《The Harukian Chronicler [ReWrite]》 Prologue - Shot Through the Heart When most heroic stories begin, people used to read about the hero coming of age before taking up the sword to go slay the enemy of the story. These days the stories all start with a man either getting summoned to another world, or getting hit by a truck. There are also the rare stories where ¡®God¡¯ makes a mistake before giving the half-wit a chance to go to another world; who knows if the ¡®God¡¯ even made a mistake. My story sadly starts with not a roar of victory, or even a whimper of pity; it starts with the loud ringing brought about by a gunshot. A low caliber gun, shot to the right place, is enough to cause one to die sadly; and that bullet went right through my heart. Don¡¯t I love being a parody death; thanks for that cunt. Course not my fault that the bitch decided to ambush me a good mile from my house, a bit away from the corner store I just bought my delicious soda from. It¡¯s a lovely Saturday night as well, but nope, not going to be able to enjoy my soda and smoke while playing some video games. ¡°This was because they took you from me; I¡¯m just taking back what is mine!¡± Crazy is over there muttering to herself, the fuck did I ever see in her? ¡°You always said you¡¯re going to hell, I¡¯ll join you there¡­ we¡¯ll be together.¡± And there¡¯s the psycho laughing¡­ is no one going to call the cops? What am I thinking, this neighborhood is used to gunshots! And she continues to laugh as the gun is brought to her temple, oh goody; Murder-Suicide. Do I even want to know what the headlines will be tomorrow when people find the bodies? Well, seems like I died quite quickly from bleed-out, hovering over my body in a spiritual like form¡­ so can I haunt her for a split second before she offs herself? Wait¡­ when she offs herself, do I have to deal with her spirit as well? ¡°Not necessarily¡­¡±Oh goody, ethereal voices from nowhere¡­ and, why is time stopped? I did want to enjoy seeing the bitch shoot herself in the head; ¡°Well pardon me for interrupting then, not like I have an actual job to do.¡± From the darkness of the night, far off pass the the illumination of the streetlights, walks a woman with the palest skin I have ever seen. Though wearing a petticoat is kind of out of fashion, and a matching tophat no less. Combat boots, tight jeans¡­ and the fluffiest hair I have ever seen in my¡­ life? I give a slight chuckle as I notice who this is; ¡°Good evening, Death. Good to see you again.¡± ¡°And they say you erased your memories this time around; course you don¡¯t remember me actually.¡± She smiles at me as she moves closer; the swinging ankh around her neck a real eye catcher there; ¡°But you probably just guessed since you¡¯re dead now. I wonder though¡­ how will you act this time around?¡± ¡°What ever do you mean?¡± ¡°Well,most people at this time will be begging for more time, will be saying it was a mistake¡­¡± ¡°Meh¡­ I got shot, I am dead. I got what everyone else does in life¡­ there is no use begging for more of something I cannot have.¡± I just smile at the woman, at Death, who gives me a sweet smile back as she bows towards me with a flourish of her hat. ¡°As always, you never cease to amaze me.¡± She stands straight, taking another step towards me before looking to the side at the frozen form of my ex¡­ the look on her face as she holds the gun to her head, one for the history books; ¡°You always seem to choose the homicidal ones¡­ I will never understand your taste in women.¡± Death is now shaking her head, why do I feel like I am being pitied¡­ ¡°Well excuse me, madam judgy. She was not like this when we met¡­ and why does it sound like this is not the first time I have been killed by crazy?¡± ¡°Not important, what is important now is where you¡¯ll be going.¡± There is that soft smile again¡­ and why does my ¡®heart¡¯ feel like it¡¯s beating... ¡°It¡¯s time to celebrate, as you¡¯re done here. You can continue along your path of whatever it is you want to do. That is why I got dressed for the occasion.¡± She does a small twirl in place, showing me the full look of her outfit; eliciting a laugh from me, ¡°And here I thought you always greeted people with this outfit; so where am I going now?¡± ¡°Well, first you need to go to this specially thought out place for all the souls in existence; The SPD, Soul Placement Department. There you will get to choose where you go after this, it¡¯s a very big set up, and quite¡­ boring?¡± She rubs her chin at that last statement, sounds like the DMV¡­ ¡°Okay then¡­ when and how will I be going to this department of souls? I¡¯d rather go before this nutjob here joins me on my trip.¡± Seriously, I don¡¯t mind seeing her end her life, but I¡¯d prefer not her joining me in the afterlife. ¡°Oh, she won¡¯t be following you for a time, and when you get there she won¡¯t be able to recognize you.¡± Death moves closer to me as she places her hand on my shoulder; ¡°And can¡¯t I enjoy the time we have just a bit more¡­ might be a while before we see each other again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, knowing me, I¡¯ll be dead before you know it.¡± As I am about to smile, Death gives me a slap across the face; okay, that hurt. ¡°No joking about that¡­ you will live a full life and enjoy every moment of it.¡± She sighs, before rubbing my cheek where she slapped; ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will know more later.¡± Before I can say anything, she hugs me; tightly. Sighing softly, I just rub her head as she hugs me¡­ something tells me that memories of before this life would answer this question. Let¡¯s just let her have some time¡­ ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready. Let¡¯s get you to the afterlife, so we can meet again.¡± As she moves away, I can feel a part of my soul¡­ long buried¡­ long to have that simple hug continue on for an eternity more. However, it is time for me to move on; I won¡¯t ask for more time, nor will I lament my own death; I just need to move on. ¡°So, how do we do this?¡± As I ask that question, I notice that my surroundings have changed, and I am now in a waiting room¡­ Death nowhere to be seen. The last look of loneliness in her eyes will stay with me though¡­ my soul itself wants to stay with her. Sadly, I won¡¯t be able to see her again until my next death; and she would hate me if I die too soon¡­ don¡¯t want that, so I¡¯ll live a long life. ¡°Please take a number, and find a seat.¡± Taking in a deep breath, I move over to the ticket taker, and pull out the change of my life¡­ ¡­ Let¡¯s just say that the number I picked had quite the amount of zeroes on it¡­ if only I ever had a paycheck with that many. Looking around the waiting room, I notice that the denizens here are mostly little orbs of light of varying colors. These little guys also seem capable of speech, so they¡¯re probably what souls look like. Though looking down at myself, I seem to have at least a bit of a humanoid shape to me; two legs, two arms, and what could be a torso¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for the silver shimmering. Kind of wish this place was a bit like the DMV, at least there they tell you which number is currently being helped. No magazines, or anything to do but talk to the other spirits that are currently waiting for their numbers to be called. That raises the question; how does one¡­ start a conversation with one of these beings? ¡°Well you¡¯re a rare one, aren¡¯t you?¡± Suddenly, a turquoise orb floats over to me and takes a seat in the chair to my right. ¡°Not everyday you see one of us here that retains their humanoid form, least of all one with four separate colors in them.¡± Wait, what did it say? Four colors? ¡°I can only see the silver, what do you mean four?¡± ¡°Really? From where I am¡­ floating¡­ you have four colors; Silver, Gray, Orange, and Red. Though the Silver is most prominent, with the Gray looking like¡­ tendrils? Tentacles? Lovecraftian in nature; with the Red acting as odd veins. The Orange is centered around your heart area.¡± The orb bobs up and down for a few seconds before coming to a stop, ¡®looking¡¯ at me before asking; ¡°So, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Well, I died, obviously. Done in by an ex-girlfriend with a gun, right into my heart I believe. Took me by surprise after I bought some nightly supplies from a corner store; which sucks, since I was looking forward to a night of whiskey and cigar.¡±I sigh softly as I think about it,¡°Was gonna watch some movies, maybe play some video games. But, oh well; was not meant to be.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds a bit rough compared to others; the green guy way over in the corner died from drinking too much water.¡± ¡°So he drowned?¡± ¡°No, he drank so much water that he started to bleed from every orifice.¡± I dunno if I can make a face in this form, but I am sure if I could, I would be making the face of yeesh. ¡°Myself though, I died of old age, so¡­ a bit better than most people. Been here for what seems like a century though, kind of dull here without some music at least.¡± ¡°I agree with you there, waiting for my number to be called so I can do my paperwork.¡± Might be my imagination, but I feel like the orb just buzzed; ¡°That¡¯s rough, waiting for my name to be called; according to the lady behind the counter over there, my case worker should be here soon to get me.¡± So we have caseworkers as well here in the afterlife. Wonder when they got all the paperwork and pencil pushers though. ¡­ No idea how long I spent talking to the turquoise orb before we heard a name being called from the doorway in the back; there stood a man wearing a rather decent suit. Mr. Orb seems happy as he looks at me; ¡°Well, looks like I¡¯m up, good luck to you young one. Perhaps we¡¯ll meet each other in our next lives¡­ but I highly doubt that.¡± With that, the orb begins to hover away towards the back, and then disappears behind the door. Well, kind of lonely without him around, was a decent distraction. I¡¯ve been hearing the lady behind the desk calling out numbers, though nowhere close to my number as of yet, so this is going to take a while. Nice to see that she waits until the spirit actually comes up to the desk before moving onto the next number. Paying attention to what the procedure is though, looks like when you get your paperwork and finish with it, you take it to a window next to the door to the back. The turn around for the paperwork being finished and your name being called appears to be rather quick compared to your number though; lucky me. So I either find another orb to talk to, or I can sing to pass the time¡­ maybe begin writing my great American novel. The skies the limit when you¡¯re dead and don¡¯t require sleep! ¡­ ¡®Some amount of beer on the wall; fuck I lost count of my beer¡­ take it down, smash it around¡­ fuck me I¡¯m never gonna like beer ever.¡¯ ¡­ ¡°So then I told him, which he told her, which she told them, and then they told the person--¡± A pink orb just keeps talking, I am honestly going to shoot myself at this rate¡­ please call my number soon or I will end my existence. Please¡­ ¡­ ¡°Hey you, the one staring off into nothing! Your number has been called, come up here right now or I will come over there and smack your starry existence into the nearest bin!¡± Shaking my head quickly, I come to from my stupor; looking around to remember where the fuck I was. Holy shit, that woman looks pissed off; quickly making my way over there, so as to not incur her wrath anymore than I already have, to get my paperwork. ¡°Sorry about that, time must have slipped away from me there for a while.¡± Trying to be nice to the poor lady¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t let it happen again; you don¡¯t want to know what happens to people who don¡¯t fill out their paperwork properly.¡± Okay, don¡¯t piss off the mad woman¡­ actually looks like a person here instead of a floating orb. Old lady, with a sour face of someone who works overtime with no actual pay to show for it. ¡°Take your time with the paperwork, not like you¡¯re going anywhere until it¡¯s done anyway. Make sure it is done correctly as well; I don¡¯t like having to file a report on falsified documents.¡± Yeah, don¡¯t piss her off. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am, I¡¯ll be sure to fill everything out correctly. Again, sorry for the trouble.¡± I say before making my way, quickly, back to a seat. Let¡¯s take a look at this¡­ packet of paperwork that I was handed. Oh dear lord, I feel that this is at least fifteen pages of stupid inane questions about my life¡­ why can¡¯t we just do the basics and be done¡­ why do I need to tell you the amount of people I slept with? This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Well, the paperwork won¡¯t fill itself out anytime soon¡­ just have to do this quick so I can get along to the next step. Have I mentioned how much I hate places like this? Cause I really hate these government type buildings and shit like this. ¡­ Name: Marc Jacobson Nationality: Scandinavian Celt Gender: Male Age on Death: 30 years World: Earth? Gaia? Terra? Penal Colony? How do they really want me to answer that question? Feelings of Death: Sad that I went before my father, but everyone has to go at some point. Will miss those that I left behind, as everyone who dies will. Got out of taxes, for now at least. Well, they do ask you to list your regrets in a later page, not too many regrets for me other than the dying before my father. Most parents will tell you that the worst thought to them would be to bury their own child. Simple enough to fill that area out, will do so now to save time for later. Most of the questions in this packet were just basic information, which was easy enough to fill out; but there were some that I had to stop to think about for a little while. Seriously, who can remember the last time they went out of their way to do something low on the morality scale. Honestly, most of these questions are just asinine. I just want to be done with these questions so I can begin waiting for my turn to be called. Whatever it is I¡¯m being called for, assuming it¡¯s for reincarnation or something? ¡­ Who knew that you could develop a cramp in your hand when you¡¯re nothing but spiritual energy¡­ how do the orbs do this? There¡¯s a question and a thought, I have a humanoid like shape; but how do the orbs write when they¡¯re orbs? I¡¯m getting off track with my thoughts, better go turn this in so I can continue with my afterlife¡­ now where do I go for¡­ ah, over there at the window near the door. Getting up from my seat, I make my way to the window and wait behind another two orbs who¡­ float¡­ in their paperwork to the receptionist. Then she checks the packet of questions for what I guess are missed questions, or accuracy of the data. Wonder what one makes when they work in a center like this¡­ ¡°Okay Mr. Hendricks, thank you for filling this out quickly. Please go back to your seat, and wait for your case worker to call you back. Shouldn¡¯t be too long.¡± And then the gray orb floats on back to his seat; only thinking he since she said Mr. She then takes the packet, puts it in a machine, and calls out for the next in line. Second verse same as the first, only faster and slightly worse. Finally calling for me¡­ ¡°Ah, Mr. Jacobson, glad to see you again. Please hand me your packet and we¡¯ll get you all set up.¡± Her face looks rather happy, and I feel like I have an odd look on my face¡­ ¡°You remember me?¡± ¡°Well of course, we make it a point to remember all souls that come through here that show¡­ unique qualities.¡± She scans through the packet with what looks to be a small smirk at certain points¡­ ¡°Am I really that special?¡± ¡°Ah, right, you opted for the treatment last time you were here, so you don¡¯t remember. Don¡¯t worry, it will come back in time.¡± She finishes leafing through the packet, ¡°To answer your question though, most people here that you see will show up as orbs with a single color to them. There are certain criteria for someone to¡­ evolve¡­ like you did. When a soul is certain of who they are, metaphorically since most forget, then it will slowly become more humanoid. As for colors, research is still being done as to that.¡± Quite the simple explanation from the lady, who just keeps smiling, ¡°I actually asked you about what you did for the colors last time¡­ and you told me a single word. Mentality.¡± I feel myself stiffen up at that word, as it does mean something to me, and to think that I had done it before this¡­ explains a lot. She finally finishes going through the packet of papers and puts them into the machine; which then begins beeping¡­ the smile on her face becomes one of¡­ pissed off. ¡°That fucker¡­¡± Clears her throat after the anger outburst, then gets back into professional mode; ¡°Sorry about that Mr. Jacobson, it looks like your case worker decided to drop you as a client like the moron that he is. At the moment, a new case worker is being¡­ decided on for you, so it might be a bit longer than normal for you to be called back.¡± I can see her eye twitching¡­ ¡°Is that¡­ bad?¡± ¡°Well, it is a stupid thing to do since a case worker is supposedto stay with their charge through thick and thin. By dropping you, he committed a taboo within the company, as he now gets to select a new client. Normally they get a client randomly, but an experienced case worker gets a new client while a new case worker gets an experienced client.¡± She says with an agitated tone, I can almost hear her grinding her teeth at this point. I think my head is beginning to hurt, which is amazing considering¡­ ¡°So¡­ instead of working with a problem client¡­ he decided to screw it the moment he saw someone with a better prospect? Sounds right.¡± My hands slowly rub my face, an old habit whenever I feel like punching someone in the face; ¡°I am to get a new case worker then¡­ please make sure this one isn¡¯t a cunt of massive proportions.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll make sure on that. Now he won¡¯t be given any leeway on this one; most case workers get to enjoy some perks with good clients, but he¡¯ll be ignored.¡± A sly smile plays across her face as she thinks of something I¡¯d rather not know; ¡°Please be patient though, it will be a bit before your new case worker is decided. Again, we¡¯re sorry for any inconvenience the SPD has caused you.¡± The receptionist stands up and gives me a slight apologetic bow, before calling for the next in line. With that, I go back to my seat to¡­ wait I guess. Why do I feel like this is gonna be a pain¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Somewhere else within the SPD¡­ ¡­ Shit, shit, shit, shit¡­ That god damn piece of shit had to do this on my first day, didn¡¯t he? Was just given my first assignment, who was a decent looking fellow, and he had to drop his client to take mine! This is by far the most annoying day I have ever had in all of my lives. Close second¡­ Now they¡¯re telling me that I¡¯m taking over his previous client, handed me his file, and said; ¡®Go get them, Karen!¡¯ like it was something easy! Fucking hell! I haven¡¯t even seen my office yet, and my new client is already here¡­ of course¡­ at least I have some time before I have to go get him. Quickly making my way through the corridor towards my new office, my eyes scan the doors along the way to read the names on them. Many of these workers have been with the department for lord knows how long, and their clients have been through many lives. All the while, mine lived through his first before being sent to one of the PCWs, at least that is what the board said. Didn¡¯t even bother to mention what he did in his first life to get that punishment. Reaching my office at last, it¡¯s time to look through his file as fast as I can¡­ even humanoid spirits can lose themselves if they spend too long in the waiting room. Usually the case worker who ruins those souls by making them wait¡­ get fired. Ugh, I can feel myself shudder at the thought of being fired from this place, and having to go back¡­ My office is rather simple though, guess that is to be expected since I myself have no merits on my record¡­ they at least gave me a laptop and not the typewriter they had in training. There¡¯s also a phone, simple desk, swivel chairs on either side of the desk¡­ did they just empty a broom closet for my office? It¡¯s fucking tiny¡­ and the shelf is something you¡¯d see in a supply closet! Urge to punch the fuckhead, rising. Well, at least I have a roof, kind enough for them to include that. I crack my neck and fingers, letting out a deep breath so as to calm my nerves; before making my way to the desk and looking through the files of my new client¡­ ¡­ Ho-lee-fuck-ing-shit. Of course it¡¯s a small file since he only went through a single full life in a decent world with the rest being PCW files¡­ but what is this person? Just his soul data is enough to make me want to hide under my desk and not do anything. Why did this have to happen to me, I just want to curl up and forget everything¡­ forget firing, I¡¯d rather be fired¡­ this guy punched his last case worker. Okay, let¡¯s calm down, the reason for the punching was¡­ redacted. I can feel a tension headache coming on, why did I agree to becoming one of these workers. The good points of this client¡­ - Came into existence as a Silver Orb, usually colorless before first life. Had a bit of personality inside of it before going in. - First life was eventful enough to raise points to three digits. Most have it lucky if their first life gets them above two digit margin. - Even while on the PCW, still raised point level through various deeds. Strange enough, no name left in history since they preferred to be left alone. - Gained humanoid form after first life, stated at the time that they were a male, and knew which family they¡¯d stay in no matter what. Firm sense of self as they knew who they were, and were unwavering in that decision. - Went through eleven lives on the PCW with memories intact of their previous home; stating that they would rather remember. Final life, they decided to go through treatment to forget, not to forget their home¡­ but to forget their time on the PCW. -When they made this decision, they had gained their multiple colors¡­ let alone the colors had actual form to them and not just mixing. When asked about it, was stated to respond with a single word; ¡®Mentality.¡¯ I feel like this guy was some kind of monster if he was able to gain that many points just on his first life and living on a PCW. There¡¯s even a penalty on those worlds, but even so he was able to amass¡­ six hundred and sixty six¡­ there¡¯s that urge to go under my desk again. No sane mortal is able to get that many points before they retire¡­ I didn¡¯t get anywhere near that many before I decided to retire and become a worker in this damned place. Does he just like to suffer? Let¡¯s just look at the soul data at the traits he chose for his soul when he started out. Maybe that would explain everything¡­ [Home World] First world becomes the home of the soul, thus increasing point gain while on said world. Penalty to point gain when not on home world. [Destiny Destroyer] Able to change the destinies of other people by interacting with them; does not need to be a conscious decision on the part of the holder. [Balance Holder] Everything is like that of a coin, a set of scales, a die yet to be cast. Equality must always be attained, balance in all walks of life. Does not explain shit. Maybe he¡¯s just a masochist, that would explain everything¡­ yeah we¡¯ll go with that for the time being. Better than seeing this client as a monster; which is the truer option on the list, but that would be rude. Better finish reading on each life¡¯s file before I go get him¡­ ¡­ Bang Bang Bang That is the lovely sound of me banging my head on my desk, it is a wonderful symphony brought about by the sudden headache I got. Everything-Is-Redacted! Major data that would be helpful, is redacted on this one¡¯s first life; and all the PCW files are¡­ lacking data. His previous case worker really did a number, or lack there of, on making sure everything was written down properly. I¡¯m gonna strangle that guy next time we run into each other¡­ Nothing to do now other than go get my new client¡­ lord I wish I never took this frichen job. Well, time to rip this band-aid off¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile¡­ Back in the waiting room with our rather bored out of his mind and starting to lose it bastard. ¡­ I wonder if a soul is able to commit suicide, or if boredom is a deadly disease which can kill at some point. Had to fight against my mind earlier or I might have lost my legs¡­ scary thought that¡­ even a humanoid can lose themselves in this place. How many beers were on my walls again? How many coconuts were on the shopkeep¡¯s shelves? I have lost count on these numbers due to the incompetence of this damn place. Honestly want to punch someone right about now, and I am mostly a non-violent person. Mostly¡­ It is about the time that I have nothing more to lose, when a person walks through the door on the far side of the room; a young woman with a rather professional look about her. My eyes are drawn to her as she opens her mouth to speak; ¡°Mr. Jacobson; please step forward.¡± Oh, so it¡¯s finally my time to be brought in for assignment; ¡°Man¡­ this is so annoying¡­¡± Getting up from my seat, I quickly make my way to the woman standing there¡­ who is about a head or so shorter than me? Huh, so they have these types here¡­ bob cut brunette, jade colored eyes. If I had to hazard a guess, maybe around twenty years old, if her pale and tight skin is to be taken as a hint. ¡°Are you Mr. Jacobson?¡± I can sense the tension in her voice, though I am sure that I¡¯d be tense to in situations like this. Even the look of disdain on her face, probably was taken for a ride before coming out here to meet me. ¡°That¡¯s me, was kind of worried that I was forgotten. So you¡¯re my new case worker then?¡± ¡°Yes, my name is Karen. I am sorry for the wait, but I had to read through your¡­ files to ascertain the best way to deal with you.¡± Yeah, she must be in a bad mood to be using that tone¡­ but that¡¯s fine. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be in your care, pleased to meet you.¡± I might be annoyed, but none of it is directed towards this poor woman¡­ she must have had it rough. If I could smile, I would be right now; should always smile when meeting new people. ¡°Follow me please, we¡¯ll be working on your next life from here.¡± Karen makes her way through the door, allowing me to follow her rather calculated gait. It¡¯s quite surprising that she is so calm on the surface; probably has been through quite a training regiment for this job. Through the door, we find ourselves in a lovely long hallway, with doors on either side¡­ a bit too close to make it coherent if they were separate rooms. Though, I am sure the rooms are just separate instances of the reality of this place¡­ [{"Good thinking, keep it up."}] Okay, we¡¯re going to ignore the strange voice that just appeared in my head¡­ but oddly enough, the voice sounded quite familiar to me. It resonated with my very soul¡­ odd. The walk to Karen¡¯s office is quite long and boring, is this another test? I¡¯ll just take this one step at a time, though it won¡¯t stop me from yawning. After this action, I accidentally bump into Karen as she stopped in front of me, with a strange look on her face, staring at me¡­ ¡°Did you just yawn?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ isn¡¯t that a normal response? Most mortals yawn when they¡¯re tired or bored.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a soul right now, you shouldn¡¯t feel anything along those lines¡­¡± Her voice wavers slightly, the look on her face looking almost scary¡­ but then she sighs before turning around to continue along the path. I¡¯d normally ask, but best to just let her do as she pleases¡­ ¡­ No wonder there is a gap of time between each life; had to have spent at least a century walking to this fucking office alone. Course time has no constant here, who knows how much time has actually passed¡­ a new universe could have been created while another five were destroyed. It¡¯s almost annoying when you think about it¡­ no it¡¯s truly annoying. Right as I am about to start losing my will to continue on, Karen turns towards one of the doors on the right side of the hallway. Turning the knob, she enters the door first¡­ and folks, let me tell you that I am not impressed. It would be best to call this little room the Broom Closet, instead of a person¡¯s office. Seriously, there is a shelf in here where you would store excess supplies. I¡¯ll keep my thoughts to myself though; don¡¯t want to piss this woman off more than she already is. ¡°Come on in, Mr. Jacobson, and we¡¯ll start on planning your next life. Take a seat.¡± Karen motions to one of the swivel chairs, the one on the client side of the desk. Taking in a deep breath, thinking to myself that this can¡¯t be any worse than anything else I have been through today¡­ ¡°Since this my first day, I can¡¯t help too much¡­ but I will try my best.¡± At least she is chipper... no, there¡¯s the blood vessel on her forehead. Well, taking my seat, and getting comfortable¡­ it would be best to get this over with at least. Chapter 1 - Livin la Vida Loca We join our hero, sitting in a broom closet, in a dicky little swivel chair across from an annoyed case worker. Oh I am going to have so much fun, with as much sarcasm as possible¡­ From the desk, Karen brings out a small laptop, placing this on the desktop. It is then opened, and she begins typing on it at a rather impressive speed; I do have to commend her on that. This goes on for a little while before she looks up at me, adjusting her glasses, and in a not so happy tone; ¡°Okay, so before we get started on your new life; we must discuss your previous life and tally up the total points you have from all the subsequent lives.¡± More furious typing follows, before she glares at the screen¡­ poor laptop¡­ ¡°From the looks of it, you have gained a total of¡­ sixty-seven points from your most recent life. A bit below your average, but it¡¯s noted since you went through treatment.¡± ¡°Mind explaining these¡­ points?¡± Obvious question, give the woman a break¡­ ¡°Right, right¡­ basically these points are what you have to spend for the life you wish to start. Souls start with a few, randomly decided, which gives them their first life.