting her head. "I still dislike the idea, however."


    "Huh," Caethya replied. "Does the System give out the title of God depending on the world you came from?"


    "Apparently," the All-Mother replied with a shrug. "I would have to dig deeper into the System itself to figure out if that is actually correct, however, and that is something we currently do not have time for."


    "Regardless," her love continued, "we can''t leave it here either. It doesn''t seem to know anything."


    Aperio took a breath for the first time in a long while only let out a longer than usual sigh. "Fine. I will talk to Adam and see if he can take care of the deity while we have a talk with this council the mortals keep mentioning."


    Judging by how many mortals possessing mana greater than the local average had gathered in the rather small and remote city by this point, Aperio had little doubt that whatever this meeting turned out to be, it would be starting soon.


    A thought brought a small note into existence in Adam''s pocket. The Human noticed it immediately and pulled it out, reading over the excessively cursive script Aperio used. It was a simple request, all things considered. All he had to do was to keep the God company while it hopefully sorted through its various personalities and remembered something about what it was. Perhaps letting the old body crumble was not the right choice¡­


    Memories were kept in the Soul as far as Aperio knew, but that did not mean that a given body had no influence on the ability of recollection. Another thing to figure out once we are done here.


    Adam let out a sigh, then directed his eyes at Earth''s sky. It might not be the correct current location of Aperio, but it got his annoyance across clearly enough. The nod he gave afterwards showed that he was still willing do to it. Not like he will be alone in the task. He just needs to keep it company.


    "Do you wish to join us?" Aperio asked in English, turning back to face the God. "We have some more business to attend to on Earth, and I doubt being alone here is enjoyable."


    "I can leave?" it asked, taking a step towards the All-Mother. Once she had given it a nod, a smile spread across its face. "Please take me with you."


    "We will," Aperio said before she turned to look at the two mortals. "It would seem that this gathering of yours is going to start soon, so it is time to return."


    "Okay?" Eleanor said, her eyes fixed on the deity that was still smiling at the All-Mother. "Would you mind explaining to me what you did? Why do I feel¡­ reverence when I look at the person behind you? It''s not even a God I know."


    "It''s all of Earth''s Gods in one," Caethya said. "If you follow one, that''s probably why. As for the rest, I am pretty sure Aperio can tell you that after the gathering is over."


    "There is not much to tell, but sure," the All-Mother said as she waved her hand, creating a portal that led back to Earth. "For now, I have a gaggle of mortals to attend to."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 200: Catching On

    GamingWolf


    A bit later than intended, but my GPU and then server dying took most of the first two days of the year for me to somewhat resolve. PC is now back on an old GPU I still had and the server will remain dead until I can figure out why it suddenly decided that its NIC no longer exists. Great start to the new year, really.


    I will also leave a note here to inform you that I will take the week starting on the 21st of February off. With all the bullshit going on in my life I need a break at some point and I can¡¯t really take one before the end of my semester, so I am taking it once that is over.


    Happy new year, I hope your start was better than mine.


    As Aperio emerged from the basement in which they had performed the ritual and stepped out of the caf¨¦, she could not help but notice the increased amount of glances that came her way. She knew that nobody had noticed anything happening, as she had made sure it would remain hidden, but regardless of that the mortals of Earth now seemed to hold more interest in her.


    "This is different," the God said as it looked around the street the caf¨¦ was on. "Nothing looks like I remember it."


    "That''s because everything is," Caethya replied. "I''d wager that you have been away for a good while."


    Aperio paid little mind to the conversation as she observed the phones of those that cast their gaze her way. They all held the same thing, depicted in different ways: multiple pictures of her.


    Perhaps I do stand out too much, Aperio thought to herself as she met the eyes of a Human who had dressed up as an Elf. She gave the man a smile before her expression froze.


    "I may have made a small mistake," the All-Mother mumbled in the language of her people, looking at her love.


    "Oh?" Caethya asked as she turned slightly to better look at Aperio. "And what would that be?"


    "Wings," she replied, spreading her feathered limbs a barely noticeable amount. "I may have forgotten to hide them again."


    The Demigoddess shook her head slightly at the words, following Aperio around a corner and tugging the freshly remade deity of Earth along. "Just don''t move them as much then, I guess. Maybe you can pass them off as a cloak or something."


    "Mortals should just get some wings of their own," Aperio mumbled to herself and crossed her arms in front of her chest. If everyone in their group was capable of flight, they could have skipped navigating the labyrinthine streets of the city and would have already arrived at their destination. "They look good, and flying is one of the best experiences you can have."


    "Perhaps you should have the System give out Classes that let mortals do that, then," her love replied with a slight giggle. "But for now, you will have to pretend that your wings are anything but real. Or instead, reveal yourself to the people here, and accept whatever comes of that."


    "If Adam is right, they would try to capture me to figure out what I am, and we both know that would not end well."


    "Hiding it is, then," Caethya said with a small shrug. "Though, you do seem to have picked up more than a few admirers already."


    "There are multiple pictures of me making the rounds," Aperio said, almost gesturing towards a group of mortals on their phones with a wing before remembering to move her arm instead. "Though I do not see why I would turn into the talk of the town by just looking like I do. The mortals we have interacted with seemed a little surprised, sure, but they didn''t appear as though they were witnessing something extraordinary."


    "Perhaps they noticed that you were going between places a little too fast," Caethya speculated. "I know that you tried to hide yourself but I also know that, along with your great dislike of keeping yourself hidden, you happen to be quite bad at it."


    "I have already had a lifetime in which my best course of action was to blend in with the background," Aperio replied, the words of her love irritating her a bit more than she would have thought. "I have no desire to turn eternity into that as well."


    "I didn''t mean to imply that you should," Caethya said and cast her gaze towards the floor. "In any case, will Adam meet us¡­ wherever it is we are going?"


    "That building," Aperio said, pointing towards one of the structures that loomed far above their surroundings. "And yes, he is almost there. As well as getting some looks from the other magically-inclined mortals."


    "Well, he is stronger than they are."


    "And we are magnitudes stronger than he is," Aperio continued for her love before nodding towards the God of Earth. "And we have their¡­ collection of deities."


    "That we do," Caethya agreed, nudging said God along as it stopped to stare at one of the many advertisements that were dotted around the city. "Though I am pretty sure it won''t do much for a while."


    "What are you two talking about?" Ethan asked, his voice filled with more than a little annoyance. "People are already staring at us, and your weird language doesn''t make it any better."


    "They are staring because pictures of me are apparently being passed around," Aperio said, turning around slightly to glare at the Vampire. "Privacy is not something your people seem to value much."


    "You are outside the norm, even for this town," Eleanor said as she eyed some of the people that were looking at their group. "And, uh, the addition of your¡­ wings certainly isn''t helping."


    "Perhaps you should figure out how to get a pair of your own," the All-Mother rebutted, suppressing the urge to spread her feathered limbs. "But my current state of public scrutiny matters little. I have a suspicion that the meeting with your little council would have revealed me to other people anyway."


    "Probably," Eleanor agreed.


    The group proceeded the rest of the way toward the council''s building in relative silence. Eleanor would, every now and then, attempt to speak up but she immediately backed down from it, dismissing what she was going to say. She also always shook her head afterwards, mumbling something Aperio did not quite understand. Why do mortals have so many languages?


    Eleanor''s murmurs sounded like English in a lot of ways, but they were also quite clearly something else as Aperio had no idea what the mortal mage was talking about.


    Before they stepped onto the large plaza in front of the council''s building, the group took a small detour to buy a piece of pastry that had caught the eye of the amalgamation of deities. It made no move to eat it, however, instead simply staring at it.


    It did not take long for Adam to spot the approaching group. The way the sea of mortals filling the plaza split apart as the All-Mother strode forth probably helped with that, but it was also an unnecessary detail as Aperio stood at least a few heads taller than anyone else present.


    Adam took a good long look at the collection of Earth''s deities, still currently taken by the piece of pastry Caethya had purchased for it. "And you want me to just keep an eye on it? ...Him? Her?" The entity before him wasn''t at all what he had expected. "Are you sure this is a God?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied, daintily opening the door to the building. Before she ducked through and joined the gathering gathering of mortals she intended to meet, she looked back at Adam. "If you do not wish to look after it, you do not have to."


    "It''s fine," Adam replied. "Not like you are asking me to fight it or anything." He looked at Aperio for a moment as she simply smiled at him. "Are you?"


    "No," she replied, lowering her head so as to fit through the door and entering the building. "But I am finding it to be quite fun to let you assume what I might do."


    "Of course you do," Adam mumbled in reply. "Why wouldn''t you?¡± The man heaved another defeated sigh before he looked at the God of Earth and, with a shake of his head, took its hand. "I''ll wait outside, is that okay?"


    "I do not mind," Aperio said, eyes gazing up to see what her aura had already been telling her. Inside the building, through the miraculous clarity of glass, one could see all the way to the sky. Though she knew the building was not all that tall, it had the illusion of stretching up to the clouds, and the perceived height made her wings twitch in yearning. If only she could jump onto the roof for a brief moment. "If you need help, all you need to do is call."


    ///


    Elder Wu lowered the blood-filled chalice he was holding as a small shudder ran through his body. Someone of note had cast their gaze on him, even if only for a moment. Probably the one Gregory talked about.


    The appearance of the Elf ¡ª something Elder Wu found quite easy to discern as soon as he had looked at one of the pictures online ¡ª had stirred the proverbial pot a little too much, as all the factions had jumped on the opportunity to blame the other for reintroducing a race most people had thought dead.


    Of course, Elder Wu knew better than that. He also knew that the Elves that did exist were not like the woman who had come here. The two shared the trait of pointed ears, true, but the Elves he knew were otherwise hard to differentiate from a Human, with no notable difference in size. Certainly no abnormal magical ability, either. There were outliers, of course, but every species had those. Time distorts everything¡­


    Most Elves that lived on Earth passed as Humans at this point anyway, the points on their ears having dwindled to something one could shrug off as a genetic quirk. The few bloodlines that had not been diluted over the centuries lived hidden in small countries and did what their kind had always loved to do: rule from the shadows.


    For a moment, he did consider that one of their many experiments had produced she who would come before him today, but Gregory''s report made that seem highly unlikely. Anything they could make would not be able to remind one of the oldest vampires in the country of the World''s Voice. Nor would it fill the air with mana like this one seems to do.


    It was not hard to notice the difference if you could recall the time when Earth was still dominated by magic. The world seemed just a little brighter to Elder Wu; a little bit more¡­ alive.


    Any further musings were cut short as one of his aides stepped into the room, undoubtedly to inquire if he was ready for the meeting. Before any words could be exchanged, Elder Wu stood up, grabbing his cane as he stepped around his desk.


    "I assume our latest guest has arrived?" he asked the aide.


    "She did," the man confirmed as he opened the door further to let Elder Wu step past. "She has also brought a few other guests, including the mage that has been lingering outside for the past few hours."


    "So I won''t have to yell at Antalia," the Vampire said. "That''s a plus. I can certainly do without her holding a grudge against me until she has to switch bodies again."


    "Of course," the aide replied, obviously not sure what else they should comment on.


    "Thank you for informing me, you can leave," Elder Wu said, shaking his head as the aide quickly scurried away. "We really need to get more Vampires to work here."


    Most of the staff currently working in the building were normal Humans, and a good number of them had aspirations of becoming something more. A Vampire, or a mage, or in rare cases even a Werewolf. Why anyone would want to turn into one of those beasts was unclear to Elder Wu, but it wasn''t his choice to make either. All he had to do was to ensure the continued survival of his own kind and ¡ª if he could ¡ª put them in a better place.


    He shook his head again, pushing the thought from his mind. Right now he had to deal with an uninvited guest, one that could either solve some of their problems or create a whole lot more.


    A few long steps brought him to the back door of the conference room and a simple push opened it. Elder Wu stepped inside, already motioning for the people that had stood up to sit back down again.


    "No need for formalities," he said, pulling back his own chair from the table and sitting down. "Before we get to the agreed upon agenda, we have a¡­ situation to attend to.


    "I am sure you all have noticed the arrival of a powerful influence here," Elder Wu continued, his eyes wandering across every person in the room. "Some of you have even realised that the person behind this influence has decided to pay us a visit today. Unannounced, I might add."


    "We know," Antalia said as she shifted in her seat. "The woman in question made use of one of our facilities." She paused for a moment before adding, "After convincing one of our younger members that it was a good idea, I presume¡­"


    "Do you know what she did?" Elder Wu asked, pulling the small stack of papers that held the agenda for the day closer to himself.


    "No," the witch replied. "They were in a ritual site for a few minutes, and then left again. The ones running the site did not notice anything out of the ordinary while they were in there. Though they did report that they left with an extra mage in tow. If someone had been in the site before them, we should have known. Something isn''t adding up."


    "Wouldn''t be the first time your people showed us their incompetence," a large, gruff-looking man remarked. He scratched his cheek, his long, pointed fingernails digging into the scars that criss-crossed it. "I remember when one of you wizards blew up a bit of desert. The normals are still looking into that and it''s been like, what, eighty years now?"


    "And they could look for a hundred more and not find anything," Antalia scoffed in reply. "The same can''t be said about your runts."


    The man only shrugged in response. "We never try to hide, either. Unlike you lot, we have no problem with the normals knowing that we exist."


    "And all you get out of that are myths about hairy, big-footed men," Elder Wu said, tapping the papers onto the desk to tidy up the stack. "Not exactly the best publicity.


    "In any case," he continued before anyone else could cut in, "our¡­ guest will be with us shortly. I have taken the liberty of instructing the front desk to bring her here once we call for her." Now to hope she respects that order.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 201: The Council of Bickering Mortals

    Aperio let her gaze sweep over those that had gathered in the foyer of the rather large building. Most of them had some magical ability, even if it wasn''t much. At least the room looks nice.


    While the All-Mother was fairly certain that magic had had nothing to do with the construction of the building, she could not help but question it. Aside from what essentially amounted to a giant hole running from the middle of the first floor all the way to the roof of the building, she could not spot any other form of structural support in the marble-tiled hall making up almost the entirety of the first floor.


    She waited until Caethya and the mortals that accompanied them had also stepped inside before she began to make her way towards the reception desk. It was staffed by a variety of regular humans, none of whom looked happy to be there. That seemed to be especially true for the man the All-Mother was currently nearing as he heaved a sigh upon noticing her approach.


    "It would seem we are expected," Aperio said, trying to keep the mana that laced her voice to a minimum while also erecting a small barrier that would keep their conversation quiet. Just like many others she had already seen today, the people manning the reception also had a picture of her on their devices, though the displays also had what she could only describe as a written profile of her character. One that was mostly empty. "I guess our blood-loving friend informed his kin."


    "I talked to no-one since we met," Ethan hissed through clenched teeth. "The council boot-lickers are not my friends."


    "I was not talking about you," Aperio said as she continued, uninterrupted, to the desk that was her goal. "I did say that we know another one."


    "May I ask something?" Eleanor asked, rendering the point of her question moot.


    "You may," the All-Mother replied regardless, stopping as a group of children that quite obviously were not paying attention to where they were going rushed past in front of her.


    "Who is your friend outside?" the mortal mage asked. "I like to think that I am well connected, but I have never seen him before."


    "Probably because he is not from here," Caethya replied. "Originally he lived on the other side of this country. Plus, he has spent the last little while with us. We can remain quite hidden, if we do not wish to be found."


    Eleanor glanced towards Aperio, who had just shifted her wings slightly to avoid the grasping reach of one of the children. The little boy was undeterred, and would have tried again if not for a woman who came to quickly usher the child away.


    "Somehow,¡± Eleanor said, ¡°I don''t really believe that she is good at hiding herself."


    "I dislike it," Aperio replied. "But that does not mean I could not. If I really wanted to, nobody would be able to find me." Some quiet time in my Void doesn''t sound so bad.


    The thought of Caethya and herself in the comforting nothing was as pleasant as ever, but also not feasible at the moment. She looked upwards, her aura effortlessly moving past the feeble barrier they had put up around the room in which she presumed the council had begun to gather. Some are already in their seats, arguing. The All-Mother suppressed a huff. Mortals.


    "Greetings," Aperio said, extending the barrier that kept her speech private while also lowering herself slightly so she could look more directly at the receptionist. "I would introduce myself, but it would seem we are already expected." She offered the mortal a smile before drawing back and taking a step towards the small archway that separated the elevators from the otherwise open plan of the first floor. "We would not want our hosts to wait, right?"


    The mortal opened his mouth slightly before he sucked in a breath and motioned for them to go past. Aperio was certain he had been instructed to stop them but had thought better of it. He was not wrong, of course; she would not have waited unless a very good reason was provided. Still, he could have made the attempt.


    Eleanor hesitated, looking between the receptionist and Aperio while Ethan, already uncaring for the rules of the council, stepped away from the hesitating Human man to head towards the All-Mother and Caethya.


    "Are you going to join us?" Aperio asked, turning slightly to look at the mortal mage. "If you do not wish to, you are free to stay with Adam or leave."


    The woman hesitated for a moment longer before she took a breath, squared her shoulders and stepped past the reception desk.


    Aperio could not help but raise a brow at the quickened beat of her heart and the rather rapid breaths she was taking. She extended a small tendril of mana towards the mortal, invisible to all but perhaps Caethya, letting some of her magic flow with deliberate slowness into the mortal. Having the mage succumb to some form of panic attack was not something she wanted to happen.


    "Let us see if these work like the ones I remember," Aperio mumbled in the language of her people as she touched a button with a downward pointing arrow on it.


    A quiet chime sounded from above the door and the All-Mother could sense the elevator moving towards them. If it worked exactly like the ones the Empire had, she did not know, but at least it seemed to not require some form of magic from her.


    Now I have to hope it can carry my weight. Aperio didn''t know, exactly, how heavy she was, but it was certainly much more than people seemed to expect her to weigh.


    A careful step and a slight shift of her weight elicited a low groan from the metal cables suspending the cabin. The small sign that adorned one of the walls did say something about the maximum carrying capacity of the elevator, which she clearly exceeded, but Aperio had no idea what two-thousand-five-hundred ''lbs'' were. The acronym was a mystery to her as it had not been included in the dictionary she had memorised.


    "Is the elevator broken?" Ethan asked as he stepped up next to the All-Mother and looked inside.


    Aperio let some of her magic flow into the cables that held the metal cabin and fully entered it, ignoring the metal groan her magic had quickly silenced. "It is fine."


    The rest of the group shuffled inside in short order, Caethya giving Aperio a raised brow as she had undoubtedly noticed the magic that had been used.


    "How do you know which floor we have to go to?" Eleanor asked as Aperio pressed the button for the topmost floor.


    "The same way I know that we were expected," she replied, but not elaborating further.


    Eleanor tried a few more times, but the All-Mother simply ignored her, instead focusing on the "discussion" that was taking place between the people she they were on their way to visit. More like bickering.


    Aperio had a little something planned for the mortals. An act of sorts that filled her with a giddy anticipation that had no right to feel as good as it did.


    ///


    ¡°You burned an entire village down! How can that not be excessive?!¡±


    ¡°You damn well know that that wasn¡¯t my fault! If your stupid runts hadn¡¯t placed barrels of liquor in the church, it wouldn¡¯t have happened!¡±


    ¡°You asked us to do that!¡±


    Elder Wu let out a sigh and did his best to not bury his face in his hands. Like always, the discussion had turned into a shouting match between the various factions before anything of note could be decided. The fact that reception had just informed him that their "guest" was on her way did not help his mood.


    "Stop your senseless squabbling!" He slammed his fist on the table, causing a small crack to form in the ancient oak. "We have achieved nothing ¡ª again ¡ª and we will not have time to remedy that before our guest arrives.


    "These meetings should serve to unify us and help everyone present to live in this world," he continued, eyes moving from one member of the council to the next. "But it would seem that we are incapable of doing that. Perhaps that is why this newcomer is visiting us."


    "Perhaps she has come to throw this runt out of the council," Antalia said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Or maybe she has seen that we are the better clan of mages."


    Horatio, the mage Antalia probably hated the most, was about to reply when a knock ¡ª though calling it that might be wrong as the door almost sprang from its hinges ¡ª echoed through the room.


    A moment later, the door opened and a large, pointy-eared ¡ª and seemingly winged ¡ª woman stepped into the room. Her presence was accompanied by a wave of frankly ancient-feeling mana that caused Elder Wu to seize up for a brief moment.


    "I see that mortals are still fond of useless bickering," she said, her voice coming both from her lips and, somehow, inside his head as if it was a thought of his own. "I had honestly expected more."


    Elder Wu grit his teeth as his eyes shifted from the tall, muscle-bound Elf to a more normal-looking one. This one appeared more like those he remembered from a dozen or so centuries ago. She was tall and lithe, but looked a bit more refined than the more primal versions from his memories.. Also has longer ears.


    The other two people accompanying their guests were ones he knew. Eleanor, an aspiring young mage of some talent and a knack for getting into trouble and¡­


    "Ethanial," Elder Wu said, his voice more strained than he would have liked. "Why are you here?"


    "Does it matter why he is here?" the winged Elf asked as she moved around the table, her steps fluid and light as if she was floating. "Or would you like to partake in the ''senseless squabbles'' you so readily accused the others of?" The woman loomed over him, casting a shadow that was far darker than it had any right to be. "I have found that I dislike upstarts who think the world is their playground. You seem to be one of those."


    Her eyes lingered on him for a moment longer and Wu could have sworn that the silver flecks dotted around her otherwise blue iris moved every time he blinked. She drew back, focusing on the section of the table that housed the mages instead.


    "I suppose some thanks to whoever of you owns that nifty little caf¨¦ down the street are in order," she said, one of her wings extending slightly to point eastwards. "The one with a ritual site below it. It has helped me tremendously."


    "Helped with what?" Antalia asked. Her voice was hoarse and her knuckles white as she seemingly held onto her chair for dear life.


    "Fixing a mistake," the Elf replied, and the mana that flowed from both her body and her voice subsided slightly. "I had been, perhaps, negligent ¡ª and definitely unaware of the issue before I had seen it." She shrugged, her wings moving in tandem with her shoulders to exaggerate the motion. "It matters not now, the mistake has been remedied."


    The other Elf said something, in a language Elder Wu did not understand but could have sworn he had heard before, that caused the winged one to pause and sigh.


    "Perhaps introductions are in order," she said, somehow standing even taller than before. She rested her hand on her chest and inclined her head slightly. "I am Aperio, though you likely do not know of me by that name." She extended a wing, wrapping it around the shoulders of the other Elf. "This is Caethya."


    "No titles?" Eleanor asked, seemingly unaffected by the ever-changing amounts of mana Aperio put into the room. "I had expected some aft¡ª"


    "We will get to that," the winged Elf said, cutting the mage off. Her eyes settled back on Elder Wu, and from the sparkling cold running through his veins she was undoubtedly looking past his physical form and staring into his very Soul. "I am sure some of the mortals here already have an idea. They certainly seem like they can feel it."


    Her words were accompanied by a pulse of mana that, for the briefest of moments, twisted reality to reveal silver threads that formed connections between an impossibly complex set of runes that gave him a headache at a mere glance.


    Elder Wu blinked as his vision filled with a memory of the very same threads. He had been half-dead at the time, abandoned by his tribe left to die in the wilderness. Fate was not so kind as to give him a swift death then, as not even the wild animals deemed him to be a viable food. Weakened and unable to move, he could only watch as the creatures of the forest either ignored him completely or trampled over him as they treated him like part of the ground.


    It was a miracle that had saved him. One that had manifested as countless threads of silver, stringing themselves across his body and filling him with so much pain he could not keep conscious. When he had come to, a voice in his head had spoken with words he could not understand, and a small window bearing the pictographs with which his tribe recorded their history hung in the air in front of him. He had been reborn, it read, in the night''s blood, a phrase he had not understood at the time.


    "Are you the Voice?" he asked shakily, the vivid memory quickly slipping back to the ancient past that he could rarely recall.


    "No," the woman replied, smiling slightly. "I did, however, make it. The one who likely spoke to you is outside with our friend, though I cannot guarantee that it even remembers."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 202: Herald of the Change

    Antalia, having finally succeeded to move enough of her mana into the pendant she wore, breathed a little more easily as the ancient family heirloom warded off some of the pressure coming from the giant woman.


    Given what she had just said, however, it made sense that her mere presence would carry such weight. Though it also made the mage question how they had not noticed her before. If she had always been a walking fountain of mana, she should have been easy to spot. How can she hide herself with that much mana? Antalia asked herself before another thought entered her mind. Did she take our mana?


    "Why are you here?" The gruff voice of Haggard echoed through the room, the old Werewolf not caring that the one he spoke to was either the first to use magic or the reason it existed at all. "Have you come to reclaim the last of your magic after silencing the Voice?"


    The woman suddenly vanished, though her overbearing presence did not. Antalia''s eyes flicked through the room before she spotted the broad figure behind Haggard. The strange woman named Aperio looked at the man with her head tilted slightly. The movement caused her silver hair to cascade over her pointed ear, catching the light in a shimmering and unnatural blue.


    "I have not taken anything from this world. Quite the opposite in fact." She lowered herself slightly, meeting the Werewolf''s eyes. "I have come to judge your character. To see how you fared without the meddling of Gods." Aperio righted herself again and brushed a hand over her stomach, tilting her head yet again. "Does that answer suffice?"


    "Yes," Antalia replied for him, unwilling to push the woman for more as she seemed to simply look through her for a moment before her eyes refocused.


    "Good," Aperio said, her smile showing a little tooth this time around. "Depending on how this goes, I might also lend a hand in fixing your little mana problem."


    The last words of the winged woman barely registered in Antalia''s mind as she still thought about the mention of ''meddling Gods''. As far as she knew, Earth had once had a few Gods that actually talked to people. Some of them had even performed miracles, if the rumours were to be believed. And considering that Elder Wu is one of the sources, I am inclined to do so.


    Antalia might not think very highly of the old Vampire, but she also knew that he took the whole truth thing very seriously. Serious enough to kill his subordinates for lying, at least. Even when they lie to protect him.


    "How?" Haggard asked, his raspy voice not only bringing Antalia back to the real world but also forcing her mind to think about the last words spoken by Aperio.


    "You would not be able to comprehend the answer even if I explained it," the woman replied, her gaze shifting towards the Werewolf. "Suffice to say that I have my ways. It would be a sad state of affairs if I could not repair that which I have made, would it not?"


    Antalia blinked as she tried to parse the sentence. The choice of words coupled with Aperio''s accent had made it a little harder to understand than it should have been.


    "Claiming to have made magic is ridiculous," Horatio said. "Who are you really?"


    Aperio stood straight and spread her wings slightly, muscles visibly shifting beneath her dress. "I am Aperio," she declared, her voice driving the air from Antalia''s lungs before another wave of mana almost robbed her of consciousness. "The All-Mother," she continued, appearing next to Horatio and effortlessly lifting the man out of his chair by the scruff of his neck. "Creator of everything you know. Including magic."


    The woman let go of the mage and let out a content sigh that rippled through the mana she had spread inside the room. Her eyes flicked to the other pointed-eared woman for a moment before she smiled and appeared behind her, placing her hands onto her shoulders before running them down her arms.


    There was another, unspoken, exchange between the two women, Antalia was sure of it. Telepathy was rare ¡ª all but extinct now ¡ª but with how much mana Aperio threw around, it should hardly matter. Probably has too much of it for her own good. She could not place her finger on it, but she could feel something happening within the woman''s body. It was tiny, but somehow stood out to her amongst the tidal wave of magic Aperio brought with her.


    "You may doubt me as much as you like," she said, her voice again subdued. Aperio sat herself down on what Antalia could only describe as a throne that had appeared out of nowhere, pulling the other woman with her in a move very much not befitting someone of the stature she had just portrayed a moment before. "It does not change the truth."


    ///


    Haggard scrunched his nose at the thick, ancient smell of the woman''s mana. It reeked of creation and destruction; the promise of a boundless world ready for the making and the absolute cold nothing that awaited all at the end of time.


    He did not like it. Not how it flowed through him as if it was the mana of this world when it was clearly not. Not how it pulsed whenever the woman spoke, or how it acted upon Earth''s mana, changing it somehow. Haggard scrunched his nose again, trying to rid himself of the promises Aperio''s mana wanted to whisper to him.


    The unspoken words tugged at his core ¡ª his very essence ¡ª with a certainty that had no right to exist. His senses told him that the woman was foreign, not of this world, and most importantly, dangerous. And yet, every word she uttered was known to him to be the truth. Undeniable and absolute.


    A low growl escaped his throat as he felt his hair shifting. Whatever Aperio was up to was undoing the magic he used to hide himself amongst the normals, and his carefully-hidden ears were growing back into view. He did not like it, but it was a rule of the council he was willing to endure.


    Aperio looked at him, her head slightly tilted as she sat in her throne with the other pointy-eared wench in her arms. That one was definitely an Elf, and he would like nothing more than to rip out her throat like he had done to all the others he had found over the years. They had brought into existence the curse that caused many of his kin to become feral and rampage through the lands. He would never forgive any of them for what they had done.


    She knows, Haggard thought to himself as Aperio shifted her wings a little to cover the Elf. Why this Caethya needed her protection was unknown to the Werewolf. He might like nothing more than to kill the pointy-eared wench, but he also knew that she was stronger than him; much stronger.


    "Manners," Elder Wu said. Haggard knew the comment was directed at him without having to look at the Vampire.


    "You know what they have done," he growled.


    "And you should know that they do not belong to them," Wu replied.


    "Them?" Aperio tilted her head to the other side, and the hair slid away to reveal her own pointed ears.


    "He¡­" Elder Wu hesitated, his eyes darting between Haggard and Aperio. "He thinks that the two of you belong to a people that have done¡­ unspeakable things to his kind."


    The self-proclaimed All-Mother narrowed her eyes at the words. She said something to the other Elf that Haggard did not understand before she met his own gaze.


    "I have done nothing to you or your people," she said, each word a shining beacon of truth in his mind. He wanted to look away, but her eyes stared past his mortal shell to judge something only she could perceive, somehow keeping their gazes locked. "Nor do I have any intention of changing that.


    "If you, however, decide to go against myself or those I hold dear," she continued, the mana that filled the room not only rippling with power but also somehow turning into sharp spikes that were all pointed at him, "I will not be merciful."


    The other Elf said something Haggard did not understand and moved slightly under the cover of Aperio''s wings. The tall woman held her gaze for a moment longer before she relaxed a little, the magic that permeated the room returning to a more natural state.


    Haggard did his best to not growl or hiss, the small outburst of the woman having already turned every bit of magic in the room against him. Even the mana that coursed through his body had felt foreign for a moment; as if it had not liked what he had suggested.


    ///


    Elder Wu steadied his hand before he brought the chalice of blood to his lips and took a sip. The liquid, kept warm by the magic in the vessel that held it, brought relief and a small refreshment of power that the Vampire immediately used to work more magic on his own mind. Aperio''s mere presence was a little much for anyone that had access to the arcane, but she somehow went beyond that. The way her words somehow caused the world to align itself with her will was, simply put, terrifying. But it was also a sign that she had likely not lied.


    Her words always resonated with truth, untainted by deceit or anything else he usually observed from his fellow council members, but how much of that was he to believe? It was obvious the woman was well-versed in the arcane and had no shortage of mana, so a trick of the mind would not be unthinkable. But her actions align with what she said she was.


    No matter what he chose to believe, one thing was clear. The woman was a herald of change. One that was inevitable and uncaring for their ways. She might have said that she would only give her aid if they passed her judgement, but Elder Wu knew that it was only a matter of time until she would do what she had come here for. Imagine the power to change the fate of an entire world at your whims¡­


    It was one he would not trust anyone of the council with, not even himself. He had seen more members join and leave than anyone else, and none of them would have done good with the power their new guest seemed to possess. The issue now was that he also did not believe that the woman herself would use that power to benefit anyone but herself. However that might look like.


    "Is there an issue?" Aperio asked, her voice cutting through the silence of the room.


    "No," Elder Wu replied. His voice was a little hoarse, despite the fact that his mouth was still wet from his latest sip of blood. "I am merely contemplating things."


    "Like?"


    "Your goal, for one," he said. "I do not mean to offend, but what exactly do you wish to achieve? Or judge, for that matter."


    "I have already said I am judging your character," Aperio replied, shifting her wings as the other Elf stood up to stand next to the throne. "As for my goals¡­ I dislike seeing this world in such a sorry state. But I also know that the people gathered here would benefit most from what I have planned so before I do anything, I wish to make sure there will be no abuse."


    She focused on the Werewolf, quite obviously telling him to not enact the revenge he so desperately wished for. Aperio held her gaze a moment longer before she flicked her eyes back to Elder Wu. "It would seem that I have to visit more people to make sure of that, however."


    A moment later, she simply appeared at the table. The throne she had been sitting on was no longer present, with no indication that it had ever been there in the first place. There had also been no visible movement of the woman herself. One moment she was on her throne, and the next she stood in front of the table, wings slightly flared and hands clasped behind her back.


    "I have a feeling that you have much to discuss," Aperio said, appearing somehow taller than Elder Wu remembered her being just moments ago. "I will be watching."


    With those words, she simply vanished with the other Elf. A glance around the room showed that Eleanor and Ethaniel had disappeared with her. The only thing that remained was the thick mana Aperio had summoned. It was dense enough that an untrained mage walking into it might not only inadvertently harm themselves, but others as well. They would have to bar entry to the room until the magic dissipated.


    ¡°She needs to go,¡± Horatio said, the first to break the silence. ¡°We cannot have something like that roam around.¡±


    ¡°And how do you want to do that?¡± Antalia asked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. ¡°You saw how easily she bends reality to her whim. A few words paralysed us all.¡±


    ¡°Anything can be done with enough preparation,¡± the other mage replied.


    Elder Wu could not help but sigh as he closed his eyes. He cradled the chalice of blood as he replayed the events that had just transpired in his mind. Horatio was right, as they could not just let her roam around unsupervised, but Antalia was also correct. They did not have the means to bring about anything that the woman herself did not want to happen.


    He took a careful sip of his blood as the council descended once more into the bickering the Elf had interrupted with her appearance. Some things were seemingly unchangeable, no matter what happened.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 203: New Goals

    Aperio took a step to the side, letting the mechanised carriage and its rather inattentive driver pass by. How he had not seen her in the first place was beyond the All-Mother, but she was also not in the mood to gravely injure him by letting him hit her.


    "Are they all so reckless?" Aperio asked as she looked at Adam.


    "No," he replied, nudging the amalgamation of Gods away from the window of a shop that sold a variety of electronic gadgets. "But usually the one in the car is also safer."


    "Oh, right," the All-Mother replied as she did her best to suppress a twitch of her wings. "The fragility of your world continues to annoy. Luckily, that will change once magic returns." Perhaps I should have let them hit me¡­


    Aperio would be lying if she said she was not tempted by the idea of breaking a few things, especially since the mortals seemed to think of their creations as unmovable, or at least a lot more sturdy than they actually were. She''d quite enjoy proving them otherwise. Perhaps I should find more bandits, test the durability of their housing¡­


    "No," Caethya said as she stepped up next to the All-Mother and wrapped her arm around one of Aperio''s. "I know that look. No fighting the locals. If you really need to punch something, we can return to Verenier and find you a less fragile target."


    The mortals and the God of Earth looked at the two of them, all but Adam having not understood what her love had said. Probably felt my mana¡­ No matter how small the excitement might have been, it must have felt like a rather large shift to the magic-attuned mortals. It was something she had observed with the council as well. They had all reacted a little more than expected to even tiny shifts in her mana. In the end, it was something that she should have probably expected. You would have to be able to perceive mana quite well to find a usable amount of Earth. Quite backwards, really.


    "Fine," Aperio said, taking Caethya''s hand into her own. "I will not step out of the way of the next car, however." Her eyes followed one as it sped by. "I do not know why, but it seems like¡­ fun to me."


    "Of course you would find being hit by a car to be a fun activity," Adam said with a shake of his head. "What''s next, getting the military to come after you on purpose?"


    "Perhaps I should do that," Aperio said, looking at the man with a slight smile that did not betray the fact she had no intention of following through with that idea. Being hunted by mortals who are full of themselves seems boring¡­ But hiding myself is also not what I want to do.


    "She is joking," Caethya said, not able to hide the smile that spread across her face. "Though, now I kind of want to see how they would try to fight her. Anything I have previously seen brought to the task has been woefully ineffective, and I doubt it would be much different here, but whatever people select to use against her on Earth will be a new and interesting way of failing."


    Adam let out a long sigh and shook his head again as they finally crossed the street. "If she continues like this, it''s only a matter of time until you get found out. The police is probably already keeping an eye on you."


    "Not as far as I can tell," Aperio said, letting her senses flow over every mortal that was currently looking at her or a picture of her. Even the ones that sat in a windowless car a few streets away. "Though, with the amount of recordings your people can make, I am probably missing something."


    "There are cameras everywhere," Adam said, pointing at a boxy thing that hung from a wall on one of the buildings. "I assume the dictionary informed you of what those are."


    The All-Mother gave a nod at the words. She knew what they were, of course. Moving pictures were nothing new. Achieving them without the aid of magic was still a little weird, and the base concept still felt a little ridiculous to her. But I guess that is true for most everything on this world. Even the cars themselves were bizarre, and unnecessarily loud in some cases. Who would think of using explosions to propel themselves forward?


    "What are you talking about?" Ethan asked, not bothering to hide his annoyance at the fact that the Elves and Adam conversed in a language he had no hope of understanding.


    "This and that," the All-Mother replied, the smile still on her face. "Nothing a powerful Vampire like yourself needs to concern yourself with."


    "Your sarcasm is not appreciated," he replied, his eyes darting towards a few passerbys whose gazes lingered on the All-Mother just a little longer than was needed.


    "Luckily, I neither need nor want your appreciation."


    ///


    Caethya gave Aperio''s hand a small squeeze, a rather considerable amount of force needed to actually get the gesture across. That had slowly been getting worse for a while now, to the point where it had become a routine occurrence. The only way the Demigoddess could actually notice it anymore was to actually stop and take note of what she was doing.


    Ever since she had met Aperio, a great many things had changed. Most of it was, thankfully, for the better, and the things that weren''t fell nicely into a pile of decidedly neutral. The single thing that could possibly be plucked out and considered bad was the fact that she was generally no longer travelling as much. Her current position, however, more than made up for that.


    [Veil Walker], she thought with a smile as she mentally looked at her newest title again. And she does it like it''s nothing.


    "I wouldn''t try too much," she said, doing her best to push wandering thoughts of the fabled old ruins that were rumored to grant the power to travel to another world from her mind. "Her attempts at humour are still in their infancy."


    "How?" Eleanor asked. "She doesn''t look that old, sure, but we all know that she is ancient."


    "Yes and no," Aperio replied with a small shrug, her wings moving freely with the motion and drawing more than a few eyes to their group. "I am older than you think, but I have also not interacted with anyone for most of that." She glanced at Caethya, a smile gracing her lips that for once also spread to her eyes. "I usually prefer solitude, but that has changed recently."


    "What does recently mean to you?" Eleanor asked, her eyes flicking between Aperio and Caethya. "Also, where are we going?"


    Caethya looked over, also interested in the answers her love would give.


    "A year, maybe two. Perhaps more, perhaps less." Aperio shrugged once more. "Following the passage of time has never been my strong suit. As for where we are going..." She began to move her wing before folding it behind her back again and pointing with her free hand instead. "I spotted a gathering of peculiar people in that direction that I would like to meet."


    Caethya followed her love''s gesture, her aura looking past the buildings and spotting the mortals that had gathered in the park beyond. Unlike Aperio, the Demigoddess could not see much that was different about them. They had a little mana, sure, but the same was true for a good many people she could see by now.


    "Probably the rest of the council," Eleanor mumbled to herself as she, too, followed the All-Mother''s gesture.


    "The rest?"


    The mage nodded. "The meeting you went to was not the one everyone came for. You can think of it like a preliminary where the bigwigs hammer out deals the common folk should not hear about."


    "They spent most of their time bickering," Aperio said as she glared in the direction of an approaching car, undoubtedly challenging it to hit her. "Still are, in fact."


    "Are you sure you don''t want to find something to fight?" Caethya asked, switching back to the language of their people.


    Aperio remained quiet for a moment before she sighed, her shoulders slumping a little. "I wish to fight, yes, but nothing here would be capable of offering a satisfying encounter. I also cannot neglect why I came here in the first place: to judge them. So far, my impression is not great." She seemed to think for a moment. "Perhaps I should blow up a bit of their moon?"


    Caethya raised a brow, but didn''t say anything, certain that her love had simply made a joke. One of the few good ones, perhaps. The more time that passed, the more the All-Mother seemed to be in tune with her nature, something the Demigoddess could only think would be a good thing for the world. And joking about what you could do is a part of that, right?


    "Please don''t," Adam replied. "It''s kind of important for the planet."


    "It was a joke," Aperio replied, waving him off with a hand. "I might not have a good impression yet, but it could also be a lot worse. Most of your kind seem to at least try to respect one another. A vast improvement when I compare it with Verenier''s past."


    "She isn''t debating if she should wipe out all of Earth, right?" Eleanor asked, quickening her pace slightly to walk beside the All-Mother.


    Aperio slowed her stride slightly, eyeing the woman for a moment before she shook her head. "I am not."


    ///


    Eleanor let out a breath at the words. Of course, the mere word of the winged woman might not be all that meaningful, but the mage still found herself relieved at the seeming lack of interest in the destruction of her home. As stupid as that thought is to begin with.


    Her question also revealed another curious thing. She had not been exactly quiet, but none of the people that walked past them seem to have heard. Sure, they were being looked at, but that was mostly down to the fact that a winged, seven foot tall woman, not to mention one that had seemingly escaped the nearest gym after a lifetime of training, was essentially floating down the sidewalk with what appeared to be ¡ª at least to Eleanor ¡ª inhuman grace. The fact that her normally silver hair now shimmered with a blue glint that clearly did not come from any dye also did not help. Neither did the wings, but those were probably far enough out there that most people did not want to believe they were real; even if they very much looked like they were. And you can actually see them growing out of her back¡­


    It was hard to see, but whenever Aperio twitched her feathered appendages, there was a small chance that you could glimpse how they connected directly to her back and not a harness of sorts. An open-backed dress might have been a poor choice in inconspicuousness. But probably much more comfortable¡­ Though, she can hide them.


    The lack of shoes showed the mage yet more that was off about Aperio. Riverburg might be mostly clean, but it was still a rather sizable city, and one old enough to have accumulated quite the layers of filth on certain objects. And yet, wherever the winged woman stepped, whatever grime had coated the surface underneath her feet utterly vanished and left behind perfectly clean brick. In fact, those particular spots actually looked a little newer than the rest. How much mana does that cost?


    "Something the matter?" the woman asked, her eyes settling onto Eleanor.


    The mage hesitated for a moment as the silver flecks in Aperio''s eyes shifted every time she blinked. Does that happen only when I blink, or when she does as well? "No," Eleanor replied, dismissing the wild idea of confronting the woman to make her tell the real reason she had actually come to this place. "Just lost in thought."


    Does she even blink? She thought about it, taking back her mind from Aperio''s supposed plans of judgement. Haven''t seen her do that. Or breathe, for that matter¡­


    "I see," the woman said before she resumed her talk with the other pointy-eared woman and the man that accompanied them.


    Ethaniel bared his fangs slightly at the incomprehensible babble, seemingly not as fine as Eleanor herself was with simply listening to the almost song-like quality of it. Aperio might make for a good singer, if it wasn''t for the fact that her voice came not only from her but also echoed somehow in your mind as if it was a thought of your own. Maybe that is different for the normals?


    None of the magicless people seemed to be bothered by the rather oppressive aura that surrounded the self-proclaimed All-Mother. In the past, any mention of magic with this degree of strength was invariably accompanied by multiple warnings, and usually paired with a page-long memorial list of those who had paid the death toll. This, more than anything else, indicated to her that either the utter baseline workings of reality had somehow shifted, or the woman was doing something at a level Eleanor could not hope to perceive. The latter option was far more likely.


    She pulled out her phone, opening a particular app ¡ª one created by her local circle of mages ¡ª with a tap of her finger. From here, she could begin to properly document her findings on what was more than likely the most powerful being on the planet. Should have started much sooner.


    Aperio let out a small chuckle, either having noticed her actions or finding whatever her apparent girlfriend was saying to be quite funny.


    Eleanor simply hoped that her curiosity did not offend, but after what she had seen the Werewolf representative do, she doubted that that was the case. Probably hard to upset a being that equals a natural disaster.


    "I don''t like this," Ethanial mumbled, quiet enough that the other group should not be able to hear. If they have normal ears, that is. Going by their pointed nature and the liberal displays of magic, Eleanor doubted it. "Why is no-one noticing her magic? It should be obvious even to people who don''t know it exists. She isn''t even trying to hide it."


    "I am hiding more than you can fathom," Aperio replied without turning to look at them. "But I also do not know why the other mortals are unbothered. They take in my mana as readily as they do the ambient amounts, but unlike the energy borne of Earth, mine never seems to stay with them. A nice change of pace as far as I am concerned."


    The Vampire let out a small hiss at her words, his teeth growing slightly before Eleanor nudged him with her elbow. Aperio might tolerate much, but Eleanor doubted her patience was as infinite as her mana seemed to be.


    "You can''t say that it doesn''t bother you," Ethanial said before he mumbled something in yet another language Eleanor did not know.


    Why does everyone speak such obscure languages? the mage asked herself.. I thought I got myself covered with five different ones. Even fucking Latin¡­ That last one was somewhat of a requirement for mages, the same being true for Ancient Greek, but she still found it annoying that she could not even begin to guess at the origin of Aperio''s mystery language.


    Someone less educated might have assumed it was Latin, but Eleanor knew it was not. Not even close. Something led her to assume it was older, more closely linked to magic than the languages people knew of now. The same was true for Ethanial''s mumbling, but in his case she was at least decently sure it came from somewhere in eastern Europe.


    "It does," she replied, adding a few more notes as she observed Caethya use a magic she could not quite discern. "But imagine what we can learn from them. They have to be millennia old, at least. And if her claim is true¡­"


    Eleanor let the implication hang in the air as she could feel the All-Mother narrow her eyes, seemingly unhappy at the insinuation that she had spoken a lie. The mage''s heart skipped a beat as she could feel the mana density next to her sharply increase for a brief moment. She let out a sigh as it returned to normal, and waited to make sure nothing else was going to happen before writing another note.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 204: Considering Connections

    Aperio crossed her arms in front of her chest. They had arrived at the park, and she could finally watch with her own eyes the ocean of mortals within. A small smile, perhaps a little wicked, spread across her face as she spotted amongst a small group the mortal whose store they had visited first.


    "What are you planning?" Caethya asked, following the All-Mother''s gaze, lingering briefly on John before it settled on a Human who had added some fake Elven ears to her own. "Is that the friend he mentioned?"


    "Probably," Aperio replied. "She wanted some tips on creation, did she not? I would think that I am uniquely qualified to offer advice on that topic."


    "Not any she would understand," Caethya replied with a shrug. "But we can still go and meet them if you want, seems fun. Can''t feel any magic from any of them, though."


    The All-Mother let a bit more of her aura flow around the group of mortals, none of them showing a reaction. Either the near total lack of mana within them made them unable to notice it, or they were masters of disguise. Aperio doubted it was the latter.


    "Friends of yours?" Eleanor asked as she noticed the group Aperio and Caethya had been observing.


    "No, just someone we met a little while ago." Aperio tilted her head slightly, not quite sure how long they had been on Earth already. I should start counting days¡­ In the end, it didn''t really matter. Time truly had no meaning to her.


    "If you want to meet some of the other council members, I can introduce you," the mortal mage continued. "I have worked for a few of them."


    "That would be appreciated," the All-Mother replied, and after John had finally noticed her and she had given him a small wave ¡ª and the tiniest wiggling of her ears ¡ª she allowed herself to shift her focus away from his group.


    "Follow me, then," Eleanor said, doing her best to hide her excitement from the All-Mother. An endeavour that failed, of course.


    Their small group fell into step behind the mortal mage, a few nudges of Aperio''s magic ensuring that nobody stood in their way. If she was not leading the group, the mortal sea did not part without a little intervention. Still need to figure out how that works¡­ Do they move out of the way because that is what I have come to expect?


    She could not see or feel any magic that might cause the phenomenon; the mortals seemingly simply knew she was coming and moved out of the way. Well, I am frequently told that people can feel my presence in their Soul. Still, it was yet to be explained how those who did not know magic could still interpret the feeling of it within them and act upon it.


    "Something on your mind?" Adam asked. "You are squinting an awful lot at everyone."


    "I am merely trying to understand how the mortals always make way for me without seeing me," Aperio replied. "When I led the group, I was not using magic to nudge them away like I am now, but they still made way."


    "Instinct," the man replied with a shrug. "We also know when someone is looking at us, somehow."


    "Perhaps your Souls have grown more perceptive with the absence of magic." It would explain the drastic reactions from the magically-attuned mortals of Earth to even tiny shifts in her mana, but it also went against the idea that normal mortals simply could not feel magic at all.


    "Or perhaps they just don''t know how to place the feeling," Aperio mumbled to herself. "I wish I could test this somehow."


    "You could," Caethya said. "But I doubt you would want to ask unassuming mortals about magic tests, nor simply test things on them without their consent."


    "You are correct," Aperio replied with more than a little annoyance. Sure, she could ignore her own principles, but that would not only be hypocrisy but an abuse of her power that she had told herself would not happen.


    The All-Mother twitched her wings slightly and glanced at the mortal leading them. "Who are we going to meet? I can sense more than a few that would be interesting to talk to." Or fight, even if they are weak.


    Her current theory was that they would compensate for their lack of power with clever techniques, but the only way to find out was to actually face them. Would they even want to have a bout with me? The ones that were magically sensitive would know without a doubt that they were hopelessly outclassed, but then again that had not stopped people in the past from making the attempt regardless.


    "Mages," Eleanor replied with a smile, seemingly aware of the magic Aperio was using to keep their conversation quiet. "They are some of the more experienced ones that actually attend these gatherings. Most of them will probably ask you a million questions about whatever you use to keep the conversation private."


    "I see," Aperio replied. "I am not sure I can adequately explain how I do anything, however."


    "So far beyond our little mortal brains?" Ethan asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "The way I use magic is not one any of you can imitate. You lack both power and familiarity." And probably attunement. I am magic, after all.


    The mortal mage remained quiet at the words, simply nodding to herself as she continued towards an old tree near the centre of the rather expansive park. While the mortals that stood near it were not ones she would have considered approaching on her own, as she could see at least a dozen individuals that were more powerful, she would trust Eleanor''s judgement. For now.


    "I''m sure it would still be interesting for them," Caethya said with a slight giggle.


    Aperio simply tilted her head and set her gaze onto the group they were approaching. A mortal that could not sense mana would think them just another group of friends attending the festivities, but Aperio could see and feel the magic - weak as it might be - flowing around them.


    The first to notice their approach was a dark-skinned man. His eyes glinted with an unnatural green light for a moment as he looked at Aperio before his eyes settled on Eleanor and a smile spread across his face. Next to him, a woman gave him a questioning look, pushing some of her red locks out of her face while she asked the man something Aperio could not understand.


    He laughed in response, the noise causing the third and final member to sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. Much like the first man, and unlike the woman that stood between them, he too had dark skin that only served to accentuate his milky white eyes that occasionally shone with magic.


    Is he blind? Aperio thought to herself, but as she tilted her head to the other side the man with the milky eyes mirrored the motion. I guess not.


    A small smile spread across the All-Mother''s lips as she quickened her stride slightly, ignoring the grumble from Adam who had to, yet again, remove the amalgamation of Earth''s Gods from something it found interesting. This might be fun.


    ///


    Elder Wu let out a long breath as he lowered himself into his chair. While the thought had not come up during the meeting, he now had to consider the possibility that Aperio was part of the Old Blood; something he very much hoped was not the case. Which means she probably is.


    They were mythical beings at best, but after what she had said, she certainly fit the bill. To claim the World''s Voice as your creation¡­ The worst part was that he somehow knew it was true. Every word the woman had spoken had resonated with truth in his very core; his essence.


    "To have met the original ancestor of the Elves," he mumbled to himself before he pulled a small book from a drawer in his desk.


    If Aperio was indeed the original Elf, one of the Primordials, rites would need to be observed. The lack of them was probably the reason she had been so annoyed at the meeting.


    From Fae to Elf to Primordial, Elder Wu mused to himself as he opened the small book. Perhaps his latest assumption about the woman was also wrong, but it should be closer at least than anything else they had come up with before. But what would be beyond a Primordial?


    Whenever one of them turned up in a story, they were always talked about as a deity of sorts. A force of nature that brought inevitable change. It was something Aperio said she would do, and her power and ability levels certainly seemed to back up her claims. The other things he had learned about the mythical beings also seemed to fit with her. Certainly felt like she had enough mana to help create a world¡­


    He leafed through the book until he finally found the page he had been looking for. Merlin would not appreciate a call, but the situation warranted it. And he still owes me.


    Elder Wu had been sitting on that particular favour ever since the British had tried to burn the mage for his practices sometime in the sixteen hundreds and the Vampire had smuggled him off to a remote estate in what was now Canada.


    "The fuck you do want?" a decidedly female voice asked after the phone had only rung for a moment.


    "Is that a way to greet an old friend?" Elder Wu asked, unphased by the fact that Merlin had gotten himself a new body again.


    "It''s a way to greet you," Merlin replied with a huff. "Now tell me what you want or I''ll hang up."


    "I need your help identifying someone. Well, their magic, really," he said. "I am not quite sure what they are, but I have my ideas."


    Elder Wu smiled slightly as he heard the old mage groan on the other side of the phone, followed by string of curses and the sound of what he assumed was some form of glass breaking.


    "You holding one of your meetings again in that backwater city?" Merlin asked after she took a deep breath.


    "If you mean Riverburg, then yes. Though, it''s not really that small anymore. Especially whenever we hold a council meeting. You would know that if you accepted any of the invites."


    Merlin simply gave a huff in reply. "I have no interest in your little games."


    Elder Wu could not help but sigh at the words. Getting Merlin to do anything that they did not come up with themselves was always an annoying task, though this time he had hoped that the mage would be at least somewhat inclined to cooperate without having to tell them what was at stake.


    "The person in question might be a Primordial," he finally said. "And if they are not, they are something of equal strength. Every word she spoke reached my essence and rang true." He let out another sigh. "She also claims to have made the Voice, and has apparently come to fix it."


    Silence reigned for a moment before Wu heard Merlin suck in a breath. "I will be there tomorrow if you get me a meeting with this mystery person."


    "I will see what I can do," the Elder replied. "But you know that if she does not wish to, I will not be able to force her."


    "Yes, yes. Just make it happen."


    Wu heaved another sigh and leaned back in his chair. Maybe I should have saved that favour from Merlin after all. His other options included the mages of Zanzibar, but he was currently not inclined to pay their exorbitant fees or to offer them a favour. The last time he had done that, they had wanted him to cause some wars so they would have the opportunity to nab some specific people. He had done it, of course, but he had not liked it.


    ""Let''s hope I can make that meeting happen," Elder Wu mumbled as he dialed the next number. "Twenty-four hours to go¡­"


    ///


    Lita watched on as her own body pulled the straps of her leather armour tight before moving on to inspect her daggers. Ever since the ritual to remove the runes that had been engraved into her insides, she had been trapped as a sort of ghost tethered to her own body while what had once been the voice in her head had assumed control, doing what it wanted. Like claiming it''s her body.


    She wasn''t really angry at her only quasi-friend, however. After all, she would have also wanted to experience the world if she had been trapped as a ghost for two and a half decades.


    "What are you going to do?" Lita asked, moving her ethereal form closer to the table filled with weapons. "I hope you don''t plan on killing Jester. He was always so nice to us."


    The ex-voice gripped the daggers tighter, her fists trembling a little. "What he did was disgusting. He is disgusting!"


    Lita pouted at the outburst but also did not comment on it. She had yet to learn the name of her friend and trying to convince her of Jester''s generosity had turned out to be a bad way of getting to know her. For now she would have to hope that Jester would get to remain among the living. I also need to figure out how I can get a body of my own. He must be worried! I need to get back to him.


    She nodded to herself as she watched her body place yet more weapons in pockets she had not noticed before. Waiting was the best course of action; the only course of action.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 205: Not Quite Yet

    Lita, as she was apparently called now, ran her fingers along the edge of her sword. It was a nice weapon: a double-edged blade slightly longer than her forearm, multiple runes glowing with blue light on its surface. A family heirloom, and one that had not been taken away from her for one reason or another after her house had been dissolved by the Vinmaiers.


    She tightened her hand, the grip of the weapon digging into her skin before she let out a long breath. Getting angry could be reserved for later; for now, she had some idiots to take care of and remind that Adelita was not as dead as they seemed to think.


    "I was merely quiet," she mumbled to herself, her ears pressed against her skull. Just like you are now, ''Lita''.


    The personality the enchantment had conjured up now had to watch, just as she had during the majority of her life, as the one in charge of the body was able to do what they desired. At least until I figure out how to get rid of her.


    The [Mark of Servitude], though it might have acted like a person, was in the end only an enchantment reacting in unexpected ways with one of her titles. Most of her memories from before the¡­procedure¡­were more a little fuzzy, and she could no longer recall what the name of it was.


    With a small tug of one of her skills, Adelita vanished from her hideout and appeared in the shadows of a dark alley. She scrunched her nose at the smells, not liking the stench of the city. That had been one of the very few upsides to not having a body; she had not needed to deal with all the annoyances the senses of a high-level being brought with them.


    Adelita''s head turned from side to side as her ears picked up laughter, screams, and a myriad of conversations that she had no business hearing. None were close enough to notice her as she walked out of the alleyway. Though the sounds were a little much, the Class Lita had picked at least came with benefits that made the annoyance of her enhanced senses bearable.


    She had gotten to pick one as well, but her options had been limited, starting only at level twenty. Probably what I was at before this whole thing began. Still, she now had two Classes, and levelling the lower one should be easy enough, being a [Shadow-Touched Assassin] and all.


    Once she got her [Theurgist] Class up to par, she would be a force to be reckoned with. A self-healing Assassin. She would not be the first nor the last, but it suited Adelita''s goals and that was all that mattered to her.


    The Beastkin turned onto one of the main roads snaking its way through the Uzil Isle, seamlessly stepping into the stream of people going about their lives, uncaring for the horrors that were committed around them every day.


    She would not blame the common folk, however. Most of their lack of caring stemmed from the fact that they simply did not know. It was something she sought to correct, sooner or later. But first, I have to end that man.


    Despite the anger coursing through her body, Adelita found herself calm; focused. She had her goal. Nothing short of an actual God would deter it, and she knew as well as anyone that the ones that meddled had already been removed from the picture.


    Her hand brushed past the mantle of a finely-dressed man, her fingers liberating a few Rikal from the open pocket. He had enough of them, and she had guards to bribe.


    A smile spread across her face, her golden eyes fixed on the banner of the Vinmaier family that hung high above everyone''s head. Soon, she thought as she pulled a red dart from one of the many pouches that were hidden on her person.


    With a flick of her wrist, the dart shot away. A moment later it pierced through the black banner, setting it aflame in the process. Soon you shall burn, Jester, Adelita thought to herself as yells started to fill the road. Just like your stupid flag.


    ///


    Aperio mostly ignored the conversation between Caethya, Eleanor, and her friends. Instead, she set most of her focus on the magic that flowed through Earth. Unlike her hazy grasp of how many days had already gone by, she was fully aware of how much the mana had changed. It was increasing, like she had assumed it would, but it was happening far faster than she had predicted.


    She absentmindedly touched the armlet that adorned her right bicep, the almost boundless mana within still offering a sense of calm. It did not compare to her Void, and even that was no longer close to the comfort that Caethya''s mere presence offered, but it was something. Even knowing what I likely did to make it¡­


    Just as any cycle eventually came back to the beginning again, what she had done in the creation of the armlet should not be that much of a surprise as she was currently considering a similar course of action. In the hope of a new universe being better than this one, should she really start a new iteration? It was likely a futile hope, if she considered the Gods she had created in this one. Perhaps another approach is needed. Not a new beginning but simply¡­ variations on what might happen.


    While the idea was currently nothing more than a fleeting thought in the expanse of her mind, it still felt a lot better than murdering all of existence to start over. I certainly don''t lack the strength to carry such a plan out. Or at least, I don''t feel like I''m lacking it. Her ever-growing strength had been something she had banished to the back of her mind, but the knowledge was there nonetheless.


    She shook her head and moved her wings a little as she dismissed the train of thought and focused back on Earth''s mana, pondering how exactly she would bring the System back to the world. It''ll be chaos once people get Classes, won''t it?


    "Can you prove any of that?" the presumably blind man asked, his eyes focused on Aperio even though he was addressing Eleanor. "Sure, her mana feels different, but it wouldn''t be the first time I have met someone versed in some esoteric form of magic."


    "Why should she prove anything that is related to me?" Aperio asked, mentally poking one of the few ''knots'' of mana she had found around the town. "If you doubt me, it would be better if you confront me directly. I am more than happy to erase any and all feelings of uncertainty."


    The All-Mother did not mention the barrier that kept their conversation private, assuming that the three mages had already seen its presence and figured out what it did. The way the other mortals ignored them made that pretty obvious, after all.


    "Do you wish for a fight, perhaps?" the All-Mother asked, stepping just close enough that the milky-eyed man had to strain his neck to actually look at her face. A small blue flame flickered to life in the palm of her hand, and the only thing preventing everything in their surroundings from bursting into flame ¡ª and being noticed by the mortals ¡ª was yet another touch of her magic. "Or does something else suffice?"


    Aperio closed her hand into a fist, snuffing out the fire as a few people had started to glance their way. It had been hidden enough by her body on one side, a tree on the other, and the light bending around just right for every other angle, but that did not mean that it was impossible for people to notice.


    The blind man, who had introduced himself as Damien to Caethya, took a step backwards, his back colliding with the tree only a moment later.


    The All-Mother merely tilted her head at the movement. A moment ago he had been so filled with vigour and a will to fight, but now he seemed scared ¡ª Terrified, even ¡ª when all she had done was step into his personal space and play with a little fire.


    "I think the mana Damien just saw is enough of a proof," Eleanor said with a slight shake of her head. "How much do you need to make a flame that hot anyway?"


    "For me? Not a lot," Aperio said and shrugged. "I care little for how much mana any one thing uses; it barely takes a moment for it to be replenished, anyway, and my reserves reach deeper than I care to admit." Or want to explore.


    The last time she had reached deeper into her well, she had turned into what had amounted to a cloud of nothing, and that was not an experience Aperio wished to repeat any time soon. It was better to stay corporeal.


    Aperio took her eyes off Damien, looking towards Eleanor. "Can he see mana?"


    The woman nodded in reply. "Mana, and what he likes to call lifeforce, though I am never quite sure what that is supposed to be."


    "Mana is life," Aperio said and shifted her gaze back to the milky-eyed man. "Perhaps he is simply drunk and is seeing things twice?"


    Caethya let out a laugh at her words and placed her hand on the All-Mother''s arm. "You are getting better at this," she said after a moment, smiling at her love. "A few more decades and you will be a proper comedian."


    "I did make it possible, it is only natural that I will excel at it." At some point at least.


    Caethya gave another giggle at the remark while Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. The other Humans looked at one another with some confusion.


    "She is not lying," the amalgamation of Earth''s Gods said, its eyes focusing on the All-Mother as it seemingly lost the interest it had held in the tree just a moment ago. "Her mana is the same that brought life to this world. Now, she has come to finish her work."


    Aperio tilted her head as she looked at the God, the deity itself very much interested in the tree again as it stretched out a hand and brushed it over the bark. It giggled at the feeling and stepped closer, wrapping its arms around the tree and letting out a content sigh.


    Did I do something wrong when I gave it a body? Aperio didn''t feel like she did, but it was certainly possible. Though she was many things, infallible was not one of them. Not yet, at least. It was only ever a question of how much she allowed herself to see. If she wished to, Aperio had little doubt that she could view all of her creation at once in meticulous detail and use that knowledge to figure out what will happen. Just another thing that should not be done.


