Aurelian stared at Elysea in a mix of muted shock and quiet bewilderment.
“So let me get this straight,” he said slowly while reaching up to rub his eyes with his palms. “Not only are you the original Calamity, you’re also Solarius’ wife, and the mother of his children, and my, what, great, great, great—”
“As I understand it, not quite,” Elysea interrupted with the same faintly amused tone. “Your great-grandfather was my son, Aurelian. We are not that far removed.”
Aurelian took a moment to process that, and then released a slow breath.
“Right. Okay. Leaving aside the logistics of that particular revelation, I have to circle back: why me? Why not my sister, or my mother, or—”
“The power is patrilineal, due to Solarius being a male god. It passes to the women of our family, but only the men can pass it on.”
“How does that make any—?”
“A woman carries the child, but the seed comes from the father.”
Aurelian stared at Elysea again for several moments, then threw his hands up.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever—”
“I agree, it is quite frustrating, but that is the System’s logic, Aurelian. Trying to unravel or understand it is the work of multitudinous lifetimes, even for someone like you that is now effectively immune to entropic deterioration,” she said with a faint smile. “Congratulations on that, by the way, dear. Again, I am very proud of you for achieving that particular milestone.”
“Yeah, thanks, I—hang on!” he said abruptly mid-gratitude. “If I’m immortal, aren’t you immortal too?”
“Of course,” Elysea said with a nod.
“Then why aren’t you still around?”
“Checks and balances,” she explained with another wry smile.
“The System took you out?” he asked with a wary glance at the tree.
“No, no, nothing like that,” she laughed. “When I reached Seventh Tier, I had three choices: ascend into a deity like the Nine, transform into a new Eternal, or become one of the System’s sentinels and leave the Prime Material forever.”
“You couldn’t just choose ‘option four: stay myself’?”
“I gave birth to demi-gods, Aurelian. That was never an option for me. My body was altered irrevocably by my children.”
Aurelian sucked in his cheeks sourly but didn’t argue. He could see how getting knocked up by his-autocratic-glowiness would have impacts on Elysea’s body—not that he wanted to think about his great-great-grandmother having sex.
“Okay, so you chose option three?”
“I did,” Elysea confirmed with a nod. “I became a Sentinel, and the System allows me to travel the various Realms, affecting positive change within the scope of its balances, and even make intercessions against threats to their existences. I have been able to save many billions of lives—more than I can count, really. To them, I am a god, I suppose. Being a Sentinel allows me to use abilities nobody else has access to.”
“Well, if the System is basically God—”
“No, it isn’t,” Elysea corrected with a shake of her head. “The System is not God, it is a framework, one that grew from a seed. Whether that seed self-actualized or was planted is the real question, but even I do not have access to the answer. If God exists in the way you think of Him, dear, then the System would be the framework by which He guides multiversal existence.”
Aurelian leaned back at Elysea’s words and looked up at the tree again in quiet consideration. It was a lot to process, truthfully: his origins, his bloodline, his Calling, his circumstances, and all the implications for the future that Elysea gave him. There was a sense of gravity and importance to the discourse that was overriden by how casual Elysea seemed with him. What should have felt like a dramatic and epic moment felt more like a casual chat with a distant relative.
It was mildly disconcerting in its own way.
“I am sorry to interrupt what I am sure are terribly deep thoughts, dear, but we are nearing the end of our time. I was a little cheeky about extending our meeting, but your body is about to complete its transition to Initiate Temper, and I have no inclination toward robbing you of that bliss.”
“You said you had a warning?”
“I did. The Curse is not broken, it is merely delayed. You must discover the Secrets of the Elden, per your quests—two now, at my last count—and secure them prior to Absolum, Solarius, or their servants interceding. If you fail, you will be forced to either Tether yourself, or succumb to the insanity that dooms all Nephilim.”
“What about my bond to Bahamut?”
“The bond will give you a longer period of lucidity, but it will not shield you forever. When you die, so will the Dragon King. If you go utterly mad, especially if you reach tier six or seven, not even Bahamut will be able to restrain you. Once a Nephilim reaches Sixth Tier, their power doubles, and at Seventh Tier, it doubles again,” Elysea explained with grim seriousness to her tone.
“That is a secret that none but the Nine remember any longer—though eventually your bond will recall it,” his ancestor continued. “This power gain is reflected not in your numbers, Aurelian, but in your Core. It functions as a kind of ‘seal’ on your potential. When you reach Sixth and Seventh Tier, you will accelerate astronomically in might—and that is the reason Nephilim are called Calamities.”
Aurelian let out a breath at her words and stared at his hands in thought.
“So that’s where those legends come from?”
“Yes. Nephilim do not have ‘bottlenecks’ like other Cultivators, no matter what people believe. Your progress is completely linear, but your rewards are juxtaposed. All Nephilim attract adversity, it is part of our Cores—but so too do we grow exponentially through that adversity.”
“I’m basically a Saiyan,” Aurelian muttered to himself quietly.
“A what?”
“Nevermind,” he said quickly. “So was that your warning?”
“That, and one other: trust your heart, love as you desire, and do not allow the constraints of your origins to predicate your wants. It is a false humility that demands you see yourself like others. Empathize with them, protect them, shelter them, but remember this: you are the son of gods, heroes, and legends all. Your bloodline is the greatest the Prime Material has ever known. It is an arrogance to let yourself be cajoled into a faux modesty.”
“I don’t want to be another Solarius,” he said with a frown, followed by instant regret. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“It is quite alright,” Elysea said warmly. “Your grandfather—forgive me, I will refer to him that way—is more complex than his worst traits, but he certainly did allow those worst traits to define him. You must stop him, Aurelian, and I know these revelations will make it that much more complicated for you; but it was necessary to avoid you learning it at the wrong moment.”