¡± Quick clearing of her throat, and a thought; ¡°Extra points are added for a few factors; if you¡¯re a virgin, how many kids, good or bad deeds, things like that. These can be multiplied or penalized by certain aspects; PCWs have a point penalty, so getting sixty-seven points on a PCW is a feat, especially for someone who went through treatment as you did.¡± ¡°Okay, simple enough. So things are decided on by points¡­ then how many points do I have total for this new life?¡± ¡°At the moment, you have a total of six hundred and sixty-six points.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not ominous¡­ is that normal for someone in my shoes?¡± And now she is glaring at me, was there something wrong with the question that I posed to her? Karen sighs in an exasperated way, but slowly adjusts her glasses before glaring at me¡­ ¡°You are by far the strangest anomaly that has been seen by this department! Top five actually; gained form after one life, gained multiple colors before you hit ten, triple digits before you hit three! It is not normal for someone to have as many points as you do within thirteen lives!¡± Her head hits the desk in a defeated manner, her breathing sort of ragged after the small bitch-fest she dolled out. ¡°Honestly, the lives you lived on the PCW don¡¯t actually count towards your life total¡­ but for someone to amass this many even on a PCW¡­ no one has done it.¡± ¡°Okay, I get it¡­ let¡¯s move on before you blow a gasket and strangle me¡­¡± Holding up my hands in a surrender fashion, giving her a smile that says friendly. I can feel she wants to strangle me, but doesn¡¯t actually do so¡­ she has a strong will and professionalism it seems. Karen goes back to typing at the laptop; then raises her head, before she lets out another sigh¡­ ¡°Just got confirmation that you are released from your confinement to the PCW, so you¡¯re free to select any world you wish. It¡¯s easier to use keywords when selecting a world.¡± With that, she turns the laptop towards me after opening a program on it. It¡¯s surprising how far along this place is, but I guess they get the latest tech when a world invents it¡­ until I look at this brick of a laptop¡­ ¡°Is that a Lenovo Thinkpad X? Is the IT department taking the piss here?¡± ¡°What do you want, I just started today! They had typewriters in training for fuck sakes!¡± Her outburst is followed by a slam on her desk, glares pointed right at me. It¡¯s surprising how high strung this woman is; can¡¯t blame her, but still¡­ ¡°Got it, got it.¡± I admit defeat and apologize quickly, letting the program load in the time being before looking at what is on the screen; [Welcome to the Tree of Life] [Please enter Keywords to find your world.] So I have to choose certain keywords to narrow down the search criteria then? Well this seems like a needless complication for finding someone¡¯s next life, if you ask me. Design oversight from the creator more than likely. Let¡¯s have a little fun then shall we¡­ [Loading Search Results] [Please add more keywords; Current search brought up more than a billion different worlds.] Well then¡­ that¡¯s way too many worlds to choose from if I want to start my next life anytime soon; course it¡¯s not like I can feel time. This place is as temporal sterile as it gets. However, this brings up a different meaning to the phrase; ¡°What the fuck.¡± ¡°There¡¯s way too many worlds with , huh? Not surprising, but at the same time, that¡¯s kinda scary.¡± ¡°Many souls that have lived on PCWs or worlds similar have the fantasy to go to worlds with magic, and a more primitive form of life. So there have been many worlds created with that criteria.¡± Karen leans on her hand in a bored fashion, not even caring anymore about her professional image; ¡°There are subtle differences with each one, so they¡¯re not all the same.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Still surprising that there¡¯s this many though, moving back to the search bar and deleting the from the criteria; though now I have to think on it. It¡¯s sort of a tough challenge to think on criteria for a new world when there¡¯s literally trillions of worlds out there. That is until a¡­ soft¡­ emotion sort of stirs in me. Dunno what it is, but a feeling I long forgotten surfaces as I look at Karen. ¡°Yes?¡± She doesn¡¯t try to mask the annoyance in her voice, as if she is fed up with me already¡­ she probably is, I¡¯m not even typing right now; haven¡¯t for a bit. ¡°You know, there¡¯s this strange feeling I always had when I was on the PCW, Earth. One that I could not quite describe until I found out there were more worlds.¡± ¡°And that would be?¡± ¡°It never felt like ¡®Home¡¯ to me.¡± When I word it like this, Karen sort of flinches, it¡¯s not subtle nor outrageous; but she flinched. ¡°Now I sort of understand the emotion, because it was not ¡®Home¡¯ to me, deep within my soul I knew. So, what would happen¡­¡± Typing slowly into the search bar, my fingers find a simple four letter word¡­ [Loading Search Results] [One World Found] [Agenai] ¡­ ¡­ Souls like this man are absolutely terrifying, in class they have given five examples of certain souls that should never be looked down on. This man was number five. How could they give this man to me as my assignment, it¡¯s downright scary. Just by a simple feeling in his soul, he was able to find the word he needed to find his way back to that world¡­ ¡°Bravo, Mr. Jacobson, it¡¯s as you had said; that world was not your home. I¡¯ll divulge information that you would of course know if you were still¡­ you.¡± I look at the man across from me, as I sit upright and clear my throat; ¡°Souls have their own traits that they choose before their first life; one of the traits you chose was basically¡­ ¡®Home World¡¯, which became that world when you went there first. That¡¯s why the PCW never felt like home to you.¡± ¡°Makes sense; how many traits do I have, and is there a way to gain more?¡± Why does this bastard have to ask so many questions¡­ BEEP BEEP BEEP Timing is one of those essential things that makes life ever so colorful, which is of course the computer giving something I don¡¯t want. ¡°You started with three traits; and that beeping is notification of you gaining a new trait.¡± Turning the laptop around, I click the notification and read the contents of the message from the head boss¡­ and I can feel that damned tension headache coming to me again¡­ ¡°Congratulations, Mr. Jacobson, as the one who created all; or my boss, has given you a gift for being released from the PCW. It seems they have taken into account your full time on it, and have given you¡­ well¡­¡± at max effect, meaning they will remember everything. This is a freebie, I expect great things from you; my childe.> ¡°My boss seems to like you¡­ I wonder why. Anyway this mea--¡± BEEP BEEP BEEP What the fuck now, oh my fucking god, this is getting on my fucking nerves; my fingers may have tapped on the buttons a bit too forcefully¡­ but then I nearly fall from my chair as I read the next notification; which is meant for me¡­ <Case Worker Karen: Due to the unscrupulous means by which you were given a client, you are hereby promoted from First Class, to Fourth Class. I apologize for what has transpired and shall deal with the one who caused this. When you are finished with your client, please come to my office and we shall talk about what comes next.> ¡°Is everything okay?¡± As the man¡­ no¡­ my client asks me with genuine concern in his voice, I can only smile happily as the ¡®I¡¯ on my badge becomes a ¡®IV¡¯. ¡°Well, I just got a promotion, Mr. Jacobson, and my boss wishes to speak to me in person. Which is an honor that can only be given to those who have worked for so long.¡± I look at my client in a new light as a grin spreads over my face, ¡°Sadly, no changes will occur until you¡¯re done here, and we¡¯ll then see each other after your life.¡± Now I see the perks to having this man as my client¡­ he is actually carefully watched by the boss. I wonder why¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Well, did not expect this kind of¡­ turn for the strange, and now Karen is actually showing me more than the basic signs of respect. It¡¯s kind of unsettling¡­ just who is this boss, and why¡­ you know what, never mind. Best not to think of it. Moving back to the tree of life, I select Agenai as my world; which brings up the selection of a family to be birthed into. I guess that before you choose the race, you have to choose a family to decide your race options¡­ makes sense really. Though there isn¡¯t a keyword search this time; only check marks for basic understanding of geographic locations, type of family, and a few miscellaneous bits here and there. There¡¯s even a space for a family name, I guess if you really must be born again in the same family¡­ [Searching] [No Matching Names.] Guess that was too much to hope for, leaning back in my chair as I rub my face once more; I wonder if there is anything in that strange feeling I get every so often while I am here. Hello? Invisible voice, strange emotion, that which is to be feared? Guess that is too much to as--- [{¡°Family, why not try other names for¡­ your Family?¡±}] And there it is, the strange voice and an odd feeling in my chest as I think of the word ¡®Family¡¯, even though the name itself ¡®Jacobson¡¯ never felt right¡­ it felt like family. Like Agenai is ¡®Home¡¯, what is ¡®Family¡¯ to me¡­ I tilt my head to the side as I think this through; this strange feeling in my chest¡­ wait¡­ wasn¡¯t there an ancient name to the ¡®Jacobson¡¯ clan before it was changed when we went across the ocean. What was it again¡­ didn¡¯t it mean¡­ ¡®Watcher¡¯? Think Marc, think¡­ what was that name again; I swear I read it in the books from the family graveyard back in Ireland. What did those runes mean again¡­ seriously¡­ [{¡°Retroactive start up of -He Who Does Not Forget-.¡±}] Yes, thank you, I know it¡¯s quite funny how tha-- And then there was the pain in my¡­ mind? My head actually feels pain as I clutch at the form, banging my head on the desk as I clench my teeth; when thoughts and things I don¡¯t¡­ they¡¯re not from my own life¡­ everything from my past flows through me as the runes start to translate themselves, as if I was fluent in Celtic Runes¡­ Reaching to the keyboard once the pain passes through me, Karen giving me a look that sort of screams; ¡°The fuck?¡±, but I know what to type¡­ [Searching Database] [Seven Women meet criteria for Birth.] Well, would you look at that; the old family is actually on Agenai¡­ why is the old family on Agenai¡­ ¡°Karen.¡± She flinches once more before, just looking away and not wanting to answer; ¡°Care to give me an explanation?¡± ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know too much on the subject save for what was in your files¡­¡± ¡°Try me.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Sighing, Karen pulls out her files.. which seem to be rather thin; ¡°Don¡¯t ask about the size of your files, blame the ¡®cunt¡¯ on this one.¡± As she¡¯s flipping through, I can sort of make out a few things on them; ¡°Basically, during your first life, you chose to go into the Haruk clan on a whim due to how the potential mother looked. Basically saying; ¡®She looks like someone who will truly love me no matter what I do.¡¯, turns out you were right. She was a good mother, so you chose that no matter what world you went to, you¡¯d find families connected to the Haruk clan; and if you couldn¡¯t¡­ you¡¯d make one.¡± That explains a few things on why my family name is on both planets; I probably chose a nameless family on the PCW, then gained some form of Nobility to choose my own family name. Lord, I am some form of piece of work aren¡¯t I¡­ Well, now I have seven potential mothers to look through then¡­ wonder if it will come down to that once again¡­ ¡­ Let¡¯s go through the list, shall we? #1 - Half-Orc woman, lives in a sort of stronghold with a man of the Elf race, expecting a child in a few months. Branch family of the Haruk, Patrilineal marriage so my name would go under his¡­ which is not Haruk. So next. #2 - Human woman, lives in a castle within an imperialistic country, husband is also Human, their third child to be expected. Another branch family of the Haruk, but Matrilineal in nature for marriage¡­ once again, not Haruk though. Next. #3 - Elven woman this time, living in poverty after her Husband of the Human race betrayed the Haruk clan, main branch. Husband is dead, and not a long life expectancy once she gives birth. I have no issues with being an orphan, but it¡¯s not good to be blood that is banished. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. #4 - Human, no ties to the Haruk save for a single one night stand with a man who cheated on his wife¡­ big no no, and thus got banished. #5 - No, just no. I have no issues with being born into slavery, but just¡­ no¡­ gotta remember this one though to launch a rescue. #6 - Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a¡­ wait¡­ no¡­ why do they include that kind of information here¡­ I did not need to see, know, or feel that. Thank you, but no. That leaves the seventh lucky lady on tonight¡¯s episode of ¡®Who¡¯s Your Mother¡¯¡­ I¡¯m losing my mind, next someone will be shouting; ¡®Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!¡¯ I swear to god voice, do not do it, or I will have some issues with you, even though I¡¯d laugh; still not funny. [{¡°¡­fine.¡±}] Funny. Seriously, become a comedian¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s read the file on this woman¡­ since she¡¯s the last, hopefully she¡¯s the on-- Okay, just based on her picture alone; a rather beautiful humanish woman with slightly pointed ears. Eyes of amethyst, with hair of the purest snow fall; and her smile¡­ I clutch at my heart as I see her smile¡­ ¡°Huh, that smile¡­ gives me this odd feeling, of someone who would stand before me as someone tries to destroy the greatest evil.¡± I guess it was to be expected, I¡¯m choosing my mother¡­ when I never really had a mother in my previous life. The woman ran out when I was young, and when we met again¡­ not what I was expecting. Main family woman, living in a country known as ¡®Handrak¡¯ within the village of ¡®Freyjan¡¯, a Nordic sort of country with a hint of Celtic heritage. Matrilineal marriage, so I¡¯d have her blood and name of Haruk. Everything seems to be so far in order with her; and I can¡¯t really say no to her¡­ it¡¯s just an odd feeling in my heart. Under her race¡­ Half-Angel? And her husband is a full blooded Demon? Okay, did not see that coming; but honestly it¡¯s not something I¡¯d look down on. I wonder if it¡­ yup, her parental lineage is here¡­ wait¡­ Mother was a full blooded Angel, but her father¡­ Half-Dragon?This family tree makes my head hurt, but again¡­ who am I to judge? Indra Haruk, a Battle-Priest, expecting her¡­ third child. So I¡¯ll have older siblings then? As I read through it more my heart falls; expecting third child, but first born. Well, guess that is the end of discussion; as I press select on the page for Indra Haruk. I¡¯ll be your first born, cause I am a bastard that doesn¡¯t know when to quit. ¡­ ¡­ Seriously, this guy is something else¡­ going for the same family as expected; but who knew he¡¯d choose someone with the same criteria as the first mother. Looking him over, I can tell that something has changed since he started going through the paperwork on tree of life; with that little outburst from him, it¡¯s like his form became¡­ clearer, and the colors more pronounced. Something is strange however, as it doesn¡¯t look like -just- four colors are within him¡­ but I can¡¯t really tell. ¡°Pick a mother yet, Mr. Ja¡­ Mr. Haruk?¡± ¡°Yeah, I like her smile, very pure and adorable. She looks like she needs a good child; hopefully she¡¯ll have a good child after she has me.¡± The way he¡­ smiles, and laughs¡­ no souls I¡¯ve heard of from training are like him, even the other four examples of strange entities. Normally souls don¡¯t feel while in soul form, but it¡¯s like he does. Or he¡­ no, let¡¯s stop thinking like this Karen. ¡°Well then Mr. Haruk, next would be spending your points; after choosing your race from the ones given to you of course.¡± ¡°Already chosen, went with -Half-Demon-, cause it sounds like fun. Thought there¡¯d be something interesting with this pedigree, but it was really just that. Though I was given a choice of my variant, went with -Wrath- due to a few things in my past. There was also -Pride- or -Lust-, no thanks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, so next is your potential on Agenai, just follow the steps as listed on the screen and we can continue from there.¡± ¡°Oh, I also finished with that one quite quickly, seems each one is a single point. So I just looked at the stats, found the minimum was one while the max was ten; so I spent four points in each to make them five. Seems more interesting that way.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that was quick¡­¡± Seriously this guy, did he even read through the instructions on the page? A ¡®one¡¯ in a potential is slightly below Mortal average while ¡®ten¡¯ is akin to what Hercules was on the PCW¡­ by making ¡®five¡¯ of each; he¡¯s an all-rounder, but one that is majorly above standard for Mortals on the world. ¡°Looks like next is¡­ traits. And one is already selected, oh it¡¯s a free slot, -Eidetic Memory-. Guess I can choose one¡­ no, two more; my race gives me an extra trait slot.¡± Seriously? Starting with three traits is also something to be more amazed at¡­ and with his points¡­ no, stop thinking Karen. ¡°Hey Karen, do we have dice?¡± ¡°What?¡± I could start to feel the headache coming back again¡­ ¡°Why would you need dice for this?¡± ¡°Simple fun, really. If we don¡¯t, I can sit here and read through every trait available but¡­¡± He clicks a button and reads¡­ ¡°No, please tell me we have dice?¡± ¡°One second¡­¡± Seriously, I can almost strangle this guy; picking my phone up and pressing the button for the supply department¡­ BEEP BEEP BEEP And there¡¯s another notification on the screen, why oh dear lord is this day even happening¡­ looking at the screen, there¡¯s another message for me¡­ <Case Worker Karen: They will be sent soon through the tubes. Didn¡¯t I tell you he was an interesting one?> Why can I feel my eye twitching, as the sound of the tube landing in the pipes behind the shelf; quickly getting this bastard his set of dice¡­ but why are there so many different ones¡­ aren¡¯t there only six sided dice? So why is there a three, four, six, eight¡­ never mind. Just hand him the dice and continue with your life Karen¡­ ¡­ ¡­ She looks about done with everything here; should not provoke her too much anymore, but I at least have the dice I asked for¡­ more unnerving that it¡¯s probably the Boss that sent them here. Best not think about it, better for my health. Anyway, with the two traits I have; why not choose them from my parents¡­ would make things a bit more believable that I am their child¡­ besides, you know, coming out of one of their bodies. Well; looking at the father¡¯s stat sheet¡­ which he looks like a stern but caring fellow with his black hair, horns, and eyes. Like someone took the night and morphed it into a Human¡­ er¡­ Demon. Picking up the coin for the two sided dice, it makes me think of the silver coin I always carried around with me from my Grandfather¡­ I wonder if they buried it with me like I wanted, since I never had any kids. Well, no use thinking of things I cannot control; as I very deftly flip the coin, something that I have done countless times. And well¡­ looks like a trait from both parents. Father has four traits that look interesting, but only one that I can actually take as it¡¯s not a demon exclusive trait, and not eidetic memory. ¡®Cieri¡¯s Blessing¡¯, if my latin isn¡¯t as rusty as I feel it is, then doesn¡¯t Cieri translate to ¡®Twilight¡¯? Why do I feel dirty just thinking about taking it¡­ what does it do¡­ <Cieri¡¯s Blessing - Demon / Half-Demon / Angel / Half-Angel / Elf / Half-Elf Depending on the tier of the trait taken, would mitigate need for sleep, to the point where one would never require it. Only to be taken by those who enjoy having more time on their hands.> Well now¡­ that seems like an interesting prospect¡­ more time on my hands would be something to be happy with. It said tiers, let¡¯s see what different ones there are; [Tier I: 5 Points | Require sleep once a week, slight resistance to ¡®Sleep¡¯ type magics.] [Tier II: 10 Points | Require sleep once a month, average resistance to ¡®Sleep¡¯ type magics.] [Tier III: 20 Points | Require sleep once a year, improved resistance to ¡®Sleep¡¯ type magics.] [Tier IV: 40 Points | Require sleep once a decade, advanced resistance to ¡®Sleep¡¯ type magics.] [Tier V: 80 Points | Never require sleep, immunity to ¡®Sleep¡¯ type magics.] Not only a lack of sleep requirement, but also a chance to resist or become immune to a whole type of magic, huh? Well, sign me up¡­ even though the name is a bit¡­ much. I have the points to spare, so why not buy it at max, so I have a full twenty-four hours to my life, and full immunity to sleep magic. Now what to do about the other trait¡­ mother doesn¡¯t have anything that seems interesting to me¡­ Of those that could be of use to me¡­ and I can take¡­ <Increased Growth - Any Race One gains experience through any means at a more rapid pace, showing their true potential at an earlier stage of life.> <Advanced Attribute - Any Race Increase the gain of specified attribute(s) depending on the tier this trait is taken.> <Element Resistance - Any Race Increase resistance to a certain element, specified when taken; amount resisted dependant on tier taken.> <Enhanced Element - Any Race Increase the duration/effect of magic of specified element(s); dependant on tier taken.> I mean, all four of these seem rather interesting; useful, and can give me a foot up in the world that I am going to. Can¡¯t really fucking decide on which one though. Since there are four, and I have a four sided die¡­ might as well leave this to fate; with a shake of my hand and a flick of my wrist, it lands on¡­ Two; so Advanced Attribute. Let¡¯s read up on what it does specifically¡­ [Tier I: 10 Points | One Attribute; stage one increase per year] [Tier II: 20 Points | Two Attributes; stage one increases per year] [Tier III: 40 Points | Three Attributes; stage two increase and stage one increases per year] Maxing this bitch out that¡¯s for sure, three different attributes get better dice rolls, with one of them getting a two die increase. So all get a four sided die every year, meaning one would be eight sided, and two would be six sided¡­ Going to increase the gain of Intelligence to the eight sided; Luck will be one of the six sided. Better intelligence and luck would be good for the long term¡­ now what to do with the final one¡­ Wisdom could come in handy, but so could Dexterity¡­ back to the coin flip¡­ And landing on heads, looks like Wisdom gets a bit of a boost as well; which is good in its own way, an intelligent man without wisdom is not often a good thing. That takes care of the traits, so let¡¯s move on to the next step then¡­ ¡­ ¡°Karen.¡± ¡°What is it this time? There¡¯s a description on the page if you don¡¯t understand something.¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯d rather have someone explain it to me, I understand better.¡± Actually, the silence is stifling, so I¡¯d rather have some conversation before I begin thinking¡­ ¡°Fine. Damn asshole causing me problems all day long.¡± She grumbles as she turns the laptop around, then looks at the next step before pausing; ¡°Ah, yeah no I can understand. Patrons, basically this world has no actual gods looking over it like some do; instead every person is born with a number of Patrons which give them certain abilities based on how familiar you are with them.¡± ¡°I get that, rather makes me happy I won¡¯t have to hear church goers giving me shit for being a Pagan¡­¡± ¡°Church of the One, and a few other Temples to other Patrons are around; religion is a thing every world has, don¡¯t get complacent.¡± God dammit, I hate religion more than anything¡­ that and politics. Karen clears her throat as she continues, ¡°So what don¡¯t you understand?¡± ¡°The contradiction.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Basically the opening passage states this;¡± I turn the laptop around back to me, ¡°¡¯Those born on Agenai have anywhere between one to three Patrons guarding them, guiding them through the world; though there are those born without.¡± ¡°How is that a contradiction?¡± ¡°If ¡®everyone¡¯ is born with at least one Patron, how can there be those born without. That in itself is a contradiction, and it¡¯s rather annoying.¡± [{¡°Seriously¡­ no one reads between the lines.¡±}] ¡°And you voice, always popping out of nowhere¡­ people will start to think I am insane!¡± I shout to the nothingness; ¡°You are insane.¡± [{¡°Ask the Tyrant.¡±}] And with that I am done with this voice, and that was a deep shudder through my soul. Don¡¯t want to ask, don¡¯t want to know, let¡¯s just get this done so I can leave this voice behind¡­ [{¡°You¡¯re making me sad; but I understand.¡±}] Well now I feel bad¡­ let¡¯s just get to Patrons. ¡­ So one of my Patrons is already locked into place it seems; going by the name of Ugdralath, Patron of Death with the Sphere of influence over¡­ Family, Honor, and Darkness. Not gonna ask what these do at the moment, now to look at the abilities that he gives me the choice of¡­ <Death¡¯s Patience> <Honor Bound> <Reaper¡¯s Descent> Looking at the descriptions; Patience increases my regeneration of fatigue and mana while I am concentrating on a task, to the point of nearly being blind to the world around me. Honor Bound is downright a no, as it would require me to actively hunt out Undead to gain any form of enhancement. Reaper¡¯s Descent would allow me to summon some form of the Reaper to increase my damage potential and lethality¡­ though I can only use it every so often and for such amount of time¡­ Death¡¯s Patience it is! [Tier I: 10 Points | WIS/5 Added to Regeneration of STAM and MANA; Minor Tunnel Vision] [Tier II: 20 Points | WIS/3 Added to Regeneration of STAM and MANA; Advanced Tunnel Vision] [Tier III: 40 Points | WIS/1 Added to Regeneration of STAM and MANA; Complete Tunnel Vision] Going to max that out, as it seems to be useful¡­ though the complete tunnel vision may cause some issues; we¡¯ll cross those bridges when we get to them. Possibly add pitch to them, and then light the fuckers to cause major damage. Anyway, onto the next¡­ well, if I am forced to take the Patron of Death; probably has something to do with my family and being part of the Main lineage; then why not look at Life¡­ Yrmala, names of the Patrons must be tied to the nationality of the person, so the Handraki name of Life would be that. I like it, I¡¯ll call her Mala for short, she¡¯s the Patron of Life with the Sphere of influence over¡­ Growth, Healing, and Light. That makes more sense than anyone will ever know, more than Death being about Family. And her abilities¡­ <Guide to Life> <Accelerated Growth> <Holy Matron> Well¡­ these abilities seem a bit more useful than Dralath¡¯s, as Guide allows me to know anything pretty much as long as I look it up. Growth will do the same as that previous trait from my mother, and Holy Matron gives me a Holy attributed Spirit of appropriate strength depending on the tier bought¡­ okay I lied, only Guide looks fun. [Tier I: 5 Points | Basic information is known, can only look up information once a week.] [Tier II: 10 Points | More common information is gleamed, and can search once a day.] [Tier III: 20 Points | Rare knowledge is given once every twelve hours, dependant on the Patron¡¯s mood towards the Holder.] [Tier IV: 40 Points | Access to all available information whenever you choose, but cannot ask for things that others do not know. Able to look up a Hidden piece of knowledge Once in your life.] [Tier V: 80 Points | All knowledge is available, whenever the Holder desires. Unlocks certain perks dependant on Patron¡¯s mood. Able to ask for Hidden knowledge Thrice within your Life, and able to gain more questions dependant on Patron¡¯s wishes.] Second verse same as the first, only a little slower and of course a little better. Max out the ability, and give praise to the Mala; too bad her Sphere doesn¡¯t include the sun, I can feel a little¡­ okay, I am losing my mind for being here for so long. One more patron to choose¡­ and no ideas are springing to mind for this one. Maybe looking at my parents once more will give me an idea? Huh¡­ seems only my father has someone that speaks to me in a more¡­ spiritual sense. Hannash, Patron of Knowledge with the spheres of influence over Mana, Spirits, and Dreams. Those influences seem important, and the knowledge part¡­ well I wonder if that could play nice with the Guide. Depends on the abilities he has, anything less amusing and we¡¯re leaving. <Keeper¡¯s Eye> <Spirit Manifestation> <Dream Conduit> Yeah, not gonna lie, only the Eye is interesting to me for this one¡­ Manifestation, I may have an idea that is similar to that; dependant on if it works in this world. And Conduit¡­ well that requires me to sleep, now doesn¡¯t it? [Tier I: 10 Points | Gain basic Analysis of the world around you, certain truths will be hidden from view however.] [Tier II: 20 Points | More detailed information is revealed to your discerning eye, with the ability to see through lies of those weaker than you.] [Tier III: 40 Points | All information is freely available to you, all lies and truths can be seen through, free die roll to WIS and INT with every Hundred objects examined.] With this one maxed out as well¡­ I have so far spent around¡­ two hundred and twenty points on Patrons alone, with the thirty-six I spent on the Potential, and the one hundred twenty for the traits; three hundred and seventy-six points currently spent¡­ leaving my just shy of three hundred points. Maybe I should raise some of my potentials, give some extra points there and see what happens¡­ at least that was the thought¡­ ¡­ ¡­ See, this is what I dislike about Souls with so many points; they can take all their potentials to the max, while maxing out all abilities and traits. At least we¡¯re nearly done here and I can get some work done, and why has he stopped? ¡°Mr. Haruk, you¡¯re nearly done right? Only need to have your soul examined by the system to decide on your gift and curse; basically what you¡¯ll be good at and what you¡¯ll have a penalty to.¡± I don¡¯t understand why he is just staring at the computer screen¡­ ¡°There¡¯s a strange option here.¡± ¡°What?¡± Quickly turning the laptop around, I read the option before feeling my eye twitch as I read it; over and over again¡­ [Spend one hundred points: Gain a Fourth Patron Option based on Soul information.] ¡°What in the fuck is this? Three is supposed to be the max for Agenai, why is there an option for a fourth patron?!