    "Who is that, anyway?" the other woman ¡ª Karla, if Aperio recalled correctly ¡ª asked. "Kinda feels like there is more than one person in the same spot."


    "Because that is exactly what it is," Aperio replied, letting more of her mind drift over to the examination of the various lines of mana flowing through the planet.


    While she was not quite sure who made it that way ¡ª and Aperio was certain someone had designed it ¡ª she had no doubt that they had spent a good while figuring out where mana needed to go on the planet. Letting her aura spread farther also revealed that some of the knots where the lines of mana crossed held ruins of what she assumed to be towers. Mages love their towers.


    "Pardon?" the woman said. "How would that even work?"


    "By combining all the deities you and your fellow mortals thought up into one body," Aperio replied as she mentally squinted at a skyscraper that had been built on one of the stronger knots. Looks almost like the council building here.


    "Ah yes, that makes perfect sense!" Karla exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air before turning to mutter to herself something about ancient idiots.


    The All-Mother shook her head in irritation, her wings flaring ever-so-slightly. Her statement had been the truth, and unlike the police officers, these people know that magic existed. "Do you want me to prove that it is what I say it is? I have no issue bringing us back to its Domain."


    "Do you need the ritual again?" Eleanor asked, the excitement obvious in her voice.


    "She doesn''t," Caethya replied, earning her a raised eyebrow from the All-Mother. "Technically, she did not need it the first time around either, but it made finding it easier and Aperio does like to observe the magic of others." The Demigoddess smiled. "Or the world, for that matter. I am sure she is currently scrutinizing this part of the world for things she might not have seen before."


    "I would like to see," the last of the mortals said. He had not said much over the course of the previous discussion the group had had with Caethya and Adam, only contributing his name ¡ª Michael. "If it is truly not too much trouble."


    "It is not," Aperio replied, a thought reaching out to subtly shift one of the knots of mana to see what would happen. "We should go somewhere a little more private, however. I do not think our sudden disappearance from the park would go over well."


    "We can use my house," Micheal said and gestured towards a building on the far side of the park. Aperio tilted her head at the gesture as she thought it highly unlikely that anyone but Caethya and herself would be able to see that far.


    "The older one made from brick?" the All-Mother asked, her aura effortlessly moving past the crude runes etched into the stones. No reaction at all¡­ Sure, the enchantments on Venerenier no longer had such an explosive reaction to her presence, but they still reacted. This one simply pretended the wave of mana that had just swept past did not exist. "You might wish to look at your wards, they seem to be out of order."


    The man''s eyes widened a little at her words before he gave a nod. "I will make sure to check them once we arrive. May I ask for your help, then?"


    "Sure," Aperio replied with a shrug and began to move towards the house, a wing moving slightly before she grit her teeth and folded it behind her back again. These people really need to get some wings of their own.


    The All-Mother slung her arm around Caethya''s instead, the motion nowhere close to wrapping her love in her wing. "I do enjoy looking at new magic."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 206: Lay of the Land

    Aperio observed quietly as Damien tinkered with the door to his home for a moment before opening it. As soon as the door had even moved a little, the All-Mother could see various enchantments lighting up, but Damien mumbled some words and they turned off again.


    "They seem to work just fine," he said as he looked at Aperio. "Would you mind explaining what you meant when you said that they are out of order?"


    "Sure," Aperio replied, a touch of her magic closing the door and pushing Damien outside again.


    She stepped up to the door and let some of her mana flow into the lock, causing a click to resound. Aperio carefully pushed it open with a hand instead of the wing she had initially planned to use.


    "Do you see what I mean?" the All-Mother asked before she ducked through the now open doorway and entered Damien''s home. "And all I did is use some mana to force the lock open. I would have thought that that would be the first thing people would try when they are trying to break in." She tilted her head slightly. "I would have chosen to simply teleport inside, but I do believe that that is outside the realm of possibility for most mortals."


    "Here I would agree," Caethya said. "But elsewhere¡­" She trailed off and looked at the All-Mother. "Well, everyone wishing to be able to defend themselves against anything greater than a few common bandits would know how to do it."


    "I can do that," the amalgamation of Earth''s God said in a chipper voice, looking a little too happy with itself as it abruptly appeared next to Aperio. "See? Very easy."


    The All-Mother shook her head slightly and stepped aside to allow the others entry. Everyone but Ethan filed inside, the Vampire waiting by the door before the milky-eyed man doubled back to invite him in.


    Aperio could not help but raise a brow at the interaction. She wanted to ask why that had been needed, but a small shift in Earth''s mana answered that question for her. The Vampire had not waited outside because he was polite but because he was unable to enter the house on his own. There was the tiniest difference in the mana inside the home, one the All-Mother had attributed to it being the residence of a mortal.


    In the end, all of them are different, and so are their homes, the All-Mother mused, a small smile on her face. Almost like a tiny Dominion they get to claim.


    Damien narrowed his eyes slightly as he took in her expression, seemingly not sure what to make of it. Aperio smiled a little wider in reply, and as soon as the door had closed behind Ethan she took the opportunity to finally wrap a wing around Caethya.


    The Demigoddess shook her head slightly before she tugged at the feathered limb, causing Aperio to slightly tighten her hold on her love. Everyone but Adam and his godly charge seemed a little surprised at the motion ¡ª or perhaps the display of affection ¡ª but neither Aperio nor Caethya paid them much mind. What some mortals thought of them ranked fairly low on the scale of importance.


    "Is everyone ready to leave, then?" Aperio asked as more of her own mana flowed into some of the mana lines that snaked their way across Earth. "Or do you no longer wish to see its Dominion?"


    "Going home already?" the amalgamation asked as it stepped up to a shelf and pulled out one of the books. "Can I not stay? I wish to learn!"


    The All-Mother merely offered a shrug, looking to Damien. It was not her home and therefore not her decision to make. "I will only take those who are willing."


    "Eleanor?" the milky-eyed man began, turning to face the woman. "Would you be so kind to keep an eye on our guest?


    "Sure," the woman replied. "Not too keen on going back there if I am honest. It feels¡­ wrong to be there."


    "Because you do not belong," the amalgamation said in the same chipper tone it had used earlier. "Nor were you invited!" It took one of the many books from the shelves, holding it up to its face before it sniffed it. "But no-one can stop her from doing what she wishes to do, so you are welcome in my home." It turned slightly, its eyes settling on Damien. "May I read this book? It smells nice."


    "Sure¡­" the man replied, looking at the amalgamation for a long moment. "Did I understand that correctly? We''re not going to your home, but his?"


    "I did tell you that it is the amalgamation of all the Gods your kind has dreamed up," Aperio said with a shrug. "Did you think they would not have a place they call their own?" What is it with mortals and doubting?


    The man raised his hand, only to lower it a moment later. "Kind of, yeah." He hesitated for a moment, simply looking at the All-Mother. "So what, exactly, does that make you, when it really is what you say it is and you can just ignore whatever it might try?"


    Aperio''s shoulders slumped, and her head fell forwards as she let out a sigh. Her hair slid forward to partially obscure her face from view. "You know, with how many times you have been told that I am the All-Mother, Creator of everything you know, I would have thought that you understood by now." A thought twisted reality apart, bringing Damien, Caethya and the other two mortals they had just met into the Dominion of Earth''s God. "I am exactly what I say I am, and I have been told that you are able to feel that in your Soul."


    "So that''s what that is," Karla said. "It''s not like I know that you are what you claim to be, but I do somehow know that every word you speak is the truth; that every utterance is undeniable fact."


    "I don''t get the same feeling," Caethya said as Aperio''s eyes settled on her. "Never did, actually. I knew you were the All-Mother, but not that your words were the truth." The Demigoddess tapped her chin. "That they think so might be related to their general lack of mana. Your existence is quite magical in and of itself, so it stands to reason that someone with little magic of their own would feel your influence more, even if you keep it in check as much as possible."


    The All-Mother only gave an annoyed huff in reply, gesturing towards the mostly empty expanse that was the amalgamation''s Dominion. "Explore as much as you wish. We can return whenever you are ready."


    The three mortals looked at one another for a moment. When they scurried off, it was towards the only thing of note in the space: the tapestry Aperio had arrived in front of when she had first entered the Dominion herself.


    Aperio, for her part, simply formed a sofa made from her mana and displaced herself and Caethya to sit on it. The Demigoddess only raised a brow before leaning back against the feathered limb of her love that still held her in its embrace.


    "And?" she asked, making sure to use the language of their people. "What is your verdict on Earth so far?"


    "Annoying," Aperio replied, a thought bringing up a mana-based projection of the magical rivers flowing all throughout the planet. "But I did find these and they are quite intriguing."


    "Did they make that, or did the world form with them?" Caethya asked, shifting a little in the All-Mother''s wing as a book appeared in her hand. "I know people tried to create leylines on Verenier in the past, but the only group that got close were the ones that also built Lightfray.


    Even then," she said, and started to leaf through the book, "as far as I know, they never quite succeeded in doing that. Might be best to ask Edisicio or Ferio about it."


    "Perhaps we should," Aperio replied, mentally tugging on a few of the leylines ¡ª as they were apparently called ¡ª and coercing them into a knot of her own making. "But I am fairly certain that these are mortal-made as they feel¡­ artificial. The mana wishes to go elsewhere, but before it can gather the momentum and strength with which it can escape it arrives at another of the knots and is trapped once more.


    "I have been testing them over the last little while." A part of her mind observed with amusement as Earth''s other leylines adjusted to incorporate her newly-formed knot. "It is impressive considering the level of magic we have seen on display here."


    "Will it interfere with the System?"


    "No," the All-Mother replied with a slight shake of her head. "If it wanted to, I could simply remove the leylines from the world, but I would like to leave them mostly as is."


    "Besides your experimenting, of course," Caethya added for Aperio, smiling at her. "But I would be surprised if anything you did to them couldn''t be reversed."


    "I do not believe that to be the case. So far, none of the mortals seem to have truly noticed that something is happening to their network." She underlined her words with a thought that tugged at the line running below Riverburg while another thought showed Caethya the entirety of the city so she could judge their reaction. "I am beginning to think that most of them would not even notice the System coming back if I withheld its visual aspects and just had it interact with them through a ''voice''."


    "Wouldn''t it do that anyway for people who think it''s a voice?" Caethya asked, her brows slightly scrunched and the confusion evident in her words. "I see mine as a blue-ish window in most cases, but in the past ¡ª before I learned how to read, for example ¡ª it was just a voice.


    "I also know that a great many people perceive it as a book or scroll of some sort," Caethya continued, placing a thumb on the current page of her book and closing it. "Has it never changed for you?"


    "No," Aperio replied, forming a blue window with a silver outline in front of Caethya with her mana. "This is how it has always looked for me. Even when I was a child and could not read, I had no trouble understanding what it said." She tilted her head slightly. "At the time I had thought it simply meant that the System could always be understood by everyone, but now¡­ I am more inclined to believe I was able to comprehend what it said because, in the end, I am the System." To a degree, at least.


    "I still don''t understand how that dynamic works," her love said with an almost silent sigh. "It''s not like you personally oversee everything the System does. I know you, and that seems like something you would not want to do."


    The All-Mother dismissed the projection she had made and remained quiet for a moment, her eyes wandering around the Dominion of Earth''s God in an effort to find something that could tell her how to put her thoughts into words.


    Saying that the System was the subconscious part of her mind that had been given a more clear set of rules to direct her own power was correct, but it also didn¡¯t quite feel right. Probably because the idea of telling your subconscious to do something is a weird idea¡­ Still, if those rules hadn''t been in place, Aperio was certain that her creation would look a lot weirder.


    An errant thought from her could already cause all manner of things ¡ª likely even the destruction of a world, if she let herself go unchecked for a little too long. The idea of a part of herself, one that she did not have direct control over, being allowed to roam free was not something the All-Mother wished to consider at length.


    "Think of it as a measure to prevent a thought of revenge from erasing people from existence," Aperio eventually said before she let out a sigh and shook her head slightly. "I am not happy with this explanation, but you can think of it as my subconscious mind, given structure. It is the closest comparison I can think of at the moment, and is also likely the best understanding I currently have of both the System and myself."


    "It seems easy enough to understand, even if the concept itself is a little out there." Caethya placed a hand on the small of Aperio''s back, the All-Mother shifting the wing around her love slightly to better accommodate the movement. "I can''t even begin to think of a way to control your subconscious mind like that, but then, assuming that your mind works like my own is probably wrong."


    "Probably," Aperio agreed. "But it is a fair assumption to make. I look like a mortal, and think like one. At least I think I do."


    Of course, the ease with which she could use magic and the sheer difference in power between her and literally anyone else caused her to do things a little differently from the norm, but Aperio assumed that was the case for anyone that attained some level of power beyond the common folk.


    Her proof for that assumption was her love sitting next to her. Caethya had very much been a mortal before, but she also had never seemed to be stumped by any of the divine shenanigans she had been involved in. But maybe that''s just her.


    "You are doing an adequate job for a primordial being that is probably older than the universe we find ourselves in," the Demigoddess replied, the book she had been holding onto vanishing before she leaned her full weight against the All-Mother. "What you still need to learn is how to actually take a vacation, however. I would not consider anything that we have done so far to be actually relaxing."


    "I can relax once I have properly brought the System back," the All-Mother replied.


    "Then perhaps you should get started on that," Caethya said, poking a finger into Aperio''s side. "We all deserve some time off."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 207: Annoyed at the World

    GamingWolf


    Just a reminder that I will be on vacation the week starting on the 21st for basically the rest of feburary!


    "So, what else is there to do here?" Damien asked as he inspected the solid nothing below his feet. "This entire space seems rather...empty, to be the home of a god."


    "It is empty because it was busy flipping between personalities," Aperio replied. "I would imagine it did not have much time to actually decorate. Whatever decorations a particular personality would have made would have eventually been forgotten by the others, ceasing to exist by the time that particular decorator once again came to the fore."


    "But they never forgot about the board?" Karla asked, gesturing towards the object in question.


    "How could they?" the All-Mother asked, tilting her head slightly. "As far as I understand, each of those symbols represents one personality. Every personality it has ever had, in fact. Their fight for consciousness in the shared form is what has most defined this being for who knows how long. Centuries, at the least."


    The woman eyed the tapestry for a moment longer before she shook her head. "I guess we can leave, then. There''s not much to see here, and Eleanor was right; being in this place feels wrong. But next to this whole truth-feeling thing, it''s only the second weirdest thing I have felt today."


    Once both Damien and Micheal had given their assent, Aperio brought them back into the house of Micheal. Adam and the amalgamation did not indicate they even noticed their return while Eleanor almost dropped the cup of tea she held in her hand, only a small touch of the All-Mother''s magic keeping it from crashing to the floor.


    "You''ll get used to it," Caethya said, still seated on the couch that had moved along with the group. She leaned forward, picking up a cup of her own from the table where Eleanor sat. "After a while, you will get a feel for when she might appear."


    Micheal sat himself down by the table and he, too, reached out for some tea. He took a long sip, letting out a content sigh before he addressed Caethya. "I think that might be a skill exclusive to you. Your girlfriend is... quite beyond us." A small, somehow defeated-looking smile spread across his face. "I doubt any of us truly register in her mind. We''re no more than a little blip, I reckon. She might like to think that we are memorable individuals, but give it a few hundred years and this moment will be long forgotten. The same goes for you too, I would think.


    "You are not like her, or¡ª" he glanced pointedly at the amalgamation "¡ªwhatever it actually is, but it is obvious that you are not like us," Micheal continued. "Even your Human friend is quite extraordinary."


    Adam, who had been listening in on their conversation, couldn''t help but laugh at that claim. "I am nothing where we come from. My teacher alone could probably beat me in a fight, and he¡¯s lost nearly all of his magical capabilities. And Qhinya, well... pretty sure she wouldn''t even need to use her hands to thoroughly trounce me."


    "Where are you from?" Karla asked, still standing exactly where Aperio had teleported her. "Excuse me for being so direct, but none of you seem to really belong here. Sure, Adam fits in fine and knows what''s what, but the two of you are stumbling about as if it was your first time on Earth."


    "I will simply say that it has been a while since I was here and much has changed since then," Aperio replied, the lie flowing from her lips far more easily than she liked. "As for where my home is¡­ Let us say that ¡®far away¡¯ is a good enough description.


    "Not like there would be much for you to see, either," she continued, her eyes flicking towards the amalgamation who was staring at a painting. "It is much like theirs; it simply feels a lot more like home and has a few things that your singular ensemble of deities could never hope to gain."


    Aperio shifted slightly on the mana-made sofa she had created. "As for your claim that this will be a forgotten moment of history¡­ As much as I would like to say that it will be, I am unable to forget unless I set my mind to it."


    Karla blinked at the words. "You cannot forget something unless you, what, make yourself forget?"


    "Essentially," Aperio confirmed. "But even then, the memory is merely faded and hard to find. If I try to, I will be able to recall it." She paused for a moment, briefly considering trying the tea like they obviously expected her to. "You seem to fail to grasp what being the creator of everything entails. Luckily, a demonstration will be forthcoming. All you have to do is wait a little longer."


    "So you¡¯ve made a decision?" Caethya asked, not trying to hide the amusement from her voice.


    "A preliminary one, yes. I shall observe how they will handle the change and decide further actions based on that."


    Bringing the System to Earth was not a hard task; all Aperio had to do was finally allow it to access some of her mana so it could assert itself on the world. The tricky part would be to direct it in the way she actually wanted. It shouldn''t be difficult to do that, but Aperio knew better than to simply assume anything was easy when it came to her own mind. Or that things should make sense¡­


    "What change?" Damien asked, his eyes fixed on the All-Mother.


    "I will let your precious council inform you of that," she said. "Suffice to say that it will fix more than a few of your problems while also creating entirely new ones."


    "Why are powerful people always so cryptic?" Karla mumbled to herself, stiffening as both Caethya''s and Aperio''s gazes settled onto her. "What? It''s true."


    The All-Mother rolled her eyes at the mortal''s words. Sure, she was indeed being somewhat cryptic, but she also did not owe them any explanation. In fact, telling them now would only result in more questions. The disbelief in these mortals was quite deeply-rooted, and they seemed unable to actually accept her word. A very annoying trait¡­


    "No matter what I say to that, it will be questioned; there is little point in actually answering." She gave a minute stretch of her wings, the one not supporting Caethya simply moving the sofa she had made. "Besides, even if your council does not inform you, it will be hard to miss when it happens." At least I think it will.


    Given that she was trying to figure out what exactly the System was doing to Earth, she allowed it to use a little more of her mana. The changes made thus far were small, but Aperio still found them to be quite obvious. Only someone blind to mana would fail to see what was going on.


    "Just ignore them," Caethya said, nestling herself not only under Aperio''s wing but also her arm. "They''ll figure it out sooner or later. If I can see it happening already, it won''t be long before Adam notices. They should at least be able to sense something after that."


    "I really wish you would just tell us," Micheal said, but Aperio simply shook her head.


    "Perhaps if you had doubted me less I would have explained, but now it is my turn to be annoying." She let her senses spread more clearly across the city, towards the river that was likely its namesake. "It will not be long before you notice. A few days at most."


    The mortals sitting at the various beaches dotted around the rather wide river had no idea what was coming, and Aperio could not help but wonder what they would do once magic had been gifted to them.


    ///


    Adelita flicked her blade,splattering the blood that had clung to it against the floor and wall. "Disgusting," she mumbled, looking at the corpse of the woman she had just removed from the world. "How are they still around?"


    The woman might not have directly been part of the Vinmaier family, but her branch family was much of the same mindset as the main one. Just like the person who had previously owned her body, this one had been fond of slaves even in the face of a decree by the literal creator of everything they knew.


    Of course, Adelita ¡ª like many others ¡ª had not truly believed at first that that was really the being who had made the announcement. A couple of experiences, however, gave her pause. There had been many oddities with the System lately, for one thing. For another, her body''s previous inhabitant had a semi-encounter with something that had looked like the All-Mother. That entity had had an overwhelming presence, leading Adelita to consider that, perhaps, the existence of the Creator might not be a lie.


    In the end, all of that mattered little to her. The decree was very much in line with her own personal goals. If anything, the All-Mother being the one that spoke out on this might be a boon to her in the future. Maybe she can get out the last bits of this stupid enchantment.


    Her musings were interrupted by one of the doors leading into the room opening, causing Adelita to vanish into the shadows. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she held her breath and simply watched three knights as well as what she assumed to be the head maid rush into the room. The knights¡¯ eyes only lingered on the corpse for a moment before they began scouring the room for any hint of the intruder while the maid slowly collapsed to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes.


    Adelita had to bite back the remark that wanted to leave her lips and instead unsheathed a pair of daggers. The metal made no sound as they left their housings, the usual green glow of the enchantments on the blades subdued by a Class skill so as to avoid alerting any of the knights to her presence.


    She waited until one of the knights left with the distraught maid and the other two were on opposite sites of the room. A pull on her skill moved her through the shadows, closer to the knight by the door.


    Adelita could hear his breathing; slow and steady. Focused. He was not deterred by the happenings, the only goal in his mind likely that of his search for the intruder. She would grant his wish of finding her sooner than he would know.


    As soon as the father knight turned his back, Adelita plunged one dagger into her target¡¯s neck. The other plunged at the same time into his heart, and she gave that one a twist before she let go to cover the man''s mouth instead, all the while pulling him into the shadows.


    Following the guidance of her Class still felt a little weird. Too close to the [Mark of Servitude] for her liking, but it was also different enough for her to learn to feel comfortable using it. There was no malice in the System''s actions, as it simply supplied her mind with the knowledge on how she should move to execute her goal and let her body perform that movement without prior training.


    Of course, she was not as skilled as Lita yet, but that would come in time. She had had a lifetime to observe, after all. Perhaps after she had taken care of this ''noble'' house she would be good enough to not rely on it. For now however, she would take every measure that could give her an edge in her fight.


    Once the body had stilled, Adelita let it drop to the ground in the remaining knight''s shadow, where it reappeared. When the poor fellow turned around to see what had made the sudden noise, she dispatched him in the same way as the first; a dagger in his neck and a matching one in his heart. The armour they wore was no match for the weapons Lita had been supplied with.


    Can''t have the enemies of house Vinmaier survive, Adelita mocked in her mind as she drew her blades out of the now-limp body and removed most of the blood with a flick of her wrist.


    A moment later, and a liberal use of her [Shadow Step] skill, she found herself in yet another dark alley on one of Ebenlowe''s many isles. There were a lot more people she had to dispose of and precious little time with which to do so. Lita was no longer in control of her body, but back when that detestable alter-ego had been in charge, Adelita had been privy to some of Jester''s more nefarious plans.


    None of them would break the letter of the law, but she was convinced they were very much against the spirit of them. Not that some of the [Adjudicator]s care about that. A good number of those were just as wretched as Jester himself, and the man knew and counted on that. And why a few of them will have to be replaced.


    For them, Adelita had planned a less violent first approach. Killing off some nobles was fine, they did that to each other often enough anyway, but taking out one of the few [Adjudicator]s was a move that would put her on the fast track to the afterlife. For them, she would first have to provide some evidence of their crimes. Luckily, her last cleaning expeditions ¡ª of the filthy noble sort ¡ª had yielded more than enough proof. Now all she had to do was show the right people what she had found.


    With a shake of her head, she jumped onto the building that had so graciously provided the shadows needed for her escape. Her next targets were the [Guides], but this time it was to plant some evidence for them to find. With any luck, they would talk to their precious Goddess and expedite the process, but even if they did not, having them be out for the blood of the [Adjudicator]s would be more than a little helpful.


    After all, it was not only the council that directed the actions of the local guards. The [Guides] had a much longer history of helping run the city, one far less plagued with intrigue and backstabbing. The guards, to nobody''s surprise, preferred such a state of things.


    Adelita, now a decent number of houses away from her crime scene, gave the estate of the branch family a last look. She smiled as she watched more and more servants fleeing the property. Whatever binds that had held them there were now gone, just as she had planned.


    Her smile stretched into a maniacal grin as the shadows rose from the ground to swallow her once more. There was more work to do. More vengeance to take, and more blood to spill.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 208: Seeking Confirmation

    Elder Wu frowned, slightly lowering his mug of steaming Aztec Chocolate as he felt yet another strange ripple run through the mana in his office. The phenomenon felt... artificial, but only barely so. Not quite like the shifts he would feel every now and then coming from the ley lines, but also not too far off.


    "Gary!" Elder Wu called.


    "Yes?" the aide asked, appearing in his office a moment later.


    "Find out what the other Elders know about these weird ripples, please," the old Vampire said, dismissing Gary once he had acknowledged the request.


    Luckily for him, he did not have to explain what he meant. Despite Gary being a rather ordinary man, he was quite sensitive to the movements of mana. And quite useful in tracking that Elf¡­


    Aperio had made no attempt to conceal her whereabouts until a couple of hours ago, when nearly every hint of her presence had utterly vanished for a period of a few minutes. There had been no gathering of mana, or any other signs that teleportation was at work. Something else was afoot.


    At least cameras work on her, Elder Wu thought to himself as he scribbled himself a note to add some more people to the team that was in charge of surveying the newest source of trouble. Probably considers this to be some kind of entertainment.


    The ringing of his phone caused Wu to let out a long groan. Setting individual ringtones for different contacts had been a good idea in theory, but knowing that Merlin was on the other end filled him with nothing but dread.


    "Hello," he said, once he had reluctantly accepted the call. "I hadn''t expected a call from you for another twelve hours at least."


    "I was excited and had a favour with the tower I could use," Merlin replied, her words underlined by the honking of the car she was likely driving at the moment. "I''ll be at your fancy tower in an hour or two. Depends on how many idiots I encounter on the way."


    "At least one," Elder Wu mumbled in reply.


    "What was that?" Merlin asked, the old wizard sounding more curious than annoyed.


    Nothing," he said quickly, "just talking to myself."


    "Sure," Merlin replied. "Maybe your new guest is taking a bigger toll on you than expected. Imagine, the mighty Tiang Wu being bested by someone who isn''t even trying to do anything."


    The Vampire merely huffed at the words. "You''ll see for yourself what she is when you arrive. Shouldn''t be long before you can feel her presence."


    "Oh, I can sense that alright. She is doing something with the ley lines, but what that is is beyond me at the moment, I would have to look at the convergence below your tower to get a clue about what she might be up to."


    "She said she had come to judge us and ¡ª should she find us acceptable ¡ª fix our mana troubles," Elder Wu said. "How she plans to do that, I do not know, but I if I had to guess I would say it has something to do with her rather excessive amount of mana. Might just share some with us."


    "That would not be a fix," Merlin replied. "And I don''t trust your judgement on anything related to magic, anyway. You may be old, but in all that time you¡¯ve never thought to actually learn how any of this really works." She mumbled something else that Wu did not quite catch before speaking more clearly again. "I''ll be there shortly."


    Elder Wu lowered the phone, as Merlin had hung up after her declaration, and reached for the mug that stood on his desk. He took a sip, savouring the sweet notes of the chocolate and the sorely needed soothing touch of the blood that made the ancient drink so unique.


    He held his mug in both hands, taking a long, deep breath. "One of these days, I''m going to lose it."


    ///


    Merlin shut the door of her rental with a foot and eyed the bustling crowd of people moving through Riverburg. She had told Tiang that it would be a bit longer till she arrived, but that had of course been a lie. Using a favour of the Ontario Mage''s Guild guaranteed you speedy travel; especially if your name was Merlin and they owed their entire existence to you.


    She hummed to herself as she locked the car and set her eyes on an old house made from brick. To most, it would look like any other house in the town of Riverburg, but to Merlin, who could see that the house was practically leaking mana, it was quite obvious that the person she sought was inside.


    Of course, the house wasn''t really leaking mana, and it was likely nothing more than the aura of the self-proclaimed creator. A bit lacking, if Merlin was honest with herself.


    As if her thoughts had been heard, reality suddenly seemed to slow. Every pair of eyes, despite the fact that the people were paying her no mind, still seemed to be staring paradoxically right at her. She was seen even though nobody was looking. A moment later, a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, connected with a presence behind her that all but blinded her senses.


    When she turned around, nobody was there except normal people minding their business and ignoring her like they should. When she checked, nothing had disturbed the magic she had placed on herself to remain unnoticed by most. And yet, the reason she had come had not only noticed her through the spell, but had also gone out of her way to show that she was capable of a very high level of either mind, illusion, or straight up reality-warping magic.


    Probably mind¡­ It would help explain why nobody questioned the rather ridiculous claim she had made and why Tiang would use his favour with her. Merlin might not be the foremost expert on mind magic, but she was close, and she had a far larger breadth of general knowledge than essentially any other mage alive.


    "Everything alright?" a voice asked from the sidewalk Merlin had still not moved to. "You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost."


    The old wizard blinked and turned, her eyes settling on a large Orc. Merlin hesitated for a moment as the gears in her mind turned ever so slowly, bringing a memory of the Orc in question to the forefront of her mind.


    "Gale?" she asked, finally moving away from the street and next to him. "It''s been a while."


    "Do I know you?" the Orc asked and took a step back.


    "Oh right, yes," Merlin mumbled. She put her hand into her pocket, a slight bit of mana causing a piece of paper to appear that she promptly handed to Gale. "Merlin. New body, same me."


    Gale looked the piece of paper for a moment before he took it, and his eyes widened the moment his fingers touched it. "That''s most certainly not something I have seen before. Do you switch bodies regularly?"


    Merlin shrugged. "Whenever my current one gets too unwieldy I make a new one. No, I won''t share how I do it, or do it for you. This is a secret I will keep."


    "I hope for your sake that it doesn''t involve kidnapping people or something of the like," Gale said. "If it does, you are in trouble." His eyes wandered towards the building Merlin knew her target was in. "I assume she is the reason you came. Trust me when I say this: You do not want to upset Aperio. Though, judging by your previous reaction, you seem to have figured that out already."


    "I''m not inclined to judge on what could''ve been an illusion, Gale," Merlin said, her eyes lingering on the old house for just a moment. "I have some preparations to make before I meet her."


    "Good luck," the Orc said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You''ll need it."


    ///


    Aperio could not help but keep a mental eye on the peculiar woman who had entered the city and directly proceeded to the All-Mother''s location, seemingly having found an interest in her presence.


    Once she had arrived, Aperio had given her a slightly more thorough inspection. It seemed to have spooked her, as she was currently moving away from the house and towards a bookstore that hid a vast number of magical items behind its unassuming facade.


    "Found something?" Caethya asked. "Or is it just that new mage that came?"


    "The mage," Aperio replied, making sure that the others would not hear, and thus be disturbed from their current discussion of what she had meant by ''demonstration.'' "There is something¡­ off about her. She appears young, but is not. And her Soul seems like it has been grafted to the body instead of them being born together as one."


    Caethya straightened a little, the carelessness she had displayed for the past hour or so fading away. "You think she messed with others to figure out how to do that? Or takes over people to live longer?"


    "I hope that is not the case, but that is most certainly what it looks like," Aperio replied, standing up from the sofa made of her mana. She offered Caethya her hand, and as she took it the All-Mother''s wing nudged her love''s back to help her rise. "I think a small visit is in order."


    The mortals in the room quieted as they noticed Aperio standing up. "Caethya and I will be leaving for a moment," she said. "Adam can call for me if you require anything."


    Before any of them could say anything, the All-Mother and her love vanished from the old home, reappearing but a moment later inside the definitely completely normal book store. The owner was currently in a room hidden behind one of the shelves, and the view through the windows was obscured by thick curtains. Nobody to see our arrival.


    "How neat," Caethya commented, letting go of Aperio''s hand to approach one of the shelves. It was filled with books about magic that were most assuredly nothing but fiction. She pulled one out, the light reflecting off a silver embossed cover. "I do like what the Humans do with their books. So many of them, and most anyone can simply come and buy one."


    Aperio nudged yet another ley line out of the way of the System¡¯s mana, adding some of her own to form into a new network that simply felt more correct to her mind; to her very being.


    "Are books only for the wealthy on Verenier?" Aperio asked, her eyes wandering over the various volumes on display. "I only know the time of the Empire, and there knowledge or even entertainment in written form was only for those of high blood."


    "It''s for everyone who can afford it," Caethya replied, putting back the book she had inspected. "It doesn''t help that most people are not really interested in books. A play is often far more entertaining and costs the same, sometimes even less."


    "I see," the All-Mother said, tilting her head as a pulse ran through the ley lines, originating from a knot further west, in the ocean. "Well, I think it is time for us to meet our mystery mage and see if she is a body snatcher or not."


    Whoever this new mortal was, they had had enough time to notice her appearance and finish whatever preparations they needed. Both the mage and the store owner were standing on the other side of the door disguised as shelves, the woman staring at it with what Aperio would consider a mixture of fear and curiosity while the owner took a step away from the door, something the All-Mother could only describe as abject horror visible on his face.


    A wave of her hand caused the shelf to slide open, revealing the inconspicuous-looking woman and the store owner who, for one reason or another, currently wore a monocle. An enchanted one. Neat.


    "Greetings," Aperio said, spreading her wings slightly and offering a nod once she entered the room. She eyed the owner a moment longer, smiling slightly as his hands fidgeted before she set her gaze onto the woman. "I have some questions for you, miss. Your Soul does not belong to that body and I wish to know why it is there." She stepped closer, already looming over the much smaller mortal. "I do hope it is not what I think it is. I have had enough of idiots thinking of Souls as a tool to be used as they see fit to last me a few lifetimes."


    Caethya stepped past Aperio and the frozen mage, deftly plucking a dagger that had not previously been there out of the store owner''s hand. "That won''t do you any good. Just let her ask her questions and hope your¡­ friend? Or at least customer, is honest."


    "Who are you?" Aperio asked as she tugged at the threads of reality to let the System show her little bit about the mortal in front of her.


    "Merlin," the woman replied in a quiet whisper. "Mage."


    "Merlin, or do you prefer Myrddin?" Aperio asked, mentally dismissing the information the slowly expanding System had already provided on the mage in front of her. "Half Human, half Demon. Ancient. But, more importantly, someone who is in a body not their own."


    "They are mine," Merlin said through clenched teeth, seemingly straining against Aperio''s undivided attention. "I make them."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 209: Facing the Unknown

    GamingWolf


    Merlin winced slightly as the winged Elf lowered herself to eye level, brushing a few strands out of her face. This close to the person Merlin was utterly unprepared to be meeting, she could see specks of silver wandering across the other woman¡¯s iris, changing every time Merlin blinked.


    She felt a shiver run down her spine as her own mana ignored her commands, joining the tide of foreign magic that swept through her.


    "Your meddling is crude," the woman said as a tendril of mana somehow moved around the very essence of her being. "How many others did you try this on before you succeeded?"


    Merlin tried to reply, but her body did not obey. The words did not even begin to form in her throat as more and more of the woman''s mana flowed through her, turning over what felt like every cell of her body as it went.


    "Answer," the woman said. The command was not yelled, or spoken any more harshly than the words that came before it, and yet Merlin could not help feeling like she wanted to disappear.


    The other Elf stepped up next to the winged one, placing a hand on her back before she whispered a few words that Merlin did not understand. In response to the words, the winged woman''s muscles tensed and her feathered appendages flared slightly.


    A moment later, the flow of her mana ceased and Merlin slumped forward, gasping for breath as the muscular woman stood to her full height again and glared towards the door, likely seeing something that only she could actually perceive.


    "I still expect an answer," she said, setting her eyes back on Merlin.


    "They are me," the mage rasped. She took a deep breath and shook her head, trying not to focus on the tendril of mana that still flowed around her essence. "A body devoid of life that grows until I have need of it."


    "A shell," the woman said, running a hand over her stomach. "That does not answer my question, however."


    "I only ran my tests on myself," Merlin replied as she lowered herself to the ground. "That''s all I ever do." She leaned until her back rested against the desk, then looked up at the woman. "But how do you know my name? I haven''t met you before."


    "I think you know how I know," she replied, a small smile on her lips. "You came here to observe me, after all, so you should know who I am."


    The worst part about this person ¡ª Aperio, she remembered Gale telling her ¡ª was not that the words were delivered with a slight note of smugness, but the fact that Merlin was receiving knowledge on what felt like two levels. She had been told something, but she could also perceive it as well.


    "Self-proclaimed creator of the universe," she said quietly, her eyes leaving Aperio''s own to look at the rest of the Creator.


    If nobody had told her ¡ª and she could not feel the mana flowing off of her ¡ª Merlin would have never thought that the woman in front of her was a mage, much less someone who had supposedly made the universe; a revelation she still was not inclined to believe. Her initial thoughts would, in that case, have run more towards noting that this Elf had lived in the gym for a few centuries, utterly unlike the rest of her kind, and now seemed ready to run around and throw silly Humans into walls. Or whatever else Elves do for fun.


    "I have not given this title to myself; it was mortals like you who did." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, the tensing muscles in her arms causing Merlin to wince a little. "While it might be true, I prefer All-Mother, or simply Aperio. Lady Velkari would also suffice, if you wish to be formal without the divine connotations."


    Aperio turned her head slightly, presumably looking at the storekeeper who had very much been caught up in something he was not prepared for. She held her gaze for a moment before her eyes flicked back to Merlin, her wings spreading slightly behind her as she shifted her weight to her other leg.


    "And to what do I owe the pleasure, Lady Velkari?" Merlin asked, moving herself up a little so she could sit a bit straighter. "Besides questioning me on my immortality, that is."


    "You are not immortal," the woman declared with a raised eyebrow. "Far from it, even. Though, I do see now that the people here have a vastly different definition of that word than I do." Aperio stood just a little taller, somehow, and squared her shoulders, her hands now resting on her hips. "Let me rephrase: to me, you are very much mortal."


    "Everything is," the other woman in the room said with a shake of her head. "I am pretty sure we had this talk already."


    Aperio looked at the other Elf, her ears twitching slightly as the other woman smiled. "We did, but I do consider some people immortal. You, for example. This one¡± ¡ªshe gestured towards Merlin¡ª ¡°does not count among them. She may be able to transfer her Soul into a new body, but that does not stop me ¡ª or anyone else, for that matter ¡ª from simply removing them all and then killing her."


    "I''m pretty sure that there aren''t many people with the means to find all of her bodies," the other Elf said. "You can do it, maybe I can too, but someone from here? Probably not; and definitely not alone."


    The All-Mother moved one of her wings in a small sweeping gesture, seemingly waving her companion off as she turned her attention back to Merlin. "It matters not what I think of her self-proclaimed status of an immortal. My only concern was her Soul and now that I have her answers, I only need to verify them."


    "And how do you intend to do that?" Merlin asked. "Truth magic is hardly a thing, and what little people have figured out about it does not paint it as reliable."


    ///


    Aperio could not help but to heave a sigh at the mortal mage. A part of her still wanted to simply erase the woman from existence despite the fact that she had technically not tampered with Souls. In fact, what Merlin had done was more akin to reincarnation, just that the methods were crude and very much fell into the realm of moral ambiguity.


    The bodies she used were apparently her own, free of a Soul or any other sign of life. Aperio had confirmed the claim as best she could by looking at the location the woman had specified. If she truly wished to know, however, she would have to scour the entire planet and that was not something she wished to do. But taking her by her word¡­


    "I have no intention of influencing your mind or Soul to determine the veracity of your words."


    Aperio closed her eyes, a small twitch of her wings accompanying the pulse that ran through her aura, causing it to spread across the entirety of Earth and ignore anything that had no connection to Merlin. It only took a moment for her to find more than a few buildings that housed bodies for the mage; all of them frozen inside engraved sarcophagi that ¡ª as far as she could understand the rather foreign-looking runes ¡ª were supposed to keep them¡­ fresh.


    What was important, however, was that none of them seemed to even have the capacity to have a Soul. They were, in essence, nothing more than husks. Empty shells that could never live a life, or even dream of one. Just a lump of meat. Vampires would probably kill for this.


    The mortal mage had not even finished the breath they had begun to take when the All-Mother opened her eyes again, focusing on the woman.


    "You have quite a few bodies prepared across the planet," Aperio said. "But at least your claim that they are without Soul is correct. Whatever you have made there is devoid of life and incapable of hosting any but your own. Though, going by how crude it is, even that part seems to be more an accident than anything else."


    "Many great things were discovered on accident," Merlin replied, rubbing her throat as if Aperio had tried to strangle her. "My research is no different. But do enlighten me, oh great creator. How can I transfer my essence to another body better when I can hardly perceive it?"


    "I will not instruct you on how to handle Souls," Aperio scoffed. "They are not tools for you to use or experiment with. Be happy that I do not consider what you do to your own Soul undue torture." She stepped closer, the mortal mage lifting up from the floor to float at eye level. "If you ever use that of another, however¡­ You can be most assured that nothing of you will remain in my creation."


    Her words were accompanied not only by the intent to utterly remove this Soul from existence, should she mess with Souls not her own, but also by a tiny unexpected shift in the System''s mana as it continued to flow into Earth. It would seem that her irritation for mortals messing with their own Soul had caused the System to make a small adjustment to itself.


    It was a change that she would have to investigate further, but a preliminary glance at the ever-shifting mass of runes that turned parts of her subconscious mind into the System suggested that the feeling of unrest that accompanied the mere thought of the Repens Nabu, or a similar organisation, taking form again deserved a little more attention than she had given it.


    Aperio let go of the magic that held Merlin aloft, her eyes once again settling on the storekeeper. She inclined her head slightly. "I apologise for breaking into your store like this, but the matter was simply too important to delay."


    "And I don''t get an apology?" Merlin asked, rubbing her neck again.


    "No, you do not," Aperio replied without looking at the mage. "Though perhaps I should thank you for not turning to random praise or into a blubbering mess as soon as you knew who I was. It is a distressingly common occurrence for mortals to simply cease functioning once they know exactly who they are talking to." She gestured towards the storekeeper with a wing. "Or horror and silence, like this one." I''m not scary, just adequately intimidating.


    "In any case," the All-Mother continued, "I have heard what I needed to hear and will not take more of your time; I do have other things to do."


    "Like throwing our world into chaos?"


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, turning to leave, "perhaps not. As you came here looking for me, I am sure you know other people that can tell you of my plans, and if not, it will only be a little while longer before it becomes obvious. How your kind will react to the change is not something I know, but also not something I overly care about. I have come here primarily to judge; fixing what I found to be broken was an afterthought."


    The mortal mage stared at her back for a moment longer, apparently at a loss for words. When Caethya joined Aperio by the hidden door, they seemingly began to realise that they would, in fact, leave without giving any more answers.


    "Fix what?" Merlin finally asked. "And judge us? For doing what?"


    "I will fix what you call ''the Voice of the World,'' and I am judging mortal kind." She gestured broadly at the outside world. "How you treat one another in the absence of meddling Gods."


    "And what happens if you find us wanting?" the mortal mage asked as she slowly stood up. "Will you just kill us all?"


    "That was an option, yes. A far more encompassing one than you seem to think, too, but rest assured I have thought of something better." Aperio gave a wave of her hand, the hidden door opening once again to let Caethya and herself step outside. "It is a change you will not even notice, but will make all of existence a better place." And the people in it stronger.


    "You sound like a lunatic."


    "And I do not care. Mortals do not believe what I tell them, even though you can feel the truth in my words and know what I am." She shrugged, her wings filling the room as they mirrored the motion. "I tire of explaining myself again and again to people who seem to be unable ¡ª or unwilling ¡ª to comprehend the words I say.


    "Anything else you wish to say?" Aperio asked, turning just enough to look at Merlin with her eyes. "Perhaps you can find an insult that will actually bother me. Something I have not heard yet, maybe."


    "I''d rather not get myself killed," the mage replied as she stepped closer to the still-frozen shopkeeper. "I do have a lot of questions, but I am also sure that you wouldn''t answer them. You do not strike me as the friendliest of eldritch beings."


    "Does that term not imply a certain unfriendliness?" Aperio asked, her mind readily supplying her with the definition she had read in the dictionary. "It is a surprisingly good descriptor for me, though. I am beyond mortal comprehension and if I tried to show you more than a fraction of what I can see, your mind would fall apart like a house of cards." Something that could actually be fixed if the mortals get stronger.


    Caethya no longer seemed to have any complaints in regards to weathering their telepathic chats, and the only minor discomfort of her love had been when Aperio had thrown in some largely unfiltered views of how she saw the world. In a few more months ¡ª or maybe years, if the way in which Caethya gained strength was still even remotely close to that of mortals ¡ª they might be able to exchange thoughts directly without Aperio having to make any adjustments. That would be nice¡­


    While it was very much a minor annoyance in the great scheme of things, having to hold back essentially all of her strength even around her love still grated the All-Mother. Sadly, she knew that this was something that would very likely never change. What she was was simply too far removed from anything resembling sensible.


    "If you do not wish to try your luck, we will be leaving." Aperio waited a few more moments, and when the mortal mage did not ask further questions she allowed Caethya and herself to vanish.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 210: Prelude to Apocalypse

    GamingWolf


    Hello, I am back. It''s a day later than planned, but my vacation turned out to be less than relaxing. Was sick for most of it, and my PC broke itself once more. Not to mention, you know, that whole war thing that won''t leave my mind. All around fun times. I hope this chapter can at least distract you all from the otherwise shitty world we find ourselves in, if only for a little while.


    Aperio fell face first into the comforting nothing of her Void, her wings stretching out to their fullest extent behind her. Caethya sat herself down in front of the All-Mother and began to gently pat her head.


    "Is what Merlin did really that bad?" her love asked.


    "To herself? Not really, no," Aperio replied, shifting slightly as Caethya''s finger brushed along one of her ears. "But the knowledge she had to have acquired in the process could lead her down the same road Epemirial and her ilk walked."


    "Yeah, that wouldn''t be good," the Demigoddess replied. "If she does that, you would remove her like you did those Gods, right?"


    "I would," Aperio said. "Anyone who seeks to bind Souls to their will, will be erased." She let out a long sigh before sitting up, taking Caethya''s hand into her own as her love began to pull it back. "I have to accept that mortals will force their will on others as long as I permit them to think for themselves. Should I make an edict enforced by the System ¡ª by myself ¡ª it would be doing exactly what I wish to prevent."


    Caethya remained quiet for a moment, tapping at her chin with her free hand. "So you will leave the current directive as it is? A warning against slavery, with enforcement left up to the people themselves?"


    Aperio gave a nod.


    "And for the Souls¡­ I guess I would draw the line there as well," her love continued. "It''s akin to messing with existence itself. A broken Soul would be lost forever. A broken life, while tragic, still allows the Soul to try again.¡±


    "In essence, yes," the All-Mother said. "Though I do have a few more changes in mind that I wish to impart on my creation." She gave a low chuckle. "It will be the first act of actual creation I have done in who knows how many millennia."


    "And what do you plan to do?"


    "Make use of my ever-growing strength." Aperio waved her hand, creating a small projection of Earth. A thought caused the world to shift, multiple copies of it appearing in every direction, all of them slightly faded when compared with the first. "At the moment, there is but a single world and countless possibilities. Any one of these worlds might become the one that we inhabit, but the one it will be cannot be ascertained until it has already happened.¡± For anyone but myself, at least.


    "I was thinking of making every possible world a reality," she continued. "A more certain one, at any rate, and let every Soul that belongs to that world exist on all the ones it needs to. Once their life in the mortal world ends, they would rejoin in the river."


    Caethya blinked a few times in reply before she shook her head. "So, what you are telling me is that there are countless versions of everything out there at the moment?"


    "As far as I understand it, yes," Aperio replied. "I think this is how my creation works, but I will have to investigate more to be sure. In any case, allowing a world to create infinite instances of itself so that I can prune the ones that get out of hand feels like a better solution than simply tearing down what I have made to start anew."


    The All-Mother twisted the armlet adorning her bicep slightly, the mana within clinging to her fingers as she pulled back again. "I have erased all of existence at least once before; likely many more times. Perhaps I never cared in the past, but I do now."


    "Maybe, but I am still stuck at the part where there might be many versions of myself walking around, talking to versions of you." She hesitated for a moment. "Are there other versions of you?"


    Aperio shook her head at the question. The words felt wrong to a fundamental degree, her very existence telling her that there could only ever be one of her and, for a reason she could not quite understand, only one of anything that came from Verenier.


    "There is only one you and one me," she replied. "But Earth has other potentialities. Perhaps all the worlds that have languished without the System do." The All-Mother shrugged. "Like I said, it bears more investigation.


    "Not that it matters much now, either," Aperio continued, moving her wings a little to sit more comfortably on the nothing of her Void. "For now, Earth needs the System, or, well, a version of it at least. As things stand, I am not sure I can weave it into the world like on Verenier."


    Caethya pinched the bridge of her nose for a long moment before she focused back on Aperio, a slightly defeated-looking smile on her face. "You should really figure out how to deliver news about altering all of existence a bit more subtly."


    "I had thought you would appreciate the bluntness," Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly.


    "I do," Caethya replied, "but you also have to realise that all of this makes little sense to me. I do not see the world as you do and neither do I know what needs to be done to change it."


    The All-Mother gave a hesitant nod in reply as a part of her mind busied itself with weaving ever more of her mana into Adam''s home planet. "Perhaps I should show you what I am doing with Earth?"


    ///


    Caethya rubbed both of her temples when her view ¡ª both physical and magical ¡ª of Aperio''s Void was replaced with an ever-shifting weave of colours, shapes, and even smells; all of it unmistakably powered by the mana of her love.


    Looking at the mess did not exactly hurt, but it wasn''t comfortable either. "How is any of this supposed to make sense? I can''t even see Earth anymore."


    "Well, this," Aperio began, a section of the mess somehow growing clearer in Caethya''s mind, "is what will govern the most basic flows of mana in the reality Earth finds itself in."


    A pulse of her love''s mana flowed through the construct, causing a network of what Caethya would call veins to flare to life in the otherwise incomprehensible mess of shapes and sensations. As far as the Demigoddess could tell, there wasn''t even a world in there; just a giant glob of maybe-magic. The more she looked at the strange mass, the less certain she felt that whatever her love was conjuring up was even magic at all.


    "From there," the All-Mother continued, guiding yet more of her mana through the ever-expanding network, "I simply let the System itself figure out what it needs to do. Every time I tried to guide it myself, it felt wrong in a way I do not find acceptable."


    "But isn''t the System also you?" Caethya asked, trying not to focus too much on the escalating weirdness her love was showing her. "Kind of, at least?"


    Aperio hesitated for a moment. The vision of her work vanished, replaced by the by-now normal sight of her endless Void.. Her love opened her mouth to speak before she frowned and lowered her head slightly, folding her wings around herself.


    "Yes, it is me," she eventually said. "But you have to think of it as a directed version of my subconsciousness. While I cannot be certain yet, I am fairly sure I made it this way to stop reality from bending to my slightest whims. The universe is still malleable for me, but it does require at least a passing thought now. Imagine what would have happened if my dislike of someone could lead to them being removed from existence.


    "The important part, however, is that the System can fix what I cannot," Aperio continued. "I obviously do not remember everything I used to know, but I am also not really eager to change that. A part of me can already do what is needed and I am happy to let it fix what I cannot do consciously. For now, that is good enough for me."


    "So, you will let the System sort itself out, and then what? Earth gets thrust into chaos as everyone gains access to magic?"


    "Not quite," Aperio replied with a shake of her head. "I will let the System manifest itself just enough for the already magically-inclined to notice. Perhaps a few mortals will awaken to a Class, but I do not expect too many new magically-gifted mortals. I would like to make sure that they can be trusted with the potential the System brings."


    Caethya gave a nod at the words of her love. "Probably best to keep an eye on them. I''m sure that at least a few will do something stupid, thinking that you would not notice, or aren''t what you said you are." She shook her head. "It really is always the same with mortals."


    "As sad as it is, they seem to be incapable of understanding something without a proper demonstration, and even then, it''s not guaranteed they will believe me." Aperio shrugged. "I do not particularly care anymore. I will do what I have come here for; what they think about that does not matter."


    "I guess all we have to do is wait, then."


    "Yes," Aperio replied with a nod, a wing tentatively extending towards Caethya. "The calm before the storm, if you will."


    "I like the idea of a bit of peace and quiet," the Demigoddess replied, moving herself next to the All-Mother and pulling the offered wing around herself. "Have a little nap, perhaps."


    "Perhaps," Aperio echoed, pulling Caethya a little closer. "Perhaps."


    ///


    Adelita squinted at the guards standing in front of the Vinmaier estate. It would be a little while longer before her distraction would come and she could slip inside, but that did not stop her from glaring at the people that stayed to protect the Human scum that called itself Jester.


    It was a time of change, she could feel it. Things beyond her comprehension were in motion, but she did not care. Her part in the great clockwork of life was a simple stab of the knife; a small push that would rid the world of her former master.


    If she had been able to trust people, Adelita might have gathered more people for the mission, but as it stood, she would do it by herself. Not counting the paper boy. He just needs the money.


    "Are you sure that you haven''t gone mad?" Lita asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Jester is a good man!"


    "He is not," Adelita hissed in reply. "All he has ever done is use people to further whatever fucked up goal he had."


    She ignored the next whisper of the enchantment''s personality, instead focusing on the boy running past the estate, throwing stones at the guards. Her plan worked exactly as intended. One of the guards shouted for the boy to stop, and when the lad''s pace didn''t slow he left his post to pursue.


    A moment later, Adelita appeared behind the remaining guard and embedded her dagger in his neck, her hand reaching out at the same time to cover his attempt at a scream. The very shadow her victim cast on the ground rose up to wrap around the two of them, stealing them away from sight.


    She lowered the body to the ground, pulling off one of the gloves the man wore to hold it against the stone pillar behind him. With a loud click, the gate unlocked, opening just enough for Adelita''s shadow to slip through.


    The corpse would be discovered soon enough, but the ensuing chaos was what she was counting on to make her escape. It was a bold strategy, to be sure, but one she was sure would pay off in the end. And it''s not like that will be the only dead guard for them to find¡­


    All those who had chosen to stick with her former master would pay the price of their decision today. Trapped in her own body, she had waited decades to get her revenge. She had watched the construct in charge of her actions happily do whatever Jester wanted, and watched as the people around him played along with his little games and schemes.


    A few more dashes through the abundant shadows of the estate, and a few well-deserved minor bouts of revenge, brought Adelita into a room she knew all too well. She wrinkled her nose at the smell; there were seemingly no maids left to clean after the master¡¯s escapades.


    She stepped up to the desk that stood in the corner of the room, and deliberately forced open the drawer that she knew would hold what she wanted. Adelita was well aware that the action would trigger some sort of alarm, but it was one that only Jester would hear.


    Why someone would write down all their dirty little secrets was beyond her, but the little book would most certainly help her future plans. She slid it into her pocket, then waited patiently for her former master to return. He didn''t trust anyone but himself with the book''s contents, and he would undoubtedly come to see who had dared tamper with his things. When he did, she had a few gifts to give him.


    It only took a few minutes for the door to open and Jester to step inside. While he was without guards, he did have the presence of mind to put on some armour. Adelita had expected that, though she had hoped his arrogance would have caused him to come unarmed and unarmoured.


    "Show yourself," he said, closing the door with his foot. As soon as it had completely shut, an enchantment flickered to life, sealing the door.


    "I can feel your presence," Jester continued, raising his arms as a sword and shield appeared on them. "As soon as you set foot in this room, I knew you were here. Who dares to break into my estate?"


    "I do," Adelita whispered, her voice coming from a shadow on the opposite site of her current location.


    "Lita?" Jester asked, lowering his hands slightly. "Have you finally come to your senses?"


    "I have," she replied, ignoring the insistent whispers of Lita in her mind. "I was trapped for so long, I needed time to come to terms with my freedom. Before I can start to truly live my life, though, I have to take care of you."


    "Take care of me?" Jester¡¯s eyes narrowed as he began to scan every shadow in the room. "That doesn''t sound like something Lita would say. Not in that tone, at least."


    "No, she wouldn''t," Adelita replied, moving herself to Jester¡¯s shadow. "But I would."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 211: The First Changes

    Adelita jumped out from Jester''s shadow, the magic of her Class making the movement far faster than it had any right to be. It was not, however, fast enough as her former master bent backwards in a way that should have broken his spine, causing the blade she had thrust at him to strike nothing. Her other blade found no purchase either, despite the fact that she had aimed it at his kidneys and he had not moved those out of the way. Instead, a thin shield made from dim, yellow light stopped her blade just shy of his skin.


    "What a naughty kitten," Jester said, his form flickering for a moment before he vanished and reappeared a few paces away from her. "You shouldn''t bite ¡ª or stab ¡ª the hand that feeds you. Well, fed. But it''s still incredibly rude."


    Adelita did not reply, only narrowing her eyes at the man as she merged with the shadows on the floor once more. She only needed one good hit to win this fight and sooner or later, she would get one. Though Jester was indeed skilled with his Class, he was still nothing more than a mortal man, and one at a much lower level than she was. Not like he would ever reach three hundred on his own.


    A lance of yellow light materialised, flying towards the shadow Adelita had used to hide and causing her to move to another. Her ears flattened against her skull as whatever magic Jester had used utterly erased her previous hiding spot. Where the comfortable shadow had once been, there was now a patch of disgusting magic that reeked of the enchantment that had birthed the thing that had stolen her body.


    "Disgusting," Adelita hissed, her voice coming from every shadow in the room.


    "For some, perhaps," Jester said as he positioned his back towards the patch of light he had made, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow. "But it pays to have abilities that work well against that of your most trusted slave. You never know when you will be betrayed, after all."


    Adelita launched herself at Jester once again, once more aiming for his heart and twisting the dagger in her hand as he repeated his tactic of bending backwards. Her other dagger vanished, freeing her hand to grab Jester''s arm as it swung a blade towards her. He struggled to break loose from her grip, but Adelita''s nails grew into claws that slid deeply into the flesh of her former master.


    "This isn''t betrayal," she hissed and yanked on the arm she had secured, pulling Jester off balance. "It''s revenge."


    "For what?" Jester spat, a shield of yellow light blocking the blade Adelita tried to plunge into the downed man''s heart. Her prey flickered again before he vanished, the magic taking far longer to take hold this time. "Giving you a life?" he asked, shaking the arm she had injured, causing some of the blood to splatter onto the floor. "Your kind is as low as it gets. Anything I have done was already more than you deserve."


    Adelita did not reply, instead appearing behind Jester yet again, locking the man''s backward-stabbing blade with a dagger of her own. Instead of striking at him for a third time, she dug her claws into his side and pulled her prey into the shadows with her, bringing them both outside. She did not want to linger where she appeared, digging her fingers deeper into Jester''s flesh and forcing him back into the shadows. The trip was cut short by another flash of yellow light that banished the darkness she had sought and left them in a now dimly-lit alley.


    Jester clutched his side, the same light that had stopped her teleports closing the wound she had given him. If only my claws had poison like the daggers¡­ Sadly, she had the wrong Class for that, and if Lita had evolved that way then surely her former master would have prepared a shield of sorts for that, likely similar to the one that currently stopped her blades. Time for something else, then.


    Her daggers vanished, and her right hand grew claws to match the intimidating adornment already present on her other hand. She had been toying with her prey, something she should not do. Not now, at least.


    With another invocation of her skill, Adelita vanished, appearing in front of Jester and throwing a punch at his stomach. As soon as he moved to defend himself, she teleported again, this time to his side. The onslaught continued until she finally found purchase on Jester''s throat and she squeezed as hard as she could, digging her claws as deeply into her prey as possible.


    As Jester sagged to the ground, clutching his throat in a feeble attempt to stop the life from flowing out of him, Adelita''s notion of him being an easy target when lacking the help of those he hired to protect him proved true.


    She summoned her daggers again, plunging them through Jester''s hands to fix them in their position around his throat. Then she simply stared at him for a moment, licking her teeth, her hands twitching as she savoured the smell of her prey''s blood.


    Adelita took a deep breath, the claws on her hands turning back into the perfectly manicured nails the thief of her body had enjoyed. "You gave me nothing," she said, and as Jester struggled to free himself of the daggers and the poison they spread, she simply pushed down on their hilts with her foot, pinning the lot to the ground. "You stole everything from me!"


    No further comments were offered to the man, and she simply pressed him deeper into a shadow that formed under him. The world needed to see what happens to those like Jester Vinmaier, and she would make certain that everyone had a good chance to look.


    ///


    Elder Wu could feel the hairs on his neck stand; a static building in the air. A shimmer of blue flickered to life around him as he did his best to shield himself from the attack that was about to come.


    Instead of some idiot trying to kill him, however, the old Vampire felt a shudder run through reality itself. It pulled at his body, mind, and his very essence, flowing around to drown him in a wave of mana that could not have possibly come from the world itself. There was not enough magic left on Earth to produce this effect, which only left one option that Elder Wu could think of.


    His suspicions were confirmed when, as though freshly risen from a distant memory, the tome the Voice of the World had used to communicate with him appeared within his mind. The pages that had so long been denied him came into focus, actively filling with new words, but before he could really read any of it the mental paper began to float upwards, gaining a silver border that looked suspiciously similar to the hair colour of one self-proclaimed creator of the universe.


    Class adjustment imminent.


    The words meant little to him, as he had never had a ''Class''. A Profession, Job or, even Calling, yes ¡ª the Voice itself had even called them that ¡ª but not a Class. As if whatever force was actually behind the message had heard him, the message shifted slightly, replacing Class with Profession before it turned back into the tome he knew.


    Before another thought could form, time itself seemed to stop. Elder Wu was frozen. He could feel every fibre of his body; could see every little detail of his office. A drawn-out sound reached his ears, a word being spoken outside ¡ª no, downstairs in the lobby, but it was as clear as if the speaker were in front of him. The only reason he could not understand what was being said was the fact that time was moving too slowly for the word to be anything other than drawn-out noise.


    As soon as it had started, the moment passed, leaving his sight and hearing just as sensitive as they had been in that strangely prolonged moment. He took a slow breath, the air in his lungs unneeded but still welcome. It had been far too long since he had felt this way, and yet it was so different now. Everything was clearer, the connection to his abilities somehow more in focus.


    Elder Wu carefully stood up from his chair, his eyes darting around the room before he moved. The world blurred, but only for his eyes, as he could still perceive where he was and where he was going. The door opened as easily as ever, the heavy wood not even groaning as he moved it. When he stopped just outside his office, barely a second had passed on the clock he could still perceive within.


    "I guess the council meeting will have to take place a bit earlier than planned," he mumbled to himself, trying his best to ignore the countless conversations that assaulted his ears. "It''ll take some time for me to get used to this again."


    All of this did mean that their guest was likely what she had claimed, or at least knew the one in charge well enough to be allowed to speak on their behalf. He moved once more, returning to his chair with an inexplicable smile on his face. The expression quickly vanished however, as he reminded himself what his return to form would mean for everyone else. Merlin will be insufferable¡­


    The old wizard had always been a force to be reckoned with, but if their re-awakening was anywhere close to his own, trouble would be afoot soon enough. And then there is Aperio. The ''All-Mother'' was also someone he had to keep in mind. There still existed the possibility that she was an emissary of sorts, but his encounter with her put that idea into even more doubt. The way reality itself had twisted to her whims had simply been too effortless and too direct to not support her claims.


    With a sigh, Elder Wu pulled a piece of paper from one of his drawers, then blinked as the familiar motion ripped the sheet in the process. He shook his head, getting another, this time much more carefully, then reached for a quill and a well of ink. The old Vampire had a moment of hesitation, but shook it off as he began to pen the invitation for what would undoubtedly be the most important meeting of the council''s history.


    ///


    Eleanor sat frozen, like everyone else in the room. Everyone but Adam, that is. The mage that had accompanied the All-Mother seemed unbothered by the mana that had flooded the room, as though he had somehow skipped over the experience they all had had.


    "I already have a Class," he said, almost as if he could hear her thoughts. "And the place we came from has a much higher mana density than this." He hesitated for a moment before he shook his head. "Knowing Aperio, however, this is only the beginning. This amount is probably to see how you guys behave when you are given a modicum of power. I wouldn''t disappoint her if I were you."


    "Is she aware of just how much power she hands out?" Damien asked, his usually milky-white eyes glowing ever-so-slightly.


    "No," Adam replied with another shake of his head. "But that is because what you think of as power means nothing to her. You could, perhaps, be capable of beating me now, but Caethya is still, I believe, far beyond anyone else on Earth."