Elysea reached out and pressed her hands to his cheeks.
“He would want you to do this. Arcastor was a good man, Aurelian. He was noble, he was brave, and he was true to his convictions. Solarius is not Arcastor—he is a warping of everything that I loved, writ into a divine megalomaniacal tyranny. End him, and in doing so, save your grandfather’s soul from its own corruption.”
“How do I avoid becoming like him, though, if I don’t hold myself with humility?”
“Knowledge is power, my child,” Elysea said with a wry smile and reached down to squeeze his hands. “You know what you are fighting, and you know where you come from. You need not be falsely modest in order to avoid the trappings of absolute power. Remember the lessons of your grandfather’s ascent to disgrace, and recall the honor of your bloodline. Let faith, not in gods, but in your own convictions guide you—and heed the counsel of those you love. They will keep you on the right path.”
“Okay,” Aurelian said simply and smiled at Elysea. He was hardly ‘fine’ with any of it, but there was a kind of certainty of self and reassurance of purpose that came from the woman’s words. For the first time in their discourse, he did feel some sort of connection to her.
“You look like him, you know,” Elysea said with a tilt of her head. “Not entirely. Clearly your lineage has adapted to your mortal influences, but the shadow of him is there. I would wager he sees it too, and hates you for it.”
“Hates me for looking like him…?”
“For reflecting what he abandoned back at him,” Elysea clarified. “He was a noble soul, once, Aurelian. He probably sees that nobility in you, and it terrifies him.”
“Why?”
“Because he was once like you, and with even less potential, he conquered the Heavens. Imagine what he might think you, his own descendant, capable of. His power and blood amplify your Nephilic manifestation. You have the potential to be the most powerful Nephilim that has ever existed—and your trials and burdens will be balanced to match that singular capability. You must persevere.”
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“I understand,” Aurelian assured her with a nod and a return squeeze of the hands. “Well, sort of. I’ll do my best.”
“Good,” Elysea said, reaching up to settle her right hand on his forehead. “Now, our time is at an end. I will see you again at your Second Temper.”
“I… it was nice meeting you,” he said lamely and at a loss for what else to offer.
“It was nice meeting you, too,” Elysea laughed warmly. “Best of luck, my dear child. May the wisdom of Eld offer you guidance.”
Elysea’s scarlet eyes blazed, and Aurelian felt something slam into his chest.
Darkness obscured everything, and then abruptly, his eyes snapped open within the Desolation once more.
When they did, a System alert populated his vision.
Congratulations, Aurelian Lucis Imperius!
Soulforce Expansion has been successfully completed.
You have now completed the First Temper process.
Congratualtions on taking your first true steps on the path of Cultivation, Reclaimer!
Aurelian stared at the alert for several seconds, and then let out a laugh.
He finally had a milestone that didn’t completely devolve into a cacophanous montage of screaming and pain—at least, not entirely. The discourse with Elysea had certainly helped to shield him from what he presumed was an immensely discomforting level of transformation.
“Wait, doesn’t this mean…?”
Aurelian’s eyes lit up, and he summoned his sheet instantly.
Name: Aurelian Lucis Imperius
Temper: Initiate Temper
Infusions: Mind 1/2 | Body 1/2 | Spirit 1/2
Core: Calamity Core (Attunement Stage)
Chakras: 1/7
Level: 25 | Race: Elysean (L) | Origin: Nephilim (L) | Gender: Male | Zodiac: Dragon (L)
Health: 990 | Mana: 498 | Stamina: 288 | Anima: 0
STR: (85) 94 | AGI: 65 | DEX: 55 | VIT: (91) 99 | END: 63 | INT: 54 | PER: 48 | WIL: (99) 123 | CHA: (61) 91
Mind Skills: Revelate (E) 20 | Linguistics (UC) 1 | Philology (R) 5 | Exploration (UC) 11 | Investigation (UC) 6 | Dragon’s Resolve (E) 23 | Tactician (R) 19 | Deception (UC) 4 | Dragon’s Gaze (E) 27 | Intimidation (R) 6 | Persuasion (UC) 2
Body Skills: Pain Tolerance (UC) 39 | Longsword Mastery (C) 32 | Running (C) 35 | Dodge (C) 33 | Dragon’s Sanguination (E) 29 | Brawling (C) 27 | Fire Resistance (UC) 27 | Lightning Resistance (UC) 23 | Ice Resistance (UC) 17 | Breath Control (UC) 22 | Acrobatics (UC) 23 | Poison Resistance (R) 14
Spirit Skills: Mana Control (R) 34 | Firebolt (UC) 24 | Lightning Bolt (R) 11 | Soul Sense (UC) 14 | Spirit Bond: Dragon (M) 15 | Force Dominion (T) 2 | Calamity’s Blade (T) 15 | Anima Conversion (E) 8 | Anima Syphon (E) 13 | Anima Infusion (E) 5 | Anima Diffusion (E) 1 | Oathforger (L) 1
Traits: Fast Learner (E) | Dragon Force (E) | Aetheric Osmosis (E) | Godsbane (T) | Sanguinated (L) | Force Nullification (U) | Truesight (L)
Titles: Elysean Reclaimer (U) | Survivor (R) | Aether Sage (E) | Dragon Rider (E) | Defiant (L) | Primogenitor (U) | Lord of Force (T)
Languages: Common | Elysean | Draconic
13% to Level 26
You have 7 Attribute Points Available!
You have 7 Skill Points Available!
You have 1 Skill Upgrade Points Available!
You have 1 Skill Evolution Points Available!
Aurelian grinned and rubbed his hands together.
It was time to do something hilarious.