¡± I grab up my phone to begin making a call to the IT department to see what the fuck their game is¡­ BEEP BEEP BEEP The fuck do you want now Boss? No, keep calm Karen, the Boss is not someone you can piss off¡­ let¡¯s see what they have to say for themselves this time¡­ <Case Worker Karen: Told you he was interesting. Watch what he does; do not mention this to anyone else.> A long, drawn out sigh escapes me as I feel myself slump in my chair¡­ I give up, I give up this time¡­ everyone is insane, this place is insane¡­ what is common sense, what is life? ¡°Do what you want.¡± ¡­ ¡­ Poor girl, this being her first day on the job, all these different things must be weighing down on her. Anyway, a fourth patron huh? I also don¡¯t select this one, it¡¯s chosen for me based on¡­ soul data? Well, I have the points; feeling a strange mad smile spread on my face, before pressing the button for okay. Let¡¯s see what sort of mad god you summon for me, oh grand tree of life! [Scanning Soul Data] [Searching Database] [Match Found] <Baalish - Patron of Consumption / Sphere of Influence: Family, Desire, and Chaos. Forgotten Demon Patron of a bygone era, sealed away for millenia as he had tried to overturn the natural world order to protect one close and important to him. The more he feeds, the stronger he becomes. May try to overtake the Holder if criteria aren¡¯t met, but his mood is that of a mad Patron.> Well, that¡¯s a name that oddly feels familiar to me¡­ could be the name Baal, but I don¡¯t dislike him, wonder what abilities he is willing to offer to one who holds him. <Consumption> Only one, makes this easy, I have a hundred and ninety points left after purchasing him¡­ wonder how expensive the ability is to max out¡­ [Tier X: 100 Points | Holder is able to activate this ability to indulge in the moral sin of consuming essence from the designated mortal; thus allowing the Holder to gain a Trait of their choosing from the mortal, though certain criteria must be met. The chance of obtaining the Trait is dependant on the level difference of the mortal and Holder, the Holder¡¯s Luck stat, and Trust the mortal has in the Holder. This can only be used once per mortal.] Ain¡¯t that a kick in the teeth and an unwelcome broken jaw? Only one tier for the ability, but¡­ why the fuck not; we¡¯re already across the line, might as well see how far I can go! [Fourth Patron Selected; Forgotten Demon of Chains] [Race Updating, Please Wait | Reading Soul Data] [Race Changed from ¡®Half-Demon¡¯ to ¡®Nephilim - Demon of Wrath¡¯] Okay, that¡¯s something¡­ [Reading Soul Data] [Gift and Curse chosen based on current Data] [Gift: Lord of the Craft] [Curse: One Who Can¡¯t Give Up] [Remaining points split in half and being integrated into Gift and Curse] [Gift¡¯s Power increased by 50% due to points integrated] [Curse¡¯s Power decreased by 50% due to points integrated] [Prepare for Soul Transfer: Thank you for using Tree of Life] [Have a Wonderful Life] ¡­ ¡­ It seems like Mr. Haruk wanted to say something else, but all I was able to get was; ¡°Interesting-¡± course he was aggravating from start to finish, and now he is out of my hair. I can finally get my office in order, and¡­ wait, I got a promotion earlier, meaning my office is going to get an upgrade. The happiness I feel is mitigated by the fact I need to go speak to my boss¡­ Fuck my life¡­ Chapter 2 - Welcome to Your Life Oh dear fucking god, what happened to the fucking lights?! Why is it so cramped; why so squi-- Oh, right; I just finished with the tree of life, and the damn thing decided it would be a good idea to push me straight into the den of wolves without any form of warning. So this is what the womb feels like¡­ warm and squishy. And I will never be able to forget it; this is so going to become a trauma. But again, why is it so fucking cramped in here?! Whose hand is that?! Wait¡­ My hands are right here¡­ my foot can feel a hand there¡­ but there¡¯s a hand on my head¡­ did this woman seriously wish for children so bad that she was graced with multiples?! Her poor body. Seriously though, I wonder how much longer I will have to stay in here¡­ ¡°The lady has gone into labor! Quick, get Zekiel here so he doesn¡¯t miss the birth; also get the Jarl here, his daughter is giving birth!¡± Well that answers my question; that with the accompaniment of screaming from what appears to be the greatest pair of lungs on a woman; lord Mother, do you need to wake the dead? ¡°Water and blankets, gets swaddles ready! I will be a damned Hag if I let these ones pass!¡± And there¡¯s the mood killer, dammit midwife! Huh¡­ I feel like I am about to experience something that should never be remembered¡­ this is more than likely going to be a trauma¡­ Buddha, Cthulhu, Spaghetti Monster? Anyone listening, please give me a sign that I will come out of this unscarred¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Well fuck you too! And now there¡¯s movement, why in god¡¯s name is there so much movement; oh wait, give the mother encouragement! Push dammit! Kiegels! Breathing techniques! I have never done this, can you tell? Better quietly chant in my head while this blows over, nothing better to do¡­ counting sheep? ¡­ ¡­ ¡°My lady, you¡¯re nearly there, I can see a head crowning!¡± Seriously, how large is my lady, she¡¯s probably having multiples again; course being a midwife, this is nothing new to me. But I will be damned if I let these ones follow their older siblings. ¡°Keep breathing, it¡¯s coming out, don¡¯t worry and just keep going, you¡¯re doing good!¡± Crouching between my lady¡¯s legs, the door behind me bursts open as the familiar scent of tobacco and books enters the room; ¡°Zekiel! Dammit, where have you been?!¡± My lady cries out with pain and anger, as the man quickly makes his way to her side, gripping her small hands in his own; a soft smile on his face as he quickly begins to wipe sweat from her forehead. ¡°Sorry, I was on the other side of the village, and only just got the news. You¡¯re doing very well my love, this time for sure.¡± I can only imagine what is going through the heads and hearts of these two, but I know what is coming out of my lady at this moment; ¡°One more push my lady, there we go!¡± And out slides a small child, silver hair like¡­ his¡­ mother, and little bumps on his forehead where horns will be grown. Appears to be a small half-demon here, but I can¡¯t concentrate on making sure this one is alive as I can tell a second is close behind. ¡°Keep pushing my lady, there¡¯s a second following suit. These two must have been fighting to see who would be born first; but the little demon boy beat it to the punch.¡± The look of happiness and relief washes over the two expectant parents, before more screams are had, but the vigor is renewed¡­ ¡°Ooo, aah, oo, eeh uh aaah¡± It is then we hear something from the helper¡¯s direction as she is washing the newborn child¡­ and I swear, it nearly made me start crying how tears just instantly streamed down Zekiel¡¯s face. This is the third time I have seen him cry over one of his children; but this time I can tell¡­ let¡¯s get to work! The next and the next will live as well! ¡­ ¡­ Good lord small child, are you trying to chill me to the bone with this water; aren¡¯t they supposed to use warm water to wash babies? I was lost in my thoughts and even lost track of the song in my head thanks to you! At least the blankets are warm¡­ wait, why are you turning me upside do--- oh¡­ the smack on my tushy answers that. Not gonna work I¡¯m afraid! ¡°Aaaough!¡± I will not cry for you, but I will complain for the mistreatment small child! Then the second smack came, and I again release a growl of annoyance at the child; as I force my eyes open to get a good look at this one; and they give me a surprised look back. ¡°I apologize, young one, just seeing if you¡¯re breathing, guess we can skip that formality¡­¡± The child swaddles me in warm blankets, eliciting a coo of happiness from my mouth; yes, this is pleasant! ¡°Hey Gram, do babies normally have teeth when they¡¯re born?¡± ¡°Why are you asking me daft questions while I am in the middle of birthing¡­ a small dragon boy¡­ seriously this bloodline will be the death of me.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s because this little demon has a mouth ¡®full¡¯ of fangs, sharp little teeth. And his eyes¡­ well; I won¡¯t give away them, let the mother see for herself.¡± A small smile plays on the child assistant¡¯s face, I like this one; I shall remember you and say hi when I get older. ¡°Okay little curious fang boy, I¡¯ll set you down over here for now, gotta take care of your¡­ younger brother.¡± Holy shit, I¡¯m the older brother! And this cradle is comfy. The screaming is not stopping¡­ yup, woman is giving birth to triplets! Go Mother! Fight! Don¡¯t believe in yourself, believe in the me that believes in you! ¡°Aaaaoooo! Aaaaoooo!¡± ¡°Hear that my lady, your little son is cheering you on, just a bit more! I can see this one coming out; and oh dear lord in the mountains¡­ angel child.¡± I can feel the confusion in her voice; before a loud smack can be heard, followed by loud crying from very powerful lungs. Two for three, I can imagine with her innocent smile; this mother of mine is going to be crying for days with two living sons. ¡°And that¡¯s a little angel boy as well; and from the way your stomach is looking, you¡¯re quite done my lady. Let¡¯s get this one cleaned up; but first¡­¡± Another loud smack¡­ and no crying¡­ huh, so this is what chilled blood feels like. Another smack, followed by a third¡­ before I can sense the dread in the room coming up; come on youngest brother; Mother deserves a good child, and that is not me. Dunno about younger, but you have to at least be a good child! ¡°Mmmmm, waaaaoooo¡­ mmmm.¡± And then silence again after younger gets settled from crying¡­ wait¡­ is youngest just sleeping? You little bastard, I¡¯m gonna love you all my life, and swear from here on to now that I¡¯ll make sure you remember this! ¡°Congratulations my lady Indra, my lord Zekiel. You now have three very healthy, tired, and differing little boys. Demon, Dragon, Angel; take a rest my lady, gotta get some strength so you can feed them.¡± I can almost feel the smile on the old crone¡¯s face from here, and then I have two little babies on either side of me. One having a bit of a fuss, and the other sleeping soundly. ¡°I can¡¯t wait¡­ Zekiel, my babies; hand one to me¡­ the oldest¡­ I want to see my baby¡¯s eyes. The child teased me!¡± Lord, her tired and pleading voice is adorable; which makes father happy as he chuckles, quickly moving over to the three of us; staring down with his pale skin, black long hair in a ponytail draped over a shoulder. His black eyes stare directly into mine, as I stare back¡­ ¡°Well¡­ don¡¯t you have special little eyes there, my son. My son¡­¡± A very warm, gentle¡­ fatherly smile spreads across his face as he repeats the word son, tasting the word. ¡°Come come now, your brother¡¯s seem to be sleeping, while you¡¯re wide awake. Makes me worried you inherited mine and my mother¡¯s curse.¡± His hands are huge on my small body, as he gently lifts me up; gingerly, practiced. As I stare into his eyes¡­ ¡°Aaaooo, uuuwaaah eeeooo!¡± I happily declare to him¡­ rough translation to those who do not speak babyish; ¡®I will not die before you.¡¯ But he just smiles and carries me over to where the very tired mother now lays, her white hair laying in sweat clotted mats¡­ fluffy¡­ and her tired amethyst eyes stare in my direction. When she sees me come close¡­ the warmest smile I have ever felt spreads over her face, and hits me right in the heart. ¡°This is my baby¡­ oh my¡­ Zekiel, he has silver hair! Little bumps, he¡¯ll have your horns, same position. His eyes¡­ dear me¡­¡± Her eyes start to very profusely leak tears as she weakly reaches to me, father helping her hold onto me as they both stare into my eyes¡­ enough secrets dammit, what is so special about my eyes! ¡°They¡¯re little stars¡­ little chunks of amber dug from the freshest springs¡­ and so curious. Watching¡­ do you want to hear your name; my little boy?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been thinking it over for the past few months¡­ looks like we can use all the names since we have three sons.¡± Father looks very happy as he rubs at one of my bumps on my forehead, eliciting a small coo of good feelings; so I have full feeling from those. ¡°Zeriq¡­ little Zeri.¡± ¡°My precious little Zeri; please be a good older brother and watch out for Yehai, and little Xihlis. This is the only wish I have for you three; watch out for each other, be good brothers¡­ live long, healthy, and find those you are forever meant to be with.¡± Mother, those are flag words¡­ but her life expectancy is good and long. Don¡¯t scare me. ¡­ As we were enjoying a family time as the younger brothers napped and mother recuperated enough to feed us; birth is a tiring business¡­ woman had three children in a row, she deserves a breather. But yes, as we were resting; the door flings open and mother looks rather happy; ¡°Papa! Come here, they¡¯re here, all three of them, little boys!¡± Oh, it¡¯s Gramps, I can¡¯t see him cause I can¡¯t fucking turn my head or body; you know, being minutes old. ¡°Nanny was baffled though, seems I had a child for each of the major races in our blood.¡± Lord, this mother of mine is adorable when she giggles like that, is what I think before I am snatched up by the largest fucking hand on this side of the universe! ¡°Well now, so yeh¡¯re my little grandson eh? Let me get a look at yeh!¡± Oh my god, low gravely voice that makes your heart thump from the thunder¡­ and when he turns me around; seriously, I can fit easily in a single hand¡­ what a fucking unit of a man. I didn¡¯t know they made crossbreeds of oak trees and bears. Luckily I can¡¯t look down¡­ how the fuck is this place large enough for him! ¡°Look at the light in ¡®is eyes; yeh are full of vim and vigor, have yeh gotten a name from yeh ma yet?¡± ¡°His name is Zeriq, father. He¡¯s the first born, with Yehai coming second and Xihlis after him. I¡¯m happy they¡¯re easy to tell apart¡­ white hair, black hair, gray hair.¡± Mother is now leaning back and looking very pleased with herself; and father is gently rubbing her shoulders. Gramps looks at me with the biggest toothy grin, and it seems he is the happiest bear I have ever seen. ¡°Little Zeri, eh? Well, let yeh gramps give ya a secondary, shall we. Our clan name is Haruk, means ¡®Watcher¡¯¡± As he speaks, he begins walking out the door, making me give a surprise whine; but mother seems to be snoozing now, and father knows I am in good hands now. He¡¯s examining his other sons with the most fatherly smile; jeez you two, bear is kidnapping me! ¡°Now then, did yeh know what Zeriq means? ¡®Graveyard¡¯, something that our clan keeps eyes on. Among other things.¡± It seems we¡¯re in some form of longhouse, should be the Jarl¡¯s longhouse considering what the nanny said¡­ his deep emerald eyes staring at me as he speaks. This place is warm, and rather cozy really. I like it; ten out of ten on Trivago, though they seem to have walking tree bears. This one has a lot to say about the clan, Handrak, and Freyjan¡­ and now we¡¯re going outside¡­ and the warm cozy feeling is replaced by a general fresh and warm air. A slight chill, so we must be in a colder month, or climate. ¡°¡¯EY! Yeh lazy louts! Come here and say ¡®ello to my grandson Zeri!¡± Gramps makes his way down the walk to the front gate of the yard, where a couple of guards, and people are waiting¡­ is our birth really something that special? Well, I mean¡­ okay, let¡¯s just gloss over that thought¡­ This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°So is this the little one that made Indra so bloody huge?¡± As gramps turns me around, I can see the guards, both decently equipped beast men of differing animals. Maybe an actual bear and wolf. ¡°Naw; the other two are inside sleeping¡­ I have three grandsons, yeh know?¡± I swear, this family is gonna choke me in tears at this rate¡­ as both guards and a cheer is raised amongst the crowd of what I surmise is some of the villagers. And from the hill we stand on, I can see that this is quite the large village¡­ why is it a village? Shouldn¡¯t this be a town or city at this point? ¡°Ooooaooo!¡± If I was a normal baby, then wouldn¡¯t I be overwhelmed, but I can at least stand this; that is until every stares directly at me¡­ ¡°Look at ¡®is eyes, don¡¯t they just sparkle like the stars?¡± ¡°Hes looking around, just look at curious this one is. Looks to be the perfect mix of both parents, eh? I can¡¯t wait to hear of their Patrons.¡± ¡°Of course, he¡¯s Jarl¡¯s grandson, so he has to be something special.¡± Boy these people are just speaking to themselves, I can differentiate conversations¡­ as children come up¡­ all differing races from what I can see. Wow, they¡¯re all very adorable. Gramps crouches down and can¡¯t even get close to their height; how tall is this guy? The smallest little child, who seems to be a girl with her spring blue locks waving in the wind; stares at me with eyes of topaz as she stands on tip toes to look at me while peeking over gramp¡¯s hands. I can¡¯t help but smile and laugh at someone so adorable; her eyes light up as she runs off to pull at an adult with amazement. ¡°Alright everyone, gotta take ¡®im to meet some others before ¡®is mother wakes. Everyone will get to greet all three of them in a couple days after the witch comes to give ¡®er outlook.¡± Witch? Well, not like I have anything to worry about; thinking this as gramps begins walking to the back of the yard. I will blame him for how huge this place is, considering how big he is. Course he¡¯s only been here for so long, while the building and land has been here longer¡­ so might not be fair to put all the blame on him. Beautiful day, you¡¯d think with the leg span of gramps, we¡¯d be traveling just a bit faster; but it seems he is being leisurely of this whole thing. His hands are huge, comfy and warm¡­ hopefully you won¡¯t die a meaningless death like last time¡­ ¡°Yeh won¡¯t know this, my small little child¡­ but yeh¡¯re not the first child those two ¡®ave ¡®ad. Yeh¡¯re the third. But the first born; they lost the other two during birth due to complications. They would have been four this year, twins.¡± I can feel that he is a sentimental kind of man, and it¡¯s a deep emotion this man feels; what must it feel like to bury your grandchildren¡­ to see your own child devastated¡­ ¡°Oooooo¡­ eeeeaaaoooo.¡± I swear, this little baby mouth, unable to put words together that will allow me to show my emotions. ¡°I wonder if yeh can understand everything; my precious child. No matter what; I will protect yeh. I will protect them. I won¡¯t bury another; not again.¡± Gramps, you¡¯re making me tear up here, you guys must have gone through so much. Seriously, how long is this courtyard?! ¡°Here we are boy.¡± Ah, there we go; as the old man bends down before what looks to be two small cairns that appear to be rather well taken care of. ¡°Hey there yeh two; I¡¯m visiting yeh again on such a wonderful day. Today, yehr younger brother¡¯s were born safely into this world. I have the oldest here with me; ¡®is name¡¯s Zeri. Will yeh watch over them? Will yeh be happy that they can live, being yehr younger brothers?¡± He seems to be getting choked up as I stare at these cairns; a small smile on my face as I affectionately look at the stones, wondering how it would have felt to have older siblings. ¡°Oooooo, aaaaa, oooo!¡± Hey there you two; I¡¯ll bet you woulda been mother¡¯s favorites. Though she doesn¡¯t seem to be the type; it was you two that made me decide on her as my mother. She needs a good child, and maybe one of my youngers will be that for her. I swear, I¡¯d laugh at that, you know? I doubt I¡¯ll be a good child, but I will do everything I can to make mother happy. ¡°I see yeh like them; yehr mother visits almost every day until she could barely walk. Apologizing everyday that she couldn¡¯t keep them safe.¡± Gramps stands to his full height, and boy am I glad I don¡¯t have a fear of heights; ¡°Well, I¡¯ll come visit again; this one must be getting hungry!¡± Now that you mention it; I haven¡¯t had a trauma for a while, might as well add to them. I¡¯d wave bye to my siblings, but I don¡¯t quite have the motor skills as of yet. ¡­ Well, we¡¯re back here in the cozy little room; and the nanny is back it seems, with her little assistant helping clean the room up. I can tell my brothers are still asleep, but there¡¯s a strange sweet scent in the room; then Gramps hands me over to the still rough looking mother; jeez, making me feel bad. ¡°Did you enjoy your walk, my little Zeri?¡± Staring at me with those eyes is a lethal weapon, mother! How can one person be so pure¡­ and of course her chest is out and waiting to feed her young; ¡°I already fed your brother¡¯s and they¡¯re sleeping soundly. From what your father says, their channels opened up just fine.¡± Channels? ¡°Indra, dear, I doubt Zeri would understand that since he was just born.¡± Father, dear bastard, I can understand and I want to know more. ¡°Now don¡¯t give me that look child; even though you¡¯ll learn later, no harm telling you.¡± I can feel your chuckle, and I want to bite you¡­ ¡°Though it¡¯s strange¡­ all three have teeth, of differing types. You¡¯re the only one with full fangs¡­¡± As he comes close and opens his mouth, showing a full set of dangerous looking fangs; every tooth a sharp razor meant for tearing into people; ¡°Just like me, eh?¡± ¡°At least he has my hair, and eyes from my side of the family.¡± Mother¡¯s jealous face is adorable, and she is warm. I could get used to this kind of treatment. ¡°Mother¡¯s milk will help open your mana channels; so you can awaken your patrons and get appraised by the witch. Course your papa can also look at you with his eye; he is able to see quite a lot with that eye of his. The stubborn and paranoid bastard he is.¡± Oh I can feel the overly sweet affection in those words; how much do you two love each other? ¡°I can, will, once you feed the little child. He must be hungry.¡± Father, I am trying to avoid this a bit; but it¡¯s only natural for a baby to feed from their mother¡­ might as well get this over with¡­ ¡­ ¡­ All I can hear are the sounds of my wife feeding our little firstborn son; the suckling being the sweetest music to my ears. Nothing can compare to the sound of this, and the pages turning in my book as I silently read next to those two and my other two sons. Three sons¡­ I am now a father of three sons. What a day, and I have used all the luck in my life; marrying the perfect woman¡­ having children. ¡°Zekiel?¡± Turning my head to look at my wife, we being the only ones in the room as the nanny and the Jarl had left, lord does this woman look as beautiful now as she did when we first met. ¡°Zeri¡¯s finished, he¡¯s quite the glutton. Wish he¡¯d give some of that feeling to Xihlis, child didn¡¯t eat much.¡± I can see her smile easily in the flickering candlelight; patting the back of my oldest son, eliciting a burp from him easily. I wonder if he¡¯s being considerate, or if he is really just this easy to handle. ¡°Alright, hand him over and I¡¯ll take a look; don¡¯t want treachery to come to us.¡± As I reach for Zeri¡­ Indra just looks at me as she keeps him where he is; ¡°Zekiel, darling, you can see him fine from there¡­ you don¡¯t need to take him from me to examine him with your eye; now do you?¡± Oh? I can feel the slight threat in that small voice of hers. Makes me smile a little fiendishly as I look at her defiant eyes; ¡°Alright; I can see him fine from here then, now calm down my dear. You just had a very long day, and you need rest.¡± Reaching out to stroke the side of her face, the woman of my dreams giving just the smallest smile with a small purr; as I look at Zeri and let my eye open¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Holy shit, did his left eye just seriously light up in flame? Wait, is that¡­ oh right; he did have Hannash as a patron with the Keeper¡¯s Eye as the first gift¡­ so this is what it looks like¡­ I wonder if I can do that? ¡°He¡¯s very healthy; and like the others he is born with three patrons.¡± Oh, must not be maxed out like mine is; or he¡¯d see through all truths. ¡°Ugdralath is there as well; so all will have no issues with the rest of your family.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what any of them think; they¡¯re my children I worked so hard to bring into this world. Anyone tries anything, I¡¯ll make them regret it.¡± Oh, mama dearest is a tad protective. And her tone is simply adorable¡­ though a bit scary. ¡°Yes, yes. I had barely anything to do with any of them, now did I?¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that; you know what I meant you sourly demon.¡± Oh goody, didn¡¯t think I¡¯d get diabetes in this world from how much sweet sugar is flying between these two. Anyway, so that¡¯s Keeper¡¯s Eye, huh? I honestly wonder how that works¡­ Buddha, Cthulhu, Spaghetti Monster? If you¡¯re listening, give me hints! <¡±Channel mana from your forge; move to your right eye¡­ evoke the eye.¡±> Thank you almighty lord above who¡­ wait¡­ now I know you must be Cthulhu; cause I have gotten knowledge and surely have gone fucking mad! <¡±We¡¯ll meet soon. Have fun surprising your parents.¡±> Yup, I have lost all semblance of my mind¡­ but I am still me¡­ oh well, best not think of it and just do as almighty Cthulhu, with his raspy and hollow voice, has given his knowledge on. I mean; I know my body best really, and I can feel a sort of¡­ so this is mana huh? Nearly parallel to the bloodstream, and converging in the area between my stomach and heart. Though consciously moving it is a tad difficult¡­ hmmm¡­ just like this? Oh, it¡¯s moving the way I want it to¡­ towards my eye¡­ he said the right eye? ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Well, that¡¯s interesting¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± I should be careful how I word things around my dear wife; ¡°Is something wrong with my baby?¡± Yup, keep my mouth shut from now on¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry dearest; it¡¯s just something odd in his status that is not anything dangerous, so don¡¯t give me that pitiful look.¡± Rubbing her worried head, I just continue to look at Zeri; where his status is currently saying ¡®Concentrating on a task¡¯. There¡¯s also some even stranger¡­ ¡®Internal Music: Ghost of a Rose¡¯¡­ As I am collecting my thoughts, I see a sort of small spark¡­ something silver over the right eye of my child. I cannot help but get closer and look at him, his eyes not focused on me but on something¡­ behind me? Is he so lost in thought¡­ that can¡¯t be though; do newborns even have their own thoughts complicated enough? ¡°Zekiel, nothing is wrong with my baby?¡± Oh my dear, the worried tone in your voice really breaks my poor dead heart. Leaning close so I can kiss her temple; leaning onto her¡­ ¡°My dearest, he¡¯s just thinking of something¡­ that is what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Oh dear, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re taking after your papa, my little Zeri? Thinking about many things, and not sharing them?¡± That smile really is not playing fair, the smile of a mother who is staring at one that deserves every bit of it¡­ ¡°I am sure he isn¡¯t doing anything that wo--¡± I swallow my words as his right eye comes to life though, and a silver flame coats it¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Huh¡­ so this is what the eye is showing me¡­ some form of status panel with tabs; and according to what the stats of the ability said, that I am able to learn everything about a person. So my mother is only twenty-four? And father is¡­ ninety-seven? Robbing the cradle or robbing the grave, don¡¯t know and don¡¯t really want to know. Guess demons have a longer lifespan¡­ let¡¯s just examine myself while I am here¡­ oh, no idea what to compare it to with a newborn, but my numbers are rather impressive¡­ a fourteen intelligence? That¡¯s my highest attribute. ¡°Darling¡­ why is his eye¡­¡± Oh, right¡­ that voice did say that I would be surprising both of my parents¡­ and father is looking at me with a look of disbelief, and now he¡¯s laughing. ¡°Dearest, seriously¡­ what is going on?¡± More laughing; ¡°Zekiel I swear on meh ancestors that I¡¯ll knock yeh block to the green moon!¡± And mama is mad, is it strange I find her slipping accent adorable? ¡°I need to speak to Runesca on this¡­¡± Who? ¡°What does your mother have to do with this? Why is his eye like this?¡± Mother is now trying desperately to gently bat at the flames, seeing if she can blow them out; which reminds me¡­ how do you turn it off¡­ maybe the reverse of¡­ oh; there it goes; ¡°Oh good, it¡¯s not doing that anymore¡­ oh dearest me, why must today be so stressful¡­¡± ¡°Well, maybe it was a fluke?¡± Oh, is that so father? Fluke? Wanna bet, with my little cute devious smile, I hope¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t like that look in your eyes, and that smile¡­¡± Oh, so it¡¯s just so¡­ Following the same steps as before; I activate my eye, then turn it off, and do that a few more times so this bastard can understand that I did it on purpose. With each time, both my parents look more fuddled, my father laughing as my mother just stares at me with her mouth slightly open. See? I am doing this intentionally. You may now praise your genius of a son! ¡°Zekiel¡­ that¡¯s the Keeper¡¯s Eye, isn¡¯t it? And he activated it?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the eye, and he as a newborn was able to activate a Patron ability¡­ just like that¡­ huh, this is a new feeling¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Pride. Pride that one of my children is able to do something so easily it took me years to do¡­ little bastard beat me by five years!¡± ¡°Zekiel, language towards my baby; he¡¯s your son, so of course he¡¯s smart.¡± Mother looks at me with a very gentle smile; ¡°Zeri, you probably do understand us for some reason; know that we are proud of you for that¡­ just stop scaring your mother.¡± She then leans back on the bed and sighs softly as she closes her eyes; ¡°Now I am sure you two don¡¯t require it, but seriously¡­ that was the last of my energy¡­ I¡¯m gonna knock out for a few hours¡­¡± And knock out she did, I am sure she wanted to say more, as she mumbles to herself before falling into a deep slumber. Though I sort of wished that she didn¡¯t have to fall asleep with me clung tightly in her arms, against her chest and her warmth. Would be nice if I can sleep here, like this¡­ a mother¡¯s love¡­ ¡°Well, guess you¡¯re not going anywhere for the time being, get comfortable kid; even I can¡¯t break out of her hold when she sleeps. I¡¯ll just go bother your brothers until she wakes up. They¡¯re not as nerve wracking as my smart little boy.