    "Even other Faes, Elves, or whatever they actually are?" Eleanor asked, her voice more than a little hoarse. "Neither of them strike me as the leader kind."


    Adam laughed at her words. "No, I am certain other Elves aren''t stronger than either of them. Plus, Aperio isn''t an Elf, she merely likes to look like one."


    "Of course," Eleanor mumbled to himself.


    It made sense enough to her, of course, as no mortal being could be as strong as Aperio, but perhaps Elves had a heritage they had never told anyone about. After all, they were already myths at best, and Eleanor herself had not really believed at first that they existed. All that was irrelevant at the moment, as what really mattered was the fact that magic was coming back.


    The mana they had all felt was not simply a wave passing over them, but an ocean settling in to stay. Not only did a massive amount already ripple back towards them, but Eleanor could feel the whole of it was still increasing. She needed to get back to her study! There were theories to be tested that simply could not be tested before, and fresh access to old rituals that needed to be examined.


    "What about the normals?" Ethan asked as Eleanor got up from her seat. "Will everyone awaken to magic?"


    "That is the plan," the voice of Aperio replied, causing everyone to look around in search for the All-Mother. A moment later, the creator and Caethya simply appeared in the middle of the room as if they had always been there. "But not now. First I have to see how the ones that already possess magic handle the change. I am certain there will be chaos once the System becomes known to everyone, and I do hope that your people will reach out and offer some assistance to those who did not already know of magic."


    "You realise that there will be countless deaths, right?" Ethan glared at the All-Mother; a challenge she either didn''t understand or didn¡¯t care about. "No matter how much help there is, people without power will be granted something that cannot be stopped."


    "Death is not the end of life," Aperio replied. "Your Soul moves on to the next, building on what you have learned in your previous iteration. There is always more to learn; room to grow stronger."


    "Easy thing to say for someone who doesn''t die," the Vampire spat, crossing his arms and leaning back.


    The room grew quiet and cold for a moment. Caethya said something to the All-Mother that Eleanor did not understand before she gently touched her arm.


    "I know more about death than you," Aperio eventually said, her words burrowing themselves deeper into Eleanor''s mind than usual with a feeling of anger and sorrow that the mortal mage could not quite describe. "And I am keenly aware that dying often makes you a better person in the next life."


    She left no time for rebuttal as she turned to Adam and asked a swift question in her incomprehensible language, then disappeared. Caethya, Adam, and the God of Earth she took with her, leaving behind only a few feathers in seeming exchange. They drifted lazily through the air in the room towards the ground, dissolving once they landed.


    "Is this where the apocalypse starts?" Micheal asked. "In my living room?"


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 212: Mortal Evolution

    Aperio tilted her head slightly at the video Adam was showing her. At first it had only been a slideshow, but she had quickly figured out that all she had to do was really focus on the phone the mortal mage was holding and want to actually see the moving pictures. Now that she could see the video more properly, it would seem the parameters she had given the System had been a little too loose. Sure, she had kept track of every mortal that had undergone a change in the first wave, but none of them seemed all that surprised about it. And they all already had access to mana.


    Apparently, the System had given magic access to a few mortals who had until that point been blissfully unaware of it, which is why she was currently looking at a Human setting fire to things with a small flame that hovered above their palm.


    "I do not see the issue," she eventually said, gesturing towards one of the many nearby billboards with a hand, never taking her eyes off the phone in Adam''s grasp. "Would your people not assume this to be fake, like your movies?"


    "Until he starts doing live performances, yes," Adam replied, moving slightly so Caethya could see the screen better. "Can''t claim movie magic if people can see and touch it. Plus, I am sure he isn''t the only one."


    "Still not truly an issue." Aperio shrugged, letting her wings move with the motion just a little. "Everyone will get a Class at one point or another. This will simply show us how the already established powers treat the newcomers, and how those now blessed with might treat those that are as of yet without."


    "And what of those that will be tormented? Or even die?" Adam asked, looking at the All-Mother. "I know you view death a little differently, but I''m sure that you wouldn''t tolerate someone going on a rampage, right?"


    Aperio looked away from the video, standing to her full height and setting her gaze on Adam. "I will prevent anything major from happening," she began as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "But thousands of mortals have perished since I arrived; I do not think this will be much different. Mortals seem to truly like murdering one another."


    "Perhaps, but people having ready access to magic is your doing."


    Aperio waved the mortal mage off, relaxing a little and wrapping a wing around her love. "I have already told you what I will do, and that will have to be enough. The System would have come back to Earth sooner or later anyway, as I am... reconnecting with my creation."


    The truth of the matter was a little more annoying to the All-Mother. It wasn''t quite that she was reconnecting with the universe, and more like she was filling the nothing that existed between all things with herself despite her best efforts to contain all that she was within her current body. Might have to experiment with drawing more mana from my well to speed up the strengthening¡­ Her previous attempt to manipulate the purer mana did not go well, but she had gotten much better at using her abilities since then, and she really disliked the idea of spreading herself through her creation. Blinding myself to most everything on Earth already requires more than a little effort.


    "You should also know that death means little," she continued, a thought subtly adjusting her dress. "Their Soul will simply go on to the next life." And once the changes I want to make are actually in, they will not only grow stronger but eventually remember all their lives.


    Of course, her plans for all of that were still far off, but they were ones she planned to act on after she had taken care of Earth and its System. For now, she would do exactly as she had said; look after those who had received magic, and make sure they did not go too overboard. Knowing mortals, it''s only a matter of time before one of them tries something.


    Seeing Adam fidget slightly, Aperio let out a sigh. "I will give them a warning to not do anything to the as of yet powerless, will that ease your conscience?"


    "Kind of?" he asked. "But I think we both know that people will ignore that warning."


    "Then I shall punish them," the All-Mother replied with a shrug. "But for now, I wish to do something other than worry about mortals being stupid." Why is it so hard for them to just leave each other be?


    Sure, Aperio knew that, in total, it was only a small number of mortals, but fathoming the reason those few behaved the way they did was not something she could claim to be capable of. But then, when I made all of this I wasn''t much better either.


    "Perhaps a trip to the beach would be nice," Caethya suggested. "Relax a little. Maybe observe how normal people act before you turn the world on its head."


    "I think I already did the ''turn the world on its head'' part," the All-Mother replied, tilting her head slightly. "Even before I brought even a tiny bit of the System back, the magically inclined mortals seemed to be thrown for a loop. Now, they seem to be pretty excited about the changes." She shook her head, beginning to walk towards the inn they had yet to properly stay at. "I like the idea of relaxing a little, however, so I think that is what we should do."


    "Sure," Adam replied. "Not like you have to go anywhere to stop people."


    "Right then," Caethya said, wrapping her arm around one of Aperio''s. "Time to actually go shopping, then."


    "We should probably ask Eleanor for some recommendations," Aperio replied as she did nothing to hide the smile spreading across her face. The thought that the ''Elders'' would likely lose their mind over the three of them spending a nice day at the beach while the world they knew changed forever was a nice extra to spending time with Caethya.


    "Perhaps she¡¯d even wish to join us," her love said. "I wouldn''t mind her opinion on some more local clothes. Depending on how long we wish to stay, some changes will be needed."


    "Are you sure you don''t just want to see Aperio try and fail to wear whatever you give her?" Adam asked, looking at the two women.


    "That is an added bonus," the Demigoddess replied with a smile. "But contrary to apparently popular belief, my love is not as gloomy as she seems."


    "I am gloomy?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly. After a brief pause, she added, "No matter, I enjoy trying out new things. Though I have boundaries that will not be crossed."


    "Let''s get going then," Caethya said, tugging slightly at Aperio''s arm so she would begin to walk.


    ///


    Jacob watched the flame dance in the palm of his hand, the blue window listing his person in numbers floating off to the side. It had not even been a day yet, but summoning fire was already as instinctual as breathing; he didn¡¯t even have to really think about it much.


    He apparently wasn''t the only one that had received the Pyromancer Class, as he had already seen a few videos of people conjuring flames much like his own. Most people considered them to be some sort of new social media trend, but Jacob knew just how real it was. He could do it too, after all.


    A thought dismissed the window and the flame vanished as he closed his hand into a fist. He opened it again, looking at his palm. There was no sign that he had just held literal fire in it, not even the slightest hint of redness. That hadn''t been the only change, of course. Despite the fact that he had spent the day doing nothing but lazing about at home ¡ª and, of course, working on his new abilities ¡ª his muscles felt as sore as if he had been working out nonstop for the same amount of time. It wasn''t just a feeling, however, as the slightly bent handle of his door showed. Mom will kill me if I actually break it¡­


    He hadn''t really thought much about the strange phenomenon at first, having dismissed the text window he saw and the weird feeling still present within him as the lingering remnants of a dream. When he went to go to the bathroom and suddenly found himself holding the door handle in his hand, however, he became abruptly aware that it wasn''t a dream after all.


    Reattaching the handle in secret had been a pain, and a close look wouldn''t hide the fact that the metal had been bent out of shape.


    "Oh well," Jacob mumbled to himself, kicking back in his chair and turning on the tv that stood slightly to the right of his desk with a foot. "Maybe there''s something on the news about it?"


    Switching between the various channels revealed no groundbreaking information. Nobody was talking about any of this, which meant that either it wasn''t happening to many people, or they had been told to not talk about it. Knowing how the news usually goes here, it''s probably the former. None of the anchor personalities he was aware of would have bothered to hide the fact that they had acquired superpowers.


    "But why?" he asked himself as the news switched from boring general news to the weather report. "Why me? And why are there so many with fire?"


    Of all the videos popping up, most of them were people playing with fire. So far he had only seen a handful that were different; some air and some earth, but no water. His own message had been less than helpful, as it simply read ''Class Adjustment imminent'' and offered no further information.


    Looking over the window that labelled itself as [Status] had also failed to provide much additional information. The numbers for strength, intelligence and other things didn''t really mean much to him as he didn''t know the scale being used. Without a point of reference, how was he to interpret a random number? The only other thing of note was the ''Skills'' subsection, but that only had [Conjure Flame] listed, which was self-explanatory.


    He was about to shut off the TV and leave when another window materialised in front of his eyes.


    Adjustment complete. Classes have been granted based on Soul affinity. Further skills and Classes will be unlocked once System integration has been completed.


    System integration? It didn''t ring a bell, but before Jacob could think more on it, yet another window appeared, replacing the current one.


    Unjustified actions against the un-awakened will be punished. Do not disappoint.


    "That''s not ominous at all," Jacob mumbled, assuming that everyone who had gotten a Class had seen this. "Who makes these announcements anyway?" He tried to walk around the floating window but it always stayed in the same place in his view. "Looks like something an AI would make, also fits that it''s just called ''System''. It also capitalised that; must be important."


    Now he was back to his first predicament: figuring out what the hell to do next. Announcing to his family his sudden acquisition of magic or superpowers or whatever this happened to be was not exactly an option. They wouldn''t believe him, which would force him to demonstrate his abilities, and then they would all be stuck back at square one.


    Additionally, he did not really trust his step-father. He had always found the man to be more than a little shady.


    ///


    Ryan cackled as he watched the arc of plasma he had created jump to the tree, setting it on fire. He had spent the last few hours trying to figure out if he could make that happen with his lightning. He finally had his answer, and it was a resounding yes. He could be an arc welder without the expensive tools now or ¡ª something he much preferred ¡ª he could rob a bank and not have to deal with his idiot of a boss anymore. Or I could use it on him¡­


    The idea was¡­ oddly pleasant, but the strange box that had not only granted him this power but also warned him to not use it on people that didn''t have it came to mind. But who enforces that?


    A part of him wanted to disobey, to try something just to see what would happen, but his gut feeling told him that that was not a good idea. In fact, it was probably a very bad idea. Maybe even deadly. If whatever had given him the power to create ¡ª and be unharmed by ¡ª fire, lightning, and whatever he could make with it came to stop him, Ryan was sure that they would have little trouble killing him; a thought that brought him back to the moment he had been thrown from his bike and down a hill by the appearance of a box in his vision, the shock of the changes it had brought, and the question that still went unanswered in his mind. Well, the changes the ''System'' brought.


    People simply didn''t just get random superpowers. There was likely a reason behind it all, and Ryan wanted to know why he had been one of the chosen few. He had his suspicions, of course, but nothing concrete. And, while this particular question would likely go unanswered for a while, it also did not truly matter. The ¡®System¡¯ had given him an opportunity to take the reins of his life back, and he would take it.


    Whoever had made it really needed to be a bit more creative in their naming scheme. It was accurate, sure, but it wasn''t imaginative at all. Not that that matters. The person ¡ª or thing ¡ª that was behind the System probably had no need for his input on the matter. If anything, they would probably kill him for daring to speak to them.


    "Doesn''t matter," Ryan mumbled to himself, the fire he had started with his skill disappearing as he breathed in deeply.


    He revelled in the warmth ¡ª the power ¡ª that spread through him for a moment before he opened his eyes again. For the briefest of moments, the world held an orange tint. Ryan would make use of this gift he had been given, righting the wrongs the world had beset him with. The first of those would be the sad excuse for a man that was his boss.


    It was only right, wasn''t it? He had always gone on about how the world rewards those who were worthy, and what else but a reward could this be? Ryan clenched his fist, a few arcs jumping between his knuckles. Yes, what he would do was more than justified. The world would see the gift he had been given and finally give him the recognition he deserved.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 213: Wake Up Call (And a New Cover!)

    GamingWolf


    Ryan giggled to himself as he heaved the chunk of metal aside. It was a far easier task than it had any right to be, considering that it was almost as big as his car and easily as thick as he was.


    Cutting through it had taken a while, but that was to be expected from a vault. That strength would also come in handy for the next step of the plan, once they needed to carry bags worth of money, gold, or whatever else they might find.


    "You need help?" Valorie asked, tapping a finger against the metal. "Looks heavy."


    "I think I''m good," Ryan said with another giggle. He gave the piece of wall a final push, causing it to fall over, then looked into the room they could now access. There were several shelves filled with boxes labelled in some kind of code that made little sense to him, as well as a set of doors that likely led to the room they had come here for.


    "Suit yourself," his partner in crime replied, waving for the third and final member of their impromptu group to step forward. "We need your skills, Hector."


    "Everyone does," the small man replied as he fidgeted with the small pendant he always wore. "Let''s get to it then, shall we? Money won''t make itself."


    Ryan shook as Hector passed him, only waiting for a moment before he began to follow him. He had a hunch that whatever Class Hector had gotten had messed with their mind. There was no way that someone would be like this under normal circumstances. The man was weird, in terms of looks as well as personality, in a way that felt as though whatever had decided to change Earth was to blame.


    "Sure won''t," Valorie agreed, a big smile on her face. "I just hope your source gave you good info."


    "I am certain of that," Hector replied, already pulling various tools from his seemingly endless pockets and placing them around the room. "What I am more concerned about is if this counts as harming an un-awakened."


    "How?" Ryan asked. "We are taking shit from people who have more than enough of it. No normal person has something in the vaults of First International. I bet they are insured to hell and back, so whatever we take will bring no harm to them." He scoffed. "Even if they weren''t, the people that use this place are so rich, they probably wouldn''t even notice losing a few million."


    "Perhaps," the small man replied before all the various boxes that had filled the shelves shimmered and vanished, leaving behind only the items they had contained. "But my source has also told me about a few awakened who tried a more¡­ direct approach to robbing. Those all ended up vanishing for a few days. Most came back, but they were all a little shaken."


    Ryan remained quiet at that. Just two days ago, he had followed his loathsome boss home, and had remained hidden for a good while as he contemplated setting his house on fire. He had wanted to, and the idea itself had felt oh so good, but in the end he hadn''t done it. The warning the ''System'' had given him was a little more convincing than he cared to admit.


    "So what you are saying is that something messes with their mind if they break the rule?" Valorie asked, already stuffing whatever looked valuable in one of the many bags they had brought. "Seems kinda fucked up."


    "But giving people superpowers isn''t?¡± Ryan asked as a few arcs of electricity danced across his hands. "I got strength and elements, you got at least enhanced strength, senses, and reflexes." He approached one of the shelves, picking up a small, old chest. "And I have no idea where to begin with whatever Hector¡¯s power might be."


    "Magic," the man replied. He moved to one of the doors, pulling yet more things from his pockets that he placed on and next to the metal that separated them from the next room. "I''m sure you''ll figure it out eventually."


    Ryan only gave a huff in reply, looking at the box for a moment longer before he grabbed one of the bags himself and began stuffing anything he thought looked valuable inside.


    ///


    "And why can I not wear my dress again?" Aperio asked, tugging at the the rather flimsy fabric covering her chest as she looked at herself in a mirror. "If your goal is to cover yourself, this does such a bad job at it I might as well go naked."


    It had been a couple days ¡ª Probably ¡ª but they hadn''t done much of note, as Caethya was still insisting on their taking a vacation. She had talked with Maria during that time, the girl excitedly telling her how the last remaining Vinmaier had disappeared; apparently abducted. The news had brought a smile to Aperio''s face, one that was quickly removed when she had noticed a few mortals using their newfound powers to threaten people. Luckily, randomly teleporting them somewhere near to where they just were took care of things in most cases.


    The mortals were usually confused for a moment but quickly figured out ¡ª and accepted ¡ª that something was watching, and would prevent them from being dumb. Of course, some simply tried to abuse their powers again, but showing them just the slightest bit of how she perceived reality shut them up real good. Adam was right that it would work well. Should probably figure out a way to thank him.


    "And you would have no problem with that?" Eleanor asked, her gaze shifting between the All-Mother and Caethya. "Besides, nudity at the beach is forbidden so you have to wear something, and your dress will stand out more than this. Especially if you want to go swimming."


    "I like how I look and have no issue if others see me for what I am," Aperio replied as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, displacing another unruly mortal.


    The All-Mother shifted slightly before she threw a light punch at nothing, the motion accompanied by the sound of fabric tearing. She let out a sigh as a touch of her magic prevented the buttons that had secured her top from flying around. "If I have to wear this, I will have to make some alterations of my own. Imagine if I actually had to breathe!" She shook her head. "Everything you mortals sell is too small."


    "You aren''t exactly the norm," Caethya said with a smile. The woman had had much more luck finding something to wear and had eventually settled on a black and silver one piece swimsuit that matched her hair frighteningly well. "But I am sure if you just magic something into existence it''ll be fine. Plus, you can give it whatever design you want!"


    "I guess," Aperio replied, letting some of her magic flow into the fabric to repair and strengthen it. "Then I could also make it a bit more compatible with my wings¡­"


    Her feathered appendages were currently hidden as a shopping trip for swimwear in ''full costume'' was apparently not going to be as believable. Don''t they know I would use my wings to swim? Of course, Aperio knew that they did not know that and that it wasn''t exactly normal, but she would still cling to any excuse that would let her keep her wings on display.


    Another touch of her magic added a few silver feathers to the otherwise dark fabric and the All-Mother turned slightly in the mirror ¡ª ignoring the web of cracks on it ¡ª to actually see her work with her own eyes. Perceiving reality through her aura was fine, and generally much more detailed, but actually looking at something always felt a little more right.


    She nodded to herself as she stretched and twisted herself into various poses, making sure her adjustments to the garment were sufficient. A moment later, her wings spread as far as they could in the small room behind her. She draped them over her shoulders, using them as a cape before a slight giggle from Caethya caused her to look down at her love.


    "Yes?" she asked, her feathered limbs vanishing once again. "What is so funny?"


    "I just find it adorable when you go and make stuff," Caethya replied with a bright smile on her face. "Couldn''t tell you why."


    "The seven foot amazon Elf is adorable, sure," Elanor mumbled, earning herself a very light tap from one of Aperio''s wings that materialised just for the occasion.


    While the All-Mother had thought of the motion to be weak enough, it still sent the mortal tumbling the floor. A deserved punishment in Aperio''s eyes, but perhaps still a little too much.


    "What?" the mortal mage asked, standing up again and rubbing her behind. "Your faux punch cracked the mirror."


    "It did not," Aperio replied, the object in question fixing itself in an instant. "That would be ridiculous. Light punches aimed at nothing do not break things."


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes as her senses moved in closer on three mortals robbing a vault. They had done something to disable all the fancy technology the Humans loved and then proceeded to simply rip out a part of the wall ¡ª an approach she could appreciate.


    "More idiots?" Caethya asked as she picked up a few more pieces of swimwear Eleanor had brought for them to try on.


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied, tilting her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "Though I am still not sure if I should count this as abuse of their power."


    "Count what?" Eleanor asked.


    "Robbing an ancient-looking vault."


    The mage hesitated for a brief moment before she shook her head. "I''d say it''s an abuse. They wouldn''t have gotten in there without their powers, right?"


    "Probably not," the All-Mother replied. "One of them also followed a colleague home. He probably wanted to do something to him, but he thought better of it."


    "So he turned from murder to robbery?" Caethya asked, vanishing into one of the booths. "That is better, but not by a lot. Well, I guess it depends on who they rob."


    "I am not particularly concerned with the who and more with the fact that I gave them a single rule and I am not sure if what they are doing breaks it."


    "Why not go and ask them how they feel about it?" Eleanor asked, giggling to herself.


    "Maybe I should," Aperio replied.


    A thought caused the bikini she wore to appear neatly folded in her hands and her usual dress on her. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before her armour, too, appeared. Nodding to herself she handed her swimwear to Eleanor.


    "It will only be a moment."


    ///


    "Someone is coming," Valorie suddenly announced, looking around the room. "I can feel it."


    Ryan lowered the bag and let his eyes wander around the room. Not being able to see anything wrong, he sat it down and walked toward the hole he had made in the wall. Before he could reach it, however, an exceedingly tall woman ducked through it. Whatever the System had taken from Hector ¡ª and anyone else ¡ª in terms of height and build had seemingly ended up with her, but the longer he looked at her, the more Ryan felt like something was wrong.


    She did not seem at all concerned that they outnumbered her or that Valorie had already drawn her gun. Instead, she simply eyed every one of them for a moment, tilting her head from side to side on occasion.


    "What do you want?" Valorie asked, readjusting her grip on her gun.


    "Making sure you heed the warning I gave," the woman replied, her voice somehow not only audible to his ears but also like a thought in his own mind. The accent she had was also not something Ryan could place, melodic in a way that did not sound quite right for anything spoken. "But I am not quite sure how this qualifies."


    Before the meaning of the words could fully take hold in Ryan''s mind, Valorie squeezed the trigger and a shot rang out. He closed his eyes on reflex, not wanting to see someone die. It had already been proven that even though the System had given you more strength, it did not necessarily make you immune to bullets.


    More shots rang out before they were silenced by a gust of wind and a loud crack. When Ryan opened his eyes again, Valorie''s hand was now bent at an unnatural angle, and her gun was on the floor. His eyes, however, were drawn to the mystery woman, who had grown two large feathered wings which obscured a large part of the room from view.


    "I guess that solves that specific conundrum," the woman said and waved one of her hands. A moment later, Valorie simply vanished, the gun that remained on the floor the only sign that she had ever been there. "Now then," she continued, her eyes briefly lingering on both Hector and Ryan. "Do you also wish to try and injure me? While you will not succeed, you are welcome to try."


    Ryan looked at the woman for a moment longer, raising his hands slowly as she shifted her weight from one leg to another and the floor cracked under her bare feet. "I''m good. No need to erase me."


    "Erase?" She tilted her head. "Your crimes are not harsh enough to warrant that. I merely teleported your friend into the nearby woods and showed her a glimpse of what I am. She will find her way back in a couple of days.


    "In any case," she continued, a wave of her hand causing Hector and Ryan to lock up. "Seeing what is stored here, I feel like your actions violate the rule I set forth. Off you go."


    Before Ryan could even begin to think of a reply, reality shifted in front of his eyes. The vault was seamlessly replaced by a forest before that, too, faded from his mind as what he could only describe as a vision of himself clawed forcefully into the spotlight of his attention. It made no sense to him, especially since it wasn''t really ''seeing'' to begin with.


    More than anything, he felt a presence in the darkness his eyes could not pierce. It writhed, massive and formless, stretching out in all directions with no perceivable end to the form. It was an endless nothing that stared at him, one that saw his very essence without needing anything as mundane as eyesight to do so.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 214: For All to See

    Aperio hummed to herself as she gently placed more runes into the framework of the System. It was currently more of a mild distraction as she was mainly focusing on a confrontation between a few uniformed mortals armed with guns and a single one wielding magic. She would not intervene as the awakened had not started the fight; quite the opposite in fact, as he was probably fighting for his life.


    I doubt he is immune to bullets quite yet, Aperio thought to herself as various constructs made from the very earth he stood on appeared around him. His magic sure works, though.


    For a moment, the All-Mother considered going there to observe the fight in person, but she doubted her presence there would go over well.


    "Found something interesting?" Caethya asked, looking up at Aperio. "You seem unusually focused."


    "People are currently discovering that magic exists," Aperio replied. "And I do not mean the ones that got Classes."


    "Can you show me?"


    The All-Mother gave a nod and showed her love what she saw, omitting only a few details from her perception that she knew still gave Caethya headaches.


    "Oh," her love said, blinking at the vision Aperio was showing her. "That''s going to be in the news." Her love looked around the hotel room they had rented. "Does the magical motel not have a TV? Adam and the others seemed quite fond of the thing as it lets you see basically all you want, when you want."


    "I think it does," the All-Mother replied, a wave of her hand opening one of the many cabinets in question. Though they had returned to their room to relax a little, that now seemed less than likely. "I am pretty sure that is what you are looking for. Going by how many of the mortals use it, you should use the thing next to it. A ''remote'', apparently." She tilted her head slightly as she watched Caethya squint at the device. "But why would you use that if I am already providing a much better view?"


    "I want to see the reaction of the other mortals to all of this," Caethya said. "I doubt you will stop their fight and this is bound to be interesting. Plus," she continued, finally finding the correct buttons to not only turn it on but also switch channels, "I find all of this technology very interesting. Especially their phones! I bet people back home would love to see one of these, especially if it can be reworked to use solely mana for power."


    "It is an intriguing little machine," Aperio agreed, setting herself down on the foot of her bed. Her wings flowed off of it, almost hanging on the floor. A touch of her magic was also needed to stop the wooden frame from breaking, but that was par for the course by now. "Most of the things the mortals here invented are, for that matter. I would like to know how they manage to make something so small it is barely bigger than an atom."


    Caethya looked at Aperio for a moment before her eyes wandered to the little device in her hand and she shook her head. "I''m not even going to ask," she said, stopping her browsing as she reached a channel that had news right in the name. "Looks like they already noticed!"


    The All-Mother shifted her gaze towards the screen, blinking her eyes a few times as she focused on it a little more to turn it into something watchable and not a slide show. It was a weird feeling to simultaneously see the scene for herself and watch the recording of it. For a brief moment she considered teleporting herself to the edge of what the camera could see and offer the people of Earth a small wave, but in the end, she decided against it.


    It might be fun, but in the end it would only cause more chaos. Something they surely will have enough of after this. Aperio did not know how the governments on Earth worked, but after everything Adam had told her, she doubted that they would be happy with what were essentially super-powered Humans walking around freely.


    Thinking of the mortal mage had seemingly summoned him, as he was about to knock on their door. Aperio simply opened it with a thought, interrupting the motion of Adam''s hand. "Come in," she said and gestured towards the TV. "I assume you are here because of this."


    "Of course I am," Adam replied, and as he stepped inside and the door closed behind him before he made a move to touch it. "I had thought you wanted to prevent this!"


    "No?" Aperio tilted her head ever-so-slightly. "I said I would prevent them from abusing their new powers. This one is defending himself; very much a justified use of his new abilities."


    "Do you know who started the fight?"


    "Not him," the All-Mother replied with a wing-assisted shrug. "That is all that matters to me."


    "Quiet," Caethya said. "They got more people."


    "The uniformed ones have people in the buildings surrounding the earth mage," Aperio added, a thought causing various projections of what she saw to pop up next to the TV itself. "Maybe I should intervene after all?"


    "If you do, you shouldn''t show yourself," her love said as she stole a glance at the All-Mother. "Unless you want to become known as Earth''s first hero?"


    "Maybe. Being first seems to be my thing."


    To go there would be as trivial as it would be to stop them, but she knew that her every action would be scrutinised by the people of Earth, given weight and meaning in ways she could not anticipate, and interpreted in ways she might possibly dislike. Despite all of that, she did still want to make an appearance.


    "I think I will do it," she eventually said. "I want to, at least; though I am not even sure why."


    "Because it seems like fun!" Caethya smiled at Aperio. "You really haven''t done much for yourself since you returned, so why not do this and help some people out. You get to enjoy yourself, and stop these mortals from potentially killing one another. A win-win, as they say."


    "And the entire world would know that some winged Elf woman can just appear anywhere and do what she wants," Adam said, crossing his arms. "That''s a good way to get the attention of people you don''t want in your life."


    "And what will they do if I simply remove them from my life?" Aperio asked with a slight tilt of her head. "I am not scared of your people, Adam, and I have no issue defending myself or my friends." She remained quiet for a moment before she let out a long sigh. "I am also tired of hiding myself. It only seems to work as long as I do not interact with other people, as you mortals always seem to know that I am different. I am sure that would still be the case if I appeared as a completely normal-looking mortal."


    "It would be," Caethya agreed. "You simply don''t act like a mortal. Well, sometimes you do, but those actions are based on your time as one and don''t really reflect how people live now." She hesitated for a moment, simply looking at Aperio. "The times you act normally for you, you teleport around and make things other people cannot begin to conceive of, all by simply wanting to do it.


    "Strong mortals make some things appear effortless, sure," her love continued, "but it''s not quite the same as when you do it. Whenever magic is involved in any way, you do it in a manner that is hard to describe. All I can say is that it feels¡­ primal, in a sense. Like you are manipulating the very idea of the world we live in."


    The All-Mother tilted her head to the other side. "That is because I do. I bend reality to my will to become what I want it to be." She hesitated for a moment, shifting a little on the end of the bed. "But that is how all magic works: you exchange the potential of your mana to enact your will upon the fabric of my creation. The methods vary, but the results are the same. Mana is exchanged in order to shift reality closer towards that which you desire. This concept was known even to the lowest slave in the Empire, and I had thought it ubiquitous enough to not have been forgotten."


    Adam did not reply, instead only shifting his gaze between Aperio and Caethya. The Demigoddess, on the other hand, tapped at her chin in thought. Her love remained quiet for a moment longer before she shrugged. "It''s never been explained quite that bluntly, but I guess what I was taught is close enough." She smiled at Aperio. "In any case, it does not matter. I will support whatever decision you make. If you want them to see you, I will deal with whatever sort of increased attention we will get."


    Aperio gave a nod at the words, somehow feeling a lot lighter and warmer than before her love had spoken. She shifted her gaze towards Adam, the mortal mage obviously wanting to say something but not quite sure how he should do so.


    "At least make a small attempt at hiding yourself," he eventually said. "That might keep some people from looking into you too much."


    "We shall see," the All-Mother replied, carefully standing up from the bed and stretching herself. The motion was in no way needed, but it still felt good. "I will be back shortly, then."


    ///


    Jacob stared at the TV, ignoring the anchors discussing how the current encounter came to be and how it was even possible that the man confronting the police was achieving the feats caught on camera. He knew what the man was doing. What he didn''t know was how he would get out of that situation.


    As far as he could tell, there was no way out besides burrowing down and he wasn''t sure if the man could do that. He probably could, but Jacob didn''t know how flexible Earth magic was when compared to his fire abilities. He could personally bend his powers in many creative ways that went far past the mere conjuring of flames and yet, they still all relied on that skill.


    The question seemed to answer itself as black feathers began gently gliding down between the police and the unknown man. Their appearance gave both sides pause, and even the reporters themselves grew quiet as the first feathers touched the ground and simply disappeared. A few moments later reality seemed to turn in on itself, revealing an abyss of pure black for a brief instant before a large, winged woman stepped out of the apparent portal.


    Despite the fact that the cameras all focused on her, Jacob could not really make out much more than her above-average height, the pallor of her skin, and the fact that she was wearing a dress. No matter how hard he tried, he could not focus on her face, his eyes seemingly refusing to see what he should be able to. Of course, he could also see the wings, the feathered appendages filling out basically the entire width of the street when she spread them briefly.


    The woman folded the extra limbs behind her back and simply regarded the uniformed officers for a moment. The slight breeze flowing down the street caused her silver hair to sway gently, making the entire scene seem more like something out of a movie than an active news broadcast. Indeed, the colours seemed to be more... saturated, somehow. Livelier. In fact, the only thing that actually felt like reality were the news anchors, who had by now collected themselves enough to actively theorize on what was happening.


    On the ground, the situation looked a little different as the police had begun shouting at the woman. She did not seem to mind them, not listening even as most of their weapons shifted from the man to her.


    A wave of her hand showed why. The makeshift fortress the Earth-bending man had made simply vanished, the street back in perfect health, while the weapons the officers held simply disappeared. She clapped her hands once, the motion causing more feathers to appear and drift towards the ground. Every time one hit the street another uniformed person appeared, looking very confused as to why they were now out in the open.


    She said something, her voice curiously inaudible given that everything else that was happening could be heard in perfect clarity, and motioned towards the man with a wing. When one of the officers began to answer, she held a finger in front of her mouth, causing the man to quiet down. She offered him a small smile, lowered her hand and continued talking.


    While Jacob could not hear her ¡ª and even if he could read lips, hers weren''t visible enough ¡ª he was still sure that she was explaining something to both parties involved, shrugging every now and then when one of the bystanders was allowed to ask a question.


    He tuned out the chatter of the anchors as he focused more on the screen, trying to make out further details of the woman, but the more he tried, the more hazy her form seemed to grow; shrouding itself in a silver-blue mist. Trying to understand how that worked was likely a lesson in futility. Whoever this mystery woman was, she was obviously much more in control of her powers than he was. Maybe she got them earlier?


    The real question was how much earlier she had gotten her powers, and to what extent they had changed her. Given the wings, the height, and just her overall build, she certainly no longer looked Human. But that, too, could be merely a trick of the mind.


    Jacob was taking from his pondering as the scene on his TV was replaced by a series of pictures of the winged woman. Apparently these ones, which were much more view-able and clear, had been taken by various people who had been in Riverburg ¡ª a city on the west coast ¡ª for a convention that had started about a week ago.


    The most pertinent thing, however, was that the mystery woman was not at all obscured in the pictures. None seemed to be exactly in focus, and nobody was able to supply a name to go with the face, but they were proof enough to Jacob that, yes, the person in question was most certainly no longer Human. Her long pointed ears and wings made that clear as day. "Now, where is this Riverburg," Jacob mumbled to himself, pulling up a map on his phone.


    He had a suspicion that it was there that the first people had awakened to magic, and if he was correct he would love to go there in person. The only potential issue was that the country was large, and his funds limited. If he could drive there in a day or two, that would be fine. If he could only get there by plane, it would be beyond his means. Luckily, he was located in a fairly central place on the west coast, and the news had marked the city as Riverburg, Oregon. It should theoretically be close enough. Shouldn''t be too many cities with a name like that there, either¡­


    He found it in short order, located barely a four hour drive from his home. Can just tell mother I''m visiting Ben, Jacob thought to himself as he locked his phone. When he looked back to the TV, it was just in time to see the woman and the earth mage vanish, leaving behind only a few feathers that disappeared shortly thereafter.


    "This is going to be chaos," was all he could say on the matter with a shake of his head. Magic, superpowers ¡ª or whatever else you wanted to call it ¡ª on Earth had been the subject of many stories, and all of them had some form of villain and hero arising that simply dominated the rest. "Pretty sure we just saw the hero."


    He pushed himself off of his bed and began throwing some clothes into his gym bag. He had a weird city to visit, and a potential hero to find. Maybe she could tell him what, exactly, was happening. Or maybe she was, as he expected for someone with so much power, nothing more than a dick.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 215: The Beach is Inevitable

    GamingWolf


    Merlin laughed without bothering to look at Elder Wu, leaning herself against his desk. "I like her," she said, picking up one of the many pictures of Aperio littering the desk of the Vampire. "Doesn''t give a single fuck about what they think."


    "She is causing undue chaos," he replied with a sigh. "I''ve already fielded no less than ten calls from our friends in the White house.¡± Elder Wu glared at his phone. "We should never have told them about us. Office of Supernatural Affairs, my ass."


    "If we hadn¡¯t told them, Benjamin would have," Merlin said with a shrug. "And you can''t say that the office doesn''t help us. It''s as old as this country and has always been there when we needed it. Sadly, this moment is out of both our control and theirs, so a-looking for a scapegoat they go."


    "They probably want to know if we know anything," Wu replied, "which we do. If I said no, they''d know I''m lying, and I really don''t want to explain to them that the woman who just appeared on TV is the very reason magic exists on this world in the first place."


    "Oh, please do tell them. In fact, if you don''t I might." Merlin laughed. "They would try so hard to get her. It would be hilarious!"


    "You know as well as I do that they wouldn''t even believe us if we told them what she is." Wu leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment before he pulled open one of the many drawers in his desk to retrieve a bottle of blood from it. "This situation is gonna kill my entire stock."


    "You own and operate more than one blood bank. I doubt a few bottles here and there will make so much as a dent in your reserves." She shook her head. "It''s not like this is still the eighteen hundreds, where Benjamin would zap you whenever you dared to drink blood."


    "I hated that man," the old Vampire mumbled, taking a sip from his glass. "The only good thing he did was founding the office." He huffed. "I also don''t own those blood banks, I sponsor them. Indirectly, of course."


    "Same difference," Merlin replied, waving him off. "Point is that you will have more than enough. It doesn''t matter either, as we have to deal with the office first. They won''t get to her on their own and we have to tell them something."


    Merlin shook her head and pushed herself away from the desk she had still been leaning on. "I wasn''t joking that I would tell them, by the way. I don''t care if they believe me or not, but I sure hope they do. The mental image of their agents running around trying to get close to her is hilarious."


    "You really only do things because they seem fun to you," Elder Wu said with a sigh, not moving in his chair. "We are at the brink of what amounts to an apocalypse, powerless to stop it, and you only wish to sow the seeds of more chaos."


    Merlin gave Wu two thumbs up and a smile. "Yep."


    "Seems like your meeting with Aperio has finally pushed you over the edge and into proper insanity."


    "It did not," Merlin replied indignantly. "All she did was make it very clear that my methods are shit, and that I am not allowed to use them on anyone but myself." Not that that would work, anyway.


    Her rather unique method of immortality came with more than a few catches that made the whole ordeal rather annoying. Though, with the prospect of more mana on the table, in the future she might not have to make as many bodies in fear of failure. Not only that, but she could restart the process of actually furthering her own strength. Making a body that can hold more mana naturally also takes more mana. The current one she occupied was only as good as it was because she had used some of her last crystals to fuel its creation.


    "So, in essence, she gave you a stern warning." Elder Wu gave a half-hearted laugh. "Guess the mother part of ''All-Mother'' is accurate after all."


    "It wasn''t a motherly scolding," Merlin replied, walking around the desk and towards the door. "More like¡­ bad mafia boss, I guess? Plenty intimidating, but not because of what she said. Rather, because I am sure I can only imagine the tiniest bit of what she can actually do."


    Wu took another swig of the blood, letting out a long sigh afterwards. "Well," he began as he leaned forward to place his glass onto his desk, "we know for certain that she is an expert at throwing the world into chaos."


    "Don''t be so negative about it," Merlin said, wagging a finger at the man. "We have tried to make this exact situation happen for centuries now. Our plans simply never involved making others our equals. Mostly because we thought it was basically impossible, but still."


    The old Vampire remained quiet for a moment as he pulled various pieces of paper from the drawers on his desk and placed them on it. He shuffled them around, bringing them into some semblance of order that only made sense to him. After another minute, he reached into one of the various piles he had made and retrieved a rather thick set of papers loosely bound with a red string.


    "Not impossible," he said, placing the papers at the end of the desk closest to Merlin. "Just very costly. The amount of mana required to forcefully attune someone to it is, frankly, ridiculous. There might be other methods, but we never found those and gave up further research attempts when the mana began to grow thin sometime in the fourteen hundreds."


    "Well, it might be time to start trying again." Merlin shrugged and walked back to the desk, grabbing the papers Elder Wu had gotten for her. "Or we just wait until our newly returned overlord decides that the rest can get their magic now. Only a matter of time before she does that anyway."


    ///


    Aperio tugged at one of the straps of her bikini before she adjusted the bag slung across her shoulder. She let her gaze wander over the beach she now found herself at, only a little annoyed at the fact that she had to carry their things and could not simply pull them out of her Void. Should''ve just stuck with my dress, she thought to herself, doing her best to not bring out her wings. That would''ve been more comfortable.


    The beach itself was decently full, a good number of Humans lounging about in the sun or swimming in the rather large river that likely gave the city its name. And enough non-humans to make us not stand out. Probably. Aperio was still herself, so a good chunk of any mortal¡¯s attention would drift her way at one point or another regardless, but it should be fine for the time being.


    "It''s been a long while since I have had a day at the beach," Caethya said. Her love stretched herself, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Finally, we actually get to relax a little."


    "Do we really?" Aperio asked, showing her love all the mortals who currently could think of nothing better but to stare at them. "At least a few of those will come to bother us, I reckon."


    "I am pretty sure they won''t," Eleanor chipped in, stepping past the two Elves and moving towards a mostly empty section of the beach. "Most people will be too scared to try."


    The All-Mother could not help but smile at the words. While she usually did not like the fact that her presence scared people, today it would be a most welcome boon. Until more of those suited mortals come. Ever since her appearance at ''The Standoff,'' as it had come to be called, there was a certain set of mortals that were trying to get to her. The only thing that connected them was the fact that they carried a golden badge bearing the letters ''OSA''; something that made them stand out everywhere they went. To Aperio, at least. Would be nice if they said what that stands for, though.


    So far, she had taken to simply teleporting them random places whenever they got too close, then tracking them once she set them loose. It had not revealed much as they promptly went back to their task, only using a phone to send a message that was nothing more than gibberish to Aperio away.


    Sometimes they would sneakily hide a device before moving on to the next location, presumably to spy on the people there. Whenever they did that, she usually also let said device fall on their head before teleporting them and their gadget away. None of them seemed to too happy about that happening, but Aperio hoped that they would learn at one point or another that she did not want to be followed. Maybe I should teleport them into one of their prisons to drive the point home?


    "You''d think that," Caethya said, taking Aperio''s hand and leading the All-Mother along, "but you underestimate what lengths people are willing to go to. Plus, it''s only a matter of time before they make the connection between her and Earth''s first hero. They did find the pictures of her in Riverburg fairly quickly, after all."


    "I do not have wings, so I cannot possibly be that person," Aperio said as she looked down at her love. "Plus, I am at the beach with my girlfriend while an uncountable number of crimes are being committed. A true hero would stop them all, no?"


    "Pretty sure the number is perfectly countable." Caethya smiled at the All-Mother. "But I am also certain that most of those are none of our business. And the ones that are¡­"


    "I am taking care of those who cannot wait for everyone to gain their powers to begin their career in evil."


    Eleanor stopped, unfurling the towel she had been carrying under her arm and placing it on the ground. "And now," she said, sitting down, "it''s time to do nothing!"


    Aperio followed suit, reaching into the bag she carried and pulling out two towels that were thrown perfectly onto the sand with a flick of her wrist. Eleanor shook her head at that, but the All-Mother paid her no mind, instead lying down and letting out a long breath. "I want to sleep."


    "Want, or need?" Eleanor asked.


    "Want," Aperio clarified, shifting slightly as Caethya laid herself down next to her. "I do not need to sleep, but I find it enjoyable nonetheless. It affords me a brief respite from juggling, well, everything." She hesitated for a moment. "Exhausting is the wrong word, but preventing myself from perceiving everything does get a little tiring¡­ Maybe boring is a better word?


    "That is also not quite right," the All-Mother admitted, tilting her head despite the fact that she was lying down. She stared into the sun, squinting slightly to better focus on its ever-shifting surface. "Annoyed is probably the best descriptor."


    ///


    For a moment, Eleanor wanted to tell Aperio that staring directly at the sun was a bad idea, but that thought was quickly dismissed. The woman could probably walk on, swim through, or hover in it; whichever of those options was correct for the surface of a star. Maybe I can convince her to try that?


    The mortal mage closed her eyes and shook her head in an effort to clear it. When vision returned to her, she saw Caethya shifting around a little before using the All-Mother''s stomach as a pillow. Neither of them seemed to mind the looks they were getting, having started to chat in that infuriatingly incomprehensible language of theirs.


    How can they be this unbothered by everything? she asked herself, tugging at the various magics she had cast beforehand to make sure nobody broke into her home while she was gone. Maybe all of this did actually tire her?


    As far as Eleanor could tell, Aperio had brought more mana to Riverburg alone than had been on the entire planet before. And that was only the initial wave. Ever since then, the level of ambient mana had been steadily climbing; enough that she was starting to worry that the normals might notice soon. Not that that mattered much after the All-Mother''s appearance on TV.


    The idea that she would go undiscovered here on the beach was more than a little silly. Simply hiding her wings and not wearing her dress only removed two striking features, leaving her perfectly recognisable. Her height alone makes her distinct... Her build and the ears don''t help, either.


    Eleanor let out a sigh and laid down on her own towel, doing her best to avoid thinking about the literal Goddess lounging behind her as well as the myriad changes happening all over the world, not to mention those that were still to come. She could not even begin to fathom what a world in which everyone had magic might look like, but what she did know was that conflict would be a large part of it, at least in the beginning. There were too many people on Earth with grand ideas they were willing to die for, for the change to happen peacefully. The council itself held more than a few such people.


    Let''s just hope Aperio helps with that, she thought to herself as an ethereal giggle came from the All-Mother.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 216: A Game Before the End of the World

    "Come on," Caethya said. "It''s gonna be fun!"


    Aperio tilted her head as she contemplated her love''s suggestion. The game in question certainly seemed to be popular among the people at the beach, so much so that there were permanent nets set up here and there amidst the sand. Nets that, seemingly, anyone could use.


    "We don''t have a ball, though," Eleanor interjected, her eyes wandering between Aperio and Caethya. "We kind of need one to play."


    "Fine," the All-Mother replied and grabbed the bag she had used to carry their belongings. She reached inside, a touch of her magic creating a ball that matched the ones the other mortals used to play the game. "We can play."


    Eleanor only shook her head when Aperio''s hand emerged from the bag, ball firmly gripped. Caethya, however, immediately snatched it for herself, running to a free net far faster than any normal mortal should be able to. Aperio followed suit, though at a much slower pace, taking the time to get up and stretch like any reasonable person would.


    "Did you just make that?" Eleanor asked, falling into step next to Aperio.


    "No, I obviously always carry a ball with me to play games I do not know," she replied and gave the mage from Earth her best smile. "Normal people cannot just make stuff, Eleanor. You should know that."


    The woman shook her head again. "Ah yes, of course. How could I forget." As they approached Caethya, they could already see how amused she was at the situation. Eleanor couldn''t help but ask her, "Is she always like this?"


    "No," the Demigoddess said with a shake of her head, "humour is not usually not her strong suit, but she has been getting better at it. Perhaps it helps that she can actually do something now instead of merely contemplating things."


    "I still feel like I am not doing particularly much," Aperio said with a slight tilt of her head. "I will admit, though, it does feel rather good. The confused expressions on the mortals when I teleport them away never fails to amuse."


    It was true that she was working on bringing magic to the rest of the mortals, but it was a task she did not have to actively think about. Only part of her mind divided the population of Earth in smaller groups, preparing to give out powers in waves. The choice to do it that way came from the fact that not everyone was as receptive to mana as she had hoped. For some, she would have to rebuild their entire body, but she would make it work. That''s going to be a boon for them, anyway. Still, though, her focus was on the here and now.


    Aperio did her best to ensure that the people who would make up the last wave would be close to the same person they were before, but she was almost certain that, due to her meddling, those who would get their powers last would be far stronger than the first wave. It was still balanced enough, as the first ones with powers had a head start on levelling.


    "Normal mortals don''t teleport people, my love," Caethya replied with a giggle, taking Aperio from her thoughts and throwing the ball towards her. "You should know that."


    Aperio caught the makeshift projectile with one hand and held her head in the other. "How could I forget," she said. "I guess the only solution is that nobody can be normal."


    Standing at the edge of what passed for a playing field, Aperio peeked at the various other matches that were currently playing out. That she would excel at the sport had never been in question, but she wanted to make sure she would not get yelled at for inadvertent rule breaking. Not like the current rules will survive much longer.


    She was already drawing closer to giving yet more people of Earth access to the System, even going as far as offering them the chance to change their species if they so chose. Why her past self had started making a subsystem like that was beyond her, but it was a most welcome addition right now. Options were nice and she would be damned if she did not allow people the chance to get some wings of their own. Flying was delightful, and was something she wanted to share with others ¡ª definitely not because she wanted to blend in a bit better.


    "I would say Caethya and I against you," Eleanor said. "Not that that makes it any more fair."


    "You can recruit your friends if you wish. I will also promise to not use any magic. My physical prowess alone should be enough."


    "How much, exactly, can you do without magic?" Eleanor asked, squinting at the All-Mother.


    Aperio simply shrugged in reply, missing her wings in the motion. She had not yet tested the full extent of her limits ¡ª not even that of her pure physical strength ¡ª and Earth was definitely not the correct place to do that. Though, their reactions would be priceless, she thought, a smile spreading across her face.


    "Okay!" the mortal mage said, raising her hands. "Don''t want to know anymore! That smile scares me."


    "I find it beautiful," Caethya commented, taking the ball from Aperio yet again before she gave the woman a quick kiss and ducked below the net. "But it''s also the one she gets when she thinks of fighting or breaking something. It''s not us she intends to obliterate," she added upon seeing Eleanor''s reaction. "You''d feel that."


    Aperio set her gaze on the two women, standing just a little taller than usual. "You are wrong, mortals!" she declared, pointing at the two of them. "I have come to destroy you! In a game of... beach volleyball."


    ///


    Eleanor gulped slightly as Aperio all but glared at her through the net. On a normal day, she was already scary enough, but now that feeling had somehow increased. The fact that the All-Mother was almost taller than the net and somehow looked just a little more¡­ real than she had earlier in the day was of no help at all.


    "Begin," she said simply, staying next to the net.


    Eleanor wanted to advise her to step back a little, but before she could get the words out Caethya threw the ball in the air. The force of her teammate''s serve was greater than expected, and indeed more than anyone should have been able to achieve. If the mage hadn''t known any better, she would have sworn she had felt a wave of pressure washing over her as the ball passed by.


    Before she could even move, it was followed by a wave of warmth that pushed her back, causing her to tumble to the ground. When she got back up, Eleanor saw a small crater in the sand; the ball that had caused it perfectly unharmed.


    She looked around, thinking that the commotion would have attracted the attention of everyone at the beach, but that was seemingly not the case.


    Caethya looked down at the sand, where Aperio''s return move had left the volleyball. Something glinted oddly, and the woman reached down to pick up what turned out to be a large chunk of... no, it couldn''t be...


    "You made some glass," the Demigoddess noted as she turned the transparent piece in her hands. She looked through it, smiling at Aperio. "Should probably use a bit less force next time. At least your weird sound magic works on explosions."


    "I gave it a small tap," the All-Mother replied and spread her arms, gesturing at the beach itself. "Perhaps the field should be made from something a little more sturdy than sand." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "And of course my magic dampens the sound of an explosion. I do not want a random mortal to hear our conversations, or anything else."


    Eleanor grabbed her head and abandoned her attempt to stand up, instead sinking to her knees and letting out a laugh along the way. "This is ridiculous." She was on a beach with a ¡ª the ¡ª literal creation deity. They were playing a friendly game of fucking volleyball. And Aperio tapped the ball a bit too hard and turned a section of said beach into literal fucking glass!


    With another laugh, one that was little more than a sharp breath, Eleanor threw her hands up and leaned back, collapsing onto the sand. Why had she ever agreed to this? There was no way she should be here, so close to an actual God. Let alone two! she realised with a titter. She had also been in close proximity with Earth''s actual God ¡ª or, more accurately, Gods ¡ª and they were still around, as far as she was aware, hugging trees and smelling books in or near Micheal''s home.


    "I turned nothing into glass," her opponent the deity said, the raised brow audible in her voice. "As you can see, everything is perfectly fine." With a nod, she indicated the spot where, moments before, a crater had been. "We are just three perfectly normal mortals engaging in recreational activities."


    The Demigoddess looked at the downed mortal mage, offering the woman a smile as she squatted down. "You''ll get used to it," she said kindly. "Soon you will realise that Aperio is actually quite nice, despite her rather...queenly demeanour."


    "Queenly?" Eleanor pushed herself back into a seated position, leaving her hands on the sand as support. "I''m not sure that description fits," she said, contemplating the woman in question. "She does have this¡­ cold and calculating guise, also speaks like one. But it still doesn''t really fit."


    "Good. I have no desire to be a queen. Or Empress. Or anything that has to do with ruling and dealing with annoying followers that only want to bug you for one thing or another."


    "That sounds like you speak from experience," Eleanor said.


    The All-Mother simply raised a brow before she gestured to herself, her skin seemingly glowing slightly as the world itself grew a little darker.


    "Point taken," Eleanor said, finally feeling steady enough to stand up again. She shook her head and moved to pick up the ball. "Another round? Maybe without the crater this time. Lord knows we will have enough of those in the coming days."


    "Sure," the All-Mother replied, taking a step back from the net. She spread her arms and took what Eleanor could only describe as a fighting stance. "Show me everything you have got, mortals!"


    ///


    Adam took his eyes off the amalgamation of Earth''s Gods as it placed the book it had looked at back onto the shelf and picked out another. He was still a little on edge that the police would come looking for him, even if that was very unlikely to happen.


    He shifted his gaze to the TV. Aperio''s stunt had left everyone in the house aside from him and the local cluster of deities glued to the news. The topic being broadcast had not shifted one iota, and everyone continued to talk about people with superpowers and the mysterious woman who could apparently teleport not only herself, but others as well. Not to mention the fact that she also does not care for any of their weapons.


    What had surprised him most was that the All-Mother had taken at least a few measures to obscure her presence from prying eyes. Not that it had been of much use. Whoever was in charge of scouring the internet for her actual appearance had definitely earned their keep as it had taken all of five minutes for basically every station to show pictures of Aperio walking around in Riverburg.


    The thing that had taken Adam aback about all of this was the fact that seemingly nothing had changed in the city itself. It had already been more than a few days, but nobody had showed up. No government agents looking to detain Aperio and no rabid news reporters trying to interview her. Just some more people attending the ongoing convention, seemingly undeterred by the news of actual magic existing on Earth. Probably because they already knew¡­


    That fact still did not sit quite right with him. He had lived most of his life here on Earth and had never even suspected that magic existed. As a child, he had thought of it, of course, but it had quickly turned out to be just a dream. A childish dream.


    "So when does she give magic to the rest?" Micheal asked, taking Adam from his thoughts. "The cat''s out of the bag, so she could just do it now."


    "Could be in the next hour or the next week," Adam replied. "Aperio and time have a¡­ loose relationship."


    "I would too if I was an endless being that has been around since the beginning of time," Damien said. "What are a few weeks or years to someone who lives forever?"


    "Quite a lot," Ethan replied, the annoyance practically leaking from his voice. "Your time might not come, but that of your friends still does. Can you imagine how many people she has lost over the years? It is a burden few understand."


    "Didn''t take you for one so sentimental." Karla gave a small laugh. "How old are you, even? A few centuries, maybe? I can never tell with you bloodsuckers."


    "Old enough to at least understand a bit of this plight," the man huffed in reply. "But maybe that''ll change now. When everyone has magic, there are bound to be a few who can live longer."


    Adam lowered his head at the words. While what the Vampire had said might be true, there would first be countless conflicts as the new normal settled in, all of which would claim lives of innocent people. He knew Aperio did not truly care about death; to her, only the Soul mattered and it would survive the death of the body just fine. Arguing with her about that would also not be of any use. If he wanted to prevent needless deaths, he would have to go out there and do it on his own. Something he wasn''t sure he could.


    It wasn''t because of a lack of power, as he had been told more than once already that he was far stronger than the people here. Adam simply wasn''t sure if he even knew what to do. His brief excursions into the dungeon with Qhinya and Natio had taught him some things about fighting, but nothing about simply dealing with others. The people here, unlike some he had fought on Verenier, weren''t monsters.


    He let out a sigh and shook his head. His decision would be made once Aperio had actually brought the System to Earth in full ¡ª once he had seen how the people reacted. For now, he had an amalgamation of Gods to tend to as well as a few magically gifted people who seemed to take what he considered to be an apocalypse rather lightly.


    The world was going to be thrown into utter chaos, and they were debating over how Aperio would feel about the death of a slightly more favoured mortal. Something they could directly ask the woman, if they wished.


    Any further thoughts were stopped by a small window appearing in front of his mind¡¯s eye, informing him that the second wave would happen in twenty-four hours. Just as the appended message from last time, this one, too, warned to not use powers against those that had yet to awaken. After Aperio''s appearance, it might even be taken more seriously this time.


    It seemed he was not the only one present who had gotten such a message, as everyone else in the room took a few moments to stare at nothing. Even a few of the newscasters on TV had the glassy-eyed look he had come to associate with a System message. All Adam could do was shake his head and hope for the best. Lord knew that Earth needed it, but Aperio did not.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 217: Second Wind

    Adelita pulled the dagger out of the woman''s neck, a flick of her wrist removing the blood from the blade. "Another one gone," she said, her eyes settling on the almost lifeless body of Jester. "It''s only a matter of time before one of them tells me what I want to know, and you will have to watch me go through every, single, one."


    She offered the man a toothy smile as he tried to speak. "No, no, you don''t have to tell me. I already know everything you do. You are here to suffer through a fraction of what I had to endure, nothing more.


    "Speaking of which," she added, pulling a bottle of red liquid from one of her pouches, "it''s time to prolong your miserable existence again." Then she grabbed Jester''s head, forcing his mouth open and pouring the contents of the bottle inside. "This should be familiar. You remember doing this to me, right?"


    Adelita stepped back, her tail flicking back and forth, and looked at the coughing man. "Come on! You were always so happy after the beatings, where is your enthusiasm? You have to live the pain! Your words, not mine."


    The man remained quiet, causing the Beastkin to shake her head. She had hoped that Jester would have offered a little more resistance than he had, but that was probably for the best. The joy she found in hurting the man was¡­ unnatural. Understandable, perhaps, after everything he had subjected her to, but Adelita still considered the feeling to be dangerous; something she should not allow herself to be dragged deeply into.


    She let out a long breath and vanished into the shadows that covered the room. Finding people affiliated with the Order of Inaru was getting harder and harder, but she would not rest until they were all dead; even if that meant approaching some deity''s new toy for help.


    Adelita could not claim that her opinion of any one divine was high, but this All-Mother character just seemed like bad news to her. If a mortal noble could already do this much harm, how much could a Goddess of the divine do?


    With a shake of her head, she stepped out of the shadows in the kitchen and grabbed one of the many bottles that now filled every available surface. The Vinmaier family had a lot of money and while she was only able to get her hands on a small part of it, it was enough to buy a lasting supply of essentially every potion and elixir she could ever need. Until her second Class got into the hundreds, she would have to rely on them.


    "Speaking of which," she said to herself, glancing out of the window, "it''s time to get some levels."


    ///


    Eleanor fell face first onto her towel. Somehow the impact didn¡¯t hurt, but she chalked it up to everything else in her body currently burning. Playing a few ''relaxing'' rounds of volleyball with Caethya and Aperio was anything but; not that either of them looked the least bit tired.


    "That was fun," the All-Mother said, throwing the ball up and catching it, if the sound was any indication. "I can see why they have all the nets for that here. Though, I would argue that making it higher and the field a few times larger would make the game even better."


    Eleanor summoned the strength to roll onto her back, her eyes flicking over to the duo of deities ¡ª Well, not quite. That both of them seemed happy set her at ease while simultaneously being very worrying. A ''fun'' duel in the city seemed just as likely a choice for them as a quiet afternoon in a nice cafe.


    "They''ll figure that out once people adapt," Caethya replied. "Then they might also change what the field is made out of so you can finally hit the ground a bit harder." The Demigoddess stretched herself and let out a satisfied sigh. "When will the next people get magic?"


    "In a little while," Aperio replied and seemingly stared through the nearest building. "There are a few mortals where I am not quite sure if they should be in this wave or the next." She tapped her chin. "I try to balance the power each mortal will receive so they all end up about the same, but preparing some of them to actually be able to use mana is a little more extensive than I had anticipated."


    "Prepare them?" Eleanor asked, sitting up and propping herself on her elbows. "What do you mean by that? Sounds so¡­ clinical. Like you are running an experiment."


    "While that is not what I am doing, I can see why you might think that." The woman moved closer, somehow bridging the not insignificant distance between both of them in a single step. "I can show you what I do, if you wish."


    "What does that entail?"


    "Just using a bit of my mana to adjust your body," Aperio replied with a shrug. "It would seem that the years without sufficient mana on Earth has caused your bodies to¡­ decay, in a way. The problem is that anything I touch has a tendency to turn out a little stronger than intended."


    "That''s an understatement," Caethya commented as she sat herself down on her own towel. "I''m still waiting for people to discover the money you made. That will be hilarious."


    "What did she do?" Eleanor''s eyebrows scrunched together in thought as she tried to figure out what could be hilarious about the fact that the All-Mother had just made money.


    "Well, we needed some local currency, so Aperio made some," Caethya replied. "Turns out, those bits of paper she created are stronger than any other material you guys have."


    As if she could guess her next question, the All-Mother let out a sigh and held out her hand, a simple one-hundred dollar bill appearing in it. "There you go. I still do not see what is so funny about this. I also need your answer on whether you are fine with me showing you what I am doing or not."


    "Just don''t turn her into another Goddess when she eventually agrees," Caethya said with a giggle. "I think this world has enough deities to last them for a good while."


    Eleanor took the bill from Aperio''s hand. She could not find anything off about it until she tried to rip it. She had seen it spring into being before her very eyes ¡ª it was fake money. Destroying it shouldn''t be a problem. The only issue was that no matter how hard she tried, the money did not tear even a little.


    She looked back at the All-Mother, noting the faint smile on her face. "What did you do to this? I think I could set it on fire and it would be fine."


    "I simply made some of your currency without much care towards making it as weak as the actual thing," Aperio replied. "Perhaps you can see now why it takes time to prepare the mortals?" The All-Mother sat herself down more properly, crossing her legs, somehow not even shifting a single grain of sand. "It takes more effort to not make them stronger than the average than you think."


    Eleanor''s eyes flicked between the All-Mother and the dollar bill in her hand a few times before she held it out to Aperio. "I think I will never understand how that works."


    "Perhaps." Aperio waved her hand, the money she had made simply ceasing to exist. "But you do not need to, either. My offer to show you still stands, but you are free to refuse."


    "I want to know, but it just seems¡­ weird." Eleanor scratched the back of her neck and shifted slightly on her towel. "Outside of healing ¡ª which rarely ever happens ¡ª you don''t really use your mana to¡­ well, adjust the body of another? Not in that way, at least."


    "I see," the woman replied, leaning back slightly while folding her arms in front of her chest. "I could try to use words, but I am fairly sure the concept will make little sense to you. Simply showing you what I do will also be detrimental for your mind, I fear."


    "You could show me and I¡¯ll try to explain," Caethya said. "Though, I''m not sure I''ll be able to make sense of that either. Your mind is a little beyond my comprehension at times. Well, most of the time, if I am honest, but I think that is to be expected."


    "Yeah, comprehending our world is hard enough, can''t imagine how understanding the one that made all of it would be easier."


    The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly, opening her mouth to speak only to close it a moment later. Instead she simply sighed ¡ª a weird, ethereal noise that caused a shiver to run down Eleanor''s spine ¡ª and shook her head.


    "It is what it is," she eventually said. Her voice, just like the sigh before, sounded just a little bit more otherworldly than before. "In any case," she continued and turned to face Caethya, "I think there is more relaxing to be done, no?"


    "You make it sound like work," the Demigoddess remarked with the slightest of giggles. "But I am sure we can find something to do. Should probably let Eleanor rest a little, though. I think our game was a bit much for her."