¡± He laughs, but I can still feel he is smiling warmly at me; so I didn¡¯t make any mistakes showing off¡­ these two are a little too carefree¡­ <¡±That¡¯s what parents are kid¡­¡±> Oh right¡­ forgot about you¡­ <¡±That hurts, right here in the hole where my heart was.¡±> Lovely, and now I am hallucinating while I am trapped; couldn¡¯t this voice sound like a more cute girl? <¡±Kid¡­ your thoughts¡­ you¡¯re not just a newborn, are you?¡±> I take it your name is Mr. Shit Sherlock; first name No. <¡±Jokes, I¡¯m gonna like you. Come into your forge, and we can talk some more¡­ just bring your perception inside yourself, the eye will help with that.¡±> A small sigh comes from me, dunno if mental or physical, but honestly; do I have to do so much on the day I was born? I mean yeah, I¡¯m older on the inside than the out, but seriously people; quite tiring being born¡­ and can remember it. Anyway, he said something about bringing my perception into myself, and that the eye will help me do that¡­ honestly; not helpful. Might as well try anything really, not like it can hurt. Closing my eyes as I listen to my mother¡¯s heart beat, relaxing to the gentle rhythm of life itself. ¡­ Well, was not expecting this when I was told to come into my forge¡­ a small cave with nothing around me; a window in the cave wall that shows some form of colorful night sky. A staircase leading up on one wall, with literally nothing else. I am wrapped in some strange feeling of¡­ familiarity? Looking around the small cave, I don¡¯t really find anything of use save for some runes here and there; guess the only way to go is up. A sigh comes from me as I start heading up¡­ wondering what is going on¡­ Chapter 3 - Lookin, Lookin, Lookin in the Mirror! Entering my forge, is more like entering a little world apparently¡­ as I expected something a bit less or a bit more than what I am currently seeing. Around me is nothing but stone walls, looking to be a cavern; then the floor is worked stone to look like a spiral¡­ eye? Pillars in four separate locations, each the same distance apart from each other and the center. Passed the worked stone, there¡¯s a basin where water would normally be. From the way things are set up, I feel the water would seep into the eye to create some form of¡­ illusion of life? I will admit, this looks frichen eerie to all of my senses; the cold stone beneath my feet, the silence surrounding me, and the lack of smell. It¡¯s almost as if I had entered a sort of¡­ dead world¡­ a place where not even sound exists. Perhaps it¡¯s due to me lacking something? Directly behind me from my entry, there¡¯s a staircase leading up towards a rather large doorway with many¡­ runes surrounding the molding. Statues stand guard on either side; both looking rather similar to the other, only one is holding what looks to be¡­ a falcata, and the other¡­ crossbow? I must admit; I have no fucking clue what is going on anymore¡­ <¡±Don¡¯t ask me either¡­¡±> Not helping mysterious voice from nowhere¡­ <¡±Not trying to help, just letting you know¡­ this is odd.¡±> And the award for useless comment goes to¡­ Ignoring the voice at this point as he continues to speak to me; I continue to look around without moving; and from looking up¡­ grated holes in the stone ceiling show the sky beyond¡­ and holy fuck. If the term ¡®Star Ocean¡¯ ever had a use, this would be it I believe. From all I can see are stars, moons, planets¡­ it¡¯s a universe within a self. <¡±Are you going to move on?¡±> ¡®Do you mind, I am admirin¡¯ the view¡­¡¯ <¡±This is your mind, and you¡¯re admiring it. Sounds like a narcissist?¡±> ¡®Shut up, I¡¯m moving.¡¯ Seriously, ruin my mood why don¡¯t you. When I find you; I am going to punch you right in the face you annoying little shit. <¡±Now that¡¯s the spirit.¡±> ¡®Fuck.off.¡¯ With my small growl, the voice stays silent as I continue to take things in, before moving towards the large door; taking each step slowly just in case¡­ which is odd¡­ paranoia is a bitch. There are no traps within my own mind¡­ is what I think before finding the door sealed; with some kind of riddle keeping it closed. ¡®Okay, all of my whats?¡¯ -The Tyrant wields the Falcata while smiling- -The Lord readies the Crossbow with a relaxed grin- -These two bow to only one- -What does their Sovereign use?- ¡®Well, this is a bit awkward¡­¡¯ <¡±Why is that, oh annoyed one?¡±> Moving my hand, I point at the ¡®Lord¡¯ who wields the Crossbow¡­ ¡®That¡¯s me.¡¯ <¡±What?¡±> ¡®It¡¯s a mentality thing; you¡¯ll know in due time if my hunches are correct here; but I don¡¯t want things to get ahead of me. But the¡­ Sovereign¡­ as this one says¡­ must have put this together as a test to see if the one in control was on Agenai.¡¯ <¡±And the¡­ thought process?¡±> ¡®Because on Earth, I didn¡¯t see this. There wasn¡¯t the notion of the forge on that world. Here there is, and here I am.¡¯ <¡±Who is the Tyrant?¡±> ¡®My polar opposite, and a dear friend of mine.¡¯ The voice was starting to sound annoyed at me¡­ <¡±Okay, fuck it; so what is the answer to this riddle?¡±> ¡®Oh, that is simple. The Sovereign uses no weapon, as the body is their weapon.¡¯ At my proclamation, the large glyph which held the riddle started to crack; then shatter¡­ along with the giant stone doors keeping me here. Behind the door is a courtyard; one that you would see in the center of a rather large¡­ oh¡­ there it is¡­ The courtyard holds no flowers, no life, no color itself; the only color coming from the celestial bodies above my head. There are stone formations that looks to be statues of¡­ people? Things? Places where plants would normally be is also around the desolate place. Again, no sound exists up here as well nor smells of any kind. However, what is most surprising is the rather large castle directly before the entrance to the cavern I was just in. Gothic style; looks like something one would see in a medieval fantasy¡­ maybe with a couple more towers. More towers equals more coolness, right? <¡±Turn around, idiot.¡±> ¡®Let me take everything in¡­ this is eerie.¡¯ <¡±Trust me, it gets better.¡±> Following what the voice states, I turn around completely¡­ and a gothic cathedral greets me opposite to the castle. ¡®Why is a fucking catholic cathedral in my forge?¡¯ <¡±How do you want me to answer?¡±> ¡®Stupid question, so I take it there is where you want me to go before exploring anything else?¡¯ <¡±Technically? Sure, go there before anything else.¡±> ¡®Yes, my liege.¡¯ Ignoring the rebuttal of the voice, I make my way to the gate that lays before the cathedral¡­ with three statues in a triangle facing each other; first covers its throat, second covers its heart, third covers its head¡­ -Beast, forever in anguish, screams out his frustrations until he is mute- -Martyr, with his heart feeling all, crumbles from everything building up- -Philosopher, wracking his brain, finally snaps and loses grasp in reality- -What would cure these three souls, from their eternal torment?- <¡±Who, what.. nevermind.¡±> ¡®Keep quiet, this won¡¯t take too much time. Each of these three fit into the triangle of the passions; three differing actions which bring fullness to the soul.¡¯ Waiting a second, but the voice doesn¡¯t seem to want to chime in; better for me. ¡®Beast is Instinct, which means he has many¡­ hormonal urges flowing through him. To cure his frustrations, one needs to take up a passion that lets your body flow. Combat training, body building, weight lifting¡­ anything dealing with sexual urges also works.¡¯ With this, the statue of the Beast begins to move, his face of anguish turning to one of elation. Head turning to the sky to let out a roar with his arms spread wide, claws ready to strike at all that come before his Sovereign. ¡®Martyr comes from the need for emotion; every living mortal requires emotions to be a whole being. His heart has crumbled because he has no outlet for all the emotions he stores within himself. So to cure him, one just needs to take up an artistic passion; crafting, music, sing your fucking heart out you beautiful man!¡¯ Almost as if taking up my offer, the statue moves with a flourish; one hand resting on its heart, while the other holds out to the side, eyes closed and mouth open. Singing to an audience of one, but singing his heart out with a smile on his face. ¡®Philosopher, you are the one who holds all rationality within the core. Why are you run down trying to keep your mind in check? This is why a passion for knowledge is paramount! Research something, learn, know everything¡­ and keep learning. Pick up that book, take up your quill; let us figure out how to become someone to be feared.¡¯ The statue of the Philosopher, his hands moving away from his head to pick up a fallen book and quill; looks forward with a steady and determined glint in his eyes. No smile spreads on his face, but you can tell from how he now holds himself straight¡­ he is ready to take on the world. With all three looking as if they have been lifted of burdens; the statues turn towards the gates; which open with the force of a thousand fucking suns. The rusted metal slamming against the stone fencing; creating a large resounding crash in the vacuum, causing me to jump from the sudden violence. I guess this means I can move on¡­ waving to the statues before making my way to the front door of the cathedral¡­ knowing I will have to face them at some point¡­ ¡­ Well, there are no pews or even a pulpit within this cathedral.. but there are at least rather large statues that depict some form of deities¡­ wait¡­ ¡®This world has no deities, only Patrons¡­¡¯ Stepping closer to the statues, I notice there are three standing; Left: A rather beautiful woman stands with a veil covering her face, a gown elegantly falling to her feet, which show bare. One hand hovers over her heart, while the other holds onto¡­ is that a scythe? Well, if I had to guess¡­ no need to guess, the plague at the base of the statue itself states; [I am Yrmala, Patron of Life, and mother to all. To please me, all one has to do is grow and learn; to lead those as a guiding light, and heal the sickness of the world. Take heed that I will love you, my Childe.] Center: Robed male with glasses adorning his face; a book in one hand with an hourglass in the other. He wears the clothing of what could only be seen as a scholar¡­ so of course¡­ the plague does say it; (I am Hannash, Patron of Knowledge. Drink deep the mana of the world, chase your dreams; befriend spirits to bring life to your realm. You alone, can make me move; my Master.) Right: A cloaked male that carries a lantern in one hand, and a dagger in the other. Looking closely at the statue, I notice the visible ear is pierced with what looks to be a bell. Features can¡¯t really be seen beneath the hood, nor through the mask; guess Death does not want to be known¡­ {I am Ugdralath, Patron of Death. I do not ask much, just respect the dead; bring honor to your family, and know the darkness is a friend in times of need. My Holder, you are never Alone.} Yup, these three are the Patrons which I chose when I started my life here on Agenai¡­ so the statue of the chained man; sitting in a cross legged fashion with a wild smile, long and crazy hair, with only rags keeping his lower half concealed¡­ resting in the center of the other three¡­ <¡±For I am Baalish; Patron of Consumption. My smartass Friend has already thought of this, no? Bring chaos to the world, desire change, consume those who harm your family. Those are all I ask of you¡­ now that you have seen us, you don¡¯t really have to bother with us¡­¡±> ¡®Oh I most definitely refuse that fucking notion.¡¯ <¡±¡­what?¡±> ¡®I am not religious in any way shape or form, so why the fuck is a cathedral here with statues to the patrons that are to guide me through life as if they are Idols of worship? Cast not ye golden bull into my forge, ya fucking bastards of fuck!¡¯ I look at all the statues before me, with a serious face¡­ a seriously annoyed face¡­ ¡®Each of these statues¡­ are annoying me¡­ why don¡¯t you fucks get out here and speak to me in person if you want me to follow these tenets!¡¯ <¡±¡­since you were just born, you wouldn¡¯t know¡­ I shal--¡±> ¡®Shut it.¡¯ I glare at the statues each in turn, before taking in a deep breath; ¡®I bow to no god, nor will I bow to statues. I will refuse worship; with my very being.¡¯ Raising my left hand, and facing it towards the statue of Yrmala¡­ ¡®This is my realm¡­¡¯ crunch, goes the stone as my hand closes to a fist, Ugdralath following suit as my right hand clenches. The statue of Hannash turns to dust as I slam my fists together; before looking at the statue of Baalish¡­ ¡®We will speak more later¡­¡¯ <¡±WAIT--!¡±> All he got out before all the statues converge and smash his statue to nothing¡­ all the dust spreading out and the pieces clattering here and there¡­ I will admit, maybe a bit much. But my world, my rules; fuckers will listen to me. ¡­ When the dust clears; I move to the place where Yrmala stood, and look around the statue base¡­ to find a door behind it. Knew I saw correctly when I was looking around; minute details don¡¯t leave my vision. Most of the time. Making some room to the door, I notice some runes on it, not really understanding them though¡­ oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained! Reaching up, I knock on the door; do not enter a woman¡¯s room without knocking, just proper manners. And I wait there, for a bit¡­ then knock again¡­ [¡°¡­who¡¯s there?¡±] A soft spoken voice, ringing like a bell, resounds from the other side of the door; a little raspy as if not used to speaking out loud. But not to let a good chance go to waste¡­ ¡®Hatch.¡¯ [¡°¡­Hatch Who?¡±] ¡®Bless you, may I come in?¡¯ As I smile like an idiot from my stupid joke¡­ I am mostly surprised at the ridiculous giggling from the other side of the door. [¡°Okay, seriously¡­ why are you asking permission?¡±] ¡®It¡¯s proper manners, and I destroyed the statue here, so I am asking.¡¯ Silence¡­ more silence¡­ [¡°You what?¡±] The tone of disbelief is easily heard even through the wooden door. ¡®I destroyed the statue in front of this door, you¡¯re Yrmala, correct? I wish to talk, so may I come in?¡¯ [¡°¡­fine. Come in, I wish to see the Childe who did something so¡­ interesting.¡±] I should run, far away, right now¡­ but that would make me a coward¡­ and Sovereign did not create no coward. Grabbing the door, thinking better of my first instinct¡­ and just opening it and walking in¡­ shoulda run, as it shuts behind me. The room I just found myself in was rather¡­ well, sunny. A meadow with flowers, birds, other animal sounds inserted here. In front a field of some form of grain, stood a bare footed woman with a scythe¡­ and as I walked to her, she turned to face me¡­ [¡°Hello childe; I am Yrmala, been a while since someone has entered my dream. Now I must ask, how old are you?¡±] ¡®Why?¡¯ [¡°To know if you beat the record of the ones before you.¡±] She holds up a sheet of parchment with¡­ well, looks like squiggles. Runes of a language I did not know; ¡®Well¡­ I was born¡­ maybe an hour before I came into my forge.¡¯ Yrmala stood, and stared at me from behind her veil¡­ I did not know the look on her face, but I can sense some kind of¡­ danger? [¡°Come again?¡±] ¡®I was just born, yes, shall we continue on?¡¯ [¡°Well, you beat out all other competitors¡­ the last one came in at the age of¡­ forty.¡±] She rips up the parchment, and holds her head before looking back down at me; [¡°So why did you decide to come into my dream?¡±] A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡®I hate religious statues, was going to remodel; decided to bring you guys out before doing the full remodel.¡¯ The smile I gave her, made her look at me as if I was insane; [¡°Are you mad?¡±] ¡®No, I am the sane side of the coin.¡¯ [¡°What?¡±] ¡®Well, shall we leave, I still need to drag the other three out of their dens, but I¡¯d rather have you walking miss Mala.¡¯ [¡°¡­other three? You have four?¡±] Ignoring her question, I reach up for her hand; Mala sighs softly before taking my hand¡­ the silver form gently shivering from the touch before I begin to walk towards the exit; ¡®How many invited you out of the¡­ dream?¡¯ [¡°None¡­ it¡¯s unheard of¡­¡±] ¡®Consider me a first then, as I hate a powerful being inside my own self; unable to interact save for a statue. Religion is stupid¡­¡¯ [¡°You are going to hate the Church of the One¡­ or many temples dedicated to worship of Patrons then.¡±] A sharp intake of breath comes from me as I grasp the door, and rip the fabric of reality from the very essence of my realm. The dream as she calls it, disappears as we walk into the empty cathedral¡­ well, empty save for rubble. [¡°You weren¡¯t kidding¡­¡±] ¡®Your dream connected to my realm, and I am the Lord here. While I am in charge, this place will bend to my whim.¡¯ I turn to smile up at her; ¡®Just wait a bit, I need to get the others. Then we can meet¡­ them¡­¡¯ Ignoring her as I walk to the next statue¡­ I also ignore the giggle from the Patron of Life¡­ ¡­ I¡¯ve already knocked around six times, at the door of Hannash, and I am beginning to lose all forms of my patience¡­ if Wrath is my Demon variant¡­ guess Patience is not my Angel variant. Starting to non-stop pound on the door with my fist, I yell out; ¡®I will count to ten, and if you do not answer, I will rip the fabric of reality to collapse your dream to force your ass out of there!¡¯ (¡°Wait what?! You can do that?¡±) ¡®Yes, just did it with one patron with their permission, and I will do it without permission cause you are freeloading in my realm. I collect rent, but I need you out of that room!¡¯ (¡°Fascinating! Do come in, I must ask you questions!¡±) Dual urges, one to run and the other to burst in and punch this bastard. Ripping the door open, and walking in to fight all urges¡­ I notice a study filled to the brim with books; some floating around the robed man as he reads through here and there. When I sit on a stack of books, he turns to me with a grin; (¡°Hello young sir, has been a while since I had a guest. I would prepare tea, but I can tell you are about to burst, so I will allow you to talk. Pleasure, I am Hannash, Patron of Knowledge.¡±) ¡®Oh I know, I read it on the plague before I turned the statue to rubble.¡¯ I give him the most innocent smile while trying to hide my lust for punching his face; (¡°You destroyed the statue? Did you not like me?¡±) ¡®I chose you, as I did Mala, so I expected you both in my realm. Instead I get a cathedral in gothic style, and statues. So we¡¯re fixing this oversight on the administrators part.¡¯ (¡°You have an odd way of speaking, almost like you are not just a newborn¡­¡±) ¡®I kept all memories of my past life due to¡­ reasons¡­ and some older memories float in here and there¡­ so I am quite old.¡¯ Looking around the stacks of books and giving a smile; ¡®Philosopher is going to love you.¡¯ (¡°Who?¡±) ¡®Will discuss later; follow me, and I will show you information the Patron of Knowledge does not know.¡¯ A skeptical look crosses his face, before a large smile; and he lets his books drop around him¡­ (¡°Well, with an offer like that; how will I be able to turn it down¡­¡±) ¡®Good, follow me.¡¯ Hopping off the stack of books, I make my way to the door, and grab it with both hands; then rip away the dream like it was nothing¡­ my realm coming into view¡­ both Hann and myself just looking at Mala as she dances around the empty cathedral without a care for the world¡­ and then she notices us. [¡°Oh, Hannash, has been a while hasn¡¯t it?¡±] (¡°My dearest sister, has been too long. We have the oddest master this time around; though he seems interesting.¡±) [¡°Yes, this childe will probably keep surprising me.¡±] She giggles to herself as Hannash moves to embrace his¡­ wait¡­ ¡®You guys are related?¡¯ (¡°Yes, Yrmala is my twin sister actually. We have much to catch up on.¡±) [¡°So who is going to come up next of the four?¡±] (¡°¡­four?¡±) ¡®I believe his name is¡­ Ugdralath?¡¯ A loud shriek of happiness comes from Mala as she jumps in place; [¡°Dearest is here? Oh please go fetch him, I have so missed him!¡±] (¡°Well¡­ for him to show up too¡­ what are the odds¡­¡±) ¡®I chose you two, he was forced on me, and then randomly was given the fourth.¡¯ Ignoring them, as they seemed to have some questions¡­ time for the one who will be a little¡­ ¡­ {¡°No need to knock or come in, just open the dream to your realm¡­ Holder.¡±} Never mind, he seems to be the easiest of the three so far. I would like to ask some questions; but you know what, he is freely offering to be ripped from the dream. For the one who was forced on me¡­ ¡®Dralath, I am starting to like you. Ya bastard.¡¯ I raise one clawed hand high in the air with an smile that could not belong to a sane man; and force is down; five long shreds showing in the fabric of the realm and into a rather¡­ dark world¡­ the cloaked man walking out on his own before the tears close up. He looks down at me, his dark eyes showing no life; the bell on his ear giving a chime as he steps by me to Yrmala¡­ and hugs her. [¡°I missed you too, my dearest.¡±] He stays silent, but you can tell that this man, who represents death, dearly loves the woman who is life. As she rubs his back I walk to the place where the fourth statue was¡­ and begin looking for the way to him¡­ (¡°So, you said you had four Patrons right?¡±) Dralath twitches; (¡°Who is the fourth?¡±) ¡®Some bastard named Baalish, he was the one who told me how to get here..¡¯ The three beings of power turn silent to that name; turning my head to give them a queer look, ¡®Why are you all looking like that?¡¯ Indeed, each looked as if I had just told them the world was flat, the sky was the floor, and pineapple was amazing on pizza. (¡°This cannot be coincidence¡­¡±) {¡°What race are you?¡±} ¡®Nephilim, Wrath Demon Variant.¡¯ And now Mala was laughing as if I just said a joke; {¡°Are you a single birth?¡±} ¡®Nope, triplets. My poor mother¡­ okay seriously why are you people¡­ patrons¡­ beings like this?¡¯ Mala was laughing harder, Hann was looking like he wanted to write something down, and Dralath¡­ just stares at me¡­ {¡°You¡¯re serious?¡±} ¡®Would you laugh if it was a joke?¡¯ {¡°Mala is the one who laughs at jokes, not me.¡±} ¡®Good, cause it is not a joke; I¡¯m Zeriq. Zeriq Tigrerious Haruk, my brothers are Yehai and Xihlis.¡¯ {¡°And of course it is that family¡­ no wonder you said I was forced on you¡­¡±} ¡®Yes, now if you will excuse me.¡¯ I continue to move rubble, looking for the way down; [¡°Will you release that childe?¡±] ¡®Of course, I did promise to speak to him again. He might be an annoying bastard, but he is in my realm; so he is friend and brother.¡¯ While I dig through the rubble, I notice they are now silent¡­ and then a sigh comes from the air¡­ <¡±Come in¡­¡±> With that, a staircase down appears where the front of the statue was; a smile on my face as I make my way down; ¡®I¡¯ll be back with the bastard, you guys talk and get comfortable.¡¯ Ignoring their looks, I make my way to the door with chains, and just rip it open and walk through¡­ ¡­ Sitting in front of the chained man before me, I smile up at him while mimicking his sitting pose; before getting tired of it and leaning back on my hands; ¡®So, you¡¯re Baalish, the demonic patron of consumption?¡¯ <¡±That I am, little friend. I felt you were different, who knew I was way out of my league.¡±> ¡®Don¡¯t feel bad, you¡¯ve lived longer than me, but I¡¯ve learned from the best when it comes to certain things.¡¯ I grin at him before we both begin to laugh; settling down as the rattling of the chains get a little¡­ much¡­ ¡®Explain.¡¯ <¡±I¡¯ve been sealed for crimes against mortals, due to their negligence on keeping to the teachings of old. Also turned my back on my family¡­¡±> ¡®Says the man with family in his sphere of influence.¡¯ <¡±Just explaining my charges. Never said they were true¡­¡±> ¡®Truth?¡¯ <¡±Someone tried to harm my dearest; so I slaughtered him and his family. My grandfather decided this was going too far, so sealed me with chains to keep me where I am today.¡±> ¡®Well, sounds reasonable to me.¡¯ <¡±Yes, the punishment was reas--¡±> He does not get to finish¡­ ¡®I meant the retaliation against the man.¡¯ Baal looks at me with a quirked brow; ¡®He tried to harm what was yours, so you had to teach him and his¡­ the basics of fear.¡¯ <¡±You¡¯re messed up.¡±> ¡®I have been told that before; Mr. Mass Murder.¡¯ We both share a laugh, before I stand up and walk to him; ¡®So how do I break these¡­ wait, never mind; I can see the annoying insects here and there¡­¡¯ Before Baal gets time to ask what I mean, I begin grabbing his chains and ripping them out of the wall; turning them into shadows. As I work, his body seems to get a bit better than when it was weighed down¡­ <¡±Kid¡­ do you know that you¡¯re strange¡­¡±> ¡®So I have been told many times; wanna know what¡¯s scary?¡¯ <¡±Do I want to know¡­¡±> ¡®Remember the statues; Tyrant, Lord, Beast, Martyr, Philosopher?¡¯ <¡±¡­yes?¡±> ¡®Insanity, Sanity, Instinct, Emotion, Rationality.¡¯ I smile as he seems to think this over; the final chain turning to shadow as I turn around and head to the door¡­ and his voice from behind¡­ <¡±You¡¯re expecting me to believe¡­ that you¡¯re Sanity?¡±> ¡®I am the Lord, Sanity incarnate of the Sovereign. Follow me, and you will understand.¡¯ ¡­ We walk up the stairs before I collapse the whole thing in on itself, and begin walking to the door of the cathedral; a smile on my face as the four of them follow. That was rather entertaining, and felt very good; though I can hear them speaking behind me¡­ [¡°Hello there Baalish, my baby boy. Did you miss mama?¡±] And I stop before the gate leading to the courtyard¡­ slowly turning around to give them a look of someone¡­ who just heard something strange¡­ <¡±Now you know how I feel, with that Sanity nonsense¡­¡±> Ignoring him; ¡®We will talk later; the others are waiting in the castle¡­ well, three are waiting, the Tyrant may¡­ still be there¡­¡¯ (¡°Where is this¡­ Tyrant you said? What aspect is he?¡±) ¡®Insanity.¡¯ (¡°Sorry, but I think I heard something strange; is that not you?¡±) ¡®Oh I am quite sane, now come come.¡¯ I hold my hands up as I walk towards the courtyard; ¡®Please follow me tour group, as I have only a slight notion where I am going; been a while since I¡¯ve been here.¡¯ {¡°How long, exactly?¡±} ¡®At least eleven lives?¡¯ As we get to the center of the courtyard, I stop to turn to the cathedral to finish my work¡­ only to see all four of them looking at me; {¡°Eleven Lives?¡±} <¡±Kid, you sure you¡¯re Sanity?¡±> (¡°It¡¯s fascinating how the insane say they¡¯re sane.¡±) [¡°Well, I for one believe you.¡±] I can start to feel my blood boiling, before I point towards the cathedral¡­ all four looking over; making a flicking motion to cause the entire building to disappear from my realm. A blank plot of land where it once stood; and I feel refreshed. ¡®Fuck I hate religion.¡¯ With the tour group silent, I make my way to the front of the castle. ¡­ Of course there¡¯s a fucking gate, of course there¡¯s a fucking statue¡­ with a fucking riddle¡­ <¡±I can hear your teeth grinding¡­ which is amazing considering you¡¯re mana.¡±> ¡®Shut it.¡¯ Taking a deep breath; I look at the statue of¡­ a single man, standing and staring down at me; a warm smile on his face. The plague only has one line on it. -Explain the process.- (¡°Wonder what it means? Process of what?¡±) <¡±The kid knows, I have learned to just listen¡­¡±> A sigh comes from both Baal and myself¡­ and then I stand there silent¡­ staring at the statue¡­ ¡®Damn Sovereign¡­¡¯ [¡°Childe?¡±] ¡®Hey, want to hear a story of possibly the dumbest thing ever?¡¯ I sit on the ground, staring at the statue still¡­ not looking at them so they do not see my face¡­ {¡°What story?¡±} ¡®It¡¯s a sad story, that turns odd.. this is the Sovereign.¡¯ I lean back on my hands to stare into his face; ¡®He was a pale man, with pale hair¡­ who was incredibly lonely.¡¯ [¡°Why was he lonely?¡±] ¡®Because he had to leave those he loved behind; due to a mistake on his part.¡¯ (¡°What did he do?¡±) ¡®He¡­ ignored his family, to chase after a man; who killed his beloved.¡¯ Silence from the peanut gallery, as I smile¡­ this oddly sounding familiar; ¡®He killed the man. His family. Spared no innocent, and was finally killed by blood loss.¡¯ [¡°How did he deal with his loneliness?¡±] ¡®This is a metaphor; but he grabbed either side of his head, and with a sane but manic laugh, tore himself in half from the loneliness.¡¯ Mala gasps, but I ignore them as I continue; ¡®And now he had a friend¡­ but he was no longer himself, as both were him. The body they inhabited, could do nothing but sit absentminded. They were friends; brothers even¡­ but they argued, they could not decide on anything.¡¯ {¡°The main self split in two¡­ of course the body would be like that. What did they do?¡±} ¡®One took a crossbow, the other a falcata¡­ and tore each other to shreds.¡¯ [¡°Oh my!¡±] ¡®From the shreds, arose two more of them; four now in total. They each had a color¡­ silver, white, red, and black.¡¯ (¡°Well¡­ maybe they could make some decisions now¡­ but mathematically, they tied more often?¡±) ¡®Correct, they could move the body here and there¡­ but with an even number; ties were normal. The four took council and decided they needed a fifth to make odd the evens!¡¯ I laugh at the insanity of the story, but smile as I look at the face of the one who started this; ¡®Lord gave his right half, Tyrant his left. Beast gave his arms, and Philosopher his legs. Martyr came to be, his orange self; Emotion came final to the rest of us¡­¡¯ <¡±Kid?¡±> I could feel the concern¡­ ¡®Metaphor¡­ I am still whole, am I not? But with our fifth with us¡­¡¯ The statue of the Sovereign smiles down at me, a tear falling from his face before crumbling to dust before me; the gate to the castle opening; ¡®We realized something¡­ Sovereign was no longer with us. However¡­¡¯ I stand up and begin walking into the castle¡­ not completing my thought before moving on. ¡­ Standing on this side of the main room of the castle, the door closed¡­ I was just staring at it while listening to the argument going on the other side¡­ ¡¯The lord has returned...¡¯ ¡¯Indeed, and now we can finally voice our concerns!