    "It was," she replied, letting herself fall backwards again. "I think I will need a break."


    ///


    Jacob looked around the main street of Riverburg, trying to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary. So far, it seemed like any other rural town. Though it focused perhaps a little bit too much on tourism for his liking.


    One thing that stood out, however, was the fact that everything seemed to be business as usual. The news of what had happened in upstate New York had spread around the world in a few minutes, so he doubted it wasn''t known to the people here, but they still seemed to not have a care in world. Or all the cosplayers had powers to begin with.


    It was a silly idea, of course, but a few of them at least had probably believed they had them before and now found their suspicions confirmed. But even then, there should be a little more reaction to it. When he had left his home, there were already protests in progress demanding to know what was going on and why the government had hidden this from them. Jacob himself doubted there was much of a conspiracy going on here, but he too would like to know exactly what was going on.


    "Now how do I find her?" he mumbled to himself, his eyes wandering over the various characters that wandered the streets. "Certainly picked a good place to hide."


    Going by what he had seen on TV, however, finding this woman should still be relatively easy. There weren''t many seven foot, muscle-bound Elfs around, after all. At least I hope so. The extent of the woman''s abilities were largely unknown, but teleporting oneself and others around in addition to a presumed immunity to bullets would be quite the power combo. Something many people would abuse the hell out of.


    With a shake of his head, Jacob joined the flow of people moving down the street. As he had no real plan on where to go, he had decided to simply start with the biggest, most important-looking building he knew the woman had visited. Perhaps he could get a name to the face there? That would help in his search, not that even Jacob himself was certain why he was looking for her in the first place.


    "Answers, I guess," he mumbled, ignoring the glances that came his way. "But will she even talk to me?"


    Before he could think much further on the matter, a window appeared before him, looking much like his [Status]. All it said was that the ''Second Wave'' would commence in just under twenty hours. If he had to guess, this would mean that more people would awaken to some manner of power; perhaps even a dungeon or two if things happened to progress similarly to a few of the stories he had read over the years.


    How many waves will there be? He assumed that everyone would get a power at one point or another, but with some eight billion people on Earth, that would probably take a while. This probably also meant that whoever was behind all of this was probably not almighty. Or they simply made it to seem like they weren''t, or there was another reason Jacob could not even begin to comprehend. I just want some answers.


    Before he knew it, his feet had carried him to the tallest building in town. It was also one that many people had seen the mystery woman disappear into for a good while, so it stood to reason that he might find some clues inside.


    Jacob paused at the entrance, noting the weird sheen that seemed to be present on every window as well as the door itself. He had not seen anything like that before but if he had to guess, it had something to do with the mana that also fueled his newfound powers. Its presence meant he was on the right track, something he was very much happy about.


    After taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Hopefully he could get at least a hint here, even if he still wasn''t quite sure why he was searching for this mystery woman as hard as he was.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 218: Tracking the Changes

    "Welcome," the receptionist said, giving Jacob a nod. "What can I do for you today?"


    "Ah, well," he began, fidgeting with his hands in his pockets. "I had hoped you could help me find someone. I''ve been told she was here for a bit."


    "Can you give me a description?" the man behind the counter asked. "I may be able to help."


    "Of course!" Jacob gave an overly enthusiastic nod, a social disarming tactic he had practised a great many times before. "She''s tall, at least seven feet, has long silver hair; built like a linebacker, basically. Also usually wears a dark blue dress with silver embroidery."


    "Ah yes, Miss Velkari." The receptionist typed something into his computer. "She was here a week ago to meet with Elder Wu, though sadly I cannot disclose the reason for their meeting or her current whereabouts. I hope you understand."


    "Of course," Jacob replied. "Knowing that she was actually here already helps, so, thank you."


    "Anything else I can do for you?"


    Jacob hesitated for a moment as he considered asking to see the man Miss Velkari had met with, but decided against it. Just because this ''Elder Wu'' had seen her did not mean that he was fully in the know about powers, or indeed had even the slightest idea what they were in the first place. She might also just be the owner of the building, and the Elder is a manager of some sort...


    Depending on how long she had had her powers, she might have used them to accumulate an obscene amount of wealth. Teleportation and presumed toughness were both powers any would-be bank robber would like. Just teleport yourself into Fort Knox or something.


    "Nothing I can think of right now," he eventually said. "I will make sure to come back if I have more questions, however."


    "Of course!" The receptionist smiled. "With how things are going, it''s important to support one another."


    "You can say that again."


    While Jacob wasn''t quite sure if the man was simply making a general statement or if he had somehow figured out that he had powers, the statement was still true either way. With everything that had happened in just the last week, people had to look out for one another. And with this second wave coming¡­ Suffice to say that some chaos was bound to happen.


    With a nod and a few more words, Jacob turned away from the receptionist and moved to leave the building. His search for this Miss Velkari would have to go on elsewhere; he just needed to figure out who else might be able to help him.


    Before he could leave the foyer, the receptionist called out to him again, causing Jacob to turn around. Without needing to hear any further conversation, he knew that the older-looking gentleman that stood in the large doorway leading further into the building wished to talk to him.


    "Yes?" Jacob asked nonetheless as he turned around and moved back towards the receptionist.


    "Elder Wu would like to speak with you," the man behind the counter replied, inclining his head towards the older man. "He might be able to help you find Miss Velkari."


    "I can at least answer a few questions about her," the man in the doorway replied, his voice neutral and smooth. "She is quite the peculiar person."


    "She sure is," Jacob agreed, not quite willing to disclose the fact that he actually knew very little.


    "Follow me, if you will," Elder Wu said and turned to move further into the building. "I think my office is a better place to speak."


    "Of course." Jacob gave a brief nod and stepped up behind the man.


    Being closer to him also caused a slight haze to become visible around his hands and ears, something Jacob had not noticed earlier. What is that? he thought to himself as he tried to get a closer look without drawing too much attention to himself.


    It was most assuredly some kind of power the man used, but what it did was not obvious to Jacob. Still, this at least meant that this man ¡ª or whoever he worked for ¡ª had some sort of power, which was already a good start. Now he just had to hope that his own abilities would be enough to rely on, should anything go off the rails. He rather hoped this chat would stay on course enough to allow him to avoid putting anything to the test.


    Behind the door, he was greeted by a rather small hallway with four elevators, one of which also had this slight haze surrounding it.


    After squinting at it for a moment longer ¡ª and going over the question in his head more than a few times ¡ª he finally pointed at it and asked. "What happened with that elevator?"


    "Oh, yes," Elder Wu began and stopped. "It would seem that Miss Velkari either does not trust it, or she is a lot heavier than she looks. In any case, she reinforced it and some of that magic still lingers. I''m surprised you can see it at all considering how young you are, but then, you also know her, so maybe not that surprising."


    "That I know her is a bit of an exaggeration," Jacob replied, trying his best to not show his surprise at what the man had said. "She certainly knows of me, but I think that applies to most anyone."


    "A fair point," the man replied and stepped inside one of the elevators. "But even if you only wish to meet her, that is enough for now." He motioned for Jacob to join him, continuing once he had done so. "I figured that you weren''t an acquaintance of hers, but I still think we can be of use to one another. I can tell you where she currently is, and when you seek her out you can try to get answers from her that are a little less cryptic."


    "Cryptic?" Jacob asked. "I only know what she said on TV, and that''s through the accounts of people present, so not all that reliable."


    Elder Wu pressed the button for the highest floor, holding it until a pleasant chime resounded. "I''m sure you also saw the notification from the Voice of the World. For me it appears as a book, but it seems the most common form it takes at the moment is a simple blue window in front of your mind¡¯s eye."


    "The System, yes, I''ve seen it." He nodded, trying his best to remain calm. "Sadly, it doesn''t really answer any questions."


    "Of course it doesn''t; that accursed woman made it."


    Jacob blinked at the words, Elder Wu''s voice going through his head again and again as he tried and failed to make sense of the simple sentence. "Made¡­ it?"


    The old man let out a long sigh. "Yes. Aperio Velkari, the mystery woman who teleported herself to the forefront of the nation''s mind, claims to have made what you know as the System. The worst part is that I am inclined to believe her. With everything she has shown us ¡ª and what we have managed to gather on our own ¡ª it seems like the most plausible option." Elder Wu shook his head and stepped forward. Timed perfectly, as though he had known it would happen at that instant, the elevator doors opened for him. "And even if she isn''t the creator as she claims, she must at least be close to them."


    Jacob simply stared at Elder Wu''s back as the man entered what seemed to be his office. The revelation he had just delivered had not fit with the annoyed tone of his voice, nor the snark with which he referred to the apparent creator of everything. Why would a being like that come to Earth? Why now? Had she been here before? If she made everything, was she all powerful? Was that actually her or just some form she took?


    "Have a seat before you fall over," Elder Wu said, the previous annoyance replaced with what could only be described as grandfatherly concern. "I feel like we have much to discuss and the revelations for you will only get worse."


    ///


    Aperio let out a satisfied sigh as she stood up and stretched herself. Who knew lying around at the beach with her love could be so relaxing? The sand and mortals, of course, detracted from her enjoyment and made her Void the superior option, but it was still good nonetheless.


    Like all good things, however, it had to end. Her attention was currently best put to use observing mortals as they gained access to mana and received their first classes. She was decently certain that she had sorted everyone into the correct waves, but it was still probably a good idea to keep an eye on things to make sure that that was the case. At some point, she would have to bring whatever other worlds remained Systemless back into the fold, and she would rather not have to be present for every single one. There are probably quite a few that don''t even know what an Elf is¡­


    By now she was fully aware that she could take any form she wished, so she could just become a Dragon or whatever else was the dominant species of a world, but she did not want to do that. Many would probably think of that as selfish, considering what she was, but Aperio did not really care. Others could think whatever they wished; they would realise sooner or later that their thoughts ¡ª unlike her own ¡ª had little influence on reality.


    "So, what happens now?" Eleanor asked, looking up at Aperio.


    The All-Mother glanced at the mortal mage before she offered a shrug. "I will oversee the next wave of changes and make sure nobody does something exceedingly stupid. Then I will have to start thinking about some monsters or the like so people may actually start levelling via something other than a craft.


    "The first two waves are fairly close in terms of power," she continued, shifting her gaze to the large river that gave the city a part of its name. "With how densely populated this world is, I will probably have to create pocket dimensions or something of the like for monsters. I do not have the desire to let anything run rampant when I know that it will only cause needless deaths. That can happen once everyone has gotten their Classes."


    "Where are you going to put Earth''s first dungeon?" Caethya asked. "How will you run it? I doubt you''d want to make one of those cores yourself."


    "I figured I would run it myself," the All-Mother said. "If someone actually gets to the end, they would have to face me. Well, an apparition of myself."


    Her love squinted at her back. "Is this just an attempt to get to fight someone? And what do you mean with apparition?"


    "A simulacrum made from mana that I control," Aperio replied with a shrug. "I would demonstrate, but I think you would agree that that is a bad idea."


    "Well, yes," Caethya agreed, "but we could go somewhere else so you can show us. I''m pretty sure I know what you want to do, but I would like to see it nonetheless. You add a certain flair to things that I enjoy, after all."


    "I do?" the All-Mother asked, leaning back slightly and placing a hand on her chest in mock disbelief. "I would not have guessed that overwhelming strength is what one would call a ''flair''."


    Her love shook her head in reply. "I think you know perfectly well what I mean."


    "Would the ritual site in my coffee shop be big enough?" Eleanor asked. "While I don''t know what you mean, I still want to see it. As long as it''s not dangerous."


    Aperio sat up straight again and shifted her gaze towards the woman. "It is as dangerous as I am."


    "So," the mortal mage began, "very dangerous, but not malevolent?"


    "If that is how you want to phrase it, yes," Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. "Though I am sure that some mortals here would claim that I am a rather evil being who has come to destroy the world."


    "Technically not wrong," Caethya said. "The destroying the world part, that is. Once everyone has a Class, and the various species that have been in hiding can come out again, it could very well be argued that you have, in fact, destroyed the world they once knew."


    The All-Mother stood up, the sand that she could hear many of the mortals complaining about remaining firmly on the ground and not on her. "They can think whatever they need to; it does not change the truth." She motioned for both Caethya and Eleanor to also rise. "I think it is time we leave. Unless you no longer want to see what I have in mind?"


    Eleanor shot up, requiring a slight touch of Aperio''s magic to not promptly fall back down again. "Yes!" she exclaimed, seemingly unaware of the All-Mother''s help. "I must see what kind of thing she wants us to fight. It''s probably gonna be something that the God, Gods?" She wrung her hands for a moment before she shook her head. "Whatever the thing you got from that weird realm actually is, would struggle with."


    "I would hope it would not have difficulties with what I will put at the end of the dungeon," Aperio replied. "If it does, it is a lot weaker than it seems." Though, it might struggle to figure out a personality to use for the fight. They are all still in there, after all. I think.


    She couldn''t be one hundred percent sure that was still the case, as the being didn''t really have more than a single Soul. But who is to say that a Soul cannot have more than one person? How that specific creation of hers worked was very much a mystery, but all Aperio could currently say for certain was that her being was too large for one. Maybe I should try to make another? The memories of her first failure were still in her mind, as fresh as the day it had happened despite the fact that she had forgotten it for millennia in between. If she was able to get a headache, that fact would have likely given her one.


    "I mean," Caethya began as she stepped up besides Aperio, "it is weaker than I am and, all things considered, I am not that strong yet."


    "Not that strong?" Eleanor asked, glancing at the Elven Demigoddess. "What, exactly, is considered strong where you are from?"


    "She is," Aperio replied. "Perhaps she is underestimating herself or maybe she is being needlessly humble, but I can assure you that my love could take on most anything that is short of an Elder God."


    Perhaps she should devise a challenge of sorts for her love to partake in. Ever since she had gotten her Class, Caethya had not really had a chance to test herself properly. Perhaps a little bout with her would be fun¡­ Though Aperio was looking for a good fight, and her love wouldn''t really be able to deliver that, a friendly spar would not only be fairly fun but it would likely help her to grow as well.


    "Elder God? Like Cthulhu or something?"


    "Cthulhu?" the All-Mother asked, tilting her head at the name. "I cannot say I know someone with that name, but an Elder God is simply one that achieved their status as a deity a long while ago, nothing more.


    "In any case," Aperio continued, a flick of her wrist causing the towels they had used to appear neatly folded in her hand, "I think we should leave."


    "Don''t do that," Caethya said, poking the All-Mother''s side with her finger. "Normal mortals don''t teleport towels into their hands."


    "Force of habit." It really had been. She had simply not thought about it for a moment and wanted to get going. "What is done is done, so let us go and not dwell on it."


    "To the cafe!" Eleanor exclaimed and immediately began walking away, followed shortly thereafter by both Aperio and Caethya.


    The mortal mage seemed a bit more¡­ upbeat than usual, but Aperio chalked that up to the fact that she was about to witness some magic that nobody on Earth could use. In the end, the reason for her excitement did not matter. Aperio needed to provide something to allow the mortals to level, and this option gave her the opportunity to perhaps enjoy a bit of fighting of her own.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 219: In the Making

    GamingWolf


    Elder Wu regarded the young man in front of him for a moment longer before he pulled a bottle of scotch from a drawer on his desk. Five in the afternoon was perhaps a bit early for some, but a drink in this situation seemed like the right thing to do.


    Two glasses quickly followed the bottle and the noise they made when he placed them on his desk seemed to finally pull Jacob from his thoughts.


    "May I interest you in a drink?" Elder Wu asked, pushing one of the glasses towards Jacob. "Refusing it is perfectly fine; some might consider it too soon for such a thing."


    "I usually would be one of those," Jacob replied, taking the glass and holding it out for Elder Wu to pour into.  "But not today."


    The old Vampire gave a chuckle before he poured his guest the drink. "It''s only a little while longer before this second wave begins, and I feel certain that there will be more than simply additional people awakening to the arcane ¡ª like yourself ¡ª headed our way."


    "What else do you think will happen?" Jacob asked.


    Elder Wu himself could think of a few scenarios. Monsters appearing for people to use their newfound powers on, for example.


    "A dungeon of sorts, I would reckon. Aperio does not strike me as someone who would let normals die to monsters, so I am decently certain that she would safely contain any means for the awakened to grow stronger. Like a dungeon, or tower."


    As if on cue, the notification announcing the second wave changed. The time was still ticking down, but it now had a second line of text informing everyone that they should prepare themselves for an excursion. Whatever that meant.


    "Seems like I was right," Elder Wu said before he took a swig from his glass. "I guess I know what we will be doing when the time comes. Lucky you; I suspect that you will meet the All-Mother sooner than you thought."


    Jacob gave a slow nod at the words. "Maybe," he said, mirroring Elder Wu and taking a sip of his drink. "I''m just not sure what I should even do when I meet her. I barely know why I feel like I have to find her in the first place."


    "Exploring the unknown, perhaps? I know that drove me when I was younger."


    "Maybe," Jacob said again. "But that doesn''t feel quite right. I think there is something more to it."


    "I guess only time will tell, then." Elder Wu leaned back in his chair slightly. "For now, there are other things we can talk about. Your experiences with magic, for example."


    Jacob did not reply immediately, instead cradling the glass in his hand as his brows scrunched together. While Elder Wu was not able to read minds, it was quite obvious that the man was not sure if he should talk or not.


    Ah, to be young again, the Vampire mused to himself as he emptied his own glass before pouring himself another one. He too had been so very indecisive, but that was ages ago. Nowadays, he just talked his mind to whoever would listen. There was no point in being secretive and trying to figure out the world''s secrets on your own when people with answers were in reach and willing to help.


    Just as he was about to offer some words of encouragement to Jacob, the young man took a large swig of his drink, grimacing slightly as he swallowed. "Sure," he said. "Let''s talk magic.¡±


    ///


    Caethya looked at the Dragon stalking around the ritual chamber with more than a little amazement. It was currently smaller than Aperio intended, but Caethya thought it was still plenty intimidating in its current form. Not only was it covered in dark blue scales that shimmered even when no light hit them, it also had large silver horns growing from its head from which arcs of what she guessed was pure mana jumped every now and then.


    "Can it fly?" Eleanor asked, her eyes flicking between the Dragon and the All-Mother who looked decidedly too relaxed.


    "Of course," she replied. "I can fly, and any other form I make will be able to do so as well. The room is a little small, but I can show you once I have picked a proper place and have actually created the dungeon that this apparition will live in."


    "Is it self-aware?"


    "It is me," Aperio replied, her voice coming from both the Dragon and her normal body simultaneously. "I simply formed some mana into the shape of a Dragon and am manipulating it to behave like one. It does not have a Soul, nor will it ever. I have no intention to bind any creature to a place where it will only await its death." She tilted her head. "Unless that is actually its wish, but then I would have to question what I did wrong to have created a being whose only desire is to die."


    "I mean, none of us asked to be born in the first place," Eleanor said, her voice just a little quieter than usual.


    "Neither did I," the All-Mother replied. "Though, ''born'' is the wrong term for me. I simply¡­ am." Aperio tapped her chin, her wings moving forward slightly as if she were wrapping herself into a hug. The motion was accompanied by a distant ¡ª almost intangible ¡ª pang of sadness, one that washed over Caethya but seemingly had no effect on Eleanor. "Just me, and nothing else¡­


    "No matter," she continued, running a hand over the scales of the Dragon she had created. "I was thinking of creating a few islands, roughly the same distance away from every major population centre, that would all lead to the same dungeon. Do you think that would cause undue attention?"


    "Are you for real?" Eleanor asked and simply stared at the All-Mother. "Not only are you just making some islands, you are also having them all teleport people to some random plane of existence we were previously unaware of. It will have all the attention in the world!"


    "I see." Aperio crossed her arms in front of her chest and began tapping her chin a moment later. "I guess I could simply offer everyone a teleport there via the System? I do like the idea of a physical entrance, however."


    A few steps brought Caethya next to her love. Her hand sneaked past Aperio''s wings with practised ease, resting in the small of her back. "I think that''s a good idea," she said. "It would probably take some attention off of you Especially if you go the islands yourself. Though, perhaps just making one that houses the dungeon would be better."


    "And offer a teleport for everyone that already has their Class?" the All-Mother asked as one of her wings shifted slightly, wrapping itself around the Demigoddess. "I am convinced that nobody would be able to get there if I did not help them along. The various nations of this world do not seem inclined to share power, or even let people discover something unknown."


    "Why would you say that?" Eleanor asked. "We''ve been free to do basically anything as far as I can tell."


    "Then why am I still being followed by people working for something called the OSA? From what I have gathered, their sole purpose seems to be ensuring that nobody does anything magic related that they do not approve of." A wave of her hand caused a small projection of a building to appear in the room. "It took a bit for me to find this as those letters meant little to me, but once I tracked them down it became quite obvious that this is a sort of¡­ watchdog for magic. I think that would be the correct phrase.


    "In any case," the All-Mother continued, both the projection and the Dragon she had created vanishing, "the issue at hand is the dungeon I intend to make and how I should go about introducing it to the world. I am still quite fond of my island idea. Maybe I will put a temple or something similar on it."


    "Whatever you end up making, you have to make sure to go there like everyone else would," Caethya said. "If you don''t show up, people will think that you are even more special than they already assume you are."


    "You said that before," Aperio replied, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "I am not quite sure how that would work. If I go, they will very likely require me to fight in the dungeon I made specifically for them to get stronger. They would probably also figure out that the monsters that challenge them are not even an inconvenience to me, all of which would just reinforce their belief that I should be the foremost protector of their world."


    "You can always just say that you are a pacifist," Eleanor said with a shrug. "So far, all that people know of you is that you broke up a fight between the police and someone who just awakened to their powers. How strong you are doesn''t matter if they think you don''t want to fight."


    "It is an option, but I do not like lies and this would be one." Aperio crossed her arms in front of her chest as numerous projections of tiny islands appeared around her, all of them made of different materials, styles and themes, not a single one featuring the usual colours or motifs of the All-Mother. "Perhaps styling the island quite unlike how I usually would will help?"


    Caethya could not help but raise a brow at a few of the proposed isles. If she didn¡¯t know any better, she would think that a good many of them were made to fit her own aesthetic. There were the usual bits of black and silver she liked, as well as the general style of building typically found in Ahl Ghave. Some might consider it merely ancient and boring swaths of marble and pillars, but Caethya would be lying if she said she didn¡¯t like it.


    The one that caught her eye the most ¡ª and that, in her opinion, was the winning option ¡ª featured the same pillar-rich style she liked, but much of the marble and solid stone was replaced with glass and other materials that seemed to be more common around Earth.


    ¡°I think that one would work best,¡± she said, pointing at the island that featured the tower glass. ¡°It fits with what we have seen of Earth, but gives it a quality the people here cannot quite reproduce.¡±


    Aperio gave a nod, dismissing the other projections as she brought the group into her Void to stand atop the very island they had just been looking at. Eleanor immediately ran off towards the tower that stood tall in the distance, while the All-Mother spread her wings slightly and let out a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be chaos, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°A little bit of chaos is good,¡± Caethya replied with a smile. ¡°Just what the people of Earth need, I reckon.¡±


    ///


    Adelita eyed the walls of the Terenyk estate once more. No matter how hard she tried to find an opening, none seemed to want to be revealed. The enchantments she could see did their job as a deterrent, but only because she knew that if they could afford those, they would have others she could not see that would most assuredly catch her. Next to that were of course the guards, all of whom were at least level two-hundred and wearing armour that the normal guards of Ebenlowe might actually kill for. And then the fucking maids.


    Calling them that was a disservice. They were quite clearly more than simple maids. Especially Lula and Amelia. A Dragonkin of what seemed to be royal blood and an honest-to-the-Gods Tulmari were not beings you expected to see working a menial maid job. The magic maniacs of the Solito deserts were known for many things, but serving a noble house was not one of them. Seeing one care for a girl quite clearly not her own, but also appearing to be completely loyal to her house was something none of Adelita''s contacts had heard of before. She might not fully trust her informants, but what she had figured out on her own supported their findings.


    It definitely confirmed that Amelia was a member of that tribe, though she currently looked very much like a Human instead of a Beastkin. A Tulmari changing their race was, apparently, not out of the realm of possibility and for all they knew, the woman could be a dwarf in reality.


    The uncertainty of the woman''s species aside, Adelita knew enough to not even consider engaging her in any way ¡ª exactly what would happen if she tried to talk to Maria without a proper invitation. No matter how confident and routine the use of her Class was at this point, Amelia was practically tailor-made to protect Maria from attempts on her life; not that that was Adelita¡¯s goal. And for those that slipped through the few and finite cracks in Amelia''s formidable defence, Lula was there as a second line of protection. The things a strong blood mage could do truly boggled the mind.


    "Guess it''s gonna be Laelia, then," Adelita mumbled to herself.


    That woman presented much of the same issues ¡ª probably even more, if she was honest with herself ¡ª but with her, she at least had the chance of starting a conversation.. If Laelia was sure that she presented no danger, there was no problem in just talking, right? She should find no issue with what Adelita had been doing. After all, the church of the All-Mother was very outspoken against slavery and their Goddess had quite handily removed all the Gods that supported it.


    With a small tug at one of her skills, Adelita vanished into the shadows once more, the guard that had been blatantly staring at her resuming their normal patrol. With how strict security around the Terenyk estate was, the assassin could not help but question how anyone had managed to kill the late Agathy Terenyk. It didn''t help that the woman herself had supposedly been a rather formidable mage.


    With a sigh, Adelita emerged from the shadows in her makeshift office. She had some planning to do. There was more research to be done before she could even think of approaching Laelia. Let¡¯s just hope it doesn¡¯t flop like the Maria route did. Time wasn''t necessarily on her side ¡ª it was only a matter of time before the idiots she wanted to rid the city of started banding together to take her out instead.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 220: Dungeons are for Everyone

    Ryan''s finger hovered over the button the System offered him. The tiny window had made it quite clear that he did not have to accept the invitation, but a chance to attend ''a test of strength and an opportunity to grow in power'' was too good to pass up.


    It was true that he had gained a handful of levels while doing menial tasks, but his biggest jump in abilities had been when the weird Elf lady had teleported him to the forest. The local boars had not taken kindly to his sudden arrival in their turf, and the combat was as inevitable as it was exhilarating.


    Closing his eyes, he pushed his finger down. Somehow, the tiny window stopped his digit as he touched the button, as though it were a physical object. A mere moment later, he felt like he was being ripped apart, squashed together, and thrown across the room all at the same time.


    As soon as the feeling had begun, it ended and when he opened his eyes, he was presented with a large expanse of green that slowly filled with more and more people. In the distance, Ryan could see a large spire stretching itself towards the sky, most of it made of glass that was supported by pillars of marble.


    At the foot of the large tower, he could see a variety of smaller buildings that leaned a little more heavily towards what he would call Greek or Roman construction. The biggest difference was that the stone used was not the normal blinding white, but a silver that somehow shimmered black.


    He took a step forward when a new group arrived, this one featuring someone he knew. The large Elven-looking woman did not spare him a glance, instead setting her gaze on the tower in the distance. Even without seeing her face, Ryan knew that she was pleased with herself. Almost like she made that thing¡­


    Considering that this was the woman that simply teleported both him and his partners in crime out of that vault, he wouldn''t put it past her. He was certain she had said something back then, but his memory of the entire day was a little fuzzy. Too fuzzy for his liking.


    He shook his head as he failed to recall what the woman''s words to him in the vault were, trying to clear that line of thought from his mind. Whenever he thought of that day, he inevitably got a headache as his mind filled with ideas and notions he was sure were not his own. An all-encompassing presence that stared at him, saw all of him and judged him wanting.


    "Everything okay, man?" a dark-skinned man asked, placing his hand on his shoulder. "You don''t look too well."


    "I''m fine," Ryan replied and rolled his shoulders to get the other man''s hand off. "Even if I wasn''t, it''s none of your business."


    The man raised his hands and took a step back. "Okay! Just wanted to make sure, all of this is a little weird after all." He nodded towards the tall, muscular woman. "And that''s the one that was on TV, right? Standoff with the police, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she could be shot."


    "She''s dangerous," Ryan said before he could even think of the words.


    "Oh, I am sure of that," the man replied with a nod. "Name''s Jacob, by the way."


    "Ryan," he huffed in reply, setting his eyes back on the Elven looking woman. "Do you know what this whole thing is about? I only got a message telling me that this will be an opportunity to measure my strength and gain more power."


    "Got the same message," Jacob said. "No idea what exactly was meant by it, though."


    "A dungeon, of course!" one of the passing people said. "We''re gonna fight some monsters and gain some levels. Don''t you guys read?"


    Jacob only shook his head at the words, not seeming to pay the passing man much mind. Ryan, for his part, had no real idea what the off-handed quip had meant, but also didn''t really care. What he wanted from this place was, simply, more power. Enough to allow him to do what he wanted without being teleported around by a random Elven bodybuilder.


    Perhaps if he could teleport on his own, that could be prevented. But how do I do that? The levels he had gained since awakening had not really given him much besides some points he could invest into strength and the like. He had, as yet, not been given any option to gain new skills, but he had also only gained a total of three levels. If the passerby was correct, however, that would change soon enough. He would become strong enough to show that Elven idiot who''s boss.


    ///


    Aperio began to hum one of the many songs she had heard on Earth as she followed Eleanor towards the tower she had created. Why the mortal was so excited to go inside when she had been present for its creation was beyond even the All-Mother, but she would not stop her. A bit of excitement was good, and perhaps it would help lessen the tension she could feel in the mortals surrounding her.


    Instead of focusing on the mage, she looked through the rest of the arrivals, noting the absence of every single member of the council she had visited, as well as Merlin. It would seem they want to remain in the shadows¡­


    For a moment, she considered simply pulling them to this island, but decided against it. They probably had their reasons for staying away. Even if the idea was still pleasing to her, using mortals for her own entertainment was exactly what she wanted to avoid.


    "She''s awfully excited, isn''t she?" Caethya asked, her usage of the Elven language blending in with the countless other tongues being spoken. "You''d think she has seen something like a dungeon before."


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied in a whisper. While her voice was quiet, it still caused heads to turn in their direction. A slight glare was enough to make the mortals mind their own business again. "But she is young. At least, I think she is."


    "I''d guess she is about as old as Adam," Caethya replied. "Definitely younger than me, though."


    "How old is Adam?"


    "Twenty-two, I believe." She shrugged. "Almost a decade younger than I am. Somewhere around there, at least."


    "One of these days I should figure out how old I am," Aperio mumbled to herself. If she went by her life as a slave she should be around Caethya''s age ¡ª Probably ¡ª but if she went by her actual age, she would most likely be older than the universe she was currently in. "On second thought, perhaps it is better if I do not do that."


    "Figuring out your birthday is much more important," her love replied with a smile. "Celebrations are important."


    "Indeed," Aperio replied as she pushed a few drops of her mana into the large tower, causing a blue glow to run up the entirety of its length. "I think it is time to get this one started."


    ///


    Jacob followed the lines of blue with his eyes as they raced higher and higher along the spire''s surface. It did not take long before the light vanished beyond the clouds and a low rumble ran through the entire island. The shaking of the ground was, however, not the thing that caught everyone¡¯s attention. No, that was reserved for the deafening roar that somehow echoed across the otherwise empty island.


    Just like most of the people that stood before the tower, Jacob looked around to find the source of the noise. Before he could even find a hint, a gust of wind pushed him down a little and another, much closer roar caused him to freeze.


    There was no message or anything, but try as he might, Jacob could not move a single limb. The only thing he could do was move his eyes and take shallow breaths. In the corner of his vision he saw a gigantic dark blur rush past. The only things he could readily identify were its wings and four limbs, though he could have sworn that the light glinting off of its body hinted at the being¡¯s skin being covered in scales. Dragon?


    As if to allow him to answer the unspoken question, he could move again, and the first thing he saw was a Dragon, curled halfway around the spire. It looked down at them, dark blue arcs of lightning ¡ª or were they of mana? ¡ª jumped between not only its horns but also its wings, as well as the tower itself. For a moment, Jacob thought that it stared directly at him; met his eyes and smiled. He could see the large fangs in its mouth for the briefest of moments before the beast roared once more and pushed itself upwards, vanishing shortly thereafter.


    New quest unlocked: Clear the Point Nemo Dungeon.


    This is a cooperative quest. Rewards will be issued in accordance with participation.


    "Guess that answers the question of where we are," Ryan said as he dusted himself off. The Dragon''s appearance had caused him to fall over, and he was mildly thankful Jacob hadn''t noticed. "Truly at the ass end of the world."


    "Buys us some time before every nation of the world sends their navy here," Jacob said. "Though, I am not sure they will ever make it. Something tells me this island is supposed to be outside the jurisdictions of any country."


    "It has a fucking Dragon," Ryan replied. "I doubt that thing gives a damn about bullets or missiles. That tower is obviously made from magic bullshit, too."


    "Looks like glass and marble, but with how tall it is¡­" He glanced towards where the top of the tower likely was, though it was so high he couldn''t see it, then looked over at the woman he presumed to be Aperio. "Well, it also probably just appeared here. So yes, magic bullshit as you put it."


    Further conversation was cut short as a large doorway appeared in the otherwise seamless facade of the tower. Most people in the crowd surged forwards, a few individuals even going so far as to teleport short distances as they strove to be the first to enter. Jacob and Ryan were pulled into movement along with the rest of the people around them. It was hard to move against the current, and why bother? They were heading there anyway.


    What was surprising to Jacob, even though it probably shouldn''t have been, was the fact that Aperio herself did not enter the tower first. With everything he had learned from Elder Wu, it was all but certain that she had been the one to make it, but to keep up appearances he had assumed that she would be the first inside. Or is she trying not to stand out by letting others in first?


    The ploy shouldn''t have worked, as most anyone would recognize an Elf that stood out of the crowd, but contrary to Jacob''s expectations most people completely ignored Aperio. The bulk of the curious glances that came her way seemed to be due simply to her height and build, and not recognition. Only a few people looked at her and then proceeded to whisper something to their companions. From what Jacob could tell, they were from the States like he was. Well, that or Canada.


    "Do you know her?" Ryan asked, following his gaze to look at the self-proclaimed All-Mother. "Or is she just your type?"


    "Know her? No, not really," Jacob replied. "I know of her, but that''s about it. I did have a talk with one of her acquaintances, and what they told me has me more than a little intrigued about her presence here."


    "And why would that be? Do you think she can just teleport herself to the end and beat the dungeon? Claim all the rewards for herself and get even stronger?"


    Jacob could not help but snort at the words. "No. I''m pretty sure she will not even enter the dungeon, let alone beat it."


    "And why is that?"


    "Just a feeling," he replied, offering a shrug. Jacob shifted his gaze away from Aperio and back towards the tower. "You ready for some fighting?"


    "As ready as I''ll get," Ryan replied and rolled his shoulders. "What do you think is inside that thing?"


    "I have no idea, but whatever it is, I am sure we can handle it."


    ///


    Laelia let out a long sigh as she lowered the letter she had received from Maria. It would seem their Goddess was up to yet more shenanigans, this time on another world. She had known Aperio had left Verenier, having felt the moment her presence had disappeared. Why the All-Mother had seen the need to go to some backwater world was not something she understood, but apparently it was needed.


    What was of more interest to her were the visions Maria had of Aperio creating more worlds and expanding the System. What little she could glean from Maria''s writing and sketches certainly looked to be more expansive than anyone would probably think. And once people figure that out, even more will want to join her church.


    After Aperio had practically erased the other Gods, the church Laelia oversaw as Aperio''s Scion had seen a large influx of followers. Since many Gods were now dead, many assumed that they would now have to follow someone else, and simply did not know where else to go. Why they thought they had to follow anyone was beyond Laelia, but she wouldn''t question their devotion and the coin they brought.


    Most of her knights gallantly refused to be paid, but equipment still needed to be bought and she would be a poor Scion if she did not compensate the people serving under her for their duties. Especially when those duties involved hunting an Assassin that would likely try to ''meet'' with her at one point or another.


    Adalita''s attempts would fail, of course, but they were still bothersome enough to cause Laelia a small headache. Or at least the mirage of one. She had, in fact, not felt the tiniest bit of sickness or even general discomfort since acquiring her Class. Whatever magic Aperio had woven into the thing was certainly potent. Very potent.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 221: The First Steps Into the Dungeon of Point Nemo

    Jacob leaned back slightly to view the outside of the tower once more, his mind still not quite on board with the idea that the admittedly large but otherwise normal building was capable of housing an entire tundra ¡ª one that even featured small patches of forest ¡ª inside. Despite the claims of his mind, however, both the inside and the outside of the dungeon were, in fact, real.


    What was also very real were the screams he could hear coming from further out in the tundra. Whatever monsters inhabited this dungeon were seemingly a bit more fearsome than the people rushing in had expected. Jacob couldn''t really blame them, as he himself had no idea what exactly would be here, but he had presumed that whatever it was couldn''t be all that terribly fearsome. It was the first dungeon on Earth, after all. That assumption was seemingly wrong. Very wrong.


    "Who do you think made this?" Ryan asked, as behind him Jacob stepped into the tower proper. "I doubt this ''System'' is some force of nature that just came to be. It just doesn''t make sense."


    "Probably a God got bored and decided we needed this," Jacob lied in reply. Telling Ryan ¡ª or anyone, for that matter ¡ª what he had learned about Aperio seemed like a bad idea. Doubly so because he could swear she was eyeing him from time to time; something he wasn''t quite sure how he knew as the woman had her back turned to him and was currently talking to another Elf and a woman wearing an almost comically large pointed hat.


    He wanted to go and talk to them, but that was a stupid idea for more than a couple of reasons, least of which was the fact that none of the women knew him. He had no real idea what he should say to them, either.


    "Are you sure she isn''t your type?" Ryan asked, following Jacob''s gaze. "You keep staring at her. Kinda creepy, not gonna lie."


    "She is not," Jacob replied. "I just feel like there is a little more to her. Her mere presence makes me feel¡­ unsettled. Not sure how else I should describe it."


    "Can''t say I feel the same," the other man said, his voice a little more quiet than before. "I can agree that something is off about her, though. No real idea what that could be. Maybe the fact that she can teleport people ¡ª if she is the one that was on TV."


    Jacob looked at Ryan and raised a brow. "How many other seven foot, bodybuilder Elves do you know?"


    "None, but you never know. Someone probably got a skill that lets them change shape or something."


    While Jacob himself had not heard of that particular skill, it wasn''t impossible that it existed. He could freely manipulate fire after all, why shouldn''t that be an option for flesh and blood? It might be a whole lot more disgusting, but the System didn''t seem the sort to care about such things. If, indeed, it could even have feelings in the first place.


    "Maybe," he eventually said, turning away from Aperio''s group to look deeper into the dungeon. "I guess we try to find a way up?"


    "I guess," Ryan agreed. "Not much point in staying down here, at any rate."


    The following hours were spent walking back and forth across the tundra, not finding much of anything aside from a few corpses of what looked like larger wolves and some horned rabbits. No matter where they looked, it seemed that the people who had entered before them had cleaned up most of the monsters the dungeon had made.


    That was, until there came a sound that Jacob could only describe as air being sucked into itself. The noise caused both of the men to turn around, only to catch what had been one of the wolf corpses rising from the ground, reforming itself out of thousands of strands of blue and silver light. The beast simply stood there for a moment, lifeless, before a subtle blue glow rolled over its eyes. It slowly turned its head towards Ryan and Jacob and let out a low snarl that showed off more than a few of its sharp teeth.


    Jacob took a step back, a small flame appearing in the palm of his right hand. He had experimented with a few things that should help him in combat, but actually doing that in a fight seemed a bit harder than he had planned. Ryan, for his part, pulled a rather sizeable knife from one of his pockets and sent what Jacob speculated to be a rather generous amount of electricity through it. More than a few arcs jumped from the man''s skin to the blade, or in the opposite direction ¡ª leaping from metal to flesh.


    Without so much as a shred of hesitation, Ryan stepped forward and slightly to left, dodging the lunge from the wolf-like monster as if he had seen it coming in advance. As soon as the monster was next to him, Ryan stabbed his electrified blade into its side.


    Jacob took another step back as the monster landed close to him and turned around to face the man that had stabbed it. He wanted to help, the fire in his hand almost calling out to him to be used, but try as he might, he could not move one bit.


    Only when Ryan struck at the monster again, slicing open a bit of its throat, did Jacob find the ability ¡ª perhaps even courage ¡ª to move. He pulled his right arm back, the fire that danced in his palm growing in size and forming a ball. Jacob thrust his arm forward, propelling the mass of flame he had created straight towards the monster. As soon as his creation hit the wolf it exploded, engulfing the creature in flame for a moment. It fell over, perhaps merely in shock, and Ryan stuck his electrified blade into its head.


    A moment later, the same blue and silver threads that had created the monster returned, seemingly dissolving the beast. The strings of light flowed into both Jacob and Ryan, though the latter received more of them, and once the last bits had disappeared within them a small window appeared before Jacob''s eyes. It said that he had defeated a level eight [Wolf Simulacrum], and that he had gained a level as well as a few stat points he could distribute as he liked.


    "Got a level too?" Ryan asked as he poked at the grass where the simulacrum had been.


    "Yeah, as well as some stat points," Jacob replied as he dismissed his [Status] window. "Some of my other stats went up on their own, but I don''t feel any different, though."


    The other man put his knife back into his pocket ¡ª without a sheath, a dumb idea as far as Jacob was concerned ¡ª and balled his hands into fists, causing tiny arcs to jump between his fingers. "Can''t feel anything either. Whatever changed is probably too small to notice at a glance. Not like when we got our powers."


    "Probably," Jacob agreed, taking his eyes off Ryan and looking around the sparsely forested expanse that surrounded them. "Where to next? The mountain?"


    "Sure," Ryan replied. "We gotta get to the next floor. Unless this tower has more fuckery planned and we have to go down to go up. Somehow."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised," Jacob snorted. "This entire thing must be hundreds of miles across. No way any of this fits into that tower. This place is basically made of pure fuckery."


    Both of them remained quiet for a moment before they burst out laughing. The mere idea of what they were doing, and where they were doing it, would have landed them in an asylum just a few short weeks prior. But it was all true. They were in a truly gigantic tundra, located within a tower made of what appeared to be glass, that was built on an island in the middle of nowhere and that also housed a giant Dragon on the top floor.


    No matter how you looked at it, this entire thing defied all the logic and rules that Jacob had taken for granted as being set in stone. If this Aperio was truly the one in charge of the System, he had to figure out what she wanted from Earth. What could a being of that power even need from a world that had not known magic until a few days ago? Would she try to convert them to some form of religion so she could feed off their faith? Or was it just for fun?


    His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of leaves crunching and the ceasing of Ryan¡¯s laughter. Another [Wolf Simulacrum] was approaching. Ryan pulled out his knife again, the arcs of electricity already jumping across the blade while Jacob readied more of his fire. Getting to the next floor would probably mean getting rid of more than a few of these wolves, as well as whatever other monsters the All-Mother had thought up.


    ///


    Merlin crouched down and poked her finger at the charred remains of one of the monsters she had killed. They were quite unlike the ones she remembered from times long past, but they died all the same. A bit of her patented hellfire was enough to alleviate them of the facsimile of life they clung to.


    She had spent more than a few moments looking for even the tiniest hint of a Soul in the beings before she committed them to the afterlife ¡ª if the things could even go to one. Knowing what she did about who was likely the creator of this place, she doubted that the monsters were actually alive. Just puppets that dance to her whims¡­ The question of if that wasn''t also true for the rest of them still hung in the air, but that was for later; if she asked it at all.


    The thing that had annoyed Merlin the most was the fact that the All-Mother had come here as well, under the guise of a mortal partaking in these schemes as unwillingly as the rest. But then, nobody here was truly unwilling; coming here was a choice. Elder Wu had declined, and Merlin herself had waited until the window had started counting down until it went away to accept the invitation. She doubted that would hide her from Aperio, but it was worth a shot.


    A mumbled incantation renewed the spell she had placed on herself to remain invisible to the newly awakened that had come here. They would probably question the charred corpses she left behind, but with how many people had come, they would simply assume that someone had rushed ahead. Which is technically not wrong, I guess. In the end, Merlin was part of that group, even if she had not just acquired her powers like they had. Well, most of them.


    While she had not seen one yet, she was sure there were more than a few of the old guard here. Probably a few Werewolves that knew how to hide themselves, definitely some Vampires and mages, and maybe even an Elf or two that were undoubtedly lured out by Aperio''s little stunt on national television. As reclusive as the Elves were, they could probably not ignore the appearance of someone who very much looked like one of their own ¡ª at least going by the ears ¡ª and so vehemently went against all the rules they had established for themselves.


    Merlin looked around the tundra, trying to find anything that could giver her a hint as to where she had to go to ascend the tower. It was quite obvious that the esteemed All-Mother wished for them to beat challenges in her little dungeon; ones that would probably culminate in fighting that Dragon that had graced them earlier. The only question was how long it would take the people of Earth to actually attain a level high enough to beat it. Sure, if the Elders came, it would likely fall within the day, but everyone that knew of their existence also knew that they very much disliked any form of public scrutiny. The attention they got from the various watchdogs that existed around the world was already more than enough for them.


    Another incantation caused Merlin to float upwards for a moment, letting her see above the tops of the trees that dotted the tundra landscape. She didn''t spot any obvious stairways that lead upwards, but she did see a mountain in the distance that had a suspicious beam of light emanating from it. Suspicious, because what she was seeing was most likely not light at all, but straight up mana that flowed upwards, likely towards the next floor.


    With a light grunt, Merlin fell to the ground as the magic of her spell faded. How she had not seen that giant pillar of mana before was beyond her, but at least she could follow it now. Should have brought a bike or something¡­ She wasn''t too fond of walking, but when it meant she could explore the first dungeon Earth had seen in centuries, she''d be willing to walk all day.


    With that, she set off towards the mountain, making sure it actually grew closer and wasn¡¯t just a projection the All-Mother had conjured up to mess with her. Merlin pulled out her notebook as no more monsters came to pester her, making note of the other people she could see fighting the wolves and rabbits so she could maybe figure out how long it took for the beasts to respawn.


    She also made sure to investigate the more wooded areas of the tundra to make sure nothing was hiding from her. If she had had more time ¡ª and the right tools ¡ª she would have also checked below the ground to see if the All-Mother had hidden anything else away, but that search would have to wait for another time.


    This dungeon would be something studied for years, maybe even decades. Merlin was certain of that. But that was for others to muse over. She was more interested in the Dragon that awaited her at the top of the tower.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 222: Old News

    Elder Wu leaned back in his chair as he cradled his blood-filled glass. He had expected something more formal in response to the dungeon appearing, but it would seem the president did not deem it necessary to address the nation quite yet. He had already been informed that the official response in most of the world to the All-Mother''s movements was rather subdued, so it seemed to be a trend of sorts from those in power. The same could not be said about anyone else.


    Just watching the small recap most news programs liked to air before actually showing you the anchors was already very¡­ sensationalised, in Elder Wu''s opinion. They weren''t lying about what had happened quite yet, but they sure were milking the bits of truth they had for all they were worth. They had been at it for almost two weeks, after all. At this point, new material was hard to come by. Well, except for the dungeon, but they don¡¯t know what¡¯s in it.


    The only real news the government had given was that a carrier group had been dispatched to Point Nemo where the dungeon had appeared, something Elder Wu himself was not so sure about. It was a point of inaccessibility for a reason; sending ships there ¡ª as good as they might have become over the years ¡ª was still risky. Especially if the All-Mother decided that she did not want them close by. Their weapons would do precious little against her or the Dragon she had summoned.


    He, of course, doubted Aperio would take action against anyone coming close to the isle. Elder Wu had a ship he kept near Point Nemo at basically all times, to run some... rather delicate experiments, and it had tried to approach the new land mass as soon as it had appeared. The Sea¡¯s Servant had never gotten close to the shore, only ever ending up on the other side of the island instead. By this point, Elder Wu was decently certain the same would hold true for anyone else that attempted to approach.


    The voice of the news anchors took him from his thoughts of what the self-proclaimed creator of the universe would do with the people that came to her island. Most of their introductions did not even reach Elder Wu''s mind as he had heard them more times than he wished to count and still did not care for them. The only thing of some note was the fact that one of the anchors had seemingly gotten a Class of their own, though they did not seem quite ready to tell their colleagues yet.


    "With the recent appearance of those who call themselves ''awakened''," the first anchor began, "the world we have known is most assuredly coming to an end." He turned slightly to face his colleague. "Despite everything we have come to learn, and the daily influx of fresh internet videos that feature people showing off their new powers, we have yet to hear anything of note from the White House. The president''s continued silence seems a little weird, doesn''t it, Jane?"


    "It sure does, John," the other anchor agreed, giving a slight nod. She swiped away something that was on her tablet before she set her gaze squarely on the camera. "While we have not gotten any official statement, we have been informed by the press secretary that a carrier strike group has been pulled out of the South China Sea and is now on its way to the island that has appeared in the middle of the ocean."


    Elder Wu gently shook his head as the camera zoomed out just enough to fully show the map behind the two anchors. They were going on about why this particular group had been chosen, and the path they were likely to take, but he knew quite well why those specific ships were on their way. The assorted pieces of magic that helped power the Navy''s newest carrier were quite handy when you wanted to stay at sea for essentially forever. On paper, the only thing that ship couldn''t do was produce food for the crew, and Elder Wu knew for a fact that it could indeed do that as well. The top brass of the Navy simply didn''t like or trust the idea of food fashioned from an energy they barely understood.


    "While I am usually in favour of our nation being at the forefront of discovery, I feel like protecting our homes should take priority here." The man shifted subtly in his seat, Elder Wu noting with an amused huff how the chair moved itself slightly forward as if guided by an invisible hand. "After the standoff in New York, there have been more reports of ''awakened'' being attacked.


    "Most seem to disregard the aggression displayed towards them," John continued as the camera moved once again to show only him and a small section in which the footage they had of the encounter could play. "But others take matters into their own hands, such as this woman. While we still do not have a name, we do know that she was seen in a small town on the West Coat that goes by the name of Riverburg just over a week before the standoff happened. Coincidentally, she was also seen there mere hours before she appeared at the scene."


    "How are we supposed to protect ourselves from a vigilante like that?" Jane asked as the camera focused back on her. "It¡¯s only a matter of time before someone does something she deems unjust and, once again, takes matters into her own hands."


    John shifted slightly in his seat at the comment, eliciting another amused huff from Elder Wu. The old Vampire took a sip of blood as he ignored the chatter about just what Aperio might do. As far as he was concerned, their little theories amounted to nothing and never would. They did not know what she truly was, and even if they did they could never comprehend it. He himself couldn''t, and he had far more experience on the matter than they ever would.


    Luckily for him, the segment about the vigilante did not last long and they shifted to the various protests that had formed over the last couple of days. Like with all things, mortals were quick to create their little tribes and yell at one another. Elder Wu would have sighed at the foolishness of it, but that would have been hypocritical of him as he knew well enough that he was guilty of the same thing. It was a part of life, at least on Earth.


    "While we have not yet heard any official statement on the matter," John said, "sources tell us that Congress has been recalled from their recess to hold an emergency meeting on the matter and, if what we have been told is correct, there will be a new measure put in place requiring everyone with these powers to report themselves to the government."


    "That''s a good way to get a riot," Elder Wu mumbled to himself before taking another sip. "Also dumb." They didn''t know, of course, but it was only a matter of time until everyone had access to magic, which would make this decision even worse. If it passes, that is.


    Luckily for the residents of Riverburg, that would not happen here. The council had made very sure that every facet of the city was firmly under their control, and nobody should be stupid enough to try and challenge their claim on it. The OSA agents running around were currently tolerated, but depending on what the government did, they might find themselves dead or captured sooner or later.


    The chatter that spread through the council building also did not go unnoticed by Elder Wu. Most of the people in his employ were already quite knowledgeable on the matters of magic, and had already figured out what would happen. After getting the okay from the various council members, the employees had started to get most of their important family members shifted over to Riverburg.


    Whether he liked it or not, Elder Wu was going to need to prepare for the upheaval that was to come. So far, things had remained fairly tame, but he doubted it would remain that way once the All-Mother''s ban on attacking became moot. There would be chaos, and he would make sure the people who served him would be protected. It was his duty, and he would not fail in it.


    ///


    Jacob stood with his dungeon companion Ryan inside what he could only describe as a temple, one that was located at the foot of the only mountain on the tundra. It was oddly empty. It was especially odd considering that they had entered it with a larger group of people, but the others had disappeared shortly after entry.


    An explanation for what had happened came a moment later, when a woman wearing a backpack and a sword on her hip appeared in the room alongside a small message from the System.


    Participants were judged as insufficient and have been split into groups that match the requirements of the floor guardian. You may now proceed to challenge the floor guardian.


    The message was accompanied by the sound of grinding stone as a large mural depicting creatures Jacob was not familiar with began to swing open, revealing a truly gigantic circular arena. At the end of the open space, he could see a three-headed dog lying on the floor, seemingly asleep. Going by how far away he currently was and how big the dog still appeared to be, he could see why the System thought they needed help. It was a harsh truth, one that brought his attention back to the woman who had only glanced at the beast before she let out a sigh and started to go through her backpack.


    Jacob looked at Ryan, the other man seemingly just as confused about the newcomer as he was. Neither of them spoke, watching the woman as she pulled a few slips of paper with something scribbled on them out of her bag.


    "Take these," she said, holding out two papers each to Jacob and Ryan. "They''ll be useful in the fight."


    "What, exactly, are these?" Jacob asked, not taking the offered paper. "And who are you?"


    The woman hesitated for a moment before she looked up at him. "I go by many names, but you may call me Wyllt."


    "Wyllt?" Ryan sneered. "Did the System pull people from different times, too?"


    "It did not," Wyllt replied. "Not in the way you seem to think, anyway." She waved the slips of paper around a little. "Are you going to take the talismans or not? Either way, I want to get past this annoying stray and go up."


    Jacob could have sworn he heard the woman mumble something about ''Cerberus being a dumb choice'', but he did not comment on it, instead taking two of the four offered papers. "Don''t you want to know our names? And what do they do?" he added, trying to read what was written on the talismans.


    "I don''t. With any luck I will not see you again after this. As for the talismans, one will protect you from the fire it will spew and the other should prevent you from dying at least once." Wyllt offered a shrug and returned to digging through her backpack. "I won''t guarantee the second one though, death is always a bit tricky."


    "Enchanter?" Ryan asked.


    "In a way," the woman replied, glancing at the man. "I won''t reveal my Class to you if that is your goal, so don''t even bother."


    "I wasn''t going to," Ryan said. "Just wanted to know if this was made by someone who has at least the inkling of an idea of what they are doing." He shifted his gaze towards the monster. "Not that I have much choice. Or know of a way to verify that these things do what you claim."


    "What are we even fighting?" Jacob asked. "I''d assume it''ll be a simulacrum like the wolves and rabbits we fought, but if it''s something more mythically inspired like this seems to be, I would also think it would have a few more tricks up its sleeve." He looked at the beast again. "Paw, fur. Whatever."


    "It sure looks like Cerberus," Ryan said. "At least from what I know of it."


    "That''s because it is," Wyllt replied. "Except with fire breath, probably lighting, and lots of biting and swiping. If you can stay at range and do damage, that will be good enough."


    "And you are going to do, what? Keep its attention and play a tank?" Jacob asked and looked Wyllt up and down. As much as he did not want to feel that way, the woman certainly did not look like she could take a hit. Definitely not from a beast that seemed to be far larger than any of them.


    Wyllt raised a brow at his question before she gave a nod and pulled a shield from her bag; one that was decidedly too big to fit into it. "That is exactly what I will do, yes."


    For a moment, Jacob considered asking if she also had a suit of armour in there, but he thought better of it. Ryan was doing enough to antagonise someone who was much better prepared for this fight than either of them were. While it was possible that she might try to do something malicious, he doubted it would happen. If Wyllt had wanted them dead, Jacob was pretty sure they already would be.


    "Well," the woman prompted, "are you two ready?"


    "As ready as I am going to get, I guess," Ryan replied, taking the knife out of his pocket again. "I really should''ve brought the crossbow."


    "That or a gun," Jacob said. "I would have brought one of mine, but I wasn''t anywhere close to home when this entire thing happened."


    Wyllt gave a chuckle at the words. "A gun would do precious little against the monsters here. They are¡­ Well, they are pretty bullet resistant. Whoever made them doesn''t want them shot. I tested it."


    "Good enough for me." Ryan shrugged. "I can use my powers at range anyway, the knife just makes it easier to use."


    Jacob could only offer a shrug as well. He was definitely not ready to face that beast, but he could do nothing to better prepare himself, so what choice did he have? He couldn''t exactly leave ¡ª not that he wanted to ¡ª and killing a metric ton of wolves and rabbits did not seem that useful either. He and Ryan had to kill close to twenty of the things to advance to their current level, and the grind was only bound to get worse after that.


    Jacob shook his head once more and set his sights on the beast on the other side of the large arena. "I''m ready."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Manga – Pages 1-5/30

    Hello! I bring exciting news! A few chapters of Forgotten are currently being turned into a manga. This patch are the first five pages of the ~30 planned. The content is from chapter 161-163. It is illustraded by SilvaSphinx and paid for by TRM. The script and characters for it were provided by me (duh).


    The manga will be done in patches of five pages with a few weeks of time between them. I will post the pages when they are done.


    I hope you enjoy it!

 Sabbatical – Chapter 223: Paradoxical Nature

    Aperio tilted her head, turning around to face the mountain she had designated as the lair of the first floor''s guardian. The simulacrum of a mythical being Eleanor had told her about was preparing to face its inaugural human opponents. Though she herself thought nothing about a three-headed dog, as she had seen them before, this one seemed to hold more significance than any other. At least, it did if the comments of the mortals in its lair were anything to go by.


    "Should I not have picked the dog for the first floor?" she asked, glancing at Eleanor. "I had thought it a good choice. Nearly every nation these mortals come from have something like it, after all."


    "It''s still a big-ass monster that they¡¯ve only ever seen in movies or like, a book before," the mortal mage replied.


    "It is not that big," Aperio mumbled, turning her gaze back from the people inside the arena. "The Dragon was much more formidable. Besides, you would be a more dangerous opponent than that dog, Eleanor."


    "How is the instancing going?" Caethya asked, quite obviously trying to shift the topic. "You haven''t done something like that before, right?"


    "Not like this, at any rate," the All-Mother replied. "But it is not complicated, either. All you have to do is create a few pocket dimensions inside the one they are already in. The dungeon itself is handling that quite well." Though, in the end that is also just me¡­


    Despite the fact that she had made the System ¡ª and was it ¡ª Aperio still found herself a little confused on the matter. Perhaps her time as a mortal had made her mind susceptible to paradoxes she had not known before. Something to think about at a later date.


    "Ah yes, making dimensions," Eleanor quipped. "As easy as walking, right?"


    Aperio gave a nod. "Yes."


    "Your normal walking includes bending reality to your whims," Caethya said with a slight giggle. "I need to figure out how that works one of these days."


    "I simply walk and end up where I wanted to be," the All-Mother replied, offering a slight shrug of her wings. "One day the fabric of reality will be as malleable for you as it is for me, I am sure of that.


    "In any case," she continued, bringing their group above the arena of the first floor, "there are some mortals we have to look at." The room below them changed to show a group of three mortals entering. "I am intrigued by what Merlin will do. She should be able to kill it with a single spell."


    "Merlin?" Eleanor asked after she stabilised herself by leaning against the nearest wall. "As in, the wizard from centuries ago? Is this like, a dude with the same name, or does he actually still live?"


    "She is alive through means I still find questionable," Aperio replied and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "They are also means I will not explain; having one of you mortals do something like that is more than enough."


    She wouldn''t be surprised if she found more of them doing rather questionable things to stay alive longer, but with what she had seen happening on both Earth and Verenier already, it was basically guaranteed to be less than pleasant. Mortals seemed to have a tendency to come up with new ways of being cruel when it meant they could gain a little something for themselves. A fact of life she hoped the changes she had planned would at least somewhat address.


    It would require a lot of work, and a better understanding of her own creation and the limits ¡ª or more likely, lack thereof ¡ª of her power. But, in the end, it would be better than removing everything and starting over yet again. That is what her past self would have done, and Aperio had no desire to become like that again. Her current idea might not be all that complicated on the face of it, but splitting reality into technically infinite versions of itself would probably require a bit more attention to detail than she was used to.


    "I see," Eleanor replied, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "But why are you allowing it if it''s that bad?"


    "Because, in the end, the only one she might harm with it is herself. If she is willing to risk her Soul for a pitiful attempt at immortality, I am not going to stop her."


    "Is there even such a thing as immortality?"


    "Only for Aperio," Caethya replied. "Everyone else could, technically, die a final death at one point or another. Only she cannot."


    "My death would mean the death of all creation," Aperio added with a small shrug. "Perhaps I could kill myself if really, really set my mind to it, but as far as I am aware, even that would not work."


    She had serious doubts about her ability to die. After all, she had given it her best shot in her previous attempt, and all it had done was sever her from her memories. She assumed she had chosen that route, as a true, final death was not an option. Or maybe I somehow did kill myself successfully, and I still managed to reincarnate?


    Aperio shook her head. Pondering the matter would manage to give even her a headache. She was nothing and everything, all at the same time; located everywhere at once as well as contained in the body she had made for herself. Paradoxical by nature, if by nature you meant more of the unnatural.


    "Who are we watching, anyway?" Eleanor asked. "They all kinda look the same at this distance."


    "The one with the sword and shield," Caethya replied, her voice carrying a hint of confusion at the question. "Can you really not see them from here? It''s barely half a league."


    "Half a league? No, I cannot," the mortal mage replied. "Maybe a few hundred metres without help."


    Aperio raised a brow at the measurements used. It would seem Caethya had taken the time to learn those while she had not. A touch of her magic brought forth a small projection that hovered in front of Eleanor, showing the fight below in greater detail. "Will this be sufficient?"


    "That is more than enough, thank you."


    The All-Mother gave a small nod before she wrapped a wing around her love. For now she would relax a little and watch the mortals of Earth attempt to conquer their first dungeon. She knew they would not do it today, or even a month from now, but one day they would manage to prove themselves worthy.


    ///


    Merlin slammed her shield into the ground, causing a pair of white spectral wings to extend to either side of it and redirect the torrent of fire coming her way. If the stupid System had not thrown her into this group, she would have already been on the next floor. But no. Now she had to not only baby sit two newly awakened, but also hold back so as to not draw more unwanted attention.


    As soon as the stream of fire had subsided, she used her [Quickstep] skill to bring herself next to one of the monster''s legs and slashed at it with her sword. Tiny wisps of fire flared at the cut for a moment before they were drawn into the body of the beast and the wound healed. Her flashy moves would not work, but she could burn it from the inside out without anyone noticing. Well, anyone that wouldn''t already know.


    The entire time she had been in the arena she had felt¡­ seen. It was something she attributed to the All-Mother, who was undoubtedly observing this fight from somewhere. Why that woman would do such a thing was not something Merlin knew or cared to learn; she only wished that this annoying feeling of being watched by the very air that surrounded her would go away.


    Another use of her skill brought her back to the two men, just in time for one of them to quite literally throw a ball of fire at the dog. For someone as weak as him, it was quite an impressive feat, but in the grand scheme of things it would amount to fairly little.


    At least, that''s what should have happened, but going by how much the monster recoiled, that did not seem to be the case. Merlin could not help but frown at the fact, a flick of her wrist causing two talismans to appear in her hand. Perhaps this fight ¡ª if you could really call it that ¡ª could provide a measure of entertainment. Or at least some data.


    The arrival of the All-Mother had reawakened the Voice of the World, yes, but it had also changed it. To what extent, nobody except Aperio knew yet, but it was only a matter of time until they figured it out. Human ingenuity knew no bounds, after all. At this point, Merlin was fairly certain that some people would manage to find, and use, literal exploits contained within the workings of the System. It was fairly game-like after all and, as Aperio had freely admitted, nothing is perfect.


    "I would really like a health bar or something for this," the more lightning-inclined man hissed. "That seemed to have worked well enough, but maybe it can act?"


    "It can''t," Merlin replied, raising her shield slightly as the monster in question turned its attention back to them. "That thing isn''t even truly alive to begin with. It''s just a construct made from mana to help us train."


    "Seems pretty intent on killing us," the fire mage said and prepared another ball of flame. "Just like the wolves and rabbits."


    Merlin gave a huff in replay and adjusted the grip on her sword, the two talismans she had summoned wrapped tightly around the handle. "You learn best when under duress."


    "And how would you know that?" one of the two men asked, Merlin not really caring which one it was.


    "Experience," she replied. "Not everyone lived a comfortable life until¡­ this happened. Some of us had to make do with what we could gather ourselves. That sometimes included taking your cut from the local wildlife."


    Before either of the two men could ask more questions, Merlin vanished from their side again, her [Quickstep] propelling her towards one of the beast¡¯s heads. Normally that skill alone would not have gone far enough but a healthy kick off from the ground took care of that little bit of extra distance she had to close. The two newly awakened wouldn''t be able to tell the difference, anyway.


    ///


    Jacob threw his next fireball at the beast''s feet, as Wyllt had thrown herself at its head and he did not trust his abilities enough to not hit the woman. He was fairly certain it wouldn''t harm her as she had taken the monster''s fire breath head on without a problem, but she had also used her shield for that.


    Going by the large white wings that had come from it, he assumed that she had somehow enchanted that thing to help with defending. Whatever Wyllt''s Class was, it certainly seemed strong.


    Neither he nor Ryan had an ability that let them teleport short distances like she could, but then, neither of them were close range fighters that needed to be right by their enemy to do damage.


    Much like his other attack, the monster reeled from it, but seemed otherwise fine. Arcs of electricity flickered along Ryan''s knife, the man waiting for something before letting his own attack go off. That something turned out to be the return of Wyllt.


    As soon as the woman had resumed her position in front of them with her shield dug slightly into the ground, Ryan pointed his blade towards the ceiling and let go of his spell. A low rumble rolled over the arena as the man sank to one knee, taking deep breaths as he dropped his knife to instead steady himself with the newly-freed hand.


    As soon as the rumble of thunder had begun, it vanished. Before Jacob even had the time to even begin thinking about where the spell had gone to, a blinding light flashed in front of him, quickly followed by a loud crack and the howl of the beast. The three-headed dog had been struck by lightning, and was left standing on shaking legs as what looked like steam rose from its fur. Whatever Ryan had done had seemingly been a success.


    Despite Jacob''s previous expectations, the fight settled back into their previous rhythm. He would throw a ball or lance of fire whenever there was an opening and his mana levels allowed it, while Wyllt dashed in and out to deliver a myriad of tiny cuts that all seemed imbued with something as the beast took longer and longer to attack again after every blow she struck. It was Ryan''s magic that had the biggest effect on the beast, but the man needed a few uninterrupted minutes between lightning strikes to catch his breath and prepare the next one. He also managed to shoot some smaller bolts here and there, but they had nowhere near the effect of his big strike.


    If they could keep this up, they would beat the first boss no problem; it was only a matter of time. With every attack they threw at it, the monster grew weaker; its attacks more erratic and less powerful.


    Should they manage to beat it, he would have to ask Wyllt to stick with them. Their current tactic quite obviously worked quite well, but the woman didn''t seem to be keen on forming a group in the first place.


    For now, Jacob would be focusing on the fight at hand. It was something he had never really thought he would have to do, and he certainly never would have guessed he''d enjoy it. He''d always assumed fights would be more frantic and heated, and that the mere idea of his life being in danger would be paralysing. Now, it didn''t seem so bad. Enjoyable, even.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 224: Escalation

    AN: Some of the developments in this chapter ¡ª and some coming ones, for that matter ¡ª hit a little close to home, considering the current state of the world. Just wanted to give everyone a small heads up.


    "In breaking news," the radio announcer blared as Elder Wu shifted a few papers on his desk, "both the Russian and Chinese Navies have sent their own detachments to Point Nemo. The White House has released a statement earlier today in which they claimed to be in discussion with both nations.


    "Despite this," the man continued, "tensions are still rising across the world as NATO troops in Europe are once again being deployed to the eastern borders. Many of the protests that have sprung up across the country have also turned violent, in some cases even requiring the National Guard to step in."


    "Not just here," Elder Wu mumbled to himself. "Chaos takes a while to build, but it always does."


    It had taken a while, but the various other organisations that had taken to keeping track of magic on Earth had started to report their own findings on the current developments and how they predicted their governments would react in the future. It didn''t look all that promising, if Elder Wu was honest.


    People had been slow to react to the change, which wasn''t unusual. It was only now, when the presence of magic was quite obviously real and here to stay, that they had begun to grow restless. Those who had not yet gotten a class especially so. Many of them felt wronged by the world, while others saw the awakened as a blight and considered themselves the rightful inhabitants of Earth ¡ª a recipe for disaster, and one Elder Wu knew all too well.


    "Even though just a few weeks prior there were talks about dissolving the treaty organisation," the announcer said, quite obviously unaware of Elder Wu''s mumbling, "things look quite different now. With renewed tensions between the east and west, nearly every member nation is more resolute than ever to keep NATO alive. Newer members especially, like Japan, have stated that they are fully committed to the decision that will be made, whatever it might be."


    The old Vampire could not help but let out a snort at the words. Like most things the normals did, they did it to seek control. This was no different. First, they would do their best to ''protect'' everyone, before passing any law they could think of that would let them use the powers their people awakened to for whatever they wished. That''s how it had been centuries ago when magic was prevalent, and he was very sure it would go that way again.


    He would have to make a few calls to ensure that the proper people would not get any funny ideas in the coming years. Perhaps he would even have to revive ''La Soci¨¦t¨¦''. A dreaded thought, but that annoyance was preferable to a world war.


    "Bunch of idiots," Elder Wu mumbled as he opened one of the many drawers on his desk and pulled out a laptop. As much as he disliked the things, they were basically a requirement in this day and age, and the current situation called for speed more than anything. His nice letters would have to wait. "Why couldn''t she have just waited a little longer and let us prepare the world?"


    ///


    With another clap of thunder and yet another ball of his fire, the monster finally fell over, twitching one more time before it dissolved in much the same manner as the smaller beasts had.


    Your group has defeated [Simulacrum of Cerberus - Level 75].


    Entry to the second floor has been granted.


    The notification in front of his eyes was quickly replaced with a slew of level up ones, fourteen in total if he did not miscount. Almost twenty-five now. He hoped that the monsters on the next floor would give at least somewhere close to this much. They probably wouldn''t, as the fight had been quite the ordeal. Not because it was dangerous but because it simply took so long.


    "Well," Wyllt said. "That''s that, then. It was¡­ fine meeting you. Have a good day."


    Before either of the two men could say anything, the woman used her short range teleportation again to appear by the stairs that had revealed themselves behind the small orb the boss had left behind.


    "I guess she really didn''t like us," Ryan said, also looking at the stairway the woman was rapidly climbing. "And here I thought this group worked quite well."


    "So did I," Jacob agreed. "But perhaps she is more of a lone wolf. All her dashing would certainly make that quite simple. I also wouldn''t be surprised if she has figured out a way to heal herself."


    The other man remained quiet for a moment before he shook his head and started walking towards the orb the boss had dropped. "Well, we still got her talismans and whatever that thing is."


    "True." Jacob gave a nod and fell into step behind Ryan. "But considering that she ignored it, whatever it is might not be that good. I would also imagine it''s something every group got."


    "Still," the other man replied, picking up the orb, "I would assume it has value. Nothing like this has existed before, after all." Ryan turned the sphere in his hand, the light of the room refracting off it in ways that did not look quite right to Jacob. "It feels¡­ tingly?"


    "Tingly?" Jacob repeated before Ryan offered him the orb.


    "Just hold it and you''ll see what I mean."


    Jacob did as instructed and carefully took the orb out of the other man''s hands. Only a fraction of a moment later, he felt a slight jolt run up his arms and then down his spine. It took a moment, but soon it settled into a somewhat pleasant tingle that felt not dissimilar from his first attempts at using his powers.


    "I think this might be related to our Classes," he said and lifted the orb to eye height. "It feels almost like the first time I tried to use mine."


    "Probably because both you and the thing control fire?" Ryan guessed. "Seems like a reasonable guess." He shrugged. "You are the man with the flames, anyway. Keep it for now. We''ll figure out what to do with it once we are outside again."


    Jacob gave a nod and placed the fist-sized orb into one of his pockets. The tingle stopped, but he could still feel a note of power coming from it. He didn¡¯t know how to use it ¡ª or what he should even think of it. The thing came with no instructions and he doubted yelling at the tiny blue window the next time it popped up would help.


    But, like Ryan had said, all of those were things that could wait until they were outside again. For now, they had a second floor to explore, and find out what other wonders ¡ª and horrors ¡ª the tower might hold.


    ///


    Aperio let out a sigh, her voice echoing through the not-quite reality she had made for their little group as she finally let her mana run more freely. She stretched her wings and arms, the motion not needed by any means, but still feeling quite good regardless.


    "Is she tired?" Eleanor asked, her voice barely a whisper as she leaned closer to Caethya.


    "I am not," Aperio replied, folding her wings behind her back once more. "I simply wanted to stretch myself. Is that not allowed?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "A privilege reserved for mortals, perhaps?"


    "No, no," Eleanor replied and raised her hands, palms facing the All-Mother. "I just thought that maybe you would like to take a nap or something. You did just create this entire thing, and are now running it. At least, I think you are."


    "I run the dungeon in the same way I run the universe," Aperio replied with a shrug of her wings. "Which is to say, I technically do, but it is also not something I actively think about most of the time. So no, I am not tired, though I would enjoy a nap regardless." A small smile graced her lips. "Being with Caethya in the Void is something that cannot be matched. Alas, there is currently little time to enjoy a nap in the nothing."


    "Couldn''t you just¡­ stop time?" Eleanor asked. "Or does that not work?"


    "Perhaps I could, but I have not tried nor do I intend to," the All-Mother replied. "I like the idea of at least somewhat linear time. Even if that means I do not notice a week passing." Not that that amount of time means anything anyway.


    "What did you have the Cerberus drop?" Caethya asked, leaning forward slightly as if to peer over an edge that most assuredly did not exist. "Can''t be that good if Merlin just ignored it."


    "A simple mana crystal that you could feasibly fashion into a weapon or use as a source of mana for yourself. Not something she would care much for, considering she has little use for it."


    "I guess," her love replied. "Still would''ve thought she would want to keep a memento from the first boss to appear on Earth in a while. Handcrafted by yourself, too."


    Aperio gave a small smile at the words. "I am fairly certain she does not value what I do quite as much as you."


    Merlin would probably like to dissect her instead to figure out how the universe works. Even if that was possible, all it would accomplish would be to deprive Aperio of her body and return her to her formless¡­ form. Let''s not.


    "In any case," Aperio said, "I think we should join our mortal friends on the second floor. Enjoy their exploration while whatever fleets are approaching are still out of reach."


    "Fleets?" Eleanor asked. "Aren''t we, like, in the middle of nowhere?"


    A small projection came into being in front of the All-Mother, showing both her love and the mortal mage a simplified version of what she perceived of the world. Aperio did have to mash the different flotillas together a little as the actual distance separating them was quite a bit more than her small image allowed to show effectively. She did take the time to highlight the biggest ship of the biggest fleet and have a little note floating next to it that informed everyone that this one was using some form of magic to power itself.


    "Well then," Eleanor mumbled to herself. "I''m no expert on military things, but I can at least tell you that those fleets belong to three different nations that are not on the best of terms."


    "I am aware," the All-Mother replied. "There is quite a bit of talk about it in your home country. I would assume the same to be true for the other nations, but I have not yet learned their languages. Something I will rectify before they come much closer."


    She might not have that handy dictionary Adam owned on hand, but she had already found quite a few normal ones that translated from English to essentially every other language. Of course, Aperio would have to spend some time listening to their actual usage and practice her pronunciation a little, but for one reason or another, that wasn''t that big of an issue. She had learned English in only a couple of minutes, after all.


    "I would have thought you could just understand everyone," Eleanor said. "Being the one that made all of this and all that."


    "You seem to assume much more involvement than there actually was." Aperio let the projection she had made vanish with a wave of her hand. "I simply created the foundation required for life to happen. The form I have now is not one you were modelled after but one I took from what mortals had grown into. It just happens that I am quite fond of it."


    A flex of her mental muscles caused a small portal leading to an empty section of the second floor to open in front of their group. "But we can continue to talk about that while being amongst the mortals. I wish for them to see me there so they mayhaps begin to think I am not that different."


    "And what will you do if the ships that are coming have less than noble goals?" Caethya asked as she followed Aperio through the portal. "I might not know what kind of weapons the people here possess, but I am sure they have something that would usually be able to obliterate a tiny island like this."


    "Not let them?" Aperio replied, not quite sure what her love was trying to ask. "Whatever they have will not be able to damage my creation here anyway, but I will make sure that nothing bad will happen to the mortals that have chosen to come but have not yet entered the dungeon proper."


    "Do you really think they would attack this island?" Eleanor asked after she, too, had stepped through the portal. Unlike Caethya, however, she had given the magic more than a glance as she did not seem to quite trust it.


    "Your kind seems to like violence," the All-Mother replied, a touch of her magic shifting the terrain that surrounded them slightly to direct a few monsters to a group of mortals close by. They were here to train and not forage, after all. "I am merely preparing for possibilities that I consider likely." She hesitated for a moment before she let out a short sigh. "They are not allowed on this island, and I fully assume that that will greatly upset them. Whether that will end with them attacking or not is not something I know, so I prepare."


    "And I thought you would be omniscient or something," the mortal mage mumbled, the words quite obviously only meant for herself.


    "Aperio could be omniscient," Caethya said as she wrapped an arm around her love''s waist, "but she chooses not to be. You can''t exactly unlearn things, so not knowing everything is usually better. Besides, if you know everything, what''s the point of doing any of this?


    "Being aware of every action," she continued, "knowing how everything would play out is only a single step away from controlling what happens. Only a few steps away from turning all of creation into a puppet show. I think you would agree that that is not a good outcome."


    "That sounds a bit extreme," Eleanor replied after a brief moment of hesitation, her voice a little quieter than before. "But yes, I don''t think that would be a good thing for anyone involved."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 225: Changing of Times

    As soon as Ryan had cleared the stairs, and the scenery of the next floor came into view, he froze. Jagged shards of black stone rose out of the ground, some reaching high enough to split the clouds that were somehow present inside the tower. Deeper into the dungeon, the stone towers formed entire mountain ranges that seemed to have had lavafalls. At least, Ryan assumed the orange he could see to be lava.


    "That is certainly different," Jacob mumbled next to him as the man also looked over the landscape that stretched before them. "How does the System decide which floor should have what theme?"


    "Probably by looking at what already exists," Ryan replied. "This is like, I dunno, a volcanic tundra, I guess?"


    "More like wasteland," the other man said as he lowered himself and picked up some of the dirt that covered the otherwise black stone floor. "Feels almost like ash."


    "Doesn''t feel particularly hot here, though," Ryan mused as he looked around. "Maybe it was going for some post-apocalyptic vibes? A potential future version of Earth, maybe?"


    Jacob stood back up and cleaned his hands on his pants. "I doubt it, but who knows what this is thinking. Or if it even thinks. I''m still convinced that there is a being behind it that does all of this."


    Ryan could not help but raise a brow. "Who, though? God?"


    "No idea," Jacob replied with a shrug.


    Ryan did not really know Jacob, but the way he said that, he could not help but think that the other man was hiding something. He seemed to know something about this that Ryan himself did not. Something he intended to change. Maybe it''s related to that woman?


    The way she stuck in his mind was unnatural, and so was the feeling he got when he as much as thought about her. There was dread, but also reverence. A part of him demanded that he run as far as he could while another was adamant that he should fall to his knees and pray for salvation by her hand. Whatever she was, Human it was not. Nor an Elf, even if she tries to appear as one¡­ Not that those even exist. Or, well, existed?


    Even given the fact that they had all come here to battle monsters in the dungeon, some of the people he had seen had seemed a little more off than most. Of course, the large Elf and her other pointed-eared friend had stood out, but there were others that were weird too, just not as obvious.


    Ryan shook his head. All those things did not matter for now. He had chosen to come here to gain strength, so that is what he would do. There were many floors waiting to grant him his wish to become powerful ¡ª to be someone ¡ª and he would take that chance.


    The entirety of the second floor, it turned out, was a much easier endeavour to clear than the first. The bulk of the monsters they faced were made from the same black stone as the shards rising from the ground, and while they were fairly resistant to fire the same could not be said for Ryan''s lightning. Who knew an [Obsidian Remnant] would be weak against electricity?


    When they reached the boss, it was simply a larger version of the remnants that roamed freely all over the second floor. Even without the help of Wyllt, they managed to take it down just fine. Jacob, as it turned out, was really good at running while the monster was not ¡ª having reached level thirty-six probably helped with that ¡ª and it was a simple matter of kiting the [Obsidian Guardian] around and keeping it occupied between Ryan''s lightning blasts.


    While Ryan had a hard time telling the difference between each level he gained, he could not deny that he had gotten stronger. He no longer got tired from walking around all day, nor did the things they gathered from the monsters weigh them down all that much. Though, perhaps, that was because the bag one of the things dropped was enchanted to be able to carry more than one would think.


    The next few floors were much the same, each focusing on enemies of a different elemental strength. Ryan and Jacob fell into what could only be described as a trance as they systematically cleared out the monsters they found, always making sure to advance to the next floor only when the opponents on the current floor no longer yielded an appreciable experience gain.


    From time to time, they would find another group ¡ª or sometimes the rare lone wolf ¡ª but they all regarded one another with a certain measure of mistrust. They had even met the large Elven woman and her friend a few times. While she had never spoken herself, the two others in her party seemed nice enough, sharing a few bits and pieces about the powers they had. The teleportation of the muscular Elf was confirmed when she moved all of them straight to the boss of that floor. Then her friend ¡ª probably girlfriend, if Ryan was honest with himself ¡ª took down the monster with a total of ten well placed blades she had simply conjured out of thin air.


    As impressive as that feat was, Ryan could not shake the feeling that she had held herself back. There was simply something off about how her powers seemed to work, not to mention how he felt standing next to her or the tall one. Both of them had what he could only describe as an ''eldritch'' feel. The taller Elf especially. As good as her disguise might be, the world itself was apparently not quite willing to go along with whatever charade she wanted to play.


    The feeling took a while to go away; even after they had finally taken the time to make camp and sleep for what might as well had been the first time in a week, the feeling of unease remained. Whatever presence surrounded that woman simply did not want to go away.


    What finally took his mind off of it was their arrival on the tenth floor. There were no monsters to be seen; only a giant city. All the buildings were fashioned from a grey stone that shimmered in the light of a fake sun that hung high above.


    Why would the System make an empty city? Was this an attempt to pit them against one another? Did the System catch on to this stupid trend? Ryan hoped that wasn''t the case, but he could not claim that he had even the slightest idea of what the System thought. Or what it even was.


    "Well, that''s new," Jacob said as he stepped up next to Ryan. "I guess it''s time for a change of pace?"


    Ryan huffed, tightening the grip around the sword he had acquired from the last boss they fought. Lightning crackled along its blade, jumping to and from his hand whenever it got close. "I guess."


    Aperio could not help but frown at the small ships that were continuously trying to approach the island she had made. It had been just a little over a week ¡ª she had made note to keep track of time, for once ¡ª but for a few days now none of them had gotten any closer. It wasn''t for a lack of trying, either. She could understand their assumption that different modes of travel would yield different results, but there was a limit to that. After having gone through ships ¡ª both above and under water ¡ª planes, and even singular swimming mortals, she would have assumed they had gotten the message that they were not welcome.


    They had not.


    Currently, the second biggest of the flotillas present was preparing what the All-Mother assumed to be weapons of some kind. She did not know exactly what they would do, but it was easy enough to figure out that they were some kind of explosive device; likely self-propelled. That, too, would not work. They would be teleported to the other side of the island, just like the boats. Unless they can detonate them prematurely. If they could, they would figure out that the barrier was quite resilient. It should be capable of withstanding the explosion she herself had caused to blow up Vigil''s temple on the moon, and she doubted they would have something of that power at the ready. Or would use it while they were close.


    Like many things, close was a relative term as the various ships were all leagues away from the island and each other, but an explosion on that scale would still reach them. And if it doesn''t, the waves would¡­ And then I would. Aperio would tolerate quite a few things, but an attack of that scale would have to be punished. Even if that would only draw more attention to herself.


    "What are they trying to accomplish?" Caethya asked as she leaned herself against Aperio. "I can''t see that much, but most of makes little sense. They just do the same thing over and over."


    "They appear to be preparing for an attack," the All-Mother replied, wrapping a wing around her love and showing her a bit of what she saw. "If it is anything big, I will sink their ships in response."


    "Could I do that?" the Demigoddess asked and looked up at Aperio, a smile gracing her face. "You don''t want more attention, and I would like to test myself a little. I doubt that they could hurt me, especially with you around."


    Aperio hesitated for a moment before she matched her love''s gaze and gave a shallow nod. She would let Caethya handle the situation if it came to it, but she would make sure that nothing would be able to injure her love.


    "Please be careful," Aperio said.


    Caethya ran her hand over the All-Mother''s back, and as the wing that held her squeezed her a little more tightly, she leaned into it, letting it carry most of her weight. "I will be, but I know you will make sure no harm comes my way." She gave a small giggle before she pushed herself up and placed a small kiss on Aperio''s cheek. "I do like that side of yours. But once I become strong enough, you should rely on me for more things once in a while. You might have made all of this, but you don¡¯t need to carry that burden by yourself."


    "Uh, is it important what you are talking about?" Eleanor asked. "Should I leave you two alone for a bit, or¡­?"


    "We were merely talking about how to handle your peoples¡¯ poor attempts at diplomacy," Aperio replied, gesturing in the direction of one of the gathered fleets with her free wing. "Caethya asked if she could take care of them if they do something idiotic like attacking this island."


    "So people don''t think you can do more than they already know?"


    "That and I want to test my powers," her love replied after shifting a little under the wing to see the mortal mage. "It''s been a while since I last let loose and a lot has changed since then."


    Eleanor hesitated for a moment, her eyes flicking between Aperio and Caethya. "Are you sure this is a good place for that? No matter how much weaker you are than Aperio, I am pretty sure what you can throw at them is still on the level of a nuke."


    "Maybe." Caethya offered a small shrug, the motion limited as she was still brushing her hand over Aperio''s back. "Can''t say I have seen that, though, so I cannot actually know how it would compare."


    "Can you level a city with a single attack?"


    The Demigoddess hesitated for a moment, looking at her free hand and then at the All-Mother. "Pretty sure I can."


    "And on what scale does Aperio operate?"


    "Existence."


    "Ah, yes. Sure." The mortal mage threw up her arms. "Makes perfect sense."


    "You were here when I made this island and everything on it in but a moment," Aperio said, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "Is the scale of my power truly that hard to grasp for mortals?"


    "Yes. No. Maybe?" Elanor pulled the brim of her oversized hat down a little. "The idea that anyone can just¡± ¡ªshe waved her hands around, letting her hat spring back¡ª ¡°mess with reality like that does not want to register in my brain. It just refuses to accept it."


    "They''ll get it one day," Caethya said, leaning her head against Aperio''s arm.


    "But that day is apparently not today," Aperio huffed in annoyance. "It would seem that they think attacking this island is a good idea after all."


    The missiles arcing across the sky had a certain beauty to them, but the All-Mother was most assuredly not in the mood to enjoy such a spectacle a the moment. A thought brought their group to the top of the tower; the Dragon she had made not reacting to their arrival.


    "You may deliver our retaliation if they ignore my warning," the All-Mother said, squinting at the fleet that had launched the attack.


    "Warning?" Eleanor asked as she frantically looked around. "Am I safe here?"


    "Their attack will do nothing to the barrier that surrounds this island," Aperio replied. "After their weapons fail, I will give them all a warning and, should they ignore it, Caethya will take care of them."


    The Demigoddess wrapped her arms around Aperio, giving her a quick squeeze before she untangled herself from the All-Mother''s wings and stretched her arms over her head. A small barrier flickered to life around her love, one only Aperio herself would be able to see as she had simply tugged at the threads of reality to have them ignore any change she did not permit. Whatever they threw at Caethya would do precious little.


    Just as she had thought, the attack did not do much. All the mortals accomplished was to light up the sky a little as their weapons simply clashed with the barrier she had made. It was a visual feat that could have been accomplished with far nicer means.


    A thought delivered her words to every sailor on the ships, even on those that were not from the fleet that had attacked. Her words were simple, but accompanied with a glimpse at her true nature; a look beyond the mortal realm. All she told them was that any further aggression would be met in kind. Those who wished to leave only needed to ask and they would be brought back home.


    It would always be their own actions that would determine their fate.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 226: Greet the New Star

    GamingWolf


    Caethya intertwined her fingers and raised them over head, arching her back as she let out a satisfied sigh. Despite having not really felt any tension ¡ª or even been uncomfortable ¡ª it still felt quite divine.


    She glanced at Aperio, her love giving her a bright smile as her wings shifted slightly behind her. Perhaps there had been a touch of actual divinity that had helped with the stretch, as Aperio liked to lend a hand here and there without mentioning it or even showing it was her. Still, Caethya always knew when her love did a bit more than anyone else could.


    "What is she going to do if they attack?" Eleanor asked, still frantically looking around.


    "Sink a few of their ships," Caethya replied as her trusty sword appeared in her hand. "Maybe stab some mortals that are being a bit silly." She gave her blade a twirl before making it vanish again. "But what I will do will depend on how they attack."


    "With more of their missiles," Aperio said, gesturing towards a part of the sky that at first glance looked as empty as ever. "Though they are different than the others. There was also quite a big fight before they were actually shot, something about starting a world war if they use them." Her love shrugged. "After the highest ranking officer told them to shut it, over half of the sailors in that fleet accepted the offer to leave."


    "Did you learn Mandarin and Russian in a week?" the mortal mage asked with wide eyes. "When? You were with us the entire time and you certainly didn''t get out a book or phone."


    Aperio tilted her head at the questions, her hair flowing over her ears and shimmering with a faint blue hue as the sun''s light reflected off of it. "I simply looked through all the libraries I could find," her love replied, a little slower than usual as if she wanted to ensure that Eleanor would understand. "It did not take that long to find the proper literature and read it. Then, I simply repeated that process with more and more complex books until I had enough of an understanding to actually understand speech. From that point on it was only a matter of listening to various broadcasts and public conversations to figure out some of the more colloquial language."


    "Remember," Caethya interjected, "my dearest works on the scale of everything. Her ability to absorb knowledge is unmatched, I would say. There are quite a few hoops she has to jump through to even talk to us properly." The Demigoddess hesitated for a second, looking at her love. "If she were to allow herself, she would know everything about everyone in existence. She would also take in all of that information before I even finish explaining this. But that is something you have already been told, so the only thing I can add is that you should stop being surprised by Aperio. What is normal for her is usually outside the realm of mortal thinking."


    "I am trying to change that," her love replied, folding her arms in front of her chest and wrapping her wings around herself. "It would be nice if mortals were a bit stronger, though. As it stands, just talking is an effort as my unrestrained voice carries more mana than you are used to."


    Any further conversation was cut short by a blinding light that caused Caethya to shield her eyes with her hand. Did they throw a sun at us? It was certainly bright enough to be one. Aside from the light, she had felt nothing else; no sound, no gust of air, no disturbance in the ambient mana.


    "I see," Aperio said, spreading her wings briefly in what Caethya knew to be annoyance. "They truly wish to hasten their demise. Perhaps they thought the radiation would get through if the explosion did nothing?"


    "Does it get through?" Eleanor asked, her voice a shaky whisper.


    "Of course not," her love replied and carefully draped a wing over the cowering Human, eliciting a small whimper. "The only thing I allow through is light, though I should perhaps filter out the flash of the explosion next time as even Caethya had to cover her eyes."


    "That would be nice," the Demigoddess said. "It''s like they threw a star at you. At least, in terms of brightness."


    "It is similar enough," Aperio said and looked directly at Caethya, the confusion at Eleanor''s fright clear in her eyes."But even if they figured out how to throw their actual star at us, it would change little. If I do not permit it, nothing will harm us."


    "Just give her some time," Caethya said in the language of their people, offering her love a smile. "You can''t really expect her to use logic to overcome a primal fear. You and I can maybe do that, but she cannot."


    "I simply do not know what to do now," Aperio replied as she sat herself down next to Eleanor, making sure her wing was still wrapped around the woman. "I am already protecting her, so what else can I do? Simply waiting feels like it is not enough."


    The Demigoddess offered a small shrug, and another smile. "You should know by now that time very much helps," she said. "Just stay with her, while I take care of those who chose to stay with their ships. Trust me, your presence is uniquely reassuring."


    "But also unsettling?"


    "For me? No. But for most others, yes." Caethya closed the distance that separated the two of them and gave Aperio a kiss before brushing a few errant strands of her love''s hair behind her ear. "Just do your best to be a huggable giant and it will be okay."


    The All-Mother gave an ethereal sigh in reply, a bit of her magic flowing around Caethya in what she could best describe as a hug. The Demigoddess could also sense some of her love¡¯s magic carefully dance around Eleanor, likely doing something that would calm her down. "I shall do my best."


    Caethya gave another smile and a nod, then with a gentle pull of her magic she transported herself outside the protective barrier around the island that Aperio had created. At the same time, she reached into her [Dimensional Storage] to retrieve a long, dark blue robe and a silver mask. Wouldn''t want them to see my face that much, now would we?


    While Caethya herself could fly, she was nowhere near as fast as her love. But she also did not have to be. Even before she had met Aperio, her magic would have been more than enough to reach them. With her new Class, the act was utterly trivial.


    She lifted her arm, and the ocean churned in response. A wave, spanning more than the width of the island itself, rose up to mirror the motion of her limb. Her fingers closed into a fist, and the mass of water turned to ice, shattering into thousands of hovering isles that were easily twice as long as her love was tall.


    The Demigoddess let her arsenal hang in the air for a moment as she watched another missile approach. She unfurled a single finger from her closed hand causing two of her ice spears to fly away, colliding with the approaching missile a mere second later. There was no flash this time; the now-frozen hunk of metal that housed whatever the Humans had used to make their weapon instantly lost all forward momentum and began to fall. Defying the laws of nature was always fun.


    Caethya brought her arm down in a sharp motion, the rest of the icicles she had made rushing forward fast enough to cause a barrage of loud bangs to echo across the ocean. Normally, she would have used stone to make her attack, but heaving that up from the bottom of the ocean was a chore she was not willing to undertake when her newfound access to the Domain of creation was so versatile. Before, bending water to her will had always been somewhat of an effort when compared to earth or metal, but now? Now, it was as easy as most anything.


    The turrets mounted on the decks of the ship as well as a myriad more ¡ª albeit smaller ¡ª missile launchers unleashed an assault of projectiles at her in response. Some of them were as large herself, but Caethya was not worried. Should her own defence fail, something she seriously doubted, her love would take care of it. The way reality around her shifted and twisted, Caethya knew that something was being done to it. And the only one that could do that was Aperio.


    A wave of her other hand caused the very air to condense in front of her, the wall of lead coming her way simply stopping and falling down as it hit her barrier. Her obliteration of the flotilla could have been instant ¡ª they were made from metal, after all ¡ª but Caethya thought that a more measured procedure would leave a greater impact and seem in the realm of possibility for Earth. In a few decades, that is.


    The first of her icicles reached the fleet, a few of them already diving beneath the surface as the submarines they had would not be spared. Unlike the missiles that tried to intercept her swarm of projectiles, the ships did not simply freeze over. Instead, the icy weapons penetrated whatever armour was in their way and exploded into thousands of tiny shards once inside. Each of the shards would then start to slowly chill anything it touched until it was frozen. Caethya wanted to give the Humans a chance to flee despite them refusing the All-Mother''s offer. It still relied on the compassion of the other Humans, but in her mind, it was better than dooming them to certain death.


    After the last of her icicles had served their purpose, Caethya let herself fall, a tendril of water rising up from the ocean and turning to ice as soon as it touched her feet. The pillar of ice she had made shifted a little, letting her glide above the waves as it froze the water surrounding it.


    A flick of her wrist froze the water around certain ships, holding their leaking forms above water and preventing them from sinking. Caethya stepped onto the sheet of ice that had formed underneath the fleet that had dared to attack them. She kicked her heel into the cold surface, causing the two submarines to surface behind her; both encased in ice and sporting various holes. A few of the sailors inside had died, but more yet lived to make a choice.


    Caethya raised an unseen brow at the small bullets that simply ceased to be a hand¡¯s width in front of her. She was certain they would have done no harm to her, but it would seem that her love was taking no risks today. Also gets the point across, I guess. Just for good measure, the Demigoddess let some of the water evaporate, creating a mist that clung to her form and trailed her every move. That should be suitably ghost-like.


    She paused for a moment as she saw a man crawl out of the many holes she had gifted the ship in front of her, simply tracking his movements with her head. It took a while for him to notice her, but when he did, he chose not to flee but to pull on the weapon attached to his thigh. He fumbled with it as Caethya took a step forwards, almost dropping it twice before he finally managed to aim in her general direction and shoot.


    The bullet was nowhere near close to her, but Caethya still honoured his attempt with a blade fashioned from the ship he had just escaped from. Manipulating ice and water had felt much more intuitive and natural than before, but just as she had thought, using metal was better still. There was no concentration required to bend the steel to her will; all she had to do was grasp it with her mind and put it to use.


    The deed done, Caethya held out her hand and her makeshift sword flew towards it, splitting the man she had impaled in two as it left his flesh. Once the metal was back in her grasp, it shifted to better fit her hand. Then she reached out for a few more shards of metal, growing the blade slightly longer as well as forming a guard above her hand. Though it would never be as good as one of her actual swords, it was perfect as a test for her newfound powers. An inferior tool would simply require her to work just a bit harder.


    She lifted the blade, holding the flat edge gently against her forehead. Caethya closed her eyes and mumbled a few words in honour of her ancestors. It was a rite as old as the High Elves themselves, and one she would not allow herself to forget. Her ancestors would never hear the words, but it would bless her blade with their guidance all the same.


    For a brief moment, her sword shone with a white light and Caethya could hear the faintest of whispers rush past her. She lowered the blade back to her side and looked at the group of mortals that had gathered near one of the holes that had not been overgrown with ice quite yet.


    The Demigoddess observed them for a moment longer before she tilted her head, trying her best to imitate the motion her love seemed to be so fond of, and pointed her blade at them. A challenge was issued, and it was on them to accept it.


    GamingWolf


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 Manga – Pages 6-10

    The next batch of the manga is done! As usual, it is illustraded by SilvaSphinx and paid for by TRM. The script and characters for it were provided by me (duh). The next set is being worked on already so it''ll probably be done a bit before the month is over.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 227: First to Fall

    Caethya''s blade swung upwards, guided not by her hand but by the sword itself, and cut the first bullet that had been fired at her in half. She had honoured her ancestors, and they had given her guidance. There was no real need to cut any of the projectiles down, of course, but intimidation was a good tactic.


    The reply to her action was a hail of gunfire that to them would likely appear unavoidable, but to the Demigoddess of Creation, it was simply an invitation to dance. Caethya lifted her arm and flicked her wrist, clearing a few bullets from the torrent with her blade so that she could step to the side, bending backwards to let more lead pass by overhead. She twirled around, a touch of her magic guiding more of the metal thrown her way to flow around her while extending the length of her blade to cut through a larger section of the fast-flowing metallic sea heading her way.


    Their dance continued for a moment longer, Caethya not really interested in striking back as she discovered just how far she could push herself while using as little magic as she could. She even went as far as asking her love to not stop the bullets from hitting her; a request Aperio granted but not without a bit of grumbling. Though Caethya did not hear it directly, she nonetheless felt the universe''s displeasure at the idea of her even getting slightly hurt.


    Caethya stood to her full height as the hail of bullets stopped, removing some non-existent blood from her sword with a flick of her wrist. She directed her gaze at the group of mortals and, just like before, tilted her head slightly. Their little exchange had brought her closer to the group, and them closer to despair. What had they expected to happen? As far as they knew, she might as well have been the one that stopped their fake sun. If that ¡ª their most powerful weapon, she assumed ¡ª did nothing, why would bullets work?


    A smile spread beneath her mask as she watched the people retreat back into the ship. Can''t let that happen, now can we? With a small tug at her magic, Caethya appeared inside the ship, right in front of the person that had wanted to enter it first, and drove her makeshift blade though his stomach. Her wrist flicked upwards, and the man was cut in two. The mist that was still trailing her and obscuring her form reached out for the wound she had made, freezing the corpse so solidly that it shattered once it hit the floor.


    Before the other sailors could react, an explosion rocked the ship. One Caethya had not caused. She had left a fleet of ships largely intact so they could be used to take people back home, but some people had rallied to a select few vessels and turned them against her. The move to attack was one the Demigoddess could not quite understand. Sure, the ones that could actually use their brain had accepted Aperio''s offer, but she had thought a more personal demonstration would convince the rest. I guess this is why Aperio only ever gives one offer of surrender?


    That was a side of her love she was not quite as fond of, but she also couldn''t really fault her for it. She did not start wars, and always offered people a chance to surrender and be forgiven ¡ª at least by her.


    With an almost silent sigh, Caethya lifted her arm in the direction of the shaken sailors and closed her fist, causing the various shards of ice that stuck to the ship¡¯s interior to fly from the walls and pierce the group of mortals.


    If they weren''t going to surrender, she would at least grant them a quick death. A frozen, pierced brain was certain to accomplish that. Then, just to be sure, Caethya closed her eyes and let her magic seep through the entirety of the ship. Not a breath later, she ripped it apart. Countless jagged shards and spears exploded outwards, each projectile tracking a different mortal in the fleet.


    Every single one struck true.


    Caethya then drew on the waters below her, willing it to rise up in a wave that carried her up above the empty, lifeless remains of the other ships around her. High atop her liquid pillar, she moved towards one of the few remaining ships in this particular fleet that still had living beings in it.


    She would leave one mostly intact, as condemning all the mortals to a certain death was still not something she wanted to do. Those that remained would serve as a suitable demonstration as to why one should not mess with her love. Or me, for that matter.


    Caethya stepped the wave she had created onto the ship she had decided would be the one to survive, making sure the mist she had conjured was spreading over the entire vessel. They should, after all, have the impression that an angry ghost was attacking them, and not a random woman.


    A few of the mortals on board the ship started shouting in a language Caethya did not understand. She didn''t have to, however, as it was quite obvious they were fighting over what they should do. Some were seemingly adamant that they should shoot at her while others wanted to prevent exactly that. Caethya made the decision easy for them, lifting her arm and closing her hand into a fist, causing all the weapons they had on them to simply crumple into a fist-sized ball of metal.


    The mortals were quick to drop their demolished weapons, and those that didn''t quickly followed as the mist that clung to her began to flow around them. It wouldn''t harm them too much; a few frozen fingers perhaps, but nothing that couldn''t be healed. Unless they haven''t figured out how to do that yet?


    Caethya wasn''t exactly sure how the mortals of Earth healed things without magic. On Verenier, such a practice existed for the few diseases magic couldn''t cure or was simply not that useful for. But that also meant that its scope was much smaller, with results much less grand and useful than even that of the simplest light- or even water-based healing spell. They''ll figure it out in time. Probably.


    Her love¡¯s gaze lingered on the mortals briefly, causing most of them to look around but find nothing. Some instead went through various motions that Caethya attributed to religious belief, but also did little else. In the end, none of that helped their struggle to make a decision, but it was amusing to see nonetheless. Mortals¡¯ reactions to Aperio¡¯s attention were always fun.


    The thing that managed to convince them to lay down their arms was a blade of ice Caethya had conjured that cut the ship opposite the one she was on cleanly in half. Personnel included. Dragging it below the surface of the sea with tentacles made from metal and frozen water might have been a tad much, but it helped to get the point across. Should they push further, they would be guaranteed death. Should they finally lay down their arms, they might yet live.


    Aperio moved her wing slightly as Eleanor pushed against it with her hand. The mortal mage had calmed down somewhat, at least as far as the All-Mother could tell, but she had still remained hidden beneath the feathered appendage.


    "Do you require something?" Aperio asked as Eleanor looked around the peak of the tower, her eyes briefly lingering on the Dragon curled up on the other side.


    "Do you have water?" the Human asked, her voice more than a little raspy.


    Aperio offered the woman a glass that had appeared in her hand, already filled with the requested liquid. "I do."


    "Right." Eleanor took the glass. "Of course, you have everything I can think of."


    "I doubt that I have what you claim," the All-Mother replied with a raised brow. "It is not like I am reading your mind, nor can I claim to know about all the things your people have made on this world." Not yet, anyway.


    Aperio had taken to sifting through this ''Internet'' the Humans had invented, using more than a few abandoned computers that nobody seemed to care about. By now, she had figured out how the machines communicated and received information, but hadn''t quite understood how to make use of the bits they sent back and forth. Just another language in the end.


    "But you could," the mortal mage said after emptying the glass she had been given. "You could have launched the attack on yourself to justify this. You could have just absorbed all the knowledge of Earth and solved our problems. But, you could also be controlling me right now and I wouldn''t know it."


    The All-Mother looked at Eleanor for a moment, a thought nudging the fabric of reality to refill the glass she had made for the mortal. "Yes. I could do all of those things," Aperio eventually replied. "But as you have been told before, I quite specifically do not. I cannot prove to you that I do not read your mind or control anyone else, the best I can do is tell you that I do not."


    Why Eleanor had chosen to rehash this topic once again was beyond even the All-Mother, but she wouldn''t question it. If the woman was talking, she was probably no longer quite as scared about the meaningless attacks a few of her people had started. Of course, she might also just be losing her mind, but Aperio doubted that. She had seen enough mortals go down that route, and this one didn''t seem to be quite there yet. And it was only an attack, not a lifetime of abuse. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she refilled the glass the mage had once again emptied. Or did the other mages abuse her in the past?


    Eleanor let out a sigh and set herself down, placing the glass Aperio had made on the ground in front of her. "What is Caethya doing to the people that attacked us?"


    "She has turned the ocean against them and is using their ship to make weapons," Aperio replied, making no attempt to hide her happiness at her love''s magic. It might not make much of a difference to the average mortal, but to the All-Mother the way Caethya used magic now was vastly different. Much more¡­ refined. "She also disguised herself in a large robe, a mask, and good amount of mist. Almost like a spirit from a fairy tale. At least, the tales I know of."


    "From what I''ve heard, the actual spirits are a lot more mind-bending than the descriptions people wrote down," the mortal mage said as she poked at her empty glass. "I kinda doubt that now, seeing you and all."


    "I could let you glimpse at my true nature, if you wish," Aperio offered as she looked at Eleanor with a slightly tilted head and refilled the glass once more. "I would not advise it, however. The mortal mind seems to not find my nature agreeable."


    "Not even Caethya?"


    "My love is not a mere mortal anymore."


    "One of the Elders, then?" Eleanor asked, idly tapping her glass and glancing behind her at the motionless dragon. "Some of them have been around for millennia, they should be able to, no?"


    "Millennia on a mana-starved world," Aperio replied and let her aura manifest itself just a little more to show the mortal mage what proper mana looked like. "They might be strong compared to anyone else here, but they are nothing to someone from a world that has not been cut off.


    "Adam is a good example," she continued. "He has the potential to be strong on another world, but currently, he is not. On Earth, however, he does not even have to try to play in the upper echelons of power. Caethya is far outside the realm of what anyone here can achieve, and my power does not fit inside any frame of reference other than my own."


    Aperio let out a quiet sigh and spread her wings slightly, supporting herself with them as she leaned back. "All of that matters not for now, however. It is still your world¡¯s turn to be judged. Though, I would say it is more an evaluation than a judgement now. No fate hangs on your impression anymore, after all."


    "That''s not ominous at all," Eleanor mumbled in reply. The mortal remained quiet for a moment before she set her gaze unto the horizon, squinting against the setting sun, likely trying to see Caethya cleaning up the last bits of the fleet.


    With the tiniest touch of her magic, Aperio created a small screen for Eleanor with which she could observe the remainder of Caethya''s fight. There wasn''t much to see anymore, but if she wished to watch, Aperio would not stop her. The All-Mother herself had something else calling for her attention.


    Laelia held the Beastkin woman by her throat, pressing her against the wall of her office with just enough force to not crush her windpipe. She glared at the woman as she continued to pull weapons from her body.


    Before the Scion of the All-Mother spoke to the maybe-assassin, she directed a prayer towards her Goddess; one that was answered uncharacteristically fast. Feeling Aperio''s¡­ attention, for a lack of a better term, settle onto her was both a welcome experience and deeply unsettling at the same time. Not only did you feel seen, you were also quite suddenly aware of how small and insignificant you were.


    Once the last of the visible weapons had been stripped from the Beastkin, Laelia dropped her onto the floor before reaching out with her magic to form silver chains. They wrapped themselves around the woman, holding her immobile while denying the use of any shadow tricks she might try to play. Doubly effective with Aperio watching.


    "What do you want?" Laelia asked as she sat herself down behind her desk. Holding the Beastkin up against the wall had been highly annoying. "Trying to kill me for attempting to clean this city up a bit?"


    "I need to speak with your Goddess, Scion," the woman ¡ª Adelita, if Laelia recalled correctly ¡ª hissed.


    "Then talk," the Scion replied. "She is listening right now."


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 228: Upon Request

    Adelita looked around the room, trying to spot any indication that Laelia''s Goddess was actually listening. Unsurprisingly, she could not find anything.


    "Go on," the [Scion of the All-Mother] said, turning her attention to a few papers on her desk. "Say what you must."


    The Beastkin opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Instead, she felt a piercing cold spread throughout her; gnawing at not only her skin but her very being. A whisper followed the sensation a moment later, one she could not hear with her ears but only in her head.


    "Speak," it said, each word echoing through her mind; pushing her to lay her secrets bare.


    "I want my body back!" the voice of Lita protested. "I need to help my Master!"


    "It is not your turn to speak," the voice replied.


    The words were accompanied by the feeling of something pulling at her essence; taking a part of it away to a place unseen by Adelita herself.


    "Speak, mortal," the voice repeated itself, a slight hint of annoyance permeating every word. "Your other half is no longer listening. It is only us, you may speak freely and without concern."


    "I can''t speak," Adelita huffed, her voice somehow flowing through the room despite the fact that she had not opened her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could say anything else Laelia''s office vanished around her.


    What replaced it was nothing. As in, a literal expanse of dark nothing, seemingly infinite in scope. There was only one thing of note within this space: a large Elven woman standing inside it, one Adelita recognized as she had seen her before. The wings, the silver hair, the muscular build ¡ª it all fit a particular woman her other self had been tasked with following. One she knew to be the All-Mother.


    "You are quite obviously able to speak," the Creator said as she took a step forwards despite there not being any sort of flooring beneath her. Adelita only blinked once, but in that span of time the woman had already crossed the distance between them. Aperio stood right in front of her, and a few shadowy afterimages trailed behind her and traced the path she had apparently taken. She loomed above Adelita, her muscular and imposing arms crossed in front of her chest. Her eyes were a solid blue that matched the edges of her feathers that Adelita could only see from the way the Goddess'' wings twitched slightly behind her back, a motion that seemed to speak of mild irritation. "Speak. Mortal."


    "Where am I?"


    "You are still in my Scion''s office. What you see is merely what your mind makes of my presence inside it." The Goddess looked around and spread her wings briefly. "I would have preferred a little more, but your mind appears to be quite fragile and is lacking in imagination."


    "I''m sorry that my feeble mind doesn''t conform to your lofty standards," Adelita snapped in reply before her mind could even properly think about who she was talking to. When her brain finally did catch up, she held her mouth shut with her hands and looked at the All-Mother with wide eyes.


    "A shame indeed," the woman said and offered a small shrug, the motion exaggerated by her unfurled wings. "But that is not why you asked to speak to me, is it?" She dragged her hand downwards, a string of silver light forming behind it that slowly coalesced into a small orb. Or, it would have, if it had ever become complete. It seemed to stop after forming a bit more than half of a sphere. "I assume you wished to speak to me about this. Your other half, as it were."


    "Is she¡­ it, even alive?" Adelita asked, her eyes fixed on the incomplete sphere in the Elven Goddess'' hand.


    "As far as I am concerned, she is. Her Soul might not be complete, but it will get there in time."


    "Will she take over my body again?"


    "If left alone, the two of you would fight over it," the All-Mother said. "I think you call it ''The Rage''? Horrible mutations and ceaseless aggression against anyone that comes close.


    "A Soul is bound to its body and does not share," she continued as Adelita simply stared at her. "Should two beings find themselves in the same vessel, a struggle will ensue unless one relents; be it willingly or not." She shook her head and let the sphere hovering above her palm vanish. "Am I right in assuming you wished to ask me to squash your other half? Destroy her because she acts so unlike yourself?"


    Adelita gritted her teeth as the woman stared at her, her unblinking eyes looking past her mortal flesh and directly at her very core; uncaring for the discomfort it brought.


    "She might have been born from the most vile of magics, but that does not lessen her as a person," the All-Mother said, finally taking her eyes off Adelita. "She has no right to your body, but you have no right to dictate her fate either. I will separate the two of you and send her away to become whole. Your fate, much like hers, shall be severed from the other so that you may forge your own paths ahead."


    "What about those who made this possible?" the Beastkin asked, her voice raspy and strained.


    "The Gods that were responsible are dead and you seem to have the remaining mortals handled well enough. A word of advice, however: do not fall prey to the allure of power. I have found mortals to be easily swayed by feeble powers that put them above their peers."


    "I am nothing like that pig," Adelita spat in reply. "I punish those who do what he and his decrepit family did!"


    "For now, yes. But your life is yet long." She waved one of her wings as if to dismiss her words. "It is merely a warning. If you heed it or not is up to you. Now," she continued, "is there anything else you need of me? Or did I perhaps make a wrong assumption as to why you wished to speak with me?"


    Adelita simply glared at the Elf for a moment longer before she shook her head. "No, I simply wanted to get rid of this broken parasite. It has taken too much from me already and I did not want to give it the chance to take more."


    The winged woman did not reply, only letting out an ethereal sigh. "You may think what you like, but know that this situation is, as far as I know, entirely unique. Whether you enjoy the idea or not, you have a part in Lita''s creation. You will, however, not see her again for quite some time."


    "Why?"


    "Her Soul is incomplete and must assert itself before she can be reborn as her own person," the All-Mother explained. "Even if I wanted to explain more, your mortal mind would not be able to comprehend it. You can barely understand my presence without help from me, after all."


    Adelita met the woman''s eyes for a moment before casting her gaze down at the nothing beneath her feet. She did not like it, but she knew the All-Mother was correct. How could she comprehend a Goddess? Much less the Goddess of all there is? of all there is? But for whatever reason, the literal creator had not only answered her request, but had come personally to talk. This was an opportunity, and she should make as much use of it as she could and maybe ¡ª just this once ¡ª trust in what she had heard on the street.


    "May I ask something else?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper, hoping that the All-Mother was as amicable as her followers had made her out to be.


    "If you wish," she replied and offered a shrug of both her shoulders and wings. "I will not promise answers, however."


    The Beastkin could not help but hide a small smile. She would have to make the most from this. There was much she could learn. Much she had to learn.


    Lita looked around the vast expanse of nothing, squinting as she spotted a faint glimmer of colour in the distance. She looked down at herself, finding the body the voice had taken from her under her control as it should be.


    "Mortal," the voice that had spoken to her other part said, this time undoubtedly directed at her. "Your other half cannot hear you here."


    A moment later, a woman appeared before her. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and looked down on the Beastkin as her ears twitched slightly. The wings behind her back, too, were moving as she shifted her weight from one leg to another.


    Lita knew that she was in the presence of someone important, every fibre of her being was informing her as such, but she could not find any respect for the Elf in front of her. Sure, she would probably lose a fight, but that did not mean she should defer to the woman as her mind, and very Soul, somehow wanted her to. Nobody but Master deserves my devotion!


    "Aren''t you one of the people that want to harm my Master?" Lita asked, squinting at the Elven woman. "I''m pretty sure Master has marked you as an enemy before."


    "He has," the woman replied. "But nothing he can do would pose a threat to me. Nor does he have the backing of his Gods any longer, as I have killed them all. You would do well to let go of your¡­ ''Master''. Despite what you might think, he does not hold you in high regard. In fact, he probably wanted to dispose of you, but the body you inhabited got returned to its rightful owner before he could."


    "But it''s my body!" Lita protested. "I trained it, I lived in it!"


    The Elf took a step forwards, somehow closing the distance that separated them with that simple motion. Her hand brushed past one of Lita''s and when the Beastkin could see it again, the woman had in her palm the earrings Lita usually wore.


    "Is my jewellery collection not pretty?" she asked, smiling as the Beastkin hissed in reply. "I found them on an ear and made them all a little better. It was no trouble at all."


    She turned her hand over, and the small rings of gold and silver, adorned with various enchanted gems, fell for a brief second before vanishing altogether.


    "And now they are gone," the woman said. "You have as many rights to Adelita''s vessel as I had to those earrings of yours." She held up a hand for a moment before she gestured towards Lita''s ear. "Do not worry, I returned them to their rightful place."


    The Beastkin touched her ear, finding her jewellery were it should be. She squinted at the woman, taking a step backwards as the Elf shifted her weight to her other leg once again, the motion much more intimidating than it had any right to be.


    "You may stay here until you are ready," the winged Elf said and sat herself down on the nothing. "Just like your other part, you may ask what you wish, but I will not guarantee an answer."


    "Any question?" Lita asked. "Can I see my Master?"


    The woman sighed and waved her hand, causing an image to appear in front of the Beastkin. In it, she could see Jester tied to the wall, hanging from his restraints, bleeding and miserable. She reached out, but her hand simply phased through the projection the Goddess had conjured. There was nothing she would rather do than help her Master, but no matter how hard she tried, the image she saw was just that. An image. It moved; let her hear the suffering of her dear Master, but nothing else.


    Lita growled at the projection and tried to conjure a spell she could hurl at the woman who dared to keep her from Jester. Only nothing happened. Despite trying with all her might, she could not manifest even the tiniest bit of magic. Perhaps this is how Jester had felt the time she had been captured and tortured for information? Anger, dread, and an inability to change the situation.


    She simply stared at it for a moment longer before she felt what she could only describe as ''comfort'' flowing through her. She closed her eyes, shook her head and, when she opened them again, saw a myriad of tiny lights fly past her.


    The woman still sat a small distance away, with her legs crossed and wings swept slightly forwards. The image of her master had simply disappeared. Lita reached out and moved her hand through the space she was sure the projection had occupied, but nothing happened.


    She looked down at her hands, her eyes lingering on the tiny scars that riddled her palms before she let her arms hang to her side and fell to her knees.


    Aperio''s ears perked up slightly as Caethya stepped back onto the tower¡¯s roof. She was still talking to Adelita and Laelia ¡ª and looking after the sobbing Lita ¡ª but her love would require a larger share of her nigh infinite attention.


    "Solving some divine problems?" Caethya stepped in front of the All-Mother and ran her fingers through her hair. "Your eyes turned all blue and glowy," she said with a smile. "It suits you. Matches your outer feathers."


    "I am solving a small mortal dilemma involving an incomplete Soul," Aperio replied, only a tiny bit surprised at the additional ethereal echo her voice had gained. She offered her hand to her love, pulling the Demigoddess into her lap when she took it. "It is¡­ most peculiar. An entire being has begun to form from magic designed to subdue someone''s will when that will did not subside."


    "How can an incomplete Soul even exist?" Caethya asked as she leaned herself against the All-Mother, letting Aperio wrap a hand around her waist and hold her just a little tighter. "Seems like something that shouldn''t work."


    Aperio let out a small sigh, looking up. The direction was meaningless, but the motion had felt right. "It does, but she can only exist by sharing a body with someone who does have a complete Soul. I will place her in the river and observe. It should work, but this is also the first time I can remember this happening."


    "Will you let her remember her previous life?" Caethya asked, glancing at Eleanor who had begun to furiously scribble notes about something. It was certainly not the conversation she and Aperio were having as the mortal could not understand their language, but she seemed quite eager to note down whatever it was that had come to her mind.


    "No," the All-Mother replied with a slight shake of her head. "Technically, she is dead, so she will enter the cycle like anyone else. Perhaps if she has lived a few more lives she could¡­"


    "That''s not quite possible, is it?"


    "Not at the moment no," Aperio said, resting her chin on her love''s head. "I have an idea however. One that would work quite well with my planned change to reality at large."


    "The whole multiverse thing?" the Demigoddess asked. "Are you going to let Souls split themselves amongst all those realities and then coalesce back into one if they grew strong enough?"


    "Something to that effect, yes."


    In fact, it was exactly what her love had suggested. In simple terms, at least. Aperio already had an idea how she could make that happen, but it would require a bit more poking and prodding at both the River of Souls and the part of the System that actually governed reincarnation. The change she had in mind would also make it quite a lot harder for anyone to tamper with Souls while also letting each mortal gain more strength faster. At least overall.


    Each life they lived would only be a marginal increase in power, but once they had achieved the peak of what a mortal could do, they would remember all their lives and gain power that was greater than what they had had in every attempt before combined. Even if it worked as intended, mortals would probably still not catch up to Caethya. Or Maria, once she actually started to train herself a little more. The blessing she had given both of them was simply not comparable to anything else and grew in power as Aperio herself did. Just as she got stronger with every passing moment, so did they. Just on a much smaller scale.


    "But that aside," Aperio continued, "how did the mortals fare?"


    "You know how they did," Caethya replied, closing her eyes and leaning herself fully against the All-Mother. "I did learn that the Class I gained is frighteningly powerful and will require further testing. It also puts your way of doing things into a new perspective."


    "Does it?" Aperio asked as she swept her wings forwards and wrapped them around her love and herself. "I could make us a small realm to test your limits once Earth has settled down a little. You could explore the full extent of your capabilities and, perhaps, change your perspective of my power once more."


    "I''m fairly certain that, even now, I can''t truly understand how much you can actually do." Caethya gave a small giggle. "I doubt you have figured that out either."


    "Probably not." Aperio tightened her grip on her love a little. "Probably not."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Manga – Pages 11-16

    GamingWolf


    Next normal chapter should be done soon. I am currently writing the end of book 6 for the Patreon as well as finishing up two uni projects. The stress is real.


    The next batch of the manga is done! As usual, it is illustraded by SilvaSphinx and paid for by TRM. The script and characters for it were provided by me (duh).


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 229: Potentially Perilous Progress

    GamingWolf


    Finally a chapter.


    Jacob entered yet another house in the seemingly endless city on the tenth floor. They had walked miles upon miles already without having found a hint as to what they should do. There were no monsters to be found, and when they encountered other human beings they proved to be just as confused as they were. Nobody had even the slightest clue as to what had to be done to advance to the next floor.


    "Found anything?" Ryan asked as he entered the house.


    Jacob shook his head. "No, just another average home. No hints of anything weird. Besides there being a city with fully furnished homes in the middle of a dungeon, that is."


    Ryan poked one of the chairs with the sword he had acquired on one of the lower floors. "Maybe the monsters are mimics?"


    "I doubt it," Jacob replied. "That monster tamer dude would have found them, I think. He found where we were hiding from his group simply by tracing our life signatures, after all."


    "True. But then, what else could it be? If it was a death match or battle royale, we would have been told by now. Or found bodies."


    Jacob looked around the room once more before he shook his head. Perhaps all they had to do was find the right building in order to leave. Maybe the System thought they needed a resting spot in the dungeon, so it had made them a city to call home.


    A low rumble and a slight shaking of the ground drew him to the nearest window. What he saw when he looked outside was most definitely not what he had expected.


    In the middle of the giant lake located in the centre of the city, there was now a statue depicting a Dragon curling around a pole. No, he corrected himself upon further inspection, it was a smaller version of the tower they were currently in. However, the thing that caught his attention the most were the small lights at the side of the tower, and the doorway he could see at its base.


    Ten small dots were illuminated on the side of the statue, each one probably representing a floor they had cleared. A set of symbols he couldn''t decipher were engraved above the door and something told him they would translate to ''eleven''.


    "I think I figured out where we have to go," Jacob said.


    "Oh? Where?"


    "The giant tower that popped out of the lake," he replied. "Looks like a progress tracker of some kind."


    Before more words could be exchanged, the by-now familiar blue window appeared before his eyes.


    The City of the First Trial recognises your efforts and has opened the way to the eleventh floor. Housing may be requested at the Hall of the First Trial.


    "The fuck is the First Trial?" Ryan asked. "Does it mean the first ten floors, or did we miss a puzzle in the city?"


    "No idea," Jacob replied with a shrug. "But we can continue now, so that''s good."


    "Can we though? For all we know, this might be a trick."


    Jacob waved him off. Sure, it might be a trick, but if they could fake a System message, they could probably kill them right now too. "Let''s go and check it out at least. You can make up your mind then."


    "Fine," Ryan mumbled in reply, following Jacob after he had walked past. "I still think its a bad idea, though. Everyone will be there and I really don''t want to meet that big Elf lady again. Something about her is just¡­ wrong."


    "I agree." Of course, Jacob knew what Aperio actually was ¡ª or at least claimed to be ¡ª but hearing that and being in her presence were two entirely different things.


    Standing near the woman filled you with equal parts dread and reverence. A tiny voice at the back of your head demanded that you kneel in front of her while the rest screamed at you to run from the predator that you had gotten too close to. And despite all of that, she behaved like a normal person. A bit arrogant, perhaps, but I guess that comes from her background.


    Strikes me as rich. The only thing that came to mind was that she was some sort of modern version of a noble. Just not made for dances and formal events and more, like, throwing you into space. Even thinking about the woman brought back a fraction of the weird feeling, though with a definitive note of existential dread.


    It took Jacob nearly the entire way to the centre of the city to shake the feeling, only to have it instantly replaced by a new flavour of it as he looked up at the small statue of the tower they were currently in.


    For one reason or another, seeing just how many floors ¡ª unexplored and filled with dangers ¡ª lay above them filled him with more than his fair share of anxiety. Would they even be Human once they were done? Even without taking their powers into account, they were already far beyond what someone should be able to accomplish naturally.


    He needed only to look at the fact that he could go for days without sleep or food to confirm his more-than status. On top of that, he was completing dangerous task after dangerous task at the same time. And a part of him reveled in it.


    "Ready?" Ryan asked as he stopped at the edge of the lake. "Looks like nobody is there at the moment."


    Jacob swallowed hard. "I am."


    Caethya let out a satisfied sigh as Aperio pulled her wings closer. How her love''s feathers could be so wonderfully soft and yet still be sturdier than any armour she had ever bought was an utter mystery, but one that didn¡¯t need to be solved. She would simply enjoy the softness. A wing blanket is truly the best.


    "Do you know what Eleanor is doing?" she asked, peeking past a few feathers at the mortal. "She''s been writing ever since I came back."


    "She is writing down what has happened here and a few things I told her that she seems to think are important," Aperio replied. "I am not quite sure why she assumes some of these to be worthy of being recording. It was all rather trivial."


    "Not to people that are equivalent to children when it comes to magic. Whatever insight you can offer is probably worth its weight in gold." She paused for a moment. "Gold has value for these people, right?"


    "It should," the All-Mother replied. "If you gave Eleanor her weight in gold, she would not have to work for a good long while. If I understand the metal''s value correctly, that is."


    "Did you have the monsters in the dungeon drop some to see if the people would get excited?" Caethya asked, smiling to herself.


    "Mayhaps."


    "How are they doing, anyway? Have they made it to one of the interesting floors yet?"


    "They have finally figured out how to trigger the stairway to the eleventh floor," her love replied, her voice a little disappointed and just a tad more ethereal than usual. "They truly thought of everything else before considering that it is supposed to be a place of rest and that you only need to ask its guardian in order to move on."


    "What is the guardian?" Caethya asked. She could think of quite a few things Aperio might have used, and none of them would appear approachable to the average mortal.