¡¯ ¡¯Shut up, both of you; do you know what this means¡­¡¯ I kick down the door at this point; dramatic timing and all, and grin at the three other versions of me that are around the circular table. Each turn to me and the four following me, the orange one, Martyr, smiling and coming to me; ¡®Lord, it¡¯s good to finally see you again! We¡¯re on Agenai right? We¡¯re finally home!¡¯ He¡¯s cute, emotions come naturally to him where they don¡¯t to me. I pat his head before turning to the red one, Beast¡­ ¡®So, what does this mean?¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s going to come out of the dungeon¡­¡¯ <¡±Hold up¡­ this is kind of confusing¡­¡±> ¡®How so?¡¯ <¡±Who is talking?¡±> ¡®Oh right¡­ guess it would be confusing when I am talking to myself here¡­ don¡¯t give me that look; sometimes one needs intelligent conversation, so talking to one self is natural.¡¯ I ignore Baal while I think of a fix for this situation¡­ P: ¡®Perhaps we speak with our¡­ tones? Instead of utilizing archaic methods, this seems more fitting.¡¯ M: ¡®Oh, that works, Philosopher is the smartest!¡¯ P: ¡®Of course, it only makes sense due to ones we have never seen before, so they can¡¯t tell us apart¡­ thought our colors would do the trick.¡¯ B: ¡®Can¡¯t be too sure¡­ wait¡­ who are these guys?¡¯ ¡®Oh; this is Mala, Hann, Dralath, and Baal. They¡¯re our patrons while we¡¯re on Agenai. Get used to them, as they¡¯re going to live in the castle from now on, or wherever they want. The realm is open to them.¡¯ It is then that all four of us notice Mala is quite silent¡­ and then we¡¯re all wrapped in a tight hug, and pulled over to Dralath¡­ [¡°CAN I KEEP THEM?!¡±] Oh dear¡­ {¡°Dearest, they¡¯re technically all mental selves of our holder¡­ so¡­ yes.¡±} Traitor. Mala gives us a squeeze as she sits in a big chair and snuggles the four of us; Martyr enjoying every moment of this while Beast tries to pry himself free. B: ¡®GAH! Unhand me! I am evil incarnate and will claw you!¡¯ ¡®Beast, give it up¡­ we all know you¡¯re not evil; just an edgy boy.¡¯ B: ¡®Fight me!¡¯ ¡®After the final piece of business is settled.¡¯ Making my way out from Mala¡¯s grip, I head down a hallway; waving to everyone, let them get to know each other¡­ but am followed by Baalish, when I wanted to do this alone¡­ ¡®Why are you following me?¡¯ <¡±Interest. Wonder what the other side of you is like; and to prove if you¡¯re really sane.¡±> ¡®Funny thing, sanity. The sane never think themselves sane, while the insane say they¡¯re sane. You would never be able to see a perfectly sane individual.¡¯ Baal seems to try to comment on that as we begin to go through passages, down corridors, and down stairs at an alarming rate¡­ ¡®Fuck me, been a while since I¡¯ve been around here. Wonder if I am lost.¡¯ The sarcasm in my voice is nearly lost on Baal, before he sighs; <¡±Seriously¡­ where are we going?¡±> ¡®Oh, Tyrant is chained in the dungeon, due to the world we were in didn¡¯t so much like the insane for a long while.¡¯ More stone, wish this place had some actual decorations¡­ making our way down into what appears to be a cellar¡­ and then the cells on either side of the hallway. <¡±Homey¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡±> ¡®Oh he loves it; a lot like a presidential suite.¡¯ T: ¡®I can fucking hear you. I don¡¯t appreciate the jokes; just let me out.¡¯ Oh there he is, a smile crossing my face as I slowly make my way to the cell¡­ unlocked and open with Tyrant¡¯s pure white mana form sitting against the wall¡­ <¡±Wait¡­ is he even locked in here?¡±> L/T: ¡®Nope.¡¯ <¡±Then why is he still here?¡±> T: ¡®Well, it would be rude to leave a spot I myself said I¡¯d stay for the time being until such a time that I am called back by my twin.¡¯ A smile crosses his face and Baal looks from Tyrant to me¡­ <¡±Okay, I am now lost on who is sane or insane¡­¡±> L/T: ¡®Baal, that¡¯s a very thin line between both aspects¡­ you can¡¯t even tell by looking.¡¯ I look to Tyrant and motion; ¡®Come on, the others are waiting, and I¡¯m getting hungry¡­ might want to get out of here before anything actually happens.¡¯ T: ¡®Fair enough, hey Lord; what¡¯s our mother like?¡¯ L: ¡®You should know, we share memories, or were you out of the loop while in here?¡¯ He laughs as we begin to talk and walk back to the conference room; Baal following behind us¡­ whispering to himself as he wonders what exactly he has gotten himself into¡­ ¡­ T: ¡®Lord.¡¯ ¡®Tyrant?¡¯ T: ¡®What is going on?¡¯ ¡®I am not an expert¡­ but¡­¡¯ I sigh as I am currently with Tyrant, in the arms of Mala, and being snuggled with everything the woman has in her; ¡®I believe they call this snuggling?¡¯ T: ¡®I hate you, smartass.¡¯ ¡®Shut up, you love me.¡¯ We continue to pass lines like this back and forth as I slowly focus my sense of self back to the outside; opening my eyes, to look at¡­ nothing. Still cuddled close to mother¡¯s chest, with dad making weird noises towards my younger brothers. How much time went by, I don¡¯t know¡­ [¡°You were in your forge for roughly¡­ an hour and thirty-seven minutes.¡±] Okay, that¡¯s strange in many ways¡­ now I am hearing Mala in my head. I don¡¯t mind, but at the same time, am I losing it? <¡±Kid, you released us into your forge; we can converse with you more freely now. Get used to voices in your head.¡±> T: ¡®Been there, done that, got bored, killed it; then went there again.¡¯ Oh dear fucking god; might as well get the best of this¡­ ¡®Philosopher, I want you to run a full diag on Keeper¡¯s Eye and Guide to Life, see what synergy they have, and decent ways to utilize them in a sort of¡­ window format. Ya get me?¡¯ P: ¡®I get ya, it¡¯ll take me an hour at most; have fun getting fed again.¡¯ <¡±Oh, that reminds me; now that you have full access to us¡­ well first, parents are gonna get a shock, second: you can use Consumption to copy one of your mother¡¯s traits.¡±> Oh fuck, do not make me one of those babies that gets fed from multiple women. Read that story, and holy fuck was it cringy in many ways. <¡±You don¡¯t have to worry about it; since she is willingly giving you her essence through milk, then the chances of success are higher. Give it a try on¡­ well; you decide.¡±> ¡®Fun¡­ if I didn¡¯t require sleep; I¡¯d already be bitching about being tired¡­¡¯ B/P/M/T: ¡®That was your fault dumbass.¡¯ Everyone¡¯s a critic. Chapter 4 - Voices in my Head Again Coming out of my forge, I find myself still in the arms of my mother¡­ resting comfortably on her chest between the giant valley she creates. If these two have a daughter¡­ she will never drown; that¡¯s how I would describe this woman. It is also very warm where I am, and her heartbeat is a rather wonderful lullaby¡­ if I had the ability to sleep, then I would go right back to it. Damn myself to hell for that choice, but what can you do? ¡°Looks like you¡¯re right back with us, huh little guy?¡± A rugged but soft voice comes through as I am lifted from off mom, and I am greeted by the sight of my father; a relatively nine out of ten looking demon. Long black hair in a rogue knot, and eyes as gray as the abyss; black horns that follow the curve of his skull to point upwards at the tapered end. His eyes peer at me from behind the glasses they¡¯re framed by, a soft smile played on his pale face. ¡°Is he okay, Zekiel?¡± Oh dear, it seems I worried them during my little trip into my forge¡­ I¡¯m gonna blame Baal for this later when I am able to¡­ <¡±Well, I mean¡­ it¡¯s not really my fault if you think about it¡­¡±> And now voices in my head¡­ P: ¡®Let¡¯s be honest Lord, it¡¯s not something new.¡¯ ¡®Shut it, parents are talking¡­¡¯ ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll eat now? Yehai and Xihlis are already fed, so he should be hungry as well.¡± Mother seems to be really worried that I didn¡¯t react during feeding time; so I should really¡­ <¡±Don¡¯t forget to copy one of her traits while you¡¯re feeding; can¡¯t really let this opportunity go to waste.¡±> Thank you mr. obvious, why don¡¯t you tell me how the weather is; zero points if it¡¯s cold! <¡±Are we in a bad mood?¡±> ¡®Maybe a little, still trying to figure things out. I also don¡¯t like people repeating things when I know what I am doing¡­ sorry.¡¯ Having a minor mental conversation isn¡¯t really what I expected to have on my first day alive, but here we are. Mother takes me back and I get a good look at her from this vantage point; a rather beautiful woman with silver fluffy hair, and eyes of pure amethyst. Still looks tired as all hell, course it has only been two hours since our birth¡­ poor woman had to birth triplets what am I expecting. <¡±What you want to do, is the same as activating your -Keeper¡¯s Eye-, only change the flow of mana from your eye to your tongue.¡±> Makes sense, <¡±It¡¯ll become instinct if you do it enough, don¡¯t worry and take it slow.¡±> Well, it¡¯s good to know when her nip is currently in my mouth and I am suckling; I am in a bad mood, must be having a rough day¡­ being born. Anyway, by following the same pathways as the eye, change them to my tongue¡­ P: ¡®Did you decide which trait to copy?¡¯ ¡®I swear to the ever loving god Cthulhu, I will smite thee! I told you to get the shit in order, what have you been doing?¡¯ ¡°Ow, no no baby, fangs will hurt mommy.¡± And now I feel bad¡­ P: ¡®Sorry, I have been working on what you have asked¡­ current setting are on HUD mode for now, and we can fix it up as we go. I¡¯d suggest¡­ well you already have that trait, so dunno if it stacks¡­¡¯ [¡°Most traits don¡¯t stack with themselves, no.¡±] P: ¡®Then it¡¯s either; -Expanded Circuits- for increased mana, or -Enhanced Circuits- for mana regen. Since a few of our abilities use Mana, I¡¯d suggest expanded¡­¡¯ <¡±And since you have a Patron who has Mana in their sphere of influence, you¡¯ll get a good bonus on either one of those. I agree with the dark one, expanded is more useful at this time; and you can train for enhanced¡­ since you will never sleep.¡±> Thanks for the reminder¡­ so -Expanded Circuits-, and activate the ability¡­ intake some of the essence of the person I wish to copy from¡­ -=Trait of -Expanded Circuits- consumed from target -Indra Haruk-: -Hannash- shown to be included with holder that used consuming ability; -Expanded Circuits- trait given extra experience, increased from -Tier I- to -Tier II-=- ¡®Who the ever loving fuck was that?¡¯ P: ¡®¡­installed AI to the system? A new voice in your head? Wibbly Wobbly Bullshit?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll take fourth option of strange deity in world where that is right near scary¡­ cause it could be true.¡¯ <¡±Well¡­ it worked, I don¡¯t remember the announcement or that voice¡­ does this happen often to you?¡±> ¡®Life and world I lived with before this one didn¡¯t have this stuff on it¡­ so no¡­¡¯ ¡°Good baby, you slowed down; are you full?¡± Oh, lost concentration there for a second¡­ do I really need to concentrate on eating; we¡¯ll never know¡­ continuing on to feed until my stomach feel full; making sure not to bite. ¡°Eating very well my little Zeri, fill up so you can grow big and strong. Good boy, good boy.¡± She strokes my head, rubbing the four nubs on my forehead¡­ wait¡­ ¡°Indra, love, what¡¯s wrong? Your face just took an odd expression.¡± Father leans closer to get a better look at what mother is fretting about¡­ ¡°Didn¡¯t he only have two horn nubs a bit ago? I feel four now¡­ and, his legs feel a bit off in the swaddle now that I¡¯m checking.¡± Was wondering why I felt all warm and cozy, forgot about being swaddled. Now that she mentions the odd feeling, my legs do feel¡­ kind of hard when I rub them together? ¡°Well, that¡¯s interesting¡­¡± Father takes me from ma¡¯s arms, and I can see his eye blazing purple again¡­ and the look of surprise on his face before I am unswaddled; mother¡¯s little squeak and father¡¯s grunt both being rather¡­ noticeable as they see something wrong with my legs¡­ ¡°I am sure his legs did not look like that when he was born¡­ nor did he have such talons¡­¡± I¡¯d comment, but I didn¡¯t get a chance to see my legs before¡­ what the fuck happened? ¡°Zekiel¡­ what the fuck happened to my baby?¡± Good, if they ask me then I can say I got my mouth from my mother¡­ ¡°Well¡­ I was going to tell you this later¡­¡± ¡°Darling.¡± Mama sounds scary¡­ ¡°Alright.¡± Father sighs softly as he sits on the bed with me in his arms; ¡°Our sons status windows don¡¯t necessarily state they are half breeds of their respective types¡­ so Zeri isn¡¯t a half-demon.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°Their race is listed as Nephilim. I guess since you¡¯re family is such¡­ prolific with their mixing of blood¡­ your mother is an angel and father is a half-dragon. I¡¯ll have to ask Runesca on this matter of what a Nephilim is¡­¡± Father takes something out of his pocket which appears to be a small orb¡­ ¡°Course what worries me, is that before all three had a small¡­ well you know how I have a Wrath Variant to my race? They each have a variant as well; so Zeri is a Nephilim, Demon Variant; Awakened.¡± ¡°And Yehai and Xihlis are showing..?¡± ¡°Dragon or Angel Variant, Slumbering. I don¡¯t know why Zeri awakened¡­ but now he has four horn nubs, and his legs look like¡­ well; what I would suspect from a half-breed that had awakened their variant.¡± ¡°So this is normal?¡± ¡°I guess? I don¡¯t know a thing about Nephilim, usually a half-breed will awaken later in life, thus changing their appearance to show this. Maybe our other boys will awaken in a time.¡± Father begins checking my legs, I guess to ensure that nothing is wrong with them¡­ ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to have any discomfort¡­¡± I am then handed off to my mother, who is also kissed on the forehead; I can see the worry on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Indra, he¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll check with my mother to see if she knows anything. Just keep a look on our boys, and shout if anything changes.¡± ¡°Okay, do hurry? I don¡¯t want to lose another child Zekiel.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that doesn¡¯t happen love. Stay calm, babies can feel their mother¡¯s emotions.¡± Another kiss filled with affection; I can almost feel myself want to cringe¡­ and Father leaves the room as he fiddles with the orb he took; Mother rubbing at my nubs, eliciting a coo as it feels good, a smile forming on her¡­ ¡°Zeri, don¡¯t scare your mother so early in your life; I¡¯ll accept any other time, but wait a few years before giving me a heart attack¡­¡± She begins to play with my toes, which does feel ticklish, making me laugh; her smile grows more radiant; ¡°You are very responsive; your brother¡¯s are as well, but I can feel¡­ it might be odd¡­ but you seem to know I am toying with you.¡± This goes on for a while; mom just talking to me, and playing with my legs, checking to see if I show any signs of discomfort it seems. My brothers are sleeping soundly over in their cradle¡­ all the while the synergy ability of -Keeper¡¯s Eye- and -Guide to Life- coming together before my eyes to show a very basic looking HUD. From the basics of what a HUD shows, I can see that my Mana did jump from a rather impressive twenty-two to eighty-eight. ¡­ Not knowing how much time has actually passed by, father walks back into the room¡­ followed by a much shorter woman. As I look over to her, a small window appears showing me that this is actually -Runesca Treitori- or otherwise known as my Grandmother. Same horn configuration and color as my dad, hair color similar¡­ only with the style in a bit more of a short cut bob. Her eyes glow with a bit of unnatural light; of a deep magenta. She pushes passed dad to come to the bed and looks at ma, before reaching over to begin rubbing mother¡¯s head¡­ ¡°There there, you did very well. Giving birth to three boys in a day isn¡¯t the easiest feat. They¡¯re very healthy, and from what I have seen, they are just fine.¡± Her magenta eyes then turn towards me, and from close up¡­ it almost looks like she has no emotions if you were to just tell by her eyes. The pupils were pin points¡­ ¡°So this is my problem grandson? Zeriq was your name?¡± She leans in close to me, her left eye blazing with a magenta flame¡­ guess it runs in the family¡­ ¡°Interesting¡­¡± ¡°What, did something change?¡± Ma seems to be worried about every little word now; though from Oma¡¯s look as she rubs ma¡¯s head again to calm her down; ¡°No no, don¡¯t worry dear, nothing is wrong with him. Just his race is a rather interesting notion to me; haven¡¯t seen a Nephilim before¡­¡± She tilts her head as it seems she begins to think; ¡°There are roughly¡­ four books in my library that have mention of Nephilim¡­¡± Ah I see now¡­ both she and my father have -Eidetic Memory-, ¡°If I am remembering properly¡­ a Nephilim is an outcome when four bloods mix together; Human, Dragon, Demon, and Angel. It¡¯s also a rather rare occurance¡­ the books detail that the children of these mixtures were never born complete. Would explain¡­¡± A tinge of sorrow passed over her face before quickly disappearing; ¡°I don¡¯t know why you have three of them, nor why this little demon boy has awakened mere hours after being born¡­¡± ¡°Do those books mention anything else?¡± Dad takes up mother¡¯s other side, holding her shoulders¡­ and as Oma is about to answer; the door is flung open and a rather¡­ well¡­ a woman crashes in and jumps almost on my mother; crying as she hugs and holds her; ¡°Indra, dear, is everything okay?!¡± ¡°Mother, it¡¯s okay, they were born alright.¡± ¡°And there is the other link¡­¡± Oma does not seem happy to see Nana¡­ who the little blip pops up to show her as my mother¡¯s mother; Hilda Haruk ne Mariana. ¡°Please be careful¡­ the eldest grandson is being squished.¡± Well now that she mentions it¡­ as Oma states this, Nana pulls back and looks down at me¡­ her silver hair as fluffy as mother¡¯s, but her golden eyes shining as she squeaks; ¡°Oh my lord¡­ he looks perfect, just like his mama and papa. I heard you had triplets?¡± As Oma points to the side table, Nana quickly hops over and begins fawning over my brothers; before she stops and looks over; ¡°Any reason why¡­ they look different?¡± ¡°Their race is Nephilim; and is seems Zeri awakened early¡­ I was about to explain things, but a rather large and noisy distraction showed herself¡­¡± Yeah, seems they have some animosity¡­ thought Nana waves her off before picking up my brothers and bringing them over; looks like they¡­ Yehai¡­ woke up to the noise. Xihlis is still sleeping like nothing happened; which is adorable in its own way. ¡°I mean¡­ it could be because he¡¯s been in his forge and did things in there?¡± As Nana states that, I quickly go through her list of abilities to see which one ratted me out¡­ but nothing is really giving me anything to go off of¡­ ¡°And what gives you that idea? I can¡¯t see anything odd about him in that regard.¡± ¡°Runa, you need to keep close attention to his abdomen; the increase in mana is apparent if you study the difference between the three boys.¡± Nana pokes the little Yehai in the belly, showing the area where the forge is physically¡­ (¡°She has you there, it¡¯s an apparent thing¡­¡±) ¡°Hilda, you do know that it could be that he has greater mana circuitry than his siblings. He has a trait that does increase it; quite a fair few traits actually¡­¡± Seriously, I¡¯d sweat if I wasn¡¯t a newborn¡­ as my father¡¯s face kind of takes a¡­ odd look¡­ This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°What do you mean, mother? He shouldn¡¯t have any traits like that? When I looked at him when he was born, nothing showed him having anything to increase the amount of mana.¡± As Oma is about to answer, the room seems to get a little colder; as mother holds me tighter; ¡°Enough, he¡¯s just that amazing of a son; and his brothers will be equally as amazing in time.¡± She turns to Oma, ¡°What were you going to say before my mother crashed in here?¡± The three other people stop with the debate before mother loses it; and clearing her throat, Oma continues; ¡°Well¡­ from the writings in those books; Nephilim will have one of the four racial variants as a main, then a variant of the others as a secondary and tertiary. Humans don¡¯t really have variants as our races do¡­ unless you count the nationality¡­¡± She looks at me closely, then tilts her head; ¡°So he is a Demon Variant Nephilim¡­ Wrath Demon, Fallen Angel, and Ancient Dragon.¡± As Nana seems to begin to speak she is interrupted by Oma; ¡°You might have Fallen Angel in your bloodline¡­ and Ancient is indeed a variant of Dragon; Yehai¡¯s variant is Dragon, with it showing as Justiciar.¡± ¡°So¡­ like how the Wrath variant gives him something¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, Fallen Angel and Ancient Dragon give him things; we don¡¯t know what they are exactly¡­ don¡¯t even know what his Wrath gift is¡­ could be like his fore-fathers and be an instant Berserker, or something else.¡± Oma rubs her face as she begins pacing around the room, the old Bear walking into the room and looking at all the serious faces; ¡°Is something wrong?¡± He looks and sounds a bit worried, coming up behind Nana, who looks up at him happily as if she hasn¡¯t seen him in a while; ¡°Nothing is wrong dear, just Indra being a new mother.¡± Nana turns to mother; ¡°Dear, they are going to be different, might as well get as much information about the difference as you can. Learn about them as they grow.¡± Her eyes then turn to me¡­ ¡°And you¡­ my little demon, do be careful not to worry people too much.¡± And that knowing smile¡­ how much does she know¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°So the three boys are a race that ¡®ave not been seen before; am I getting that right?¡± Looking across from the table to Zekiel and Runesca, little Zeri in her arms as he shares the same sort of¡­ trait as both of them. Hilda stayed in with our daughter and the other two sleeping boys; Indra needing to rest¡­ ¡°That is what I said, yes¡­¡± I can¡¯t get used to these two; I know Indra loves this man¡­ but he and his mother¡­ the way they don¡¯t really show emotion in their eyes, and their pupils¡­ I hope Zeri isn¡¯t the same as them. ¡°Though this one is a bit different to the other two; awakening, seeming to have been in his forge¡­ probably an accident which led to awakening.¡± Runesca¡¯s hands gently rub at the boy¡¯s horn nubs, and his face¡­ a small smile on her face; ¡°He reminds me of Zekiel at this age¡­ his eyes were also looking around as if he was curious of the world. His sister¡¯s weren¡¯t any different, but I wish they weren¡¯t from that bastard.¡± ¡°Mother, language.¡± Zekiel looks at his mother, as he skims a book, the woman rolling her eyes in return; ¡°Oh he¡¯s going to hear worse; wait until your father comes by to visit his grandkids¡­¡± ¡°I forget, these boys are yehr first grandkids?¡± ¡°Indeed, Bardi. My daughters have yet to have kids; and Zekiel is my husband¡¯s only child.¡± She continues to play with Zeri¡¯s face, ¡°Well¡­ I ¡®ope nothing goes wrong with these boys; I don¡¯t want to see Indra as ¡®urt as she was when the girls died¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, nothing bad will happen to them; as long as I live.¡± Zekiel plays with Zeri¡¯s feet, looking at the boy with the warmest face I have ever seen on the man¡­ save for when he looks at Indra¡­ ¡°Though I do wonder what this one¡¯s variants will allow him to do.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t think of ¡®im as a research subject¡­ or any of them¡­ I know yeh two, and yeh¡¯ll both lose yehrselves if yeh get into that mindset.¡± ¡°I¡¯d never take my grandsons as research subjects¡­ just mild curiosities.¡± Runesca tilts her head at the notion, as if I had said something rather odd; ¡°They¡¯ll be a new experience, which is something I¡¯d enjoy being around to see¡­¡± Her hand reaches into her coat pocket to pull out a sack of what I can assume is coins; and she slides it towards me, ¡°Take this Bardi, I¡¯d like to have a tower made in the village¡­ so I can be closer to the kids.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be great to ¡®ave an arcane specialist around, but yeh don¡¯t need to pay for it; we¡¯re family.¡± She tilts her head again; ¡°Look, I know I don¡¯t ¡®ide my¡­ discontent about yeh and yehr son; but he makes Indra ¡®appy, and yeh¡¯re not that bad. We are family, and that is the first rule of my family¡­ to the family.¡± I slide her money back to her; ¡°Just ¡®ave yehr husband bring me something to drink sometimes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll remind him; but do take the coins. It will come in handy for building up your village, such as new walls.¡± I can see where she is coming from¡­ though she looks down away from me, as Zeri¡¯s little hand reaches towards her face; his right eye wreathed in flame like their side of the family; ¡°Well, you can access your patron abilities it seems¡­¡± ¡°So can I cancel the damnable witch? She annoys me more than the whole council of Freyjan when they can¡¯t decide to dig ditches.¡± I rub my forehead, remembering the earlier debate with the council; ¡°No, she¡¯ll still need to come by¡­ if not for Zeri, then for Yehai or Xihlis. And his markings haven¡¯t appeared yet, so she is still needed. I don¡¯t want to see my grandchildren looked down upon for not having marks¡­ and if that elder says anything; I will kill him.¡± Runesca threatens with a hint of malice in her voice; perhaps the old clod¡¯s words about her son still hit her¡­ ¡­ ¡­ All the while these adults are talking to themselves; I am setting up my HUD and other things to my liking¡­ oh lord, this will be a task in itself. All the while I have Phil in my ear telling me about a few things of Agenai; and Beast is letting me know about what he feels about some things. Martyr is currently enjoying himself as he feels around the place¡­ Tyrant¡­ we¡¯re both currently working our brain to the synapse with every fiber of our being; to try and figure out what we are to do with our time¡­ cause we have a lot. Looking at the calendar of this world; it¡¯s to the point we¡¯re going to lose our minds if we don¡¯t have anything to do¡­ T: ¡®I mean, we could always ask that one question we have¡­¡¯ ¡®Oh, you mean¡­¡¯ T: ¡®Yeah, that one.¡¯ M: ¡®Oh, I like that question; didn¡¯t get to answer that question before.¡¯ <¡±I am afraid to ask what you guys are talking about¡­¡±> ¡®Mala¡¯s ability allows us to ask three questions that we can¡¯t look up with the guide, and this question is more than likely going to be apart of that.¡¯ [¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mention. Since you allowed us to walk around your forge, and this beautiful castle; I¡¯m giving you a freebie. So technically four questions.¡±] <¡±Is that allowed?¡±> [¡°My gift, my rules. Plus I feel that it¡¯s going to be a rather interesting question.¡±] ¡®I mean, we were just going to ask about our¡­ oh what¡¯s the best way to word this so it can¡¯t be lost in translation¡­¡¯ T: ¡®I can see that Solomon and Faust still run strong in our paranoia¡­ those damn bastards..¡¯ (¡°Who?¡±) P: ¡®King Solomon, when we knew him, if our memories are to be believed; and Johann Faust. Both had ties to demonology and the unseen world; and both taught us that wording is kinda important.¡¯ B: ¡®Which is another reason we dislike Fey, cause those bastards are wordy and try to outwit anyone who gets a boon. We know the tricks, but we¡¯ll have to practice for it to be proven.¡¯ <¡±Wait¡­ I doubt Mala is going to do anything like that; I am sure she can make it simple¡­¡±> ¡®If we word it, ¡®Please tell me my destined person.¡¯ then it can be construed as ¡®Anyone I am destined to come across.¡¯ where as; ¡®Please show me the name, location, and full status of the woman whom is tied to my soul through the red string of loved fate.¡¯ or ¡®Like Yrmala and Ugdralath, or Indra and Zekiel; who holds the other half of my soul?¡¯¡¯ <¡±¡­¡±> [¡°¡­¡±] (¡°¡­¡±) {¡°¡­could have told you it would have been something like that.¡±} P: ¡®Makes perfect sense to us, again; we have been taught on the notion of ¡®wording is king.¡¯¡¯ <¡±Who the hell were these people?¡±> ¡®Solomon was a king from the ancient past, who had a few screws loose and wrote many books on summoning and binding¡­ other worldly beings to his whim.¡¯ T: ¡®Where as Johann Faust was an alchemist and necromancer; who sold his soul to¡­ an old one¡­ to gain these powers and knowledge.¡¯ -=Currently Processing Request=- ¡®And that voice is back¡­¡¯ -=Unable to Process Request: Current query does not match beings on world; will set parameters, and continue to run query in background. Will respond once query is able to be answered.=- ¡®Bitch.¡¯ T: ¡®So I guess that¡¯s that, we¡¯re just gonna have to wait until she is born?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s the life expectancy of a Nephilim?¡¯ P: ¡®A long time, let¡¯s not go into details; but a long time¡­¡¯ ¡®So we could be waiting anywhere from tomorrow to a hundred years later¡­ Cthulhu¡­ please; don¡¯t make me be robbin¡¯ some form of cradle.¡¯ All the while I am debating this, and messing with my HUD; looks like Oma got up and carried me back to the room where my mother is. She¡¯s sitting in the corner and holding me while my brother¡¯s are fussed over by Nana and Ma, and the demon part of my heritage just stares down at me¡­ a small worried smile spreading over her face¡­ ¡°Runa, what¡¯s wrong dear?¡± Nana noticed her and seems to notice the worried look on her face; ¡°They are healthy, and have good life lines; you don¡¯t have to worry about them living¡­ or is it one of those things we wouldn¡¯t understand?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing; thoughts I¡¯ve had since my little Vivi was born. No matter how much you research and prepare, you will never be ready to hold a new life in your hands¡­¡± I am then held rather tight to the small body of my Oma, warm with a hint of awkward emotions; ¡°Zeri has the most mana with a good mixture; Yehai is more physically healthy¡­ Xihlis just seems to be a sleepy boy, and each worries me in a different way.¡± ¡°Let me tell you Runa,¡± Nana sighs before coming over to hug Oma from behind; looking down at me with her golden eyes; ¡°You will never be prepared for anything a child does. When Indra was little, I expected a proper lady¡­ and behold; she gives all the boys split lips and black eyes.¡± ¡°Not my fault them annoying clucking cuckoos wanted to pick fights with the Jarl¡¯s daughter; to prove they were good enough to wed me no less.¡± Ma huffs and looks like she wants to do something, but quickly realizes she is holding her babies; ¡°Had to make myself strong so as to not have to deal with them trying to make me their trophy.¡± ¡°She is her father¡¯s girl; and our sons are no different¡­ at least my daughter has a decent partner who doesn¡¯t try to use the name for his purpose.