    "It is a statue of a Dragonkin that I placed in the city hall. Whenever you enter its home, it will speak to you and invite you to ask for whatever you might need." The All-Mother gave an annoyed huff. "The first things they asked for were weapons or blessings to make themselves stronger. Not a way upwards, a home to call their own, or even just a place to rest for a little while."


    "That''s probably because they are not used to any of this," the Demigoddess said. "And you did simply give them power before, so they might have assumed that more can still be acquired without work. You know quite well that power is enticing and if you can accumulate more without effort, why wouldn''t you?" She let out a small sigh. "In a way, I didn''t work for the power I now have, and neither did you. Though your situation is a little different. There''s not much of a choice for you."


    "No there is not," her love replied, her voice still perfectly audible despite the words barely being a whisper. "And I would argue that you gained most of your strength on your own. The blessing I inadvertently gave you only provided you with potential; not outright power."


    Caethya only gave a small nod. While she was quite certain her affinity for magic was largely thanks to the blessing, she would not argue the point. Aperio either knew that it was not the case, or wanted to believe that she achieved it on her own. It didn''t matter really matter now and her love seemingly did not want to argue the point.


    "In a way, what I did for them is not that different," Aperio continued, shifting slightly underneath Caethya. "I am giving them the potential to grow stronger; become a God of their own, even. It is simply much more controlled and not as extensive. I am not physically touching their Souls, after all."


    "Would I feel that now?" Caethya asked. "If you touched my Soul, I mean."


    "I¡­ do not know," her love replied. She remained quiet for a moment, her wings twitching ever so slightly and her grip briefly growing stiff. "I could if you really wish to know, but I would prefer if I did not."


    Caethya ran her fingers over the inside of her love''s wing. "It was just idle curiosity," she said, tilting her head back as best she could to look at Aperio''s face. "There is no need to actually test it."


    She could feel Aperio let out a breath that had undoubtedly materialised in her lungs just moments before. "Thank you."


    "Uh," the voice of Eleanor sounded out from beyond the veil of the All-Mother''s wings. "Can I ask something or am I interrupting?"


    Caethya could not help but let out a small giggle at the pulse of annoyance that raced through her love''s aura. She tapped at one of the wings, causing Aperio to move it just enough for the Demigoddess to see the mortal mage with her eyes.


    "A little, perhaps," she said, smiling at Eleanor. "What do you need?"


    "I, uh, I just wanted to know if I should be worried about these, uh¡­ wisps?" She gestured towards a tiny light that floated downwards, melting into Aperio''s skin as soon as it touched it. "They feel quite dangerous."


    "They are harmless," the All-Mother replied. "Simply some mana that could not be absorbed into my body fast enough."


    "It happens when she allows herself to relax," Caethya said, holding out her hand so one of the wisps landed on it. A small tingle ran through her as it did, but not because she had taken in the mana. It seemed more like it was upset that she was not Aperio. "You can''t use them, and I am pretty sure they wouldn''t harm you either." Even though this tiny thing has as much mana as I do¡­


    It was probably not quite right, but what she felt from the tiny silver-blue light was at least comparable to her own well of mana. Just that it was a bit bigger than a marble and was quite silver.


    One day I will reach that level, she mused to herself, fully aware that if she did, her love would have ascended to even greater heights. Aperio was always growing stronger and that was without her actively pursuing more strength. However that would look like. Considering that ¡ª technically ¡ª the All-Mother was already all-powerful, the fact that she was growing stronger seemed a little weird. In the end, what Caethya felt was probably only the bits of power her love had actually managed to cram inside the body she had made for herself. No matter how she looked at it, there was no way Aperio could actually pull all of herself into a vessel like that.


    "Something wrong?" Aperio asked, taking Caethya from her thoughts. Her love was looking down at her, the concern visible on her face as her eyes flicked from side to side as she tried to figure out what was going on. "You usually do not feel this¡­ unsure." She tilted her head to the side. Her silver hair shimmered with a slight blue light as it flowed over her ear, a few strands getting caught. "Did I do something wrong?"


    "No." Caethya smiled and reached up, placing her hand on her love''s cheek. "I was just thinking about how you work and that is never a good idea. Your existence is a little hard to understand and I am certainly not ready to ponder that quite yet." It just doesn''t make sense.


    "I see," Aperio said, casting her gaze further downwards at something only see could see. "You need but ask me and I will tell you what you wish to know."


    "I''m pretty sure the answers I would get would be just as confusing. If you can even explain them with words."


    "Probably," the All-Mother relented. "And it is only going to get worse once my plans move along."


    "What plans?" Eleanor asked, looking more than a little confused.


    Caethya gave a small laugh at the question. She could only think of one way to answer this question "Multiverse."


    "Multiverse?"


    "Multiverse."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 230: Conflict Without Time

    GamingWolf


    If you get the reference, I approve.


    While Caethya did her best to calm Eleanor down ¡ª the prospect of simply being able to make a multiverse was apparently a lot to take in ¡ª Aperio shifted her attention to the mortals that were entering the eleventh floor.


    The All-Mother had fully expected them to lose it as soon as they entered, as that floor was patterned after a battlefield. It not only featured active armies fighting one another, but also plenty of fresh ''corpses''. Of course, none of them were actually dead people, but that hadn''t stopped Aperio from making them look and smell exactly like the real thing.


    Observing how the mortals figured out this one would be fun. She had poured over more than a few ancient texts to get the various factions right. They might not have existed at the same time, but this was meant to be a domain of timeless conflict. Every large empire of Earth''s past was represented here, and each would fight the people that came just as readily as they did the other armies.


    "What about time travel?" Eleanor asked, garnering a bit more of Aperio''s attention. "If the multiverse is a thing, does that work?"


    "Yes, but perhaps not as you think," the All-Mother replied. "I would simply create a new version of whatever world you came from, starting from the point in time you wish to travel to. The world you came from would continue without you, and the new one would have two of you."


    "So it''s not really time travel as much as it is dimension travelling?" Caethya asked as she shifted slightly in Aperio''s embrace to better look at her love. "It would just look like it."


    The All-Mother nodded in reply. There was of course also temporal magic, but that worked on an entirely different concept that Aperio herself would have to dig through her memory to understand. But that one, too, didn''t really turn back time. At least not how I understand it, I guess?


    Her view on the flow of the universe was different. Unique, even. There was no telling if she was simply not experiencing time like mortals did and was therefore answering these questions incorrectly.


    "Do you even experience time like we do?" Eleanor asked, for once appearing as if she had read Aperio''s mind.


    "I do not know," she replied. "Perhaps I do, but I also have no way to really tell that would not go against the rules I set for myself."


    "Do you know what I will do tomorrow?" the mortal mage asked, her pen hovering just above a new page in her notebook.


    "I could know," Aperio honestly replied. Probably. "But I never will. It would require me look at everything and, as you have been told before, I do not want to do that."


    The All-Mother held onto her love a little tighter, as though Caethya could somehow stop her from going too far. Everyone knew ¡ª or at least should know ¡ª that nothing and no one could possibly stop her, should she actually wish to do something. All she needed was a thought, and she could accomplish whatever she desired.


    Caethya ran her hand along Aperio''s arm, repeating the motion again and again as she leaned herself fully against the All-Mother.


    "I think I have a book on time magic somewhere," her love said, looking at Eleanor. "I can give that to you, if you want. You wouldn''t be able to make use of any of the spells though, as they require power in amounts I didn''t have for a long while, and which is far beyond you at the moment."


    Aperio could not help but blink at the proverbial stars that formed in the mage''s eyes at her love''s words. Eleanor''s hands were trembling and, if she were a Beastkin, her tail would be wagging at a speed previously unknown to Humankind.


    Her love used her free hand to conjure her [Dimensional Storage] and reach inside it, pulling out a thick book that was bound in metal, of all things, a moment later. She lightly threw it at Eleanor who caught it and was promptly knocked over.


    The mortal mage rubbed the back of her head as she sat up again, mumbling something about evil Gods before she heaved the book into her lap. "Why is this thing so heavy?"


    "It''s a book that contains what some would consider forbidden knowledge," Caethya replied. "And whoever made it thought metal looked nice."


    "There is a bit more to it than that," Aperio said, squinting at the tome with both her eyes and aura. "Both the cover and most of the pages are enchanted, some of them making the book heavier on purpose while others are seemingly meant to obscure the knowledge within." She tilted her head slightly, a small flex of her mental muscles dissolving a large chunk of the runes. "There, it should be easier to handle and no longer hide its knowledge from you.


    "A word of warning, however," Aperio continued, shifting her gaze onto Eleanor. "If you use what you learn from this book to do anything unbecoming, I will punish you."


    "You also don''t get to keep that forever," Caethya added. "It might not be a family heirloom, but to me that book has more value than the knowledge it contains."


    Eleanor gave an enthusiastic nod at the words, whatever fear had gripped her just a little while ago seemingly forgotten. "Of course I will!"


    Aperio rested her chin on her love''s head again as she focused back on the mortals on the eleventh floor. A part of her wanted to join them, wander amongst them as they tried to piece together the way up. There was no point to that, of course, but it still seemed entertaining to a degree.


    "You don''t have to wait here with us," Caethya said. "If you want to wander around with the mortals, you can. I think both Eleanor and I are perfectly capable of entertaining ourselves."


    "I know you are, the question is whether I prefer to stay with you or mess with some mortals." Aperio shifted slightly, her wings twitching. "I feel like I should have taken care of some of those ships myself. A bit of movement would probably be good."


    "Isn''t your body like, perfectly maintained at all times?" Eleanor asked, lowering the book and glancing at the All-Mother. "I would''ve thought that was one of the perks of being a Goddess."


    "I like being active," Aperio said, tilting her head. "Something wrong with that?" What would be the point of having a body if I do not intend to use it?


    The last part she kept to herself, but it was still true. Sure, the main reason for a body was so she actually had a form, but it was also so she could interact with the world and actually partake in her creation in a way she found enjoyable.


    "Nothing wrong with that," the mortal mage replied. "I just didn''t think something that mundane would appeal to you."


    "It usually does not, but I still wish to partake in some mundane activities. Like exercise." Aperio offered a shrug of her wings. "It feels good to move."


    With a small laugh, Caethya tapped the All-Mother''s arm, causing her to let go so her love could stand up. "Her appearance is a hint, Eleanor. You''ll notice that deities that don''t take the physical approach as often look vastly different."


    "I guess?" Eleanor replied, seemingly quite confused with what Caethya had said.


    The mortal mage regarded the All-Mother as she stood up and stretched herself. No matter what Eleanor might think, to Aperio, exercise ¡ª especially in the form of a good fight ¡ª would always be a welcome thing.


    Aperio wrapped her love in a quick hug, her wings following the embracing movement of her arms as well as providing the two of them with a brief moment of seclusion from the mortal mage''s eyes. Hidden from view, she planted a quick kiss on Caethya''s lips, then disappeared from the room. Only a few feathers remained as an indicator she had ever been there in the first place.


    Ryan shook his head as he watched Jacob empty the contents of his stomach over the railing of the bridge they were on. Sure, the sights and smells on this floor weren''t nice, but they had been confronted with plenty of death and decay already. The only difference here was that they looked Human. He knew they weren''t. Nothing in this place ¡ª besides them, of course ¡ª was an actual, sapient being, after all.


    "You good now?" he asked as he pulled out his sword again and inspected the blade. "Maybe eating wasn''t such a good idea."


    "It wasn''t," Jacob croaked in reply, grabbing a bottle of water from his backpack. He took a big swig, turned around and leaned himself against the railing. "How can you deal with all of this?"


    "By knowing that it''s made to mess with us." Ryan shrugged. "I''m starting to doubt that we can even be seriously harmed in here as well. How else could a group of mostly clueless people face monsters, after all?"


    A flame flicked to life in Jacob''s palm. "Because we have superpowers?" He balled his hand into a fist, extinguishing the flame. "We don''t get tired like we used to, and we¡¯re stronger and faster. Hell, I was thrown across the room and into a stone wall without a scratch. The wall broke, not me."


    "For not being broken, you sure complained about it hurting," Ryan rebutted. "Anyway, what''s the point of this floor? Psychological damage?"


    "I doubt it," the other man replied. "What was the thing the System said when we entered again? ''History does not forget the wars you waged''?"


    "Something like that, why?"


    "Well," Jacob began, taking another swig of his water, "I might not be a history buff, but I am pretty sure I have seen dead Romans, Greeks, Samurai, and what I think might be Persians already. I wouldn''t be surprised if this place is some sort of battleground for them all to fight one another forever."


    "Made to fight an eternal war," Ryan scoffed. "That is not what I had expected from this, but it might as well be true. The System doesn''t seem to be the best when it comes to feelings. If it even has those."


    Jacob took a deep breath, coughing almost immediately before he shook his head. "I just want to get to the next floor as soon as possible."


    "Then we have to figure out what we have to do, and I am pretty sure it involves these dead guys."


    Jacob visibly shuddered at his words. Why the man was so put off by a few bodies was probably something that would remain a mystery for Ryan, but he would try his best to work around that. The mere thought of falling back to his old habits and abandoning Jacob caused a feeling of dread to creep into the pit of his stomach. Something wished to remind him that he was insignificant and his actions would be judged; no matter how small they might appear to be.


    "Your turn to feel like shit over all of this?" Jacob asked.


    "No," Ryan replied. "Just some bad memories." He waved the other man off and walked past him. "Let''s go."


    As soon as they stepped off the bridge, the entire sky flashed first with a blue light and then a silver one. A moment later, the corpses that had surrounded them vanished and a deafening roar washed over them. It was quickly followed by the very same System notification they had gotten when they had first stepped onto this floor, letting them know that conflict was eternal in this place.


    The surroundings quickly came alive with shouts in languages Ryan did not speak, and the repeated clashing of metal. Much to his surprise, he could see flashes of lightning stemming from groups of people instead of the sky, as well as balls of fire in various unexpected hues. I guess ancient history was filled with magic, then.


    All of that, however, was overshadowed by a sudden feeling of cold dread that washed over Ryan just a moment later. He spun his head around, trying to spot the person that was looking at him. The hairs on his neck stood up as the feeling of being watched did not subside and he could not see who it was that was observing him.


    "Greetings," an all too familiar voice said, the power contained in each word driving the colour from Ryan''s face. He turned around to see the Amazonian Elf towering over them, holding a staff in one of her hands that was even taller than she was herself. "It has been a while since last we met. I see you have grown substantially since then. Congratulations."


    No matter how Ryan turned the words in his head, they all sounded patronising. Like she was talking to a child.


    "Miss Velkari," Jacob said, his voice more than a little hoarse.


    "I hope you have no laid claim to the battlefield ahead," she continued, offering a smile. "I had wished to make use of it to test my skills a little."


    "I''m good," the other man said, raising his hands in what might have been a mock surrender. "Fight them all you like."


    Ryan shook his head as the woman''s gaze shifted to him, and he tried not to look directly into her eyes. The shifting dots on her otherwise blue irises gave him a headache at the best of times.


    "You are free to accompany me if you desire. Perhaps you could learn something from observing me."


    "You know what?" Ryan said. "Why not? It''s not like we have anything better to do." He threw up his hands, his surrender in no way a joke. "Will you also kill the boss of this floor on your own while you are at it?"


    The Elf titled her head to the side, her hair shimmering as it cascaded over her pointed ears. "If it is present, I do not see why I should not."


    Ryan debated saying something more, but he could not find any words and a look at Jacob did not offer any help either. "Lead the way, then," he finally said. And don''t kill us on accident.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 231: Unreachable Heights

    GamingWolf


    For those that did not get what I meant with the reference last chapter: This floor is a reference to the Domain of Timeless Conflict in Path of Exile. RIP the economy in 3.19


    Jacob could not quite believe his eyes as Aperio simply walked, unconcerned, into the clashing armies. Arrows flying her way simply broke as they hit her, and foolish attackers that thought a direct approach would work better were quickly dispatched by either a swift slice of her weapon or a punch that ¡ª quite literally ¡ª vaporised whatever it hit.


    "She becomes what I can only assume is a Goddess, and I get some lightning," Ryan mumbled. "Seems fair."


    "Yeah," Jacob echoed. "Fair."


    A bolt of lightning descending from the sky simply bent away once it got too close to her, striking another soldier. Aperio answered the attack with a flick of her wrist that caused a silver and blue beam to descend from the sky, setting the air ablaze as the light passed through it. Jacob could see glimpses of something that caused his mind to reel as reality itself accrued thousands of tiny tears, struggling to contain whatever magic this woman had conjured. That all just lastest for a moment however ¡ª barely a breath ¡ª before the beam hit the mage that had cast the lightning spell, obliterating him and anyone unfortunate enough to be standing anywhere near him.


    "The fuck was that?" Ryan asked, staring at the crater and sparking air that Aperio''s magic had left behind.


    Before Jacob could offer any reply, Aperio moved. One moment she had regarded the army surrounding her, the next she had vanished, replaced by a blur that simply ploughed through any opposition. Whether it was a person or a structure, it made no difference. As abruptly as she had started to move, the All-Mother stopped, returning in a flash to clear visibility.


    She regarded the carnage she had created before she glanced in their direction, offering them a smile that Jacob could not see so much as feel. There was a message for him here that he had yet to uncover.


    Aperio held that gaze as she lifted one arm towards the fake sky that hung high above them. She closed her hand, gripping something only she could see, and pulled on it.


    A moment later, the view of the All-Mother and her surroundings became warped as the light bent around what Jacob could only ¡ª and wrongfully ¡ª describe as a sphere of pure black that had come to be in Aperio''s hand.


    The woman seemed to contemplate what he assumed to be a black hole for a moment before she threw it at the people advancing towards her, completely unbothered and unaffected by the forces coming off of her creation.


    Everything surrounding her was sucked into the black nothing; crushed into fine powder before it got even close. Jacob tried to make sense of what he saw, but try as he might, his mind refused to interpret what was happening in front of him beyond the fact that it was, in fact, actually happening.


    "The fuck," Ryan mumbled, seemingly equally stumped by Aperio''s newest party trick. "How does that even work?"


    He turned to look at Jacob. "She just made a black hole! And she doesn''t give a shit about it!"


    "And it''s not affecting us," Jacob noted, trying his best to not look at the All-Mother and her magic. "Nor anything else, really."


    "Fucking bullshit," the other man mumbled as the mind-bending sphere of black nothing vanished.


    It was quickly replaced by a feeling of dread as something washed over Jacob, drowning him for a moment without stealing his breath. He could feel it flow through him, into him, but it did not stay. Whatever it was, it was rushing towards the All-Mother. The ethereal voice echoing through the field as it arrived at its destination just confirmed Jacob''s notion that the unknown phenomenon was bad news for them.


    Aperio laughed as she spread her arms and wings and let the dungeon she had made draw as much mana as it could to empower the army that came her way.


    She tried to push some mana into the dungeon herself, but it could not take as much as she wanted it to. Sure, for anyone on Earth, the simulacrums coming her way would be certain death, but to her, it was at most a distraction. It didn''t help that the dungeon itself was unable to take more mana than she was using to strengthen her body. In fact, she was still using more for that than was contained in the entirety of Earth, despite the fact that she had been more than generous with the mana she gave out along with the reinstatement of the System.


    Compared to what she could draw on, the part dedicated to improving her physical self was minuscule, but her well was also bottomless so any portion of it was by its very definition only a tiny fraction.


    She shook her head and brought her hands together. A clap echoed through the open plain, followed by a gust of air and a wave of pressure that caused the first few rows of simulacrums coming her way to explode and many more to stumble over. And that was without using magic¡­


    Perhaps she should adjust the physics that governed most of her creation while she was working on the multiverse. They seemed a little¡­ limiting.


    For a moment, Aperio considered replicating the throw she had done on Verenier. Simply giving it her all would cause an explosion that would easily encompass a quarter of the eleventh floor. In the end, she decided against it. Protecting all the mortals from it was a hassle and she could use this opportunity to try some other things. Like using her hands and feet to fight and nothing else.


    Her feet dug into the dirt as she pushed herself forward, each step a powerful lunge that brought her closer to the sea of targets. Aperio could not keep the smile off her face as the wind brushed against her. With another kick, the All-Mother propelled herself into the air and spread her wings. She glid for a moment, her momentum easily carrying her above a section of unmarred simulacrums, before she folded her wings and let gravity assert its pathetic hold once more.


    Aperio crashed into the ground, squishing more than a few of the fake mortals into bloody pulps and causing the small hill she had aimed at to transform into a rather sizable crater.


    She slowly stood to her full height, her hands balled into fists and her wings spread behind her. Aperio tensed her muscles and let her tightly controlled grip on her senses loosen. The first thing she noticed was that seeing as she had done for the entirety of her mortal life no longer worked. If she stood still, the scene looked as if frozen ¡ª the creations she had made for the dungeon were running towards her as fast as they could, but yet, they did not move ¡ª but if she even moved the slightest amount, light itself seemed to remain stationary as she pushed her way through its parts. She even had to extend a tiny bit of her mana to stop the minuscule particles and waves that formed the fabric of reality from breaking every time she moved.


    The dirt her landing had kicked up still hung in the air as Aperio took in her surroundings. Time had not stopped, technically at least, but for everyone else it might as well have. Reality was slow; sluggish.


    Aperio lifted her hand and plucked one of the almost-frozen rocks that surrounded her out of the air and regarded it for a moment before she closed her hand into a fist, crushing it. Just like before, she had to actually make sure to place all the bits of reality back where they belonged as she had other plans for now. She threw the earthen dust at the simulacrums in front of her, only holding back enough to avoid another explosion. Moving that slow when not constraining her own perception of reality was painful, but also exhilarating in a way.


    She could feel how the body she had made worked to fulfil her command; how the world reacted to something that should not technically be possible without the help of magic. If she moved as fast as she could, Aperio had no doubt that the entirety of the island she had made would simply cease to exist. Luckily for everyone else, she had no intention of doing that. Yet.


    Shifting her perception of her creation back towards the more mortal level, Aperio could not help but smile as the dust she had thrown turned the simulacrums into tiny pieces that exploded outwards, doing the same to their neighbours.


    Aperio lowered herself slightly and spread her wings before she kicked off of the ground, propelling herself past the first few intact rows of simulacrums. Her extended wings passed through the ones that had yet to explode, slicing them in half without so much as disturbing her forward momentum.


    She landed on yet another fake mortal, her foot simply moving through its chest and burying itself into the all-too-soft stone that made up most of the floor. Aperio didn''t mind, she simply spun around, using her wings and other foot to cut down more simulacrums around her.


    A few of them tried to get close, managing to get past her wings and feet only to end up being grabbed by her hands and either thrown or outright crushed. Blood coated the ground but never the All-Mother herself; the only thing different about her was a slight glow beneath her skin as she drew ever more mana into herself.


    Aperio spun again, her wings crushing the simulacrums that tried to swarm her from the sides. She lunged forward, grabbing two of the attackers and introducing their heads to the ground with just enough force to avoid another explosion. That did not stop a crater from forming or for the crunch of their skulls to echo through the fields, however.


    The All-Mother only let another joyous laugh and teleported a few more armies that wandered the floor towards herself. Everyone else got to have fun in her dungeon, now it was her turn.


    Jacob took a step backwards as another ethereal laugh raced through his mind and the amount of attackers surrounding the All-Mother basically tripled.


    "She''s insane," he mumbled to himself, grabbing Ryan''s arm and pulling him back as well.


    The other man didn''t reply, simply staring at the carnage Aperio was creating with nothing more than her arms, legs, and wings. Jacob was sure she was not using any of her powers at the moment, though he could not explain why. It simply lacked the feelings and the visual cues he had come to associate with that.


    The only good thing about all of this was that Aperio would clear the entire floor on her own. In doing so, she would undoubtedly attract more attention, both from people who would worship her as some kind of Goddess and from those who would try their best to somehow control her.How they would do that was beyond Jacob, but neither was that his problem.


    Whoever wished to pit their luck against her... they would be in for a surprise. If Aperio was doing all of this without any of her more fantastical powers, Jacob could only fear for their future. Elder Wu had said that Aperio held little interest in their affairs and would likely leave again, but he could not shake the feeling that someone, at some point, would get close enough to her power that they could simply decide that Earth should be ruled by them. Nobody would be able to stop them.


    The All-Mother could do that now, but had apparently no interest in taking charge. Looking at her, she might just be searching for a good fight as a way to entertain herself. For now, however, all that mattered to Jacob was getting some distance between himself and the growing field of torn limbs and crushed bodies, lest he ¡ª or Ryan ¡ª accidentally end up as one of them.


    "Fuck!" Ryan cursed as a loud crack rang out and the ground trembled beneath their feet.


    When Jacob looked back, he could only see a cloud of dust and debris. A tiny voice in his mind told him the All-Mother had ripped out a chunk of the ground and thrown it. Or something else equally absurd. She had utterly destroyed a good portion of the dirt at her feet, at least. That was certain.


    "Let''s get out of here," Jacob said, trying his best not to think about the smell that was now trying to claw its way to the forefront of his mind. "We''ll know when she kills the final boss of the floor."


    ¡°How can you be so calm?!¡± Ryan half asked, half yelled. ¡°You see a few bodies and puke but this¡­ this monster breaks an entire dungeon floor, and nothing? Did you not see what she did?!¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Jacob, trying his best to keep his voice steady.


    ¡°The fuck even is she?¡± Ryan continued. ¡°She ain¡¯t Human, I can tell you that. Pointy-Eared Goddess Amazon. The fuck kind of power did she get to make this happen?¡±


    ¡°All of it,¡± Jacob mumbled to himself before he let out a laugh.


    He could not help it, even as Ryan gave him a weird look. The title of All-Mother was more accurate than Jacob would¡¯ve ever thought without witnessing Aperio letting go of her restraint. He doubted this was the extent of her powers, especially as he was still convinced she had used nothing but her body''s strength - achieving through it feats that should, by all rights, be impossible.


    Before Ryan could speak again, a gust of wind rushed over them and a moment later, Aperio stood in front of them; somehow seeming even taller than before. She was unmarred, her skin, hair, and dress as pristine as it was when she had first met them on this floor. In one hand, she held a large man that was fruitlessly struggling against her grip.


    ¡°The guardian of this floor,¡± she said with a smile on her face. ¡°Do you wish to try your hand against him? He is quite competent for his level.¡±


    Neither of the two men replied, and after what felt like an eternity, Aperio simply offered a shrug with her shoulders and wings and closed her hand, crushing the man¡¯s head as if she was crumpling a sheet of paper.


    ¡°A shame, it would have been a good learning experience,¡± she said as she smoothed out a nonexistent crease in her dress, highlighting her physique a bit more than Jacob was comfortable with. ¡°Until we meet again, then.¡±


    She offered them another smile and a wave before she disappeared, only leaving behind a few blue-edged black feathers behind that slowly drifted towards the ground.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Ryan asked once more, looking with wide eyes between the mess that had been the floor boss and Jacob.


    Jacob, for his part, simply remained quiet, his gaze fixed on one of the feathers. Despite all he had seen, he still felt like he had to meet the All-Mother again. She had something that he needed, be it powers or answers. One day I will know what it is.


    GamingWolf


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 Manga – Pages 16-20

    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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    The next batch of the manga is done! As usual, it is illustraded by SilvaSphinx and paid for by TRM. The script and characters for it were provided by me (duh).

 Sabbatical – Chapter 232: Opening Move

    "You seemed to have enjoyed yourself," Caethya said as Aperio appeared behind her and wrapped her hands around the Demigoddess'' waist.


    "You watched me?" the All-Mother asked.


    "No," her love replied with a shake of her head. "I can''t really look into the separate floors of the dungeon. The way you set them up is confusing, to say the least. But I don''t need to see, I can feel it. Hard to miss the universe having fun."


    "I see." Aperio then sat down. As tall as she was, her arms still more than reached over to her love in a way that allowed her to remain comfortably standing. "It was indeed enjoyable, even if I was reminded of how pitifully weak Earth is. Despite everything I have done, my body still takes in more mana than Earth can hold at any one time."


    Caethya gave a small laugh and turned around. She looked at Aperio with a smile on her face for a moment before she leaned in and gave her love a kiss. "Your body alone uses more mana than I can reasonably hold within mine, as far as I can tell. And all of that is seemingly only for making it physically stronger."


    "That is not all I do." Aperio tilted her head. "I mainly strengthen my body so that it can contain myself, which is as constantly expanding as my creation. In essence, I am trying to give my traditionally formless self a form."


    Technically, she could just make multiple vessels like her old self had done, but Aperio was against that. There was only one of her, and she would keep it that way. Compared to what she was planning to do with the rest of her creation, it might seem like hypocrisy, but Aperio had no intention of making more than one true body for herself. The other realities that would come to be would simply have to live without her physical presence.


    "Right." Caethya nodded and sat herself down in front of Aperio. "I always forget that your awareness spans all of existence." She smiled again. "I guess that means you are doing a good job of staying in one place."


    "While the two of you are somehow adorable," Eleanor said, "could I ask a question?"


    "Of course," the All-Mother replied, glancing past her love and at the mortal mage. "Ask away."


    "What happens now?" the woman asked. "Are you just going to wait until we beat this dungeon? Will you make more?"


    "In a few moments I will grant the next set of mortals access to the System, and after that there are only a few left that were so far removed from mana itself that I am questioning how they are alive."


    For some of them, Aperio had difficulty even calling them ''alive'' as they were practically chained to a bed, unable to move or even wake from the slumber they were in. She knew none of these mortals, but their current state did not sit quite right with her. Those who were in that state specifically because Earth previously lacked sufficient mana for all the mortals that loved on it were especially of concern to her. You''ll be free soon.


    "You... how bad is the situation for these people?" Eleanor asked.


    The All-Mother tilted her head slightly. ¡°Their bodies cannot function as they lack mana, leaving their minds at the edge of consciousness at all times. All of them, trapped in a slowly withering husk that is only kept alive thanks to the medications your people feed them. Doomed the moment they were born, simply because their Souls came to Earth at the wrong time.¡±


    "Are you telling me that some of the diseases we have no explanation for are caused by a lack of mana? That would explain a few things." Eleanor shook her head before she muttered, ¡°Mana draught, what the fuck.¡±


    "Perhaps." Aperio shrugged at Eleanor before she wrapped a wing around her love. "I know little of what ails your people, nor do I wish to know. I have come to fix a problem that was caused by my absence and make sure it does not happen again."


    "Ah yes, ''multiverse''," Eleanor said as she shook her head. "Gonna be honest, I''m not sure how I feel about you making millions of copies of myself."


    "They already exist," Aperio replied with a wave of her hand that caused countless versions of Earth to appear around her. "They are simply chaotic and not stable. Only this one is constant, the others coming to be at a moment¡¯s notice and vanishing just as fast."


    "More like a shadow of Earth than an actual different version," Caethya said, leaning herself fully against the All-Mother''s wing. "That''s how it looks to me, at least."


    "It is one way of interpreting it," Aperio replied.


    Conveying what she saw to Caethya would already be hard, but she was certain that Eleanor would simply die if she tried to show her what she perceived of Earth and all its versions.


    Aperio balled her hand into a fist, putting enough force into the motion to bend reality a tiny amount before she let go again. Seeing this chaos in her creation made her angry; unreasonably so. She had made reality to work like this ¡ª well, become this way if not supervised by her. Probably not by design, though¡­


    "What I intend to do is merely give my creation more structure and make all its versions a little more relevant." And make you mortals stronger a little bit faster¡­


    Her current idea also involved splitting the Souls of mortals between all the worlds that exist to allow them to gain strength more quickly. Once they were strong enough, she would simply return them all to the state of a single Soul. At that point, they would regain all their memories of their past lives and start a life like the one Moria has. Every death would be remembered, and offer them an opportunity to grow stronger.


    "That doesn''t make it sound any less intimidating," Eleanor said. "Actually, I think I am more worried now."


    "You will not even notice it," the All-Mother said, tilting her head slightly. The projections of Earth she had summoned also vanished, replaced by tiny glowing blue motes as she relaxed a little and let more mana flow from her well. "And neither will anyone else, for that matter. If I had not told you, you would have never known."


    "But I know now, so it does make a difference," Eleanor replied, her voice getting more agitated as if this was some serious issue.


    Try as she might, Aperio could not see why Eleanor was as distraught about this whole thing as she was. All she had said was that she was going to bring order to an already-existing part of her system that was simply not working as it should.


    The mortal would never meet any of the different versions of herself and neither would their existence have any more influence on her world than they currently did. Aperio furrowed her brows as she looked at Eleanor.


    "It will happen ¡ª has to happen ¡ª and it will not influence you for as long as you live," she eventually said. "I am not willing to let my creation languish in disrepair any longer."


    Eleanor looked at Aperio for a moment longer before she got out her book again and began to scribble more notes. This time she was seemingly trying to make sure she wouldn''t forget that other versions of Earth were a thing, as if the All-Mother would take her memories at any moment.


    "Is it really that weird?" Aperio asked Caethya, making sure to not use the English that Eleanor knew. "The whole multiverse thing."


    Her love offered a small shrug. "I don''t think it''s that weird. Especially if it¡¯s already happening and you are just changing it to be a bit more stable."


    "Then why is she so¡­ upset about it all? The only impact it will have on her is more strength in her next life." The All-Mother tilted her head slightly. "This will even allow anyone an attempt at becoming a deity if given enough time. A chance they might never have been able to take if there was only a single version of their Soul inhabiting a solitary instance of a given world."


    "True, but the idea of another you is unsettling. I wouldn''t want another version of me around." Caethya looked at Aperio and gave her a small smile and giggle. "What if you like her more than me?"


    "I doubt I would," Aperio replied, wrapping her wing a little tighter around her love. "They are also not a copy of a person, but their own unique being that simply shares a few core aspects. But it does not apply to you anyway."


    "Any reason why?" Caethya asked, mirroring the head tilt of the All-Mother.


    "Your Soul is too powerful," Aperio replied with a small shrug. "The benefit you would gain from this is so minuscule that it is not worth it. You would also have to die, and I will not let that happen."


    Caethya looked at her for a moment before she tilted her head to the other side. "But the people of Earth don''t have to die for it to work?"


    "That is because Earth already has different Versions. Verenier does not."


    "Everyone did always say that Verenier was special." Her love leaned back a little, looking at the sky. "I guess they had a point."


    "They did." I just need to figure out what exactly makes it so special besides the fact that I used to be on it a lot¡­


    There was another reason lingering at the back of her mind, but for the moment it eluded her grasp. Perhaps she did not actually wish to know at this moment. That was the only idea Aperio could come up as to why she would not be able to recall a moment in perfect clarity.


    "I know that look," Caethya began. "You aren''t quite sure why though, right?"


    "Not entirely, no. Something to investigate further, perhaps."


    The fact that she knew but couldn''t truly remember at the moment did unsettle her, which drove her all the more towards wanting to know. That, of course, did not bring the elusive memory to her grasp. It would appear that a part of her didn''t like the idea of recalling this particular set of events, whatever they were.


    Aperio could probably force herself to remember, but she didn''t want to do that. If it was actually important, she would know. Perhaps a bit of mystery was good for her. After all, she made it a point to not know everything. Being unaware felt nice in a way that the All-Mother could not quite put into words.


    There was a feeling of excitement coupled with the tiniest bit of fear. What could she not know? Truly a mystery for the ages. The answer was, of course, lots of things, but mortals seemingly forgot that again and again. Or don''t want to believe that I am not omniscient. It probably didn''t help that she could be omniscient if she truly wished to be.


    "I assume that is something you will do after we are done with Earth?" Caethya asked, taking the All-Mother from her thoughts.


    "Yes," she replied as she nudged yet a few more mortals from their slumber. Aperio had to fix quite a lot of them by proverbial hand, as the damage they had suffered from lack of mana had been quite substantial. That should not be an issue for them any longer. And should never happen again, either.


    Aperio had long let go of the idea that destroying this version of her creation and beginning from scratch again was the best way. Yes, mortals were selfish, arrogant, and idiots ¡ª even without the influence of equally selfish, arrogant, and idiotic Gods ¡ª but most of them did try to at least better themselves. Something that, in many cases, also helped others. The only thing the All-Mother wished was that more mortals would pursue a path of actual strength now that it was viable for everyone. How anyone could accept being weak was a mystery for her.


    "It will not be much longer before the last mortals here have awakened to their true potential," Aperio said, fixing her gaze on her love. "Once that is done, I plan to investigate a little deeper into how I made reality behave like it does. I am not ready to believe that the current state of alternate realities was intended."


    "Maybe the System tried to do what you are going to do, but failed? It is you, after all. Just not really thinking, unless you direct it to do so." Her love pinched the bridge of her nose. "This entire setup is really headache inducing.


    "I''m together with you, but also the universe I live in, and the System that I use to grow stronger," she continued, giving a small laugh. "If anyone would''ve told me this would happen I would have called them crazy, but here we are."


    "Here we are, indeed," Aperio replied and wrapped her love in a hug of not only her arms and wings but reality itself for good measure.


    After the briefest moment of hesitation, barely enough time for a mortal to form a thought, Aperio leaned in and kissed Caethya. She lingered for a moment as her love''s hands brushed over her cheeks and shifted upwards to trace her ears. The touch made her ears twitch slightly, but she only pulled away once Caethya did too.


    Her love smiled and pulled one hand away, while the other slowly moved down Aperio''s neck ¡ª the touch leaving behind a warm, almost hot, line on her skin ¡ª until she reached her collar bone. Caethya looked at Aperio for a moment longer.


    "Oh my," her love said, leaning back slightly and touching her chest with one hand, the smile still gracing her face. "That was quite wild and decisive of you." Her smile widened a little. "I like it."


    Aperio tilted her head ever-so-slightly before she gave a nod. She could do something like this more often. It had very much been an impulsive action; one she hadn''t been sure was even the right move. It would seem that her doubts were very much unfounded, as her love was practically radiating. It was something Aperio did not fully understand, if she was perfectly honest with herself.


    "I shall endeavour to do this again, then," the All-Mother eventually said as she carefully removed her arms from her love and let her essentially lie on a wing. Reality, too, returned to normal, the fabric of space and time no longer warped to help with Aperio''s musings.


    "Please do," Caethya said, seemingly content to remain on the feathered appendage. "But don''t feel obligated. Do as much or as little as you are comfortable with; I''ll let you know if I don''t like something."


    Aperio gave a nod at the words, most of her attention returning to the various mortals she had yet to fully prepare for their own awakening. Only a little bit more and it would be done. Then she had to fix the other mistakes her old self had left behind.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 233: Broken Chains

    Elder Wu muted his TV as the news anchors went over the slew of prison breaks ¡ª both attempted and successful ¡ª again, shifting his attention to the System notification he had received.


    All mortals have awakened. Do not disappoint.


    "That''s not ominous at all," he mumbled to himself before he let out a long sigh.


    Wu leaned back his chair and simply stared at the ceiling of his office. There had been chaos before, but that had been controllable ¡ª mostly at least ¡ª by the various organisations of the world. Now that everyone had access to the System, that had changed.


    A little while ago, he had gotten the first reports of terminally ill people miraculously improving, but now things seemed to have been taken a step further. In one case, a man that had been quadriplegic for the last fifteen years ¡ª just a little over half his life ¡ª suddenly sprang out of bed and crashed through the next wall. In other cases, people in comas had awoken and immediately displayed magical powers. Strong ones, too. Ones others had had to work years for. Life''s never fair.


    It was obvious that this was the reason Aperio made the dungeon. She had offered everyone that awoke early a quick path to power so they wouldn''t be left behind when the last ones awakened. Elder Wu wouldn''t be surprised if they found some of the All-Mother''s mana inside these people, as she very likely just went and fixed them for reasons he likely wouldn''t be able to comprehend. Perhaps this boon was meant as recompense for the time they had suffered without any way of getting better.


    Elder Wu looked at his phone again and tried to call Merlin once more. He doubted it would work now, as she was probably still in the dungeon trying to gain as many levels as she could. That woman would do almost anything to get stronger. Maybe I should go too¡­


    It had been a while since he had thought about such self-improvement, and even longer since he had actually levelled; and even longer still where had done so with any real efficiency.


    "The joys of the free," Wu mumbled to himself, looking back at the TV. "Good thing we upped our own guards."


    As soon as the Voice of the World ¡ª or the System, as it was predominantly known now ¡ª had become active again, and the council had their encounter with the All-Mother, Elder Wu had at least tripled the guards in any facility that belonged to either the council or him directly. Some of the things they were storing were not for anyone''s hands, but couldn''t be destroyed either.


    Perhaps they could ask ¡ª or failing that, trick ¡ª Aperio into removing a few of those. That way they would have more resources left over for other, much more important things, like setting up a better foothold in other parts of the world now that they had more influence again.


    "But first," Elder Wu mumbled to himself, "I have to help a few old friends."


    A few people had called in favours he had assumed had long been forgotten. Evidently, they had not, and he was a man of his words. A promise had been made, in some cases generations ago, and he would be damned if he didn''t uphold his end of the bargain.


    With an all-too-stereotypical puff of smoke, Elder Wu vanished from his office. Unlike other forms of teleportation, his was only limited by how much mana he had and how well he could remember the places he had already been. As the All-Mother had seemingly made it her mission to drown everyone in mana, the former was not an issue. Not really, anyway. He still wouldn''t be able to move himself to the other side of the world, but that was rarely needed.


    "If it isn''t my favourite Vampire Lord," the voice of a man said from behind Elder Wu. "I honestly didn''t think you would honour the pledge you made so long ago."


    "Paul," Elder Wu said with a slight nod of his head. "Reputation is important if you wish to live a long life. You''ll figure that out in due time yourself."


    The man gave a laugh and waved for the Vampire to follow. "I''m not sold on the idea that these levels will let you live longer just yet. Sure, I have some funky powers now, but that''s about it."


    "For now."


    "If you say so," Paul replied with a shrug and began walking towards the door leading out of the room Elder Wu had arrived in. "For now, we have another Vampire you need to take care of. Whatever gave everyone these powers also caused her to turn fully."


    "I figured," Wu said. "Can''t say I have seen something like this happen before, though."


    "Has something like this happened before?" the other man asked, holding open the door for Elder Wu. "Seems like a once in a lifetime thing. But then, you¡¯ve had quite a bit more than one lifetime."


    "Like this? No," the Vampire replied and stepped through the door. "There were a few times in the past where more mana surged through the world, but it was always short lived and rather pitiful when compared to this."


    "Any idea what caused it? Lydia is usually the one more in touch with all this occult stuff, but well, she is having some blood-thirst issues, so I couldn''t ask."


    "We have a pretty good idea," Wu replied, his eyes taking in every door they walked past. "And we will have Lydia up and about in no time."


    It had been centuries since he had last been in this house, but it still looked the same. It would seem the family liked to keep things unchanged; a fact that didn''t surprise the ancient Vampire, when he considered who had been the head during that time for the longest.


    Mages and Vampires usually didn''t get along, so it was a nice windfall when he had found the D¨²mont family. Sadly Lydia, the current head of the house, had been attacked by a more traditionally-inclined clan of Vampires that lead to her being stuck in a constant fight between her magic and the ever-resilient infection that was vampirism.


    Usually, it wouldn''t be a big deal. The infected would suffer for a few years, but emerge all the stronger for it. The surge in magic the return of the System had brought had seemingly shifted the balance a little, however.


    Luckily for the D¨²mont family, the debt he owed them was rather sizeable. It also helped that they still did business with one another, and neither of them had any interest in selling out.


    "I''ll wait for the report then," Paul said and motioned Elder Wu to go up a flight of stairs. "Wouldn''t want Gary''s work to go to waste."


    "You might have to wait a good while for that one. Verifying what we know is an almost impossible task." Elder Wu paused in front one of the doors that lined the hallway as he could hear a quiet growl coming from within. "Helping Lydia is much easier."


    "I''d warn you that she is quite aggressive at the moment, but I am pretty sure this isn''t your first time doing this."


    "It is not," Wu confirmed. "And I doubt it will be the last, either."


    "I wish I could say it would be," Paul said, "but we both know that the world is only going get more crazy."


    Elder Wu shook his head before he opened the door. "You have no idea."


    ///


    Aperio frowned at the number of people that were praying to her. Apparently her little entrance had convinced quite a few people that she was a Goddess. Funnily enough, the people that actually knew what she was had no intention of praying to her. The reasonable choice. She was beyond the need for faith and other such crutches.


    Of course, she ignored all the prayers directed at her. They would be able to worship the Gods and Goddesses of their own world again soon enough. Now that all the mortals had been given access to the System, the All-Mother needed to take on the task of properly fixing Earth¡¯s weird amalgam of a deity. The only problem here was that she had no real idea on how she should do that.


    She would have to somehow make new Souls for all the different deities, as she wasn''t willing to let all the different personalities languish in the single ¡ª very much inadequate ¡ª Soul it currently had. At the moment, Aperio was reluctant to do anything about it as any time she interacted with a Soul, it grewwould grow stronger in ways she didn''t really intend.


    There had to be a way to do this, however, as the System was making new Souls for mortals and spreading them throughout her creation. It would require a look behind the workings of reality for her to properly figure out how to procure some Souls for the seemingly countless deities of Earth.


    "Would you mind?" Caethya asked, tapping at Aperio''s arm. "Can''t exactly move it out of the way."


    "Of course," Aperio replied as she let go of her love. "I was a little lost in thought. The dynamics of Souls are quite hard to figure out."


    "I can only imagine." The Demigoddess stood up and stretched herself, arching her back enough to have Aperio concerned for the briefest of moments before she turned around and smiled at the All-Mother. "How can sitting in your lap be so refreshing?"


    "Magic?" Aperio wagered as she mentally poked at a section of her System that carried the neat label of ''reincarnation''. "I want for you to be comfortable, and the universe tends to obey my wishes."


    "Fair point," Caethya replied, this time running through a gamut of poses and stretches. "Really does a wonderful job, though!"


    "Going to fight another army?" Eleanor asked, looking up from her scribbles. The mortal still looked a little haggard, but she seemed to have calmed down at least a little.


    "No," Caethya said in English with a shake of her head. "I simply wanted to move a little. As comfortable as it is to sit in Aperio''s lap, I do need some activity from time to time.


    "Plus," the Demigoddess continued, "Aperio is messing with something beyond anyone''s understanding again."


    "Wouldn''t that also be true when she simply sits somewhere and exists?" Eleanor asked. "Her very nature is beyond understanding."


    "I am but a humble Elf of the Primordial variety," Aperio said, spreading her arms and wings and offering Eleanor a smile. "I also happen to enjoy creating things." And fixing my past mistakes¡­


    While she didn''t like that things were broken in the first place, Aperio would be lying if she said that the idea of poking at her creation to figure out what exactly went wrong was boring. It was challenging in a way that nothing else could compare to. Though fights could be fun, they were unlikely to provide her with any real challenge. Figuring out her feelings on just about anything was, but not always in the fun way that poking her System provided.


    "Yes, like making everything," Eleanor replied. "Also, Primordial Elf? Is that actually a thing or do you call yourself that because you are the first being in existence and like being one?"


    Aperio offered a shrug of her wings as she folded her arms in front of her chest. She also tilted her head slightly, a wide smile on her face. "Who knows?"


    She tilted her head to the other side as Caethya stepped up behind her and placed her hands on the All-Mother''s shoulders, running her thumbs up and down. "Would you mind teleporting me back to Riverburg? I would use this opportunity to see how fast I can go on my own, but I think that that would not go over well with the mortals here."


    "Of course," Aperio replied, a portal simply appearing behind her love. "Though I think it would serve some of them well to know that they are not the strongest around. Now that everyone is awakened, a few of them are having funny ideas again."


    "Oh? Perhaps it is my time to appear on the news." Caethya gave a small laugh. "Every good hero needs a sidekick, right?"


    "Maybe?"


    "They always do in the books I got when we first arrived," her love elaborated. "I should see if I have some armour that matches your aesthetic."


    "I could make you some," Aperio said, leaning slightly to look up at Caethya. "They would be much better than anything that cwould possibly be sold anywhere."


    "Perhaps, but I''d like to try on the things I have," her love replied with a smile. "You are more than welcome to accompany me, though. I guarantee you that we would be the best crime fighting duo."


    "That is a given. The mortals here are weak."


    "They''ll get there. It''ll just take a little while." Caethya tapped the All-Mother''s shoulders before taking a step back towards the portal. "You coming or not?"


    Aperio remained seated for a moment before standing up, a touch of her magic removing any of the creases her dress might have had. "I will come. It might be fun."


    "And you will just leave me here?" Elanor asked, looking at the two Elves. "I can''t just teleport places."


    "All you have to do is ask me and I will bring you there," Aperio replied. "A simple prayer will be enough."


    "Oh glorious All-Mother, please bring me home?" the mortal asked in a mocking tone.


    "If you wish to phrase it like that, yes, that will get my attention." Aperio stepped closer to Caethya, erasing the portal she had made from existence as it wasn''t needed anymore. "Or do you wish to leave now?"


    Eleanor''s eyes wandered between the Dragon that still rested at the other side of the roof, her book, and Aperio and Caethya. "I think I will stay for now. Just please ¡ª please ¡ª don''t go too overboard. I would like to have a home to return to."


    "What do you expect me to do?" Aperio asked. "Blow up a city?"


    "I wouldn''t rule it out."


    "I will make sure none of that happens," Caethya said. "All we will do is wander around the world and see what people are doing with their new powers. Should be quite the sight, now that everyone has access to the System."


    Eleanor simply looked at the two of them. Then she let out a sigh and turned back to what she had already written into her book. "Have fun, I guess."


    "I''m sure we will," Caethya replied, taking Aperio''s hand into her own.


    "That is the goal," Aperio said before the two of them vanished, leaving behind a few feathers that slowly dissolved.


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 234: Well That’s Chaos

    GamingWolf


    There is a bit of dialogue in here that might not really make sense to everyone. That is on purpose. The mind is not always rational and sometimes very rambly.


    Aperio held out her arm as a mortal with a bag that was very much not his own tried to run past Caethya and her. Just as expected, the very much stoppable mortal bent around her unmovable arm, letting out a scream as his body broke only to be fixed by the All-Mother just as fast. He let go of his stolen goods in the same motion, Aperio easily catching it with her free hand.


    "That is not yours, now is it?" she asked, shaking her arm slightly so the mortal would fall to the ground. "Just because you are faster than someone else does not mean you can get away with it."


    "Where did you take us?" Caethya asked in the language of their people as she looked at the groaning man on the floor. "Doesn''t look like Riverburg."


    "Near a city further south," the All-Mother replied, carefully placing a foot on the burglar''s back so he could not get back up. "It is called Santa Maria, I believe."


    "Did you pick it because of the name?"


    "Perhaps."


    Her love let out a laugh, trying to stop as soon as another mortal came running towards them, looking very relieved when he saw the man pinned to the ground.


    The All-Mother tilted her head to the side as the mortal hesitated for a brief moment before swallowing and approaching the two of them.


    "I believe this is yours," Aperio said and held out the bag. "No need to be scared, stopping this one was quite easy. Verification that you own this is also unnecessary ¡ª I witnessed him take it from you, after all."


    "Thank you," the man more stammered than said as he took his bag back. He looked at Aperio for a moment longer before his eyes darted to the other man on the floor. "What are you going to do with him?"


    "Either send him to the wilderness, so he can try living off what the land provides, or to the police," the All-Mother replied. "I have not made up my mind quite yet."


    "I vote the dungeon," Caethya said. "Fighting his way through there is a good character building exercise."


    "That is also an option."


    "Dungeon?" the other mortal asked. "Do you mean a prison?"


    "No, we are talking about the dungeon that appeared on Earth." Aperio pointed a wing in the direction of Point Nemo before she froze for the briefest of moments. Forgot to hide them¡­


    "People who awakened earlier were offered to go there a few weeks ago," Caethya continued, giving Aperio a warm smile and patting her arm. "It''s a pretty great place to get some levels."


    "Sure, alright." The man let out a laugh. "Perhaps I should go there too."


    "I can take you there if you like," Aperio offered, holding out her hand. "It will only take a moment."


    "I''m good," the man replied as he took a step back. "No need to teleport me anywhere."


    "As you wish." The All-Mother pulled her hand away and turned to look at the approaching police car. Judging by the amount of people they had in the back, it seemed that it had been a busy day for them. Guess they can take this one too, then.


    Aperio waved at the car ¡ª she had observed the motion being used countless times by now as a method to stop cars ¡ª before she pointed at the still-groaning man beneath her foot.


    The mortal had no reason to complain about anything. When she had healed the damage he had sustained from running into her arm, Aperio had also taken the time to fix some other things she found. Like his many broken teeth. Parts of them had been replaced by some weird, greyish material that she found most unsightly and unsuitable. How could a mortal willingly have part of themselves be replaced with something so weak?


    "It would seem our choice has been made for us," Aperio said as the police car came to a stop next to them. "I doubt they can effectively contain all the people they catch, though."


    "I''m sure they''ll figure out a way," Caethya replied, offering the two officers a smile as they left their car. "We have a thief for you. A runny thief."


    "And why is he on the floor?"


    "He ran into my arm," Aperio replied, smiling slightly at the small wince that ran through both of the newly-arrived mortals. "He found himself to be incapable of moving it." The All-Mother pointed at the other mortal, this time using her hand and not a wing. "This one can tell you more, it was he who was robbed, after all."


    One of the officers walked up to Aperio, and in response she removed her foot from the downed mortal. The ruffian did try to run off as fast as he could, but the All-Mother was a blink faster than his reflexes.


    She let out a sigh, holding the perpetrator by the neck, and simply motioned for the policemen to open the door to the car so she could put the robber inside. "Will you be able to stop him if he tries to run again, or should I just teleport him into a cell at your precinct?"


    "Just put him inside," the man replied, stepping aside to let Aperio pass. "We''ll figure something out to get him to stay. Petty theft won''t get him much, anyway." He regarded the All-Mother for a moment, his eyes lingering on her ears before he shook his head. "Thank you for not being one of them."


    "Them?"


    "The ones that think they can use the powers they got to do what they want," his colleague replied, seemingly done with the bag-owning mortal. "It''s been utter chaos since this floaty window said that ''all mortals have awakened''. It seems as though something was somehow stopping people from doing dumb shit before."


    "I''m pretty sure people still did plenty of ''dumb shit'' then too," Caethya said with a shrug. "But a small percentage is not really noticeable when you compare it to everyone on Earth."


    "Probably," the first officer said, closing the door of the car. "Do you mind if I ask you two a question?"


    "Ask what you please," Aperio replied. "But know that not everything will be graced with an answer."


    "What''s with the ears?" he asked. "And the wings, for you? Did you get them as part of this whole mess?"


    "If you are asking if whatever brought the System here also turned me into a winged Elf, then the answer is yes." Aperio offered a wide smile while Caethya only shrugged. "I am quite fond of the change."


    She stood just a bit taller than usual and flared her wings a little to prove her point. Aperio wished more people would give having wings a try, as they were quite wonderful as body parts went. Even if she had forgotten to...put her feathered appendages away in the first place, she found herself quite glad that she no longer needed to hide them.


    "I''m sure you are," the man said, nodding to his colleague. "If you catch more criminals, please do give us a call. I''m not sure it would go over well with anyone if you actually teleported people into cells."


    His words were followed by a quiet mumbling ¡ª one he probably thought she didn''t hear ¡ª calling her claims into doubt. Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly at the man, but Caethya''s hand gently resting against her stomach stopped the All-Mother from teleporting the man a few steps to the side.


    "We shall see," she eventually replied. "Good day, gentleman."


    With those words, Caethya and Aperio simply vanished, leaving behind a few feathers as she had come to do when mortals were around. Nobody would doubt her abilities in front of her. Not anymore.


    Sure, they would struggle like all mortals did to understand the true extent of what she could do, and that was fine, but she wouldn''t stand for someone claiming that she couldn''t teleport people. Or throw one of their cars. Such trivialities would be proven at her earliest convenience.


    "Can we just stand around in the air here?" Caethya asked, squinting into the distance towards a few of the planes the Humans liked to use. "They might think we want to mess with those."


    "They know that we are here," Aperio replied. "But they also do not seem to care overly much. They have not sent anyone after us yet, quite unlike the groups of mortals flying around the skyscrapers in a few cities." She looked at her love, an eager smile on her face. "Maybe we should join them? It has been too long since I have flown for the fun of it."


    "Sure," her love replied. "But I also want to help a bit with the chaos we have wrought. Seems wrong to just let them struggle when we can quite easily prevent some of the worst things from coming to pass."


    "I do not mind helping a little, but you do have to ask yourself when to draw the line." Aperio offered a small shrug. "It is not beyond my power to solve all the issues they have, but what would be left for them, then? Without knowing struggle, I only did what I fancied; no matter how it might affect anyone else." She looked at the city beneath her, more than a few of the mortals already engaging in less than savoury acts. "But then, they already do not seem to care all that much. A few of them, at least. Mortals are so paradoxical."


    "So," Caethya began, "you are worried that if you take solve their problems, more of them will think that they are entitled to everything and will start to take whatever they wish. Because that is what you did before you lived as a mortal."


    "In essence, yes," Aperio replied. "My past self being like that is not the only reason, however. Most of the gods that were in power after I disappeared acted exactly like this, and so do the mortals that claim even the tiniest fraction of power here on Earth.


    "I fear that without any form of struggle or greater purpose, if you will," the All-Mother continued, "mortals will simply seek a fight with anyone they perceive as weaker to take what they desire. Stopping the few that are doing that now is a noble act, yes, but it will lead mortals to believe that they are either always protected, or that they can do as they please once they have gotten strong enough." Aperio let out a small sigh and moved Caethya and herself further up into the sky to avoid some of the drones the Humans seemed so fond of. "You could say I am conflicted about this whole thing. I am not quite sure what I should think." Or do, for that matter.


    "I noticed," Caethya replied, her words a bit more curt than they would usually be. "I say we go and help a few people, and then you can judge how it goes. Nobody is expecting you to just hand-wave everyone''s problems away and provide for them. All we are going to do is offer them a bit of safety in these times of change."


    "I guess." Aperio looked at her love, trying to figure out why her words had seemingly upset her. "Is my view of things wrong?" she eventually asked.


    "Maybe, maybe not," her love replied with a shrug. "If I am honest, it doesn''t really make sense to me what you are trying to say. The only thing I could gather from it is that you don''t wish to just give the mortals everything they want."


    "Yes. They should struggle and grow stronger. Transcend the limits they are born with."


    Caethya gave a small giggle. "And offer you a good fight?"


    "If some of them can manage to do that, I would be most delighted."


    "I think we should have a bout soon," the Demigoddess said as she squared herself up next to Aperio as best she could. "I doubt there are many people who could give you a challenge, but I might be one of them."


    Aperio knew full well that Caethya would pose no challenge whatsoever, but she still liked the idea of having a friendly fight with her love. There was something unexpectedly appealing in that concept, but it would have to wait until after they''d had their little Earth adventure.


    She also had yet to meet all the races that called this world home, and it was something Aperio wanted to experience before devoting more of herself to stabilising the chaos that was the multiple realities of her creation. Perhaps she would learn something new about herself and the reality she had made. Maybe she would even find a whole new world, one filled with both mortals and deities, that had somehow hidden from all the Gods and Goddesses that had heretofore existed.


    "Where do you want to start our hero act?" Aperio asked, gesturing towards the world below them with a wing.


    "How about a continent we haven''t been to," her love replied and pointed to what looked like a large island on the southern hemisphere of the planet. "Like that one."


    "As you wish," the All-Mother said, a small flex of her mental muscles twisting reality apart to bring them inside the most populated city she could find on the continent. "Australia it is."


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 235: Why Is That Here?

    Aperio tilted her head at the group of mortals flying around one of the many skyscrapers dotted around the city, unsure if they were fighting one another or playing. They did seem to be enjoying themselves, so it couldn''t be that bad.


    "So," Caethya began, her love also tracking the flying mortals, "spotted any crimes in progress?"


    "A few," the All-Mother replied. "But I am much more intrigued by the various beasts they have here." She gestured towards the east with a wing. "They appear to have been affected by the rise in mana as well. Much to the dismay of the local populace, it would seem."


    "Do they need help?"


    "Probably." A wave of her hand split reality apart, creating a tear through which a large, hastily erected fence was visible. "Some of the beasts there do look more than a little threatening."


    At this particular location, the thing seemingly causing the most trouble for the locals was something that stood twice the height of an average mortal, sported glowing red eyes and giant claws, and vaguely resembled a bear. For one reason or another, the System had labelled it a ''Mammoth Dropbear''. Aperio couldn''t claim to know why it would do such a thing. It was big, and looked sort of bearlike, so that was two parts of the name that made sense, but she seriously doubted that something that large would be able to drop on anyone. And even then, it looks more like a giant Koala¡­


    "I say we go and help them out," Caethya said as she began walking towards the portal, doing her best to pull Aperio with her.


    The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before she let herself be dragged along. "Do we pretend to struggle against it, or should I simply punch it?"


    "As much as I would love to see you defeat that thing with a slap, I think we should at least struggle a bit. Maybe get, like, a cut or two."


    Aperio furrowed her brows at the words. "I have to disappoint you. That beast is not strong enough to injure me no matter how hard it tries, and I will not wound myself on its behalf."


    "That''s fine," her love replied as the two of them crossed through the threshold of the tear Aperio had made. "I''ll just act enough for the both of us."


    Reality mended itself behind them without making a sound, and seemingly without alerting the mortals fighting the beasts either. The All-Mother wasn''t really surprised at that, as the weapons the people of Earth used were annoyingly loud for how little effect they had. She would have thought that they''d have figured out quickly enough that the bullets had next to no effect on the Dropbear, but they just kept on shooting.


    Their barrage was joined by the occasional fireball, lightning strike, or other offensive magic, but it all didn''t really seem to phase the monster. That is, not until another mortal carrying a giant hammer appeared in front of the beast and introduced the Dropbear''s head to his weapon.


    "Aww," Caethya mumbled as the monster slumped over with most of its skull caved in. "At least they got some people that are a bit stronger."


    "Not by all that much," Aperio replied, her voice causing quite a few of the mortals to turn and look at them. They couldn''t understand her of course, but as she had not bothered to hold back all that much, the power contained within every word was seemingly enough to get their attention. "You could have erased that monster just by looking at it."


    "Could I?" Her love looked up at Aperio, unbothered by the steadily increasing amount of mortal attention. "I know I could have easily killed it, but just looking at it? Can''t say I have ever done that. How would you even do that?"


    "You simply wish for it to die," the All-Mother replied with a shrug.


    She knew her love was capable of it, even if the Demigoddess herself seemed to not believe that. Caethya could quite literally move the very world they were on if she set her mind to it. Perhaps we should have a fight. She would learn a lot.


    "If another one comes by, I can try," her love replied. "But I somehow doubt that I can do that."


    "You can," Aperio said with a smile. She extended one of her wings slightly, loosely draping it around her love before she turned her attention to the mortals in front of them; the one that had beaten the Dropbear in particular. "But I think we should address our audience for now."


    "Hello," Caethya said, offering the crowd a wave. "We have come to help, but it would seem that the bear problem has been solved already." The Demigoddess stood on her toes for a moment to better look over the crowd and into the distance. "For now, at least."


    "That''s nice and all, but where did you two come from?" the Dropbear-defeating mortal asked. "I''m pretty sure I would have noticed you when I came here."


    "We did just arrive here," Aperio replied, a small smirk spreading across her face as the man tensed up. "And it is entirely reasonable to not notice the portal I made. I did not want it to be noticed, after all."


    "Are you the same lady that was on the TV a few weeks ago?" an elderly man asked, his voice hoarse enough that the All-Mother considered fixing it for the briefest of moments. "The one from the United States."


    "That was me yes, but I am not from there," she replied with a small nod and a slight twitch of her ears. "Is that of any significance?"


    "Only in so far that it means your teleportation thing doesn''t care about distance," the Dropbear slayer said.


    "I can only teleport to places I have seen before," Aperio said with a small shrug. That she could see everything was left unsaid.


    Before anyone else could speak, the All-Mother pointed towards an approaching group of monsters with her free wing. "It would seem there are more beasts to fight."


    There were quite a few beasts the All-Mother found intriguing here. They were certainly more appealing than dealing with the group of mortals that was beginning to look entirely too eager to pepper her with annoying questions or begin to worship her as the Goddess she actually was.


    She could see a few more Mammoth Dropbears, but those were the most boring part. What really held her interest was an animal that only moved in large hops and seemed to have blades made of bones for arms. Quite the weird evolution. Hands are much more practical.


    The bulk of the approaching opponents, however, were a variety of oversized snakes and spiders that the All-Mother found to be displeasing to look at, as well as some more dogs. The System seemed to love making dog-like monsters for mortals to fight. Perhaps she had some unconscious gripe with the fact that most mortals got along so well with their fluffy companions.


    The other evolution that stood out in the pack to the All-Mother came in the form of birds flying above. They weren''t any larger than their regular variants, and didn''t look more dangerous than usual, but Aperio could feel the mana flowing through their little bodies. Those birds were up to something, and it likely wouldn''t be pleasant for the mortals.


    All in all, Aperio did not quite understand why any of these animals would have chosen to evolve in this way, but she did not really expect monsters to make smart decisions when the System offered them power. If she was honest with herself, she had also not really considered how the return of magic would influence the non-sapient life on the planet. Animals and plants existed on Verenier just fine without descending into System-assisted monster territory, so she had simply assumed the same would be true for Earth. Perhaps that had been a bit naive.


    "I''m going to fight that Kangaroo Predator," Caethya said with a bit more enthusiasm than Aperio would have expected. "Swords for arms is something I''ll have to try for myself."


    The All-Mother raised a brow at her love''s words but didn''t comment on it. Instead, she removed her wing from Caethya and took a step towards the approaching hoard of monsters. She had found her target as well. And it appeared out of nowhere too¡­ Most intriguing.


    Caethya followed Aperio''s gaze, her eyes slightly widening as they landed on what looked like a misshapen attempt at making a Dragon. It towered over the other monsters, easily taller than many of the buildings in the city behind them.


    What it lacked in looks, however, it seemingly made up in power as her [Identify] told her the ''Desert Dweller'' was at level eight-hundred. Much higher than she would have thought any beast on Earth to be. There was also something else about it that she couldn''t quite place. A small¡­ anomaly, for lack of a better term, that floated nearby. Aperio will take care of it. Whatever it is.


    Her love might appear grumpy and unapproachable to some, but Caethya knew better. Aperio was a person just like anyone else. She had wants and desires, dislikes, and an unreasonable amount of self-doubt. That had gotten better lately, but there was a long way to go before her love realised just how amazing she actually was. One step at a time, though.


    Caethya had felt a similar way about herself for a good long while too, and she did not have to deal with the knowledge that her will was quite literally the law of the universe, nor did she live the life of a slave for what she wagered was easily over twenty-five years. Guessing how old Aperio was was a futile thing, but the Demigoddess liked to default to however old her love was when she returned to her Godly self. Otherwise I would have to go with ''older than all of existence'' and that just seems odd.


    "That one is all yours," she said in the language of their people, smiling slightly as Aperio balled a hand into a fist and Caethya felt herself be pulled towards it for the briefest of moments. "But maybe don''t create gravitational anomalies by clenching your hand."


    "I am annoyed at my lack of foresight," Aperio replied. "I should have seen something like this coming." Her love let out a long sigh and shook her head. "I guess I will have to look all over and nudge them away for now. The last wave of mortals to get the System is strong, but they are not ready for this."


    "But that one you will fight?" Caethya asked.


    "Yes."


    "Remember to struggle a bit."


    The Demigoddess had to do her best to suppress the giggle that wanted to come out at seeing Aperio''s face. Her love really did not like pretending to be weaker than she was, and the slight annoyance that was so clearly written on her face was adorable as far as Caethya was concerned.


    "I will not fake wounds," Aperio said. "They can simply believe I have supernatural regeneration."


    "I mean, you do. It''s just that you never need it unless you injure yourself." Caethya ran her hand over Aperio''s arm in hopes that her touch would be calming. "Just try to enjoy yourself a bit. The mortals here are more crafty than you think, they''ll figure out ways to defend themselves."


    "Perhaps," the All-Mother replied, the flecks of silver in her eyes somehow glowing as she looked at Caethya. "But it is still my responsibility to give them an adequate challenge, not doom them to death. They might get to live again and again, but for now they will not be able to remember their past lives." Aperio looked back at the approaching monsters. "It does not help that the different versions of this world all share this newfound problem¡­"


    "I''m sorry for interrupting," the man that had managed to kill the lone Mammoth Dropbear began, "but would either of you happen to have a plan on how to deal with that overgrown lizard?"


    "Aperio will take care of it," Caethya said, a smile playing across her face despite her best efforts to hide it. "You don''t have to worry about a thing."


    "I will deal with the Desert Dweller," her love confirmed. "You may busy yourself with the other beasts. I would offer you a word of warning, but I am sure you are quite aware of how dangerous many of these monsters are to you."


    "I am," the man replied. "Though I would argue that they are less dangerous now than they were before. Poison resistance is very helpful."


    "You say that like we weren''t resistant to that shit before," the elderly man said with a laugh that quickly turned into a cough. "We lived here without these powers or even electricity. We''ll be fine."


    "People also lived in caves with sticks and stones and were fine," Aperio said. "That does not mean that it was an easy life, however."


    ¡°A life¡¯s a life,¡± the man replied with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯d rather have a bad one than none at all.¡±


    Caethya could feel the air around them grow still and cold. She stepped up next to her love, placing her hand in the small of Aperio¡¯s back and trying to mentally whisper a few words of reassurance. She knew that the All-Mother would not do anything to the mortal, but there was always the chance that she might loosen her grip on her power a little too much for a brief moment. That could easily kill a mortal, and Caethya knew that her love would not forgive herself for that.


    ¡°You should not speak on matters you know nothing about,¡± Aperio eventually said, a bit of her mana flowing around Caethya for a moment before her love wrapped a wing around the Demigoddess and took her hand into her own. ¡°You may think of yourself as old and wise, but you are not.¡±


    The All-Mother did not speak further, instead offering a deluge of emotions that flooded Caethya¡¯s mind as soon as she allowed it. There was anger and confusion at her oversight. Annoyance at the mortal and his view on life was also present, as well as a peculiar note of calm that the Demigoddess herself could not quite place. Perhaps that was how Aperio felt about her, because Caethya was certain that the measure of calm the All-Mother carried with her stemmed from none other than her feelings of love.


    With a gentle squeeze of her hand and a slight rustle of her wings, Aperio vanished from Caethya¡¯s side. The warmth of her love was replaced with a stiff breeze and the roar of an angry beast that was about to face its maker.


    GamingWolf


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 Manga – Pages 21-25

    The next batch of the manga is done! As usual, it is illustrated by SilvaSphinx and paid for by TRM. The script and characters for it were provided by me (duh).


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 236: Taking Names

    William squinted at the empty air that had moments before been occupied by the Elven Amazon. Something about her felt¡­ off. Almost like she was a monster he was supposed to fear. He refused to do that, though.


    The two women here weren''t the only ones that had changed races after awakening to their powers. William himself had been offered the chance to become something different just before movement returned to his limbs and the fog that had clouded his mind for over a decade had vanished.


    He hadn''t stayed to let the doctors figure out what happened. He wanted to leave and just a moment later he found himself floating, of all things, outside the window of his Hospital room.


    "Well, I will take care of those Dropbears," the other Elven woman said, taking William from his thoughts. "And don''t worry about Aperio, she can take of herself just fine."


    "I''m more worried about her reaction," William mumbled.


    "Touchy subject," the woman said with a shrug. "She has been through a lot. But you also don''t have to worry about that. She might be angry, but she won''t go against anyone for this."


    "I sure hope so, stopping her seems like it''s gonna be hard."


    The Elf gave a small laugh at that and shook her head. "If she doesn''t want to be stopped, she won''t."


    As if to underline the statement, William heard a loud crack echo through the relatively open space. When he turned to look what had caused it, he saw the overgrown lizard fall towards the ground with a black-winged dot standing on its head. Did she just kick it?


    His eyes weren''t good enough to make out much detail, but he was sure the black wings he could see belonged to the muscle-bound Elf as nothing else he could think of would have a wingspan of that size, let alone be willing to square up against what was basically a Dragon.


    "Time to punch some Dropbears," the other Elf said, clapped her hands together, and began skipping towards the monsters. If William''s ears did not deceive him, he could also swear she was humming an all-too-happy-sounding tune.


    He did not follow the woman, instead standing back with the other people that had come to defend their city and not loot it like so many others. The police tried to stop some, but as it turned out, people were a lot less willing to listen to you if you could just fly away or walk through the next wall. Not like I did anything else.


    When he had gotten his powers and awoken, the first thing he wanted was to leave, so he did. That''s also when William figured out he could fly. Otherwise, standing on nothing next to his window on the tenth floor would''ve ended badly. Teleporting was nice, but he had not quite figured out how to go where he wanted when he couldn''t see the target.


    Transporting himself in front of a Dropbear to end it was easy enough; teleporting himself back to the city on the other hand¡­ He would probably end up inside a building, and William was quite sure the concrete would win that particular fight. Can''t all be invincible Elves, apparently.


    Whatever powers this ''Aperio'' had received were quite extraordinary to say the least. She could teleport, presumably fly, was seemingly strong ¡ª and sturdy ¡ª enough to just kick a maybe-dragon in the head once, knock it out, and take the force of the landing like it was nothing.


    His thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud stemming from a Dropbear that had seemingly just fallen over and died. In front of the corpse stood the Elven woman whose name he still didn''t know with her hands on her hips, mumbling something to herself he couldn''t hear.


    A moment later she shrugged and waved her hand, causing the ground beneath another of the monsters to open up and swallow it whole. Seemingly not content with her display thus far, multiple shards of some kind of metal suddenly appeared floating in the air next to her.


    Not to be outdone, William teleported himself next to the nearest Dropbear with his hammer in hand. It was only right that the weapon the first of these creatures had dropped was the one he would use to dispatch the rest of them. It might not be the most appropriate weapon for the job, technically speaking, but it was capable of handily taking care of level fifty monsters. Even level one hundred monsters were no match for it. A large part of that was probably his own level, but he didn''t mind that. He liked the hammer, and the System was already giving him some bonuses for using it. How that worked was a mystery to him, but being able to use the weapon more effectively every time the skill gained a level was a welcome surprise.


    Maybe he could ask the two Elves about the System, as it seemed to have changed them a lot more than it changed him. Not that it didn''t try¡­ William could only imagine the new wave of chaos that would ensue when more people accepted the offer to change into a different species. It was already hard enough with just Humans.


    He shook his head as the Dropbear swiped at him, easily dodging the sluggish motion before responding in kind. The only difference was that his hammer struck true and threw the large monster off balance, causing it to fall over and smash into a few other monsters that were trying their best to get into the city.


    Just another day, he thought to himself as he dove down towards the Dropbear. A day like any other.


    Aperio drove her foot through the skull of the Desert Dweller, ending whatever life had remained in it in an instant. It had been pretty dead before, but she wanted to make sure ¡ª and show at least a bit of mercy to the beast. Having her full weight land on its head could not have been pleasant.


    A moment later, she appeared a few steps to her left and grabbed the small flying creature that had tried to hide itself from view the entire fight out of the air. She had sensed it quite a while ago as its feeble attempts to remain unseen had been useless from the get go. Nothing could hide from her if she did not permit it.


    The being looked like a tiny Elf at a glance, but on a slightly closer inspection it was only the ears that looked similar. This creature, unlike Elves, had four arms, six eyes, and no mouth that she could see. It also had four insect-like wings sprouting from its back that struggled to move in her hand.


    "I guess you are the one responsible for bringing that here?" Aperio asked, squinting at the tiny creature. "Why?"


    "Fun!" The voice resounded in her mind; a tiny whisper, as whatever magic it used to communicate was drowned out by Aperio''s mere existence. "Test mortals!"


    It remained quiet for a moment before it renewed its struggle. "Vengeance! Retribution."


    "And what have these mortals done that would beget vengeance like this?" the All-Mother asked. "I am fairly certain that they have not done anything that would justify rousing this beast."


    Aperio poked the tiny being, making sure to not accidentally injure it. "What even are you? A Fae?"


    "Yes! Fae!" the small winged being replied as it redoubled its effort to break free, this time also trying various forms of magic. Of course, none of them worked.


    And they thought Caethya and I were these? The All-Mother shook her head and let go of the Fae, a minuscule part of her mind making sure that it would not escape. "You should expand your vocabulary. These single word responses are most tiresome."


    "Trying," the Fae replied, shrugging with one pair of arms while it folded the other in front of its chest. "Magic too much. Telepathy¡­ hard."


    "Are you saying I have too much mana?" the All-Mother asked as she drove her hand into the Desert Dweller''s chest to retrieve the crystal she had sensed. "There is not much I can do about that." Well, willing to do about it.


    "Name?" the being asked, its many eyes fixed on the gleaming crystal Aperio had just procured.


    "Aperio," she replied.


    She tilted her head as she felt the world''s mana shift and try to pull at something inside her for a moment before it seemingly realised that that was a stupid idea. The All-Mother fixed her gaze onto the Fae and raised a brow.


    "Would you like to explain what you tried to do?" Aperio cocked her head to the other side. "And you can save yourself the trouble. None of your feeble magic will work on me. If you wish to try anyway, you are more than welcome to, but know that it will only serve to annoy me."


    The Fae did not reply, seemingly quite confused that whatever it had tried to do did not work. That was fine with Aperio; the tiny creature could ponder her nature all it wanted. Perhaps it would even figure something out about her that she herself had not known. Wouldn''t be the first time that happened.


    "You could also start by giving your own name," the All-Mother said before she kicked off of the ground, the Fae still firmly held by her magic.


    Aperio spread her wings after a moment, keeping herself aloft with lazy flaps. She looked at the monsters below her, some feeding on the corpse she had made while others rushed past to get to the Humans blocking the most obvious route into the city.


    Unlike Verenier, the cities on Earth generally lacked walls or other fortifications, making them easy targets for monsters. This particular one had a wide street leading straight towards the centre, the route seemingly quite inviting for the various creatures. Or they are attracted to the mortals there.


    In the end, it mattered little. Magic was back on Earth and the creatures that called this worlds its home would use it just like the mortals would. She just had to make sure that some of the stronger beasts ignored the people a bit longer so they could figure out how to live in a world now governed by a force that many believed to be fiction for most of their lives..


    "Teg," the Fae finally said, squinting at Aperio with all six of its eyes. "Name is Teg," it repeated, seemingly waiting for something to happen.


    "Well, Teg, I would suggest you wait a little while longer before you try to send another Dragon after the mortals." The All-Mother gestured towards the city below them. "They are doing a good job punishing themselves."


    The Fae crossed all of its arms in front of its chest and huffed. "Humans dumb. Kill us. Capture us. We hide."


    "That seems to be a trend with mortals, yes. One I hope they can rid themselves of, otherwise I will have to consider more drastic measures after all." She let out a long sigh. "I will have to deny your revenge for a while longer, even if you deem it unjust. I wish to give the mortals a chance to change their ways. Give every single one of them a fair shot at growing strong.


    "That goes for you and your people too," Aperio continued, moving the Fae in front of her face. "You have undoubtedly noticed the renewed flow of mana through this world." She carefully poked the small being as it continued to pout at her. "I am sure you can use that to stake a claim for yourself."


    Teg glared at her for a moment longer before they spoke again. "You brought mana?"


    "I made it, but it is the same to you I suppose."


    The Fae''s eyes blinked one after another as it regarded the All-Mother, this time seemingly trying to find some kind of hint for something. "Spirit?" it finally asked, a slight sheen visible in its eyes.


    "Am I a spirit? No." Aperio tilted her head slightly to the side. "At least I do not think I am. I would argue that I am all too solid to be one. I am simply me, nothing more, nothing less."


    "You are what?" Teg asked. "Not Fae. Not Human. Not Elf. Not of Earth. Must be Spirit."


    "If you wish to call me that, you may," Aperio replied. "It is not more or less accurate than Goddess, I suppose. I would prefer you call me by name, however. I kept it for a reason. Or All-Mother, if you must be formal."


    "Primordial?" it asked, perhaps having inspected her. Teg hesitated for a moment, its wings twitching ever-so-slightly. "Singular being? Like Fae? No mirror?"


    Aperio pinched the bridge of her nose at the continued questions. She had wanted to kill some monsters, not puzzle over the partial sentences of a tiny and confusing Fae. "What do you mean by ''singular being''?"


    "Many mirror worlds. Only one Teg, only one you."


    "Yes, there is only one of me. Always has been, always will be." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But how do you know of the different versions of my creation? And why are you unique in all of them?"


    Teg simply shrugged. "All Fae unique. Escaped between reflections. No Humans."


    Aperio simply looked at the small being for a moment before she reached out to Caethya, informing her love that she would be away for bit. Once I¡¯ve found where they hide, that is.


    "I think I will have to pay your kind a visit."


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating and vote, it helps a lot!


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 Manga – Pages 26-30

    The next batch of the manga is done! As usual, it is illustrated by SilvaSphinx and paid for by TRM. The script and characters for it were provided by me (duh).


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating. If you really like it, please write a review!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 237: A Home Between Realities

    On a more serious note, I have once again entered the final stretch of a semester, so things will be hectic for a bit. Perhaps less so than usual though, as I was able to finish my computer graphics (it''s just maths in disguise, don''t be fooled!) course early. I''ll try to keep things on time, but uni might disagree with my plans.


    "Visit?" Teg asked, its six eyes blinking in rapid succession. "Not Fae cannot enter."


    "I can go where I please," Aperio replied as a slight flex of her mental muscles tore the fabric of reality apart and brought herself and her newly acquired tiny companion into her Void. "It will take a moment to find it however, as I doubt you would want to go there while I observe you, and you likely cannot give me an accurate description of the place."


    "Spirit strong, but spirit not Fae," Teg said. "Only Fae enter ¨¢lfheimr."


    The All-Mother ignored the tiny being and simply looked past the reality everyone else lived in. Finding this ''¨¢lfheimr'' would require her to tap into more of her perception than she usually liked, but it was for a good reason this time.


    Aperio took a deep breath of the nothing that filled her Void as she let herself see each and every reflection of Earth in perfect clarity. Seeing the many versions of the various mortals she had met before go about their days again and again was a weird sight to behold; doubly so because new copies of reality came into being with every passing moment while others simply vanished. So far, she had not been able to see any specific reason as to why a new reality was made or destroyed. They simply came to be, then started to drift away from the main instance ¡ª the one she had been to ¡ª before they vanished again. Perhaps because the actions taken by the mortals get too different from the main one?


    It was something she would have to investigate. Figuring out how these varying realities came to be and how they were destroyed was rather important for her plans, but it didn''t matter that much at the moment. What she was trying to find was something that sat between all these worlds.


    Aperio sat herself down on the nothing of her Void, crossing her legs and spreading her wings. She closed her eyes and, for the first time in quite a while, truly focused on Earth and its copies.


    Teg was seemingly frozen in place as she observed the flow of mana throughout her creation. How it streamed away from the sun to bring life to the otherwise unyielding vacuum of space, and how it came from the very core of Earth itself to nourish the land and the creatures that lived upon it. Aperio also saw how the mana split just before it would be made real in the realm Earth called home and went slightly off course.


    Each of these small strands that missed their target were chased by another tendril of mana that, once it had reached the rogue energy, caused them to flare to life and create an entire version of the world it should have given itself to.


    While the movements of these tendrils seemed at first to be mostly random, what stood out to Aperio was the fact that many of the tendrils that did the chasing intersected, passing through a single point that sat in the miniscule not-space existing between her own well of mana and Earth itself.


    "How interesting," she said, loosening her grasp on reality and her own senses just enough for the material world to move at an appreciable speed. "Your kind would not happen to be trying to make new realities that are better suited for them?"


    "Make reflection?" Teg asked and tilted its small head.


    Aperio gave a nod.


    "Cannot," it replied. "Fae visit reflection. Fae not make reflection."


    "We shall see," the All-Mother replied as she reached for the seeming catalyst of Earth¡¯s many variants.


    The tiny section of space outside of physical reality was easy enough to grasp, a simple thought all Aperio needed. What was not as easy was understanding how this maybe-world was structured. It did not follow the same rules Verenier or Earth did. There was only a single plane ¡ª not a world, per se, as there was no galaxy, no stars, no planets. Just a vast flat expanse, filled with warped forests and boundless fields. It did have a lot of tiny beings scattered over its surface, however, so she was definitely looking in the right place.


    The only thing that made her hesitate was the fact that Teg looked quite a bit different than most of the presumed Fae she could see there. A few of them had more than two arms ¡ª a few even sporting more legs ¡ª but basically none of them had six eyes and no mouth. But Teg did say that all Fae are unique¡­


    Aperio simply shrugged, a small flex of her mental muscles breaking reality apart and transporting herself and her Fae companion into what she assumed was their home.


    "Did I pick the right place?" she asked, spreading her wings slightly as she looked around at the many floating beings that tried to hide themselves with their magic. "Certainly seems so."


    "Yes," Teg replied, crossing all four arms in front of its chest. "Was not supposed to come. Should not be possible."


    "You will learn that I can do what I please," Aperio said. "Coming here also improved your speech, which is an unexpected but most welcome boon."


    "More mana to use. Make easier to get past dense you." Two of its four hands covered its small face before it dragged them down. Its chest puffed out for a bit, as if it took a deep breath, before it spoke again. "Make easier to get past your dense mana."


    "Perhaps you should simply get a bit stronger. Even the mortals of Earth had no issue with my mana." She let her eyes wander across the Fae present, letting the System inform her of their levels. "You certainly are a bit below the average."


    Teg was in the low two hundreds, while most of the Fae present boasted levels of around four hundred. Perhaps Teg was a young Fae? It would certainly explain why its first action was to wake a being like the Desert Dweller.


    Aperio turned to the various other Fae, offering them a wave and a spread of wings. "Greetings," she said, folding her extra appendages behind her back again. "I did not expect to find an entire realm hidden in my creation. It is quite impressive."


    "Your creation?" one of the many Fae asked, its voice remarkably deep for its tiny frame.


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "You may believe me or not, it does not change the truth."


    "Why are you here?" the same Fae asked.


    The All-Mother offered a shrug of her arms and wings. "I encountered this one¡± ¡ªshe pointed at Teg¡ª ¡°and they mentioned that your kind lives between the various versions of Earth. I found the concept most interesting and wished to see it for myself." And I want to know why the mortals thought I was a Fae.


    All the examples of Fae she could see around her were fragile, small things. Essentially, they were the opposite of herself, and she had a hard time seeing how anyone could think she was one of them. Probably means that they have never actually seen a Fae. If they truly all hid here most of the time, it was no surprise that the mortals of Earth had no idea what the tiny beings looked like. And even if they left, all of them were actively trying to hide themselves; it simply did not work on Aperio.


    "I have not come to destroy this realm, if that is what you think," Aperio said, raising a brow as the Fae that had talked to her glared at Teg. "It might be moved as I work to stabilise all the reflections into a more cohesive whole, but you should still be able to move between them as you please." She smiled slightly. "Punishing someone for advancing their understanding of magic and making an entire realm to live in is not what I wish to do."


    The only thing Aperio was a little wary of was the fact that it seemed like the different versions of Earth only existed because the mana required had to flow through this realm. It also lined up with what Teg had said about the Fae not really liking Humans. She didn''t know for certain why they felt that way, but the All-Mother could think of more than a few reasons to explain the behaviour of the tiny beings. The most obvious thing would be the fact that the Fae seemed to prefer their forests to possess at least a little mana, something that Earth was certainly lacking before she showed up to change things. The planet hadn''t been entirely manaless, but given the extent to which the Fae needed mana, it might as well have been. They probably also do not like cities¡­ That was a sentiment she shared. They were far too noisy.


    The shoulders of the Fae that had talked to her slumped a little, the motion happening just moments before another Fae moved, disappearing from what Aperio could only describe as a castle sitting at the heart of their forest and reappearing in front of her.


    Compared to any of the other ones around, this Fae was quite strong. Powerful enough that it should easily beat Adam and at least last a few moments against her love. It also looked like a king or queen with its flower crown, staff, and long cape.


    It looked her up and down, Aperio tilting her head slightly in response. She did not mind that it tried to gauge her strength, but it should be obvious to anyone present that she could do what she wished. I even told them that they live in my creation¡­ How much more obvious could she be?


    "My name is Oberon," it finally said. "Who are you and why do you wear the guise of an Elf when you are not one? Know that it does not curry our favour despite our intertwined ancestry."


    Aperio raised a brow at the words. "This is very much not a guise. It is who I am, though you may be forgiven for thinking that I am related to the Elves you know. I am not.


    "As for who I am¡­ My name is Aperio," she continued. "But I doubt you know me by that name. All-Mother might be a title remembered here, but I am also not sure about that. The people of Earth like to make up many names and titles, and I do not care enough to figure out which ones are meant for me."


    Oberon tapped its chin, the flowery crown it wore shifting from the greens it had shown to reds and browns. Almost like it¡¯s going through the seasons, Aperio mused as she waited for the Fae to reply.


    "There are mentions of a being that fits your self-description," Oberon finally said. "But how can we be sure you are what you claim to be?"


    Aperio simply spread her arms and wings and let her aura run a bit wild. Seeing every minute detail of what made up the Fae, the grass, the trees ¡ª everything ¡ª was an unfortunate side effect of not restraining herself as much as she usually did. It was, however, a good way to show her true self, even if it was nothing more than a minuscule fraction of her actual power.


    It seemed to do the trick, however, as many Fae simply fell to the ground, seemingly overwhelmed with the mana that rolled off of her. The rest of the realm reacted in a vastly different manner. The grass surrounding her took on a blue hue which sparkled with a silver sheen when the light caught it just right. The trees, too, had a change of colour, and grew taller as they greedily took in the mana Aperio provided.


    "You know that I speak the truth," she said, letting her voice echo through the realm of the Fae. Why do they always need a demonstration? Luckily, Aperio did not mind. In fact, she quite enjoyed the few times she got to show off.


    Aperio clapped her hands together and folded her wings behind her back. Her aura also subsided, restrained to its usual level as she did not want to cause unnecessary harm to any of the Fae present.


    She was a little annoyed that she had to show them what she was in this way, but it perhaps also meant that her attempts at blending in were actually bearing some fruit. Not that she understood how. She was still a giant Elf that exuded more mana than basically any mortal would ever see in their entire life. Not going to question it.


    "Why have you returned?" Oberon asked, not a shred of awe or reverence to be found. "Our people were forsaken by creation long ago and the world was left to the Humans and their madness. They do not know how to care for the world they were given; how to bring a balance to all its people."


    "I have left this world alone, yes," Aperio said without bothering to hide her annoyance. "But I did not abandon it. Had I done that, I would not be here now. It would no longer exist." She shook her head and let out a sigh. "I had hoped I could learn from your people, but it would seem you are no different from the other mortals you so detest."


    Teg had been angry, perhaps rightfully so, but meeting this gaudy Fae that seemingly fashioned itself the ruler of their kind had changed her view of the situation. They were just as angry at everything as the other mortals she had found. The only difference was that the Fae actually had ¡ª at one point, at least ¡ª the means to enact their wishes.


    They still had it, or so it would seem to Aperio, given what she had found below the castle at the centre of the realm. At first glance, the knot of mana looked no different than the ley line conjunctions she had seen on Earth, but a closer inspection revealed something far more interesting. It was not directing the mana of this realm, but that which passed through it on its journey towards Earth.


    It was exactly what she had expected to find, and also hopefully the clue that would help her understand how to make the multiverse she had planned a reality without having to dissect her creation to figure it out.


    I will have to punish them for this, won''t I? Aperio thought to herself as she glared at Oberon. Why can''t mortals just be nice for once?


    "I will have a look at the realm your kind has created nonetheless," Aperio said, her next words coming from empty space as she had simply disappeared. "Your permission is not required."


    GamingWolf


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 238: Digging Deeper

    GamingWolf


    Did someone order more weird talk about how reality functions? No? Damn, I have some here. Maybe you wanted some insight into the rather funky ways the All-Mother works?


    Aperio tilted her head at the mess of golden and silver rings that lazily spun around in a pulsing orange light. The metal constructs passed through one another whenever they should have collided; each of the intersections was marked by a beat of the light in the centre of the contraption.


    The steady rhythm of the machine was also in tune with the ebb and flow of mana that made its way through this realm on its way to Earth. One positive note Aperio had about the construct was that looking at it did not immediately make her angry and want to rip it apart. As far as she could tell, it was actually doing a decent job directing the mana that flowed through it; a feat she wished more mortals would be able to reproduce.


    A gentle touch stopped one of the rings. It fought against the finger that held it in place but did not manage to move it an inch. Aperio tilted her head as she looked at that part of the construct in a little more detail. The first thing that stood out was that that particular part was very much not made from metal like she had at first assumed; at least not in a way she knew mortals could produce. In fact, its structure looked quite a lot like the armour that adorned her dress. A little too similar¡­


    An errant thought blocked Oberon''s attempt to teleport back to their castle. They would not be able to stop her, but Aperio could do without having annoying Fae-Royalty rambling directly into her ears. She could still hear the Fae as it was, but filtering out those distant sounds was much easier. Aperio''s ears twitched in annoyance. Perfect hearing had its downsides sometimes, however she still would not give it up. Her hope was that once the average strength of mortals had risen a bit, they would figure out that not everything had to be obnoxiously loud. For now, however, that was not important.


    The All-Mother tilted her head as a pulse of mana flowed out from the device, trying to move her entire person a few steps away. Of course, that also did not work, but the contraption itself seemed to have noticed that she was not quite a mortal as it abruptly stopped; the light at its centre dimming and the mana that had flowed through it allowed to run free.


    Aperio corrected that mistake with a thought and an unneeded wave of her hand. While the realm of the Fae might be able to handle the mana, it was much more needed on Earth itself. Cutting the freshly connected world back off was not a good idea, especially since the mortals that called it their home needed it to defend themselves against the monsters that were currently striving to rearrange the order of the food chain. Evolving a new Class cost quite a bit of mana, and the All-Mother wanted the mortals of Earth to become more than the frail beings they currently were.


    She stepped closer as the light at the heart of the machine winked out, revealing a small dark blue stone that was framed by blue-edged, black feathered wings. Just like her own.


    "They didn''t make this," Aperio mumbled to herself, dropping her usual formality in face of what had to be something of her own design. "But why?"


    Had she intended to create a multiverse like she was planning on now? It was certainly possible, but if that was the case then why did she effectively kill herself before the task was done? Aperio''s brows knitted themselves together as a wave of her hand caused the winged stone to appear in her grasp.


    It became quickly apparent that the small trinket was empty, utterly devoid of mana despite the fact that it had been the central point of a contraption channelling vast oceans of it into the myriad versions of Earth. A focus, then? Perhaps a key?


    She turned the stone in her hand, letting a few drops of her mana flow into it. Nothing she made should be this devoid of the very energy that gave all of creation life. This piece of her creation should very much not be this empty; she knew that.


    Her mana flowed inside even more easily than it did with most anything, the small stone almost greedily taking it in. Of course, that was not really what was happening as the thing was not alive, but Aperio could still feel a little something hiding within. One that reminded her a little too much of the countless memories she had retrieved from the crystal shards that had been strewn all over Verenier.


    She had gotten the knowledge from those ¡ª not fully understood or incorporated, but retrieved nonetheless ¡ª but her memory had still been incomplete afterwards. Distant would be a better term¡­


    The memories were there and Aperio had no doubt that if she sat down for a few decades, they would all be hers, but she did not really want that. A single memory, Aperio might retrieve this way, but not all. She had no desire to become what she had once been. Before, she had been cruel. She still was, perhaps, but she at least understood the suffering some mortals went through. How they treated their kin.


    With a mental ''click'', a new memory fell into place in the ever-expanding tapestry of her life. Just like her power, it was continuously growing, uncovering old knowledge for her. Most of that which came back was immediately pushed down again, but some bits and pieces were quite handy. This newly acquired bit seemed to be as well.


    "So I did try before," Aperio mumbled, turning the small stone around once more. "Another creation erased because I could not be bothered to try and fix it¡­"


    How was I ever like that? Aperio thought, letting the stone float in the air in front of her as she touched the armlet that adorned her bicep. Unlike the winged stone, it was still brimming with magic that wanted to be used by her. Desired to be part of her creation again. For now, however, it would remain separate.


    The mana that had been in the stone before had undoubtedly served in the initial creation of this place. Probably why Oberon doesn''t want me to be here. Of course, there was the part where she wanted to be in control over the creation of the multiverses and not the Fae, but considering that they had failed to even make a single stable one in thousands of years ¡ª and probably bled Earth of yet more mana in the process ¡ª she did not feel all that bad about any of it. Besides, the Fae would still have their little realm nestled between all the reflections of Earth; free to go to any single one of them as they pleased. If they did not break the few rules she had in place.


    Aperio let the stone vanish into her Void. It served no purpose outside and unlike her armlet, she could not wear it in its current form. Nor did she really want to. Whatever the stone actually was, it was most certainly not intended to be an accessory. If anything, it was meant to be a catalyst for something like the device it had been in. Just much grander, and actually working.


    She tilted her head as another memory crawled to the forefront of her mind, this one showing herself as a Fae inside these very chambers. She was¡­ happy? There was no why in the memory, simply a vision of how she flew around the room, placing runes on the walls while feeling happy and content. At peace. Her aura told her that the runes were still there in the room around her, present but not active, the mana in the realm of the Fae seemingly not enough to actually supply them with sufficient power. That was something she could take care of easily enough.


    But, before she would, Aperio wanted to figure out why she had been so happy about performing the task she had witnessed in the memory. It quite obviously served no real purpose and if she knew one thing about her past self, it was the fact that anything she did had to do something. There was the chance that she had done this in preparation for her return, but Aperio doubted that. Sure, a part of her had always known that she would never truly die and had put her own memories in the crystals, but why would she have put something here for herself to find? Why would she store a memory of happily placing random runes and not the information she needed to actually set her plan into motion?


    Apparently the universe does work in mysterious ways, Aperio mused to herself. So mysterious that she can''t even figure them out herself.


    She stepped around the machine and fixed her eyes onto one of the mana runes that adorned its rings. Aperio did not really expect to learn all that much, but it was still worth a look. Anything that would aid in the realisation of her plans was most welcome, even if it was some cryptic nonsense she had left behind herself.


    A few of the runes were immediately obvious. Things like reality, split, and guide made sense for the purpose of the machine, but others like destroy and subvert were a little less self-evident to the All-Mother. Was this meant to further remove the new version of Earth from its original or had she put them there to achieve something else?


    The answer to those questions might be contained in the memories she had just retrieved, but like so many times before, Aperio was not sure if she should rely on them. Yes, they would help, but her desire to not become what she had been in the past was one of the biggest aspects defining her at the moment. And yet, despite all of that, the All-Mother sat herself down in front of the contraption and closed her eyes.


    Unlike a mortal, she did not have to breathe slowly and find inner peace to access her memories. No, Aperio simply directed her attention inward, and went looking. Like anything else in her creation, she was an open book to herself if she truly wanted to be. The only issue was that even now, she did not actually wish to know all that she could know about herself, a fact that would make her endeavour of finding this newly-acquired memory a bit harder.


    The mess of runes and mana that made up the System was ignored for the moment, Aperio more than content to let her subconsciousness deal with that for now. That way I don''t have to think about how to fix it, at least. Just like a mortal did not have to breathe or blink on their own if they didn''t think about it.


    Sadly, the same was not true for her memories. Just being aware of them was not enough to truly remember them. Aperio could ''see'' the memory she had gotten float along the edges of her conscious mind but whenever she tried to recall it, she could not. The only part available to her was the small sequence of her Faen self placing runes and being happy.


    For a brief moment Aperio entertained the notion of turning herself into a Fae like in her memory, but the idea was quickly discarded. She was in no way a tiny, frail Fae, and moreover liked her current form too much to consider shifting to something else. Not to mention the fact that the last time she had been something else, it had been an unpleasant experience. She let out a sigh and directed her attention back towards the runes spread around the room and the now-still contraption. There had to be something that could help her here.


    The All-Mother straightened her back as her gaze lingered on every single rune for a moment, trying to find a pattern. Unlike normal constructs she made, these ones were not connected; just single runes that adorned the walls. The ones on the machine were more normal, but their purpose was also obvious enough. They directed the mana so a new version of Earth could be made. And then removed, if the other runes are to be believed¡­ It obviously worked, but why would she make a device that would only ever create temporary reflections of Earth?


    Did I just want the Fae to have fun? Aperio thought to herself as the memory of her Faen self surfaced in her mind once more. Her past self, she knew, did not do anything that did not provide her with some form of value. Giving the Fae the option to make different realms did not seem to be providing her with anything worthwhile, so the actions in her memory continued to not make sense. The only answer Aperio could arrive at was that she had done it because it was fun. It might be an innocent realisation to most, but the All-Mother knew that her old self did nothing if it only benefitted someone else. And why would she? Aperio could quite clearly recall how she had felt about mortals in the past. They had been nothing more than vermin that provided her with fleeting bits of entertainment. Sometimes she had made them into Gods, but that turned out to be a bad move as Epemirial and her ilk had shown. But their vile ways were also the reason I changed¡­


    Before, she had had no problem with slavery and genocide ¡ª though the latter still did not bother her all that much as she knew that every Soul would simply get another chance in their next life. Conflict was a good way to grow stronger, too, and Aperio valued strength more highly than most other things. The thing most mortals did not seem to realise was that the strength the All-Mother looked for did not always translate to fighting potential; it could also be of character.


    Aperio shook her head, the winged stone appearing in her hand once more. She stared at it, giving the small piece of her creation her full attention. There had to be more inside of it, no matter how devoid of mana it might be, and she would be damned if she did not learn what that was.


    She carefully placed it on the ground before her and let some of her mana flow into it. If her own mind did not want to supply the memory she sought, the trinket she had bound them to surely would.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating and vote, it helps a lot!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 239: Causal Mechanism

    Aperio furrowed her brows as she guided more of her mana into the unreasonably large expanse hidden inside the rather small stone. She had always known it would be able to hold quite a lot, but she had not expected the inside of it to contain a puzzle of sorts. Why would she have put that there? To play tricks on her future self?


    No, she thought to herself, her eyes wandering to the armlet that still adorned her right bicep. More like that¡­ The piece of jewellery contained an entire previous universe''s worth of mana, and though it was always eager to supply it to her because she had made it, the opposite effect was also true. Just like the stone.


    The All-Mother shifted her gaze back to the object in question, her left hand turning her armlet ever-so-slightly as a thought crossed her mind. One she already knew was true but had not truly considered before. Chances were that the stone was exactly the same as her armlet; only older and empty of the universe''s mana from which it was made. That only left the question of why ¡ª and when ¡ª she had put it here.


    Maybe the universe I used to make this thing was full of Fae? It would explain why she had used it to build something new for the Fae, and also why she had looked like one while doing it.


    The puzzle she was contemplating wasn''t hard by any means ¡ª at least for the All-Mother ¡ª but it was quite annoying. She could probably circumvent it somehow, but a part of her was quite certain that solving the puzzle would get her what she wanted faster. It also did not involve the risk of accidentally tapping into a bit too much of her powers, and thereby learning of things she would rather leave buried in her subconsciousness.


    Aperio gently pushed her mana into the runes that lined the inside of the stone. Unlike the ones that were placed around the actual room, these ones reacted to even the tiniest drop of her mana. The way the magic in them strained against the mystical restraints made her certain that if she placed such runes in the real world, reality would find them most disagreeable.


    It made sense, in a way. As far as she could tell, the runes her past self had used here were as fundamental as a script could be. They bent and twisted the very fabric of her creation, shaping to fit whatever meaning she had imbued into the lines and curves of the runes. Perhaps the weirdest part about all of that was that she could not only understand what all these runes said, but that she also simply knew how they worked. Probably shouldn''t be surprised by that.


    Another twist and turn of her magic caused the inside of the stone to light up. The change in scenery also brought with it a new set of runes and a small projection of a galaxy in the centre of it all.


    The All-Mother tilted her head at the appearance of the galaxy, focusing on it a bit more to make sure she had not accidentally created a new reality that was contained in a stone. Much to her relief, it turned out to be a simple projection conjured by a few of the newly-spawned runes.


    Aperio started to quietly hum to herself as she worked on the next set of runes, the wing-framed stone resting in her hands pulsing with her mana every once in a while as she got closer to what she assumed was the solution to the puzzle.


    It took her two more steps of the puzzle to be sure that she had made this for herself. Not only did her understanding of how the stone worked grow more quickly than it should, but at times the obstacles that barred the proverbial way forward required her to use more mana in an instant than any mortal could ever summon. In other instances, solving the riddle within her hands required her to reach out and twist the way reality itself worked, temporarily changing it before letting it settle back to the way it was. The power and knowledge required for either of these actions ¡ª and the actual finesse to execute it all ¡ª lay far beyond mortal abilities. Even the most skilled ones she had seen so far were not even close to being able to do any of this. Even Caethya lacked the mana reserves and control to accomplish the task. And I just think a bit harder, and solve the issue.


    The difference between herself and everyone else was always a little obvious ¡ª at least to herself ¡ª but she did wish that it was not. The average mortal on Earth was, sadly, far too weak to let her blend in seamlessly. She consoled herself with the fact that that would likely change within a few years'' time. Verenier, in fact, should have already gotten to such a point. All she had left to do was to sit back and let the mortals dwell more deeply in their delusion that she was not, like so many seemed to believe, the All-Mother. Weirdly ¡ª or perhaps not, considering what they did ¡ª it was always the people she had to get rid of that questioned her.


    Woe is me, Aperio mused to herself, doing her best to let the thought sound as sarcastic as she could while pulling the projection of the galaxy apart to place a few runes of her own in its place. Just like an actual galaxy, the act of placing symbols laden with her own magic helped create an equilibrium. One that the puzzle required in order to progress.


    Not only did the runes affect the various celestial objects within the galaxy, but they also affected one another. Perhaps it was a simple matter of the strength of her mana, but Aperio was not quite convinced that magic alone produced any sort of gravitational effects. Mana itself did not have mass like everything else, after all. Not in the way that mortals knew it, at least. Maybe I should start writing down how the universe actually works? Aperio cocked her head to the side as she watched the runes inside the stone slowly start spinning around one another, peeling themselves from the walls and forming a ward that she did not quite recognise. I''d have to invent a new language first¡­ Mortal words are so¡­ limiting.


    The runes she used here and for the System were really the most optimal way of expressing the concepts that made up reality. They were precise; so precise in fact that the very act of writing them already influenced her creation. There was a chance that that only happened because she was placing them, but Aperio doubted that. She could quite clearly remember mortals carving them into stone and achieving a similar effect. One that was much more subdued, of course, but she chalked that up to the fact that she forced a perfectionist¡¯s rendition of the rune onto her creation while they used crude tools and mortal senses.


    With an inaudible click, the last rune fell into place and formed a ward the All-Mother only now recognised. It had long since disappeared from the System itself, so perhaps now she could finally learn what it meant. That she had seen all the components that flowed into it was certainly a big help.


    "Now I just need to figure out what they formed," she mumbled to herself as her hand reached into the stone. For some reason, she knew that it was the last puzzle piece she had left for herself. "All this to teach myself something I did not even know I could forget." She snorted. "Maybe I was not all that bad in the past?"


    Aperio shook her head at the thought and ran her fingers over the surprisingly solid surface of the ward. It would still shatter should she apply even a bit of actual force, but Aperio had not expected it to have any physical component to it at all. She pulled back, a few arcs of mana jumping back and forth between her fingers and the runes as the ward tried its level best to keep her hand attached to it.


    The All-Mother looked at her hand and wiggled her fingers before she balled them into a fist. She just had a potentially very dumb idea to solve this puzzle. One that she ¡ª and her past self ¡ª would very much enjoy.


    She balled her hand into a fist, her arm elbow deep in the stone, and punched the ward. Reality bent from the impact, unravelling the sigil''s runes and sending the mana they had once held back into the All-Mother. The influx was accompanied with more visions of what her Faen self had done. A tiny drop of silver mana now hung weightless in the middle of the stone, waiting for her to set it free so it could perform its intended function. There were other memories however, ones of herself placing various pieces of the System into place and letting a lone Soul interact with it.


    Aperio blinked and pulled her hand back, the stone looking exactly the same despite the fact she had put her arm inside of it. She took a deep breath, pulling more mana from her well at the same time, before she let go of the stone and a thought set the tiny drop of pure mana within free.


    After a moment of perilous silence, a wave of mana rippled outwards from the stone, quickly reaching past the realm of the Fae and spreading into every single variation of Earth. Aperio let her perception follow it, an idle thought here and there fixing what was, to her senses, the crude weave that the stone''s work left behind in her creation.


    Seeing how her creation knitted all the reflections together caused Aperio to let out a slow sigh. It was such a simple solution, one she should have thought of before coming here. And yet, she was glad she did. She would need a little time to go over all the memories the shattering of the ward had given her, but it was most certainly worth it.


    But, for now, there was a tiny version of her multiverse to make. And a Demigoddess to hug¡­


    ///


    Caethya drank the rest of the beer that William had gotten her. It tasted good enough, but the desired effect she sought from alcohol was simply not there. A fact she should probably have anticipated, as her body had changed quite a lot since the last time she had indulged and it had already been quite the feat to get drunk. Perhaps I can ask Aperio to make something¡­


    A slight buzz would have been quite welcome right now. The fact that her love had been quite correct in her assumption that she could simply look at someone and end their life had shaken her. The act did require some effort, but the fact she was able to do it at all was frightening enough. The Dropbear she had tried it on had also been quite a bit stronger than most of the mortals she had met on Earth so far.


    Her thoughts were interrupted not only by the arrival of William with a few more mortals in tow, but also a rather noticeable ripple that ran through reality itself. Caethya did her best to not show a reaction, instead observing if the Humans had felt it as well. As they continued to chat with one another as they sat themselves down, she assumed they had not.


    Before she even reached out to her love to ask what had happened, the Demigoddess could feel the attention of the very world settle on her. It would have been cause for worry, had it not been accompanied by the unmistakable warmth of the All-Mother. Though, it felt a little different than before; more powerful.


    Caethya smiled as Aperio''s voice gently echoed through her mind, informing her that she had apparently left herself a small puzzle in the realm of the Fae. The attempt to share the concept of said puzzle sat strangely in her mind, but the basic idea of it was easy enough to understand. Trying to more precisely determine what her love had been doing before her time as a mortal felt like a foolish endeavour all around. Aperio had been a vastly¡­ different person then. Fully aware and accepting of what she was ¡ª a trait that she wished her love would regain at some point ¡ª but also selfish and very much uncaring for anyone but herself.


    The change she had felt was apparently something the All-Mother had done herself, and not some accident or worse. Good news, at least. The excited notes in her love''s voice were also excellent news. So far, she had not really seen Aperio get excited for anything not relating to a fight or the Demigoddess herself. Caethya smiled slightly at the image of her love shuffling through the countless copies of Earth she had made, trying to find one where more people had gotten themselves wings. It would certainly make her happy, and that was always good. A happy Aperio meant a more happy universe. At least for the two of us.


    "I see you are enjoying your stay," one of the women accompanying William said as she sat herself down next to Caethya. She cradled her own beverage. "Quite the show you put on."


    "I do try," Caethya replied, offering a smile. Her eyes wandered towards another of the Humans that had joined them. "It is nice that you have an [Identify] skill, but I consider it quite rude to use it on someone without asking."


    The mortal wouldn''t be able to see her actual level, or even titles, but it was still very much an annoyance. The least you could do was ask. Caethya understood quite well that she was intimidating to the mortals present, but it was a fact she had thought would garner a bit of respect. Apparently she had been mistaken about that. Is this how Aperio always feels?


    "It didn''t tell me much anyway," the mortal replied, then sat himself down next to William. "Just your name, but we already knew that."


    "I think it''s a matter of principle for her," William said and waved at the singular waiter in the bar to call him over. "One I would agree with."


    "Sorry," the other man said, though not without giving William a side glance. "I won''t do it again."


    Caethya only gave him a nod, her eyes moving towards the door behind which she could already feel her love. A moment later, the pleasant chime of the doorbell filled the room as Aperio ducked into the bar. She looked around for a moment before her eyes settled on the Demigoddess and the group of mortals.


    "Greetings," she said, her voice easily reaching them despite the fact that she had not spoken any louder than usual.


    Her love moved through the small bar with a grace that belied her looks. A look that had changed slightly, if Caethya''s eyes did not deceive her. Aperio''s skin glowed just a little bit more than usual, and she stood fractionally taller than she remembered. Looks like she put some of the mana that came through to good use.


    The Demigoddess moved to the side, making just enough space for the All-Mother to sit down next to her. "I assume everything worked out well?" she asked as she leaned forward to let her love''s wing swoop around her.


    "It did," Aperio replied, lifting her hand to stop William from giving her one of the drink menus that lay on the table. "I will not partake."


    Caethya sat back, relaxing against her love. She would enjoy this moment as best she could. There were bound to be some hectic times ahead, as the outpouring of mana from what the Demigoddess assumed was the solving of the puzzle had contributed quite a bit to the making of Aperio''s multiverse. The excitement and happiness she could feel from her love was proof of that.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating and vote, it helps a lot!


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 Sabbatical – Chapter 240: Communion of the Self (Book 6 End)

    GamingWolf


    This is a long one.


    Aperio tilted her head slightly as she observed not only the group of mortals at their very table, but also at least a hundred variations of them on different Earths. The reflections ¡ª as the Fae liked to call them ¡ª grew more stable, but also more in line with the original she currently inhabited. The different versions of the mortals talked the same, moved the same, and even looked the same to most of her senses.


    It was only when she actually looked closer that she saw the first differences, the most obvious one the fact that the mortals in the reflections did not actually have their own Soul. They all linked back to the Souls in the corresponding mortals around her. That was not quite what she had in mind for a proper multiverse, but it would work for the moment. Stability is good for now¡­


    That she did not trust herself with adjusting the Souls of mortals was something she did not want to admit, even to herself. She would have to do it one day or another, but for now it could wait.


    Aperio leaned herself a little against her love, making sure that she did not actually use Caethya for any sort of balance or support. As strong as the Demigoddess had become, the All-Mother doubted it would be very comfortable for her to shoulder the...non-insignificant weight.


    "How was it?" Caethya asked, getting a few raised brows as she did not speak English. "The Fae, I mean."


    "Well enough," Aperio replied. "They are quite odd to say the least. I had not expected them to hold the key to actually making a multiverse, either. Especially not one I had made myself."


    "I''m more surprised it was an actual object that helped you understand." Caethya gave a small laugh. "Makes me think more and more that you planned this, down to what you forgot and, somehow, how you forgot it. You removed a lot more from your memories than you seem to think. Well, the old you." Her love let out a small sigh. "Sometimes this gets really confusing."


    "That it does," Aperio agreed. Of course, she also had the issue that she had all the memories of her past self in her mind, just hidden away for now. "But I also know I had planned to do this to myself. I know that I can never truly die, so I had to know that in the past as well."


    "Logically yes, but you have the luxury of not caring about logic."


    Aperio turned her head slightly to look at her love and raised an eyebrow. "And what do you mean by that?"


    "That you are not bound by reality like the rest of us," Caethya replied. "For all we know, you could have planned your entire mortal life before committing to it."


    The All-Mother leaned back and folded her arms in front of her chest. Her love was not wrong, but the memories she had gotten after she had taken care of her godly mistakes had made it quite clear that ending up a slave was more a subconscious choice than anything else. One she dearly wished her past self had not made.


    "I likely could have, yes, but I know I did not. Not directly at least." Aperio shook her head lightly, both of her ears twitching as she could not help but hear the variants of the mortal conversations around them rippling across multiple realities. "It does not matter anymore, either. What happened, happened, and I have no interest in finding a way to undo it."


    "Yes," Caethya agreed. "Focusing on the now is much more important. Like your whole multiverse thing."


    "Do you want to see?" The All-Mother once more looked at her love, this time with a small smile gracing her face. "It is limited to Earth for now, but it is already quite¡­ magnificent."


    "Sure," her love replied, ignoring the glances they were getting from a few of the mortals. They were merely talking amongst themselves, and both Caethya and Aperio were more than content to just let them continue doing exactly that.


    Aperio reached out, gently touching Caethya''s mind with the tiniest sliver of her magic to convey her own perception of the ever-expanding tangle of Earths. Abstractions still had to be made, as she doubted anyone but herself would understand the actual way every single instance of Earth had come to exist, but it would be good enough.


    The Earth they were currently on was the first one to exist; the origin of every other instance of it that existed, or would ever exist. With every passing moment, a new version branched off to follow whatever decision had been big enough to divert the possible future of that Earth.


    Some of these reflections only existed for a brief moment, as the event that caused their creation was the selfsame one that ended it. Those versions of Earth flashed for but a single breath, their light fizzling out from the fabric of her creation like a dying star hidden within the vast expanse of Earth''s own galaxy.


    Others lingered in a stable fashion, long enough to create branches of their own. Yet more reflections simply stayed their course, holding no events major enough to birth yet another version of themselves.


    As Aperio beheld all the current flickerings of was, is, and may be, she noticed a small but rather important detail. The tethers that linked every copy of a mortal being back to their original ¡ª and thereby the original''s Soul ¡ª were no longer all properly connecting. In some cases, the tethers even became mixed up, linking back to the wrong Souls.


    A thought of her own corrected the mana flowing from the various Earths, weaving the tethers back to their correct Souls of origin, but that was a stopgap solution at best. The Souls themselves were still not able to actually take in everything that was provided by the multitude of lives that they now lived. It would seem she would have to take care of this problem sooner rather than later.


    "That looks wrong," Caethya said, her eyes unfocused as she was concentrating on the images Aperio was showing her. "Well, feels wrong is more accurate." The Demigoddess tilted her head slightly. "Those are Souls, right?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied. "But a Soul is only meant for one life at a time. I have an idea on how I can fix this, but I would have to break my very own rule. I do not trust myself to properly fix it, either. I used to know how all of my creation worked, but it is broken as it currently stands. Why would I only now be able to do it properly?"


    "Because you actually care about the people living in your creation now," Caethya replied. "And you also can know everything you did before. It''s not easy, I know, but there aren''t many options. You either have to strengthen every Soul like you did mine, stop this multiverse idea, or fix it in the way you think it will work."


    "Giving everyone a blessing would not work," the All-Mother replied, her voice quieter than before. "It does not affect you, because there can only be one of you." Aperio let out a small sigh, teleporting both herself and Caethya into her Void after her love had agreed to it.


    The All-Mother appeared a few steps away, an approximate projection of the current state of Earth and all its reflections surrounding her. More versions of the planet appeared with every moment, and she gestured at the various branches that had already been formed during the short time her multiverse had been implemented. "All of this is supposed to help the mortals become stronger. Give them more worlds with more experiences.


    "I could just have new Souls live in the reflections of Earth," Aperio continued. "But that was not the point of making a multiverse. Every Soul was supposed to have access to more versions of its own reality, not just put new lives in the same worlds."


    "And what was your idea for fixing the Souls?" Caethya asked, her eyes scanning the projection that continued to grow as it crowded around the All-Mother.


    "Every Soul would have to be able to create a buffer of sorts," the All-Mother replied as she began to walk through the projection and added the various additional tethers that connected all the mortals and their reflections to their one Soul. The only difference this time was that she placed a smaller sphere in between. "But would that buffer not be a faux-Soul of sorts, created to be a slave to the original?"


    "As much as the different branches of Earth would be subservient to the original," Caethya said with a shrug. "Or how everyone is bound to you. Technically, your will is law for everyone, but you do not exercise that power. The mortals of Earth would not have this power over their variations, but even if they did, they would not know about them. All this would do, is allow any mortal to ascend faster.


    "Thousands of lifetimes worth of experience and strength would be in their Soul," her love continued, her eyes following the various lines Aperio drew to represent her idea. "I feel like that is exactly what you were trying to do, and it would only benefit people."


    "Perhaps," Aperio replied. "But what right do I have to do this? Am I allowed to ignore my own rules just because nobody will ever be able to stop me?"


    "Yes." Caethya gave a nod. "But that''s besides the point." The Demigoddess stepped through the projection to stand right in front of the All-Mother. "What would you do if someone somehow figured out how to make the System better? A change that would affect everyone, but would greatly improve the lives of everyone in your creation at one point or another."


    Aperio looked at her love for a moment, her head tilted slightly and her ears twitching a tiny bit as she thought. "I would examine the idea and, if it actually seemed to work as intended, I would consider creating something that would amount to the same result." She paused, spreading her wings for a brief moment before folding them back behind her back. "But you know as well as I do that that will never happen. You are beyond many mortals, and still you cannot truly perceive even the most basic parts of my System.


    "Such an idea would, in all likelihood, not concern the Soul," she continued as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "If I make a mistake, it would permanently erase countless lives."


    Caethya let out a sigh and gently pulled on the All-Mother''s arms until Aperio relented. "You might not like it," the Demigoddess said as she gently held her love''s hands, "but you know exactly how to prevent that. The knowledge is there" ¡ªCaethya pushed herself onto her toes to be able to tap a finger against Aperio''s forehead¡ª "it is simply attached to things you do not wish to see."


    As Caethya lowered herself back onto her feet, Aperio''s hands fell downwards to her love¡¯s hips. The Demigoddess leaned back slightly, allowing her full weight to be supported by the All-Mother. "I know you can do it and I am here to help you with whatever you need." The Demigoddess looked up at Aperio, giving a small smile. "If you fear that I will no longer like you, you have nothing to worry about. The only thing stopping you from knowing all that you wish will only ever be yourself.


    "I wish for you to be the best version of yourself," she continued, leaning in and pushing herself up once more. "Whatever you decide will be the correct choice." Balancing on her toes, she rose up as high as she could to place a tender kiss on her love''s lips. "I''ll be with you no matter what you choose to be."


    The All-Mother blinked a few times. Every sense she had was focused on Caethya, trying to search beneath the warmth that seemed to be quite literally flowing off of the Demigoddess, but try as she might she found no other motivators for her love''s actions.


    "How can you be so sure?" she eventually asked, moving her hands to Caethya''s waist and giving her a slight squeeze. "How can you know that whatever I choose will be right?" Aperio stepped back slightly, switching her hands for her wings as she rubbed her temples. She did not have a headache, of course, but the motion still helped. "Yes, I can force myself to know, but what if I actually agree with my past? Mortals are weak. Useless for most anything. There is no reason why anything exists besides the fact that at a point unfathomably long ago for a mortal, I decided that being absolutely nothing was not enjoyable and I made¡­ existence."


    Perhaps it was time she showed her love what she actually was. Caethya already knew, at least in terms of dry facts, but the All-Mother doubted that she truly understood what such things meant. Directly implanting a comprehensive understanding into the Demigoddess'' mind went against what Aperio believed to be right, so that wouldn''t do. There was only one option left for her to choose.


    Aperio slowly let out a long breath of the airless nothing that filled her Void. Then, she simply let go of all the tiny thoughts that kept her powers in check. Caethya would not be harmed, as the core of her sense of self would hate to see her love in pain, but she had to show who she truly was. No glimpses for the Demigoddess this time. No oblique suggestions or subtle references.


    Just her.


    Caethya took a step backwards as reality itself fractured in front of her. Each splinter that came from the expanding fractal folded ¡ª was it backwards, or inwards? ¡ª into a space that occupied the plane that held Aperio''s Void, but also simultaneously existed behind and in front of it.


    In the middle of the phenomenon stood her love, looking much as she always did. The Amazonian Moon Elf still managed to look adorable, despite her serious face and the veritable flood of mana that surged outwards from her form. Caethya was absolutely not deterred by the fact that every one of her mortal senses screamed at her to run. She knew who she was looking at, and she had meant every word she had said to her.


    A wave of mana ¡ª purer than anything else she had felt Aperio use before ¡ª washed over her, splitting the Void apart in its wake. Just like the first breaking of the Void, it moved in fractals, somehow overlapping itself in every direction while each layer was visible with perfect clarity.


    The overwhelming presence that accompanied it all would threaten to crush Caethya into a fleshy jam, were it not for a thin film of nothing that hovered just above her skin. Despite examining the phenomenon, her mind did not seem to want to make sense of what she was seeing. It did not matter. Caethya could still clearly see her love at the centre of the ever-expanding presence; could feel how reality itself reached out hungrily, yearning to tether itself properly to its creator.


    It could have been taken as a form of intimidation, but the Demigoddess knew full well that this display was a sign of trust. She smiled at her love, and offered her a wave. Aperio had chosen to show her true self, and not just a brief glimpse at her infinite mind but the full view. Despite the way everything she perceived was being read as wrong and impossible by her own mind, she still only had eyes for her love, who still stood there in her Void. She''s finally taking a moment to not hold back.


    Caethya understood her love''s reasoning for never showing who she actually was, but did not like it much. Though she knew Aperio did not mind the way she inhabited her current form, it would be nice if the All-Mother could allow herself more chances to be who she actually was. It was just one more reason why the Demigoddess was in favour of that which had been set into motion.


    "This is who I am," Aperio said, her voice echoing through the Void and Caethya''s mind. It was quiet, yet perfectly audible and deafeningly loud. The All-Mother lowered her head, and her wings spread to their full length for a brief moment. The motion was accompanied by a quake so intense it almost threw the Demigoddess off of her feet.


    In its wake, Caethya saw a blinding expanse of nothing behind Aperio, filled to the brim with her love''s mana. It all moved in perfect unison to the All-Mother''s every thought, each action a perfect orchestration of infinite power moving to fulfill a wish: a simple existence. No matter how hard she tried ¡ª no matter how much of her infinite strength she brought to bear ¡ª she could never grant her own wish. It would never work, as her love''s very nature was incompatible with her desires.


    In the blink of an eye, everything stopped. The Void snapped back to a restored state, and her love stood there before her, no longer in the centre of a fracture in reality. All was as it was before. Well, not quite. Like the last time Aperio had used a significant amount of her power, her body looked a bit more well-defined. More real, somehow. As if the universe yearned to manifest her love the way she saw herself.


    Aperio ran her hands over her stomach, smoothing out a few non-existent wrinkles on her dress before she directed her gaze back onto the Demigoddess. "What I do not wish to be."


    Caethya stepped closer, placing a hand on her love''s chin so she was no longer looking at the ground but at her. "I know, and like I have said before, it does not change how I feel about you or what I think you should do."


    "But what if I make a mistake?"


    "You could always leave reality as it currently stands. However, Earth has apparently always had its reflections, and I think that having something like it for every world would be a good thing." The Demigoddess shrugged. "You''ve been planning this change for months, now. For you, it might not have seemed like much time, but it should have been more than enough to figure out whether you truly wish to go forward with your plan."


    "And," Caethya continued, pulling her hand away from her love''s face and instead taking her hands, "I know that you won''t make a mistake."


    Aperio gave her love''s hands a gentle squeeze. She was right; she did want to do this. It seemed like the best choice to help mortals gain strength more quickly, as well as giving them quite literally infinite experiences.


    Her little demonstration had also given her a much greater insight into how exactly the Souls tried to remedy the fact that they now had to deal with mortal minds from multiple worlds. At the moment, most Souls ¡ª especially of weaker mortals ¡ª were simply trying to delete old memories, overlaying them with the experiences they now gathered from the multitude of worlds.


    "Why did I not do this before?" Aperio mumbled to herself. "Well, I did, but only for the Fae and only to offer them a temporary world to play in¡­" The All-Mother gave her love''s hands a last squeeze before she pulled them back. "But that was quite specifically designed to be that way. Built on an entire version of existence, nonetheless."


    "Yet another reason to do it," Caethya said with a smile on her face. "And another cause to believe that you will not make a mistake. The current flawed nature of the reflections is due to something you put in yourself." The Demigoddess touched the All-Mother''s arm. "There also exists the possibility that Earth is not the only world this is happening to. Learning to fix this will always be the better option."


    Aperio tilted her head slightly, letting a few threads of her creation connect fully to her mind to search for other worlds that were either in the process of creating ¡ª or already had created ¡ª a multiverse. It was something she should have considered and checked much earlier.


    The All-Mother furrowed her brows as she found quite a few more worlds that behaved like Earth had before she ''fixed'' it. Just like the world she had been on just a little while ago, these ones were also mana-starved and inhabited by mortals that were much too weak for her liking.