¡± Goody, seems there are some issues in the family that I don¡¯t want apart of¡­ ¡°Course what do I expect of a boy who falls in love with a woman for that reason.¡± Nana sighs as she rubs at my little horn nub; ¡°These two children falling in love for simple reasons gives me hope; reminds me of why I fell for Bardi, the big oaf he is.¡± Oh dear¡­ the main issue with being a young child in a room full of women. I can¡¯t do anything about them starting to talk about things I really have no fucks to give. Not putting them down for their stories of true love and cuteness, but I don¡¯t want to hear it; give me information I can use¡­ <¡±Well, you¡¯re a newborn, what do you expect?¡±> ¡®True¡­ though I wonder if there¡¯s anything to do¡­¡¯ T: ¡®Could always train things, like that enhanced circuits trait¡­¡¯ -=Beep=- T/L: ¡®Oh what now?¡¯ -=Choices to be made. Please decide bonus for Nephilim Variants.=- ¡®¡­¡¯ T: ¡®¡­¡¯ ¡®Okay, I am lost; Mala is this you?¡¯ [¡°Nope, I have no idea what this odd voice is¡­ but you seem to have plenty of voices in your head, so are you sure it¡¯s not something you¡¯ve had before?¡±] T: ¡®I¡¯d remember a voice like this, and it seems to know things that we didn¡¯t have in the previous life¡­ could this be a system we¡¯ve heard so much about in the last life?¡¯ ¡®I hope not, those parasites would be annoying if they were like; ¡®Become strong, all you have to do is sleep with all the women!¡¯¡¯ M: ¡®Ew, please no. I¡¯d rather keep to a single woman who is very cute.¡¯ -=Stay Alive=- B: ¡®Okay¡­ I feel this thing is expecting something. But its language is strange, perhaps it just wants us to¡­ live?¡¯ <¡±Perhaps do what it wants for now, and not be a jackass to the voice no one knows about?¡±> ¡®Sorry, that¡¯s my second language; Jackassery, Sarcasm is my third.¡¯ Anyway, it mentioned some choices¡­ perhaps in my race menu and¡­ oh; glowing little button with choices behind it. Glad this isn¡¯t a pay to win game, or I¡¯d be fucked. -=Nephilim, congrats on forcing your way through the matrix of Agenai, as you are the first of the Nephilim you will be given the choice of your variant abilities.=- Wait, I am the first? Then how are there books about the race, and such? -=Theories, and you are naturally born as Nephilim. The previous ones¡­ were artificial, thus were not recorded in the Archives.=- Well lucky me, if I had been a few minutes late then it would be random for me¡­ T: ¡®So Yehai and Xihlis will have random variant abilities then¡­ I almost feel sorry for them, but I¡¯ve looked them over. Those boys are very interesting in their own right.¡¯ ¡®Similar to us?¡¯ T: ¡®Very.¡¯ Well then, that¡¯s interesting in its own way; but let¡¯s see what we have here¡­ -Primary Variant - Wrath Demon. - Pure Rage Berserk - Natural Rage Berserk - Random Berserk Type Well, I thought it was a chance to be a Berserker¡­ but from the looks of it, I really have no choice but to pick a form of berserk. From the options, besides the obvious random option; Pure is one who gains more power from raging with basic downside, while Natural is more normal power with no downside to berserking. ¡®Do we feel lucky, cause I am not liking either of those other options.¡¯ T: ¡®Spin the wheel?¡¯ ¡®Spin the wheel!¡¯ When I choose that option¡­ a transparent wheel appears before my eyes¡­ I was kidding when I said spin the wheel but if you want to do that. With a simple mental click, the wheel begins to spin on the¡­ how many choices were there again? P: ¡®Way too many, this might have been a bad choice.¡¯ ¡®When have I ever let that stop me?¡¯ B: ¡®Considering your choices got us killed last life, then this might be as bad as that was.¡¯ The wheel takes a few minutes before it begins to slow down; in that time the women talking¡­ continue to talk. All of this has happened within just a few minutes, I am glad that I have something to keep my mind busy. As the wheel comes to a stop¡­ -Aspect of Janus ¡­ ¡­ T: ¡®Okay, I¡¯ll bite¡­ what the absolute fuckery?¡¯ ¡®Philosopher, read through it while we move on¡­ my head is starting to hurt from all of this information overload.¡¯ P: ¡®Got it.¡¯ -Secondary Variant - Ancient Dragon -Damage Reduction when in Awakened mode -Mixed Elemental Breath So we only have two options for this one¡­ and though I do enjoy the thought of damage reduction; that mixed breath seems to be rather¡­ okay, it¡¯s absolutely fucking awesome! On closer inspection the ability would allow me to mix together two elements I can use; and use it as a breath weapon¡­ an amount per day equal to¡­ so once a day for right now. T: ¡®Simple and to the point, and once our willpower gets better, then we can use it more often. Wonder what the other side will have¡­¡¯ -Tertiary Variant - Fallen Angel -Wings of the Fallen -Honor Bond Tyrant Going to ignore that winged trait with everything I have, mostly because I do not have wings in any way shape or form; we need to¡­ no¡­ just no. On the other hand, the Honor trait is more¡­ odd¡­ as it pretty much just allows one to increase their allotment of ¡®familiar/servant¡¯ type creatures as given by a class. That could come in handy really, so why not? -=Selections have been made. Do have a wonderful life; unlocking all talents and abilities.=- Wait what? ¡­ Let¡¯s just ignore the voice for now; as I am being handed off to mother again, not for feeding but I guess to pass around the younglings. Oh well, it¡¯s relaxing anyway to not really have anything to do¡­ physically. Mentally I am still all over the place¡­ T: ¡®So, should we just work on something for the time being? I think they said something about appraisal in a few days; so got time to kill.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, that¡¯ll be for the best. Got nothing better to do anyway.¡¯ This is going to get boring¡­ why did I have to be awake through this whole thing damnit! Chapter 5 - Tell the Reaper... By the good graces of our lord and mighty overseer, Sheogorath, we mourn the passing of my very own sanity; this day of our lord¡­ six days after my fucking birth. Yup, basically a week since my birth, I wish I had taken different choices. Good news is, I have been able to gain a new trait through training, the -Enhanced Circuits- trait¡­ bad news, it is kinda useless at tier one and with my stats being as low as they are. T: ¡®Did you seriously just invoke Sheogorath?¡¯ ¡®Yes, yes I did.¡¯ Would anyone else be willing to come to my aid besides him or Cthulhu¡­ honestly I am worried that in this world I might get a new voice in my head by invoking either. Lord knows that I already have way too many voices going on¡­ ¡°Zekiel, did the witch show up yet?¡± Not so much a voice, as my mother who has been annoyed for that passed two days; as it seems the witch who does appraisal is kind of late. I¡¯ve checked my internal map of the world, and she¡¯s been in town since then; just avoiding the Jarl¡¯s longhouse for some reason¡­ that I know. ¡°She should have arrived in the village by now; did something happen on her travels?¡± ¡°Calm down dear, the witch is in town and should be on her way after our little talk. She¡¯s only a couple days late, shouldn¡¯t be too much bother.¡± I mean, father is right in many ways, most children are appraised after their first year¡­ or second depending on the financial situations of the family. Since our family has no issues with money, and my parents wanting to soothe some¡­ main family elders¡­ we¡¯re doing the appraisal now. Yehai and Xihlis are still the way they were before, sleeping and eating mostly as they are of course little babies. I wish I could sleep as much as them; my parents becoming sure of my blessing and continuing the lineage of demons with it. ¡°Well, she should come faster. I want this crap taken care of and the elders to shut up about my marriage and my children.¡± I¡¯ve heard this for days now, even had the pleasure of meeting an elder while being held by my Oma. Old bastard gave me such an evil eye, and I wished I could do some form of rude gesture back; guess my existence is enough for now. ¡°My marriage, my children¡­ they should have no say in either of the matters. I¡¯d rather squash them, and be done with all of this!¡± ¡°Indra, darling, again¡­ calm down.¡± Father has an arm wrapped around mama¡¯s waist, and giving her soft kisses on her face. Lord these two would already be in bed doing adult things if the healer didn¡¯t tell them not to or maybe lose chances for more kids. ¡°Nothing will go wrong, and I can assure you that no one can harm our three little children. Runesca will be there to watch over everything; and your mother is going to be nearby as well.¡± Technically, any children of the Haruk family must have Ugdralath as one of their patrons, or they will be relegated to a Branch family. The number of patrons isn¡¯t important, but you must have the patron of death; and anyone in a Branch family to have Ugdralath will be adopted by a family in the main family. Kind of¡­ old fashioned and a pain in the ass; this is why most of the people I¡¯ve looked up from my time in the SPD¡­ aren¡¯t doing too well. It¡¯s enough to make one want to take the elders of this family by the head, and repeatedly slam your knee into their face. Honestly; even Ugdralath has no idea where they got this idea from, as he doesn¡¯t remember things from before he became my patron. It¡¯s kind of one of those things that the boys and I speculate on. Honestly, I would enjoy things more if I didn¡¯t have to deal with these forms of politics¡­ but I know for a fact that I am going to have to get involved. Not only because I was born into this particular branch of the main family; but since it will be shown my ¡®pureness¡¯ of my connection to Ugdralath¡­ which is my fault because I let him out of his door. Course, as we wait in the main hall of the longhouse with various members of direct family around; I already know that this witch will try something when it comes to me. I can already read through her profile; and there are quite a few things in there that make me worried. I am surrounded by my family though, so not much can happen that would put my life in danger; hopefully. It is nice to meet my aunts from my dad¡¯s side though; the lust and pride demons that they are. They are currently enjoying the feel of playing with Yehai and Xihlis, as they seem to notice that I am quite too much like my dad to be pleasurable. Which is hilarious, since I feel I am more like my mother than my father¡­ but personal ideas. Aunt Xitra; a lust demon and the first child of my Oma, took after her father who is apparently a bastard. Owns a bordello in the city of Georgina, which is in the country over of Liberteria. So basically she is an information gatherer, who gives information to my father, who works as the spymaster for Freyjan. This has so many good points, I wonder why they don¡¯t seem to have a better relationship. Then there¡¯s Aunt Vivian, who takes after Oma a bit more as she is a pride variant of demon, who runs her own little book store in the capital of the neighboring country of Kumari. Course that is her cover, and her true vocation is that of a ¡®Mother of Moonlight¡¯, or a matron of an assassin¡¯s guild¡­ I can see this side of the family is very much into the darker sides of life. At least I can pass off my own¡­ eccentrics¡­ as something that sort of runs in the family. ¡°So little bro, get used to havin¡¯ kids yet?¡± Xitra, her cockney accent showing as she makes fun of her little brother Zekiel; her hands busy holding little Xihlis. Of course he is sleeping through all this; much to our aunt¡¯s sorrow, she likes making us squeal but doesn¡¯t want to bother their sleep. ¡°I still find it funny; The younger two look more like Zekiel, but have nothing similar to him. Zeri looks like Indra, but is more like his father; poor kid.¡± ¡°Xitra, Zeri is cute as well, in his own little way. It is amazing how much he takes after Zekiel though; I¡¯d prefer to be more like his mama, she¡¯s much cuter.¡± Vivian comments; her voice more sultry with a tint of desire hidden beneath. I do not need to know of my aunt lusting after my mother; but there it is, which explains why her relationship with my father is as bad as it is. ¡°I do have to ask you two; have you ever heard Zeri actually¡­ cry? Or is he always this calm?¡± Of course I¡¯ve never cried since the day I was born; just little protests for food, changing, and about their treatment of poking me. ¡°Xihlis looked upset when everyone came in, but then fell asleep; all while Yehai looked upset at first and is now sleeping calmly after being fed. Zeri just seems¡­ very mature.¡± ¡°Well¡­ they were born with full sets of teeth; I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there weren¡¯t other strange things about either one.¡± Oma, who is holding me while mother paces around the longhouse¡­ her husband; Kragna, or Old Bull, holding her on his shoulder. Seriously¡­ Old Bear, gramps, and Old Bull are frichen huge¡­ nearly eight feet and barely touching the ceiling of this place. ¡°I mean, Zeri has a new trait now¡­ makes wonder how he got that.¡± Fuck, forgot those two can see things too¡­ ¡°Now dear, let some secrets remain.¡± Old Bull Opa chuckles with his deep hearty voice, seriously... baritone or lower I swear. Though the old bear¡¯s voice was deep, but this guys takes the cake¡­ ¡°Old habits are showing in both you and little Zeke. If the little ones want to start early with learning, why stop them; or question them.¡± Question, how is your wisdom so low with lines like that? Feeling like I¡¯m about to be experimented on¡­ maybe I should lie low¡­ <¡±If you want to live¡­ then listen to me¡­¡±> Oh goody, and the prodigal voice that started all this appears; <¡±Snark later, act now! Your little black soul in here is about to finish something; and I have a bad feeling.¡±> Oh, that would be the synergy of Eye and Guide¡­ that was quick¡­ P: ¡®I feel insulted.¡¯ <¡±Enough talk! Close your eyes!¡±> If my eyes would work properly and focus, I might roll my eyes; maybe that¡¯s why I don¡¯t really pay attention to clothes? Never heard him so desperate; so as my eyes close¡­ -BOOM- -BOOM- -BOOM- Three loud booming gongs reverberate the¡­ world¡­ Xihlis and Yehai quickly waking up and crying loud, and Oma grips onto my tightly as people begin to panic; but I can¡¯t seem to hear them as¡­ a voice¡­ another voice of ancient descent; speaks¡­ [{¡°One who seeks the new of the world, who naturally works the weave like a Spinner; you have roused this ones curiosity¡­ and it¡¯s a fucking baby?¡±}] Rude, I am technically a newborn, please do not make me older than I am. [{¡°And it¡¯s giving me lip¡­¡±}] <¡±You get used to it.¡±> [{¡°And Baalish¡­ why do things seem to be getting worse. So this kid weaved together two patron abilities to create a new ability?¡±}] [¡°Yup, isn¡¯t my holder such a talented young one; if I recall you¡¯re¡­ Liliana?¡±] [{¡°That¡¯s my sister, I¡¯m Kiara. Close Yrmala, but she handles skills while I handle abilities.¡±}] ¡®Do I get to speak, or should I let the little meet and greet continue?¡¯ T: ¡®They seem to be old friends; let them speak. Not like we have panicking mortals all around us trying to figure out why the bells of Notre Dame decided to fill the longhouse.¡¯ P: ¡®At least I wasn¡¯t the only one to notice.¡¯ The voice goes silent for a while, before a shuddering sigh escapes from¡­ her¡­ something. I don¡¯t know, can¡¯t see her or feel her presence. To my guess, she could be some kind of spider given they called her a Spinner; M: ¡®Now be nice, her voice sounds pretty. I am sure she is not a spider; Spinner could mean any kind of creature or profession¡­¡¯ Martyr goes silent for a bit; ¡®Forget I said anything¡­ lets not bring seamstresses into this.¡¯ B: ¡®Did you¡­ just call her a prostitute inadvertently?¡¯ [{¡°Why are there FIVE of them?!¡±}] <¡±Welcome to the madhouse that is my life¡­ get to the point.¡±> [{¡°Fine; so this holder has garnered the attention of the Spinners due to his¡­ creativity. I¡¯ve already looked at the weave that was created for this ability; a little crude, but I¡¯ve polished it¡­ seriously¡­ why have we never thought of this thing called ¡®Synergy¡¯?¡±}] Maybe we hurt her feelings, [{¡°Know anything at a glace, can see what you wish before your eyes¡­ and what does this¡­ H.U.D. mean?¡±]} ¡®P, did you seriously sign your work with details?¡¯ P: ¡®You ever work threads together into a tapestry? Trust me, there¡¯s a reason it took me six days to do this.¡¯ Another shuddering breath can be heard; yeah, we hurt her feelings with this one; ¡®H.U.D. stands for Heads Up Display, it¡¯s a basic¡­ ability¡­ for those that depend on knowing the state of their body at a moments notice. It can also be used for many other purposes, trust me; it¡¯s very handy when in a fight and you need to see your current vitality and fatigue.¡¯ [{¡°I won¡¯t deny its credibility, and the usefulness an ability of this caliber can hold¡­ but it was made by a¡­ wait¡­¡±}] <¡±Here it comes¡­¡±> [{¡°How is it alive?¡±}] <¡±I question that all the time.¡±> ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ <¡±The fact that Nephilim weren¡¯t a thing in Agenai before YOU were born; the real reason your¡­ sisters¡­ didn¡¯t make it. And the reason it¡¯s difficult for your parents to reproduce; it¡¯s due to their blood, and how it mixes well.¡±> A chuckle can be heard from the old demon in chains; <¡±Goes to show you how compatible that destined ones are.¡±> ¡®Oh, that. Elementary my dear Watson!¡¯ <¡±Do I want to know?¡±> (¡°I do.¡±) ¡®And the true culprit is¡­ Baalish.¡¯ [{¡°Still causing problems there¡­¡±}] <¡±I am being framed, I swear!¡±> ¡®Nope, it¡¯s because Baalish is my fourth Patron; we already calculated the numbers on this. Due to his influence, the blood in me leveled out to make -Demon- the outlier with -Human- being lesser.¡¯ P: ¡®This difference in purity caused the -Angel- and -Dragon- to balance out as well, thus allowing our circuits to better handle the different mana that bodies of Agenai aren¡¯t used to. If I may ask; since abilities are handled by a -Spinner-, would -Races- be handled by one as well¡­ or some kind of -Matrix-?¡¯ [{¡°Too many questions; stop. Knowing too much is never a good thing.¡±}] ¡®So we have been told; back to business, the new ability?¡¯ This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. [{¡°Right, business¡­ what do you wish to call this ability?¡±}] ¡®Wait¡­ I get to name it?¡¯ <¡±That¡¯s how it has been; when the first abilities were made, the creator named them¡­ hence why you have some strange names¡­¡±> [{¡°There is also the requirements, and who all gets to use it. All decided by the creator of the ability; much to my dismay¡­ -Golden Cock- is still a thing that is being used.¡±}] <¡±You have got to be kidding me¡­¡±> ¡®-Eye of Nephilae-, requirements are of course; training, -Guide to Life-, and -Keeper¡¯s Eye-. Why would I keep others from using this ability? Let them all use it, if they can handle it.¡¯ [{¡°See? Naming sense, decent requirements, and¡­ wait, you¡¯ll seriously let ANYONE use this ability if they meet those requirements?¡±}] ¡®Of course, why not? It doesn¡¯t feel fair to say only those of my race can use it¡­ there are only three of us.¡¯ [{¡°Of course there are¡­ alright, so we have the name and requirements. I feel like my job is done here¡­ and like my head is about to explode with everything going on.¡±}] ¡®Mind if I ask a question before you go?¡¯ [{¡°Sure, why not? What question do you have child?¡±}] ¡®In all seriousness; who are you and why do those that control the weave make house calls? Every person who discovers a new ability gets to talk to you¡­ does that also include every other aspect of the weave? And, if one is noticed by the Spinners or Weavers¡­ who also pays attention?¡¯ Some might think that my questions are odd; but they each have a meaning¡­ <¡±You don¡¯t really trust anyone, do you? What is the real reason you broke the doors and destroyed that¡­ cathedral?¡±> T: ¡®Trust is not earned, it¡¯s given through harsh trials from the one who gives it. We choose to trust, but those who don¡¯t trust us¡­ do we have to play along with their games?¡¯ The voice, Kiara, chuckles before the tone of her voice changes to one that resonates with my own soul; almost wish I could grin at this time¡­ [{¡°Well well, you never change; do you? That will all come in time, but I can answer something for you; We all noticed your birth, and are paying attention. You messed with the matrices of the world in an odd way, so we¡¯re curious if you are to bring ruin to our little¡­ experiment. Will you be the hero, or the villain; we shall see.¡±}] ¡®Oh, I know the answer to that.¡¯ The adults around me continue to panic a bit as everything quiets down, the presence of Kiara slowly ebbing away as my soul grins back at the abyss that stared into it; ¡®I am neither hero nor villain of this story you all tell; I am just me.¡¯ [{¡°That¡¯s an answer! All the souls have stagnated into categories, but none have a sense of self. We will meet again, I am sure; and if you meet my sister before then, tell her I said hi.¡±}] ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Zekiel, what was that?¡± The tone that filled the room still reverberates through my very bones; filling me with dread, Xihlis and Yehai both crying a storm and causing my instincts to go into overdrive. Zeri is silent as always, in the arms of his grandmother as if nothing had happened; giving me some peace of mind. ¡°Are my babies okay?¡± ¡°I got Xihlis, he¡¯s a bit upset about it, but nothing seems to be out of place.¡± Xitra clings to the small boy as she had already upended a table and hid behind it; I can hear her whispering soothing words into the child¡¯s ear to try and calm him¡­ ¡°Yehai is fine darling, he¡¯s just a bit spooked I guess? My real question is why is the third one okay?¡± Vivian makes a good point on that, as Runesca looks at little Zeri with a curious look on her face; ¡°I mean, his eyes are closed for the first time I¡¯ve seen him. Maybe he is scared but silent about it?¡± She wiggles him slightly as she frees an arm and begins poking around his eyes; ¡°Come come now, it¡¯s okay Zeri, you can open your eyes now.¡± As she pokes around his eyes, he makes some sounds of protest; and it seems like he is trying to move away from her prying fingers. ¡°Maybe he got something in his eye?¡± Kragna looks down at the boy with a little worry on his face, rubbing a finger on Zeri¡¯s stomach; the child jerking as it seems to tickle him, then a gasp can be heard from Runesca before she stops Kragna¡¯s hand. ¡°Well, that explains the noise¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What was the noise?¡± Looking at my mother-in-law, as she rubs her forehead with the first emotion I¡¯ve seen on her; fear, worry¡­ ¡°What happened to Zeri?¡± A cold chill fills my veins as something grips my heart¡­ ¡°Stories tell of those who¡­ do something to earn attention from beings higher than the Patrons. And there are times they manifest¡­ different abilities.¡± She sighs before poking Zeri¡¯s forehead; ¡°Too late boy, I already saw your eyes.¡± Moving to where Runesca is, I look down at my boy, as it seems he¡­ sighs¡­ and his eyes open to reveal¡­ ¡­ ¡­ <¡±DAMNIT! Why can¡¯t people just treat babies with care, and not try to force them to do things?!¡±> ¡®Welp, cats out of the bag¡­ by the way, can¡¯t see my eyes. What happened?¡¯ P: ¡®Well¡­ according to the polished HUD we now have; gonna have to work that around to a proper look but we have time¡­¡¯ <¡±What do you mean time?! The witch will take one look at you and probably kill you!¡±> [¡°Oh she would not dare.¡±] T: ¡®No, he¡¯s right¡­ more information here, and seems there is an issue. Course the eyes didn¡¯t have anything to do with it.¡¯ P: ¡®May I finish please? Seriously¡­ so looks like the -Eye of Nephilae- completely overwrites the two abilities used¡­ or absorbs is the better word for it.¡¯ Never really heard Philosopher sound so¡­ annoyed¡­ ¡®Interesting is a word; it has as much use as we can make of it¡­ since the concept of a HUD is new. But; and here¡¯s the but, it affects our eyes. The Sclera have turned complete black it seems¡­ pupil is white, and the Amber Iris is more pronounced, glows brighter¡­¡¯ M: ¡®And mama does not look happy; is something wrong?¡¯ Martyr is right there, mother does not look happy in the slightest, as if her heart is breaking as she stares at me. Did I do something really bad here¡­ just the look of fear in her eyes is breaking my heart¡­ <¡±Before you ask, she¡¯s not afraid of you¡­ it¡¯s more like she¡¯s afraid of the life you will have.¡±> Baal sighs and I can hear him grumbling; {¡°Black eyes are a sign of one who has earned the right to see the world as it is; which is not a good thing to many people. Some even see it as a sign of being known as -Lord-, a strong title in many cases; and others will want to steal it.¡±} ¡®Heh, funny. I don¡¯t have any titles, so I don¡¯t see anything wrong here. So I have discolored eyes; will make a good idiot detector.¡¯ Silence permeates not only my mind, but the room we are in; the small breathing of my mother as she picks me up in her arms¡­ then bolts for the back room; making me surprised to the point I nearly missed a small chime in my head¡­ -=Title Earned: Lord of Nephilae=- T: ¡®You HAD to open your mouth!¡¯ ¡®Sue me.¡¯ T: ¡®I fucking would kick your ass, if I was a masochist!¡¯ While an argument takes place in my head, mother has already barricaded the back room to a rather impressive degree; furniture and debris stacked in front of the door. The strength and dexterity of this woman is amazing, and scary; note to self, do not make mama angry. Though she is very soft hearted; crouched in a corner and holding me like I am about to disappear, weeping. Well, don¡¯t I feel like a right ass¡­ ¡°Indra, hun, it will be okay. We can think of something about the witch.¡± ¡°They still won¡¯t leave us alone; they will send another appraiser to look at them; they¡¯ll see Zeri¡¯s eyes, and they will¡­ oh god my boy¡­¡± She clutches me tighter, I swear I am not going to disappear; ¡°The world wasn¡¯t happy with my daughters, now it wants to take my son away from me as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that doesn¡¯t happen Indra, our boys will live happy lives; full lives, will find love and have kids of their own.¡± Father seems to be holding back many emotions, and from what I can see with my eyes¡­ they are holding back Oma and my aunts who want to go do something¡­ ¡°Hun, trust me; have I ever¡­ would I ever let anything happen to our children?¡± ¡®Oh for the many times I wish I could speak¡­¡¯ Silence once again fills the area, only my mother¡¯s weeping heard from my little ears; her tears falling on me. She looks absolutely miserable with that look of fear in her eyes. It¡¯s a bit too quiet really¡­ ¡°Where are the children who need appraisal?¡± Ah, that¡¯s why it¡¯s quiet, the damn witch finally decided to get out from the bottle; ¡°I don¡¯t have much time on my hands, let¡¯s get this over with so I can leave this dead end town.¡± Hey, hate me but don¡¯t diss my Freyjan. ¡°No worries, we¡¯ll have to start with Yehai; Indra is in the back giving Zeri a change of cloth at this moment.¡± Old Bear is being as respectful as he can be¡­ but man who can feel the shaking fury in his voice even though he tries to hide it. ¡°Matters not, all three will have to be tested before I leave anyway. Give me the whelp, and give me some space to do what I need to do.¡± Can I bite her? ¡°Of course, use the side room over here; we will give you some space to do what you need to do.¡± At this point I started to ignore the polite speech, as plans started to go through my mind¡­ a mental grin spreading on me; seriously, do not fuck with my family like this. ¡­ Took a bit, but mother has now calmed down and has went back out into the main room; now getting held by father. Yehai and Xihlis have already gone through the process of appraisal at this point; and surprise fucking surprise they have Ugdralath. Also two additional Patrons each, which is good¡­ and from explanations the process will not reveal Baalish. <¡±So what have you been thinking about that has ALL of your little selves¡­ well, laughing in a rather creepy manner. Even the orange one; I thought he was supposed to be the calm one.¡±> [¡°Yeah¡­ they¡¯re still cute, but I am worried.¡±] ¡®Oh nothing; just¡­ well¡­ I can now see some secret things I couldn¡¯t before, and oh so much fun shall be had.¡¯ While I still plotted in my head without letting the Patrons know¡­ save for one¡­ I was being held by Oma once more, as she stared intently into my eyes; and I stared right back. Though I was still blurry, it seemed that things were becoming clearer thanks to my new ability. ¡°Well¡­ guess we¡¯ll be safe the appraisal can¡¯t see Titles¡­ cause that¡¯s one I have never seen nor know what it does.¡± Oh right¡­ ¡®The fuck does -Lord of Nephilae- even do? I am trying to look at it; and all I see is -Still Processing-. Someone needs to update the server, game broken!¡¯ ¡°I would say Zeri is fine, he shows a lot of emotion on his face, and I can tell he¡¯s frustrated. Maybe he saw his mama crying and wants to help her.¡± Old Bull smiles and gives a hearty chuckle, ¡°He¡¯s a good boy, not purposefully causing trouble. Just a victim of circumstance.¡± <¡±He is far too pure to be apart of this family¡­ anyway, usually a Lord title has a few benefits; strengthens the holder with each member of the same race near them. So a -Lord of Goblin- would gain power as more goblins stand with them.¡±> (¡°Not in all cases, some Lord titles strengthen instead the ones around them; so that same goblin is not stronger, but leads an army of much stronger allies. Most cases end with the Lord being killed and all the followers losing power. Funny that.¡±) ¡°How long does it take the witch to recharge her energy? I know she just did two appraisals, but you would think one with her age would have some kind of trait to help with it.¡± I agree, Aunt Xitra, and she does; but that is not what she is preparing. Seriously, something is wrong with some people these days if they think excuses like this would pass¡­ especially around the ever paranoid. -=Ding=- ¡®Oh, soup¡¯s done? Or what¡­¡¯ Words flash through my head as I really feel a headache coming on with how this day is going; ¡®Seriously¡­ maybe I need to talk to Jyggalag more¡­¡¯ -=Lord of Nephilae: A mix of Demon, Angel, Dragon, and Human; just by being around those who hold this blood, they find themselves becoming stronger more expediently.=- ¡®I want to scream¡­ not a baby scream, but a scream that will wake the sleeping giants of this world¡­¡¯ ¡°Alright, I am ready for the final whelp; bring him here so we can be done and I can go home.¡± The witch finally exits from the back room; and I could almost cry with happiness as I finally have a way to get rid of this annoyance. Oh you¡­ well you¡¯re hideous, but I will call you beautiful at this time. ¡°Remember, no coming in while the channeling is going on; otherwise you might injure the whelp¡¯s circuits. And we don¡¯t want that, now do we?¡± Oh that small smile, I am going to have fun¡­ ¡­ ¡­ For the longest time, I have been an appraiser for the country of Handrak; money is good and every so often I will get a request from someone influential. These requests get me extra money for my daily needs, and I can even get rid of unneeded existences. Honestly, it doesn¡¯t matter what type of child they are, but these kids received the ire from someone higher up; it¡¯s their own fault for bringing this fate on themselves. This time though, that Elder brought me enough gold to make sure I don¡¯t have to deal with children ever again; seriously, he must really not like this child. I can see why; the marriage between those two was never approved by the Elders of this clan, so children were not expected after the first failure. I don¡¯t know the real reasoning, nor do I care, so let¡¯s just go and start this. Have to make this look like an actual appraisal. Gently place the child now, if it starts crying then the parents will rush in¡­ do not want to annoy either one with the reputation they both have. Little basket right next to my appraisal slate¡­ and those black eyes stare at me, focusing directly on me¡­ creepy. Now to clean my slate from the previous appraisal; that dragon brat Yehai with his starting stats, patrons, and traits being quite good for a meat-headed brat. With some spring water and a silken cloth, I wipe away the words only those blessed by -Astrosis- can see. So far, the brats that woman gave birth too¡­ were quite scary¡­ stats way too high, patrons meshing well together. And their traits coming together to make one wonder; if it was accidental. These thoughts plaguing my mind as I get the glass of reagents to mix in the bowl, then grabbing the -Knife of Astrosis-. This part always pissing me off, as it involves cutting the palm of the child to be appraised, and they always cry. Why does this process involve cutting¡­ would be easier if they all just waited for the whelps to gain an ability to channel mana; but no, never listen to the witch. As I grab the whelp¡¯s hand, and slowly draw the knife down his palm to draw the blood for the bowl, maybe going a bit slower to induce more pain¡­ things got weird. The child just stared up into my eyes without so much a hint of discomfort, no crying¡­ just silent and judging eyes. That fact alone sent a shiver through my spine, as this child was anything but normal. Let¡¯s get this over with and get out of here¡­ {¡°...guilt¡­¡±} That word flows through the air as the blood finishes leaking into the reagents, not quite the most unnerving aspect of this situation. Just get this done, get out of here, and maybe go far away from Handrak¡­ good plans¡­ Quickly mixing the bowl¡¯s contents, and saying the blessing of Astrosis for appraisal; the bowl gets poured on the slate,then spread around so the liquid can be absorbed faster. Moving mana through the slate, the liquid absorbs through the cracks of the slate to show¡­ {¡°...are guilt¡­¡±} A skull¡­ A skull with a dagger through it, and a bell tied to the pommel¡­ the pure sign of Ugdralath himself¡­ Others show either just a skull or skull and dagger, but to show the bell means they are pure chosen by the Patron. The fuck has that Elder gotten me into¡­ {¡°...you are guilty¡­¡±} The low gruff tone, coming from all around¡­ feeling my heart pounding away in my chest, this is way more trouble than I signed up for. Seriously, why the fuck did I have to get myself into this mess¡­ though the sack of coin was good incentive¡­ Looking back at the slate¡­ and my blood instantly goes cold from horror¡­ as the other two patrons have full marks as well. A large book, surrounded by runes with an hourglass¡­ Hannash. Then a tree with weaved roots forming a circle, with the four progenitors coming from both sides of the trunk¡­ Yrmala. These three together¡­ as the lines of -Astrosis- slowly form the whelps abilities, traits, attributes¡­ spell out that I should not be here¡­ {¡°I have counted¡­¡±} And where is this voice coming from¡­ and what did it count¡­ {¡°¡­the bodies of the children you have sent to me.¡±} As the voice makes that proclamation; my vision gets blurry, and a blood chilling scream reverberates around the room¡­ only the door being slammed open by the large wrath demon, did I realize that the scream came from me¡­ ¡­ ¡­ T: ¡®Who knew that time in Tibet would come in handy¡­ though I did not realize¡­¡¯ Tyrant¡¯s ability; -Tulpa Realm-, allows one to manifest their metaphysical world into the physical¡­ also increases the amount of mana spirits I can store. So, we now know that my other sides do contribute traits of their own¡­ but they have to be damned to show them. Will have to ask what these mean at a later moment; as the witch is having a total meltdown and old Bull just broke down a fucking door¡­ made from oak I might add. That and I can feel my back, chest, forehead¡­ and esophagus begin burning like fuck! It only took the old bull a few seconds to scoop me up and begin to gently pat me before walking out of the room, letting the old witch to begin babbling incoherently¡­ I didn¡¯t do that much¡­ ¡°It¡¯s alright little kit, it¡¯s just the patron¡¯s marks; they always appear after the appraisal. It will go away soon, depending on how well connected you are.¡± Old Bull states with a soothing voice, moving into the main room and putting me in the arms of my mother, who is trying to soothe three babies at once. Course I am taking this burn better than the other two, but good lord; make it quick! <¡±Would be quick¡­ save for the purity of the connection between you three and your patrons. Slide in for a rest kid, as this will take maybe¡­¡±> (¡°An hour at most, it¡¯s amazing how you three have such a pure connection.¡±) It is at this time that I sort of regret that I bought them at max, but you know what¡­ no, regret as it feels like a hot iron brand is resting against my flesh! What else can go wrong¡­ Chapter 6 - Spirits of Mana Cometh P: ¡®So did some research on that little end bit of Tyrant¡¯s -Tulpa Realm-, where it talks about =Spirits=; from what I can gather, these are -Mana Spirits-. Constructs of elements that you absorb into your forge, make contracts with, and allow you to use that element.¡¯ Having been laying in this crib for the passed five days with nothing better to do save for be held and fed by Mother; why not do some more research, and just what I would need¡­ more voices in my head. Though that does bring forth the notion of being able to use some forms of mana; and my -Mixed Breath- would get some use from those elements. ¡®So tell me =Spirit= basics? What¡¯s the base, how do we acquire, what makes it easier to acquire, and how do we hold more?¡¯ (¡°Allow me; basics of my children are simple, you absorb mana from their element into your forge at a variable rate based on factors. Once it reaches a threshold dependant on the element¡¯s place in the world; makes plenty sense, stop giving me that look!¡±) Hannash seems to be upset that I am just staring forward¡­ as most babies do; seriously dude, I gathered all that¡­ (¡°Fine; by opening your mana channels, or -Enhanced Circuits-, you gain the ability to draw in ambient mana. The more channels you open, the easier this is; but you will need a couple more traits to do this proper.¡±) ¡®Okay, so work on my enhancements; next?¡¯ Listening to Hannash drone on, I am slowly getting used to being fed by the tit, changed, then carried around since I never sleep. Mother is the best when it comes to comfort, her arms very soft and her chest giving me pillows. Father enjoys reading most of the time; and I am slowly learning things from those books¡­ and the near nightly games of chess he and Oma play. Yes. Hannash literally talked for days about traits and spirits. As soon as he mentioned that even with my eyes, that I would need -Mana Senses-, guess what I started moving my mana around for to figure out how to get. Bad news is; I sort of fucked up and can now smell mana! Can¡¯t even get a secondary sense to switch it around with until I get to tier two of the damn trait. Ever wonder what mana smells like? Case in point, as I am handed over to my mother once more for feeding; her strongest spirit happens to be of the =Cryo= element, or ice. She smells very much like winter-mint, and I am all for it. Luckily, it¡¯s a very limited range that I can smell the mana; at the moment it¡¯s half a meter radius from me, with a slight bonus from my mind stat. Just barely a meter radius at this point; which is at least a bit bearable save for those instances when someone with =Toxic= spirits come near me¡­ which is that Elder who oddly hates me. Bastard needs to take a shower¡­ Being twelve days old sucks¡­ but I can continue with my fun at least without bother¡­ ¡­ (¡°So that Tulpa trait is interesting, giving you an extra spot in your forge for spirits, but you first need to work on the actual¡­ housing as it were, for them.¡±) Oh, he is still talking about this¡­ and yes I am listening, or Philosopher is, and thus making it so I don¡¯t have to. Having an eidetic memory is fun! (¡°The actual trait is a bit more difficult to get than the others; it is called =Sanctorum=, and visibly changes your forge in a way that fits the¡­ theme. Base rank allows for two separate spirits to inhabit your forge, and requires a bit of mana to form.¡±) ¡®What do you suggest at this juncture, oh masterful Hannash?¡¯ <¡±Get the third tier of -Expanded Circuits-, then just power through the creation of the sanctum; most spend way too long forming it with middling mana pools.¡±> Baal giving his two cents, which is actually a good idea for once. Giving myself a bit more mana would be helpful for more traits in the future, and not like I have any pressing engagements for the time being. Back to the grindstone it is¡­ ¡­ So to be noted, is that after training up my senses, it was noticed that a strange sound was coming from my forge; Beast was the first to notice since¡­ well he¡¯s a beast. With some looking around, and the old tabletop gamer in me, it was found that there is a council chamber in my forge castle; which is a round table with five chairs, and dice in the center. Whenever I circulated mana to train my senses, a set of ten sided die would roll, the ones that landed on ten would glow to fill a progress bar. Oddly enough, there seems to be enough room around the table for more chairs; but cool¡­ my training at least is dictated by dice¡­ Once this was discovered, a new window for my HUD was unlocked; which showed the progress bar as well as various choices for¡­ well, seems to be variables. Like for Hannash, his Mana purview would either allow an extra dice to any mana roll, or would allow tens to explode. This made things even more interesting; and of course I was going to milk this for all it is worth. So for forcing my mana through my circuits to expand them further; Hannash¡¯s Mana was used to make tens explode, Yrmala¡¯s Growth was to add an extra die, and even Baalish¡¯s Desire allowed an extra die. Since I already had the second tier of the trait; that allowed hits on nine and ten, as well as one die. Then Wisdom and Mind combined to give me three more die¡­ with the one there from the beginning, that gave me seven die for each roll with tens giving me more. Still, even with those seven die and the tens¡­ it took me twenty-two days to fully tier up the trait to the third tier; which gives me a multiplier of six on my mana. I don¡¯t know if that is fast or not¡­ but I learned a few other lessons when doing this; Firstly, never allow your mana to go below a certain threshold; cause it causes your mama to panic and start calling on mage friends to examine you. Seriously, that was difficult to feign ignorance on, as one of her friends is apparently an Archmage in some Academy, and can sense the mana circuits in flux. Luckily for me, the lady gave me an excuse; ¡°His mana is flaring up, but other than that nothing is out of the ordinary. The boy¡¯s -Expanded Circuits- is just slowly forming thicker channels and probably used too much at once.¡± I could kiss this lady, that is brilliant¡­ any more ideas¡­ ¡°From what I can see, he is a special child; why not give him to me when he¡¯s older and I can train him to be a mage?¡± ¡°Kalice, you know I love you, but please do not make jokes about abducting my child.¡± Mother gives her friend a glare, but I can tell neither is too serious, ¡°I already know he is special; his brothers just as much so, just a bit more¡­ docile with their growth.¡± This whole conversation going on as mother bathes a chill little Xihlis with a wet cloth, ¡°Trust me when I say this; cause Zekiel has doubts, but I am sure that Zeri is¡­ conscious, like he is more aware than he lets on.¡± Uh oh, ¡°He follows conversations, his forge opened already, there¡¯s the awakening¡­ and now all these mana traits unlocking. I am sure he has been doing this all himself.¡± Really can¡¯t fool mothers it seems; not only do they have eyes on the backs of their heads, but apparently eyes on their hearts too. My eyes moving to look at this, Kalice¡­ and her icy blue hair shadowing well with her green eyes. Still too blurry to get other details, but I can tell scholarly robes when I feel them, and her look of doubt; don¡¯t press x too soon there lady. ¡°Indra, I know that every mother thinks highly of their children; even thinks them special is some odd ways¡­ but that ones a bit hard to swallow.¡± Then there is the mischievous twinkle in her eye, as she looks down at me with a grin; ¡°So you¡¯re awake in there? Able to understand what we say? Then why not prove it; if you can understand us¡­¡± Then she stops and thinks¡­ ¡°What can babies do when they¡¯re not even a month old¡­ that can be used as proof of awareness¡­¡± ¡°Not much I am afraid, as everything is sort of involuntary at this age.¡± Oma walks into the door to join us in the bedroom, taking a seat near the sleeping Yehai, ¡°One of us can always go into his forge and look for his spirit; unless he has some way to project his will outward.¡± <¡±I mean, you do, but why would you reveal things this early¡­ heck, why reveal anything ever? It would cause nothing but problems¡­ and you¡¯re thinking it, aren¡¯t you?¡±> Oh Baal is learning; and it¡¯s making me give an evil cackle internally; <¡±Sometimes you scare me, and I¡¯ve eaten people. Does that tell you anything about your personality?¡±> Preachin to the choir there buddy¡­ (¡°I sort of agree with my Nephew here, as things could turn ugly if they realize you can already think for yourself.¡±) Yes, but I do trust my mother to not freak out too much¡­ the others; maybe not so much¡­ With the debate going on in my head, mother finishes bathing little Xihlis and drying him off, then placing him in the cradle next to the clean Yehai; both now sleeping all cozy like¡­ sort of jealous they can do that. She then comes to get me, time for my bath; ¡°No one is going into their forges until they can give consent; it could harm them in ways, like losing parts of themselves. I trust either of you to not harm them, but accidents do happen.¡± Mother is very gentle when she wipes me down, making sure to give my growing horns a good scrub to ensure nothing gets infected; as instructed by father and Oma. ¡°I know he is in there and listening; but I am sure that he might be afraid of being found out. Can¡¯t hide anything from Mama.¡± She smiles at me, and good lord that smile makes me understand why father is such a softy with her. The bathing continues as the girls have their chat; before Kalice leaves for her own adventures with her lover, her words not mine. It seems it is my turn to rest on Mama¡¯s chest as she lays down for a nap; normal for mothers to take naps here and there when they can. Before sleeping though, I receive a small kiss on the forehead and a gentle caress; ¡°Little Zeri, don¡¯t worry, Mama is on your side if you ever want to talk¡­ but do please do so only when you reach a proper age; you talking before then would strain my heart a bit too much.¡± That soft smile again before she starts to rest, her chest quickly reaching the rise and fall of someone in a light sleep; being an adventurer must come with the need to get as much sleep as possible, as quick as possible. <¡±Kiddo, let me tell you; you really lucked out with your mother. She¡¯s one strong woman, almost as strong as mine.¡±> [¡°Love you too Baalish, still a little upset with you for all that back then. I do forgive you, and understand why, but¡­¡±] ¡®Spoilers folks, don¡¯t let me know until I can find out myself. So what should I do after forcing my circuits a bit wider?¡¯ (¡°My recommendation would be enhancing your circuits further; the first tier allowed you to open the pores in your respiratory system, making it so you can breathe in mana. For the second tier, I would suggest your horns being the focus.¡±) Hannash takes a moment to think; (¡°It might then be prudent to get to the third tier as well, and open the pores on your feet and legs. This way with three tiers; you can breathe mana, absorb mana while walking, then absorb is ambiently from the air.¡±) ¡®That might be for the best, time to roll more dice!¡¯ ¡­ Well, we are gathered here today in the main hall of the longhouse, to apparently celebrate my brothers and I reaching a month of age. I also have survived my lack of sanity, thanks to the training¡­ but the next tier for both enhanced and expanded would need way more hits than I am willing to try for right now¡­ but both are at tier three. Seriously¡­ my luck I chose a world with two suns, three moons, and a fifty day month! I am also told that there are thirteen months in the year, with thirty six hours each fucking day¡­ someone please send help in the terms of alcohol! Anyway, mental crisis of faith to the back burner, Hannash tells me that getting to tier three of any trait within twenty-three days is a feat in of itself; but I am not breaking any records. Should have considering I am working with less than those assholes, but who am I to complain against the voice of the world. Now I regen a full two mana every hour, bow to my superiority for I am¡­ seriously not cut out for anything right now; newborns are sure weak compared to those who have lived for a couple hundred years¡­ looking at you Oma. On our guest list today of monsters in terms of stats, traits, and full biography; Mother and Father, Old Bear with Nana, Old Bull with Oma, Aunt Xitra and Vivian¡­ also various friends of both parents. Xihlis seems a bit restless with all the people around, while Yehai is downright grumpy with being played with by the women. I¡¯m chill, being cradled by Oma who is rubbing my horns; Nana is enjoying herself by serving people food and drinks. It is times like these that make me nearly forget that there¡¯s a relative of mine who actively wants me dead, or rubbed out of the picture. Nearly, but there¡¯s a trait that stops me from forgetting, quite a little bastard that one is¡­ sometimes. Well, let¡¯s forget about that and enjoy the party that I can¡¯t really enjoy¡­ cause no one gives a month old any form of alcohol. (¡°We¡¯re making great progress to the -Sanctorum- trait, now I would suggest getting sense to the next level¡­ and this time choosing sight. It will mesh with your eyes so you can¡­ Philo, please explain in your terms.¡±) P: ¡®Right, so in the minimap function, you will be able to toggle mana density around; so you can see where the proper mana is for integration.¡¯ ¡®Makes sense, though I¡¯ll wait until everyone is done here before I do anything stupid around people who can actually perceive mana.¡¯ So while the party rages around me, with more guests coming in from the village; I just spend the time fiddling with my HUD, and checking the settings it currently has. Nice drop downs here and there, as well as a few interesting points¡­ ¡®Oh, what do we have here?¡¯ <¡±-Evolution Points-? I¡¯ve never seen it put in that way; but evolution is a known subject of Agenai. Like a warrior who wants to be stronger, really willing it into existence, and their yearly gain of strength goes up; or they gain a strength trait.¡±> P: ¡®Since the HUD was installed, it makes things not normally available, well¡­ you get the picture. You can see the amount of evo points you have, as well as what to spend them on.¡¯ Looking through the list of what I can spend points on, as well as what I have available; on an interesting note, there seems to be some good cheap options¡­ Okay, so maybe not good but they were indeed cheap. Randomized traits based on an attribute, blah and blah¡­ yeah nothing that sings to me. A panel tells me how I gained my points; four from getting a trait to tier three before thirty days, five from three tier three before thirty days, four from creating a new ability¡­ and five from being the youngest lord crowned. From the two I started with from birth, this gives me twenty points to play with; let¡¯s look at the stuff I can buy for twenty points directly¡­ ¡­ So remember when I said that there was a dice room in my castle¡­ <¡±Who are you talking to?¡±> ¡®Myself mostly, now shush.¡¯ Anyway, from the list of what I can afford, then I can increase any of my lower end attributes by a dice stage per year; at least four of them. Then there¡¯s a purchase of an extra ten sided die for a specific action for ten; so attack, defense, mana training, etc. Specific types are numerous, so best to think about it. Though for twenty even, I can add a die for everything¡­ which is beyond tempting¡­ T: ¡®Why not just go for it? Will definitely help in the long run, and our race increases gain of evolution; so just do it.¡¯ Well why not¡­ B: ¡®To be the other side of the argument here; I don¡¯t have another side of the argument, so please ignore me.¡¯ Thank you for that¡­ anyone else? No? Then we¡¯ll go ahead and just increase our die pool by one for everything; will make life easier in the long run¡­ ¡­ Half a week after the celebration for us being alive for fifty days, I¡¯ve been able to get my -Mana Sense- up to tier two; making sure to concentrate around my eyes this time so I now can perceive mana via scent and sight. This also unlocked my mini-map''s ability to show me mana dense zones; as well as what kind of mana is densest in the area. From a couple of days of watching, they move around depending on what¡¯s going on. Before I can start drawing any specific mana in for the purpose of gaining a spirit; it¡¯s time for me to get through the toughest portion of my current training regime¡­ someone stop me, cause this is going to take forever¡­ fuck¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Thirty-eight days into my second month; and I now have the -Spirit Sanctum- trait, won¡¯t be upgrading it anytime soon¡­ it hurt like fuck. Considering my forge was reworked to allow spirits of mana to reside within it, I was expecting some pain; but my god that was soul shattering. (¡°Well, now that there¡¯s the sanctum within your forge, you may take your time absorbing mana and making contracts with spirits. From the Tulpa trait, and this¡­ I can see room for three separate elements within you at this time.¡±) Oh goody, something to think about while my mother runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, my father tries to calm her down to the best of his abilities; and oh hey Oma, she¡¯s giving me that look that usually means she¡¯s staring into my soul. I mean her eye is alight with flame, so that¡¯s a dead giveaway right there. Wish someone had told me that it would cause racking pain that would alert people who paid attention; oh hey, there are many of those constantly around me! <¡±Okay, that is our fault, sorry about it.¡±> ¡°Well, from what I can see, there¡¯s nothing seriously wrong with the boy. It just seems that he gained the trait that allows him to store mana spirits.¡± Oma sighs as she pinches and pulls my cheek; ¡°I am sure you can hear me, just like your father. Will you quit it with this, and just be a normal infant for a while?¡± I can see her thinking about it for a moment before waving that question off; ¡°Naw, forget I said anything; must be boring being stuck in there.¡± I mean, she¡¯s not completely wrong, it can get boring not being able to sleep as an infant and only able to keep yourself busy. Why don¡¯t you people at least keep me company until I can walk around and see things? Or I can train some more¡­ I don¡¯t really care¡­ why don¡¯t I care? ¡°Indra, calm down, you¡¯re making the other two boys anxious with your pacing; they can feel their mother¡¯s emotions.¡± Oma turns towards Mother and says with a small hint of annoyance; a sigh coming from her before she shakes her head. ¡°He¡¯s fine, again, probably just trying to figure things out; with an astonishing degree of speed. Mana spirits at a month old; bloody beats Zekiel and I by¡­ beats everyone by leaps.¡± I can almost feel her jealousy from here. ¡°He was bleeding; he was clenching his jaw so tight that he was bleeding from his gums, I am sure he might have cracked some teeth. How is that alright?!¡± Mother is angry, rightly so; and whenever she gets angry the air around starts to actually get colder. Decent level Cryo Spirit within her forge, affects the area around her based on emotions; so with some frost forming in the air¡­ she must be really ticked. I mean, can anyone really blame her¡­ the taste of copper still permeating my mouth as my mind glosses over the actual amount of pain it was. Any form of renovation to the forge, should be put on hold for the time being¡­ ¡°Surely the boy is being influenced in some way to grow the way he is; or he¡¯s just stretching his¡­ legs? Mana?¡± Nana forces mother to sit in a chair with a cup of some liquid, rubbing her shoulders in a gentle way; ¡°Runesca says Zekiel was the same way when he was this age¡­ do you remember anything?¡± The angelic woman looking to my demonic father, who thinks for a second before shrugging; ¡°I can easily remember to that point in my life, but no actual thoughts besides those garnered through instinct were in my mind.¡± Father smiles in a way that makes me slightly nervous, ¡°So Zeri, why not calm down and do something that won¡¯t cause issues.¡± I have been told this quite a few times already¡­ and I blame my patrons for this kind of bullshit; Hann, Baal¡­ seriously¡­ next time you tell me to train something¡­ WARN ME! <¡±Again, sorry. Should have told you it would hurt since it makes changes to the forge.¡±> (¡°It was my mistake, I apologize.¡±) [¡°Okay okay, let¡¯s all calm down; one person having a mild panic attack is enough for one room, don¡¯t you think?¡±] Mala calmly states as she sips at some tea little Martyr had made for her; little suck up he is. We all love him. Mother does the same, drinking the liquid in the glass, probably tea; as she slowly breathes to try and calm herself down. Lord, make me feel anymore guilty and I may have to think about how to keep myself busy during these times of inactivity¡­ or I could just do research into the secrets this world harbors. The mini-map feature does have a search bar¡­ could be fun to look into that for a bit. Maybe find some random treasures nearby for later retrieval. ¡®So for the first spirit, what was everyone thinking?¡¯ A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. B: ¡®It has to be a =Dark= spirit; one as black as my soul!¡¯ M: ¡®But milk isn¡¯t dark?¡¯ Martyr over here spitting all kinds of accidental venom, making me wonder what is going on with that boy¡­ but that is not here at the moment. Besides, Beast is red in coloration for his soul, it¡¯s Philo that is black. Currently the local densities that would prove useful; =Dark=, =Aero=, =Terra=, and =Aether= types of mana¡­ ¡®I get all the other, but what in the ever loving flippity flap is =Aether=?¡¯ (¡°To put it in the most basic of ways; it¡¯s one of the two =Dimensional= style Mana, the other besides =Aether= is =Nether=. both do relatively the same job; just one is more accepted than the other.¡±) Each of the mana options has a strange question mark on the bottom right corner of their symbol; they each come with symbols denoting their type by the way. This was luckily a quick description of the mana type, what it is good and bad at, as well as the basic look of the spirit if one decides to go for the default option; as well as their ranking of spirit. ¡®Yeah, it¡¯s either going to be =Dark= or =Terra= to start with; they have even temperaments, are in the higher density in the area, and have equal standings in many of their uses with a higher standard for defense.¡¯ The standards for mana is the simple; Attack, Defense, Utility. =Terra= has more defense going for it than =Dark=, but =Dark= is more built for utility. (¡°Choose either one, you¡¯d only get the passive effect from any spirit at this time; need a few more skills to make them useful.¡±) Oh goody, make things so much easier for me¡­ getting out of my thoughts for a moment to pay attention to the outer world; and Mother is calm now, people are eating¡­ and here I am just laying in a basket with my brothers. Taking a closer look at the adults in the room; Oma, Bull, Nana, Bear, Ma and Da, I check out the spirits they are contracted to for a bit of inspiration. Screens begin to appear in front of my eyes, translucent blue, which wouldn¡¯t do. A quick jaunt into the settings, and a quick change of opacity and screen color settings; some other changes here and there to make the screens how I like. These screens had kind of a cathartic feeling to my brain; making me smile to myself as I begin reading through the information stored within the records of my family. The more I read, the more I wanted to question what the fuck creation I made. Screw the name I gave it, -Eye of Nephilae-, shoulda frichen named it something¡­ along the lines of FBI or Federal Agents getting your info for selling. Honestly, from the moment of your birth to the current time¡­ I can even see way too much details¡­ Anyway, trauma later, the information I came for were the spirits each had contracted to; with Oma leading with a total of eight spirits types. Looking at the grades, I was at all not surprised to see that two of them were at the grade of =Omega=. Those two were of the ones I wanted to grab for myself; =Dark= and =Terra=, and judging from their appearances; Oma has a bit of a type¡­ my eyes turning to look at the old Bull. Well, in all honesty, I¡¯m going for many if not all spirits¡­ maybe not =Toxic=, but that¡¯s more a preference against a certain individual. We¡¯re just going to start with =Dark=, so many lovely spells to make with that individual¡­ or however spirits work. To be fair, with the amount of pain I went through getting the infrastructure, I expect villages to pop up and pay me taxes in the form of magic. Does this mean the first spirits of each element will be the fief lords? (¡°Honestly, I have never seen an inner world of the forge quite like yours, so maybe?