    "I assume that means there are others," Caethya said, her eyes fixed on Aperio''s own.


    "There are, yes. Quite a few more than I would have thought, too."


    She would be lying if she said she liked the idea of having more than a few worlds with this ''feature'', but it did make her decision a little easier. What it did not make any easier was the fact that she had to actually change how Souls worked on a fundamental level. And for that, she would have to go and look quite closely at the places in her very own mind that she would prefer never to see.


    "Well, you don''t know everything about yourself ¡ª not consciously at least ¡ª so why would you know everything about your creation?" Caethya asked. "The universe and you are synonymous, after all." Her love gave a small nod. "You are both infinite and ever-changing. But you are also wholly separate. I''m still not quite sure how that works."


    "Neither am I," Aperio replied. She had shown to her love that she was quite literally nothing, a nothing that had decided it wanted to instead be something, but it would seem that that concept was not yet compatible with Caethya''s mind. "But it doesn''t matter either, does it?"


    "Nope," her love said. "Doesn''t matter one bit. You are you, and that is all I need to know." She clapped her hands together. "Now, is there something I can do while you work your Soul magic?"


    Aperio tilted her head slightly. After a moment of consideration she sat herself down on the nothing that filled her Void. She spread her wings and patted the vacant expanse next to her. "You can look at what I do and tell me what you see. It may not make much sense to you, but a different view might help."


    "Projection, or mind stuff?" her love asked as she sat down and leaned herself against the All-Mother''s wing with her full weight. She froze for a moment as Aperio shared her view of the part of the System that governed Souls. "This is a lot weirder than looking at you without holding back."


    "Because you can understand a part of this. You are part of this, after all. Or were, at least. Your Soul is different now. Stronger. Unique."


    "Thanks to your blessing, I assume?" Caethya asked as Aperio began to pick at the countless runes that made and maintained the Souls of every mortal.


    "No," she replied, squinting at a set of runes that read ''buffer'' and ''allay''. "Well, yes," she amended as she pulled those two runes out of the complex mesh. "But it was not needed to achieve the change you did. Most Souls on Verenier are similar, though yours is much stronger."


    "How does that make sense?"


    "Verenier is special." Aperio hesitated for a moment, glancing at her love in the brief moment before a new rune came into existence. Nestled between the ones her past self had made, it was strangely formless ¡ª not yet imbued with purpose. "It was always my favourite world in the past. A failed attempt at something I will once again know all too soon."


    She already had a hunch about what it was that made Verenier special, but there was little sense spending the time speculating about it when it would be potentially confirmed before long. Aside from looking at the runes of her System, the All-Mother actively scoured her memories, forcing the ones that seemed useful to the front of her mind. Already she was regretting the decision, as she had stumbled upon pieces of her past that she would have very much liked to never remember.


    Aperio saw herself erase the existence of an entire galaxy simply because the mortals spread across its planets had figured out a way to live an eternal life. One that came at the cost of drastically reducing their potential growth in power. She had eliminated everything in that region of space simply because the mortals there were too slow for her liking. Her ¡ª a being who, at times, could not tell a single day from an aeon.


    She tore herself away from the memory, only to find herself in another one. A memory that was far too personal for her own liking. She watched as her past self, brimming with joy, ripped out the Soul of a God. Why she had taken an interest in this particular Deity was not included in the glimpse into her past; only the disturbing glee with which her old self wove the freshly-extracted Soul into a new one, destined to bring ruin to those who had worshipped the God she had just exterminated.


    Why had she ever been like that? It just made no sense. If she had never cared for any of the mortals, why had she gone through all the trouble of making so many worlds for them to inhabit? Why had she even made the System for them? Entertainment might have felt like an answer, if it weren''t for the fact that her old self had never really felt that entertained by her creation.


    The All-Mother shook her head. It didn''t matter anymore. The only things that did matter were how she had originally made Souls and, perhaps, the exact reason why Verenier was as special as it was.


    A previous brief glimpse of a memory had given her an inkling, but she had dismissed it at the time. It was, after all, a ridiculous idea, and one that even she knew would never work. And yet, she understood all too well why she would have attempted something of the like in the past. She had given everyone a Soul...


    It did not take long to find the memory she was looking for; the one that would let her imbue the exact meaning she wished to tether to the runes that were, at the moment, unused. Her past self had laid the groundwork for her plan, and all she needed to add were the finishing touches.


    Aperio carefully pushed her will into the formless rune, letting it take the shape it thought best reflected her intention. There were no runes that fit the expression she wished to place into the works of her System, so a new one needed to be made. A thought here and there twisted reality into its new shape, the rune inching into its rightful place so it might enact her will without her conscious intervention.


    The All-Mother could feel her love¡¯s presence shift away from her creation, the Demigoddess likely not quite comfortable looking at the not-space of the System twisting to her whims. Or, perhaps, she was more interested in the faux-Souls Aperio had made to see how her actual changes should play out. With every alteration she made to the construct of her System, the projection she had made changed as well. It might not have started out as an entirely accurate view, but with every passing moment, with every bit of knowledge she forcibly recovered, it grew clearer.


    Sadly, with every helpful memory, Aperio also had to remember what her old self had done elsewhere. How she had subsumed the Souls of the Gods she had created herself. She had known at the time that a Soul was born of her power and could never contain even a fraction of what she was, but she had seemingly not cared.


    Her old self had tried idea after idea. Forcing Souls together into a greater entity, splitting them apart into fragments in the hopes that they would be easier to manipulate, even creating an entire reality separate from the current one filled with nothing but empty Souls she could pour herself into. None of it had worked. None of it had allowed her to have a Soul of her own.


    Not even using the very first world she had made in the current iteration of her creation had been good enough to act as her Soul.


    Aperio could only mentally squint at the actions of her past self. It was more than clear that such a thing could never work, and yet she had tried. And all that while knowing more than I do now...


    Perhaps that had all been preparation for her attempt at a mortal life. After all, she had managed to contain parts of herself in those crystals for millennia. But then, they had always felt more symbolic than anything else. It was very much like what she was doing now. The All-Mother had always had the memories ¡ª it was simply that she had never truly wanted to remember. Now, all that had changed. She needed to know what her past self had done, and so she would know.


    Aperio blinked as she reached for another memory, one she knew would contain knowledge that would help her at the moment. Bound to this particular fragment of her past was something else: bits and pieces of her own mana. They looked and felt an awful lot like the lingering remains of yet another reality. The only difference was that this one was quite clearly marked, and by herself no less.


    The All-Mother reached out with a thought, an invisible hand grasping the fragment and pulling it closer. A small tingle ran through the All-Mother''s body and mind; an attempt from her own memory to bring her to a different place. Figuratively, at least.


    She let the fragment pull a part of her attention away, pausing slightly as she found herself in the expanse of black glass again. It was one she had observed once before, shortly after she had returned to Verenier.


    Just like last time, a version of herself stood on the smooth obsidian sea, observing the shards that contentiously broke off in the distance and floated into the equally smooth and black sky. Neither she nor the memory of herself moved, both content to simply stare at the ever-moving shards of glass that always took away from the ocean but never diminished it.


    A thought unravelled the mental plane piece by piece, the All-Mother no longer needing to piece the memory together like she had had to the last time she was here. Instead, she simply observed the weave of her own mind beneath; the flow of nothing that held so much knowledge, just waiting for her.


    She looked upwards at the perfect copy of the obsidian sea. Nothing was there aside from a smooth surface of black glass that showed a reflection of herself looking up. And she is ¡ª I am, Aperio corrected herself, still here because I do not want to remember.


    The All-Mother scoffed at the thought and dug into the tapestry that hid beneath the sea of glass. She did not want to remember, but she had to. The fragment of herself still stood motionless at the very centre of the ocean, showing no indication that it had noticed her here. That I noticed myself? Her last excursion into this plane had been rather confusing and Aperio hoped that this one would not be.


    Her hopes were not high, however, as she began to truly grasp the mess that was responsible for governing this plane. It was quite obvious why she had left herself the clue to return here, but Aperio also wanted to give her old self a beating for making a realm like this. It clearly meant as much to her old self as her Void did her current self, but this dark ocean of glass was most certainly not stable.


    If she were to ever physically go to that plane, Aperio was sure it would break. It could not hope to contain even a rather insignificant fraction of the amount of power housed within her body. And yet, despite its crude nature, every part of the infinite ocean and its continuously crumbling edges held the secrets the All-Mother had been looking for. Why would I ever use my own memories to build something like this?


    It likely did not really matter where she put anything, as she existed everywhere simultaneously, but it still felt weird to have the entire realm that she had once called her home built upon memories. Memories of the very first Souls that had given everyone, besides herself, a chance at life and the option to grow.


    As it turned out, the little trick that had caused her own memories to take form back then was essentially what she needed to create faux-Souls, ones that could take on the memories and experiences of every mortal calling a reflection their home and syphoning them to their actual Soul, housed safely and soundly in her Void. Not only would this approach actually help mortals become stronger as she wished them to, but it would also stop idiots like Epemirial from messing around with an actual Soul. They would have to get into her Void to be able to manipulate one, and that meant that they would have to be stronger than her. Which was very much impossible, as every last bit of power someone had came from the All-Mother.


    Aperio let out a small sigh as she focused more of her attention back on the ever-expanding tangle of runes that governed Souls. A small smile graced her face as she felt her love poking around the System as well, trying to make sense of runes the All-Mother was quite sure she could not read.


    A small thought directed at the Demigoddess brought with it bits and pieces of the knowledge she would need to at least form a basic understanding on how her own Soul worked. Aperio would love to explain each and every detail, but first she''d have to spend more time actually understanding things. Sure, she knew what was what and, thanks to the small excursion to her old home, also what she needed to do, but her knowledge levels had not quite reached the levels she wished to have. True understanding would take a bit more time.


    For now, however, she had some mortal Souls to save from the dreadful fate of languishing in eternal mediocrity. A small flex of her mental muscles pushed the last bit of meaning into the rune she had come up with, then formed the ones she had once used for the obsidian sea. Now all she had to do was to place her updated System module back into the whole and watch it take root.


    With another thought her changes slid back into place, melding with the rest of the System as if they had always been there. A surge of mana flowed through it, and the accompanying sensations made the All-Mother raise an eyebrow. Like many things she had relegated to her subconscious mind, she would be checking in from time to time to make sure that what she had thought up was actually working. Probably better that way.


    While she was certain her changes would work ¡ª they had worked quite well on her own memories in the past ¡ª doing another check was best. She was about to break her own rules a little, after all. The least she could do was make sure it would work as she wanted it to.


    Every Soul that lived on a world that had split into many copies would be subject to this change, while the others would be left untouched. It was the first of many things she would do in her quest to actually better her creation instead of giving up and starting over like she had done in the past.


    Aperio leaned back to watch the change ripple through her creation. On every world that had, or would soon, split into a multiverse, every Soul stopped for the briefest of moments. Every time that happened, the All-Mother feared that something would go wrong. That the work she had done was insufficient; that she had made a mistake. But all proceeded as she had thought it would.


    None of the Souls were touched directly. All she had done was add another layer around each of them, one that would help them grow stronger for every version of a world they inhabited. They would have infinite possibilities on infinite worlds.


    All they now had to do was grasp the new chances that would present themselves.


    GamingWolf


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 Aeternae – Chapter 241: Welcome To the New Eternity

    The Goddess of Life and Light shuddered as she felt more of the worlds she ruled over splinter into a myriad of tiny shards. That alone was not inherently unusual ¡ª some worlds did simply spawn temporary copies of themselves from time to time ¡ª but these shard-versions stayed. "What has she done now?" she murmured as she began mentally cataloguing the fractal-like changes. "Another alteration she never would have made in the past..."


    Her mother had gone on and on about the few worlds that just randomly created copies of themselves. She had not liked them, and had only let them be because she had made a promise ages past that she would. Now, it would seem that she had much grander ideas for these worlds. Perhaps even others.


    Ferio herself had always thought that having multiple versions of the same world was a good thing. Not only would the mortals actually do more things and figure out their shit faster, but any deity in charge of one such world would also gain power more quickly. More mortals meant more worship, after all. And any world offering the potential for so much power was a prime target for holy wars as the Gods and Goddesses tried to take it for themselves.


    The Goddess let out a sigh at the memories of the [War in Heaven]. She had quite enjoyed fighting some of the other Gods for control of the Fractal Worlds, especially the way they squirmed in her grip and begged her to not raze the worlds to the ground. Unlike them, however, she had no need for silly mortal worship. No, she, much like her mother, was simply divine by nature. They had no need to take power from legions of weaker beings.


    "I guess it''s time to investigate," Ferio mumbled to herself before she disappeared from her Dominion. The people of her world would expect her arrival, but they would be sure to appreciate it. They should have learned after the last time, after all.


    ///


    Aperio flared her wings and put her arms above her head, letting out a satisfied sigh, a slight touch of her magic always making sure Caethya was still sufficiently supported. Her body did not need the stretching, but it still felt incredibly good. Maybe because I want it to? She disregarded the thought, instead wrapping one of her feathered appendages around her love.


    The Demigoddess was still asleep, leaning against the All-Mother''s waist with her arms wrapped around it. Showing Caethya how the first implementations of the multiverse came into existence had seemingly been quite taxing for her love. Not that Aperio was surprised; even she felt a little exhausted after pushing and prodding countless worlds to go where they were supposed to. She had even had to make some small adjustments to the System, as her initial implementation was not quite perfect. It had worked well enough, but that was not sufficient when it came to Souls.


    Luckily, changes were easy enough to make, and with each moment that passed Aperio understood more about the way Souls interacted with the world and all its reflections.


    She did have to give her old self some credit, as watching all the Souls reacting to their new experiences ¡ª and the subsequent gain of power that came with it ¡ª was quite the sight. It also made it quite a bit more obvious why she had settled on this way to give mortals not only a chance at life in the first place, but also grow. The tiny spheres were a lot more versatile than she had assumed. Sure, Aperio had to change quite a bit about her System for them to work, but even without that they could accomplish a lot more than she had initially thought possible.


    A soft yawn at her right caused the All-Mother to shift her attention away from the tiny spheres. Caethya stretched herself for a moment before she sunk back into the All-Mother''s wing, using a hand to try and pull the feathered appendage over herself. Aperio obliged and let her love move her wing like the blanket Caethya wished it to be.


    The All-Mother smiled as she added a touch of her magic to offer just a bit more comfort. Caethya might not have done the heavy lifting for the change, but her mind ¡ª while strong ¡ª was still not made to see an unravelled universe, as Aperio did. Despite her best efforts, she was still mortal after all. Just a matter of time, the All-Mother mused to herself as she shifted her attention back to Earth. She will understand the nature of my creation sooner or later.


    A small flex of her mental muscles caused her vision to shift back to Earth, only to catch on a Soul that she herself had brought back. It now seemed to not quite be as in tune with its home as it should be. Perhaps Adam''s stay on Verenier had changed him, or maybe his Soul was special from the start. Whatever it was, Aperio would have to figure it out. There was no way she would allow an errant Soul to ruin what she had just set in motion.


    ///


    Adam couldn''t help but look behind him yet again. No matter how many times he checked, he could not change the feeling that he was being followed. That wasn''t the only weird thing, however. Ever since he had felt what was most assuredly Aperio''s mana washing over what seemed like the entire world, he felt like he was walking through more than one world at a time.


    Just moments ago, he had bought himself some food from one of the many street vendors in Riverburg, but after rounding a corner he had held something he had never purchased. It was a most surreal experience and would usually make him think he had taken something he shouldn''t have, but he knew that was not the case. The only thing that he could think of that could even be possible for these feelings was Aperio''s plan to make a multiverse.


    Just thinking about that idea was already weird, but it was most certainly within her ability. The weird phenomena could certainly be explained that way. Well, besides the fact that I am apparently the only one that it''s happening to?


    Sure, other people might be pretending that nothing was wrong, like he was trying to, but that was not a given. Like it or not, he was a bit different from the people of Earth. Though he may have been born here, and even spent most of his twenty-four years of life on the planet, it was no longer truly his home. Verenier had taken that spot quite handily. When the switch had been made in his mind, he did not know.


    By Verenier standards, he had only gained a meagre amount of magical prowess, but on Earth he stood firmly in the upper echelons of ability. He didn''t know for certain whether his stay on another planet had changed him in ways other than giving him access to magic well before the other Humans of Earth, but he had a hunch that it had.


    For a moment, Adam considered offering a prayer to Aperio, but he dismissed the thought. He had tried to do that shortly after he had arrived on Verenier to get her to send him back, and that had never worked. Now that he had actually gotten to know her a little bit ¡ª a fact he still found largely unsettling ¡ª he was quite sure that the All-Mother only answered the prayers of, perhaps, five people. He was most assuredly not on that list.


    Adam rounded another corner, the little motel that had essentially become his home on Earth finally coming into view. Despite its rather run down look, he had found it to be not only one of the most comfortable places he had been to, but also staffed with quite wonderful people. The only thing he disliked was the Vampire that had booked the attic and kept pestering him with questions about Aperio he did not have the answers to.


    It had one important trait that caused Adam to quicken his step, however. For one reason or another, the weird reality-shifting phenomena did not occur inside the motel. When he looked outside, he could still see such things happening, but the building itself seemed to be somehow excluded.


    "Welcome back," the old man said as Adam finally entered the little motel. "Kira got the books you asked for, she left them in your room."


    "Thank you, Hannibal," Adam replied, offering the man a nod. "I assume she still refuses tips?"


    "Naturally. Werewolves are quite proud beings, she more so than others." Hannibal gave a chuckle. "I''m still a bit surprised she is helping you as much as she is and hasn''t tried to get you to take her to your two friends. It''s quite clear now that they are not Fae, but Elves, and Kira despises them."


    "I heard Gregory mention something similar, but made it out to encompass all Werewolves," Adam began. "Did they have, like, a huge war or something in the past?"


    Hannibal hesitated for a moment before he shut the ledger he always kept by his side. "There was a war, yes," he said carefully, "but the reason for their hatred stems from the fact that lycanthropy does not occur naturally. At least, it didn¡¯t at first. A few Elven tribes in eastern Europe sought a way to fight the ever-growing presence of Vampires in their lands, back in the early sixteenth-century. They started abducting Humans, subjecting them to various experiments in the hope of creating something more effective against the blood-sucking menace than their Fae-touched silver.


    "They succeeded," he continued, "but not before they had slaughtered entire cities and twisted the Humans they took into something entirely different. They never stopped treating them like glorified cattle and foot soldiers, but they also weren''t dumb. To this day, Werewolves cannot directly attack an Elf outside of a full moon."


    Hannibal let out a sigh and absentmindedly rubbed the leather binding of his ledger. "Their hatred is justified, yes, but it is also directed at people who have tried ¡ª and succeeded, in many cases ¡ª to stop this from happening in the first place. The entirety of the most prominent Moon Elven tribe has always been opposed to the creation and subsequent enslavement of lycanthropes, and have even found a way to reverse the process. Still, they are now among the most hated groups, according to multiple Werewolf sources."


    "That is not what I expected," Adam said, not quite sure what else he was supposed to say. Up until a few months ago, he had not even known that Vampires, Werewolves, and the like existed on Earth. He had grown up under the blissful assumption that his world was beautifully boring aside from the conflict they brought upon themselves. "I assume Aperio fits the bill for a Moon Elf around here, doesn''t she?"


    "Aside from her stature, yes. Though everyone with even an inkling of magical knowledge ¡ª actual knowledge, that is ¡ª will not easily cross her. Poke and prod to test her limits, sure, but not do something they would assume would upset her immediately."


    "Actual knowledge?" Adam asked as he set himself down in one of the all-too-comfortable arm chairs that were dotted around the lobby. "I assume you mean everyone who has studied magic before the System arrived."


    "I do, yes," the old man replied. He gestured broadly at the room they were in. "This place was built centuries ago with knowledge long lost and techniques we will probably never rediscover, thanks to the convenience of this System. It opens the gates for everyone to become someone, yes, but it also sets us on a path of perpetual conflict in the name of personal growth."


    Adam could not help but let out a laugh at the comment. "You make it sound like we don''t fight each other all day already."


    "We do yes," Hannibal replied. "But most people keep to the ancient rules because they know what a true fight would bring. The Elves and Werewolves have shown us that. The Dead Sea did not get its name because it is inhospitable, but because of the slaughter that took place there. To this day it requires skilled necromancers and droves of lively people to keep it in check."


    "Or what? We would be overrun by zombies and skeletons?"


    "Something like that," Hannibal said. "Just trust me when I say that you want the Dead Sea contained."


    "I have no issue believing that."


    Adam had seen what kind of beasts had popped up in response to everyone receiving a Class. Even the one Aperio had killed in Australia. And she said she didn''t want to stand out¡­ He simply shook his head and dismissed the thought. It didn''t really matter what he thought about the All-Mother or her actions. If she wished to do something, she would. Nobody could stop her.


    As if the thought of her had attracted her attention, the sight of the lobby vanished to be replaced by a black expanse that appeared to be infinite. The only things Adam could discern were a stream of lights in the distance; and the All-Mother, sitting on what looked to be nothing, one wing draped over Caethya who was, apparently, using the literal creator of everything as her bed.


    Aperio regarded Adam for a moment, her eyes seemingly looking right through him to something he couldn''t perceive. She nodded to herself as she had apparently found what she was looking for and, before Adam could even greet her, his perspective shifted.


    No longer was he looking at the world through his eyes, but instead he now sat in the All-Mother''s hands, somehow seeing his body still standing there, frozen in time. A slight warmth flowed through him.


    "I will be done in a moment," Aperio said, as if that would explain anything. "I need to stop your Soul from trying to break itself."


    Adam tried to reply, but he could not speak. He could not even move. Before he had time to further contemplate his new state of being he was back in his body, feeling refreshed and somehow a lot lighter than before.


    "What was that?" he managed to ask, his voice not sounding hoarse like he had somehow expected.


    "Like I said, I had to repair your Soul," the All-Mother replied. "I would normally ask for permission first, but it was urgent. Your stay on Verenier anchored you to it, which caused your Soul to not behave as it should on the split Earth." She let out a small sigh. "It was an oversight, but it is fixed now. Your Soul will no longer try to exist in multiple realities at once. You are now, [Unique]."


    The last word caused a small System window to appear, informing Adam that he had been granted the title of [Unique] and that he would be the only version of himself in all of creation. Forever. When he dismissed the message and went to look at his [Status] he was surprised to see that the title wasn''t there.


    "It is a hidden title," Aperio said, causing Adam to squint at her. "I did not read your mind. I can see you looking at your [Status]."


    "So¡­ was that the reason I saw reality change around me ever since you did whatever it was you did?"


    "Yes," Aperio replied with a nod. "But it is over now. If you wish to go back, you only have to tell me. For now, you may stay in my Void for as long as you wish."


    "Thanks¡­ I think." Adam was, in fact, not sure what he should think. He sat himself down, trusting he could do as Aperio and Caethya were doing. "I think I need a moment."

 Forgotten Manga – Pages 31-35 (Complete)

    The next batch of the manga is done! As usual, it is illustrated by SilvaSphinx and paid for by TRM. The script and characters for it were provided by me (duh).


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating and vote, it helps a lot!


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 Aeternae – Chapter 242: Impending Reunion

    Ferio glared at the starry reflection of herself that was Diskrye. "Are you sure you don''t know where Earth is? Cause I am pretty sure you do."


    The primordial deity of space regarded the only child of the Creator for a moment before it sighed. "I know where it was when I made it, but Her creation is in constant motion and it''s been more than a few millennia since then." Diskrye offered a shrug. "You would be better off asking your mother to take you there, if you truly wish to go."


    The Goddess of Life and Light pinched the bridge of her nose at the comment. "If I could just ask her to get me there, I wouldn''t have come to ask you where it is."


    "But why can''t you ask her?" Diskrye asked, tilting its head slightly. "The All-Mother is always listening. She may not answer everyone, but I am sure she would talk to her own daughter."


    "I think you are vastly misjudging the relationship between Aperio and myself."


    Diskrye cocked its head to the other side. "Am I?"


    "Yes."


    Ferio turned away from the starry copy of herself and let out a long sigh. If Diskrye was not willing to tell her, she would have to go looking for herself, which would probably annoy the primordial space entity as well as the All-Mother. Though Ferio was associated with the Sun on many worlds, she had never really gotten along all that well with space itself. This was especially true once she had to leave the confines of whatever realm she was currently in in order to move elsewhere.


    Her mother had tried to explain it countless times, but Aperio ¡ª at least at the time ¡ª was not good at teaching and had expected a nine year old to pay attention to what was essentially multidimensional maths, complex enough to quite literally kill mortals.


    "Well," Diskrye began after it became obvious Ferio herself would not talk, "I am willing to show you where I initially made that world. Even from there, finding out where it is now will be just as annoying for you as it is for me."


    "Better than nothing," the Goddess replied. "And no, asking Mother is not an option."


    Diskrye regarded Ferio for a moment longer before it vanished, the Goddess of Life and Light easily following the teleport to what she had always assumed to be the home of the primordial space deity.


    Much like the being itself, this realm was comprised of shades of black and dark blue and housed countless visible stars within it. The worlds floating in the middle of the not-quite-room were the ones Diskrye was currently working on. Most of the hovering orbs had an unnatural ¡ª almost haunting ¡ª aura to them, as though they were places that reasonable mortals would want to avoid. So Diskrye is on an Eldritch bend again, Ferio mused. Might be worth claiming one of those for some nice horrors of the beyond.


    While most of her followers ¡ª and most mortals in general ¡ª would not be a fan of those mostly formless and otherwise rather incomprehensible beings, she quite liked them. They knew their place far better than the kind of pesky mortals her mother had grown so fond of.


    Diskrye, her stellar twin of worlds, dissolved away. In the same instant, the worlds that were currently being worked on were replaced with a web of mana, one that quite obviously did not like being pushed into the perhaps-room''s approximation of physical reality.


    "It was there when I created it," the disembodied voice of Diskrye said, a small clump of mana shifting slightly in response before a multitude of lines spread out from it. "And that is where it could be by now. As you can see, there are too many options to count."


    "That''s only a few million," Ferio replied, her eyes tracking one of the possible ''trajectories'' the world she was looking for could have taken. "Perfectly countable."


    "You know what I meant." The Goddess of Life and Light was almost certain she could hear Diskrye huff in annoyance. "Besides, these are just the initial possibilities. Each path splits into a myriad others, which subdivide again and again. Such is the complex nature of her creation."


    Ferio did not reply, too focused on the probable thread of her mother''s creation that Diskrye had highlighted. Something about it told her it was the one it was looking for. A slight sheen that only she could seemingly see. A tiny note of power that resonated with her very Soul in a way only Aperio could accomplish.


    "Thank you," she said after a moment longer. Before Diskrye could offer any more words, Ferio disappeared from its probably-dominion and appeared in a stretch of nothing that at one point or another had likely served as the birthplace of the world she was looking for.


    A thought caused a pillar of runes to appear around Ferio. She touched a particular sequence of them with her hand, the motions not needed but still feeling necessary. This was how she had always commanded larger quantities of her own mana, even if her mother had tried again and again to make her stop. According to the old Aperio, it was unbecoming of her to resort to physical representations of magic.


    At the time she had tried to use magic like the All-Mother, but it had never worked quite as well as simply making an abstracted version of the methods, and then using that abstract as a tool for casting. Now, she no longer cared what her mother thought about it. Not really at least. But then, Aperio also had not commented at all on the way her daughter wielded  magic since her return.


    Ferio tapped a small cluster of runes in front of her, causing a circle coloured in the same orange and red as her clothes to form beneath her feet. It pulsed with her mana for a moment before dissolving into orange motes which attached themselves to a particular strain of mana. One which felt an awful lot like that of her mother.


    It was almost like she had left a trail to be followed.


    Aperio hesitated for a moment before she gently ran her fingers through Caethya''s hair, eliciting a happy mumble from the Demigoddess. Unlike Adam, her love had had a unique Soul from the outset. Sure, it was because Aperio herself had been careless, but she could not longer find it in herself to dislike the fact, or even hate herself like she had in the past.


    Caethya had shown on more than one occasion that what she felt was quite genuine and the notion, foolish in hindsight, that her love had only shown affection because she had been given a rather...liberal amount of the All-Mother''s mana should have been mostly dismissed. There were still some small whispers of doubt, but that held true for essentially anything Aperio did so she did not pay them much mind.


    She turned her attention to Adam who still sat in her Void. She had noticed that he sometimes looked up from his hands to glance at something behind her. The only thing back there that could be of note was the River of Souls. Maybe he wants to see it up close?


    Aperio flicked her free wrist as if throwing away a piece of paper, causing her Void to shiver for a moment before the River of Souls became visible underneath them. "You are free to look," she said, gesturing towards the various spheres with the wing not wrapped around her love. "You will not be able to reach them, however."


    The mortal only looked at her confused for a moment before he seemed to realise what he was doing and immediately averted his gaze. Apparently, direct eye contact with her was not something he wished at the moment.. Aperio couldn''t quite figure out why that was, but she chalked it up to the fact that she had fixed his Soul without asking for permission first. Under normal circumstances, she would have not acted so rashly, but it was needed for both Adam and the universe at large.


    Perhaps I should apologise? Aperio thought to herself as she brushed a few of her love''s hairs behind an ear, her finger tracing the jewellery that always adorned them.


    It was probably the right thing to do, but the All-Mother was not at all certain how she should go about actually doing that. In addition, Adam did not seem all that receptive at the moment to...anything, really.


    Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly. She glanced at the mortal''s Soul again and for a moment, she thought that she had done something wrong and damaged it. Further investigation revealed that that was not the case. The mortal was simply not quite taking the happenings as she had hoped he would.


    A slight grumble came from her lap. It was followed by Caethya''s hand tugging Aperio''s own back towards her head, and that was enough for the All-Mother to take her eyes off of Adam and turn her attention towards her love.


    The Demigoddess was still asleep, but she quite obviously was aware enough to know that Aperio had stopped playing with her hair and was most displeased. Luckily, that was a simple fix and a moment later, Caethya was back to contently mumbling as she shifted a bit in the embrace of Aperio''s wing.


    She would have liked to focus entirely on the affection of her love, but another presence tugged at the edges of her mind. One that soured her mood for a moment. Why is Ferio coming here?


    Aperio let out a sigh, the annoyance contained in it seemingly enough to wake her love.


    Caethya let out a yawn as she stretched herself, blinking a few times before she rubbed her temples. "Looking at the System makes my brain feel like a stampede came through it," she mumbled after a moment, looking up at Aperio. "I hope that goes away."


    "It will," Aperio replied with a smile. She ran her fingers through her love''s hair again, a touch of her magic making sure that Caethya''s pain would quickly leave. "Someone lesser would have died from looking at it."


    "That''s not unsettling at all," the Demigoddess said before she sat herself up in the All-Mother''s lap and gently pulled at her wing so that she would move it with her. "But what makes you so annoyed that I can feel your entire Void resonate with it?"


    Aperio obliged and moved her feathered appendage so that Caethya could comfortably remain wrapped inside it. "Ferio is looking for me."


    "And that''s bad? Why?"


    "We have not exactly parted on good terms." Aperio wrapped her arms around Caethya''s waist and pulled her closer, her free wing moving protectively in front of her love. "I am also not fond of her attitude towards you, and mortals in general."


    "Luckily her opinion on our relationship does not matter," her love replied.


    "Perhaps not, but she is still my daughter and I would rather her not run around thinking mortals are nothing more than chattel for the comparative few that ascend past their initial bounds." Aperio shifted her wings slightly, pulling them closer to herself. "And while it is not needed, I would prefer if Ferio was accepting of you and the feelings I have. I am not as she remembers, nor will I ever be again, but neither am I ¡ª or will I be ¡ª who she apparently wishes me to be."


    "That sounds like a problem for her." Caethya looked up at the All-Mother, offering her a smile. "You are allowed to be yourself. If she doesn''t like it, that isn''t your problem."


    Caethya tapped at Aperio''s wing, standing up once the feathered appendage had been removed and the arms that held her had gone slack. Her love looked at Adam with a raised brow for a moment before she shrugged and rolled her shoulders.


    She held out her hand for the All-Mother to take. "Come on, if Ferio wants to come and make a stink, let her. We have a wondrous new multiverse to observe."


    "You realise that she could quite handily end any version of Earth she wishes, right?" Aperio asked, taking Caethya''s hand. She smirked as her love pulled but did not manage to move her until she stood up herself. "I will not allow her, of course, but she still could."


    The Demigoddess simply waved her off. ¡°Just have her meet us at a caf¨¦ or something of the like. Then we can all have a nice chat and she can tell us why she came to what must be the most backwater of backwater worlds to her.¡±


    ¡°That sounds awfully confrontational.¡±


    ¡°Just enough to get through to her,¡± her love replied with a mischievous smile. ¡°You can think of it as me making a point to her.¡±


    Aperio thought about it for a moment, then gave a tiny shake of her head. ¡°Just don¡¯t fight, please. I want a nice and quiet life, not one where my love and my daughter hate one another.¡±


    Caethya offered another shrug before she held out her hand. ¡°That¡¯s up to her.¡±


    Aperio took her love¡¯s hand into her own, her eyes wandering towards Adam before she sighed and she disappeared with Caethya in tow. If he was ready to leave, all he had to do was ask. She had a family reunion to attend.


    GamingWolf


    If you like the story, do leave a rating and vote, it helps a lot!


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 Aeternae – Chapter 243: Present Company

    Aperio narrowed her eyes at the car that had just cut them off. She considered for a moment running after it to tell the driver off, but decided that simply limiting their car to only ever drive at the speed limit would be enough. In fact, any car they drove would only go as fast as was legally prescribed.


    "Did you just curse another mortal to an eternity adhering to the speed limit?" Caethya asked as she, too, watched the car drive away.


    "Just a week. Maybe."


    "At least you didn''t let them run into you again. Though it was quite the sight to behold, it''s probably happened enough."


    "They should build more sturdily," Aperio said and offered a shrug of both her shoulders and wings. "Their vehicles should come to a full stop when colliding and not be split in two. I''m not even sharp."


    Just as she had promised herself, Aperio had made it a point to not dodge the suicidal drivers of Earth a few times, much to their shock. Obviously no harm had come to her or Caethya, but the same could not be said about the cars. It was strange, though, that no passenger in the vehicles got injured, and that the drivers only ever sustained some bruises and perhaps a mild concussion. The various news outlets that covered the odd string of accidental crashes had called it a miracle, some even claiming that it was divine intervention. Truly a mystery.


    "But you are hot and that is a good substitute," Caethya said with a wide smile.


    Aperio only raised a brow at the words and wrapped a wing around her love. Her phrasing had been a bit off, but she chose to ignore what might have been slight at her intelligence and chose to only acknowledge the fact that Caethya did, in fact, enjoy how she looked.


    A thought caused the traffic light to finally switch in their favour and the two Elves crossed the street without endangering any of the mortals or their possessions.


    The place Aperio had picked to meet her daughter would appear just like any other cafe to most, but it should be obvious to Ferio that it was quite a bit more. Especially now.


    Ever since Aperio had used Eleanor''s little ritual site to pay a visit to the amalgamation of Earth''s deities, it had gained a bit more renown in the circle her mortal friend moved in. As it turned out, using more than the absolute minimum of her power leaves a mark, and it had become improved as far as ritual sites went. Of course, Aperio could ''clean'' it up, but the mortals seemed to enjoy tinkering with the bits and pieces of her mana now embedded into the stones of the cafe.


    "Are you going to try something this time?" Caethya asked as she sat herself down at what had quickly become their table. "It''s not like you can''t eat."


    "Perhaps some tea," Aperio replied, taking her seat opposite her love. "I do like how they smell." She hesitated for a bit, tilting her head to the side. "Do you think I could ask them to make one from leaves I procured?"


    "I think they would be willing to accommodate," Caethya snickered. "They wanted to rename the cafe in your honour after all."


    "Yes," Aperio said, her voice a bit lower. "I remember. What about the sentence ''I do not want to be worshipped'' is hard to understand?"


    "Having something named in your honour is not really worship, now is it?"


    "It is a step in that direction." Aperio offered a shrug, making sure her wings did not knock over any nearby mortals. "Besides, I like the current name. Vorain sounds neat."


    "It is also the name the shop will have forever," the voice of Eleanor cut in. "No matter what my employees want to do, I won''t change it."


    "I feel like there is a story to tell here!" Caethya turned slightly in her chair and crossed her legs. "Are you willing to indulge two bored Elves with the tales of your store?"


    "We truly are the embodiment of boredom," Aperio added with a strong nod as another part of her mind prevented a few hundred versions of Earth from collapsing in on themselves. "Truly at a loss for what to do."


    "Somehow I don''t believe that," Eleanor replied. "But it''s also not much of a story. Vorain is the name the store was given when it was founded long ago, and every generation of my family has kept it. I intend to honour that tradition."


    "Is the name perhaps related to the various enchantments on the building?" Aperio asked. "A few of them seem to be quite old. Older than most of this city, to be exact."


    Eleanor simply shrugged. "I don''t know about that, but you are free to read the legends my family wrote down. Now¡± ¡ªshe clapped her hands, a small notepad appearing between them¡ª ¡°what can I get for you?"


    ///


    Ferio let out an inaudible sigh as she reached yet another patch of empty space. It had become a bit of a trend that she would turn up to where she felt like her mother should be only to find yet another trace of her mana. Diskrye had been wrong about Earth being hard to find; it really wasn''t, but it sure was annoying.


    The runes she had used countless times by now quickly reappeared below her feet and a single thought was all she needed to direct that prepared magic once again. The only upside to all of this was the fact that she was at least feeling like she was getting closer. Her mother''s mana felt a little more¡­ real, for a lack of a better term. Aperio''s nature was showing more now ¡ª one of the few things Ferio found to be reassuring ¡ª and at least that part was easier to track.


    It took her a few more tries, but soon Ferio stood in the space above a world that was practically bathed in the All-Mother''s mana. The reason for it was immediately obvious when the Goddess of Life and Light peered past the thin veneer mortals liked to call reality and had to pinch the bridge of her nose.


    Sure, the countless worlds she could see were masterfully placed on an ever-expanding fabric that adapted to every new version of the world that came to be, but Ferio could still not help but dislike what she saw.


    It would certainly make mortals stronger ¡ª which is probably the reason why Aperio had done this in the first place ¡ª but to Ferio, it also looked like a cheap tactic to get them there. Sure, to them it would not make much of a difference now, but eventually all the different lives someone had lived would need to be recombined into a single existence. Which was something she was sure would be a rather weird experience for the mortal in question. Perhaps it would even be bad enough for them to lose their mind. That could actually be fun, though.


    The Goddess of Life and Light shook her head and focused on her mother. Finding her was easy enough; she was a walking font of incredibly pure mana, after all. A beacon to any mage with half a brain cell at their disposal.


    With a thought and a slightly higher expenditure of mana than she would have anticipated, Ferio brought herself to a street that was relatively close to her mother. Luckily for her, Aperio was currently not moving, likely having already picked some place where they could meet. No matter how much Ferio tried to hide herself, the All-Mother would always know she was coming. You could not hide from an all-seeing Goddess, after all.


    Ferio paused as she walked around the last corner and the meeting spot her mother had apparently chosen came into view. Seeing Aperio sitting there like a regular mortal ¡ª even drinking something ¡ª was not what she had expected. If she was honest with herself, the Goddess of Life and Light had half expected an arena waiting for her in which she had to battle her mother for one reason or another. The All-Mother she remembered loved fighting, after all.


    She froze as Aperio''s eyes landed on her, the almost imperceptible narrowing of which Ferio still felt far more than she would like to admit. Why was it so hard for her to just talk to Aperio? In the past she was scared that her mother would do something drastic that could jeopardise all of existence, but that worry was no longer warranted, so why couldn''t she just go there and tell the All-Mother what she thought?


    Ferio shook her head and took a deep breath. No matter how hard it might be, they would have to¡­ talk at some point, and it might as well be now.


    ///


    Aperio took her gaze off of her daughter again and took another sip of the tea Eleanor had prepared for her. Infusing some of the teas she had thought smelled quite nice with more mana than any mortal would ever be able to command had turned out to be a good idea, as she did actually enjoy drinking this. Just have to make sure nobody else wants a taste¡­ As it had more mana than was reasonable, it would likely kill anyone that was not a deity or her love.


    It didn''t take long for Ferio to approach them. She did not sit down immediately, only doing so when Aperio raised a brow and motioned towards a chair.


    "What do you want?" she asked, lowering her cup and gently placing it on the wing-patterned saucer Eleanor had given her. "It must be rather pressing for you to come all the way here."


    "In a way, it is," Ferio replied. Her eyes wandered from Aperio to Caethya before she looked at the cafe they were in. "I simply felt like it was time that we had a talk, as we can''t just ignore each other for the rest of eternity. We are family, after all."


    "That is true," Aperio agreed. "But I have no interest in associating with anyone who does not accept who I am." She offered a shrug. "That includes who I choose to be with."


    Caethya offered a smile and small wave at the words before she went back to drinking the pitch black liquid Eleanor had called ''a bad mistake of a coffee''. Despite the name, the Demigoddess seemed to be enjoying herself.


    Ferio hesitated for a moment before she simply sighed. "You can do whatever you want. Quite literally, in fact. But I consider it my right to not like everything you do, including being in a committed relationship with a mortal."


    "She is as mortal as you are."


    The Goddess of Life and Light raised a brow at her mother¡¯s reply, likely finding it to be a threat before she shook her head. "Everything is to you, though¡­ Which I guess is the point you are trying to make?"


    It was, in fact, not the point she was trying to make, but Aperio would accept her daughter¡¯s interpretation of it nonetheless. At least it gets her on the right track¡­ If this helped her accept the fact that she loved Caethya, it would be good enough. Now she just had to figure out how to get her daughter to actually think of mortals as more than silly little playthings.


    "It is close enough," the All-Mother said before she took another sip of her tea. "But I am still not quite sure what this meeting is supposed to accomplish. I do not resent you for your opinion, I simply disagree and choose to not have a shouting match because of it." Or worse.


    Aperio was quite certain that Ferio was capable of making her so angry she''d forget herself for a moment and do something that would not easily be undone.


    "I am unwilling to change my stance as I now know quite well what it is like to be a mortal," the All-Mother continued. "And now, I wish to give them at least a small nudge, one that makes their existence better and also allows them to more quickly become a little more powerful.


    "You, on the other hand, seem to regard them as little more than chattel that might be worthy of your attention after they have gained enough power to perhaps perform ascension."


    Her daughter''s expression soured at the word. It reminded Aperio of the spoiled noble children she had again and again met during her life as a slave. Whenever such a person was denied something they thought they should have, they would first pout, their lips transforming into naught but a thin line. Then they would escalate, throwing a tantrum and not stopping until their wish was granted. At least Ferio should know that that is not an option with me.


    She was more than capable of stopping her daughter, and she would if she had to.


    "They are barely better than chattel," Ferio said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "The only difference is that they continually scheme and plot for ways to use you. Every mortal that knows of our power will, inevitably, try something to make us grant them a wish; no matter how dumb the idea might be."


    Aperio raised a brow at the words. Sure, her daughter was likely right that some mortals would attempt to get deities to do something for them, but Gods would not be forced. The only thing that could force the All-Mother to do something was herself, after all.


    "I feel like there is a bit more to this," her love said, seemingly taking the words right from Aperio''s own mind. "Other deities are also surely trying to get your favour. Perhaps even more so than a mortal that can barely grasp your existence."


    "And yet they continue to be more useless and annoying than anything I have seen."


    "Perhaps you could demonstrate," Aperio suggested after she finished the last of her tea in one large swig. "Simply tell me where we should go to observe."


    GamingWolf


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 Aeternae – Chapter 244: Praise Be to the Red Sun

    Aperio stood up, stretching her wings as far as she could before folding them behind her back and placing one of the funny little green pieces of paper the people of Earth used to pay for things on the table. Adam had tried to explain to her why they prescribed worth to something that was inherently useless, but she could only raise a brow at it. She understood the base idea of it all, but still thought a piece of gold or a trade for something you might need was more worthwhile. Or you just get strong enough so you don''t have to rely on others.


    "Now, where are we going?" Aperio asked, her eyes fixed on her daughter. "I am sure there is a world that is perfectly suited to showing us why you dislike mortals so much."


    Ferio only stared at the All-Mother, seemingly not quite sure what she was supposed to say. Luckily for her, she would not have to endure the awkward silence for too long, as Eleanor was on her way to them.


    "You don''t have to pay," the mortal said as she looked at the money Aperio had placed on the table. "Especially if you are just going to create it."


    "I enjoyed the tea you made greatly." The All-Mother shrugged. "Besides, it is simply paper. Quite a few mortals are bound to figure out how to make it themselves soon enough."


    "So, you are saying that we are also going to get an economic apocalypse combined with all the monsters that are popping up? Great."


    "Perhaps you should have based your trading currency on something more substantial than paper, then."


    "I think what it''s made of has little influence on the collapse that is to come," Caethya said as she also stood up. "But I do agree with Aperio, you should be paid for your time and the money she makes is as valid as any other. If anything, what she made is better."


    The All-Mother gave a nod at the words. Most things she created were, in fact, better.


    "I''m just not gonna think about it." Eleanor picked up the money, the cups vanishing in turn when she glanced at them. "And who is the new guest? Should I get you anything?"


    "That is my daughter, Ferio," the All-Mother said. "And we were about to leave."


    Eleanor looked between Aperio and Ferio before she shook her head. "I don''t think I want to know how that dynamic works. Best of luck."


    "Is it that weird that I have a daughter?"


    "Oh, no it''s not that," Eleanor said. "I meant that there seems to be some animosity between the two of you. And I don''t want to be anywhere close to either of you when you choose to resolve said animosity in ways other than talking."


    "Not to worry, we are leaving Earth for a little while," Aperio replied, giving Eleanor a smile before she looked at her daughter. "Ferio simply has to tell me where she wishes to take us to prove her point."


    "Ah, yes, Goddess stuff," Eleanor said and nodded to herself. "It''s shocking that I don''t find this weird." She looked at her other customers who were blissfully unaware of their conversation. "Or question the fact that none of the other people can hear us."


    "I told you," Caethya said, stepping next to Aperio and wrapping an arm around her waist. "She just grows on you and suddenly all her magic is not so scary anymore."


    "Still plenty scary," the mortal replied as she looked the All-Mother up and down. "Especially the slightly glowing eyes. It¡¯s unsettling how she seems to just look right past you and at your Soul or something."


    "That is probably exactly what she is doing," Ferio said. "Mother is quite beyond you or anyone else."


    "Oh, most definitely," Eleanor agreed. "But she seems pretty keen on being just another person, and that is fine with me. Now, if you will excuse me, I do have other guests to attend to."


    Aperio offered the mortal a wave before she set her attention back on her daughter. "So?" the All-Mother asked, a slight tinge of annoyance tainting her words. "Where are we going to observe some annoying mortals?"


    "Kulso," Ferio replied after a moment of hesitation. A small orb appeared in her hand and she offered it to her mother. "This should be enough for you to figure out where it is."


    The All-Mother took the sphere from her daughter''s hand. She tilted her head as she felt countless threads of her own creation connect to it, all of which lead to places beyond their current reality. One of them shone a bit brighter, the mana of Ferio clearly visible on it. Aperio followed that one, a small part of her mind racing along the thread as her daughter ever-so-slowly stood up from her chair.


    It didn''t take her long to find the world of "Kulso" on the other side. A planet like so many others, nestled in the comforting embrace of its sun''s gravity. The one thing that stood out the most was the fact that the areas that would normally sport a shade of green were instead a deep red. The trees, the grass, the vines ¡ª most of it was various shades of red.


    A thought caused the three of them to vanish from Earth, appearing in space above the world her daughter likely ruled.


    "Was it always like that or did they change the colour to appease you?" Caethya asked as she looked at the red swaths covering most of Kulso.


    Ferio huffed and gestured towards her hair. "Of course they did it to ''appease'' me."


    "She likes it," Aperio said, looking at her daughter. "Do not lie."


    "Fine." Goddess of Life and Light folded her arms in front of her chest. "I do. It just looks good."


    "It does," Caethya agreed. "Bit excessive though."


    "Perhaps, but I do not see why this would be bad. The world itself still functions just fine, after all. This was a purely cosmetic change."


    Of course, Aperio could already see the various temples and churches that had been built in her daughter¡¯s name, but she had yet to see why any of this could be construed as a negative. Mortals liked to not only blame parts of their problems on someone else but also have some choices made for them. She understood the first part, but the second one just felt fundamentally wrong. Sure, some choices were hard, but those were the most important ones.


    "Shall we pay them a visit, then?" Aperio asked. "I am sure they will be delighted to have their Goddess descend on their world. It must have been years since that last happened."


    "Centuries, more like," Ferio mumbled under her breath. "The last time I came here a duke tried to bribe me with a harem so I would excommunicate his king. In what world did he think that would work?"


    "In this one, apparently," Caethya said with a mischievous smile on her face. "Did it work, though?"


    "No."


    "Did you consider it?"


    "No!"


    "Is she lying, Aperio?"


    "Not as far as I can tell," the All-Mother replied with a shrug. "It is a rather unappealing offer, especially for her, so I am not surprised. Why would the Goddess that dislikes mortals want to share a bed with them?"


    "I also don''t like being bribed," Ferio said. "So I killed the duke." She gave a small laugh. "Ironically, that started a war that saw the king deposed. It was for the better, honestly. He was very corrupt."


    Aperio only raised a brow, not commenting on the fact that her daughter had killed someone simply because they slighted her. Instead, she picked a rather empty area on the biggest continent and brought the three of them there. It was a quick enough journey from there to one of the nice little villages these ''very bad'' mortals had built, and Aperio thought that it would be good to check the local flavour before, say, arriving with great fanfare in their capital city or something of the like.


    At least they would blend in, as only Elves lived on this world; walking into a village would not draw that much attention. Besides the fact that they have fairly accurate depictions of Ferio and she does resemble me. But then, mortals weren''t all that bright when confronted with the obvious. Unless of course, these ones were smarter than the ones she had encountered on Verenier time and time again.


    A though also gifted Caethya with the [Translation] skill so she could understand the people while Aperio perused all the libraries the world had to offer until she found a dictionary that, for one reason or another, actually translated between something very close to the Ancient Common she knew and one of the languages of this world. From that point onwards it was only a moment of annoying busywork to go through all the other language books to get a decent grasp on what words the mortals used in this day and age.


    "A bit of a warning would be nice," Caethya said, lightly patting Aperio''s back to get her attention. "Suddenly changing location in the middle of a conversation is a bit much."


    The All-Mother shrugged, her wings spreading to their full length with the motion. "I do not see the problem, we had to come down anyway." And it''s not like teleporting us interrupts conversation or anything.


    She took pride in her fact that most of her magic was expertly weaved into the fabric of her creation and created no noticeable disruption in anything. The only reason one would know they teleported was because the surroundings had changed.


    Caethya let out a sigh and shook her head. "Where are we going? I assume we won''t just stand around on a field until someone finds us."


    "There is a village nearby," Aperio said, gesturing towards it with a wing. "I brought us here because it is far enough away for them to not notice our sudden arrival, but close enough that a leisurely walk will get us there. We should savour nature before we are confronted with the most heinous of mortals, after all."


    Ferio rubbed her temples at her mother''s words. "Just go," she said and started walking in the direction the All-Mother had indicated. "The sooner we are done here, the better."


    Eriha knew today would be a good day. After his wife had fallen ill over a year ago, and the priest of their village had chosen their family to receive the Goddess'' blessing for this year''s Renewal Festival, his beloved had finally taken her first steps out of her sick bed. We have truly been blessed.


    No matter how he turned it, the Red Sun must have heard his prayers and taken pity on his wife and healed her. The way her wounds had healed could have only been done through the power of the Goddess. A true miracle.


    He stopped as he reached the top of the small hill that separated their village from most of the fields, taking in the fast expanse of red and orange that stretched all the way until the horizon. Eriha squinted, his eyes catching a few bits of green in the otherwise perfect sea of crops. Luckily, the ritual today would fix nature''s mistake and grant them another year of bountiful harvests thanks to the glory of the Red Sun.


    With a grunt, he picked his bag back up and began the journey downwards. He had to deliver the tools he had repaired back to Villhiem so the man could start his harvest tomorrow. It was of utmost importance that everything went well, otherwise they would not be able to both pay the tax and have enough left for the extra offerings they wanted to do. But it looks like She smiles upon us today, Eriha mused to himself as he directed his gaze towards the red orb in the sky. Praise be.


    Eriha hummed to himself as he continued down the hill, stopping every now and then to pick a few Sun-Kissed Roses that bloomed at the sides of the road for his wife. She loved the flowers and was by far the best in the village when it came to turning them into a nice tea. The fact that they gave you a small boost to all your stats when prepared right was just a bonus to the taste and smell. The Red Sun always provides.


    His musings stopped when he saw a group of three exit the small patch of forest that separated the fertile fields from the open plains of the Carnal Wastes. The woman in the centre drew his attention first, the wings on her back and the black, blue, and silver of her clothes marking her quite clearly as a servant of the Star''s Mother. Judging by her build, she was also an enforcer; not a good sign.


    The woman to her left seemed like any other adventurer that passed through every now and then .The same simple clothing that hid whatever weapons they might use. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the fact that the enforcer had a wing and an arm wrapped around her. Perhaps it was not that bad, then. Maybe just an enforcer on vacation with her wife?


    That thought vanished from Eriha''s mind as soon as his eyes settled on the last person in the group. For one reason or another, he could not truly notice her until he consciously looked. The reason for this effect was as clear as the Red Sun''s rays when his mind finally caught up.


    He fell to his knees and pressed his head to the ground. An Emissary of their Sun had come to bless this glorious day. His prayers had truly been answered; his pleadings heard. Villhiem would have to wait, for Eriha had been chosen by the Red Sun herself.


    GamingWolf


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 Aeternae – Chapter 245: Mortal Plans

    While Aperio raised a brow at the kneeling mortal, her mental award for the most interesting thing in the area went to the Fae that, apparently, thought itself quite hidden behind a nearby tree.


    A wave of her hand was all she needed for the small being to appear in front of her, the magic it had used to disguise itself dispelled. The All-Mother regarded it for a moment, squinting when she realised she had seen this Fae before. It had been part of the conglomeration that had approached her when she had come to their realm with the purpose of retrieving the relic her past self had left behind.


    "And how did you get here?" she asked the Fae, not actually expecting an answer. "Do I have to return to your realm and tell your little king that he should not have his subjects follow me?"


    The small being only offered a shrug before it floated towards the All-Mother and pointed at her shoulder. Aperio raised a brow at the motion before she realised that the Fae likely wanted to take a seat on it, an idea the All-Mother was not a fan of.


    "I am not your chair," Aperio said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You are perfectly capable of flying there for as long as it takes." She shook her head, and glanced over to her daughter. "Should you not address your follower, Ferio? He seems quite¡­ devout."


    "Rise," Ferio said with ill-concealed disgust in her voice. "What is your name?"


    "Eriha," the man replied, his voice barely a whisper as he stood up. His eyes still faced downwards, as if he did not consider himself worthy of looking at them. "My Lady."


    "Just Eriha?" Caethya asked.


    "Our family has not been graced with an Heired name yet," the man replied, folding his hand in front of his chest and somehow looking at the floor even more. "I am but a humble smith, and my wife has not worked her craft for over a year. There are others much more deserving of an Heired name."


    Aperio smiled slightly, her wings twitching as a smidge of joy flowed through her. "I am sure that will change soon."


    Her smile widened a little as the man''s breathing hitched when the power of her voice washed over him. She had not restrained herself all that much and was pleasantly surprised that the mortal had not fallen unconscious immediately. The world her daughter had made produced mortals that were far hardier than those of Earth. Definitely a good start, as far as she was concerned.


    "You''re gonna make sure of that, aren''t you?" Ferio asked with a sigh. At least she had made sure to speak in a language Aperio was quite sure the mortal did not understand. "Do you want things to go badly?"


    "Should that not be in your favour?" the All-Mother inquired, tilting her head slightly to the side. "We came here to prove your point, after all. It will likely involve mortals doing stupid things in attempt to win our favour.. Or your favour, really; I feel like they will not recognise me as a Goddess."


    Ferio snorted. "Oh, trust me, they will. The ''Star''s Mother'' is a Goddess onto her own and gets worshipped alongside myself."


    "How nice of you to involve me in your church."


    "You¡¯re welcome."


    Ferio shook her head and directed her gaze back to the mortal, only briefly pausing on the pouting Fae that had taken to flying next to Aperio''s shoulder. "Where is the nearest city?"


    "That would be Archen''s Fall," Eriha replied, seemingly confused why Ferio would even ask. "The nearest village is Eickersville, my home."


    "The village is a good a place as any," Ferio said. "Take us there."


    "Of course!" the man replied. He glanced for a moment at the bag he had been carrying before he suppressed a sigh and picked it up. "Please, follow me."


    Aperio flicked her wrist, the bag flying into her hand. "Where is this supposed to go?" she asked, offering the man a smile as he looked at her.


    "Villhiem, a farmer that lives a few hours away from the village," Eriha replied.


    "Tall, dark-skinned, missing three fingers on his left hand?" the All-Mother asked, the bag vanishing from her hand once Eriha had confirmed her question with a nod. "He now has his tools, and a small note informing him that you are otherwise occupied."


    Aperio smiled at the confused expression and simply started walking in the direction he had indicated, Caethya falling into step beside her with a slight giggle. "Come on, Red Star, we have places to be."


    ///


    Eriha''s first step after the enforcer had teleported his bag faltered as she named the Emissary as the Red Star herself. He looked at the red-haired woman, her form still escaping his senses despite the fact that he was looking directly at her.


    He was already halfway to the floor again when an invisible hand gripped him and pulled him back to his feet.


    "No time for that," the Emissary, or perhaps the Red Star herself, said as she passed him. "You can grovel later."


    Eriha took a deep breath, the scent of burnt candles and ash filling his nose. Life''s Fire, he thought to himself as he fell into step behind the woman that might well be his Goddess.


    He directed his eyes at the ground, noting that wherever the Red Star tread, the ground singed, leaving her footprint burned into it forevermore. It was in stark contrast to the slight crunch each of the enforcer''s steps brought with it, the road cracking beneath her feet only to be magically repaired just a moment later. The Red Star seemingly did not want anyone else''s steps to be remembered. As it should be.


    The journey back to his village went by remarkably fast. Quick enough, in fact, that Eriha for a moment considered the possibility that the Red Star had used her magic to make the trip more enjoyable for him. He did not feel tired in the least, after all, and neither did the entourage of his Goddess look exhausted. But then, an Enforcer would not tire from a simple walk. She looked like she could fight an army and be just relaxed as she seemed now.


    "Looks like they value cleanliness," the broad Elf said, her accent drawing Eriha''s attention. "The temple is pristine."


    "As it should be," the manifestation of the Red Star replied after she crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave the building a once-over.


    The third Elf gave a small giggle at that before she said a few words that Eriha did not understand. The Red Star replied, her voice sounding a little strained; annoyed. A slight rustle of the Enforcer''s wings coupled with a cold glare somehow quieted his Goddess and caused Eriha to take a step back.


    He should have paid more attention to the little Trickster that floated next to the Enforcer. Perhaps it was messing with the woman enough to startle even the Red Star.


    While he didn''t know much about the people that devoted themselves to the Star''s Mother, he did know that his Goddess still valued the opinion of her progenitor despite the fact that she had quite obviously transcended her.


    Said follower of the Star''s Mother had seemingly heard his thoughts as she set her gaze on him, her eyes narrowing slightly. Eriha tried to look away, but try as he might he could not stop staring into the cold blue eyes of the Enforcer. Every time he blinked, the silver dots in the endless sea of her eyes changed and he could feel a part of himself drift away; taken to a realm outside of their sanctified world.


    As soon as it had begun, it ended, the woman simply focusing her attention back on the Red Star and saying a few words in the language Eriha did not know. It did remind him of the times he had gotten to listen to the Ascendant read the Scripture of Origin, but it sounded off, almost like they were forgoing some parts of their speech for one reason or another.


    "Is Gyswail still the priest of this village?" the Red Star asked, the gaze of her gleaming red eyes filling him with a comforting warmth quite unlike that of the enforcer.


    "Yes," Eriha replied before he took a deep breath and let out a content sigh. "He should be preparing the midday prayer in his office right now."


    ///


    Ferio suppressed the urge to sigh and pinch her nose and instead simply walked into the temple dedicated to herself. She of course knew where the priest was, she had merely hoped that Eriha would answer with something else and not be the good little follower he seemed to be. After all, she had picked this world because it used to be full of people that could not wait to sell their family to her for the tiniest boon. Usually it was a way to live longer than their frail bodies would normally allow.


    It was the most useless request, as far as Ferio was concerned. Her mother had made the System for the single purpose of making mortals stronger so that they might become Gods of their own. They had all the tools they needed at their disposal, and yet they still sought to use their betters to do it for them. That was what she wanted to show her mother. That her little experiment wasn¡¯t working and she would be better off just making proper people to begin with. Not those frail excuses known as mortals¡­


    Her mother valued strength, and so did she. So ¡ª not for the first time ¡ª Ferio asked herself why Aperio kept them around. She understood the purpose the All-Mother had given them when they were created. Playthings for the divine, essentially. Something to keep them busy and perhaps help them learn one thing or another. But now? Now her mother seemed to hold the pathetic things in higher regard than even her own daughter. And the worst thing of all was the fact that she had taken a fancy to one of them. The only good thing Ferio could say about Caethya was that the woman was not as pathetic as other mortals, something that was only true because Aperio had given a blessing to her very Soul.


    It also made her wonder why she allowed the Fae to stay on the planet when it was here without permission and much to the dislike of the All-Mother. The little tricksters did nothing of note most of the time. All they ever seemed to do was annoy mortals, but that was also something she could appreciate about the fickle beings.


    Ferio shook off her thoughts as she walked towards the priest. He was easy enough to find, as she had heard countless prayers from him before and, for one reason or another, the man was quite fond of describing his surroundings before he actually got down to saying anything of actual importance.


    She simply opened the door to his office. Knocking to announce her presence was inefficient and boring when all she had to do was let more mana flow out from her well and permeate reality. It had the added benefit of preempting any questions as to who she might be, as she had given these people sufficient blessings and miracles for them to recognize the feel of her presence.


    It achieved her anticipated result quite nicely, as the priest immediately stopped what he was doing and fell to his knees. His gaze settled onto the small statue of her that hung on the wall, as he ¡ª like most who lived on Kulso ¡ª did not dare to face her.


    Before the priest could speak, Aperio stepped into the room, her aura drowning out everything else for a moment. We get it, you''re all powerful, Ferio thought to herself, rolling her eyes.


    "Gyswail," Ferio said, suppressing the urge to sigh once more. "I require the flame."


    "Of course," the man replied. "Red Star."


    Ferio could feel the raised eyebrow of her mother before she had even done it, but she simply ignored it. She was going to show the All-Mother how these mortals had built their world on lies, deceit, and borrowed power. The reach of this corruption wasn''t small in scale ¡ª the nations that existed now only did so because they had bargained away entire countries simply to gain a smidgen of extra power for themselves.


    The flame had been one of those gifts. It was a mote of her power any priest of hers could call upon to exact her will on this world. The mortals mostly used it to kill off anyone they did not like. Ferio was fine with that; mortals would just come back regardless. Her mother''s System made sure of that.


    A wave of Ferio''s hand caused the flickering flame that had appeared over the man''s uplifted hands to extinguish. She had taken her gift back. Perhaps she had not done it with the pomp and fanfare required to bring it to the attention of all, and thus incite an immediate worldwide reaction, but it should still be enough nonetheless. All she had to do now was wait. Eventually they would come crawling back to her, offering yet more pathetic mortal trifles in order to entice her to give back their pitiful, beloved flame.


    Once they figured out that all their begging would amount to nothing, their insecurity would grow. Grow until they would inevitably turn to her mother and ask her to solve all their insignificant problems.


    She wouldn''t even have to tell them who Aperio was, as she had already told them about her long, long ago.


    GamingWolf


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