¡±) <¡±If that¡¯s how you want it, then I am sure you will find a way to do it.¡±> Oh well, only thing to do at this time is to just try and see what happens; from what Hannash says, just need to draw in ambient mana of the type one wishes to contract with¡­ P: ¡°Hey Lord, check this out¡­ odd effect from the =Eyes=.¡± Oh well looky here¡­ ¡­ ¡­ I can¡¯t help but continue to smile, inwardly, like a maniac after the discovery made by Philosopher; may he forever be immortalized in some kind of metal. Not gold, fuck that metal. Also, the reactions of the old ones in my head, the =Patrons=, being as mixed as they are¡­ <¡±I feel violated in every sense¡­ to think purviews can be used like that¡­¡±> Baal laments, looking as if his world view was just shattered. (¡°Interesting¡­ never would have thought of that, never seen it done like that¡­¡±) Hann muses silently to himself, all while sitting next to the dice table; looking at the screens hovering around it. Mala is just in a bean bag, absolutely roaring with laughter as piles of books lay around her¡­ how she reads while blind is not for me to question; but Dralath, is calmly sipping tea near her. P: ¡°I mean¡­ this is the first time you guys ever saw a basic interface change, which gives the option to turn on options from purviews¡­ even view what they offer really¡­¡± Philo moves screens all over the place as he looks through them, almost so quickly that he doesn¡¯t seem to be paying attention; ¡°Who the fuck actually designed this game? I¡¯d wonder if any quality assurance was actually done to ensure nothing like this -could- be done.¡± ¡®So what you¡¯re telling me¡­ is that we modded the matrix of =Agenai=, and thus found a glitch that was never patched out¡­ an exploit if you will?¡¯ M: ¡°It just works.¡± So in recap; twenty nine days have passed by since Philo got my attention, and we now have the fourth rank of expanded circuits. Since we could activate options of the purviews, all of the options that would work in the situation¡­ doubled the dice rolled, and even allowed exploding tens. Rank five won¡¯t be gotten for a while; but four is good enough, as it also allows one to hold -Beta- ranked spirits within their forge. Now why did I do this, I hear you questioning, we¡¯re getting to that! Patience is a virtue dear¡­ well¡­ random thought or spirit in the aether that¡¯s even bothering to pay attention? Dunno who you are; but Martyr wants to say something¡­ M: ¡°Hello! Glad to meet you! Please remember to take care of yourself; proper sleep, drink and food, or whatever it is you need to be healthy.¡± <¡±I worry about that boy, talking to the aether.¡±> So the true reason for going through the effort to get to fourth rank¡­ the -Beta- rank of spirits; all spirits start off as -Alpha- in all but rare cases¡­ like a ninety-seven percent chance of being -Alpha-, but that three percent is where I am looking. Cause Philo has been looking through the records of obtaining spirits; Beast has been sleeping, while Martyr is planning for new lands to be added to house the spirits¡­ Anyway, Philo found that if one absorbs more mana than is needed, the chances of a -Beta- ranked spirit goes up¡­ not by much, but we have nothing but time to do this. T: ¡°Still blaming you for this by the way; who thinks not sleeping is a -good- idea?¡± Ignoring Tyrant right now, who has been doing NOTHING productive with his time I might add; T: ¡°Fuck you, that is a lie of the highest order. I have indeed been doing things more productive than Beast at least. Check the memos I left in the menus, and you might learn something.¡± Oh, that¡¯s what those were¡­ okay I half take back what I said; but not important at this time. Though on the outer world, nothing has really changed; mother feeds and changes us babies, father works; old bear Jarls up a storm. Oma and Nana come by every so often to help ma¡­ and maybe check on me to see if there¡¯s anything going on. I swear, I¡¯ve been good, only training things that don¡¯t hurt to rank up. Though being two months of age, my brothers seem to be getting a little more active during the day¡­ okay Yehai is more active, Xihlis is still mostly sleeping. Must be so nice, but at this point I¡¯d rather take some movement options¡­ walking would be fun. Have noticed as I kick my legs more to get the muscles worked, Yehai copies in a sort of; ¡®I can do this too!¡¯ kind of way¡­ he¡¯s cute. ¡®So, new moon is coming in a couple of days; and according to all of you, that¡¯s when the =Darkness= element will be at its most abundant. Answer me this one question¡­¡¯ (¡°What question requires answering?¡±) ¡®How does a planet with three moons, have a new moon?¡± Very important question; as the night sky, besides having more stars and colors of nebulae and such than I have ever seen, has three moons. <¡±Well, once every three months, the spirits of the moons gather in a separate plane of existence to go over the happenings, talk amongst themselves, and more than likely just talk.¡±> The fact they¡¯re spirits and can just blink in and out of existence fills me with a bit of dread¡­ So just have to wait two more days¡­ guess I¡¯ll just catch up on some reading, and try to stay sane¡­ as I see Aunt Xitra and Vivian walk through the door, and many of Ma¡¯s friends. Here comes the bloody cooing and fawning over the babies¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Well, I remember the adults saying things about placing bets when it came to my first mana spirit¡­ and lord a lot of money changed hands, that¡¯s for sure. Friends, family, people I don¡¯t know through Oma¡¯s mirror she uses for the sake of communication; and I feel so bad for all of them¡­ cause Da and Oma are gonna win this betting pool. Ma didn¡¯t bet, per se, she more along the lines said; ¡°It¡¯s my little amber-light, more than likely he¡¯ll go for an option not a single one of you thought of. I¡¯ll bet on that option, sounds more in line with his personality.¡± Now my mother knows me a little too well¡­ but I dunno if anything is going to go differently here, save the spirit will be of a higher level if my luck is good. Course, I can always try again if it doesn¡¯t roll well¡­ not like it¡¯s gonna bother me. What does bother me though, is the fact everyone that made bets is now gathered in the longhouse¡­ this isn¡¯t some kind of fucking festival¡­ <¡±Kid, best to just give it up¡­ they know what you¡¯re up to, so why not just let things happen. Not like you have ever been normal in the days we¡¯ve known each other.¡±> Trust me, last thing I ever imagined was actually having this many voices in my head, can¡¯t even charge rent; abilities and traits kind of cover the compensation¡­ So to lightly describe how we got here; I tried to absorb some mana while Oma and Nana were around, they noticed; and called everyone for this impromptu celebration¡­ guess first spirits are a thing? (¡°Of course! One¡¯s spirits, especially to a family with me in their lineage as a Patron, are a big deal.¡±) Hann doesn¡¯t have a big head about this, naw, not at all¡­ Listening to both the conversations inside my own head, and what the adults and some of the kids that were brought; it¡¯s late and some of the parents felt uncomfortable leaving their children home alone. One thought crosses my mind when I examine many of the children; the human race as a whole, are Bards. How many half-breeds? Many, though not fair for me to put it all on humans, as there are a few here and there¡­ elves are a second place for types of halfers. Scary thing is¡­ my -Lord- title is affecting each of them at least by one bloodline. Guess it¡¯s correct when they say every race on Agenai was birthed from a -Progenitor-; four total, so every race can trace back their lineage from those four in some sense. There are some artificial, but those lines loosely lead to the four. Anyway, too much talking¡­ I¡¯m just going to concentrate on absorbing mana like Hannash told me, after-all, this party is due to my first spirit, wouldn¡¯t it be sad if that didn¡¯t happen¡­ ¡­ Did not think that this many people would make their way to this humble residence, all for the new moon party and the celebration of my grand-son¡¯s first spirit. Zekiel, my son, has done well with the raising of his children; spending most of his time taking care of them and his lovely wife. Even though we aren¡¯t known for showing our emotions, due to -Cieri¡¯s Blessing- having the slight side-effect of giving our kind blank faces; Indra and her family have excepted us with open arms, allowing me to move my tower to Freyjan so I can visit these little bundles more often¡­ ¡°Runesca, dear, are you thinking deep again?¡±, My husband, Kragna, gets my attention; this man easily two times my size¡­ with three times my heart. Don¡¯t know why he loves me, but that goofy smile of his is his best feature; ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes, you and little Zeke are both too in your head sometimes.¡± ¡°Kragna, dear, me being in my head is nothing new; helps me process everything.¡± He has rubbed off on me too much, as I keep finding myself following his name with the term -dear- as he does mine, though I don¡¯t mind. Looking down at the young Zeriq in my arms, his eyes looking an odd way of tired¡­ though he does this, every time there¡¯s a large crowd around him. ¡°I think Zeri has low tolerance for crowded places. His eyes always get drooped whenever we have these gatherings.¡± ¡°So he¡¯s very much like little Zeke, and Xitra¡­ even Vivian¡­ you also get a little listless in crowded areas.¡± His deep chuckle resonates through my body; lords above this man¡¯s deep voice is earth shattering sometimes, ¡°No other scryings need to be done; he¡¯s related to your side of the family, with Indra¡¯s looks, her smile as well. Even the way he rolls his eyes reminds me of you and Zeke.¡± Another chuckle¡­ It is true, this childe does have many odd and interesting habits as I¡¯ve examined him these two months; with my scryings with -Keeper¡¯s Eye- and just paying attention. Then there¡¯s the fact he¡¯s a new -Lord- at such a young age¡­ then there¡¯s the fact the race of Nephilim is listed, when that race hasn¡¯t been recorded in any books, but has been theorized. ¡°I am glad to see no elder¡¯s of the Haruk have come, they always smell off.¡± There goes Kragna, his instinctual side coming to the front; ¡°Also do not like the glares that one always gives Zeri.¡± ¡°It is unsettling, yes,¡± Nodding along with those words, that particular elder appears to have some kind of issue with the young one, ¡°None of the leads I have tried to look into have come back with anything substantial; even Vivian can¡¯t find anything. So whatever he has hidden, is kept close to his breast.¡± Wanting to continue the conversation for a bit, I feel a difference in the air around all of us; all with senses for mana look towards the bundle in my arms; and those with the eyes begin to scry¡­ and I am not at all surprised with what I see¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Well, from that little bit of absorbing, I now have all eyes on me. Why are all eyes on me, you may be asking? It¡¯s cause I am doing something that no one was willing to believe was to be done¡­ so Ma wins the bet. (¡°I mean, who would actually begin to think, that one of such youthful age¡­ fuck it; why two spirits at once?! Even I can¡¯t fathom this decision, one at a time is already a chore when it comes to contracting!¡±) Uh oh, Hann is cussing, that means he has really lost all semblance of being a scholar of high class, to being a scholar of middle class. P: ¡®Well it¡¯s never really been heard of, even with all my research. You¡¯d be the first to do so at this age, to the first to do so within ten years of age. The only records I can see, would be those of venerable age and have already been contracted to other spirits.¡¯ ¡®So, people who got bored and decided to save time; versus we, who just want to fuck with people?¡¯ P: ¡®Exactly.¡¯ This just causes me to cackle like a madman, why I am absolutely laughing like some kind of evil lord or something. Luckily my alignment is nothing close to evil, but details. Honestly, it was a last minute decision, but I had noticed the ambient mana was both =Darkness= and =Terra=, so two birds with one stone kind of thing. To do this, one has to absorb the mana surrounding them, circulate it through their veins to purify slowly, before allowing it to condense into the forge. This process is a little time consuming, but it only takes five minutes till I allow condensation. I swear to god, this feels like cultivation a bit; but I am not really feeling like attacking the heavens and becoming a god or something. Too much annoying things, like people whining to you for every little problem. T: ¡®I mean, it could be a little fun; okay stop glaring at me like that, it¡¯s just a joke.¡¯ Anyway, back to topics at hand, to process the mana from two separate types, one has to concentrate and circulate the mana in separate directions. Normally this would be a difficult task unless one had experience with mana for many years; but I have multiple sides of my soul to help me work. While I work on =Darkness=, Philo is working on the =Terra= mana. There is a weird thing though; I can feel the mana¡­ I mean the feelings of the mana, the texture, the ambiance of it. Hann states that every thread of mana has its own sentience, allowing thoughts and feelings; threads that feel the same way, bunch together. Through the rite of contracts, and forming a physicality in the forge, then the mana creates its own sapience. It¡¯s an interesting view point when it comes to this whole ordeal, I¡¯m glad the spirits get something from this as well. (¡°You are truly a kind person. Not many share that view, but it should help you with making contracts. Also, you¡¯ve been thinking too much, shouldn¡¯t you concentrate on the mana?¡±) ¡®Honestly, it¡¯s very easy to do this, sort of like data entry to the point it makes me sick. The element is pliant in a way, it makes me think that the being made from it will be the sort that likes to read, drink tea or coffee, and enjoy the night sky. Philo?¡¯ P: ¡®Yeah, I get that feeling from =Darkness= as well, while this sentience of =Terra= gives off the emotions of one who has been around a long time, cliche as that would be of that element. They just want a home they can rest in, and a garden they can take care of. It might be prudent to also bring in some =Chloro= mana as well.¡¯ Honestly, it¡¯s nice that my first children will be of calm demeanor¡­ lord, if I had chosen fire, then I¡¯d have to be prepared for an excitable child. Checking on the fill gauge, I can see that I¡¯m roughly twenty percent filled¡­ we¡¯re gonna be here a while. Better listen to some music while we¡¯re doing this. But, and that is a rather big but¡­ we could always do things a bit more fun; a bit more chaotic. <¡±Oh dear lord, what is this one thinking now?¡±> Now hear me out, this body is currently circulating two separate mana elements in separate directions. If we look closely at the body, specifically the veins and mana channels, and we can see the colors of the mana flowing. Looking closer, we can see smaller veins that aren¡¯t being used, but are connected to the channels. They may look small and undeveloped, but they should also be under the influence of the mana traits we have. (¡°Yes, they can be seen now that your unique vision trait is concentrating on them. Connecting here and there to bring a rather beautiful lattice to the body¡¯s mana channels.¡±) T: ¡®Wait a minute¡­ this looks oddly familiar.¡¯ Hehehe, exactly, think on it clearly and one could easily see these as bypass routes used for trains; keeping trains going the same way from crashing into each other. So if we think on it like this? P: ¡®Oh dear lord¡­ are we going to do something crazy, that might lead to possible death?¡¯ Of course not; we¡¯re going to do something crazy that may or may not cause internal explosions if done incorrectly, but would only leave the body crippled, but alive. B: ¡®Fuck it, why not. What elements we adding?¡¯ M: ¡®=Aero=, or wind, is in abundance obviously¡­ the other elements are either not here, or not enough for the plans we¡¯re going for.¡¯ P: ¡®Wait, if we look closely, =Cosmo= element is also in abundance, but it¡¯s a bit higher.¡¯ Ah, third dimensional view of the mini-map, such an amazing thing. It also makes sense; no moons in the sky, meaning less light to cover the infinite cosmos that hang above us. The mana of the cosmos is strikingly abundant at this time. Then we¡¯ll go ahead and add these two into the rotation; Martyr and Tyrant will take up the mantle of guiding these two, Beast will keep an eye on the outside and warn of disturbances. Oh I can imagine the absolute chaos of this¡­ <¡±He¡¯s doing that creepy chuckle again¡­¡±> ¡­ ¡­ As a father, I can only show pride with my life at this moment; a beautiful wife that knows nothing but kindness¡­ just don¡¯t piss her off. Three wonderful sons, only one of which is a true handful, though even this I can show profound pride in. After losing our first two daughters, I was worried what Indra would do if we lost these three as well, but everyday she glows so brightly that one has to shield their eyes just to look at her. She has also gained a lucrative amount of coin due to the bets on little Zeri, though the feelings of betting on one¡¯s son are turbid at best. The room is filled with merriment as everyone enjoyed the drink and food, a small festival of sorts. Everything was going well really¡­ then a sigh excapes my lips as a wry smile spreads; ¡°Boy couldn¡¯t wait a day to do something¡­ impatient little brat.¡± Muttered under my breath, and then turning towards my son in Mother¡¯s arms¡­ noticing that others turned to look as well¡­ even Mother was staring at the boy with a quirked brow. ¡°Mother, what are your thoughts on our little bundle of trouble?¡± Looking at my son, only slightly lifting a brow, and enjoying the view of the little bundle of chaos¡­ then my feelings took a bit of an odd turn. A strange mixture of pride, awe¡­ and fear; not of my son, but what others would think of him¡­ ¡°Well, dear son, I would say that this boy¡¯s mind is a bit more aware than anyone had ever thought before. Seeing as how he is currently circulating a total of five different mana types within him; and doing it with such precision that I am considering giving up on the magic theorems I learned.¡± Well, that is surprising to hear considering Mother has continued to study magic and =Mana= itself since she learned to read, not necessarily walk. ¡°Can you see which manas they are, dear?¡± Father looks down at Mother, and being of the warrior branch, he¡¯s not able to look into =Mana= ¡°Darkness, Terra, Aero, Cosmo¡­ and Chrono¡­ but the mana of Chrono shouldn¡¯t be abundant anywhere near here? And this technique of circulating isn¡¯t recorded in any books¡­ around the body with four, the fifth circulated in the heart or forge¡­ and everything is processed one at a time in quick rotations.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the four come into contact with each other, and thus cause =Mana Rupture=?¡± One of the party goers, who looked to be an old mage in blue robes with gold trim, asks with curiosity. ¡°That¡¯s the thing, from looking at the movements of the mana, when two are coming towards each other; one will go to the side, both continue, and once the paths are away from each other, it will move back to the channel.¡± Mother rubs her chin as she contemplates, looking like she has found a fun little puzzle to solve. ¡°Hmm¡­ why does that sound familiar¡­¡± Hilda says, Indra¡¯s mother looking contemplative as she thinks while crossing her arms; ¡°It sounds like the passing method of Litmari¡¯s mana trains, but that could be a coincidence.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very much deliberate, and looks too smooth to be instinct. This brat is doing it consciously, and is far too skilled at this control; as if he has a clear mental image of how it should be done.¡± Mother clicks her tongue, before a sly smile grows on her face; ¡°Ohoho, this is honestly an interesting concept that can work in many facets of mana works. One would need a major understanding of their own channels to get it right, but I can see it being done.¡± ¡°Could have something to do with this trait I¡¯ve not read about; =Eye of Nephilae=, since we¡¯ve not a clue what it can do.¡± One of mother¡¯s colleagues, don¡¯t care to remember their name, comments, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the way his eyes roam, and they make me feel like he¡¯s staring directly into my soul.¡± That I can agree on at least, something about the boy¡¯s stare does give one an off feeling¡­ but it¡¯s not the type that makes you dislike the boy. While everyone in the room debates on theories, thoughts, and their own comments on how little Zeri can be doing this; I just watch my boy¡­ my first pride. In case me misses a beat, somehow loses control, I will have to step in and try to help him keep control. ¡°Indra, I know you¡¯re against it¡­ but with your permission¡­ I wish to enter Zeriq¡¯s forge, and see if we can communicate with him. Seeing as how this is going, I feel it prudent to have a word.¡± Mother, without looking up from Zeri, asks of my wife. Indra in her own right, looks to be about to angrily turn down the recommendation, but with her mother¡¯s hand on her shoulder, a sigh escapes her¡­ ¡°We can talk about this later, I¡¯d rather be safe¡­ but it could help me understand my baby a bit more. Walk me through it later, and we¡¯ll see if I accept.¡± Indra calmly answers, her grip tightening on the chair¡¯s arm, and with a sigh; ¡°I am just glad it¡¯s only Zeri, if it was all three¡­ I feel my heart would more than likely explode with all the stress.¡± That I can agree on¡­ With that, everything continues on; debates, and watching Zeri¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Beast; buddy, friend, ya fuck. Explain. B: ¡°Hey, I saw the Chrono mana in the air, it was enough for the plan; why ya giving me the creeps?¡± P: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s calm down, we have work to do, and it¡¯s already a pain in the ass enough to do all five at once. Concentrate, we¡¯ll flog the beast once we¡¯re done.¡± (¡°I can honestly say, that I¡¯ve never seen one be bold enough to try and contract five separate mana entities at the same time. Bit nominal really¡­ considering how each of you are going about the forming¡­ okay, seriously, how are you all the same person yet so different?¡±) That¡¯s a bit fucked up there Hannash, just because we¡¯re all mental manifestations of the same being in a way, we¡¯ve all lived separate lives than the others. Of course we¡¯re going to have differences¡­ though I do see what you mean¡­ ¡­ If one took the time to look into the forge, into the large gothic castle where everything is taking place, and in the council room of the round table¡­ yeah¡­ they¡¯d see a right fucking sight. Each of the mental projections of the core, together in the center where threads of mana congregate into the ball of energy that is the =Forge Core=, each threads depicting the color of their element. These threads then further spread out to the boys, who are weaving the threads of these elements in their own unique ways¡­ creating the Primogenitors of the forge. Lord and Tyrant; Sanity and Insanity, two sides of the same coin¡­ twins of a singular mind, are moving as one. Backs facing each other, threads of =Darkness= and =Cosmo= wrapping around their outstretched arms and down to their fingers, threads coalescing to form twine wrapped around spindles. The two breathe as one, reading the thoughts and feelings of the entities they will create with these entwining threads, gathering as much as they can before they are able to begin¡­ Philosopher; Analytical mind, professor of what can be learned, one who has already used threads of two separate abilities to create a brand new tapestry. Sat cross legged on the ground, he brings the threads of =Terra= around him, working the threads with skilled fingers to create a more yarn like substance from these; creating small balls of the yarn from each ten fingers. Eyes spark with magical circles, almost like glasses, bits of data flitting across as he reads¡­ creating a detailed blueprint of what he wants¡­ Martyr; Emotional spectrum, a boy who clearly enjoys the life given to him, as a smile always plays on his face. Hidden beneath could be a cacophony, a symphony of emotions that hide even more twists and turns. This little maestro brings around the element of =Aero=, waving the threads around with two outstretched fingers, swirling the energies to a singular point, wrapping around an ever growing lattice to create a more fine silken thread. Eyes closed, but ears fluttering as if listening to the hints of music that flutter within the winds themselves. Beast; Instinctual intellect, a rash individual who will follow the instincts he was blessed by, even if it means accidentally harming himself, though usually ends on a good note. With his own hands, he grasps at the small threads of =Chrono=, willing the wisps to come together and form a strong rope. His desperate attempts to gain enough of the element from the atmosphere around the host don¡¯t go unnoticed, but whenever he grasps for more threads, more appear. Guttural growls come from these threads, which he answers with his own¡­ two beasts communicating in a way that no other can understand. ¡­ ¡®Hey guys¡­ I have an question. Mostly for Hann, but any of you can chime in.¡¯ (¡°What kind of question do you have, Zeri?¡±) ¡®How do spirits of mana gain strength, once they are incorporated into the forge?¡¯ (¡°One would normally draw more of the type of mana into the forge of the spirit in question; basically doing what you are doing currently, and should concentrate on.¡±) ¡®I see where you are coming from; but is there no way to do it passively? It all has to be a conscious state of mind, and thus controlled?¡¯ <¡±I mean, kid, it has been like that for¡­ ever since the spirits came to be with the moons and suns. But I feel there is to be an idea in your head?¡±> Oh this one is starting to get me; give him a cookie. So to draw in mana like we are, circulate it, and add it to the scion spirits we create. That feels like way too much work, and too much time¡­ P: ¡®Lord, we have nothing but time since we don¡¯t sleep¡­¡¯ Shush now, for here is idea that might just be insane enough to work; and could become a conduit of change for the future generations¡­ T: ¡®Translation, we¡¯re too lazy to keep doing this whenever¡­ what¡¯s the idea?¡¯ ¡®Conduits that tie to the specific mana variety, and can act as a home for the Scions. Where pure mana may pass through, and thus become the mana that ties to the conduit.¡¯ P: ¡®Could work, but drawing mana is still a thought aware process¡­ or¡­¡¯ (¡°So if I am to get this straight, and if I follow correctly; you wish to create a passive way to draw in ambient mana, filter through these ¡®conduits¡¯ to then feed the Scion Spirits?¡±) ¡­ Then silence, as the Lord was lost in thought deep within himself, images and ideas flowing through the library and the council seats without focus. The Patrons were new to this process, but stayed silent as well¡­ as the alternate selves waited¡­ ¡®Has anyone ever tried to create a Scion from just pure mana?¡¯ <¡±Now you¡¯re speaking insanity¡­ are we sure you¡¯re the sane one? We keep beating this horse, but come on!¡±> Baalish was right to be a bit aggravated, while Hannash wanted to agree; his own thoughts started to flow through, keeping him silent. Mala, on the other hand, sat back in the bean bag chair; sipping her tea as everything continued on. [¡°Why not? If it has never been done; which it hasn¡¯t, then be the first to do so. Create new life, from that which others don¡¯t see a point.¡±] That is when the Lord smiles¡­ a grin that spreads from ear to ear¡­ fangs glinting as madness seeps into his eyes. Followed by Tyrant, then the others¡­ thoughts running rampant, as the air around the entirety of the inner Forge itself shimmers. Fragments. Changes¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Oh what is this child doing now?!¡± Oma would state from outside my forge; as I start to draw in pure mana alongside the other elements.. letting it flow freely in my channels at an alarming rate. The mana of pure non-element easily filtering around all the other types of mana without a need for keeping it separate; it has no will of its own, no thoughts or needs. It just is. That is what I need, an empty vessel to carry what I require of it¡­ while slowly forming its own conscious mind. ¡°What is he doing, Runesca?¡± Mother questioned, looking a bit worried¡­ but also a bit exasperated as it seems Zeri is doing something again. ¡°He started drawing in mana, but of no element type. Pure Mana, which doesn¡¯t have a thought or will, thus shouldn¡¯t have a spirit¡­ but he seems to have a plan.¡± Oma tilts her head as she watches; then her eye twitches, which her kin all seem to notice¡­ Father sighing, and Old Bull giving a chuckle; ¡°His forge¡­ it¡¯s changing¡­¡±This information now seems to give everyone a kind of¡­ fright? The mood quickly changes as I am surrounded; but I take no heed, as I am now having pure fun with what I am doing¡­ weaving mana of all kinds into my forge, making changes; creating life from spirits. ¡°At least it seems he is having fun; look at that smile¡­ and it seems he is humming to himself. Wonder what it is he is doing¡­¡± Opa, Old Bull, comments while chuckling; humming along to my tune¡­ just something random really¡­ but this is fun indeed. Weaving of new threads, adding them to the matrices of my own forge to add conduit buildings that would tie to their particular element; and even a room for the pure mana to settle. What kind of Scion will they turn out to be; and how best to make this happen¡­ It has been a while since I¡¯ve had this much fun¡­ and for more to come; as my mind has some devious thoughts in it.